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[Stan isn't really sure how to begin this message, or what say first. The beginning of the post catches him in a rare moment of being entirely unsure what to say. There's a German Shepard by his side who nudges him and whines a little, as if it knows he's sad. There's two cats curled up nearby, but both intently watching what's going on.]

Shh, don't make this harder!

[He's not a total monster though, so he scritches behind the dog's ears as he talks.]

So, uh. ...I've got a couple animals I need to re-home. This dog's Newt, and that cat over there's Archie. I think they're short for Newton and Archi...medes?

[He looks at the cat as if for confirmation, and the cat looks vaguely put out by the question and meows at him.]

...Anyway, um. They belonged to my brother Stanford, but...his room's all empty and they kinda wandered down the hall to me, and I can't take care of four animals. Heck, I can barely take care of myself half the time! I've still got my cat Freeloader here, and his owl's pretty good at takin' care of himself-- [There's a hoot off-screen.] --but the other two...they need someone else to look after 'em. The cat's got six toes on his paws, and the dog's good for, uh. [He's making an attempt to be discrete about his brother's PTSD business.] ...Emotional stuff, I guess.

[Stan sounds tired. He should have known this would happen sooner or later, but he wasn't ready for it at all. He'd gotten too comfortable with Ford being around. But, at least needing to give away his animals will let him spread the news that Ford's gone without talking about Ford being gone. He should be used to being alone, but it stings even more now that they had patched things up.

He takes a deep breath, and says the only thing that might betray how terrible he feels to anyone who knows him. He won't look at the screen, and makes none of his usual showman gestures.]

They're free to a good home, first come first serve.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

YEAH... SORRY KIDDO. ALL HIS STUFF WAS GONE WHEN I LOOKED. LAST TIME THAT HAPPENED HE WAS GONE FOR MONTHS.

[The last time it had felt almost expected in a weird way. They were still fighting and then one day he was gone, but with Ford still angry at him it felt more typical of their lives. With them getting along though, it stung twice as much. If Ford comes back, he probably won't remember Wonderland.

He'll probably still hate Stan. Again.]

Edited 2017-12-11 02:09 (UTC)

But he came back?

[But he came back.]

[Isn't that the important thing? He came back. He came back. He could still...couldn't he still...?]

[Or is that just wishing and hoping for a SOUL they can't SAVE?]

YEAH BUT HE DIDN'T REMEMBER NOTHIN' ABOUT WONDERLAND WHEN HE CAME BACK. AND I LOVE THE GUY, BUT HE CAN GET PRETTY PARANOID. IT TOOK WEEKS TO CONVINCE HIM HE'D BEEN HERE BEFORE!

[On one level, he gets it, but on the other hand it was difficult enough to get Ford on the same page as him the first time around. It didn't help that Stan's got a reputation for lying.]

But he came back.

[That's...that's the important thing. The important thing is that he came back.]

Can't you just show him everything we all made for him? I made him a card and a scarf and
Does he still

Did he still havei t

[The question is going to break Stan's heart in half, because he knows they won't like the answer.]

EVERYTHING WAS GONE EXCEPT THE ANIMALS. BUT THAT'S PROLLY MORE WONDERLAND THAN HIM, Y'KNOW? I'M SURE HE WOULD'VE KEPT IT IF HE COULD.

[Ford would have kept anything Frisk made him forever, Stan's certain of it.]

GUESS WE COULD TRY IT WITH STUFF HE'S GIVEN YOU THOUGH? IT'S A PLACE TO START.

[At least those things still exist.]

Edited 2017-12-11 06:11 (UTC)

[Right. Right. They should've - they knew that, ha ha, they didn't forget, they just - they - ]

Its ok

I can make more

I can make more for when he comes back

[They didn't think about it, because no one does until it happens and by then it's too late.

Stan doesn't have the heart to tell them the same thing's just gonna happen again and again and again if Ford keeps leaving, because he knows he'd be the same way. He probably will, if Ford ever comes back to Wonderland.

Besides, it's not like he'd be telling them something they don't already know.]

SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA. GOTTA BE READY IN CASE HE DOES, RIGHT?

yeah
Like a photo album

[It won't work like a photo album. It won't be enough to card through pictures of people, smiling plastic faces forever frozen in time, full of things and places that Ford won't remember, if he ever comes back.]

[When. When he comes back. Because he has to.]

[He has to.]

YEAH SOMETHIN LIKE THAT. I HEARD IT WORKED FOR ME BACK HOME!

[But because it worked at home, Stan knows with certainty it won't work in Wonderland. It's just something to say to make them feel a little better when everything seems hopeless.]

Mabel has photo albums in the gallery
I can keep them there
I can keep them all safe for when he comes back

[They know. They know. They know that he's not that he's not that he's not that he's not that he ]

Im sorry

DON'T BE. IT'S A GOOD IDEA, JUST IN CASE. WE CAN KEEP 'EM THERE.

[It's not going to work, but he doesn't have the heart to tell them the truth. There's no need to, because they both know the truth already. Sometimes lying is the kind thing to do.]

AND HEY, I KNOW IT AIN'T THE SAME BUT. UNTIL THEN YOU'VE GOT ME?

Who do you have?

[They're brothers. They're brothers. The most important people in each other's lives. Don't they do everything they do for each other? And...and things they shouldn't?]

[Who does he have?]

UH. MYSELF, I GUESS? PLUS THE KIDS.

[That isn't the same though, and they both know it. Dipper and Mabel are wonderful kids, but they're not the same as having his own twin around. He gets where they're going with it though, and he sighs before he replies.]

BEFORE WE PATCHED THINGS UP HERE I DIDN'T HAVE FORD FOR A LONG TIME EITHER. THIS STINKS, BUT IT'S NOTHIN' NEW. ...IF ANYTHIN IT'S ALMOST WEIRDER THAT I HAD HIM AROUND THIS LONG.

[He got by on his own before, and he'll have to do it again. Probably. Even if he doesn't really want to.]

That doesnt make it ok

[So he's alone, again. A whole without a half.]

[They've felt that before. They wouldn't wish it on anyone. They wouldn't wish it on people who might deserve it, and they definitely can't wish it on him now. He's putting on a brave face. He has to be.]

You're not alone

[He's spent so much of his life with that ache that it's deeply familiar - more so than feeling completely whole. There's just the sadness and disappointment that comes with it, and adjusting to that being his baseline again. It doesn't matter if it's okay, because it doesn't make it less true.

He's fine.

...He's fine.

......He's going to have to be fine.]

HEH. YEAH, GUESS I'VE GOT A BUNCH OF TEENAGERS WHO'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT, DON'T I?

[Frisk included, naturally. It's more than he had last time he lost Ford.]

Yeah.
You do.

[Is it still okay if they call him "Grunkle"? Ford offered that invitation the first time, and it feels...it doesn't feel right to impose. But he's offering. He's calling them a teenager, a bunch of teenagers, even if they still look like a kid. Still feel like a kid. Do kids always feel this tired?]

[Do they?]

Edited 2017-12-31 04:43 (UTC)

[Sometimes they do.]

I MEAN IT THOUGH. I KNOW Y'GOT A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE AND I'M NOT REALLY A GOOD FORD SUBSTITUTE BUT YOU'VE GOT ME TOO, OKAY?

[Just, you know. Need to make sure they still know that. Need to make sure they know they're included with the hoard of teenagers he looks out for.]

You're better than a Ford substitute
you're you

[They don't care how many other Stans and Fords are out there. None of them are him.]

[What a shame this is text, and Frisk can't see the big smile that gives him. It takes him a moment to compose himself, but he only sends a short message back -
but a sincere one.]

THANKS KIDDO.