You think you can handle Mikey levels of energy right now? [Both of them are a bit slower these days. A mixture of trauma, exhaustion and recovery.]
Yeah, yeah, but- everything is taking time. I'd like to just... feel in control of something, Dee. [Once Donnie is in the elevator, Leonardo reaches out to press the button to take them down to the lobby of the apartment complex.]
[He tries for a tease as he elevator door closes. It begins moving downwards.] Dangerous, you know, I could just text Mikey to tell him you're an aspiring chef...
[He slumps back against the wall of the elevator wall behind him.] I don't know either, Dee. It's just... a day-to-day process.
Honestly? Agreed. I could sleep forever if I could get away with it. [He missed having the option to sleep in. The luxury of it is divine in a way the turtle can't even articulate.
The elevator dings as they reach the bottom floor. Leonardo holds the elevator door open with his metal hand to be sure Donnie steps out easily enough. He follows after his twin.]
Being able to wake up, have a cup of coffee and a real scrambled egg is still the most decadent thing possible. Hell towards the end, I was missing the stupid fake eggs we ate and hated.
Makes you wonder what they feed the chickens here. [He walks through the lobby of the apartment, leading them to the great big outside world.]
Oh shut up, after needing to eat rats, I would happily take the fake eggs. [Donnie missed the more desperate days.] Mikey's chicken dupe soup ran out so fast, and I missed the fake chicken flavor soooo bad.
Probably better than what we fed ourselves. [Keeping up with Leo, going outside. Don't mind the very subtle shift in his body language, he's still adjusting to an outside that's not a hellscape.]
... Mm, maybe we could somehow copy it here? [He means the chicken dupe soup.] But better, of course.
[Sometimes a turtle wants to eat awful recreations of food.]
These fancy chickens probably get magic grain or magic worms. [He has no idea what chickens eat, obviously.]
Maybe-? Mikey told me how he made it before, but, I don't remember specifics. [He taps his chin absently in thought as he leads the way.] Watered down vegetable stock, some spice combo that made you think of chicken when you ate the soup. Especially since it was just mostly filler meat and veg we had left over.
[Making a face at mention of magic, but he doesn't correct Leo because that's pretty close to what chickens eat? Mostly bugs and seed, so Leo isn't that far off.]
Hm, I could probably try to recreate it then? It doesn't sound too hard.
Shouldn't be, but, what the hell kind of meat are we using? Cause the dupe soup isn't meant to be chicken, and like hell I'm gonna eat rat. [He counters easily enough as he leads them down the sidewalk.]
And I refuse to catch a rat so... [He shrugs as they walk down the sidewalk, glad for the conversation because it means he doesn't have to think about how everything is way too... Open.]
Pretty sure Casey would disown us if we went back to rat eating. [He jokes idly, nudging Donnie. He can kind of guess what Donnie is feeling, so he's just talking to distract.] How about tofu for the chicken soup dupe?
Casey is not a salad kid. He'll eat everything else though. [He can't say too much given so much of their diet at that age was pizza.] C'mon, it's just tofu, Donald. Could be worse. Could be actual rat.
We'll splitsies on a bowl then. You wanna go with vanilla, or should we be daring and do chocolate swirled in vanilla?
[He just hms at that, because yeah. Can't really talk about eating healthily as teens. But making a face at Leo saying it's just tofu.] Honestly I might just eat rat instead.
Ah... I'd prefer vanilla, but if you want to be daring with a swirl I won't say no? [He can always eat around the chocolate swirl!]
Vanilla it is. Plain, no sprinkles, smoothest soft serve possible? [He is thinking about those Textures, since hell, he had a struggle with ice cream texture himself.]
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Yeah, but when you used to eat that all the time and come back to it, it's still a surprise, smart ass.
[The elevator dings. Leo steps forward into the elevator itself.]
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Except it's been decades since we ate like that. It's like... a Vegan deciding to start eating meat again. It'll take time to readjust.
[And following him into the elevator.]
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Yeah, yeah, but- everything is taking time. I'd like to just... feel in control of something, Dee. [Once Donnie is in the elevator, Leonardo reaches out to press the button to take them down to the lobby of the apartment complex.]
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... I get it, I do Leo. [Mostly because of how things felt towards the end for him, but he's not saying that.] Just... Sigh, I don't know.
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[He slumps back against the wall of the elevator wall behind him.] I don't know either, Dee. It's just... a day-to-day process.
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[And hey, going to join Leo in leaning against the wall.] So, like back home. Only less war.
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[He sighs a little at that.] All the freedom in the world, and... what can we even do with that?
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[It's a stupid answer, but he's trying to lighten the mood here.]
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Okay, okay, you got me there. Guess all we can do is eat ice cream.
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I mean, it's probably the best option out of all the options we have here... Except maybe sleeping.
[IT HAS BEEN SO GREAT TO SLEEP A FULL 8 HOURS.]
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The elevator dings as they reach the bottom floor. Leonardo holds the elevator door open with his metal hand to be sure Donnie steps out easily enough. He follows after his twin.]
Being able to wake up, have a cup of coffee and a real scrambled egg is still the most decadent thing possible. Hell towards the end, I was missing the stupid fake eggs we ate and hated.
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Ah, yeah the breakfasts that have been offered.]
It's so rich, I don't remember eggs being like that? And... that's almost sad that you're admitting that, Leo.
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Oh shut up, after needing to eat rats, I would happily take the fake eggs. [Donnie missed the more desperate days.] Mikey's chicken dupe soup ran out so fast, and I missed the fake chicken flavor soooo bad.
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... Mm, maybe we could somehow copy it here? [He means the chicken dupe soup.] But better, of course.
[Sometimes a turtle wants to eat awful recreations of food.]
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Maybe-? Mikey told me how he made it before, but, I don't remember specifics. [He taps his chin absently in thought as he leads the way.] Watered down vegetable stock, some spice combo that made you think of chicken when you ate the soup. Especially since it was just mostly filler meat and veg we had left over.
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Hm, I could probably try to recreate it then? It doesn't sound too hard.
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I mean, tofu could work? It's just as gross as rat.
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Tofu isn't that bad, Dee. It's tolerable. I mean, it'd be a dupe soup, so we can't have it be too good, y'know?
[He slows as they approach the ice cream parlor.] We splitting a bowl here, or you gonna try a whole cone on your own?
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It's gross and the texture is just wrong, Nardo. [Look he can slide back into old habits he wasn't allowed to have because, y'know, end of the world.
But yeah that's an ice cream parlor.] It'd... Probably be a waste getting a whole cone for myself?
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We'll splitsies on a bowl then. You wanna go with vanilla, or should we be daring and do chocolate swirled in vanilla?
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Ah... I'd prefer vanilla, but if you want to be daring with a swirl I won't say no? [He can always eat around the chocolate swirl!]
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finally get to use this icon
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1/2 - instant karma for donnie tho
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