mviw: (247)
Dr. Stanford Filbrick Pines, PhD ([personal profile] mviw) wrote in [community profile] entrancelogs2017-04-18 11:04 pm

[OPEN] & [CLOSED] "Am I awake? Is it that time again? Wasn't it already then?"

Who: Ford & Stan; Ford & Fiddleford; Ford & YOU?
Where: VARIOUS PLACES
When: 4/18-19
Rating: Preemptive PG-13 for language and heavy themes (chiefly PTSD).
Summary: For the first time in his life, Stanford actually reaches out to people for help.
The Story:

OPEN TO ALL: THE LIBRARY

[There is little more comforting for Stanford than the unconditional embrace of knowledge, gently bound in books stored in tall shelves organized in orderly rows.

He's found a corner in the library, tried to settle there, but his mood directs him to restlessly wander the quiet aisles with his nose in the pages of a book. He glances up to watch for any obstacles in his path--wouldn't want to run into anyone or anything, of course.

Still, the knowledge so freely offered brings no actual warmth, nor does it truly guard against what worries him. As Ford wanders, his eyes scan the aisles and look weary; his appearance, generally ruffled.

One thought continues to make its presence known in his head, always drifting back from his conscious periphery like an unwelcome bit of dust: Bill is back. He's back, and although Ford hoped his absence would be permanent, he knew he wasn't lucky enough for that to be true. Bill's reentering into Wonderland still fell like a heavy blow--heavier than even Ford anticipated. He wonders why it's affecting him this way when this time he hadn't even been the victim.

He hadn't been hurt. Mettaton had done all the fighting.

What do YOU have to worry about? You're fine, you're unscathed. Why are you letting this drag you under?

Some questions can't be answered by reading hundreds of books, unfortunately.

Wandering the library, Ford is very much an old owl making the rounds among the trees of shelves. He tries in vain to find solace between numerous pages.]


CLOSED PROMPTS BELOW THE CUT...


FOR STAN:

[There had been a panicked call from Alphys and several distressing conversations following that. By the time Ford and Alphys had even really prepared anything to help Mettaton, the robot didn't even need help. Ford wondered if Stanley even saw the mess on the network.

Did it really matter?

Ford had already told his brother and his best friend about Bill being conspicuously absent from Wonderland. And now this. And Ford, trained in the art of revenge, had fallen so readily back into the chaotic fold.

He knocks on Stanley's door that evening rather unceremoniously.]


Stanley.

[... Funny how things turn out. Six months ago in Wonderland, he wouldn't have thought of coming to Stan for something like this. He would have collected himself into his figurative stronghold until Stan would inevitably pry him out again.

Now, Ford can hardly stand the thought of spending another moment alone, isolated.

What a luxury to have his brother as a constant, like when they were children.

He knocks again.]


Hey, Knucklehead.

[Stanford needs to hold himself together. He can't do it alone. Not this time.]

***

FOR FIDDLEFORD:

[It's been about a day since that incident with Mettaton. Ford has been awake since the day before. Quite restlessly, his feet carry him down the hall to another hopeful refuge come mid-morning--straight to Fiddleford's room. He isn't entirely sure what he plans to accomplish here, and he asks himself, Am I overthinking this? But he already knows the answer:

Probably.

Stanford knocks. He's so exhausted, he leans against the wall near the door frame.

Ford may as well be a blanket where someone has pulled enough of its thread until the solid shape unravels, leaving holes and an empty attempt at being what it's meant to be.

He tried burying himself in calculations for his theories on Wonderland--that only lasted him six hours. He tried working on more inventions, but every single design and idea he scrapped.

Maybe... it was at the point that he realized he'd lost pleasure in doing what he loved most that he'd laid his pen to temporary rest and went to see his colleague down the corridor.

Maybe he wanted a little gentle familiarity and a reminder to stay strong that wasn't abstract thought.]


... Fiddleford? It's Stanford...

Are you there?
sciencelizard: (« [Nervous] please dont think about this)

runs right in here

[personal profile] sciencelizard 2017-04-19 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[She's exhausted.

If she had the time to think about it, it's not the word she'd have chose. Exhausted implies there was something to deplete (as if her energy had ever been full) and that she was finished (which she most certainly was not). Sometimes, problems fall out of the sky. Sometimes, things you've been avoiding for a long time come to a head with your best friend.

So she resolves something. That she's not losing another best friend. That she's not going to ignore this problem to get bigger and bigger behind closed doors.

It's been a year. It's time she do better.

She looks around for him, at his room, in tearooms, quiet spaces she knows he'll take refuge, until she spots his coat flutter behind a bookshelf and she follows quietly to where he's built his escape.]


... Ford? Uhm... h-hey.
determinedest: (* I'll make this simple.)

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-19 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Some kind of desperate search for meaning, in the wake of Bill's tumultuous re-entrance into Wonderland. A way to pick apart what happened and why, and whether they can keep it from happening again. (They can't.) Mettaton might be safe from one threat, but there's the second one Sans mentioned, there's his Mirror, and that's not as easy to dismiss or detach. Beating Bill seems, comparatively, infinitely easier, simply because they know that it can be done.

They find someone in the library, and it's not a terrible surprise once they realize who it is.

Trying to contort their expression into a smile seems like too much work, right now. But it's easy to end up a step or two behind him, like maybe this time they can make things...easier than they usually do. Help people, instead of always needing to be helped.]


Ford? [Wait. No. Wrong. The word feels foreign, even now. Like they shouldn't pretend they have a right to it.] Um...Grunkle?
determinedest: (* This doesn't strike you as accurate.)

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-19 09:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah.

[Not really. Immediately, their shoulders hitch, and their teeth worry at their lower lip when they can't quite meet his gaze.]

...no. [But that's not why they're here. That's not what they came to see. They're never really "okay," and that's...okay. Fine. Better, even. Better them than someone else.] Are you?
determinedest: (* You are the kind of person)

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-19 09:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[They're being honest. That's...good, isn't it? Both of them, being honest with each other. Saying what they mean. Saying when they're okay, and saying when they're not. He's not fine, and neither are they.

That's how they start.]


Bill?
mcgucket: (did you just say you're "solly"?!?)

[personal profile] mcgucket 2017-04-19 09:36 pm (UTC)(link)
[Honestly, Fiddleford shouldn't be so surprised that Stanford would want to talk to him after Bill's sudden and hostile return (after having just told us that the demon was gone, even), but it doesn't stop him from startling at the knock to the door.

Before he approaches the door, Fiddleford takes a very quick, hasty look around to make sure it looks... normal, sane. This involves sliding the memory gun into a locked drawer, shoving some papers out of sight, making sure there are no mirrors around... yes, good, it should be safe to let Stanford inside, should he want to come in.]


Yes, I'm here. [He undoes the locks before opening the door... and upon taking one look at Stanford, he frowns.]

Are... are you alright, Stanford?

[Actually that's probably a stupid question but it's better than just staring at his friend and not saying anything.]
Edited 2017-04-19 21:37 (UTC)
naughty_nurse: (Doctor Doctor)

[personal profile] naughty_nurse 2017-04-19 09:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[When not in the clinic, Mikan is normally in the library. She is usually there reading up on all the type of species and creatures that live in Wonderland so she can take care of them. But today she's throwing books around frantically, tears running down her face.]

Robotic, dreams, I need robotics and dreams, and demons, and, and and...

[She can't let this happen again, Mettaton had said she had helped him but when he needed her, truly needed anyone, she hadn't been able to do anything. She chokes out a sob, grabbing a book and pulling it out so hard and fast that she bumps into ford.]

Eek!
determinedest: (* This is my duty.)

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-20 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
[It was Mettaton in danger. Of course they knew.]

You couldn't have known.

[He was gone. And it's not like he's someone people chat with regularly, whose absence would've been visible, whose contact would have vanished from the phones. And then when he was back, it was utterly without warning.

Probably exactly how Bill likes it.]
determinedest: (* Why are you even alive?)

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-20 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
Someday.

[Everything ends eventually, doesn't it? They will, one day. They'll...fade, eventually. And it'll be okay. Maybe someday they'll be able to without hurting anyone.]

You didn't bring him here. You didn't make him do anything.
determinedest: (* But it's not funny.)

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-20 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Foolish enough. Is that how it happened? Mettaton - did he make a deal? Did he know Bill well enough for that? What for, and why? In exchange for what?

What would he exchange that for?]


You can't.

[He...can't.

The breath catches in their throat. A small word, a horrible thing to say to anyone, a small, brief refutation. But he can't. He can't. You can't SAVE everyone. You can't help everyone. Sometimes it isn't your fault.

Sometimes terrible things happen, and all you can do is not kill, and not be killed.]


No can SAVE everyone.
naughty_nurse: (Of Lovin' You)

[personal profile] naughty_nurse 2017-04-20 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
M-Mister Pines!

[Hiccup! She wipes her face, dropping her books, still a mess.]

I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to b-bother you, I'll, I'll take my books and go...
naughty_nurse: (Doctor Doctor)

[personal profile] naughty_nurse 2017-04-20 08:53 pm (UTC)(link)
[With a whimper, she nods, shakily taking the books back.]

I... Mettaton told me before that I helped him so much. That he was so happy to be friends with me, to know me. But... But when he really needed help, I couldn't... couldn't d-do anything...
naughty_nurse: (Of Lovin' You)

[personal profile] naughty_nurse 2017-04-20 09:34 pm (UTC)(link)
But... but what if it happens again?

[She clenches her eyes shut.]

Events always end, I've always counted on that. But that wasn't an event... Wonderland can bring in such horrible, powerful people... What if it brings in someone worse than Bill? More powerful than Bill?

I'm really scared, Mister Pines... I don't know what to do.
determinedest: (* (An illustration of a hug.))

[personal profile] determinedest 2017-04-20 10:29 pm (UTC)(link)
What happened to Mettaton wasn't your fault.

[If Mettaton made a deal, or if his Mirror had something to do with it, or if Bill simply hijacked his body - that's just how the events unfolded. That's just...how it is. No one can SAVE everyone.

No one can SAVE everyone.]
mcgucket: (fuckin nerd sits alone)

[personal profile] mcgucket 2017-04-20 10:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, of course. Um, come in, come in...

[Fiddleford opens the door wider to allow his friend entry, and upon entering, Stanford will find that while some things are about the same as the last time he sat in here, it now at least looks a little more... lived in by comparison to how sparse it was before. A couple books, tools on a desk, a banjo in the corner... things to do that are not just sitting around writing notes about his paranoid thoughts, so that must be an improvement, right...?

And before Ford even has to say anything, he's already getting a cup of something warm (not coffee, but hot chocolate as Stanford will find--Fiddleford's almost certain that Stanford probably hasn't slept in the past few days and more coffee wouldn't help) being pushed into his hands here.]


To be honest, I kinda had a feelin' I might be seein' ya, so I figured it'd be a good idea to make an extra cup today.

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