▲ 1st Cipher ▲

[ghflskhu_ph]

[The screen boots up, blipping out of focus ever so slightly, as the happy titles for a DRAWING TUTORIAL make their way onto, and occasionally fizzle off, the display. Distantly, this 'tune' can be heard in the background, distorting the music with its impossible, never heightening decibels.]

HOW tO dRaw A T̶̴͝R̶̕͞I̷͜͞͠A̛҉̀Ņ͘͢͞͡G̨Ļ͢͝E̢͜

1.) Put THREE DOTS on YOUR PAPER or whatever object YOU'VE CHOSEN TO DEFACE!

B.) DRAW A LINE CONNECTING THE VERTICES!

3.) LAMENT your COMPLETE INABILITY to draw a SINGLE STRAIGHT LINE (Hey! No cheating, I SEE that STRAIGHT EDGE, BUB!)

4.) ADD A DOT AT THE MIDPOINT of the RIGHT and LEFT LINES!

5.) QUESTION WHAT TRULY IS RIGHT AND LEFT when perspective and YOUR LIFE are both ABSOLUTELY MEANINGLESS!

VI.) Use the midpoint to draw an oval YOU CREEPS!

7.) ADD a dot within the oval at wherever you'd like to SUBJECT YOUR JUDGEMENTAL stare first. GO ON, YOU'VE EARNED IT!!

∞.) Fail to realize you just STARTED FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS without thought like THE SHEEPLE you are!

--.) -͞-̵̷́͏-̴͜͟͡-҉͡-̸̢͘-͞-̵̷́͏-̴͜͟͡-҉͡-̸̢͘-͞-̵̷́͏-̴͜͟͡-҉͡-̸̢͘

[All at once, the screen flashes with an obscenely bright light, aiming to seer the videos completed after image into the watchers retinas. After all, it's much easier for Bill to enter the minds of people, when they already have his image imprinted somewhere in their brains! The static emits one more alarmingly loud hiss before the picture dissipates entirely.]

E͠M̸͟͝K̡ ̵̢͝ ̧Y̶̡̧K͞ ̴̴ ̵̧̢ ̷̕Z͘͠MY͢͡͡Q̡

Comments

voice

[rosswood]

[What



the hell.

It can't be here. It can't be here. Alex's breath tightens in his chest, tighter and tighter, and he can't breathe. His fingers fist into the sheets of paper scattered over his desk, wadding them into crumpled balls.

This isn't real. This isn't real. It's not real it's not real it's not real. Keep saying it in his head. Maybe it'll come true. Maybe.

It's static, glaring into his brain. It's blank faces and arms that reach on forever and the bark flaking from trees and he can't breathe and this is too familiar. The varying pitch, the sputtering imagery.

He can't muster the musculodexterity to text. He switches on audio instead, the feed fitzing with static. He's shaking. Fuck, he's shaking.]

This isn't funny.

[Video]

[ghflskhu_ph]

[By the sound of the resulting laugh, the speaker on the other end apparently disagrees.]

"ACTUALLY, IT'S PRETTY HILARIOUS!! Big, TALL GUY like you, SHAKING LIKE A LEAF!"

[Alex may have switched their video feed off, but Bill hasn't. Rather than show himself, however, the screen instead fizzles to life with one static-filled big, yellow eye. It gazes eagerly, looking around, as if it can actually see beyond the screen it is encased in, who knows, perhaps it can.]

"But you've watched a lot of LEAVES SHAKE out in those ROTTING WOODS, HÁ̧V̢ÉN͟͠'̷T̨́ Y̕͢O͠U͘?͘"

[text, plus image attachment]

[fulllifeconsequences]

[Golly. We got a live one here, don't we?]

Been a while since I drew, but I did my very best! How is it? =)

[attachment: i tried.jpg]

[TEXT] ajhdasdhas YES

[ghflskhu_ph]

REAL WORK OF ART THERE, KID.

[Honestly? There are days where Bill barely expects humanity can follow even these ridiculously basic instructions. Rather than take offense, his eye crinkles upward in the barest imitation of amusement. Someone who isn't stupid and has attitude? As much as the careless made better victims, Bill thinks he might prefer an answer like this.]

With that kind of CREATIVITY I'd love to see how you EMBELLISH even simpler instructions!

video (and action, if you want)

[mviw]

[it's not the text and it's not the static that trigger a headache and the phantom pains over his extremities. His chest tightens and his movements freeze at the rising tone and it takes all of his self control not to fling his phone at the wall in an attempt to smash it to pieces to get the sound to s t o p --

Breathe, Stanford.

In. Out. In... out.

No, no no no no.

He rubs at the bridge of his nose, pushes his fingers through his hair and swallows thickly and curls them in it until it hurts and he realizes his eyes are shut tight.

They snap open and with shaking hands he stuffs the phone into his coat pocket, pushing himself away from his desk chair.

He won't be taken off guard. He won't be helpless. He goes to his bed and the small armory underneath it, slinging the largest gun at his back before he heads right out of his room.

Ford is vigilant and every wall rises to protect him from the ocean of fear threatening to overtake him. He breathes, even though his throat is tight, even though he can smell the sickly lingering odor of singed flesh and burned hair.

In the hall, he takes his phone out again and flicks it back to that hideous broadcast. He can hear what Stan would think of what Ford is about to do, but he doesn't care. If this helps draw attention away from other people... if this helps anyone... especially the kids... It's worth the risk.]

Bill!

[Audio --> and.. kind of action?]

[ghflskhu_ph]

[It's a pity Ford doesn't keep his eyes shut longer. For a moment, Bill almost thinks the man is aiming to open up a dreamscape right there. Not that Ford was so frail he would faint on sight, but it would certainly be more convenient than riding through the network lines. Of course, that reason alone made the very notion impossible-]

”ALWAYS THE HARD WAY, STANFORD..”

[Ford was many things, but convenient was not one he has been lately. Bill trails down the hallways after him, on a different plane of reality but there nevertheless. The static feed on Ford's phone crackles back to life, along with the cackle of new audio; each syllable sharply punctuated with a malice Bill forgot he could feel; like a child slamming the keys of an expensive piano.]

"WELL. WELL. WELL!!! I SEE SOMEONE looks EAGER TO SEE ME!!"

[The fabric of this reality is so thin, if Ford were to try he could probably hear the residual echo of Bill's laugh, see the shadows of the room take on a much sharper edge, the once normal gold accents of the mansion, adopt a much more sinister hue. Whether it was really happening or all in Ford's head, who could say? When it came to Bill, they were often one in the same.]

"Quite the firepower you got there, IQ. IS THIS ONE SHAPED LIKE ME TOO?!"

text

[krmvgivv]

[No no no no no Bill was gone, he knows Bill was gone, to at least 90% certaintly. How is he back? And was it intentional on his part or is he bound by Wonderland's crap the same as all of them?

It takes him a minute to respond. Dipper doesn't want to respond at all, between what he knows of the future and the terror he already feels at the mere thought of Bill, what he wants to do is run and hide. But he can't. Bill definitely already knows Dipper's here, already knows all of them are here, and all Dipper can do is not show fear and try and find a way to fight him.]

BLF.

[He won't say Bill's name. Not after Bill asked him to.]

[Audio]

[ghflskhu_ph]

"NOT my name, KID!!"

[Fine. If that's the way he wants to play it, Bill won't use Dipper's title either. Besides, referring to him as PINE TREE would condone some sort respect; imply Bill saw him as an actual threat. Dipper, though? Dipper is NOTHING.]

"WHY SO SURPRISED? Ole Queenie DID say she was LOOKING for something GOLD didn't she?"

[video forever]

[drummeintheface]

[Greg shoves his drawing at his device so it might not be totally visible but don't worry, he'll explain.]

I made some artistic choices! I used different colors, and I wasn't sure what an oval was but I think it's like a circle so I did that? Oh, and I marked left and right! The left one is, um, the gray one, and the right one is the other gray one!

[Audio] lmao OMG Greg

[ghflskhu_ph]

"THAT'S--wow."

[Bill scrunches his eye practically closed in an effort to figure out what he is actually looking at.]

"That is PROBABLY the most BLASPHEMOUS thing I have ever seen!"

[A triangle being depicted as a circle. Oh, the high council would have had a FIELD DAY burning this image on every street~]

"...You know what, GOLD STAR FOR YOU. WAY TO GO ABOUT DEFYING EXPECTATIONS, KIDDO!"

Video

[singloversing]

[To be honest, Wirt had nearly forgotten about Bill. He had grown comfortable in his absence, tensing only when someone spoke of him (or worse, spoke to him about him). He still remembers panicking when Dr. Pines thought he wanted to talk about his possession, and having to assure himself that he didn't say anything. He didn't say anything, someone else did and that doesn't break their deal and the nightmares won't return, even though he knew that Bill was gone.

But Bill is a temporal traveler. Is he ever really gone?

Everything about this message makes Wirt's stomach sink into his mismatched shoes. He should ignore it, he should pretend he never saw it, but...]

N-No. No, you...you're not supposed to be here anymore!

[Video]

[ghflskhu_ph]

[Any...more? There goes that implication again, that Bill has been here before. Moving through time in a nonlinear fashion is nothing new to the chaos entity; he didn't need to focus on only one instance of himself at a time.

So why doesn't he remember?

As the ALL SEEING EYE, he shouldn't have a gap in his memory anywhere. Sure, there were times Bill neglected to look ahead, but that was about getting caught in a moment-- not because he couldn't see it.]

"HEHE! Statements like THAT imply I EVER LEFT."

[Bill keeps the video on. Time to bluff and see where this goes.]

"WHERE ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO BE?"

What an entrance~! ♥ [Video]

[mettatonvevo]

[When Mettaton sees this entire message, he can't help but gasp. What drama!! What pizzazz! This is performance art if he's ever seen it. He can't help but send his admiration back in video form.]

My my, darling, that was quite an amazing entrance! It was equal parts entrancing and horrifying! I loved it, absolutely loved it, brava~!

[He has no idea that he is talking to an inter-dimensional demon bent on destruction according to his triangular whims.]

Entrancing and horrifying IS what he goes for~ [Video]

[ghflskhu_ph]

[Aw shucks, you were some nefarious geometry yourself, Metts; who doesn't love a bit of global domination? Well, it's not the heckling he has been getting from everyone else. Bill will take it. Just for that ego boost, the video switches over to reveal the triangle floating beside his cane. He reaches for the stranger's thoughts--]

"Y'LIKE THAT, YOU SHOULD SEE--"

[Only to be met with... mild interference. Uh. Hmm.]

“Y'know. I've HEARD IT SAID that a person is just a GHOST riding a SKELETON made of STARDUST, but you went and took that one RATHER LITERALLY, didn't you, PAL?”

[audio]

[punful]

[Sans is already having a bad day.]

[He just got done watching the Mirror versions of him and his brother practically fighting to the death, which is not a thing that should ever happen in any timeline or reality, anywhere, ever. And now here's some jerk assailing them all with bright lights and Shepard Tones.]

[Acoustics and sound was never exactly his field of study, but Shepard tones used to be kind of interesting, mathematically. Sine waves. He's a big fan. But stuff like that, weird, paradoxical stuff like that...it's all kind of. Not been quite as interesting the last few years.]

[He's getting the sense that he shouldn't respond to this, but oh well.]

eh, personally i'm more of a circles kinda guy.

[Audio] OH GOD SANS

[ghflskhu_ph]

[Everyone's a critic. There is an undercurrent of something dark beneath Bill's usual cackling mirth. All these people have no idea what they're insinuating with their shape jokes--]

"SO WAS THE REST OF MY PREVIOUS DIMENSION! DIDN'T WORK OUT SO WELL FOR THEM."

[Bill made sure no one ever would.]

[video]

[wriggedywrecked]

The original Lavender Town theme is way more effective. Or playing it in reversed. Or if y-y-you're just going for creepy stupid sounds like a g-goddamn edgy fuck, you should have g-gone with one of those underwater Cthulhu sounds, or the fucking noise that Saturn makes, because Saturn can't shut the fuck up.

[video]

[ghflskhu_ph]

“-WELL, IF IT ISN'T RICK SANCHEZ! Now HERE's a guy who knows how to PARTY!”

[Bill doesn't even let Rick finish, quickly talking over him.]

“GREAT IDEA! LET'S PLAY THEM ALL TOGETHER!!”

[The video flips over to show several sound bars, amped up to the max and conveniently labeled so rick can SEE not just hear, how badly his ears are getting eradicated by the nonsense Bill proceeds to blast through the speakers at his behest. One track subtly underlying the others sounds suspiciously like the wails of a boy Rick travels with pretty frequenly. It's labeled: Prepubescent Shrieking.]

“UGH, you're right. Talk about a PLANET PRIMADONNA!”

[audio]

[sciencelizard]

[She's... pretty sure she shouldn't be responding to this. This seems like that special kind of creepy that means she might end up in serious trouble. But she has vague memories of Ford talking about a 'creepy triangle' and... she's curious. It's always going to be her downfall.]

Why... w-why do we need to make a triangle?

[Text--> Video]

[ghflskhu_ph]

Oh, LOTS OF REASONS! EVERYONE LOVES TRIANGLES.

[No, Bill, they reaaaaally don't.]

Drawing them helps you EXERCISE THOSE FLESH DIGITS YOU CALL FINGERS! Gives you AN ACTIVITY TO HELP YOU TEMPORARILY FORGET HOW LACKING IN VALIDITY YOUR SHORT SAD EXISTENCE IS!

AND

[The feed slips over to replace the blank crackling static screen with a single glowing yellow slitted eye, it gazes up at its viewer with mild bemusement.]

"They are RATHER good at giving answers to LIFE'S QUESTIONS."

[Text]

[mypartnerintime]

Hey, kinda rude there.

[Or you know, creepy. Or both.]

[Text]

[ghflskhu_ph]

OH YEAH?

[Hey! Someone just flipped Bill the bird, he's pretty sure HE'S not being the rude one here!]

WANNA TELL ME HOW TO IMPROVE IT?

voice;

[backpacking]

Oh, fuck.

[ More of the way you would say it when your dog poops on the carpet than when encountering a godly triangle, but... that's just Ellie. ]

You again. [ SIGH ] As if we needed any more problems around this place.

[Audio]

[ghflskhu_ph]

"HEY! WHAT YOU CALL A 'PROBLEM' I CALL ENTERTAINMENT! AND IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU GUYS COULD USE SOME!"

[But there's that phrase: Again. People keep implying that he's been here-- but it's impossible. There is no way he wouldn't remember; his memory comprised the entire infinite source of knowledge itself!! For a place to selectively alter HIM and HIM alone it's--]

"Admit it, someone needed to SHAKE UP this place a bit!"

[Well.. it's new.]

text;

[uncaging]

SMS CT DFCJWRSBQS?

[The code at the end hadn't taken her too long to crack, and the image she'd followed the instructions to create looked just like the old masonic symbol as far as she was concerned.]

[Text]

[ghflskhu_ph]

MUZ OZ OT UTK, YSGXZ MGR!

[Well, well, well; looks like the Pines aren't the only code crackers around these parts! Bill hadn't been entirely sure what level of intelligence to expect from the majority of these abductees, but anyone responding in his own ciphers back to him was promising at least.]

YKKT OZ GXUATJ?

video

[needlebearer]

What was the point of that?

[ghflskhu_ph]

TECHNICALLY THERE WERE THREE- preferably an EQUAL DISTANCE APART.

text

[knackered]

"Sheeple"? Really?

[Text]

[ghflskhu_ph]

SAYS THE GUY WHO ONLY A FEW MILLENIA AGO USED RAIN NAPPER, DIDDLE, AND SKEW-WHIFF! OR HEY, LET'S GO EVEN FARTHER BACK! MīN WANDRIAN-SCYF FUL ǣLEN IS-

[He could go on-]

video;

[powerofmabel]

[nononono not again.

contrary to her internal panic, Mabel's immediate response is to grab her crayons and scribble something down before turning her video on and shoving it at the camera.



that's all you get from her right now, Bill. X(]

[VIDEO]

[ghflskhu_ph]

"THAT'S THE BEST YOU GOT, SHOOTING STAR? I'M OFFENDED!"

[You have WAY more creativity than that! Where's the blood? Where's the glitter?]

"NOW if YOU REALLY wanna draw SOMEONE GETTING STOMPED ON--"

[The screen flickers, about to change into something--]

text;

[nascensibility]

[Evelyn, who understands codes and code-breaking perfectly well, who prefers to read everything before committing in spite of a leap-before-you-look personality - it comes with being an academic - is by now accustomed to the strong and unusual personalities that Wonderland attracts.

She's also mildly certain that Mister Two-Dimensional over there has been here once before, leaving cryptic notes on the network.]

-.- .. ...- .... ..-. -. --.. -.-- --- -... / --. ... .-. .... / .-. .... / --.. --- --- / -. ...- --.. -- --. / --. .-.. / -.-- ...- / .... .-.. -. ...- / .... .-.. .. --. / .-.. ..- / ... .-. --- --.. .. .-. .-.. ..-. .... / --.- --.. -.- ...- .-.-.- .-.-..

[Astonishingly, she could be more British.]

.-. .----. -. / -..- ...- .. --. --.. .-. -- / -... .-.. ..-. .----. --- --- / --- ...- --. / ...- . ...- .. -... .-.. -- ...- / .--. -- .-.. -.. / ... .-.. -.. / .-. --. / - .-.. ...- .... .-.-.- .-.-..

[ghflskhu_ph]

--.. -- .-- / -.. ... -... / -.. .-.. ..-. --- .-- / .-. / -.. --.. -- --. / --. .-.. / .-- .-.. / --. ... --.. --. ..--..

[Oho! Two can play at this game. And yes, given that literal England is up there, Bill is REGRETTABLY well-aware how possible to be even more British it is.]

--.- --.. -.- ...- .... / --.. .. ...- / .-.. -- ...- / --. ... .-. -- - / -.-- ..-. --. / .... .-.. -. ...- --. .-. -. ...- .... / --.. / - ..-. -... / --.- ..-. .... --. / -.. --.. -- --. .... / --. .-.. / .. .-.. .-.. --. / .-.. ..-. --. / --. ... ...- / .-. -- --. ...- --- --- .-. - ...- -- --. / ..- .. .-.. -. / --. ... ...- / - ...- -- ...- .. .-. -..- / ..- ...- ...- -.-- --- ...- / -. .-. -- .-- ...- .--

[People like YOU, perhaps, Evelyn?]

--- .-.. .-.. .--. .... / --. .-.. / -. ...- / --- .-. .--. ...- / .-. / .... ..-. -..- -..- ...- ...- .-- ...- .--

text

[brainleak]

[That tone. It hurts her head. Makes her feel like she's unraveling again. Like she's on the edge of breaking down.

She knits her brow and watches the message play out even as the sounds make her feel terrible.

It's been a while since River had to bother with codes. Making her own, hiding them in the letters she sent to her brother from that place... Still, when she sees the supposed gibberish, she recognizes it for what it is. Takes out a piece of paper and has it decoded within a couple minutes.

She reads what she's uncovered, and... realizes she doesn't know the answer. It's not the first time she's been unable to hear someone clearly, but to not even know someone's name...]

i dont know it
is 12 a significant number

[ghflskhu_ph]

[Bill recognizes intelligence when he sees it. '12' to anyone else would be a ridiculous answer; as much as it borderlines on nonsensical, he knows it isn't stupidity that has led this mortal to such an incredulous query.]

UNLESS WE'RE GETTING INTO PYTHAGOREAN TRIPLES; NOT IN PARTICULAR. TWO KIDS SEEM TO THINK IT IS AT THE MOMENT."

[Concerning a location by that name; specifically! Likely not her intention though. Hmm, what could she be getting at? It isn't often Bill considers anyone an actual match for his wits, but trying make sense of humanity's failed grasp on logic did sometimes make for an amusing past time! Now lessee!... 'Twelve, a symbol of cosmic order.' Ha! If it was an imaginary 12 MAYBE 'Twelve, the number of space and time.' Well.. not too far off there! If she were referring to a NUMBER Cipher, however...]

TACK A 2 AND A 9 IN THERE, AND YOU MIGHT BE GETTING CLOSE...

[Video]

[son_of_a_taint]

Sheeple. I like that one.

[He'll ignore the fact that he did the actually draw anything because he couldn't be bothered, but the feed was interesting enough to warrant attention.]

Gotta hand it to you, that code almost passed me by as random staticy nonsense. And thanks for burning my retinas. That spot's not going away any time soon...

[The decoding algorithm he wrote is still working on the message, waiting for something to fall into place.]

[Audio] Sorry for the late, friend! I'm canonblind but I can already tell these two needed to meet

[ghflskhu_ph]

"IF THERE IS ONE THING I HAVE LEARNED HERE, IT'S THAT USING THAT WORD GETS YOU PLACES!"

[Seriously, half the people who answered him did it just to complain about that one phrase. A voice caught somewhere between a Ringleader and a haunted Claptrap unit pipes up.]

"AND YOU'RE DARN RIGHT, IT'S NOT, but you'll be glad of that later! NICE ALGORITHM BY THE BY! FIGURED IT OUT YET?"

[If his code work is up to snuff, by now the phrase S A Y M Y N A M E will have shifted through the garbled static.]

OOC: I have a Permissions post for Bill's omniscience, if you have any preferences, I'll happily tone down or amp up whatever!