semilethal | general psl

hey buddy! :) am i texting to remind you it's junkyard night or am i reminding you you planned to cancel it and then forgot? i don't think I got the wrong night. but you know raph's fingers don't play nice with navigating that shared calendar.

[ Friendship with feeling a random scenario meme prompt over, now brain and brawn standing bonding arrangement is my new best friend.

Hot concept: what if super smash big bro and woke up choosing violence bro sometimes just go break stuff to channel energy and ~study physics~ and also Donnie sometimes collects little tech parts in the fallout.

and then idk i haven't thought ahead far enough to whatever inevitable disaster befalls them. ]

It is uncancelled. I need things now. [so get ur bag big buddy because that junkyard isn't gonna theft itself]

great! coming your way

[ He could wonder about if uncancelled means was-cancelled-now-not or never-cancelled, but honestly that's whatever. Raph still gets to have smug brother feelings about Donnie choosing to hang out with him (and getting to do useful heavy lifting), so this one's going in the W category. That is what's important here. A nice, relaxing night theft-ing from a junkyard.

He retrieves...... the Big Bag. Just in case. And then he stands outside Donnie's door with his hands on his hips super triumphantly, because he's just like that. ]

We're losin' moonlight, Dee!

One minute!

[raph's triumphant stink is wafting into his lab so donnie knows he's really actually got only one minute before raph bodily collects him and skips them both down to the junkyard himself. in the two or three times he's been to the junkyard since the invasion and subsequent rebuilding, donnie hasn't seen repo mantis once.

the cat's still there, stalking about the junkyard or sleeping in her cave. just...repo mantis isn't there. maybe he sees the turtles coming and runs the other way, knowing how disaster and chaos tends to follow in their wake and the fallout usually isn't worth the fight. given how protective he is of his assets though, donnie suspects something else entirely and just doesn't think about it (or, truthfully, care).

battle shell on, the one with extra storage and detachable flight capabilities, typical toolset for disassembly, cleaning kit. that should be good.

donnie strolls out of his lab, feeling a bit lighter than he has the past few weeks and reaching up to knock a couple knuckles against raph's plastron. why raphael is so jazzed to go on errands with his brothers donnie will never understand, but at least that makes him a happy partner in crime.] Ready to pick up some refridgerators?

[ Minute given, minute taken, and behold: a brother.

It's always nice when everyone's on the ball. Everyone in this instance being... the two of them. Honestly, that probably helped their odds. ]

Please. If there was anyone born more ready to pick up fridges than me, I haven't heard about 'em.

[ Maybe when he hits his 20s he'll achieve his dream of picking up a bus, but appliances are fine in his teen years. Fridges are very cubey and satisfying to lift. Nice downtime to have on the docket.

He gives Donnie a little nudge with his elbow. ]

C'mon.

[ Off, to the wild city sewers yonder. What a town, etc. ]

[yes, donatello is at least one star sticker more reliable than the rest of their kin, but that doesn't say much when raphael sits pretty at five and donnie just manages a two. look, he was busy, he was working, he had other obligations that he made up for himself...

either way, don talks aloud as they make their way up to the surface, going through his mental list without expecting raph to listen, remember, or frankly even care. leo complains loudly, mikey asks a million questions, but raph? it's nice to stream-of-consciousness with raphael, because raphael is the boulder in the middle of that particular river.] -so I'll need probably both the condenser coils and the compressor to get the soft serve machine functional. Bowling ball launcher's a wash, I'll need to scrap and start over. Rails are too warped, it'll throw off the aim way too much. Maybe rework the design for more launch pressure? Don't want to just stack a bunch of hydraulics up there though, it emits enough heat as it is.

Edited 2022-10-03 06:22 (UTC)

[ Oh, he fully weathers the wordflow. Raph cannot pretend he shares these interests or understands the vast majority of what Donnie says when he gets on a run doing his thing. He's out here keeping his peepers peeled for Threats and watching rats run around and stuff. Just vibing.

The important takeaways: something something soft serve, bowling ball, lots of syllables.

Donnie sounds like he's in a good mood. Arguably the only actually important takeaway of them all. ]

You'll figure it out. [ Local brother could only vaguely make a guess at what it is at all and it would probably be the wrong guess. Just seemed like the time to be supportive. ] Or you won't and you'll figure somethin' else out instead. Either way.

[ He pokes his head out to scope the scene. ]

Looks clear.

[you know, donnie is in a good mood, surprisingly. not that he's commonly in a bad mood but it's just rarer for him to be in a mood that is good. it's been some weeks now since the invasion. things are getting rebuilt, their favorite pizza places are back up and running again. leo is healing nicely, mikey's hands haven't trembled in forever, and raph's eyesight is much improved. everyone's getting better. donnie didn't even flinch when he got hugged yesterday, so maybe he's over his own dumb issues too.

so yeah, the mood is good! it's good. and he's got projects to do, he's got improvements, he can make things for fun and he can rebuild the turtle tank into an even more slam-dunkingly boss ass vehicle than ever.

so when big raphie steps out ahead donnie, giving into that slightly manic urge that rarely rears its head, climbs up onto his brother's shell to confirm before hopping over and off of him, strolling to the front of this two-car train they've got going.]

How do you feel about robot arms coming out of the sides of the Turtle Tank? It's not very ergonomic I'll admit, but it'll look killer. Literally, depending on what I make them do.

Edited 2022-10-04 03:56 (UTC)

[ Aw. Shell-climbing gremlin Donnie. Raph loves Don regardless of mood or mode, sure, but it's always fun when he's a little hoppy.

Annnd getting a little confirmation visual sweep never hurts, these days. Eyesight's on the rise, but better safe than sorry. ]

I mean, you obviously had me at "robot arms." [ Because he isn't heartless or immune to stuff that sounds cool. ] Then you lost me at "literally killer robot arms." I'm pretty sure the last thing we need is a murder function.

[ Kinda... supervillainy. ]

Doesn't have enough murder functions if you ask me. [well he didn't donnie, pack it back up.

luckily the junkyard isn't far from the lair and after a quick look around to confirm the clearest of coasts before they hop the fence and begin the thievery. or scavenging, depending on who you ask.]

Could you go look for refrigerators while I liberate this carburetor? [donnie points to the appliance-y section of the junkyard. it's at least still within view of where donnie is now dismantling an engine block with textbook enthusiasm, heedless of the dusty oil getting all over his fingers. germaphobe can't stand some slime but bury him in the belly of a machine and he'll try to huff the antifreeze]

Donnie, that answer is exactly why I never ask you.

[ Also because he doesn't generally ask about Murder Functions, but that's negligible.

He and Donnie both sometimes prefer to choose the path of most over-the-top destruction, which is nice. It's like part of the overlap in a weird Venn diagram. Sometimes Donnie's tastes go off the rails in suspicious and potentially lethal ways though.

Raph does a few seconds of blatantly obvious distance judgement before he answers. It's not overprotective paranoia when their history makes it justified, okay. But. Seeing as it's still within view and it's within communications range, no real alarm bells. Yeah. Should be fine. ]

Yep! Fridge duty. I'll start linin' em up. [ we get it dude you play minecraft. Anyway he trots off towards the appliance-y section. ] Yell if you need me.

[ He loves this. Donnie gets to be happy digging around in junk for stuff Raph can't or won't learn to pronounce, Raph gets to have a bro hang (yes errands count as hangs) digging around for heavy fridges to lift. Symbiosis at its finest. ]

[the heavy thumps and clatters of raphael moving around cumbersome appliances that no one creature has any business being able to lift and move is almost meditative, in a way. maybe donatello doesn't want to talk about it either (okay, he DEFINITELY doesn't want to talk about it) but even with his battle shell on he still feels...exposed.

he's felt that way for weeks now. at least he's no longer trying to jump out of his skin or literally bite anyone who puts a hand on his shoulder.

but with raphael back there, making an unholy amount of noise that would no doubt bring repo mantis over if he were still around, it's almost like his shell is to a wall. a very comforting, very sturdy wall. donnie can completely lose himself in his work without having to worry because he knows raphael's probably keeping at least one and a half eyes on him even while he hauls around 400 pounds of metal, glass, and plastic to line up in a neat little row.]

Dang-...nut, [donnie grouses, wrenching at a component that just won't come loose. buildup and rust had claimed the connecting hardware and no amount of WD-40 and not-quite-gentle coaxing was getting it loose. he could always cut it with a laser, if he wanted to set the entire engine block on fire.] Raph, [donnie calls over his shoulder without looking away,] I need you to literally rip this engine apart for me. [that should make him happy.

...except he isn't answering. something cold prickles at the back of donnie's neck. he doesn't want to turn and look; some sick, deep, animalistic fear that tells him not to look. he has to look.

arms still buried in the car engine, donatello looks over his shoulder. there is no raphael, no line of refridgerators. there's no junkyard, no new york; just the wet, pulsing walls of the kraang ship closing in.]

[ If there's a world where Raph doesn't have 1.5+ eyes or ears on the nearest little brother at all times, that must be a world he's not in.

It ain't much, but it's honest work, digging around for fridges. Nice and straightforward. Fun way to kill time and get some lifting in. Donnie is elbow-deep in car stuff, right over there, and Raph can hear him clinking around a little bit in the spaces where he's not personally making a huge racket.

When his right eye starts itching, he doesn't think too much about it. It's not back to 100% yet, he's out in the dark doing work with a bunch of grimy old stuff, it's probably gonna bug him. So he doesn't rub at it, in the learned manner of someone who got their hand slapped away from their face a lot the first few days after the invasion, gets back to his excavating instead. It's a good night. Donnie's in a good mood. It's fine.

When half his vision cuts out entirely like it's connected to a secret light switch somewhere, file that down under the sort of instant, rib-crushing panic that ends with him accidentally ripping the door off of this fridge wholesale. Not just gone, not just cut, but a pressure, half-familiar, like there's something out of place, something growing--

Freezes him. Cuts his breath short. Very bad, probably, he thinks. ]

Dee?

[ It shouldn't be loud enough to travel. He should have to scrape a thought together, try again. Shouldn't be quiet enough to get through, with him not making a racket.

His brother isn't rattling car parts around anymore.

(ALONE?)

But it hasn't been a minute, Donnie was right there, he just checked.

Raph turns and can't seem to get eyes-- eye?-- on him and it's maybe the most terrifying thing of all. ]

[the walls don't actually close in. they sit there, pulsating and dripping, but they are no closer to donnie after several long, long seconds of just staring as 500+ ng/L of adrenaline screams through his body and slams his heart against his ribcage.

ever so slowly, donatello turns around to see his arms are buried in the fleshy recesses of the kraang console, but when the panic again reaches its claws for him, he's prepared. pushing down the revulsion climbing up from his stomach, he wiggles his fingers ever so slightly. it doesn't feel like the console, it doesn't grip with the same sickening suction. he carefully pulls his arms out and meets only hard resistance he can't see but he can maneuver around. it's the car engine.

he's hallucinating. all right. that poses its own terrifying problems, but somewhat more manageable than just suddenly being in the kraang ship. but while he's been standing here trying not to fall apart and just curl up and rock himself to wellness, raphael is either past that wall desperately trying to get his attention, or somewhere else. maybe raphael doesn't even know donnie's not okay? has he actually spoken, has raph said anything? donnie can't hear the sounds of the refrigerators being moved, did he stop? is donnie having auditory hallucinations too? all he can hear is tinnitus and his own pounding heart. what does he do?

-he needs to stop panicking. he's got to stop panicking. his own mind, the thing he's relied on the most, is playing tricks on him but he must stay calm if he's going to fix this, which of course he will.

donatello takes a deep breath. he does this several times, then puts his hands out and walks forward, toward the kraang wall, through the kraang wall until he bumps into-]

-Raph.

[ Rather than logical investigative work, Raphael is engaging in one of the Hamato clan's most time-tested and ancient arts: simply brute forcing focus on literally anything that's not his current situation, as a means to function. Healthy. Stable. Ol' reliable.

He ditches the fridge door. Puts a palm over his eye and presses, like trying to alleviate a headache, tries to make his breathing even out.

He's fine, because he says so. He's fine because he needs to find his brother. Panicking doesn't keep Donnie safe, so it has to stay off the table right now. He can move. He still has one good eye. So he's fine, and it'll stay fine, and they'll both get home safe. And if something's in his head somehow despite the fact there's been no sign of that whatsoever until right now, if there's Kraang left in him somewhere--

Raph presses harder, instinctive, forces his hands not to shake.

He'll tear it out again. He did it before. Anything that's in there, he can claw it down to the root and keep ripping until it's gone for real-

So the bright sides of a hundred percent absolutely getting jumpscared by Donatello bumping into him are a) he no longer has to canvas the junkyard on a Donnie hunt and b) it really takes a hammer to the odds of going full 'animal with one leg stuck in a trap' thought spiral. No longer required, busy with: jumping a foot in the air due to local nerd. ]

Donnie. Hey, we gotta-- [ Wait, bumped into him. Donnie bumped into him? Accidental physical contact? Did he miss something while he was having his freakout? ] What happened?

[ Look, the eye thing can wait two extra seconds. It's not gonna get more blind. He's pretty sure that's science. If something's up with both of them at the same time, though... real worst case scenario for what was supposed to just be a fun little errand. ]

[there's a loud clunk and all of a sudden a floodlight illuminates the junkyard around them- because that's where he is, the junkyard. as if the light had just suddenly cleared the hallucination away like a fan would a thick fog.

it was raphael he bumped into because there he is, donatello's big brother, one hand hovering over him as donnie clutches at his brother's arm and shell, the other hand pressed- against his eye?]

What happened? [donnie demands, because that's the surest way to calm him down. information, input, generate response and answer. he reaches up for his brother's wrist to pull it away, already reaching into his belt for a pen light.]

[ ???

Uno Reversed??? This can't be right.

Raph gives Donnie's hand a light swat. Reason: partly on principle, partly just because he can. Maybe a little bit because what if nothing got close to his eyes right now, actually, and never mind if that's the opposite of what a reasonable person would be doing in this situation.

Which is... fine. Apparently? That's depth perception he's percept-ing? Or as much of it as he's gotten back to lately, which is a non-terrible amount.

He literally just wanted to line up some fridges for his little brother to massacre. Why is life like this. ]

I asked you first. That means I got interrogation dibs.

[ Some people choose a hill to die on to cope. ]

[is about to throw a HISSY. FIT over having his hand knocked away when he's trying to examine his brother but it's weird that raph is being so quiet about it. donnie opens his mouth to argue but then he catches it.

raph's lips are moving. he's definitely speaking, or trying to speak, but he's- there's nothing. not even the sound of his breath, a wheeze, anything to indicate he's having difficulty speaking, up to and including his face which emotes just the same as ever.

is it him? is it donnie, can he not-

donnie snaps his mouth shut and pauses, still hanging onto raphael's wrist; he thinks he can hear environmental noise, the far-off roar and honks of new york of traffic, the buzz of the old lights above them. just to be sure donnie wrenches his goggles aside to snap his fingers right next to his inner ear. he can definitely hear, and judging by the irritated confusion on raphael's face, he doesn't know anything is wrong so he must be able to hear himself.

-right. and maybe he can hear donnie?] Raph, I can't hear what you're saying. Nod if you can hear me still.

[ The fact that Donnie does not immediately throw a hissy fit to be fended off is concerning in its own right. Raph is no stranger to what happens when someone pokes that particular bear. Due to having poked it several times in recent history, probably.

It's so cool how this ping of concern only goes more downhill by the second. Like his brother isn't absorbing something. But not in like the "makes it frustrating to try to corral his little brother because his big brain latched onto something four blocks and a left turn away" way, just... a weird way. A something is obviously very wrong way.

The cause for which becomes EVIDENT (when Donnie literally says what the cause is).

So worrying really can take the front seat, its default position, now. Donnie gets his nod and then Raph goes ahead and walks a frenetic little circle around him. Like he will magically find evidence of a way to fix this by punching something into the upper atmosphere. This is cool. This is great. No one wants to panic at all.

When his circuit ends fruitlessly, he stops in front of Donnie again and offers very clear sagely brotherly wisdom. ]

Home. Now.

[ POINTS IN A HOME DIRECTION FOR EMPHASIS.

His vision's on the fritz and Donnie is apparently going deaf, so maybe they just co-limp back to the lair to work on all that before something gets even worse.

And no one leaves home again until they're thirty. Decision pending. ]

[It gnaws at him, the mystery, the unknown behind this. Hallucinations- fine. Maybe he needs to run some tests. Raphael not being able to speak, and/or Donatello becoming very selectively deaf? Not...likely, but could still perhaps be explained with more data. Is it the environs? A gas? Some kind of chemical attack, or perhaps even mystic? But there was no indication of approach, it was seamless-

Raph's tense. Raphael's afraid.

It just happened moments ago but the danger's passed so Donnie's fine, but Raphael is practically vibrating out of his shell. He was clutching his eye. Pain? Loss of vision?

Don's brows furrow before he nods sharply, turning on his heel and heading right for the junkyard entrance. He even leaves behind his spoils; he can come back for them later, maybe send a drone to come pick them up if he has to. He needs to figure this out and Raph needs to get home, they both do.

-except when they turn the corner where the chain link fence should be, there are just more piles of refuse. Donnie pulls up short and even backs up a step, bumping back against Raph in his confusion. No, this is definitely where the driveway should be, and Repo's shack should be right over to the left. He didn't get turned around- he doesn't get turned around.] ...we should call Leo.

[ Every time Raph says "home, now" and it doesn't turn into an argument, he regains years of his life previously lost to other brother-related stresses. This is nothing if not a time to be actively grateful for Donatello.

He'll listen out, Donnie can cover the peripherals. Which would maybe require Raph actually mentioning the necessary precaution so he knows to do that. Not ideal. They'll get home. They'll figure it out. It'll be fine. It is fine.

So, a near immediate shoutout to everything being not fine after all. There should be a fence here. Raph would like to think that even distracted, he's not liable to get that lost somewhere they've been before. Donnie definitely shouldn't be getting lost, because he's got himself a whole mental mind palace layout of what's where around here.

But a fence, there's not. Where there should be fence, there's more junk? Is that legal?

Not that it's not nice to feel more annoyed by the audacity than worried about it for a hot second, honestly.

He gives Donnie a thumbs up while he gets his phone out, because he is still polite.

He follows it up with a tilt of his head, turns his thumbs up into a fist, and mimes a tiny uppercut, as if to say "if-slash-when phones and comms don't work like in a spooky movie, what if smashing through stuff until we've kindly given Repo Mantis a free emergency exit?" A healthy outlet. ]

[Donnie's got his phone out too, and wouldn't you know it? No signal. The same occurs when he swipes at his wrist computer to engage the escape pods; no homing beacon. They would shoot right out into space, drop them in the Hudson, slam them into a building, any number of unfortunate outcomes without any navigation.

Well- well, shit. His tech is failing him, and if that doesn't nudge Donnie back over the line from "damage control" into "panicking like a feral cat" nothing else will.]

-yeah, yes why not. Yes. [go get it big brother, beat the shit out of this junkyard for creeping me out and blocking my 8G connection]

[ It's nice to get permission to beat up an inanimate construct sometimes. Raph doesn't always ask permission, sure, but when he does ask permission and he gets the go-ahead, that brings a good energy to it.

Smashing is a vital and straightforward tool in the arsenal. Most of Raph's tools are the straightforward kind.

He gives Donnie a little 'shoo' gesture for safety distance purposes, then goes ahead and does the dang thing. No need for theatrical windups over making a fancy new door. Just a couple of Big Punches, and then surely all will be right with the world, get that nice airflow differential that signifies busting through to another area, problems solved for forever. Or for now, anyway.

Which kinda makes it suck when the dust settles and there's literally just a nigh-identical junk wall waiting for them. Since when was this place all spooky and cursed and likely to mess with their heads? Raph takes it as a personal offense. ]

What gives!

[ He attempts to punch them free of the junkyard three more times, for good measure. That's part of the scientific process, right. ]

[Donnie doesn't need to be able to hear his brother -which he still can't by the by) to know that 'destroy our way out' was unsuccessful. So a bunch of Donnie's tech isn't working properly, and he didn't bring his flying shell in favor of more storage space/attachments, and their phones aren't working all of a sudden, and one or both of them are experiencing hallucinations, and they can't find their way out, and this wasn't supposed to happen, and what is going on, and there's something wrong with them, and hE IS LOWKEY BUT SORTA HIGHKEY FREAKING OUT.]

What- [-do we do? What do they do? What's the plan, what do they do?! Raph- Raph must have another plan, right? Or a plan on how to form a plan?]

[ Oop.

Yep, okay, went from very bad to the worst just now solely because Donnie looks so upset about it. Given what they're working with, Raph can't blame him.

Tests are easy and answers are hard. Especially when not having the right answer leaves you backed into a corner.

So. Time for one of the oldest orders of operations in Raph's book. Albeit one that would have an easier endgame if, uh. If the second part could involve more talking. Maybe that part he'll do some phone-typing for. That's for in-a-minute Raph.

Priorities. Little brother first. Plan to plan a plan second. Everything else third.

It's a familiar emotional lens to make himself put on.

He taps his fingers against his own plastron a couple of times, center of the chest, and mimes a slow breath. Maybe not so mimes. Maybe actually just also takes one for himself as a special treat. ]

[Give Don a handful of data and he'll sort it for you in seconds. Ask Don for a deus ex machina in the form of a gun or rocket or vehicle and he'll build it overnight.

Disrupt his routine? Cut him off from not only his own comfort tech, but two thirds of his support network? Take previously established laws and rules and turn them on their head?

Yeah, Raph's not wrong. Donnie isn't doing well. So the tnk tnk of Raph knocking against his own plastron makes Donnie jump out of his pre-shutdown, the coping mechanism of complete and utter withdrawal from the Bad Stimuli by virtue of ignoring all stimuli, as he looks up at his big brother.

Raph moves his hands; palms up, up his chest. Palms down, slowly down his chest. Deep breaths. Right. Okay. Raph is still here; they won't want for both defensive and offensive power. His tech bo is still communicating with his wrist computer and battle shell. Raphael is here. He's not completely adrift.

Donnie nods and gulps in a breath, his eyes fixed on the chip in Raph's plastron at his left shoulder. Leo still won't look too closely at it but it's a grounding reminder for Donnie; Raph can and will protect his brothers with everything he has. Donnie's in safe hands, and he needs to make sure Raph is too.] I'm good. I'm okay.

[Takes a couple more breaths to prove it, then half-steps away to look around them. The smashed piles of junk from Raphael's attempts are still there, so they can interact with their environment in a permanent way. It's just that their environment has inexplicably changed.] Can you use your mystic powers to get big and try to look around?

[ There he is. There's his guy. Raph has the bandwidth to spare for a proud little smile, another thumbs up, before anything. Gotta take those small victories.

The question is second order of business. Raph looks up. Seems like mostly clear airspace for a giant mystic Raph to do some peeping. ]

I think I can handle that.

[ He hesitates, though. What's a cool and casual way to uh... yeah. Pantomime some important info. Okay.

Raph keeps his tapping game up, but this time it's a much more careful couple of taps just below his right eye. He grimaces and wobbles his hand in the universal "ehhhhh" gesture, which turns into a thumbs down and blowing a raspberry. ]

So I'm gonna, uh. Pick you up. [ A point to Donnie, a scooping motion. ] So I can keep you close and you can gimme another set of eyes on the sitch.

[ And an "I'm watching you" gesture, but with a very specific sweep motion off towards the bad side.

If this situation didn't suck he'd be thrilled to be playing some charades again. ]

[And the fact that Donnie knows Raphael enjoys playing charades is part of the reason why he doesn't tell Raph to just face him and enunciate clearly so Donnie can read his lips. ...but also because Donnie likewise wants to keep an eye on their surroundings.

Raph gets the point across regarding his eye and Donnie nods, flicking his goggles down over his eyes to check for mystic stuff. Random infinite junkyard seems like it should be crawling with mystic bullshit, but he's not picking up anything beyond whatever Raphael's generating as he starts to construct his gigantic avatar, hand down so Donnie can be adequately scooped.

The eye thing is a concern. Especially if it's still bothering Raph, if that didn't clear up when Donnie's own bizarre hallucination did. That could mean the issue with Raph's eye is physiological, and not psychological. It could mean they missed something when they call tried to get each other well.]

Not picking up any mystic interference, [Donnie notes as he clings to the thumb of his brother's giant avatar, sweeping a look over on Raphael's blind-ish side. Just a junkyard stretching out to the horizon, even when Donnie increases the magnification as high as he can. Just...junk.] Not from here, anyway. It looks like we're in some kind of pocket dimension.

[ Donnie is a softie and he indulges his big brother in one-sided charades once in a blue moon and that is what really matters. Raph scoops him up so that he can be Raph's little guy. His rotten little soldier. Etc.

It's good to have eyes that can be trusted, complete with goggles that let those eyes see more than the average turtle might. ]

Pocket dimension, huh? [ He can't punch through dimensions. Yet. ] Kinda sounds like a Hypno thing.

[ Oh wait right. He should probably share that in a way that's easier to express than "giant red avatar to the lil guy on his hand." Like being a normal guy and enunciating clearly. ]

Hypno, yeah; especially if we're-

[wAIT A fuckn
MINUETt] Wait I just heard you! Why did I hear you?!

What's the variable, what's the condition? [The differences are- Raph is Big Size and is holding Donnie in is large ninpo hand. Is that it? -WAIT THE FUCK, WAIT ON THE HOLD THE FUCK. Didn't Leo mention something like this, like when he and Raph were on the train-]

[ He was heard!!! Miracles are real. Some kind of miracle. In some way. Variables and nerd stuff and such.

Raph probably knows what variable means. He doesn't keep it in his active retention pool because he has Donnie. It's a valid line of questioning, though. Why now, what changed.

A kind of feeling, subtle but familiar, in the back of his mind. Good subtle and familiar, not emergency shutdown alien tentacle flashback familiar. Which is like, at least there's that much to be relieved about. But it is-- huh.

What's the mind meld version of a facebook poke? Raph's gonna go for it.

donnie come play farmville with him ]

[Donnie, for all his impatience with everything mystic, is also a being of insatiable curiosity. So maybe he hates it when weird mumbo jumbo things don't make sense, or when his tech is shown up, or when his brothers are just so much better at things than he is-

But the markings on his shoulders and thighs start to glow a bright purple and there's something, something getting his attention. Resting on him like a great big weighted blanket.]

-Yeah, [Donnie says, for once just allowing himself to feel it without analyzing. Later. Once they're back home.

For now, he tilts his head as if listening to something far away, his eyes unfocused but clutching a big tighter onto one of Raph's great big projected fingers.] Yeah, I can hear you.

[ Raph lights up. In a general sort of facial expression way, of course, but also in a metaphorical mystical metaphysical sort of way. His soul is a house and Donnie came home, and it's worth switching lights on to let him know where he is.

Try not to drop a bunch of Raph-brand intensity love into his arms the second he gets in the door. That kind of thing.

(Raph feels a little bit safer too, personally. That might be coming through regardless. As a full four-brother team they're pretty seamless when it counts. As a two-turtle operation, he and Donnie are good for covering each other's blind spots.

They're mutually about as subtle as a brick wall, but at least they're also as solid as a brick wall.) ]

Okay. Good. I like a charade as much as the next guy [ sir you are the only one in this family who does ], but this is way easier. So was that "junk drawer dimension yes" or no?

A solid maybe. [It's really weird, hearing Raph's voice more in his head than through his ears, but at least they can communicate effectively this way. Nevermind that there's some kind of energy, some weird sort of tie between them thrumming like a livewire. It's the same thing that kicked his heart into overdrive when Raph had backed himself right over that waterfall, when he, Leo and Mikey had dove after him without a second thought.

Donnie is equal parts covetous of the ease with which his brothers slide into this state of being, and cautious of what exactly it might do to them, Hamato heritage be damned.] But you and I both hallucinated earlier, if I'm not mistaken. This could all be in our heads.

[ He brings his non-Donnie-holding hand to his chin. ]

Junkyard of the mind. Got it.

[ Had to be a hallucination. Donnie's right here. ]

-- wait, did you hallucinate? You gotta open with that, Donnie!

Oh right. [He forgot while they were making insane revelations about psychic communication that he was not telling Raph that he Saw Things.] You didn't exactly tell me either, so I assumed we were keeping secrets.

[ Oh yeah!

Well!!!!! ]

Raph doesn't keep brain-related secrets. He...

[ .......

????? ]

Responsibly reflects on stuff and prioritizes.

[hits projected head with bo]

WH-

[ RUDE? DONNIE HIT RAPH? DONNIE HIT MYSTIC RAPH LIKE THE GOLF BALL?

Raph holds Donnie out some to try and limit his smacking range, like he's holding a very mean mouse. ]

Ay! No brother on brother violence in the field!

Then don't withhold critical information from me! [Gets an arm free from Big Hand Jail and waves it around, bo clasped tightly within it] Do you see Leo with his freakishly strategic plans?! Do you see Mikey around to get us all to talk to each other?! You do not! Don't lie to me!

[ Look at him in there. He's so... angery. ]

Prioritizing ain't lying, Donnie! I charaded the critical part! You were there, you saw!

[ Things charaded: eye on fritz. Not included: brother vanished from perception for a minute when that happened and he nearly had a wholeass meltdown about it.

tmw u pick the most hypocritical mountain to die on because it's named after you and you like to just pretend it's a molehill. ]

Charading! [hits hand with staff] Doesn't! [hit] Count! [HIT HIT! Then points staff not at Raph's mystic face, but his real dumb face, down there in the torso!!!!] And it's also not the most important part, you dummy! If we both experienced hallucinations at the same time, it could be indicative of what trapped us here in the first place!

[ Oh no now he's pointing. Rude and mean! ]

Well if I knew it was both of us, I would've shared for science! But I didn't, so I didn't! [ SO...... THERE. ] Now we both know, alright? Clean slate.

[ANGY]

[.......but fine. He's sick of being in hand jail anyway] Release me.

Thank you. [ There he is. His lil dude.

Very very gently releasing him from hand jail and putting him on mystic Raph's shoulder. ]

I'll apologize in a minute when my argue energy goes back down.

[ When his apology wallet unlocks. Otherwise it'll sound all weird and superior instead of like an actual apology. Things that possibly only matter to the Raph brainscape. ]

We've already negotiated a ceasefire. Apologies are superfluous. [Donnie doesn't care about your social conventions!!!! All he cares about is Solving this Problem and getting his shit and going home, not necessarily in that order (solving problem always comes first tho).]

So. We both experienced...something at the same time that resulted in odd physical deficiencies. You couldn't see out of your eye, and I couldn't hear your voice- and only your voice.

Correct so far?

[ Counterproposal: Raph doesn't know what superfluous is so he blows a raspberry about that first part. Catch him later, he's a professional guiltman. ]

So far, yeah. [ Ugh he guesses he'll think back on the details of it even though it was. Not a great time.

If solutions were always super easy and comfortable to get to, none of them would basically ever have problems to start with. So for now, he will activate the Raph chasm. When they're home safe, he'll gnaw on something and put higher brain function on vacation for a few hours. How's that sound, Raph? Solid plan. Thanks, buddy, you got this. ]

I couldn't find you for a second there. It was weird.

[ The vibes were off. Hated that. ]

[Hm.] And I saw...the Krang ship. [He still hasn't told the rest of their family what he did. Michael has been sworn (and bribed) to silence, but it's not going to last much longer. Especially not if he's seeing things about it.] I thought I was stuck inside of it. I couldn't see anything, not even the junkyard.

It happened at the same time. Some kind of mystic auditory hallucination that plays off our own personal fears? As you said, sounds like Hypno. But he usually doesn't do something like this just for fun, so he must have an objective.

[ Problems with being in big mystic form: he is technically sort of holding his brother but not truly Holding His Brother. If Donnie would even want the holding. He's always been the iffiest about that.

What a terrible thing to get stuck seeing.

So no more splitting off. Raph doesn't think that's on either of their to-do lists right now, all things considered, but he still tells it to himself very firmly. Important planning point. No separating. ]

I guess so, huh. Somewhere to rob. He shouldn't have any fresh beef with us, right? Last time we saw him, he got what he was after.

[ That's what criminal hippos care about, right. The ends, not the means.

And then there was almost an apocalypse or whatever. ]

It also doesn't make sense to just come after the two of us when we're out here alone. Even if we were incapacitated, Leo and Mikey would just pick up the slack. [Stands up on Raph's hand and snaps his goggles back down over his eyes, scanning the junkyard.

-then something pings on his goggles, lights up that bright pink-purple of mystic bullshit in the shape of a rectangle flat on the ground.] Ah ha! Over there! [JUMPS DOWN to run over and inspect what appears to be, by all intents and purposes, a trap door]

Great. So we got a motive in the wind.

[ It's always good to do the basic corners and edges of a puzzle first. Really outline around the gaps, see what you're working with.

All this kinda feels like one of those weird curvy free-form puzzles where the point is being all abstract. Not a cool detective puzzle. ]

[ ?

ah.

a bright yellow blinky dotted line in the shape of the little brother who was once standing right there. ]

[ ..... AH.

Raph de-mystic-forms with a lil pop and books it after him. No one in this family has impulse control unless it's about someone else's impulses, smdh. ]

THIS IS NOT A DIVIDE AND CONQUER SCENARIO!

[ U LITERALLY JUST SAID HOW LAST TIME WE WERE ~30 FEET APART YOU HALLUCINATED A SPOOKY ALIEN SHIP ]

[Sorry did you say something? Because you are not ninja mind melding anymore since Donnie both a) jumped off the physical tether to ninpo aka brother hand and b) mentally severed the connection unconsciously in favor of investigating with Science, and On His Own, emotionally speaking.

Sticks bo in the trap door that looks just like normal junkyard dirt to the naked eye and levers the trap door open. Whatever's down there is completely pitch black, because Donnie can't even see how deep whatever this tunnel is. Is it the sewers? Should he not even try to make a guess because they're probably in a hallucination?] Hmmmm.

[...kicks a toaster into the hole and waits for the clang.]

DONNIE!

[ Deafness will not stop Raph from yelling. Or from yoinking Donnie by the battleshell hoping to prevent future escape attempts. ]

Respect for teamwork, it's about the respect, it's about a little bit of safety in numbers, y'know? [ Mind Raph does know but he's also a big "you know how kids are" guy, but Raph doesn't wanna argue with the drill sergeant guy again because actually! His brothers have learned enough stuff the hard way already! A turtle can't have a good mental convo anymore, ugh. ] How's Raph supposed to have your back if you ain't... there...

[ Big hole... trap door...

Raph is standing very still either because he is also waiting for the toaster to clang or, more likely, he's putting all the power he has into resisting the urge to immediately cannonball into it. ]

[The toaster does not make a sound at all. So that's concerning.

Donnie stares down into the hole with his hands on his hips, debating silently before retrieving his bo and tapping a button. A wire pops out of the side and he holds out the bo to his brother, attaching the wire clip to his own belt.] I suppose it's up to me to investigate.

[ Donald... please... ]

Uhhhhh, no?

[ Wait Donnie can't hear him.

Pokes him with a mystic gauntlet hand. ]

Hey! No!

[ How come you get to do the cave-diving I mean it's dangerous and unknown to us literally why would I let you out of my sight in the BOTTOMLESS PIT ]

[Rolls eyes and grabs Raph's mystic gauntlet, and it's weird how all of a sudden Donnie can just feel what Raph is trying to say, both literally and emotionally. It's like all of a sudden, he's thinking inside of Raph's head- or Raph is thinking inside of his? And he can tell that the itch under Raph's skin is Don't let him out of my sight, an instinct so deep-rooted it's almost animalistic. Lizard brain.]

-what? I mean, obviously it needs to be checked out. [Too much information to sort through. He needs to focus and not get distracted by all this knowledge about his big brother he's never had before.] Who is better suited to yank whom out of danger? Clearly, it is you.

[ Raph is not immune to desires to investigate things. But it's weird to have Donnie brain about it for a hot second. Feel the too much. The need to process.

Which like. Sometimes he's too much for himself even when they're not in the middle of a situation that started messing with their heads and then doing a whole mind-meld on top of it. And he is him. So he guesses he can't really fault wanting to step back, refocus. Figure out one issue in front of them at a time.

The mystery door of it all, Raph just does not care for. For the highkey reasons Donnie is already privy to. ]

Yeah, but you can't hear me! How am I supposed to check on you when you're down there?

[That's the other thing too, is when they communicate like this, Donnie gets more than just Raph saying words. He likes to think he has a reasonable understanding of the people his brothers are, but this is something else entirely. Leo and Raph had only mentioned the 'ninja mind meld' thing in passing, and never really went into the specifics.

Donnie, in his hatred for all things mystic, had dismissed it at the time. Arrogant.

But here he can feel the worry pulsing through Raphael as if it's his own. What if he can't check on Raph? What if someone tries to take him again, do something to him? What if Donnie is once again only good for running away?]

That is a conundrum, [Donnie murmurs, keeping a hand on Raph as he rubs his beak and peers down into the hole.] Then there's nothing for it. We both go together.

The together plan, Raph likes.

[ Better to investigate an endless void toaster trap as a team than to have one of them falling in eternity while the other one stands back at surface level not knowing what's going on. By his humble mental calculations.

Raph'll have to figure out some other way to un- too much this jam for Dee. He has literally no idea what that looks like, but he's willing to slam his face into the effort until it clicks. Proximity is the big thing. Knowing if something happens.

Take ur bo staff back bro, return to your normal levels of the demon inside telling you to bonk brothers. ]

If I can make another Raph, we could jump him down there to check for a spike pit?

[ He hasn't actually accomplished clone Raphs since the big Shredder fight- animation budget, you know how it is- but still. ]

[Normal levels are at an 11 on a scale of 1-10. Donnie takes back his staff but doesn't detach the wire from his belt because he doesn't have a lot of faith in this particular plan. Not Raph's forte, bless his big, bleeding heart.]

Can you do that? [Leans against his bo, hanging onto a brother shell spike now instead of just like. Hand on the chest. Maybe he is also leaning over to look into the pit. Strange, lately Donnie's been the one lending himself to caution, but ever since Leo and Raph worked out their issues he's finding it easier and easier to be reckless. Mikey doesn't need to be looked after anymore because Raph's back on it.] Maybe I could make a construct and send it down. A floodlight or something. Ooh, I bet I could add constructs to your constructs! I've always wanted to try ninpo integration.

[ The audacity of the reckless lean. The shamelessness.

He is a trained ninja, though. And Raph is literally right here if something happens. And he trusts him or whatever that character arc was about. The one that's easier to remember now that it's not directly at odds with Leo's character arc buildup. (How much he wishes that kind of stuff made for lessons that didn't have to be learned the hard way notwithstanding.) ]

It would be easier to see what's goin' on in there if Raph 2 could actually, uh. See. [ Jumped a shadow clone into the infinite abyss to check for traps, couldn't report back because I forgot he wouldn't be able to see anything in there. ] Let's collab, brother!

[Okay this is very cool. Their ninpo is already cool, if infuriatingly difficult to analyze, and getting to play with the concept is almost worth being trapped in some pocket dimension whatever/wherever.

Donnie switches his hand to hold onto one of Raph's spikes instead, leaving his brother's hands free for whatever he needs to do to make a clone. At the same time he taps into his own powers, a purple glow bleeding over his brother's back and shoulders. A set of shoulder-mounted floodlights, similar to those in his own battle shell, begin to build onto Raphael's shoulders block by block. Time to see if those clone with him.]

[ If doing some weeb-ass Naruto hand sign shit is part of Raph's process, that's Raph's business. And now Donnie's. It's the whole pocket dimension's business, technically. Whatever. This is for a good cause. (Like "getting home alive.")

He gives the cool floodlights process the appreciative oooooooooh they deserve, of course. Brains and brawn club, brothers with mystic powers that are kinda pixel-y and manifest as physical constructs club, love that for them. ]

Slick stuff, Donnie! And now, one bonus Raph!

[ The incredible power of being able to manifest a version of himself to do canary in the coal mine duty. ]

[ POOF. Or kzzzzzzt hologram sound or whatever that we didn't get time to figure out how it works in the series finale, but was probably very cool and awesome. ANOTHER RAPH.

Pros: it's a Raph.

Cons: Raph 2 doesn't know the safe and secure feeling of having a Donnie-created mystic construct directly attached to him. Stinks to be that guy. OG Raph is hogging all the sincere reassurance that comes with this, he guesses. ]

Great.

He's mid.

[ Insert offended clone Raph gasp here. ]

Now now Raphael and Raphael-mid, nobody throws a one thousand ball run goal. [That's how that saying goes right] A plan B is in order. Barrel of monkeys, with Raph clones.

Or my favorite, plan C where I go down myself like I wanted to from the beginning.

What...

[ We bring a "say something almost a hundred percent wrong or nonsensical with full confidence and move on without stopping to check" energy to the family dynamic that the haters don't like to see.

It's back to square one of the struggle. Need to do something to make something happen because if nothing happens then they're not gonna get out of here. The barrel of Raphs is like, sounds fun ngl, still not ideal for a possibly bottomless pit. Who knows how many it would take? That's a time-sink.

But he doesn't want Donnie down there alone any more than before, either. What if there's a weird sound barrier and then neither of them could hear each other at all, what if something happened too fast for Donnie to signal--

(What's the point of anything if he can't keep him safe?

This is why fights are so much easier.)

Hrrrghrrhghrhrgh, and etc. ]

Take Raph-mid with you.

[ He'll do rappel anchor for both of them, it'll be fine. ]

Of course, of course. [Uses his proximity to his brother to also make a purple light construct shoulder-mounted multiple missile launcher while he's at it. A lil boom boom backpack, if you will. For funsies.]

Come along, brother, [Donnie says breezily, flicking his goggles down and reattaching the wire to himself. Is he being arrogant because his powers are coming so easily to him, or is he pumping up his own confidence in response to Raph's obvious concern? Or is it a defense mechanism so he doesn't panic again?

...whatever! Donnie tosses his staff to Raphael to hold and jumps down into the hole.]

[ The boom-boom backpack is a vital component to this mission. An element of fun, sure. A reassurance of maximum property damage potential as needed, which is something that can be so personal.

It also helps that Donnie is willing to accept the clone-escort compromise without pushing back. Big positive. Raph puts a note to self in the back of his brain somewhere about doing more clone practice. It would be cool if he could make them tiny enough to hitch rides on his brothers. Like, grow in case of emergency.

Mystic stuff is so weird, he could probably do that. ]

Just be careful! Double-careful!

[ TRIPLE CAREFUL!!!! ... WHATEVER THE THING FOR FOUR TIMES CAREFUL IS. Etc.

Raph catches the staff and takes on his sacred anchor point duty while clone Raph gets a hand on that cord and just kinda slides down after Donnie.

This is fine and cool. Not creepy. And he is not alone because his brother is literally physically tethered to him right now, sort of, so it's clearly great all the way around. ]

[Donnie and the double both disappear down into the hole, and for a while their combined purple-red glow follows them down the wire as the swing into the pit. Donnie keeps up a steady commentary (that amounts to little more than "Still going...hm nothing visible, no walls or obstructions, keep going") until, quite suddenly, there is silence.

Not just silence either; the respective light of Donnie's constructs and Raphael's clone suddenly vanishes, as if sucked into a box and shut. Donnie's voice disappears as well, though the weight on the end of the line still attached to the staff in Raphael's hands is there, same as ever. It's not even pulling at the staff as if something had snatched Donatello up and tried to pull him away.

However the quiet is still obvious, and the darkness maybe almost seems as if it is climbing up from the hatch, and Raphael is extremely, very much, alone up on the surface.]

This is fine.

[ See. It has to be fine now. He said that it's fine. ]

Not gonna lose it, Raph. He's right there. You can tell he's still there. And if you freak out and drop him he won't be there, so don't freak out. Donnie needs the opposite of freaking out. It's fine. You're not even really alone, it's fine, everything's fine.

[ The way he is not even going to remember this stretch of time later. There it goes. Into the fight or flight insta-delete filter. Part of the creeping darkness.

It's probably not even creeping. His eye's been weird all night, it's probably just-- more illusion stuff. Brain tricks. Brain tricks in the pocket dimension away from home where he can't see or hear his little brother anymore and it feels like something is watching them and he doesn't know how bad the bad guy is and they can't reach their family.

Keep it down, Raph. Hold the fort. Big brother first, everything else second. No one is allowed to be thinking of crying right now. That's all energy that gets tunnel vision focused on trying to perceive any tiny shifting of weight on the other end of this tether.

Donnie you're cool with the vague perception of you being the only thing anchoring your anchor's mental and physical wellbeing right. ]

When we get home we're not goin' out again for two months!

[ Cool things to yell into the void. ]

[look who came back, summoned by the whisper of punishment]

Don't you dare threaten me with house arrest! This isn't my fault!

[Donnie has returned! It must be so reassuring, except that there seems to be some sort of strange threshold that makes him look like a severed torso, as if his lower half is submerged in a pool of the deepest, blackest paint.]

[ Brother spotted off the port bow! Half of brother. (Don't think of Donnie actually severed at the torso, don't think of Donnie all twisted and Krang-y, we are having a normal one.)

Why couldn't he hear Donnie, if Donnie heard him? Donnie's hearing was on the fritz, too. (Maybe don't think about that either, we are having a normal one and a real one.) ]

It's not house arrest! It's-- [ A MUCH DIFFERENT THING THAT'S GOT MORE VALIDITY AND WILL MAKE EVERYONE AGREE WITH RAPH. Like uhhhhh ] Preserving your big brother's lifespan arrest! Look at yourself, you're a half-turtle right now! We're shavin' off months as we speak!

[ Points! Dramatically! For emphasis!

Ignores the many many times he has done dumb reckless things that would probably make their dad go bald if he'd been aware of them happening!

Fails to realize he's narratively setting himself up to get his ass handed to him! ]

There is obviously more of me out of sight! Ugh! [Reaches up and grabs Raph's ankle to start pulling him.] Just get down here and see!

[Not that Donnie could hope to move Raph on his own, but if Raph allows himself to be moved and pokes his head through that shadowy barrier, he'll see what Donnie's been exploring for those few minutes he's been no-contact.

An underground city. Not unlike the Hidden City in theory, but very unlike in appearance. A severe lack of wandering citizens, for one, missing the Hidden City's usual bustling air traffic of flying beasts and scuttling yokai. It almost seems abandoned, though still lit.

Also strange is the way that they have appeared in a hole on the ceiling, but are not falling to their (likely) deaths, instead suspended with the slightest force trying to push them out, as if dipping their heads beneath the water.] You see?

[ Raph allows it in the way that a very large dog might allow a kitten to bat at its ears while it chills on the floor. Like, okay fine, Donnie would probably not be yelling and bossing him around if he were actually Hypno-style sawed in half.

How many gotdang secret underground cities are they gonna find in this lifetime? It's getting out of hand.

You can really just see anything in New York. The internet was right. ]

...

Droppin' a toaster on a town could be seen as a good-faith gesture, right?

I'm seventy-two percent sure it isn't, but who cares. Go push one of those fridges in here, I want to see which way it falls. [the gravity here is so fun. let him postulate]

Edited 2023-07-06 07:39 (UTC)

[ Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. ]

I will if you put a helmet on.

Safety first.

[ In what world would a helmet save him from a fridge-- actually they're mutant super soldiers maybe that just means they work like looney tunes. ]

I cannot wear a helmet while conducting a questionable gravitational experiment! It'll ruin my image. [he will go get a fridge his own damn self! climbs back up the demon hole]

What image?! You're like twelve!

[ GOTTEM...

Oh he's climbing away. Rude. Raph would start investing in little brother leashes but he knows full well all his brothers are too wily for those to work. ]

[HE IS LITERALLY SIXTEEN AND YOU ARE ONLY SEVENTEEN??? DO U THINK YOU ARE IN UR FORTIES WITH A MORTGAGE JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST OF YOUR LIFE????? get over it

Donnie may have screeched some of that at Raphael but no one will ever know, because he's already crawled back through the hold like a possessed boy. Eventually the line still attached to Raphael via Donnie's belt goes taut, then seems to continue spooling as he presumably goes in search of a refrigerator to shove into the hole.

The city below is unnaturally still and quiet, a veritable ghost town (or perhaps a literal ghost town, who knows with these underground mystical metropolises. Metropoli. Whatever. There is nary a sound to be heard-

CLATTER

Oh except for that sound, followed only by what looks like a metal trash can lid rolling into view from a darkened alley far below.]

[ raph, eating wet floor salami and (realistically) some paper pulp that was a semi-sentient soldier a couple minutes beforehand: why am i the only mature mfer here

Donnie's incensed screeching is like whiny music to Raph's ears. Or more accurately it's generally reassuring for as long as it lasts. It's brotherly sounds. And brotherly sounds, especially 'secure enough to be bitching about something annoying Raph said or did to them' ones, are second banana perhaps only to like. Like.

'Woke up earlyish and can hear Pop humming in the kitchen' sounds.

Raph absorbs these screeches while he can since his little brother has now ONCE AGAIN YOTEN HIMSELF THROUGH A MAGIC HOLE AND OUT OF PERCEPTION!!!!!!!!! LEAVING RAPH ALONE! TO DIE!!!!!!! TO DIE AND/OR TO WORRY!!!

He misses having the whole squad. The fearsome foursome. Then there's always a guaranteed buddy system split instead of all this solo investigating. Raph's detective brain is on vacation to Fearville. All he wanted was to have an easy little errand run with his brother. Was that so much to ask for? Universe?

Anyway he probably also said literally all of that out loud because he's Raph and he likes to narrate to himself to calm himself down. He is king of telling himself how fine he is. Because he is. He's fine.

Barring one totally valid high-pitched oOoOoOoOooooo-! noise when he gets jumpscared by a distant trash can. He is literally in the distant super secret cave ceiling area in a post-invasion world, and yet he is intimidated. ]

Donnie! Donnie! [ The world's most dramatic pointless stage whisper, back at it again. ] Science this, science that, 'oh I wanna observe gravity stuff' and then all the real stuff to observe ain't even up there.

[ Raph what do you think gravity is, if not real stuff. ]

Well maybe tonight Raph observes and doesn't tell Donnie what's up. Show him what he misses by not makin' himself a helmet.

general psl

behold, a boy,

THERE HE IS!!! HE IS HERE!!!!

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draggin myself out of the inbox crypt like

YOU LIIIIIIVE

🥹

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1/2

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1/3 i will b Extra as a bedtime treat for myself

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3/3

a treat for WHO? this is MY treat

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1/2

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im back from the void also

we are so powerful and so brave

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