week 3, Sunday, post-execution

[pinesfortruth]

[so after ... That... display, Dipper's a bit hesitant to approach Jake (and Dirk, who is probably his shadow), but then again-- he said he'd wanted to talk, and maybe it'd get his mind off of... disembowelment, which wowie is Dipper trying to not Think about that, like, at all. so. he gives the boy enough time to like wash out the blood probably (yikes? yikes) before going to find him]

Hey, Jake, um-- [should he mention the execution. let's not? let's not] you wanted to talk?

[dirk will get a little awkward half-wave of acknowledgement. wow dipper. super smooth. nailed it.]

Comments

[splinten]

You maybe want practice on your poker face though.

[pinesfortruth]

[he is not yet old enough to not secretly enjoy hair ruffles, fyi, though now he's just pouting]

Okay, look, it's not like I made it a personal habit of mine to lie to people before this! It's weird to just tell you guys stuff but then have to hold other stuff back!

[if he's just lying outright the entire time he has a much easier time of it rip dipper]

[potentite]

I understand. I'm, um, painfully honest? And trusting.

[He's trying to think of good advice.]

When it's something I can't talk about... I try to say something related to it that doesn't sound like a topic change but is. Because, um, well, I can't lie well, either.

[splinten]

[Can't believe Dipper is the mpreg child of Dirk and Jake]

[pinesfortruth]

[banned. you're banned.]

It's more the concept of secrets being potentially life or death that trips me up. I get ... nervous.

[potentite]

Oh, yes, that part is chilling. [Luckily, Jake has severe anxiety, so everything feels like the end of the world anyway. Still, he tries to think of something.] Hmm. Can you... not think of it as life and death?

[He's not good at this sorry.]

[splinten]

[Gently pats]

Yeah, just life and Afterlife.

[pinesfortruth]

[dipper's middle name is anxiety, probably]

That is the opposite of helpful.

[potentite]

Sorry. I really am trying! During the trial, well, it was a little obvious what you were holding back and so forth. I just... don't want that to disadvantage you.

[Jake doesn't want anyone to die but he'd be especially sad if it was Dipper.]

[splinten]

We'd like you and your sister to not die.

[pinesfortruth]

Yeah?? Me too????

[in a slightly hysterical tone because look, listen, he is tRYING, man]

[potentite]

[Oh no, Dipper. Jake is still emotional and drowning in empathy so he wants to hug him but he's also still socially awkward and on crutches so he just shifts, looking down.]

Well... Um, I understand... why you can't just take us at face value, if I just told you to trust us. But, if either of you are in trouble, you can come to us. You don't have to tell us why.

[splinten]

[Silently, Dirk guide Dipper over for an awkward hug. He will be the hug medium.]

[pinesfortruth]

[he was not expecting this to be a hugging moment but he lets himself be hugged and even sorta hugs back]

It's-- It's fine. Mabel and I have been in... I don't want to say worse situations, but we've been involved in some pretty messed up stuff. I know we're fine so long as we've got each other. I just-- [he gulps, a bit] Look, I don't want to endanger someone else just to save me and my sister.

[potentite]

[Good boy, Dirk. Jake shifts to get an arm around them both and hug.]

I know. Believe me, we were practically raised to deal with terrible things and we're still not... doing that great.

[splinten]

We were literally made to go through sufferin' and death.

[So.]

[pinesfortruth]

[he is squished in the group hug but that is not enough to distract him from suddenly feeling genuinely worried]

You-- what do you mean, made to go through suffering and death?

[potentite]

Umm... Our world is kind of fucked up. And, to be quite honest, I've spent most of my life purposefully not understanding it because it's easier, so.

[splinten]

We were born to play a game that is how universes create new universes. The game involves fighting, some mandatory deaths, and usually a lot of gruesome or unpleasant failures, along with other tests of characters. It fuckin' sucks.

The point is that this isn't great for us either.

[pinesfortruth]

That's-- that is so messed up. [now dipper is the one who is worried for them, though part of him is also like "why the heck does this sound like a videogame"]

[potentite]

Yep! It's been a generally miserable and lonely existence. [He's not trying to bring Dipper down but, well. He's like a morbid optimist at this point. Just embrace the shitty things and keep hoping anyway.] And, uh, we sucked at it? A lot. But that's also part of why... we don't want to see this keep happening. Games that require this shit... kind of a personal matter for us now I guess.

[Sburb didn't require turning on people at least? He can say that for it. But it doesn't really require many good things, either.]

[splinten]

At least Sburb didn't ask us to kill our damn friends.

[Yuggoth: worst game experience than Sburb. 0 out of five hats review in GameBro.]

The point is that we basically broke Sburb. The goal was to do it in a way that would let us succeed by importing players from another game, but that failed because everyone died and got possessed. [Bad times.] I am aiming to succeed when we break this.

[pinesfortruth]

[uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Time travel stuff? [he's. assuming. since otherwise that doesn't make sense] Man, I'm sorry you guys had to go through that.

[potentite]

Umm... parallel... dimension shit? I think? I forget how the scratch works... But it's fine. I mean, I guess it's fine, I don't know. [Jake is Dead and Dirk is glitched which he doesn't know what that really means for him if they survive this. But Jake is Dead. So.] We're just taking it day by day.

[splinten]

Rewriting the timelines and then hopping from the original timeline's universe to the new universe's timeline.

[Helpful.]

It's shitty but we also literally wouldn't exist for it. The game created us to play the game. [That's why he refers to them as having been made for death and suffering: that is literally why we were made.] I'm not super grateful about existing, but I'm glad that my friends do. Did, whatever.