[open] I'm too sleepy to have something witty to put here

[faceguy]

WHO: Leo and anyone!
WHERE: Temba
WHAT: just post Mermay things + EVENT THINGS
WHEN: the days following the mermaid event
WARNINGS: none

A: Reunion (closed to Donnie)

It's very odd to be so sure you've always been a sea turtle one minute, then wake up and realize you were always a semi-aquatic red-eared slider. That's the feeling Leo is having now, as he wakes up in the workshop where he's been living alone and the world is no longer under water.

As he blinks and adjusts to his memories correcting themselves, he realizes what woke him up: a series of pings from his communication advice. Many pings from his communication device, actually. Rolling over and grabbing it from the side of his bed, he blinks blearily at the flood, then sits up straight and throws himself to the floor.

The messages are all from Donnie.

He scrolls back and sees that they cover weeks, the first a big batch as Donnie asks what happened in Temba and desperately tries to get Leo to answer, the rest becoming more periodic over time. Donnie's been trying to get through to him the whole time he was a semi-fish.

Donnie is still here.

Leo's already out the door by the time he sends a return message.

hey
where are u?

He left the factory so fast he forgot to change masks, his sleep eye mask pushed up on his forehead.

B: Stuck in the Suburbs (open)

So everything's okay now; Donnie's back, and the two of them are reunited. A happy ending for everyone!

Except for the part where they're still stuck on an alien planet lightyears from home, with no clear idea of how to get back.

Those are just details, though. Surely they can figure something out - they just have to find clues.

Thinking Donnie had gone home hadn't exactly made Leo eager to go out the last few weeks, something he's kind of regretting now that he has to walk most places. But now that things are okay again, he's out exploring, looking around all the places he hasn't seen in Temba yet. And this exploration leads him to the subdivision, and all it's semi-intact but still functionless and empty houses.

It's kind of creepy. It reminds Leo of those old movies where they'd build a town in the desert for nuclear testing.

He doesn't really have any clear aim, he's just wandering around. Though he does pause at one point and pick up a rock, then lob it through a window for a satisfying crash.

Perhaps you witness this act of petty vandalism. Do you say something to the Youth?

C: Sk8er Boi (open)

One of the good things that happened at the space port: Leo got a new skateboard! And he hasn't gotten much chance to ride it yet, thanks to spending the last several weeks as a sea turtle, but now he has his land legs back and it's time to test this baby out.

He sticks to the main parts of town where the roads are better, meaning, of course, that he is skateboarding around more populated areas. Well, populated being relative, but maybe you'll see the turtle zipping and zooming around, grinding off of the fountain or doing kickflips by the diner.

Or maybe he'll be looking the wrong way and accidentally run into you. Whoops!

D: Cheese Grater (Event/Open) (CW: violence, death (mostly off screen))

Leo didn’t mean to get caught in the storm, but when Donnie didn’t come back before it started he went back into it. Admittedly not his finest idea, but it’s the only one he had.

The memory that he, and you by extension, has stumbled into is a chaotic one.

He’s in the underground lair, but it’s crumbling, and there’s something attacking, huge and made of metal. It roars and swipes with massive, savage claws, and it’s all Leo can do to grab on to his little brother, popped in his shell. Across the room, his older brother protects Donnie from certain doom.

Whether you take a spot in this memory or just watch it play out, things are clear: this is a losing battle.

E: Something Lighter…? (Event/Open)

The New York skyline moves by fast, seen from the rooftops and not the street. Leo and his family are jumping the gaps together, and they’re moving fast.

Leo is truly in his element here. He’s been doing this for years, and he’s good at it. He knows exactly how much force to put into the jump, exactly how to angle his feet for a smooth landing. If you take his place, you can feel how it is for him: freeing and exhilarating, every jump as exciting as the last. He enjoys this feeling, the swoop of his stomach in midair before he comes down. With his brothers laughing and jumping beside him, and his dad out in front, he’s about as happy as he’s ever been.

If you aren’t taking his place, well, try not to get motion sick as the memory rushes to keep up.

Comments

[faceguy]

He puts a hand to his chest in mock offense.

“Are you accusing me of either?”

Very rude!

[work_wife]

"I don't know. What are you doing it for?"

Because it sounds like vandalism. But she can't say without knowing his stated purpose.

[faceguy]

"...Well..."

He doesn't really have a purpose. He was just bored. But he can't say that!

"I mean, abandoned houses on an alien planet? What if there's some kind of monster inside?"

[work_wife]

"Speaking as someone who has had to deal with monsters, typically it's best not to draw them toward you."

Like, seriously. Why would you want to make a monster chase you for attacking it's hidey hole?

[faceguy]

"Well, sometimes it's better. Like, isn't it better if they come after someone who can fight them than someone who can't?"

And Leo is, clearly, someone who can fight them!

[work_wife]

"It's usually better not to look for fights that weren't needed in my opinion. But that's me," she says with a shrug. "Not that there aren't people who would fight you if you asked. Like, Steve's learning from some swordsman named Gladio."

So yeah, there are people to fight if they want it. Without having to rouse monsters.

[faceguy]

"If people want to live in these houses, someone'll have to fight the monsters eventually." He shrugs. "But I guess if I want to fight someone recreationally, I'll go find that guy."

Gladio, he means. Not Steve. No offense to Steve, but he has a feeling he'd trounce him pretty easily.

[work_wife]

"Very capitalist of you," she grumbles. Man versus nature and all of that. But Robin sighs and nods. "Do what you've got to do. Just, you know, warn people before throwing rocks to draw monsters out I guess."

[faceguy]

He has no idea how that's "capitalist of him". Is it not just a true fact?

If there were any monsters, anyway.

"Fine, I'll make a PSA next time."

[work_wife]

"Sounds like a good plan," Robin says with a nod. "Besides, that way you can also make sure not to scare people."

Because yes, she had been spooked by the sound of glass breaking.

[faceguy]

"Was that scary? People in the sticks sure are jumpy..."

He's from New York, glass breaking is just part of the sounds of the city.

[work_wife]

"Some people in the sticks fight monsters, and jumpiness is actually pretty commonly upsetting to hear in that situation."

So yeah, it's not something she'd be used to. She's not a city girl.

[faceguy]

"Do the monsters break a lot of glass?"

Now he's just being contrary.

[work_wife]

"I mean, the Byers have had to replace a window a few times, sooooo yes?"

That seemed about right.

[faceguy]

Who are the Byers? You know what, probably not important.

“Seriously? The monsters just have a grudge against those guys or something?”

[work_wife]

They're definitely people that are not appearing in this situation, but Robin's not going to have to address that right now, thankfully.

"Oh yes, absolutely. But Joyce has a grudge against them too, so it's probably fair?"

[faceguy]

“…You know I haven’t actually been to your town, right?”

He has no idea who Joyce is.

[work_wife]

Okay, that's a fair point.

"So I should just never reference people I know? That seems pretty unfair, right?"

They should all get to still be colored by their histories in her opinion.

[faceguy]

“You can, just give me context!” He waves a hand for her to elaborate. “Who’s Joyce? Friend of yours?”

[work_wife]

"She's the mom of the Byers family. And a really badass lady. Like Ripley from Alien I guess."

Because that's the best example of a badass lady in media she can think of.

[faceguy]

“Never seen it,” he says. “But I guess that’s pretty cool.”

He’s subbing in other cool TV moms he’s seen. He doesn’t have a lot of reference points for non-turtle moms.

[work_wife]

"Super cool," Robin agrees with a nod. "She's just... powerful."

She's probably more Sarah Connor than Ripley, but Robin's only got Terminator One so yeah, she's not a fan of Sara Connor.

[faceguy]

"Did she help you guys fight the monsters?"

Maybe she has actual superpowers? Hm.

[work_wife]

"Oh yeah. She was fighting them well before I was there. She went IN to a secret Russian base to destroy their evil machine that enabled the monster to attack. Joyce is pretty bad ass."

If only her mom was more like that and less yoga and kale and karma and all that.

[faceguy]

“Whoa, seriously? Is she a ninja?”

He means this as a sincere question!