revivalproject | Trying Not To

Entry tags:

Trying Not To

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.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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."

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?"

"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."

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?"

Sephiroth smirks at that. "I can't say I'm especially thrilled about it. I've traveled to many worlds of my own free will, so seeing a world different from my own is not in itself a new situation. The abduction part, however, is not something I've experienced before. But it would seem there's little I can do about returning home at the moment, so I'm trying to be productive."

Okay, fair. Sort of. Donnie's still somewhat miffed that his first chance to explore another world has been so limiting.

"And you think that that's the best way to be productive." He supposes it's a more direct route than trying to figure out the actual problems with this world. Shrugging, he gestures vaguely before moving as though to continue on his way.

"Well then good luck with that. If there wasn't any psycho would-be killers on the loose, this would've been a whole lot different for you I imagine."

"I was a protector back home. Right now, I would say the most pressing problems we have are these killers, yes. Once that's taken care of, I'll turn most of my attention to attempting to unravel this world's other problems. Has anyone here made any progress with either issue?"

He really hopes so. Surely something has been figured out if people have been coming here for years.

The turtle teen pauses a few steps past him.

"...no," he says, unable to keep the bitterness out of his tone. His shoulders slump a bit. "Not sure who all else has been investigating the murder problem. There hasn't been much physical evidence so far as I know.

"And in regards to the main problem here, it's not so simple as aliens wanting to come home. This isn't even their original world, but it's the only one they've ever been aware of as where their people have previously lived before. Something or most likely someone doesn't want them to be here, but I don't think anyone's figured out why."

Well, that's displeasing.

He listens thoughtfully to the news of the aliens' problem. "And yet these other someones don't live here either?"

At least, it doesn't sound like they live around this area....

Wesker simply shrugs in affirmation to that question. "Consider it a routine." He won't outright say it, but he does leave the city regularly. If only to get away from the madness spreading inside.

While Donnie checks on his plants, Wesker considers the still green leaves himself. Different types of plants, in all likelihood related to different projects of the young turtle.

"What do you make of the recent events in the city?" He asks casually. Quite a few things have been going on. People left and others took their place. The visitor. The season change. A few of the citizens deciding to murder each other.

"No. No one knows where they are and it's been mostly speculation as to even who they are. But they're watching us, and they have some ability to override things to use to their advantage."

Donnie throws a defiant look skywards. "They don't seem limited to technological manipulation either. The Storms that are deadly to the Agrii don't behave like normal storms. The first one I ever experienced didn't even have any sort of properties you'd associate with one."

And that is highly disturbing.

"What are these storms like?"

This sounds like important information to have.

That's a fair excuse. It's why he kind of likes staying out in Sh'Ka, less distractions.

At least the plants have proven resilient, but then these ones had survived near exposure to a volcanic eruption, so Donnie would have been disappointed if they just died from the normal seasonal shifts. He pulls a few dead leaves here and there, normal die-back of foliage, thankfully.

"...." The question makes him pause a moment.

"It's frustrating," he says after he takes a bit to sort out his thoughts. "It seems like any efforts to do anything productive just get interrupted by some nonsense or another. It was hard enough getting anything done when it was summer, and then someone gets bored or is just crazy- my bet's on both- and decides to stir things up for absolutely no worthwhile reason at all and it's..." He sighs, wringing his hands.

"I-I don't know. I don't understand it. I don't see how this is supposed to help anything, and trying to help stop all this nonsense just seems to make it worse."

Slowly Donnie makes himself turn around, though he still doesn't meet Sephiroth's gaze. He folds his arms.

"The usual occurrences as I've heard come with them are the power being out- any sort of power, electrical, battery, hand-cranked- totally dies when a storm hits. Aside from that, if you have any sort of supernatural abilities, those cut out too. And then there's the 'ghosts'- illusions of people you know. It varies as to what they're doing- I heard the usual tendency was to lead you into danger."

"Hm." Sephiroth doesn't like this at all. He was already annoyed to have most of his powers decreased in strength, but to cut off from them altogether would be even worse.

The ghosts aspect is disturbing too. He'll have to be wary if he sees any Zacks during these Storms. Or Clouds.

"You say you've heard," he says at last. "Does that mean you haven't experienced any of them for yourself?"

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?"

Donnie gives him an exasperated sigh as only a teenager can.

"I already told you that the first one that ever happened while I was here was nothing like what had been pre-established as 'normal' for these situations, so I'm not sure how much it could be classified as one. There were no actual storm elements, the power aspect however did come into play, albeit not permanently. The most recent storm was wet and there were glimpses of people and no power but instead of being led to your supposed doom you just got caught up reliving or watching other people relive some memory or another."

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.

Sephiroth had misunderstood Donnie's comment as the storm not having any properties associated with a normal storm, as in normal anywhere else.

"Strange that it would be so different. Maybe they're trying a new tactic to throw everyone off-guard or maybe this is what they plan to do in all storms from now on. Do the storms come at a certain frequency or is it unpredictable?"

Edited 2024-10-01 20:01 (UTC)

The turtle only shrugs. That's pretty much been his theory given that the Storms weren't natural in origin.

"Technically they're occurring now. There's been scattered patches of Storms happening these past few weeks."

"Really." He frowns. "I'll have to watch out for them." He wonders if they would also render flight useless. Perhaps he will have to walk most places to be on the safe side. "Do they seem to form in specific places more than others?"

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 1 of 12

Trying Not To

Well, why not.

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

How nice of him to check back on it~

he does still love his plants

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