And I Carry a Bo Staff

[It's been an extremely frustrating month. First he was kidnapped and experimented on by the Malnosso, while everyone else in the village - as Don learned later - got to fly, with their own wings. As the long-vanished Raphael would say, "Turtle Luck runnin' true to form".]

[When the droids returned him, he was invisible for a week, and spent most of that time watching his partner have a serious substance abuse problem, while the Turtle himself was powerless to do anything about that or the underlying issues causing Robert's addiction to resurface.]

[When Don became visible again, Robert tried to explain himself, but the Turtle had seen too much of drugs in his own world to want to hear any more about it. As a result, for the past few weeks relations have been strained at best in the Hamato-Hastings household.]

[Today Don heads out to the beach, seeking to clear his head and reconnect with his Filial magic. The Malnosso's experiments had had strange effects on his control of the elements, and he thinks he'd better spend some time re-establishing his bond with the spirits, the true source of these abilities.]

[In the afternoon, he happens to check his journal and finds a long, privately-filtered written message from Robert: another attempt to explain his behavior. Part of Don doesn't want to read it, but another part knows he owes that much to his partner of over two years.]

[That doesn't make it easy, though, and Don can only stand to read the manifesto in small pieces over the next several hours.]

[When he's done, he stays at the beach, watching sunset, watching the stars come out. When night and solitude have made him invisible again, he opens his journal.]


Have you ever learned something... that made you change your perspective... on something you thought you would never change your mind about?

[It's sunny and warm and spring, and Don can't wait to get outside. Or he wouldn't be able to wait, if he didn't have such impressive self-control.]

[He diligently starts the morning with his usual exercises, then sits down to leave a few messages in his journal before leaving the house.]

[Tutoring Beast in reading has made Don reconsider his own literacy skills, and after much thinking he's decided to do something to improve them. To that end, he easily constructs a filter, then labors through writing a brief message:]

Filtered from Housemates | Unhackable

[In translation-shielded kanji:] I WANT PLEASE: SOMEONE IS ABLE TO TEACH TO READ JAPANESE A SLOW STUDENT.

[There. Anyone who can't read that is automatically disqualifed as a teacher; anyone who can should immediately see the need for some teaching.]

[Reminding himself that lack of knowledge is not a cause for shame, but an opportunity to learn, Don closes that filter and opens another.]

Filtered to Leonardo | Unhackable

Hey, Padawan. If you ever take a break from mastering the Force, call your otouto and let him know you're okay.

[And finally:]

Filtered to SHELL members | Unhackable

The world visit experiment should be happening soon, if we can believe anything that blue man says. After that I'd like to have another meeting.

I'm taking nominations for other topics of discussion or club activities.

[Don will check for replies later - for now, he closes the journal, takes his gear, and quietly leaves the house. He'll be spending the next few hours meandering among the cherry trees, looking for early blooms.]

[Anyone who meets him may notice he now wears a silver chain around his wrist, half-visible where it laces through the leather wrappings.]

[Donatello is out behind C6 today, practicing his somewhat-rusty bo skills. Partly because that run with Raph was embarrassing, and he needs to start training again. Partly because he's upset about Mike being gone, and hitting things with a big stick is really cathartic.]

[You could try to talk to him, but he's not in the friendliest mood.]