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Triangulum - Chapter 2- Unsettling In

— — — — — — —

“Dibs on being the first Pines inside the Shack!”

The old floorboards creaked lightly under Mabel’s weight as she bounded through the door, pausing only to drop her bags by the staircase before she continued on towards the living room. “Aww, I’ve missed this place!” 

She jumped from the small doorway step to the carpet, twirling on her toes like a ballerina before she gestured to the television set. “Hello, ancient TV that only plays local access channels~!” Her gesture moved to the large dinosaur skull in the middle of the room. “Hello, weird T-Rex skull that we use as a coffee table for some reason~!” 

She waggled her finger at the aquarium. “Hello, giant aquarium tank that only sometimes has an animal in it~!” she said with a giggle. “You can’t hide from me forever, Sir. Wiggleton the Pink!”

From the nearby couch where she had seated herself and Waddles, Wendy raised an eyebrow. “Sir. Wiggleton the Pink?”

“That’s what I call Stan’s axolotl,” Mabel explained matter-of-factly. “He’s very sneaky, and likes to hide a lot. I only got a good look at him, like, once last year!”

“Maybe he sneaks out when nobody’s looking?” Wendy suggested, then snapped her fingers with inspiration. “Ooh, what if he’s actually some kinda secret agent, one who goes out and fights bad guys? And that's why it's so hard for anyone to spot him in the tank, ‘cause he’s not always in the tank!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Mabel agreed enthusiastically. “Maybe he’s part of a whole secret organization of secret-agent animals! And they all wear funny little hats!”

While they laughed in unison over the idea, more creaking from the hallway floorboards drew their attention to the doorway. A moment later, Dipper’s body was propped against the frame for support, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he gulped down precious breaths of air.

Between the desperate attempts to catch his breath, he shot Mabel a sour look. “You know, most people might call ‘tripping your brother as he tries to pass you in the driveway’ something along the lines of—oh, I dunno, maybe something along the lines of—cheating?”

Mabel’s mouth curled into a coy little smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dipping Sauce~!” she said innocently. “Not my fault you don’t know how to avoid branches while you’re running.”

“You literally stuck out your leg as I was trying to pass you!” Dipper argued. “And then after I fell, you laughed about it once you were sure I wasn’t actually hurt and was only just mildly inconvenienced!”

From her spot, Wendy let out a cackle. “You tripped him? Brutal.”

“It was a branch!” Mabel insisted. 

“A branch shaped like your leg!”

Mabel waved him away. “Oh, we can go on and on about things I did or didn’t do all we want—”

“You did do it.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered anyway!” Mabel continued, tossing her arms up in the air. “I still called dibs on being the first Pines to step inside, and you can’t go against dibs!”

“She has a point,” a voice spoke up behind Dipper, seconds before Ford stepped into the room. “The International Dibs Protocol is highly respected across countless dimensions, with millions of interdimensional beings valuing the weight it holds when it comes to ownership over specific affairs.”

He pressed a hand to his chin. “I believe at one point, there was even talk amongst the council members here in town about passing a law that would make adhering to said protocol mandatory. But the idea was scrapped before the House could ever lay an eye on it.”

“Yeesh, so this town’s just fine and dandy with people marryin’ woodpeckers or deciding ownership of a place based on whatever chump’s got the deed in their hands,” Stan called from out on the porch. “But you call dibs on something and suddenly that’s going too far—hey, hey! Knock it off, Soos, I’m not gonna look!”

He cast a miffed look to his right, where Soos had firmly remained throughout their entire walk up the driveway. His arms were spread out as wide as he could possibly get them, and he had even crab-walked up the porch beside Stan in an attempt to block something from his line of sight. 

“Sorry, Mr. Pines,” he said, keeping his arms outstretched until both of them were safely inside the house. ”But I can’t risk you seeing anything on the other side of this building until I give everyone the tour later!”

Stan let out a gruff sigh as they joined everyone else in the living room. “Yeah, yeah, like I’m in any rush to jump right back into work stuff after a nine-month vacation.”

Soos gave him a pitiful look. “Wh-you mean you’re not excited for the tour of all the new exhibits and stuff?”

“...I said ‘right back into’, didn’t I?” Stan pointed out. “Gimme an hour, we’ll see where I’m at then.”

He moved to the couch, then paused with a look to Wendy. “They got all the rats outta this thing while we were gone, right?”

“Completely rat free,” she assured him, moving her hand to Waddles’ head for scritches. “Although you’re never gonna guess what happened after we chased the last of them out of the shack—”

“Well, that sounds like six voices,” a voice called from the kitchen, seconds before a woman peeked her head through the doorway. “Pretty sure that’s everyone, unless we’re also expecting the girls.”

“Negative,” Wendy replied, as Stan settled down next to her. “Mr. Pines put down a hard no on any sleepovers tonight. Well, any sleepovers with the under-fourteens, at least.”

“Dipper also put down a hard no,” Dipper added. “Also hey, Melody!”

“Melody! Hi!” 

Mabel’s features lit up as Melody stepped out into the living room proper, and both twins rushed over to greet her further with a hug. “Hey, you guys!” she said, bending down to reciprocate. “Been a while, huh?”

“Sure has!” Dipper said with a hearty laugh.

“It’s so nice to see you again!” Mabel added with equal amounts of enthusiasm. “How’ve you been?”

 “I also think it’s nice to see you again!”

Before Melody could answer, all three suddenly found themselves lifted up from the ground. “I know we were only gone for, like, fifteen minutes or so,” Soos said, hugging all of them close to him. “But still, that’s enough time to miss someone, right?”

Despite most of her face being squished against his own, Melody smiled up at him.  “Well, fifteen minutes is about the same amount of time it takes to complete Ladybug on Dancey-Pants Revolution—” She paused and wriggled an arm free to tick off her fingers. “—what, five times? Five and a half? Just saying, that feels like an eternity when you’re trying to hit a perfect combo, doesn’t it?”

“That is so true,” Soos said with a nod. “You have such a way with words, babe.”

A squeak of delight drew their attention to the teenagers smushed between their bodies. “Hehe, you guys are adorable!” Mabel piped up. “And nerdy!”

“Also you’re kind of squishing us,” Dipper added with a wheeze.

With an apologetic smile, Soos lowered the group back down to the floor. “Sorry, dudes! Got so caught up in giving Melody a hug, that I kinda missed you were there.”

“Don’t worry, I’m okay,” Mabel assured him as she straightened out her clothes. “Being squished like that made me feel like the ham and cheese in a lovey-dovey sandwich!”

She gave a nudge to her brother’s arm with her elbow. “Guess that makes Dipper the lettuce and tomatoes!”

“What? Why am I the vegetables?” Dipper asked.

Mabel shrugged with a smile. “Because even if they’re not the most exciting ingredients, it just doesn’t feel like a proper sandwich without them,” she explained, pressing her hands together as if she were forming a sandwich herself. “But you gotta put ‘em between the meat and cheese, otherwise their veggie juices get mixed in with the condiments. Then bread gets all soggy and fall-apart-y and the sandwich is just inedible at that point.”

“Okay first of all, rude and gross. Second of all, that is a very weird analogy which explains nothing.” 

He pressed a hand to his stomach. “Although weirdly enough, it is making me hungry.”

“Good thing I got a head start on dinner before everyone got here,” Melody said. “In fact, I just checked the timer and there’s only a few minutes left before I need to pull it out of the oven—oh, by the way, lasagna from a box is fine with everyone, right?”

She directed her question both to the kids and to the group that had gathered by the couch, earning her a nod from Ford. “Fine with me. Meals that require minimal effort to prepare have sustained me since my college years, and I see no issue with continuing that trend now.”

“Long as there’s no fish involved, I’ll eat anything,” Stan assured her.

Wendy, who had distracted herself with scritching the spot between Waddles’ ears, looked to him. “Got sick of seafood out there on the open ocean, Mr. Pines?”

“Got sick of badly-prepared seafood.” 

Stan shot a pointed look to his brother. “Apparently somebody can rip out the spine of a zombified fishman from the ‘Walking Bullhead Dimension’—” 

“We’re gonna start this again, Stanley?” Ford interrupted, giving him an flat-but-amused look that implied they had discussed this topic countless times before.

“—but you give the guy a regular tuna to debone, and suddenly it’s all ‘Oh, this is ~soooo~ hard!’” Stan continued in a jestful tone. “‘I’m gonna make my twin brother nearly choke on a rib bone! Or two. Or five.’”

“Their spinal cords are more delicate than what I’m used to handling,” Ford insisted. “The anatomy of an anthropomorphic fish person—oh, uh, make some room?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Stan made a gesture with his hand for Wendy to move. “Hey, scooch over and put the pig on the floor so we can all sit down.”

“I can take him off your hands now, Wendy,” Mabel said, holding her arms open. “Although he’ll probably end up on the floor anyway; I know he’s been dying to root around in the carpet for burrito bite crumbs again!”

While Wendy readjusted and passed Waddles back to his owner, Ford seated himself comfortably next to Stan. “As I was saying,” he continued. “The anatomy of an anthropomorphic fish person resembles our own more than that of a non-anthropomorphized fish from our dimension. This size increase in bone structure makes it far easier to get a grip on their spinal column and just—” He made a tearing motion with his hands. “—rip it straight from the body—”

He paused and looked to the younger twins. “Only when such drastic measures are necessary to take, of course. Had the dimension been populated by living anthropomorphized fish people, I would not have resorted to ripping out anyone’s spines.”

Stan lightly bumped his knuckles against Ford’s arm. “Heh, sounds like a buncha fancy-schmancy excuses from a guy who never learned how to properly work a pair of fish tweezers,” he said, making small, pinching motions with his fingers. “What’s wrong, Poindexter? Thought you were used to usin’ delicate sciencey tools out in the field with your dainty little sciencey grip.”

“Nothing about my science or my grip has been dainty in over thirty years, and I think you know that.”

“Yeah, tell that to the octopus babe you tried to hook up with off the coast of Australia! When’d she leave again, less than half-an-hour into the date?”

While Ford responded with his own playful fist to the arm—one that Stan cackled loudly at in return—Mabel knelt to the carpet and set Waddles at her side. “Aww, it’s nice to see you two getting along so well now!” she said sweetly. “Does that mean no more fighting? I mean, actual fighty-fighting and not play fighting?”

“Psh, please, let’s not go that far,” Stan replied, with a wave of his hand. “Of course we’re gonna fight, we’re siblings. Or are you forgetting how you tripped your brother out there in the driveway?”

“It was a bra~anch!” Mabel insisted in a singsong tone.

Dipper gave her a flat look. “Still gonna go with that excuse, huh?”

“Yeah-huh~! Also it’s not an excuse.”

With a wink to them, Stan snaked an arm around his brother’s shoulder. “But if anyone’s worried about a repeat of last year’s performance, don’t be!” he assured them. “Nine months of punching sea monsters and nabbing treasure from sirens have made us thick as thieves, just like old times!”

“While Stanley’s claims are a touch exaggerated, he’s not wrong,” Ford replied. “Despite our petty bickering over fish preparation, there’s nothing quite like spending months out on the open seas with someone to remind you of what’s really important in life. Sailing around the world on the adventure of a lifetime—”

He cast a small smile in his brother’s direction. “—well, it puts a lot of things in perspective.”

With a faux look of disgust, Stan pushed him away. “Ugh, why’d you have to go and make what I said all sappy? What, you wanna make the kids blow chunks on their first day back?”

While the kids giggled at this response, Ford nudged him in retaliation again. “Well, if you’re going to be like that, we could always go back to our petty fish arguments,” he said with a smug look. “You’ve harped on my inability to properly debone a fish, yet you act as if you didn’t completely butcher the deboning of those seatrout we caught along the coast of Florida.”

“Hey, hey, I plead the Florida loophole!” Stan insisted. “Which clearly states that if anything funky happens within the Florida boundaries, it was caused by the fact that we were near Florida.”

He folded his arms firmly across his chest. “Can’t be blamed for anything when we’re sailin’ through territory that could give this town a run for its money in weirdness.”

“Oh, you two were down in Florida?” Melody piped up. “That’s exactly where Abuelita headed a few days ago!”

“She won a free trip in a bingo game,” Soos explained with a look of pride. “Man, you should’ve seen how jealous Agnes and Bertha got when she held up her winning card—”

The ringing of a timer from the kitchen turned everyone’s heads to the doorway. “Oh, sounds like the food’s done,” Melody said. “Better go ahead and start plating.”

“Need an extra hand?” Soos asked.

“Mmm, I think I can manage slicing up lasagna by myself,” she assured him, before casting another look at the group. “Besides, I know how excited you were for everybody to get here, and I wouldn’t dream of pulling you away from everything just to help me slop some food on a plate.”

Soos moved his hands to her shoulders with a solemn expression. “I love you. So much.”

With a chuckle, she leaned up to kiss his cheek before turning back to the kitchen. Once she disappeared out of sight, Soos let out a warm sigh. “Isn’t she the best?” he asked to no one in particular.

Stan turned to Wendy with a raised eyebrow. “So them bein’ all lovey-dovey with each other,” he said. “Is that a rare thing or am I gonna have to actually start stockin’ up on eyeball bleach for the summer?”

“Told you to keep it in mind earlier,” Wendy said, hand on her hip. “Also, you call that ‘lovey-dovey’? Kisses and random compliments for the other when they’re not even in the room barely crack a three or four on the Soos-Melody Romance scale.”

She tilted her head in thought. “Though I guess it’s been more about quantity than quality lately. Can’t go five minutes without one of them trying to smother the other person in affection because of…reasons.”

She raised a finger to her mouth before casting a look over at Soos, who smiled and pressed a finger to his own mouth in return. Leaving the Pines family to watch them with raised eyebrows and tilted heads. “Well, that’s not cryptic or anything,” Ford said.

“Yeah, what’re you two hiding?” Dipper asked. 

“C’mon, spill the beans!” Mabel added, with a quick glance around the living room before she followed up with: “...If there were any opened cans of beans lying around, you know I’d poke ‘em over for dramatic effect!”

“Hehe, that’d be so funny,” Soos said amusedly. “It’d be like…a callback or something! But sorry, dudes, no beans of any kind can be spilled at the moment. Whether it’s beans of the secret variety, or just the ones in a can.”

“Why not?” Mabel asked.

“I mean, I think we ran out of them yesterday so you can’t spill what—”

“The secret part, Soos,” Dipper clarified.

“Oh, that!” Soos pressed a hand to the back of his neck with a tender look. “Well, it’s kind of a big deal, y’know? And I wanna wait until Mel and I can tell you together.”

“Yeesh, this secret of yours must be big big,” Stan said with a loose chuckle. “What, are the two of you getting married or some…thing—”

The mild amusement in his tone faded as the punchline he was waiting for never seemed to come, while the giddiness in Soos’ expression only seemed to blossom further. His cheeks had brightened to a light shade of red and he’d pressed hand over his mouth as he tried—and failed—to hide the smile that was quickly taking over his entire face.

Wendy also slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her smile—her entire upper half trembling as if she were holding back the biggest laugh of her life—while a deafening silence of realization overtook the rest of the Pines family.

“Alright, who wants the first two plates?”

It was Melody who finally broke the silence, having returned to the doorway with a paper plate of lasagna in each hand. “Again, I would’ve prepared something better for a welcome-back dinner, but with Abuelita out of town and the party tomorrow—”

“YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED!”

Mabel’s words were punctuated by an ear-piercing scream—one that earned slapped hands to the ears of everyone except for Melody and Soos—and she flung herself around the neck of the latter to hug him tightly. “You guys are getting married! I can’t believe it!”

Dipper hurried to join in the hugging of Soos with a hearty laugh. “Congratulations, Soos! I’m so happy for you guys!”

“Can I be the flower girl?” Mabel prattled on. “Can Waddles be the ring bearer?!”

“What?! Why Waddles?” Dipper asked, then looked to Soos hopefully. “Can I be the ring bearer?!”

Melody stared at the sight with a look of mild confusion, to which Soos shrugged apologetically. “Sorry, babe,” he said meekly, and slung an arm around both of them. “Guess my poker face needed a little work.”

She chuckled in response, and went to set the plates down on the t-rex skull. “Well, I guess that’s one way to spill the beans.”

“YEAH! I spilled the beans!” Mabel said delightedly, pumping a fist in the air. “The metaphorical beans!”

“I mean, technically Stan was the one to spill them,” Wendy said, flashing Stan a grin. “You should’ve seen the look on your face, dude, it was priceless!”

This earned her a pair of narrowed eyes from Stan. “Hey, hey, what’s with you and the jokes today? You should be a little more respectful to the guy who used to sign your paychecks.”

“Mmm, are you going to be signing my paychecks again now that you’re back?”

Stan opened his mouth to respond, before the implication behind her reply snapped his attention right back to Soos and Melody. “Woah, woah, hold on, go back a sec—you’re telling me that you two are actually tyin’ the knot?”

Melody held out her hand, an engagement ring with a beautiful, purple gemstone resting comfortably on her finger. “End of the summer’s our set date,” she confirmed. “Oh, not the end end of summer; Soos told me that the kids’ birthday was the last day of August, and he didn’t want to take the spotlight away from their special day with our special day.”

“Aww, what? Booo!” Mabel protested as she hopped down from Soos’ arms. “Come on, we can share the day with you guys! Right, Dip?”

“Yeah!” Dipper agreed. “If there’s anything that’ll make our birthday better, it’ll be sharing it with your wedding day!”

Soos pressed a hand to each of their heads with a warm smile. “Aww, man, now I kinda wish we did!” he said, with a hopeful look to Melody. “You don’t think we could—”

“Normally I’d say yes in a heartbeat,” Melody said. “But we’ve already booked the photography, and you know how they are about rescheduling at the last second.”

“But don’t you guys have three months?” Dipper pointed out.

“To a wedding photographer, rescheduling earlier than five months counts as last minute,” Melody explained. “Especially if your set date’s in the summertime; they’re usually pretty swamped from June to the middle of September.”

“You shoulda gone for a Vegas wedding,” Stan said. “You get in, get out in an hour tops and all you need is a witness.”

He crossed his arms with a scowl. “And I guess you’ll need a safe for your valuables, in case the broad’s only marryin’ you for your winnings and plans on running off with ‘em in the middle of the night. …On second thought, don’t get married in Vegas.”

“Well, thankfully I don’t have any plans to go running off with any of Soos’s valuables, so there’s nothing to worry about there,” Melody said, taking a look around the room. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the majority of his valuables are sitting right in this very room, and I don’t think I could carry most of you.”

This earned her a chorus of ‘aww’s from the kids and Soos, and a retching gag from Stan. “Yeesh, forget the eye bleach thing, I’m gonna need something to scrub out my ears with after hearing that.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Wendy said, rising to her feet. “You still want some help with the food, Mel? I’ll do it just so Mr. Pines has an excuse to stop complaining about all the mushy stuff.”

Melody pressed a hand to her mouth to try and stifle back another laugh. “Sounds like a plan,” she said, and gestured for Wendy to follow.

While Wendy hurried after her—Stan glowering at her until she was out of his line of sight—the kids continued to swarm Soos with questions. “So where are you guys holding the wedding?” Mabel asked, hands folded together. “Ooh, lemme guess! Uh, uh—the arcade? No, that’s not romantic enough. Hoo-Ha Owl’s Pizzamatronic Jamboree? Since it’s where you had your first date?”

“Here at the Mystery Shack?” Dipper guessed. “Or, you know, a regular church?”

Soos pointed at him. “Ding ding ding, Dipper got it! Or, uh, he was right with the first guess.” He tossed his hands in the air. “We’re gonna have it here at the Mystery Shack! We’re gonna make some space outside, maybe put the alter over in that spot by the totem pole—it’s gonna look so good!”

“Well, I know I’m happy for both of you,” Ford spoke up from his spot on the couch. “I mean, I might not know either of you very well. But from the little I’ve seen of you two together, this is clearly a big deal and I’m honored that we get to share this opportunity with you.”

Soos turned to him with a surprised, yet touched expression. “Wh—aww, thanks, Dr. Pines,” he said, placing a hand on his heart. “That actually means a lot, coming from you.”

Ford blinked in confusion. “It…does?”

“Well…yeah,” Soos said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I know you didn’t plan for this place to become the Mystery Shack when you built it. But because it became that, I was able to meet Mr. Pines, and then Dipper and Mabel—” He began to tick off his fingers. “—and they were able to help me learn how to get a date, which led me to meeting Melody at the mall—”

He paused, looking to his hand. “Hey, should I count the whole ‘killer video game girlfriend’ thing in there somewhere, or was that more just a…thing that happened and isn’t really connected to all of this?”

“Definitely more of a side thing,” Mabel said. “Like, it happened, but I think connecting it back to the shack is a bit of a stretch.”

“The very weird point they’re to make is that none of this would’ve happened without you building the shack to begin with, Grunkle Ford,” Dipper said with a smile in his direction. “So in a way, a lot of this is because of you!”

“This wouldn’t be possible without help from our friend here!”

Ford’s smile vanished, nails gripping the arm of the couch tighter than he’d intended as the shrill, high-pitched sound of Bill’s voice echoed through his mind. Cruel tauntings mixed with the vicious laughter of his surrounding henchman, all while he struggled desperately against the invisible binds that held him in the air—

“Grunkle Ford, is everything alright?”

Mabel’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, a expression of worry painted across her features. Not only hers, but Dipper was giving him a mildly concerned look as well.

Ford let out a slow exhale of air through his nose to steady himself. It was just a horrible, fleeting memory, as were all his memories of Bill. Outside of his nightmares, he had managed to keep a lid on most of them for the past nine months whenever they managed to snake their way to the front of his mind.

That’s all it was, just another bad memory. No need to dwell on it, especially not now.

“I’m fine,” he reassured the rest of the group with a smile. “I was just about to say that I don’t know if I would go that far with the compliments. I mean, Stanley’s the one who put all the time and effort into making this place what it is today, isn’t he?”

He looked to his right, an identical pair of eyes meeting his own as the older Pines twins stared at each other in silence.

While he and Stan had only been reunited for less than a year, falling back into the habit of picking up on Stan’s mannerisms had almost been second instinct for Ford. Despite the forty year gap between their teenhood and the present, so much of the way that Stan presented himself hadn’t changed in the slightest.

So naturally, Ford had also picked back up the ability to distinguish when Stan was hiding his displeasure with a situation.

It didn’t happen often; Stan had always been the kind of person to openly and fervently vocalize his complaints at the slightest inconvenience. A behavioral habit he had possessed since they were young boys—such a thought sent an uncomfortable wave of nostalgia rippling through Ford’s chest—and one that had clearly stayed with him throughout the years—more uncomfortable waves in his chest of a different sort.

So whenever Stan made the choice to to keep his grievances to himself, it usually meant there was more bubbling under the surface. More than he was willing to let anyone see.

And the way that his features had shifted, jaw clenched and a rigid look behind his eyes that was easy to miss if you blinked—

“Yeah, the heck am I? Chopped liver?”

Before Ford could think to question Stan, he’d already turned back to the group with an affronted look. “Or are you knuckleheads forgettin’ who even started this whole business to begin with?”

This sent a wave of laughs through the trio. “Of course we didn’t, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel assured him. “We’d never forget about you!”

“Of course not!” Dipper added with a laugh.

“Not for a second!” Soos added. “In fact, I was actually about to ask you—”

“More plates coming through~!”

Melody and Wendy reentered the living room, a plate in each of their hands. “Alright, dorks, come and get these before I eat them,” Wendy joked, passing both plates in her hands to the younger twins.

“And one for you,” Melody said, handing one of hers to Soos with another kiss on the cheek.

This got a small hum of delight from Soos, which was accompanied by another eye roll from Stan as he leaned forward to take one of the plates off the skull table. “Eugh, on second thought, I don’t want any sorta credit for this mush fest,” he said, bringing it to his lap. “In fact, unless you got more happy news to tell us, I’m turnin’ my attention to this mush fest instead.”

To emphasize his pun, he brought the back of his fork down onto the lasagna with an audible squishing sound, before shoving a large bite into his mouth. “‘Sides, the sooner we eat, the sooner we get to see Soos’s big, fancy shack tour, right?”

His point seemed to encourage the kids to dig into their own plates as well, although not without bombarding the happy couple with more wedding-related questions. Wendy, in the meanwhile, had realized that she was the only person left without any food and headed back to the kitchen to fetch herself a plate of her own.

Leaving the remaining plate on the dinosaur skull, one growing colder by the minute, for Ford to take.

He leaned forward to pull it to his lap as well, unable to resist giving Stan a glance out of the corner of his eye as he did. Stan’s expression had returned to a more relaxed look as he dug into his food, any previous signs of distress now nothing more than a memory.

Settling back into place with his plate, Ford turned his attention back to the group—specifically Dipper and Mabel as they laughed along with whatever Soos was telling them through a mouthful of lasagna. 

None of them had expressed any further concern for Stan’s behavior after it had happened, and the three of them had spent far more time with Stan than he had in the past thirty years. Sure, the two of them had spent the past nine months together out at sea, but the kids had gotten to know him over the course of the previous summer. And Soos had practically spent all of his childhood and young-adulthood around him.

If they had failed to noticed anything was wrong with him, did that mean that Ford had misinterpreted his reaction completely? If one of Stan’s closest employees and family members—people who had been around Stan for far longer than he had in the past few decades—hadn’t noticed anything wrong with him, then maybe there was actually nothing to notice at all?

“Ho-ho! Looks like Mr. Brainiac finally got smart!”

…Then again, he did have experience in not picking up on the obvious.

His grip on the fork tightened as he stabbed it into the remaining lasagna on his plate, letting out another slow exhale in the process. It was like Stan had said earlier at the bus stop. If the two of them showed any signs of stress regarding the events of the previous summer, then it was sure to stress out the kids as well.

He raised the fork to his mouth. And it was like he had said; It was a new summer. A chance for everyone to start over, and for them to start over together.

“We don’t have to do anything alone ever again, right?”

“We don’t have to do anything alone. Not now, not ever again.”

If there was anything truly wrong with Stan, he would say something. They could talk things out, find a solution together.

As he bit down on the lasagna, however, he couldn’t stop his gaze from uncertainly shifting back to his brother.

—right?

— — — — — — — — 

“Remind us again why we’re wearin’ blindfolds?” Stan asked.

“Oh, how the tables have turned,” Mabel piped up, and reached her hands out in front of her to blindly grasp at the air. “Are you going to make Grunkle Stan drive us somewhere with his blindfold on?”

“I strongly advise against anything of the sort,” Ford said quickly. 

“Nah, I’m pretty sure Soos just wants us to be surprised by all the new stuff he’s added to the shack,” Dipper pointed out, and looked towards where he had heard Soos’s voice. “Isn’t that right, Soos? …I think I’m looking at you, I can’t actually tell.”

“You got it, dude!” Soos said, giving him a thumbs up before adding as an afterthought: “By the way, you can’t see it but I gave you a thumbs up!”

Dipper gave him a thumbs up in return, while Stan folded his arms across his chest. “Yeesh, with how much you’re hyping this thing up, it better end with a boatload of cash.”

He flipped his thumb in the direction of the parked car and boat situated a short distance from the group. “And don’t think I don’t know how much a boatload is, we got the Stan-O’-War 2 parked right over there for reference.” A pause. “I’m pretty sure it’s over there, at least.”

“It is,” Soos assured him. “Alright, is everyone ready?”

Dipper gave a nod. “We’re ready, Soos!”

“Yeah, knock us dead, Mr. Mystery!” Mabel added encouragingly.

After a quick glance down at the stack of flashcards in his hands, Soos looked back to the waiting Pines with a big smile. “Greetings, ladies, gentlemen, and other assorted tourists,” he began in a rehearsed tone. “First of all, the Mystery Shack family would like to offer you a hearty welcome to the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon—”

He winked at them. “Or I guess I should really say welcome back to the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon! …‘Cause, like, you all came back to the town after leaving—”

Stan pressed a hand to his forehead. “You’re really gonna give us the entire pitch first, huh?”

From off to the side where her and Wendy were situated, Melody perked up at his remark. “He’s been waiting ages to show it to you,” she called to them. “He barely got any sleep last night out of excitement!”

“I kept opening my eyes and hoping it was finally morning,” Soos admitted with a bashful smile.

“Besides, aren’t you the one who’s always saying that buttering up the chumps that come through here is a good way to get them to toss more money at us?” Wendy added. “Why do you care if he gives you the entire pitch first?”

“Hey, never said I didn’t approve of it,” Stan clarified. “I especially like the part where he refers to the staff as a family.”

He gave a theatrical wave of his hands. “Paints a mental picture in those chumps’ minds. A picture that says ‘Hey! The people at this place must be really close if they’re callin’ themselves a family! And if they’re a family, they must have a bunch of hungry kids to feed! Let’s toss all the money in our wallets at them…for the children!’”

“Probably helps that you actually made us dress up like ‘the abnormally hungry twins’ for an exhibit last year.” Dipper cast a flat look towards Stan, then to verbally emphasize his point: “Which I will not be doing again this year.”

Stan waved him away with a scoff. “‘Course not; those extra inches on your height won’t make you pass as anything more than a starving teenager. And people aren’t as taken in by teenagers in need as they are kids.”

“An unfortunate fact, but a true one,” Wendy chimed in again. “Now shh, Soos worked really hard on preparing this speech!”

“Thanks, Wendy,” Soos said. “But I don’t mind any interruptions, especially not from Mr. Pines! If there’s anything my online forums taught me, it’s that running a business is like writing a fanfiction: healthy criticism informs me of the areas I can improve on, and makes me feel good about the areas I’m already doing well in!”

He tapped his chin. “There’s also a lot of overlap between the two when it comes to people who want to learn about how to romance a werewolf,” he mused with a chuckle. “Turns out the secret is just buying a lot of beef jerky, they go nuts for the stuff—”

“Keep it on track, Soos,” Stan interrupted with a roll of his hand.

“Gravity Falls, Oregon,” Soos continued. “A mysterious and strange town, full of mysterious and strange beings. Whether they’re human, animal, vegetable, mineral, something in between or something else entirely, the one thing they all have in common is that they call this town home.”

He tossed an arm in the air to gesture at the building behind him. “And lucky for you, our totally awesome family here at the Mystery Shack is happy to help bridge the gap between the mysterious and the…not-mysterious—”

He made a so-so motion with his hand. “This part’s a little rough, but we’re working on smoothing it out. I know there’s a good M-word that would fit there, I just can’t remember off the top of my head.”

Ford pressed a hand to his mouth, before he spoke up with a suggested: “Mundane?”

Soos’s features brightened with inspiration and he shot a finger gun in Ford’s direction. “Boom! That’s the one!” he said, fetching a pencil from his pocket. “Thanks, Dr. Pines! …By the way, I shot you a finger gun. If you don’t know what that is—‘cause of all the time away from our dimension—I can tell you! It’s when you take your finger and—”

“No need to explain, Soos,” Ford assured him. “The concept speaks for itself.”

While Soos scribbled a few edits onto his flashcard, Melody raised a hand from her spot. “Sorry to interrupt your speech, Soos, but I just want to make sure I’m getting things right now that everyone’s here.” 

She pointed a finger at the Stans, shifting it back and forth between them. “Mr. Pines is the founder of the Mystery Shack and Dr. Pines is the one who actually owns it, right?” she asked with a shrug. “Or—well, I know that technically we own it since we have the deed to the building, that’s such a weird law for this town to have—”

“You have no idea,” Stan added.

“—but you get what I mean, right? Dr. Pines is the name on the deed?”

“I gotcha, and you’re right!” Soos clarified. “Mr. Pines founded the mystery shack and Dr. Pines is the one on the deed.”

He turned to face her completely. “If it helps, you could try remembering it like this: Mr. for mystery and Dr. for deed to the shack!”

Melody considered this for a moment. “Oh, that does help, actually. It’s like a stalactite/stalagmite kind of thing.”

“You could also just call them Stan and Ford,” Mabel added. “Ooh, or Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford like we do!”

“I mean, technically they aren’t her great-uncles,” Dipper pointed out. “So that wouldn’t really make sense.”

With a tut, Mabel placed her hands on her hips. “Please, the title of Grunkle is less about being a great-uncle, and more of a state of mind.”

“...Yeah, the state of mind where you’re a great-uncle,” Dipper said pointedly. “Hence the combination of the two words.”

“You can call us whatever you please,” Ford spoke up. “Clearly there are plenty of options to choose from, and all are accurate to some degree.”

He pressed a hand to his chin. “Although I will admit that it’s been a long time since anyone has referred to me as Dr. Pines. It was far more common for people to call me that for the first few years after I finished college.”

“You know what, I’ll experiment with a few different names, see what sticks,” Melody said, then turned her attention back to Soos. “Sorry, babe, didn’t mean to interrupt. Go ahead and keep going.”

“Never hurts to double check,” Soos assured her. “Plus since the two of them are part of the Shack’s history, it doubles as a tour question! Ooh, we should write that into the speech, too—”

There was another pause as he scribbled something down on his flashcards. “See, that’s another reason I wanted to show you guts the tour as soon as possible,” he said to the Pines. “I’m adding so much that’s gonna knock the next group of tourists that hears it on their butts! Okay, let’s see, where was I—”

“Mysterious and mundane,” Dipper reminded him helpfully.

“Thanks, dude! As I was saying before, we here at the Mystery Shack are happy to help bridge the gap between the mysterious and the mundane—”

He playfully waggled a finger in Ford’s direction, before tossing his free hand in the air. “And hopefully after today’s tour, you’ll all be able to walk across that bridge alongside us! Welcome to the Mystery Shack!”

He squinted down at his flashcards again. “Is…is that good for a welcoming statement?” he asked. “Did I do a good job? Do you feel invested to learn more about what awaits in this fine establishment?”

“Oh, I know if I had a wallet full of money, I’d be tossing fistfuls at you right now,” Mabel said supportively, and dug a hand into the pocket of her skirt. “Ooh, wait, I might have some glitter I can toss instead—”

After blindly feeling around for a moment, she pulled her hand out with a with a disappointed look. “Aw, nope, false alarm,” she said, opening her palm to reveal a squished, blue blob. “Just my wad of that sticky stuff teachers use to hang up posters that I stole over the school year~!”

She dropped it in her pocket again and gave the side a pat. “Just gonna tuck that back where it belongs~!”

“And I’m always ready to learn more,” Dipper added. “So you don’t need to do much to convince me!”

“Sounds like a yes to me, Mr. Mystery,” Melody said. “We good to move on to the next part of this tour?”

“You know it!” Soos said, before looking back to the Pines. “Okay so that part of the speech would normally be followed up with me leading everyone over to the exhibits area and showing all of them off.” 

His gaze moved to the Stans. “But I know you wanted a quiet evening without tourists or sleepovers or parties—”

“We did,” Stan confirmed.

“I didn’t,” Mabel argued with a pout. “I’ll bet Candy and Grenda would’ve had so much fun on the tour!”

“Oh, they’ve taken it many times!” Soos assured her. “They’re practically honorary employees at this point, and sometimes they even help with the new exhibits!”

At this information, Mabel’s pout was immediately replaced with a cutesy smile and she squished her hands to her cheeks. “Aww, of course they do! Can we see some of the ones they helped with?”

“Well, uh—like I was saying, we knew Mr. Pines wanted at least one evening before all the loud stuff,” Soos said. “So we ended tours early for the day and sent everyone from the exhibits home.”

The Pines exchanged a series of confused, blindfolded looks, before Dipper vocalized their confusion with an: “Everyone?”

Soos looked to Melody and Wendy, who nodded in unison. “We sent everyone home,” he continued to the Pines. “But we still wanted to give you all a taste of the kind of tours we’d normally give on a regular basis! So Melody had the brilliant idea to leave out the empty displays and do a fake tour before cleanup!”

He gestured for them to follow. “If you really want to know more, you’re gonna have to come look for yourselves~! And to look for yourselves, you’re gonna have to follow me!”

“Refusing to explain further until we take the tour for ourselves?” Stan gave a proud nod. “Good, good, you’re reelin’ us in…”

“Uh, Soos?” Dipper said, and pointed to his blindfold. “How can we follow you if you can’t see?”

Soos froze, and pressed a hand to his forehead. “Oh, duh, forgot about that!” he said, and thought for a moment. “Uh…just carefully follow the sound of my voice and footsteps?”

He began to walk backwards, making wide gesturing motions with his hands as they blindly followed him. “Alright, dudes, just keep walking forward—oop, careful of that crack in the ground, Dipper! Okay, just a little further—”

“Still don’t understand why we can’t just take the blindfolds off,” Stan said, taking a few bold steps forward—

—and letting out a grunt of pain as he stepped on a small rock. “Also, since when did Soos know to call you Dr. Pines?” he asked, kicking the rock to the side. “Don’t remember you ever tellin’ him to do that.”

He directed the last remark at Ford, who was carefully toeing the dirt in front of him before taking a step. “Well, I did mention my college years back when I first stepped out of the portal,” he reminded Stan. “Perhaps he took that fact and came to the conclusion that using the Dr. prefix would be appropriate, given my numerous PhDs.”

Stan’s expression shifted for a moment. “Oh yeah, that did happen, didn’t it,” he said, before shaking his head. “Yeah, given your whole science guy thing, I’ll bet he woulda called you Dr. Pines even if you didn’t have the credentials for it.”

“I would’ve!” Soos confirmed helpfully.

“Ooh, Mabel just had a fun idea!” Mabel piped up, and pressed her hands together. “What if we called you Dr. Grunkle Ford?”

She smiled cutely in Ford’s direction, despite being unable to see him. “I’ll bet one of those PhDs is from mastering the study of Great-Uncle-ing, isn’t it? Hmm~?”

“Well, if we’re getting into the specifics,” Ford began. “The field of studies I majored in were biology, archaeology—dabbled in Hyper-Advanced Engineering and Fifth-Dimensional Calculus for three semesters, deeply regret trading the rest for an extra semester of Applied Quantum Phase Theory—”

He paused. “Oh, that was a joke, wasn’t it?”

Mabel let out a giggle. “The PhD part was, the Dr. Grunkle Ford part was not. That was also not a ‘no’ so I’m gonna tuck that away for later.”

She made a motion to grab something out of the air, and pretended to drop it into her pocket. “And just ‘cause you can’t see it, I grabbed the nickname out of the air and dropped it into my pocket,” she explained, patting her skirt. “It’s resting right next to my blob of sticky poster stuff as we speak.”

“Hey, Soos, are we able to take off our blindfolds yet?” Dipper asked.

“Just a little further ahead—ooh, okay, stop, stop!”

Soos came to a stop himself, smile wider than ever. “Alright, esteemed guests! You may now remove your blindfolds and behold the wonders the Shack has to offer! …Or, at least, get an idea of what the Shack has to offer when we’re not closed!”

Four pairs of hands met cloth as the Pines reached up to lower their blindfolds and take in the sight before them.

The area situated between the shack and the edge of the woods was reminiscent of a carnival after all the guests had gone home for the day—the grass a tamped-down mess of discarded pamphlets and trash, and a wide selection of empty displays surrounded them on all sides.

To their left stood a tall aquarium that stretched around ten by ten square feet, filled nearly to the brim with placid water. Further ahead was a lengthy presentation stage, littered in the remains of unidentifiable objects made of wood, stone—anything that looked like it would’ve been a challenge for a regular human to destroy.

Ahead of that was an artificial recreation of a magical forest glenn, one perfect for a unicorn to kneel before in a graceful and elegant fashion. A series of perches for winged creatures both big and small. A small pet bed the perfect size for a plaidypus. A collection of scattered Pitt Cola cans near a skateboarding ramp covered in massive, yeti-like footprints and tire tracks.

Empty display after empty display surrounded the Pines family as they looked around, each a clear indicator of what beings would normally occupy them during business hours.

And if the sight wasn’t enough, Soos was happy to confirm it as he lead them forward: “Now, this is our Main Exhibit Area,” he said, and gestured around himself. “Any live beings for these attractions would normally be gathered here for their demonstrations—”

“Live beings?” Dipper asked with a hopeful sparkle in his eyes. “As in we’ve started including actual, real monsters and creatures and stuff?”

“You know it, dude!” Soos said.

Mabel smooshed her face against the side of the large, glass tank, pupils darting back and forth while questions spilled out of her mouth at breakneck speed: “Is this a mermaid tank? How many mermaids are here? What are they like? …Are any of them Mermando?”

“Reminder that you’re in a relationship,” Dipper said.

Mabel pulled her face back with an audible pop, before giving her brother a pointed stare. “I wasn’t asking so I could date him again! It’d just be nice to catch up with an old friend!” 

She moved a hand to her forehead, rubbing the spot where skin had met glass. “Besides, you act like Dev wouldn’t be cool with being in a polyamorous relationship with a mermaid.”

“...You know, that is probably something he’d be cool with.”

“Soos said he had a feeling you’d like the mermaid tank,” Melody said, coming up beside them. “And Wendy had a feeling that you’d love to see me jump into it.”

Mabel stared up at her with a grave look. “I would love nothing more.”

“Called that one,” Wendy said with a smug grin.

Using the ladder near them, Melody climbed up and onto the wooden platform on top of the tank, pausing only for a moment to fiddle with something in the very center. After a few seconds, she lifted the half she was not kneeling on upwards and held it still for the group to see. 

Rather than being made completely out of wood like the other half, the ‘lid’ was made up of sturdy, steel bars with gaps between them. Like the bars of a jail cell, if the entire jail cell had been laid on its back and made of glass.

“We like to close and lock the lid between mermaid demonstrations,” she explained to the Pines family. “Keeps any bold tourists from trying to climb inside.”

“You lock your mermaids up?” Mabel asked, hands pressed to her mouth in horror.

“Wha—oh, no, don’t worry!” Melody quickly assured her. “We only lock it up once Mitch is outside of it and in his portable tank—hey, Soos, Wendy, can you guys—”

“Oh, yeah, one sec.”

Both Soos and Wendy hurried over to the opposite end of the tank and held out their arms, as if preparing to catch something out of the air. Once they were in place, Melody arched the lid up and over towards the side where they stood. While it quickly swung downwards at the two of them, they stood firm as they caught it in their arms, before gently guiding it to rest against the side of the tank.

Looking pleased, Melody turned her attention back to the kids. “Alright, I’m not even gonna try to do a proper mermaid dive into this thing because there’s a good chance I might break my neck,” she said. “So are we fine with a cannonball instead?”

“Cannonball! Cannonball!” Dipper and Mabel chanted in unison.

“Cannonball!” Soos added with just as much enthusiasm.

“Sounds like a yes to me!” Melody said, and took a small step back from the gap. “Get your cameras ready!”

Mabel held up her cell phone with a bright smile, before taking a cautious step back from the tank. “For safety measures,” she explained. “Don’t want what happened to Dipper’s phone to happen to mine~!”

“There was a chicken in science class, caught on fire and set off the sprinklers…” He shrugged in mild annoyance. “I had to get a new phone, it was a whole thing—”

“Shshshsh,” Mabel said, taking one hand off her phone to wave him quiet. “We can exchange cool stories after the tour! Cannonball time!”

“Oh, right—go for it, Melody!”

And with that confirmation, Melody took a deep breath jumped up and over the open side of the tank, folding her body into a cannonball shaped before she sank down into the water. Water that splashed up and out, soaking the grass around the tank and the toes of anyone who hadn’t followed Mabel’s example and backed up to safety.

While Melody breached the surface and swam to the tank’s side, Soos looked back down to his flashcards. “As you can imagine, normally a trick like this would be done by our hired merteen, Mitch,” he explained. “He would do a few tricks, explain a few of the basics of being a merperson, and then answer a few questions from the audience about being a mermaid and stuff.”

Melody propped her folded arms over the side of the tank. “And since I’m not an actual mermaid, I can’t really answer any real mermaid questions,” she said. “Or, at least, not as well as someone who’s been one their entire lives. But if anyone’s got any about how the exhibit works in other ways—”

“And Mabel’s hand is already in the air.”

Dipper flicked a thumb towards his sister, who was waving her arm about so frantically that it was a miracle that it didn’t go flying right off her body. Melody smiled and gestured to her with a damp hand. “Go ahead, Mabel.”

“Because I didn’t get any answers before, I repeat my questions from earlier,” Mabel said. “How many mermaids are here? What are they like?”

She turned her nose up at Dipper. “And would there happen to be an old friend of mine by the name of Mermando among them?” she asked. “One I am not interested in dating again, but one I would like to say hello to, despite what a certain someone might think—”

“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t we?” Dipper asked.

“Ehhh, we only got the one merman and I doubt you’d be interested in dating him,” Wendy answered. “He’s kinda dull, one of those beach-dude types who’s overly obsessed with surfing and sun…”

She flicked a thumb towards the skating ramp. ”Gets along pretty well with the Abominable Bro-men who hang out at the halfpipe, though.”

“Speaking of which, he headed down to the California coast for the summer,” Soos said. “Apparently he’s got a lot of family down there—”

“Makes sense,” Dipper said with a nod.

“Totally tracks,” Mabel added.

“—which means that the only mermaid exhibit you’ll get to see for the next three months is Melody’s,” Soos continued. “Unless another one applies for a job soon, that is. ‘Course we’ll still need to check their resume, confirm their resources are legitimate—”

“Which could happen,” Melody said, as she pulled herself up onto the edge of the tank. “I’ve got a couple of interviews lined up.”

She looked towards the older Pines twins. “What about you two? Got any mermaid questions for me?”

“I’m afraid any questions I might still have about mermaids would only be able to be answered by actual mermaids,” Ford said, and looked towards the rest of the displays. “And I assume the same applies to the rest of the exhibits.”

He cast them both a smile. “But I’m in full support of this method of showcasing them! I mean, using the supernatural beings of Gravity Falls as willing exhibits, and providing a chance for everyone to grow accustomed to each other in a neutral setting?” 

He tossed his hands in the air. “All with education lessons about each creature added to the mix? Quite the scientific approach to this sort of thing, color me very impressed!”

“Well, we kinda have you to thank for the idea, Dr. Pines,” Melody said. “You and the kids, of course.”

Once again, Ford found himself bewildered by the sudden praise and he tilted his head with a curious look. “Care to explain?”

“See, I spent sooooo much time with Dipper and Mabel last year,” Soos explained. “And they spent sooooo much of their time doing lots of cool, mystery stuff! Whether it was fighting some big monster or just trying to find out more about the super-mysterious author guy who wrote the journal that Dipper found in the woods—”

He once again pointed at Ford with a playful grin, before continuing: “—we learned about a lotta weird dudes! And with the town coming together and everything after Weirdmageddon, that meant a lotta those weird dudes were walking around in broad daylight. Which meant a lotta tourists started seeing those weird dudes walking around in broad daylight!”

“And as most tourists do, plenty had questions about them,” Melody continued from the water tank. “So with the Shack being one of the most popular locations in town, some talk was thrown around about us providing a space for those beings to answer their questions!”

“It probably helps that a lot of those weird dudes hid in the Mystery Shack during Weirdmageddon,” Wendy added. “So you know, didn’t take a lot of convincing to get them involved, since they kinda consider it a safe haven now.”

“That’s so cool!” Dipper piped up excitedly.

“It’s brilliant,” Ford agreed. “During my years of research, I spent so long studying all the strange and mysterious beings of this town. How they came to exist, how they functioned—”

He placed a hand to the side of the tank. “Not just them but the weirdness that surrounded the town as a whole. Why all of it was so drawn to this tiny, Oregon town out of anywhere else in the world—”

“Imagine it, Sixer—a whole dimension of weirdness! One where the strangest and most bizarre beings the Multiverse has to offer call home! All waiting for someone as brilliant as you to pop on over and show the world what they—and you—can do!”

“You really think so?”

“Buddy, I know so! This is the way genius happens! …With a little help from a friend, of course!”

The hand against the glass curled into a fist as Bill’s voice once again pounded through his skull, the memories of their ‘research’ together gripping his insides like a vice. All those years of hard work for naught, all that wasted time being fed promises from the honey-dipped spoon of a liar, the bitter truth hidden from sight until it was too late to spit it back out—

He slowly unclenched his hand with a shuddery exhale. Deep breath, just relax. Everything was fine. “—well, this whole setup is making me reminisce on more nostalgic times,” he finished with a forced smile in Soos’s direction. “That’s all.”

If Soos had caught on to his half-truth, he didn’t show any sign of it in his own expression. Rather, his own smile simply widened further as he looked to Stan. “What about you, Mr. Pines?”

Ford couldn’t help but look to his brother as well, and his eyes once again met a matching pair as the two of them stared at each other in another shared silence.

The rigidity in Stan’s features from before had returned. Far less prominent than it had been back in the house, but the way his jaw was set, the cold, studious gaze behind worn lenses—

“All I wanna know is how much this kinda stuff’s costing the two of you.” 

And quick as a flash, Stan had turned back to the rest of the group, arms folded across his chest and any sense of tension in his features nonexistent. “Don’t get me wrong; I think usin’ all the ghouls and goblins of this town to get more money outta tourists is a great idea—”

“You mean like what I suggested last year?” Dipper pointed out.

“Last year I was still playin’ dumb about all of that, in the hopes it would keep you kids outta trouble,” Stan reminded him. “Think we can safely say that ship has sailed by now. Besides, I ain’t the big man in charge anymore, so whatever changes you make to the shop are up to you and you alone.” 

He directed the back half of his sentence at Soos and Melody as he turned to face them again. “But you know me; always lookin’ at the side of business with the dollar signs. And I just wanna know if you’re turnin’ more of a profit than what you’re spendin’.”

Ford’s gaze continued to linger on his brother for a moment more, before he turned to them as well. “Stanley raises a good point. While I clearly support the desire and motivation to help others approach the supernatural beings of the Falls with a more respectful and scientific mindset—well, as Stanley put it so eloquently, such methods aren’t exactly cheap.”

“Oh, that’s nothing to worry about,” Melody assured them. “If anything, the Shack is making more money than it ever did before!”

“Oh yeah!” Soos agreed. “Even taking into account all of the paychecks we give out—of course we pay anyone who’s part of an exhibit—”

“They’re employees after all,” Melody chimed in with a nod.

“—even taking all that into account, we’re doing really well!” Soos finished, tossing his hands into the air. “In fact, the Shack is more popular than it’s ever been before!”

Ford glanced back at Stan, scanning his features for any other signs of distress. However, Stan only seemed to perk up further at Soos’ comment, even going so far as to clasp a proud arm around his shoulder. “Well, then I have no complaints whatsoever! Show me another one of these magnificent, moneymaking—uh, m—uh…whatever, just show me another one.”

“Sounds like my cue,” Wendy said, and turned to the younger twins. “Who wants to see me break something over at the Manotaur stage?”

This time, Dipper and Mabel’s hand shot up in unison, and Wendy laughed as she lead them over towards the empty presentation stage. Much like back at the bus stop, the adults found themselves left behind as Soos helped a sopping-wet Melody back down the ladder and into the grass. 

“Well, the tour might not be how we usually do things, but at least they seem to be having fun,” she said, and reached up to wring out some of the water in her hair. “Plus getting a chance to jump into a tank of water on a hot summer evening’s probably the opposite of a problem.”

“You cannonball like no other,” Soos said, tone full of sincerity before he looked to the older twins. “So you’re really enjoying the tour so far, Mr. Pines? I know you probably won’t get a proper feel of the new exhibits until you’re able to take a real tour, and I know this is a huge change from how you used to do things—”

“Like I said, it’s makin’ this place more money than ever so I’ve got zero complaints,” Stan said with a shrug. “Your methods are smart, keepin’ up with what the people want like any good business should…”

His features shifted to something that almost resembled genuine pride, if one looked closely enough. “You’re…you’re doin’ good, Soos. Really.”

A single touch could’ve shattered Soos like glass, eyes swelling with tears of pure joy.. “Thank you so much, Mr. Pines!” he said, and finally gave in to the urge he was probably holding since the moment the Stans arrived and scooped Stan up into a hug. “You’ve no idea how much this means to me!”

Any pride in Stan’s expression vanished in place of annoyance at being scooped, and he struggled fruitlessly against Soos’ embrace. “Alright, alright, save the huggy stuff for your fiance over there,” he insisted firmly. “Besides, didn’t Wendy say she wanted to show us another exhibit or whatever?”

“Oh, right!” Soos said, and looked to Melody. “Want me to hug-carry you over to the stage?”

“Soos, I’m soaking wet.”

“Then we’ll both be soaking wet!”

Recognizing a good point when she heard it, Melody shrugged and hopped into his arms and the two of them fell into a shared fit of laughter as Soos lead them both towards the Manotaur stage. 

Leaving the Stans as the remaining two near the mermaid tank. 

“Can you believe this?” Stan asked, with a light flick to the glass. “A mermaid exhibit with a living, breathing merman? And one not made out of random animal parts?”

“They really seem to have tapped into a brilliant method of showcasing the exhibits here,” Ford agreed, turning his attention to the glass as well. With Melody no longer inside, the water inside was slowly settling back to a calm and undisturbed state. “You really picked the right man to take up the reigns in your absence.”

“Yeah, I…I really did, huh?”

That heavy silence from before began to envelop the brothers again, nearly impossible to ignore by this point. Not even the whooping and hollering from the stage—apparently Wendy had started her demonstration without them—was enough to distract Ford from his growing suspicions that Stanley was hiding something.

With the way he kept looking at Ford, features set with that rigid expression that clearly obscured his actual feelings beneath, he was either hiding something or he needed to say something without the others nearby.

Well, they had a moment alone now. Best to do the straightforward thing and just ask directly. “Stanley, is everything alright?”

Stan snapped his attention from the tank to Ford so quickly that it was a miracle he didn’t pull something, and for a moment he did seem like he had something he needed to say—

—before his expression settled back into something more neutral as he leaned back against the glass. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

It was an odd thing. With the many years of conning people under his belt, Ford had expected his brother to be far better at lying right to his face. “Are you sure?” he tried again, and leaned back against the glass as well. “You know you can talk to me, Stanley. It’s like you said before: we don’t have to deal with things by ourselves anymore. So, if you need to talk about anything, anything at all…”

This earned a small chuckle from Stan. “Throwin’ my own words back at me, huh? Cheap shot.”

He hesitated to reply for a moment, before giving him a halfhearted shrug. “I dunno, it’s nothin’,” he said. “I think I’m just having a hard time getting back into the swing of things now that we’re back in town. Just a lotta new stuff to get used to, stuff that wasn’t here last year…”

He cast Ford a smirk. “Guess you could say I’m having trouble gettin’ my land legs, instead of my sea legs,” he said, leaning over to nudge him with his elbow. “You—you get it? My land legs—”

Dodging the subject with a joke, and an incredibly cheesy one at that. A classic Stanley move to avoid talking about something he didn’t want to, one that only cemented Ford’s concerns further.

However, his first remark brought a thoughtful hand to Ford’s chin. “There have been quite a few changes in our absence,” he agreed. “It would make sense that it would be difficult for you to readjust, especially in regards to the shack.”

He cast a look towards the shack itself. “I mean, you were in charge of this place for what, thirty years? That’s about five times the number of years I lived here,” he said. “Not to mention Soos and Melody’s whole announcement, I can imagine that would be quite the surprise for you—”

“Only surprise there is that there’s apparently someone on this planet more nerdy than Soos,” Stan interrupted quickly, and crossed his arms. “What about you? How’re you holdin’ up?”

Ford stared at him, perplexed. “Me?”

“To quote the words you stole from me to then throw back at me; we don’t have to deal with things by ourselves anymore,” Stan said. “So do you have anything you wanna talk about?”

“Heads up!”

A shout from the stage sprung the brothers into action, and both jumped out of the way just in time to avoid a porcelain vase whizzing past at breakneck speed, right before crashing straight into the side of the cabin and shattering on impact.

“Sorry, guys!” Wendy called from atop the stage. “Think I put a little too much oomph into that swing!”

“I think you put just the right amount of oomph into it!” Mabel said from beside her, grin bright. 

“It was incredible!” Dipper agreed. “Can you do it again?”

“I dunno,” Wendy said, tapping the end of the bat against her boot. “The destruction of valuable properly really gets both the Manotaurs and the audience all riled up, so they tend to keep the going until there’s nothing left to destroy.”

She moved the end of the bat was moved to a discarded plank of wood near her feet, gently nudging it towards the edge of the stage. “And judging by today’s damage, it’s a miracle that one vase remained unscathed as long as it did.”

“Aw, boo,” Mabel said. “I wanna see more mindless violence!”

“Sadly that’s all I got for the big lugs for now,” Wendy said, letting the bat clatter to the stage. “You squirts know all about their deal already, so random trivia is kinda out of the question. I mean, I could always do the thing where they let someone from the audience challenge them in a fight, but ehh, I’ve already gotta clean up the displays on my day off—”

“Didn’t you choose to come to work anyway?” Mabel pointed out.

“—so I’m just gonna pass the baton to Soos,” Wendy continued, tossing a hand in Soos’ direction. “How about it, Soos? You’re the only one who hasn’t shown off one of the exhibits yet, it’s only fair you get a turn before we move on to the Big Stuff inside.”

“You make a good point!” Soos agreed with a nod, and glanced around at the remaining exhibits for a moment in thought. “Who wants to watch me try and do a kickflip over at the Abominable Bro-Men’s halfpipe?”

“Me! Me!” Dipper piped up enthusiastically. “You are absolutely going to fall and break your neck, so I’m in!”

Beaming, Soos turned back to the direction of the mermaid tank. “What about you, Dr. and Mr. Pines?” he called. “You wanna join us?”

The sudden vase attack had pulled both from their conversation long enough to grow distracted by the kids’ antics on the stage. At Soos’ call, however, the two of them exchanged a look with each other. “Like I was askin’ before,” Stan tried again. “Are you okay? You got anything you need to talk about?”

It was said in such a knowing tone, as if Stan could physically see the triangle-shaped echos that were permanently etched against the inside of Ford’s mind. As if he were just waiting for Ford to offer him the chance to swing another fist at them again.

But while swinging a fist at Bill had worked the first time around, Stan couldn’t exactly swing a fist at the nightmares that had plagued Ford’s head for as long as he could remember. And even if he could—

“I’m fine, Stanley,” he finally insisted aloud. “Really, I am. Perhaps it’s as you said, and it’s taking me more time to readjust to being back in town than I’d initially expected.”

He flashed Stan a weak smile, one that his brother hesitated to return for a few seconds. But eventually, the corners of Stan’s mouth curled upwards into a amused smile of his own. “Pretty sure my exact words were ‘having trouble gettin’ my land legs’,” he pointed out, clasping a hand on Ford’s shoulder. “Was a pretty good one, if I do say so myself.”

“Stanley, you realize that ‘getting your land legs’ is about as common of a phrase as ‘getting your sea legs’,” Ford pointed out.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure I made that one up,” Stan said, and plopping an arm across his brother’s shoulders. “Now come on, let’s go watch Soos break his neck or whatever he’s gonna do.”

“Personally, I’m not a fan of Abominable Bro-Men,” Ford admitted. “But with all this talk of neck-breaking, I think there should be at least one person there who knows how to reset a bone.”

“Oh, so you’re an expert with human bones—”

While the adults followed Soos towards the half-pipe, Mabel let out a disappointed noise. “Aww man, I wanted a chance to try and fight Wendy!”

“Eh, we’ve got all summer,” Wendy reminded her. “Besides, you’re telling me you’d miss a chance to watch Soos fall flat on his face?”

With a giggle, Mabel shoved her hands in her pockets. “Now I never said that—oh, wait—” 

She shuffled her hands around for a moment, before pulling them back out and peering into her pocket with an annoyed look. “Aww, dang it, I think my wad of sticky poster stuff fell out of my pocket somewhere.”

“Eugh, that probably means it’s all covered in dirt or something now,” Dipper said with a grimace. “Probably best to cut your losses and start a new one when school picks back up again.”

“Are you kidding?” Mabel protested, gaze now shifting around their feet and the rest of the stage. “I barely managed to collect as much as I did before the teachers started catching wind of my thievery!”

Taking care to avoid any of the broken debris, she dropped to her knees and pressed her face against the stage for closer examination. “By the time fall hits, they’ll probably have security guards around every single one of those cheesy pun posters that relate to each class’s specific subject! I’ll never be able to get the new one back to the size of the original!”

Dipper placed a hand on his hip. “You realize that this is a very weird and specific problem that only you could have,” he said, then paused. “You want me to help you look?”

“Nah, nah, you go ahead and watch Soos. Just snap me some pics with my phone.”

Without taking her eyes off the stage, she held out her cell phone to him. “Feel free to add whatever filters you want, I’m partial to the kitty-ears myself.”

“Of course you are.” 

While he hopped down from the stage and headed towards the half-pipe, Mabel continued to search on her hands and knees for the telltale blob. When the stage itself produced no results, she moved to retrace her steps from the stage to the mermaid tank, to the area where she was pretty sure she’d pulled the lump out of her pocket—Soos making them walk around blindfolded had been delightfully quirky at the time, but now it was just making her search all the more difficult—

THUMP!

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground snapped Mabel’s attention towards the edge of the forest, her gaze darting about wildly as she tried to locate the source. A goal that didn’t take long for her to accomplish; a conspicuous black mass was splayed out on the ground between a pair of nearby birch trees.

Her first guess was some kind of animal, until her gaze landed on a small, fleshy hand at the end of an arm. An arm, a head of messy hair, a pair of legs—

“Wait, that’s a person!”

Once her brain put two and two together, Mabel broke into a sprint towards the unknown—potentially unconscious—body. Sure enough, her suspicions were confirmed once she reached it and knelt down to investigate.

They were short, probably not much taller than her or Dipper at full height. And as Mabel rolled their unconscious body onto their back to get a closer look, further similarities between the mysterious person and Dipper presented themselves to her.

They had the same facial structure, their noses were the same rosy shade of peach that was slightly darker than the rest of their face. Even their messy mop of hair fell over their eyes in the exact same way Dipper’s did when he wasn’t wearing a hat, although his usual brown shade had been swapped for a light bleach-blonde that would make the entirety of Sev’ral Timez weep with envy.

Despite the similar physical features—the mysterious person’s fashion sense differed from Dipper’s in every way. Rather than the casual shirt, vest and hat combo that Dipper wore on a regular basis, the person was dressed in a black jacket and pants, bow tie, yellow button up—an unusually fancy outfit for someone who might’ve just fallen out of a tree in the middle of the woods.

“What’s wrong, Pumpkin?”

Drawing her gaze from the body, Mabel looked up to see Stan approaching her with a curious look. “I think someone fell out of one of the trees,” she explained. “I heard a loud thump, and saw them lying here. I think they might be a kid—”

“What’s going on over here, dudes?”

Stan turned to see Ford and Soos coming up behind him, a skateboard tucked safely under Soos’ arm. “I was just gonna wait until everyone was at the half-pipe ramp,” Soos explained. “Dipper said Mabel was looking for something, and I’m in no rush.”

He flashed a grin in Stan’s direction. “Even if I’d love to get to the inside part of the tour as soon as possible, you are gonna flip when you see it, Mr. Pines—”

“What’s wrong, Stanley?” Ford asked, echoing his brother’s earlier question.

“Accordin’ to Mabel, some kid fell out of a tree or something,” Stan said, with a look to Soos. “What, you’re just lettin’ kids climb in the trees around here now? You lookin’ to get sued by some Patsy or Jane with straight bangs and a failing marriage that she insists on makin’ everyone else’s business?”

Soos innocently raised his hands. “I didn’t let anyone do anything, I swear! Maybe he was part of the last tourist group of the day and got separated from them before they left? Haven’t had any parents show up looking for a lost kid, though.”

“Either way, we should probably call 911.” 

Ford knelt down beside Mabel and pressed two fingers to the unknown child’s neck. “Well, they have a pulse so they’re probably alive,” he said, then pulled his hand back. “Of course, a lack of pulse doesn’t rule out the possibility of them being undead. But if they did fall out of a tree, they could possibly have a concussion. So either way, it’s a concern.”

“Well, let’s hope you don’t have to rip out the spine of this one,” Stan said.

While they conversed, Mabel gingerly placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder and gave it a light shake. “Hello? Are you alright?”

There was no response, so she tried again with a bit more force. “Hey, kid, I hope you know that you just fell out of the sky!” she said with a bit more urgency. “Which is probably not out of the norm for kids in Gravity Falls, but still, it’s a little worrying!”

The child remained still for a moment more—

—before their body began to tremble with a quiet chuckle. A quiet chuckle that slowly morphed into a full-on laugh.

Any relief that might’ve started building inside Mabel was snuffed out in an instant as the laughter—that cold, cruel laughter—only grew more vocal, and sent her crawling backwards in a panic as the body slowly rose up from the ground and turned to face her.

Now that Mabel got a better look at his face, the similarities to her brother were so clearly skin deep. Their aforementioned features were the same as before, but Dipper never smiled in a way that revealed all of his teeth and gums at once, like a young child being told to smile for the first time in front of a camera.

Dipper’s limbs weren’t quite as gangly and limp as the other boy’s, like a marionette being controlled by an inexperienced puppeteer who hadn’t mastered the art of making their body move naturally.

And Dipper’s eyes weren’t that terrifying, familiar shade of jaundice yellow, complete with slitted, catlike pupils that bore deep, deep into her very being.

“Grunkle Ford!”

Her panicked shout—one that spilled out of her on complete instinct before she could even process what she was saying—was far from necessary. Ford had completely frozen when the laughter had started, features aghast and grim as he stared at the child, as that wicked, horrible laughter droned on and on—

CRACK!

And suddenly the laughter was silenced, and the same sound of a body hitting a ground as before drew Mabel’s attention back to reality.

The child was unconscious again, now with a decent sized welt on the back of his head. And beside him stood Wendy, the bat from before in hand and her body hunched over while she tried to catch her breath. “Saw…saw what was happening,” she explained between sharp gulps of air. “Heard the laughing. Panicked…”

The only sound to break the silence that followed for a few seconds was the faint rustling of the wind through the trees, until a pair of approaching footsteps against the dirt drew everyone’s heightened attention towards the sound in a panic. 

Much like the others had done, Melody and Dipper were approaching the group from the direction of the half-pipe. Upon seeing their petrified expressions, Melody held up her hands. “Woah, woah, hey, what’s going on?”

From beside her, Dipper lifted up something he was clutching tightly in his hands—one of the discarded planks of wood from the Manotaur’s stage. “I heard Mabel yell and saw Wendy run over here with her bat,” Dipper added. “Thought it’d probably be smart to grab a weapon, too—”

“Get a rope.”

Ford didn’t tear his gaze from the body as he responded in a low tone, as if it would vanish the moment he looked away. As if he, or everything around him, would shatter in an instant if he dared tear his attention away from the body that had previously been letting out that horrible, horrible laughter. 

The laughter that had haunted his dreams for four decades, the laughter still bouncing off the inside of his skull, even after Wendy had silenced the source.

When he didn’t elaborate further, Dipper looked to one of the other adults for an explanation—

“You heard him! Get a rope!”

It was Stan who replied next, and actually spun to face them with a grim expression. “A rope, chains…if it can be used to tie someone up, then get it!”

“It’s code yellow, Melody,” Wendy said quickly. “Soos, do we still got that unicorn-hair rope?”

“Same place as it always is,” Soos said, and looked to Melody. “Come on, we need to hurry—I’ll get the moonstones, you fetch the mercury.”

Recognizing their urgency, Melody looked to the unconscious body on the ground. “...That’s him, then?”

“Did you hear me, I said get a rope!”

It was Ford who spoke again, tone more demanding as he finally tore his gaze from the body to glare at them. “If I have to say it a third time—”

“Oh, okay, yeah, that answers that question,” Melody said quickly, and gestured for the rest of them to follow. “Alright, there’s a rope and a chair to tie him to in the shack. But who’s gonna—”

“I’ve got it.”

Letting the bat clatter to the ground, Wendy scruffed the unconscious child by the back of his jacket and hoisted him up into the air. “Let’s get him inside.”

With mild chaos, the group hurried towards the Shack with the unconscious child in hand. Leaving the bat, Mabel’s unfortunately-missed blob of blue poster tack lying several yards away, and the remaining exhibit displays abandoned as the first real hints of night began to peek their way through the tops of the trees.

#Hayley Writes Triangulum #Gravity Falls #Triangulum The Fic #My Writing #Long Post #Stanford Pines #Stanley Pines #(There are more characters but they are on the poster and arguably get the most focus this chapter)

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

finished my rewatch of gravity falls today so here's some random thoughts i wrote down over the course of the last few episodes (sure most of this has been mentioned already but eh. no harm in repeating things):

-could you imagine how differently things would've gone if any of the pines members knew about ford's nightmare (especially stan)

-ford visibly shaking from how hard he's digging his fingers into the floor (referring to the security droid grabbing him)

-ford almost dies three times before bill actually captures him

-'i haven’t been able to find grunkle stan anywhere' was stan not at the shack at that time or did you just not consider checking his house

-a full limerick for 'man from kentucky' wasn’t allowed, but onscreen death is??

-shapeshifter wink + mabeland fake wendy wink

-why is the unicorn half petrified? what caused the gnome to be mostly petrified, but not quite? how was woodpecker guy able to keep his petrified woodpecker? so many questions about these guys. what occurred here

-first time ford gets turned to "gold", he appears cracked. the second time, he’s free of cracks. implication: either the stone/"gold" people get turned into cracks over time or bill roughed ford up a bit even before the torture

-bill disassembles ford and reassembles him on the other side of the room. interesting to consider for. y'know. torture

-speaking of bill, WHY DO YOU HAVE EIGHT EYELASHES NOW. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SEVEN

-love fiddleford so much. and also zanthar. and craz and xyler. and soos. and-

-manly dan hugs wendy more gently than soos does

-'(strangely genuine) good to see you too bro >:(' i'm sorry stan did seeing your brother trapped in a horrifying gold-ish statue change your tune a bit

-i agree with the circle actually. the fuck are you doing, stan. 

-i feel like the stan twins were strangled in different ways. it seems like ford was literally being strangled and bill was doing something directly to stan's lungs, based on the way they reacted to it. or i'm looking way too much into the animation who knows

-the way stan kneels on the ground :((((

-actually every scene with post-deal stan in it

-ford ultimate depression

-waddles was waiting for them :(((((((((

-stan lies in different ways depending on what he remembers (referring to him lying about the destroyed house being a nice place to be polite)

-'someone get waddles off of me!!' ford: :0 :D

-this also implies that ford learned waddles name at some point

-was wondering why pacifica seemed to have a bit of a character regression. then realized that she had to live with her abusive parents after the party. they uh. they need to be obliterated (heck you can even tell there's a sort of distance between them based on the fact that pacifica's parents wait for her to come to them, as opposed to the corduroys running to wendy immediately. it's not even a durland + blubs situation, they are fully aware of their surroundings at this point)

-pacifica's still trying her best though!!

-ford sings happy birthday with everyone else :)))

-ford's hair grows out really quickly

-'heh' resulting in an immediate :0 until ford keeps talking, at which point stan smiles again

-stan did you think that laugh was intended to be a 'that's ridiculous stan why would you ever think that' type deal and not a 'wow i love talking to you this is great' type thing

-'SHUT UP FOREVER'

-'CAN IT SOOS' in sync (hey ford you learned his name!)

-stan's 'don’t test me >:(' implication vs ford's 'i have killed and i will do it again' implication

-ford comforting hand on shoulder. stan looking shocked until he sees ford smiling at him. grgaggasgg

-fucking love these two

-stan writes in print in all caps (this might mean nothing to you but trust me there is a reason i'm pointing it out)

-ford doing the hand thing in the credits

-'ford hates mabel' DID YOU MISS THE FUCKING TURKEY

that's it that's all of the thoughts

it can go in the tag cause. why not, y'know?

#gravity falls

[wiggles-mcgee]

OPINIONS ON GRAVITY FALLS

OK SINCE YOU ASKED I WILL ANSWER WITHOUT GIVING SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2!! Because I know you've not seen it yet. Not sure how much of this is opinions and how much is just rambles though.

First, context, Gravity Falls is a show I have been obsessed with since it came out. I own a copy of Journal 3 and Dipper's hat and can't wait to get the Book of Bill when it comes out. So my opinions are gonna be biased!!

The greatest episode of Gravity Falls and my favourite of all time is S2Ep4: Sock Opera (watch the episode and you'll understand why, though please watch the rest of that season too haha). No further questions needed, it speaks for itself in every second of that episode.

My favourite episode from Series 1 would have to be either Legend of the Gobblewonker or Dreamscaperers. Both are fun to watch and have sweet endings and notes to it, as well as incredible comedy and great pacing. They hit so good every time.

Boyz Crazy is one of my least favourite episodes because it reminds me of primary school where everyone was feral about One Direction and I just didn't get it at all, but I still find it hilarious.

Most of my least favourite episodes involve some kind of romance subplot - thats not to say all romance centric episodes are bad, I just find it less interesting to me when it turns out Mabel's new crush is Regular Guy (Normal Man) and not five gnomes in a hoodie. Or oh look Dipper is crushing on Wendy, what's new? Its probably because I never really related to it.

My favourite character is Grunkle Stan. He's funny and a weird old man, as Mabel eloquently puts it. He's gruff, sweaty, wrinkled, and a bit of an asshole. And he cares so much for his family. He tries and thats what counts. Also his absolute lack of shame about cash - like in Double Dipper where he launches himself at that dollar bill - and conning and scamming tourists out of their money is so hilarious to me. Grunkle Stan is dear to my heart and will always be my favourite character.

Pacifica is another one of my favourite characters! She gets a fair bit more character development in the second series, and I still find myself laughing at every interaction the Pines family has with her when I rewatch the show - she's hilarious in every sense of the word. Her growth as a person is really nice to watch.

If I met Tambry irl I think I would inevitably punch her, I cannot lie, she frustrates me too much

Bill Cipher my beloved <3 (you'll see why when he shows up again in season 2)

I have rewatched this show many times since it came out and I firmly believe that so many of the jokes still hold up to this day. It shaped my sense of humour greatly. And the best bit about being older is that now I get all the jokes I didn't get as a kid!!!

My favourite running joke is Guy Who Married A Woodpecker!! He just shows up every now and again and we see a snapshot of his failing marriage and I love him.

The pool guy is objectively and unironically one of the funniest people alive. As is Quentin Trembley, 8½th President of the United States, who also absolutely shaped my personality and humour.

Certain episodes in the later half of Series 2 tone wise feel like they should have been at the start of the series or in Series 1, and the series does suffer for it in my opinion. Of course its a kids show, you don't want it to get too dark, but I feel like some parts of that series just felt inconsistent to the rest of it. Of course the rest of that series is absolutely stellar in my opinion, most of my favourite episodes are in that series, so its swings and roundabouts I suppose.

The Wendy crush is nothing short of frustrating to me every time I see it. Had to reiterate this, and I get that people don't get over crushes quickly, but especially in Series 2 it frustrates me. tbh I probably had a crush on Wendy too as a kid I cannot lie.

The ending is so sweet to me and makes me want to cry or actually cry every time, not just for nostalgia, but because it hits me hard and emotional in so many different ways. No spoilers yet!

And ending it with a really strong opinion here, you should watch Series 2 (a shameless suggestion, I don't regret it)

#wiggles answers #gravity falls #long post #wiggles chats with the void #i have more thoughts #but might have to add those later

[averagedeadinsomniac]

Tourist Trapped (FULL)

|Dipper pines x reader|

Ahh summer break~ A time for leisure, recreation and taking 'er easy~

Unless your me

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"

My name is dipper and the girl about to puke is my sister. The girl on top of the cart is my new friend Echo. You might be wondering why we are in a golf cart fleeing from a creature of unimaginable horror. But rest assured, there is a perfectly logical reason of explanation.

Let's rewind 

It all began when our parents decided we could use some fresh air. They shipped us up north to a sleepy town called Gravity Falls, Oregon, to stay at our great uncles place in the woods. Mabel was hanging up posters on the wall when she turned to me. "This attic is amazing! Check out all my splinters!". I turn around to see a goat on a bed. "And there's a goat on my bed..." I look slightly concerned and surprised. Mabel walks over to where I am. "Hey, friend!" The goat starts chewing on her sweater arm. "Oh! Yes, you can keep chewing on my sweater." And laughs. 

My sister tended to look on the bright side of things. Mabel starts rolling down a hill of grass and trees calling "Yay! Grass!". I was sitting under a tree thinking to my self while a woodpecker pecked at my hat. I was having a hard time getting used to our new surroundings. Something came up behind me that seemed to have a lizard head spooked me by yelling out "BOO!" making me fall back a bit. The person laughed as he took off the mask. 

And there was our great uncle Stan..

Our uncle had transformed his house into a tourist trap he liked to call the Mystery Shack. The real mystery was why anyone bothered to come. And take a wild guess who had to work there. It looked like it was going it was going to be the same boring routine all summer, until one fateful day...

I was wiping down some merchandise when Mable peeked behind some bobble heads whispering excitedly. "He's looking at it, he's looking at it!". A plain guy was looking at a list reading off options "Do you like me? Yes. Defiantly. Absolutely?" "I rigged it!"

I looked over to her getting annoyed of her whole phase. "I know you're going through your whole boy crazy phase, but I think you're kind of over doing the whole 'crazy' part." I said still wiping down a bottle of eye balls. Mable looked over to me surprised I would make such an accusation "What?!(Blows raspberry) Come on Dipper! This is our first summer away from home. It's my big chance to have an epic summer romance."

"Yeah, but do you need to attempt to flirt with every guy you met" I try to make my point. First it was a customer checking out some merch, and then there was the guy sitting at a bus stop with a turtle and don't even make me mention the guy at the mattress store. Every guy she's met she scared away.

"Mock all you want brother. I wouldn't be surprised if the man of my dreams walked through that door right now."

Just after she finished Stan walked through the door burping but it got stuck in his throat. 'Oh!Oh not good. Ow."

"oh, WHY" Mable looked away in disgusted and I laugh at the cruel fates of Mable.

"Alright, alright. Look alive people. I need someone to go hang up these signs in the spooky part of the forest."

"Not it" I called out and so did Mable. Soos third it while he hanged up a shelf.

"Nobody was talking to you Soos"

"I know and I'm fine with that." Soos continues and eats a chocolate bar. Stan turned to Wendy who was reading a magazine. "Wendy! I need you to put up these signs!". She continued to look at her magazine. "I would, but I... uhh... can't...ugg... reach it" as she "Tried" to reach for the signs. Uncle Stan glared "I would fire all of you if I could. Alright, lets make it eeny, meeny- miney... you" Stan pointed at me suddenly. ""Aw, what? Grunkle Stan, when ever I'm in those woods I feel like I'm being watched." I complain. 

"Ugg. This again" Grunkle Stan rubbed his temples

"Im telling you, something weird is going on in this town. Just today my mosquito bites spelled out 'Beware' "

I show him my arm and he squints" That says 'Beware.' " I scratch my arm embarrassed.

"Look kid the whole monsters in the forest thing is just local legend drummed up by guys like me to sell merchandise to guy like that" Stan points to guy weirdly laughing at a bobble head.

"If you're so scared you can head out with Echo. She knows that place like the back of her hand. Wait where IS Echo."

As if on cue Echo runs in panting with the door slamming open. She popped back up composing herself. "Howdy people!" Echo cheered. 

"Echo what has you running in later than usual?" Grunkle Stan grumbled. "" That is a great question I will not answer~" Echo dismissed still holding up finger guns.

"Fine, Fine. Just hang these up with the kid." Stan replied. She looked over to me and I blushed a bit. I thought she was pretty cute but she was way out of my league. She nodded toward the door signifying I should follow her and just like that, we headed out.

Me and Echo had gone into the woods when Echo had gone off leaving me alone. Ugh. Grunkle Stan. Nobody ever believes anything I say" I complain as I continue to hang up signs. I was about to hammer in another nail to a tree when it didn't go through and made a metallic sound, I jump a little and stare. I hit the tree again with the hammer and it made the sound again. I swipe my hand on the mysterious tree and my hand gathered dust. Find an opening and pull a tiny door open. I see a box that had some switches. 

It seems like it hasn't been opened in a while judging by the cobwebs and dust collected on it. I try to flick a switch that seems to not work and flick another opening what seemed to be a case in the ground. I look over a see a book that seemed to be collecting dust for years. I pick it up and blow off some dust. It has a red cover with a golden six fingered handprint on it along with the number 3. 

I was about to open it when Echo came out of nowhere slightly grabbing me making me scream and fall back. She was now laughing hard while hanging upside down in a tree. She let go landing with a graceful thud landing in front of me. "Whats wrong with you?! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" I hissed. "Heh, it was just a joke." She held out her hand and pulled me up and shook my hand. 

"Echo. Echo Jones. Pleasure to formally meet you. You scare easy don'cha" She smiled teasingly. "What? No-! I jus-!" 

"Kidding Kidding. You finally found the book didn't you?" She peered behind me looking at the book I had hidden behind my self. "Huh? What do you mean 'Finally'? ". The thing you said at the mystery shack?You said there was something weird going on. Did you or did you not mean it? "

I raise an eyebrow at her confused. "Well yeah, everything at this town seems weird and nobody seems to want to talk about it."

"Well with that book, you're gonna wind up with more questions than answers. Trust me."

Okay now I'm really confused. She holds out her hand expectantly and I hand her the book. 

"Let me read a couple of sentences."

"It's hard to believe its been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of gravity falls, Oregon."

My eyes widen and I quickly grab the book from her to see for my self.

"Unfortunately my suspicions have been confirmed, I am being watched! I must hide this book before he finds it. Remember, in gravity falls, there is no one you can trust?!"

"Spooky right?!" Echo remarked excitedly.

"What do they mean 'trust no one'? " I asked outloud

"I don't know but the person sounds panicked. I wonder what happened and who was watching him. Look kid I found a couple of things in this book and trust me it's weird."

I flip over the book to stare at it popped out of nowhere behind me screaming "HALLO" Making me jump. Why does everyone have to do that?! "Watcha reading'? Some nerd thing?"

I hide the book behind me and stammer over myself. "Uh...uh... it's nothing.". She makes a weird face and flails her arms mocking me. "uH... Uh...iT'S NoThiNG! What? Are you actually not gonna show me?" She raises an eyebrow laughing. I look over to Echo and she nods and I nod along with her, a silent agreement we should show her. 

"Uh... lets go somewhere private."

*Skip to mystery shack living room*

I pacing back and forth excitedly while Mable was sitting on the arm of the couch and Echo was leaning on a Dino skull. "It's amazing! Grunkle Stan said I was being paranoid, but according to this book, Gravity Falls has this secret dark side." I ramble. "Whoa! Shut up!" Mabel says surprised and pushes me slightly. "It's the truth! I lived in this town for years and weird crap always happens but no one talks about it." Echo added. "And get this. After a certain point the pages just stop, like the guy who was writing it mysteriously disappeared!" I continue when a doorbell rings in the background. "Well, time to spill the beans." Mabel pushes over a can of empty beans on the Dino head. ""Boop. Beans. This girl's got a date. Whoo whoo!" She points to herself proudly and cheers and falls back laughing. 

"Wait, wait, wait. In the half hour I was gone you already found a boyfriend?" I asked a bit suspicious. "What can I say? I guess I'm just irresistible!" Mable says weirdly waving her arms. "Cool you found a boyfriend. Never had one of those." Echo says. I'm a bit surprised she hasn't been in a relationship yet. 'She so pretty' I daydream. The doorbell rings again and Mable jumps from her seat and run to the door calling, "Coming!". 

I hop on the couch next to Echo gazing through the book again with Echo looking over my shoulder when Grunkle Stan comes in. "What you reading' there, slick?". I panic and quickly grab a nearby with out reading the cover. I flick through a few pages until reading the cover. "Oh I was just reading "Gold Chains For Old Men Magazine?" I read confused and Echo snickers behind her hand. He leans over and says "Thats a good issue."

Mable suddenly comes in and loudly says 

"Hey family! Say hello to my new boyfriend!"

_______________________

The guy behind her turns around. He's wearing a black ripped hoodie with grass and sticks covered on him for some reason. He smirks slightly and waves. " 'sup?". "Hey" I wave back. "Hows it hangin?" Grunkle sips a pit soda and Echo slightly salutes with two fingers acknowledging him saying "Yo". Mabel hangs off his arm. "We met at the cemetery. He's really deep. Ohh! Little muscle there. Thats..." she chuckles impressed. "What a surprise."

Okayyyyy she's just being weird now. "So, what's your name?" I ask looking slightly concerned and now does Echo and Grunkle Stan. "Normal... Man!"He blurts out thinking about it. "He means Norman." Mabel corrects him still looking love struck. "Are you bleeding Norman?" Echo points out looking suspicious. I just noticed that about him too. "It's jam.". Mable smiles widely and pushes him a bit. "Oh! I love jam! Look at this!" She gestures between the two excitedly. Norman looks at her and asks "So, you wanna go hold hands... or whatever?". Mabel squeals excitedly "Don't wait up" and runs to our room. Norman points a finger gun at us , stumbles and breaks something. Me and Echo look at each other knowing something isn't right with him. Echo nods up signaling that we should go upstairs. 

We head up and consult the book. We sit on a nook next to a mirror with a strange design. I flip through a couple of pages with Echo looking through with me. I about to flip through another one before Echo stops me "Hey, hey what's that?". I bring the book closer to us and read "Known for their pale skin and bad attitudes, these creatures are often mistaken for...teenagers?!" "Beware Gravity Falls's nefarious zombies?" Echo continues. "Zombies?!" I scream. 

I turn to the windward see Norman limping towards Mabel. He put his hands around his neck but releases putting a daisy chain on her and Mabel smiles.

"Thatssss... actually sweet?" Echo points out. I turn around. "Is my sister really dating a zombie or am I just going nuts?" I think out loud. ""It's a dilemma, to be sure." A voice says out. of nowhere spooking me a bit. I look up and see Soos fixing a light bulb. How did he get in here without me noticing? "Hey Soos." Echo waves. " 'sup hambone? I couldn't help but overhear you talking to each other in this otherwise empty room"

"Soos, you've seen Mable's boyfriend. He's gotta be a zombie right?" I urged. "I don't know Dipper... I agree he's weird but isn't zombie a bit far fetched?" Echo asks pointedly rubbing her shoulder. "She's got a point dude. How many brains did you see the guy eat?" Soos raised. 

"Zero..."

"Look dude, I believe you. I'm always noticing weird stuff in this town. Like the mail man? Pretty sure that dude's a werewolf. But you gotta have evidence. Otherwise people are gonna think you're a major league cuckoo clock."

Echo shakes her head agreeing. "As always Soos, you're right."

"My wisdom is both a blessing and a curse"

Soos is called by Grunkle Stan to clean something and he walks out of the room. My sister could be in trouble . It was time to gather evidence. For a couple of hours we follow Norman and Mabel with a camera spying on them for anything suspicious. First it was frisbee which was just Mable throwing the disc at him making him fall down, then the diner where he punched through the glass and opening the door with us sitting behind menus with me watching them and Echo just eating and then the graveyard where they were frolicking and he feel into a grave...

I'd seen enough

Back at the Mystery Shack

We head upstairs once more and see Mabel brushing her hair. "Mabel, we've gotta talk about your boyfriend"

She turns around. "I know! Isn't he the best? Check out this giant smooch mark he have me". She tilts her head to reveal a huge red mark on her cheek. I scream slightly and Echo grimaces. Mabel laughs "Gullible. It was just an accident with the leaf blower. That was fun"

"No Mabel! 

"Listen. We're trying to tell you that Norman is not what he seems"" Echo explains and I pull out the book from my vest. Mabel gasps and covers her mouth."You think he might be a vampire? That would be so awesome!". No Mabel! What? Why would her first guess be vampire?. "Guess again sister. SHABAM" I reveal a page to her and she screams. "Wrong page Pines" Echo whispers. I correct my self flipping to another page. "Oh, wait. sorry sorry. Sha-bam!"

"A zombie? Thats not funny guys." Mabel stated annoyed. " I'm not joking!"

"Why would we joke about something like this?!" Echo empathizes . "Besides, It all adds up: The bleeding, the limp... He never blinks! Have you noticed that?" I explain. "Maybe he's blinking when you're blinking." Mabel tried to make sense of it. "Mabel, remember what the book said about Gravity Falls? Trust no one!"

"What about me, huh? Why can't you trust me? You trust Echo though you barely even know anything about her! Beep-Bop". Mabel criticizes and puts on a pair of earrings. "Mabel! Hes gonna eat your brain!" I shake her. "Dipper, listen to me. Norman and I are going on a date at 5 o'clock, and I'm gonna be adorable," She shoves a finger in my chest making back up. "and he's gonna be dreamy." She shoves me again and both me and Echo back up outside the door."But...but...but"

"And im not gonna let you ruin it with one of your crazy conspiracies!" And she blames the door on us. I slide down thinking what we're going to do. "Don't worry Dipper. We'll fine a way to help her.". A half hour passes and the doorbell rings. She runs down the stairs to greet her date and is off. All we could do is watch. "You guys were right. I don't have any real evidence." Me and Echo watch a few clips from the camera. "Don't worry about it Dipper. You're just concerned about her." I smile at her. "O guess I can be a little paranoid sometime, and..." We watch a clip with Normans arm around her and I'm about to change the video when I see his hand fall off?! "Wait, wait what?!" Echo screams. I rewind the clip and see the same thing. We both yell and make the recliner fall backwards making us tumble. "Oh my god! Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan. Grunkle Stan!" I run out the door and Echo is close behind me. He's showing off a couple of attractions and we're unable to get his attention.

We were unsuccessful in gaining his attention and I look for another option when Wendy who was driving a golf cart catches my eye. We run out to her and I call out to her yelling "Wendy, WENDY!". She turns to me and I begin explaining "We need to borrow the golf cart, so we can save my sister from a zombie!!" waving my arms frantically. She smirks and tosses the keys to Echo. "You haven't gotten your license yet kid right?" and Echo chuckles and shakes her head no. "Atta girl. Try not to hit any pedestrians!" and she heads off doing her own business. Me and Echo smile at each other. 

We hop in and she shoves the key in the ignition, takes it out of park and reverses. Soos stops us saying, "Dude, it's me, Soos. This is for the zombies." He hands me a shovel. "Thanks" he hands Echo a bat next. "And this is in case you see a piñata." I look slightly confused and concerned. "Thanks???" And with that she pulls out and races off with Soos yelling "Better safe than sorry!" 

We drive out to the middle of the woods where we hear Mabel yelling for help. "Don't worry Mabel! We'll save you from that zombie!" We drive to a tunnel under the ground filled with trees and mushrooms and- creepy little men in pointed hats???

"what the hell?" I hear Echo mutter under her breath with her eyes wrinkling in confusion. "What the heck is going here?!" I yell announcing out presence. They all turn to us including Mabel. I slightly flinch when one ran past me hissing."Dipper! Echo! Norman turned out to be a bunch of gnomes! And they're total jerks!" Mabel shouted and punched one and it grabbed onto her hair yanking it. "AH! Hair! Hair!" 

I take out the journal flipping a couple of pages to the gnome art. "Gnomes, huh? We're wayyy off." Echo comments. 'Gnomes. Little men of the Gravity Falls forest. Weaknesses- unknown' ".

"Aw, c'mon!" We look back up and see Mabel tied to the ground with the gnomes standing close. " Hey, hey! Let go of my sister!" I yell at one who seemed to be the leader. 

"Oh, (chuckles nervously) Hey there! Um, ya know, this is all really just a big misunderstanding, ya see? Your sisters not in danger- she's just marrying all 1000 of us and becoming our gnomes queen for all eternity. Isn't that right honey?" He tries to reassure us looking at Mabel. "You guys are butt-faces!" Another gnomes slaps a hand over her mouth muffling her. 

"Give her back right now, or else!" I point the shovel at them threateningly. "You really think you can stop us boy? You have no idea what we're capable of. The gnomes are a powerful race!Do not trifle with the- Ahh"

Echo nudges him with her foot making him fall over and I run over to Mabel with the shovel cutting the strings holding her down.. together we all run the the cart with me sliding into driver and Mabel into passenger. Echo goes to back of the cart holding onto a pole to support herself. I slam on the gas and get us out of here.

"Hurry before they come after us!" said Mabel

"I wouldn't worry about it. Did you see their little legs? Those little suckers are tiny!" I laughed 

"Hey, guys?" Echo said in a worry some tone. Mabel turns around a whispers "Dang." I finally hear the loud stomping and I turn around as well. I see a terrifying monster built out of the gnomes with Jeff controlling them at top.

"All right, teamwork, guys. Like we practiced!" Jeff ordered and the creature bellowed roaring. "Guys!Move, move!" Echo hollered and I stepped on it. We hear him yelling after us and I head Mabel yell, "It's getting closer!" Jeff throws gnomes at us. Echo climbs onto the top hitting the oncoming gnomes with the shovel. Mabel elbows one and I grab on off the side and hit it against the horn making it honk ad making the gnome groan "Shmebulock..." what ever that meant. Another screeches and jumps onto my face scratching my face. "I'll save you, Dipper!" My sister began contiusly punching the gnome also hurting me.

"-Thanks, Mabel! " "-Don't mention it."

The creature rips out a tree from the roots and throws it overhead narrowly missing us but landing in front of the cart. "Look out!" I swerve just in time under it sending us spinning out of control throwing us from the cart. We grain in pain stepping away from the reck. I see the monster standing over us and I warn, "Stay back, man!" And I throw the shovel only for it to be destroyed effortlessly. Me and Mabel hold onto each other while Echo stood in front, almost protectively staring it down.

"STAY BACK!" She ordered but they didn't listen and only get closer. It's the end of the line, kids! Mabel, marry us before we do something crazy!". I whisper, "There's gotta be a way out of this.

"I gotta do it."

"What? Mabel! Don't do this! Are you crazy?" I whisper yell

"-Trust me. " "-What?"

"Dipper, just this once, trust me."

Echo puts a hand on my shoulder nodding to me and I step back. "All right, Jeff. I'll marry you." She steps forward finally agreeing. "Hot dog! Help me down there, Jason. Thanks, Andy. All right, left foot, there we go. Watch those fingers, Mike." Jeff climbs down the monster and pulls out a crystal ring pointing to it. "Eh? Eh?" Mabel looks away and he slips the ring on her finger. "Bada-bing, bada-bam! Now let's get you back into the forest honey." He turns away to leave before- 

"You may now kiss the bride."

"Well! Don't mind if I do."

Echo quickly flips on the leave blower and Mabel points it at him. "Hey, hey, wait a minute!" He tries to stop her. "That's for lying to me!" She pulls back the lever

"That's for breaking my heart!"

"Ow! My face!"

And this is for messing with my brother and my new friend!

"-Wanna do the honors?" "-On three!"

One! Two! Three! 

We aim it at the monster and push the lever forward shooting him to the monster destroying it and sending gnomes everywhere. "Anyone else wants some?" We shoo the rest off the property using the blower.

__________________________

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry for ignoring your advice. You really were just looking out for me."

"Oh, don't be like that. You saved our butts back there!" I offer. "I guess I'm just sad that my first boyfriend turned out to be a bunch of gnomes." I smile at her and say "Look on the bright side. Maybe the next one will be a vampire." "Oh! You're just saying that!"

"Awkward sibling hug?

Awkward sibling hug.

-Pat -Pat

I look over to Echo. She had a couple of leaves in her hair and a little dirt smudged on her face but she still looks so cute. Those eyes and her freckles hmm. I walked over to her with my arms open "Awkward friend hug?" I offer. 

"A new friend hug" 

When we hugged she was stiff as if she never really had one before but soon she relaxed into it. This felt strange yet so right. She was something else. It wasn't until Mabel jumped onto her back squealing is when we stopped. "Eek! I'm so excited to have my first out of state friend! I KNOW we're going to be besties!!"

____________________

When walking into the mystery shack all groaning in pain once the adrenaline worn off. The bell rung behind us once we stepped in dragging ourselves. I kick the door behind me when Grunkle Stan commented, "Sheesh! You two get hit by a bus or something? Ha!" he slammed his hand on  the counter laughing at his own joke. We roll our eyes and header to the employees only lounge that was just actually only the entrance to the living room

"Hey! Wouldn't you know it? I accidentally overstocked some inventory, so, how's about you each take one item from the gift shop, on the house, you know?"

"-Really? "She looked with excited eyes. "-What's the catch?" I asked skeptical giving him a look but Echo smirked "But Mr. Pines, you never overstock on items"

"Shut your yaps Scythe, besides the catch is do it before I change my mind. Now take something."

We walk over to the gift shop items, well Mabel more ran over to it checking out all the items. I realize I lost my hat in the run away from the gnomes so I carefully look over a couple of white and blue baseball hats with pine trees stitched on them. I put one on and look into the mirror. "That ought to do the trick!" I look to Echo who was looking at a pain of gloves. Did I really just realize she was wearing a pair this whole time? Yes. Yes I did. "These will do nicely" She quickly slips on the pair almost like she was trying to hide her hands and she looked over to me. "New look pine hat?" "Huh?" "Just trying out a new nickname" We see Mabel scavenging in a cardboard box when, "And I will have a grappling hook! Yes!"

Now I'm concerned for everyones safety now. "Wouldn't you rather have, like, a doll or something?" Grunkle Stan Asked

"Grappling hook!"

"Fair enough!"

This journal told me there was no one in Gravity Falls I could trust.

But when you battle a hundred gnomes side by side with your two best friends, you realize that they've probably always got your back.

This will be an interesting summer to be sure

____________

4558- words

______________________

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#gravity falls #dipper x reader #bill cipher #x reader #dipper pines #mabel pines #dipper pines x reader #gravity falls x reader

[cosmicbrowniefan]

Idk how I just noticed your pinned post but your fandom taste?? beyond immaculate.

I am humbly asking if you perhaps have any hcs for a gravity falls!au for stranger things, and/or a hogwarts!au 👀

beck, we simply have the best of taste. and yes i do have headcanons

disclaimer: fuck jkr

gravity falls au hcs:

so. will and el are the mystery twins. we been knew

visiting hop in gravity falls, oregon, for the summer of course

the rest of the party happens to have summer jobs at the mystery shack

(why hopper hired them all, he will never know. to this day, it is still one of the best and worst things he's ever done)

i think that the other party members (max, mike, lucas, and dustin) have a little mystery club. a gang, if you will

i think they have journal 3 and they give will and el a brief evaluation before inviting them in to the club

when will and el have their first supernatural encounter and end up defeating the gnomes with a leafblower, the party knows that they're perfect for their club

will and el are just. stunned. to hear about all the stuff that goes down in gravity falls

they love the lore and yeah they might've just fought off a shit ton of gnomes but WOAH there are that many other cool things here too??

of course they have to avoid the watchful eye of hopper

but their friends and fellow employees steve and robin (wendy and soos respectively) help them sneak around and figure things out

the party lets will and el borrow journal 3 to look over

when el sees the page about vampires, she's immediately convinced that mike is one

and while will waves it off and says that that's ridiculous, he can't help but wonder as well

el takes it upon herself to ask max who just laughs and says that they're explored that idea many times, but it doesn't seem to be true

the golf cart is the main form of transport for the party

you're probably wondering, how on earth do six people fit in a golf cart??

well, easy enough answer there: lucas and max in the front, el and will in the back, mike hanging on the side, and dustin on top

they strap dustin in with bungee cords because they've had a few accidents too many

i think max is able to send bill cypher back into oblivion with just one dirty look

bill cypher may be like a demon of multiple worlds, but he has other worlds he can take over that don't involve the wrath of max

el plays matchmaker just like mabel does, but she gets max involved in it too

these girls are the finest matchmakers in all of gravity falls

well. until it came to mike and will

they tried several times to get those two together but god they were both so helpless, el and max just gave up eventually

MIKE FELL FIRST AND MIKE FELL HARDER.

this cute little nerdy boy obsessed with all the cryptids?? who keeps drawing them as they fight them all summer and adding more illustrations to the journal?? has his heart.

will spends most of his summer learning more about this stuff and getting excited about it

he does. think about mike. maybe just a bit

but he often tries to push those thoughts aside bc there's no way mike would like him back AND he has monsters to focus on

until one day lucas casually asks will how he and mike are doing and will is like ????

lucas thought they were dating

okay maybe he knew they weren't and just wanted to stir the pot but still it was enough to make will open his eyes

mike meanwhile has finally broken down and gone to the girls for advice

to which he is greeted with both enthusiasm and a speech of "if you EVER hurt MY BROTHER..."

but yeah. mike ends up asking will out finally

on pioneer day as well, mike asked will if he would go out with him or if he'd have to settle for marrying a woodpecker

will happily agreed

but anyway

uh

lucas punches a pterodactyl in the face

i could go on and on but that's the limit of my brain atm. i love gravity falls. i love stranger things. this was lovely to think about

hogwarts au hcs:

ok so sorting the party into their houses is difficult as fuck. i can honestly see a valid argument of putting the party members in almost any house, and i'm totally here for that discussion, but for this hc set, these are the houses i'm putting them in:

mike: slytherin, will: gryffindor, dustin: ravenclaw, lucas: hufflepuff, max: slytherin, el: gryffindor

dustin is muggle born but god that does not stop him from learning and absorbing everything he can about the wizarding world

el has a cat, mike, lucas, max, and will have owls, and dustin has a toad

the toad's name is scribbles

idk why, it just is

also lucas and will play quidditch!! lucas is a keeper and will is a chaser

fred and george did not pass the maurauder's map to harry. they passed it to max and will

max and will have not told a soul that they have it, but they use it to their advantage and love it

mike and el have a competition of collecting chocolate frog cards

who has the most, the rarest ones, the most diverse set, etc

el is winning btw

lucas thinks the toothpaste every flavor bean tastes good

they all have some wonderful wizarding talents as well

as i said before, will and lucas are on the quidditch team, so they're good at that

lucas is also great in care of magical creatures

he loves every single one of those animals and knows just how to calm them and care for them

el has a real knack for herbology!!

she actually wants to come back and teach it after she graduates

el also. wants a pet mandrake

dustin is a potions MASTER

he learns all these tricks and does them so well that he could practically write a second edition of the half-blood prince's book

mike is good at charms!

he loves all those little helpful spells that just make life easier, ya know

those are the best

max is FANTASTIC at transfiguration

she can turn anything into. anything

in fact max has this little business (that might not be entirely safe or legal for her to do by wizarding standards, but she does it anyway)

she helps transfigure body parts of dysphoric trans hogwarts students

shh don't tell anyone

mike got the most O.W.L.s.

no one knows how, but he did

also max once locked umbridge in the room of requirement

"it was what i required at that time! it wasn't my fault, i swear!"

oh you know how i said dustin has a toad scribbles

he also is in the toad choir at hogwarts

he and scribbles both have voices of angels

when they're old enough, lucas and el get put as head boy and head girl

will is a prefect

mike flirting with him shamelessly and will trying to stay professional but he can't help but melt at his boyfriend's dumb little attempts to catch him off guard

sometimes he gets so flustered from mike's flirting that he can't remember the password to the common room and he has to wait for someone else to come back to help him

setting them in the year of triwizard tournament rn

lucas is the hogwarts champion!!!!!! bc who tf else i mean come on he's perfect

will drawing banners for lucas and mike charming them to animate

byler dancing at the yule ball :(((((((

ugh god i. i love them

again i could go on and on but that's the limit of my brain for tonight

hope you enjoyed!!!!!!

#stranger things #stranger things headcanons #byler #byler headcanons #the party #the party headcanons #stranger things x gravity falls #stranger things x hogwarts #hogwarts au #gravity falls au #stranger things x harry potter

[sansxfuckyou]

Million year flight

Ok, so, wings, a lot of fandoms have a winged AU, the ones that I've been in at least, I'm getting off track.

Basically every human with supernatural potential somewhere, that lives in a supernatural saturated place, unlockable genetic code really deep down or gets their set of wings grafted on from someone else can have wings, and occasionally matching tails as well.

The wings always grow in at least at age ten and age fifteen at the latest, only a five year gap to unlock them one way or another. You must be thinking that even if if you miss that gap, then you can still get wings grafted on, yes and no, you can get them grafted onto you, but it won't go nearly half as smoothly and the chance of death is tripled and even if you survive, you're prone to disease.

The cause of the wings even existing was due to a curse that was set on Gravity Falls around a million years ago by Bill Cipher, the records of who placed the curse have been lost for the most part to the townsfolk. Over that time, the set of genetics that allow wings have escaped from Gravity Falls and have become a world wide thing, having wings is still widely shunned by most of the world as only thirty percent of humanity has avian traits.

Now, every set of wings has some sort of significance to their persons personality or skill set they've built until the age they got their wings, and in rare cases, extra avian traits.

Almost everyone in Gravity Falls has a set of avian traits, majority with bird traits, and around a quarter with bug traits, around five percent of the populous of Gravity Falls have no wings.

Wendy has the wings of a woodpecker, they're just large enough for her to fly with, but the muscle underneath the feathers weighs her down a bit, she prefers to stay ground bound despite being one of the towns best fliers, she competes in ground fights instead, her wings working better as defense.

Mabel has the wings of a mallard, their shape is more sharply angled than an actual mallards so she can't fly as easily as a mallard, but work much better for diving or gliding than lifting off or for violence, they're large enough for her to help Dipper, her tail is a little bit to small for her to balance properly.

Stan has a set of beetle wings and a singular peregrine falcon wing causing any attempt he could make at flight lopsided and nine times out of ten resulting in a crash, he had the wing guards beetles do, but had them removed, he commonly opts stay ground bound.

Lil Gideon has a set of bluebird wings, he doesn't use them for flight, or anything practical for that matter, only for sleight of hand and other sets of trickery, some more illegal than others, but they are large enough for him to use practically.

Robbie has moth wings, he can't fold them up, so he's stuck with a set of fragile wings on display at all times that could easily be broken, he mainly comes out when theirs less people to avoid that, he can easily fly with his wings, but often times stays ground bound, his twin tails are nearly as long as he is tall so he has to clean them often.

Ford has one peregrine falcon wing and one prosthetic wing that actually allows him to fly, albeit a little bit shakily, but he manages with uneven weights on his back, he can work the prosthetic one as though it were flesh and blood, he sticks to the ground instead, tail just barely skimming the ground.

Dipper has a set of shearwater wings, they're too thin for him to glide or take off safely, but they do work just fine for diving and minor attacks if he has to, his tail is as long as he is tall, so he has to spend much more time than nessacary cleaning it as it drags on the ground all the time, he stays ground bound unless Mabel helps him.

Soos has a set of chickadee wings (my friend did this one), his wings are to small to fly with, but he still uses them in a fashion similar to how Scootaloo uses her wings, hes forced to stay ground bound due to his wings being undersized, he has no tail, and even if he did, it would just get in the way.

Pacific northwest has butterfly wings, they ended up oversized for her stature, dragging on the ground and tearing up at the edges unless she holds up her shoulders, she can fly but it taxes her to much to stay airborne for more than an hour at a time, so in turn she stays ground bound until shes challenged to fly.

Bill Cipher doesn't have a set of anatomically correct wings to match any real bird or bug, instead having cosmically stylized and constantly shifting with purples, blues, whites and golds, biblically accurate angel amounts of wings stuffed into his triangular form an aftereffect of the curse he placed on Gravity Falls.

#gravity falls #gravity falls au #million year flight #dipper pines #mabel pines #stanley pines #stanford pines #ford pines #stan pines #soos ramirez #wendy corduroy #robbie gravity falls #lil gideon #pacifica northwest #bill cipher

[musashi]

i feel like john oliver was made to play zazu.... that was such a good choice..... i cant stop thinking about that episode of last week tonight where he said “i’ll tell you what i look like: i look like a nearsighted parrot who works at a bank”

#wordy wendy #theres one in every family sire. my cousin thought he was a woodpecker #banged his head against trees #he was concussed frequentoh you've gone.

[maximumjinx]

Steven Universe Gravity Falls AU

~Yknow what they say, if you run out of content, ya gotta make it yourself. This is a ? shot (I might continue or not who knows not me) please don’t ask for more I have 18 unfinished fanfics on this site.~

California was nice, Steven had to admit. The people were nice, the food was fantastic, and the weather was splendid. It reminded him a lot of Beach City. Though there were just so many people, and traveling north, Steven was beginning to long for something small and simple again.

Oregon was the perfect place for that, right?

“Ronaldo wants pictures of Bigfoot, and if anyone can find him, its you Steven.” Petey’s voice was faint on Steven’s phone speaker, tossed into the passenger seat as Steven blindly picked a highway exit.

“Sure Petey, but couldn’t Ronaldo just go to a circus?”

“Not big feet Steven,” Petey emphasized, “Bigfoot.”

“Saying it twice isn’t helping buddy.” Steven was half paying attention. He was focusing on the winding roads and the looming trees surrounding him. Deep, in the pit of Steven’s stomach, he felt something start to tug him toward one direction farther away from the highway. He wasn’t quite sure if it was a good or bad feeling yet.

“Forget it, I’m going to take a blurry photo of that mean Gem in the woods and say its Bigfoot.”

“Just don’t let Jasper catch you, she’s no joke when she’s angry.”

“I saw her ripping grass out of the ground I think I’ll be fine. Later dude.”

Steven heard a small click and smiled to himself. He’s happy to see how far the people of Beach City have come and how they’ve taken to the gems. He remembers when the Crystal Gems were once the outcasts of town that locals warned you to stay away from.

He looked up to see a welcome sign.

“Gravity falls. Well, that’s a funny name.”

—

Steven wanted small and simple but he feels he may have overshot it.

This small town had exactly three attractions. A town museum that mentioned marrying woodpeckers (Steven couldn’t figure out if that was a normal human thing, like taxes and velcro), a small diner, and as one local described it ‘some tourist trap’ deep in the woods. It was a sticky summer day and the former two attractions didn’t have airconditioning. Steven gambled on the last stop in hopes of stretching his legs and maybe finding a source to the strange feeling in his gut. It had become much stronger since he entered this small town. Alluring, but nothing related to Gems as far as Steven could tell.

He parked in the nearly empty lot and stepped out. Jacket wrapped loosely around his hips, Steven made his way inside.

A girl that looked about 13 was petting a pig on the front porch. She was incredibly reflective, and depsite the heat wore a knitted bedazzled sweater that made her glow like a disco ball in the sun.

She looked Steven up and down as he approached, a wide smile taking up her face and Steven saw bright braces with colored bands.

“Hi!” She launched upwards, startling the pig away, “I’m Mabel, but you can call me anytime.” The girl winked and stuck out her hand, palm facing the floor.

Steven blinked.

“Mabel, stop scaring away the customers!” A gruff voice yelled through the screen door, and soon an older man stepped out in a suit, wearing a fez and eyepatch.

Immediately the old man squinted at Steven, sizing him up.

Stanley Pines knew this teen wasn’t local, but he wasn’t sure if he had any money. For all he knew he was another boy trying to hit on his giftshop cashier, Wendy.

Oh well, a customer is a customer.

“Come in, come in, and see our mystical and magical wonders!”

“Magical?” This could be it, Steven could figure out why this town has felt off. Maybe it was gem related after all.

Quickly this older man who had introduced himself as Mr. Mystery gave Steven a tour of what looked like failed taxidermy projects. Now Steven may have a lived a sheltered childhood, but he felt pretty confident there was no such thing as a Sashcrotch. And so far, nothing had felt magical or mysterious.

“That concludes our tour! Here is our mistifying giftshop and it’s purchasable wonders!”

“Right...” Well, at the very least he was able to spend some time in airconditioning.

There was a girl behind the desk in plaid that looked about Steven’s age, and just a half inch shorter than him. She looked bored, flipping through a magazine as a young boy that looked a lot like Mabel made googly eyes as he swept by the door.

Steven guessed there was no harm in asking around.

“Hi, I’m Steven.” He smiled easily, walking up to the register.

“No refunds, even if an exhibit bit you.” She sighed, peeking up before turning back to her magazine.

“Oh no, nothing bit me, I just wanted to know something.”

She looked up to get a better look at Steven and gave a small smirk.

“Sure, but only because I like your shirt. Mr. Universe merch, now that’s a deep cut.”

Unbeknownst to Steven, Dipper Pines would had been watching the exchange felt a twinge of uneasiness as this out of towner talked with Wendy.

“Have you ever seen anything strange or weird actually happen in this town?”

Wendy’s smile dropped.

“Why do you ask?” Her eyes flickered to Dipper, just for a moment, and that was all he needed to rush over.

“Excuse me sir, please buy something or exit the store.” Dipper spoke in the deepest voice he could muster.

Steven looked over with a questioning expression.

“Oh sure uh-“ He blindly reached for the wad of bills that his dad had given to him before he left. Steven pulled out a hundred dollar bill and put it on the counter. Wendy looked up baffled as Steven stuffed the other cash back in his wallet.

“Boy was I wrong about you kid!” Mr. Mystery, seemingly materializing out of nowhere, now bounded over. He had loosened his tie and lost the eyepatch which turned out he never needed.

“Whaddya wanna know? I’ll tell you everything. There’s gnomes in the woods you know-“

“Grunkle Stan!” Dipper protested loudly, dragging his Stan away and harshly whispering at him.

“Did you steal that money?” Wendy asked as Steven watched the pair whisper fight in the corner. He turned back to the girl and gave a sheepish smile.

“Uh no, my dad gave it to me before this roadtrip. He’s actually Mr. Universe.”

Wendy lit up.

“No freaking way! Your dad is Mr. Universe? I only got into him since he managed Sadie Killer and the Suspects and they always perform covers of his songs on tour, I can’t believe he’s your dad!” She rambled, stars in her eyes. Steven beamed, he loved when people praised his dad’s music. Greg really deserved it.

Steven learned Wendy’s name and they swapped stories back and forth, only interrupted as the girl from outside slowly rose from the behind the counter beaming.

“A cute musician that loves weird stuff, take me now.” She swooned. Steven blushed profusely, not used to the attention.

“Sorry, my girlfriend Connie probably wouldn’t like that very much.” He said gently. Mabel looked him up and down and pouted.

“I can wait, but not forever.” She warned, and winked, bounding to break apart her grunkle and Dipper, who are now whisper screaming with arms flailing.

“I wasn’t going to mention that Dorito shaped jerk! Just the normal stuff!”

“It’s dangerous! He could be a spy, or government, or another stack of gnomes!”

Steven raised an eyebrow and looked at Wendy. She chuckled and shrugged. Steven carefully approached them.

“He can hear everything you’re saying anyways so might as well tell him!” Mabel interrupted, nodding towards Steven as he came up.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m definitely not government.” Steven technically didn’t exist at all. He never had a social security card and didn’t have a birth certificate.

Dipper only glared. Rich strangers with an interest in the paranormal didn’t come through gravity falls without some kind of agenda.

Steven hated the conflict he was starting. No information was worth this family fighting.

“Okay,” he surrendered, hands up, “I’ll just go. I’ll stick around town until tomorrow if you change your minds”

“Wait Steven-”

“Let him go Wendy,” Dipper glared as the boy in pink walked out, “We can’t trust him.”

“But I was going to ask for Sadie tickets...” Wendy groaned, defeated.

“There’s something weird about him.”

“Great!” Mabel beamed, “He’ll fit right in.”

~.~

Steven wasn’t crazy about sleeping in his car, but was seriously considering it after seeing the state of his motel room. It looked like it hadn’t been used in decades, a thin line of dust covering every surface. He was also pretty sure they didn’t even have free ice. 

“Wish Pearl were here..” He mumbled, exhausted. He curled up on top of the covers, fully clothed, and let sleep take him.

Being Steven Universe however, meant rest was sure to allude the half alien. 

Steven found himself in a dark space, fog all around him. Before a word could come out of his mouth he heard a fast, repetitive muttering. 

“Stranger...Wendy looked pretty today..Can’t trust...Tell no one...Ford isn’t here..”

“What, the-” Steven quietly walked toward the source of dialogue, and saw the faded silhouette of the boy from the Mystery Shack. His back was turned to him, but Steven recognized the blue vest and mosquito bitten legs. 

“I thought I was over the dream hopping.” Steven spoke a tad too loudly, starting the young boy - Dipper.

“What-” Dipper’s eyes grew wide in panic, and the boy fell back harshly.

“No, no, you can’t be in my head!” 

“Wait, I’m not-” Steven tried to reassure him, stepping carefully towards the boy but Dipper let out a screech of terror, sweat gathering around his temples.

“Bill sent you didn’t he?! He’s not really gone- he’s going to hurt Mable again-” Dipper began to hyperventilate. 

“Dipper please,” Steven took a step back, arms in the air in surrender. 

“I-”

“I’m not going to hurt you I swear on the gems.” He placed a hand over his heart. “This is a total invasion of privacy but it’s something that happens when someone’s emotions are out of control-”

“How are you here?” Dipper demanded, scrambling to his feet. “Tell me what you are and what you want.”

“I’m just passing through!” Steven insisted, then lowered his tone to calm the younger boy. “I’m kinda of magnet for weird stuff. I just wanted to help in case anything was going on.”

“We deal with things just fine around here.” Dipper spat, then watched as Steven deflated. He seemed tired, like he hasn't slept well in a while. 

“So what are you anyways? How can you be here?”

Steven winced, and laughed nervously. “It’s kind of a long story..”

Dipper raised and eyebrow and swept his arm around the void dramatically. 

“You have until dawn.”

~

“I thought that was a conspiracy theory, it wasn’t even covered by major news outlets.” Dipper look exhausted, cross legged on the unseen floor as he ran his hands through his hair. 

“I think Garnet is pretty persuasive when it comes to government and reporters. They all kinda fall in love with her.”

“She’s the one that’s really two aliens?” 

Steven shook his head with a small smile. “It’s hard to explain but yes, I guess that comes close.”

“That’s actually insane. I’m insane, aren’t I?” Dipper stood up, leaving Steven on sitting next to an empty space. “It’s been too quiet around here and now I’m so desperate for weird, that I’m making it all up in my head.”

“I get that feeling.” Steven smiled without humor, “but no, this is real. I’ll prove it when you wake up.” Steven felt a shift, the fog in the void getting denser. 

“Sooner than I thought, you’re an early riser huh?”

Dipper looked back at Steven, panicked. “You’ll come to the Shack again right? In just a bit?”

Steven smiled. “Promise.”

~

Dipper woke up to his sister braiding his hair. Mabel still had her pjs on, and a make up kit next to the bed. Dipper frowned, tasting strawberry shortcake. 

“Stop testing party looks on me, Mabel.”

“Stop having my face structure and maybe I will.” She grinned, covered in blue glitter. 

Dipper quickly washed up and got dressed for the day, feeling like he was anxiously waiting for something but not quite remembering what. 

He felt like he had a strange dream last night...

He quickly remembered, choking on cereal as Steven walked into the shack right as it opened. Hair slightly frizzy from the heat and eyes strangely tired. Maybe dream hopping took energy that he anticipated. 

“Steven!”

“Meal ticket!” 

“Grunkle Stan.” Mabel chastised as Dipper rushed over to the older boy. 

“Good morning everyone.” 

Dipper stopped short, slightly hoping that everything he experienced wasn’t just his imagination. That everything exciting and weird and interesting wasn’t always trying to kill him, ruin his life, or steal his candy. 

Steven looked tired, like he had been doing this much longer than Dipper, but he had still come out with enough energy to smile. 

“Not insane?” Dipper asked hopefully, quietly. Steven snapped his attention from his Grunkle and Mable bickering down to the Dipper. He gave a reassuring smile, eyes quite serious. 

“Not insane.”

#I feel like I made up a strange tension but please don't ship them THEYRE FOUND FAMILY #Steven universe #gravity falls #universe falls #??? #what's the tag? #dipper pines #Mabel pines #grunkle stan #stan pines #bill cipher #this is something or maybe nothing idk people need to give me plot ideas #probably no plot just one shot series

[ripples-of-thought]

The wilderness at my door

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest was a privilege that I was quite unable to appreciate as a child. It seemed from my earliest memories that I was never far from a delightful garden park, towering cool forest, or rich field teeming with life.

Not that I didn't love my neighborhood or the city I was raised in. I just had no idea how very rare the wealth of natural beauty that surrounded me was. Out at the edges of Portland, Oregon, a lot of the land had yet to be developed. Zoning laws were very strict to limit sprawl and the pollution that comes with it.

When I stepped outside, my lungs pulled nothing but fresh air. Traffic was a dim hush in the distance. In the morning, songbirds chorused together. In the evening, when the sun sank over the hills, the stars peppered the night sky in countless twinkling points.

Today, you would say that we were "free range kids". In those days, before cellphones, nobody had heard of "helicopter parenting" and roaming the neighborhood was just how kids met outside school. Assuming we had no homework (which almost nobody had until they reached middle school) we were allowed to go anywhere our bikes could take us, under the condition that when we saw the streetlights come on at the end of the day, we came home.

Frequently, my bike took me around the corner and down to the bottom of a little valley, where a wooden footbridge crossed a meandering creek, leading to a great mountain forest forest of fir trees, with paths running through it. It seemed to span miles - I never did find the far end of that forest, as I would usually reach an impassible point where the trails turned back or came to a stop at a small clearing, speckled white, yellow and blue with wildflowers.

To me, that forest on the other side of Fanno Creek was Middle Earth, or Narnia, or Camelot. I howled like one of Wendy Pini's Wolfriders, and I searched (in vain) for the musical unicorns of Phaze. It was a place I could escape, imagining myself a daring explorer penetrating the lush ferns, or a naturalist, studying the complexities of an ant colony. Some days I was a "mountain man" (think Grizzly Adams), rationing out the fuzzy red wild raspberries I found and "fishing" in the creek with a hook-free string dangling from the end of a stick. In the hottest days of August, I removed my shoes and socks and waded up the chilly creek in search of its source.

I would also go there to cry. So few people trod those paths that it made a really great place to find solitude and comfort. It was a bad day at school that day, and I hiked up the hill to breathe in the scent of pine needles and wood rot, and write my some moody poetry in my spiral notebook. I chose a large fallen tree to sit on, and opened to a fresh page.

Until then all I had known of woodpeckers were from Woody Woodpecker cartoons, so when I heard the rapid thunkathunkathunkathunkathunka of a bird after its next meal I almost didn't believe what I was watching. It was female, and bore no resemblance to the rascal cartoon character. As I stared, it continued hammering away at the remains of the tree that had furnished the log I was sitting on.

Suddenly, I remembered that I had brought a journal with me, so I began to try to draw what I was seeing. When it pecked at the tree, it was nothing but a blur, so that is what I ended up putting to paper. Wood chips flew all around as it bore into the soft, rotting column. It paused occasionally, cocking its head one way and another watching for any sign of danger.

A recreation of the sketch, somewhat improved from the original.

My mood shifted with the distraction. The angst was abated, but time is short for someone so young, and the woodpecker was more patient in its pursuit of bugs than I was. I closed the book, stood to return home, and startled the poor thing off.

One of the principles of my religion today is the acknowledgement that all things are interconnected in a great web, and that what affects one affects us all... touch a single thread and the whole web vibrates. My time spent within small pockets of nature, like that forest, was one of the cornerstones of that affirmation for me.

#nature #forest #woodpecker #imagination #childhood #paganism #religion #uuism #unitarian universalism #woods #oregon #pacific northwest #portland #suburbs

[akron-squirrel]

Some overflow that didn't make it into the last post

#doodles #flash doodles #wendy woodpecker #billie packard #billy hudson #julie #anne

[heroicadventurists]

Batman to receive star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2020

The Walk of Fame Selection Committee recently announced more names that will be added to the Walk, including Julia Roberts, Spike Lee, Chris Hemsworth, Octavia Spencer, Laurence Fishburne, Mahershala Ali, Lina Wertmuller, Ruth E. Carter, Christina Applegate, Andy Cohen, Cindy Crawford, Terry Crews, Kathy Lee Gifford, Nigel Lythgoe, Milo Ventimiglia, Burt Ward, Wendy Williams, Dr. Phil, Harry Friedman, Andy Kaufman, Dave Chappell, Billy Porter, Susan Stamburg, Elvis Costello, 50 Cent, Alicia Keys, Billy Idol, Bobby Rydell, Alejandro Sanz, Tanya Tucker, Andy Madadian, Muddy Waters, Sir Lucian Grainge, Mo Ostin and Batman. These icons were selected from a list of hundreds from all over the industry and their names will sit atop their very own bronze stars in 2020.

Batman joins a short list of 21 fictional characters to get a star on the Walk of Fame. He will join the likes of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Bugs Bunny, Kermit the Frog, Snoopy, Snow White, The Munchkins, The Muppets, The Simpsons, Tinkerbell, Shrek, Big Bird, Rugrats, Winnie The Pooh, Woody Woodpecker, Donald Duck, Strongheart, Lassie, Rin Tin Tin and Godzilla. It's fitting, as this year DC and Batman fans are celebrating the Dark Knight's 80th anniversary. He was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and introduced in 1939's Detective Comics #27.

Batman will be the first comic book character to receive a star on the walk.

Congratulations to the Caped Crusader. Here's to another 80. This is a win for the entire Batfamily and his villainous rogue's gallery.

Source: CBR

#dc comics #dc #batman #bruce wayne #batfamily #bob kane #bill finger #batman80 #detective comics #robin #jason todd #dick grayson #red hood #nightwing #damian wayne #barbara gordon #batgirl #tim drake #catwoman #red robin #cassandra cain #alfred pennyworth #selina kyle #orphan #batwoman #duke thomas #stephanie brown #kate kane #signal #commissioner gordon

[khenqart]

Woodpeckers + Wendy (Gravity falls)

🆒🥤

[click for better quality]

[don't repost, do reblog]

#thanks for the ask! #gravity falls #wendy #wendy corduroy #arttagthisis

[anistarrose]

To See The Unseen - Chapter 1 (Gravity Falls)

Summary: A tale of old money, occult artifacts, and a man willing to try anything for a chance to see his brother again.

Warnings: see note below

AO3

A spooky mystery for Halloween! This first chapter is set during the night in which Into the Bunker happens, but as you’ll see, things are going to start to diverge from canon pretty quickly. I'm expecting this to end up as 4 chapters, but that's not set in stone.

This fic gets a little creepy at points, but if you were alright with everything that happened in the GF canon, there shouldn’t be any triggering stuff. But just in case, there is a warning for dq rxw ri ergb hashulhqfh (Caesar ciphered because of spoilers for the end of the first chapter).

***

The twins had left him a note saying they were out camping with Wendy and Soos, and while Stan had to admit he was a little worried, he forced himself to set those fears aside. With all the possible campsites in Gravity Falls, there was no way he was finding those kids even if he wanted to drag them back inside to safety, anyways. He’d just have to trust Dipper’s promise from yesterday that he wouldn’t go looking for any more trouble.

And besides, it was one of those rare nights on which he could be absolutely sure that no one would catch him sneaking down to the portal, and it would be a waste not to make the most of it. He spent the first half-hour or so of the evening lugging heavy toolboxes and clanking pipes down the steps and loading them into the elevator, and as the sun began to set, he retired to his desk in the basement to leaf through the two new Journals — or rather, Journal 2 and his photocopies of Journal 3.

He’d skimmed them already, and figured out just about everything he needed to know about the portal’s actual operation, but he’d skipped past most of the details of what Ford had actually gotten up to over the years. Unlike Journal 1, which he’d read and reread until his head ached and his eyes stung, desperate not just for clues but also for even the vaguest semblance of his brother’s companionship…

He started with Journal 3 but then quickly switched to Journal 2, because Gideon had made fewer notes and doodles in the margins than Dipper and Mabel had, and while the kids were admittedly good artists, it hurt to see them commenting on Ford’s research completely unaware they were talking about their own uncle. Journal 2 also had fewer codes — apparently Ford hadn’t been too worried about anyone reading his descriptions of various cursed artifacts, even though by his own account most of those artifacts were so dangerous that he’d needed to get rid of them by burying them in the woods.

One particular item caught Stan’s eye, though:

Scrying Eye Compact

This compact mirror got me in a heap of trouble, and though it holds incredible potential for the advancement of my research, even I have to admit that it’s too unsafe and unpredictable to keep around. Had my Muse not given me a helping hand, I almost certainly wouldn’t even be here to write this warning!

I buried it back where I found it, beneath the southernmost stall in the Northwests’ unused stables behind their mansion. I don’t even remember the reason I had for snooping around a place like that in the first place, so hopefully no one will dig it up again.

But even now, I have to admit that the power to spy on anyone, anywhere in the world, is incredibly tempting…

Stan’s breath hitched. If he could spy on anyone, anywhere with the mirror… could he see outside of the known world, too? Could he see if Ford was okay?

He flicked a few switches on the portal control panel, and a progress bar popped up on the display. It would be calibrating for at least another week, maybe even more.

He couldn’t wait that long. Not with a chance to see his brother again right within reach.

Not daring to take the Journal out of the basement, he jotted down the mirror’s location on a scrap of paper and tucked it into his pocket. Upon reaching the first floor again, he threw on a dark jacket, slacks, and a pair of boots, then stepped out into the woods through the Shack’s back door, flashlight in hand as clouds drifted in front of the nearly full moon.

***

Though Nathaniel Northwest’s riding accident was tragic and untimely, he was survived by a daughter, Felicity Northwest, and a son, Eli Northwest, the latter of which went on to establish Pioneer Day in his late father’s honor…

“Ugh.” Pacifica slammed her head into her desk. “I can’t believe there’s still over a century of this stuff left to read…”

Normally, she enjoyed the days her parents were out of town, since the rules were always significantly relaxed when they weren’t around, but this time, they’d left her with homework.

“I won’t need to know Victoria Northwest’s second favorite color to handle the family fortune responsibly! I won’t need to know the specific species of woodpecker that Reginald Northwest got disowned for trying to marry! There are so many better uses of my time than this!”

She flung open her window and stuck out her head, ready to scream her frustrations out to the empty nighttime void, but a flicker of motion near the bottom of the hill caught her eye.

From inside the abandoned stable, a thin beam of light swept past the window once, then twice. It disappeared after that, but Pacifica swore that she could see a faint glow still coming from inside, as if the light was pointing in a different direction, but still on.

“It had better not be that hillbilly making a nest again,” she muttered, but she’d already made up her mind about going to investigate. If she got caught sneaking out and her parents gave her grief over it when they got back, she could always say she thought someone was planning to rob them — they were always paranoid about break-ins, on account of living essentially next door to Stan Pines. Hillbilly or not, the light in the stable was still a mystery to solve, and she’d take that over homework any day.

Maybe those Pines twins were rubbing off on her, loath as she was to admit it.

***

In all the rush, Stan had forgotten to bring anything to dig with, but as luck would have it there was a rusty shovel leaning against the wall in one corner of the mostly-empty stable. As he brushed the cobwebs off it, he wondered if it had once been Ford’s.

Unlike the slightly muddy ground outside, the soil on the stable floor was dry and firmly packed, and Stan quickly realized he was going to have to set his flashlight down and dig with both hands on the shovel. The whole place was so musty it was almost suffocating, with a faint metallic tang in the air.

It smells like old money, Stan thought to himself with a scowl. Gotta admit, Ford was in the right for snooping on these snobs. Only the Northwests, with money coming out of their asses, would abandon a perfectly good stable without even selling it or renting it out to anyone else once they were done with it.

Beneath his shovel, something clinked, and he froze, afraid he’d broken the very artifact he’d been searching for. But after brushing away the last of the dirt with his hands, he felt a cold, smooth, intact object beneath his fingertips, and he fumbled for the flashlight as he lifted his discovery out of the hole.

The closed compact mirror looked exactly how the Journal had depicted it, though Ford’s sketch hadn’t captured its colors. It was entirely silver except for two golden accents — first, the hinge connecting its two halves, and second, the long and skinny oval that bisected the top half’s circle. The silver was in need of polishing, but the golden slit gleamed beneath Stan’s flashlight as though it had never been buried beneath several pounds of soil and horse manure at all.

Looks almost like an eye with a slit pupil, Stan thought to himself, ignoring the chill that ran up his spine. Yeesh, it’s drafty in here, isn’t it? Maybe that’s why no one uses the place any more.

Poised to flip open the compact, he hesitated as an owl hooted in the distance.

He hadn’t been that careful about avoiding detection here, had he? He’d been so impatient, so desperate to confirm that Ford was alive — but he’d be no good to his brother if he went and got himself arrested now.

So he set off back through the woods, shutting the stable door behind him and grimacing at the sound of his boots squelching in the mud. For one moment, he froze, sure that he’d heard the whinny of a horse from somewhere behind him, but the noise — if it had even been real in the first place — was quickly drowned out by the sound of chirping crickets, and Stan figured that even if there was a security guard or ghost horse or whatever chasing him down, they wouldn’t be able to hear his footsteps if he couldn’t hear theirs.

Of course, leaving the scene of the crime was one thing, but he was far too nervous to wait until he got all the way back to the Shack to give the mirror a better look. He settled down under a tall birch tree, on a patch of earth that seemed drier than most, and crossed his legs as he pulled out the mirror. It still seemed cold even after having been in his pocket for several minutes, and Stan couldn’t help but harken back to Ford’s warning in the journal…

As he stared up towards the night sky, he could’ve sworn that from its position just above the treetops, the moon gave him an encouraging wink.

He opened the compact, and the chill spread from his fingertips up his arms.

Inside, only one of its two sides had a mirror. The other featured a circular portrait of a familiar bearded man, whose face Stan couldn’t place, standing in front of a grove of birches. Most of the picture was in either yellow or sepia tones, but the man’s dark red eyes seemed to flicker as they stared daggers at Stanley.

The mirror itself was even stranger, reflecting everything in grayscale except for Stan’s own face, which was a transparent, electric blue. But strangest of all was the way it called to him, and he just knew that if he let it pull him where it wanted, he’d be able to see anything he wanted to see, go anywhere he wanted to go.

From a distance, an owl let out a screech, but it hardly registered to Stan.

I’m ready to see my brother again, he thought, and the whole world melted into a monochrome blur.

He saw a pitch-black plume of smoke rise out of the portrait, red eyes gleaming with delight as an incomprehensible smile spread across its nonexistent face.

“Good on you, stranger!” it told Stan with a deep chuckle. “I was starting to doubt that you had the nerve to open it! Oh, thirty-two long years later, and I’ve returned once more to walk the earth…”

With a dark, smoky tendril of a hand, it grabbed Stan by the throat. “Hope you enjoy your stay in the beast’s mirror! I know I didn’t enjoy mine!”

On reflex, Stan aimed a punch as best as he could from his restrained state, but before his fist made contact, the entity disappeared in a flash of light. Stan was left all alone, floating in the air and staring at his hands —

His blue, transparent hands.

Something beneath him clattered to the ground, and he looked down to see the compact, having slipped out of the grasp of his own unconscious body. He saw his own face staring at him with a blank expression, completely devoid of color like the surrounding forest except for in his two half-closed eyes, which were glowing blue.

With a spectral arm, he reached towards his physical form, but it passed right through his own head.

The mirror had trapped him outside of his body.

***

Pacifica slipped past the butler with ease and made her way to the current site of the Northwest Stables, where she saddled and mounted Angel, her roan pony. There were other horses who would be faster, but Angel would be quieter, not to mention closer to the ground to facilitate searching for clues. (And to tell the truth, Pacifica trusted Angel the most — she was one of the older residents and more mellow personalities at the stables, unlike some of the younger mares who liked to get frisky.)

The two of them cut across the unused racetrack as they headed for the abandoned stables, Pacifica holding the reins in one hand and an old-fashioned lantern from the family heirlooms collection in the other. It was chilly for a July night, and with the wind blowing in her face, she was grateful she’d chosen to put on gloves and a jacket.

With a whinny, Angel came to a halt a few yards further away from the stables than Pacifica would’ve liked her to, and balked at all attempts to guide her closer. So with a sigh, Pacifica slid out of the saddle and approached the door on foot. It opened with far less resistance than she’d been expecting.

She held her lantern protectively in front of her chest, bracing herself for someone to leap out at her from the shadows within, but the stable stayed dead silent. Even as spooked and anxious as she felt, nothing inside looked alive, and the only motion she spotted came from the flickering orange flame of her own lantern.

The building had been out of use since long before she was born, so at first she wasn’t sure which details might be out of place — but as she made her way down the hallway and laid eyes upon the last stall, right next to the window she’d glimpsed the light through, her uncertainty immediately evaporated. There were no cobwebs covering the doorway, unlike every other stall she’d passed, and a hole had been messily dug in the ground, with the culprit’s shovel still stuck in the dirt and standing straight up just a foot or two away.

“Angel, we’ve been robbed,” Pacifica announced, bursting out of the stable and immediately mounting her pony again. “I don’t know what they stole or why it was even here in the first place, but if they think they’re going to get away with this, then they’re —”

As she guided Angel in a broad circle around the stable, a set of tracks in the mud caught her eye. In the lantern’s imperfect light, she almost mistook the footprints for her own, but at second glance, they were far too big, and led away from Northwest Mansion.

“Then away from the mansion we shall follow them,” Pacifica declared with a smile. “Angel, giddyup!”

I don’t know what’ll be better — the looks on the twins’ faces when I prove they’re not the only detectives in town, or the looks on Mom and Dad’s faces when I tell them that I never would’ve caught this robber if I’d been doing all that worthless homework instead…

They only followed the tracks for about a minute before Angel skidded to a halt, whinnying and shaking her head.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Did something — gah! Is that a corpse?!”

From his position above his body, Stan whirled around. “Hey! Northwest kid? A little help here?”

He began to float towards her, but Pacifica dismounted and walked right through him, pinching her nose. Unlike everything else surrounding Stan, Pacifica in her purple jacket and her lantern with its flickering orange flame were patches of color in a world of gray, but that didn’t seem to mean Stan could interact with them any more than he could interact with his own body.

“Wait… Mr. Pines?” Pacifica picked up a stick with a gloved hand and gingerly poked Stan’s unconscious body with it, watching as its chest slowly rose and fell. “And he’s still breathing and everything. Guess he just decided to take a nap in the woods on the off chance he’d scare someone who thought he was dead, huh?”

“C’mon, Pacifica!” Stan pleaded. He waved at her frantically, and for a split second, her lantern’s flame lit up blue as his hand passed through it, but Pacifica was preoccupied. “Please tell me you can hear me! I… I just need someone to get a message to the kids…”

Pacifica scooped the compact mirror off the ground, brushing the dirt away as she held it up alongside her lantern for comparison.

“Similar craftsmanship,” she remarked. “Guess he was trying to rob us after all, wasn’t he?”

“It’s not like you were using it!” Stan replied automatically, but once again, Pacifica didn’t seem to hear. “My body’s eyes are glowing blue, for crying out loud! You’re telling me you can’t see that either?”

Pacifica pocketed the mirror and mounted her pony once again, shivering slightly.

“Let’s get out of here, Angel. It feels like everything in this forest has been giving me the creeps tonight.”

***

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Thanks for reading, reblogs/comments are appreciated as always — especially predictions! I’ve had a lot of fun putting together this plot, and I’m very excited to see if anyone picks up on certain pieces of foreshadowing!

#gravity falls #stanley pines #pacifica northwest #stanford pines #rosalia writes fic #fic: to see the unseen

[wendip-week]

Epilogue (or The Silver-Lining)

And so, after a long, adventurous cross-country road trip, the recently-steady Dipper and Wendy (along with Mabel) returned to Gravity Falls. Not only were the townsfolk happy to see the smiling town-heroes back, but also very supportive of Dipper and Wendy making it official (with a few exceptions). Shortly after, Dipper would elect to stay in Gravity Falls, accepting Ford's apprenticeship, while Mabel attended high school there. Upon graduation, Dipper would ask Wendy to marry him, which she accepted.

While Mabel went to college and, eventually, moved out-of-state, the newly-married Dipper and Wendy continued their education under their great-uncle(s). After the original Mystery Twins passed, Dipper and Wendy followed in their footsteps, becoming scientists, adventurers, educators, and minor political-figures. For many, many years, the two and their many children would live out very happy lives and become very influential figures, especially locally. Nobody gave a second-thought as to how Dipper and Wendy aged so well, or how tall they became (especially considering Wendy's dad's size).

Over the years, Gravity Falls would remain the same, but different. Several of the townsfolk were known to smile almost as much as the local Tad Strange, but then again, that's relatively normal, so nothing to note. The law allowing for woodpecker-marriage was (finally) revoked, which wasn't objected, considering the local woodpecker population had mysteriously declined significantly. The sale of soda was also limited to local brands, such as the Pitt Cola. However, the Falls' nut and costume industries skyrocketed, reaching the top-fifteen in the country.

After several decades, scholars who had studied the works of the accredited Stanford and Mason Pines would make a discovery that was not included in their copies of the scientists' extensive journals: in addition to Gnomes, Manotaurs, Fairies, and the like, their seemed to be a society of humanoid pistachio-plants hidden deep in the valley. Of course, such contributions to paranormal science would remain as little more than footnotes. Nevertheless, it was just one more detail that drew tourists and students alike to that mysterious little town that was never put on the map.

//

While the trip was certainly fun, Dipper and Wendy were more than happy to return to Gravity Falls. Truth-be-told, they couldn't really get a private moment when they wanted for most of what remained of that adventure. With Mabel's constant spying and teasing, there was little time to make-out, and even less time to temporarily remove their rubber masks (a must if their late-leader Derek was any indication). Besides, they just couldn't stay away from their home.

In addition to pursuing his dreams, Dipper had an ulterior-motive to becoming Ford's (and Stan's to a degree) apprentice: the future of the Pistachion-race. To his surprise and delight, his girlfriend/wife offered her complete support. In fact, she joined in on the studies. 

The townsfolk were delighted to discover that the Mystery Twins were now living with them, and were happy to learn that Dipper and Wendy were officially an item. Fortunately for the latter, everybody assumed that was the main reason they were constantly smiling. There were some close-calls, but nothing that couldn't handle. They were seen without their masks by Soos once, but convinced him that it was just a temporary side-effect of a botched experiment. (It was almost amusing, being disguised as themselves). Indeed, the way these days were progressing brought a lot of promise for tomorrow.

It was sort of a relief when Mabel left for college shortly after Dipper and Wendy's wedding (they didn't think Manly Dan was capable of bawling). She visited on a semi-frequent basis, but it gave some needed berth. It was becoming difficult to keep their secret from her. Plus, they didn't have the heart to assimilate her if it came to it, as detailed in their grand-plan. She might not be able to keep a secret anyway...

Shortly after Stan and Ford retired, Dipper and Wendy got to work. Using business skills they learned from Stan, they talked Pacifica Northwest into partnering with them in the nut-industry. Considering Gravity Falls celebrates two Halloweens, it was even easier to get her to invest in the costume business. With the couple's skills, both ventures flourished, and Pacifica became even more wealthy. As for the Pines family, this provided them with the resources they needed. The nut farm would enable them to cultivate new Pistachions. The costume-factory would create disguises as needed. And the money they earned would fund their new M.U.L.C.H.-technology. (Dipper found the blueprints when he and Wendy were figuring out how to set up their costumes at Lard World).

Over the years, the happy couple would secretly restore their lost race and make it better than ever, while living as Gravity Falls citizens, studying, protecting the town, having fun, and raising a family. In addition to normal Pistachions, Dipper and Wendy would "MULCH" humans who would be seen as assets to their new society, along with some invaluable friends. They also converted the occasional tourist or local who learned a little too much. (They weren't evil or stupid; they would never erase anyone's memories like the Society of the Blind Eye did).

Eventually, several Pistachions would elect to form their own society where they could live as themselves and not under-the-radar. The "natural" ones preferred to live hidden in the valley, while the former-humans and their sired offspring, such as the Pines and Valentino children, chose to remain living amongst the humans (there were exceptions on both sides). However, there was one major rule established by their unofficial king and queen to be honored by both parties: "DON'T ATTACK THE HUMANS!!!" Having lived through two failed world-domination schemes, it was pretty clear that taking over was a pipe-dream at best. Plus, in spite of the dispositions that come with being a Pistachion, they couldn't bring themselves to hate humanity.

Despite all the secrets, Dipper and Wendy Pines would be seen as great assets to the town of Gravity Falls by the humans and disguised-Pistachions alike. And although they were recognized among scientists and still craved adventure, neither they, nor their kids ventured outside the Valley for long. They felt drawn to it. Perhaps it was because they loved Gravity Falls too much to stay away. Or maybe it was because they were now part of the weirdness that initially drew Dipper and Mabel in back in 2012. Either way, they were fine with that. It was their home. Their people, or rather people(s), would thrive in relative harmony. It would be that way for generations, and hopefully until the end of time...

#wendip #Wendy Corduroy #Dipper Pines #Gravity Falls #WenDipWeek #fanfic #fanart #older!Wendip #older!Dipper #older!Wendy #submission

[izukillme-moved]

No. 91 “Tell me you need me.” Ship: Gratsu (Fairy Tail)

Gray sits alone, back against the wall. Rain soaks into his boots and his clothes, which he has surprisingly not stripped off yet. His hair falls into his eyes, its usual spikes drooping wetly due to the rain.

He closes his eyes, filled with a different kind of wetness - hot, prickly, salty. It stings at his eyes and pulls at his throat.

The past flashes before him, so distant yet so achingly close. He can almost taste it on the tip of his tongue.

“Gray! Gra-ay! I need you-u! AAH! OUCH! Stop it!” Natsu’s voice bellows from somewhere deep in the forest.

“What is it, Natsu?” Fear rushes through Gray’s veins. He runs towards the source of the voice. 

Crap, I never should’ve let him go alone!

Gray stumbles frantically into a clearing to find his idiot boyfriend’s head wedged stubbornly into a hole in a tree. He crosses his arms, irritated.

“Care to explain?”

“Uh, well, see, there was this woodpecker, and it was so pretty I wanted to get a better look at it, but then she - I guess it was a she - started pecking my face because -” Natsu babbles.

Gray sighs a put-upon sigh and strides forward, grabbing a leg in each hand and yanking hard.

“This better not happen again or I’ll let Mama Woodpecker peck your head off,” he warns.

“Aw, you know you love me,” Natsu teases.

“Gray! Gray! I need you!“ Natsu yells from the couch.

“What is it now?!“ Gray shouts from the bathroom.

“I want to talk to Sting with this lacrima phone thingy, but I don’t know how!” Natsu screams back.

Gray rolls his eyes, but finishes his ‘bathroom work’ quickly and goes to help Natsu. 

It turns out to be an enjoyable evening, watching Natsu cutely fumble his way through using the phone. Also, Gray gets to talk to Rogue, whose cool temperament he has always found refreshing, while Natsu and Sting babble on to each other about something or the other.

(Rogue later informs him that it was about how cute and sweet he and Gray had been, teaching Natsu and Sting how to use the phone. Damn Dragon Slayer hearing, Gray would’ve killed to hear that come from Natsu’s mouth - but Rogue has to be proof enough for his sadly all too normal ears.)

“G - Gray,” Natsu whispers.

“No! NO! Stupid flame-brain, you aren’t dying on my watch-“ Gray scrabbles furiously to ice Natsu’s wounds. “Wendy - WENDY! Wendy can help-“

“No,” Natsu murmurs. “It’s too - serious-“

“Natsu - Natsu, please don’t leave - you can’t - you can’t leave me!” Tears run down Gray’s cheeks, hot and wet. He cups Natsu’s face in his hands, brings the lips to his mouth, presses a gentle kiss on them. “I love you - so much - don’t go!”

“I - love you - too,“ Natsu says almost imperceptibly, coughing up blood. His eyes flutter shut, his chest lifts weakly. “Gray - I’m so - sorry...“

“No!“

Natsu closes his eyes one final time, breathing an “I’ve - always - needed you,”.

Gray screams.

“NO!“ 

Gray’s eyes snap open, wild and wide. 

Natsu stands before him.

“Gray,” 

“Gray,”

“Gray,”

Gray blinks, and Natsu is gone.

He reaches out a hand, screaming wordlessly.

“No! Not again - I can’t lose you again!”

He falls back onto his knees. 

“Natsu,“ he mutters, clenching his hands in fists - crying to the unforgiving heavens, who will not so much as spare him a glance. He is a normal person, grieving like any other. They do not bring back the dead - they certainly do not make exceptions.

But oh, how Gray wishes they would. 

“Tell me - tell me you need me,”

“Just one more time...”

I made it angst because that was the only thing I could think of for the prompt, curse my sad, sad brain!

Sorry it’s late!! Hope you like it!

#fairy tail #gratsu #ask #wizardwithbrushandpen #angst