Touché Turtle

* *Gun and Swordplay* (*Blazin' Trails Redux* season 2, episode 10, guest appearance)
* *Gloria Immortalis* (*Blazin' Trails Alter* episode 6)

### Last Appearance

*Happy Trails, Sheriff* ( BT Redux season 7, episode 32)

**Touché Turtle** is a diamondback terrapin who works as a hero-for-hire. Hailing from a modest family on the peaceful island of Saint Belle Isle, his life was changed during a trip to Europe, where he discovered modern-day heroes. Through numerous trials and errors, he would become the second most popular hero-for-hire in the world, stopping short only behind his mentor, Sebastian Lièvre. His fame has allowed him to carry on his business worldwide, and he and his sidekick and best friend, Dum-Dum, spend their time answering calls of distress and collecting bounties. On paper, he’s Ricochet Rabbit’s professional rival, but the two share a good rapport and friendship outside of their duels. Because of this, Touché will lend his assistance to the pair when needed, and extends this to his other friends, namely Punkin’ Puss, who would become another good friend of his.

Though slated to appear sporadically in the first iteration of *Blazin’ Trails*, Touché only made one appearance, which was in the original series finale, *So Long, Droopy*. He has a larger role in the reboot, *Blazin’ Trails Redux,* with a few roles in seasons 2 and later having greater focus in seasons 4 through 7.

## Personality

Carrying an innate talent for leadership and a drive for adventure, Touché doesn't shrink away from danger. His war cry, "Touché away!", can be heard from miles away, and it's a sign to any troublemaker that they will soon rue their decision. He lives by his mentor's motto of failure being the best teacher, and regardless of how many times he's knocked down, he always gets back up. His ingenuity and tenacity, seemingly limitless, are things to be admired. He takes his jobs very seriously and won’t stop for anyone until it’s finished. Unlike most heroes for hire of his day, he makes many of his services free of charge as most of the people he helps are peasants. As such, he’s considered to be one of the greatest heroes in modern history, a title he wears with much pride.

As much as he likes to believe he is, Touché isn’t perfect. He is considerably smarter than Dum-Dum, but can be incredibly shortsighted. In addition to his shortsightedness, he can be very demeaning and hypocritical, often criticizing people for doing the same mistake he made. Despite being known for disliking greed, cowardice, and violence, he’s been known to give in to any of the three when he’s either up against the wall or forgoes his calm manner. In his younger days, he was a wholly different person, as he originally did good deeds not out of altruism, but for the money. Blaming this on being destitute when he arrived in France, he later became greedy, and even lied to get a bigger paycheck. His arrogance was also amplified around this time, and he remarks to Ricochet that he was amazed people even liked him back then. His mentor, Sebastian, punished him for this by closing his business and giving away all of his money to charity, as well as forcing him to work alongside another struggling hero and see what his arrogance and greed got him. Though he initially hated this punishment, it led to a change of heart as he began to not only look out for others, but reflect on himself and realize that this wasn't the kind of person he wanted to be. This led to a change of heart, where his initial altruism and kind spirit truly shone through. To this day, however, greed and pride are still two main vices of his; although he markets himself as a “free hero”, he can never turn away from an amount of money, no matter how little it is, and he had a habit of trying to butter someone up for more money. His reputation as a hero has made him rather arrogant, and it’s said that he can give Ricochet a run for his money with his posturing. Praise inflates his ego, which can be easily bruised. At times, he gets so caught up in praising himself that he will put others down, something that Edith has had to call him out on. Though coolheaded in comparison to most people, Touché actually possesses a hot temper that, when unleashed, takes a while to go away, and when angry he’s quicker to violence. He developed what Edith calls "an impressive rap sheet" during his early days training at Sebastian’s school for picking and starting fights with a lot of students, as well as a few incidents where he caused property damage during missions, which almost got him expelled. Even now that he's not as insufferable as his past self, his arrogance and occasional hotheadedness, which can lead to him running off at the mouth, are two things that people have to get used to when dealing with him, as his friends can attest to.

Similar to Ricochet, Touché prefers giving others a second chance after disarming them, but he has no qualms of killing those who have killed innocents or have harmed his loved ones, believing that it’ll save people money by ending it then and there. While he does respect the law, he also makes his own judgement calls regarding people he’s assigned to capture, hence why he’s squarely in the neutral territory.

Despite his numerous faults, Touché truly is a good person at heart. While he’s very professional and reserved when on business, anyone who knows him personally describe him as courteous, friendly with those he meets, and coolheaded, possessing a dry wit. When one gets him to open up, he possesses an odd, outgoing personality, where he'll occasionally troll people for fun and even play pranks. Having come from destitution himself, he has compassion for people of lower status, and despises classism, deeming it to be one of the world’s greatest evils. The guilt of his actions when he was younger, and his innate desire to belong in the world, is what drives him to become the best hero for hire he can be, and he won’t tolerate failure from himself or others. In certain ways, he’s his own harshest critic, as he views Sebastian's and Nico's murders at the hands of the Black Knight to be his biggest failures and never wants anything like that to happen to any of his friends. He possesses a natural altruistic spirit, something that was exploited by his family and he attempted to bury when he first started doing hero work; after his reformation, he regained his love for helping people and doing good deeds for the sake of doing them. Just like Ricochet, he's a workaholic and he’ll never turn down a request for help, even on his day off. He often tries to hide his emotions from others, so they don’t worry about him, but he is known to dislike it when others do it for his sake, as he wants to lift their burdens. Though he often hides his true feelings behind posturing, anybody who knows him knows that he treasures his friends more than his own life, and in his weaker moments will express as such. Anybody who hurts his friends are immediately considered scum, and he won’t hesitate to kill them if provoked enough.

Thought he tends to keep a lot of things to himself and deflects from speaking about his greatest desires, Touché's greatest desire in life, as learned in Redux, is to be loved and to belong. Deprived of such love by his adoptive family, and robbed of the chance to have a good relationship with his real family by his grandmother, he originally sought out hero work to fill his life with something, as he originally felt "empty" and that he didn't belong anywhere. The thought of returning to a monotonous life where he floated through interest to interest terrifies him, which is part of what drives him to seek out things such as fame, love and glory. It is only later in life that Touché learns that true fulfillment can't be found in such things, but rather the connections he's made with the people in his life, namely his friends and his family. This lesson is what has him search out for his true family, and he even attempted to bring back his grandmother, Tabitha, from her mindset, but unfortunately to no avail. He also learns to think of himself at times, and to consider what he'd like to do aside from what others want him to do. This would eventually carry into his marriage with Edith, as he expresses that he wants to have a family. Near the end of the series, these lessons have resulted in a stark growth in Touché. Though still slightly arrogant and dealing with his own issues, his compassion and kindness is more apparent and he feels able to express himself more, and he now works as a hero-for-hire with a new vow: to bring light back to a dark world, and to refuse to remain in the shadows of his past.

Just like Ricochet, he's surprisingly good with kids, as evidenced when he connects with his young nephew, Teensy, who admires him greatly. He held off on having any for years due to both feeling as though children would slow him down and that he wasn't cut out to be a father. Seeing Edith's natural disposition towards children would help him come around to the idea of having a family, but after a few months of trying unsuccessfully, he learns that he is sterile, which at first crushes him. A talk with Ricochet would lead him to realize that he cared more about having a family than he realized, and his desire to give a child a loving home far outweighs his disappointment. As such, he and Edith turned to adoption, although the process was difficult due to both their positions and the Society's upper echelon deeming them both "unfit".

Touché is a heavy sleeper, even for a turtle. Sometimes, he’ll sleep nearly the whole day away, especially during the winter, where he tries to work in cold temperatures. Alarms don’t work very well for him, which is why Dum-Dum often must use loud instruments such as bugles or horns right next to him. He loves the works of Shakespeare and sometimes will quote lines from his plays. He has a love of medieval times, which was his main inspiration for becoming a hero for hire. Although he describes himself as a swashbuckling hero, he doesn’t get the attention of many women, much to his frustration. For all his talk of being professional, he is completely out of it when he’s drunk–and it’s not hard to get him drunk either, as one or two cups will plaster him. If you keep his épée away from him, he’s harmless, although he’ll start spouting a whole bunch of nonsense. Although he’s a turtle, hot dogs and chili are among his favorite foods, along with leafy salads, tangy or tart fruit like cherries or strawberries, and most French dishes; it’s said that his favorite is ratatouille.  He doesn’t possess a sweet tooth, but makes an exception for three things: dark chocolate, marshmallows and any dessert that has strawberries or cherries. According to Dum-Dum, he’s an incredibly picky eater with a refined palate. He insists on eating the finest brands of food for his meals, although he also likes comfort food.

Another trait of Touché's is his mispronunciation of certain words, namely the word "sword" (he always pronounced the "w" instead of leaving it silent) and the phrase “en garde”; he pronounced “en” with a short e, and “garde” with a long “e” instead of leaving it silent.

## History

### Early Life

Toulouse Turtle was born on August 10th, 1825, in a small little town named Westward Springs, Saint Belle Isle. He was named after the city in Paris, although he wasn’t fond of it due to being teased in school. He came from a modest, if slightly overprotective family, which consisted of his father Terrence and his mother Teresa, and their twenty children, of which he was the youngest. Though he was surrounded by family, his parents clearly favored his older siblings over him, and treated him as a mild annoyance, yet still took advantage of his altruism. His realization of this at a young age led to feelings of loneliness and insecurity of where he belonged in the world, and he mentions that he started wishing for a new family when he was about five years old. To deal with his loneliness, he turned to books, where he got lost in stories of swashbucklers, tragic romances, and grandiose heroes with a way with words. He also developed a love of European sword arts, although he could only share this interest with his uncle as his parents banned such talk from the house. Toulouse was fairly athletic, but his parents kept him from participating in sports, despite being the strongest terrapin in his class, for reasons that were never made clear to him. When he became a teenager, his parents’ overbearing and overprotectiveness clashed with his desire for freedom, and he sought to get away.

He’d get that chance when his uncle Cecil, who was living in France, offered to let him stay abroad for a few months to tour Europe. His parents, naturally, didn’t want him to leave the country, but Toulouse jumped at the opportunity, leaving days after the offer was presented.

### A Chance Meeting

Toulouse greatly enjoyed the tour with his uncle, but was dreading going home to his monotonous life and being under his parents’ thumb. On the last week of the tour, which ended in Versailles, France, he and his uncle attended a fencing tournament where two of the top duelists in the world were having a mock duel. One of the duelists, Sebastian Lièvre, quickly caught his attention, as he’d initially dismissed the hare due to his age. Awed by the elder hare’s supreme skills, Toulouse began studying the art of fencing as well as the new age of heroes. Unable to resist, he snuck away to meet his hero, only to meet his daughter, Edith Lièvre, who attended the same school. Though Sebastian was away on business, Edith invited him to his hero training school, telling him to fill out the application as soon as he got the chance, for spots were filling up quickly. Toulouse took her advice, and was accepted a week later. The moment he got the acceptance letter, he left for France despite his parents’ wishes. This would ultimately sever contact between himself and his parents for decades, as they declared they’d never speak to him again if he left. He wouldn’t return to Saint Belle Isle for three decades.

Though inspiration had fueled him, the crushing reality set in—Toulouse was dirt poor when he arrived and couldn’t attend for a few months due to working. Harebrain arranged to have him attend for free as well as live in the boardinghouse on the school grounds. He studied fencing tips under Harebrain, and got so good at all three variations of fencing that Harebrain changed his nickname from *petit tortue* (“little turtle”) to “Touché” because of his fencing prowess. Despite Harebrain’s insistence, Toulouse later had his name legally changed to Touché.

### Hero’s Trails and Trials

Although he quickly became one of the best students in the class, his nastier side began to show, namely when it came to money and recognition, and he was a notorious liar. To this end, he developed a few rivals, namely Jean-Claude LeBlanc, another star pupil who disliked him. Jean-Claude exposed Touché’s deeds to Harebrain. Students who were caught abusing the paid work system were immediately expelled, but Sebastian took a different approach. Instead of expelling him, he shut down his business, gave the proceeds away to other charities, and had him work alongside both him and another struggling hero until graduation, which was two years from then. Said struggling hero, Nicholas Fontaine, had left home and was facing hard times, but never allowed his circumstances to keep him from doing good deeds. The work was hard and thankless, and naturally used to receiving special treatment, Touché was upset, but changed his tune when he learned that several people resented a few of the more popular heroes for “throwing their wealth around” as one villager put it. He realized that Harebrain was trying to teach him that character, not money, makes one rich—and it reminded him of his earlier hatred for classism, seeing how it destroyed friendships and relationships up close. Humbled by this, he accepted his punishment and set to work, finding a new appreciation for his job and the people he was helping.

After graduation, Sebastian informed Touché that his punishment was over, and he was able to reopen his hero business. In the past, he would’ve opened it up right away, but he deliberately waited for about a week, giving the prices and services offered considerable thought. Humbled by the lessons he learned during his punishment, he set cheap prices in order to help ease the troubles of those he helped, with the highest priced item being literal giant slaying. When Sebastian learned of this, he expressed praise for Touché’s efforts, and rewarded him with one of his personal battle trophies: a white cavalier hat decorated with a red feather, taken from a duelist he had killed in the field. Amongst heroes, receiving a battle trophy was a high honor, and demonstrated that they had truly graduated into their own person. This hat, which Touché would have to have personally fitted, would be his most prized possession. Although he had much work after graduation, Touché traveled with Harebrain several times on his missions.

Shortly after his reformation, another person would make her way into his life—Sebastian’s daughter, Edith, whom he’d met when he first joined the school. Though he’d initially pursued other women in the school, with none of those relationships turning into something serious, he found himself drawn to the hardworking, vivacious Jill, whom he realized he was attracted to when she effortlessly dragged him away from yet another fight with Jean-Claude. He worked with her for about a year and a half after his graduation period, and the pair formed a good friendship and rapport. He didn’t act on his crush on her, however, due to fearing her father’s disapproval (Sebastian was known to chase off any potential suitors), the dynamics between them—though he was older than her, she was his senior in the hero business, and such relationships were frowned upon in the Society—and feeling that she wouldn’t like him due to his earlier behavior. Unbeknownst to him, Edith had liked him from the beginning, and liked him even more now that he’d changed his attitude. Also unbeknownst to him was the fact that her parents knew of their mutual crushes, and Sebastian had tried (and failed) to get them together by putting them on missions. He had been horrified when Edith was kidnapped and wanted to go on the search for her, but was stopped by the new Headmaster, who’d ousted his mentor; after Edith had returned, he and her best friend, Brian O’Rourke, became her closest confidants and allies, refusing to allow her to sink into despair.

The summer of 1848 would mark another turning point for Touché. A horrible menace known as the Black Knight was terrorizing the provinces of France, killing innocents, burning towns, and robbing people. When one of the heroes assigned to capture him, a daughter of Sebastian’s close friend, was murdered, the older jack personally decided to bring in the Black Knight, dead or alive. As Edith was unable to go, Touché accompanied his aging mentor. They were ambushed, and the terrapin was separated from his mentor in the attack. He would later find him being brutally attacked by the Black Knight, and in a fit of rage, Touché attacked him, but was overpowered. Sebastian, however, defended him with his last dying breath, dealing a grave wound to the Black Knight in exchange, and shoving him into a ravine with his last bit of strength. The elder jack had been mortally wounded in the fight, and died in Touché’s arms, his last words being an encouragement to Touché. The terrapin had the duty of bringing the fallen jack’s body home amidst his own grief.

Sebastian’s death was a major loss for both the hero world and those who knew him personally. Edith was so distraught that she considered quitting the hero business, and Sebastian’s widow, Marguerite, had to be restrained from jumping into the grave with her husband. For Touché, his mentor’s death was—and to him, still is—the greatest failure of his career, as he felt that if he had been more alert, the jack would have survived. The day after Sebastian’s funeral, Touché was formally expelled from the World Heroes’ Society for “failure to uphold his duty to protect all, including the carriers of justice” by the headmaster, who personally attacked him and believed that he was a major suspect in the jack’s death. Numb with depression, Touché left without fuss, despite Edith and Brian pleading on his behalf. He wouldn’t leave alone, however, for Nicholas Fontaine, who’d become like a son to him, had enough of the headmaster’s tyrannical rule and left along with him. Though the loss of Sebastian would haunt him for the rest of his life, he would be prevented from falling into the depths of despair by Nicholas. He would cut contact with the Society for two years, with his last call being to Edith, apologizing for not protecting her father—and almost confessing his love for her, but he ultimately held back.

Two years after that, the Black Knight would rear his ugly head again—this time, in Nicholas’ hometown, a small village north of the capital. Nicholas and Touché, who had been there to stop an unlawful killing in town, were taken aback by the ambush, but nevertheless leapt into action. Touché made short work of the rebels they’d been sent to stop, but realized that he’d been separated from Nicholas. He rushed into the field, where he found the young man dueling with the Black Knight, who’d attempted to kill his father. Touché joined his charge in the fight, but the Black Knight revealed another awful trick up his sleeve: his superheated armor, which he used to burn the terrapin’s underbelly in the fight. Taking advantage of Nicholas’ concern for his leader, the Black Knight impaled him through the chest, killing him almost instantly as he fell into his father’s arms. Horrified, and driven by memories of his own mentor’s death, Touché forced himself to stand, and told the Black Knight that he’d better kill him in one hit, because he was going to make him rue that decision. He made good on his word: the Black Knight was unable to get one hit on him, and Touché, having gotten stronger since their last fight and fueled by righteous anger, dispatched of him in minutes, though he was burned a few times in the process. He killed the Black Knight by stabbing him in the throat with his épée, finally putting an end to the carnage and avenging his mentor and assistant. Unmasking the Black Knight revealed that it was his former rival, Jean-Claude, who’d been expelled before Sebastian’s death for killing a fellow hero on the field and claiming it as self-defense. It was a hollow victory for Touché, for now they had numerous people to bury, including his assistant, whom he viewed like a son.

Shortly after the funeral, he decided to bring Jean-Claude back to the Heroes’ Society, despite his exile, in order to know what to do with him. As expected, he was arrested and nearly beaten for his trouble, only to be stopped by Edith, who saw him arrive with the cat’s body. He later learned what had happened in his absence: after his exile, Edith launched an investigation that uncovered an elaborate scheme to not only rid the Society of the Lièvre family, but to also sow seeds of chaos that would help the headmaster gain recognition. Said headmaster, who was a member of a murderous cult known as the Kingslayers, had assisted the Black Knight with the weapons and knowledge needed to kill the heroes sent to bring him in. The Headmaster and his allies had been ousted and sentenced to death, and Edith had taken his place, bringing about much needed reform in the Society. Though the old rules stated that any exiles who interfered in a manhunt were to be executed, Edith reinstated Touché into the Society, and he was rewarded handsomely for it, including receiving a castle from one of the richest heroes in the world, who’d lost his son to Jean-Claude. Touché could hardly enjoy it because of the memories of Sebastian’s and Nico’s deaths, and the memories would send him into a spiral of depression that caused him to close his business for a year.

At the end of that year, a new person would make his way into his life. Touché, who had lost his first charge in the field, was in a spiral of depression when he met an Old English sheepdog being attacked by some irate villagers. Initially, Touché saved his life without thinking, and went on his way without so much as a self-aggrandizing word, as he'd made up his mind that day to hang his hat and retire from the hero business. Dum-Dum, however, had been so grateful that he tracked him down to his castle in order to personally thank him. This resulted in a call to the police, and later Touché had to bail the dog out of jail after learning he’d been broke. Dum-Dum begged him to be his assistant, and though he had his initial doubts, he decided to out of pity, figuring the sheepdog would quit after a few days. Indeed, their partnership started out rough, with the sheepdog's apparent lack of skill and his cowardice putting a damper on many of his missions. He would change his tune, however, when Dum-Dum, who'd witnessed a cat punch him through a wall, singlehandedly beat him and then tossed him into jail. Touché figured that it wouldn't be so bad to keep Dum-Dum around, as his presence had filled him with some much needed laughter, and it kept him from dealing with the horrible thoughts that had plagued him for three years. Touché and Dum-Dum would become inseparable friends for the rest of their lives.

## Powers & Abilities

Touché can perform all three forms of fencing: épée, standard fencing, and sabre. Out of all three, his specialty and preferred fighting style is épée due to the free range he has in attacking his opponents, although fencing is a close second because of how “dashing” it makes him look. Despite his size, Touché is an accomplished fencer and can hold his own against sword-wielding opponents, and has been known to overpower people who are three times his size. His trusty dented épée (which he normally shortens to "trusty sword") is his main weapon of choice when he's fighting, though he's been known to use other weapons such as broadswords on occasion. He’s also crafty and uses his wits to outsmart his enemies, as well as other items such as anvils, fire hoses or bug spray if the situation calls for it. It's generally agreed that his skills surpass that of his mentor, Harebrain Hare, who was one of the top duelists in the world and had not only fought the Black Knight on three occasions before his untimely death, but had also challenged Ricochet I—a fight that resulted in his defeat, but nevertheless cemented respect from the older buck.

Touché is one of the few characters in the *Blazin' Trails* series who can match Ricochet in terms of both speed and prowess in battle, a feat that has yet to be surpassed. Though his shell allows him to tank blows easier than Ricochet, he suffers from the same blight as the rabbit, which is that his small size makes it easy to throw him around. His body is also incredibly soft, and cuts/deep wounds of any kind can actually put him out of commission for a while. Like most of the "animal folk", however, he heals fast, which means his time in retirement won't last. His underbelly, though tough, is his most vulnerable spot, as it can only take so much damage before it gives way all together. Knocking him on his back makes him the most vulnerable, as he won't be able to get up on his own afterwards, hence why he often relies on an offensive strategy. Ricochet has used this fact to his advantage during their duels, much to Touché's dismay.

According to Dum-Dum, his shell is “roomier” than most turtles, which is why he can store certain items, including his own sword if necessary, and it’s well insulated, able to withstand a lightning strike. Touché also stores a telephone in his shell to take calls anywhere in the world. His phone would ring at inopportune times, and Touché would always politely excuse himself, duck into his shell and then take the call regardless of where he was at the time.

## Relationships

### Dum-Dum

"*Thanks, Dum-Dum. I don’t know what I’d do without you.*"

―Touché to Dum-Dum, Blazin’ Trails Redux, season 2 episode 10

Similar to his rival, Touché’s close friendship with Dum-Dum is one of his most important ones, although it got off to a rocky start.

The terrapin, who had lost his first charge in the field, was in a spiral of depression when he met the sheepdog. Initially, he saved his life without thinking, and had been planning on retiring afterwards. Dum-Dum, however, had been so grateful that he tracked him down to his castle in order to personally thank him. This resulted in a call to the police, and later Touché had to bail the dog out of jail after learning he’d been broke. Dum-Dum begged him to be his assistant, and though he had his initial doubts, he decided to out of pity, figuring the sheepdog would quit. Nearly twelve years later, the pair became inseparable, with Touché outright referring to Dum-Dum as his brother, and Dum-Dum calling him the same. Dum-Dum practically worships the ground he walks on, and while the terrapin isn't against the hero-worship, he truly does appreciate and value the sheepdog's presence in his life, as he'd appeared during the lowest point of his life.

Their temperaments, though they compliment each other well, can lead to both misunderstandings and arguments. Touché's tendency to push his emotions to the side did make things difficult, especially in regards to the Black Knight case. However, the moment he recognizes that he hurt Dum-Dum, he does everything he can to reconcile with the sheepdog. He is very protective of Dum-Dum, and won't hesitate to kill anybody who hurts him.

### Edith Lièvre

"*My own brand of trouble is too much to handle.*

*"And yet, I'm still here to handle it, aren't I? You haven't run me off yet, Touché. And you're not ever going to.*"

―Edith and Touché, *Blazin’ Trails Redux* season 4, episode 19, *Baptism By Fire*

Touché's relationship with Edith Lièvre, his senior in the hero business nd old companion, is best described as a rollercoaster. They met when Touché, then named Toulouse, was desperate to meet Sebastian and get into her father's school. She'd found him adorable, and handed him a pamphlet for her father's school, telling him to sign up for it. She would meet him again about a month later, when she drove off some of her fellow peers from throwing rocks at him. When she learned that he was destitute, she took him back to the office, where Sebastian took pity on him and allowed him to take refuge in the school's boardinghouse. Their relationship is truly an "opposites attract" one similar to Droop-a-Long and Denise: though he’d initially pursued other women in the school, with none of those relationships turning into something serious, he found himself drawn to the hardworking, vivacious Jill, whom he realized he was attracted to when she effortlessly dragged him away from yet another fight with Jean-Claude. And while he’d had his own problems in the beginning—such as lying and even fighting with Jean-Claude—Edith couldn’t deny her initial attraction to him, which she described to Melissa as being "so incredibly unexpected", as the terrapin was the opposite of the men she liked. Their attraction to each other doubled when his personality and outlook changed after his punishment from Sebastian. Though both had solo careers, towards the end of graduation, they ended up sharing a lot of missions together and even practiced together at her house (albeit with some supervision).

Although the two would form a good friendship and rapport, Touché didn't say anything about his feelings for her out of fear of her father's disapproval (as he had a habit of personally chasing off any suitors who came around her) and the dynamics between them: although Touché was older than her, her being his senior in the hero business and the daughter of the most popular heroes-for-hire practically made her off limits, and he felt that his earlier behavior would keep her at bay. Already known for being a troublemaker, he kept his feelings to himself, not wanting to stir the pot. Not only were his fears about her liking him unfounded, but everybody knew that they liked each other, and her father Sebastian had tried in his own way to get them together for months. Sebastian's death and Touché's subsequent expulsion would sever their contact, and before leaving for two years, he'd thought of confessing his love for her, but decided to not break her heart even further. When Touché eventually killed the Black Knight two years later, she personally had him reinstated, stating that "certain people missed you" in her welcoming speech. Through this, things picked up from where they left off, although their relationship was filled with a bit more flirting now.

Ricochet Rabbit, Touché's rival, would be responsible for getting their relationship off the ground. The buck had noticed the two's affection for each other, and through some detective work, learned that they'd harbored feelings for each other for years, but never acted on it due to their concerns over the standards put in place. Ricochet, in his usual fashion, told them to get a move on: to Touché, he smacked him upside the head and told him to shoot his shot, and to Edith, he told her that if there's anything he's noticed about the terrapin, it's that occasionally, someone else will have to take the lead in regards to his feelings. When Touché still hesitated, Ricochet decided to make a ploy where it appeared that he was flirting with Edith, which triggered a jealous reaction in Touché and finally got him to admit everything. Although embarrassed by the situation, both were ultimately grateful to Ricochet's rather unorthodox solution, and that night, they went out on their first official date. They'd date for about a year before Touché ultimately popped the question, albeit in an unorthodox manner himself.

The pair share a deep trust and respect for each other, and are so in tune that they don't have to ask what the other is thinking. While he knows that she's low maintenance and doesn't need a lot to be happy, he enjoys showering her with gifts and flowers, and states that he's old school in the fact that he gets nothing but the best for her. While they know they can take care of themselves, both of them tend to worry for the other due to their shared tendencies to overwork; Edith has to force Touché to take a day off, and Touché will schedule "interventions" to prevent her from working longer than 24 hours. Edith is one of the few people that Touché outright fears, as her temper, when finally unleashed, is a sight to behold. Though she's used to his arrogance and posturing, she won't hesitate to call him out on it if he goes too far, as evidenced when Touché snapped at Dum-Dum and later at Punkin' Puss, telling him that just because he's the world's greatest hero doesn't mean he gets to be the world's biggest jerk. When he tells her that his own brand of trouble is hard to handle, Edith reminds him that she's been in his life long enough to handle it, and that she'd never leave him, not unless he did something truly heinous.

Edith's personal nickname for him is "Tooshy", although when they were classmates, she also used to call him as her father's (French for "little turtle"), which was her father's nickname for him and one that he still gets a little flustered by. He in turn calls her Edy, although later he is allowed to call her Bénie, her father's old nickname for her, at her request.

### Ricochet Rabbit

"*Heh. You're not slowing down on me, are you?"*

*"You wish I was. Don't get soft on me now, Tooshy!*"

―Touché and Ricochet bantering during a duel, *Blazin' Trails Redux* season 3, episode 11, *Return of the Chevalier*

Touché shares a professional rivalry and a good friendship with Ricochet Rabbit, the fastest sheriff in the West who resides in Texas. As with all heroes, urban tales have formed on how the two formed their rivalry. It actually started when Ricochet, who read about Touché’s capture of a renegade criminal, issued a challenge to the terrapin, stating that while the turtle was fast, “us Ricochets are faster an’ never quit!” Touché answered his challenge with one of his own, daring the sheriff to test his bullets against his sword. The resulting duel revealed that both of them were not only well matched, but the first to actually give each other a challenge. Surprised at this, their long duel came to a truce, where Ricochet decided that whenever they crossed paths, they’d hold a mock duel to test each other’s skills, which Touché agreed to. Though this was meant to be strictly professional, the two would eventually form a good rapport through these duels, and
often hang out after their mock duels are over. When their egos are brought into play, however, their duels are known to last for hours, with Edith and occasionally Droop-a-Long and Dum-Dum having to break it up. They greatly enjoy their mock duels, however, with Ricochet noting that he takes pride in being the first to give the great Touché Turtle a challenge, and Touché noting that it's fun to have an opponent full of surprises who keeps him on his toes.

Rivalry aside, the two would eventually form a good friendship, which, similar to their respective friendships with Droop-a-Long and Dum-Dum, is based on commonalities in spite of their temperaments. Edith likened their friendship to that of a brotherly one, with Ricochet being the younger to Touché’s older; occasionally, they will talk trash and push each other’s buttons, but if anything happened to the other, they make it their personal mission to help each other out. The two also envy a few things about each other. Though he'd never admit it to his face, Ricochet does admire Touché's tenacity, ingenuity, and determination, especially in regards to the hardships the terrapin faced in his life (the deaths of his mentor, first sidekick, and later learning that only he and his younger sister, Therese, survived Tabitha's onslaught), and somewhat envies the turtle’s iron will, while Touché envies Ricochet’s ability to express his emotions and (occasionally) his lack of a filter when it comes to what he’s thinking. Similar to Punkin' Puss, Touché often goes to Ricochet for advice, appreciating Ricochet's brutal honesty when it comes to certain subjects, especially romance; through Ricochet, he’d also learn to express himself more, which would lead to him sharing not only his outgoing side around his friends, but his deeper fears and emotions, especially in regards to feeling that he doesn’t belong. Touché would have Ricochet to thank for him and Edith eventually getting together, as the buck (who'd noticed their flirting) literally smacked him upside the head and told him to shoot his shot.

Similar to Ricochet learning that his family did have some connection to Droop-a-Long's, the two would learn that their rivalry was fated from the beginning. In *Duel Control*, Touché and Ricochet learned that the terrapin’s mentor, Sebastian Lièvre, had met and held a 2-on-1 duel with Ricochet Rabbit’s forebears—Ricochet I and Ricochet II—thirty years prior to their meeting (timeline-wise, these duels occurred during the events of the *Terror of the Rio Grande* miniseries). Though he’d managed to defeat Rico, Sebastian was handed his first sound defeat by Buster, whose determination and skill matched the hare’s own. Sebastian greatly enjoyed the duel, and had wanted to have another match with the two, but the duel never happened due to Sebastian’s murder, and Buster (and later Rico) dying several years later. In the spirit of their forebears, Touché and Ricochet decide to hold a similar duel, with Ricochet and Roxanne against Touché.

Ricochet often calls him Toosh, like Dum-Dum does, but his personal nickname for him is “Tooshy”, which he started calling him after hearing Edith nickname him such after one of their duels. It was first used to tease him, since the turtle has a notorious shy side, but then used as a term of endearment as their rivalry and friendship progresses. Touché wasn’t fond of it at first, but resigned himself to it, knowing that the rabbit only nicknames people he considers close to him. Touché, meanwhile, personally nicknames him Ric, but is also known to call him “Ricky” on occasion.

## Trivia

* Similar to Ricochet, Touché Turtle underwent many changes from his cartoon portrayal:
	+ In the original cartoon, Touché had the same problem as Ricochet: he was a pretty bland character with “powers as the plot demands” depending on the episode, and in one episode, he states that his only weakness was landing on his back (though this one is attributed to actual biology, as turtles can die when left on their backs for too long because it puts them at risk for dehydration). In For Love and Glory and Blazin’ Trails, iheartgod175 gave Touché more flaws to his character as well as a few other physical weaknesses: while he can tank hits a bit better than Ricochet, it’s still easy to knock him down.
	+ Similar to Quick Draw, Touché's portrayal, character and parts of his backstory are lifted from iheartgod175's For Love and Glory series, where he's the main protagonist. However, certain aspects of his character were changed. In BT Redux, Touché spent around the same time training under Harebrain, but avenged his mentor faster than he did in the original story. He also gets married sooner in the BT universe than in the For Love and Glory universe (in the latter, this does happen, but not until several sequels into the series).
	+ A lot of his mannerisms from the cartoon (ie. his malpropisms, keeping a phone in his shell and his speediness) were kept in, to make him more of an oddball in contrast to Ricochet Rabbit.
	+ Though not outright referred to as a knight due to not swearing fealty to a lord or king, Touché’s often referred to as a modern day knight because of his fighting style—and in the cartoons, he and Dum-Dum were often in medieval time periods. Within BT and FLaG proper, Touché is stated to have a deep interest in medieval knights and European sword arts, which was what formed his heroic persona.
	+ In the cartoon, he’s distinctly American. Both Blazin’ Trails and For Love and Glory feature him with some French ancestry in his family, with his original name, Toulouse, being a reference to The Aristocats. Both series features him holding dual citizenship in both France and America.
	+ Touché’s characterization is meant to be a counterpart to Ricochet Rabbit’s characterization in this series, showing that despite their temperaments, they actually have way more in common than they initially thought. Between the two, however, Touché does have an odd, outgoing personality, as well as an easily flustered side, which the rabbit likes to exploit.
	+ Similar to Ricochet’s relationship with Droop-a-Long, Touché’s relationship with Dum-Dum changed a lot. While in the cartoon, they were a consistent buddy pair, both Blazin’ Trails and For Love and Glory feature Touché and Dum-Dum having a close, brotherly bond in a near parallel to Ricochet and Droop-a-Long.
	+ In Hanna-Barbera canon proper, Ricochet and Touché were originally enemies first—Ricochet Rabbit started as a main antagonist, and Touché had a tough time facing off against in him in his debut episode. Due to the author’s desire to see them interact, she drafted the idea that the two would be rivals. Early drafts for Touché’s inclusion in *Blazin’ Trails* were meant to be antagonistic for this reason, but this was changed in Redux, where the two are professional rivals who have great rapport with each other. As they're on even footing in both speed and battle prowess, their duels usually end in a tie, and they always swear to beat the other the next time they meet. He greatly enjoys his mock battles/duels with Ricochet, claiming that having an opponent full of surprises keeps him on his toes, and he takes pride in being one of the few people who can give Ricochet Rabbit a challenge.

* According to the author, Touché’s role in the series was the hardest to nail down out of the guest stars, due to the stark differences between series. She cites Vulaan Kulaas for the inspiration, as talk about Punkin’ Puss and Susie’s relationship gave her the idea she needed to tie the stories together. She decided to rectify this by having him work alongside Punkin’ Puss during the case with Red Scorpion’s Arkansas branch. Following the events of season 4’s finale, Touché takes a larger role in seasons 5 and 6 where he returns to Saint Belle Isle in order to find out the history of his own heritage and family.
* Touché Turtle is of iheartgod175’s favorite Hanna-Barbera characters and cartoon heroes (alongside characters such as Static Shock, Popeye and Spider Man). She recalls that she used to enjoy watching the cartoons when she was younger. Although Huckleberry Hound is her favorite, she still has a soft spot for the character.
	+ iheartgod175 also explained in a blog post that while she enjoyed writing Touché, it was incredibly difficult in the beginning as she was constantly comparing his character to Ricochet's in Blazin' Trails, which made it hard to really "nail" his voice. Though For Love and Glory is one of her favorite series, its lack of readership briefly caused her to doubt if the story was a good idea. The idea to add more fantasy elements in the story came about, and with it, more ideas for development for both Touché and Dum-Dum. At this point, she feels as though she's finally getting a hold of his character.
* Touché's sterility was a plot point introduced by Vulaan Kulaas, who came up with the idea when iheartgod175 was struggling to come up with more ways to develop his character. It would be touched on in seasons 6 & 7 of Redux, as well as a short story that the author is currently writing, titled Trade Secrets, which features Ricochet.
* He is one of two characters who have lost many of their siblings, with the second being his love interest, Edith Lièvre. The two characters' grief over this was expanded upon in season 5's special.
* Amongst their friends circle, Touché is often the one who keeps things on an even keel, especially when everyone’s personalities leads to all sorts of shenanigans. He is known to get just as crazy, however.
* He’s somewhat handy with a rifle, but not nearly as good as his friends or their wives. Nadia, Punkin’s daughter, loves to help him out in this area, as the last time Touche asked Punkin’, the older cat went straight after Mushmouse.
* Touché is the oldest of the core Hanna-Barbera cast in the series, with Huck trailing behind.
* He and Quick Draw share a love of swashbuckling heroes and romantic ballads featuring them, which is reflected in his reading choices.
* Though ambidextrous, Touché’s dominant hand is his left.
* Sometimes, he speaks in Shakespearean English when he’s feeling either arrogant or romantic.