002 ≅ [video/ENCRYPTED 100% TO TURTLES/PRIVATE NETWORK POST]

[boselfdestruct]

[This is backdated to the early part of mid-March, before the event.]

[Don takes a deep breath on-screen and flashes a quick, tense smile. He looks nervous, but under that a little haggard. It's what happens when he's spent the last two days going over his encryption algorithm line-by-line, repeatedly, and adjusting it for video usage. And then going over it again. And again. The upside is anyone taking on the task of attempting to hack this is going to get the full brunt of puzzling out Don's aggravated, sleep-deprived mind. This is about as full-proof as he can get with the equipment available to him. It'll have to do.]

Right, hello. If you're getting this, it's because you're a, well...[he gestures to himself, and aside from that his hands stay more-or-less abnormally still for the rest of conversation, a sign of discomfort that might only register to his own Raph] a mutant turtle, like me, and from a similar dimension. Don't worry about anyone not invited seeing this. I'm handling that.

So...you might have been told about this already, but I'll rehash just in case. This is mostly just a place to talk. No pressure or anything, but we just can't keep ignoring one another forever. There are too many of us running around already for that to be plausible, and it's not like there's any guarantee it's ever going to stop. The least we can do is know who's who. [so, in other words, if you want to make sure any of your wayward brothers showing up are pointed in the right direction? SPEAK UP.]

[Don pauses, reaching up to tug at his plastron absentmindedly] I...guess I'll start? My name's Donatello. I'm fifteen. I'm from the same universe as the more recently arrived Raphael. If you think of anything about your homes that might be useful to know, no matter how innocuous you think it is, go ahead and lay it on me. Every little bit helps. So far we've noticed that appearance and age are two of the bigger distinguishing characteristics among us, which is why I recommend using video, but if you're too nervous then it's text. Heck, covering up the camera works just as well. Avoid actual audio mode, if by some weird quirk of electronics you can actually access it. I tried to make sure you couldn't, but you never know, and I don't want anyone yelling at me later because I didn't mention it. Point is, it's not supported right now, and anyone using it could crack this thing open like a bad egg. Which would be, you know, bad.

[Leo take it now Leo take it now before he pours his uneasiness into a babble about his baby go go go someone]

Comments

video;

[seriouslytwisted]

Donnie!

[YOU IDIOT NOW LEO KNOWS THEIR REAL AGE]

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[michaeljangelo]

HA! I knew it!

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[seriouslytwisted]

Shut up Mikey.

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[michaeljangelo]

Not likely, no.

[Then he just laughs...a lot.
You miss him already, don't you Raph?]

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[boselfdestruct]

It's not like he didn't already know! Really, why did you pick that age? We don't even look eighteen.

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[seriouslytwisted]

How do you not understand?!

They're eighteen.

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[boselfdestruct]

And saying we're eighteen doesn't magically give us three years of experience. Of course I don't understand!

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[duelkatana]

[Okay, right. Leo clears his throat and...tries to sound as professional as possible.]

Like Donatello said, the purpose of this meeting is to get to know each other in a safe, secure environment. You don't have to talk to anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable [RAPHS], and if you feel it's necessary, you're free to disconnect from the Network at any time.

[Which isn't the perfect solution considering the Network shows where they live, but he's mostly hoping it doesn't come to that.]

So...I'm Leonardo, if you couldn't tell. My Raphael and I are eighteen years old. We're from New York in dimension Third Earth, year 2007.

[god what is this, a craigslist ad?]

video;

[seriouslytwisted]

[What the hell is all this Oprah 'you can leave if you're uncomfortable' bs, this is not girl scouts. They are ninjas! Ninjas don't run off in the face of terrifying social requirements!]

What the heck does "Third Earth" mean?

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[duelkatana]

[Oh, it's you. >_> AWKWARD]

[no, okay, he can do this goddammit.]

Actually, I'm...not really sure. It's the name they gave our dimension when we competed in the Battle Nexus Tournament.

video;

[seriouslytwisted]

That sounds like an eighties arcade game.

video;

[boselfdestruct]

[shhh pay no attention to the man behind the curtain he's just monitoring this conversation]

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[michaeljangelo]

[Mike's second attempt at using this Live Via Satellite device is far different than his first. For one thing...there's actual background light, allowing anyone watching to actually see into the suite he's been assigned.

And yes, he's gone back to "his place" for the sake of this. Mostly because he'd rather not be within thwapping distance of Raph for this.
Mostly.

It should also be noted that a good deal of the booby trapping appears to have been removed. Or at very least...removed from the field of view of the console.]

Uh...hi. I'm Mike.

[Why YES, he does wave at the screen. What of it?]

And you all look weird. Not like, in a bad way? But in a just-shy-of-right way. Especially with the color coding. Though...April would probably love that. If nothing else it would've helped her tell us apart in the beginning.

We uh...well, I guess I mean my brothers and I, have been staying with her since Splinter went missing and our home was compromised. It's been a few months now, and we finally found him right before I ended up here. I'm not sure where the rest of my family went but...yeah.

So, how about that local sports team?

video;

[boselfdestruct]

[Michaelangelo, you are screwing with Don's mental map of your place. He is certain he remembers more terrifying brushes with pain and torment in this area of your suite.]

Considering how doubtful it is our presence here has anything to do with technology from our own dimension...

If our experience with the= species you described [he can't even call them the Kraang anymore, because what if they're utroms] is anything to go by, they probably just went to wherever it is the portal connected. It's unlikely there were any problems, and there is at least one event of a person making it the portal in our universe okay.

Or...sort of okay.

B-but that didn't have anything to do with the portal! He was like that when he entered.

[so there's a good chance your brothers aren't scattered in many pieces across dimensions and dark space! because that was totally a concern of your, right, Mikey? OF COURSE IT WAS WHAT OTHER CONCERNS ARE THERE WITH INTER-DIMENSIONAL TRAVEL.]

[...unless whatever brought them here interfered with dimensional travel in Mikey's universe.]

[um.]

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[michaeljangelo]

[Mike just kind of blinks.]



Okay.

[Some of those words made sense to him when arranged in the order Donnie chose to put them in.

Kind of.]

video;

[boselfdestruct]

[...]

[The more things change, the more they stay the same. How heartwarming.]

They're probably okay.

video

[meanandgreen]

[Raph would rather get a root canal than respond to this stupid post. But he's so tired of listening to Leo's bitching, he'll do it if it'll get him to shut his yap.]

Hi. This's Raphael. The good Raphael and not that scrawny little shrimp who can barely put up a fight. And this whole thing is really freakin' weird.

[He turns to glare at Leo, who's currently out of the view of the camera.]

There. I did it. You happy?

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[duelkatana]

["Ecstatic," filters in a faint voice that sounds like it's coming from the other side of the room. You can probably hear his eyes roll from here.]

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[michaeljangelo]

I object on the grounds that there's no such thing as a good Raphael.

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[meanandgreen]

[Raph snorts, giving Mike a sharp once-over with whatever the video screen allows, a sour look on his face. Part of him just wants to turn tail and run. Screw all this crazy inter-dimensional crud. The turtle on the other end of the screen is not his brother, and the whole idea just makes him sick to his stomach. But he sets his jaw and stays out of pure stubborn will.

We'll see how long that lasts before he just starts smashing stuff.]

Hey, I whooped his puny butt. That's about as "good" as I get.

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[seriouslytwisted]

[Oh great. Raph had been hoping this asshole wouldn't show up.]

Anytime you want to fight me when I'm not freshly-drowned, I'm down for it fatso.

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[boselfdestruct]

Raph.

[It's gritted out between his teeth, but he takes the opportunity to jump in so he's no longer trying not to stare at the new Raph.]

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[meanandgreen]

[HE IS NOT FAT.]

Yeah, right. So that's your excuse? That's about as pathetic as your fightin' skills.

[He leans into the camera, teeth bared and voice lowered, a dangerous look in his eyes.]

So listen, you little twirp. Much as I hate beatin' up little kids, you want a rematch? You got it.

video

[boselfdestruct]

[BEFORE RAPH EMBRACES HIS EMO AND RUNS OFF INTO THE NIGHT]

[This is Doantello. This is Donatello's eyes getting rather wide. And this is, apparently, his brother's counterpart.]

[Who is really, really big. Like, if he punched an armored truck, the truck would lose. Don was pretty sure he could run the numbers on it and it would turn out almost exactly like that.]

[But, okay, what to say? He had to say something. It would be awkward just to linger here like he hadn't noticed him enter, right? Maybe rude. And this Raph was supposed to be touchy like his Raph, probably more touchy. Scratch that. Almost definitely touchier. He'd have to say- what? Something neutral. "Hi?" No, that wouldn't work. To open-ended, and not much of a conversation starter. All the television shows usually had that one trailing off into awkward silence, so- maybe hi and...-]

What do you eat?

[that.]

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[meanandgreen]

[Raph almost smirks at Don's deer-in-the-headlights look. Is he... what? Impressed? Intimidated? He's betting on either one of those, and if that's the truth: mission accomplished. And god, does this Don look fifty million times dweebier than his Don. What the heck, bean pole? I mean, Don was always kinda lanky, but holy shell.

And then the question slaps that look right off his face.]

Say what?

[Not what he was expecting.]