I think to get your brain spinning a bit, I can ask you some questions like
What's your favorite trait about Donnie's character
What's your least favorite trait about Donnie's character
What's the main thing you try to consider in writing when making him more mature and older comparing him to his teenage self
What do you think Donnie's way to show interest in someone is? Pros and Cons?
Do you believe when he's older he still the likes 'cute but mean' type?
Ughg ughgg ughhg what do you think his favorite sex position is lmao okay sorry
LOVE THESE THANK YOU ANON!!!!!
favorite Donnie behavior is for sure his Big Big emotions (despite self identifying as not having any). I love a man who is constantly cycling between "its so over -> WE'RE SO BACK". his manic depressive swag has captivated me. I like most things about him but I just love how much he is NOT self aware!!!! it makes writing him incredibly fun from any perspective
i don't know if I have any traits I actively dislike about him, so instead I'll say I think fans tend to fall for his facade a lot. trusting him to correctly identify his emotions is WILD! its Donnie!!! I, personally, think that focusing on his 0 emotions, 0 physical touch, 0 empathy moments is just neglectful to the parts of him he doesn't identify himself. he clearly has these emotions-- its not being able to place them (in himself and other people!!) that makes him seem so apathetic.
THIRDLY. that is a GREAT Question. I think that there are two paths for Donnie. In an ideal world, a pretty clear mark of maturity would be communication. asks a lot more questions as he gets older, in the struggle to accept that he doesn't know everything all the time AND to try and engage with people a little less selfishly. His peacocking definitely gets subtler as he gets older- the more confidence he has in his work, the more he likes to let it speak for itself.
I don't think an older Donnie is inherently more mature though, lol. Kraangpocalypse Donnie I see very differently. leans far more into the notion that he's always right, has to be, and will intentionally pick at fights to try and get people to challenge him so he can reassert his authority -- he doesn't believe in it much himself, unless he's telling someone otherwise.
I don't think it's intentional, but yeah, I think Donnie always ends up throwing himself at jerks, or at least stubborn individuals who don't take his shit. The harder the validation is to come by, the more he craves it! Which isn't to say he wouldn't EVER fall for someone nice - just lovebomb him hard enough, he's easy. but I think that unless you're actually hard-to-get, Donnie's not gonna chase you.
And I think Donnie LOVES putting you up Doggy style in front of his monitor <3 perfect ass view in grabbing range, your beautiful face on his computer screen, and easily recorded for future enjoyment.
