[What he wants to say is written all over his face. "Yeah, well, the stupid flood doesn't know what it's talking about." But at the last moment, he hesitates. He's still not really sure what exactly causes bees, and three is enough for the moment.
So he frowns, and takes the water bottle, or the what-used-to-be-water bottle.]
People say subjective junk all the time. That's not really lying.
[And it's not, so nothing happens, but he immediately takes a swig to gargle - as though if that opinion was going to cause a bee, he was going to make sure it was good and dead. As soon as he does he makes a face, both because it's gross and it stings a bit on both the new wound and the sting from this morning.]
[Ford taps his chin, thinking, apparently unaffected by Stan's gross mouth things that are happening.]
Then maybe the flood disagrees with your subjective assessment. Maybe you thought it wasn't that bad, but it actually is. At least as far as whoever's judging objective truth here is concerned.
[Stan makes even more of a face and shakes his head, since he can't exactly talk with this stuff in his mouth. He wants to argue SO BAD.
After a good thirty seconds (is that even long enough? He has no idea) he spits it out in the bug bucket.]
That's dumb! Isn't this stupid thing supposed to just be about lying?! If I don't think it hurts that bad, ain't that my truth? What, does the flood think I'm just ly--
[Oh, he doesn't like that thought. He can feel his foot hovering over the metaphorical landmine that brings up, but that's probably it, isn't it? Because it's a flood and it's gonna be whatever the worst thing is, and it's the worst thing he's thought of so far.
He takes the only way he can think of out of finishing that sentence. He doesn't elaborate or explain - he just decides he wasn't done gargling and takes another swig from the water bottle.]
[And, of course, when Stan spits out the rinse this time there's a very wet and very upset cricket at the bottom of the bucket, because that was a very deliberate attempt to hide whatever realization he had.]
Ugh, that stuff's gross. Whoever disagrees can go fuck himself with a rake. I could cough up bees over anything! I can't even yell about how wrong he is or I'll just get more bugs!
[He waits, as though he sort of expected bugs for that, but technically it's all true. If he yells about how wrong the Authority is, that's another lie he'd be telling himself, and he would definitely get another bee.]
Come to think of it, maybe now's not the best time to talk about long-term plans. What do you think? Should we table it until there's a lower risk of stinging insects?
Pfft. And give the Authority what they want? No way! I'm gonna be at risk of bugs no matter what I do, unless I try to take a vow of silence or something.
[And they both know that's just not going to happen; they don't need bugs to confirm or deny that one.]
[He's not sure the Authority wants them to hold off on talking about their plans. Ford suspects the Authority wants them to talk about lots and lots of important things and gleefully call "bullshit" by inflicting bugs on them.
But Ford wants to talk about this.]
Once I finish the ship, and we get the kids out of Gravity Falls...what're we going to do then?
You've got an inmate, Stan. And I....I've got Bill. I want to be with the kids, but it doesn't feel right to just leave him here while he's still an inmate.
[they've been through a lot together. Ford doesn't see Bill as an unstoppable force anymore, someone who the Barge is barely containing; to him, Bill is a person, a person very afraid of not existing anymore, whose continued existence is in other people's hands.]
[Stan's quiet for a long moment. Then, he seems to realize it's been just a beat too long.]
Sorry, I heard you. I'm just-- [He frowns, trying to think of the most truthful way to say it.] --you know, the bugs. I'm trying not to make the stupid bugs happen. Ugh, trying this hard makes everything so dramatic!
[Just because they're probably going to happen doesn't mean he wants them to, if they can be avoided.]
I think...the kids will be alright once we get them settled wherever. I wanna be with them too, but we weren't with them at home anymore. They were in school and we were on the adventure of a lifetime. And with that ship we can always go back.
[But that's only a piece of it, and it raises the real concern - what are they going to do after? He has thoughts about all of that, about Rhys and Bill - but turns it on Ford.]
I don't want to be here, Stanley. I don't like working here, knowing I'm playing the game the Admiral and Authority want me to.
What I want to do is get the kids out of Gravity Falls as soon as possible. I need to know they're safe, and free. Then....
...when you go home, from the Barge, it's possible to return to the same moment you left. I want to make sure that if you or I disappear, we go to Greendale, back into the kids' timeline. And then, I want to come back, for Bill. I want to be here for him, until he graduates -- or disappears.
Pretty much anything I say about Bill right now, I'm gonna regret. It's...complicated with him.
[Whatever "complicated" means, it doesn't seem to hold as much animosity as it could, at least for Stan. Complicated is the best way he can put it without coughing up bugs.]
Rhys got screwed over by this place. The guy should've gone home when his inmate graduated, but he stuck around a little too long and basically got trapped here. [That one gets a daddy long legs, since he's making some big assumptions, but he just spits it out and moves on.] But, I wouldn't pick him over you guys. If you wanted to leave tomorrow, hell if you wanted to leave right now, I'd drop everything and go.
[No bugs. Wherever they go, they go together. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, Stan would let everything go in a heartbeat for Ford. He always would.]
So...sounds like we stick around for Bill, and I try and get Rhys graduated before he does. And then we get the hell outta here.
[Ford knows. About that first part. He's not expecting it to be simple. Heck, complicated is about the best he can expect -- it's certainly better than simple because it's just hate.
He looks at Stan with frank adoration when Stan says he'd drop everything for him and the kids. It feels -- it feels really good to have that kind of support.]
I feel the same. But just because family comes first doesn't mean other people aren't important.
If Bill graduates first, and you decide you want to stick around for Rhys -- I'll stay.
[No bugs. What matters to Stan is important to Ford, too. Stan sacrificed so much for him, and compared to that? Ford can give some of his time back.]
[Ford has had years to process things, but Stan? He's had a few months, and most of it's been on the barge. Most of his life has been spent alone, without that kind of support, so it's still a weirdly pleasant surprise when it's offered so unconditionally.]
Wha-- Really? But this place is terrible!
[Not that he thinks Ford would ever leave him here, but the fact that he would be willing to stay while Stan finished getting Rhys to graduate kind of stuns him. He still can't help wondering why the hell Ford would want to do that for him, even after they'd made up.
...But then he remembers where they are and what's going on, and he laughs to cut some of his own tension away. He already has confirmation Ford's telling the truth.]
Heh. Guess that's a stupid question right now, huh? Unless you're hiding something in there better than I was.
[Stan grins and gestures to his mouth, clearly kidding around now.]
[Stan wouldn't expect anything less from Mabel, and frankly if she didn't throw them a party he'd do it himself.
He laughs and shoves Ford when he opens his mouth up, like they're little kids again, and the relief just rolls off of him.]
I might not even need it, y'know! Maybe I'll pull some sorta miracle and get him graduated before Bill! But, uh.
[He hesitates. Not so much because he's trying not to lie, but because the truth is embarrassing and he's not sure this flood will let him downplay it as much as he wants.]
[Fuck the Authority and what they think. He and Stan are going to make it work. SINCERE SIBLING HUG.]
Hah. I'm way ahead of this flood. I got out of the habit of lying -- except by omission, about a few subjects that're nobody's business -- ages ago. One too many truth-revealing floods for comfort.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 02:13 am (UTC)[What he wants to say is written all over his face. "Yeah, well, the stupid flood doesn't know what it's talking about." But at the last moment, he hesitates. He's still not really sure what exactly causes bees, and three is enough for the moment.
So he frowns, and takes the water bottle, or the what-used-to-be-water bottle.]
People say subjective junk all the time. That's not really lying.
[And it's not, so nothing happens, but he immediately takes a swig to gargle - as though if that opinion was going to cause a bee, he was going to make sure it was good and dead. As soon as he does he makes a face, both because it's gross and it stings a bit on both the new wound and the sting from this morning.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 02:17 am (UTC)Then maybe the flood disagrees with your subjective assessment. Maybe you thought it wasn't that bad, but it actually is. At least as far as whoever's judging objective truth here is concerned.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 02:30 am (UTC)After a good thirty seconds (is that even long enough? He has no idea) he spits it out in the bug bucket.]
That's dumb! Isn't this stupid thing supposed to just be about lying?! If I don't think it hurts that bad, ain't that my truth? What, does the flood think I'm just ly--
[Oh, he doesn't like that thought. He can feel his foot hovering over the metaphorical landmine that brings up, but that's probably it, isn't it? Because it's a flood and it's gonna be whatever the worst thing is, and it's the worst thing he's thought of so far.
He takes the only way he can think of out of finishing that sentence. He doesn't elaborate or explain - he just decides he wasn't done gargling and takes another swig from the water bottle.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 02:39 am (UTC)Did he sincerely think it could be pretty much anything, but the Authority -- who Ford's sure is the one passing judgment on the bees -- didn't?]
I suspect bees show up when you say something you think is true, but the Authority doesn't.
I suggest that, for the rest of the week, you avoid any more "I'm fine"s. Clearly, someone up there disagrees.
[Eyeroll. He knows you're watching.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 02:54 am (UTC)Ugh, that stuff's gross. Whoever disagrees can go fuck himself with a rake. I could cough up bees over anything! I can't even yell about how wrong he is or I'll just get more bugs!
[He waits, as though he sort of expected bugs for that, but technically it's all true. If he yells about how wrong the Authority is, that's another lie he'd be telling himself, and he would definitely get another bee.]
HA! TAKE THAT!
[Because whoever it is is definitely watching.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 04:53 pm (UTC)Come to think of it, maybe now's not the best time to talk about long-term plans. What do you think? Should we table it until there's a lower risk of stinging insects?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 05:10 pm (UTC)[And they both know that's just not going to happen; they don't need bugs to confirm or deny that one.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-05 05:55 pm (UTC)[He's not sure the Authority wants them to hold off on talking about their plans. Ford suspects the Authority wants them to talk about lots and lots of important things and gleefully call "bullshit" by inflicting bugs on them.
But Ford wants to talk about this.]
Once I finish the ship, and we get the kids out of Gravity Falls...what're we going to do then?
You've got an inmate, Stan. And I....I've got Bill. I want to be with the kids, but it doesn't feel right to just leave him here while he's still an inmate.
[they've been through a lot together. Ford doesn't see Bill as an unstoppable force anymore, someone who the Barge is barely containing; to him, Bill is a person, a person very afraid of not existing anymore, whose continued existence is in other people's hands.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-08 03:29 am (UTC)Sorry, I heard you. I'm just-- [He frowns, trying to think of the most truthful way to say it.] --you know, the bugs. I'm trying not to make the stupid bugs happen. Ugh, trying this hard makes everything so dramatic!
[Just because they're probably going to happen doesn't mean he wants them to, if they can be avoided.]
I think...the kids will be alright once we get them settled wherever. I wanna be with them too, but we weren't with them at home anymore. They were in school and we were on the adventure of a lifetime. And with that ship we can always go back.
[But that's only a piece of it, and it raises the real concern - what are they going to do after? He has thoughts about all of that, about Rhys and Bill - but turns it on Ford.]
...What do you want to do?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-08 01:21 pm (UTC)I don't want to be here, Stanley. I don't like working here, knowing I'm playing the game the Admiral and Authority want me to.
What I want to do is get the kids out of Gravity Falls as soon as possible. I need to know they're safe, and free. Then....
...when you go home, from the Barge, it's possible to return to the same moment you left. I want to make sure that if you or I disappear, we go to Greendale, back into the kids' timeline. And then, I want to come back, for Bill. I want to be here for him, until he graduates -- or disappears.
And then I want to get the hell out of here.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-08 05:19 pm (UTC)Pretty much anything I say about Bill right now, I'm gonna regret. It's...complicated with him.
[Whatever "complicated" means, it doesn't seem to hold as much animosity as it could, at least for Stan. Complicated is the best way he can put it without coughing up bugs.]
Rhys got screwed over by this place. The guy should've gone home when his inmate graduated, but he stuck around a little too long and basically got trapped here. [That one gets a daddy long legs, since he's making some big assumptions, but he just spits it out and moves on.] But, I wouldn't pick him over you guys. If you wanted to leave tomorrow, hell if you wanted to leave right now, I'd drop everything and go.
[No bugs. Wherever they go, they go together. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, Stan would let everything go in a heartbeat for Ford. He always would.]
So...sounds like we stick around for Bill, and I try and get Rhys graduated before he does. And then we get the hell outta here.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-08 10:49 pm (UTC)He looks at Stan with frank adoration when Stan says he'd drop everything for him and the kids. It feels -- it feels really good to have that kind of support.]
I feel the same. But just because family comes first doesn't mean other people aren't important.
If Bill graduates first, and you decide you want to stick around for Rhys -- I'll stay.
[No bugs. What matters to Stan is important to Ford, too. Stan sacrificed so much for him, and compared to that? Ford can give some of his time back.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-09 04:06 am (UTC)Wha-- Really? But this place is terrible!
[Not that he thinks Ford would ever leave him here, but the fact that he would be willing to stay while Stan finished getting Rhys to graduate kind of stuns him. He still can't help wondering why the hell Ford would want to do that for him, even after they'd made up.
...But then he remembers where they are and what's going on, and he laughs to cut some of his own tension away. He already has confirmation Ford's telling the truth.]
Heh. Guess that's a stupid question right now, huh? Unless you're hiding something in there better than I was.
[Stan grins and gestures to his mouth, clearly kidding around now.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-09 03:01 pm (UTC)Aaaah.
[no bugs!]
Ha ha.
As long as I know I'll go where the kids are if I disappear, I'll stay as long as you need.
After all, it's Barge time. It doesn't count! And after that, there's the thirty more years Bill gave us. We've got plenty of time.
[It looks like they're gonna celebrate a hundredth birthday together. Mabel, most likely, will outdo herself.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-13 02:00 am (UTC)He laughs and shoves Ford when he opens his mouth up, like they're little kids again, and the relief just rolls off of him.]
I might not even need it, y'know! Maybe I'll pull some sorta miracle and get him graduated before Bill! But, uh.
[He hesitates. Not so much because he's trying not to lie, but because the truth is embarrassing and he's not sure this flood will let him downplay it as much as he wants.]
...Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-13 03:11 am (UTC)[....oops, oh heck, there's something in his throat. Ford crushes it in his teeth, spits it out, and coughs uncomfortably.]
--at least, as long as we have any say in the matter.
[A pause. There. No bugs.]
Sheesh. Can't I express what I want to happen without being reminded of the parts of my life I can't control?!
[Fuck you, Authority.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-13 03:45 am (UTC)[But hey, at least he's in good company.]
This place can shove it with its stupid bugs though. Wherever we go, we go together!
[He's fully expecting that cricket, and spits it out easily when it happens. Fuck you, Authority.]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-13 03:54 am (UTC)Hah. I'm way ahead of this flood. I got out of the habit of lying -- except by omission, about a few subjects that're nobody's business -- ages ago. One too many truth-revealing floods for comfort.