entranceway | Entry #2

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Entry #2

[This gets posted at around 4 A.M. and it's a video feed, which, if anyone's been contacted by Alex recently, is a little unusual. It's a clear visual on the inside of Alex's room - scandalous - which isn't terribly different from your typical college dorm room, with one notable exception.

It is liberally covered in weird, hastily-scribbled, ink-and-charcoal drawings. The long shot of one of the walls might give people enough time to read the most visible ones:

SEES ME

~~LEAVE ME ALONE~~

OPERATOR

Accompanied by several rough illustrations of pine trees and frequently punctuated with an odd symbol: a circle with an X slashed through it.

Ⓧ

Distortion abruptly ripples across the screen, and the angle changes. Now the network will be treated to a clear shot of the floor of Alex's room, which is similarly carpeted in page after scrawled page of cryptic warnings and oblique messages, along with what looks to be a laundry list of crossed-out names - names like BRIAN and SARAH, JAY and TIM and SETH, any of which might be visible to the eagle-eyed.

With a flutter of static and an unpleasant, high-pitched screeching sound, the picture shifts one last time. Now someone's hands are in view, streaked with ink as they carve out yet another circle-and-x symbol into another sheet of paper with single-minded resolve. Then the feed buzzes, frames flickering, and switches off.]

((ooc: Alex won't respond until next morning since he's not doing any of this consciously - he's currently asleep. Feel free to respond with an action post, though you might have to wake him up first.))

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[You wanna play that game Alex can play that game. He will do it. Watch him.]

Okay, well obviously that was before that...happened. What, you think I was just born like that or something?

I think you weren't drawing that symbol in your sleep because you thought people would stand on it.

Wow, impressive deductive skills. Truly.

[He's earned the right to be scathing on the grounds that this is his room.]

I was sleeping, du - Dip. ["Dumbass." He was about to say "dumbass". But this kid is like. What, 13?] You think logic has anything to do with it?

So do you often write cryptic warnings and strange symbols while you sleep? Cause you know we have a resident therapist, right? If this really is random [And he definitely does not believe it is] then you should probably go talk to her.

Sure, sure.

[Wow, this is the second time he's gotten that exact recommendation. Alex folds his arms, scowling at the mini-Jay he's had the misfortune of intriguing.]

You can't tell me you haven't dealt with weirder stuff. C'mon, man. Like you've never written stranger things in your sleep.

When I write strange stuff, I'm awake. [And if there were exceptions, he'd know exactly what it was.

He also probably wouldn't want to tell anyone or talk about it. But "tact" and "minding your own business" are not terms Dipper is familiar with.]

...so, what, it's possession or something?

Sleepwalking, dude. Maybe you've heard of it. People've done weirder things.

[Like, technically that's not a lie? So?]

I knew a guy who loosened all the bolts in his house's toilets in his sleep. Why don't you go ask him if he's in an alien cult, or whatever.

Is he here? Also, I never said alien cult. Is it an alien cult?

Your video thing worked while you were sleepwalking. Why's that?

Barely. And I don't know, man. You tell me. It works better if I'm not standing right the hell in front of it.

[It's a proximity thing, no doubt, which really kinda stings. So much for movie-making. Ugh.]

And no. I'm the only person I know here from my...world, place, whatever you wanna call it.

Sorry, that must be rough. [Dipper is so glad he has his family here. But the sympathy isn't enough to get him to stop being curious.]

Of course, I might've been able to tell you if you didn't burn the best clue we had.

Not really.

[One has to be friendly with the people he knows to miss them. There's really only one person he misses, and, well, maybe it's better that he's out of her life. She could do better without him. Without it.]

"We," huh? This is a joint investigation now?

[His hand slips into his pocket, fingers closing over the slip of a lighter nestled there.] A man's entitled to decide what he does with his stuff and his space.

Better be, since you're clearly not going to get anywhere on your own.

[Unless there's stuff Alex isn't telling him, which seems pretty likely.]

[Oh. Oh, it's likely. It's more than likely.]

Maybe, but here's the kicker - I just don't care.

[That's a big fat lie, of course. But Alex knows better than to poke at the things that'll get him killed. Mostly.]

Really. You're writing creepy messages and symbols on your walls and sleep-filming it and you don't care.

[That sounds fake but okay.]

We're in Wonderland, dude. Weird shi - um, stuff happens.

[He makes a wavy ehh sort of hand gesture.]

Plus, you know, it's just common sense. When has poking into things that don't want to be poked at ever gone well, hm?

[Dipper glances away, rubbing his arm awkwardly. It hasn't gone well for him lately, that's for sure. His poking had gotten him and his family dead. But he sure doesn't want to talk about that.]

Look, it's okay if you swear. Clearly you want to, and it's not like I haven't heard it before.

[It's still weird for him, since people back in his hometown on the Disney channel were all good about watching their language around the kids, but you can only hear so many swears before you stop caring.]

Right, yeah. Sorry, it's just that you're, uh, what? Twelve?

[Like, yeah, the kid seems pretty mature for his age and Wonderland's time fuckery has probably contributed to that, but it's just bizarre and goes against all of Alex's sensibilities.]

It's just kinda weird, is all I'm saying.

Thirteen. [Except he'll never actually reach 13 as long as he's in Wonderland. Forever doomed to be a few weeks out from his 13th birthday. But he'll keep counting it until people stop believing him.]

I know it's weird, but is it really less weird to break off mid-word? I mean come on, it's not like I don't know what you're saying. It just makes it obvious that you're trying not to swear and really bad at it.

[Right, thirteen. Sure, pal.]

Fine. I'll stop watching my mouth if that's what you really want. Happy?

[One of the weirder things he's had to promise someone since ending up here, honestly.]

I don't care if you do or not. You're just being really obvious about it and I'm not dumb. [And Dipper wants to be treated like an adult, or at least, not to be so aware of when he's being sheltered.]

You're just kinda outta my typical age bracket. I'm still adjusting.

[All this with an exaggerated flourish with both hands. It's true he's mostly dealt with people his age and up in recent years.]

Sorry I don't have any fancy drawings for you. I'll be sure to bag them up for evidence next time my subconscious mind decides it wants to be an artist.

Come on, I'm 13, not five. It's not that weird.

[]

Have you not been to college?

[Oh, wait.]

Never mind. Look. Clearly you're a smart kid, so take a hint - this whole deal of mine you're looking into? Not worth it. Also doesn't have a lot to do with anything. So.

[Dipper gives him a frustrated glare. At any other time, he'd insist. Heck, he's probably going to dig in more later. This stinks of for your own safety, and that's never been something he cared about.

But.

He died. Mabel did too, and he'd promised Mabel it wouldn't happen again.

How can he pursue the mysteries that have always drawn him and be certain he won't get hurt? How can he stay alive without giving up really living?

He doesn't have an answer, and today, at least, he's not going to find an answer for this particular mystery either. He ducks his head, letting his hat hide his eyes, and turns around.]

Fine.

[For now. He turns to leave, shoulders slumping.]

[Alex lets him go. He feels a bit guilty for snapping, but he hastily tamps the feeling down. It's better this way. Everyone who's dug into the thing Alex is trying to hide has either died or worse, and he was the one who did the callous deed in the first place.

It's better this way.]

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Entry #2

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