sparklehorror (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sparklehorror) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
deercountry2022-08-26 07:09 am
sparklehorror) wrote in deercountry2022-08-26 07:09 am
Entry tags:
Come tomorrow, I'll be in the ocean
Who: The Pines and friends
What: The younger set of twins is being called back to the sea. They are throwing themselves a joint birthday/going away party about it, as is proper for a Gravity Falls series finale.
When: Last week in August, with their birthday on the 31st.
Where: Prep is all over, party at the beach
This is a mingle log! Feel free to make your own top levels!
Content warnings: Losing family members. If anything else pops up it can go in thread headers; everything here is pretty tame.
It's impossible not to be grateful for missing July in its entirety. Oscar killed, and Ford? The townsfolk turning against the Sleepers, when even after most of a year Mabel still deals with flak over her vileblood fangs? Some weirdo jerk pissing off the twins' patron? Stan leaving, again? There is no way the younger Pines twins wouldn't have gotten caught up in some of it somewhere, and for all that both of them would like to believe their presence would have made a difference in preventing some of the worst of this, they're old enough now to understand they wouldn't have come out of any of it unscathed, either. Both of them are too petty, too loyal and devoted. They'd have been involved, no matter how unwise. And they may not have made it out any better than anyone else did, may have only increased the ultimate amount of hurt.
At first, it's easy to blame the overall feeling of restless disquiet on all that, when they emerge from their strange cocoons a little taller and looking a little more like the older versions of themselves that still haunt the house from Deerington. After all, for all that it's theoretically "better" for them to have been tucked away safe and sound, there's a certain guilt that comes with having missed it all and Mariana's ire cannot possibly be helping. Dipper in particular consoles himself with notions of petty revenge on various people, and Mabel finally perfects her anti-corruption tea, because she's so out of sorts she's drinking boatloads of it. But that vague sense of wrong continues, and it's Mabel who comes to understand it first, on one of her frequent trips to stare at the ocean and commune with its inarticulate whims of rage.
That ocean wants her back.
She takes it poorly, horrified at the thought of being ripped away from the family she has left here and the friends she's made. Unable to hide it from her brother for long even without their blood bond, Dipper admits that he's feeling it too, and that's that, isn't it? A long discussion follows, lasting late into the night. Perhaps they might manage to be the first to figure out how to ignore that call, or at least resist it? Is it better to hurl themselves into the Archives and at least start that research even if they fail? Or is it better to embrace what time they have left, and make the most of an inevitable ending...?
As dawn arrives, they've settled down. The sense of peace that overwhelms the both of them at the thought of accepting this provides a certain clarity. Which is not to say the twins will bow to the whims of fate so easily, no -- a birthday party is in order, they've decided. Turning fifteen is huge! Wendy was fifteen, that summer in Gravity Falls! That distance between themselves and her used to feel so enormous, and they've crossed it as surely as they crossed the ocean to get here in the first place. It can be like the party they had back then, a going-away party, turning something they'd once seen as awful into a reason to celebrate. And, they both have things they want to be able to say to the people they're leaving behind. After everything they've all been through -- after watching Stan and Ford working so hard to patch their relationship and make up for the time they lost -- leaving important things unsaid seems the far greater sin than going away at all does.
Again, gratitude. Their arrival in Deerington was a matter of being spirited away in their sleep, and Dipper was there for months before the place deigned to return his sister to him. This time, even if they don't necessarily have a choice, they have time. They can prepare, and leave a little more on their own terms. And, this time, the twins will go together, hand in hand.
Preparations
Given that the whole point of the party is to bring their friends and loved ones close for this ending, the twins aren't shy about letting everyone know what's going on and dragging them into the prep work, too. After all, the more time they're able to spend with everyone in these last days, the better -- and, it gives the twins time to sort out their affairs, too, if they aren't devoting every moment to their own party.
The party will take place at the beach, despite the risk of flooding, and the theme the twins have chosen is that of a starry sky. There are myriad ways to contribute:
Food: Can't have a party without snackies! The month-long celebration of Mariana certainly helps here -- it will be easy enough for party-goers to trot down the Boardwalk to pick up seasonal ramen and the like. But let's be real, the vast majority of the people involved in this are sweets fiends. We will need donuts. We will need cookies. We will need a birthday cake. Dipper, recent winner of the Paleblood Bake-Off, will be taking charge of a lot of this. Please make sure he doesn't wear himself out.
Decorations: Here we have Mabel's domain: The more glittery we can go here, the better. But also, there is some building to be done. We will need a stage, because of reasons. And a dance floor to go on top of the sand, for other reasons. And lights, so the party can go long into the night. And more glitter, we cannot emphasize the glitter enough. And sandbags to prevent spontaneous flooding, given the way things have been going. Safety first! And glitter.
Explosives: There will be fireworks regardless, thanks to the nightly Mariana festival. Do you know what would be great? Having our own fireworks. Sparklers and whatnot, maybe even some big ones. Do you know what the best way to get them is? The ultimate tribute to the absent Stanley Pines, currently awaiting the twins in the ocean in multiple forms: Crime. Grunkle Stan will be here in spirit if crime has been done and it results in explosives. Someone get on this.
Obstacles: We need stuff that can get in the way of other stuff, also because of reasons. The twins are particularly cagey about this one. All will become clear in time. Let's just say it's a good thing the beach is long.
The Actual Party
The end results are beautiful, enough so that Mabel has to stop and have a little cry about it when she arrives. White Alice has contributed her golden Abyss lights, which float around the area like fireflies, and a disco ball that hovers over the dance floor like a miniature moon. She only knows what a disco ball is in the first place because of Mabel, and it casts star-shaped lights as it spins, because Alice was a master of darkblood fuckery long before she knew what darkblood is. The snack tables are loaded with sweets and festooned with ribbons and banners in the twins' trademark colors, blue and pink, with a horrifying amount of star and pine-shaped confetti everywhere. The party is far enough down the beach that it won't interfere with any shenanigans happening at the Boardwalk, and the atmosphere is so festive that even the ominous rumbling of the waves starts to sound cheerful.
Obviously all this could be washed away at any moment, which Mabel and Dipper have chosen to risk on the grounds that they may well wind up leaving straight from the party, and they're relying on their birthday being at the very end of the month as a failsafe here. In the end, thankfully, nothing happens. Perhaps it is that the overall sense of "fuck you, I do what I want" that went into all this has pleased the twins' patron.
Karaoke: Mabel's karaoke machine is in Trench. Given that damn near anything might wash up on the Far Shores at any given time, the question is not how she has it, but why exactly this is the first time it's coming out. With the help of Fiddleford McGucket, it has been rigged up with an omni so that it has access to All Media Ever, so feel free to climb up on stage with it and belt out whatever the hell song you want.
Coffee: One Stanford Pines has been recruited into providing his dubious coffee experiments as refreshment for the occasion. This is because Mabel likes to power her personal dance parties with unwise amounts of caffeine, which some of this "coffee" does indeed possess in spades -- maybe don't have more than a little espresso shot of this unless you want to vibrate into the stratosphere. While Ford has continued to refine the coffee beans since his last announcement on the network about it and many of its other possible effects have lessened, you never know, so be aware that if you do decide to play coffee roulette you may end up floating, or accidentally triggering one of the weird blood magic power surges that have plagued Sleepers through the month. Mmmm, darkblood coffee.
Mini-golf: We have a mini-golf course, yes. This is what the obstacles were for. The twins have been known to set up little golf courses for themselves in their bedroom when the weather is gross, because like all Pines they have little concern for the possible destruction of property. Given that now we have blood magic and Remnant people on hand, this course is even more aggressive, and may or may not involve a windmill that shoots fire and other such trappings. Rest assured that if you reach into a little handmade pond to retrieve the ball you just lost and wind up bit by one of those little crabs that makes you hallucinate, though, that one wasn't on purpose. That's just Trench for you.
Photo Booth: Given that Dipper's most obvious specialties in Trench have been ghost-hunting and, apparently, baking, something that may have been missed about him is that another of his talents lies in handling a camera. The twins obviously aren't taking much with them beyond each other when they go. But, given how crucial Mabel's scrapbook has always been to the family across three separate worlds, the opportunity to leave explicit visual reminders of their presence is one they take seriously. They've set up a makeshift photo booth a bit off to the side, with a starry sky backdrop and good lighting, where any of their friends and loved ones can grab them or each other for a flurry of pictures. Later, someone will see to it that the images make it from "film" to photograph, and that the photos make it into the hands of those left behind.
What: The younger set of twins is being called back to the sea. They are throwing themselves a joint birthday/going away party about it, as is proper for a Gravity Falls series finale.
When: Last week in August, with their birthday on the 31st.
Where: Prep is all over, party at the beach
This is a mingle log! Feel free to make your own top levels!
Content warnings: Losing family members. If anything else pops up it can go in thread headers; everything here is pretty tame.
It's impossible not to be grateful for missing July in its entirety. Oscar killed, and Ford? The townsfolk turning against the Sleepers, when even after most of a year Mabel still deals with flak over her vileblood fangs? Some weirdo jerk pissing off the twins' patron? Stan leaving, again? There is no way the younger Pines twins wouldn't have gotten caught up in some of it somewhere, and for all that both of them would like to believe their presence would have made a difference in preventing some of the worst of this, they're old enough now to understand they wouldn't have come out of any of it unscathed, either. Both of them are too petty, too loyal and devoted. They'd have been involved, no matter how unwise. And they may not have made it out any better than anyone else did, may have only increased the ultimate amount of hurt.
At first, it's easy to blame the overall feeling of restless disquiet on all that, when they emerge from their strange cocoons a little taller and looking a little more like the older versions of themselves that still haunt the house from Deerington. After all, for all that it's theoretically "better" for them to have been tucked away safe and sound, there's a certain guilt that comes with having missed it all and Mariana's ire cannot possibly be helping. Dipper in particular consoles himself with notions of petty revenge on various people, and Mabel finally perfects her anti-corruption tea, because she's so out of sorts she's drinking boatloads of it. But that vague sense of wrong continues, and it's Mabel who comes to understand it first, on one of her frequent trips to stare at the ocean and commune with its inarticulate whims of rage.
That ocean wants her back.
She takes it poorly, horrified at the thought of being ripped away from the family she has left here and the friends she's made. Unable to hide it from her brother for long even without their blood bond, Dipper admits that he's feeling it too, and that's that, isn't it? A long discussion follows, lasting late into the night. Perhaps they might manage to be the first to figure out how to ignore that call, or at least resist it? Is it better to hurl themselves into the Archives and at least start that research even if they fail? Or is it better to embrace what time they have left, and make the most of an inevitable ending...?
As dawn arrives, they've settled down. The sense of peace that overwhelms the both of them at the thought of accepting this provides a certain clarity. Which is not to say the twins will bow to the whims of fate so easily, no -- a birthday party is in order, they've decided. Turning fifteen is huge! Wendy was fifteen, that summer in Gravity Falls! That distance between themselves and her used to feel so enormous, and they've crossed it as surely as they crossed the ocean to get here in the first place. It can be like the party they had back then, a going-away party, turning something they'd once seen as awful into a reason to celebrate. And, they both have things they want to be able to say to the people they're leaving behind. After everything they've all been through -- after watching Stan and Ford working so hard to patch their relationship and make up for the time they lost -- leaving important things unsaid seems the far greater sin than going away at all does.
Again, gratitude. Their arrival in Deerington was a matter of being spirited away in their sleep, and Dipper was there for months before the place deigned to return his sister to him. This time, even if they don't necessarily have a choice, they have time. They can prepare, and leave a little more on their own terms. And, this time, the twins will go together, hand in hand.
Given that the whole point of the party is to bring their friends and loved ones close for this ending, the twins aren't shy about letting everyone know what's going on and dragging them into the prep work, too. After all, the more time they're able to spend with everyone in these last days, the better -- and, it gives the twins time to sort out their affairs, too, if they aren't devoting every moment to their own party.
The party will take place at the beach, despite the risk of flooding, and the theme the twins have chosen is that of a starry sky. There are myriad ways to contribute:
Food: Can't have a party without snackies! The month-long celebration of Mariana certainly helps here -- it will be easy enough for party-goers to trot down the Boardwalk to pick up seasonal ramen and the like. But let's be real, the vast majority of the people involved in this are sweets fiends. We will need donuts. We will need cookies. We will need a birthday cake. Dipper, recent winner of the Paleblood Bake-Off, will be taking charge of a lot of this. Please make sure he doesn't wear himself out.
Decorations: Here we have Mabel's domain: The more glittery we can go here, the better. But also, there is some building to be done. We will need a stage, because of reasons. And a dance floor to go on top of the sand, for other reasons. And lights, so the party can go long into the night. And more glitter, we cannot emphasize the glitter enough. And sandbags to prevent spontaneous flooding, given the way things have been going. Safety first! And glitter.
Explosives: There will be fireworks regardless, thanks to the nightly Mariana festival. Do you know what would be great? Having our own fireworks. Sparklers and whatnot, maybe even some big ones. Do you know what the best way to get them is? The ultimate tribute to the absent Stanley Pines, currently awaiting the twins in the ocean in multiple forms: Crime. Grunkle Stan will be here in spirit if crime has been done and it results in explosives. Someone get on this.
Obstacles: We need stuff that can get in the way of other stuff, also because of reasons. The twins are particularly cagey about this one. All will become clear in time. Let's just say it's a good thing the beach is long.
The end results are beautiful, enough so that Mabel has to stop and have a little cry about it when she arrives. White Alice has contributed her golden Abyss lights, which float around the area like fireflies, and a disco ball that hovers over the dance floor like a miniature moon. She only knows what a disco ball is in the first place because of Mabel, and it casts star-shaped lights as it spins, because Alice was a master of darkblood fuckery long before she knew what darkblood is. The snack tables are loaded with sweets and festooned with ribbons and banners in the twins' trademark colors, blue and pink, with a horrifying amount of star and pine-shaped confetti everywhere. The party is far enough down the beach that it won't interfere with any shenanigans happening at the Boardwalk, and the atmosphere is so festive that even the ominous rumbling of the waves starts to sound cheerful.
Obviously all this could be washed away at any moment, which Mabel and Dipper have chosen to risk on the grounds that they may well wind up leaving straight from the party, and they're relying on their birthday being at the very end of the month as a failsafe here. In the end, thankfully, nothing happens. Perhaps it is that the overall sense of "fuck you, I do what I want" that went into all this has pleased the twins' patron.
Karaoke: Mabel's karaoke machine is in Trench. Given that damn near anything might wash up on the Far Shores at any given time, the question is not how she has it, but why exactly this is the first time it's coming out. With the help of Fiddleford McGucket, it has been rigged up with an omni so that it has access to All Media Ever, so feel free to climb up on stage with it and belt out whatever the hell song you want.
Coffee: One Stanford Pines has been recruited into providing his dubious coffee experiments as refreshment for the occasion. This is because Mabel likes to power her personal dance parties with unwise amounts of caffeine, which some of this "coffee" does indeed possess in spades -- maybe don't have more than a little espresso shot of this unless you want to vibrate into the stratosphere. While Ford has continued to refine the coffee beans since his last announcement on the network about it and many of its other possible effects have lessened, you never know, so be aware that if you do decide to play coffee roulette you may end up floating, or accidentally triggering one of the weird blood magic power surges that have plagued Sleepers through the month. Mmmm, darkblood coffee.
Mini-golf: We have a mini-golf course, yes. This is what the obstacles were for. The twins have been known to set up little golf courses for themselves in their bedroom when the weather is gross, because like all Pines they have little concern for the possible destruction of property. Given that now we have blood magic and Remnant people on hand, this course is even more aggressive, and may or may not involve a windmill that shoots fire and other such trappings. Rest assured that if you reach into a little handmade pond to retrieve the ball you just lost and wind up bit by one of those little crabs that makes you hallucinate, though, that one wasn't on purpose. That's just Trench for you.
Photo Booth: Given that Dipper's most obvious specialties in Trench have been ghost-hunting and, apparently, baking, something that may have been missed about him is that another of his talents lies in handling a camera. The twins obviously aren't taking much with them beyond each other when they go. But, given how crucial Mabel's scrapbook has always been to the family across three separate worlds, the opportunity to leave explicit visual reminders of their presence is one they take seriously. They've set up a makeshift photo booth a bit off to the side, with a starry sky backdrop and good lighting, where any of their friends and loved ones can grab them or each other for a flurry of pictures. Later, someone will see to it that the images make it from "film" to photograph, and that the photos make it into the hands of those left behind.
OTA!
[One would think Mabel would be primarily involved in the more artistic side of the decorating for the party -- read, the parts that involve smearing glue and glitter all over everything. And it's certainly not as though she isn't. It's just that hardly a day passes that she isn't smearing glue and glitter on something, and meanwhile, there is a certain something only Trench has been able to give her and the power surges everyone seems to be experiencing this month have only intensified that.]
Hey, let me give you a hand with that. I may be the hottest vampire in all the land, but it's not just the teeth, you know! I also have super strength now.
[So saying, Mabel the Fluffiest Ruffle Pile will grab whatever heavy thing is being transported -- wood for the stage, a sandbag, whatever -- lift it over her head with a huaaaaah, and make off with it. Very possibly in the wrong direction. If we are being honest a lot of this is a diversion from her somewhat increased need to chew on people these past couple weeks, but she does legitimately enjoy being the buff twin. Maybe when they find him in the ocean, which they inevitably will, Grunkle Stan will teach her to box with all of her tentacles.]
Party: Karaoke (cw: animated zombies exploding in the second clip because Gravity Falls)
[It's only right and proper for Mabel to kick things off with song. After all, she is aware that some of their guests tonight may not even know what karaoke is, and thus it is up to her to show them that what karaoke is is a blast. To really set the mood, she chooses a total bop from the 80's, and proceeds to rock the hell out.
When I feel alone, I reach for you and you bring me home!
When I'm lost at sea, I hear your voice, and it carries me!
In this world, we're just beginning to understand the miracle of living!
Baby, I was afraid before, but I'm not afraid anymore!
Ooh, baby, do you know what that's worth? Ooh, heaven is a place on Earth!
They say in heaven love comes first!
We'll make heaven a place on Earth! Ooh, heaven is a place on Earth!
[She'll stay up there for a few songs, actively encouraging people to come up and join her. If you are not great at singing, do not worry! Mabel herself does not sing so much as she yells melodically. It's all about enthusiasm, baby!!!]
Party: A Very Important Public Announcement
[After some festive rounds of mini golf and a whole lot of donuts, Mabel takes the stage again. This time, however, she dims the music.]
O-kayyyy, everybody! I have a super important announcement. [She waits until the bulk of the hubbub has died down before she proceeds, solemnly, microphone in one hand and a little cup of espresso in the other.] So. For years, I've known exactly what present I was gonna give myself when I turned sixteen. But if I'm still a squid next year I'm not gonna have a mouth I can do this with, so after all the dumb stuff we've dealt with this year, I totally deserve this. So I'm gonna give it to myself a year early.
[Dramatic pause.]
I am officially allowed to say cusswords now.
[A much shorter pause.]
-- and let me tell you what a fucking relief that is because I have really been holding it in! This place could totally be fucking amazeballs even with the corpses and the beasthood and junk -- and shit, but ohhhhhhhh my gooooooooooosh the fuckwaffles and the douchecanoes, am I right? I said, am I right?! All the vileblood discrimination has been dumb from the start and I was so fucking over that, like, last year, but I was super hoping that'd be it! But it's goddamn peanuts once you realize you've got shitheads who'll march their asses out there and try to murder wholeass Pthumerians with their creepy necromantic human sacrifice bullshit! And that's not even the only dumb fuckery that went down last month! I have heard some shit!
Here's what I think! Those kinds of people can all eat a bag of dicks.
[Mabel lets this rest for a moment before she cracks up into a fit of the giggles, mad with newfound power. Her brother, linefacing, scuttles quietly up behind her. He does not even try to take the microphone away, but he does take the coffee.]
Wildcard
[Obviously Mabel will be all over the party, so feel free to throw other options at me! Mini-golf, photos, dancing fast or slow, I'm here for it all.]
Closed to Ruby
Thanks again for coming out here to help us, Ruby.
[The time to give in is fast approaching. The others are already at the beach, getting the party set up. There's only a few more things to bring down from the house -- the last box of donuts Mabel is currently packing up, for instance -- and she and Ruby will be bringing up the rear. All the letters Mabel wanted to write and the things she wanted to leave behind for people have been delivered. All that's left is to have a blast, and she will, but the feeling of "all packed up and ready to go" sits heavy on her in this moment.]
I know you guys are super busy with all your house stuff right now.
no subject
She had grown so attached to Mabel during the time she had been there. She reminded her so much of herself when she was younger, she had just wanted to protect and help her grow as best as she could. She couldn't help but wonder a little if that was how Blake had seen her when they first met and Beacon and her adventures back home. It was sort of funny how these things changed.
She gave a small smile and held the variety of balloons she was carrying in one hand so she could wrap the other around Mabel's shoulder.]
I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'm just glad you both are moving on together, you know?
[She gives a little bit of a shrug to the house comment.]
It's not the first time my house has burned down here. It probably wont be the last either. Ange seems to have a lot of that under control.
no subject
[Mabel is funny about things as always, but there's usually a genuineness in her that keeps these kinds of comments from being flippant, and that's not true now. It really can't be, when the loss of Dipper is involved. Being left behind by her brother is the very thing she was most terrified of right before Bill unlocked Weirdmageddon, and while they resolved the issue between them before they even left Gravity Falls, it just presents itself in a different way now.
Dipper had to live without her in Deerington for months before she showed up. Sure, it was validating to find that he'd missed his sister, needed her there as much as he did. But it also means that Mabel knows now that if he's taken away from her again he'll be hurting just as much as she is over it, and she loves him far too much to cake comfort in something like that.
The feeling of missed dread the notion elicits in her even now has her leaning against Ruby gratefully as they walk along. Ruby is great for that, being all cool and buff and all.]
I saw her post. If people are burning it down over and over there's no way you guys don't need guns. Or at least fire extinguisher cannons.
no subject
If it makes you feel any better. I can totally suggest we build one. Just incase you ever want to come down and visit.
[She felt Ford might need a project to keep his mind off of missing his family.]
Yeah. I can't believe how anti-fun she is about all of this. It is literally just for our protection. But I guess every party needs a pooper.
party announcement
You are right, although a year's a long time in this place. You might be very well back by your sixteenth nameday, for all we know.
[she could surface and return to the ocean several times before then! anyway, sansa does have a small present up her sleeve. she's not sure what you can get a fish with tentacles that might superficially resemble a squid, so she's settled on a pale bloodstone bracelet that mabel can at least wear during the party. she holds it out to mabel now. she brought another vile bloodstone ring for dipper, just to have something to give.]
Anyway, here. Happy fifteenth nameday. You might look for my sister in the ocean, it may be that you can teach each other vulgar words. She'll have silver scales, like I did. Most of them will.
[probably pretty rare in a cephalopod? anyway, she smiles ruefully.]
If it comes about that I'm on land and you aren't this day next year, I promise to throw an entire cake in the ocean for you.
[lazarus had seemed to enjoy donuts during his time in shoyo's bathtub at least as much as crab.]
no subject
Thanks, Sansa. It's beautiful, like everything else you make.
[Nameday...names are so important where she's from, it seems. Hearing this word for a birthday makes her glad she can call her Sansa openly now, and that everybody else will after Mabel is gone.]
If I find Arya, I promise the first thing I'll do is tell her you're here. We can trade cusses on the way back in for cake.
( announcement )
He tracks her down shortly after her announcement, a cup of coffee in hand to replace the one that Dipper just confiscated. ]
That was magnificent, Mabel. I'm sure Stanley would have been impressed.
Announcement
There was nothing left to do at this point.
"You said it!" He called out over rabble that Mabel had roused.
"But, seriously though. You're right and you should say it."
OTA!
[ To call Ford upset about the twins' impending departure would be a polite understatement. Outwardly he seemingly keep it together, but inside there's a despair matched only by that he felt when he realized Stanley had returned to the sea as well. Even inside he tries to push it aside. It's not like they're dying. They'll meet again someday, all four of them - but he doesn't know when someday is, and he's already tired of being away from his family. So the despair lingers.
He can't hide it from them, of course, not with the bond and not with how well they know him. He tries, though. Their last days are already going to be melancholy enough. He doesn't want to waste time being sad when it should be a chance to make more memories with them. Ford may not have Stan's innate talent when it comes to throwing parties, but he's going to do whatever he can to make this one a success.
That means that throughout the setup and the party itself he may seem to be in an oddly good mood. He's keeping busy and refusing to mope, and the combination does a good job to keep him from overly dwelling on what comes later. Still, there's moments here and there - when he's taking a break, when he's waiting for supplies - where the energy drains away and he ends up lost in thought, watching the gathered party goers and (of course) Dipper and Mabel without saying a word. These moments always pass quickly, but to anyone paying attention they're hard to miss. ]
( 1. setup )
[ Ford has not taken part in the fireworks heist, though he has provided some scrolls of teleport and invisibility to any volunteers. What he is taking part in is the fireworks setup, sorting and organizing and arranging them for their launch later tonight. He's by no means possessive over the task and anyone else interested in what he's doing is invited to lend a hand and lend their opinions. And anyone that agrees will find questions directed towards them, as well, such as: ]
Do you know if any of these are pink? I'd like to save them, for the finale.
( 2. minigolf )
[ The thing about handmade minigolf courses is that they come with a lot of quirks, quirks that there's not always time to iron out. Ford's keeping an eye on the course just in case, but he's sure it'll be fine!
And then one person hits their ball in such a way that it bounces off one of the obstacles and up into the air... and up, and up, and up, until it disappears into the night sky. Ford watches it go, too amused by the development to feel any concern. ]
I suppose that's a gift for Cynthia, now...
[ To the unlucky golfer, he asks: ]
Would you like to try again?
open
i. food
[sansa feels she would simply not go gently into that good night, but the pines are her friends, and it is their birthday. despite her sinking heart she makes chocolate cupcakes with strawberry buttercream, and as many mushroom-and-onion hand pies as she can manage. she deposits each of these at the food station, trying to separate the hand pies from the mountains of sweets lest someone mistake them for a dessert.
lady, now fully grown, in a silvery-blue collar that matches sansa's blue ombre-scaled dress, nudges her arm when she finishes. sansa sighs and pets her head.]
ii. obstacles???
[the sea crashes against the shore, sansa frowns at it and tries to think if anyone had ever told her how the docks at king's landing or the fingers manage to avoid flooding. she thinks obscurely there might be something called a flood wall, and that riverrun had ways of letting water in from the trident to create a moat, and then suddenly a chill rolls through her and there's a wall.
not a wall of ice a mile high and a mile thick, but certainly a wall of ice more than twice as tall as she is in both directions. it's beautiful, she thinks, in its way. it stretches across the length of the party area and towards the caves; she hears a low cheer emanating from the boardwalk. perhaps they think a coldblood mage has mastered a particularly tricky bit of magic. sansa offers an uneasy smile in their direction, and contemplates her wall. well, at least it wasn't another involuntary healing incident.]
I suppose it was bound to happen before the month was through.
[she's not cold in her dress of silvery blue linen, thickly embroidered with scales made of velvet in different shades of dusky blue and purple, interspersed with silver scale mail pieces and the shimmering iridescent glass beads mabel had given her some time ago. of course the skirts are draped to flounce in a gentle a-line over sturdy black leggings and boots that match her dark bloodstone buckled needle necklace. nevertheless she draws her arms together and wonders if anyone at sanguine station could be persuaded by omen to send down cloaks.]
party time
i. karaoke
[sansa has watched and cheered her friends on with shining eyes, all the while considering what song she might sing. some time after mabel sings, she has it and ascends the stage only a little nervously.]
This is for you, Mabel. And you too, Dipper, even if you're a boy.
[it's a heartfelt rendition of taylor swift's long live. she more or less hits every note, though her voice is a little lower than lady taylor's. at the final chorus, she raises her free arm to the crowd, as she's seen some of her favorites do in their concert videos, and slowly lets it drift towards mabel.]
And I was singing long live! All the mountains we moved! I had the time of my life, riding dragons with you!
Long, long live that look on your face! And bring on the pretenders! One day...you will be remembered.
[she does say 'riding dragons' every time. it's a common misconception. she drops her arm as the music fades out and smiles wistfully at mabel and dipper in the audience before taking her leave.]
ii. mingling
[sansa definitely has confetti in her hair, and she's definitely had a lot of sugar, although it takes an obscene amount of sugar to affect sansa stark. she comes back for multiple cupcakes and glasses of (potentially mabel???) juice.
she can't quite hide her melancholy when the party hits a lull, and that's when she can be found with lady, now nearly shoulder height to sansa, scratching gently under her jeweled and embroidered collar.
of course lady hides under the table for the fireworks. sansa watches them wistfully, not quite flinching at every bang, but keen observers might notice sudden shifts in her breathing.]
no subject
[The best way to deal with something happening that one isn't really happy about regardless of what step of acceptance you've reached, is to just bury yourself in the busy work, right? Right. That's what Dipper's been doing while they plan for the party.
He is, at least, not going to far as to hyper-fixate and ignore the things around him, he is just ...much more focused than if this wasn't some kind of urgent circumstance. His meticulous about the ingredients, he has a list, he has four lists of recipes that he has been spending days narrowing down, maybe charts and diagrams to decide what he actually wants to make.
And of course, he takes over the kitchen. He has not let winning the bake off go to his head exactly, but he has been validated in his abilities and he's taking it extremely seriously. In reality he just wants everything to be perfect. He wants to leave this as part of his legacy and above all, he doesn't want to think too hard about the good-byes that are going to come from it. ]
[Dipper and Mabel vs The Ocean]
[Obviously Dipper was going to make some kind of statement. This entire party was for them and it was oh, so reminiscent of their good-bye party from Gravity Falls. He wants to say something, because he doesn't know when he'll have another chance. Their time is ticking and the ocean is vast and uncertain.
He waits until Mabel gets the pent up 15 years of cursing out of her system before he decides to keep hold of the party's attention.]
Uhm. Hey. So ...while I have everyone here, I do have something to say.
When I first came to Deerington, I thought it was a hellhole, pure and simple. I couldn't wait to figure out a way to get out of there, and go back to the life I thought I'd left behind.
[Dipper pauses here for a moment.]
Deerington was still definitely a hellhole, but it gave me a lot of things that I never would have gotten back home. It gave me a chance to be with my family, it gave me friends I could never replace, and ...it gave me the chance to come here, to Trench.
This place and the people in it mean the world to me, and I can't really put into words the things I've been able to learn and do here. The bonds I've made. The people I've met.
We're not leaving because we want to but ...something I learned once, years ago. Just because we're not in the same place, able to see each other every day, doesn't mean those bonds aren't there, that you're not in their thoughts. Being an ocean away will make no difference in how important everyone is to me. I could cross worlds and that wouldn't change.
So ...we might be going into the unknown, but that doesn't change anything that's happened here. I hope ...you guys will enjoy our party and help us uphold a ...Pines family tradition of saying good-bye to summer.
[Around the party]
[Dipper can be found literally anywhere during the party. He's busy just checking in on people, making sure he says hi to everyone that shows up, and even giving out a few things to the people he bumps into.]
[If you have something you want to say something, better do it now, or forever hold your peace.]
Sometime in the evening...
Oscar had long prepared himself for the possibility of difficult good-byes in the months-- no, years now-- since he had left Remnant. Yang's departure right before the apocalyptic final collapse of Deerington was the start of many good-byes. Acceptance over the reality had come far quicker than he realized when he heard that the ocean was calling for Mabel and Dipper... and, not for the first time in recent months, he was left wondering if this was a result of his own experiences, or a result of becoming more like the fabled Wizard he was supposed to be.
For the moment, the answer didn't matter. It was a question he would ponder later on, in the coming weeks as the dark of winter moved in. Until then...
He wanted Dipper to have his full attention.
Catching him during a quiet moment between songs, Oscar approached Dipper with a shy smile. The both of them had gone through many changes in just a couple of years, but a few constants remained. Oscar was still a little taller, and Dipper's dorky grin still made his heart flutter.
"Hey, Dipper." Oscar said, by way of getting his attention--
-- and abruptly leaned in for a kiss.
Right there.
In public.
Baking Time
So of course he makes it a point to help with the preparations. Selfishly, it gives him something to do to take his mind off of things. And, more time to actually enjoy Dipper's company than he's liable to get at the party when everyone is mingling about. Most importantly, though, for all that he'll believe the Pines of all people can resist such an overpowering call long enough to enjoy a birthday party on the proper day...what if they can't? Break isn't about to wait until then, and run the risk of missing them.]
When you're out there, if you should cross paths with a nervous sort of squid with glasses, you ought to introduce yourself. It may well be my best friend, Mister Reim Lunettes.
[Currently, he is staring at Dipper's notes with deep amusement.]
I know that...he'd be delighted to make the acquaintance of someone who sorts out a menu by making diagrams.
no subject
Hey.
You let your sister look after you out there, okay?
[It's mostly meant as a joke at his expense. But then she gives him another little punch.]
And know that I'm going to miss the both of you while you're gone.
[And one more.]
And tell Stan I said "Hi." He'll know what it means.