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memestertrucks2026-01-08 01:50 pm
monstertruckers) wrote in memestertrucks2026-01-08 01:50 pm
Entry tags:
JANUARY TDM/EVENT
The storm drives the Convoy to the very summit of the mountains, before hitting a blinding pitch. The wind howls and drives snow in a way that promises to freeze everything… And there’s also a twist of smoke in the air, to further blind everything.
There’s one thing visible through the storm: a massive fortress clinging to the side of the mountain. The Convoy pulls up into the shelter. It seems this will be the best place to wait out the weather, even if the storm lasts for weeks.
It’s a cold welcome for new arrivals. The garage offers scant protection from the elements, and a winter storm rages outside. Snow, lighting, and thunder all blend together and do their best to break the windows and doors of the structure.
The storm itself shows no signs of abating, at least until several days have passed. So it’s up to the new arrivals to figure out how to survive the storm, find better shelter… And weather the strange changes foisted onto them.
01: SUMMONING CIRCLE
New Drifters arrive to a cold and half frozen garage, almost swallowed up by snow drifts. The Convoy is just visible through sheets of snow falling from the skies, and it is parked in the shelter of a nearby fortress. Getting out of the garage and reaching the fortress will take some work, though.
Starting with digging out through the snow. At least there’s a shovel or two inside the garage and the gas station. But digging through the snow is still cold work, and it’s imperative to duck back in the garage and find ways to warm up.
There’s still a small fire burning in the corner of the garage, near the summoning circle. It curiously doesn’t seem to need fuel to keep burning… Though throwing more on it will certainly increase the heat of the flames. Be advised that the fire will also burn clothing and flesh if a Drifter gets too close to it.
Starting with digging out through the snow. At least there’s a shovel or two inside the garage and the gas station. But digging through the snow is still cold work, and it’s imperative to duck back in the garage and find ways to warm up.
There’s still a small fire burning in the corner of the garage, near the summoning circle. It curiously doesn’t seem to need fuel to keep burning… Though throwing more on it will certainly increase the heat of the flames. Be advised that the fire will also burn clothing and flesh if a Drifter gets too close to it.
02: FORTRESS
The abandoned fortress offers some reprieve from the elements… But the prior battles have found a way to seep into the stones. Ice and Fire both have an effect on the surroundings.
+FIRE Condition: Arcane lava is flowing through the foundations and seeping up through the stones of the building. This is especially clear in the kitchen and dining hall. It may be toasty to the touch, but it also threatens to set things aflame; objects and people alike. Drifters weak to fire will suffer from the increased temperatures.
+ICE Condition: The extremes of the fortress are freezing over in enchanted ice, leaving only the main hall and kitchen with any heat. Drifters who lack ice affinity risk frost bite and hypothermia while exploring the other areas of Bastion. Direct contact with the ice also carries a risk of encasing the limb or the entire Drifter in ice. Might need some help getting chipped out.
In the midst of all this, there are still rooms and beds available for those who want a change of pace from the convoy, or bedrolls for those who want to camp out in the main hall.
+FIRE Condition: Arcane lava is flowing through the foundations and seeping up through the stones of the building. This is especially clear in the kitchen and dining hall. It may be toasty to the touch, but it also threatens to set things aflame; objects and people alike. Drifters weak to fire will suffer from the increased temperatures.
+ICE Condition: The extremes of the fortress are freezing over in enchanted ice, leaving only the main hall and kitchen with any heat. Drifters who lack ice affinity risk frost bite and hypothermia while exploring the other areas of Bastion. Direct contact with the ice also carries a risk of encasing the limb or the entire Drifter in ice. Might need some help getting chipped out.
In the midst of all this, there are still rooms and beds available for those who want a change of pace from the convoy, or bedrolls for those who want to camp out in the main hall.
03: START UP
After digging out, one can see that there are various cars surrounding the garage. Some of them parked directly outside and sheltered from the worst of the storm. But a few are further out, and will also need to be dug out of the snow.
There’s also a certain connection between different newcomers and cars. Something that suggests a particular vehicle is theirs, backed up by possessing the key to that vehicle. The key to the vehicle may already be in the ignition, on the dashboard… It may have even been on their person, ever since they woke up in that garage. Either way, Drifters have the keys to the vehicle now.
…But there’s a few rough edges on these vehicles. Flat tires, cracked windows and mirrors, maybe some stuck doors and locks; all of them the sort of thing that requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.
There’s also a certain connection between different newcomers and cars. Something that suggests a particular vehicle is theirs, backed up by possessing the key to that vehicle. The key to the vehicle may already be in the ignition, on the dashboard… It may have even been on their person, ever since they woke up in that garage. Either way, Drifters have the keys to the vehicle now.
…But there’s a few rough edges on these vehicles. Flat tires, cracked windows and mirrors, maybe some stuck doors and locks; all of them the sort of thing that requires two pairs of hands and supplies. The garage can take care of the supplies… Now it’s just a matter of finding some extra hands.
04: WILD ELEMENTS
Even when taking shelter in the fortress, the storms from outside have a way of seeping through the bricks. And trying to take root inside any Drifters. Cold mists and winds seep into the castle, along with fire traveling across the floors and lightning crashing against the roof.
Drifters exposed to extreme elements will find those same elements seeping into their blood.
Teeth also grow along portions of the walls in long fangs, ready to snag at any newcomers. Drawing blood on those teeth can result in changes in the new arrivals… As well as pulling a monster out of the hallway to try and draw more blood.
These monsters frequently manifest as:
+Gyuki, a spider and bull demon fusion.
+YinYang, a Frankenstein abomination
+And Malzeno, a strange eldritch dragon.
Drifters exposed to extreme elements will find those same elements seeping into their blood.
Teeth also grow along portions of the walls in long fangs, ready to snag at any newcomers. Drawing blood on those teeth can result in changes in the new arrivals… As well as pulling a monster out of the hallway to try and draw more blood.
These monsters frequently manifest as:
+Gyuki, a spider and bull demon fusion.
+YinYang, a Frankenstein abomination
+And Malzeno, a strange eldritch dragon.
05: FUEL PUMPS
The fortress also holds a network of pipes leading through the halls and connecting to the gas station. Text from the Convoy asks for at least a few Drifters to follow the pipes to their source, and activate them. Following those pipes leads to a chamber in the base of the fortress, with basins full of liquid.
Glowing and quicksilver liquid, at that. Liquid that looks like it could have been poured straight out of the moon. An inscription on the tanks reads “Moonshard fuel refinement” while a stack of papers details the various attempts to distill moonshards into an energy usable by humans without mutating them. It seems they’ve mostly succeeded with this attempt: once the valves are turned on, the fuel can be pumped into the Convoy and top off almost depleted fuel tanks.
But there is still a risk. Coming into contact with the fuel can instill a sudden, ravenous hunger and push new changes to the front. Prolonged exposure activates all traits at once, and will only revert the person when another monster has been hunted down, and their energy absorbed.
Glowing and quicksilver liquid, at that. Liquid that looks like it could have been poured straight out of the moon. An inscription on the tanks reads “Moonshard fuel refinement” while a stack of papers details the various attempts to distill moonshards into an energy usable by humans without mutating them. It seems they’ve mostly succeeded with this attempt: once the valves are turned on, the fuel can be pumped into the Convoy and top off almost depleted fuel tanks.
But there is still a risk. Coming into contact with the fuel can instill a sudden, ravenous hunger and push new changes to the front. Prolonged exposure activates all traits at once, and will only revert the person when another monster has been hunted down, and their energy absorbed.
06: IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK
The walls of Bastion reach an impressive 20 feet up and stretch for long distances… And have Husks merged into them, often in the hallways and occasionally in the rooms. The Husks clearly belong to either the Silver Tear or the Steel Wardens, given the insignias on them. Many of them are locked together, frozen in a fight. And their last words and thoughts are written on the walls in gold and silver script.
Most of the words are frantic, about defending the moon shards from heretics or freeing the moon shards from confinement. But if any of the words are read aloud, the Husks react by merging together and spawning a berserk heavy tank/tankceratops. Or a large Burner type monster. OR a dragon dinosaur with exploding, punching fists. Drifters may also get caught up in the monster changes, and fuse their own monster forms together!
Most of the words are frantic, about defending the moon shards from heretics or freeing the moon shards from confinement. But if any of the words are read aloud, the Husks react by merging together and spawning a berserk heavy tank/tankceratops. Or a large Burner type monster. OR a dragon dinosaur with exploding, punching fists. Drifters may also get caught up in the monster changes, and fuse their own monster forms together!
07: MONSTER FUSE
An element saturation isn’t the only strange thing in the fortress. Anyone who makes contact with the fortress stones will find themselves building a resonance with a fellow Drifter. This grows stronger the more time they spend in the fortress.
Until finally the bond solidifies on the next change the Drifters go through and hits a fever pitch. The next threat they encounter WILL force a transformation. When that happens, their next change fuses their two monster forms together into something new.
Their fusion form is a combination of two Drifter’s traits. It is also twice the size it would normally be, and is well suited to taking on any giant sized monsters. It can even give Drifters a brief insight into the memories of their partner, as the fusion takes place.
When this happens, both Drifters can switch control over their merged form. Those with greater synchronism will have more control, while those who squabble and fight will find that their monster form becomes more feral and savage. This fusion lasts until the threat abates: when that happens, the fusion breaks apart, and Drifters return to their prior state.
Until finally the bond solidifies on the next change the Drifters go through and hits a fever pitch. The next threat they encounter WILL force a transformation. When that happens, their next change fuses their two monster forms together into something new.
Their fusion form is a combination of two Drifter’s traits. It is also twice the size it would normally be, and is well suited to taking on any giant sized monsters. It can even give Drifters a brief insight into the memories of their partner, as the fusion takes place.
When this happens, both Drifters can switch control over their merged form. Those with greater synchronism will have more control, while those who squabble and fight will find that their monster form becomes more feral and savage. This fusion lasts until the threat abates: when that happens, the fusion breaks apart, and Drifters return to their prior state.
08: STORM CALL
There’s something outside that isn’t just the storm; it calls out in a howl that can make the blood run cold, and also pulls at one’s feet. Until it hits a point where the Bastion doesn’t feel like a restful place. Drifters who hear the storm call need to step outside and find the source; the storm itself isn’t particular on if they search on their own feet, or behind some wheels.
Drifters who travel on their own feet will swiftly be overwhelmed by the storm, and a moon warp hiding in the snow, and forced to transform. It doesn’t help that there’s wild saber-tooth Barioth wyverns prowling the wilds and ready to pounce.
Being inside a vehicle helps to shield them from the worst of the storm and the changes, and also gives Drifters more traversal options:
Tough cars are capable of wading through even the deepest snow without getting bogged down, as well as towing any stricken or stuck vehicles out of the drifts.
Fast vehicles can follow rivers of fire and lava that move through the wilds, without burning up due to prolonged exposure.
Eventually Drifters will find their way towards the summit of the mountain, and the discovery waiting beyond.
Drifters who travel on their own feet will swiftly be overwhelmed by the storm, and a moon warp hiding in the snow, and forced to transform. It doesn’t help that there’s wild saber-tooth Barioth wyverns prowling the wilds and ready to pounce.
Being inside a vehicle helps to shield them from the worst of the storm and the changes, and also gives Drifters more traversal options:
Tough cars are capable of wading through even the deepest snow without getting bogged down, as well as towing any stricken or stuck vehicles out of the drifts.
Fast vehicles can follow rivers of fire and lava that move through the wilds, without burning up due to prolonged exposure.
Eventually Drifters will find their way towards the summit of the mountain, and the discovery waiting beyond.
09: MONSTER CHANGES
Between the weird fuel, the teeth in the fortress, and hostile elements trying to force changes, new arrivals can quickly find their humanity getting worn away and new monster transformations taking place.
With the cold weather and regal structures, the environment calls out to Undead. As long as the elements rage, all Undead traits are available and also:
+Warm Blood: Undead can easily track living bodies through the wilds and the fortress, sensing the warmth of their blood in contrast to the storm.
+Rivalry: Tends to form rivalry with other Undead monsters, becoming territorial and protective of potential food sources.
+Ice Affinity: Undead find themselves better preserved by the cold and thriving in it, energized and strengthened by the snow, and even taking on glowing blue veins and eyes.
+Fire Fear: The presence of fire inspires aversion, and even terror and need to flee from it. Smaller flames like candles provoke unease, larger flames like a bonfire result in more panic.
+Holy Symbols: Presence of Steel Warden symbols (a sword piercing moon) can cause unease in Undead, and even repel them a location.
+Snow Shift: Exposure to snow forces the Undead into a more bestial form. This could resemble a bat, wolf, or deer/horse/bull.
With the cold weather and regal structures, the environment calls out to Undead. As long as the elements rage, all Undead traits are available and also:
+Warm Blood: Undead can easily track living bodies through the wilds and the fortress, sensing the warmth of their blood in contrast to the storm.
+Rivalry: Tends to form rivalry with other Undead monsters, becoming territorial and protective of potential food sources.
+Ice Affinity: Undead find themselves better preserved by the cold and thriving in it, energized and strengthened by the snow, and even taking on glowing blue veins and eyes.
+Fire Fear: The presence of fire inspires aversion, and even terror and need to flee from it. Smaller flames like candles provoke unease, larger flames like a bonfire result in more panic.
+Holy Symbols: Presence of Steel Warden symbols (a sword piercing moon) can cause unease in Undead, and even repel them a location.
+Snow Shift: Exposure to snow forces the Undead into a more bestial form. This could resemble a bat, wolf, or deer/horse/bull.
10: FROZEN HEART
At the summit of the mountains is a collection of freakishly tall and twisted trees. In their branches is a collection of frozen hearts growing like strange fruit. And further up is a massive object that looks like a deer skull with branching antlers. The ice storm flows from its eyes and mouth… And it shows no signs of ceasing without destroying the skull.
The frozen hearts are giving off a cold aura that freezes anything that doesn’t resist ice. Drifters will need to neutralize the hearts to dispel the cold aura. The hearts can be melted by fire, shot down with ranged weapons, magic, etc. When burned, the hearts give off a smoke that causes a terrible hunger and need to hunt in anyone who inhales it. Shattered heart shards also rain down and embed themselves in Drifters, and cause a berserk fury in those they cut.
But with each felled heart the barrier of the skull weakens, as does the storm. When the last of the frozen hearts falls, the storm skull fractures and breaks apart like brittle ice. Drifters can deliver the finishing blows, ending the storm in the process. After that, the way down the mountain becomes clear, and the Convoy may continue down without worry.
The frozen hearts are giving off a cold aura that freezes anything that doesn’t resist ice. Drifters will need to neutralize the hearts to dispel the cold aura. The hearts can be melted by fire, shot down with ranged weapons, magic, etc. When burned, the hearts give off a smoke that causes a terrible hunger and need to hunt in anyone who inhales it. Shattered heart shards also rain down and embed themselves in Drifters, and cause a berserk fury in those they cut.
But with each felled heart the barrier of the skull weakens, as does the storm. When the last of the frozen hearts falls, the storm skull fractures and breaks apart like brittle ice. Drifters can deliver the finishing blows, ending the storm in the process. After that, the way down the mountain becomes clear, and the Convoy may continue down without worry.
MICRO ENCOUNTERS:
PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.
Fortress Library: Books and screens seem to have fused together. Assorted data about monsters is on display here; everything from hunting strategy to contradicting praise of their strength. (Read: all lore information from the monster pages is available IC.)
Dining Hall: This time around the gas station and garage are empty of supplies… But there’s plenty of preserved foods in the castle kitchen and dining hall. Though the hot dishes are almost painfully spicy, and the cold served foods can almost freeze a mouth shut.
Snow Fields: Surrounding the fortress are fields of snow, ready to bog down anyone who wanders too far into them. It would be next to impossible for anyone to make it far on two feet without the aid of a vehicle… Or the aid of a monstrous transformation.
Fire Snow: The storm can wildly swing between temperatures, from freezing to burning with how the snowflakes fluctuate. They can suck warmth out of a Drifter’s body on contact, or risk burning any exposed skin.
Armory: The Steel Wardens kept an armory and arena close by for sparring. Various weapons and armor are stored here; some antiquated, some modern and augmented with technology. And everything but the older models are badly damaged by the elements; frozen over and metal crackled, or half melted from fire. They won’t have much use as weapons, but could be used as metal materials.
View from the Peaks: When the storm clears, one can look out from the peaks and see what’s next. A strange, twisted landscape stretches out below the peaks. And beyond that is something on the horizon; a massive city reaching upwards, and the buildings intact and gleaming. Going back to the Convoy reveals a new update in the database: Nirvana is near. And will be reached in an estimated 60 days from now.
no subject
He crosses the room towards another door. At least from what he can glimpse, it doesn't look like ice is going to be a problem in there. Hopefully.
"I figured it would be better to get information than try to pick a fight, so I asked them to convince me about what all their perspective on things is. It seemed a good opportunity given that's the first we've ever directly encountered anyone of the Silver Tears."
Andrew gently digs his own grave for when he perishes from embarassment
"Glad they're not as bad as the Wardens," Andrew continued, powering through the urge to fucking book it. "I don't think anyone could be worse than those assholes, though." So being better than the Wardens was a pretty low bar.
Information gathering was a good idea, too. He might or might not have been level headed enough himself if put in the same situation, so he had to applaud Donnie for that. "So what'd they say about things, besides being obsessive?"
ehgkfjlae
"Well, they don't consider it obsessive," he says once he's cleared his throat, glancing back where Andrew is. "They believe it's their duty to spread the truth of the moon and the power that's been changing the world. They believe it was gifted to humanity to stave off Stasis, but as things go, in the beginning, there were so many unknown factors, and while changes were rarer, it just meant that more people were susceptible to freaking out about it."
He stops by the doorway. "Is this a dining room..?" It looks like something from a movie, or he supposes what it might look like in an ancient castle, with a long table and just as many seats.
"...anyway, they mentioned that moon warps and monster changes used to be once in a lifetime sort of occurrences. The culling started early on, thousands of years ago, handled by what eventually came to be the Steel Wardens. They drove off those who tried to keep records and anything that threatened the status quo."
This keysmash gives me life
"Of course they don't. You know, the 'spreading the truth' part doesn't sound so bad. Information is good. But. Depends on the way they go about that, though. And spreading the power quickly gets fucking skeevy if they're changing people against their will. This 'power' has so much shit that goes along with it, and yeah, I'm glad I'm not a husk yet-" he deeply, instantly, regretted saying 'yet', too; the idea of turning into a husk scared him shitless "-but there's a violation of consent."
And he got they were trying to help people, clearly thought they were doing the right thing, but people could genuinely want to help and go about it in all the wrong ways. Not that the Wardens had made shit easy for anyone. Maybe without them, things never would have gotten so bad. People wouldn't be gifted 'power' against their will to try and stave off the Stasis. They might have actually gotten to go about things in a safer, saner way. Maybe.
Andrew peered in through the doorway, too. "Maybe if you're Dracula." Because it definitely had 'gothic vampire castle dining room' vibes.
But, back to hating on the Wardens- "Jesus. Fuck those guys. Erasing records of history isn't going to make anything better. It isn't going to make them the good guys. They're just fucking everyone over." He might have had a strong opinion about the Wardens.
no subject
Donnie doesn't like that 'yet' part there, Andrew, don't say stuff like that.
"But...yeah. Agreed. As much as what they read me from their 'Book of the Moon', there's no real guarantee that this power was intentionally gifted, or that humans were meant to harness it. But all the extremes happened only ten years ago, because it was the Tears that shattered the moon."
He laughs dryly at the Dracula remark. "I can see it. Don't think I'd want to go to any of his dinner parties though."
Oh, but Donnie can't really blame Andrew on those sentiments regarding the Wardens. Really, it was a pity they were so stolidly set on the whole 'monsters aren't people' thing because he had to admire some of their tech. They probably wouldn't even give him a chance given he was never human to begin with.
"Yeah, they're the worst. But I don't know that the Silver Tears will be doing anyone any favors if they break the moon completely."
no subject
He took a breath. And then another. Laced his fingers together at the back of his neck and tried not to fold in on himself. He wasn't quite sure right now how to express the fact his outburst wasn't really aimed at Donnie; it wasn't his fault. Instead, he focused on this Book of the Moon Donnie mentioned, trying to corral his thoughts to keep them in one place.
"Where'd they get that book? Something could be playing them. You know, whatever's in the moon wants out." But that was a worse thought, really. If the Tears were being strung along, then Nirvana wouldn't be anything good, and they'd all be fucked. He regretted asking in the first place; he wasn't any more prepared for this shit now than he'd been months ago.
"Yeah, me neither." Vampires were actually the best part of all of this to focus on. The least upsetting. Because he agreed; the Tears breaking the moon would probably be bad fucking news. He wasn't going to address that part. Probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere beyond noises of frustration even if he'd tried. His nerves were jangled between talking about husks, bringing up haunts, the Tears and the Wardens. He felt like his heart was going to beat its way out of his chest.
no subject
"...sorry. I just... Maybe it's just me that hadn't connected the whole... Never mind," he says, trying to cap himself off before he said something else wrong. His swarm link might betray the emotions he could never hope to explain, a flicker of uncertainty and concern, rolled together with a dusting of hurt.
The ghosts thing is a curious matter though, but he's not sure what to make of that, thinking perhaps it's something to do with the weird things that affect them here. And while Donnie hadn't seen them, he'd heard some of it during those snatches of conversation he'd been able to pick up over the radios when they'd released some of those souls.
His tail curls around him as he folds his wings closer, compacting himself as he starts trying to focus on the other things in the room, but there's not much of interest in the furnishings. At least it isn't freezing in here.
"My guess is they wrote it themselves," he says. Answering questions, focusing on data, that's an easier thing for him to do. "On the whole it doesn't seem entirely unusual. Even back on Earth, ancient cultures came up with explanations for things they don't understand, myths that back in their time they believed as truth. I'm not exactly sure where this whole idea of Stasis came to be unless people just were afraid of death, but then this mysterious power changed everything, and some saw it as a sign from some divine being and tried to harness and understand it while others saw it as a threat."
He stops, folding his arms against a shiver that for once isn't from the cold.
"...but that's not to say that theory of them being played isn't impossible. It's actually quite probable, unfortunately. Those studies from the setups at those farmhouses record that there is something in the moon. I don't know what side it's on, but I don't see how it could be a good one. But the Tears are blind, and the Witch who leads them seems to be doing a lot of this in desperation because the Wardens have killed so many of them. It sounded like she'd lost people close to her too."
no subject
"I've seen their haunts since day one. The husks. I know they're dead people." The ones who hadn't become monsters, at least. "I guess I thought everyone knew." Unless Donnie had meant the Stasis connection to husks. Andrew couldn't say when he'd put that connection together, himself. He'd heard it before at some point...and that was all he could say about the matter, spotty as his memory was at times.
He took another breath, slow. Held it for a moment. Exhaled, also slow. Then he dropped his hands away from the back of his neck, turning towards Donnie again. "Sounds like a religion. Which- really tracks. Explains why they're so passionate about the moon and the changes."
But the Tears could still be being used. He could see it, easily. And he could see it just as easily, that their Witch was maybe either grieving or angry or both. Seeking revenge and trying to make sure no other people died to the Wardens. Andrew was both angry and grieving himself; he knew how that could lead to doing reckless shit out of desperation. "Can't say I don't know how she feels, if she lost people she cared about. The Wardens don't give a shit about who they hurt."
no subject
"O-oh, well yeah. I figured that out when I was told about the having to free the souls with the radio music or something. But I only connected the Stasis thing recently. Makes sense though, right?"
He nods, because the whole Tears deal is pretty much a religion. He'd seen the temples, the offerings. It's creepy being revered because they've been able to supposedly handle the power warping them.
"Yeah... I wasn't able to get further details before the signal crapped out, but she's just trying to fix things the way she believes how. ...I'm worried about what that level of power will do, once whatever it is is freed from the moon. Observational notes from the farmhouse observatories mentioned an unprecedented mass transformation event in comparison to anything that's already happened."
And frankly, that scares him.
cw: childhood traumas
"Right. Yeah. I heard about that from- Akechi?" He didn't mean to sound unsure about Akechi's name, but he didn't know if his memory had presented him with the right information. Names tended to get away from him. "Don't remember when I first heard about Stasis, just know it feels familiar." So, he'd heard it or seen it somewhere at some point, basically. "It does."
Oh cool; this was digging into things he'd been trying not to think about more and more recently. It was taking a lot of willpower not to do the sort of things he fell back on when he was alone, behind closed doors, and honestly? Trying to contain it all wasn't doing him any favors.
"I don't think it's going to be good if they free that thing in the moon. We know it's hungry. We don't know what it wants." Were the Tears going to be able to control it? What if they couldn't, and it went on a rampage? What if they could and that was worse? "What are we going to do if we can't let it out?" By which he really meant which one of us is going to become the bad guy and stop the Witch?
no subject
He's not particularly empathetic, he's not Mikey, but he's paying closer attention to Andrew, and the clear attempt to keep calm has him hold off on saying anything further on that subject. Easier since he's not quite sure what to say.
"Akechi, yeah," the turtle nods. "That's when I made the connection- belatedly, talking with him. He's been keeping records of the information we've been picking up about this place and has been here longer."
Donnie says nothing as those questions are among the many he's asked himself, or at least similar enough. His expression pinches, and he shakes his head.
"We don't. And for all that the Tears believe of it, I don't think they really know what's in there. This could be a huge misinterpretation. I don't necessarily think that it's their intention to control it though... Maybe at this point they just think that things can only get better, which...is a sad thought, really."
He sighs. "I...don't know if preventing it from getting loose is an option. I mean I hope it is? Maybe the observations were more like a warning than an inevitability?"
no subject
deathmurder, and everything Andrew had been doing here. He didn't mind so much the physical scar he bore from it, but everything else? He minded it a hell of a lot."He's got some real interesting information about things here," he agreed. "I talked to him about a bunch of stuff, when we'd found that library." When Andrew had taken a few of the books with him.
"It is. It's a fucking-" he laughed, breathless and humorless, dragging his hands over his face the best he could with his new horns taking up some valuable real estate. "Eddie'd be able to see the connections. The dots. He'd have theories. He was good at that." He hadn't talked about Eddie in...a while. Weeks? Had he gone weeks without uttering Eddie's name? It felt wrong. Even though he tried to reason with himself that it only meant the grief wasn't eating him alive so viciously anymore.
"Southern Gothics. That's what it's like. The symbolism, the horror, the violence. Someone's not going to get a happy ending." And he hoped it wasn't them. He wanted to come out the other side of this alive, in one piece, himself.
no subject
"Eddie?" He blinked. "Ah, not Edward Eddie." Things got confusing when you and your brother tended to give everyone nicknames! Belatedly he caught onto the past-tense, and he shut his mouth, wondering if maybe he was overthinking it again. The continuation to the train of thought that Andrew offered wasn't exactly a reassuring one.
"...I hate that I can't really refute that, but with how everything's already been here, it's kind of hard to see otherwise, short of a miracle." Maybe they were thought to be the miracle. Or some last line of defense. Either way, Donnie didn't like it.
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"Eddie was my best friend. Someone killed him." That would become a heavy sentence if he let it sit too long. It might threaten to drag him down with it. So he kept talking. "But he loved Southern Gothics. Appalachian folklore. Ghost stories." And why not? They'd had their own ghost story, as Eddie had loved to remind him.
"He'd have better theories about what kind of shit's going on, if it even follows any of that logic in the first place." Maybe Eddie wouldn't have known what to do, but he would've gladly hashed out the details with people, talked things out, worked through ideas. He might've been able to help someone else reach a useful conclusion. Andrew just had the details he'd picked up from listening for so many years.
A miracle. "I wouldn't rule it out, at least." And he'd be kind enough not to say that the last time a 'miracle' had happened to him, he'd almost died in a cave with Eddie, and the both of them had gone on to have freaky ghost powers.
Which seemed to remind the thing in his bones that yes, it still existed. It strained faintly against his control, but he'd had a lot more practice lately with keeping it in check, so nothing more actually happened. It stayed in his bones, in the marrow, quietly displeased at being denied, like a prisoner rattling the bars of its cage.
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"O-oh." He hadn't really expected to get a confirmation on that, and he was glad that Andrew moved on quickly from that revelation.
"Huh. No, that probably would have opened up some different but possibly viable avenues to working out anything. So far as it seems, no one's been particularly knowledgeable in things that might be helpful to understand something of, like rituals and creepy magic stuff."
Donnie frowned thoughtfully. He really disliked putting any hope on something so intangible, but that had been all they had when they worked out their plan to defeat the Kraang, back home. And Casey had said hope was a ninja's greatest weapon.
"...well, in any case, at least none of us are alone. We're more or less unified on the whole wanting to get out of this in one piece."
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Andrew had no intentions of lingering on discussion of Eddie's death. Especially since Donnie looked like he'd rather talk about anything but that. Andrew didn't blame him.
"Ugh." He hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of potential replies. What'd happened in the cave had probably been some kind of ritual. And his entire life since was full of creepy magic stuff. And yet- "I can't help there. I've got the boxes ticked for rituals and creepy magic stuff, but I don't know shit about 'em." Because he'd wanted it to be that way. He hadn't wanted to know, to learn.
He took a breath, slow. "Yeah. We'll figure it out together." He had to believe that. "I just. I want to be here, without the moon coming down on us, and the Wardens with their bullshit. And without the danger of becoming Husks. I'll even take these horns, and everything else." Because he was so much happier here than he'd been back home in a long while.
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But still, it had been difficult when Leo had been so convinced that he'd died and that was why he was here. It didn't help that he'd turned into something in-between, undead, and for all the visible organs, Donnie still refused to outright say he was, because technically, he wasn't. He'd been saved. And Donnie was determined to save him here, so he could go home and know that he was saved. So he didn't have the same understanding of death, because no one was really...gone.
Gone was a scary thing to think about, unthinkable, really.
"No, yeah. Same. I was never well-versed in the whole magic thing. I mean, once we were mentally transported into my dad's memories but that wasn't too much of a ritual and just a big...what're they called... Arrays?"
Donnie nodded slowly as Andrew admitted his preferences of this place over going home. It was like with Edward, how the changes here actually helped him. Understanding that and how not everyone liked where they'd come from made it easier to see why they'd even prefer a twisted world like this. But less twisted. If they could actually fix things, that'd be better for everyone, wouldn't it?
"...maybe there's a chance to fix this world. Maybe we'll have a chance to decide then, whether we can stay or go home. I think we'll still have to wait until Nirvana for those answers though."
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"Oh. That sounds. Uh. Complicated." He took a breath, steeled his nerves. "I've got magic, but I never wanted to learn about it."
He'd never wanted to practice it, he'd even even wanted to acknowledge that it existed. And then he'd ended up here and he'd met Edward, who wasn't frightened by the cold power in his marrow, who encouraged him to make peace with it, to learn it better. Andrew would deal with a hell of a lot to hold onto things like that--and to hold onto Edward. Horns were a small price to pay.
"I-" That was the other scary part. What if they didn't end up with a choice? What if he was shoved back through a portal or a summoning circle or something? "We've come this far, we have to be able to do something." He didn't want to say there was nothing left for him back home, as true as it was, because it was too much to verbalize right now. "That's why we're here, right?"
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"Oh yeah. Luckily our other dad-figure is an alchemist and pretty much our go-to for any mystic stuff. -wait, rewind. You have magic?" That was sure something to drop. "I mean, I guess I technically have magic too. It was kind of frustrating though, because at first, before any of us knew that it was a family thing, my brothers had found magic weapons and were using them like no one's business, but there was no one to explain how it worked to me."
But he'd gotten over that. Eventually. It had been a process. He'd doubled down on his tech because that was what he knew. But April had said some magical words to him, that tech and magic could be better together. Perhaps that was the basis of how he'd started to apply it to his ninpō, why he'd caught on so quickly.
But they'd need more than magical firepower to get home. (If home was an option- Donnie didn't want to acknowledge the possibility of otherwise.)
"I know. I know, it's- they needed us here. Because they couldn't do something themselves. One of the voices from the Husks said as much. I just wish there was more context. But we're here for a reason."
He just hoped that that reason was a good one, and didn't turn out to be something even more horrible.
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When Donnie said it had been frustrating at first, because no one could explain how it worked to him, Andrew couldn't help but think of Eddie. And the thing that had wedged between them. 'The thing' being Andrew's firm refusal to want to learn about their magic. He hadn't wanted anything to do with it, hadn't wanted to use it, hadn't wanted to talk about it. Hadn't wanted to understand it.
"I think you would've had a lot to talk about with Eddie," he said, voice quiet. "He was the one who wanted to understand what we could do, what it meant, where it came from. I think-" but he couldn't finish that sentence. The words snarled together in a tangle in his throat. He thought it'd been getting bad for Eddie, that he'd wanted answers not just for himself, but so he could keep Andrew safe. None of that mattered anymore. Andrew hadn't been there for him. And now, here, whatever had been happening...wasn't, anymore. He was too far away from the source.
"Anyway, yeah, it's ghost shit. Not gonna be a whole lot of help unless y'all need someone to interrogate the Husks or whatever." He was downplaying it, a bit. There was more to it than that. "At least I've got the fire, too." And his canine form. But maybe interrogating the Husks would be helpful at some point. To get some sort of context or whatever.
"Your- magic and everything is cooler." He'd seen Donnie do way cooler things than Andrew could, himself.
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"Right, yeah. Ghosts. Er... Well, you never know. -you could do it without the radios?" Maybe if they could speak to them even before the Husks respond to the radio music, they might have more time to get information.
"Fire sounds useful, especially considering we've been stuck in Blizzardville lately," he grumbled. Nope, no love for the snow and ice! It had been particularly intolerable though, and after talking with Leo he couldn't help but wonder if the fire-aspects had really clung to him.
Donnie smiled a little though. Saying anything positive about him always won extra points. "It has its very specific uses. Just like yours. Or Leo's. Or even Mikey's."
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"Weren't the radios just to- uh- fuck, what was the word. To help them move on?" Was he forgetting other things the radios could do? "I'm not really used to...having conversations with ghosts. The ones I'm familiar with aren't really chatty." So he wasn't sure he'd know what to do. Or be any good at it. Everyone wanted the guy who frequently tried to figure out the fastest way to remove himself from difficult or awkward conversations to handle extracting potentially important information from ghosts, right?
"I think my fire would feel more useful if I didn't breathe it." But at least he'd gotten spontaneous fire-breath under control, so he didn't feel like he was going to light things on fire every time he got angry or stressed or panicked.
"'Very specific uses'," he repeated. "I think yours has a whole lot of different kinds of uses." A bunch of things. And sure, Leo's portals were cool, but so was everything Donnie could do. And Mikey...well, Andrew didn't think he'd met him, yet, but he was sure his magic was just as cool, too.
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Donnie tilted his head at that. "I think...I did that once. Back at the carnival when I was a three-headed dog. I was able to breathe fire to get out of the cage I was in, because they were trying to keep me and my brother apart." One of the few times he'd been able to be of his own mind, not entirely losing it to instinct.
He couldn't really argue with Andrew on that point, but he'd just been trying to make him feel better! "I...suppose in terms of usage it's quite versatile. But it is still pretty specific." He couldn't make portals. He couldn't fling buildings. He could probably do similar as Raph did, but only to a degree. But these were things he didn't mind, because those weren't his specialties. But his mystic-tech? That was all his.
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Three-headed dog, though, that snagged Andrew's attention. "Wouldn't happen to be three skulls, would they? Those three heads?" Not that he'd met any three-headed dogs in the carnival, but it was when Andrew'd become a dog for the first time, himself. "Leo?" he added, before pausing. He knew the carnival had been a shitty time--there had been bright points in it for him, but he knew the same couldn't be said for a lot of others--so he didn't want to dredge up bad memories. Shaking his head, he detoured from the topic, "Nevermind that, actually. The carnival was a mess."
Well. Donnie had a point there, it was both specific and versatile, but there was something especially great about that. To be so specific and yet have so many applications for a power. "True. I mean-... it makes you happy, right? Being able to do what you do?"
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"I think somehow, when I was questioning the husk, there were two souls answering. Contradicting each other even after death, go figure."
Donnie blinked then. Had he told Andrew before, about his skull-dog phase? "Yeah, actually... I thought it was just a 'there' thing but...I think it happened again, up here. The dog thing."
He nodded in confirmation of Leo, his expression tight. Whether it was carnival or somewhere else, he wouldn't let anything stand between him and his brothers if he could help it. But he certainly wasn't going to disagree about the carnival mess, all too happy to back away from that line of conversation as far as he could.
"Well, yeah, actually. Because it's my brand of magic." He smiled.
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Shooould we fade?
Sounds good!