metalogs | [Openish] Letting the Days Go By

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[Openish] Letting the Days Go By

Who: Donnie/Othello von Ryan

purplexing and open!
What: Oh, you know.
When: Throughout the month
Where: Around Central
Content Warnings: N/A
Notes: Will match tag format!

I. Rest for the Wicked
It certainly isn't the sort of mission he's expecting, and he's a bit disappointed at his tasks, mundane jobs ranging from helping out the staff to doing repairs (okay, he doesn't mind those so much). Maybe you might run into him while he's off on an errand of some kind. And where exactly, might Donnie- or rather Othello von Ryan, be operating? Why, none other than a Society-endorsed group home for 'Reforming Super-Villains'.

Since technically he's enrolled as Othello through school, Donnie keeps to the part, even though he has a feeling certain people are well aware that he's not a human who might look like a male version of April O'Neil from another universe with a penchant for purple. But these people don't need to know that.

Having to sit and listen to old villains talk about 'the good old days' is a toss-up depending on who he's stuck listening to, but either way, once he's got a break or finished up for the day, all he wants is to relax with a cup of coffee. Thankfully there's a pretty good coffee shop down the street, and it's where Donnie slips off and drops his holo-disguise, slumping way down into a seat once he's got his drink and a snack.

II. Hood-n-Seek (Open to Red Hood(s) and potentially a blue turtle)
It's probably inevitable that Donnie decides to go seeking out Red Hood on his own after his conversation with Leo. No need to complicate things, right?

He slips out at night, not an unusual habit, even here in this world. Going about at night is just natural, even if Donnie doesn't do it a whole lot, especially now that he's got school to juggle, but this evening isn't for raiding junkyards or rooftop patrols. Since he did tell Leo he'd try to keep out of sight, he's using it as a good excuse to keep his ninja skills sharp, sticking to the shadows, blending in where he can. He even forgoes using his favored mode of transportation while he slinks around Backbreakers territory. …what was it with people and names like that anyway?

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[Donnie drops in after him once the cover's back in position. He eyes Leo with a tight frown before letting out a breath.]

You have the gall to ask? What, you don't think you deserve it?

[He doesn't even wait for a response, moving to brush past Leo to start down the sewer tunnel.]

[Leo bristles a little at that, hurrying again to keep up.]

Uh, no, I don't think I deserve it. [He tosses up his hands.] Sheesh, you try to make sure a guy's okay and he jumps down your throat about it.

[Donnie abruptly rounds on him then.]

Why now of all times, huh? You never tailed me any of the other nights I've been out. Or have you? Because I told you I messed up once and you weren't there? That's not on you, Leo. Okay? Maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

I came after you because your stupid tracker told me you had gone into gang territory!

[He throws up his hands.]

But yeah, sure! Why not! Just don't tell me about it! Leo doesn't need to know about anything - not your new powers, not you getting caught, just go start a gang war without me, fine!

[His eyes widen at that before his brows angle down sharply. Using his own tech against him, the nerve!]

Oh yeah, because that's what I'm doing, starting gang wars! Because you don't trust me!

[He brings his hands up frustratedly before expelling a sigh and dropping them as he turns again.]

[Leo gives his own frustrated sigh, glaring at Donnie's back. Boy, do some of these words feel familiar...]

I trust you. [He does. He thinks he does.] I just... don't trust other people. These aren't normal guys, Dee - Red Hood's a meta, and I don't even know what all his powers are.

[He can summon weapons from hammerspace, that's all Leo's seen. He's not taking it for granted that that's all.]

So you just don't think I can take care of myself.

[Donnie starts walking again.]

This world isn't normal. We're not even normal by our own standards anymore.

[Leo follows behind, not bothering to get in step this time.]

This isn't about whether or not I think you can take care of yourself. My only job is to get you back home in one piece, and I'm gonna do it.

[And then it won't matter how normal or not normal the world is.]

No one said that was your job, Leo. And last I checked, I was going to get you home.

[He hasn't forgotten his brother's predicament and it's hard not to be concerned about the potential that either of them could just up and vanish from here without any given notice. The thought terrifies him, of Leo being thrown back into that awful dimension with only that thing...

...and he hasn't made any progress. None. Some problem-solver he was.

His shoulders sag as he folds his arms, partially against the chill, mostly at the discomfort of fighting with his brother. They'd never really made up since that other argument, and as mad as he is at Leo, he's just as mad at himself for making his brother worry about him.]

That's the thing, though, I was told this was my job. And the last time I didn't do it-

[Leo stops himself short, like going any further will speak something terrible into existence. He breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth.]

...I'm not trying to doubt you, I'm just trying to take this seriously.

[Donnie hunches up at that.]

But that still means there's some doubt. You wouldn't have gone if you hadn't. I'm taking things seriously too. But all you seem to hear and remember are when things went wrong and you weren't there. I'm not blaming you for that, so if you're blaming yourself, then stop.

[Just stopping a feeling is kind of hard to do. But the other thing Leo had to learn that day was how to listen to his team. So now he bites back what he wants to say and listens.

Donnie feels like Leo doubts him. And... maybe he's right. Maybe Leo does doubt him. Not in a direct way, but every time he loses track of Donnie, all he can see is Donnie buried under all that rubble in the museum, or the images his mind conjures up of Donnie being caught by a mob boss who hates metas...

His battleshell smashed to bits by a Krang tentacle, his body hurled toward the ground hundreds of feet below...

It's hard not to think that if he's not there, then no one is going to protect Donnie from all of that. It's a feeling that extends to Mikey and Raph and April too, but they aren't here, so Donnie gets the full brunt of Leo's new worrywort tendencies.

But if Donnie's going to stop telling him anything because of it, it's backfiring on Leo. And... well, he remembers when he felt like none of them trusted him. It sucked. He doesn't want to do that to Donnie.

He takes another deep breath and lets it out before he says anything else.]

...I don't know if just stopping is in the cards.

[He might as well be honest about that.]

But... yeah. I should have given you a chance. That's my bad.

[Even if it isn't a promise, it's still something. That Leo's actually acknowledging what he's saying is some kind of progress. Donnie stops walking, half turning to look at Leo.]

You know...I keep wondering, if my being here changes anything for events back home. If there's another timeline that splits from whichever one you're from, except I'm not in it. I'm not there for you guys. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope in this instance I am, but it doesn't keep me from wondering sometimes.

[He inhales slowly, hesitating a moment.]

It's the same, thinking about when you were here those few months alone, without us, and whatever you might have gone through. I don't know everything of what all happened, what bad things might have or could have happened, and even if I did, I couldn't have done anything about it because I wasn't there and didn't know, but the thoughts still come up.

So. I know how it is. I... I guess it's not really fair to expect you to just be able to drop it.

[He rubs at his arm, glancing at the ground.]

The only thing that keeps me from cracking is knowing that my brothers don't give up so easily. Knowing that you're still here. Maybe I take that for granted sometimes.

Ever since the whole bomb incident, it's like I have to be doubly careful about anything and I'm paranoid every time I go into a building bigger than our apartment complex, because I don't want to ever have that happen again. I don't want to put you through that again either.

...but then when I mentioned something went wrong during our trip, that's all you focused on, and... it's not like I wanted things to go that way or hadn't admitted it, and it's not something I can just fix, as much as I want to. The only way I figured I could was to do things right this time. But you didn't even want to let me try.

[Even though Leo has also wondered about different timelines, it still hurts to think that this Donnie might end up in a different time branch from him. He'll love and protect any Donnie in any timeline, of course, but to lose the brother he had with him here... It just hurts to think about.

(Assuming he can even get back.)

Hearing how paranoid Donnie has been hurts, too. He knew about the nightmares, knew Donnie had anxiety as he was healing from his concussion, but to know the fear hasn't gone away is another thorn in Leo's heart.

Which is maybe why he's being so overprotective. Letting all those thorns sink in and hold him hostage.]

...I wasn't trying to... to take your chance away from you. I mean, I wasn't even thinking about it like that. I'm not mad about what happened in the past, or, well, not mad at you. I don't need you to fix it, I just need you to be alright. I... needed to be sure.

And... [He scuffs his foot on the concrete. This is embarrassing to admit, but maybe he owes it to Donnie now.] ...maybe I... felt a little jealous, too. If you could get something out of that guy that I couldn't... [He grimaces.] Well, then you kinda don't need me as the face-man anymore, right?

[Leo has always needed his brothers; he wants to be needed by them just as much.]

[Donnie supposes he can't be mad or annoyed that Leo wasn't even considering things the same way he had been. Of course Leo was thinking in terms of his safety, thinking in ways that would preserve whatever sense of security they had. Donnie just tended to think about all the things in between, letting gut sense get swallowed up by logic where things are easier to keep track of, not ignoring the past but actively wanting to improve things for the future.

He sighs, a weak smile working its way on his face as Leo continues with his admission, snorting lightly. Wow, if that didn't sound familiar...]

You know... I...kinda felt the same way, back before I was able to use any mystic abilities? But you and Raph and Mikey... You were able to use magic with your weapons without any sort of instruction and I, I just couldn't understand any of it.

[Come to think about it, he'd never really admitted this to anyone but April. Had his brothers even realized?]

The more magic we were exposed to, the more I started to wonder if I really had anything worthwhile to bring to the plate. I thought you guys wouldn't need me anymore if magic could do everything tech could do, but better.

[Oh. Well, that definitely explains some things. Why Donnie is so intent on proving he can do it right now, why he didn’t want to tell Leo about his new powers until he had a handle on them.

Sheesh… They really are similar.]

Ah, Dee… I know we- well, I rag on your tech sometimes, but it’s just giving you a hard time, you know?

[Maybe he doesn’t know. Man…]

You’re so smart, and good at fighting, and great at plans when you aren’t defaulting to wanton destruction. And, ya know, you’re Donnie. Even if we were all master wizards we’d still need you.

[They’re Donnie’s dum-dums, of course they need him.]

[What are brothers for if not to give each other a hard time? Donnie knows, and he's learned to realize where his efforts have been appreciated, even though the sentiment was hardly voiced. But sometimes that overthink starts worrying itself down all the little back-paths he'd usually be able to ignore.]

Hey, wanton destruction is a plan.

[Maybe not one of his better ones. It hadn't particularly gone so well when he'd tried to take down a god, anyway.

He sighs, but it's not out of exasperation. His smile is a tired one, all this emotional stuff always wears him out, but he's relieved they've moved out of the angry stage. It never feels good being mad at any of his brothers for long.]

You're hardly replaced too, you know. So maybe in this one particular instance I was able to get answers out of someone you couldn't, but...you were acting because of what happened to Huvrye. Maybe if I'd known the details, I would've been a little warier too, but when you're in a fight where everything seems to want to kill you, I guess you're more inclined to be friendlier with people on the same general side.

[He shrugs.]

That's...not an excuse though. I guess part of me was kind of glad I was able to have a leg up on you, but then I was reminded about just what sort of people I was potentially going to be dealing with. At first I was willing to ignore it, but... I don't want you getting hurt because I made some stupid mistake.

Edited 2023-12-15 18:00 (UTC)

[Leo's glad they're past being angry, too - he doesn't like being mad. He doesn't like negative emotions in general, but mad has got to be his least favorite, at least when it's directed at his brothers.

He listens to Donnie's explanation, and he thinks he gets it. And really, he's... not entirely sure Red Hood is all bad. He saw him taking care of that kid that one time, after all. Leo still doesn't think he should be trusted, but he's probably not an active threat. At least as long as they aren't trying to get on his radar.]

Well, I didn't hear all of it... but from what I did hear, you did a good job. [He offers Donnie a more real smile at that. He can admit when his brothers have done well - if he's actually going to be a leader then he needs to be sure to do that.] You got information without giving too much away, and you knew when it was better to call it. I'm impressed.

[He grimaces.] Kinda embarrassing that we were fighting right in front of the guy, though... Then again... [He rubs his chin.] If he thinks we aren't aligned with each other, that may not be such a bad thing. Heck, now that I'm alliance and you're society, it's probably fine if people we don't know think we have some kind of bitter brotherly rivalry going on.

[This plan falls apart since Jason does actually know them in a normal context, of course, but Leo doesn't know that.]

[It's hardly adult approval, but getting a 'good job' from his brother sits in a nice category not too far from it, especially when it comes unexpected. Donnie's own smile reflects Leo's own, then.]

I was hardly going to give him all my info for free. I think the trade-off was fair enough for what he offered, at least. Better than nothing.

[He laughs a little then, breaking up whatever remained of residual tension.]

True. I don't know how hard they draw lines between guilds but hey, maybe it could be fun to play off of.

You got some addresses out of it. That's better than we had before.

[Interesting that the Red Hood didn't know anything about the information Donnie had found. Either they really don't want it anymore, or the bosses are keeping their secrets close to the chest. Either way, it's something.]

We could do something big and flashy. Right out of a Lou Jitsu movie.

[With explosions and a sick backing track. ...Actually, maybe he should be worrying about potential property destruction.

...Eh, well, it's probably fine.]

Indeed. Unsure whether they'll prove fruitful but they're still something to look into. Once I pull up more info about the locations we can figure it out from there.

[Donnie's aware this could all possibly be a pointless exercise, but at the same time, you didn't put such info in a lockbox at a bank without good reason. So really, it depends on the relationship between mother and daughter, as far as he can figure. Not something easily measured, especially given how elusive Red Hood made the D'Amico higher-ups sound.

Things to think about, but at least Donnie's willing to include Leo in whatever steps they take next. That can wait for now. There's more entertaining suggestions here and maybe they're getting a little sidetracked, but Leo's proposal sounds Fun.]

Yesssss! -we can even borrow right off the script of our favorite movies and no one will know! Except 'rator but if he called us on it then that'd mean he'd have to admit he was paying attention during movie nights.

[He’s happy to be included - but really, as long as he knows what Donnie’s up to, that should be enough. He can’t really make himself stop worrying for Donnie when he does something on his own, but Donnie wants an opportunity to prove himself, to build trust, and Leo wants to give it.

But it’s probably no surprise to anyone who knows them that they’re getting distracted by something more interesting.]

Hah, you’re so right! That would be a win-win for us.

[He’s actually liking this idea more and more, because it sounds silly and fun and would let both of them lean into their more dramatic tendencies.]

Come on, let’s go back. We can plan our performance on the way.

[Donnie gives a little cackle then, rubbing his hands together eagerly. Oh look, he's already getting into character- wait no.]

Sounds good to me! Let's grab some pizza once we get out of here.

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[Openish] Letting the Days Go By

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