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[von_ryan]

❥ Character Information

Character Name: Othello Von Ryan : The Purple Dragon (originally Donatello Hamato)
Character Age: 30 Years Old
Character Species: Apalone Spinifera (Spiny Soft Shell)
Current Health: Nominal
Outfit: A purple skin suit that's meant to be under his now-missing Dragon Armour and his usual bandana mask.

Character Canon: Rise of the TMNT
Link to History: This is Donatello's full article on Turtlepedia.
Canon Point: Up to Season 2, Episode 20 "Battle Nexus : New York", which is his divergence point.
Canon Iteration: Canon Divergent/Canon Blending AU
Canon Iteration Explanation:

Originally, Big Mama captured the population of New York City, turned it into a big gladiator arena and pitted the turtles against different villains.

The Battle Nexus is a long standing thing across almost all iterations of TMNT. In the 90s Archie comics it takes the form of an intergalactic gladiator event. The gladiators involved in the widely televised fights aren't always willing participants. There's some criminals and just straight up kidnapped people in them. The turtles get kidnapped to be forced to fight in them more than once.

In this AU, rather than being forced to fight there, Big Mama sold the brothers to other Battle Nexus holders across the universe. Splitting them up got them off planet and left her to her business as she liked it. Donatello had to face brutal fights while trying his best to survive without his brothers. Eventually, he managed to hack security, throw everything into a tizzy, wipe all record of himself out and escape after setting the place to self destruct.

Alone and lost, desperate to find his family, he did what he does best. He learned and adapted to the high tech of all these alien races and builds himself an arsenal and a ship. In order to fund this search for his brothers, he also becomes a bounty hunter. He brings in wanted raiders while also raiding other Nexuses as he finds them, looking for information before sabotaging them and taking what he needs to keep hunting.

Being forced into this and having to face these things alone, Othello has become the 'emotionless bad boy' he strove to be as a teenager. Over his fifteen years of hunting, he also becomes legendary. The name 'Von Ryan' and 'The Purple Dragon' become feared across the universe and Othello does nothing to dissuade them. In fact, he encourages that. He is efficient, ruthless and thorough. His scientific genius having turned from the frivolous experiments of childhood to the harsh brutality of survival has left it razor sharp and utterly lethal.

Still, his entire purpose is based in desperation and love for his family. He WILL find them. Even if he has to tear the entire universe apart in order to do so.

❥ Folkmore Roles & Attributes

Skills:
High degree of technological ability, now surpassing humanity
Sharpshooter
High powered weapon and explosive specialist
Varied martial artist
Some knowledge of cybernetics
Metalsmithing and welding (this may be canon but it's only implied)

Canon Abilities:
Superhuman strength
Ninjitsu
Acrobatics
Mechanical and technological skills
Ridiculously high IQ and level of knowledge

Role: Myth
Role Qualities/Attributes: Dragon-like attributes over time. His persona of The Purple Dragon will potentially become more literal.
Role Reasoning:

Othello's entire motivation on why chooses the paths he does, now, boil down to 'do whatever is necessary to get results'. The ends justifies the means to him. He isn't inclined towards heroics unless they further his own agendas. Not to mention, innovation, cleverness and learning new skills are something he's had and done since he was very young, being the introverted genius that he is.
I'm very interested in putting him in a place where his technology is restricted and he's forced to deal with people as himself again to see how he reacts and how it alters his views. He has the potential to both crash into the depths of emotionless machine but he also has the chance to come back out of that.

❥ Personality

❥ What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them?

Watching each of his brothers be captured by the relic that Big Mama was weilding and not being able to stop it at all hurt Donatello a lot. He didn't have anything at his disposal that could counter it and, because of that, he feels as though he failed them all terribly. It hardened him and has left him determined to never do so again. He focuses so hard on the end goal that the means by which he gets there means little anymore.

❥ What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?

His brothers and family mean everything to Othello. They were his whole life and all very close to one another. They did everything together and were his biggest support and encouragement. He has a particularly close connection to Leonardo. Being the same age and so connected as they are, they started calling themselves twins. Because of that, losing Leo pulled Othello apart in ways he didn't know were possible. He will turn the entire universe upside down to find him if it's the last thing he ever does.

❥ What is a headcanon (or two) you feel strongly about and that you prefer playing your character with? How is this supported in canon and why do you think it benefits the character's story?

One that was never confirmed in the series but was mentioned by one of the writers. A love of botany and growing things, particularly vegetables. Part of why it started was to help take care of his family and it grew into a passion from there. Othello still does it, even though he has no real need to, but it helps give him a way to relax and de-stress a little.
Donatello is very much a theater kid in the show, breaking into song and dance more than once. I lean into that quite a bit with him and feel that he would be motivated by potential popularity and notoriety enough that it's why he would full embrace the moniker of 'Othello Von Ryan' and also 'The Purple Dragon'. Becoming an infamous bounty hunter became a bit of an addiction and changed how he dealt with people and things over time.

❥ What is your character's moral code? Do they have one? Why or why not?

Othello very much lives by his own rules. He always kind of has, even when he was still just Donatello, being willing to skirt around the law here and there to help his family (and himself). As he went through the trauma of being forced into the Nexus and then through all the process of becoming the Purple Dragon, that moral code changed and molded even more. While Othello does his best to avoid dealing with people in a truly lethal manner, he will also go to great ends to disable an opponent utterly. He will not kill just to kill but he also doesn't lose sleep over those who have pushed him to that point. He would not rob just anyone, even if they had exactly what he needed, unless he felt that they were deserving of it. Those who have stolen from or harmed others are fair game and he will strip them like a vulture would a carcass.
At the base of it, though, he lives by 'treat others as on their own merits'. Someone who is kind to him will be repaid in kindness ten-fold. And those who cross him or those he cares about will also be repaid in kind a thousand-fold.

❥ Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind?

Donatello would once have held a grudge over the silliest things, and likely for a while, but he was usually pretty reasonable. Losing his brothers made him much more likely to hold one, however, though if he has the urge to hold a grudge he usually takes things into his own hands to 'resolve' it very quickly. The biggest one he's holding is against Big Mama for what she did to his family and he has every intention of, some day, destroying her after he's saved his family. Nothing would change his mind about her, ever.

❥ What does your character feel like they struggle with still? Where could they improve? This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise.

Othello honestly feels like he struggles with almost everything. The fact that he is still searching for his brothers after fifteen years weighs on him immensely. He is always trying to keep himself on the very cutting edge and the absolute best because of it. He is never satisfied with anything he does. There's always room to do better. Physically, he trains himself with the same sort of regime that Raphael did, not out of love for it like that but in order to be sure he is in as peak form as possible. Mentally, he is always consuming more information at every opportunity. He studies and researches and pulls new technology apart to learn everything he can and how to integrate it into his own tech. He is constantly upgrading and improving his armour and weapons as well as his ship.

Emotionally, Othello feels he's too soft. His morals still keep him from turning into a merciless and heartless killer and he can't get rid of his desire to help others in actual need. He's carefully sectioned his heart off as much as he can, never allowing himself to grow attached to anyone or make any sort of real connections with people. Despite this, though, he will help people in genuine need when faced with it. He won't seek it out but if he runs across it, he will lend aid before vanishing like the legend he's become.

Where once Donatello would brag about every achievement and expect to be lauded for his genius, Othello demands perfection of himself at every turn and feels nothing but that is as good as failure.

❥ Permissions

OOC opt-outs: Nothing that I can think of!
IC opt-outs: Nothing here, either
Content warnings related to the character:

Torture, Murder, Gladiator/Pit Fighting, Violence, Injury, Physical Assault, Emotional/Physical/Attempted Sexual Abuse, Murder, Mental Duress, Depression/PTSD, Bad Coping Mechanisms, Alcohol/Drug Use

Most of these are things from Othello's past and, as such, aren't likely to come up unless he knows someone VERY very well. If I describe them in any sort of a memory or a flashback, I will tag them appropriately.

For a rundown of extended examples, please read this post

Sensitive subjects related to the character: Threatening his family in any way, shape or form. He is fiercely protective of them.

❥ Player Information

Player Name: Carrie
Pronouns: She/They
Are you over 18?: 48 Years Old
Contact(s): CarriePika or DM this journal.
Link to invitation: Link
Current Characters: None
Permissions: Here.
Writing Samples: Thread from the Oct/Nov TDM!