sticksandbones | You can bend or you can break

[ Dipper slips in fine enough. Which, considering who Pure Vanilla (and thus Truthless) is, perhaps shouldn't be as easy as it is.

In fact, it's truly not as easy as he may think it is, as the moment he does he's going to find himself a) a Cookie and b) surrounded. The eyes are endless and stretch on around him in a void that seems a lot like space. He'll know it, as the dream tells him: The Dark Side of the Moon.

And the eyes See Him, focus in on him. Some blink, some glare, some curve upwards as if they're laughing. A voice speaks up... it's not familiar to Dipper in the least. ]

"I must say, this is quite a surprise! A guest, here! Oh, but I haven't set the stage up! How embarrassing! One moment, one moment, stay your intruding little self right there!"

[ Though that voice stops speaking, Dipper can hear another faintly whispering throughout the entire landscape. It sounds like Pure Vanilla, but the words are hard to discern. Dipper can look around if he wants, but walking in any direction will simply be more of the same until suddenly Pure Vanilla is beside him.

No, it's Truthless but as a Cookie. ]

What do you hope to accomplish?

[Holy shit he's a fucking cookie. Resisting the urge to taste himself for science-]

[Okay, anyway. The Eyes are terrible and as soon as he sees them he goes pretty still, realizing maybe stealth was never going to be in the cards. Ugh, he can't shake how unnerved he feels even as a cookie. He was making plenty of Bill comparisons earlier, but now he worries he might really be on the money here.]

[He logs "Dark Side of the Moon" moon away, thinking he's heard something about that before, something about the magic from Earthbread, when he's suddenly interrupted by the voice.]

[The voice isn't Bill's, and Dipper lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.]

[He does try to look around, but when he realizes the space is strangely looping on him, he waits. Listens. There's voices and then-]

Whoa!

[Holy shit he's RIGHT THERE. Ah, fuck. Well, the jig was up. He puts his little cookie hands on his cookie hips (he has none of these).]

...Answers, really. Look, I'm not here to make a mess- who was that voice just now?

Edited 2025-02-02 06:50 (UTC)

[ The jig is indeed up, but Truthless doesn't seem to care. He merely blinks at Dipper. Answers. ]

Were my answers not succinct enough?

[ He tilts his head back, staring upwards. Or well. 'Upwards'. Truthfully though it feels like they're standing on something the landscape shifts so who really knows. ]

Knowledge. Deceit. Truth. "And the greatest playwright! You want answers? Oh buddy, do we have them for you!"

[ The landscape shifts, brightens. The floor beneath them shimmers and turns white. A pool of pristine milk, Dippers reflection cast back up at him. And it's Dipper, as he was back home. And it's Dipper, as he is now. And it's Dipper, a monster to his pale blood. Dipper, a copy. Dipper, possessed. Dipper, dead, and dead, and dead-

If Dipper glances over to Truthless' reflection he will see... Pure Vanilla. Pure Vanilla melting with large black eyes opening in him, Pure Vanilla wrapped in blue strings around his wrist and ankles and throat, twined around his eyes until nothing can be seen. Pure Vanilla clutching his head as his form melts and shifts to someone blue, who mimics his pose, pain and anguish on his face until it's Pure Vanilla again.

Truthless stares downwards, silent. ]

"Ask away, Walker, what questions do you have for the lil' ol' Beast of Knowledge?"

Your answers were fine, but there's something else that I needed to see with my own eyes, first. Something you might've had a hard time giving me a straight answer for.

[At least TR isn't mad. He was a little worried he'd be mad. However, now his attention is fully on this shitty Heeheehoohoo man, who while Dipper is sure isn't Bill, sounds enough like him that he could see the two swapping friendship bracelets in evil clown hell.]

[The milk expanding, creating what is essentially a mirror into multiple realities. He watches each reflection with fascination, until they all turn up dead, one after another. Every instance a situation he could recognize. An event he knew he narrowly escaped. He finally tears his eyes away, not wanting to give whoever this is the satisfaction of watching him see his death over and over again. He spots the reflection under Truthless and that affects him more. Watching him suffer from what Dipper is certain is- God the strings are even blue. He grits his teeth and steels himself.]

What is your actual connection to Pure Vanilla? Why are you still here? Didn't you get what you wanted?

"BORING. Boring questions, Walker! I thought better of you!"

[ It's not Bill that reaches up from the milk below to grab Dipper around the ankle. The Cookie hand is blue, surrounded by the frills of a jester's outfit, and then Dipper is yanked down into the milk. The landscape flips around and he finds himself standing in a tower while a Blue Cookie looms above him, grinning with wickedly sharp teeth painted on it's face. ]

"Didn't our little friend Truthless Recluse answer those for you? We're all together now, one big happy dysfunctional freaky little family. As for my little Vanilly-"

[ A small puppet dangles down in front of Dipper. No, it's actually a small Pure Vanilla, being danced and moved around in the strings as he grimaces. ]

"We both got what we wanted, Walker! He got the Truth he fought for his entire life! And the Knowledge that came with it."

[He's grabbed and he allows the scene to change. That visage looms over him, but Dipper is the one that got what he wanted from this. He wanted Shadow Milk to show himself properly instead of hiding behind mirrors.]

[So, this is what he looks like, huh? God, he already hates that smug, almost manic expression. If Bill had a real face, he could picture something very similar. Dipper crosses his arms as Shadow Milk prattles on. He looks up at him looking less than intimidated.]

You'll have to forgive me repeating myself. I knew better than to take anything said at face value when avatars of "knowledge" have a tendency to wrap up their truths in dozens of layers of bullshit.

[The little puppet PV drops, and for a moment Dipper's expression shifts. Oh, he really just went and gave him exactly what he was looking for, huh? Wow, no subtlety from this one at all. As much as he wants to rush for him, he has to be careful about this. As much as seeing PV dangle from puppet strings turns his stomach, he can't be reckless.]

And you got a body. A vessel. You're trapped somewhere and needed a way out, am I guessing right? So, what happens now?

"Well, I AM the Master of Deceit as well so forgiven, I suppose. But do try asking more fun questions lest I get bored."

[ Bored is said oh-so-sinisterly, and something shifts within the scape of Truthless dream. Like something intent on keeping Dipper locked in where he's trespassed, and may just entertain itself with the intruder. ]

"WRONG! I already have a body and it's a wonderful one I must say so myself, helped into fruition by lil' Vanilly's wonderful lovely wife. Really, we should give it up to her, she's always been the true star of this show!"

[ The small Vanilla tangled in the strings is forced to clap, his expression downcast. ]

"Not like my perfect little puppet here, always forced to trail along in someone elses footsteps. Oh, what happens now? More of the same. You see, I don't need him, but he?"

[ 'Vanilla' is suddenly flung at Dipper like a child discarding a toy. Whether he lands in Dippers hands or at Dippers feet, will show that it's back to being the little cutout puppet again. But now it looks like it's been cruelly torn apart and those blue strings that were holding it are stitched through it, holding it together, keeping it whole. ]

"He needs me, Mister Pines."

[ That voice is right there beside him now, Shadow Milk standing by his side, looking almost sadly down at the puppet. The expression is... Pure Vanilla's, or something akin to his. Achingly real, achingly sad. Indeed, it's becoming harder to tell whose at his side. Shadow Milk? Pure Vanilla? Truthless? They're all blurring into one, melting together. ]

"You see, my boy, without me holding his sad little form together, I'm afraid he'd simply drift away. The Truth he loved so so dearly tore him to pieces, so now he clings to Lies, letting them fill the holes."

[ The whispers that have been ever present in the background are now understandable. 'Worthless.' 'No one.' 'Puppet.' 'Who Am I? Who AM I? WHO AM I?!' Truthless reaches out his hand to pick up the little puppet, his expression flat but his touch gentle. ]

There is no getting him back.

Edited 2025-02-02 18:42 (UTC)

[There is a lot to take in here, and Dipper knows his attention is probably intentionally getting tossed about. Watching PV's strings force him to clap while lauding him as just a puppet once again brings about a deep seated unease in his ...well. Whatever he might have for a cookie gut. He just hopes it's not as obvious on his cookie face.]

[But as he gets tossed in Dipper's direction, Dipper absolutely lunges forward to try and catch him. With him returned to cardboard, his eyes search his state, looking at the strings and wondering if there's something he can do, some way he can fix this.]

[But there is Shadow Milk again right beside him. He feels a chill run down his spine and glances up to meet his eyes. The shifting and changing of who is standing before him, while Dipper works through everything he's just witnessed- it takes him a moment, and he falls deathly silence along with that finality in Truthless' words.]

[One might think Dipper has finally realized the weight of that, or perhaps, fallen into despair. No. No, the gears are simply turning.]

Alright. I've got another question for you, then.

["Mr. Pines". What a strange thing to call him. This whole thing has been strange but there is something that is standing out to him. Something that isn't adding up. He holds it close to his chest for now.]

You're the Beast of Knowledge, so how far does that really extend? Are you beholden to just your dimension, or can you actually see beyond that. You know, I've dealt with your kind before, and I'm curious to know how you might scale.

"Oho, thinking to test me?"

[ Shadow Milk again from all around, Truthless not moving from Dippers side though. A separation of the two, as much as they are the same person. They're back, in the blink of an eye, to the endless expanse of white milk. Pure, rippling under them, reflecting them. Them, this time, no endless reflections of past moments, of different versions. ]

"Are we going to play twenty questions, or should I just say something outrageous?"

[ Truthless is looking at Dipper. Something in his gaze, though it's hard to tell what. A question? Curiosity? A warning? ]

Of course. Unless you're worried you can't answer something.

[Spoken casually. After all, Shadow Milk was the one who was bemoaning his boredom. Won't this be more fun?]

Dealer's choice. What's more fun for you?

Dipper.

"HA! All right! Ask me anything. But let's make it interesting. I win? You give me something valuable. I will let you pick what it is~ If you win, if you stump me, I will give you your precious Vanilla."

[ Truthless' brow furrows finally. A soft frown flicking onto his face. ]

It's a lie. He cannot. Pure Vanilla does not exist anymore.

Deal.

[He hears you Truthless, and all he does his pass him a glance with not a look of confidence, but the look of someone who knows what he's doing. Let him cook, pal. He's got a plan.]

[He holds up a hand, soft blue flames emit from it. TR will note that they are not hot flames at all, purely aesthetic.]

Come out so we can shake on it. You can't make a bet without shaking, man.

[ Well... all right. Truthless can't... say he's curious but also really can't say he's not. Dippers mind is protected and sure, Truthless is sure he could brute force his way in - he's far older than the other - but he has no desire to try and see what the other is up to.

He warned him and that's all he settles to do. So he steps back as Shadow Milk 'manifests' though it's still difficult to tell if it's him or not, and he holds out his hand. Strings like snakes unwind from his arm. The moment Dipper takes his hand to 'shake' they will wrap around him, hold tight. Shadow Milk doesn't seem perturbed by the fire.

............. There's a buzzer in his hand that makes a loud BZZZT noise when their hands meet.

Truthless looks unimpressed. Endless eons with this fucker. ]

[And Dipper does literally everything in his power to remain as stalwart as he can as the strings come and wrap around him. He hates this, he hates this a lot actually, but he has to go through with it if he wants to learn anything. He's just going to do what he's done in the past to push through something like this.]

[He's just going to emulate Bill the best he can, with these powers.]

[He almost completely loses his fucking composure with the fucking buzzer are you goddamn kidding him right now. You-]

The only reason you can't see the hand gesture I'm making right now is because I currently don't have any fingers.

Edited 2025-02-03 07:16 (UTC)

"Ooohoho! Testy! C'mon, where's your sense of whimsy! Your sense of joy!"

[ Shadow Milk tosses his hand back after the shake, letting the buzzer go flying off with it. Then he lays on his stomach in mid-air, props his chin up on his hands, and curls his legs to kick them back and forth. The grin stretches on his face. He looks positively delighted to have someone else here other than Sad Sack Recluse.

Who is watched the two quietly. ]

"Oh, I'm all a-tingle. Go on, Pine Apple of My Eye, let's see what you have for me!"

Sorry, but I'm told I'm terrible to have at parties. My sense of whimsy ends in property damage and arson.

[He clears his throat. Back on task. God, he's glad he didn't call him Pine Tree. He would have probably exploded and started swinging if he did.]

Anyway, the question is super easy.

What's the name of the vampire my sister tried to date when we were twelve?

"... Really? Endless Knowledge in my hands and you want to know who your sister wanted to suck icing with when she was a preteen?"

[ Someone doesn't look too pleased but it's hard to tell whether because he doesn't know or because he finds the question boring. He is, however, the Beast of Deceit so he does what he does best.

He lies.

He has nothing to lose, after all. ]

"Gordon."

[ Truthless blinks and opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. Slowly he shuts his mouth again. ]

Gordon.

[What a fascinating answer. It sure sounds like a name from his home dimension, considering all the cookies have descriptive names instead. Dipper obviously has no way to refute this, and he knew this going in so.]

[Having everything to lose, he presses further.]

[he taps his chin as if thinking this over, he frowns.]

Huh. That's weird. Gordon's the name of the werewolf that lived by the water tower. I've definitely seen his reflection before.

"Oooooooooooooooooooooh? Are you calling the Master of Deceit a liar? Why would I possibly lie when my favorite marionette is on the line?"

[ Does he know Dipper is lying? Is he hedging? Does a liar know a lair when they walk into a ~~bar~~ Cookies head? Truthless hasn't turned his attention away, watching the two like he's found a fascinating new drama. Uh, if he was also incredibly bored.

Then Shadow Milk laughs, a gleeful cackle. ]

"Ah, who am I kidding, of course I lie. It's my favorite past time! But tell me True, Dream Walker. You don't know either, do you?"

[Dipper's expression is one of pleasant surprise. Like oh, what a fascinating turn in this conversation, he had been simply wondering out loud you know. It's also a funny answer because, all SM really had to do to save his own ass was say "there's more than one person named Gordon in Gravity Falls". He gets the feeling repeat names don't happen super often in Earthbread.]

I mean, it is in your title. If I didn't expect something like that upfront, I'd be pretty stupid.

[However, Dipper was also raised by a conman, and SM really should have anticipated something on his end, too.]

Obviously, why would I ask you for something I already know? That does put us in a funny predicament doesn't it. Obviously I can't refute what you've said, but at the same time, can we really take your answer at face value when you've literally just admitted lying is your favorite hobby? What to do.

Edited 2025-02-03 08:35 (UTC)

"What to do indeed! Why not ask our favorite little puppet?"

[ Truthless is suddenly, literally, in the spotlight and he turns his eyes away. Down to the milk underneath them. ]

One side has admitted to lying, and the other side admitted they didn't know the answer themselves. There was no Truth here, the question should be null.

"Straight out of our little Recluses' mouth! And he should know, there's not an ounce of Truth in him!"

[ The landscape suddenly begins to feel tighter, closing in around Dipper, becoming almost claustrophobic. Eyes open again in the 'sky' above them, blinking down. Shadow Milks grin, cheerful as always, becomes more sinister. He will feel scratching at his skull, ancient powerful fingers slowly looking for the holes in his armor. ]

"I'm getting bored, though. Let's up the stakes. I'm not the real Me, after all, safe and snug away in my own home, ready to make the world my Masterpiece once more. But here?"

[ Truthless suddenly splashes down through the milk, hands going to his throat as bubbles escape before he can hold his breath, his eyes wide. The look is as Pure Vanilla as it's going to get. ]

"Here I am very, very real. Entertain me."

Edited 2025-02-03 08:52 (UTC)

[Oh fuck, okay. Dipper whips around as Truthless is dragged under, shouting for him. Oh, that look on his face. He is not going to be forgetting that for some time.]

[Alright, looks like someone's decided to hee their last hoo. Time to get fucking serious, he guesses. There isn't a path for him to easily escape through right now, and he can tell because the metaphysical walls are starting to come in close.]

And I think, that "Dream Walker" is really undershooting what I am.

[Dipper's blind eye takes on a stark red glow, and an encroaching shadow rises up over him, spreads out from his form. It writhes like an abyssal creature of the licorice sea. All at once, a dozen red eyes snap open. SM will feel a burst of resistance from his prying. For now.]

[ OH how FAMILIAR are those eyes as they open, and the extra layer of protection goes over the other, preventing 'Shadow Milk' from digging in. It almost tickles him to see his own shtick coming back at him! ]

"Oh! Brava! Magnifico! Give me more! Let me give you a better stage, though, I can't leave my main actor wanting! From one Conman to another who respect the hustle!"

[ From the milk rises a maze, made up of playing cards, all with various effigies of Shadow Milk on them, their eyes turning to look at Dipper as they giggle or laugh or sneer. The worst of it is the ... escher like nature of it. It rises into the air with stairs that go in and out of doorways, that twist upside down, that disappear into the ground. ]

"Get to the middle, free yourself! If you can."

[ Something... "something" seems to loom behind Dipper. It's a feeling; dread dripping with malice, teeth closing closer in for the back of his neck, hot breath of a beast that feels too familiar. ]

"Run."

Edited 2025-02-03 09:56 (UTC)

[Well, this suddenly took a turn he hadn't expected. Maaaybe provoking the broken mind of a 2000 year old mage wasn't the smartest thing he's set out to do. Oh well, all he can do now is commit and try not to get vaporized.]

[God it had to be the MC Escher shit, didn't it? Was there a cookie counterpart to MC Escher? Things he will think about when he is not running for his fucking life. As he begins to tread through the maze he stops dead a few steps in, feeling a chill run down his spine.]

[Ah. He knows what that probably is. He does not turn back to look, he knows better than to do that in a nightmare. Instead he sucks in a breath and runs. As he runs he sweeps out his hands to drag in cards or other obstacles to slow down the beast. Conjuring up anything his powers will let him to put some distance between him and the monster.]

You can bend or you can break

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