I don't like walking around this old and empty house

[ghostharasser]

Who: The Pines Family + Friends.
What: A Semi-closed catchall for the month of September.
When: Throughout the month of September.
Where: The Bone Fortress + around town.

Content Warnings: PTSD, Hallucinations, Eye Gore, Referenced Insanity. More to be added as they become relevant.


Top-levels below

Comments

Luz flew into the cuckoo's nest, haha

[imaglyphwitch]

So while Dipper hadn't replied to her query, it had taken some talking down from Varian and Fern for her to stay put and wait until later to visit the Pine family. Luz, who had NOT had a good night's sleep, waited until daybreak and then promptly put on her little cowboy hat to go into bird form.

She flew over to where she'd been told Dipper was and waited a few hours before flying into the room, cawing at Dipper irritably before using her wing to knock the hat off...promptly falling onto her chin.

"Good to see you're OK, Dipper. What happened last night?"

[ghostharasser]

That was probably for the best, since he needed to recover first. Dipper looks up when a bird just straight up flies in. He first thinks it's Qrow, but then. That would be weird, right? For Qrow to just turn up like this? No, it's-

Oh, it's Luz. Dipper sits up, cycling through a number of facial expressions before he settles on baffled.

"Luz! I- wait. How do you know about last night?"

Did Oscar say something? Does Luz even know Oscar?

[imaglyphwitch]

"I heard-hold on," Luz took a moment to spit out some feathers, acting as if that were the most normal thing in the world (she was used to it). "I HEARD you. Not with my ears, but, like, in my head. I thought that was pretty weird until I remembered that we're both pale bloods. Most of our powers are all intuitive stuff, right?"

And yes she DOES know Oscar, and will be getting to THAT issue once the important stuff was taken care of.

"So why were you yelling in the first place?"

[ghostharasser]

Ah...

Dipper's ears burn a little red. When all of that happened he didn't realize him freaking out could get broadcast to other people. He wonders with growing dread if others heard him. That's probably what Oscar had heard, too, thinking back on it.

"Geez, Luz, I'm sorry." Because having someone screaming in your head couldn't have been fun. "It's ...kind of a long story. My, um-"

It still feels weird to say this.

"My powers went kind of out of control thanks to getting back some memories I'd lost when we washed up here."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Dipper, you don't have to apologize! It's not like you went and stubbed your toe and I came running! Obviously our weird powers work way more focused than that. I just need to know that you're alright and nothing's torturing you! If anything, I'm glad that this power exists like that, just in case!"

She imagined that couldn't be fun for Dipper, but in an extreme situation? Luz didn't mind getting startled like that if it meant she could do something about one of her friends in trouble.

"So you had some memories come back, and your powers went crazy? Sheesh. I'd hoped we all got our memories back intact. What did you remember?"

[ghostharasser]

It's true. If he'd been in real danger and his family wasn't as close, it would have been a great way to alert someone he was in trouble. It's still mortifying, though, since he did it without realizing.

"I'm fine, I promise," He tries to reassure her. It's not a lie either, not entirely. He definitely looks tired and like the night before had been rough, but he's not hurt or anything, and his family is close by.

"It was October," he answers. Luz was one of the few people that knew the extent of what had happened to him during his first month in Deerington. Probably, if she'd picked up on it, it makes sense now why he hadn't been wearing his eyepatch all this time. Without the trauma it turns out he had no reason to be self-conscious of his injury. "It was ...really crazy. I think I soaked up all the emotion in the room where all the bad stuff happened and then its like it burst out of me."

[imaglyphwitch]

She could only imagine that Dipper didn't like finding out about this new power this way: he hadn't been in any danger, and it had basically made people worried about him, his family likely right at the top of that list.

"I can see that," Luz said, "but being physically fine and mentally and emotionally fine are all different things. That's the things I'm really asking about."

Ah. October. That explained things.

"So it was like you were experiencing a PSTD moment. No wonder your scream was so raw. Man. I'm sorry Dipper. That couldn't have been a good thing to have to deal with. At least you were at home, where people could help you though."

[ghostharasser]

He's not super happy about it, even if it will probably save his life one day.

When Luz just straight up calls it PTSD, Dipper opens his mouth to brush it aside, but he stops and actually gives it some thought. Wait.

Wait, is that what it is? Somehow it hadn't occurred to him that the crazy stuff he's lived through might actually be something like that. PTSD is what you hear war veterans have, so thinking about it in the context of his own experiences had seemed outrageous.

But, no. He straight up had several flashbacks last night alone. He had one while talking to Oscar and it had rippled the reality around them.

He sucks in a breath.

"Holy crap, Luz. Do I have PTSD?"

[imaglyphwitch]

"Well I'm no expert," Luz began, but wondered if that were actually the truth. Not too long ago, she'd remembered the Mountain men and had a literal panic attack. It wasn't some exaggeration or hyperbole: she felt like she had that day, bound and helpless, scared her next breath would be her last, that now was when they'd start carving her in.

And that pretty much answered that.

"...But I'd say signs points to yes. There's still a lot about our powers that we have to figure out, but its totally within the realm of possibility that you were back at that place and time where it happened. That yell didn't sound like you were just mildly in inconvenienced. You were reliving the whole thing, weren't you, in that moment?"

[ghostharasser]

Well, this sure puts a new perspective on things. Dipper runs his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah. I definitely was. I think my powers reacted to that, and made everything go crazy as a result."

He perches his chin in his hands and looks at her.

"And then while I was asleep, Oscar and I met up in my dream? It was pretty weird."

[imaglyphwitch]

"Exactly, and our powers all seem to be mental things, it looks like, so it probably got enhanced like crazy. It's always a good idea to trust your instincts. Now that you now that though, maybe it might be a good idea to talk to your family a little about it, or keep a journal about ONLY those times when you need to vent. Trust me, it helps."

Luz knew that from personal experience.

"Oh, no way! That's super cool...and hopefully stayed PG?"

Now Luz is just teasing here. And probably a little jealous, but no one has to know that.