Donatello "the air bud of war crimes" Hamato (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
othellovonryan) wrote2023-08-05 08:07 am
othellovonryan) wrote2023-08-05 08:07 am
Working Through Some Issues
[The room is darker than normal rooms. Still plenty of light to see, but there is no large centralized source, instead coming largely from various displays around the room. Computer screens, holographic displays, boards with tools or parts on display. Allowing for easy location of various things. Many projects in some state of complete.]
[Its a laboratory. A little hard to track the full parameters of the room, as it does seem to shift at times, always compensating for something new.]
[Some things will be familiar to Tryse with a look around. She'll see the dagger given to Eggs when they arrive, with the basic hilt design in the center, but other configurations in half states around it.]
[There are charts that track the number of resources inside Egg House, from their food, to furniture, medical equipment, how many bottles of Tryse's concoctions and estimate of how many bottles are likely empty and an estimate of when to make more. What supplies are in the junk pile, and what's in the bunker, what he needs to finish up in rooms and what improvements he can make.]
[Displays with Egg names and the names of his friends and family.]
[Displays with words of caution.]
[And many more screens with various other prompting words like 'public' 'pr' 'community' 'cult' 'health' 'education,' and more besides.]
[A display with the Genius Built logo on it. Another with the Hamato symbol.]
[There other than moving text on the screen, there is a constant movement of a rolling chair.]
[In it, there is a young Donatello, looking around ten, with glasses taped to his head, in a grey hoody with rat ears, constantly kicking himself from one station, checking over something, maybe altering something, and then kicking himself to another to go over something else, and yet again.]
[And then there's the one warm light in this place, a young woman made of soft yellow light, sitting next to the Hamato monitor, kicking her feet in the air, watching as Donnie movies form place to place.]
[Its a laboratory. A little hard to track the full parameters of the room, as it does seem to shift at times, always compensating for something new.]
[Some things will be familiar to Tryse with a look around. She'll see the dagger given to Eggs when they arrive, with the basic hilt design in the center, but other configurations in half states around it.]
[There are charts that track the number of resources inside Egg House, from their food, to furniture, medical equipment, how many bottles of Tryse's concoctions and estimate of how many bottles are likely empty and an estimate of when to make more. What supplies are in the junk pile, and what's in the bunker, what he needs to finish up in rooms and what improvements he can make.]
[Displays with Egg names and the names of his friends and family.]
[Displays with words of caution.]
[And many more screens with various other prompting words like 'public' 'pr' 'community' 'cult' 'health' 'education,' and more besides.]
[A display with the Genius Built logo on it. Another with the Hamato symbol.]
[There other than moving text on the screen, there is a constant movement of a rolling chair.]
[In it, there is a young Donatello, looking around ten, with glasses taped to his head, in a grey hoody with rat ears, constantly kicking himself from one station, checking over something, maybe altering something, and then kicking himself to another to go over something else, and yet again.]
[And then there's the one warm light in this place, a young woman made of soft yellow light, sitting next to the Hamato monitor, kicking her feet in the air, watching as Donnie movies form place to place.]
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He wasn't joking when he said it'd just be puzzles and a hole. Which would tell you he takes a while to process things and what his current stuff is, but not a lot else. That's his default emotional state. That's why his face is all... [Does her best face blank expression.] Most of the time.
And he didn't want to throw you into his hurt feelings or his insecurities. He thought that'd be manipulative.
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[Inconvenient, that. So she really only gets a curated experience.]
It might have been honest, but certainly not the most positive impression to make. So, probably the best route at the moment is to go down what you just said, in that order.
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[She points a thumb at the Genius Built logo screen.] That one then.
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SHELLDON, what functions are active for this screen?
[She's had some experience with GAIA, at least.]
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"I'm not sure if Dee needs as many plans as he does, but he doesn't trust capitalism to not cheat."
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That doesn't really do much for explaining what he thinks gives people value, though. Display progress reports, information tracking, and other relevant information on parallel displays, please.
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[Holographic screens pop up to life around her. There are extensive lists.]
[Progress reports are simple statements with progress bars. Featuring things like 'Puppet identity,' 'Number of patents,' 'Discretionary companies,' 'Yokai run companies,' 'trademarking,' 'copyrighting,' 'Minimum number of inventions for market sector,' and on and on. Things in reference to how to make a company WORK when one is not a legal citizen and will never ever be able to show his face, as well as how many places he can get products into.]
[Information tracking has its own list, with simple Active/Inactive settings. 'Social Media posts,' 'Photo scrubbing,' 'Turtles plus odd modifies,' 'Yokai,' 'April O'Neil,' 'Cassandra Jones,' 'Casey Jones Junior,' 'Lou Jitsu rumors,' 'Government,' 'NYPD,' 'Animal Control,' 'Earth Protection Forces,' 'Aliens,' 'Kraang,' 'Foot Clan.' They are all inactive.]
[Another screen with Emergency Plans for things like discovery, sabotage, hostile take overs.]
[Another screen with Societal Inequality at the top and files like 'healthcare,' 'wages,' 'toxic work culture,' 'discrimination' and things of that nature.]
"Why do you think he wants to make Genius Built?"
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Tryse reads through both deliberately and carefully, nodding carefully at various points. It doesn't take her long, she intakes data pretty quickly.
At the end of it, she just goes-]
I don't know what most of this means.
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[Here's an April, pointing at the screens to do with businesses and social services.]
We don't have leaders just randomly taking off people's heads, but money gets manipulated to all go to the top, making it harder for most of us just to live, but slow enough that people accept it as a status quo. That's what all these systems are about. He absolutely hates it, so he's got plans to disrupt it as much as possible.
I'd say he was being way arrogant, but Dee can also do things no one else can in these sectors, so its not impossible. Especially because he'll cheat. As he'll say, its not his fault the billionaires have too much money to notice when random thousands disappear one day.
[She gestures to information gathering.]
That is security for us. He makes sure we don't appear in background pictures, we don't get talked about online, watches what the government might know about mutants and yokai. He's got at least twenty different major viruses on all the social media to get rid of that kind of stuff.
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[Well, it's his world.]
Is that what he thinks gives him value, then? Trying to overthrow the ruling classes? I hope he's keeping in mind that when you shove a flaming iron into an infected wound to purge it, it will also damage healthy tissue around it. He does tend to be a little... hyperfocused at times.
[As if she isn't.]
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[Listen. Donnie can't say he wouldn't not NOT think of it.]
Not overthrow the ruling class specifically. And he knows. Of course he knows. You can't disrupt a system and not expect fallout.
He just also sees how people live. If things continue as is, it'll be bad. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next few years, but its sooner rather than later. He's trying to minimize it, these plans are years in the making, but he knows it'll do something.
But you remember the question for this information, right?
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[She can understand that. Tryse watches the information flow with all of that in mind, as if she can force it to make sense to her with what little information she's been given. The numbers are boggling. Why not just kill them all and set up a new king? A better king? It worked for Arthur, until Lancelot and Guinevere and Mordred mucked things up.]
Of course. What brings a man value? He and I can certainly agree that it's not wealth.
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[Sadly the numbers don't make that so viable. There are over seven hundred billionaires in America alone. Hundreds of corrupt government officials. It isn't an easy number to just off.]
[Plus like. Donnie does HAVE morals.]
[April nods.] Value.
Is a neutral word.
This. [She gestures to all the screens.] Could start the path to a fairer society, or it could make it all crash and burn.
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[Sounds like a skill issue.
But Tryse is from a very different culture when it comes to the morality of murder.
She paces, examining the screens from multiple angles, then glances over her shoulder to the April illusion.]
Are you to be his king, then? Will he be the Merlin to your Arthur, setting you up to build a finer world once you've purged the old? He'll need someone like that, a strong authority figure that people can believe in to rally behind and unify with.
Or is he still waiting for that?
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"I'd like to see them try to get Dee to actually sleep!"
[April laughs at that.] I mean, I could probably be president if I really wanted to. Or the real April could be. But being a politician means lying a lot, even the ones who do actually do their job properly. Donnie doesn't think I'd like having to lying that much.
Plus, you gotta keep in mind Donnie's circumstances. He can't ever be Merlin. He can force an upheaval for societal change, but that doesn't change humans. [There's a sad smile on her face at that.]
The current idea is when he thinks the time is optimal, he'll get more involved in elections. Make sure the people who deserve to win are in place to. Hopefully by actually getting it so people are able to vote properly. He knows he probably shouldn't actually fix the election. At least not the first time. But he can definitely make sure people have time off and are registered.
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Voting. I've yet to see a civilization where democracy stands for more than two or three centuries. Corruption or outside influences always seep in and it inevitably collapses until they form ranks behind a strong central authority figure that can command the people.
Humanity's natural state is that of a benevolent neutrality. They want a better world, it's just that those who are greedy, cruel, and brutal often push the hardest for their own goals. And it takes a while, sometimes, for someone to remind everyone else that this isn't what's best.
He could be a shadow Merlin, if he wanted. If anyone can guarantee privacy, he can. Isn't that what this last bit, with the viruses, is doing for all of you?
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But at least having the people be engaged with politics means its easier for the masses to work together next time. Step by step, people change. That's how you get a better society. You change how people think and you can only do that by giving everyone a bit of power.
And a republic has the longest lasting track record so far, so there is hope.
And yeah, that's what all that is for. But he also knows he's not free of corruption. He knows he gets controlling. Its better if he can just give the power and means to the people who are vulnerable to actually stand up and fight back.
Its like you've seen with him before.
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Still. He has his family to act as a checking function. That's more, I think, than his merchants and politicians can claim. Even if he can't trust himself, he can trust them, right?
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Also murder is really frowned upon these days. So like, great proof democracy can be perfected! But also, oof, the transition is rough.
True, true....if he shared even a fourth of this with us.
[She looks to the screens.] Some things he hides 'cause he knows we won't approve. Other stuff is complicated and he doesn't think we'd keep up. Mostly....it's how he tries to feel connected.
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[She pauses, then glances around.]
So is granting me access to this a show of trust, then?
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Donnie's kind of got two settings.
He either trusts you or he doesn't. He doesn't know how to not go all in. Sure, he can recognize where people can only be expected to do certain things. Like he knows people can fully trust him, but also would expect them to realize his priorities when choosing between them and his family.
...but it also makes it very easy for people to deceive him. For him to be used. For him to take things at face value and miss subtext that was vitally important.
He knows that, but he doesn't know how to avoid it either.
His trust in you was never in question.
He just doesn't know how to get you to understand that.
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Hn. Some people should be trusted only so much, though.
[Like her, for instance.]
If it were a simple matter of trust... But it's not, is it? I do feel angry and betrayed, but I understand now that, at least according to Korone, this is a result of his environment and not purposeful malevolence. But that's going to take time to recover.
Everything else feels like a minor adjustment that can be fixed more readily now that they've been aired. I'd hoped to avoid that, but I lost my temper with how he responded to me and vented more than intended.
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That is usually the Dee brand. When he's purposely malicious, it's real obvious. Like you could be blind, deaf, and grew under a rock and still pick it up. And he doesn't let go when he doesn't care about the bridge.
It took me a while to get it too. We had real nasty fights at the beginning. Donnie has too many emotions he doesn't know how to express and aggression is the easiest one. But he knows where limits are....with his family. He knows when he crosses lines he has to apologize for.
But he doesn't know that with you guys. He's trying to figure it out, but it's like he's trying to read a book in a new language and maybe one out of every ten words he knows. Sometimes he'll get a full sentence or two, and if he's real lucky, he'll get some paragraphs. Usually the more upfront and honest someone is with him, the better he gets it.
That's why he understands Crow fairly well. Crow's been straight with him for a lot.
It's also why trust is all or nothing. He doesn't know how to read people to tailor it beyond what he's told or directly experiences. It's burned him, but he also knows how rare an opportunity it is to connect with people so he doesn't like rejecting it out of hand.
Between what he is, and how his mind works, and how all that affects how he is with people, he knows he has to try his best and hope. Because what other options does he have?
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It's only nepotism if that's not the usual way of passing down positions and if those who take those positions are unqualified. But a prince or a princess has been training their entire lives to take the throne. Meanwhile, in a democracy, the Powers and Yuzus of the world have just as much say as the Donatellos.
[Why is she arguing with a figment?]
It is a matter of tone, yes. I don't mind listening to someone who's passionate about a subject, it's when I start feeling talked down to that I start to take issue. I've been brushing it off in his case, though, because he is young and it wouldn't do to shut him down.
[Well, at least until she bit his head off about it during their fight.]
I've tried stating outright when I didn't want a discussion and it just made him freeze up entirely and need reassurances. So that obviously wasn't the way to go about things.
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In a democracy, there's a lot more opportunity to get rid of people without a violent insurrection.
Yeah, that's also partially how he talks. He knows he'll come across as sarcastic sometimes when he doesn't mean to. He also struggles with figuring out if other people are sarcastic. It took like six months of asking me 'is that sarcasm' before he had my tone down. Most of the time. He tries to hear himself, but...well, its genuinely hard for him. Sometimes he gets it. A lot of the time, he's pretty sure he doesn't. Judging by what people say. He has to get the data second hand.
Actually, it was.
....do you know why he freaks out when he's pressured to be the one to figure out an emotional problem all on his own?
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