stanleyalone

[stanleyalone]

"Huh. Well, uh, nice to talk to you four.

...the names Lee. What about you guys? If you dont mind me askin back. Paranoia gets to us all, huh?"

A high-pitched whir comes from the radio, like some futuristic technology turning on.

"...-hear anything. Hello?" A young man's voice is able to be heard, clearly excited. "Is anyone there?" "Careful, there could be anyone listening." The voice is replaced by an even younger voice—a child, even. Their voice is weary and low, however.

Another voice (how many of these guys are there?), a more androgynous and mature one this time. "Hello? Is there anyone there? This isn't a call for help, we're just testing this thing... I think it's working." "I thought you knew this slate like the back of your hand?" "Shut up, Time."

(@quartet-of-chaos)

"....Hello? Yeah, someones here. Your, uh... thing is working, I think, whatever it is. Radio or whatnot maybe? Nice to talk to you- three?"

[stanleyalone]

"Hm. Poor guy. Wait, the- the seven eyed what now?

....Hate to tell ya this, six, but i cant say that suprises me too much. Even if my memories kinda smudged nowadays, I do know that when somethin interested you, you'd be lookin at it and poking it for hours! Wasnt there that one time we found the sand crab with the extra legs..? Two extra, which gave it...12 legs! Yeah, i think. We gave the poor thing a heart attack, haha...!

Hey, you stressin out creatures was your thing, me stealin quarters from gumball machines was mine, we both had our, uh...as ma woulda put it, "quirks.""

A high-pitched voice crackles over the radio, oddly familiar but unique in its own way.

Boredly testing an attempt to communicate between dimensions, if you do not live in or do not recognize 46'\--I repeat, dimension forty-six, apostrophe, backslash, please leave a message at the suspiciously human-sounding beep. If not, speak anyway, I have absolutely nothing to do at the moment. Beep.

(@sixtysomethingtenyearold)

"Uh huh....more dimension stuff? Well, im here. Not much to do myself these days. You sound pretty young for someone testing communication across literal dimensions or whatnot, but hey, what do I know. Hell, its impressive. Er- what was i saying? Anyways, yeah. Im here."

[stanleyalone]

"Hellooooo radio man! I hear you're out on a little expedition!" The voice coming from the radio this time around seemed to be coming from an adult man, if one had to pitch a guess. Sounded like quite the lively individual, at that. "Well, I may not know what you're seeking, but I know something that'll make it a hell of a lot more fun!"

Like some of the other mystery people over the radio, a mysterious gift has appeared somewhere on the ship. When unpackaged, Staley will find that it's contents consisted of various types of wine, vineyard grapes, and a rather lavish chalice to drink it from. Well, it looked lavish, but it was obviously fake. Not that it mattered much. Who needed a real gold chalice to drink wine from?

"Drink well, traveler! It's Dionysus's night!"

-🎭

"...hm. Wine, huh? Never really was my thing, not that I had the money for it.... couldn't hurt. (Maybe i could sell some of it at the next dock...)

Cheesy chalice an everything. The fact im not questioning this just appearing is almost less suprising than it should be, honestly. Somethin intresting in my life at least. Well, thanks anyways."

[stanleyalone]

"...You're nicer than I expected a stranger on the radio to be. I guess being called an alien is sort of a compliment, in that case... thanks.

Why are you in the middle of the Atlantic, anyway? Are you a pirate or something? Looking for treasure? Sea monsters? Fish? Did you know there are fish out there that glow? It's called bioluminescence. It happens when-"

The teen on the other side of the radio seemed to get distracted by the topic, and his words quickly became a blur of scientific nonsense and mispronounced, overly complicated words that he didn't seem to entirely remember. It was a type of ranting that Stanley had heard before and was familiar with, even if it was from a new person. The rambling of someone with a thousand thoughts and no one to voice them to.

Well, except him, that is. Seems like he'd be the exception this time around, too.

-💫

"Im more of guarding treasure, if ya think about it, but i guess finding some would be nice too. Found some strange fish and stuff in my free time anyways, guess that counts."

When they started talking, he simply listened. He guess he had become more of a listener of the years, less bark and bite than he was as a teen. It was nice to listen.

[stanleyalone]

“It’s- it’s fine.”

“Uh…so…what are you doing? I’ll be honest, I have no idea what to talk about, but Great-aunt Mabel is here, and - don’t get me wrong, I love her - but I can’t handle more than a few hours around her when she’s really excited. It’s just- that woman is exhausting. Said affectionately. But anyway, yeah, I’m just…hiding in my room. Talking to you’s better than whatever chaos is going on downstairs- oh my god, I can hear the karaoke music-”

-⌛️

"Eh, nothin much. The usual. Like, uh...sitting. and. Uh. Talking to people and myself. Normal, uh...activity.

I get it, family can...well, be a lot. Hell, some used to say I was a lot, too! Me an my brother usually hid out whenever whatever small family we had visited, though, since he wasnt really a people person...

Karaoke? Sounds like fun, honestly. And uh- look, I get it, like you said, family's exhausting, and there's nothing wrong with takin time to yourself. Just, uh, cherish them, or whatever. All that sappy junk, yeah..?

...meh, what the hell am I on about. You just never know when things can change, you know...? Anyways- glad im nice to talk to, at least. I try!"

[stanleyalone]

// dream sequence incoming if that's allowed, lol. No need to match length at all btw! just have fun :)

In the depths of unconsciousness, it was dark and void of feeling. Empty black stretched as far as they eye could see in all directions, leaving only echoing thoughts behind. Whatever was thought of here better not be important, though, as something— or rather— someone was watching. Waiting, even. For what?

After a few moments of hesitation, a blinding silhouette appeared. It was shaped like a triangle and had four limbs, each one notably having an arm/leg warmer on it. In a flash, the silhouette was then given form. An orange triangle with a brick pattern on the lower half wearing a bow tie with a scarlet heart and a round hat appeared before him.

She seemed almost... shocked at herself. The triangle glanced down at her form and then back at the stranger a few times over.

"Eh... hi?" She greeted. Her voice seemed distorted with a slight reverb, but she also sounded quite young. "I didn't mean to end up here, sorry. I was just exploring!" The triangular entity apologized. "I'm Valentine! Um... who are you?"

- @is-it-dead-or-alive

Usually, Stanleys dreams were quiet in the same way that an ocean is silent. His dreams were drowning, feeling his lungs catch on fire and his wrinkled fingers clinging onto leather.

Tonight, fallen asleep with a hand on a fizzy radio humming with noise, things were different. It wasn't often he knew he was dreaming, but- something about this just felt like it. Maybe it was the weird void and triangle. Okay, probably was that.

"....hello? You sound kinda familiar...

Eh, no problem. Nothin else here anyways, wherever this is, I guess.

...Lee. nice to meet ya, valentine. Haven't seen many triangles with limbs in my days, so thats a first."

[stanleyalone]

*static*

Hello? Hello? I don't know if this is the same person I spoke to recently. If you are, hi. If not, my name is Elizabeth... or maybe I never told you that? I don't know. Anyway...

You told me to talk to my husband and drag him away from his work. I tried to talk to him. I explained how I felt, that I feel like too little butter spread over too much bread. He said that if I feel that way, I should leave.

...

*half sobbing* I don't know what to do. I've had nightmares like this more frequently than I'd like to admit. Almost every night, especially recently, I've had dreams where he either leaves or asks me to leave. And I always let him go without a fight. I... I hate it. I hate that we end up separated one way or another. I hate that I don't fight. I hate how that's exactly how I would respond to that situation.

I really hope he didn't mean it like that. I don't know how else he could have meant it, but surely he meant something else. He didn't directly ask me to leave. Or maybe he was implying that he actually did want me to leave.

But I can't leave him, for a multitude of reasons. We're all the way in Oregon. My family lives in New Jersey. I can't just leave him to fend for himself. I'm the one who's been keeping everything running for him. I've been selling lace and things I make out of it, I've been teaching people how to make lace, that's what I do for money, I've been doing all the housework on top of that, and he's just off in his lab, working on that stupid portal. He asked if I was proud of him for achieving something. I am, I think. I want to be. But frankly, I don't care anymore. I just want my husband to have anything to do with me again. I've been doing everything I can just to get some acknowledgement or approval. I've been bringing him food and coffee, I've memorized the way he takes his coffee, I've been doing everything that needs to be done so he can work on this, I've been getting dressed up and doing my hair and makeup all nice, I've been doing everything. But I can't... I can't keep up like this. It's too much. I can't deal with all this on top of managing the constant worries that I'm doing something wrong or not doing enough or doing the wrong things.

*clears throat* I'm sorry. I shouldn't be unloading all of this on you.

@ask-elizabeth-cortland

"...oh.

Im...im really sorry about that. Wish there was, uh...more i could do to help, but i doubt there is. And hey, talk here anytime you need, no worries. Sounds like you need it.

Hope your husband finds even a drop of common sense to realize hes got a lovley lady with him."

[stanleyalone]

Tried talking to my husband. Not really going well. I tried to communicate that I’ve been stretching myself too thin and he asked if I understood what he was doing. I finally said no, I didn’t understand anything about the situation, except that I’m tired and I can’t keep spending every night freaking out because I don’t know how to be enough for him. He asked me if I was proud of his achievements??? Like, yes, why do you think I’m doing all this? I just… I just don’t know what to do anymore.

@ask-elizabeth-cortland

"....Listen, lady, im gonna be honest. Your husband kinda sounds like a stuck up asshole. If ya cant handle it, might be best to walk away. Im not one for relationship advice, though, not like ive been very successful..."

[stanleyalone]

I left my husband a note explaining my issue.

@ask-elizabeth-cortland

"...Good luck? guess thats less confrontation."

[stanleyalone]

[There’s a long silence. Harper’s discomfort is extremely apparent.]

“…niece. Great-great-great niece. Not nephew.”

“…and just for the record, I think Stanley is a way better name than Stanford.”

-⌛️

"Ah, shit- right, sorry. Long day. Well, nice to, uh, meet you, great-great-great neice.

...if ya say so."

[stanleyalone]

im gonna drop an anvil on you

"What a cartoon-y way to go. Good luck with that!"

[stanleyalone]

"O-Oh, it does work- Wasn't expecting that-"

"Uh, yeah, no aliens here, either. Unless you count me. People like calling me an alien. I don't think my obsession with space really helps that... Uh... yeah... haha..."

"...Now I'm talking to a stranger through the radio. Gods, I really am losing it."

-💫

"Rough. Maybe aliens are just avoiding us at this point, haha.

...sounds like people aren't giving you a very easy time, huh, kid? People suck. They find someone whos different, and they go after em cause they got nothing better to do. Hey, if you like space, take being called an alien a compliment! Or...or something! Hell, being an alien sounds awesome.

Hey, me and you both kid. Ive been talking to plenty of strangers, and im in the middle of the atlantic talkin to my own reflection! Talking to strangers isint awful, better than not talking to anyone at all..."

[stanleyalone]

There more hardly concealed laughter from the other end of the radio. When he speaks, he sounds like hes smiling.

"Well, well, well, would you look at whos the younger sibling now? Man, thats- sorry, you must be having a horrible time, but you cant deny its not a little funny. A tiny bit funny even. A small problem for you. Who knew the fountain of youth wasnt all it was cracked up to be? Also, I uh. Haven't found many bowls of microwaveable mac n cheese in my time. Ill keep an eye out for them.

...two headed bug? Huh. Twice the brain, good for them. Or half of it, if they both have half of one brain..??

...eh, not really. Ive seen a few weird things, but it might just be the sea playin tricks on me.

I did find a salmon with a few extra eyes the other day...looked like somethin you'd be interested in. With all your...anomaly-weird things-research an whatnot."

A high-pitched voice crackles over the radio, oddly familiar but unique in its own way.

Boredly testing an attempt to communicate between dimensions, if you do not live in or do not recognize 46'\--I repeat, dimension forty-six, apostrophe, backslash, please leave a message at the suspiciously human-sounding beep. If not, speak anyway, I have absolutely nothing to do at the moment. Beep.

(@sixtysomethingtenyearold)

"Uh huh....more dimension stuff? Well, im here. Not much to do myself these days. You sound pretty young for someone testing communication across literal dimensions or whatnot, but hey, what do I know. Hell, its impressive. Er- what was i saying? Anyways, yeah. Im here."

[stanleyalone]

OOC: if I ever dissapear for days/weeks on end just know I got your asks and reblogs I am simply on a divine quest to save the world. Or im taking a long nap it kinda varies

[stanleyalone]

" .............a happier dimension. yeah. thats a good...name for it.

there's silence, before a hardly muffled snort of laughter can be heard on the other end.

"...You know what? Ill bite. You found the actual fountain of youth? Lucky bastard, good for you- then again, how's it feel to be short again?"

A high-pitched voice crackles over the radio, oddly familiar but unique in its own way.

Boredly testing an attempt to communicate between dimensions, if you do not live in or do not recognize 46'\--I repeat, dimension forty-six, apostrophe, backslash, please leave a message at the suspiciously human-sounding beep. If not, speak anyway, I have absolutely nothing to do at the moment. Beep.

(@sixtysomethingtenyearold)

"Uh huh....more dimension stuff? Well, im here. Not much to do myself these days. You sound pretty young for someone testing communication across literal dimensions or whatnot, but hey, what do I know. Hell, its impressive. Er- what was i saying? Anyways, yeah. Im here."

[stanleyalone]

"...nope! Sorry, ive never been a relationship guy much myself, honestly. At least not for more than a few weeks.

...hm. just talk to him, maybe? Im sure if hes your husband, and you decided to marry him for the rest of your life and all that jazz, he'd wanna talk to ya. Unless hes anything like my old man- Ha! Uhm...anyways, yeah, no clue."

*static* Hello? Is anyone out there? My name is Elizabeth. This isn’t urgent. I’m just… bored, I guess. Bored, lonely, looking to talk to someone. Been a while since I’ve done that. And I, uh, didn’t want to bother my husband. He’s… busy. He’s been busy. He’s always busy. That’s all. Just looking for someone to talk to.

@ask-elizabeth-cortland

(OOC: Do you want a run down of this OC’s lore or do you want it to come out in conversation?)

"Well, Elizabeth, you found someone to chat with. But hey, if your husbands too busy to spare a conversation with a seemingly nice woman like you, peel him outta whatever hes workin on! Jeez, thats all it is for people, all about work... er. Anyways, nice to meet ya."

(OOC: Either way! I read a bit of your blog she seems very cool and neat)

[stanleyalone]

A high-pitched whir comes from the radio, like some futuristic technology turning on.

"...-hear anything. Hello?" A young man's voice is able to be heard, clearly excited. "Is anyone there?" "Careful, there could be anyone listening." The voice is replaced by an even younger voice—a child, even. Their voice is weary and low, however.

Another voice (how many of these guys are there?), a more androgynous and mature one this time. "Hello? Is there anyone there? This isn't a call for help, we're just testing this thing... I think it's working." "I thought you knew this slate like the back of your hand?" "Shut up, Time."

(@quartet-of-chaos)

"....Hello? Yeah, someones here. Your, uh... thing is working, I think, whatever it is. Radio or whatnot maybe? Nice to talk to you- three?"