ghostharasser | Open Post

[Really, Stanley shouldn't be doing much better. New Jersey isn't exactly known for oppressive heat after all, but a lot of the places he looked were indoors or by water.

He mutters something in the affirmative - not a whisper, but more of a mumble than a "yeah it's too damn hot here". He's still a little embarrassed, but at least he got something to help continue avoiding the problem.

After a second of scribbling, he pushes his open notebook under Mason's nose. Maybe it'll be easier than charades while he's feeling like shit.]

ME EITHER

BIG DESERT

LOCALS SAID ITLL GET COLD AT NIGHT

[The unspoken part being that, if they stay here and rest long enough for Mason to get his bearings, the temperature will drop and it won't be so oppressive out.]

Edited 2024-08-12 05:43 (UTC)

[Oh?? He startles a little at the notebook sliding towards him enough that he finally properly lifts his head to look. He takes a sip of water.]

That makes sense.

[That was a desert thing, right? He's pretty sure he remembers hearing about that in the past. When he was the kind of person to just read shit like geography books for fun. It is a relief, though.]

I've been eavesdropping a little on the locals. It sounds like ...people showing up here displaced isn't all that strange. [Like Deerington, he doesn't say, but he's sure they're both thinking it.] We should keep looking, but there's a chance they just haven't gotten here yet. There's also word of housing up for grabs in a place called the Daybreak District. I think we should check it out later.

[Stanley's thinking of Deerington, but he's thinking of more than just that. He bites at his lower lip, and takes the notebook again.]

THINK EVERYONE HERE'S "DISPLACED" LIKE US?

[And in case that was somehow too subtle, he doodles a little skull and crossbones and effectively says the quiet part out loud...sort of. As "out loud" as Stanley gets these days. Then, like he never brought up the elephant in the room:]

I WOKE UP NEAR THERE. LOOKED PRETTY SECURE? THEY'RE BIG METAL SHIPPING BINS.

[Of course they'll have to check it out more closely themselves, but a solid metal structure will keep out whatever creatures live here at least, and give them a safe place to sleep.]

[He sees what Stanley's putting down and it makes him fall quiet for a moment.]

[This is really the elephant in the room, huh? The thing he was trying really hard not to think about. The thing he was clinging to denial on. If he died then he had it coming, but the Stans...]

[He sucks in a breath and then ...reaches for the notebook. It's cowardly, but he knows if he tries talking he won't keep it together.]

In the end both of you died, too, huh.

[He taps the pen a moment, then swallows, forcing himself to keep writing.]

I'm such damned fool, if I had just listened to Mabel from the start none of this would have happened. I got my entire family killed...

[He drops the pen and covers his face.]

[Stanley's a little surprised that Mason takes the paper, and doesn't fully grasp why he's choosing to write. Maybe he doesn't want anyone to overhear? But then Stanley reads it and...oh.

Oh.

He gives Mason a second to gather himself, though mostly it's because he's not sure what to say or do at first either. Right away he's waving both both hands and shaking his head, but that isn't really doing much when Mason won't even look at him.

So instead of immediately writing, he shuts his green leather journal and thwacks Mason on the head with it. Not hard of course - the thing is home made and the cover is on the softer side anyway - but hopefully enough to knock just a little sense into him. It's only then that he scribbles more--]

ME AND FORD DIDN'T LISTEN TO HER EITHER YKNOW AND YOURE THE REASON IT DIDN'T HAPPEN EVEN SOONER SO CUT IT OUT!!!!

[He pauses, debating if he wants to keep going. But...he probably should, so that Mason quits blaming himself for things that aren't his fault.]

I LOST FORD. DUNNO IF HE MADE IT.

HE LET GO OF ME AND I COULDN'T SEE HIM. THAT'S NOT ON YOU.

[It's uncomfortable to admit though. He still slides the notebook to Mason, but he shuts it first this time and suddenly seems extremely invested in his own glass of water and swirling it to make the ice cubes knock into each other.]

[The bonk is what's most effective here. He is utterly concentrated on not dissolving into hysterics right now, absolutely wrecked with the grief of having to admit that "out loud". Of making it all the more concrete and sure in his mind than it was before. If he'd listened to Mabel, they would have been taken in by the other Pines.]

[None of them would have had to die. Mabel wouldn't have had to die.]

[So the sound he makes is awful when Stanley bonks him, and he looks up eyes red and glossy from trying to hold it in. He sobers somewhat while he waits. Is Stanley going to agree with him? Is this maybe where they part ways, because it's just too much-]

...

[Somehow that's even worse. That Stanley doesn't blame him. That he has this much trust in him and he's really just a huge fuck-up. His shoulders drop in a much more tired way, suddenly losing the energy to be truly anguished. His expression turns miserable and contrite. While Ford's situation is more ambiguous it does mean he's either alone now, or he died later on. With how dangerous it had been ...he hopes maybe he was the smartest of them all and went to the Other Pines.]

...She was dead before I could even reach her. I couldn't bring her back, Stanley. She died angry because I was a stubborn, useless idiot.

Edited 2024-08-13 09:08 (UTC)

[The heartbreak is clear on Stanley's face, the confirmation that Mabel is definitely dead hurts like a shot to the chest. It hurts like dying hurt, but he tries to reel it in a little for Mason. He looks Mason in the eye and shakes his head as firmly as he can. Points at Mason, then makes an X with his hands. "No, you're not."]

CMON ITS MABEL. SHE WOULDNT STAY MAD. SHE'D CALL YOU A DUMDUM ONCE AND MOVE ON, THATS JUST HOW SHE IS.

THATS HOW ITLL BE WHEN WE FIND HER

[He looks at the message, and then decides to underline WHEN aggressively before giving the journal to Mason.]

Edited 2024-08-13 23:34 (UTC)

[It feels selfish to be relieved that Stanley doesn't actually agree with him. That he's still arguing against him when he clearly thinks he should have some kind of justice for this whole mess.]

[His words to strike a chord, though. He can't hope that he's right, because that would be some insanely wishful thinking. Mabel has every write to sock the shit out of him, and he'd let her, but ...]

[But he can have hope that they'll find her, if nothing else. Much like a certain Great Uncle of his hoped for 30 years to see his brother again, regardless of how angry or upset he might be when he got back.]

...Alright. You're right. We'll find her, so I can apologize to her, if nothing else.

[He pulls himself back together with a deep breath, scrubbing at his face.]

Sorry, I'm better now. Thank you.

[That seems like enough of an answer for Stanley. Even though Mason is agreeing with him, he still nods like he's the one taking an order coming from the top. They're going to find her, and Ford, and they can both apologize.

He gives a thumbs up at Mason, since he does seem like he's physically doing better. But instead of moving to get up and immediately get going, he takes the full pitcher of water and tops off Mason's glass. They do need to find the kids, but he's not entirely convinced less than a cup of water is enough to help keep him from collapsing again. Instead of being sentimental about it though, he lays it out in hard fact:]

YOU HIT THE GROUND HARD

HUNGRY?

[While Mason considers that, Stanley takes the journal back and doodles a little cartoon Mason faceplanting up by the first sentence. If he's being honest, he kind of missed doodling...there weren't exactly opportunities for it in Deerington.]

[It's second nature to put that face of his back on. The one that's supposed to be what the others are looking up to. If Mason spends too long falling apart, then the others will start to worry and doubt. If they can't look to him as some kind of rock, if he isn't the one leading by example, then who even is he supposed to be?]

[So, despite all of that just now, he straightens back up and manages to school himself back to normal. He does take the glass of water with a nod, and starts to chug it down. Stanley has a point no matter how you look at it.]

I haven't eaten, if that's what you mean.

[Lol feeling hunger when you're used to stretching food out as long as possible and going without so the others are fed.]

[That is, in fact, what Stanley means. He can't really judge though - he hasn't eaten yet either, so it's just as much for him as it is for Mason. Besides, he's gotten to know Mason pretty well after however long they've been Wastes. There's no way he'd eat if he thought Stanley was going hungry to make it happen.

He holds up a finger, a classic "wait here a sec" and heads back up to the bar. Truly eavesdropping is difficult when one half of the conversation doesn't talk out loud, but it probably looks interesting from a distance with Stanley's various gestures. He left the journal at the table, wide open to the the doodle of Mason faceplanting. If Mason gets nosy, he'll find most of the notes Stanley's taken so far have been where to get money and food in town, because of course they are. They're rough and unfinished, all jotted out in the moment without making a nice-looking journal entry about it.

Stanley's only gone about five minutes and he comes back with a basket of lots of round flat-ish bread. He jerks a thumb towards the guy at the bar and then motions like he's stirring a pot - there's more than just bread coming; he ordered actual food from the kitchen. He takes a piece of bread of himself and then casually pushes the basket towards Mason.]

[Very astute, that is exactly the case. Mason would 100% wait before he sees Stanley eating before he even thought about doing the same. He has just always been like that! Mabel can sometimes wrangle him, but guess who isn't here!]

[He lets Stanley run off, though, more curious to see what he's up to. While he can't really hear the bartender, he does know the way Stanley communicates with his hands and he watches to see if he's actually able to order. If not and the bartender gets weird about it, he's prepared to stand up and settle things, but he's glad to see he doesn't have to.]

[Oh, yeah, he does also peek in the book. Not for very long, because he doesn't want to get caught, but he does flip through to see what he's been up to. Always so hardworking...]

[He closes it when Stanley starts to head back, sitting up with a smile.]

Looks like Stanley-Sign is universal after all.

[teasing aside, he will take a piece of bread and start to eat.]

[Damn holy SHIT this tastes good. Is this what warm, fresh fucking food is like? It's been so long.]

[Stanley swells with pride and grins, taking that as a huge compliment. He's never learned to actually sign (never needed to - his family gets what he means, and they would have had to learn it anyway, so why not just make up movements they all understand?) but so far he's only run into a few situations he couldn't gesture his way out of. It helps that the locals don't hate them for stupid reasons and that he won't get chased out of a store if he waves his hands in a way someone doesn't like.

After he sees Mason's reaction to the bread he has to try it himself and-- holy mackerel that is the best goddamn thing he's put in his mouth in a long time. It's warm and fluffy and even if there wasn't more coming this would feel like enough. It's already more than they had to go around, some days.

Despite the religious bread experience, there's still a part of Stanley on alert under the surface. Fortunately, all that means for now is that when he sees the bartender head back to the kitchen out of the corner of his eye he pays attention and waits for him to come back out. ...And he comes back out with a large clay pot with steam coming out the top and Stanley quickly gestures to Mason look look that's gotta be it!

Sure enough, it's delivered to their table and the bartender lifts the cover to reveal a thick stew made with meat and vegetables and warm spices, a meal unlike anything either of them have seen in the last several years. It's just one pot to share between the two of them, but it feels luxurious somehow.

The bartender briefly explains how it's eaten, using the bread to scoop it, and then heads back behind the bar and leaves them be. Stanley is still staring in awe for a moment after the guy leaves.

Wow. They really DID die, huh.]

[He's in fucking awe, honestly. He hasn't seen food this good in like....ever?? EVER?? It smells incredible, it's hot, even from here, and it's theirs? No one is going to try and take it from them?? Probably?]

Holy Paul Bunyan, Stanley.

[Ah, but, if they linger it will get cold. Or maybe something will come and ruin this for them. He reaches forward with his bread to try a bite, scooping up some of the meat and vegetables and just slamming it into his mouth.]

[It's very hot. He has some regrets but also not really. It tastes really good.]

[When Mason goes in for a bite, Stanley instinctively looks around them. It's a hard habit to shake when he and his loved ones have gone hungry before. But, there's no need to double or triple check for danger. There's none - it's just a regular tavern, slowly gaining more customers for dinner.

So he gives in and tries some himself, scooping a little bit of everything with his bread and going for it. And honestly? He can't remember the last time he ate something this good. He's not sure he's ever eaten anything this good. If he has it was two lifetimes ago, before everything went to shit the first time.

It's so good his voice slips out around the bite.]

^HolY--!

[His eyes are even watering a little and not from the heat. Before anyone can comment on it though, he aggressively blinks them back and goes in for more. They might be cagey and overly cautious, and exhausted and half-starved, but they're having their first real meal in who knows how long?]

[If anything was going to bring them to tears after everything they went through, why not it be something like this? A bright spot in an otherwise uncertain future. They have no idea what they're doing now, what kind of path might be ahead of them, but at least they have a warm meal, and a potential place to sleep later. That's already so much more than they've had for eons.]

[It's the little things, you know?]

[Like Stanley letting a word slip. Yeah, maybe they don't know what's going to happen from here on out, but for this alone, Mason thinks maybe they'll be okay.]

[About a week has passed, and with the weird threat of their current reality unraveling before them without warning seemingly passed without concern, Mason has started to feel like maybe they can start to settle in. Make this place into some kind of home for now. Somewhere comfortable so they can wait for their missing other halves and continue learning more about this place.]

[There are some dangers here, still, which goes without saying. There's strange creature and monsters that exist on the outskirts of civilization. They occasionally deal with a threat, and of course resources are scarce, but it's still so much nicer than what Mason and Stanley have lived through all this time, and their skills honed in living the way they used to have been a boon to this place time and again.]

[Stanley has been busy as can be with the commissions board while Mason explores and scavenges out on expeditions. Their little shipping bin has started to become something like a home and on one day, Mason comes home in something of a tizzy.]

[He drops ...a bunch of books, papers, and writing instruments down on their makeshift desk (a few crates and an old sign.)]

Stanley, I found it.

[??????]

[Stanley's been keeping busy - settling into their lives isn't so much "settling" as it is finding about ten million little things he could be doing and trying to do too many of them at once because he's forgotten what it's like to function without being all stress all the time. Taking commission jobs has been perfect for him. If gives him a chance to learn more about the immediate area and how easy or hard it is to get various resources, and there's a lot less ways to die on the regular. Plus the shipping bin is great and all, but it's still a shipping bin. It gets hot in the heat and cold at night, and aside from a creaky bunk bed and the world's smallest kitchen area, there wasn't a whole lot when they got there. This way puts Stan in town a lot and figuring out the best way to rig things, make connections, and scam people into helping the poor mute kid out.

He's never really had to think about a lot of this before, aside from the basics. Before he got to Deerington he was living out of his car, and before that his parents dealt with all the house stuff. In Deerington itself they were lucky if they had any kind of a roof over their head, much less a permanent one. Sure, he can change a lightbulb, but there's no lightbulbs here to change, so now he has to learn the rest and make himself useful. They've had to figure out what they need from scratch, and Stanley's been keeping a running list in his journal. Top of the list right now is BETTER INSULATION, circled and underlined, but there are other things. A better way to store food is high priority too, and a bigger stockpile of shelf-stable things in case shit hits the fan again. Shit could always hit the fan again, at any time - something Stanley's nerves are still gripping onto.

In just a week he's already made a decent amount of coin (or bottlecaps, rather). Nowhere near a fortune, but enough that so far they haven't had to struggle getting their most basic needs met. Commissions are always going up though, from very normal manual labor things to weird tasks like cutting down a bunch of smelly plant monsters for their...milk? They have milk?? Stanley doesn't get it, but it got him his first ever Orange Fanta Cap this morning, so it's fine - even if he hasn't been able to get the smell of jasmine and rose out of his skin since then.

He was actually about to leave again after trying to scrub the smell out of his clothes (to only mixed success) in the hopes that maybe there was already something new up that he could do and maximize his earnings for the day. Before he can though, Mason comes back with about half a library in his arms, and Stanley rushes over to check it out as soon as he sets it down. It's Mason, so it's obviously important.

Stanley doesn't have to ask or even gesture really because the question is already all over his face. Found what? What is all this?]

[Yes, okay, good, so Mason has like, sort of a manic expression. It's definitely not bad, he looks excited, but in a really harried kind of way. It's probably an unusual expression for him!! But he grins and drags out a piece of paper, a really big one and tacks it on their wall. It looks like a hand drawn map of their town and a lot of the surrounding desert.]

Okay, so, get this- the SEAMEN organization has been hunting for some holy grail of resources that they suspected was somewhere underground but impossible to actually get to because it's solid steel under the desert, right? Right.

[He starts drawing circles around outpost spots. Places where successful expeditions have gone.]

Here, here, here, and here are all points that seem like entry points that lead to some tunnels, and they follow this way...

[He's drawing more lines as they all seem to ...converge.]

So I started to look at the map and it occurred to me that the tunnel system they've been talking about- I know what it actually is. You do too! Stanley, what does this look like?

Edited 2024-08-21 06:37 (UTC)

[When Dipper mentions the organization, for just a split second, Stanley is an ordinary teenager biting his bottom lip and trying not to laugh. Pfft. SEAMEN. It's always gonna be a little funny.

He's back to listening as best as he can after that, because Mason is going pretty fast and assuming he can follow. And to his credit, he kind of is, but there's something about that last question that makes him bristle nervously as though this is some kind of pop quiz that he could fail somehow.

But...it does make sense that the lines all connect together. After hesitating for a second, Stanley grabs his journal and locks in his guess to show Mason.]

SUBWAY RIGHT?

[Except he can't handle that his guess might be a bad guess, so he tacks on a second, less serious answer - you know, just in case he's wrong so he can play it off like he was joking.]

OR A SEWER.

[He's drawn stink lines coming off of the word "SEWER". Gross!]

[Mason waits for Stanley to reply and when he sees he got the answer his face breaks out into the widest grin. He smacks his hand on the map!!]

A subway!! It's a subway!! But the people here have no idea what subways are or what they were used for so it's all lost history!

[He turns back to the map and draws a big line down the center and as it goes further away from the town he draws a big circle.]

I found the main line, and this holy grail of resources has to be a grand central station! Can you imagine what we could scavenge from that?

[Woah. He was right on the first try!

This immediately puts Stanley at ease, and lets him finally match Mason's excitement a little. He grins big and wide, and then starts scribbling again, so focused that his tongue sticks out in a little blep of concentration. It's been a really long time since he's been on a subway. What's in a grand central station again...?]

NEWSSTANDS HAVE BOTTLE CAPS!!!
AND SOUVENIRS TO SELL HERE FOR MORE CAPS!!!
EASY SCRAP METAL TOO
MAYBE FREE TOOLS?
BET THERE'S REAL FIRST AID KITS SOMEWHERE
SPINNY ABC LETTERS FROM THE SIGNS??
OH WINDSHIELD GLASS! FROM THE TRAINS YOU KNOW THE KIND
(WE'D BE TRAIN ROBBERS!!!!)
THERE'S GOTTA BE SO MUCH SHIT DOWN THERE!!!!
Y'KNOW IF NO ONE'S PICKED IT CLEAN YET

[This list is already like, the whole page.]

[It's because Stanley is smart and Mason knew this!!]

[Anyway, Mason comes over to see what he's scribbling, nodding as he starts listing everything off.]

They will be so much scrap for us to pick apart. If any of the shops are intact we can get a hold of tons of old clothing and fabric. There might also be books and maps of the old civilization!

[Nerd...]

[Anyway, he pulls out some of his papers and writing material.]

There's a tunnel I want to scout out, to see if it will lead us into the mainline. I haven't brought this up with the rest of the organization because I want to be sure I'm right first, but, it would be pretty dangerous to go alone...

[He probably doesn't have to ask, but well, he'd like him to feel included.]

[Mason doesn't have to ask, but Stanley still excitedly points to himself as if to confirm what's unspoken here. Of course he nods, and then signs something he hasn't had to since Deerington - a jerked thumb backward that turns into a sharp point up at the ceiling. Back-up. Obviously Mason needs his trusty back-up!

Plus, going ahead of the organization is a good idea anyway. It means they get first dibs on whatever treasures they find!]

WHEN?

[It's just a simple one-word question, but Stanley holds the journal out in front of him like a shield and grins WIDE behind it - the look of a boy who would happily follow Mason basically anywhere, any time. Though, Mason might find it familiar for a different reason.]

[Ah. That nostalgia hits him like a brick. He smiles, but there is something else behind it. Something that Stanley has probably seen before- the kind of look Mason gets when he is remembering something from a lifetime ago. It happens every so often around the Stans.]

[But. that passes quickly. They have an adventure top plot!!]

Let's leave in two days at the crack of dawn. We can gather up supplies and I can double check my coordinates.

[Has Stanley ever seen Mason look this just, purely excited? Probably not, honestly. It's been happening a lot more often in this place.]

[He really hasn't - there was never a lot to be excited about back in Deerington, and it still feels almost like a novelty here. He feels it, but something still whispers that he shouldn't get used to it, that the rug could get pulled out from under them at any time.

Still, Stanley's pretty damn excited himself. He nods!]

ENOUGH TIME FOR A COUPLE MORE JOBS TO GET GOOD SUPPLIES!

[That makes him remember his own exciting news though, and he gets up all of a sudden, abandoning the journal to cross the room and rummage in one of their money jars. When he returns he has just one bottle cap, but it's a different color than the ones he usually earns - a bright orange.

He holds it up proudly for Mason to see, and then sets it down on the journal and draws an arrow to it.]

GOT THIS FOR MILKING A WEIRD PLANT TODAY!!!
GUY SAID IT'S WORTH 10 STRAWBERRY CAPS!
$$$$$$$$$$

[Yes, writing out every single dollar sign was 100% necessary. Stanley is very proud of himself; let him have this.]

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