4009/The Best VCRs Money Can Buy

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The Best VCRs Money Can Buy
Date of Scene: 03 November 2020
Location: Brooklyn
Synopsis: A visit to the New Lots safehouse nets Donatello a box of old electronics.
Cast of Characters: Vanessa Carlysle, Donatello




Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The one-time apartment of Vanessa Carlysle, recently turned into a safehouse for herself and her newfound friends amongst the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is in a pretty run down slum of a building. The lack of care shows, the owner not spending a time that he doesn't have to. The elevator is usually out, various bulbs in hallways and stairs are burned out. The carpet in the halls needs replacing, and there are holes in the drywall here and there that have never been fixed.

Vanessa wasn't quite sure why she held onto the place. At first, fear that she might mess up her relationship with Oliver Queen that had changed her life and resulted in a move to Starling. Though that fear had given way long ago. No, she just didn't like getting go of it, if she was honest with herself.

And maybe it has been for the best. Today she finds herself back in the apartment. She's been working out of it as she's pursued cleaning up New Lots in her guise as Quiver. And also offered it as a safehouse to the others. There is furniture back in the place now, after Casey helped her moved up the things she bought from a consignment store. A stocked pantry.

And conspicuously, a box on the kitchen table, a reasonably large one with "Donatello" written on the side in marker. She'd sent him a message she was leaving something for him there, if he came by before she made it to the farm.

Donatello has posed:
    Donnie had healed up well enough to leave the farm. To anyone who wasn't intimately familiar with him, the turtle was totally back to normal. His brothers and some of their closer allies would be able to notice some evidence of his prior injury, but he was mostly fine! He could certainly handle a stealthy visit to Vanessa's apartment. He hadn't expected danger but brought his trademarked bo all the same. Tucked in his belt was a Shell Phone. The Starkphone was still back at the farm. He had charged its lithium ion battery fifty percent, which best supported the chemistry, and then turned it off.

    The trip over had been a breath of fresh air, frankly. For the first time in weeks, Donnie had found himself leaping across alleyways, climbing fire escapes, and generally stalking across the city's rooftops without anyone the wiser. It was his first time off of the farm and it was a long time coming.

    As is their custom, the fire escape just outside one of the apartment's windows was empty. Until it wasn't. Donnie's three-fingered hand gives the glass a soft tap-tap-tap. He usually just came into April's apartment, but Vanessa was new to this.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa is just finishing a bowl of blueberries when the tap comes on the window. She starts and reaches for the drawer that she used to keep her handgun in when she lived here. One of her handguns. She had several.

She can't help but shake her head at those instincts kicking back in rather than the ones she'd gained elsewhere. "Can't really take New Lots out of the girl after all," she says to herself as she moves over to confirm it is indeed one of the Turtles at the window.

She moves over and unlocks it and slides it up, then moves to the side to make way for Donatello. "Welcome to Chez Vanessa," she says with a wry smile. The apartment looks far better than most of the ones Donatello would have spotted through windows on his way up the fire escape. It was freshly pained in the last year, and no holes in the walls anymore.

Vanessa will close up the window after Donatello is inside. She locks it, then unlocks it, then locks it again before moving back towards the kitchen. "How are you? Hungry? There's food in the pantry. Some in the fridge. Went for non-perishables mostly. Some frozen pizzas in the freezer."

Donatello might note there are 3 deadbolt locks and one chain on the front door.

Donatello has posed:
@emit
    "Hey, Vanessa," Donatello greets, ducking down a bit to pass through the window and into the apartment. He makes the transition fairly graciously, as it was usually the standard way they got in. His motion even accounted for the wooden bo strapped to his shell. "I'm alright," he answers with a smile. "How are you?" Before an answer might be given, Donnie had already started allowing his eyes to wander around the apartment to size it up.

    Vanessa's lock-unlock-lock sequence causes one of Donatello's eye ridges to rise just a touch -- that's interesting! "Oh, no, I'm fine," Donnie adds, politely refusing the offer of food. He hadn't planned to stick around too long. He had plans to return to the Lair and either recover or destroy MIYAGI, depending on what he found there.

    "So..."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
The young woman moves to the kitchen, getting the bowl of berries and tossing one of the remaining ones into her mouth. "So, good to see you're back up and around," she tells him with a soft smile. "Make yourself at home whenever you're here," she tells him. "There's four beds in the bedroom. It's a bit of a tight fit. Also the couch and chairs," she says, "In case there's more of you here at once."

She walks over to the box on the kitchen table. "I came across these at a garage sale. I didn't know if they might have have any interest to you," she says. "Was just a few bucks so I picked them up."

If Donnie opens the box, inside he'll find a bunch of old electronics. A VCR. A boombox. An old stereo with turntable from the 1980s. Another... thing. Is that a VCR tape rewinder?

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah, it's good to be out," Donnie admits, bringing one of his hands to rub the back of his head for a second. "I didn't realize how much I missed just...going out." Once Vanessa begins giving him the mental tour of the apartment, the turtle's eyes shift to the likely direction of the bedroom. "/The/ bedroom?" he questions softly. Oh, that was going to be a problem. Still, Donnie manages to manufacture a smile as he imagines being cooped up in there with his three brothers. They were just trapped on a farm with Casey Jones, so how bad could this be?

    The box, though, earns an eager glance from Donatello. He knows perfectly well how people saw him, so that box most contain electronics or computer parts. It's enough for Donnie to walk over and peer down into the cardboard mystery. "Is this a bribe?" he wonders, flashing a grin to the human. It's true -- he hadn't warmed to Vanessa the way his brothers might have, but that was largely circumstantial. His life had unraveled a bit, he nearly died (or might have actually died, according to cryptic descriptions from Splinter), and he was stuck on a farm with CASEY JONES. So, his apparent chilliness was really circumstantial.

    "Oh, wow!" Donatello exclaims as he lifts the VHS rewinder from the box. He drags his thumb against the faded BE KIND, REWIND sticker that adorned the top. "I've heard about these..."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
A soft chuckle is given by Vanessa. "I'm being generous calling it a bedroom when 'broom closet' would probably be a more apt description for its size," she kids. Only somewhat kidding actually. "But, this was my place for years. I didn't really expect to use it as a possible crash pad for a group of friends," she says with a wry smile.

She leans against a counter as Donnie looks in the box. "I don't know if there are parts there you might like. Whatever you don't want, there's a dumpster out in the alley," she says. "I almost bought a box of VHS tapes they had too, but they looked in such bad condition I doubted they would play. Speaking of, the TV just gets over the air broadcasts. But there's a good channel for late night movies," she says, glancing at the TV. "I used to have trouble sleeping. Spent many a night watching old sci fi or westerns or... anything to help me doze off."

She finishes the blueberries and washes out the bowl. "Hopefully you guys won't have too much need of the place. Me neither. I keep some supplies in the closet, arrows and bows, please leave those be unless you really have need. In which case, I mean, if you need, you need." she says with a shrug.

Donatello has posed:
    The VHS rewinder is placed back in the box. "Well, I appreciate it!" Donatello adds. "I'm sure I can do something with this stuff." He loosely closes the top of the box and shifts his attention to the television. "Yeah, I had some difficulty sleeping on the farm," he adds. "It was too quiet. Somehow, I don't think that'll be a problem, here..."

    "So..." he begins, turning his head to watch Vanessa. "What are the neighbors like?" His eye ridge rises again.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa smiles as Donnie indicates he might find some use for the parts. The question about the neighbors causes her to glance up at the ceiling. "Mostly good people. A few bad seeds, but not many. Mrs. Garcia two floors up is really sweet, always making things for others though her social security barely is enough for herself. Angel, really great kid, kind of undersized so he gets picked on a lot. I used to watch out for him as much as I could," she says. Her frown suggests she feels some guilt that she hadn't been there for awhile to do that.

"Well. They are part of the reason I'm back here a few nights a week, trying to help clear the place up," she tells him. "It's a lot of people though. Struggling to get by any way they can," she says of the rough set of neighborhoods that make up New Lots. "Well. Doing what I can to help," she says with a shrug.

"How about you guys. Have you enjoyed the fresh air out there, or are you jonesing to get back into the city?" she asks him.

Donatello has posed:
    "Oh, I meant... Are they the type to want to borrow some sugar or something if they heard that there were people living in here?" Donnie explains. Vanessa's description of the neighbors was useful in other ways, though. It wasn't likely that the Turtles would be able to solve all their problems, especially from the shadows, but Angel's bullying would likely be coming to an end pretty soon.

    "I don't know..." Donnie answers, his eyes lowering a bit as he thinks on it. "I missed the city, but I know Kai really liked it."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa gives a little shake of her head. "They know I moved out. Though I've told them I kept the place, might stop in from time to time, or let friends stay here. So it's possible if you're too noisy someone could drop by, but they'd probably assume no one is here otherwise. I leave a light on, so that won't look out of the ordinary to anyone seeing a light's on," she tells him.

The young woman hops up on a kitchen counter, her legs dangling. "Kai seems like a really great girl," she comments. "Definitely someone I'd love to get to spend some more time with," she says. "I get what you mean about the city though. I grew up... well, close to a city, but had a rural feel any way. And I've got the city in my blood a bit now. Even if I do enjoy the quiet now."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello nods a bit at Vanessa's advice for her neighbors. No matter what, they'd have to be careful. The poor and downtrodden were especially dangerous for the Turtles, as they were the easiest for the Foot to press into. Donnie leans his shell against the refrigerator door. He winces, just a touch, but it's starting to reach that 'hurts so good' kind of phase of recovery. "The farm was too quiet," Donatello decides, providing an easy summary of one of his issues with the arrangement. Kainashi, though? That was an easier topic.

    "Yeah," Donnie agrees with a slight smile. In the right lightning, it might be clear that the green color of his cheeks had started to fade to a gross brown. It might be impossible for a turtle to blush, but if we're keeping score, it's also impossible for them to walk on two legs. "She's basically the nicest person I know."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
"I can believe it," Vanessa agrees with a warm laugh. "Well, man's best friend and all, she comes from good bloodlines I'm sure," the young woman says. If she notices what appears to be a blush she doesn't draw any attention to the fact. In fact she turns away and goes and checks a drawer for something, giving Donatello a moment not being observed while he has that reaction.

She closes the drawer, apparently not finding the imaginary object she'd looked for. "Well, I didn't realize there were people like either of you out there. I'm glad that there are though. I know you've been good friends to April, and that means a lot. And you seem like a really nice family. The world can use more of those. Not to mention the whole opposing evil ninjas thing," she tells him. "Speaking of, I should probably get out and do a patrol. Mostly dealing with some street gangs right now, but also keeping an eye out for strangers like that."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's brow ridge lowers just a touch as he considers that. He didn't think the man's best friend comment would be appreciated, but the dog and turtle were still getting to know each other. Donatello takes a breath and rests a hand against the warmth of his cheek. He's keen to move on from the moment as much as Vanessa might be. "Yeah, there are a few of us," he admits. Donnie takes a breath and looks as though he might just continue and explain further, perhaps wax poetic about the mutant animal situation in New York City, but then Vanessa announces that she needs to head out.

    "Okay, I understand," Donnie replies with a nod. "I'd go with you, but..." There's a pause. Would he make something up? Did Vanessa deserve the truth?

    "...My shell hurts."

    She got the truth.