sticksandbones | You can bend or you can break

"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.]

[ Almost at once, as his feet begin to pound the 'floor' of the maze, the cards begin to yell at him. Even as he pushes and pulls them over - which get a few rather comical grumbles from them - to try and slow the thing behind him down. They call his name, they offer suggestions, they barrage him with inanity: "This way!" "No, turn right!" "Turn around it's fine what's the worst that can happen?" "Stop stop stop, I JUST mopped this part of the mind! YOU'RE RUINING THE FINISH!"

And sometimes a card with golden hair and closed eyes will softly whisper his name, barely audible under the clamor of the others. It will swing aside as if on a hinge when he gets close enough, and he will find a new path waiting him. It will always add extra distance between him and the thing chasing him, though whatever beast hunts him is quick to catch up again. It makes no sound as it moves, but the dread will ebb and flow as it gets closer or further away.

And his abilities are aided; he will find them coming easily with little resistance, even as the landscape fights to confuse and bewilder him. He conjures barricades easily, or even weapons, though he will find at one point as he conjures something to place between him and the Beast, it may be a red and pink Knight chess piece with a heart shaped shield who laughs merrily as she lands and blocks the beast with a hard clash of her shield.

Though, as he gets further away, the silence is just as eerie as the clench of dread of the thing chasing him. The cards fall silent around him, their eyes closing, and it's just the echo of his feet on the white marbled milk. Any cards he passes that might have had Vanilla's visage on them are covered in blue scratch marks, marring the Cookies face out violently to keep them silent. ]

Edited 2025-02-03 11:26 (UTC)

[It's reminiscent of a few things he can think. Like when Deerington would drop them in some dank location and send monsters after them. Find the exit if you can, or die via some eldritch horror creature out of one of his D&D books. It reminds him of running through the fearimid with Bill hot on his and Mabel's heels. They had no real plan, only that they needed to distract him while they came up with something. Anything.]

[He's gotten so complacent with his powers over the mind, that it's awfully humbling to be on the verge of getting wrecked. Not that he's losing his confidence. If anything, realizing he is being helped, does an astronomical amount of good keeping him going, keeping him hopeful, not just in this maze but- well. That had been Pure Vanilla, right? helping him against Shadow Milk. Truthless was so sure he wasn't there anymore, yet here he is plainly. It's something. It's something.]

[As the clatter of his own footsteps take him out of his thoughts he looks around quietly, hurriedly, and where he's wound up. The cards...]

[So someone has caught on. That worries him while also making him realize this might not have been an elaborate prank to misdirect him. He walks up to one of the scratched out cards, setting his hand on it, contemplating if his powers could be enough to try and restore it.]

Edited 2025-02-04 00:40 (UTC)

[ All you have to do, in this land of the mind and dreams, is think it. Under his hand the card will grow warm. It's such a familiar feeling. Like a hug. A laugh. A kind word and pride. A smile full of sunshine and love. ]

Dipp-

[ The tone before it's cut off is most definitely not full of sunshine and love - fear and panic instead - and before Dipper can pull back a hand of blue comes out of the marred face, reaching to grab Dipper around the head. And it's most certainly a hand, not a Cookie arm, fingers curling to dig cruel nails into Dippers unique dough. ]

"Predictable. Always have to stop and try to help, don't you?"

[ The hand doesn't do anything but hold him in place, as an eye appears in the blue to the side of the arm. It seems to grin at Dipper, as Dread begins to build again at his back. ]

"Get to the center was my instructions, wasn't it? Not try to play hero, not try to heal. Tsk tsk tsk-"

[ One claw strokes almost tenderly against Dipper's face, digging into the dough to pull it open. A slow drag that let's jam trickle. The Dread is closer, seeking. You can't escape it, Dipper. It's your Future. ]

[For a moment, he thinks there's something he can really do. That feeling floods through him and he presses more of his power into it to try and heal. Pure Vanilla is in there, Pure Vanilla is still in there and if he tries harder he can-]

[And then he hears his name, and he realizes a moment too late, he's cost himself something terrible. The hand reaches out to grab him, and Dipper shouts. He feels himself in unfathomable danger, trapped, ensnared with this entity smiling at him. I think I'm going to kill one of them now, rings in his ears in a familiar shrill voice.]

My unchecked hero complex is between me and Mizuki, asshole-

[That sure isn't going to stop his mouth, sadly. Fuck you for expecting him to visibly panic. Even as he drags that finger through his dough, and the pain is very, very real despite the dream, Dipper stubbornly holds his breath. This is nothing, this is nothing compared to losing his eye, just endure it, don't give him the satisfaction-]

[White, fluffy "jam" trickles down his face, the Dread slowly grows closer, and Dipper's heart is pounding in his chest. Dipper continues to resist, but it doesn't seem like he's resisting as much as maybe he should...? Interesting.]

"Oh! You truly are Vanilly's child. No wonder his soft spot is so large for you. Same dough, different baker and all that."

[ The lack of resistance does seem to be noted, as the fingers tap.... tap.... tap... gently against Dipper's head, scratching and prying like they're trying to get in. Digging painfully, pressure pounding, and urging him to turn. Forcing him to face behind him, to see what's chasing him, what pulses like his own heart beat.

It's Dipper. Oh, but Dipper knew that, didn't he. But the smile he gives himself. Is it familiar, Dipper? And the blue of his eyes, may look like Shadow Milks, but he knows the real blue of it, doesn't he? The familiar flame blue. Except for his eye. His red eye, glowing away. And the figure that stretches out underneath the milk is his beast. Him.

The True Him. ]

"What? Haha! Who runs from himself, honestly! Other than Vanilly, he gave me quite a chase. Blah blah same dough."

[ Those fingers press into Dipper's head, like they're trying to crush a particularly difficult nut. A tarot card appears in front of Dipper, spinning softly. On one side is him - Dipper Pines. Brother to Mabel, whose saved the world a few times with his two Grunkles. A boy whose lived in a world of blood, whose own smells like rancid milk when spilt - haha! - and now who is trapped within the mind of someone he shouldn't have messed with.

And the other side is Him. Him who he was meant to be. His powers are Bills, because like Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla, the two have always been entwined. They are two sides to the same coin. Bill is just Dippers future, one where he accepts who he is and-

Truthless reaches out to stop the card from spinning, taking it in his hand, his voice soft. ]

I see. You truly understand.

[Note it all you want jerk. He's going to try and conserve his power to look for a way out- or try and blast free of SM's grip in a last ditch effort to escape, and he can't do that if he's blowing it all trying to fight him. It's fine, he's patient, the pain isn't even that bad, he's had worse. So long as he doesn't turn-]

[He's remarkably stubborn once his heels are in, but even he has limits. When he's forced to look, he feels his heart drop like lead in an ocean. His concentration totally buckles and he's stuck staring at what looks like a visage of hell. His own hell, anyway. The kind of thing that keeps him up at night, the kind of nightmares he's had to actively fight with his own powers. The powers that are just like-]

[The words are clear, burned into his mind, because of course they are, they mirror his own often times. They mirror His, too. After all, Dipper lost his eye to the sound of that monster's laughter ringing in his ears. That his own mind had lost its grip on reality so completely that he brought that demon back to life with his own insanity. He's never very far, even worlds away. He'll never escape the wretched ghost he's left on Dipper's subconscious, lingering in his peripheral.]

[He had wanted Fern to suffer, just as he had wanted Ozpin to suffer. Without Mabel there to stop him last time, he would have gone too far. With Fern, he arguably hadn't been stopped soon enough. That darkness has always been in him, how long before it becomes second nature? How long before he stops caring-]

NO!

[It's a raw, angry thing that tears its way out of his throat when it all sinks in. Desperation, fear, and defiance fill the air, and with it, an explosion of his own powers, surging out of control.]

I'LL NEVER BE YOUR PUPPET AGAIN, IF I HAVE TO KILL YOU MYSELF!

[ Truthless closes his eyes as Dippers power surges, twists the landscape around him with it. The maze falls away, toppling like the cards it is. The milk below him turns blood red and churns violently. The Him that faces Dipper simply grins widely. The eyes above them blink. Some blue. Some Dipper red. They watch. They grin. They wait. ]

"Puppet?"

[ It's Dippers voice. It's Bill's voice. It echos as one. With Dippers concentration dropped, 'Shadow Milk' can dig just a little. Just enough. ]

"You were never my Puppet, Pine Tree. Haven't you figured it out yet? Why your powers are so close to mine? We walk the same road, you and I. Because you are me. I am you. History repeats, time is circular, what happens in the past happens in the future happens in the now. Someday you'll look like a little yellow triangle and head back to Gravity Falls."

[ Truthless opens his eyes, his expression sad for once. He doesn't know if what the Illusion is saying is true but- ]

It's not real, Dipper. It is merely an Illusion. Focus.

[Between being called Pine Tree again after so long and that final part of his speech, something twists in him that becomes dark and angry. Just like when he saw what Fern did to Pure Vanilla, something snaps.]

[Dipper falls deadly silent and the chaos of black and red fall still. Then, out of that blood red lake of milk shoots a single, deadly looking spear, not unlike the one he tends to use to fight with, aiming to pierce straight through the hand. Will it kill the hand? Probably not, but if it startles it enough, Dipper will use this as a means to get free.]

[Explicitly so he can swing a flying haymaker at Bipper with all his strength.]

[ His strike it true and the spear pierces the hand, right to the base of the marred blue marks. It crumbles like so much cookie dust, trickling away and down his face to give it a light coating of blue as he surges forward.

Bipper grins, as if daring that hand to connect, as if knowing it won't here inside Shadow Milks domain.

And Dipper will feel himself filled with something from outside Truthless Recluse's mind, yet tied in to him. It's small, but it's enough. Volition - a mere tiny speck of it that rests on Truthless' finger but still hums with faint power - has risen to meet Dipper's Resolution.

Bipper's grin fades as Dipper's fist connects to his jaw and chin in a small flash of purple mingled with red; shocked surprise fills his face as the creature tumbles back and to the side. Lands on a hand and knee as the other hand comes up to the spot to touch. It's blue and red that oozes from split icing from where the blow had crushed it to it's teeth. And the cheek is a crumbling crack like a Cookie.

Silence fills the void, the eyes all wide watching above. Even Truthless looks startled, staring down at the kneeling creature. The blood milk smooths, as a certain stillness creeps around them, as if the mind itself is holding it's breath. ]

You can bend or you can break

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