dipper "i could probably rob a bank" pines (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cryptologic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
estoria2016-02-20 01:15 pm
cryptologic) wrote in estoria2016-02-20 01:15 pm
Entry tags:
and when we burst, start over [ OPEN ]
Who: Dipper & YOU
When: IC 5/26
Where: Various
What: Dipper died, but life goes on.
Rating/Warning: Talk of death
[ A: REENTRY ]
[ It’s all the same.
The Powerpoint. The spiel. The drop into VIVID. It’s even the same level he initially arrived in. He’s almost nauseous with the sense of deja vu - if he weren’t already nauseous with the feeling of being alive again.
He’s been dropped into the middle of the Tetris level, and he’s so disoriented at the simple impossibility of life that he reacts slower than he should. It’s not that he didn’t expect to be revived. Logically, he knew he would, but there’s only so far that logic can take him when something so final as death is so casually overwritten.
Finally, he does react - a Tetris block is about to flatten him, and he ducks out of the way. The block should clip his shoulder as he awkwardly run-falls away from it, but...it doesn’t. That’s weird. VIVID must be glitching.
It’s only then that he realizes he might not be the only one in this particular level right now. ]
[ B: REUNIONS ]
[ After logging out of VIVID, Dipper makes his way back to the apartment. It’s the obvious place to go, isn’t it? He definitely doesn’t want to go anywhere else. The thing is...he doesn’t really want to go there, either, and the thought of being isolated in his room once again makes his skin crawl with anxious dread. But he knows he can’t leave his roommates and friends hanging. Dipper can’t be sure who knows what happened to him, but he’s sure at least his close friends could probably guess if they weren’t outright told. They’re a sharp bunch.
He kind of wishes they weren’t so sharp right now.
Though he realizes with sharp responsibility that he can’t keep them in suspense forever, Dipper hesitates in front of the door, because he knows, he knows once he goes inside, the unavoidable things he’s been dreading will happen. He’ll have to own up to what happened. He’ll have to process the tidal wave of emotions he’s only just kept at bay with forced numbness. He’ll be reunited with his friends.
He’ll be reunited with the person who saw him die.
Swallowing against a dry throat, Dipper turns the handle on the front door and heads inside. ]
[ C: REPRIEVE ]
[ After talking to his roommates, there’s only so long that Dipper can stay in the apartment. There’s just too much of something he can’t name, and he has to leave.
Before he does that, he sends out a short message to Minato and Hiro. They knew what had happened to him, and they deserved to know he was back. There are probably others he should text, too, but sending messages to just the two of them already took more out of him than he wanted to admit.
And then, he leaves. Maybe it’s selfish - maybe he should stay where Yu and Rise could know he’s safe and well and alive, but he just can’t stay there anymore. He’s restless. So he heads out to take a walk.
He eventually makes his way to the gardens, hands shoved in his vest pockets and every so often, he turns quickly to glance over his shoulder. That’s strange, he could’ve sworn he saw someone watching him from the corner of his eye. He chalks it up to his nerves getting the better of him, but a nagging voice in the back of his head insists that there’s more to it than that.
The gardens aren’t really his typical go-to place to unwind, but at least they’re quiet and he doesn’t want much more than that at the moment. Eventually, he sits in front of one of the trees and leans back against it. It’s fine, for a moment, until something goes wrong and he falls backwards, right through the tree.
There is absolutely nothing to see here. There is definitely not a kid seemingly fused with the trunk of a tree. Move along. ]
When: IC 5/26
Where: Various
What: Dipper died, but life goes on.
Rating/Warning: Talk of death
[ A: REENTRY ]
[ It’s all the same.
The Powerpoint. The spiel. The drop into VIVID. It’s even the same level he initially arrived in. He’s almost nauseous with the sense of deja vu - if he weren’t already nauseous with the feeling of being alive again.
He’s been dropped into the middle of the Tetris level, and he’s so disoriented at the simple impossibility of life that he reacts slower than he should. It’s not that he didn’t expect to be revived. Logically, he knew he would, but there’s only so far that logic can take him when something so final as death is so casually overwritten.
Finally, he does react - a Tetris block is about to flatten him, and he ducks out of the way. The block should clip his shoulder as he awkwardly run-falls away from it, but...it doesn’t. That’s weird. VIVID must be glitching.
It’s only then that he realizes he might not be the only one in this particular level right now. ]
[ B: REUNIONS ]
[ After logging out of VIVID, Dipper makes his way back to the apartment. It’s the obvious place to go, isn’t it? He definitely doesn’t want to go anywhere else. The thing is...he doesn’t really want to go there, either, and the thought of being isolated in his room once again makes his skin crawl with anxious dread. But he knows he can’t leave his roommates and friends hanging. Dipper can’t be sure who knows what happened to him, but he’s sure at least his close friends could probably guess if they weren’t outright told. They’re a sharp bunch.
He kind of wishes they weren’t so sharp right now.
Though he realizes with sharp responsibility that he can’t keep them in suspense forever, Dipper hesitates in front of the door, because he knows, he knows once he goes inside, the unavoidable things he’s been dreading will happen. He’ll have to own up to what happened. He’ll have to process the tidal wave of emotions he’s only just kept at bay with forced numbness. He’ll be reunited with his friends.
He’ll be reunited with the person who saw him die.
Swallowing against a dry throat, Dipper turns the handle on the front door and heads inside. ]
[ C: REPRIEVE ]
[ After talking to his roommates, there’s only so long that Dipper can stay in the apartment. There’s just too much of something he can’t name, and he has to leave.
Before he does that, he sends out a short message to Minato and Hiro. They knew what had happened to him, and they deserved to know he was back. There are probably others he should text, too, but sending messages to just the two of them already took more out of him than he wanted to admit.
And then, he leaves. Maybe it’s selfish - maybe he should stay where Yu and Rise could know he’s safe and well and alive, but he just can’t stay there anymore. He’s restless. So he heads out to take a walk.
He eventually makes his way to the gardens, hands shoved in his vest pockets and every so often, he turns quickly to glance over his shoulder. That’s strange, he could’ve sworn he saw someone watching him from the corner of his eye. He chalks it up to his nerves getting the better of him, but a nagging voice in the back of his head insists that there’s more to it than that.
The gardens aren’t really his typical go-to place to unwind, but at least they’re quiet and he doesn’t want much more than that at the moment. Eventually, he sits in front of one of the trees and leans back against it. It’s fine, for a moment, until something goes wrong and he falls backwards, right through the tree.
There is absolutely nothing to see here. There is definitely not a kid seemingly fused with the trunk of a tree. Move along. ]
no subject
But...did he, really?
When he finally speaks, his voice is low and resolute. ]
That's not an invitation, Hiro. That should be a warning.
[ They'd already accomplished so much - it's true. But what happens with the other shoe falls?
What happens when Hiro...winds up like him? ]
Look. I trust you. I know if you say you can do it, then you can. I don't underestimate you, but I think you underestimate them. This. Everything. [ He looks up, sharp and desperate, his voice rising. ] You think you have all the answers, but this world is out of your control. It's out of all of our control. What if CERES intervenes? What if they decide to wipe the code once it's been tampered with? What if they capture you? What if you end up like Korra and Yosuke?
[ There's so much. So much if, and it's swimming, sinking, swimming in his head. ]
no subject
And yet at the same time part of him believes that if they had just been one step ahead and he'd pushed harder for answers maybe this wouldn't have happened at all. Maybe they could have figured out how to stop the monsters faster, get back to the city sooner, learn more about the labyrinth quicker. His eyes are narrowed questioningly like he doesn't quite want to say yes.]
I'm not underestimating anybody. [He is. He knows he is, and it's the way that Dipper says it that really needles at him and eats away at him every single passing second. 'This world is out of your control.'
It's not that Hiro Hamada is a control freak. But Hiro is a scientist and Hiro is used to manipulating laws to obey his every command and Hiro is well-versed in the art of keeping experiments under control.] And I'm not going to end up like Korra and Yosuke because I don't have any sort of magic energy, all right? I'm not going to just let everybody's deaths mean nothing. What do you want me to do, just sit and wait for them to make their intentions clear? Dipper, I can't. I can't do that again. [A hand comes up to scrub harshly over his face.] There has to be something else I can do until then though. Why else would I be here still?
[There's another pause.] ...what are you saying anyway? You really think CERES knows everything I've been doing?
no subject
But there are no guarantees here. There's no reassurance of anything.
Why else would I be here still? ]
Think about it. How else could you have gotten away with everything you have? I don't think it's just dumb luck or CERES not paying close enough attention. Think about everything you've been involved in. Everything you've figured out.
[ He leans forward, voice pitching. ] What if they're waiting for you? They know this is the perfect trap for you. They know you can't give up on it. They're listening right now! They know how important it is to you, and they'll use that against you. They'll capture you and use everything you know about all of us -
[ He sucks in a sharp breath, looking down again. When did he start shaking? ]
They'll kill you. [ His voice is barely more than a whisper now. ] You can't do that to us, Hiro. Not to Tadashi, to Ruby, to Yu... [ He chokes back a gasp that sounds an awful lot like a sob. ] ...to me.
[ Please...please. He's had enough of death. ]
no subject
Then again, he never expected Dipper to die either.]
Hey. Listen to me. Nobody else is going to die, okay? I'm not going to let them kill me. [Dipper's not wrong though. They know this is the perfect trap. But...what are they really waiting for? They can't possibly think that he'll let them get away with something like this. Or that he'd willingly give up information about his friends.]
If they're really waiting for me, they'll have to do better than this. I'm not going to let anything happen to any of us anymore. I promise. You've gotta trust me, I'm going to fix things and make this work. [He's not thinking of the consequences for himself here and later when he thinks about this conversation again he'll realize the problem with that.]
I'll be careful. You don't have to worry about me, okay? It's going to be fine. [A pause.] I promise I'll be more discreet about stuff, too. They can't do anything if there isn't a solid trail.
no subject
Nobody's going to die.
He's not going to let them kill him.
He's not going to let anything happen to any of them anymore.
I promise.
The words tumble out of his mouth, barely audible. ]
...You don't get it.
[ And how could he? Hiro hadn't died. He'd had too many people around him die, too many people he couldn't protect, and how else was he supposed to respond than with a renewed effort to make things right in the best way he knew how? And Dipper know, he knows, that if he hadn't just died himself, he would be all for this plan. He would been talking logistics right now instead of barely holding himself together like damaged glass.
But, things change.
The fire in his stomach goes out as his gaze drops, crestfallen. It's not personal. But Dipper has always excelled at doubting, and now, at his most vulnerable, it's all he has to fall back on. ]
...Forget it. I didn't mean that.
[ Except he did, but he doesn't want to fight about it. Not now.
He just wants to withdraw. ]
no subject
And yet...
'I'm sorry for lying to you.']
...I'll lay low for a while, okay? I'm sorry. I know you're right. [He musters up what he hopes is another assuring grin.] Guess this is why you're the brains of this whole operation, huh?
no subject
Was this how it was going to be from now on? Was he just going to be afraid of - well, everything?
Yet Dipper musters up a half-smile of his own. It's insincere, and he hates wearing it for one of the people he trusts the most. But the alternative won't work, either. This is his problem. His thing he need to figure out. He can't just spend the rest of his time trying to discourage his friend from trying to do anything that might help them go home.
Home. ]
Heh - brains? I think you mean the muscle.
[ It's funny. We've having fun. Everything will be fine. ]
no subject
So no. He doesn't believe him at all and he quietly hopes this won't ruin what they have already. Losing a friend like Dipper would, surprisingly, be pretty crushing.]
Oh yeah. How could I forget? [He rolls his eyes playfully, gently nudging him with his elbow and wincing slightly at the way his wound shifts when he moves.] Speaking of muscles...feel like testing out your thumbs? I hooked up one of the game systems out here if you feel like hanging out for a bit.
["If you don't feel like going home yet. If you need time to unscramble your thoughts. If you need time not to think."]
no subject
Just for awhile. ]
Yeah, sure. You're on.