[Open] Trying Not to Fall Apart

[purplexing]

Who: Donnie purplexing and you!
What: Oh you know, just an average week in the life of a teenage mutant ninja nerd
When: Early June before things start to really implode
Where: Central
Content Warnings: N/A, will update as needed



can't sleep something will eat me - Apartment
It's easier to sleep when you run yourself ragged and let yourself pass out. Then there's a seventy percent chance that you'd be too exhausted to dream. That hadn't necessarily been his plan but it had been more or less effective the night he, Leo and Accelerator had come back from their tech heist. Since then, sleep had been...elusive.

While it's not unusual for Donnie to pull late to all-nighters, he's been leaning on such practices extra hard lately. It's easier to get away with when he's got actual projects. Guy's telescoping stun baton gets done relatively quickly in this regard. The game systems they'd found at the recycling center have been reappropriated into a single gaming system and they now had a high-definition projector that freed them from the constraints of a flatscreen TV. Spare phones have been repaired, wiped and upgraded in the case that they might run into anyone who needed a phone or just didn't trust the ones the Guild handed out.

But even productive turtle teens need sleep, and whenever he succumbs to it, it's always fitful and ends up with him clawing his way to wakefulness, away from the blood-filled nightmares with the grasping, reaching hands and tendrils. Sometimes he stays in his room, other times he slips out to sit in the kitchen wrapped around a cup of coffee or huddled under a blanket on the couch, reading a book or poking around things on his phone. If his head's clear enough then he'll do some late night work dismantling something or another, or work on repairing circuitboards.


third time's a charm - Sewers
The whole point of having a lair deep in the sewers is so people can't get to it easily. The sewers are already a maze, but thanks to the flooding from all the rain last month, Donnie's managed to get a decent amount of it mapped out with the aid of his mystic-tech. They aren't as convoluted and full of abandoned places like New York, but he and Leo had finally found a promising location.

Moving things into a new lair is never much fun. They'd already had to rebuild their home once, after all. Here at least they don't have too much stuff to worry about, but then they are still basically starting from scratch. Priority had gone to hauling their ill-gained goods down there once basic setup had been handled, some tidying up (okay, a lot of tidying up), and initial security measures installed. With things stirring in the world above, Donnie's not taking any chances.

There's still a lot to do, but they've got this much done. It's just a shame that they have to do this at all after getting so used to living almost normally.


what a town - Around Central
Life still goes on, even when you're trying to play things cool after being mildly (?) traumatized, even when there've been drastic changes in the meta-world.

There are library books to be returned, after all, and if Donnie can't sneak-borrow more by using Leo's card, he can at least read things there, his earphones bumping some techno or K-Pop (it's catchy okay) so he doesn't accidentally nod off. It's an attempt, anyway.

Coffee runs go without saying, and there's something nice about being able to sit in a cafe enjoying an iced latte. It's a change of atmosphere and he can more or less blend in with others who are here tapping at their laptops and tablets. Kind of. Other times he'll just be grabbing a drink to go, so one might catch him all purple hoodied up on his way to or from.

It might be weird be hard to believe, but Donnie has other hobbies, which is why at some point or another one might come across him carrying a small cardboard box with a variety of plants ready to be repotted. The backpack slung over his shoulder holds a few pots and some potting soil. He's a turtle on a mission and nothing is keeping him from working on a balcony garden. Alternatively one can find him perusing the selection at a small plant nursery or shop.


that other option - Wildcard
(Got any other ideas/requests? Have at it or ping me on discord or the plork!)

Comments

sewerrrr

[faceguy]

Tech stuff may be over his head, but Leo has been through the build-a-lair rigamarole before, and he’s an old hand at it now. He helps with cleaning, and lets Donnie take the lead in setting things up, moving whatever he says to move, holding whatever he says to hold, screwing whatever he says to screw.

It’s good to have his hands moving, to have something to do. Since the quarantine, Leo hasn’t been going to school again, and as weird as it was to be going to school at all, it’s weird again to not have it taking up his time. He can fill the void with hobbies for awhile, but too much free time makes him itchy.

In that way the lair setup has been good. Even though it would be more ideal to not need it at all.

Leo supposes it’s a universal constant that his family will never truly be accepted, never truly be safe. All the “normal people” stuff he told Accelerator he was going to do this summer sits on a sad abandoned to-do list at the back of his mind that he tries not to think about. All the “normal people” stuff he wanted to do with his brother may never happen.

It’s not like Leo hates being a mutant turtle or anything. He just wishes the rest of the world saw what he sees.

But they don’t and so, the lair.

He’s just finished zigzagging string lights over the ceiling. It reminds him of the old lair that way, if less extravagant. It gives him a warm feeling of nostalgia that the apartment could never provide and he holds on to that silver lining.

“Alright, Dee.” He slides down the ladder to the floor. “What’s next?”

[purplexing]

Truthfully Donnie feels he'd be at a loss for where to put anything else if he didn't start with what seemed most practical. Of course his focus would always be towards the technical aspects, and figuring out what they need is easier to do by now. It's having the things necessary to do so that makes it difficult.

The lighting isn't ideal but it's a start, and Leo isn't the only one hit by nostalgia. Simpler times. Again he can't help but wonder how Splinter had managed early on, finding a place for them, making it a home. They'd only built up on it once they were older, but their father had set down the foundation.

Donnie sighs wistfully, looking up at the lights.

"Well, I guess we can plan out the space better now that we have some lighting," he suggests, turning to look at everything else. He'd been trying to avoid it, really. The general emptiness is depressing to look at and overwhelming for what isn't there. Sure, he knows what he wants and what they'd probably need, but thoughts are easier to organize than physical space, sometimes. It makes him realize how glad he is to not have to be doing this alone after all.

[faceguy]

Leo looks around the space, too, sizing it up. It’s daunting, a whole place they have to put together themselves. And it feels empty, in a way that’s easier to ignore in the apartment, alien as it is.

He pushes those thoughts aside to focus on the task at hand.

“Alright. What do we need? A place for food, a place to sleep, any work space you need…” Leo tuts. “Too bad it’s not big enough for a skate ramp, huh?”

He gives Donnie a little nudge with his elbow.

[purplexing]

The lack of a skateboard ramp makes him force a heavier sigh. "I doubt anything would measure up to our original lair in that regard," Donnie admits, though Leo can probably tell he's sizing up the place for even the slightest possibility as he speaks. It's probably a bad idea considering the ceiling's not terribly high.

"But food place- uh...well I guess it doesn't have to be a full-blown kitchen- maybe over on that side? General hangout area here..." He looks around as he considers. One would think limited space would be easier to work with than unlimited space!

"And we do have the next two chambers so either we do one a piece for rooms or split one and make the other a workshop-slash-lab..."

[faceguy]

He meant it as a joke, but if Donnie thinks they can fit it he’s not opposed.

“Yeah, can’t imagine us doing a lot of cooking.” That’s more Mikey’s area. “Just a place to store food, a microwave, a sink… hangout spot, and…”

He mulls over what Donnie said about the next chambers.

“It would probably be better to just split one… Sharing a room with you, though…”

He trails off, looking displeased.

[purplexing]

Well aware that it was suggested jokingly, Donnie still can't help but give it some thought. Unfortunately a skate ramp isn't happening here, more's the pity.

He makes a face as the discourse shifts towards rooming situations, but it's clear he shares that sentiment when it comes to sharing rooms. They've never shared rooms and he's not terribly inclined to want to start now.

"One and one, then, it's not like somewhere to sleep takes up much space and I can just build things accordingly to fit for my workshop."

[faceguy]

Not that he doesn’t agree they should split, but…

“If you put a bed in your lab, are you actually going to sleep?”

He knows how Donnie can be sometimes.

[purplexing]

"If I put a bed in my lab then it'd be easier to drag myself to instead of fall asleep at the computer or the worktable," Donnie points out, which...isn't really much by way of reassurance, much less a direct answer to Leo's question.

"Would we be able to sleep in one room?" It's a fair question he figures should be asked, and he does so with raised eyebrow. They could potentially expand but for the moment this place seemed the most ideal for their uses.

[faceguy]

He looks very unimpressed by that answer, but now they’re back to the original question.

“Uuuhhh, do you want the honest answer to that?”

Because it is probably no.

“Fine, put a bed in your lab.”

wildcard let's do thiiiis

[levelshift]

This is probably a dumb idea.

No, no. Accelerator is sure this is a dumb idea.

When his calculation assistance device is in normal mode he isn't a fighter, certainly not a melee fighter. He can't even walk on his own in normal mode. Esper mode is a totally different story, but the root of it is the same: he isn't a fighter. He's never been a fighter, since all of his fights except for two have been one-sided slaughters. It wouldn't be fair to the losers to call them fights, since those idiots never stood a chance against him.

That's why he should've insisted this was a waste of time and stayed home, instead of coming out to the abandoned warehouse where they had previously practiced for the recycling facility heist. But he isn't, oh no. He's here with his crutch, helpfully updated by Donnie so the cane portion can fully detach while extended, ready to learn how to use the damn thing to fight, even though he's either going to be a miserable failure or break the crutch.

But he keeps on thinking about how Kihara had nearly killed him with only his fists, and how he doesn't want to be in that situation ever again. Then he thinks about how that level 0 had knocked him out with only his right hand and how, ever since that day, he's picked up a habit of finishing off enemies by punching them out with his own right hand....

He sighs. "This is a stupid idea. That's the last time I'm saying it."

>8D

[purplexing]

"Should I get written record of that? Because that's the fifteenth time you've said it."

Despite Accelerator's half-hearted protests, Donnie hasn't taken them very seriously. After all, the esper's here, and there had been plenty of opportunity for him to have backed out. He could have just not showed up at all. The smirk the turtle wears plainly says all that he isn't aloud.

"Now then. I'm not aspiring to make you a staff-wielding expert. The whole point here is to show you what you can do if there comes a time you can't rely on your vector manipulation. It's better to think of it in general as an alternative so you can save your time for something to better put that ability towards."

He leans casually with his bō, looking Accelerator up and down. "How's your balance when you're not relying on the crutch?"

[levelshift]

Accelerator rolls his shoulders in a shrug. Yes, Donnie absolutely should get this in writing. Especially with that smirking, he's liable to complain some more despite saying it's the last time he'll do it.

"Fucking terrible," is his reply to that question, pointedly detaching the cane from the arm cuff so he has to keep his weight fully on both feet. He looks downwards. Uggghhh, can he even walk without it?

The answer to that question is not very well. His right side is okay, but when he takes a step forward with his left foot he's having to be really cautious about the shifting in weight. There is a lot of wobbling going on, and he's visibly annoyed by this. "Before the brain injury I could manage all of this by manipulating my body's vectors. That was easy enough to do that I never consciously thought about it."

Hence his lack of muscle that even a normal kid his age would have. There was never a need to build it up when his brain unconsciously took care of everything.

[purplexing]

Donnie's doing his own calculations as he watches Accelerator stop relying on the crutch, albeit not nearly as complicated. He tilts his head.

"So would you always have otherwise needed a crutch?" he asks. He'd always figured it had to do with the halved brain ability, and even in that regard he had no idea what had happened to cause that.

"At least you're not falling over right off the back. That's promising. Clearly you're going to be easily compromised if someone decides to take advantage of that side, but even if you end up on the ground, you won't be completely helpless so long as you know how to work with what you've got."

He shifts his own weight so he's not leaning on his staff, giving it a light kick with his foot to send it spinning as he brings it around to hold with both hands.

"Brace yourself, and hold your crutch like this. I'm going to give it a few whacks just so you know what to expect from impact."

[levelshift]

Accelerator shakes his head. "No, I wasn't that useless without my ability. I could walk fine on my own."

Of course, it goes without saying that he only means walking. Any real exercise pre-injury and without using his vector manipulation would've had him winded in a matter of minutes. In fact, during the fight with that level 0 he had gotten so tired that his legs gave out.

...... Not that he's going to admit that.

His frown deepens as Donnie goes on. It's a pain having to listen. When you've got the title of the strongest you aren't really used to hearing about your weaknesses. It doesn't help that Donnie's extremely casual spin to bring his staff to his hands looks cool, either.

His gaze shifts to his cane, and he mimics the turtle's grip. "Alright."

[purplexing]

"Okay, okay- I just didn't know what your baseline was." Using vectors to get around on a casual basis would have been a whole new level of lazy. Clearly their opinion of the esper working on his stamina still holds.

Donnie nods as Accelerator mimics his stance. He readjusts the hold on his bō, stepping forward to give the length of crutch a few taps in testing. It's better to start off easy, after all, but if Accelerator couldn't even keep a grip on the thing with just the slightest opposition, it'd be pointless to get right into attacks.

[levelshift]

"My baseline is having fucked up hormones and no reason to ever put any effort into fixing the issue," Accelerator bluntly replies, though all that derision is aimed at himself rather than Donnie. Realistically, he shouldn't be putting the blame fully on himself, not when he's had hundreds of researchers working on him over the years, but this is Accelerator. He never pushed the idea of medications or taking P.E. with any of them, so it may as well be entirely his own fault.

He'll hold his cane up tightly. Thankfully, Donnie is starting out easy so he isn't immediately embarrassing himself by falling over or anything. Inwardly, he's extremely grateful for that. To the surprise of absolutely no one he quickly finds himself favouring his right foot than his left, putting more of his weight on it to compensate.

[purplexing]

There's that whole effort thing again. Donnie can't help but frown a bit at that.

"Well, at least you're putting some effort into this. I mean, for all your complaining, you're here."

He doesn't have to look too hard to see how Accelerator's shifted. It's something he'd anticipated, and something that would be addressed as a weakness. But for now, Donnie'd let the esper use it as a strength.

"Coming down a little harder now," he says, giving Accelerator a heads-up before he actually does so, putting a little more weight into the strikes.

Can't Sleep

[effiomsfavorite]

Homunculus physiology is fairly straightforward: efficiency above all else. This means that, provided he isn't burning too much aura or recovering from injury, Huvrye needs to eat and sleep fairly infrequently - less than once a week on average. It's nice to try new food; it's nice to share a meal with the people he cares about; and he'd certainly sacked out hard when he'd been healing a pair of gunshot wounds; but aside from that, he's generally very much Awake.

Which makes it easy to notice that Donnie is too. The difference is, he's pretty certain Donnie needs to sleep, which makes this worrying.

It's a night when he'd thought Donnie had finally gone to bed. He's pouring himself a cup of coffee in the middle of the night (the caffeine gets filtered out of his system too quickly to have any effect) when Donnie comes out into the kitchen. If it were morning, Huvrye would simply pull down the purple mug and fill it too; as it is, sunrise isn't for hours, and he's concerned. He's situated in front of the coffee maker already, which is a good enough deterrent, and he looks at Donnie, concerned. "Everything okay?"

[purplexing]

Funny how even when you're not exactly sneaking out, you still feel the same getting caught just for sneaking into the kitchen, and it's not even for a late night snack.

Donnie had stepped in with his phone in hand, blearily swiping through things without even realizing the lights were already on or that Huvrye was there until those two words. He startles enough that his phone flies out of his hands, and it takes a bit of desperate juggling before he catches it in an awkward sort of hug against his chest.

Right. Huvrye.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine, just couldn't sleep, that's all," he says all too evasively as he carefully unfolds himself from around his phone.

[effiomsfavorite]

Okay, that reaction means the answer is no, despite Donnie's words. Huvrye doesn't push that angle, though - he still remembers Leo's instructions on how to talk with Donnie, and going in that direction probably won't help when Donnie is already on edge. Instead, he leans against the counter and raises one shoulder in a casual half-shrug, still blocking the coffee maker. "What's on your mind?"

[purplexing]

His stance makes it seem like he's trying to hide behind his phone, standing so tense where he'd stopped. He doesn't even look at the coffee maker. It's quite clear that taking refuge in the kitchen isn't an option.

This is uncharted territory for him, this line of inquiry. For a moment Donnie can't help but stare as though Huvrye's just spoken in some foreign language to him. It shifts into suspicion as he's sure the homunculus is on to him. He looks away, brow furrowing at some internal debate. Finally he sighs, some of the tension wicking off his shoulders, if only in partial surrender.

"...dumb things," he murmurs, a delayed response, a purposely vague one as he leans against the wall, but at least he tucks his phone away. "Things I don't need to be thinking about but it just comes up anyway."

[effiomsfavorite]

Between the blank stare, the suspicion, and the intense concentration over nothing, Huvrye is definitely starting to worry. Something is going on in there - something is keeping Donnie up at night - and the multi-part reaction to what should be a simple question speaks to that something being pretty big.

The answer, such as it is, doesn't change that. "If they're bothering you so much you can't sleep, then they're not dumb," he says simply. No judgment; simply an invitation to keep talking.

[purplexing]

It's silly, he knows it is, but having it laid out so plainly just makes Donnie start to tighten up again, tension drawn up like a blanket he can hide himself under. He folds his arms in front of him, a physical indication as he clams up again, looking away as he wrestles with his own thoughts.

"I know, I know...I just..." Didn't want Leo to worry? Didn't want to make it someone else's problem? So far he hadn't been doing a great job of finding a way to fix it though.

He slowly slides down along the wall, sinking to the floor to sit as he loosens his arms enough to slip around his knees. "I keep thinking of what happened in that room," he sighs. "I wish I could just forget it or block it out but it just keeps sneaking back in."

[effiomsfavorite]

And now Donnie is curled up on the floor of the kitchen. This isn't exactly going well, is it.

He considers his options for a few moments, then heads a little closer and takes a seat on the floor himself - close enough to talk, but not close enough to crowd Donnie. It takes him a moment to place what Donnie is talking about, but- the room. The nightmare room, from the heist. Oh. "Maybe talking it out will help," he suggests gently. He's pretty sure getting Donnie to open up won't be that easy, but he can at least try.

[purplexing]

It's not like Huvrye's suggestion surprises him. It's the most obvious thing one can suggest. But there are details that he's not sure he wants to get into or even should. After all, most of what was in that room had been comprised of things out of Leo and Accelerator's minds. They'd just been used as vehicles, outlets for giving shape to Donnie's own anxieties.

"...I'm not sure how," he admits. Could he be vague and still get his point across? Maybe. "But I guess I can try." What did he have to lose besides more sleep, anyway? He takes a deep breath.

"It didn't seem like a problem at first. I could see right through the illusion with my goggles- the room was using magic of some sort. I thought we'd be okay, I could just lead us all to the other door. But...it wasn't just a visual problem. E-even though I couldn't see things, I could still hear and feel them."

The gentle hands grasping at them, the strange, alien tendrils curling around their limbs, probing at the edges of his battle shell. The soft, chiding voices that spoke words that they had no business knowing, pulling from intimate memories, at odds with the loud crashing of thunder. Just thinking about it makes him shudder again.