Trying Not To

[thepurpleone]

WHO: Donnie and you?
WHERE: Between and within Orange, Blue and Green
WHAT: Wall
WHEN: Late September
WARNINGS: I was in a write-y mood


It's hard to fix things when it seems that people don't care about having things fixed.

Back home, when things needed to be fixed, there'd be no peace until the problem was corrected. Donnie had slotted himself right into that role and performed it without complaint, and he prided himself in keeping things in working order and up to date. His family could live in comfort and despite having to live apart from humanity, was still fully connected to the world around them so long as the wifi was working.

So of course when he'd found himself dropped into the late snows of an alien planet, once it became clear that there was a problem to be attended to, Donnie assumed that his purpose here was obvious. Could a fourteen-year-old possibly be so arrogant to think he was the solution to fixing the problems of a displaced alien race?

Yes.

Admittedly, after being here for a year and with little actual Storm experience to show for, it had started to temper his ambitions, but Donnie had been much too stubborn to give up. He couldn't give up, because that meant never going home, and for someone who had never been away from his family for so long, this simply wasn't an option.

He'd found his drive again, in spite of the things that had happened, and in other instances, because of the things that happened. He now had his brother to lean on when things got difficult. And things had certainly gotten difficult.

This whole murder witch-hunt however is wearing down on him in ways he'd never considered. The confrontation with Stu had been a disaster so far as he had seen, and the more that had been said, the less he'd felt that putting in an appearance then would have helped matters. All the jumble of emotions had balled up so tightly in his gut and he had no name to any of them, save that he could probably do without the experience. He wanted to be sick, he wanted to just not be there, but every time someone said his name, it just felt like couldn't leave. Maybe he shouldn't have told anyone else. Maybe then things wouldn't have gone so horribly wrong. Again.

What was the point of it all? Any efforts made to try and get them any closer to figuring out what was going on with this planet and their mystery-watchers were being effectively waylaid because someone decided they were going to try killing people for the heck of it. Maybe that was evidence in itself, maybe they didn't really take the situation seriously. But did that really matter? Words hadn't resolved anything yet, which is why Donnie usually let his work do the talking. His confidence was always in his work, and in getting things done. And yet that had brought up another realization.

What's the point of being the tech-guy when anyone can fix things or code things with the touch of a sphere and an instant upload into your brain? It feels like his abilities were cheapened. Sure, he'd been ecstatic when he'd gotten Leo to figure out how to work with and understand code, and it was bad enough not being able to do two things that otherwise went hand-in-hand so far as he was concerned. But those uncomfortable, familiar insecurities have been working their way into his thoughts.

Is he even really needed here? If anyone can figure out how to fix or put together machines or program a tablet with a data point, then where did that leave him? It's a crippling thought that hurts even more than admitting to himself how bad he is with people. It swirls and builds with everything else like a steadily building cyclone and trying to pull anything from it to make sense of it has been an exhausting cycle in itself.

The emptiness that eventually rolls in after is almost welcoming. Maybe that's not quite what it is. Can someone get tired of feelings? Not his area of expertise. At the moment he doesn't particularly care so long as it saves him the discomfort. He has... Well, he thought he had things to do. He doesn't feel very motivated to continue them at the moment, but with the power being unreliable of late due to the strange storm patterns, maybe it doesn't matter too much.

So it's outside that he goes.

It's cloudy out but for the moment it doesn't seem like there's any rain just yet, not that the wet weather particularly bothers him so much as the hints of Storms with a capital 'S'. But with the instability of tech that comes with such Storms, that also means it's probably better not to fly around. Crash-landing from equipment failure seems somehow more embarrassing than getting caught walking around alone despite all the insistence from people not to, but it's one of those rare times where his overthink's not running wild, and he wants to enjoy the silence while he can. The walk out to the space he's planted his test garden is a long one given it's on the opposite side of the city and it's only longer if he doesn't cut through the city center, but at least he's more or less managed to regain his usual stamina since the accident aboard the Agrii ship.

Comments

Well, why not.

[sunglassesincluded]

Albert Wesker is a man that prefers to stick to his own affairs and plans and therefore sees no reason whatsoever to get involved with the ruckus currently keeping the city awake at night. He may have the experience in the field, sure, but he is aware enough of exactly where he stands with the general population that keeping to himself even more has turned into the only reasonable thing to do. Let the super heroes keep themselves busy while he collects results.

But these results he doesn't only get in either of his workspaces. And between results he does, in fact, leave said spaces as well as the city proper. Long hikes through the surrounding wilderness have proven quite effective to settle his thoughts while he has been keeping his eyes out for- Well. Anything of interest. At least out here those miniature storms and their disturbingly familiar shambling figures keep away from him. The only figure he spots happens to be a turtle.

"And here I almost wondered who is keeping a garden out here." The man remarks before his presence can be considered a surprise.

...I totally forgot he had to move his garden to Green-17 because volcano

[thepurpleone]

Donnie hasn't seen any strange figures yet, and quite frankly hasn't expected to come across anyone in general considering the concerns about dangerous people. Which honestly is laughable because anyone can be dangerous, and certainly there are dangerous people around, but they've known better than to try killing anyone so far as he's aware.

As it is, he jumps at the voice. At least surprise is an easier emotion to identify, even if momentarily unpleasant. His thought reserves are still too worn out to build on any follow-up, but once he sees who it is that's out here, Donnie relaxes considerably. No, he hasn't forgotten Wesker is one of those dangerous people, but Wesker's also been one of the few people trying to do anything productive here.

"Kind of a back-burner sort of thing," he says, reaching over to dust off the warning sign he'd hung up on one of the still existing walls.

How nice of him to check back on it~

[sunglassesincluded]

While Wesker can indeed be dangerous, he also considers himself to be well in control of himself and his actions. He is dangerous when necessary. But violence alone has never solved anything in his experience. Well. It has solved a few things, that's true. The more trivial issues. But the bigger issues tend to require a little more finesse. And sometimes a rocket launcher.

"What brings you back?" He inquires, his eyes watching the turtle and the oddly nostalgic motion of uncovering the old sign.

he does still love his plants

[thepurpleone]

"Haven't come by to look at it personally in a while. Been busy with other projects." That's true enough, at least. Projects that are in various stages of progression and levels of importance, but then every project is important to Donnie, really, even if one thing might simply be considered for entertainment while another towards hopefully getting closer to defying the Storms.

He manages to hold back a sigh, wiping off his hands before he starts wandering the rows of plants to see if anything for them might be needed.

"You out for a walk?" He doesn't often see Wesker out, but given his own tendency to stay buried in his workshop for days on end, he can't really say he knows the man's schedule nor habits.

[3wingedangel]

Sephiroth happens to be flying around, as that affords him a view of more at once and it's unlikely most here could get up to him in the sky, so it seems an efficient way of checking on people while alone himself. (Not that he really thinks these mysterious killers would be stupid enough to try attacking someone of his height and build and fighting expertise, but who knows. It would be foolish to think himself completely immune.) Seeing Donnie wandering around alone, he sighs and flies over, then lands in front of him.

"You're walking alone despite everything that's happening right now?"

Obviously Donnie is, so the question is more "Why are you doing that."

[thepurpleone]

So far as Donnie's been aware, there were only a handful of people who had the capability to fly around and of those, himself included, that was machine-assisted. Alone as he is, he knows better than to let down his guard, so at least when a shadow passes overhead, he's instantly on alert. Having some guy with wings land in front of him however isn't what he'd expected. He stares for a moment, because he's never seen the guy before, another newb?

Surprise shifts into caution as he eyes the long-haired man, fingers still curled into fists like he were ready for a fight.

"Yeah, what of it?" he answers, brow arching high. "What's it to you？ Aren't you doing the same thing?"

[3wingedangel]

"I'm patrolling for any sign of trouble," he replies. Assuming from that response that Donnie did not see his video post where he pretty much mentioned taking on the Security datapoint, he says, "I'm Sephiroth. I recently arrived."

[thepurpleone]

Afraid of whatever fallout he's imagined with the public revelation that it had been his tablet used in the latest attack, Donnie had been avoiding the network. He still looks warily at the man. That he was a recent arrival isn't something Donnie couldn't have guessed, but that fact is also all the more reason he keeps his guard up. Once burned and all that...Or was it twice..? Well, whatever- he doesn't know who he can trust anymore, much less his own judgment with people.

"Uh-huh. Usually recent arrivals are kind of busy freaking out about being abducted to an alien planet. This just not a new situation for you?"

[stoicandsarcastic]

It's really just not a good time to be on this alien planet.

Alec's been here for only a handful of weeks, no time at all compared to many of the residents, from what he's gathered. And he's already discovered a few major points. The first is that he misses his family, his siblings. Sure, he's missing their antics and having to try to keep them operating within the rules of Institute and Clave both, but it's not the break it initially felt like. He's been unable to fight down the suspicion that he's been brought here as a punishment.

The second is that he's the only one of his people here, and that's lonelier than he thought it would be. And yeah, it's not doing much to negate that punishment suspicion.

The third is that, without his bow, he doesn't quite know what to do with himself when his mind won't quiet. Normally he'd train, shooting arrow after arrow until his thoughts settle. Now he has no way of doing that.

So he's taken to walking, despite the various warnings to not do so alone. He's got his runes hidden with a glamour, because maybe if he looks like a normal human, it'll give him an advantage if he does get attacked. He's pretty sure that lady doctor suspects him of the attacks, given the timing of his arrival and the first one; it would be a heck of a way to prove his innocence. But that's not entirely his goal, and he doesn't really have a destination in mind, so he's somewhat surprised to come across a garden seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

And the garden apparently comes with a turtle. It's not Leo, he can tell that much, so it must be the brother Leo mentioned. Maybe.

"Uh, hi." Great introduction there Alec, way to go. Someone give this guy a medal. "Are you Leo's brother?"

[thepurpleone]

It's not like his garden isn't open to the public, but Donnie just never really expects anyone to notice, much less care. He blinks at the guy there, his face not exactly familiar to him, another recent or relatively recent arrival that he'd otherwise usually be on top of. At the back of his mind Donnie chides himself for not keeping as up to date as he should have, as he normally is. Things have just been so...

Excuses. He sighs, shaking his head as though the gesture would shake off the threatening rise of thoughts.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm...Donnie," he says, only slightly hesitant in sharing given his name had been outed with Shaw's attempt to scare Stu into a confession over the network. That Alec mentions Leo makes him slightly less off guard, something he catches and immediately second-guesses, shoulders tensing slightly. Paranoia's so exhausting.

[stoicandsarcastic]

Alec isn't much for gardens himself. They're nice and all, but gardening isn't his interest. Still there's something nice about the space; clearly someone cared enough to plant things in a semblance of order. That's important, and Alec respects it.

Maybe he should try gardening, see if he can find a new hobby. Or maybe not; it really doesn't suit him.

At least the turtle doesn't seen too inclined to want him to leave. That's actually kind of nice. Alec's been keeping to himself because he's not really sure what to do right now and even for an introvert, it gets lonely. Just being around someone else for a little bit might be kind of nice, actually.

Until the other person gets tired of him, anyway.

He notices that hesitation, but what can Alec say? He's been looked at with suspicion; that doesn't give him a good reason to do it to anyone else. Maybe he's delusional and going to get attacked because of it. He'll just take that chance.

"Alec," he says. After a moment, he offers a slightly awkward handshake, trying to dispel some of the weird tension. He's not exactly the best at interpersonal communication. "It's nice to meet you."

[thepurpleone]

He looks at the hand offered almost like it's a foreign thing before he slowly brings up his own. There's nothing wrong with handshakes, nor name exchanges. This is...standard procedure. He's not giving away any secrets or unwittingly being an accessory to murder, it's fine...

Well, so much for getting his overthink to give it a rest. Donnie tries his best to push it back, moving to complete the gesture as he grasps Alec's hand with his own three-fingered one. Or rather two fingers and one thumb, but hopefully the guy isn't weirded out. If he knows Leo then there shouldn't be any reason for that, at least. Slowly, Donnie allows for the faintest of a smile.

"Nice to meet you too."

Excellent, good, see, he can still do this. The world hasn't ended.

For Leo

[thepurpleone]

Everything may as well just be noise. Too much noise, too much everything, and Donnie isn't sure what to do with it. He's been less inclined to go walking around out in the city, not for the threat of a murderer or two, but because he doesn't know who else he might come across and he for sure doesn't want to talk about anything. That had clearly gone so well the last time.

Staying holed up at their place hasn't been any easier. Watching Leo go to bat for him has been difficult, and knowing that he's been throwing himself in the figurative line of fire hasn't made Donnie feel any better. Why was trying to do what was right getting so complicated?

He sits there on their makeshift couch, arms tight around his legs, like making himself smaller will make less of an impact in things. He hasn't touched his tablet, these past couple of weeks possibly setting a record for disconnecting from what amounted to social media around here. How can it possibly feel like you're even more trapped than you already were when you were stranded on an alien planet?

[faceguy]

Leo hasn't exactly been himself lately, either. Oh sure, he's done his best at keeping up appearances, his signature smiles resting on his face like a mask and his body language working hard to look like he's hardly working, but anyone who knows him well enough knows that he doesn't normally spend this much time inside, and he doesn't normally spend this much time on his own. He gets cabin fever easy and he hates being alone.

It's just... He thought, when someone stabbed Richie, that this wasn't going to be a big deal. They weren't detectives, sure, but they'd stopped enough bad guys by now that he didn't think it would be a big deal. Track whoever called Richie down, catch 'em in the act or shake 'em down for a confession, and then it would all be over.

Everything that's happened since he portaled Richie to the hospital has been a whirlwind, though. And the worst part is, Leo doesn't understand why no one seems to care. They care more about how Leo is doing things than they care about actually catching the bad guy.

And now there's a chance that Donnie will get swept up in it.

He's been trying to keep it together, but his resolve is withering fast. He doesn't know who to trust; all the adults here seem to either hate him or dismiss him outright. The kids from Indiana seem angry that they questioned Eddie. He doesn't know what to do next; he feels sure that Stu and/or that Billy Loomis guy are involved, but he doesn't know how to convince anyone else. And he doesn't know how to keep Donnie safe - and maybe more importantly, he doesn't know how to keep him happy.

(If Raph were here, he would know exactly how to protect Donnie. If Mikey were here, he'd know exactly how to cheer Donnie up.

Unfortunately, Donnie is stuck with Leo.)

He tries not to show his exhaustion as he comes into the warehouse today, carrying more food and snacks for the both of them. He's been going for more and more shelf-safe foods, so that they can store it here and not have to go all the way to the diner to eat. It means he hasn't had a hot meal (or pizza) in a while, but he doesn't care about that as much now as he might have even a few months ago.

He's distracted from his task when he sees Donnie's state, and he quickly sets his load down so he can come over to the couch.

"...What kind of job does a musical couch have?" he asks, by way of greeting.

[thepurpleone]

At the very least Donnie hasn't completely tried to shut himself off from everything again. He lifts his head when he hears Leo's returned, that alone providing some relief. He hates that he hasn't been able to do anything for his brother. He doesn't know what to do there and that's the point that hurts. None of his usual fixes seem applicable, not that he's had much motivation to work on anything of late. Things were so much easier with four of them to balance things out, somehow.

He hates feeling useless.

At least Leo's trying. But that's just it. Leo's been bearing all the weight. Donnie's smile is strained and not only because of his brother's opening words, because a question like that usually ensures a terrible pun is to follow. But he might be mildly thankful some things haven't changed.

"...no idea," he says, scooting over just a bit, not that he needs to, but its wordless invitation for Leo to join him if he wants.

[faceguy]

Leo sinks down into the spot that has been cleared for him, lips quirking up with mischievous intent that he only feels at about ten percent of his normal. He makes a real show of getting comfy, lounging back on the pillows and putting his hands under his head.

Then he says, very seriously, "Lounge singer."

[cactusy]

Donnie may or may not notice the first time or two that Shaw walks by his living quarters on the Glitter Food - after all, she doesn't knock, nor does she linger. But it keeps happening, and happening and happening and happening - until eventually, they'll cross paths when she's walking by and he's on his way in or out.

"Patrolling," she says, by way of explanation. "I'm varying my schedule, but I'm keeping an eye on this hallway."

[thepurpleone]

Donnie doesn't typically stay in his room on the ship, but ever since the theft, he's been a bit more paranoid about things he leaves anywhere. He'd slipped in to catalog what spare parts and things he's left there when Shaw catches him on the way out, stopping so abruptly, tensed like he's expecting to be lectured.

The response he gets isn't what he expects, and it makes him hesitate. There doesn't seem much reason for her to be patrolling, but then again, maybe it wasn't a bad idea now that anyone could board either ship. What good was that, really? He looks at her, leaning back against his door.

"...is that the only reason?"

[cactusy]

"Yeah...?"

There's a slight upturn at the end of the word, like she's not sure what other reason there could be.

"I'm trying to keep you safe."

[trpmods]

There is a new plant in the test garden by the time Donnie arrives. Well, perhaps it's more fair to call it a plantkin. A little tumbleweed, rolling around. It stops here and there, hands unfolding from the ball of its main form. In the hands a glass jar (clearly stolen from the diner given the labeling on it reading 'dried baconrooms') filled with water.

One hand pulls free and dips into the soil, and then pulls out before the jar is tilted just a little to add water to the ground around the plant. Then the arms with jar pull back into the form and it rolls off to another plant, slowly repeating the process.

[thepurpleone]

While Donnie had wondered if there'd be any of the locals visiting (he'd purposely made pictograph signs to further clear his point about not doing...whatever they do with spores or somethingsomething), the sight of this stranger startles him at first.

"Hey! Hey hey- what're you-" he starts, rushing over. His steps slow once he realizes what it's doing.

[trpmods]

Oh! A visitor. The tumbleweed unrolls itself fully, left standing on its three legs with its hands wrapped around its jar of water.

"Soil dries out, and so the plants cannot grow. I took one of the things from the place of gathering, put water in, came to help them."

And it will not accept that it is a bad thing.

sorry, I'm late, again! But at least it's middle of the month this time?

[madginger]

For all of her protests about not going anywhere without a buddy, sometimes, Max just needs a moment. She makes sure to take a small, heavily weighted, bat she made with the replicator, but she can't explain it. One minute she was fine, the next, she needed some fresh air, and some quiet.

She's not on her skateboard, since, well, incoming storm. But there are a lot of things she could empathize with Donnie on. For one thing, getting home. It doesn't matter what obstacles pop up in their way, she wants to go home, and has a need to help get everyone there, too. That one she's keeping to herself.

The murdering issue, that's a whole other problem. And part of why she scolded everyone as a whole. Part of what makes her such a hypocrite now.

When she sees a familiar face out in the rain, she walks up to him in a quick pace and wastes no time.

"What are you doing out here alone?"

\o/

[thepurpleone]

The rain's a nice touch, a perfect scene-set for the general gloom plaguing him but as a turtle it's a welcome relief from the heat that yet lingered from what's left of summer, thankfully not nearly as intent to cook people as it had been.

He glances over at the familiar voice, a complicated expression twisting his features as his overthink tries to shift itself back into gear from that question. It putters out before it can gain speed, any need he might have felt to defend himself falling through with it as he shrugs.

"Felt like it," he says, which is really the only thing he's sure of. His brows lift slightly, but there's no challenge in his tone when he turns the question back towards Max.

"You?"

Re: \o/

[madginger]

For Max, she would like something a little brighter, but the rain is okay. She'll deal with it. The heat, she actively enjoys now that it's not searing painful.

She watches Donnie's face.

Max shrugs a little, a tight smile forming on her lips.

"Just...needed to get out. And I guess completely forsake everything I lectured everyone else about. I was going to give you a talking to," she laughs and shakes her head, "but Leo's not even here to pay me in pizza. What's the point?"