Ford lay where he’d landed, flat on his back staring up at the mottle blue/orange/grey sky.
This was all his fault.
It
was hard to accept, after all this time. He’d managed to make his peace
with the fact that it was his creation of the portal that had caused
the Transcendence in the end, even if Stanley had been the one to bring
it back to working order. He’d been angry at Stan for that, but in the
end, well, he’d built it. He’d hidden the warnings and underestimated
what Stanley would do for family. The responsibility was his.And so was his great nephew’s condition.
Oh, Dipper and Mabel tried to convince him otherwise, but he
knew better. And he knew his great nephew was still scared of him
sometimes.And that was his own fault, too.
Tag: the flock
A new nightmare, because I wanted practice with gradients. Their name is Jest.
Psychic Singularity Ch 13
When the wind hit, Pacifica somehow found herself sandwiched between two of Dipper’s nightmares.
Erschreckendmörderdesgrasderamflaumigstenist
Irreaffentittenturbosuperdupertyp Bammelbegierdedergoldenehufe dug
claws and wings deep into the pavement on one side while Steve 2 did the
same on the other, skidding down the sidewalk and leaving grooves in
the concrete until they hit the side of a building.When
the wind stopped and the world went back to as close to normal as it was
going to get today, they were the only ones left on the street.Slowly
they inched their way out away from the concrete wall, still feeling as
though the ground was going to drop out from underfoot at any second.Finally
Pacifia stood, giving her hair a quick flip. “Ugh, seriously? Fine.
We’ll do it alone. Just me and a pair of nightmare sheep.” She looked
over at the two nightmares flanking her, raising a critical eyebrow.
“Okay, who’ve we got?”The two nightmares puffed up with
indignation, following with offended huffs when Pacifica started
walking. “Look, I don’t remember the names of all Dipper’s pets, all
right?”The nightmares exchanged looks, proud, smug looks, as if reminding themselves that it was true, they
had names, unlike every other nightmare out there, names their master
had…well, not always approved of, but accepted. A look that quickly
turned disgruntled as they realized they’d been called ‘pets’.“Steve 2”
“Erschreckendmörderdesgrasderamflaumigstenist
Irreaffentittenturbosuperdupertyp Bammelbegierdedergoldenehufe” they
said, and Pacifica paused, turning to look at
Erschreckendmörderdesgrasderamflaumigstenist
Irreaffentittenturbosuperdupertyp Bammelbegierdedergoldenehufe blankly.“…I
remember hearing about you,” she said, manicured hand on outthrust hip.
“You’re still getting called Ershie. Not even remotely sorry.”
ever wonder if someone somewhere tried to figure out why alcor seems to have sheep? like a scientist or something? and is wondering if he likes to chew on them like gum or something? i dunno where i’m going with this, the idea popped into my head after my team’s reinhardt shouted what sounded like “DEMON MUTTON!” into the mic an hour ago. it was probably actually ‘button’ given he’s been complaining about his controls sticking, but i heard mutton, so yeah… I’m WAY of topic and rambling now…
There are entire dissertations that go into the symbolic meaning of sheep, the potential latent magical qualities embedded in mortal sheep, weird books of poetry.
In unrelated news, the sheep industry gets a major bump after the transcendence.
Psychic Singularity Ch 12
Vivienne’s landing was less than graceful, a bouncing, skidding roll
that ended with her facedown on the ground with a mouthful of grass.She heaved herself up on her elbows, spitting it out in automatic disgust before pausing.
The grass…tasted like candy. Sugar and mint, mostly.
Of course it did. Why should anything make sense today.
Carefully Vivi levered herself up and patted herself down.
Thankfully, apart from her dignity and a few scrapes from her landing,
nothing else hurt, so she started looking around for clues. At least
nobody saw that happen.Horace the Hooved Horror and Zondor the Destructor came trotting out
of the woods after a few minutes, just long enough for Vivi to think she
was left alone out here.“And where have you two been?” Vivi asked, the two nightmares looking
so similar to a pair of her kindergarteners that had been doing
something they shouldn’t be doing that the tone and question came out
automatically.Both sheep reacted like kindergarteners, too, scuffing the ground with their hooves and not looking directly at Vivi.
“Well?” she asked, suddenly wary. The two nightmares were acting
entirely too guilty for anything innocent…or anything demonic, really.
Must have been Dipper’s influence.“We…may have done some scouting about to see if we could find part
of the Master,” Horace the Hooved Horror said guiltily. “The Master
would have wanted us to stay with you.”“Could hardly help me when I was just lying here,” Vivi said after a few moments of thought. “Did you find anything?”
“Well…” Zondor the Destructor said reluctantly.
Psychic Singularity Ch 11
Though she had some misgivings about this aspect of her uncle – it
frightened her, how quickly she had lost herself to the fight and the
blood, made her wonder if part of it was his influence – Acacia was sure
now that he knew who she was and would keep his word about coming with
her quietly.Even if he did keep getting distracted, eyes narrowed and teeth
clicking like a cat’s chitter as his ears flickered, obviously hearing
things in the underbrush that Acacia couldn’t, Bloodlust still followed
behind his niece and her attendant nightmares as they walked towards the
woods.Something rustled the bushes at the other side of the clearing the
arena had sat in until so recently and all four swung to face it.Acacia had an arrow to the string without remembering drawing it, waiting for something to show itself.
The bushes rustled again, and Bloodlust darted forward, claws ready to rend and tear, teeth bared.
A nightmare burst out of the bushes, and Bloodlust checked himself so
hard he flipped over in midair and hit the ground hard, leaving a claw
gouges in the dirt where he landed.Acacia was sliding the arrow back into her quiver even as Bloodlust
was hitting the dirt, both she and the three nightmares holding back a
little from him while trying to see if he was okay.He sat up after a few seconds and shook his head, so Acacia decided
he was probably fine and turned to look at the nightmare that had come
barreling out of the bushes.She recognized Sauron after a glance, and rushed past the nightmare as her father and another nightmare appeared.
Acacia might have been an adult, but right now she’d been worried about her family and needed a hug from her dad.
One evening, all around France leaflets were found talking about a once in a life time opportunity to see the Nightmare Orchestra. everyone thought the name was a bad joke, but people went anyway. turns out it wasn’t a joke, all of the performers were sheep with the most bizarre and eclectic assortment of instruments ever to grace the hall. but what people talked about most was the conductor, and her inexplicable rainbow tuxedo made entirely out of sequins. Thanks for lending me the flock brobro
Psychic Singularity Ch 10
Acacia skidded to a stop in a three point landing, shoes kicking up
dust and with the bow Aunt Candy had given her ready in her free hand
and her brass knuckles ready on her supporting hand.Her
assigned sheep, Killer and Darcrack, skidded to a stop beside her, alert
and on edge, teeth bared. Killer’s short wings were flared, and
Darcrack’s barbed tail was poised and ready.After a few moments the trio relaxed a touch, straightening from their defensive crouches.
“…okay,”
Acacia said, hefting the bow she’d picked earlier. It had taken a long
time to get used to using one with only one eye, but Pines stubbornness
won out in the end. “So that happened. Who votes we find as many bits of
Uncle Dipper as we can and drag them back to the Shack so we can make
him apologize for scaring us and make him talk it out?”The
two nightmares baaed with glee, rearing up a little and kicking their
front legs, Killer flapping her tiny wings and Darcrack lashing his tail
in approval.“All right then,” Acacia said, projecting
cheerfulness and confidence as hard as she could. “Let’s go then –
either one of you have a lead?”Killer and Darcrack
lowered their heads together, conferring quietly. Finally, just when
Acacia was starting to really get impatient, waiting with crossed arms
and tapping foot, they raised their heads to look at her somberly.“We
can sen͡se ̶o̕n͞e, poss̸ib͟ļy t͟wo͞,” Killer said. “B̧u̢t̡ t͟he̕y̧
̧a͘re̶ n̶o̶t̡ ̕f͡r̷i͜e͠nd̸ly pa͠rt҉s̢ ǫf yo͡ur̶ un̵c̛le, our M̶ast̷er.
͘Th̢e͜y ̴ar͝e ̡dangȩrou͠s.”Acacia scowled, squaring her shoulders. “Uncle Dipper can’t recover unless we find all the pieces, though, right?”
Obviously reluctant, Killer and Darcrack agreed that that was, in fact, the case.
“Then
we got find all the pieces,” Acacia said firmly. “Come on, let’s get
moving. What’re you so scared of? We’re some of the scariest things
around here.”“Not as͠ s͝c̨ar͜y͠ a͏s ̧t͡h̡e̡ ͜Ma͏ster
m̴ig͜ht ̸b͝e͜…” Killer whispered, scuffing a hoof against the leaves
underfoot, Darcrack nodding agreement beside the tiny, normally fearless
nightmare.Acacia shot a grin at the nightmares over her
shoulder. “Anybody tell you about the time Uncle Dipper scared the shit
out of me? I’ve got him back since but man, does he still feel so
guilty…”Ears pricking forward, the nightmares trotted up to flank their human.
“Bu̡t̛
th̵e M͡a͜s͜t͝e͢r̡ c͞ares͝ abo̸ut y͢o͡u͜ a͢n̵d ̴y̕o̸ur ̶s͢ib̡li͞n̷g͝s͢
͡m̸or̶e̛ ͘than̶ a̛n͘ythi͢n̸ģ,” Killer said, and Acacia laughed again,
less forced than before.“Yeah, but he still screws up. Okay, so were were five, okay? And this cultist decides to come visit…”
Psychic Singularity Ch 09
Lucy Ann skidded to a stop, cat-like vampiric reflexes twisting her
to land on her feet and keep her balance in a perfect landing. She
stood, brushing herself off, pleased with herself.Which was exactly when the tumbling ball of wool, spines, and legs
that was a flying nightmare slammed into her, ruining the perfect
landing and sending both of them tumbling.Lucy Ann ended up with a mouthful of wool and a ridiculously heavy
sheep sprawled on top of her, waving its multitude of limbs in the air
and bleating pathetically. She promptly punched it, giving it a shove
when it didn’t get off her fast enough.Baaasly baaed at her reproachfully as they scrambled to their feet and backed away from the tiny vampire.
They aimed an ill-tempered, if light, kick at the nightmare that
trotted up to join them when Terrence, Destroyer of Grass, Eater of
Souls, Esquire snorted laughter at their misfortune. Lucy Ann ignored
them both for the moment as she got herself back in order and got the
wool out of her mouth.“Okay, knock it off you two,” she called back at them when their
shoving threatened to turn into a scuffle. Planting her hands on her
hips, she glared around them, irritated by the scenery and the situation
in general. “So where’d we end up, anyway?”
Psychic Singularity Ch 08
A warning for self harm in this chapter. I didn’t get very descriptive, but if you want to avoid it, the notes on AO3 and FF.net say where to stop/start reading. Also a warning for voices urging on the harm – the voices in italics. I’ll put a summary at the bottom of the chapter for anyone who
needs/wants to skip sections.
Stan groaned as he came to, sprawled out on what felt like grass. He was getting too damn old for this.
Something warm and wet slopped over his face, and he cursed as he batted at whatever was licking him.
He managed to crack open an eye to glare at the nightmare who’d
licked him. Baaazelbub didn’t even have the good grace to look ashamed,
blinking three red eyes one after the other at Stan innocently.Groknar the Destroyer shoved his head under Stan’s back, urging the old man to his feet as he grumbled.
“Ugh, fine, I’m up. What even was that?” Stan demanded, stretching as he stood.
“We ̷do͟ not̶ k͝n͏ow,̧ bu̴t ̷wę c̷aņ se̵nse͡ par͟t of͏ th͞e ̧Ma̢s̸tȩr n̢e͞arby͟,͏ ” the oldest nightmare replied, giving Stan another little push, “an͢d̡ h̡e needs u̡s. Hu͘rry!̛ ”
“Fine, fine. Still creepy to hear you call the kid that,” Stan muttered, hiding his worry as he usually did under grumbling.
Frowning, he stared at the house that he knew for a fact wasn’t in
Gravity Falls, but still in Piedmont, California, far away from all this
craziness.It was obviously Mark and Anna’s house – he’d visited a few times
while the twins were still little, so he remembered the rather ordinary
looking house – except it wasn’t the house he remembered, not quite.
backup 