Oh! Then I guess I did do a crime. [sounds way too thrilled about stealing from a crime scene]
Hmmm, unhelpful ghostly clues... I think that's a fair handicap! But! We're going to try not to repeat any of that, so those ideas will just have to go to waste. Too bad!
[They should probably try to talk about something besides the kid's unfortunate murder. Different small talk, different small talk... what's a good, kid-friendly topic of conversation...?]
So, how many crimes have you done? You seem to know quite a lot~
Sweet. [He can approve because it was his own damn crime scene.]
Haha, yeah. What a shame. [It's not. Dipper really isn't trying to get killed again and cause all that trouble for everyone. Also this death in particular rattled him in a special kind of way that he's trying very hard not to think about. When Loop goes for the subject change, Dipper is more than happy to follow.]
....I'm going to need some paper. I need to make a list.
[Give him a second to get up and find some scratch paper. Now he wants to know.]
Let's see breaking an entering, vandalism, assisted tax fraud, tampering with a corpse...? Does it count if the body's a weird alternate dimension version of yourself? [He's not speaking directly to loop, he seems to be mumbling out loud as he starts to write all his crimes down. This list is long.]
They remain in their spot, flipping their coin a couple times while Dipper busts out an actual list of his to-be-determined crimes. Starting out normal enough! They pause thoughtfully at his first curveball, thinking about if the situation were Siffrin.]
Hmm... well, a weird alternate dimension version of yourself is still a person, so I'd say it still counts? I think if someone is mad at you for messing with a body, they're not going to give you a break just because it looks like you.
Yeah, that's a good point. Though it's not like I messed with it, it was more that he uh. [Hm. this is a weird topic to bring up.] It's a long story but he dropped dead in our living room before we knew who he was, and so we kind of had to bury him? We definitely didn't report it to authorities so that's probably some kind of crime. He wasn't mad about it. He haunted our house for a while after that. I hope he's doing okay.
[Back to listing.]
Let's see, hot wiring a cop car probably counts as grand theft auto. I stole probably like six golf carts from the golf course in Deerington. I guess beating the crap out of Gideon counts as assault even if he deserved it. Actually- no, I definitely have a couple assault charges. I looted ...I looted a LOT of businesses in Deerington. I'm sure accidentally raising the dead that one time counts as something-
[It's like they thought they caught the curveball, but surprise! Here it goes again!! Loop fumbles their coin around the "he wasn't mad about it" point of the story, hissing out an indiscernible curse shortly followed by a quiet clink and a roll as the coin settles somewhere under the table.]
He dropped dead in your living room, just out of nowhere?? [There's disbelief in their tone, but it's aimed more at the other-Dipper's reaction to this kind of arrival than the situation as a whole. They duck down under the table before he can read their expression.] What was he doing there?
So, one of the previous dimensions I was stuck in was a place called Deerington. It was a nightmare created by a girl with really powerful eldritch abilities but without any control over them. I won't get into the nitty-gritty, just that the place was a dream realm we were trapped in, and it was starting to fall apart because she was dying. That made The Horrors really insane for that last month we were there. There was a dangerous fog like what surrounds this place and it was full of monsters and stuff that would just reach out and snatch you and kill you. Absolutely awful, we all tried to stay indoors for this.
So, Sleepers, which is what we were, were not the only people stuck in this hellhole. There were these people called The Wastes that lived on the outskirts. They were skittish and always wore gas masks so you couldn't see their faces, and rarely came anywhere close to the town. We lived on the outskirts so we would see them pretty often. My family made them care packages because like, they were obviously roughing it out there. Well, when the murder fog rolled in...It's not like they had a lot of places to hide.
I found him on the porch, already in really rough shape, so I tried to get him inside. That's when I found out that the Wastes were all doomed timeline versions of us and our loved ones, and they'd been trapped in the nightmare for time that was essentially unfathomable. The crazy thing is, I'd seen him before, and with others that were also my family, but because of timeline reasons and their masks, we never realized. They never reached out to us. At least not until the end.
Once I realized who he was, he asked to rest for a moment and ...honestly I guess that was about all he had left. Grunkle Stan and I buried him in the backyard after that and his ghost stayed with the house.
[They're still under a table for some of that, but rest assured they're listening intently. It's kind of a lot... but it's not difficult for them to follow. They can understand it more than they'd like to.
They return from the floor, back in their seat with a more subdued look beneath the bright lights. The coin remains held tight between their fingers.]
... Hmm. Well, it's awkward, isn't it? Asking another 'you' for help. Especially if your situation has been given a title as blunt as wastes.
[but they can relate, unfortunately.]
What was he like? Not too bitter and jaded to get along with everyone, I hope!
[Dipper isn't going to call attention to your table scuttling, Loop, don't worry. Dipper was pretty caught up in recounting this story. That whole incident had left such a strong impression on him for some time.]
Mm, you're right. I ...know there's another version of me back home, living a life that I consciously walked away from. If I ever met him, I'm not sure what I would do, either.
[And Dipper nods to Loop's comment on the name waste. Dipper never liked that title, either. Even less so when he learned where it came from. As for what he was like, Dipper thinks for a moment how to describe him, but then decides maybe showing would be easier. He raises a hand and, with some thought, conjures a brief illusion. He's only there for a moment, but he stands some distance away, eyes darting for a moment before he hurries off, disappearing once more. The differences are pretty stark to the Dipper sitting on the couch. He's a lot older, his appearance his dirty, disheveled and his complexion is gaunt.]
If I had to describe him in one word, I think I would say ...tired, and like something was always weighing on him. [But this isn't a shock since the man died the second he could perceive safety.] If he resented us, he never let it show. I think ...I think he carried a lot of guilt, about how things went. The last thing he said to me before he died was "Don't make my mistakes."
[Dipper laughs but, in a kind of "god, what the fuck" kind of way.]
[The illusion makes them jump a little—forgot the kid could do that! It does help paint a picture, though. It's a familiar sort of exhaustion, the eyes of someone who's seen too much for too long. Their gaze lingers on the empty space after he vanishes.]
Hah. That's a pretty messed up thing to say as a first impression, isn't it? [Which is why they said it to stardust while he was zoning out and not paying attention! But they still said it, had to say it, so they can understand.] He was you, once, so I think he'd feel however you think you would feel.
If it were me... I think I'd be a little mean about it~ But it's nice, too. Knowing some version of you is doing alright, being able to talk to them... being able to see your family, even if they're not the same.
[It's better than being alone, seething in jealousy while too scared of rejection to approach.]
[Loop says that about being mean about it, and thinks about the fight they and Sif got into back at one of the older town meetings. Of course, he doesn't let on to that or anything, he just tucks it away.]
I think ...I think I would definitely be more mad at myself. If I resented anything, it would be my own mistakes. That doesn't mean I wouldn't still lash out about it or anything, but I understand why he might have felt guilty about things. He probably got it in his head he needed to do everything on his own and it backfired on him. I remember him saying that by the end he'd discarded everything but the need to survive, and that had turned into fear and distrust.
[Dipper had always tried to keep those words in the back of his mind, but even then, it didn't save him from making terrible mistakes along the same vein. He wonders sometimes about the existence of "fatal flaws" and often wonders if every Dipper is meant to have that one to some extent.]
I'd always hoped that was the case for him, too. That even though he was haunting the place, we still wanted him around. He was still family. A Pines is a Pines, you know? Anyway, we got pretty off track talking about Mason. You want to hear more of my crimes?
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no subject
Hmmm, unhelpful ghostly clues... I think that's a fair handicap! But! We're going to try not to repeat any of that, so those ideas will just have to go to waste. Too bad!
[They should probably try to talk about something besides the kid's unfortunate murder. Different small talk, different small talk... what's a good, kid-friendly topic of conversation...?]
So, how many crimes have you done? You seem to know quite a lot~
1/3
Haha, yeah. What a shame. [It's not. Dipper really isn't trying to get killed again and cause all that trouble for everyone. Also this death in particular rattled him in a special kind of way that he's trying very hard not to think about. When Loop goes for the subject change, Dipper is more than happy to follow.]
How many? Only-
no subject
done
[Give him a second to get up and find some scratch paper. Now he wants to know.]
Let's see breaking an entering, vandalism, assisted tax fraud, tampering with a corpse...? Does it count if the body's a weird alternate dimension version of yourself? [He's not speaking directly to loop, he seems to be mumbling out loud as he starts to write all his crimes down. This list is long.]
no subject
They remain in their spot, flipping their coin a couple times while Dipper busts out an actual list of his to-be-determined crimes. Starting out normal enough! They pause thoughtfully at his first curveball, thinking about if the situation were Siffrin.]
Hmm... well, a weird alternate dimension version of yourself is still a person, so I'd say it still counts? I think if someone is mad at you for messing with a body, they're not going to give you a break just because it looks like you.
no subject
[Back to listing.]
Let's see, hot wiring a cop car probably counts as grand theft auto. I stole probably like six golf carts from the golf course in Deerington. I guess beating the crap out of Gideon counts as assault even if he deserved it. Actually- no, I definitely have a couple assault charges. I looted ...I looted a LOT of businesses in Deerington. I'm sure accidentally raising the dead that one time counts as something-
no subject
He dropped dead in your living room, just out of nowhere?? [There's disbelief in their tone, but it's aimed more at the other-Dipper's reaction to this kind of arrival than the situation as a whole. They duck down under the table before he can read their expression.] What was he doing there?
no subject
[He stops scribbling his list for a moment.]
So, one of the previous dimensions I was stuck in was a place called Deerington. It was a nightmare created by a girl with really powerful eldritch abilities but without any control over them. I won't get into the nitty-gritty, just that the place was a dream realm we were trapped in, and it was starting to fall apart because she was dying. That made The Horrors really insane for that last month we were there. There was a dangerous fog like what surrounds this place and it was full of monsters and stuff that would just reach out and snatch you and kill you. Absolutely awful, we all tried to stay indoors for this.
So, Sleepers, which is what we were, were not the only people stuck in this hellhole. There were these people called The Wastes that lived on the outskirts. They were skittish and always wore gas masks so you couldn't see their faces, and rarely came anywhere close to the town. We lived on the outskirts so we would see them pretty often. My family made them care packages because like, they were obviously roughing it out there. Well, when the murder fog rolled in...It's not like they had a lot of places to hide.
I found him on the porch, already in really rough shape, so I tried to get him inside. That's when I found out that the Wastes were all doomed timeline versions of us and our loved ones, and they'd been trapped in the nightmare for time that was essentially unfathomable. The crazy thing is, I'd seen him before, and with others that were also my family, but because of timeline reasons and their masks, we never realized. They never reached out to us. At least not until the end.
Once I realized who he was, he asked to rest for a moment and ...honestly I guess that was about all he had left. Grunkle Stan and I buried him in the backyard after that and his ghost stayed with the house.
no subject
They return from the floor, back in their seat with a more subdued look beneath the bright lights. The coin remains held tight between their fingers.]
... Hmm. Well, it's awkward, isn't it? Asking another 'you' for help. Especially if your situation has been given a title as blunt as wastes.
[but they can relate, unfortunately.]
What was he like? Not too bitter and jaded to get along with everyone, I hope!
no subject
Mm, you're right. I ...know there's another version of me back home, living a life that I consciously walked away from. If I ever met him, I'm not sure what I would do, either.
[And Dipper nods to Loop's comment on the name waste. Dipper never liked that title, either. Even less so when he learned where it came from. As for what he was like, Dipper thinks for a moment how to describe him, but then decides maybe showing would be easier. He raises a hand and, with some thought, conjures a brief illusion. He's only there for a moment, but he stands some distance away, eyes darting for a moment before he hurries off, disappearing once more. The differences are pretty stark to the Dipper sitting on the couch. He's a lot older, his appearance his dirty, disheveled and his complexion is gaunt.]
If I had to describe him in one word, I think I would say ...tired, and like something was always weighing on him. [But this isn't a shock since the man died the second he could perceive safety.] If he resented us, he never let it show. I think ...I think he carried a lot of guilt, about how things went. The last thing he said to me before he died was "Don't make my mistakes."
[Dipper laughs but, in a kind of "god, what the fuck" kind of way.]
That ate at me for months, let me tell you.
no subject
Hah. That's a pretty messed up thing to say as a first impression, isn't it? [Which is why they said it to stardust while he was zoning out and not paying attention! But they still said it, had to say it, so they can understand.] He was you, once, so I think he'd feel however you think you would feel.
If it were me... I think I'd be a little mean about it~ But it's nice, too. Knowing some version of you is doing alright, being able to talk to them... being able to see your family, even if they're not the same.
[It's better than being alone, seething in jealousy while too scared of rejection to approach.]
no subject
I think ...I think I would definitely be more mad at myself. If I resented anything, it would be my own mistakes. That doesn't mean I wouldn't still lash out about it or anything, but I understand why he might have felt guilty about things. He probably got it in his head he needed to do everything on his own and it backfired on him. I remember him saying that by the end he'd discarded everything but the need to survive, and that had turned into fear and distrust.
[Dipper had always tried to keep those words in the back of his mind, but even then, it didn't save him from making terrible mistakes along the same vein. He wonders sometimes about the existence of "fatal flaws" and often wonders if every Dipper is meant to have that one to some extent.]
I'd always hoped that was the case for him, too. That even though he was haunting the place, we still wanted him around. He was still family. A Pines is a Pines, you know? Anyway, we got pretty off track talking about Mason. You want to hear more of my crimes?