Heey You want to see something funny? I accidentally found these draft pages on my tablet. I was going to use them for the Tiny Tello episode, but then I stopped myself. Because if Casey really thought like that, it would mean that Donnie had actually given him reason to think that before. If Casey really did allow the thought that Donnie didn't really like him, it would mean that thought had some kind of foundation. Which isn't true. Donnie is really fucking weird and crazy, but he loves Casey and Casey knows it.
Which is why, in the final version of the episode, Casey is very puzzled and surprised that little Donnie is attacking him.
Instead of "oh I guess I deserved that" or “oh maybe he doesn’t like but just tolerating me” he thinks more "hey that's not how it's supposed to work".
Anyway. I'll emphasize again. This is NOT CANON. I just thought you might be interested in seeing it:)
Sorry if the humor is a bit crass, but I've witnessed this phenomena so many times with friends who become parents that I could not help but wonder which extreme side of the line these boys fall on.
This is also a bit of a character dive. I kind of like the idea of Leo constantly censoring himself around Casey Junior, because it gives it even more oomph when he says "badass" in the beginning of the movie since it signals that he now views CJ as an adult who he respects, depends on, and can speak with frankly. No censoring needed.
Thinking about how Leo says he uses his jokes to cope and y’know, thinking harder on it I think it may very well be because of what else uses one-liners and puns and that type of humor.
Specifically, 80’s action movies and campy sci-fi. Even more specifically, the protagonists of these.
So I can imagine why, exactly, Leo leans toward this brand of humor. It’s directly linked to things he loves! But even more than that is why I think it’s used as a coping mechanism.
In these genres, these quips tend to be said by the winner - or, if not a winner, then someone who will stay alive. So there’s a confidence behind them, an assurance, almost, that even if things go wrong, things aren’t ever too serious. There’s no bad endings here! It’s all good fun, even if the stakes seem high.
Leo canonically has been known to steer his brothers away from the more brutal villains and toward more fun, lighthearted activities and not-so-dangerous criminals. So for Leo, these jokes definitely make things less heavy, make the situations they find themselves in less intense.
It’s kinda not just coping, but also can be seen as a form of escapism. A safety blanket. A way for Leo to defuse the tension of knowing just how dangerous their lives are and replace that with a levity which implies that things will be okay.
Unfortunately, levity alone does not alter reality.
my official campaign promise is that if wanderer wins their poll in the @tmntaucompetition then i'll drive to @vangh17a's house to personally shake their hand and give them a crisp high-five.
(I imagine Leo used to be a crazy cowboy outlaw. But then settled down to have a family. But Pyon found his old wanted posters and wanted to be like him lol)