#gonna roll a joint maybe gonna put wax in it? dunno

[againstme]

i've been trying to look into the difference between panic attacks and meltdowns lately, i think that the experience of realizing that what you thought were panic attacks are actually meltdowns is something that is actually applicable to me now that i think about it...

like i don't think that a lot of the panic attacks that i've experienced have been random like out of the blue the way that they can be with a panic disorder? and a lot of them, looking back, have consistently been due to some form of overstimulation while being in a situation that i wasn't able to escape (usually at work or like in a school gymnasium for a performance or something), idk. just having many thoughts. i haven't even smoked yet i'm stone cold sober

#c.txt #gonna roll a joint maybe gonna put wax in it? dunno

[detectivejigsawpines]

Relatively Relativity-part 4 (The chapter that begins and ends with slumber)

By the time the mini-grunkles’ newfound manic energy wore off, it was almost evening; they slowly staggered back to the front porch, covered in dirt and grass stains, and neither one seeming really capable of staying on his feet for much longer.

“Well...that was fun…” Ford mumbled as he pulled himself up the first step, “...gotta get back to work now…”

“Work?”  Stan blinked a little bewilderedly.  “Whatsis...work...y’speak of?”

He nearly pitched forward and smashed his nose before Dipper hurriedly caught him.  Mabel did the same for Ford; he was asleep before his feet were even off the ground.

“Wow,” Dipper muttered as they carried them inside, “do you think we’re this heavy when we’re our normal size?”

“Who’re ya callin’ fat?” Stan grumbled at him before yawning, and letting his eyes droop shut.

Dipper looked at the sleeping boys thoughtfully.  “...I guess we gotta put them to bed?”

Mabel smiled.  “I know just the place.”  She went over to Grunkle Stan’s big yellow armchair and set Ford down into it, before tugging off his shoes and his jacket for him.  He stirred a little at her fussing, but not enough to actually wake up, just snuggling into the thick padding.

Dipper shrugged, and put Stan on the other side, helping him out of his own coat and shoes.  However, instead of leaning back Stan ended up flopping over, so his head and part of his shoulder landed in Ford’s lap.

“Oops.”

Dipper reached out to straighten him, but Mabel grabbed his arm.

“Don’t you dare move them.”  Her eyes were wide with delight at being in such high levels of cuteness proximity, and her phone was back out.

With a roll of his eyes Dipper went to hang up their coats and then retrieve a blanket, which he draped around both boys.  Then, in the interest of his family’s self-preservation, he went into the kitchen and poured the rest of the Mabel Juice down the sink, before cleaning up the remains of their lunch.

****

By the time he came back Mabel had probably overshot her phone’s storage capacity with the amount of photos she’d taken, and he was forced to drag her away so the boys could sleep undisturbed.

“...So, what do we do now?” Mabel asked as they left the room.  “Do you wanna play cards?  I’m pretty sure old people usually play cards while kids are sleeping.  Or backgammon!  I’ve always wanted to learn how to play backgammon!”

Dipper didn’t answer; he’d paused midstep, his eyes trained on the full-length mirror which Stan (technically Soos, now) kept down here for some reason.

It was the first time he’d really gotten the chance to see what he looked like in his old body; he was mesmerized.  He moved his hand, watching his reflection’s hand move with it, trying to convince himself that this really was his body now.

He hadn’t expected to be so...big.  He’d been startled seeing just his old wrinkly hands, but seeing all of him at once, with his head about three feet higher up than normal and the torso filled out so he actually had shoulders now, was even more of a shock.  Dipper guessed he should count himself lucky that his clothes had grown along with him; he was not in a hurry to see himself naked in addition to being old (ugh, please try to erase that thought, mind).

He didn’t have the imposing posture Ford did, or the amount of muscles either of his grunkles had; but that was probably a given since he hadn’t gone through the same stuff as them.

Gingerly Dipper pulled off his hat, and got a good look at his thick gray hair.  It was only mildly comforting to see that he had a lighter stripe like Ford, so maybe it made him look kind of distinguished.

“...At least there’s no bald spots,” Mabel pointed out, ever the optimist.  She’d been staring at herself too, squeezing her face in an attempt to smooth out some of the wrinkles.  “And look-my braces are gone!”  She pulled back her lips so he could see her (slightly stained, but indeed braces-free) teeth.

Dipper managed a smile.  “Yeah, looks like you won’t be a metal mouth forever.”

“Hey!”  Mabel swatted his arm; they both laughed.

“I dunno if I like being all gray, though,” she admitted after a minute.  “Maybe I should dye it.  Like put in some pink or blue highlights or something.  What do you think?”

“...I think you’d look like one of those horrifying bingo hall grandma stereotypes.”

Mabel blew a raspberry at him.  “You have no appreciation for art!”

They both nearly jumped out of their skin when Soos’s voice asked from behind them, “So what’s the plan, dudes?”

In all the chaos of watching their mini-grunkles dealing with the effects of Mabel Juice, they’d forgotten about the former handyman-now-boss.  And, they realized as they turned around, they’d forgotten about his girlfriend and his grandmother, who were also living here now.

Soos gave the twins an apologetic smile.  “I got Melody and Abuelita caught up on current events so they wouldn’t be shocked when they saw you guys.”  He leaned in and whispered in as conspiratorial a voice as he was capable of, “They’ve both taken like a million pictures of the little Mr. Pineses.”

“Join the club, ladies!” Mabel beamed.  “I’m gonna need to import all of mine into a computer or something to clear up some space!”

Melody giggled.  “I know, right?  They look so precious right now, it’s hard to stop!”

“Yeah, I’m totally including a chapter about this in my fanfiction.”  Soos grinned.  Then he composed himself.  “Seriously though-what’s the plan for getting you dudes back to normal?”

Dipper sighed.  “Well, tomorrow we’re gonna go see if we can find more of those flowers so Grunkle Ford can study them better.  Maybe get some still-active pollen samples or something.”

“Sounds good, sounds good.”  Soos nodded sagely.

“Maybe you oughta wear gas masks or hazmat suits or something so you don’t get affected by them again,” Melody pointed out.

“Ooh, good point.  I’ll remind Grunkle Ford about that when he wakes up.”

“Anything we can do to help?” Abuelita asked.

Dipper smiled at her.  “For now, we probably just need you guys to keep the Shack running like normal.  But if we need anything, we’ll let you know.”

“You got it, dudes.”

****

Luckily Soos was able to lend Dipper some of his pajamas (which were super baggy on him even now, but better than sleeping in his clothes), and Mabel got one of Abuelita’s spare nightgowns, so they both had something to sleep in.

Soos had had the option of turning Stan’s room into his own, since he was Mr. Mystery now, but he hadn’t felt worthy of the honor, so he mostly still slept in the break room, using a new couch that folded out into a bed.  Melody slept in the room that used to hold all the cursed wax figures, and Abuelita had cleaned out another storage room for herself, so the kids were still sleeping in the attic.  Soos promised that they or their mini-grunkles could come wake him up if they needed anything, and the little groups said goodnight to each other before heading to their respective rooms.

Waddles, who apparently had been sleeping on Mabel’s bed all day, was a little startled when he first laid eyes on them, and didn’t seem to recognize his master at first.  But after a minute of sniffing at her hands and skirt, he seemed to realize that she was still herself, and just accepted that she looked a little weird now.  As she got into bed he happily climbed up and snuggled against the crook of her arm, grunting contentedly.

“Goodnight, Dipper!” she called to her brother.

“Night, Mabel.”  He was in the process of writing the day’s events in his journal next to his drawing of the flower, and didn’t bother looking up.

“Don’t stay up all night; you’re a senior citizen now, so you need your beauty sleep.”

“Whatever.”

Truth be told, part of Dipper wasn’t sure if he’d be capable of falling asleep-and not just because his joints kept making funny creaky noises every time he moved.  Too many thoughts kept running around in his brain, worrying about how they were going to fix this, what if they couldn’t, were they going to have to raise their mini-grunkles from now on, what were their parents going to think about all this, what if what if what if...

But when he finished his entry in his journal and turned out the light, he lay back and closed his eyes-

-and the next time he opened them, it was to morning light filtering in through the window.

********

Attaboy, Dipper.  Get some sleep so you’ll stop worrying so much.

#gravity falls #soos ramirez #stan pines #ford pines #dipper pines #mabel pines #melody gravity falls #soos's abuelita #relatively relativity #sleepy boys #sleepy everyone #waddles