open } i'm so intent to find out what it is

[krmvgivv]

Who: Dipper, Dipper, and YOU?
Where: Outside!
When: 9/7
Rating: PG at highest probably
Summary: Dipper and Dipper are hanging out doing what Dippers do best: bashing their heads against difficult puzzles.
The Story:

[It's so beautiful outside today! What a great day for running around and playing and just kidding, Dipper and his new best friend, Dipper, are indeed outside, but only because they needed more room to work on the latest bit of puzzle they've received in the quest to find out… well, actually, Dipper isn't sure what they're trying to find out. Who cares what's at the end of the trail? PUZZLES. He frowns, pinning a slip of paper to the board behind them. It's already covered with notes and bits of string connecting other bits and numbers. So many numbers.]

This is without a doubt the least simple thing I have ever seen. The puzzle lied to me.

It lied to both of us, man.

[ Dipper—no, the other one—lowers a spiral notebook he's been intensely frowning at for the past quite possibly forever. The page open looks completely nonsensical with how haphazardly every scratched out string of words or numbers is scribbled on the paper, but trust him, it makes total sense.

... Or would, if it lead to anything besides a dead end. The many, many ripped out pages around them are a testament to how many angles they've already tried. Dipper's paused his writing for the moment, immediately taking to chewing at the end of his pen. ]

I don't get it—what could we possibly be missing at this point?

[Dipper groans and rubs his head.] Besides a working solution? Your guess is as good as mine, man. [...rarely has that statement been more true. He holds up the list of numbers, squinting at them as if maybe that'll suddenly make them make more sense.]

If we add them up each row is 47 except the last one. And we've got the first four numbers repeating a few times… that last row has to be important, right? But what does it mean?

[Such has been the theme of the last several hours.] Count only the dots. Which dots? Ugghhh, this is impossible!

[He lets the paper drop onto his face. They say two heads are better than one, but it's possible they mean two different heads. Clearly, now is a good time to either help or hassle these kids. Before they entirely lose their minds.]

Comments

[dadmeetsworld]

[ Cory can only pester his daughter and his ...Maya for so long before they scream at him to leave them alone, so he's decided to explore outside for a little bit. And of course, when he stumbles upon a pair of boys around Riley's age, his dad/teacher instincts catch in. ]

Looks like you boys are working on quite the puzzle!

[twinpeak]

[ Too focused on the puzzle before them, Dipper only notices the newcomer when they speak up. With the pen still hanging from his mouth, he cranes his head upward, looking at the man with the face of a kid who's been at this for entirely too long. ]

Yeah. To put it lightly.

[krmvgivv]

What gave it away?

[Dipper says at almost the same time, lifting the paper off his face.]

[dadmeetsworld]

[ And now that the paper's been removed from the second kid's face, Cory has a moment of 'Huh. Twins. Okay.' before mentally moving on and coming around to look at their board properly. ]

Oh, you know, it was either puzzle or conspiracy theory. [ Hah hah. Right?

But seriously, this looks really complex. ] Huh. Where'd you guys find this puzzle?

[twinpeak]

[ Well, it isn't a conspiracy theory this time...

Dipper gives his other self the briefest of glances before both pipe up in perfect, exhausted harmony: ]

Alice's room—

[krmvgivv]

—under the bed.

[It's a little bit a conspiracy. A puzzle that's part of a grander conspiracy.]

[dadmeetsworld]

[ That earns the boys a skeptical glance. Cory knows by now that they're in Wonderland somehow, but he hadn't heard that Alice had an actual room in the mansion along with the rest of them.

This whole thing is hookey. ]

This wouldn't have anything to do with the marks on the wall of the disco party the other day, would it?

[powerofmabel]

[ah~ nerds in their native habitat. mabel isn't at all shocked that she suddenly has two brothers and neither of them is a Mirror, nor is she shocked by the fact that they're working on puzzles.

S I G H.

someone's gotta do something about that. might as well be Mabel.

she's managed to sneak up the nearest tree while the boys are distracted, and as they lament the daunting nature of their task, she swings off a branch upside down, dangling by her knees. this is a very difficult thing to do in a skirt, but somehow she pulls it off.] What is? Either of you ever getting a girlfriend? Heyooo!

[twinpeak]

Wha— [ That certainly takes him by surprise. Dipper gets jerked out of his thoughts, notebook dropping out of his hands as he swivels around in place to spot none other than: ] ... Mabel?

[ Hanging from a tree, like there isn't something completely odd about interrupting a pair of doubles. Which, well, isn't exactly, after all their experiences in Gravity Falls and dreamwidth rp brand of weirdness. So it's for the best. Nonetheless, Dipper manages to stare for a moment longer, though not because of the surprise.

More like she's a face he hasn't seen in quite some time... Although the one thing that prevents him from getting too emotional about it is her messing around in that teasing way, as a Mabel Pines is wont to doing. Dipper levels her an unimpressed stare. Maybe, again, for the better; it just might get weird for someone who hadn't been missing their other half for months.

So, instead, he manages— ]

... That's more likely than you'd think!

[ Uh, maybe. Possibly. Sources are currently uncertain. ]

[krmvgivv]

Yeah it is. [Unlike his double, Dipper doesn't even look up from his notebook. If he broke his train of thought every time Mabel did something weird, he'd never get anything done. Besides...] I had a girlfriend, remember?

[He looks over at the other Dipper and adds:] Her name was Sansa. She was a princess—totally out of our league. And she had this amazing red hair.

[Ahem.]

...anyway, Wonderland sent her away. It does that sometimes.

[powerofmabel]

I know. I stalked you two from the bushes. [She swings back up onto the branch so she can jump down to join them, now with leaves sticking to her hair and sweater that she seems in no hurry to remove.] The joke was just too good to pass up. So what's the nerd stuff this time?

[she's already helped with some of the clues- the parts that required less math and more searching for things. eagerly, she throws her arms around both Dippers' shoulders and leans in close to the giant board of nerd that she can, in no way, decipher.] Are we going to any more spooky dungeons?

[twinpeak]

[ wtf. Why does he only get a girlfriend when it's him in an alternate universe? "With amazing red hair", he says!! Temporary relationship or not, that is totally not fair.

His unfortunate life of being single set aside, the train of thought gets cut short when Mabel drapes herself over the two; his shoulder slumps with the added weight, but he otherwise doesn't protest the move. Instead, he shoots her a look. ]

Pretty sure this isn't leading to any spooky dungeons. [ A beat, and he glances at his double next. ] ... Yet. Are there any dungeons here to consider in the first place?

[krmvgivv]

On the mirror side. The clue set from the mirror side party led us there. [And then he'd come back to this hard one since the third clue path had been, well, a red herring.] That one was fun. There was a Nihilist Cipher.

But so far there haven't really been any repeats. Maybe if we get a map of Wonderland, we can just cross off everywhere that's already held a clue and check there?

[determinedest]

[Frisk could be doing a lot of things right now if they had any idea where to start regarding the solving of that bizarre invitation puzzle. They could suggest something like, you guys should get Chara in on this, because Chara is really good at puzzles, however much they might deny it. They cracked Dipper's cipher pretty easily, with only minimal help from Frisk. They could try to look at the puzzle from a new angle, or offer simple encouragement, or any number of helpful things.

Frisk does none of those things.

They're playing a certain video on repeat as they walk by with exaggerated nonchalance.]

Oh, hey Dipper. And...Dipper. [Well, it was inevitable.] Didn't see you guys there!

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper has so many regrets in his life.

Number one is befriending Frisk and Chara. Anyone who claims Frisk is the good one clearly hasn't met them.

He balls up a piece of paper that has some failed ideas and throws it at Frisk's head.]

You liar.

[twinpeak]

[ Ooooh my god. It's true. He thought you were nice, Frisk.

The chewing stops, the notebook lays forgotten, and Dipper sits in mild horror that he hears Disco Girl being sung back at them in his own voice. ]

... Dude. How long has that been playing?

[ IS THIS SOMETHING EVERYONE HAS BEEN HEARING?? LEAVE HIS LOVE FOR THE GREATEST POP GROUP OF THEIR TIME ALONE. ]

[determinedest]

[Frisk grins as the ball of paper bounces off their head as they venture over to join the pair of them properly.]

It's not my fault you like to sing about Disco Girls while whacking your dirty laundry with a golf club.

[Yeah, their expression is way to innocent to be in any way genuine.]

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper throws another wad of paper at them.]

I was cleaning. [Sort of.] And you're a jerk.

[Why is this his life why does everyone shame him for his love of TOP 40 hits. IT'S A GOOD SONG.]

[twinpeak]

[ It's a great song. ]

Apparently it doesn't matter what dimension you land up in, nobody will ever appreciate music that gets popular for a reason.

[charlastan]

[Stan was bound to turn up sooner or later. He's been, you know. Around. Doing things. But the point is he's here and he tilts his head at this very Dipper-y display before him. It's not unusual to see Dipper pouring over some mystery or another, but the fact that there's two of them is definitely weirder.]

Ha! I'll bet the only thing it means is that it's gettin' under your skin!

[It's affectionate teasing though - if anyone can figure out these dumb puzzles, it's Dipper and uh. ...Dipper. Boy, this'll get confusing fast.]

So, what, does this make you two and your sister triplets now? 'Cause I'm not sure I can handle that.

[twinpeak]

[ Getting under their skin is absolutely correct, which means it's a darn good time for Stan to make an appearance. For this particular Dipper, anyway, because they both likely need the break—but more importantly, it's yet another face he hasn't seen in quite some time. ]

—Oh! Grunkle Stan!

[ The Puzzle from Hell™ goes forgotten for the moment (and maybe just for the moment). ]

... Triplets probably isn't correct, anyway—technically, we are the same person...

[ Universe specific details aside. ]

[krmvgivv]

Yeah, Grunkle Stan, you know twins are pretty different besides the genes, and we're... not.

[Except the swearing. But hey, they're also the sum of their respective experiences, and those have branched into different paths.]

[charlastan]

Eh, I guess that's true. Plus, me and Ford's doubles are as different from us as it gets!

[He laughs a little, like they weren't horrifying monstrous discoveries.]

You two get a load of them yet? They got turned into goblins or somethin'!

[twinpeak]

Goblins?

[ Dipper's nose wrinkles. ]

Uh—no, Great Uncle Ford was normal enough when I met him here. [ Well, that one was. ] ... Do you mean, like, literal goblins?

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper sits back and smirks, raising an eyebrow.]

Is that really different from normal, Grunkle Stan?