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[mothmansplaining]

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"Stanford Pines. Leave a message."

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[tetractys]

WELL, IT'S KINDA LIKE LEARNING CHESS. IF YOU SEE WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING, YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHAT THEY WANT, AND IF YOU KNOW WHAT THEY WANT, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'LL DO. YOU JUST HAVE TO GET ONE THING TO CLICK!

[mothmansplaining]

You make it sound so simple.

[tetractys]

THEN THAT'S MY MISTAKE! IT'S COMPLICATED - REAL COMPLICATED. THE BETTER YOU KNOW A PERSON THE BETTER YOU GET AT IT, BUT SOMETIMES BEING SOCIAL MEANS TRYING TO READ SOMEONE YOU JUST MET, AND THOSE ARE PRACTICALLY TWO DIFFERENT BALLPARKS.

BUT, HEY, MULTIDIMENSIONAL PARADIGM THEORY IS COMPLICATED, TOO.

[And Ford put his mind to that and picked it up!]

[mothmansplaining]

[nice bill?? encouraging bill?? reassuring bill??? it isn't that Bill has never been nice to Ford before. It's just never been this frequent. Ford cracks a smile.]

I suppose I could try thinking about it like that. See what I can figure out.

[tetractys]

THERE'S NOT A LOT IN MY LIFE THAT I EARNED WITHOUT TAKING IT FROM SOMEONE ELSE FIRST! BUT THIS ONE'S ALL ME. THIS I CAN DO!

[mothmansplaining]

Thank you.

[He shifts in the arm nest, finding a hand to squeeze affectionately.]

[tetractys]

I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPIER WITH YOURSELF. [Bill murmurs, squeezing Ford's hand back.] YOU'RE A GREAT GUY.

[mothmansplaining]

What? I'm not unhappy with myself. Where'd you get that idea?

I just happen to know all of the things I'm not good at!

[tetractys]

FOOORD.

[come on dont do the thing youre doing]

[mothmansplaining]

I'm fine! Really!

[He is totally not but Ford's definition of "fine" is "not immediately falling apart and able to continue on," so it's not a lie.]

I have a healthy estimation of my own abilities.

[tetractys]

[do not manage]

AAAGH.

[DO NOT MANAGE]

OKAY. OKAY. I'M TRUSTING YOU, THAT YOU'RE FINE.

[mothmansplaining]

[Is he....not okay? Bill seems very sure that Ford is not okay. But if he weren't okay, he'd have noticed, right? But Bill knows him. Bill's Ford-knowledge is better than Ford's self-knowledge. Maybe....Ford should think about this? That he is unhappy with who he is?

....who he is is disconnected from what is acceptable normal behavior, which is just a fact that makes life more difficult, not something to like or dislike. He's fine.]

Okay.

....[Is he missing something?]

....I'm not about to become incapacitated because of something I've missed, am I?

[tetractys]

NAH. ... UNLESS WE BOTH MISSED IT!

[mothmansplaining]

....then I'll be fine.

[what's bill know that ford doesnt know? this is going to nag at him, but he doesn't want to go into it now.]

Is there anything else I've missed? Not about my mental state. I mean in general! With you!

[tetractys]

"WELL, I WAS IN THE POOL FOR AWHILE. HAD TO THINK ABOUT SOME STUFF. I THINK I'M GOING TO TRY TO BRING BACK THE SECOND DIMENSION. AND LUKE IS DEPRESSED ABOUT SOMETHING KYLO TOLD HIM ABOUT HIS FUTURE, BUT THAT'S BEEN ON LOW BOIL FOR A LONG TIME I THINK?

WHAT ABOUT YOU."

[mothmansplaining]

[Oh dear. Well, the bit about Luke is concerning for sure, and he can't help wondering how long Bill was in the pool, but one of those things gets most of his attention.]

You're really bringing back the world you came from?

[Disregard the what-about-you, Ford can get back to talking about himself whenever! This is big.]

[tetractys]

[that IS a legit followup, to be fair]

YEAH. EVEN IF IT WAS NEVER REAL, I REMEMBER IT AND LUKE REMEMBERS IT.

[Wait, does he need to clarify that?]

FROM THE FLOOD WHERE HE WAS A TRIANGLE.

[mothmansplaining]

Yes, I remember that one. We spoke, briefly.

He mentioned that his world was terrible.

[tetractys]

IT WAS!

[mothmansplaining]

...what made you decide to bring it back?

[Not that he's arguing, he's just really surprised.]

[tetractys]

NOT EVERYBODY WAS AWFUL. WHEN LUKE LIVED THERE, HE JOINED A REBELLION. YOU KNOW, THE WAY HE DOES. BUT I CAN'T EASILY PICK OUT WHO DESERVED TO LIVE OR DIE! AND I'M OUT ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL I WANTED.

[mothmansplaining]

[Uh huh yup like Luke does.]

....

....I'd like to hear what happened to you, if you ever want to tell me. Oh, I know a few things here and there, probably more than anyone else without a warden file! But I never got the full story.

[tetractys]

OH.

[Yeah, Bill has never really talked about it.]

LUKE DOESN'T KNOW ALL OF IT EITHER.

[Bill's suddenly gone quieter, and he shifts all his arms.]

YEAH. OKAY.

I DON'T WANT YOU TO WRITE IT ANYWHERE, THOUGH. I'VE GONE BACK ON THE DEATH THING, BUT REMEMBERING IT... SHOULD LIVE ON IN AS FEW PLACES AS POSSIBLE.

[mothmansplaining]

I won't. I promise.

[He's got Ford's full attention. It couldn't be more different from the last time Bill talked to him about the second dimension, when Ford wasn't interested in hearing it, when he was trying to work out his next move before it was too late, when the last thing he was ever going to to was shake Bill's hand.

Ford wants to know.]

[tetractys]

[Bill actually unwinds a little here. Puts some distance between them, so he can pace in mid-air. He has both hands behind his back, held at the elbows, which is a gesture he's got no idea he's picked up from Ford but super has.]

THE FIRST THING YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT LIVING THERE IS THAT NOBODY IN THE SECOND DIMENSION'S EVER SEEN THE SKY! THERE'D HAVE TO BE SERIOUS ANATOMY CHANGES FOR THOSE GUYS TO BE CAPABLE OF LOOKING 'UP', AND THEN YOU'D HAVE TO GIVE THEM A CONCEPT OF 'UP'! AND THEN THERE'D NEED TO BE SOMETHING UP THERE TO SEE! THERE ISN'T, IT DOESN'T EXIST! I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS WHY THEY'RE ALL SO BORING, BUT IT MIGHT BE! THEY THINK WHAT'S IN FRONT OF THEM IS IT! IT'S EVERYTHING! THEY'RE A BUNCH OF NOTHING-PEOPLE WITH NO IMAGINATION IN THEIR HEADS -

[His gesutures have been getting more and more animated, and the frustration in his expression peaks here before he realizes he's getting derailed.]

UUUUGH. LET ME START OVER.