Think we can get another sneak peek on dipper thinks stan is the author?
yes!! of course!! things are terrible thank you for you distracting me take lots
“I know it’s you,” Dipper declares with a certainty that makes Stan uncomfortable. "When I was in your mind, I saw you writing in the first journal. And - you were building something huge, down in the basement! You pretend like you’re just a gross old man who doesn’t know anything about this town, but you know more than anyone else!“
He stares at his nephew for a long, speechless moment. His head hurts.
”…Alright,“ Stan says finally, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. ”Okay.“ He needs a stiff drink and he needs to figure out what exactly what was going on with his life, and neither of those things sounds particularly likely right now. "Kid, you think you can start from the beginning?”
Dipper blinks. "Uh, yeah,“ he says, as if he hadn’t been expecting that all, like he hadn’t even given that a thought before barging in and shouting out Stan’s darkest secrets for all to hear.
Knowing the kid, he probably hadn’t - and didn’t that remind him of someone.
"So. Uh. ” Stan doesn’t know how to have this conversation. He’s not even too sure what this conversation is. "…Author of the journals?“
"That’s what I’ve been calling you,” Dipper explains, and barrels on before Stan can correct him. "Ever since I found your journal in the forest. I didn’t - I wasn’t sure who you were, because the picture inside looked like you a little but I couldn’t be sure because -“
He looks a bit embarrassed. "Because -”
“I get it, kid,” Stan sighs. "I’m old.“
"Because you only have five fingers!” Dipper says frantically, and goes a bit quiet. "And - yeah, because you look… a lot different now…“
That really doesn’t bother him, if he had to be honest. Stan knows he hasn’t exactly aged well, and he hadn’t been much of a looker back in the day either. Living on the streets did that to a guy.
But that gets him thinking, and the conclusion he makes is the only one he can, really.
Because how many journals were laying around out here that belonged to someone with six fingers?
…He really should’ve figured there were more. Ford wasn’t the kind of person who’d stop at one of anything.
Then something clicks, and it takes everything he’s got not to grab the kid by the shoulders and beg.
"You said you found one of those journals,” Stan says slowly, trying to keep the desperate hope from his voice. "You, uh… don’t happen to have that on you now?“
But Dipper shakes his head. "Gideon took it,” he says, a sheepish expression on his face, and Stan sags. "He’s been looking for it for ages because he has the second one too, and he’s been using the magic in it for all kinds of evil stuff.“
Stan jerks his head back up. ”…Second?“ He repeats, voice rough.
But that wasn’t - no, wait, hang on.
"Kid, which one did you have?”