#sage rambles

First thing to address that not a lot of people talk about is how splinter’s examples of what a parent should look like is very limited,

he has his own childhood experiences that he knows is wrong and doesn’t want to follow but not really any good examples!

And how that presents is shown in the show eg:

the boys have freedom to choose whatever interests they want to pursue without judgement and even get encouragement,

Less adult super vision than the turtle’s should have (probably due to his own experience of overbearing parents.),

how to be careful about humans but not drilling it into their heads so much that they are fearful of humans,

Due to him being less involved/active in the boys’ lives it’s harder for them to ask him for help and he knows less about what’s going on with them,

And the fact that splinter never mentions the shredder prophecy/hamato clan to the turtles because they shouldn’t live in fear or be sacrificed for the “greater good” until he’s forced to.

(while yes the lack of knowledge on the shredder put them in danger, I think it’s reasonable that splinter thought it wouldn’t be a problem since the foot hadn’t been a problem for several decades.

And I acknowledge that he could have not told them due to his own ignorance of the situation but i also doubt with his experience that he’d ever mention it to the kids regardless.)

I don’t think splinter is necessarily neglectful with physical affection,

I think it’s more likely that splinter just doesn’t initiate physical affection often and always excepts any requests for hugs, generally leaning/touching, etc. it may be that older three have a harder time asking. (Mikey seems much more comfortable being touchy than the rest.)

(Very much speaking from experience on that one my parent is physically affectionate but it’s very much an ask for it or initiate yourself thing.)

Now splinter’s emotional constipation is where we get into the juicy stuff!

Something that’s fun is how a parent deals with their own emotions and tramas is practically mirrored by their kids, no matter how much they try not to let it happen.

Leo’s distract, ignore, and joke about his own issues very obviously came from splinter’s use of tv to drown all of his emotions but I also think splinter jokes at his expense. <(I don’t remember but I feel like splinter jokes about his body/being a rat a few times)

Donnie’s avoidant and perfectionist attitude towards his own issues reflects splinter’s avoidance of his own emotional problems and how he wallows in his own depression at not having a “perfect” life anymore.

Augh Raph’s parentifacation made him hold his brother’s emotions as more important than his own which does reflect splinter sometimes but is also the exact opposite at times too!

Mikey also experienced parentifacation but in a different way to Raph. Since Mikey had a lot more emotional freedom (and just youngest child syndrome of getting babied) he ended up being the mediator and family therapist while ignoring some of his needs in the process. (Also Mikey totally got his short man syndrome from splinter lol.)

And I wouldn’t be surprised if all of the kids self destructive behaviors came from splinter in some way.

Having an untreated disability while raising kids is awful for both sides. As a kid watching your parent suffer while still pushing through to take care of you and your siblings is painful both because you may need to support your parent and/or you have to help the rest of the household.

Being sick constantly while trying to keep not only yourself but others alive is terrifying, it can make you crippled with guilt and put you in an awful depression spiral if you’re not already there from your own body fighting you every day.

I really think he needs someone to slap him in the face with the reality of the situation he put his kids in, and give him a support system cuz he needs it!

(He still loves his kids! I just think he doesn’t really know how to take care of them and never had the resources to realize he was hurting them.)

Anyway I definitely think splinter sucks at being a dad but, It also really doesn’t help that he has not so great circumstances setting him up to be a dad.

but collide they did, on a frigid op somewhere way up in eastern europe, you and the rest of the team arrive to the coordinates to find the bunker completely empty, save for the bodies strewn everywhere. when a flash of muscle drops from the ceiling and catches you off guard, Ghost grabs the offender and throws him across the room.

a few shots ring out, but the stranger holds up an arm and the bullets tinker off as he approaches. you and the rest of the team are clad in balaclavas, helping to shield your faces from the bitter wind. once you get your bearings again he's ripped the gun from Ghost's grip and the two are locking arms as you realize who is is.

"Bucky!" you call out, the brunette's head snapping to the direction of your voice as you pull off your mask. he looks at you confused, before reaching up with his metal arm to stop Ghost's punch, tossing him to the side like he weighed as much as a phone book.

Price, Gaz, and especially Soap all gawk at the shiny metal arm that just threw their best and strongest soldier 20 feet. confusing them even more is you, running up to the offender and wrapping him in a hug. a hug.

after some brief explanations and tense introductions, everyone is on the same page. Bucky is after the same Russian arms dealer you are, so he falls in step with you as you all walk out and to your rendezvous point.

back at your safe house, you and Bucky catch up over tea, laughing over old jokes about the everyone's short lived time living at the Avengers Tower.

little do you know that Ghost is nursing his ego in the other room. the other three assuring him that he didn't need to feel bad about getting manhandled by a super soldier. but he was still pouting, and no one said anything but they knew it was because he had grown attached to you after you got hurt under his watch a few months back.

and though he would never admit it, he liked being the strongest man you knew. but apparently he was the strongest...regular human guy you knew. was he recalling you correctly when you said there was another super soldier you knew who was blonde?