[Log] Calibrations: Trapped in Yesterday

[thepurpleone]

WHO: Donnie and you...?
WHERE: In the mind of Donatello... Gah, why're you in here
WHAT: Just some teenage turtle things
WHEN: During event
WARNINGS: N/A

(Waiting Room Mingle here)


Darkness gives way to neon lines of light that follow along the ceiling and sides of a massive room. It's a rounded shape, reminiscent of a tunnel, but someone's definitely made themselves at home here. Backlit and accented in soft purple hues, the entire space is retrofitted so professionally that anyone who steps inside wouldn't think they were in a sewer beneath the streets of New York City.

As the eyes adjust, it's clear that this is some sort of lab or workshop. The computer equipment is pretty slick, lining the walls of one side, random consoles and contraptions laid out here and there. Encased in a domed glass is some very stylized looking computer chip about as tall as a handspan, all angles and points. Seemingly somewhat out of place is, of all things, a trophy that's apparently from some sort of demolition derby. Beside it is a small purple crystal. Draped over a very fancy looking gaming/computer chair is a very purple bomber jacket, the smooth, shiny satin kind. This one has a purple snakelike dragon design on the back.

Of course, the place wouldn't be complete without a few pizza boxes, and there's a small stack off to the side for a place called Albearto's. The mascot appears to be a jolly-looking mustachio'd bear with a chef hat.

On the opposite wall are a line of shell-looking objects, armor of a sort? One of the battle shells has definitely seen better days, bearing massive claw marks that's laid circuitry bare. If that's not enough of a giveaway as to who's room this is, there's a titanium bust of Donnie's head sitting on the central workspace/desk.

...of course then there's also the actual Donnie, hunched over some project or another, goggles down as he does some welding. He doesn't even look up at his uninvited guest, but he makes it clear he knows you're there.

"Sigh, it never fails, you try to get some work done and someone just wanders on in uninvited. Do us both a favor and don't press any buttons."

Comments

[plate_builder]

Ninjas, huh? Yeah, that works for him. He knows more than a few. And this kid doesn't seem like a thief yet. Actually, definitely not as he said he had trouble with buying.

"So less Adamantoise and more Sahagin. And those are definitely things from home that don't make all of the sense."

[thepurpleone]

"A what and a who now?" Donnie squinted at the man. "I....have no idea what either of those are or how they apply here."

He pushed away from the table, turning to thumb at the battle shell currently on his back. "Covers my natural one. I'm an apalone spinifera - a spiny soft-shelled turtle."

[plate_builder]

Spiny? That might explain a bit of attitude.

"And you're talented to find your way to compensate for what might be a weakness in a fight. I'm almost jealous. I never found a good way for it myself. Magic users tend to be very fragile."

[thepurpleone]

That's just how he was. Then again, soft-shell turtles did bite.

Donnie blinked as he turned back towards Reeve. Having someone say as much was kind of weird, as though he were revealing a weakness itself, and it made the turtle feel vulnerable.

"But...magic can do a lot of stuff. Frustratingly cool stuff... I haven't been able to figure out how it works, but my brothers have magic weapons and have no problems with making them work for them." He clung tighter to his tech, but he was increasingly concerned that one day they just wouldn't need him or his tech any more.

[plate_builder]

"And you don't have access to magic weapons yourself?"

Maybe he could teach the boy some, when they aren't trapped in dreams. Who doesn't enjoy a bit of magical fire from time to time?

[thepurpleone]

The expression that flitted across his face then was in mild distaste for the suggestion. "I forewent grabbing a magic weapon in favor of a more cerebral option," he admitted, tapping at the side of his goggles.

"I found a crystal that could reveal readouts of things with magical properties when applied with my goggles."

[plate_builder]

Ah, one of those.

“Magic can be cerebral too. Maybe, when this is over, I can show you. My magic is one anyone can learn after all. Crystals and all that. Though a scanning crystal is also very useful.”

[thepurpleone]

That certainly piqued Donnie's interest. "Really?" Most of his frustration had been due to having no one being able to explain magic to him. The weapons hadn't come with instruction manuals but his brothers took to them like fish to water. Their exposure to mystical things was still relatively new and largely limited to their dealings with the Hidden City.

"Oh, it is! It even shows what magic might be hiding," he said, looking a little proud of his findings. Magically augmented tech could be cool.

[plate_builder]

Of course he would do so. Reeve offered a respectful nod over the question.

"Really. And yes, we make great use of scan magic too. I don't have any materia for that here. Of course I do not think it would be much use here. All of our magic is... like inherited memory. And memory cannot remember what it has not encountered.

[thepurpleone]

"Materia..?" Donnie tilted his head. The concept of whatever sort of magic Reeve used was interesting though.

"So...you're basically using what's already been established, you mean? A set power?"

[plate_builder]

"I will show you when we're awake. I won't be able to show the magic, but you can look at them, and hold them."

And when they get out, he can have lessons. But yes, it's like that.

"Memories of magic in a way. They are crystalized memories from the lifestream of our planet. An echo of the memories of magic that another race from our world could do."

[thepurpleone]

The promise of getting out and learning something new is a powerful one that picked up his spirits.

"Lifestream? Like... Okay, I'm not sure what you mean by that. Did the magic exist before this race or after it?"

[plate_builder]

Ah that is even more to explain.

"Have you heard of the concept of reincarnation?"

[thepurpleone]

"Yeeeah..." Donnie replies slowly. Of course he's heard of it. Belief is something completely different, of course.

[plate_builder]

"In my world, that's how all of the world works. All life, be it person or animal or plant or even the stone itself, is part of the rebirth of souls of my world called the Lifestream. Magic comes from that. From memories of magic. My race, we can't do it naturally beyond limit magic. But we can use crystalized memories to cast spells."

Yes, his world is a very strange one.

[thepurpleone]

Donnie's expression just becomes increasingly more confused at this whole angle that Reeve introduces.

"I...what? So...you're using the crystalized energy basically made up of former lifeforms that have been expended? Kind of like some magical fossil fuel except it's somehow powering spells."

[plate_builder]

"It was worse than that. We actually burned the Lifestream like a fossil fuel," he says with a sigh.

And that was his fault. But he can't touch that now. Not at all. "The fossilized memories in materia, though, those we combine with the magical energy within ourselves to call forth spells. I look forward to showing you if you want. You could even borrow one for a time."

[thepurpleone]

"Ooh...that...that sounds pretty horrible, yeah," Donnie admitted, especially now knowing what made up the Lifestream.

He blinked, looking down at his hands thoughtfully then. "Magical energy within ourselves..." He frowned a little. "So um. When I was exploring the beach caves for the hot springs I found the areas with the concentrated crystals instead and... Well Tony said they reacted to inherent abilities. Somehow I was able to...make things? Like... actual tech, but out of...light energy? I'm not really sure. My goggles read it as mystic energy somehow."

[plate_builder]

Oh yes, beyond horrible.

"We didn't know. Or, well, some people theorized it but we didn't know what we thought we did."

Still, he's impressed by what Donnie is telling him. So yes, he's really interested in that.

"I would suggest learning there then, as you might be better at tapping into magic there. But that's really intriguing to me. I think I'd like to see that, if it's okay?"

[thepurpleone]

"It's weird. So far as I know, we...don't do magic? I mean, outside of what I've seen my siblings do with magic weapons." But now he wasn't entirely sure.

"That's the thing. It only works in the caves. Like...I have to charge something up, and it'll last for a little while outside, depending on how fast I burn it off doing things- and then it's like a caffeine crash when it's exhausted. But yeah, I can show you. Once we're out of here, anyway."

[plate_builder]

"Magic weapons is still magic," Reeve says with a shrug. Or so he feels. That may not be true, but it's no reason not to try.

"The caves are supposed to enhance natural abilities. They charge us up. Whatever you do there might well be something you are inherently capable of but just not ready for."

[thepurpleone]

Donnie gave him somewhat of an exasperated shrug back. He didn't know how the magic weapons worked exactly- part of the problem really. Something instinctual? Some kind of energy syncing?

Reeve did make an interesting point there, however. Something he was inherently capable of but just not ready for... It made sense in a way. Experimenting with it had been frustrating, trying to keep a grasp on that feeling as it faded off with the charge from the crystals always failing, and it left him feeling empty, alone.

"Hm..."

[plate_builder]

"You can always keep practicing," Reeve says with a smile. "You seem young still. Which means you're still blooming into the fullness of your ability. Give it the chance. YOu deserve to explore it fully."

[thepurpleone]

Reeve's words coaxed a faint but hopeful smile from Donnie. He didn't hear much encouragement from people these days, not that he really needed it, but it was kind of nice.

"I was trying to figure out if I could make use of the crystals any, like some kind of supplementary...focus? I don't know. I brought some of them. Well, obviously not here here," he said as he gestured loosely at the rest of his lab.

[plate_builder]

Why wouldn't he hear encouragement? He was young. That was what young people need, isn't it?

"Obviously," Reeve agreed with a chuckle. "But that is perhaps a good approach, in the long term. The first secret to any form of magic is to learn to center yourself and work with the basics of connecting to it before getting out a focus."

That is true in about... well, 98% of cases. Some people just took too magic quicker and didn't need the whole mental aspects of it.