#WONDER lab. ~prism~

[cr-ok]

contains some spoilers for the ARG

Bill Ci. My Brainrot Guy.

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill List Overview & Entry Syntax

a little disorganized

yell at me if I’m missing codes or if something is wrongly categorized

do not worry about spaces/some punctuation marks (",", ".", "-", "+", "&", "@", parenthesis, quotation marks, and slashes)

i. e. "THEYLLSEE"/"THEYLL SEE"/"THEY'LL SEE" all work & have the same output

site does not accept entries with "?"

all characters are capitalized automatically

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill You All are Wonderful People

Busy_Abroad370 CranberrySoft8335 DCode Dog_core fishy--friend FRAMER_FRAMER Hacker88774770 Global-Pepper-5823 marzinstarz moonwytte mothford ohnoimonfire RiotingSpectre themoonweaversden themysteryofgravityfalls thisisnotawebsitedotcom-com wolsalwastaken

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Where to Click

book button below the screen dagger dial below the screen “McGucket Labs” above the screen gold tooth on skeleton jar link below the prism

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Relevant to The Book of Bill

BOYFRIEND/LONELY/LOVE/MARRY ME/ROMANCE/SOULMATE/TRUE LOVE CRYPTOGRAM CODEX DESTRUCTION IS A FORM OF CREATION SCARY/SPOOKS/SPOOKY/SPOOKEMUPS T. J. ECKLEBURG

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Bill, Past & Present

BABY/BABY BILL/DADDY/LALALA/LALALALALA/MOMMY DIVORCE/BREAKUP/ROCK BOTTOM EUCLID/SCALENE/SCRIMBLES EUCLYDIA FAMILY MATTERS FORGET THE PAST IRREGULAR JUST FIT IN RUBBER HOSE

it ends, eventually

SEVEN EYES TANTRUM THERAPRISM VALLIS CINERIS WELL WELL WELL BEING

three outputs

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Stanford, Past & Present

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA DOES GOD EXIST/FACE OF GOD/FRILLIAM/GOD/HELP ME/IS GOD REAL/IS RELIGION REAL/REVEAL GOD/REVEAL GOD TO ME/SAVE ME/SHOW ME GOD/WHAT DOES GOD LOOK LIKE/WHAT IS GOD/WHO IS GOD EVEN HIS LIES ARE LIES I’M STILL ON YOUR MIND/ON YOUR MIND OROBOROUS SORRY

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Riddles

answers in book

RIDDLE

NO/YES

MOUNTAIN DON'T

LYRE LIAR

HAROLD'S RAMBLINGS

UNION MADE

29121239168518

GREBLEY HEMBERDRECK

A RAT/RAT

3466554

TINSEL SNAKE

TORTURE MENTALLY

XGQRTHX

333 SUNDAPPLE LANE, COZY CREEK, IL, 60714-94611

CAESAR, ATBASH, & VIGENERE/MULTILEVEL MARK

EMMALINE BUTTERNUBBINS/BUTTERNUBBINS

DISPENSE MY ANSWER

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Zodiac

DIPPER

enter five times

FORD/SIXER/STANFORD/STANFORD PINES GIDEON

two outputs

GRUNKLE STAN/STAN/STANLEY/STANLEY PINES/STAN PINES

enter eight times

MASON MABEL - enter thirteen times FIDDLEFORD/FIDDLEFORD HADRON MCGUCKET/FIDDLEFORD MCGUCKET/MCGUCKET PACIFICA PLATINUM PAZ ROBBIE SOOS WENDY

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Bill Addressing the User

BAAAA/SAY BAAAA BLACK SHEEP BOO BERRY DESTRUCTION IS A FORM OF CREATION NAITSUAF

use the button and the knob

UNREALITY

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Canon to Universe

ALGEBRA/GEOMETRY/GREECE/GREEK/SHAPE/SHAPES/MATH/PLATO/PYTHAGORUS/TRIGONOMETRY BABBA/DISCO GIRL BLENDIN/BLENDIN BLENJAMIN BLANDIN/BLENDIN BLANDIN BLIND EYE CLONE/PAPER JAM/PAPER JAM DIPPER/TYRONE DUCKTECTIVE FORDTRAMARINE HECTORING HOTXOLOTL JUST BLENDIN KINGS OF NEW JERSEY KOOK KUBRICK L IS REAL 2401 LOVE YA BRO PINES PORTAL REALITY R34LITY SEVERAL TIMES/SEV'RAL TIMES SUCK IT, MERLIN

use Cipher Font B

WEIRDMAGEDDON YOU'RE INSANE

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Directly from "Gravity Falls"

AM I BLANCHIN' BYE GOLD DEER TEETH FILBRICK

Stans's father's name

FIXINIT1 DUCHESS APPROVES/THE DUCHESS APPROVES HOLOGRAM REALITY UNIVERSE/THE UNIVERSE

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Unsure of the Canonicity

ANALOG HORROR/CREEPYPASTA/HORROR/URBAN LEGEND/URBAN LEGENDS BURNED INSIDE BURNSIDE CARD/MY CARD

two outputs

CURSED CURSE WITTEBANE HEY NERD LIES OCCURREMUSITERUM OWL TROWEL PAPER IS BOOKSKIN SHAVE YOUR GRANDMA

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Ciphertology

CIPHERTOLOGY

two outputs

DIONARAP GOODNIGHT SALLY STOD EHT TCENNOC TOURIST TRAP WHICH RELIGION IS RIGHT YOU CAN'T KILL AN IDEA

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Easter Eggs

ALEX/ALEX HIRSCH/ALEXANDER ROBERT HIRSCH/HIRSCH ANSWER ASSHOLE/BITCH/CUM/CUNT/DICK/FUCK/FUCK YOU/GANG BANG/GLORY HOLE/JIZZ/MILF/PUSSY/SEX/SHIT/TITS/SLUT/TED CRUZ/WHORE BOOK OF BILL/THE BOOK OF BILL CHIP/DORITO/NACHO

jumpscare warning

CRYPTO/DOGE/ELON/FORTNITE/GYATT/NFT/RIZZ/SKIBIDI DEATH DISNEY/DISNEYLAND/EPCOT/MICKEY/MICKEY MOUSE/WALT DISNEY EASTER EGG FUCK YOU ALEX/FUCK ALEX HIRSCH GUN/THE GUN HISTORY

four outputs

HOW DO I DIE? HOW WILL I DIE? I SEE/THEY’LL SEE/THEY’LL ALL SEE IS HELL REAL? IS THERE AN AFTERLIFE/WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I DIE/WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE/WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU DIE/WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE/WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE LIFE MEOW/MEOW WOW MONSTER MORALITY NOT A PHASE NOTHING PEAK PINATA OH YES THEY BOTH ONE-EYED KING QUESTION SCREEN SCIENTOLOGY SEASON 3 SEASON 2 SEASON 1 SKELETON SOMETHING TELL ME HOW I'LL DIE TITANS BLOOD TRIANGLE

two outputs.

I'm convinced one is a typo

VIRUS WHO ARE YOU

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Reference to the Show

ABUELITA AXOLOTL BILL/BILL CIPHER/CIPHER/LLIB/LLIB REHPIC/REHPIC

three outputs

BLANCHIN/BLANCHING CARYN

Stans's mother's name

CIA/FBI/NSA CRAY CRAY CRAZ/XYLER DIPPY FRESH GIFFANY

enter this six times

GLASS SHARD BEACH GLOBNAR GRAVITY FALLS JOURNAL 1 JOURNAL 2 JOURNAL 3 MYSTERY MYSTERY SHACK TAD STRANGE TOBY DETERMINED WADDLES

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Cameos

CONSPIRACY GAME THEORY/HELP ME MATPAT/HELP US MATPAT/MATPAT/THAT’S JUST A/THEORY WEIRD

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill Does Not Work; I'm in Shambles

ASS BILL IS SANS BLIND IVAN DRAKE FIDDLEFORD H. MCGUCKET/HADRON FINGERS IN HIS ASS HENCHMAINIACS LEBAM LIGMA LUCIFER MERMANDO OVERLOOK/OVERLOOK HOTEL PLEASE SATAN SEXYMAN SEVRAL TIMEZ SIGMA THEY WILL ALL SEE TOOT TOOT MCBUMBERSNAZZLE TWINK JULY 4/7-4-1921

Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill ⚠︎ 𓁺 ⚠︎ Bill I Have Been Mislead/Fuck You, Internet

BRAINROT BUBBLE

eye in the jar element ID

CUSSES FOURTRAMARINE

spelling error

GOD BUBBLE MCSUCKIT OK KO REPHIC

spelling error

SMALL STILL ON YOUR MIND

incorrectly-remembered

[serendark]

Too Many Triangles

Summary:

Stanley Pines never knew what to make of that creepy cult room full of triangles that he found beneath his brother's house. Decades later, as the portal turns on, he thinks about what he's seen in all three of his brother's journals. He thinks about the note that Bill left behind for Mabel. This demon triangle has been harassing his family. There’s entirely way too many triangles in this house and in this family’s lives. Hours later after the worst reunion Stan's ever had, he steels himself and travels back downstairs, back to the portal basement. He needs to talk to Ford about Bill. He needs to protect his family. Even if that family apparently includes someone who hates him now.

Word count: 8,717

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Language: English

Characters: Stanley Pines (major), Stanford Pines (major), Bill Cipher (mentioned repeatedly), Dipper Pines (brief), Mabel Pines (brief)

Tags: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Self-Harm, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Bonding, Guilt, Minor Violence

Spoilers: Season 2 (canon divergent: s02e11 "Not What He Seems"), Journal 3 (lore reference), The Book of Bill (lore reference)

Read on AO3.

Glistening rainbow shimmers of long-abandoned pyramid prisms were indiscernible from the flutters of stale dust motes that fell around Stanley’s shoulders like a hideous ceremonial scarf as he tore pallid drapes down from the walls to the floor beneath his feet.

All too suddenly the room was all too small, walls caving in and seizing the man’s lungs while tumultuous needles pinned his frozen legs in place. He didn’t know where to look, but there was only one place he could, washing over him in waves of deep, dark, terror: Dozens upon dozens of eyes gazing back at him, staring right through him, every inch of his soul torn open and laid bare to see, to be chewed and drank by these confusing triangles… By the absurdly gaudy golden statue that might as well have winked back at him for all that it deigned.

Stan stumbled backwards, backside and hands meeting the floor as he struggled to process what he was beholding. This did not feel like something he should have seen, and he couldn’t shake the gross feeling bubbling under his skin that there was no taking it back, no undoing the fact that he is now privy to this awful, terrible room of goddamn cult secrets. He has become a part of this and he cannot scrub that away.

“What the hell, Sixer…?”

He never knew what to make of this room, and after scouring the piles, drawers, and corners for anything that might help with the portal he never once returned, preferring to forget about it entirely if he could. Unfortunately, forgetting was rather difficult since he passed the place every time he went down to the basement and he kept finding more of those damn prisms in random rooms in his brother’s home.

Sometimes he wondered if he should care more about this discovery, but it’s not like he had a lot of leads to work with. The journal in his possession didn’t mention anything about it and neither did any of the papers scattered around the room or lab, so other than the obvious similarity with the shape of the portal, Stan doubted if there even was more for him to learn, anyway. He just needed to fix the portal, get it running, and get his nerd brother back home. That’s all that mattered. No creepy geometry could alter the path which Stan has stitched into his very soul.

He will fix his greatest mistake or he will die trying. If this house does not see the two brothers reunited, then it will bear witness to the disappearance of both instead.

It’s the least Stan can do.

—

An extensive, wavering exhale rolled over Grunkle Stan’s nerves as he sat on the edge of his bed, head in hands and mind whirring over everything that had happened today. Finally, Stanford Pines was home. The real Stanford.

… Home? What was ‘home’ to Stanley Pines, now? Certainly not in his brother’s arms like he had hoped. Apparently not in the Mystery Shack, either. Not for much longer. A dark chuckle wheezed through his lips as he gingerly massaged the bruise on his temple.

No matter. His twin hates him now, but that won’t change what Stan needs to do. He’s almost tempted to hate himself for his own stubbornness, at this point, but that won’t change the facts. Ungrateful bastard or not, a sad 30 years of daring to hope only for it to leak down the drain… And Stan still knows what path he has bound himself to. He is going to protect his family. Even if that family now includes someone who, once again, is trying to send him away to never see his sorry mug ever again. Even if that family now includes someone who he himself disowned as family merely an hour or two ago.

…Shit, he really regretted that. He idly wondered if Ford might be regretting that whole conversation too, but Stan just shook his head before he got lost in that train of thought for too long.

Bill Cipher. It’s been a long time coming: Stan finally needs to confront the damn triangles with their damn eyes.

He still didn’t know what to make of the private study he found beneath this house all those years ago. But what he did know is that, whatever the geometric eyesore is, it’s dangerous. Stan has scoured every page of the second and third journals lately, blacklight included, and it was all… a lot to take in. Despite what Ford had said, Stan isn’t an idiot. He knows that triangle is bad news. He knows Ford was real chummy with the guy once and then fell out of line, with some rather disturbing pages in Dipper’s journal to prove it.

This demon triangle has been harassing his family. There’s entirely way too many triangles in this house, in his brother’s journals, in the kids’ dreams, in this family’s lives. And Stanley Pines is going to do something about it.

—

He swallowed down the static in his head and the cotton ball in his mouth as he waited for the elevator to carry him down to Hell. He was hoping beyond hope that this wasn’t a mistake.

Well, even if it was, he was doing it anyway. He’s pretty good at that. He’s sure Ford would be more than happy to remind him, even. Safest bet he’s ever gambled.

Once more partaking of their familiar 30-years-long song and dance, the elevator rattled and released Stan into the maw beneath this home for yet another time. Cautious feet stepped forward as he peered ahead, trying to locate his brother.

Stanford was in the portal cavern. Hands busy, head ducked down, sparks flying. The room was still a mess from the gravitational anomalies that had preceded the worst reunion in Stan’s life, though it looked like Ford had pushed some things into comparatively tidier piles. The portal was in even more pieces than it had been after the chaos earlier.

Alright. It’s showtime.

Stan wasn’t looking forward to it.

“We need to talk, Poindexter.”

The speed with which Ford whipped around, choking back a yelp, would have been impressive, perhaps funny, even, if Stan weren’t so anxious. Ford had damn near fallen over, peering towards the source of the sound with too-wide eyes as he dropped what he had been doing and reached beneath his coat towards his gun―

“Wh… Stanley–!”

Stan just shrugged. “Yeesh.” He felt as tired as Ford looked. It’s been a long day and now he’s come back down to this accursed old basement to make it even longer.

Before Ford could finish stringing together his thoughts or lacing his tongue with venom, Stan wagered to jump right into the train directly, disregarding the nausea settling in his stomach: “We gotta deal with that Bill Cipher guy, right? I don’t exactly understand what the sitch is but–”

He saw the ceiling rotate over him and felt his back collide with the floor before he could even blink, world spinning and stars infiltrating his vision as hard as his lungs hissed. He swallowed against the muzzle of Ford’s gun pressed to his neck, those angry owlish eyes boring mere inches away from his face, the man’s full body weight keeping Stan pinned flat; knees digging into thighs and wrists scrunched in a vice grip by an impossibly firm six-fingered hand. Ford growled. Oh sweet Moses, yeah this was going about as well as Stan figured it would.

Panic. Gotta say somethin’. “Oookay, uh, Ford… Stanford, care to explain why ya just came at me like a damn cheetah pouncin’ a bison?” A gruff cough betrayed the grin he tried to steady his heart rate with.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds–

Confusion crossed over Ford’s eyes like a delayed signal, eyebrows furrowing as the gears in his brain turned. Stan swore he could see smoke coming out of this nerd’s ears. He blinked, spluttering, leaning back slightly with his grip on Stan’s wrists slacking. “Cheetahs and bisons aren’t even on the same continent, Stanley!”

Stan simply offered him a million-dollar grin and the best shrug he could in response. Which was difficult, by the way, thank you Ford. “Get off me, dammit.” Ford leaned back, letting Stan sit up, but frowned at him the entire time with his gun still primed and waaaay too close to Stan’s face for comfort. Was that a snarl? Seriously?

He was seconds away from figuring out what he was going to say next when an offensively bright light beamed into his eyes and shocked his mind to blankness, Ford’s hands gripping Stan’s face as he forced each eye open in turn before the light disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Stan swore furiously, waving his arms in front of his face and trying to scoot away, only succeeding once Ford finally backed off and let him free.

When Stan finished rubbing his eyes and pulling himself back onto his feet, he saw that Ford had returned to his earlier position of crouching by the ruined portal. Okay, seriously? All that bullshit that just happened and you’re desperate to shove your nose back into some busywork like I’m not even here–

“...How do you know about Bill, Lee?” Ford was back on his feet, body facing Stanley though eyes downcast as though the floor could answer his questions instead. Stan hesitated, the bite of his anger gradually receding as his eyes took in his brother for what might truly be the first real time since he walked through that luminous, ephemeral, triangular frame of metal. His eyes drank in the deep, dark circles under Stanford’s cracked glasses, the pasty color of his skin, the patchy stubble on his face, the sweat sliding down his forehead from his mop of greasy mussed-up hair…

The way his closed fists were trembling as if taut with tension, just like his brow and his lip, presenting a portrait of a Poindexter who was teetering on the cusp of erupting into his own flaming supernova where he stood. Stan knew that feeling. Had partied with it multiple times. He was intimately familiar with the way it burrowed a hole in your chest in place of your heart: a fear that was all-consuming, an anxiety that buzzed beneath one’s skin; a frantic, off-kilter energy that kept a ragged man going on his feet when he had nothing else yet couldn’t bear to simply not care.

This was a man who was running on fumes, no fuel left in the tank, and ready to collapse into non-existence the moment the strings puppeting him forward decided to stop yanking him along.

A man with one reason to live, yet even that reason is barely enough. The worst buried secret in the world; a heavy weight plain as day upon his shoulders and carving out the marrow of his bones.

Stanley recognized pretty easily the poorly-hidden tells of devastated fear and utter exhaustion in his brother’s body language. Because he had lived like that, too. Because he still struggled to remind himself when it wasn’t one of those days.

Sixer had never looked so… small.

Stan heaved a deep breath, slow and rickety enough for him to feel it vibrate down his limbs.

“Read ‘bout him in your journals.” Ford’s head lifted slightly, eyes flashing to Stan’s face. “...‘Nd the kids had the misfortune of fightin’ him.” Stanley might as well have punched Ford directly through his core for all that the words, hanging in the air, impacted this man and hung despair on his face. “‘Course, they don’t know that I know that.”

“... What happened?” His brother’s voice was barely a whisper, almost a keening whine from his lungs as he ran his hands through his hair and down his face, fingers creeping under his glasses to push into his eyes as he massaged his temples. It was like his eyebrows hadn’t left his hairline in minutes, the creases in his forehead deep enough to age him by another few decades.

Stan hobbled over to the ruins of the portal, taking a moment to stretch his lower back before sitting on the cold stone and patting the ground next to him. Ford didn’t immediately follow, but kept his eyes trained on him the whole time. Stan just started talking anyway.

“Alright, without talkin’ to the kids about it I don’t got the whole picture, but I got enough. Some rascal kid that was freakin’ Mabel out tried to take the Shack. Same kid who found your second journal, wherever the hell that was.” Ford had carefully stepped closer, hovering over Stan before letting himself sink into place on the floor beside him. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with his hands and was awkwardly twiddling all twelve of his fingers while he listened, muscles in his face twitching.

“Mabes and Soos saw this kid, Gideon is his name, summoning the guy. Bill, I mean. Made a deal with ‘im to go in my head ‘nd find the code to my safe, so he could steal the deed to the Shack.” Ford raised an eyebrow, making his posture straighter for a moment as he prepared to speak before Stan just continued and cut him off. “The kids used that spell in yer third book to go into m’ head, uh, my mindscape, and fight him out. Whatever they did, it worked, though that piece of geometry didn’t seem to amount to much compared ta what that Gideon did next anyways. Kid had a plan B that didn’t involve Bill.”

“You weren’t there for this.” Ford said it like a statement, but with an intonation to his voice that made it an inquiry. Stan shook his head. “I was out cold. Not sure I even dreamed that night.” Ford nodded.

Silence chilled the air between these old men as Stan cracked his neck and began popping every one of his knuckles in turn, only releasing his breath once he was finished. Ford wanted nothing more than to break this silence, to urge Stan to continue, but it felt… sacred, somehow. Once Stan was ready, he balled his hands into fists and snorted. “S’next part really pisses me off.” He didn’t notice Ford gulp and tentatively hover a hand in his direction before changing his mind.

“I dunno what was said, I dunno what it all looked like, but that bastard got in Dipper’s head, got in his body.”

He suddenly turned to look at Ford, eyes wide. “He hurt him. Gave him scars. Gave him nightmares. Gave Mabel nightmares, too.” Stan’s mouth opened and closed, hanging strangely for a moment while his eyebrows knit together. “...Bill left a note, Stanford. For Mabel to find.”

One shaky inhale later, he continued. “Was gonna… jump off the water tower. Invited Mabel to the same.” He turned away from Ford, leaning back against the portal again and flexing his fingers, shoulders tense while he cracked his neck again. Stan’s gaze was forward and distant, a hollow feeling taking over his face and posture.

A loud slam startled him back into awareness.

Ford had sat up and punched the piece of portal he had been leaning against, struggling with growled breaths of air and trembling shoulders. He grit his teeth and punched it again. And again. Then he tottered to his feet and slapped both open palms into the metal, dipping his head forward and colliding against it. He hissed, rearing his head back like he was preparing for a larger blow―

“Woah― hey, hey, Ford! Stanford!” Stan was on his feet in no time and shoved Ford away from the portal, digging his hands down into Ford’s shoulders to hopefully keep him immobile. Ford wobbled and refused to meet his eyes, but Stan managed to keep him rooted where his feet stood. “What the hell was that about? Ford, buddy, are–”

Ford growled again and yanked himself backwards out of Stan’s hands, but made no move towards the portal. Stan’s hands floated, the man hesitating while he tried to put together what to say while his brain was still buzzing from whatever the heck it was that just happened.

“...My fault…”

Stanley froze, unsure if he heard that right.

“It’s my fault! I’m the reason why the kids are hurt, I’m the reason why they can’t sleep in peace. This is my fault, damn it!” Stan couldn’t entirely understand the next few words Sixer spoke, like some kind of foreign language, but he didn’t need to. His brother slumped over to the portal, giving it a half-hearted kick before leaning one shoulder on it and crumpling down to the floor. He tucked his face into his knees and wrapped his arms around his bent legs in a gesture that Stan well and truly understood.

Seeing his brother like this gave him flashbacks of a different time, of back when two young boys had spent the sweltering afternoon venting about life on a beach with grains of sand and glass between their toes. The shade of a patched-up wooden boat enveloped them in comfort much like the warm, salty air did the same. Stan needed to punch what was making Sixer feel this way. Stan needed to hug his brother. Stan needed to protect him and take care of him and make sure he never felt like this ever again. Down here in a stuffy basement in Oregon, Stan could have swore he smelled the ocean for just a moment. He licked his lips and tasted salt.

But when he reached a hand out to Stanford’s shoulder this time, his brother slapped it away and glared daggers at him. “It’s your fault for interrupting me during my fight! You should not have turned the portal back on!” Stan gaped at him and reeled back from the outburst of rage and accusation, his head feeling like an out-of-control jackhammer of confusion and pain.

He saw a nerdy little boy shaking his head, shoving his twin’s chest, and running out of the shade, running out of the sand, his snot-nosed face poorly hidden in the crook of an elbow.

“This was an insanely risky move, restarting the portal! Didn't you read my warnings?!”

“Stanley! Stanley! Do something! STANLEY!!”

Memories and voices from hours to years past spun a cacophony in his brain, a terrible chokehold that rattled the old man and stole his tongue. The room felt as though it were trying to take the air from his chest, twisting and swaying and becoming smaller around him. The broken portal sneered at him, trying to scare him away with taunts of his mistakes, with visions of a brother who pushed him into a burning hot panel 30 years ago and would gladly shove him out of his life today. It felt boiling, perspiration rolling down these walls of stone while sweat poured down his face and his burnt shoulder throbbed, stung, and scarred just like yesterday.

There was a painful pressure between his ears that urged him to leave, to escape, to find safety in a dark corner out of sight and as far away from here as possible like he failed to do three decades ago. If he stayed here then this grisly room, no, this ghastly portal, were going to squeeze his guts out inch-by-inch and break his bones one-by-one, the lightest punishment they could sentence him with. The eye of the portal would be judge, jury, and executioner, even from the floor as it was. He thought the laughter coming from the elevator behind his back sounded like his brother’s… only, higher-pitched and strangely distorted. Something off-putting, much like how he is out of place and out of his league in this basement. He was the one who willingly came back down here, letting his feet bring him to Hell. He was the one who dared to talk to Stanford. He should flee Oregon, he should ditch his name again, he should take Ford’s journal and go back out through the blitzing snow and leave and―

Stan closed his eyes, eyebrows scrunched as hard as humanly possible while he thought about why he came down here in the first place.

Bill.

Bill Cipher.

Right, that’s right.

That triangular devil.

The ruckus in his head slowed down all at once as he pictured Ford’s intricate drawings and written warnings, his mind’s eye blocking everything else out as it tunneled in on what mattered the most. A glowing triangle seated amidst a blackness that blanketed the cavern around him in an act of grace which smothered his fevered thoughts. A white hot fury in Stan’s chest that radiated outwards in this dark, musty basement, encouraging him forward. The portal was nothing more than piles of scrap, tape, and screws. The elevator was silent with only rust and age to its name. His brother was home. Stanford was here. Ford and Bill. His brother punched him in the face.

Stan huffed and abruptly spun away from Stanford, stomping over to the control hub area of the lab. Upon returning to the portal chamber moments later carrying one of those clear pyramid prisms, he made eye contact with Ford and then roared as he chucked the pyramid into the stone floor with all the might he could. Unsurprisingly, unfortunately, it did not shatter or break. Stan knew it wouldn’t. He’s taken out his stress on it before.

Ford was startled by Stan’s sudden violence, jumping at the impact noise and cringing as the prism rolled an echoing clatter across the floor. He swallowed when Stan whipped around to face him, his brother’s eyes searing a fierce unforgiving flame into his retinas as he glowered.

“Let me make myself clear. I’ve READ yer nerd diaries, Stanford. I KNOW ya have that really damn creepy room down here with this triangle bastard all over the walls, ‘nd I also know the last things you wrote about him were ugly as all hell.” He crossed his arms, turning his head to look real hard at the shadows in the corner. “I get it, whatever, you think it’s a mistake that I saved ya, you think it’s just another worthless screw-up from Stanley Pines. I don’t need a reminder of how much ya hate me.”

“Stanley–”

The con man snarled, meeting Ford’s eyes again. “What’s important right now is this guy is messin’ with our family. I dunno how you know this guy or what all happened between ya, but if you care at all about protecting the kids then let’s just go find some unicorns or whatever the hell and take care of this weirdo already! Then I’ll be outta your hair just like you wanted ‘nd we can pretend this all never happened.”

He shoved a finger at Ford, stepping closer. “‘Nd I don’t wanna hear it outta your mouth that any of this is your fault. I won’t stand for you badmouthing yourself, and I don’t wanna see you hurtin’ yourself again.” His eyes flickered to the portal frame briefly. “I am gonna protect this family from that demon monster and that includes you no matter how much you make it clear you don’t wanna see my sorry face. So DEAL with it, Poindexter, and stuff it.”

With that, Stanley stomped his foot and went to lean against the portal a little farther away from Ford. Ford couldn’t seem to swallow the tension in the air down enough no matter how hard he tried, sheepishly keeping his head turned down towards his feet.

The only sound that hazarded being heard now was the ever-present hum of resting machinery in the nearby control room. Red, white, green, and blue lights slowly blinking in and out of existence. Dark screens and large windows reflecting blackness and the distant visage of two upset twin brothers. A glossy, framed photograph of Dipper and Mabel smiling at the camera; Dipper giving Mabel bunny ears while she stuck her fingers in her mouth and stretched her face into the silliest, widest smile she could.

Twin siblings sharing the moment together like nobody else could do it better.

A captured memory of two kids being kids.

Happy memories from the beginning of an Oregon summer that supervised the final stretch of Stan’s very long 30 years, now bookended at last by the portal finally turning on.

Happy memories from nostalgic summers on Glass Shard Beach that safeguarded Stan through his shivers in the sleepless night, jacket pulled tight around his shoulders while he waited out the bite of winter in his car.

A worn photo of two boys that burned a hole in Stanford’s chest where the pocket of his black coat rested.

Dust hung in the air for minutes, fluttering in a draft so small it might have been imagined. Silence that built itself into a fortress, brick by brick. Tension that polluted the very air, threading it into thick, inedible cotton and dry tongues.

Breaking the silence had never felt less appealing. It would have been preferred had a chasm opened up and swallowed him instead.

Ford wiped his hands down his face again and sighed. “Alright. I can accept that I need to tell you about Bill. You are the other adult here and the primary guardian of these children. You’re already involved, anyway.” In his peripheral he caught Stan looking at him in the corner of his eye, clearly listening.

“Bill is… a dream demon made of energy who possesses no physical form in our world. He must manifest through dreams–projecting into our mindscapes–to interact with our realm. Or… make a deal that gives him control of a human body. Like… Like a puppet.” It didn’t escape Stan’s notice how Ford cringed, shame and fear washing over his face instantaneously.

“The purpose of the portal is to enable Bill access to our world in the flesh with his own physical body. Then he can use his god-like powers to take over and wreak havoc upon human society as we know it, bringing the whole of planet Earth, nay, Dimension 46'\, to pure chaos and ruin.”

As Ford continued to speak, Stan carefully came back closer and sat down on the floor again, trying not to grimace at his back as he did so. He was careful not to touch Ford. For but a moment he felt dizzy as he lowered himself, swimming colors in his vision putting his knees in sand before he blinked and was back on the stone floor.

“I… There is a deal between Cipher and I that is still in effect, but I have a metal plate in my head now that nullifies his influence over me. So I am safe.” At Stan’s raised eyebrow, Ford knocked his knuckles against his forehead. Sure enough, Stan heard the metallic echo.

Stan licked his lips, trying to choose his next words carefully. “If ya got that while in sci-fi sideburns land, then… you didn’t have it when ya asked me to come here, back in the 80’s.”

Ford seemed surprised, but nodded, looking at him.

“Is this guy the reason why you looked so god-awful back then?”

“...Indeed. I had only recently found out about his true intentions and was trying to thwart his efforts with the portal. He… was not happy about that and tried everything to get back at me, to sabotage my efforts, to win, and to punish me for even trying to resist.” Ford swallowed, glancing away while his fingers tapped at each his knuckles, eyes somewhere else and filled with long-buried memories. Was each word he spoke making him seem smaller, or was that Stan’s imagination?

Stan knew he was receiving the sanitized version of the story. It was written all over Stanford’s face: he was trying to be detached, objective, clinical. Like he was relaying scientific information from a formal paper and not reluctantly spilling secrets about his traumatic personal life story. But Stanley couldn’t find it in himself to blame him, not really, not when he knew he���d do the same if he had to talk about… Rico. Ford had created what might be the most acceptable version of events to present to Stan, the extent of what Ford himself could swallow, the most he could face his own shame and torment. It chilled Stan’s heart as he felt the cold sorrow creep into his nerves. This was just one more miserable thing that Stan wished he couldn’t relate to his brother about. Ford should never have gone through this, no, Stan should be the only one, and yet…

“...Stanford, in the days after I lost ya, I cleaned up a buncha junk in this house. Nonsense scribbles ‘nd piles of paper, old dishes, shards of coffee mugs, sticky notes covered in eyes, weirdo science books.” This time Stanley didn’t hesitate to put a hand on Ford’s shoulder. “There was a lotta blood. Random messes of it on piles ‘nd notes. Bloody bandages in the bathrooms. Bloody handprints on wrecked walls ‘nd doors with broken locks. Bloody clothing under your bed, crammed into piles of laundry...”

Ford leaned his head back against the portal and took in a large, stuttering inhale. His motions were slow, hesitant, like the pins and needles in his limbs were pinning the cavity of his chest open and revealing himself to Stan; the flayed pages of a tattered open book against his will. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he had to talk about this eventually, but he always hoped he could just ignore it and handle it on his own. His brother didn’t deserve to be roped into this burden. This was Ford’s problem, Ford’s pain, and Ford’s mess, no one else’s.

Yet, hearing the truth that Bill had been winding his spindly claws into the kids, into Lee, during Ford’s absence… made the gut-wrenching scope of this plague undeniable. The plague Ford unleashed upon not only this world but his family. He swore he could feel the sticky wetness of his great-niblings’ blood on his hands.

Ford noticed a question in Stanley’s wide eyes and, while hesitant, nodded. This was all the answer he needed to give. His brother simply understood. But Ford forced it out of his throat anyway. "Yes… The blood was Bill's doing."

This time, Stan was the one who punched the portal, cursing and sneering at what remained of the triangular structure. “I was so far up my own ass that I couldn’t even protect my own twin brother after he reached out to me for help… All I did was yell, fight, ‘nd shove someone who was hurt, someone who was scared ‘nd needed me to do something and I didn’t…!”

Ford’s reaction was immediate: clumsy and unfamiliar yet harkening back to what Stanley had thought was long gone and left beaten and buried in the sand. “Stanley, no… No, no no, you didn’t have a clue. Because I didn’t tell you enough, you could not possibly have known. I escalated the argument with you and I fought back. I don’t… think it would be right to fault you on that.” His hands were held up, fingers curled and loose and unsure what to do but yearning to reassure Lee, hankering to clarify and correct about Ford’s mistakes and where the blame lay so someone else need not falsely feel that vice.

Stan stared at him, shoulders rising and falling as his breathing returned to an even and steady rhythm. He didn’t really know what expression he had on his face, and judging by the look on Ford’s, that genius had no idea, either. He exhaled something fierce, erratically rubbing his hands up and down his face. He settled back down after a while of de-stressing and slouched against the portal debris again, looking like he didn’t really care about how he landed or if he were sitting comfortably or not.

One inhale. One exhale.

He twisted his torso to face his twin.

“But you think it’s right to fault me on other things.” Ford averted his eyes. Stan clicked his tongue. “Whatever… So what do we need to do? Make that unicorn barrier crap, smash this ugly piece of work back into scraps,” –he rapped his knuckles on the metal over his shoulder– “and then what? Anything we gotta do to the kids? Ya better not suggest installing metal into their skulls, Sixer, or so help me god.”

His brother spluttered at that, staring at Stan incredulously. “No, of course not! Besides, I wouldn’t trust anyone in this dimension to successfully pull off such a surgery.”

“Oh yeah? Aliens got it that much better than us?”

“Eh…” Ford shrugged his shoulders and made a so-so gesture with his hand. “It depends on where you look. I cannot say that consistency is a term the multiverse is particularly familiar with…”

Stan leaned closer and clapped Ford’s back as he laughed. “Ha! Not so different from us, huh.”

His brother could only just muster up an awkward chuckle alongside him.

“That aside… Yes, I believe you have the correct idea about how to tackle the… Bill problem. I intend to review my journals again for the sake of verifying my old memories pertaining to some key details, and then I will take care of it. I will disassemble the portal and erect a unicorn hair barrier–”

Stan cleared his throat in the most obnoxious way he could. “Ahem. You ain’t doin’ this alone, Poindexter. We’ll destroy the portal, and we’ll put up the barrier.” He raised a hand when it looked like Ford was going to protest. “Uh-uh, I’ve read those diaries more than you have at this point, or one of ‘em anyway. Ya can’t keep me out of this ‘nd you are not gonna do this alone, do I make myself clear?” He wiggled his fingers and flashed a well-practiced salesman’s grin.

Ford’s face contorted through a few different emotions before he finally hung his head and sighed, crossing his arms. “Fine.” He straightened to his feet and gestured over his shoulder for Stan to follow him to the control hub room, not looking back once.

This was going better than Stanley had dared to let himself hope. It still felt like Ford was at risk of exploding if Stan said the wrong thing, but his brother apparently didn’t have as much fight in him as he had earlier that day. Or when Stan first came down here, for that matter. He rubbed his wrists and winced his left eye toward what surely must be a fully formed bruise on his face by now.

He wanted to say he was happy, but as he swallowed around the rough feeling in his throat he knew he couldn’t fool himself about that. This sucked balls. His earlier attempt at levity seemed promising at first, but it was like trying to hold back the might of the entire ocean when Ford slipped right back into trying to exclude Stan again. This dense pressure surrounding his brother was suffocating, impenetrable, and something in Stan’s chest that he tried not to think about hurt like a raw wound at the realization that he didn’t really know how to broach this wall of Ford’s like he once used to.

Something in his chest chafed even more when he thought about how he didn’t really know how to talk to Ford like he used to, either. In fact, Stan didn’t feel like he had managed to actually talk to Stanford straight for once during this entire confrontation. He was being tolerated and he knew his brother was probably silently pleading for him to go away and leave him to his misery so he could mope around until this awful day finally came to a close. Would they repeat this song and dance tomorrow? …Would it be worth it to?

But despite all the eggshells, they had managed to connect just a little bit about their shared concern for the kids. He tried not to think about their shared pains from the past decades, something which was undeterred despite both twins living such wildly different lives.

Maybe Stanley doesn’t need anything else. Just think about the kids.

This is fine. This is surely fine.

Don’t think about the end of summer.

Don’t think about a rickety old boat casting shadows on the beach.

He entered the control room just in time to be shaken out of his daze. He watched as Ford arranged all three journals on the desk… and suddenly collapsed, holding onto the desk’s edge for dear life before he hit the floor.

Ford raised a hand to keep Stan away, fingers wiggling something indecipherable, limbs visibly shaking as he forced himself into a seated position on the nearby desk chair. He immediately staggered forward, elbows hitting the hard surface and his face sinking to hide in his hands, glasses falling down to land haphazardly on Journal #2.

Stan felt like he was watching his brother crumble into pieces.

Pieces of glass smothered in sand.

After another moment, he cautiously approached his twin, unsure what exactly happened.

“My apologies,” Ford rubbed his eyes, swallowing and bouncing his legs on the balls of his feet while he sat. “I’ve wasted so many decades of my life on that accursed charlatan.”

His sunken eyes glanced over at Stanley through his fingers like that was all he had the energy to do.

“I was one trigger away from having finally wiped myself clean of him before I was unceremoniously forced back here.” He scrunched his eyes closed, teeth grinding as he grimaced. “I shouldn’t be here, my life should have been spent on taking him down, on redeeming myself for being so big a fool as to fall for his schemes!” His arms swung to hang limply down at his sides as he leaned back, face staring up at nothing on the ceiling.

Like a doll with no control of its limbs. A puppet left to rot somewhere without strings.

“And yet he and I both persist, continuing to unjustly live, and it simply isn’t enough that he has me wrapped around his fingers, but now I find out that fiend is harassing the kids as well!” Ford’s words tapered into a roar, the spike of energy pushing him to lean forward far too fast while his round eyes located Stanley in the room’s dull light. He ground his hands against his knees, needing some kind of anchor.

“That’s personal, Stanley, I can’t help but fear that it must harken back to his gleeful torment of me all those years ago where he knew I was trapped and was toying with my psyche. He’s happy to hurt my family because he’s happy to hurt me, because he knew I wasn’t here to stop him, and he can laud his power over my head and rub my own powerlessness and failures back in my face, and… a-and…”

Stan’s arms were wrapped around his brother before he even finished registering that Ford’s voice tripped into a broken choke.

Ford cried out, “And when… when I saw all three of my old journals laid out bare here, I felt heavier than ever the monumental weight of my mistakes and how wretched my life has been. How, just how, could I have gotten my niece and nephew caught up in my disaster?”

The raw wound in Stan’s chest throbbed as he took in those words, the weight of them carving a home where he was already torn asunder and bruised.

Stanford’s full body lurched as he sobbed in his brother’s arms and gasped throttled breaths of air, returning the hug and scrunching the material of Stan’s shirt beneath all twelve of his fingers. “I’m so tired, Lee, I’m tired of Cipher! I’m tired of forcing those around me to continually suffer from my mistakes! I’m tired of running, I’m tired of being a puppet, of.. of being his toy, his property that he can jostle around the board as he pleases…!”

Stan began to rub small, gentle circles into Ford’s back while he thought over what he’d just heard, the motion so natural to him and so ingrained in his muscles that he didn’t need to think about it twice. For his brother to expose his heart like this… It was truly serious. It set Stan’s face in a grave expression. Not that long ago a rekindled relationship between the two of them had seemed impossible, and yet Stan now held the delicate reins of responsibility, an instinct burning inside him that made him want to protect his twin. He didn’t want to mess this up. He wanted to be there for his twin the way he should have been three decades ago.

He kept rubbing his brother’s back as the two of them sat there on the sand with their eyes closed, sniffles being carried away by the ambience of the ocean and tears falling down to the beach beneath their feet. Wet droplets left dark marks in the sand as though they could become sea glass.

Soon the sky was awash in pink and orange, and the cold shadow of the Stan o’ War stretched longer and longer, reminiscent of young boys chasing after the last remnants of dimming sunlight.

Once Ford’s sobbing diminished to but a few sniffles, Stan made his decision.

He picked up his twin’s glasses and gently sat them back on his face.

“I know this isn’t what you wanna hear right now, but, let’s get ya in the shower, and I’ll cook up some warm food for ya before we get ya to bed.” Ford lifted his head off Stan’s chest just a little, quizzically raising an eyebrow. “You need rest, Sixer, or else you’re gonna keel over ‘nd die before ya can do anything about Bill. It’s been one hell of a day.”

“But… The kids. Bill is too dangerous to ignore.” Ford’s voice was small and pathetic, yet as determined as he could make it. The familiar scared face of an insecure little boy standing on the edge of help and hurt. On the edge of where the tides meet the sands.

“I know, I know. You said the metal plate makes ya safe, right? The portal’s non-functional ‘nd in pieces that woulda taken me months to fix, ‘nd the kids are in the attic, prolly pretendin’ to sleep, so…”

“So…?”

“So I think we can afford to spend a lil’ time on makin’ sure you don’t fall apart first, brainiac. We’ll need that bright brain of yours runnin’ on something more than ten cups of alien coffee, right?”

Ford was struck with a look of astonishment following that comment. “Coffee… I can have Dimension 46'\ coffee again! Oh how I have missed it terribly; nothing else ever compared.”

His eyes glittered like Stanley had just hung the stars in front of an aspiring child.

Ford leaned back from Stan, using the collar of his black turtleneck to wipe the wetness from his cheeks. “I… do not like it or feel entirely comfortable with it, but I will concede that you have a point that’s hard to argue. I’ll freshen up my hygiene if you include coffee with whatever food you make– I do not care what time it is right now.”

“You’re s'posed ta go to sleep, knucklehead, but sure, I’ll make ya a mean coffee,” Stan chuckled as he swapped his hands over to patting Ford’s shoulder a couple times before stepping back to give him some space. The soothing lull of cool waves echoed and receded from farther and farther away. “Ha! I am unsure even coffee could keep me going on my feet tonight, as much as I would prefer it to.”

They both turned towards the elevator and had managed to take a single step before Ford abruptly stopped. He turned back towards the portal room, glancing between it and Stanley, his brows set in a worry. “I need to check something…!”

Stan just shrugged. “S’long as it won’t be too much work.”

“Excellent! Now, if you’ll excuse me.” His coat billowed behind him as he rushed out into the cavern.

Stan didn’t follow him all the way, but did hover near the entrance, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. “So what’s got ya in a tizzy?”

“It is of crucial importance that I check for any possible rifts.” Ford looked over his shoulder to verify where Stan was before he continued. “During my travels between dimensions, I had to track where potential rifts might form in order to continue my journey. While some rifts were man-made, or should I say alien-made, others simply occurred as a natural consequence of the unnatural frayed fabric of reality. Like a hole in a piece of cloth whose threads weaken, loosen, and allow additional holes to form.”

“So in other words, yer lookin’ for smaller holes near the portal?” He couldn’t help but smile like an idiot just a little bit. It was nice to hear his nerd brother again.

“Precisely! Seeing as our shiny punched hole in reality here was designed to lead to the Nightmare Realm, also known as Bill’s domain, I fear that any rifts will follow in those footsteps and do the– Aha! Stanley, could you bring me a borosilicate jar?”

“Come again?”

“Laboratory glassware! I need a resealable container, such as a jar. I used to have some spares sitting around here somewhere…”

Stan disguised a chuckle with a cough as he watched Ford crouch near the far corner, legs and hands splayed far apart, before turning to go fetch what was needed. When he returned, Ford was several feet away from the corner and busy with his hands on the portal instead.

He jumped when Stan suddenly slapped his shoulder. “What did I just tell ya about takin’ a break? Anyway, here’s your jar.”

Ford sheepishly nodded and retrieved it from him. He inspected it for a few moments, removing and replacing the lid a few times, before going back to the corner. Stan tried to stand on his tippy toes to peer at what the heck a rift might look like without getting any closer to the corner. He observed as Ford swung his arm in wide arcs and seemed to be capturing… floating blobs of spacey stardust? He thought they’d make for a cool alien lava lamp. I bet I can sell that.

His brother turned back to face him, sealed jar clasped between his hands.

“There we have it! It is but a small thing for the time being, but we will need to seal it and monitor it in case of any changes. I believe I know just the thing and can have this taken care of…”

Stan gave him a look. He put a lot of work in making sure that unimpressed eyebrow was as judgmental as it could be.

“...We’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Ford looked a little dejected as he changed course, sighing wistfully.

Stan gave him a thumbs up. His brother just snorted, shaking his head and smiling as he walked past and back into the control room. He seemed ponderous, one hand on his chin while he considered whatever it was he was thinking about, and then he opened a cabinet on the wall and locked the jar away inside.

“Ready to head upstairs now?” Stan was back by the elevator.

“Yes, I believe so. Well, no, but I accept that I should.”

For a short while, the tension between the twins had disappeared. But the elevator felt suffocating again.

Ford kept fidgeting and looking everywhere except at Stan. When Stan caught his eye once, he cleared his throat. Ford took in a deep breath.

“Stanley… It is very difficult. I do not have the words for everything it is that I am feeling, and everything that I want to say to you. I am still unsure of a lot of things, not the least of which is myself. But… I am glad to be home.” The wrinkles on his face were the softest Stan had ever seen them.

It wasn’t a thank you, but it was close enough for now. Close enough for Stan’s face to beam into a great big toothy, giddy grin. “Glad to have ya here.”

When the elevator reached their destination at the top and Ford made a motion to leave, Stan held him back with a hand on his shoulder. Ford turned to him, eyebrows raised questioningly.

Stan averted his eyes and coughed into his free fist. “I, uh… Sorry. For earlier today. You’ll always be my family, ya nerd.”

Ford gave him a small smile. “Me too… I apologize for punching you earlier. I am not entirely sure why I did, honestly.”

Stan shrugged, then wrapped his arm around Ford’s shoulders in a hearty embrace. “Eh, stress ‘nd nerves probably. ‘Sides, you sound like ya could use somethin’ to punch!” He gesticulated dramatically with his free hand as though he were painting a picture for Ford to see. “Maybe we can pull out that boxing dummy from storage tomorrow ‘nd draw a triangle on it!”

“Oh that isn’t necessary, Stanley…” Stanford snorted, leaning into Stan as his laughter made him less steady on his feet. “Nah don’t worry about it Sixer, I wanna punch it too. And if that guy ever shows up here again, I’ll punch him for real!”

Stanley grabbed both of Ford’s shoulders as his laughter died down, turning his brother to face him. “I really mean it, ya know. Don’t gotta ask me twice. Easiest sell of m’ life, even. No one messes with my family like that ‘nd gets off scot-free, ya hear me?”

Ford visibly swallowed and gave a tiny nod.

“... Thank you. I appreciate it.”

They shook the sand off their shoes as they stepped out of the elevator.

They held each other for support as they trekked through the ocean, waves lapping at their calves as they climbed the stairs one step at a time.

When they stepped through the vending machine, the nostalgic laughter of two twin little boys wrapped around them like a scarf before evaporating into ocean mist.

The vending machine had only been closed for a second before Mabel bounded right up to her Grunkles and planted herself right into their legs, trying to wrap her short arms around them both in a hug. Stan gestured for Dipper to come over as he and Ford crouched down to Mabel’s height, apparently already knowing that the little dork was nearby. Ford watched as Dipper meekly came from around the corner and joined them, repeatedly glancing between Stan and Ford all the while.

Stan spread his arms wide and trapped all of his family in a big bear hug, laughing and feeling weightless and the most alive he has in years. “I knew ya little knuckleheads wouldn’t be asleep! Tell ya what, I was about to make some Stancakes ‘nd coffee for my nerd brother here. How ‘bout I make a few ‘nd some hot chocolate for the two of ya, ‘nd then you can head to bed this time?”

Dipper’s guilty smile fell sideways into laughter as Stan broke the hug to noogy him and his sister, but Mabel was undeterred by her hair getting ruffled. “You better give me extra marshmallows and heaps of glitter!”

“Yes Stanley, and I better have no less than four tablespoons of sugar in my coffee.”

“A-and I want four Stancakes, Grunkle Stan!”

Stan broke out in a belly laugh and clapped Ford’s back as he stood up straight. “Sheesh, no wonder none of ya can sleep!”

He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this positively about the future. The spring in his step and the healing salve on his heart nearly made him feel like a new man. As he pulled out the flour and baking soda and opened the fridge to grab the milk and butter, he couldn’t help but feel like no matter what may happen, things would work out just fine.

[klbwriting]

Broken Prism

Chapter 24

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Todd x f!reader

Warnings: descriptions of mutilation, slight torture, body horror

Summary: the Batfamily interrogates their prisoner and he leads them to a horrifying sight and you are done with everything, including Jason

Dick and Bruce strung the Professor Pyg knock off in a corner room off the garage on a chain, facing the wall so he couldn’t identify where he was at. They were going to take him to the GCPD but wanted to ask their own questions first, so they used the chain from the ceiling and secured his hands, searching him using a kind of x-ray gun based on Superman’s powers. He had a tracking device installed in his bicep, so Tim shorted it out using a less than kind electric shock. The man didn’t react. They tried to pull off the mask, but it didn’t move, it was sewn into his skin. Jason couldn’t lie, that was smart but gross. The bag Pyg had been carrying sat on a lab table near by being investigated by Dick and YN. The hearts of those at the bar were inside.

“Are you part of the group that has been committing the murders around the city aimed at Red Hood?” Batman asked. The man nodded. “Tell us everything you know, or this experience will be less pleasant than it already is.” There came a laugh from under the mask.

“I do not care about unpleasantness Bruce Wayne,” he said. The air seemed to go out of the room. Even though everyone was aware that this group knew who they were to hear one speak the name of Batman out loud was still a shock. It still made them freeze and look around, wondering who had let the secret out, whose fault it was that they were now targets, not their alter egos. “You may all remove your masks; we know all of you.”

“And who is we?” Batman asked, keeping his cowl in place. Pyg let out another laugh. This whole situation was apparently hilarious to the creature. Batman balled his fist and threw it, hitting him in the face. The mask sustained more damage, a tear showing just a hint of pallid skin beneath it. Other that a sharp exhale at the impact of the punch there was no other indication something happened. No grunt of pain, no increase of heartrate on Tim’s monitors, nothing. It was like he didn’t feel it.

“We are those who want to see how far we can push the Hood, we knew he was from the Wayne family, but we were very surprised to see that he was the long thought dead Jason Todd. What kind of man comes back from the dead? What does that do to the mind? The Doctor is very interested in what will make him break, especially now that his quest for the blood of his killer is complete. What else matters now? The children he wants to spare? The old friends he used to have before death? The new brother from after his return? Perhaps his new fiancé? Will see be the final piece to destroy him? The doctor is not so sure. He wants to talk to the Red Hood, really understand how he ticks,” the voice behind the mask said. Batman frowned.

“Where is this doctor? I’ll pay him a visit,” Jason said, getting tired of this guy’s attitude. He hated this dramatic monologue bullshit. The Pyg looked at him. “He wants to chat tell me where he is.”

“O you will not find him, he will find you when he wants. You cannot even enter his office only we few have the privilege. And he is always watching,” he said. Jason nodded and aimed a gun at the Pyg’s head.

“Always watching? Think whatever camera he’s watching from will work with a bullet in there?” he asked, snarling. Batman shot him a look.

“Red Hood, we’re not done with him,” he said. Jason snarled but put the gun away, turning to pace. He was starting to feel caged, the pit rage burning through his veins, dying to be released. He could feel himself starting to lose control. His eyes found YN like they always did in these situations, and she looked back at him. He watched her, seeing her slow her breathing, his matching it. He was burning still but it had dulled just a little at the sight of her face. It was enough for him to keep control of himself for now.

“He does have a transmitter in the mask, but if I short it out the shock will kill him,” Tim said, still looking at his tablet. Jason shrugged.

“Seems like a win-win to me,” he grumbled. Batman once again gave him a disapproving look, but Jason didn’t care. He was too angry to worry about Bruce’s moral code at the moment. When he got his hands on these guys they were dead, all of them.

“All this time this is taking, such a waste,” Pyg said. “I already decided to dieeeeeee,” he sang out, now swinging on the chain that held him up. “It’s slow and it’s burning me from the inside out, but it’s giving us time.”

“Time for what?” Dick asked, looking up from cataloging the heart evidence.

“The Wayne family isn’t the only family involved. There is also YN and her little family, the one she left alone and so very vulnerable. Do you think they need you now? Those you called your sisters?” Pyg asked. YN’s face paled. There was a laugh from behind the mask that started to sound like gurgling, then the Pyg fell silent.

“He’s dead,” Tim said. He started trying to track a feed location from the camera and dug the tracker out his bicep. “I’m going to fix this, see if I can get the last location from this too.”

“I need to go see if Jocelyn and Aura are alright,” YN said, face pale. She ran out of the room, getting into the McLaren and leaving before even Jason could catch up. He hopped on his bike and followed.

You ran up the stairs, the elevator seeming too slow. You approached the door and your breath hitched, seeing the door cracked just a little. It opened to a horror scene and everything in your world seemed to stop. There was a buzzing in your ear, your eyes couldn’t focus. Blood was everywhere. Jocelyn lay on the couch, reclined like she was watching TV, hand even holding the remote. Only the skin of her face was missing, her chest ripped open, a gaping hole where her heart should have been. Aura was at the table, bowl in front of her, both hearts in it. Her face was also missing. You smelled something burning but couldn’t get your mind to think process anything beyond the sight of your best friends, dead and posed like dolls in some sick playhouse. You weren’t sure when you fell to your knees, you didn’t feel the pain of them hitting linoleum. You didn’t even know when Jason got there, his arms suddenly around you as he tried to pull you back out the door. You let out a cry as he yanked you out, gripping you close as everything finally slammed into you. The buzzing had been the beeping of the smoke alarm from the burning faces on the stove. The smell the melting flesh of your friends’ identities stolen from them. The floor had a message in their blood.

We will take everything from you Red Hood

You looked at yourself, seeing blood on your clothes from you kneeling in it. You let out a cry of horror. You didn’t care when the blood on you was from yourself, but this was your best friends, your sisters. Jason hugged you again, whispering anything in your ear to try and calm you. After several minutes you finally were able to gain some control of yourself, just in time for the GCPD to arrive.

“YN,” Jim said softly, looking at you as his investigators entered the apartment. You stared at him, still not sure if everything that was happening was real or not. “YN, let’s go downstairs.” You nodded slowly and followed him, your brain moving quickly as you started to think of a plan that Jason would hate but considering they wanted to break him it might be the only way to find these monsters.

Jason had been quiet driving you back to the cave. He had said he would get his bike later, now he just wanted you safe. You stared straight ahead, mind empty of everything but the sight of Jocelyn and Aura, mutilated and humiliated in their deaths in a way that would never leave you. You could never imagine closing your eyes again without seeing that destruction. You wondered when you would stop smelling their blood mixed with the burning flesh on the stove. You needed a shower, but there would be time for that later. You needed to end this.

Dick was there to help you out of the car when you were back in the garage. You heard Jason get out and he took of his helmet. You rounded on him, fury in your eyes.

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” you screamed, eyes blazing. Jason stood, shocked, staring at you, first confused, then hurt. “They were innocent, and you let them…they tortured them Jason all because you had to go after Joker!” You walked over, fist balling, until you were close enough to throw it at his face. He reeled from the unexpected impact.

“YN…I didn’t mean for this to happen…” he said, trying to scramble, think of anything to make you stop. You knew this would kill him, but you needed to do this.

“You didn’t mean for it to happen? Or course not Jason, you never do anything, everything just happens to you. You don’t mean for me to get kidnapped by Black Mask and drown, you just stupidly showed up at my door, leading them to me! And Poison Ivy? If you had just, I don’t know, pulled a fire alarm when you got to the lounge instead of having to find me like an idiot, more people would have lived! You are the reason these things happen, and I was so stupid to think that I could help you, that maybe if I sat by long enough and let you see the messes you made you would finally realize that everything was better without you. I’d rather never see a single color again than have you in my life,” you said, taking off the ring and throwing it at him. He caught it and stared after you as you ran over to Tim, hugging him, hammering the last painful nail into the coffin. Let Jason see that he was being replaced again. Tim kept his arm around you and walked away, dropping the Pyg mask he had been carrying that had just watched everything unfold. Watched as you imploded Jason’s world and your own.

[mxchineherald]

𝟑-𝟓 things your muse can easily be identified with.

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐒

🟈 𝐜𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐭 :: the shade of ingenuity ; the main color of hextech 🟈 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝 :: his cane handle's gilding ; the color of his father's eyes 🟈 𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐲 :: the color of piltover's walls ; clean lab coats and gloves 🟈 𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 :: tranquility and balance ; the color of the hexcore 🟈 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐧𝐮𝐭 :: the approach of autumn ; the shade of his hair

𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒

🟈 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫 :: rain falling on dry dirt ; staying inside for warmth 🟈 𝐨𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞 :: the smell of magic discharge ; a good day's work 🟈 𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐭 :: the oil he most commonly wears ; bright eyes 🟈 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐲 :: a night in with jayce ; loosening his tight tongue 🟈 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫 :: delicate and crisp ; life, protection, enlightenment

𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐎𝐍

🟈 𝐥𝐚𝐛 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬 :: professional and trim ; identity and pride on display 🟈 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐭𝐢𝐞 :: silken and refined ; a graduation gift from jayce 🟈 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬 :: tailor made for his mismatched feet ; many years old 🟈 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐬 :: common fashion in zaun ; a touch of his home 🟈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 :: exhaustion and irritation ; working late and alone

𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐒

🟈 𝐡𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 :: complex mystery ; a puzzle to be solved for progress 🟈 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐠 :: late night coffee breaks ; surface conversation 🟈 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 :: secrecy and planning ; a peek inside his mind 🟈 𝐬𝐤𝐲'𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 :: a promise broken ; a reminder of his mistake 🟈 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 :: a symbol of his condition ; limitations of mobility

𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐀𝐆𝐄

🟈 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 :: contemplative and reserved ; always thinking 🟈 𝐬𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 :: pain in every muscle ; shrinking stature 🟈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 :: illness and malaise ; inevitability of his cursed fate 🟈 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 :: wide to take in the wonder ; cast away from others 🟈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 :: calculated and cautious ; learned lessons

𝐀𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒

🟈 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 :: working on intricate machinery ; rarely held 🟈 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 :: easier movement and freedom ; deep breath 🟈 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬 :: surreal and cryptic messages sent from beyond 🟈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 :: visions of his home ; beauty in diverse unity 🟈 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 :: prisms of colors dancing in the water ; the pools

stolen from :: @zaunseye (myself) tagging :: Anyone who would like to participate. Tag me.

[study-with-aura]

Thursday, February 8, 2024

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and looking forward to the weekend! My friends will be staying with me again tomorrow night so we can be at our cookie booth again early on Saturday morning. We will probably watch a movie like we did the last two times and then go to bed. All three of us stay very busy throughout the day, so I think that makes it easier to want to go to sleep instead of staying up and talking until early hours of the morning.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Reviewed areas of regular polygons + read about Cavalieri's Principle + practice + learned to find volumes of prisms and cylinders + practice

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Unit 17 vocabulary + read chapter 14 of Emma by Jane Austen + started writing on my short story

Spanish 2 - Practice with possessive adjectives + practice with translating and answering questions related to daily routines + studied vocabulary

Bible I - Read Deuteronomy 33-34

World History - Watched a presentation on Matthew Perry and Imperial Japan + answered questions

Biology with Lab - Learned about the recycling of matter + answered questions + continued working on my endangered animal project (saola)

Foundations - Read more on persuasiveness + completed Lumosity daily brain workout + worked on the conclusion and edits of my inspirational speech + practiced speech out loud

Piano - Practiced for two hours in one hour split sessions

Khan Academy - Completed High School Biology Unit 9: Lesson 6 + completed High School Geometry Unit 9: Lesson 2

CLEP - Watched Module 9.2-9.3 lecture videos

Duolingo - Completed at least one lesson each in Spanish, French, and Chinese

Reading - Read pages 76-98 of Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Chores - Put away the dishes + took the trash out

Activities of the Day:

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

-

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful for the recycling of matter because without it, life could not sustain itself.

Quote of the Day:

Everything is connected. The past. The future. The beginning and ending.

-Warrior Girl Unearthed, Angeline Boulley

🎧12 Romances, Op. 21: No. 5, Lilacs - Sergei Rachmaninoff

[gamergirlshelby]

Alright I just finished Chapter 1 of Rejuvenation 13.5 and I have many thoughts I want to ramble about.

I want to note that I have done 100% playthrough of version 13.0 a few months after it had initially released, so although my memory is a bit rusty, I will be talking a bit about some of the changes between the versions (i want to note that they're all positive imo)

Also should note that be wary of spoilers for new content for 13.5 as well as spoilers for story stuff since I want to talk about how good the writing in this game is. I've taken a lot of screenshots and will be adding them when i think they fit in my little rambles and stuff.

Without further ado my ramblings are under the read more!

To start things off I wanna just gloss over the beginning scene with Maria and the prologue on the SS Oceana. From what I can remember nothing really changed between those two sections but honestly I think they are as close to perfect if not as perfect as they can be. They give just the right amount of information to set up some of the first main mysteries and plot threads, and I think they do amazingly at setting the tone for the game.

Next I want to talk about how East Gearen has changed, having made some small adjustments to the city to help make traveling through it all the more easier. I'm happy that the changes were minimal enough that walking through the city I still knew where everything was, so everything felt familiar but it had been different enough where seeing everything game me the same sort of wonder and comfort that it had in my first playthroughs.

I think the biggest changes being to the designs for the Gearen lab and the Gearen Help Center (I haven't made it to Sheridan yet so I'm not sure if all of the help centers have been changed to be the same sort of layout, or if they all have a unique sort of look to them). The only change I'm not the biggest fan of is the starters all being lined up in rows as shown above. It definitely makes choosing the starter easier since they're all in one space, but having them all in their own little enclosures had this quaint sort of feeling to it. Still I do think that it was a good change overall, it just doesn't pander to me specifically.

Next change that I want to point out is the ability to take on quests right when you see the npc and not needing to go to the help center. Overall I think everything about quests has been changed to be much easier and more streamlined. The little quest notification does a lot in making finding the details for quests and even just finding quests a lot easier. Overall I'm a big fan.

I also adore the additions of finding some relevant story npcs out in the world outside of big story events and areas. It just adds so much to the world and helps make the world feel more alive, like its really worth saving. Whether its just small dialogue that doesn't impact anything, a conversation that can build up on your relationships with characters, or even having a quick battle, I love these small changes.

Next on the list is the completely new content, with the most notable being Mr. Luck's tent. I'm gonna be honest I am a big fan of him, I love this character archetype of just these mischievous tricksters (probably a more common term for this trope but. y'know the sort of characters I'm probably thinking of) Honestly the whole quest introducing Prism Pokemon was very fun! Melia also explains them later on during the Goldenwood Forest section with the fight with the Prism Nidorino, but I think being able to learn about it early through the quest is fun. Also I am just a huge fan of the contracts and items you can trade in. I'm gonna save a bit though for some of the more expensive items though, at least for now. If I can find a way to grind for the Black Prisms easily I'll probably grind for that ??? contract, but I have no idea what it could be (also 999 is a lot,,,).

Next up I want to talk about the update to Venam's gym! It definitely feels a lot more her than the last one, but I do think there was a bit of charm to the idea that she didn't really get a say in what her gym was like, to the point she made a gym grave yard to help preserve those old gyms. The factory is still there and I'm gonna be honest I kinda just walked there first when it was time to challenge Venam and I was very confused-- Not complaining just a silly thing I thought I'd mention.

Next I want to talk about the Zygarde quest. I think introducing it during the main story instead of pushing it to the side in the help center was a smart move, but I did not realize who Ayuda was at first when I saw him in Venam's gym. I'm gonna be honest though, I don't see myself going out of my way to work on completing the Zygarde quest this playthrough, mostly just cause I'm not the biggest Zygarde fan, but also its just very tedious to look for all of them.

Next I wanna talk about the Goldenwood Forest Section and I just. Wow I think how it was reworked was phenomenal. First I absolutely ADORE how instead of having it be a cutscene you can help out everyone in Goldenwood made the trip feel a lot more impactful. I adored that original cutscene but honestly I think having a few quick quests to help everyone in the area made what was once gonna be one of the best days ever into the worst day ever feel a lot more... real if that makes sense, telling a story through gameplay and not just cutscenes, something Rejuvenation never had a problem with, but I'm glad they made the change here.

Also the fishing quest. Oh my goodness the fishing quest. The mechanical Lairon encounter hinting towards the future mechanical Pokemon you have to fight later on even more intense cause like. This rusty old one can give you trouble if you're not prepared for it, and and the fully functional mechanical Pokemon found later on in the game can be pretty rough, especially since there are so many of them in some sections like in the pearl route of chapter 15. That said there was something really funny to me about the idea of this fisherman having the hardest time trying to get a Magikarp haha.

Next I love the information Melia gives about the mural, how she talks about how the squares couldn't be buildings, since the Garufans hadn't been very technologically advanced. Honestly there being so many differing interpretations for the Garufans and how they handled things is so cool to me, cause I feel like its just like how people who research ancient civilizations are in real life, especially when there isn't a lot of information available. This might be partly because I have this stuff on my mind because I am taking a World Civilizations class rn for my college classes. Karen talking about in the Missing Starly quest that the Garufa were a nomadic tribe that harvested the powers from Pokemon's souls to be able to cast magic. Then in the Hidden Library quest we learn that they hated Pokemon, seeing them as vile pests. Even the idea that their technology was undeveloped is something that gets disproved later on in the story. I just find it fascinating that nobody can seem to agree on what the Garufa were like. I may be pulling at straws here though I just think its cool.

Next is the whole redesign for the Silent Grove. First I think the name itself is new but tbh I may just be forgetting and I don't feel like looking up an old playthrough to check (tbh thats just me being lazy tho). I personally was a big fan of the grove being a small secluded area, but I think the big castle builds on the lore that was first established in the Goomy Kingdom quest, that being what the world was like all the way back before the calamity decades ago, and showing that there where even more castles. Also it just makes more sense that this would lead to the secret Garufa settlement that we explore in the Pearl Route for Chapter 15. Also I love the new statue design being based on the Ranger sprite for Arceus.

Lastly I just wanted to say I think the battle with Zetta being changed to take place in a crater instead of the lake front just makes sense. It didn't make sense to me that the park had been closed off for so long after the Rift Gyrados was dealt with. I know it's because the Gyrados wasn't completely gotten rid of, but before it was just overgrown, but still manageable. This level of damage I could see needing to have a full quest line repairing.

Anyways that's it for my thoughts on Chapter 1 and the Prologue for version 13.5 of Rejuvenation. Hope you enjoyed my rambles and thank you again for reading all of them :D

[leviathanverse]

Chapter 3: Meeting Mrs. Claire

The massive prism known as the HQ or lab had you stare at it in awe. Your mouth was open, eyes wide and filled with awe.

Salami, however, rolled his eyes and walked inside while you were still in awe. It wasn't even a few seconds later that he came back.

" Get inside, lady! We got no time to be seven year olds!"

He grabbed your arm rather harshly, and dragged you inside. This snapped you back into reality as you almost tripped.

You tried to keep up with him. All while you struggled like a fish flopping on land. Maybe you shouldn't have worn your damn sandals.

" Ah! Mr. Shinagazawa! You're hurting my arm!"

" Tch. Stop whining."

Despite being rude after telling him that he was hurting you, his grip lessened. All the scientists or employees looked at you with pity. Huh. That was weird.

But they returned to their task at hand rather quickly. It made you question your sanity. Why did you take this job again? Just- why?

Oh... right... because your friend forced you to get a job. And because you were in need of getting money. You wanted to move out of your house.

What 19 year old stays with their parents now? Maybe some that don't want to leave their parents or earn money at a slow pace.

Yeah... maybe. Still, you felt horrible for still being with your parents. You had the money to get a house! But not to pay the bills.

Taking this job meant you didn't need to go back home. You were paid to stay here, if you had signed the contract.

Your train of thought was interrupted as you were pushed through a door. Not harshly, but not gently either. How nice.

" There is no need to be harsh, Sanemi."

" Sorry, boss. This one was stubborn and didn't want to follow."

" I-"

" Then let her be. We aren't in a rush. There is plenty of time for the discussion and rules."

You saw a man that had white robes. His eyes were a gorgeous lavender colour with lashes as white as snow.

He also had light purple skin that stretched to where his nose was. You wondered if he was ill. There was no other explanation.

" I hope Sanemi didn't give you trouble?"

" Not at all, sir. He was really nice."

Said man looked at you with a strange look. Was he shocked? You didn't have enough time to study his expression as the man spoke again.

" I am Kagaya, the head of the park. You must be Y/n L/n?"

" Ah! Yes, I am Y/n. It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

" No need for formality. You may call me by my name."

That took you off guard. Call him by his name? Wasn't that rude? He was your boss, and he says you can just call him Kagaya?

It sounded so wrong. You were going to stick with being a bit formal. Calling him sir or boss was a show of respect.

" Sorry if you find this offensive, but that is a bit rude for me to call you by name... I was raised to always call someone sir or ma'am."

" Why you-"

" Sanemi, no conflict please."

" Sorry, boss."

You were shocked to see him bow his head for Mr. Kagaya. Seemed like he had massive respect for him.

" And as for your statement; I don't find that offensive at all. You were raised right by your parents."

" You don't find my statement offensive?"

" Why would I? You apologized for incase if it sounded offensive beforehand. Sanemi, take them to Mrs. Claire please."

" What about her luggage?"

" You can just drop them off right here. She can collect them after meeting Mrs. Claire. Afterwards, give her a tour of the park."

" ... As you wish, boss."

Salami turned to look at you, and scowled. Although, you felt like it wasn't directed at you. You hoped so anyway.

" Let's go, Mrs. Y/n. We don't have all day."

" Sanemi. Be kind to the new janitor."

" It's fine, Mr. Kagaya... I have met people like him before. Sorry if that was rude to say, Mr. Shinagazawa..."

He put some of your luggage down in a corner. You did the same, carefully putting your stuff down.

While you did that, he opened the door and looked at you. He beckoned you to the door. Telling you to step through.

So... he was a gentleman in front of Mr. Kagaya but not in front of everyone else? This man made no sense to you.

" After you, Mrs. Y/n."

" Thank you, Mr. Shinagazawa."

You walked out of the room and Salami followed after you. As soon as he closed the door, he looked at you.

" Why did you defend me? Say that I was no trouble for you?"

His brows furrowed in confusion, clearly unable to break down the words and the possible reason you defended him.

" Because you helped carry some of my luggage. You are a gentleman. I have seen men with far more extreme behaviours and personalities."

" I see... I apologize for my behaviour."

That took you off guard. Did he just apologize to you for his rude behaviour? And first impression?

" Let's go. We don't want to keep Mrs. Claire waiting."

" I agree."

He took the lead, walking in front of you while you followed. He... wasn't really a bad guy.

Maybe he struggled expressing how he feels? It wasn't completely impossible. Some people struggled to express their emotions.

Yeah. That was probably it! You didn't want to think that he was just some rude man. He showed you his nice side, after all.

You couldn't wait to meet Mrs. Claire! She sounded like a well respected worker, from how Salami and Mr. Kagaya used formality when they spoke about her.

You'll find out why that was, you thought. You hoped to make a good first impression when meeting her.

" Shinagazawa? What are you doing here? And who is this?"

You snapped out of your daze and looked to see who talked to Salami. It was a woman with blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes.

" Mrs. Claire, this is Y/n. Y/n, this is Mrs. Claire. She is the main scientist."

The woman with blonde hair looked at you and smiled. She took off her glasses and folded them.

She outstretched one hand for you to shake. You smiled and shook her hand. Being gentle to do so.

" It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Claire."

" It is nice to meet you too, Mrs. Y/n. I have waited for your arrival for a few days now."

She waited to meet you? For a few days now too? Wow... she really was a nice person. Now you felt like you belonged, welcomed.

You couldn't wait for your first day on the job!

Previous <-•-> Next

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Chapter 1090 - Initial Thoughts

Confusion

That was certainly the thoughts that arose upon hearing news of spoilers in a week that's meant to be a break. Honestly I thought it was fakes, attempts to stir fans unaware with falsities.

But lo, they do look very real. If they do become fake expect me to delete this one but the panels, the colour, it all seems to track. Of course TCB hasn't translated it yet so I've had to go back to my older sources, so the context may not be as good.

Spoilers for the Chapter, maybe? Still tentative, but support the Official Release of course

A very rare Kuro return...in the cover page, I do still wonder about the East Blue guys; Kuro, Morgan, Krieg, Gin, not Arlong though don't really give a crap about the shahaha man

We haven't recapped what happened yet, but we've picked up where we left off

Luffy's out with his regular introductions across the Den Den Mushi, which is kinda alarming with the Gorosei on the other side

He confirms to be allied with Vegapunk and uses York's safety to barter the fleet backing off

Embodying evil lads have you considered why humanitarian genius Dr. Vegapunk is allying with a Yonko against the World Government right now?

Ooooh Kizaru's not the only ones listening in, Morgans is too, which means Vivi's getting the scoop...Wapol's also there

The Gorosei engage in Monkey D. Luffy for the first time, asking about their numbers

Luffy goes to answer with 'including the injured' but Robin (identified by the Gorosei) shuts off comms

WHO HURT OUR ROBIN!?

Robin, bandaged around her bare chest, reminds Luffy not to give the enemy information

Through spoiler-talk I couldn't avoid a post saying that Robin was 'uncharacteristic' with people hoping that Devon had already swapped with Robin but this didn't seem uncharacteristic at all

Plus Luffy was hoping that giving them all the info would make the Marines back off, which Usopp points out is not likely

Saturn's already plotting though; they need to keep York, Punk Records and the lab for the Mother Flame (changed back to Flame by Stephen...who still won't fix Zoro/Zolo)

Vice Admiral Doberman does make a case for Lucci and the CP agents, which Saturn affirms is an option and he's just prioritizing the worst case scenario

Aaaaand there it is 'Humans are like insects, they will always reproduce'

Back to York, who uses her communication with the Gorosei to try and threaten the Straw Hats against harming her, only to be smacked by Nami

No seriously who hurt my queen, my wife, my light of the Revolutionaries? I will break them, they will wish they were never drawn

Of course Robin's baby boy Chopper is tending to her so she's in good hands, hooves, hand-hooves

Ah Kaku is also recovering, lamenting taking 2 of the Seraphim

Guessing that means S-Hawk and another (maybe S-Snake) went after Team Atlas/Chopper/Robin, meaning Kaku and Zoro must've engaged against the two since they were following S-Hawk, causing Robin to get hurt

Lilith also mourns Shaka, Pythagoras and the still-alive Edison

For all that aggression Lilith did care, even for Shaka

Lucci's reviewing the situation, which Kaku notices...sus

Usopp contacts with Underground, with the CP agents

They're living it up, dining for the first time in months, they've gone the way the G5 have with the Straw Hats

The Seraphim are also down there, with the CP agents, but trapped in bubbles

The bubbles are reinforced with the same stuff in the Mark 3 Pacifista, with some sea prism energy too

The Seraphim don't look too roughed up, though Snake and Hawk look additionally perturbed

Franky also thanks S-Snake for depetrifying them, which Vegapunk was curious about

Turns out that S-Snake carries the same weakness for Luffy, which Jinbe points out also having seen it first hand

Vegapunk does wonder about the Lineage Factor playing in, I guess he only got Boa's blood after Marineford

Atlas has gotten systems up and running, but the dome remains up, because York locked it in a password she kept from the Records

Stussy is also still here, reviewing the problem with the giant fleet, so she and the Stella look to Nami

The log hasn't reset, but they can still move to the ones active, they set their sights on one of them, which Stella confirms to be Elbaf

Visible shock from Luffy and Usopp, and surprise from Robin too, which leads to singing

Since they cannot escape from the coast, they must leave through the back, but there's still the matter of the fleet and the shield

The VegaForce can fly the Sunny but only out to Egghead's borders, but Franky reassures Vegapunk that they can Coup de Burst the rest of the way

As a result, Atlas, Edison and Stella plan to hack past York's password

With Lilith in charge of the VegaForce, she, Bonney, Luffy and Franky are off to the Sunny

Lilith seems excited, but Bonney and Luffy will miss the food

Bonney praises Sanji though, I wonder if something happened with her and him in the night to make her see him in a high regard

Luffy mentions she's cheerier now though, having given up on killing Vegapunk, since she was crying last night (almost a parallel to Morgans saying the same to Vivi)

Ah sneaky cat, Lucci has been contacting the Navy, that's why he was muttering before, he's given them the whole report

Kizaru and Saturn still feel confident that Luffy's cornered though, though I also feel like they're overestimating the crew

Saturn asks if Kizaru can bypass the shield, since he is light, Kizaru can but notes Sentomaru is down below

Interesting stuff though, even though Saturn suggests ignoring him, Kizaru refuses, he has his own ethics there and he refuses to ignore someone fighting for their duty

He does also pragmatically note that the fleet will be attacked by the Sea Beasts and Mark 3s

But Lucci already found the lab where the Mother Flame is made, which is concerning, York may not be needed at all

The Vice Admirals ready themselves, planning to assault the sea beasts first with intent to free the CP agents

Kizaru makes the move, and Sentomaru is braced for it

The pacifista are ordered to sink the fleet, so down below's gonna turn into a mini-warzone

And Sentomaru and Kizaru clash, the former's Ryou-based ultimate defense vs Kizaru's lightspeed kick

The impact shines bright underneath the labophase, and Luffy senses Kizaru's presence

It's a good chapter even if it is fake.

Taking the impression that it's not because it likely isn't, we do seem to be developing on an exit strategy from Egghead, whether that means direct confrontation with Kizaru remains to be seen.

On the one hand, Kizaru vs Luffy or vs another of the Monster Trio is considered to be the fight of the arc, but maybe it isn't the case? There's still that Blackbeard ship to consider after all. Plus with Saturn coming all the way here we have to expect some physical activity from him. It's not entirely clear how it will go, Oda likely baited a lot of fans with the nine Vice Admirals on the fleet but with Robin injured she may not be as handy in a fight right now. Lucci is still on their side too, and I would guess he plans to strike Stussy at the most opportune moment.

I think I'm most worried about this lab, because you can't make more Mother Flames without more catastrophic consequences. The Gorosei outrank Vegapunk when it comes to the Seraphim so they'd still have them on-hand too. I wonder if the Straw Hats, Vegapunk and Bonney can simply leave Egghead with all that there, plus all that cool tech they could use to upgrade Usopp and Franky, knowing that the Gorosei still get what they want. So we might be in for more delay from leaving, we are expecting an incident to occur after all. I also can't shake some Sabaody energy in this chapter, they say 'we're going to Elbaf' but now Kizaru's here, it's very much like 'we're going to Fishman Island' but now Kizaru's here...it took so long to get to Fishman island and it's taken so long to get to Elbaf XD Still excited though, doubt Shanks will still be there but you could get more Kid and maybe even Big Mom, maybe even Law because Bepo has to surface somewhere.

I am still hoping we track back to what happened the previous day, for the fights and for the Kuma memories, I still also hope Franky gets some shine before leaving the island of his hero. Also I need to put whoever hurt Robin on my list.

But yeah it's a weird spot, since my brain still says 'we're in a break, where did this chapter come from? It must be fake' but it also says 'it looks too much like other chapters to be fake, right down to the grain' so it's messing with my head a little. Either way we'll know next Friday, which means we're getting a week with no official chapter either way.

[eflen-n-reegee]

Field Trip to the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago, IL)

Hi hi! My family decided to get a membership to MSI, so here’s a little self-insert fic! As usual, the reader is an age regressor and the author is their caregiver. All pictures were taken by me. Brief mentions of Pompeii are included, just FYI. Hope you enjoy! :)

Alright kiddo, are you ready for the museum? You’re right, it’s not the one we usually visit - we’re going to the science museum today!

Alright, careful on the escalator… And here we are! What do you think? Yeah, it is a little noisy today. Are you okay? Of course we can take a break, whenever you need to. Now, what would you like- Oh, you’re right! Let’s look over there!

How do you think they got so many airplanes up on the ceiling? It must have been tricky… Yeah, maybe a crane!

Can you read what that sign up there says? Good job, ‘Queen of Speed’. I guess this train is pretty fast. Not as fast as my kiddo… I know I’m being silly, but you CAN be pretty quick.

Which do you like better, the big trains or the little ones? I think the little trains are pretty cool. And these models show trains traveling all over the country - look, Chicago’s over here!

Before we go see the Pompeii exhibit, come over here. I want to show you something… I know, they’re pretty cute, aren’t they? No, sorry sweetheart, you can’t pet them. But we can look at them and watch them playing.

Now, we’re not going to go to the other part of the exhibit today. Because the other part is a little scary. Pompeii was a city that was destroyed by a volcano, and the other part has a little movie about the eruption. I know you’re a brave kid, but I really don’t think we should go see it today. Maybe when you’re older, alright? Oh, don’t pout, silly bug. We can still look around here and see what Pompeii was like before it was destroyed. What do you think of the statue?

The weather exhibit has a lot of fun stuff - look, it’s a little tornado! Now tell me, what do we do if there’s a REAL tornado? Go to the basement, exactly! You’re so smart.

Here, turn this little prism and look there… Yes, you made the rainbow move! Good job, sweetie.

Alright, when the Tesla coil turns on, it’s going to be very loud. Are you ready? Three, two… Wow! Isn’t that neat? Look at the lightning!

Oh, there’s the plane we saw downstairs! I didn’t notice the people inside before. Mannequins? Are you sure? Well, if that’s what you say, it must be true!

What cool clothes. A coat that can bark, a dress that lights up… Oh wow, look at these neat backpacks! I wonder if we could find one for you…

The Idea Factory is quiet today. Would you like to go inside for a few minutes? No, I think it’s okay. Come on. Look at all the cool machines!

Ooh, I think I like this the best. See, when you press the button all these cool little things go up and then float down - like a giant sensory bottle!

I love the I Spy hallway! In every display, there’s a list of things to find… Look, a mad scientist! Think we can find all the hidden things in the lab?

Wow, this is a pretty cool farm, huh? Look at all the cows! I’m going to see if I can take you to a real farm sometime. Cows are beautiful animals, and it’d be great to see a real one up close.

Oh, this is my favorite part of the whole museum - the Fairy Castle. Isn’t it amazing? It’s like a giant, magical dollhouse…

Can I tell you a secret, sweetheart? The castle makes me a little sad. Well, because it’s so big and so cool, and I wish I could take it home and keep it. You’re right, that wouldn’t be fair - so many other people love it too, and they’d be sad if they couldn’t look at it anymore. But that’s still how I feel, and it’s okay. It’s always okay to feel things, you just have to be careful about what you do.

Ooh, this is pretty neat. This pendulum shows how the Earth is always spinning! It always swings in the same direction, but because the Earth is moving, it looks like the pendulum is moving!

Alright, I think it’s time we head home. Did you have a fun day, sweetheart? That makes me happy.

[mochimogalina]

The complete Volume 1 of my webcomic’s OST is out!! It was created by the super talented artist Lab Partner and y’all should definitely check it out ^-^ The music is absolutely wonderful

[schoolequipmentindia]

Physics Lab Equipment

Physics labs Equipment are like playgrounds for the curious mind, where theories take shape in the form of experiments, and the invisible world of forces and phenomena becomes tangible. But behind every successful experiment lies a fascinating collection of tools 

Measure: From the tiniest particles to the vast expanse of the universe, Physics lab equipment deals with quantities of various kinds. Measuring instruments like vernier callipers, micrometre screw gauges, and metre sticks allow for precise and accurate determination of lengths, diameters, and distances.

Manipulate: Physics lab equipment is not just about observation, it's about interaction. Magnets, springs, pulleys, and inclined planes become the building blocks for creating scenarios that test and demonstrate physical principles.

Observe: The human eye has limitations, but physics lab equipment extends our observational powers. Lenses, prisms, and spectroscopes allow us to see the unseen, from the intricate structure of light to the composition of distant stars.

Measure electricity and magnetism: Understanding the invisible forces of electricity and magnetism is crucial in the modern world. Multimeters, ammeters, voltmeters, and electromagnets become the tools to explore these invisible forces and their interactions.

The Measuring Mavens:

Vernier Caliper and Micrometer Screw Gauge: These marvels of precision allow for incredibly accurate measurements of length, down to the hundredth or even thousandth of a millimetre. Imagine dissecting the microscopic world with these trusty companions!

Measuring Tape: This versatile tool, while not boasting the same precision as its aforementioned counterparts, proves invaluable for taking quick and easy measurements of larger objects.

The Magnetic Masters:

Bar Magnets: These represent the workhorses of magnetism experiments, allowing you to explore concepts like attraction, repulsion, and magnetic field mapping.

Iron Filings: These tiny iron particles become fascinating partners to bar magnets, visually revealing the invisible magnetic field lines.

The Light Fantastic:

Lenses and Prisms: These fascinating tools bend and disperse light, enabling exploration of concepts like refraction, reflection, and the formation of rainbows.

Magnifiers: From simple hand lenses to more complex microscopes, these tools empower you to peer into the unseen world, revealing the intricate details of the microcosm.

The Electrifying Ensemble:

Multimeter: This versatile tool acts as a multi-talented performer, measuring voltage, current, and resistance, forming the backbone of countless electrical experiments.

Resistors, Batteries, and Wires: These building blocks of circuits allow you to construct your own miniature electrical highways, investigating concepts like Ohm's Law and circuit behaviour.

Beyond the Basics:

This is just a glimpse into the vast array of physics lab equipment. From gyroscopes to wave tanks, the possibilities are endless, catering to diverse areas like mechanics, thermodynamics, and even nuclear physics.

Physics lab equipment is more than just tools; it is a gateway to scientific discovery. Through hands-on experience, students and researchers can:

Visualize abstract concepts: By interacting with physical objects, complex theories become more tangible and easier to grasp.

Develop critical thinking skills: experimentation fosters problem-solving and analytical skills, essential for interpreting data and drawing conclusions.

Ignite curiosity and passion: The thrill of experimentation and discovery can spark a lifelong love for science and its wonders.

[minusgangtime]

You will stay here,and you will be my lab rats to test the prisms power,sleep tight.~

(All the henchman then tasered the gang until they blacked out and as beta lost consciousness..he could only think of his sister..

…

…

…

Meanwhile a soft version of the gang had wandered into town,wondering how thier own city had merged with this more modern looking city.)

A yellow wolf, a blue bird and bat hybrid, a blue dog, a dark green dinosaur with a cloak and a coral red cat began wandering around the place they were in...

This wasn't their town...

"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆...?"

[lenbryant]

LATimes OpEd that could have been timed for Halloween instead:

Believe in ghost stories and visits from the dead? It’s more natural than you think

By Iris Berent, Dec. 4, 2022

As the days get darker and the evenings longer, ghost stories beckon. Curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and a nice cup of tea, you stare at the screen, horrified and trembling.

It’s no wonder that ghost movies capture our imagination. Beliefs in the supernatural — in ghosts, spirits and the afterlife — are quite common across human societies, both large and small.

In fact, most adults in the U.S. believe that the self continues to exist after life and that the dead interact with the living. But even if you don’t share this opinion and consider ghosts a figment of the imagination, once the movie is on, you still find yourself screaming. Hours later, you are startled by every wind gust and wood creak. Despite our rational judgment, our gut tells us that the dead may be visiting.

New results from my lab suggest that some people may be spared this feeling. And this sheds light on why its grip on the rest of us is so tight.

To understand this process, let’s start with a common explanation for our fascination with the supernatural. Religion immediately comes to mind, as beliefs in the afterlife are an integral part of many religious doctrines, and Americans are highly religious.

But the correlation between religion and afterlife beliefs does not necessarily show that religion causes those convictions. Religion further fails to explain why afterlife beliefs are prevalent across cultures, including those that lack organized religion, and why they emerge in staunch extinctivists (those who maintain that death marks the extinction of the self).

So perhaps the cause-effect arrow actually goes the other way: It is the human psyche that promotes our beliefs in the afterlife, and those beliefs, in turn, get codified in religion. In other words, ghosts emerge from the human mind.

When we view people through the prism of our psyche, we tend to see not one entity but two. The first is the person’s physical body. The second is the person’s “true” self, which lies in their mind. And that second entity — the mind — is separate from the physical body.

The illusion of the mind-body divide can readily explain our fascination with the afterlife. Indeed, if the mind seems distinct from the body, and if we further identify the self with the mind, then once the body ceases to exist, the mind can very well persist. Even young children believe that the mind of one creature can switch to the body of another, and that the dead can think.

This tacit sense of dualism — the separateness of body and mind — can affect scientific literacy, leading people to wrongly assume that brain tests (which reflect one’s body) are more informative than behavioral tests. Dualism can further alter notions of legal responsibility and ignite false fears of robots and artificial intelligence. And its effects apply even to scientists. Still, why does our mind make us “see double”?

It is possible, of course, that dualism is merely the product of our Western culture; that we learn it from experiences, just as we learn the words for “dog” and “food.” But the psychologist Paul Bloom suggested that the mind-body illusion is grounded in human nature.

If you see me move my hand toward a bottle, you will spontaneously “read” my mind — you will likely conclude that I believe there is water in the bottle, and it is this belief that makes me act.

If, unbeknownst to me, the bottle has been emptied, you’d still expect me to reach and grab it. Not only can you read what I know, but you also contrast what I know from what you know. Bloom, for one, suggests that mind reading — a basic psychological mechanism that is active already in young infants — gives rise to dualism. But whether dualism indeed emerges from human nature or only from nurture is uncertain.

To address this question, my colleagues and I turned to autistic people, who are known to be weaker mind readers than neurotypicals. It’s for this reason that autistic people often struggle with social situations. If mind reading begets dualism, then one would expect autistic individuals to be less dualist compared with neurotypical people. And this is exactly what we found.

In one experiment, we invited participants to indicate how likely it was that a person’s thoughts (e.g., recalling past events, having a concept of number) would persist in the afterlife (that is, without their body). Neurotypical participants stated that thoughts would persist, suggesting that they viewed thoughts as disembodied. But autistic people were unsure. Furthermore, we found that the stronger a person’s mind-reading abilities are, the more likely that person would perceive the mind as separate from the body and as persisting in the afterlife.

A second experiment examined the converse — whether people see the psyche as anchored in one’s body. Here, we asked people to imagine it were possible to form a replica of one’s body and asked participants to predict whether the same psychological traits would emerge in the replica. If people consider the psyche as part of the body, then a replica of one’s body ought to preserve one’s psychological traits. As expected, the autistic participants were more likely to state that psychological traits will be preserved than neurotypical persons, suggesting that for them, bodies and minds aren’t as distinct.

Our findings suggest that the illusion of the mind-body divide arises, in part, from mind-reading abilities. Far from being the sole product of culture or religion, our tendency to view the mind as existing separately from the body seems to be ingrained in our psyches. It is this dualist tendency that meddles with many aspects of our thinking and promotes our fascination with the spirits, demons and ghosts.

So, if the howling wind brings a long-gone loved one to mind, do not worry. Ghost stories are only natural.

Iris Berent is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and the author of “The Blind Storyteller: How We Reason About Human Nature.”

[ianthewife]

pleaseee as one chronic yapper to another you are so real for this

this chapter was so so good but so heavy yes, literally felt like an anvil being dropped on my head or being out through a meat grinder honestly… which makes my decision to finish listening to it at night before bed fucking insane, no wonder today i have a headache like ive been waterboarded in some cellar the whole night

also. what do you mean hiatus. what do you mean months?? god, everyone who listened to tsv while it was ongoing should be recognized as a martyr, tbh id personally end it all

i cant believe this whole episode started with them laughing while speeding away from the cops just like some regular kids on a joyride, sigh they were so happy for literally one single second, im genuinely tweaking

i can’t even talk about Faulkner in this episode yet, it is literally too painful, im genuinely scarred by the amount and depth of fucking agony this boy is in, it is ruining me. all that i can say right now is that i will never ever ever be able to have anything in my heart other than absolute love and compassion for him

the Rane stuff is simply insane. the ranefall is truly build upon smoke and mirrors and false stained glass murals of their own creation. Faulkner is so alone, he really doesn’t have a family at the Parish anymore, he can’t even have any kind of real meaningful relationship with a person who is known as his confidante because he is completely stuck in his harrowing and never ending performance. Rane is incapable of seeing any of Faulkner’s struggles and suffering and the real him because they only see him through the bright and blinding prism of the High Prophet image. So yeah. Fun and good stuff happening for the ranefall, not tragic at alllllllll

i promise im gonna shut up soon but i need to talk about did you hear the music. the first instance of it that also stuck with me was actually when they just got to Faulkner’s family cabin and Faulkner was talking about his adventures in the fucking water butt and Sibling Rane just asks if he still listens to the music. Honey. My love, do you hear yourself? You just asked a guy if he still waterboards himself recreationally, do you understand that? Wild stuff to ask in a sincere and awed voice.

tbh Sibling Rane’s justification machine is such a great and well-oiled mechanism, it works 24/7 and literally never fails, they are soooo locked in and bought into all this cult bullshit. and in the end of the episode there was such a whiplash for me when they are getting Faulkner out and saying stuff like I’ve got you and You’re safe and then there is this switch when they ask if he heard the music and they sound awed— im just sitting here staring into the wall. im still reeling a bit from all of this so my opinion isn’t fully consolidated yet but im just sitting and thinking: did Rane just straight up deluded themself into believing that Faulkner was just having some kind of communion with their god? did they even understand that he was trying to kill himself for real for real or do they think the Prophet wouldn’t do it? idk i need to study them in a lab, these people are insane and have completely consumed my mind

hi Rane Ambassador so. tsv ep. 38 huh. it killed me my whole family all the electricity in the city and the god itself. i know i keep thinking that about every new episode but id say it’s def the best season 3 episode so far for sure right??

I’m so glad to be recognised as the Rane ambassador.

And yeah god chapter 38 is allot. It is personally my favourite episode, but also the only episode I haven’t relistened to ever. I just can’t handle it, hits too close to home.

Also I need you to know, when the show was coming out, there was a unplanned hiatus that lasted 3 months after 38 came out. So image just now hearing about anything for like multiple months RIGHT AFTER “did you hear the music?” OUGH. (It was for a valid reason but oh my god)

Okay but RANE THOUGHTS.

There’s allot I could say about this episode but in regards to specifically Rane OOHH BOY. The conversation they have with Faulkner about being chosen is so important, because Faulkner has gone the entire series believing he was special, that his trauma MEANT SOMETHING. But here, Rane is parroting a very similar sentiment to Thurrocks, which illustrates that Faulkner has never been special, and that they all just fall for this false promise of importance and meaning that can be achieved when climbing the ladder. Rane is like Faulkner, which means Faulkner isn’t special at all.

But then we get to how Rane views Faulkner. At the beginning of the episode we have this very nice moment of childhood mischief. It’s the closest they ever get to being actual friends. And Faulkner craves that closeness but he’s never really shown any real side of him, so any closeness is based on a lie because Rane doesn’t REALLY know Faulkner, or see him.

Which this is confirmed at the end. Rane’s qeustion “did you hear the music?” When Faulkner almost drowned shows Rane doesn’t care about Faulkner but only care about his connection to their god. Because that’s the only way Faulkner can be important to anyone, because he’s never tried to get close to anyone or be important to them on a emotional level. Only ever searching this connection and adoration through his religion. His connection with Rane being the natural result of that.

Uh so yeah I think they’re intresting….I’m so normal about them, also this is probably really incoherent

[study-with-aura]

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Today started off not the best, as I woke up with a headache and did not want to get out of bed. I rubbed some peppermint oil on my head and near the pressure points on the base of my skull, and that helped. Plus, the smell of the menthol is delightful.

Then I got stuck on some geometry problems. I do not think I will be a fan of solid geometry. I have to force myself to look at the shapes properly, which is dizzying. I supposed if I take the net of the 3D figures, making the figures 2D, it would make it much easier. I will do that from now on instead of drawing the 3D figure. I can see that on my assignment, but on my notes, I can simply do the net.

However, my day was brightened coming on here and seeing the asks I received and all of your likes. I remembered that even though I post because I choose to post and like to do so, there are also people that my content makes happy as well. Now, I'm all smiles again!

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Reviewed areas of regular polygons + learned how to find surface areas of prisms and cylinders + practice

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed Unit 17 vocabulary + read chapter 12 of Emma by Jane Austen + read about connections to current events in Emma in class discussion notes + read a guide to “A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka + completed an online plot diagram for my short story

Spanish 2 - Learned about reflexive verbs + practice + quiz (100%) + reviewed vocabulary

Bible I - Read Deuteronomy 31

World History - Read over Imperialism notes + read the introduction to the Imperialism section + looked over terms and concepts of the Imperialist Age + read the poem "The White Man's Burden" by Rudyard Kipling + wrote about what made the poem pro-imperialist and who Kipling was disparaging.

Biology with Lab - Learned about ocean food webs + watched a video on how warmer water affects food chains + completed ocean food web chart + wrote out what ifs for three food web scenarios + outlined and started the introduction to my endangered animal project (saola)

Foundations - Read more on patience + completed Lumosity daily brain workout + watched a graduation speech + watched videos on how to prepare and deliver a wedding toast + watched a video on how to write a eulogy + wrote the opening and introduction to my inspirational speech

Piano - 60-minute piano lesson + practiced for one hour

Khan Academy - Completed High School Biology Unit 9: Lesson 5

CLEP - Completed Module 9.0-9.1 introduction and lecture videos

Duolingo - Completed at least one lesson each in Spanish, French, and Chinese

Reading - Read pages 1-40 of Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Chores - Laundry

Activities of the Day:

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

-

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I am grateful for all the smiles I was given today by the studyblr community. You all are incredibly sweet and wonderful!

Quote of the Day:

I hope you will find your place, wherever you are. Even in the silence, I hope you will find the words you need to share.

-Divine Rivals, Rebecca Ross

🎧8 Pièces Faciles pour Piano, Op.43 - Reinhold Glière

[nebulous-wanderings]

[Download] Aoi Shouta LIVE 2017 Wonder Lab ~prism~

Here’s the blu-ray/DVD version of Aoi Shouta’s ~Prism~ live that took place in February 2017. It’s watermarked so please don’t reupload/repost the link or the file anywhere. If someone wants to download it, redirect them to this post. The link is below.

@kazeno-omajinai​ and I also made subtitles which can be downloaded separately. The link to her post with the subtitle file is also below.

File Details: 6.99GB (HQ) or 2.46GB (LQ), includes the entire live concert MEGA Link for HQ: (x) MEGA Link for LQ: (x)

English subtitles: see @kazeno-omajinai​‘s post (here)