002 ⚔ TEXT; anonymous

[duelkatana]

[He's been stranded in other dimensions before. Other timelines before, too. They've always been temporary excursions, and even now, he believes wholeheartedly that this time is no different. There have been no magical Time Scepters or reality-bending War Staffs to break him out, return him home where he belongs; but he knows it in his bones. He'll wait a lifetime if he has to, but he knows he'll see his family again.]

[Before now, his personal record for being lost in another place was three months.]

[One year. Twelve months. Four of them without his brothers.]

[Yeah... former record thoroughly bested.]

[Early on the morning of the 24th, Leo slips quietly from the suite he shares with his cousins, skipping out on their usual morning routine. He leaves no note, but his covers are neatly folded and his weapons and mask are gone from his bedside. All the markings of a Leonardo Mood™ are left in his wake.]

[He spends a few hours in Keeliai; visiting his usual places, stopping by his own suite. He passes over what used to be Raph's. He almost goes to the Fire Sector to check up on his old safehouse, but decides against it.]

[Around noon, he ducks into a console cafe and takes a seat at one of the farthest corners, writing up an anonymous message to send into the network.]

In my world, there are many myths revolving around the World Turtle, an ancient beast who carried the world on its back. In Chinese mythology, the heavens were separated from Earth by four great pillars. One day, they collapsed, sending the world into chaos; floods drowned the land and fires scorched the earth, and ferocious animals devoured the people of the world.

In desperation, the goddess Nüwa, creator of mankind, patched the holes in the sky using smelted colored stones. She then sought out Ao, the Great Turtle who had lived in the seas since the creation of the world, and cut off his legs in order to replace the fallen pillars.

With the sky repaired and the heavens once again supported, the floods receded, the fires were snuffed out, and the beasts died away. Carrying the Nine Provinces of China on her back, Nüwa embraced the harmonies of spring and summer, autumn and winter... Yin and Yang.

Seems like it worked out for everyone in the end. Except for the Great Turtle.

Comments

text - anon;

[denyamenti]

The morale thus being: kill the gods first.

text - anon;

[duelkatana]

And then the land would still be waterlogged, the fields would be ash, and the people kibble for wild animals.

Re: text - anon;

[denyamenti]

Those things can be overcome. Gods will keep meddling so long as they are able. Take out the root of the problem, don't just treat the symptoms.

[ Sorry Leo, were you being metaphorical? Because Bakura isn't. ]

Re: text - anon;

[duelkatana]

[Hm. Whoever this person is, they seem to have some strong feelings on the matter.]

You sound like you're speaking from experience.

Re: text - anon;

[denyamenti]

Yes.

[ Little point obfuscating that fact, given this is anonymous from both their ends. Plus, Leo's the one who brought up gods in the first place. ]

Re: text - anon;

[duelkatana]

[Interesting.]

[If someone had told Leo four years ago that there were other worlds where people interacted with their gods, he probably would have written them off as a loony. He's seen and experienced a lot since then.]

[No gods yet, but hey. You never know.]

I guess I should be glad that it's only mythology where I come from, then.

Re: text - anon;

[denyamenti]

Small favours. Still an interesting tale however.

Re: text - anon;

[duelkatana]

You could say that. Not my favorite version of the World Turtle myth, though.

[That would probably be funnier with context.]

Re: text - anon;

[denyamenti]

[ Bakura would probably have laughed if he had that context. There's like a 25% chance it might not even have been a creepy laugh. ]

Do you prefer this one? Tu Vishan?

text;

[michaeljangelo]

It sounds like someone needs a hug.

text;

[duelkatana]

[Michaelangelo. What are you doing.]

[If he weren't halfway across the sector and trying to stay anonymous right now...]

I'll pass.

[just you wait until he gets home, young man]

text;

[michaeljangelo]

[Why, that thing he does when he knows you and Kid Leo are't paying attention to him: He trolls the network for friends.

Why?
Is that wrong?]

Are you sure? I'll have you know that I give great hugs. Award winning, in fact.

text; anon

[duelkatana]

[Leo is fairly certain your Splinter must have taught you about stranger danger, cousin.]

[Also, he does know that. All too well. Now the real question is, whether or not to let Mike know he knows...]

No thanks.

text;

[michaeljangelo]

[Eh, no worries. I kind of figured.]

You're the strong silent type. It's okay, I get that. I'm used to it.

text; anon

[duelkatana]

Do you always offer hugs to every stranger you come across?

[It's really not a serious question - he knows Mike was just being Mike. He's just...well, trolling back, really. Brooding gets boring after a while.]

text;

[michaeljangelo]

Well yeah. Who doesn't love hugs?
...
Present company excluded, of course.

text; anon

[duelkatana]

I can think of a few people.

[...]

And I'm sure you can, too.

video;

[superieure]

And you've no one else to discuss history with?

[Monet's expression is curious, rather than condescending, like her words. She'd normally be dismissive but anonymous to her is reading like someone who might have relevant information, and not want to draw attention to themselves.]

text; anon

[duelkatana]

[Unfortunately, Leonardo is just as in the dark as most of the Foreigners here are, and the anonymity is merely a way for him to avoid the discomfort of putting his identity on display. But he does notice the lack of edge to her question, and it makes him wonder why she's asking.]

No one I wouldn't put to sleep halfway through.

[That's not to say he didn't have a purpose at all in sharing the story, however. It's just more metaphorical than informational.]

video her side until otherwise stated

[superieure]

[She finds that answer interesting, and there's a small, amused smile on her face, a cat who's been given a new toy. She hates being in the dark, and while hard information is better received, she doesn't mind a good story, especially since this is one Bruce Wayne shared with her, but he wasn't nearly as charming as anon is.]

Anything else you'd like to share with the class?

perma-text; anon

[duelkatana]

[Best as he can work out, it's simple curiosity on her side. It puts him at slighter ease; there's no harm in indulging in a bit of mythological waxing, and it helps take his mind off of things.]

Sure. Despite what Ao's fate might have you believe, turtles and tortoises were greatly respected throughout Chinese history as symbols of North, winter, the element of water, and more. The Imperial Armies used to carry banners depicting tortoises to represent perseverance and longevity. They were even thought to regularly go toe-to-toe with dragons without either side ever winning.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

[About more than one thing.]

[superieure]

[She leans forward, skimming over the text, and then reading it slowly, a few more times. Her eyes are quite swift over the screen, and then she sits back again, digesting the information. She's never put much stock in these kind of stories, but this is far more, even in metaphor, than she's been able to think about from the others.]

Did any of those dragons ever lose a battle?

[duelkatana]

As far as I've read, no. The dragon couldn't split open the turtle's shell to kill it, nor could the turtle reach the dragon to wound it. I suppose you could call it an eternal struggle.

[This conversation has taken on an unmistakably metaphorical tone by now, he feels, and of course it's all nothing but conjecture. It would be silly to draw too many comparisons between Tu Vishan and his world's mythology. But as far as he's concerned, at least in this case, 'eternal struggle' feels entirely accurate.]

[superieure]

That's comforting.

['Eternal struggle' doesn't bode well for their chances, even if this is really only a metaphor. Monet wants the fastest route out of here, and if that means fighting and getting all the information they can, that's what she'll do. She doesn't want to be caught unprepared.]

Felt philosophical today, did you?

[Now that her curiosity's waned, she wonders if she can get a bit more out of this anon.]

[duelkatana]

What gave me away?

[He jests. Leo's pretty much a walking philosophy book, and he knows it. It just takes a special kind of day (and lack of interested company) to send him snooping around the Network.]