semilethal | general psl

[ 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. ]

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draggin myself out of the inbox crypt like

YOU LIIIIIIVE

🥹

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