semilethal | general psl

[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. ]

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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