Why I think Apritello will happen
 

This was originally going to be a reply to the "Apritello confirmed" thread, but it was getting so long and getting slightly off track that I thought it'd be easier to start a new thread. :lol: Hey, I warned you people in my intro thread: this happens to me A LOT!

I really like that the writers decided to make a love story with one of the Turtles and April. When the show first started and we're introduced to Donnie's crush on April, I immediately thought it was a brilliant move for his character and also for future story arcs, especially when Casey came in to play. I was not surprised that they made Casey the same age as April, especially since April and Casey have always gotten together in past versions (excluding the 80s cartoon, of course).

At first, I thought that maybe the love triangle was going to mirror the Teng Shen love triangle with Casey playing the role of Splinter and Donnie being Shredder. I put Donnie in Shredder's place because it would've made for an interesting complex for him since he grew up with hearing the story of Splinter's past and how he and Shredder came to be enemies. Of course, we find out later that Shredder's quest for vengeance was more than just jealousy between two friends once we learn of the war between the Hamato and Foot clans. Still, Donnie would be battling his own jealousy while still trying to keep in mind that it was jealousy and hatred that helped fuel Shredder's vendetta. They weren't the ONLY elements, mind you, but they played a strong factor.

Now with April being a mutant and not fully human, this gives us a whole new dilemma to deal with: When/if April chooses her ship, will it be based on WHO they are or WHAT they are?

Allow me to explain: April has lived her entire life believing that she was a perfectly normal human girl. Then once she meets the Kraang and Turtles and eventually discovers that she is not only a mutant, but part-Kraang, then it's given her a bit of an identity crisis. So far, her life has been becoming more abnormal than normal and I'm sure it's taking it's toll on her psyche. She's probably having constant struggles with herself to live with the fact that she shares the same DNA as her mortal enemies, but still wants to be just a normal human girl again because that was when she was happiest.

This is probably why she still hasn't told Casey about what she is yet. I forgot the episode, but she was using her mental ability and Casey asked her how she knew and she just gave him a vague answer. Aside from her dad, Casey is the only one who knows her connections to the hidden mutant agenda plaguing the city right now and is not only a good confidante, but an anchor for her as well. Plus, she might be unintentionally using Casey to help her keep a firm hold on her humanity. Her poor father is in a delicate state right now, so Casey's the only strong foundation she can rely on. She's not blaming the others for her problems and still loves the Turtles and Splinter, but it's been clear that she doesn't want to give up her human life either.

As for her being with Casey, I would think it would be for a more superficial reason than anything really deep. Like I stated before, right now he's the only link to her humanity and she really wants to hold on to that. Sort of like a lifeline. I really don't like the way Casey acts around April when he gets all "touchy-feely" and sees her more as a trophy. You can tell he just wants a little action than any steady relationship, like most teenagers are at that time in their lives. Now maybe Casey really does want a steady relationship, but the writers aren't doing that good of a job portraying it. But maybe April is ignoring that factor because she wants to show the world and herself that SHE IS NORMAL. NORMAL human girls date NORMAL human boys. No exceptions!

But then maybe that's all the more reason she needs to be with Donnie. Donnie has been a mutant for almost his entire life, so he understands the struggles it comes with. Having to hide that aspect from the outside world, being seen as a freak, never being accepted in normal society. These are all the things that someone like April would think would happen if people (like Casey) discovered the truth. But when you see how Donnie and his brothers deal with those issues, she can learn that being a mutant doesn't automatically mean you can't live a happy life. It would just be a life that April's upbringing hadn't prepared her for. Donnie and the others are still just like regular people if you look past their appearances. Leo likes to watch sci-fi shows, Raph enjoys comics, Mikey is a huge skateboarding fan and likes to cook, and Donnie engages in intellectual activities. These are all traits you can easily find in humans.

And lets not forget how supportive Donnie has been since this whole thing happened. Yes, it's clear he's attracted to April, but there have been times when she gets him annoyed or they disagree on something, so it's not totally infatuation. He knows she has flaws and can be stubborn, but he accepts that as just part of her personality and he still has strong feelings. I know people have been writing him off as a "stalker" and such, but if the object of your affections was also the object of an alien invasion and she has a kidnapping track record the size of your arm, you'd be just as protective.

I personally believe that if April chose Donnie, it'd be mentally healthier for her. This way, she's not letting something like DNA or a mutation stop her from following her heart. Donnie is a shining example that you can still have "normal" traits without "normal" DNA. I'm sure the Capril shipping could and probably will still happen, but this show has changed things here and there and tried to make it it's own identity, so Aprtiello could still happen just as easily.

Which brings me to my NEXT reason why I think it will happen (this is also the main reason why I was replying to the other thread):

Let's just say that April and Donnie DO hook up and this could happen the start of season 4 (which has been confirmed). Much like how season 2 started, it'll be very laid back. Maybe the Kraang were finally defeated (for the most part) and the Foot have been AWOL. Donnie and April are "dating", in a sense, but Mr. O'Neil still doesn't know about them. Not only does he not know about them, but he also doesn't know that April is a mutant as well. Like she was with Casey, she's afraid that if her father found out, it would ruin their relationship.

Out of all the characters on this show, Mr. O'Neil has suffered the most emotionally and probably mentally. First, he's a prisoner of the Kraang for months, then is used a pawn in capturing his own daughter for two terrible enemies, starts to show signs of PTSD and is getting more protective of April, and is then mutated into a giant bat that may or may not have had any permanent damage on his psyche.

And if THAT wasn't enough to deal with, we see him start to break down in the season 2 finale trailer that happens to include full-on Kraang invasion!!! This guy is one meltdown away from being put in a straightjacket! Which is why I don't think he'd be too happy to find out that his teenage daughter, one whom (as far as we know) still believes she's the last NORMAL thing in his life, is cuddling with giant mutant.

This might seem kind of harsh to some of you, but I think after everything I've listed above, Kirby might be getting a little tired of these mutants and aliens messing around with not only his life, but his daughter's. Yes, he knows the Turtles are good friends and allies, but with all the trauma he's been through, I can't help but feel he might be wishing he never met the Turtles in the first place and wants April to stop hanging out with them. Period. We saw how hesitant April was in the season 2 premiere when they came to visit and Kirby really didn't want her leaving the apartment. And if she ends up leaving Kirby behind to escape with the Turtles to North Hampton, this could send the poor guy over the edge.

I have this head cannon that if Bishop or someone like him does come in to play in the future, then he'd be an old college buddy of Kirby's. Maybe they meet up and Bishop wants Kirby to move to D.C. to help him with some sort of top secret project since he has connections to the Kraang or whatever. At first, Kirby declines because he thinks of April's future. But once he learns of her relationship with Donnie and that she's part Kraang, he thinks that Bishop might be the only one who can help her turn normal again. So they pack their bags and Kirby takes April to move to D.C., against April's wishes of course.

This could work out many different ways, especially if Bishop is somehow connected with Kraang or Shredder or whatever, but this might also be an eye opener for Donnie. Someone stated in a previous thread that Donnie might not feel that he can have a possible future with April, even if she does have feelings for him. He loves her so much that he wants her to be free and live a full life. Family, career, marriage, the whole package. Despite them both being mutants, April can easily live in the human world while he can't. If you love something that much and are willing to do anything for them, sometimes letting go is the best and only option you have.

(Aaaaaand cue "Let Her Go" by Passenger) :tcry:

This would be heart wrenching, but would not only make for great character development, but good drama too. I'm not sure how you could take the relationship from there if this were to happen, but it would be something we've never seen happen before in TMNT. While I love the humor and silliness this franchise has given us in the past, it can really tug at your heartstrings.

This sounds like something that belongs on tumblr.

......I actually do have a Tumblr account, so I guess I could just copy and paste this on there. I just figured this would be easier to hear replies on and feedback.

Funny you say that because I made a post on Tumblr awhile back about why I thought Karai got mutated and it was pretty popular. Of course, parts of my theory were debunked thanks to the recent "Comic Con" video....

this is all very possible. will it happen? maybe.

my theory is:

start of season 3, april and donnie become a thing. caseys obviously upset, but keeps hanging out with the turtles. hostile towards donnie, maybe april.

then something happens at the end of season 3, cant say waht, just something that would make donnie feel like he cant do this to april, that they just cant be together, and april sees it too.

season 4 starts, april and casey and donnie are all getting along again, april and casey eventually end up together

*still doesn't get Tumblr*. I don't use it. So theorizing about shows on Tumblr is a trend or something?

tumblr is the new cesspool of shippers/fangirlism/ranting.

Its basically the modern version of livejournal.

I used to use livejournal...but I used it as an actual journal, so still can't see the connection.

Its like the old angelfire/geocities/forums, etc. where everyone rants about ships, female characters and feminism.

TMNT usually doesn't have this in the fandom because before the Nick show the series hardly had any pairings besides April/Casey which just happens. Now this show is bringing in the anime fangirl crowd and they're all going on big shipping rants.

Really doubt Nick would ever really go that far with them imo... No matter how many girls and women are fans of TMNT, no matter how many adults make up a large chunk of the fanbase, society is still convinced that TMNT is for little boys. And while the crush bit they've included may innocently play well to the part of the audience that's into it, I doubt they'll stop considering their juvenile male demographic who would prob not be into that mushy junk in the least. Add in the hyper conservative parents and whoever that would probably have a cow over it, even if it's fictional and kept innocent.

Still think those storyboards or whatever that was that seemed to hint at something may very well simply be a dream or a "vision quest" type vision on Donnie's part...

As long as it doesn't get Avatar/Harry Potter levels of bad, I can deal. Every other thread was about shipping and threads having nothing to do with them would often get derailed in to ship wars. That crap got annoying fast and it's always why I get a bit antsy when a love triangle becomes a part of a show.

Not worried about the show, as I doubt it will pull a BBT or anything. I do however hope it won't pull a Friends, where the Ross/Rachael romantic crap dragged on for the entire series.

I'd like to think of it as a realization of the 2K3 series where Donnie and April were close because of their involvement in technology-- but their love story just didn't happen. Nine years later, maybe Donnie deserves to be happy after all.

It really doesn't matter because we know they're not going to go that far regardless if it's Casey/April or Donnie/April. And hyper conservative parents are always ignored by upper echelon, the episodes are done a year before they even air; so if you cater to them, people would complain what's taking so long to do it. So there's no point to even adhere to them.

Plus, I still think that chat in the storyboard is a real conversation. I think this picture could prove it:

I think based on the episode description that it's the next episode:
http://31.media.tumblr.com/fb1b81f41...gt4o1_1280.png

It looks pretty obvious what this is supposed to be. That after seeing Casey & April getting closer, and starts talking to himself trying to "tell April he likes her". But more likely just feels totally stupid what he's doing, then that scene on the docks is *Which we can more or less guess is the end of the same episode* where Donnie and April come to grips with things regarding her and Casey.

Then the finale, Donnie becomes the leader and has to deal with the responsibility of keeping April and everyone else safe. And realizing he can't put April through that again, and decides based on what he did as leader that it's best for himself to stay away from her, where as April took based on what he did as leader and thought completely the opposite.

That's the thing, the "I understand nothing" line doesn't sound like something he'd say in a vision or dream. It sounds like Donnie believing he was doing the right thing and expecting a reaction, and instead getting a completely different one.

To me, "I understand nothing" means... "How can everything I believe is right, end up being wrong?"

Which could in just be based on decisions he made in the finale when becoming the leader. It'll be interesting to see how Donnie's written in the start of Season 3, if it appears Donnie's first mission as interim leader leads to a massive retreat out of the city and possibly leaving family behind. (Splinter and/or others)

Can only imagine what emotional damage that could do?

I hope April X Casey doesn't happen. Mostly because it's just so predictable, and it's like same old thing they always do: Boy shows up, resident girl automatically becomes his girlfriend/wife.

Why can't we break this boring trend by her NOT being with anyone? Why is it optional for lead males to get shipped, but never optional for the lead females? It's like she's a prize to be won.

I can agree.

The upcoming episode will more then likely have Donnie coming to grips with how his jealousy towards Casey is causing problems for his family and is potentially leading him down a path he does not want to take.

And plus with Mikey getting sucked into Dimention X and learning that he had been forced to survive for months with in the span of a few minutes.

The loss of their childhood home, Splinter's capture, the argument with Leo, having leadership thrust upon his shoulders when Leo separates from them, Leo's broken and battered body getting thrown through the window and barely escaping the city with their lives. And possibly April's dad becoming a mutant again (I mean seriously the guy was hit with a single drop and he becomes normal again. There has to be a flaw somewhere.)

Not mentioning the guilt and emotional turmoil that Donnie might be going through. After all, Donnie would not stand up to Leo if it wasn't justified. But even then he wouldn't want Leo or any of his brothers to get seriously injured as a result of it.

So in Donnie's mind he feels like can't take another loss mentally or emotionally. So feels the best thing he can do for April is to tell her goodbye. To let her go and quit keeping his hopes up that he and April will have anything outside of friendship.

But when he tells her this she seems to understand what he's saying and kisses him as a way of saying "Don't give up on me just yet."

I have no theories regarding whether they go for Donnie x April, Casey x April, No one x April, etc., but this actually very plausible. I could see this happening...but I'm still iffy on the storyboard because of the nature of the kiss.

Up to this point, at no point have I ever gotten the impression that April was leading Donnie on. Friends do kiss and each time she has, it was more so an emotional outburst or a thanks. In Target, she thanked him for having her back and coming to her rescue. The second time, she was so grateful that Donnie managed to synthesize the retromutagen, that she kissed him, and after her father returned to normal she was so happy she kissed him. Very innocent. The storyboard kiss however doesn't come across that way to me and would strike me as leading him on in some way or form.

Oh well, at this point I could see the Donnie x April thing happening in some way or form, if the storyboard is any indication, but even without it, I'd still probably lean more on Donnie x April being more likely than Casey x April. Donnie seems more innocent in nature. Even though I know Casey does appreciate his friendship with April, I still get the, "I'm a hormonal teenage boy" vibe from him. I don't get that impression from Donnie at all.

When Donnie saw April, he felt she was pretty and stuff, focusing on her face. Casey focused on her rear, "I like what I see"....or maybe her fighting. ^^

At this point, though I don't feel April likes either boy in that way.

^You know who Casey reminds me of in this iteration? John Bender from The Breakfast Club.

I'd love an Apritello ending, just to be different, but it's still going to be a long road there. I have a feeling Irma is going to be thrown into the mix. It can't be coincidence that her primary colors are purple, plus she has this stereotypical look that screams NERD!

I also don't think it's a coincidence that when you take Casey's physical characteristics and combine them with Irma's personality characteristics, you get Donnie to a T.

Sneaky and thought out character designs that could serve a potential purpose possibly.

That perhaps April and Donnie could very well be meant for each other. ;)

So, when Donny and Irma finally meet, you think she's going to be a bitch to him like she is with Casey, or a bit more mellowed out? After the first initial shock wares away first of course.

Since when has Irma ever been rude to Casey? She's talkative, that's it.

Since the beginning. At least that's how I am seeing it, she don't seem to like Casey all that much and is always steering April from him.