[Audio]

[purplexing]

Hey, it's me again. Donnie. [He feels the need to tag that on as he considers what he wants to talk about here.]

...I know it's not going to get any easier the farther we go. That carnival was... Well. If you know, I doubt you need a reminder. But it's only proof that we don't know what more we'll be coming across, and how badly anything will affect us.

It's bad enough there aren't many warnings for the things that do change us, but it's worse when we don't even realize it. Maybe you remember back in the desert, something was messing with our heads, making us forget things, or think we've lived in this screwed up world all this time.

Leo and I made some notes to ourselves- records, basically, written and recorded. Something to help us remember the truth, who we are if we lose ourselves again. But after the carnival...

...

I don't think it's enough. Not if we won't be able to remember to listen or read those testaments. I know we're pulled from all sorts of places, but I don't think any of us want to forget who we are- we can't forget. So I think it'd be beneficial for all of us if we recorded something about ourselves, something we'd think would help us remember, if the worst case ever happens.

You can write it or say it- I have means to keep both, I'll save it on file too, just in case. But it's something we can have on hand. In case any of us slips...

And even if we can't remember ourselves, at least-

At least other people can. And maybe we can help each other.

[He falls silent for a moment, drawing in a deep breath before he lets it out slowly.]

A-anyway, let me know if you need anything or you can just find me at the Turtle Tank. I'm finishing up a strongbox to keep things in. Maybe we can put it in the main train.

...

Donnie, out.

Comments

action;

[faceguy]

[Well, that was a pretty worrying broadcast.

Leo will make his way to the Turtle Tank, popping in via a portal. He glances around, calling out when he doesn’t see Donnie right away.]

Dee? You here?

[purplexing]

[The sound of rummaging amongst the salvage crates is the first tip-off even before Donnie replies as he straightens up from behind one of the stacks.]

Right here. Need something?

[He studies the pieces he'd pulled out, tucking them under an arm as he picks through some of the metal from his designated bin.]

[faceguy]

[There’s something comforting about seeing Donnie rummaging through crates and holding scraps. Like things are how they’re supposed to be.]

Do I have to need something to check in on my favorite twin?

[He leans against a crate, trying to look nonchalant.]

Just seeing how you’re doing!

[purplexing]

[Donnie just eyes him suspiciously at that.]

Your only twin, you mean.

[He goes back to picking out parts.]

I'm fine. Busy. Just how I like to be.

[And not at all his escape from overthinking things, no not at all. To be fair he has built up a fresh list of projects he's promised completion of.]

[undyingcrow]

Would some jazz help?

[He saw Donatello's other post, but didn't get around to it before this one came up. Comfort... isn't exactly Akechi's strong suit, but there's a lot to this message. Understandably heavy contemplation.]

I do agree that recordkeeping is pivotal. This place is... unpredictable at the best of times. Even if it's not quite the same as memory loss, I have noticed that my demeanor in nekomata form has changed since the circus. I'm still "me," but I feel more... driven to defend purity and innocence in a way I hadn't since I was very small.

If our changes influence our minds and personalities, it's all the more pertinent to record who we are in the moment.

[purplexing]

[Donnie laughs a bit.] You and Ren. I think I'll have more than enough jazz than I'd ever cared for.

[He sighs then.]

You've got it exactly. We might not think much of the little changes, but then we can't deny the times where we just completely lose it. So far it seems we've lucked out in it not sticking, but if the moon's stability is questionable, I don't know how much easier things will be.

[undyingcrow]

I'll take at least some credit for that. After all, I did introduce him to my favorite jazz club.

[Perhaps Ren already liked jazz before, but that's beside the point. He elevated Ren's tastes, clearly.]

Honestly, I have wondered about the more temporary changes. They seem to occur every month, though the circus seemed the most pervasive and diverse... Some of the changes stuck, but only for my secondary monster form.

Thus far, I'm still the only Drifter with two that I know of.

[purplexing]

Oh! So it's your fault.

Secondary... How do you know it's not just...part of what you've been changing into?

I turned into a...cerberus...thing back there. I think it was just because of all the instability of whatever magic was going on there and forcing those changes on us though. Don't care to go through it again either way.

voice;

[propatriamori]

Memoirs. Or diaries.

[Edward is familiar with the idea. Plenty of soldiers did this during the war. He doesn't like that Donnie is bringing it up, though, or the dejected sound of his voice.]

Would you like someone else to have access to the recordings, Donnie? You'd have to show me how to use the technology, but I'd be happy to volunteer my services.

[He and the spider seem to get along far better than most of the people and their monsters. Edward has only lost himself once, and it was brief.]

[purplexing]

Kind of? I don't think we have resources for complete autobiographies but I figure any sort of information would still be good.

[He pauses a moment, mostly as he starts considering how to make things more user-friendly for his spider uncle.]

I'd like having multiple people be able to have access if they care to. I can definitely show you how to use things.

[propatriamori]

I would appreciate that.

[What Edward leaves unsaid is that someone besides Donnie himself should have access, since Donnie has been having problems with keeping his mind focused lately.]

Is there any particular reason you have this on your mind?

[Gently prying for info!]

[purplexing]

[Even Donnie's aware of that. It's why he had put an open notice about it at all, not only because he knows others might need some sort of failsafe to remember themselves, but that relying on themselves alone wouldn't be enough, not when becoming what they do can potentially rob them of the abilities they take for granted.]

...things will get worse, and I don't know how soon that might be.

voice

[cetrary]

Hello, Donnie. I'm Aerith and very very new, so I'm afraid I don't really know most of what you're talking about. But...I'd like to. Even though that all sounds extremely bad.

Would you be open to sharing your notes with someone new?

[purplexing]

Oh shoot. Sorry, Aerith. I completely neglected the Convoy newbs... Ah...

Of course I would. But rather than infodump on you again, I'll let you ask the questions.

[cetrary]

You don't need to apologize for that! It's up to us to try to figure things out and carry our weight too right?

I never mind people dumping information on me. But I guess I'd really like to hear more about what you were talking about? Do people lose memories or things like that often here?

[purplexing]

It's a pretty rotten situation to be thrown into. I'm not going to sugarcoat it for the new people since I think it's better you know how bad things can get before you might get hit by them. But even then, it was hard taking in, at least for me.

[Oh, but he's always happy to infodump. He just prefers it to be better subjects than this. Donnie pauses a moment, trying to work out how the best place to start with that one.]

Well, it's more like... We change. This place, the moon, some weird, as yet unspecified force linked to it, is responsible for making things change into things they aren't. Monstrous things. I don't know why that exactly, but they're usually not pleasant, especially when you're not sure what to expect.

But sometimes, depending on how much it starts to affect you, it's easy to lose yourself and be swallowed by whatever sort of mindset or instinct of that thing you're becoming. We're especially susceptible during moon warps, when shards from the moon fall to the ground and start influencing everything to a greater degree, the changes so sudden and sometimes overtake us completely until it's over. Luckily those usually don't stick, but the longer we're here, the more we're prone to change, and it gets harder to separate what and who you were from what you're becoming.

[In Person]

[mystic_hands]

[ Oh, that broadcast made all of Mikey's emotionally-observant-brother senses go off at high volume. There was a LOT to unpack in that. Including insinuations of stuff that Mikey wasn't here for and that sound really Not Good™. So it isn't too long afterwards that the Tank access is going to open and a certain orange turtle is going to appear! ]

Donnie? Are you busy?

[purplexing]

[He isn't readily visible, but Mikey should be able to spot that long tail of his, dangling from Raph's seat.

The tip of it twitches before curling in slightly.]

No, not particularly.

[It's easy to huddle up on that huge chair. Donnie sits in it sideways since things get in the way if he tries the normal way, but it's okay. The chair was made for someone far more spikier in different ways, so it's still comfortable.

His legs are tucked under him, a book in his lap and a pencil in hand as he adds another line to a list of projects he's written out.]

[mystic_hands]

[ Mikey has been doing his best to adjust to the way things are in this strange place. It's still a little jarring to see Donnie this way, though. Especially curled up in Raph's great big chair. He purposefully keeps that pushed down, though, as he wanders over on silent feet. He pulls up a smile to keep the worry back for the moment. He puts his hands on the edge of the chair so he can lean on it. ]

Whatcha up toooooooo~?

[ All very cheerful to test the waters a little and see how Dee will be. Sometimes he can push, sometimes he has to give space. ]

[audio]

[bufudine]

[Hm. He doesn't really know how to ask this given the strange nature of his existence, but...]

Is there a way to save a backup of a person who was [is?] digital?

[purplexing]

It'd be easy to say yes, but I actually wouldn't be very sure how to go about it given your physical nature. Have you been able to interact with computers?

[bufudine]

[?]

In the same manner as I could before. With my hands...?

The virus that infected my original world works on humans outside it. The line between digital and physical was... immaterial.

[Voice]

[saisdoesmatter]

*well that was a...broadcast so he's frowning at the radio a bit before turning his on to respond*

Do you mean like--journaling or just documenting things about what's happening here or...something else, Dee?

[purplexing]

Journaling might not be a bad idea, but I mean more like... Well, not necessarily an autobiography. But things you'd want to remember about yourself. Who you are, family, where we're from....

[saisdoesmatter]

The carnival made you forget that stuff?