metalogs | [Closed] Rooftops are where all the cool kids meet

Entry tags:

[Closed] Rooftops are where all the cool kids meet

Who: Donnie

purplexing and Accelerator

levelshift
What: Some dorks learn Donnie has a new power in the worst way possible.
When: Early-mid April
Where: The roof of the Diadem hotel.
Content Warnings: Talk of traumatic brain injuries, maybe some other medical stuff. Will update as needed.

[It's been a bit since Accelerator has gotten back from Excelsior. That trip had turned out to be a dead end regarding his original reasons for travel, but it hadn't been a total waste of time. Running into a second mutant turtle had been, at the very least, an interesting experience, especially when having a normal conversation with a peer that's even close to being on his level is so totally unheard of.

He isn't sure if that means he's still going soft, which is a little unnerving. Being in an entirely new universe means he needs to keep his guard up, not turn into Yoshikawa... but on the other hand, he did learn some new and interesting things. And she, Yomikawa and Last Order would be fucking thrilled if they knew he could manage being sociable in a somewhat normal context (outside of the whole sentient meat thing).

He'll need to mull this over later, when he's feeling less tired.

At any rate, there's the matter of the teleportation amulet device. Donnie has it, and he needs to return it to the Alliance before they start asking questions. The two of them have agreed to meet on the roof of the Diadem hotel, which Accelerator is perfectly fine with. It, unlike the lobby, is completely empty, and it offers a better view than having to wait around in some dark, dank back alley. It wasn't as easy to get up here as it should have been thanks to the underpowered garbage that is the supercomputer connected to his brain, but he's choosing to ignore that for the moment. Honestly, it isn't so bad, and he makes a mental note to come up here when his hotel room feels too claustrophobic.

... And to drink coffee, which he is currently doing. He's sitting against one of those big curved air intake vents, his crutch on the ground next to him, sipping from a can of coffee (some skull and bones brand, the same one he's been obsessively drinking since he got here). It's nice, the quiet and the breeze are nice. If there were a couple of slowly rotating wind turbines within view he could almost be tricked into thinking this was some roof in Academy City.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Funny what a little thing like knowing you actually have family around will do for one's attitude about things. Not that it's an excuse to be sloppy about things, and so even while Donnie may be ultimately zipping up onto the rooftop via his battle shell's flight capabilities, he's still trying to be stealthy about it.

Alas, he has no coffee. He hadn't come thinking this would be more than a drop off, maybe a bit of catch-up but Accelerator didn't seem much like an idle conversationalist. The guy's easy to spot though, and after a moment, so is Donnie once he drops down neatly in front of him.]

[Okay, what. It isn't showing on his face but Accelerator sees the flight attachment and just thinks that's pretty useful. It's also probably a hell of a lot easier than doing the calculations for mini-tornadoes he uses for flight.

(He is a tiny bit envious. That flight tech is very cool.)]

Yo. [He grabs his crutch and hauls himself onto his feet.] You got the amulet?

[Sure answers how he managed to avoid needing a save after being dumped from the sky.

Donnie looks smug as he lands, the rotors of his battle shell folding back into itself. He snorts.]

It would be negligent of me to come all this way without it, would it not?

[He pulls the teleportation amulet from his belt pouch, holding it out.]

[It most certainly does and Accelerator is filing this information away for the future.]

Good.

[He takes the amulet with the hand holding the coffee can, and holds it up to give it a quick once over. It looks fine, so he sticks it in his back pocket before taking another sip of coffee.]

At least going out to that damn city wasn't a total waste of time.

[This actually worked out! He's kind of amazed, honestly.]

[Donnie tilts his head at him, brow arching.]

Hm? Oh yeah, the uh...medical appointment, was it? What was that all about anyway?

[They'd only brushed upon the reason Accelerator was even there and then got promptly derailed by life experiences and the fact that Donnie had a captive audience and a desperate need for an outlet to keep him from panicking about other things.]

[There were extremely good reasons to not get into the details, though now that Accelerator has learned it was a dead end anyways he supposes it can't hurt to bring up. The choker is a weak point, for sure, but Donnie (and Leo, by extension) has the whole hero thing going. It's probably fine.

Besides, rumours had already spread in Academy City, so if someone from home were to show up there would be no stopping them from just telling everyone. Might as well get ahead of that shitshow while he has the chance.

He sighs and jabs a finger at the little device attached to his neck choker.]

This piece of garbage is a computer that I need to function. The Alliance gave it to me when I showed up since I was cut off from my external network I used back home, but it's total shit and according to them the only way I can get something better is by joining a guild. I wanted to see if I could get something better from one of the companies in Excelsior.

[His tone is getting growlier as he explains all of this. It is endlessly frustrating to be stuck in this situation.]

It didn't pan out.

[So that's what the deal with that thing had been. Donnie recalls well enough his seeing Accelerator fiddle with it on and off while they were fending off meatballs.

His hand raises before he catches himself and forces it to drop. Accelerator would probably not care for a random mutant turtle poking at some potentially vital equipment.]

No? From what I've read up on Excelsior that would have been the place for it, one would think.

You said the original connected to a network, so what is this one doing exactly?

[This is the most aggrieved noise in the history of forever.]

They told me I wouldn't be able to afford whatever they could build.

[Which, despite his annoyance, is valid. He's a teenager with no income and living off of the Alliance's generosity. Even if he had access to his (generous) bank account from back home he has the suspicion it wouldn't be enough.

He still needs an angry sip of coffee, though.]

It fills in for a lot of my brain activity. [Here's the fun part, explaining what it does and by proxy the extent of his brain damage. He's morbidly blunt and scornful about it.] Calculations for coordinating movement, understanding language, my esper ability - that kind of shit. It's supposed to read what brainwaves I have left, calculate everything I'm missing, then transmit the data back to my brain so I can function.

[Donnie rolls his eyes at that.]

Typical.

[Of course they expect the big bucks for top tech. Donnie's brain wheels are already turning.

He frowns as Accelerator explains what he feels necessary. Even without vital bits pointed out, there's still enough he offers to fill in the blanks. The turtle's eyes flick to the crutch thoughtfully, sliding back towards that little innocuous device around the other teen's neck.]

So aside from obviously not connecting with an external network- which sounds by far much more inconvenient than having something more conveniently accessible, especially for that kind of function, is it just a basis of how it's manufactured or are the output levels not what you're expecting?

[It's a little strange, having the freedom to complain about the assistance device. He did it a bit back home, but the reality of simply not being catatonic for the rest of his life thanks to the kindness of the Sisters and Last Order generally curbed any real griping. Here, though? Here he was just a charity case for the Alliance at best, and at worst has had it used as leverage to make him consider joining a guild. Both are awful.]

The output is total shit. I don't know what kind of processing power they put into this thing, but it's less than half of the external network back home, and that was less than half of my original calculation abilities.

[He figures Donnie is someone who can understand the seriousness of having a brain that's working at a fraction of his original capacity. Who knows if he's ever gone through anything like that, but he can probably at least appreciate how debilitating it is.]

It's like I'm wading through mud most of the time.

[Even without knowing what those original expected levels should be, Donnie can still cringe at the distinct difference of what Accelerator's current equipment is offering the poor guy.]

And that's the best the Alliance is offering? [Color him unimpressed, Alliance.] Wait- so are you not affiliated with any?

Either way, that practically sounds like blackmail. I can see why you'd look into alternatives. If I have a better idea of how it works, maybe...

[Really there are no 'maybe's in his mind. Clearly this is a piece of equipment that exists and functions, to an extent. It's just a matter of boosting output, which means it needs better hardware to keep up. He may not have money for resources but that's never stopped him from building things, and it is amazing what humans tend to write off as trash. He just needs to find some prime scavenging grounds in say...preferably Excelsior...]

[He shakes his head, glowering.]

I didn't see the point in joining either of those assholes.

[He's fighting a losing battle though, and he knows it. This is just him being as stubborn as humanly possible for as long as possible. Which is about all of a couple weeks, since his free ride at the Diadem is going to run out soon.

He tries to put that out of his mind, which is easy to do when Donnie starts thinking aloud. Accelerator stares at him, shocked at what could be an opportunity opening up.]

'Maybe' what? Could you do something?

[Any options are better than the guild option, at this point.]

Yeah, I'm not really sold on the whole idea either. The whole registration idea sounds highly suspicious to me as it is.

[Accelerator's expression surprises him until he figures it's probably to be expected. Giving the guy his basic background and showing him some fancy mystic-tech tricks doesn't really explain much for his general capabilities.]

I'm sure I could. The main problem would be getting the necessary components, but not impossible. I just need to know exactly how your device works, but I don't know how easy that would be to do if it's connected to you.

Can I at least get a closer look at it?

An actual member of the Alliance warned me against it. That says a lot.

[He'll have to send Donnie the link to that conversation at some point, so he's got another data point for reference for why guilds suck.

At any rate, he pauses at that question. Oh. Right. That requires getting into his personal space. That's still kind of new thing for him - normally when people do they're trying to maim or kill him, and their limbs get broken. Outside of Last Order he isn't used to people just... being able to do that not winding up severely injured.]

... That's fine.

[He can awkwardly hold still long enough for that.]

Good to know.

[He figures it's easier avoiding it in the first place than in reverse, but otherwise he's had no real reason to trust any of the available information.

Accelerator's hesitation is more than understandable. Donnie's not so crazy about letting people into his personal space either, and he figures it's a big ask when it involves something this delicate. But he waits for the other to give him the go-ahead before he nods and steps a little closer.]

Okay, let's see...

[Not that there's much to really see from the outside, and Donnie has no intention of fiddling with any buttons, but he reaches out to tilt the device on the choker just so.

...and that's all that really should have happened.

He sees it briefly, a faint if familiar flare of magenta light the moment his fingers come into contact with the thing, but before he can voice a question, the world around him seems to disappear.]

[Accelerator isn't expecting much, either. There's the light (currently green), the switch that lets him change modes, and the cord that runs from the device up to the electrodes stuck into the back of his head. Not much else, since the computer requires being removed from the choker for maintenance and charging.

As far as he knows, anyways. One big reason he hasn't been able to do anything about this himself is because disconnecting it from himself renders him unable to the processing capacity needed to examine it. He's stymied because of that.

Anyways, he isn't expecting much. The Alliance employees who installed the thing didn't tell him about some way to connect it to an external computer while still hooked up to him, but it can't hurt to let Donnie have a look. If he sees something new then great, if not, no harm done. Right?

Right?

He stays still, pointedly looking away when Donnie steps closer, and everything is fine until it's suddenly not. Contact with Donnie's fingers causes the light to flicker, something that looks minor enough to overlook, but for the device the abrupt introduction of a new connection is making the processor stutter.

It's a feat, honestly. Despite all of Accelerator's complaints this computer is a powerful one because, frankly, it needs to be. Even the average person's brain is incredibly complex, so having to fill in the gaps for a kid who can do complex mathematics on a quantum scale in fractions of a second is no joke, even if it can't measure up to his expectations. Even in normal mode it's fulfilling some of his esper calculations: it's received the measurements inputted as Accelerator senses the vectors from the UV light beaming down on them, constantly calculating and recalculating the formulas needed to act on that additional perception and allow for his personal reality to reflect it off of his body.

It probably isn't all that pleasant to experience. It certainly isn't for Accelerator, whose connection is getting entirely disrupted. In less than a second his thoughts are suddenly halted, the calculations keeping his body balanced and upright disappear, and his hold on his coffee and his crutch falter. His expression slides into something wide-eyed and blank as his legs give out from underneath him, no longer able to support his body weight without the necessary signals from his brain. Passively, he can tell his surroundings are shifting directions, but he can't put together why that's happening.]

[That's much more than Donnie's able to process of anything externally.

In a heartbeat his mind is filled with numbers, running, shifting, formulas and complex calculations that simultaneously seem like gibberish and yet make complete sense. It's too fast to parse, although in some instinctual effort to focus he can make out some of the information, process it as more than just a blur of mathematics before it's all too swiftly ripped away like he's caught in some wild rapids consisting entirely of codework.

And there is encoding, a background to the shuffle of numbers, adjusting, readjusting in subtle sync, maintaining a careful order to the numerical chaos, keeping things flowing, moving, functioning. It's a temporary solace, a promise that all other processes will make sense.

It slips from his focus, another heartbeat, another rush.

Everything is a rush. A blissful world both beautiful and terrifying, but at its fringes he can tell something's going wrong. He can't quite determine 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010 the source he can't focus it's too much this isn't rightwhat'shappeningmyheadisgoingtoexplodestopSTOPSTOP--

His fingers pull away from the device, more an act of gracious gravity than by his own power. Donnie's not even aware he's falling, his mind abruptly going blank like a power cord's been pulled. His eyes remain aglow, the same if fainter hue of magenta that accompanies his brand of ninpo.]

[The entire situation lasts a few seconds at the most, but it feels like much, much longer than that. It's hard to accurately judge the flow of time when several cogs have been unceremoniously dismantled from your head. Even when the connection is broken Accelerator still hits the ground, his body not responding. He's passively aware that things have stopped shifting, that his head hurts, but anything beyond those surface-level observations aren't clicking.

The calculation assistance device's light flickers again, and it lets out a little beep as it course-corrects and its normal closed circuit resumes.

Accelerator remains lying there for several seconds as the synapses in his brain fire and this thoughts start connecting, aided by the computer. He's on the ground, he fell and hit the ground after Donnie looked at the device. It... failed? It malfunctioned? Something happened, he isn't sure what, and that's probably the most terrifying thing out of all of this.

With a badly shaking hand he does what his reflexes have learned to do with this thing. He fumbles around at his neck until he finds the device, then the switch on it, and hits it a few times. He damn well can't remove it to examine what went wrong, this is literally his only option if it was to ever break.

It switches into esper mode with a beep, and he feels a flood of familiar, comfortable calculations enter his head. Then he changes it back to normal mode (another beep), and that flood becomes an uncomfortable trickle. Then, finally, briefly, he turns it off (yet another beep), keeping his hand clamped on the device so he doesn't lose the switch. A very painful lack of everything again, more missing cogs.

He turns it back on (the final beep), and his brain is back to bog-standard calculations. It seems to be back to normal....

Dropping his hand, he starts to push himself up. It's only now he's realizing his heart is thundering in his chest and it isn't just his hand that's shaking, but his entire arm. His whole body is twitching.]

Wh - what the fuck was that??

[Thankfully it hadn't stretched longer than that, but even a few seconds can be dangerous.

The bulk of his battle shell at least saves Donnie from hitting his head once he'd fallen. He doesn't offer an immediate response, still staring blankly skyward as his senses try to reconnect after whatever had threatened to disrupt them in the first place.

Abruptly he gasps like he'd momentarily forgotten to breathe, wincing as he finally registers the pain from the awkward angle and the glare of light in his eyes. He blinks and he swears he can still see numbers, but the washed out world is starting to slowly come back into focus.

Shakily, Donnie pushes himself up to sit, still trying to catch his breath, letting his hand rest on the rooftop to help ground him. He looks at his other hand like it's some foreign thing, the residual light from his eyes gradually fading.

Sorry Accelerator, he's still not quite all there yet, give him a sec.]

Edited 2023-04-04 05:27 (UTC)

[The silence in response to his question is concerning, and with a great amount of effort Accelerator manages to sit up. His heart is still thundering in his chest but taking a few minutes to calm down doesn't occur to him - he needs to figure out what the hell went wrong. Find the problem, crush it, done.

Looking around, he sees Donnie and catches the unnatural light in his fading, making his own widen. His initial assumption had been that the computer failing was due to it being so underpowered, but this is making him connect the dots.

His first instinct is a violent one. He reaches up, his hand on the choker, intending to flip the switch to esper mode. Normally he'd utilize his ability, either a burst of wind or more likely, his reflection and his hand to start crushing organs and demanding answers. But he knows objectively that behaviour is wrong and that Donnie isn't a bad person, something bad just happened and he needs to figure out what without being the monster that he is.

He doesn't let go of his choker, but he doesn't flip the switch, instead growling out in a threatening manner.]

What the hell did you do?

[That tone of voice certainly gets Donnie's attention. It looks like he'd completely forgotten Accelerator was even there for a moment, looking clearly startled as his focus snaps to.

He sees Accelerator's hand around the device and his eyes widen as his mind races filling in gaps for what must have happened. The conclusion has Donnie looking utterly horrified. No wonder the other teen looks so upset, he has every right to be if....]

I-I don't know! I wasn't trying to do anything! I was just going to look at the thing and then- [He gestures vaguely, still feeling slightly twitchy himself, like there's residual static of some kind but he can't make sense of it.]

...I think somehow your computer plugged into my head.

[It sounds utterly ridiculous but he looks completely serious as he tries to work out the how's there.]

...................

[Absolutely ridiculous. That sounds absolutely ridiculous. There's no way that can be true.

A dozen questions appear in Accelerator's mind, but he's totally silent as he considers this. What kind of answer is that? Why would Donnie think the computer plugged into his head? Is this supposed to be some kind of stupid lie? It isn't believable at all, he doesn't see why would Donnie be lying in the first place, and the turtle looks just as freaked out as he feels, so... this deduction has him nixing that possibility. He's telling the truth, which means he probably has some reason to come to that conclusion. It's far too specific to be some random thing he's blurting out. At the very least, the device doing something to him would explain why he's on the ground, too.

The gears in Accelerator's head keep on (wildly) turning, the desire to fix all of this serving as a focus. Zeroing in on Donnie's answer is serving as a way to ground himself. It isn't ideal as a way to calm down from being terrified and it certainly isn't deliberate, but it's better than nothing.]

It couldn't have. To connect it to someone's brain you need to use the electrodes, which are currently plugged into me. You didn't even take it out of its casing.

[His voice is still low, but the edge is gradually fading, and he doesn't move his hand from his choker quite yet.]

[The same can't be said for Donnie, who's still very much eyeing that hand still clutching said choker. If Accelerator did want to turn him inside out or something then the turtle can hardly blame him. That he doesn't, that he's willing to try talking about it has to count for something.

Donnie tries to gather his thoughts, even as he pulls his knees in and wraps his arms around them, like he's physically trying to pull himself together.]

It shouldn't have. But something still happened. I...don't think it was your device, not necessarily. It must've been on my end, somehow- no I don't know how, it's never happened before.

[He sucks in a breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to remember what happened.]

...there was a brief light, like when I use my ninpo. I wasn't even trying, I just, as soon as I came into contact with your device, everything blacked out and all I was seeing was numbers. Formulas.

Edited 2023-04-05 04:14 (UTC)

....

[Donnie is curled up. That kind of posture is the universal sign for super not okay, any idiot with eyes could see it. Accelerator doesn't know what to do with that, though. He can think of about a dozen ways to it worse, not better, so he just sits there for a moment.

In the end he decides to lower his hand down to the ground. It's becoming increasingly clear there's no need to use his ability here, he'd only be wasting the battery on something that was only an accident. Aside from that he still isn't sure what to do, so he glances around for his coffee. The can is on its side a few feet away, and what coffee had still been inside it has spilled out onto the concrete.

Well, that's just great. He still feels completely off-balance, though with there being no actual threat towards his life and having something to focus on, his pulse is gradually slowing back down to normal.]

... Your eyes were glowing. [He'll add that, in case Donnie couldn't tell just now. Who knows if it'll help, but it at least lends credence to the ninpo theory.

Then he finally, finally takes in a deep breath. It helps a little in processing the information Donnie is giving.]

Formulas, huh? That's basically how I see the world, fucking formulas for vectors and vector space. [He rolls that thought around in his head.] If that's what you saw when you touched the calculation assistance device....

[It would make sense, that's what the device is for. Numbers. Formulas. Hmm.]

Does your ninpo extend to electromagnetic control? [He hesitates, then adds:] The only people I know who would be able to... connect... to this thing have that ability. Sensing and manipulation of electrons would probably let them see the formulas like you did.

[That drive to know surpasses the more reasonable instinct to try to relax and make sure the rest of him is working. There's a potential new problem here and Donnie's not going to sleep on it, not when he might've accidentally shorted out Accelerator's additional brain power, not when things could have gone more wrong. With his eyes still shut he tries to hang onto what residual encoding flickers through his mind, trying to verify what it is he'd seen.

He's grateful that Accelerator's there and speaking up again. Mention that his eyes were glowing has the turtle frowning into his arms. His brow furrow, but finally he opens his eyes again.]

No, it shouldn't. It's all external materialization, like I showed you. It's not a reactive power, it needs me to initiate it.

...it wasn't just formulas though. There was actual programming behind it, the computer functions itself.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject