This is fine. It's fine. We're fine.

[sharpasanarrow]

[Well that was.

Something.

Underneath everyone’s door they’ll find a slip of paper, in shaky calligraphy, that reads:

INVITATION

Meet in the Dining Room.

Do not bring alcohol of any sort.

Upon arrival into the Dining Room it’s clear that this is very much...not a party.

The center of the room is cleared of all tables, and instead has all the chairs arranged in a circle, facing inwards. On the tables pushed to the side are jugs of water, cups, plates of saltines, and several hastily-made pamplets that read on the front ”How to cope with Child homicide” that contains an advisory list:

1. Try not to think about it.
2. Do not get hysterical.
3. Crying is permitted, but keep it within a reasonable volume. (For the consideration of fellow mourners)
4. Maintain civility
5. Do not plunder the belongings of the deceased.
6. No drinking or gambling your sorrows away. Set an example.

Standing in front of one of the chairs already is Mr.Arrow. He clears his throat as people start to slowly come in.]

I gathered you all here because I believed it would be conductive to group morale if we all worked through our feelings regarding recent events. Talk about your feelings with one another, but not with me.

[He steps back a little, out of the circle of chairs, in what seems to be an invitation for people to sit down and discuss with one another.]

Comments

[sneezelikeakitten]

[L A N G U A G E]

Fiddleford's... it's weird, but he's not the McGucket I knew back in Gravity Falls. It's younger Fiddleford.

[stanbyme]

[he's sorry it's been a- it's been a Day, Dipper, he just had to watch a little girl your sister's age get mulched.]

Younger? What do you mean, younger?

[Did he invent some kind of fountain of youth moonshine or something in the gas tank of the dump...]

[sneezelikeakitten]

[Preston's execution wasn't pretty, either.]

Like before he went crazy younger. No beard, no bandage, no hat, and he's wearing all his clothes. Pretty sure he still plays the banjo.

[stanbyme]

Well, four outta five ain't bad.

If you trust 'im, you stick close to him, alright kid?

[God his hands are shaking with how bad he wants to just reach out and hug his nephew. It's killing him that he can't, that Dipper isn't safe and that there's nothing he can do to keep him safe.]

[sneezelikeakitten]

Stan... I don't know if I can fully trust anyone down here, except a few people.

[Namely people like Reyna, Belle, some others, and maybe Wander, he seems nice.]

I mean, I'm stuck here with Preston Northwest. He killed a little girl!

[stanbyme]

He's rich, Dipper, are you really surprised? He's a sleazy, no-good, caviar-slurping nancy who's never done a day of real work in his life.

Stay away from him for sure. Unless you're getting close enough to sock him one, in which case go for the kneecaps.

[sneezelikeakitten]

I'm not going anywhere near him, and I made sure at his trial that everyone knew all the bad things he did.

[Mostly things about Pacifica.] I don't think anyone here trusts him.

distantly, from hell

[terribibble]

You can trust if I still had my banjo I'd have walloped him good the second he showed up.

[there's 500 tvs down here your conversations are not entirely private my dudes]

[sneezelikeakitten]

[Then maybe they just need to find Fidd's a banjo.

OLD MAN FIGHT]

[stanbyme]

Atta boy, kid.

[His expression softens. The grief is there and harder to hide.]

Listen, I'm... [He pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath.] I'm... I'm sorry I didn't know that you were in trouble sooner.

[I'm sorry I couldn't have saved you.]

I'm proud of you, Dipper.

[I love you.]

[sneezelikeakitten]

[Mmmmmmmmmmm Stan is depressed and that's making Dipper feel even worse, because it kind of is his own fault he died.]

It's okay. It's not like I had any way of telling you guys. I was trapped in a hotel that looked like it was stuck in the 70's in a bad way.

[!!!!!!!!!!]

Don't get all mushy on me now, old man.

[Love you too.]

[stanbyme]

[That gets kind of a weak laugh out of him.]

Hey now, don't knock the seventies. I had to live through 'em.

I'll show you mushy, you little punk. Give yourself a noogie and pretend it's from me.

[sneezelikeakitten]

Even you wouldn't want to stay in this hotel. The Mystery Shack looked like a maid cleaned it compared to that place. Plus, the room I was in was all purple and...... [Oh no] The Journal! I had the third journal, and there was notes about a haunted mansion in them! It looked like Ford's writing.

[Aw shucks]

I can try, but I don't have your freakish arm strength.

[stanbyme]

[At the mention of the journal, Stan squeezes his eyes shut and pinches his nose again.]

...Yeah, Ford was... He's okay, kid, he made it out.

[Since technically this happens after his thread with Ford]

[sneezelikeakitten]

[That's such a relief...]

Good... he wasn't down here, but that doesn't mean anything. The hat I've got on belonged to a guy that had been down here, but he was in the hotel with us.

[Sorry Tadashi, but until Doppler get his hat back, you won't get yours.]

[stanbyme]

Well, he's sure not here with us. So at least one of us is safe somewhere.

[sneezelikeakitten]

How do you think he got out? You might get out that way, too.

[stanbyme]

I dunno, but... I'll figure something out.

I don't care what happened when you were stuck here, you look plenty alive to me. So don't give up, okay, kid? Stan Pines don't let go of his family easy.