#dipperxreader

[gravityfallsrewritten]

Chapter 18: After All These Years

"Y/n."

Said girl looked up at the sound of a gravel sound calling her name. "Hello?" She called. The voice belonged to him. "Where are you?"

"Y/n."

"Stan," she replied just as quickly as before. She looked around, searching desperately for the elder man. She only needed to see his silhouette, his shadow. Where could he be?

"Y/n," he said for the final time. Finally, he materialized in front of her, but his wrists were ensnared by a pair of handcuffs. "We lost," his voice dropped in a whisper, "they... they found us."

And as if on cue, alarms reverberated around her, and flashes of blue and red appeared. A megaphone squeaked from afar, alerting them of someone coming into the scene. "This is the police!" Through the powerful blast of the megaphone, the police officer's urgent voice reverberates among the continuous sirens.

"Stan Pines, you are suspected to have been constructing a highly dangerous doomsday device hidden beneath the shack! Surrender yourself immediately! I repeat, surrender yourself now!"

Y/n remained frozen in place. The police found them and now Stan is getting taken away. Away from the portal, away from progress, away from the Mystery Shack.

Away from her.

This was her worst nightmare.

"No," She found the strength to speak. "No, please!" It all felt so real. "Stan!"

His gaze remained downwards. "I'm sorry, kid. I have no choice."

"Don't go! Please! We've worked so hard!" She tried to reason. Thirty years of trying to save Ford and it all goes downhill? Ruined by the police? Everything was gone just like that, and they were so close– yet so far.

The older man didn't say anything, but his feet moved to their own accord, taking him somewhere. Y/n tried to stop him, tried to wake him out of his trance. Maybe he was being brain-washed. Maybe his memories were wiped clean. Why was he giving up so easily?

"Stan! What about Ford?"

"We tried everything," he stopped in his tracks a bit, tilting his head to the side to address her. But he wasn't looking at her. "But I guess it wasn't good enough. Face it, Y/n. We didn't succeed.

"We. Failed."

Y/n opened her eyes, inhaling deeply as if she only remembered how to breathe again. She clenched her fist in retaliation to the dream she had. Bill couldn't be blamed– she has been having these dreams now long before she met the beast. Although, there's a possibility that he purposefully took advantage of her mind while she was asleep.

So many things to ponder about. For the last three decades, all she ever cared about was fixing the portal. Her and Stan's lives intertwined in a shared mission, dedicating countless hours, poured undying effort, and endured the passage of time. Days turned into nights, seasons passed, yet their resolve remained unwavering.

But remembering the occurrence of her dream... minutes have passed for how long she's been staring blankly at a wall.

Only realizing that this wasn't her bedroom. This wasn't the shack.

She vaguely remembered Soos suggesting they go to his house for the meantime– his house being his Abuelita's. She remembered finally falling to sleep from exhaustion and when she awoke, she saw a different living room filled with timeless trinkets. Frames of young Soos littered around the yellow walls, and the furniture was covered by meticulous patterns. Stan and Mabel laid on the ground with sleeping bags, while she laid on a mattress propped up on a couch.

A rustle beside her caught her attention. It was Dipper, He was squirming, closing his eyes tightly. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on his blanketed shoulder, rubbed soothing comforts. He was mumbling something before waking up in cold sweat. He screamed momentarily, clutching the blanket they shared.

He breathed heavily. "Y/n?" He saw her already staring at him. "I just had a horrible dream that Gideon stole the deed to the Mystery Shack, and kicked us out, and... we all had to move in with... Soos' grandma?" He all said in a series of questions.

Before Y/n could say anything, the third person sharing their bed sat up and leaned in closely towards them. "That was no dream, dude."

Soos, shirtless, said with conviction.

Dipper screamed in horror, waking everyone up. Abuelita from the side turned the lamp on and brought a finger to her lips. "Shh! Por favor."

"Uh, sorry...! Abuelita..." Dipper trailed off. He didn't even register that he was sleeping besides Y/n until he did, scooting slightly away. "Sorry, I didn't wake you up, did I?" He muttered guiltily.

Y/n's face morphed into an assuring smile. "I was already awake before you. No worries."

"Well you sure woke everyone else with that scream," Stan quipped from the ground he was sleeping on. "Now quiet! The news is finally on," he pointed at the TV.

Shandra Jimenez appeared on the screen, microphone in hand. "In a movement that has all of Gravity Falls buzzing, child psychic Gideon Gleeful has taken surprise ownership of the Mystery Shack, previously belonging to area shyster, Stanford Pines."

This time, Gideon stood in frame with the reporter. "Now that you have the shack, what exactly are you planning to do with it?"

"I have a big announcement to make today," Gideon spoke with a huge, fake smile in his punchable face, "and I'd like to cordially invite all the good people of Gravity Falls to join me. Free admission to anyone who wears their Gideon pins! It's my face!" He winked.

Y/n was the first to react. "The people of this town are too gullible to believe this despicable kid," she voiced out.

"I just can't believe Gideon beat us," Dipper lamented, sitting on the edge of the makeshift bed, "Normally, I'm able to save the day. This is all my fault."

Mabel stood beside her brother. "Don't worry, Dipper. Looks like Mabel's going to have to be the hero of the family now. I'll defeat Gideon with my grappling hook!" She brought out the tool she chose from the beginning of the summer.

Dipper glared mildly. "Mabel, no offense, but that grappling hook has literally never helped us once."

"Oh yeah? Jelly grab!" The girl shot her grappling hook at a random jar of jelly inexplicably placed on a shelf, causing it to break and splatter jelly on the walls. The paintings, porcelain angels and half of Abuelita's body were in the splash zone and are now covered by the sticky substance.

"I vacuum the walls now."

"So you lost the Shack," Soos said as if it was a normal day, like it was a trivial matter. "Look on the bright side, dudes! Now you get to live here with me. Soos!" He then invited anyone to race cars without batteries. It's supposed to be a pretend kind of game.

"We gotta take the Shack back."

***

***

The next day, the family dressed up as an undercover entourage– with help from Soos' wardrobe and went to Shack. They saw the child psychic taking up the stage and dancing around before walking up the podium and spoke into the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen! Today I am delighted to announce my new plans for the former Mystery Shack!"

Bud came up with a wagon, a covered prototype on it.

"I give you..." Gideon reached down and pulled the cloth away, revealing a miniature version of his plans. "Gideonland!"

"What?!" The incognito team exclaimed in unison.

"We are gonna turn this dirty ol' shack into three square miles of Gideon-tertainment. And introducin' our new mascot, Lil' Gideon Jr.!"

Bud pulled off a cloak to reveal Waddles in a Gideon costume, white hair and all.

"Boom, he's a pig!"

"Waddles!" Mabel screamed in horror. "You monster!"

"Alright, that's it!" Stan pulled off his disguise and angrily ran up the stage. Mabel, Dipper, and Y/n followed, destroying everything in their path.

Stan stood behind the lectern. "Listen up people. Gideon's a fraud! This kid broke in and stole my property!"

"You have to believe us!" Y/n reasoned.

"Arrest him officers!" Mabel ordered.

"Yeah!" Dipper agreed.

Gideon walked up. "Such accusations!" He said, his tone being artificially innocent. "Mr. Pines, I recall you gave the property to me!" He had the nerve to frown in confusion. "Look, here's the deed right here!" He easily pulled the deed out of his shirt for the town to see.

"Well that's all the proof I need to see," Officer Blubs dismissed.

"I love you, Lil' Gideon!" Durland hollered. "Sing them funny songs!"

"Do you actually believe that Stan Pines would willingly give the deed of his house to Gideon?!" Y/n shouted, angry and frustrated. "They're rivals for crying out loud!"

"Stan and I are very close friends!" Gideon instantly retorted, flashing his puppy eyes. "And he trusted me to hold onto the deed for safekeeping. We're the best of friends after all!"

"Best of friends?" Stan glared. "More like the worst of enemies. Give me back my deed, you pint-sized troublemaker!"

The little boy snapped his fingers and two burly guards got ready to kick the Pines off the stage. "Hey!" Mabel yelled. The other three were easily grabbed.

Y/n surprised herself that she could endure all Gideon's taunt without easily knocking him out of the stage and taking the deed. Beat up the father too for neglected parenting. But looking at the people of Gravity Falls, she knew that they were easily swayed, and if they saw her assaulting their favorite manipulator, they might shun her out and never trust her again. She had sacrificed so much to maintain her reputation.

"Now get off my property, old man!" He slapped a Gideon pin on Stan.

"I'll show you who's the old man- AH! Ow, my hearing aid! Ow!"

The Pines got carried off the stage by the guards. "Thanks for visiting Gideonland, folks!" Gideon giggled a heinous laugh. "Don't come back, I don't care for y'all."

Going back to Soos' home, Mabel, Dipper and Soos sat on the couch sadly, sulking about today. Stan and Y/n were in the kitchen. The former was pacing around with a telephone in his hands while Y/n was leaning on the countertop, her arms crossed and her face contorted into worry.

2 minutes earlier, in the midst of their argument, the ringing of the phone cut them off. Stan answered with a scowl, but when he heard the voice from the other side of the call, his face melted into nervousness. His skin paled more and he was sweating. "H-Henry! It's you! What's wrong?"

This wasn't the first time a call came up while they were talking. Stan waited, nodding consciously. Henry sounded mad at the other end from the way the older man was trying to calm him down. It seemed that the parents heard the news all the way from Piedmont. "Don't worry, your son and daughter are fine!" He reassured them, himself included. "Where're we staying? Uh, I put 'em up in this amazing four-star hotel!" There are hotels?

He seemed to be in his own world of delusions, like he was actually in a fine establishment, being served food. Y/n was getting more worried. "What, uh, sure! We got..." He glanced at the contents inside the refrigerator which was merely a near empty gallon of milk, "we've got plenty to eat..."

Stan stood back up in faux confidence. "Relax, if I thought I couldn't take care of these kids, I'd send them back right away. " That seemed to have done it. "Uh huh, you too." He ended the call seconds after.

Silence ensued, but not for long when Mabel shouted from one room away. "Grunkle Stan, can we order pizza?"

The older man checked his pockets only to discover they're empty. Y/n kept silent, tapping beats against her skin.

"They have to go back," Stan spoke in hushed tones, leaning against the tiled surface. "I can't afford to take care of them anymore, not when Gideon has the Shack."

"He also has the portal."

Stan frowned deeper, if that was even possible. He wanted to curse Gideon with every fiber of his being. How did he manage to beat them? For how long are they going to remain underneath his small thumb?

The thought of Gideon having his hands on the portal has been plaguing their minds for the last 12 hours. It's only a matter of time until Gideon dismantles the entire Shack for his tourist attraction and discovers the underground device before using it for his evil schemes. There was no way of stopping him then.

"Wait, where are you going?" Y/n stood up, seeing that Stan was about to walk out.

Stan sighed. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air. There's a lot on my plate right now." He didn't look at her. He never did, until he exited the kitchen and outside of the house.

Y/n didn't bother pursuing him, as she figured that he really needed a breather. Her mind has been jumbled. She had no idea what to do first. Should she just sneak over to the Mystery Shack and stealthily pass through the guards and Gideon to get to the basement? And what happens after that? Does she just plan on staying there forever?

"Y/n! Let's play racing cars!" Mabel's voice reverberated through the walls again.

"But we have no batteries so we have to pretend!" Soos chimed in as well.

Mustering all her positive thoughts to her facial expression, she pushed herself off and stepped into the living room with a small smile on her face. "How do you play?" She saw Soos, Mabel, and Dipper sitting on the floor with the racetrack in the middle. It had toy cars in the plastic path, waiting for control. But without the batteries, it was immobile.

"Go, go, go!" Mabel cheered on. "Go, red car!"

Y/n sat on the ground with them, placing her hands on her lap. She noticed Dipper watching her every move, and she looked back, catching his eye. He flashed a small reassuring smile, but it was strained. Her lips were pursed as she tried to smile back, but Dipper knew that she must be exhausted from the situation. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his noodle arms and force her to rest.

"Go, other red car!" Soos smiled, raising a fist.

Dipper's attention reverted back to the other two trying to entertain themselves with stationary vehicles. "This would be a lot more fun with batteries," he complained, glowering.

Sounds of footsteps interrupted the ongoing race and the four looked up at the old man who wore a worried look. Stan cleared his throat. "Kids... we gotta talk." Everyone stood face to face with Stan. "Look, I've been thinking, and... I can't take care of you anymore. I don't have a house or a job. The plan is, you're goin' home. Your bus leaves tomorrow, here are your tickets."

"But Grunkle Stan, you can't just give up!" Dipper tried to reason.

"Look, we lost, okay?" Stan cut off, casting a quick glance with Y/n. "The best thing is for you to be with your parents. I'm sorry, kids. Gideon won," he placed the tickets on the table. "Summer's over."

He didn't leave room for any objections and left the room. Soos ran after him, calling his name. "Mr. Pines! Come back! Reconsider!"

"Okay, that's it!" Dipper protested. "Guys, if Stan won't get our home back from Gideon, then we'll have to do it ourselves."

"Gideon may have the upper hand, but we have one thing he doesn't," Mabel said confidently.

"The journal!"

"A grappling hoo- oh." Mabel stopped. "The journal. Journal!"

"Y/n, you have to come with us," Dipper expressed with determination. "We need your help in getting the Shack back, too. I'm sure you're mad at Gideon and want proper revenge on him."

She does. She wanted nothing more than kicking the little guy's behind.

So the classic trio went to the Mystery Shack and concealed themselves behind large bushes. Two stoic-faced and muscly guards were pacing around the fences. They couldn't possibly get through. Dipper emerged from the bushes with a telescope.

"Okay. What can we use to defeat Gideon?" Dipper opened the journal in his grasp, flipping through the pages. "Barf fairy?"

"Yeah!" Mabel voiced.

"Nope." Dipper went to the next. "Butternut Squash with a Human Face and Emotions?" Y/n snorted back a laugh as she reminisced the exact moment she and Ford encountered this for the first time.

"Yeah!"

"Nope."

Dipper pitched to the next page, but Mabel stopped his hand, pointing at the set of symbols. "Whoa, what's this?"

Y/n leaned closer and saw the one-third part of the schematic plan of the inter-dimensional portal. It reminded her of the actual device living underneath them. She kept silent as she inspected Dipper's change in expression.

"I've stared at this page for hours. It seems like a blueprint to build some kind of strange futuristic super-weapon-"

"BORING!" Mabel bellowed. It seemed that Y/n had always underestimated Dipper, when he's actually smarter than he came off as. The braced-wearing girl continued, "To defeat those guards, we need some kind of army!"

"An army?" Y/n asked, "what about..." she temporarily took the journal and flipped to a specific page. "The gnomes?"

"Good idea, Y/n!" Dipper cheered, while Mabel nervously tugged the collar of her sweater. The three knew about their history with the gnomes. Heck, they experienced it firsthand. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

The three went back to where it all began. This was where they found Mabel tied up on the ground with a bunch of gnomes, but it seemed that the group were busy doing something else.

"I wonder what gnomes do out here alone in the forest," Mabel wondered aloud as they walked towards a nearby bush.

They got their answer when Y/n pushed apart the bunch of leaves and there they saw Jeff in a rather compromising position. Squirrels lathered his small body as he took a "bath" in a tub. The trio screamed in horror, and Jeff screamed back. "This is normal!" He tried to convince them.

There was no other way to change their mind otherwise.

"Well, well, well. Look who came crawlin' back,'' Jeff mocked, "So, changed your mind about marryin' me, did you, Mabel?"

"Ew, hardly!" Mabel replied all too quickly. "We need your help. And seriously, ew!"

"You want our help?" Jeff became angry, "after you left me at the altar? No dice!"

Y/n stepped forward with an inviting smile. "Well, what if we were able to get you a new queen?"

"Yeah, one even more beautiful than me!" Mabel encouraged.

Dipper smiled, "Her name's Gideon, and she has lovely white hair."

"Whoa. Mature woman, huh?" The gnome seemed interested in their offer. "Hey, Shmebulock, get my cologne!"

Said gnome came in with a skip in its step. "Shmebulock!" Y/n couldn't help but smile at the sight. Oh hey, it was the same gnome she and Ford experimented on.

"It's a deal!" Jeff shook hands with Dipper.

And they were off. Y/n schemed a plan to get inside as she laid out formations around the Shack. They talked about distracting Gideon before calling out for the white-haired boy. "Give us the deed to the shack, Gideon, or else!" Dipper demanded.

Gideon smirked with his hands on his hips. His two bodyguards were quick to stand behind him for backup. "Am I supposed to say, "Or else what"?"

"Yes, you are supposed to say that!" Mabel screamed as they heard the code word. "Now!"

The two guards were frozen as they felt gnome hats impaling their backs, temporarily knocking them out as they fell to the ground. The rest of the army of gnomes charged forward riding deer and bunnies. They had Gideon surrounded, number clearly at an advantage.

There was a flash of panic in his eyes. He tried to run, but it was useless as the gnomes pointed their apparently sharp hats. The three stepped forward with a threatening gaze. "You're surrounded by an unstoppable gnome army!" Dipper began, "Now give us back our deed and get off our property!"

Mabel's eyes narrowed, and Y/n's glare could cut bullets. Gideon only sighed in defeat, frowning down. "Very well," he spoke somberly. He dug through his coat pocket. "I supposed this deed belongs to-" He pulled out what wasn't the deed, but instead it was a whistle, and he didn't hesitate blowing into it. It produced a deafening, head-splitting sound, hurting the gnomes' sensitive ears. The trio looked around in worry as their plan slowly crumbled.

They guessed their other weakness other than leaf blowers were loud, shrill sounds.

The grimace on Gideon's face was quickly replaced by a cheerful simper. "Huh, what do you know? Works on gnomes too!" He shrugged before casually blowing on the whistle hard again.

Every gnome kicked their feet in reaction to the piercing noise. Their faces were scrunched in pain and for a moment, Y/n felt bad they had to string in the gnomes along. "Stop, we'll do anything!" Jeff screamed, kneeling on the ground and bowing. "How can we serve you, Your Majesty?" He continued, bringing a smile to the little boy's pale face. "The most beautiful girl we've ever seen!" The compliments were non-stop.

"I AM NOT A GIRL!" Gideon screeched, startling everyone.

"Really? But your skin is so soft! D'you... moisturize, or..."

"Subdue them!" Gideon commanded, pointing at the three. The gnomes immediately scamper towards them and easily got a hold of Dipper, Mabel, and Y/n who was thrashing around their hold.

"I have to admit, kids, I am impressed by your creativity," Gideon said, placing his hands behind his back. The audacity of him calling them "kids" was really starting to irritate her. "How did you ever-"

And as Dipper was trying to get out of the gnomes' hold, he didn't realize that the journal had slipped out from his vest, falling to the ground. Gideon instantly caught the sight of it, gasping. "Oh, no!" Dipper exclaimed in a panic.

"No!" Gideon breathed in disbelief, staring at the open pages of writings. "Could it be?" His eyes widened. "Is it...?" He went and carried it in his arms, flipping through the pages with an excited giggle. "Of course! It all makes sense! The one place I never think to look, you had it the whole time!"

If it wasn't possible, Y/n squirmed more. Just the thought of Gideon holding the journal filled her veins with fiery anger, but seeing it in person... she wanted nothing more than to choke his non-existent out of his mystery.

"No!" Dipper voiced out, trying to fight against the deathly grip of the gnomes. "Give it back!"

Gideon remained smirking. "Every victory you had because of your precious book!"

Dipper glared, "Give it back or I'll-!"

"Or you'll what, boy?" Gideon leaned forward in a mocking manner, rendering the other speechless. "You'll what? Huh? Huh? No muscles. No brains. Face it! You're nothin' without this!"

Y/n growled, trying to pull her arm out of their grip. "Don't make me beat you up again, Gideon!" She threatened, but it didn't faze the boy. She'd attacked him before, she wouldn't hesitate attacking him again for all the pain and suffering he had inflicted upon the family.

Gideon simply snorted. "I'd like to see you try!" He waved his hand, "Bye bye forever, y'all!" The whistle in his mouth produced that loud noise again, and the gnomes carried the three out of what used to be their property.

"NOOO!"

"AHH!"

"Let me go! Let me go, you dang gnomes!"

The gnomes dissipated and spread out after dropping the three of a random clearing. "Next time, do your own dirty work!" Jeff scolded before calling for his squirrels again and tucking it inside his pants.

Dipper remained seated on the dirt, placing his hands on his knees. "Well, that's it. Guess the bus should be here soon."

Mabel stopped pacing. "What?! Dipper, don't give up!" She crouched down to his height and tried to meet his eyes but they stayed staring at the ground as he aimlessly drew doodles on the soil. "You always have a plan!"

"No, the journal always has a plan!" Dipper quickly interjected. "Think about it, Mabel. Gideon was right! The only courageous or cool things The only courageous or cool things I've ever done have been because of that journal," he rambled. "Without it, I can't help you, or Stan, or Y/n..."

He briefly glanced at her. She was wearing a forlorn gaze.

"...Or anyone," Dipper finished his speech, looking back to the ground.

"There's gotta be something we could do," Mabel worried, turning her head towards Y/n, who had been silent ever since.

"What can we do?" Dipper asked, and when he was met with silence, he thought that that was it. It was over. With Gideon having his journal, he was powerless, helpless, weak.

"Bus 52, departing Gravity Falls. All aboard." The intercom sounded.

The twins found themselves in front of the bus door, opened and just too soon.

Their bags were packed, unprepared and unplanned. They begrudgingly hauled their baggage into the bus and towards the back of the vehicle, with no other passengers on board. It seemed that no one else planned on leaving this town the same time they did. It was the middle of the summer, after all.

Dipper and Mabel peered through the window from the back. There stood Stan, who could only give them an apologetic look. "Sorry, kids," they heard him through the glass. "It's for the best." There was nothing they could do. The Shack was gone, they didn't have a home, no business, no money. Everything was taken away from them, just like that.

As the bus began departing, the twins watched the friends they had made that stood beside Stan. Candy and Grenda were crying as they hugged each other. Wendy mournfully waved her goodbyes. The older man couldn't even look them in the eye.

But Y/n was nowhere to be found.

Dipper's heart squeezed painfully in his chest. She wasn't even there to say goodbye. He thought he could have one last conversation with her before leaving, but he guessed the universe couldn't even grant his one request. "I can't believe this is happening," he mumbled absentmindedly, and the bus drove further away from the town that unfurled his curiosity to the unknown.

Goodbye, Gravity Falls.

***

Back in the Mystery Shack, Gideon slammed the front door closed as he excitedly stomped his little feet on the wooden flooring, giggling in victory. All his scheming and waiting for the right time had finally come to fruition. (Though he wasn't really patient as he literally broke inside the Shack with dynamites, but that's beside the point).

He ordered his servants he call his parents out of the living room to have this moment all to himself. The mother and the father scrambled to escape his wrath and he was left to his own devices. "It's finally mine!" Gideon hollered. "At last! I have Journal number-"

He placed the journal he took from Dipper on the table. But it wasn't the first journal as he was expecting. Instead, the cover had adorned a number 3, not 1.

"Three?!" Gideon uttered in pure disbelief. "There were three of 'em?!" He slapped his forehead.

"Uh, son?" Bud's voice resonated through his son's tantrums. How he had the guts to speak to him while he was having an episode was beyond him, but it was an urgent matter. There was an unwanted visitor that he had caught at their doorstep.

"Don't disturb me, old man!" Gideon howled in anger.

Bud sighed in exhaustion. "B-but, you have a guest. They seemed furious."

"Gideon!"

His ears perked up at his name. "Let her in."

The large man hesitantly opened the door, and there stood Y/n, seething with rage. Without speaking, she quickly charged towards the little boy and tackled him to the ground. Gideon screamed for help as he tried to stop the flurry of arms coming to slap his face. Y/n's hands snaked towards his collar and began squeezing until he was choking on his breathing.

Big hands came and pulled her off, grabbing onto her arms tightly. "Now, calm down! Calm down!" Bud repeated, trying to alleviate the girl's fury. "We can all talk about this!"

Gideon was trying to replenish his oxygen, easing his collar and breathing heavily as he laid on the ground. This brought a small smirk to Y/n's face as she exhaled in exhilaration. That felt good.

"I told you I would kick your butt. Thanks for letting me in, by the way," she told Bud sarcastically.

"Ugh, get away from me, you're crazy!" Gideon screeched.

"Guess we haven't established that yet. Give us the Shack back!" She demanded, pushing against Bud's hold.

"Tell me, where is Journal number 1?!"

"I don't know."

Gideon stood up. "Don't lie to me!" He chucked the nearest chair to the other side before striding towards her. "Where's Journal number 1! The Journal that I got from that boy was the third one. I need all three for the power to be unlocked!" He screamed.

Y/n deadpanned, her lips pursed into a line. "Give me. The deed."

Gideon paced around wildly before stopping. His eyes widened as if he had a realization. "Dipper! He must know where it is. He gave me the third one and kept the first for himself!"

"Even if you try and ask him, they're already long gone," Y/n tried to say.

Gideon pulled on his hair frustratingly, his face red. "I can't let him leave Gravity Falls!" He shouted and began to take his leave, taking the two journals with him.

"Hey- w-where are you going?!" Y/n called out desperately, annoyance seeping through. She tramped her shoe on Bud's foot making him let go of her and she chased after him. Running outside of the Shack, she watched Gideon make his way to a larger version of him made out of steel. It was a robot Gideon, who can move according to his controls.

The giant stomped its way through the forest until they were gone. Y/n had to find a way to get to it somehow and finally stop his reign once and for all.

***

"Hey, Dipper, wanna play 'Bus Seat Treasure Hunt'?" Mabel offered, in hopes of cheering up her brother. They always come up with such random activities that would pass the boring time of traveling.

Dipper continued gazing through the window and watched the trees pass by. "I'm not in the mood," he answered earnestly.

"Oh, come on," Mabel insisted, opening the bus seat in between them, revealing what was underneath. "We've got a Canadian coin, gum that's shaped like Ronald Reagan's head– ooh! Miscellaneous fluid stain-!"

"Giant robot!" Dipper shrieked..

"Yeah, giant robot– wait. What?!" Mabel exclaimed back.

"LOOK!"

From the back of the bus, a giant Gideon robot slid across the dirt and was carelessly sprinting towards them. "Halt!" They heard his voice. "I demand you to halt!" Every step sent an earthquake their way. The twins screamed in a panic, going to the front of the bus where the driver sat.

"Mr. Bus Driver!" Mabel cried. "There's a giant Gideon bot coming towards us!"

"Oh, hey dudes."

"Soos!"

The twins cheered in relief when they saw a familiar face. It turns out that Soos had been taking multiple jobs at once when the Mystery Shack was temporarily out of service. Now, he had been a part-time bus driver for at least 40 minutes and this was his first day.

Soos accelerated and pressed on the gas, making the bus move faster. "Hang on, dudes!" The vehicle dodged Gideon's attacks as best as they could, but when the overly large hand went and reached for it, Soos had unknowingly swerved to a new direction, heading towards a restricted area, blocked off by wooden signs.

The bus went up a hill, the road going round and round. For a moment, they thought they lost him, but the robot was unfortunately persistent and carelessly climbed up the mountain. The twins watched through the window as the Gideon-bot made the effort to clamber up. "He already won, what does he want from us?!" Dipper asked incredulously.

They ran towards the front and saw that they were heading straight towards a cliff. "Soos! Cliff!" Dipper called out, but it was too late for Soos to kick the pedals. The tires squealed against the dirt until the bus turned and ended up hanging for its dear life, stopping right at the edge of the hill. Soos tried to accelerate, but the other end of the bus didn't have dirt to move against.

Gideon rises from the mountains, striding menacingly towards the transport. The bot easily grabbed the bus and began shaking it up and down until the roof was torn apart. There, he found Soos who busied himself reading a manual to help him in this situation. The twins were nowhere to be found.

He turned around and looked for them until he saw two kids trying to run across the railroad that connected two tunnels of the cliffs. Dipper and Mabel tried to escape, but when they saw the signed boards that said, "DEAD END", on the other side of the railway, it was hopeless to get away.

The Gideon-bot jumped down and landed, causing the bridge to quake with its weight. It was amazing that the structure could still withstand the great amount of mass. "TELL ME!" Gideon's real voice reverberated through the speakers of his machine. "Where is Journal #1?!"

"Journal #1?" The twins echoed his question.

"Don't play games with me, boy!" The robot punched the other cliff, rocks crumbling apart and falling onto the siblings. Dipper and Mabel tried their best to dodge the descending boulders.

Dipper glared at the bot. "I don't know what you're talking about, you took the only journal I ever had!" He shouted in retaliation. "What do you even want with these journals, anyway?"

Gideon didn't answer, instead he reached down and took the twins in each of his metallic hands, separating them. Mabel struggled against the tight, cold grip.

"LET GO OF HER!" Dipper punched the metal in every word he spoke.

The bot simply laughed. "You still think you're some kind of hero?"

Without warning, Gideon tossed him away. Dipper landed by the edge of the cliff, hitting his head on a rock. He felt a warm, sticky substance running down his nose. "Agh..." he rubbed the pain on the back of his head. It was getting hard to breathe, getting hard to stand up. But he managed to do so, anyway.

"Dipper, help me!" Mabel screamed. "Help!"

The boy tried to look around for a way to reach his sister and rescue her, but his mind couldn't even think properly. His mind was hazy, and his heartbeat was erratic. Usually, he would've taken his journal out of his vest right by now and flipped through the pages for the solution. But he didn't have anything, and he was left to himself.

He didn't know what to do.

He just stood there, frozen in place. The anxieties he had always felt came crashing in more heavily now. Gideon's words from earlier were plaguing his mind that his shoulders were sagging from emotions.

"Face it, kid, you're nothing without that journal!" It was true. " How're you gonna fight back? No muscles, no brains..." His words got to him. He felt tears escaping him as his lips quivered. "What are you gonna do, huh? What are you gonna do?"

Dipper retreated back to the forest in defeat. Gideon was right. There was nothing he could do. He let the words of mockery get to him as his resolve crumbled. His mind shut down.

That's why he was following his heart this time, and took a leap of faith.

He turned around and charged forward, plunging down from the cliff. He jumped, flying down towards the bot. Dipper yelled, alerting the bot as it faced him.

Dipper crashed directly through the eye– which was made of glass– and tackled the real Gideon out of the controller. They landed on the floor but Dipper quickly stood. "Let go of my sister!" Dipper reared his fist back and punched Gideon repeatedly in the face.

"Never! I finally won this time!" Gideon retaliated, pushing him off and fighting back. The two exchanged punches and hits. The Gideon bot replicated his actions, flying Mabel around.

Gideon managed to throw Dipper down, sending punches to his face until the brown-haired boy had had enough. His brows furrowed in resolution as he stood back up and prepared for Gideon's next hit. And when he did, he captured the boy's fist, easily stopping him.

The white-haired boy's resolve faltered for a bit, startled at Dipper's change in strength.

With Dipper's other hand, he guided Gideon's arm and twisted it around to aim for his pale face. He began hitting him with Gideon's own arm, playing a game of "why you hitting yourself?".

Finally, Dipper managed to force one last hit on Gideon, and the bot did the same, hitting its own head. It punched itself so hard, that the head came loose, spinning around wildly.

With Gideon out of his control hub, the robot lost its balance, until it eventually fall backwards and plummeted down. "Dudes! NOO!" Soos shouted.

The twins were falling in mid-air, screaming as they did so. The Gideon-bot crashed and caused a huge explosion, big enough for everyone in the town to see. Parts of the robot were still fizzing with electricity, convulsing as the last remaining power wore off. Amongst the destruction, a continuous squealing of a rope was heard,

The smoke dissipated a bit to reveal Dipper and Mabel, going down slowly with the help of the almighty, "GRAPPLING HOOK!" Mabel declared loud and proud. "Told you that would come in handy." She told to her brother before their shoes hit the ground safely.

"Mabel, that was amazing!" Dipper exclaimed excitedly.

"Not as amazing as you defeating that robot!" Mabel shot back, playfully punching him in the arm, causing him to knock over a random metal sheet and under it was his journal. Safe and sound.

Dipper quickly picked up the book and tucked it inside his vest, just in time for the townspeople to arrive– including the police. "Is this the thing that exploded?" A random townsfolk uttered aloud.

"What's going on?"

"What is it?"

"What happened?"

Gideon managed to pop his head out of his contraption, groaning as he felt a headache coming from the impact he dealt. The people saw him and immediately ran to his aid. "Gideon!" Deputy Durland assisted Gideon all the way down as the twins watched with distaste.

The group of people all feigned a concerned look. "What on earth happened here?" Durland asked the little boy.

"It was the Pines twins!" Gideon bawled haplessly. "They tried to attack me and blew up my statue with dynamite! Arrest 'em!"

"WHAT!?" The twins squawked in disbelief.

"Officers, he's lying!" Dipper tried to convince, but the handcuffs were already out and dangling.

Gideon wore the smirk back to his face as Blubs shrugged, "Sorry, kids, but we trust Gideon– and nothing short of a miracle could ever change our-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

The Stan mobile made its entrance as Y/n carelessly drove through the dirt and even went to bump the police car so hard that it flipped to the side before parking But Stan didn't care as he jumped out of the window. "Wait, wait! Stop everything!"

"Not this guy again," Blubs discerned, not even commenting enough that a young-looking kid was driving the car in the first place.

Stan sprinted out of the car and parted the people to make way towards the cops. "Just wait! Look!" He was full of energy as he ran to the destroyed robot. "You guys all think Gideon is so perfect and honest, "Oh! I could never tell a lie! I'm Gideon!"" He mocked, making Y/n roll her eyes.

"He's more honest than you!" Blubs retorted, hands on his hips.

"Yeah!" Durland agreed, "and he's psychic too!"

"How's this for psychic? Bam!" Stan proceeded to kick the Gideon-bot, causing the metal panel to fall off. "Take a good look!"

Inside the bot were numerous monitors displaying the lives of people from Gravity Falls. The townsfolk surrounded the bot and pointed out their appearances inside the screens. "That's me!" They echoed.

"That's right!" Stan grinned. "These pins are hidden cameras! And my hearing aid was picking up the feedback! Who's the fraud now?" With a pinch, he easily broke the pin in his hands, revealing the small camera inside.

The rest of the townspeople followed suit, smashing their Gideon-themed pins on the ground before glaring at the culprit. Gideon could only giggle nervously as he feared for his consequences. Everyone marched towards the child with grief-stricken expressions. "Gideon, we gave you our trust!" Durland sobbed.

"You lied to us!" Manly Dan exclaimed with roughness in his voice.

Gideon shrank back until he was cornered. He stuttered some sort of explanation, but it was useless to change their minds now. "W-what are you gonna do with me?"

Durland turned to the town's local enthusiasm enthusiast. "Tyler?"

With a heavy heart, Tyler looked away. "Get 'em..." he sobbed, sniffling away his tears. "Get 'em!"

Gideon gasped as Blubs stood over him. "Lil' Gideon, you are under arrest for conspiracy, fraud, and breaking our hearts!" His voice cracked at the end before turning to his partner. "Durland, the tiny handcuffs."

They shackled his tiny wrists together before letting him walk towards the police car. Stan was already there by the vehicle's door. "Just one more thing," he said, picking Gideon up by the back of his collar and effortlessly shaking him.

"Let go of me!" Gideon screamed as the contents from his suit fell. There were his wallet, set of keys, an ax!?, a random crumbled paper, a photograph of Mabel, the deed, and the second journal.

Y/n nonchalantly slinked through the crowd and took advantage of them being distracted by Stan reclaiming the deed. Fortunately, she managed to slip it inside the pocket of her jacket. No one seemed to have noticed it, and when the twins walked closer to Stan, she casually just gave them a relieved smile.

"I'm glad you guys are okay," she told them.

The twins reciprocated her smile, "Finally, we're free from Gideon," Mabel sighed in completion.

"Yeah, no more of that little jerk terrorizing us," Dipper added, smiling.

Gideon was finally sent off in the police car, screaming out curses and threats. Shandra Jimenez materialized beside Stan. "There you have it. Local hero Stanford Pines has just exposed Lil Gideon as a fraud," she said, aiming the microphone at Stan. "Anything you have to say to the town, Stanford?"

The camera pointed at Stan, Mabel, Dipper, and Y/n laughing carefree.

"The Mystery Shack is back, baby!"

***

The tourist trap was indeed back and better than ever, bustling with customers and booming with sales. With the grand re-opening, they attracted fans who wanted them to autograph their merchandise. Stan did so gladly, just as gladly as he took their money.

When the Shack was empty again, the family took their time adjusting to their rooms again, placing everything back to where it used to be. It seemed that Gideon didn't really touch anything in their rooms and with that, they were grateful.

Dipper and Mabel were tidying up their room when Stan opened their door. "Hey, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel greeted.

"Uh, you kiddos settlin' back in okay?" Stan began before letting himself in. He sat on the edge of his nephew's bed, right beside him.

"Yep!" Mabel answered.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan?" Dipper spoke slowly. "Me and Mabel have been talking, and I think there's something we should finally tell you."

He showed him the velvety book with the six-fingered golden hand on the cover.

"This is a journal Y/n and I found in the woods when you sent us out," he told the older man, handing Stan the journal to peruse. "It talks about all the crazy stuff that goes on in Gravity Falls. Gideon nearly destroyed the whole town trying to find it. I don't know what it means, or who wrote it. But, after all we've been through..." he and his sister exchanged smiles, "Maybe you should finally know about it."

Stan's face was serious, void of a smile. "I'm glad you showed me this, Dipper." He closed the journal after skimming through it. For a moment, they thought he was going to say more, but he suddenly cackled aloud. "Now I know where you've been getting it all from! Spookums and monsters." He ruffled up Dipper's hair in the process. "This kooky book has been filling your head with crazy conspiracies!"

"But it's all real!" Dipper tried to convince him. He had to believe him!

Stan merely laughed. "You gotta quit readin' this fantasy nonsense for your own good. Although some of these would make great attractions!" He opened a random page and showed an illustration of the Squash with Human Face and Emotions. "Can't come up with this stuff! Mind if I borrow this?" Stan got up from the bed, taking the book with him and strutting away.

"Wait! No! Grunkle Stan!" Dipper called after him, but it all fell on deaf ears.

Stan chortled, ""Magic book." Ridiculous!" He walked out of the room, laughing echoing in the hallways.

He didn't tread long before he saw Y/n, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed coolly. "Good acting back there. For a second, I would have also thought that you don't believe in the paranormal."

The two of them walked down the stairs. "How could I not when I've been living with one for 30 years?" Stan inputted the code and the vending machine easily opened with a hiss. They slipped inside. "And hey, they have to think that I don't believe any of this stuff or it would blow my cover."

They stepped out of the elevator at the lowest level, automatically entering the room that held the key to saving her exemplar and his brother.

"Let's get to work."

Y/n sat in the chair and dragged herself over to the table, where she opened a drawer to reveal the first journal. Stan handed her the third journal, and the second one as still in her jacket pocket when she took it out. She set them down on the table. One. Two. Three.

After all these years.

Finally they have them all.

One. Two. Three.

Y/n opened the journals to their corresponding pages. The sensation of the paper against her fingers was exhilarating. It was as if each time it had a different texture. She found the blueprint and pieced it together. There it was. Codes littered the entire pages, and she immediately copied the arrangements of the alphanumeric symbols. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Ford's writing and the buttons she was pressing.

Slowly, the lights on the portal lit up, associating with the switches and levers she moved. Stan was quiet, watching her work, right until she pressed the last key, and the portal turned on.

Stan gazed at the illuminated portal, beaming with life. "It's working! Y/n, it's working!" She was speechless.

The older man madly rushed through the sliding door and face-to-face with the portal. Stan jolted the massive lever to the other side, which Y/n watched through the protective glass. The portal began to sparkle with power, emitting random laser lights before blinking to a bright white. The empty and presumed-dead was now brought back to life. All thanks to these journals.

One. Two. Three.

"Here we go," Stan said, his hands on his hips. Their hard work is finally getting paid.

Three. Two. One.

***

END OF SEASON 1.

kimmiepines originally published: july 3, 2023 words: 8131 words

author's note: hello my beloved readers. i want to send my heartfelt thanks to you guys for your patience and your comments! i love reading them and it gives me joy every time i see how immersed you guys are with the story.

i just realized that this story has reached its 1st anniversary! this book was published july 1, 2022. it's been a YEAR and we're only finished with the first season! i love u guys!

thank you for the people who took the time to decipher the little codes i put in every chapter. theyre just silly activities that i wanted to try but i am so happy that people participated! purplexpassion since you solved the puzzle in the shorts chapter, here is your reward! (you already saw it but whatever-)

i'll see you guys next time! on to season 2, baby!!!

ZIV BLF IVZWB?

[accovers]

Dipper Pines x reader : Nightmares (Fluff)

Requested by @sstarmune hope you enjoy!

You could barely breathe as you run through a twisted forest full of monstrosities. A manic laugh filled the air

“C’mon doll, if you get me those journals I promise I won't rip the limbs off of your body .” Bill’s voice reverberated through your nightmare, coming from all directions. Making you feel even more scared and confused as you ran further into the twisted forest.

Unable to run anymore you decided to hide in the thick bushes which were starting to rot. You silently watched as Bill slowly floated by with a wide grin on his face making him look like a savage beast hungry for his next meal.

All of sudden he disappeared, sending you into an even bigger panic. It was silent, too silent.

“B̸̧̻̣̗̭̲̰̤̰̍̃̈́͗̕͜͝ō̸͇͛ȯ̵̡̰̤͓̭̩͙̓̊̅̀͆͛͂͜͝͠”

_____________

   You woke up with a start, fat tears rolled down your flushed cheeks. You gazed at your surroundings, you were on the floor of the mystery shack’s attic with your sleeping bag and pillow. Your eyes landed on Dipper's journal with its golden six-fingered hand, you shuddered remembering Bill’s demands. 

Your heart was beating so fast that you thought it would leap out of your chest. Scared of getting another nightmare and still exhausted you stumbled towards Dipper’s bed.

You gently shook Dipper's sleeping form. He groaned as he turned towards you, opening up one eye. “What?” Dipper groggily whispered. Still shaken, you whispered “Can I please sleep with you? I had a nightmare.” 

Dipper reluctantly scooted over letting you slip under the covers. Noticing the tears still rolling down your face he sighed. Brushing the tears off of your face with his thumb he asked “Would you like to talk about it?” You shakily nodded “i-it w-was about Bill, he was chasing me through a twisted forest and demanding that I give him the journal and threatening to tear off my limbs if I didn't give him what he wanted.” 

Dipper was silent for a moment before replying “I’m sorry that sounds terrible. But you don't have to worry, I'll protect you and make sure Bill doesn't get his hands on you.” 

You snuggled closer into his chest as he petted your hair making you feel sleepy. As you slip back into unconsciousness.

___________________

You wake up to Mable's squealing as she holds a camera in her hands. You quickly sat up with Dipper. “I knew it! I knew It! I knew it! You love each other!” Both you and dipper blushed. Noticing the camera in Mable's hand Dipper frowned  “Mable, give me the camera..” 

Mable pretended to think for a moment before yelling “Nope!” Mable ran out of the room and quickly down the stairs. 

“MABLE!” Dipper yelled as he tightly squeezed your hand before running after his twin sister.

You smiled as you watched Dipper chase, Mable, around the mystery shack from the window. The next few days will definitely be chaotic.

[milkytheholy1]

Promise me

Dipper Pines X Reader Oneshot

The day started off as any 'normal' day would in Gravity Falls, the sleepy town in Oregon was home to residents of human and non-human relations. There were some who tried to find the town's source of weirdness while others were oblivious towards it, those who did seek to find it were always in for one heck of a ride. If you ever go to Gravity Falls make sure to look out towards the woods and there you'll find a little shack, the Mystery Shack. There you'll find a one-stop-shop for all things bizarre and unreal, owned by a man with an equally same description.

Mr Mystery was his name, although you doubted that was his real name. He ran the shack with an upbeat attitude, most of the time, and no recognition of what a refund was. You'd seen other people there too, workers you presumed. A handyman of sorts and a teenager who didn't seem to do any work at all, there was a pair of siblings; brother and sister. They seemed fun when you'd sometimes bump into them in town or at the diner, you'd eventually learn their names; Mabel and Dipper. Mabel would always stress that she was the oldest while Dipper chuckled nervously and absentmindedly kept denying.

Over the course of the summer you ended up hanging out with the Pines twins a lot more, they showed you things you could only ever dream of. Dipper revealed early on in your friendship the journal he found in the woods and all the strange illustrations inside. In the beginning, you laughed at the thought of gnomes running amuck in Gravity Falls, but after seeing it with your own eyes you believed everything he told you after that. It was safe to say the more you hung out with Dipper Mabel would tease your mercilessly, every time Dipper would blush profusely while you coughed and decided to look at all the interesting things in the room, like that wall over there.

Eventually, You and Dipper got together after Mabel pointed out all the things you do together and the way you'd stare at each other and your constant nervous laughter. At first, it was uncomfortable. Your hands would bump together when you walked a quick blush on both of your cheeks, you'd sit closer together during a Pines movie night, and you always fell asleep on Dipper your head resting comfortably on his shoulder; he would be so scared to move. Mabel would tell you the next day that "he'd stay in the same position all night just so he didn't wake you".

It got better, now when you were walking with Dipper he'd confidently take your hand in his, swinging it between you both. You'd hug and sometimes kiss in public, but only on the cheek since Dipper wanted your lips in private; his words, not mine. No, it wasn't just you and Dipper in your lovesick world there was another. For the longest time, you thought Giddeon sounded like a hamster's name but you ultimately found out he was a little boy with a big crush on Mabel. From all the stories Dipper and Mabel told you about this guy you couldn't wait to see him in person, Dipper made a bet saying "he'd probably show up at some point this week like usual."

When you questioned Dipper on why you'd never met Giddeon before he simply said: "I didn't want to expose you to him, he's a creep." You laughed it off. Dipper was right though, Giddeon did come about a week later. You and the Pine twins had spent the morning with Soos at the arcade before Stan called him with a job "Aw sorry dudes, Stan's got a job for me to do but I'll catch you all later right?" With a quick "Bye dudes" he left. You'd spend another twenty minutes there before heading back to the shack.

"I can't believe Stan held Waddles to his chest while punching a dinosaur." You laughed, Dipper chuckling beside you "Well it's true, right Mabel?" He turned to his sister who was a little bit ahead of them, "Of course it's true (Y/N), Grunkle Stan would risk his life for wadd- ooh noo." Mabel drifted off towards the end, she'd stopped walking forward and stood there staring off into the distance. You and Dipper hadn't noticed as you were too infatuated with each other, when Dipper noticed the air was quite he looked up to see his sister stationary.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, a worried look on his face "Mabel what's wrong?" He followed her gaze when she remained silent, he saw the shack and someone sitting outside on the couch. His eyes widened when he recognised that baby blue suit and white up-do. "Dipper what is it?" (Y/N) asked with concern in her words. Dipper marched towards the small figure you and Mabel following behind, "Giddeon!" Dipper shouted. You'd never seen Dipper be so confident before you couldn't help but let thoughts race through your mind.

"Ah Dipper, I was wondering when you were going to show up," Giddeon stated, your brain finally clicked, this was Giddeon, THE Giddeon. Crazy stalker Giddeon, Mabel obsessed Giddeon. You strolled up to Dipper resting your chin on his shoulder and looking down towards the small child in front of you "He's a lot...Younger than I thought he would be."

"Why Dipper, I can't believe you've never introduced me to your girlfriend. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss?" He offered out his hand and a cute little smile, "(Y/N)" you replied stretching over Dipper to shake his hand. Dipper moved your hand away before Giddeon could shake it "Careful (Y/N) this guys dangerous."

"Oh Dipper" He laughed, it sounded more like a baby giggling "Let's leave the past behind us, shall we?" Dipper became red-faced "You nearly killed us!" His fists balled up. You pushed Dipper away from Giddeon quickly before things could escalate, "What are you even doing here Giddeon?" You asked a bit of venom in your tone. Giddeon readjusted his suit selves "Well I came to see my darling Mabel, you wouldn't have seen her have you?"

"No, you're not going anywhere near my sister, man."

"I"m right here Giddeon." Mabel, who had been previously watching from a short distance, walked towards Giddeon a determined look on her face. "Oh Mabel, my beloved." He mused Mabel pocked a finger to his chest, leaning forward to do so, "Get lost Giddeon, I'm never going to love you!"

His face screwed up, pieces of his hair breaking free of their hair sprayed mould. His fists were bulled up, they looked like little potatoes "Mabel you will love me!" He pointed an accusing finger at you and Dipper "And this is all YOUR fault if you didn't get in the way me and Mabel would be together!" Dipper released a sound of disgust "Yeah right dude," you giggled Dipper smirking at making you laugh. This seemed to anger Giddeon more "I'm the towns little angel you should respect me Pines or I will make your life a living hell, you and your girlfriend!"

Dipper was about to knock Giddeon out when he mentioned you "Giddeon," Mabel interjected she was standing on the porch hand on the rusted doorknob. "I don't care if you're an angel, you're still a jerk."

"But Mabel my sweet little cherish-" the door slammed in Giddeon's face, him on the outside while the Pines were on the inside. He banged his fist against the door in a tantrum "Mabel you open this door right this minute! Mabel!" He carried on slamming "Mabe-" the door opened revealing Stan in his underwear and a stained vest, he looked down towards Giddeon "You again? Didn't I already kick you out?"

"Yes, but-"

"Nope, out." Stan shooed Giddeon away with a broom and shut the door, most likely going back to the couch to watch 'The Dutchess Approves'. Giddeon fell to the ground crying and screaming, wailing his arms and legs around like a dying animal. From their bedroom window you and the twins watched with smiles on your faces, you stopped laughing for a second "Should we do something?" Dipper turned towards you "Besides laugh?" you smiled "Yeah you're right."

Later that evening, you sat with Dipper in his bed cuddled together enjoying the quite. Mabel and Waddles were downstairs with Stan so you had the perfect chance for some alone time, well at least for a little while. You turned to Dipper your head rising to meet his, now confused, gaze "Dip," you started. "Yeah?" He whispered as to not disturb the peaceful atmosphere "Promise me we won't be like that," he tilted his head, adorable you thought. You carried on "Like Mabel and Giddeon." He chuckled lightly "Don't worry, we will be nothing like them. I mean for a start, we're already dating which is more than I can say for Giddeon and Mabel." You hummed and rested your head back onto Dipper's chest, he pecked your forehead as you both continued to lay in silence; enjoying the presence of each other.

[hardbreadhylia]

Sleepover- Older! Dipper x Older! Reader

This is my first fic ever, so please give some feedback and bear with me if it's not that great!! . Y/n - your name H/c - hair colour F/c - hair colour Y/n/n - your nickname . . . . You live in the picturesque town of Gravity Falls with your aunt, on a gap year for university. Due to it being such a small town, it's not long before you become great friends with basically the only other two kids that are your age (minus Pacifica, Grenda and Candy), aged 17. You've heard countless stories about weirdmageddon and so forth, and are very good friends of the twins as well as Stan and Ford. After a hard day of work at the mystery shack, conning innocent tourists into emptying their wallets, you say goodbye to Mabel and Dipper, suddenly exhausted from the day, happily taking out the tight ponytail your h/c hair has been stuffed into all day. Just as you leave the door of the shack, Mabel calls, "Hey, y/n! Wanna come over for a sleepover tonight?" You reply, "Yeah, sure. Nothing better to do." And wave her off. You're secretly buzzing for tonight, as over the past few months you've grown feelings for her male twin, Dipper. You're far too shy to ask him if he feels the same way though, and unfortunately Mabel's clocked onto your crush on him, so as usual she tries very hard to play match maker. It's evening and you've finished packing for the sleepover tonight- a baggy plaid pajama set with overnight toiletries etc. Just as you turn to leave, a hyper Mabel crashes into your f/c themed bedroom, out of breath. "y/n. I HAVE JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA!" You inwardly groan. What has she come up with this time? "Find the nicest damn underwear you can find, and you're packing that. With maybe a big t shirt or something?" Her smile widens evilly. You, on the other hand, are shocked. "No way. Why would I wear that?? What if Grunkle Stan and Ford see me?? Worse, what if Dipper sees me?" You anxiously run your hand through your h/c hair. "Chill out, y/n. Grunkle Stan and Ford are out on a fishing trip." And, she adds with an evil smirk, "I'm counting on Dipper seeing you wearing that." Which makes your face turn bright red. But hey, what if it works? What if then, finally, Dipper might see you as more than just his sister's friend? Maybe its worth a try. You give in and agree to the stupid shenanigans that Mabel always thinks of, and you're terrified of what tonight might bring. A few hours later, after Mabel left you once again, you head back to the mystery shack with Mabel's plan in your head. Immediately greeted by Dipper, he looks down and smiles behind is fluffy brown fringe, with a light pink dusting his cheeks, which you misinterpret as just being polite. After watching a few scary movies with Mabel clinging to you for dear life (and Dipper hiding upstairs somewhere, probably reading his journal), you decide to say goodnight to him, still not changed into your suggestive pajamas much to Mabel's dismay. As you guessed, he was still reading, and the dim light from his desk lamp accentuated his sharp jawline and chiseled cheekbones in the darkness. You'd seen photos of him when he'd first arrived at the shack all those years ago, and while he still has that eternally cute smile with the dimples and warm chestnut eyes, he's changed so much. I guess that's what happens when a dream demon tries to destroy you and everything in existence, right? "Goodnight, Dip." You smile warmly. He catches your eye and blushes violently, but recovers and shoots you a smirk. "G-goodnight, y/n/n" After that you get changed into your suggestive sleepwear, lacy f/c underwear and bra, and a faded, oversized band t shirt. You'd only feel comfortable looking like this in front of Mabel, anyway, who were you kidding? You'd forgotten to bring a duvet and Ford and Stan had taken all the spare ones on their trip with them, so you slept on the living room floor with Mabel, sharing the covers. After talking about nonsense for what seemed like hours, Mabel drifted into sleep, and so did you. Until a few hours later, checking your phone to be exactly 3:17 AM. Mabel had stolen all the covers, leaving you open in the draughty, cold shack. Little did you know that this was all part of Mabel's plan and that she was wide awake, fake sleeping. You tried feebly to try snatch some cover back but you didn't want to wake her, she looked so cute when she was asleep. So instead you ventured upstairs to check if there was anything you could use for warmth. You checked every room, the bathroom, Stan's room, the spare room, and eventually you came to Dipper and Mabel's. If Dipper saw you like this he wouldn't be able to take it. As you walk in, Dipper is splayed across his bed, sheets twisted, with a peaceful look on his face. You also can't help but notice his shirt has ridden up a bit so you catch a glimpse of a v line, and a toned stomach. He starts to move a little so you tried as quietly as possible to find some cover before it was too late. There was a high wardrobe at the end of the room, at the foot of Dipper's bed, that looked like it had some sort of blanket on the top. Reaching on your very tiptoes, completely exposing your lower half, you grabbed the material. At this exact same time, Dipper had woken (a very light sleeper) to see you, illuminated by the moonlight from the window, in pretty suggestive clothing, in his room. Just as you grabbed the fabric, which wasn't a blanket at all but just a jumper, Dipper cleared his voice, making you squeak. His voice still groggy with sleep, "y/n. What are you doing in here at this time?" If it wasn't for the partial darkness, Dipper would have been shown to look bright red. He had the biggest crush on you since you arrived, you liked all the same things, went on adventures all the time, had the same mindset, and most of all he thought you were the most beautiful thing in the whole of Gravity Falls, including the sirens, mermaids and even unicorns. You sighed, you'd been caught. "Mabel stole all the covers and this house is freezing. I was just looking for some extra blankets." "Use my bed. I'm used to the cold of this house anyways." He started to lift himself out of bed with a groan, in a tight grey tshirt and black tracksuit bottoms. He brushed a calloused hand through his soft chestnut hair, briefly exposing his big dipper birthmark. "No. I couldn't do that. Just go back to sleep Dip, I'll find another way." You were far too flustered to be in this situation. "Nope." He approaches you slowly, arms outstretched, and you're very wary of his actions. What's going on here?? He suddenly lunges forward, scooping you up bridal style, grinning like a madman. You instinctively wrap your arms around his neck, as he carries you to his bed. He gently lays you down and starts to step back before you realize your arms are still clasped around his neck. This is too much. Until something clicks and he starts leaning towards you again, eyes shining in the moonlight. He carefully puts his hands back onto the bed, leaning almost on top of you. As ever, Dipper was still being a dork. "y/n, can I...?" His eyes on your lips. You nod in return. He carefully brushes his lips against yours, hands cautiously feeling around your bare skin legs and slowly working up to your hips. He gets more confident and tries for a fully blown kiss, and you can feel him smirking. You bite his lip and he gasps, deepening the kiss. You and him lose track of time completely, just one person, his hands wrapped around your body, your legs entangled with his, your hands in his soft hair. How does he keep it so fluffy, anyway? With all that adventuring how does he have time? Your mind returning to the action at hand, you kiss for as long as you can before you both come out for air. It wasn't a fiery, passionate kiss. It was a soft, loving, patient one. A kiss that should've happened months ago. "How about we share the bed? It'll be super warm then." Dipper suggests, his breath against your cheek. You shuffle to give him room as your answer, him automatically wrapping his arms around your waist as the big spoon. He plants butterfly kisses on your neck before falling asleep with a grin on his face, and you also fall asleep, hearts beating in sync. You awaken to a snap of some sort, then blearily eyed, see Mabel grinning behind a camera. "That's one for the scrapbook!" She says before giving me a thumbs up and going back downstairs. Dipper shifts beside me, giving me a lazy grin as I reach up to stroke his birthmark. "I could get used to waking up to this view every morning." You then swat him on the arm, laughing, and then get up to go get breakfast, him ogling every bit of you until you leave the room. You hear Mabel shout from downstairs, "MY PLAN WORKED!" followed by a maniacal laugh.

[skatergirl1113]

Pine Tree (Dipper x Reader) [COMPLETED] - Chapter 13 (on Wattpad) http://my.w.tt/UiNb/AMhMAit6Xt You are a girl that moves to Gravity Falls and stays with your mother's friend named Stan. You meet the two Pines twins and you guys all have very interesting adventures. Stuff happens between you and Dipper and you end up crushing on him. But does he feel the same way? I don't own the characters. I give credit to the creator.

[gravityfallsrewritten]

Chapter 13: Through Fears and Insecurities

"So how do you play this game?"

Dipper looked at Y/n, offended. "Seriously? You've never heard of this game before?"

She rolled her eyes. The two of them stood in front of a worn arcade machine with Fight Fighters in big, bold letters on the side of it. "I have, I just never had the time to play it." She crossed her arms.

"Well, you pick a character first," Dipper said, stepping forward and moving the joystick. "My favorite one's Rumble McSkirmish." He pressed a button and the character was chosen. "Your turn."

Y/n scoured through the list of fighters until she finally stopped on her chosen character. "This one looks promising." A ginger woman with two buns in her hair, and the name 'Suggessica' above her.

"Okay," Dipper nodded, smiling. The announcer shouted that the fight had begun and the two fighters faced each other with a referee in the middle. He felt excited as he taught her the basics of the game. "First things first, you use the joystick to move your character."

He moved left and right, Y/n following after him.

"Okay. Four buttons. This one is jumping, this one is punch, this is for kicking, and this is for your ultimate attack. You wait until the blue bar is full then you can use it."

Anyone who could be listening in to their conversation would deem this the nerdiest thing, but Y/n understood it easily. She nodded, and began pressing the buttons.

Suggessica moved forward, while Rumble stepped back. Y/n and Dipper began fighting momentarily. It was clear to her that he was taking it easy since she's only a beginner– which she appreciated, but Dipper shouldn't underestimate her.

Dipper was mashing the buttons and she picked up the strategy, because doing that can do some combos. Y/n pressed the kick button repeatedly, making Suggessica jump and kick Rumble a few times while in the air.

"Woah," Dipper muttered under his breath, beginning to fasten the pace, doing a counterattack of his own.

A couple of rounds later and the score was tied. "Wow, I didn't think you could beat me at my own game!" He spoke, staring at the screen.

"What can I say, I learned from the best." Y/n winked, nudging Dipper playfully. The two of them laughed. "One more game to break the tie?"

He grinned. "Game on."

"Fight!" The announcer declared.

Y/n and Dipper focused their attention on the match, pressing buttons. Dipper had his power meter almost full when someone pushed them both away.

"You kids have been playing the game since this morning. How about you two sit this one out?" Robbie came out from nowhere and immediately, Dipper felt annoyed. His presence alone made his blood boil. More than anything, he just wanted to wipe that stupid smirk off his face.

Dipper boldly retorted, "But we just started this round."

"Whoa, whoa, hey! Relax man, I'm just trying to spend a little time with my girlfriend, alright?" Robbie was defensive. "You and your own girlfriend can play some other game for now."

"She's not my-"

"Couldn't you have asked a bit friendlier?" Another voice cut him off and Dipper only noticed that Robbie was with-

"Wendy! Hi," the boy greeted albeit awkwardly. She always seemed to have this effect on him.

The redhead smiled apologetically at the two. "Sorry for Robbie's behavior. He's just a bit nervous for his upcoming gig," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Come on, babe! Let's play!"

With that, Wendy excitedly accompanied Robbie, the game's music being mixed with their laughter.

As they played, Robbie put his arm over Wendy's shoulder, subtly glaring at Dipper.

Y/n watched Dipper with mild bitterness as he stared back at the couple with the same level of animosity.

***

***

Eventually, the two went back to the Shack. Soos invited everyone to play cards, and as much as Y/n wanted to join, she had to go down and diagnose the portal as per usual.

She must've been down there for quite some time because the moment she went back up, Dipper and Soos were gone, Stan had his back on the ground hysterically sobbing, while Mabel was on her way upstairs with Waddles in tow.

"Um... did I come at the wrong time?" she spoke.

"Y/n! Perfect timing!" Mabel exclaimed with her hands together. She sprinted towards her, literally ignoring her great uncle sprawled on the floor having fallen from fear from seeing a skydiving commercial. "I need your help."

"Woah!" Y/n yelped from the force that was Mabel Pines. She pulled her upstairs to her shared bedroom and began pacing around. Y/n dusted her clothes from being dragged. "Mabel, what is wrong? Why is Stan crying?"

She continued marching in circles. "Did you know that he secretly has a fear of heights?"

Y/n stared at the twin. She did have a hunch that he may have a phobia, but Mabel just confirmed it. All the hints that the old man didn't know he dropped, she picked it up. "What about it?" She asked instead.

"How am I gonna get Grunkle Stan over his fear?"

"What are you planning?"

Before Mabel could reply, the bedroom door opened and entered Dipper with an entire new character – literally.

"Hey, Mabel. Hey, Y/n. This is Rumble, my new bodyguard."

"The child gave me a taco!" Rumble responded with the same monotone voice and stoic expression.

Y/n wasn't able to speak as Mabel just gawked at the tall guy in interest. "Wow! He's got a crazy voice! Here, say these words," she said, writing something on a blank sheet of paper before handing it to Rumble.

"Effer...vescent! Apple..fritter! RIBOFLAVIN!"

"Mabel, he's not a toy, he's a fighting machine. I'm gonna get him to defend me from Robbie."

"Isn't that like cheating?" Y/n pointed out as she stared disapprovingly at Dipper's choices.

He simply shrugged. "I guess so." He continued to smile and a brief silence passed by. "Well, I'll see you after the fight."

The door closed. It was quiet until Y/n spoke. "I'm just as unsure as you, Mabel," she reassured the twin. "But if his plan backfires, then he has himself to blame."

"I'm not as worried for him as you do, Y/n," Mabel smirked.

"I-"

"Come on, Y/n! I have an idea on how we can help Stan overcome his fear!"

And when Mabel managed to convince Stan to walk him out while wearing a blindfold, Y/n knew she was up to no good.

She got herself another can of Pitt Cola before the three left for Mabel's adventure.

"Mabel, are you sure about this?" Y/n asked as she stared up at the water tower with a muffin spray-painted on it.

"100% sure! Grunkle Stan," she turned to him, "you have nothing to worry about! We just have to climb on a... something." If she said the word 'ladder' it would've been a dealbreaker.

Stan grunted, trying to grasp what was in front of him considering that all he saw was black. "What? Climb? You're not talking about a ladder, right?"

"No!" she giggled 'reassuringly'. "You can trust me, beloved great uncle!" She patted, slightly pushing him.

He slightly hesitated. "Alright, fine."

"I don't think he can still trust you after this," Y/n muttered under her breath, but followed after Mabel.

After a moment, the three eventually reached the top, the wind washing over their faces as their hair flew. "Take off your blindfolds now!" Mabel exclaimed.

Stan did as he was told and immediately saw the great height before him. The same feeling of anxiety returned before he could think. "Yep, that's pretty much what I was expecting," he said monotonously.

"You're doing better than I thought!" Mabel cheered. "Now let go of the handrail..."

Y/n could feel Stan shaking beside her, his knuckles were turning white from the vice grip he had on the rails. "Nope!"

All of a sudden, a teen with a scent of anger and hormones climb up the same stilted structure, gasping for air. Y/n had to step back from the stench that was Robbie.

"Hey, Robbie! Get your own water tower!" Mabel demanded.

Robbie looked uneasy and scared. Y/n's eyebrow raised in suspicion. What was he running from?

"CHALLENGER SIGHTED!"

She looked down and saw Rumble on the ground, clearly aiming for Robbie. Dipper's plan to destroy him seemed to be working.

Rumble screamed something else before attacking the water tower, kicking one of the stilts, making it lean.

Mabel panicked, shaking as she grasped the handrails. "What's happening?"

Stan's arms were shaking. "Oh, boy..."

"We're safe, right?"

Y/n held on to Stan and Mabel tightly as the older man panicked and screamed. The stilts of the water tower were punched until it weakened, and the whole thing wobbled. Y/n pushed the two to the other side of the tower to balance it, but Robbie unfortunately fell to his demise.

He was caught by none other than Rumble, who was prepared to finish the teen. But all of a sudden, Dipper stopped him with a single pebble. The fighter was perplexed, confused as to why the boy interrupted. Dipper admitted his faults, his lies– that Robbie didn't actually kill his father.

Rumble felt utterly betrayed. He let go of Robbie and began to summon the wind as he closed his eyes. He was thinking very deeply as he felt his soul get corrupted once he realized that he has been manipulated by this kid.

"If Robbie V is not the last stage..." the character began, "then it must be... YOU!"

He pointed directly at Dipper as he jumped into the air to emphasize his seething anger. A floating 'START' button appeared at his side. He stared at it before Soos came running beside him.

"Dude! Don't fight him, man. That dude's got like a black belt wrapped around his black belt! You could get killed!"

"I have to," Dipper replied, already feeling defeated. "I started all this and I got to at least try to stop it."

He looked at him, uncertain. "You sure you wouldn't rather hide like a wimp?"

Wordlessly, he punched on the 'START' button, and it vanished, signifying his agreement.

Soos crossed his arms as he looked proud. "Fight like a man it is."

The round began, and just like a video game, Rumble's stance was bouncing on his heels. Dipper attempted to follow his movement but it just looked awkward.

He fought with all of his might, but in the end he just accepted his fate– as well as Rumble's Super Power Ninja Turbo Neo Ultra Hyper Mega Multi Alpha Meta Extra Uber Prefix COMBO– leaving him bruised and beaten up.

The round ended, and as much as Rumble was very confident in winning, he just didn't know that arcade games will always have a 'GAME OVER'. Rumble screamed as he disappeared pixel by pixel.

Meanwhile, Y/n watched from the water tower, and now that the fight was over, she urged the other two to go home. "Come on, guys, let's go."

"I'm sorry, Grunkle Stan!" Mabel exclaimed over the wind. "I thought this would help, but I was wrong! So wrong!"

Stan began patting himself. "I... I survived! I survived and I feel great! Wait, let me do a cocky dance just to be sure." He placed his hands on his hips as he moved it back and forth with a huge smile on his face. He cackled. "Deal with it, world! Stan Pines has cured his fear of heights!"

Y/n rolled her eyes, but there was a twinge of amusement in them. "Alright, after you, old man."

He climbed down. "You coming, kid?" He said to Mabel. She shook her head, fearfully looking down. "What, you have a fear of heights now?"

She didn't say anything. It was quiet, and he only realized. "Uh oh." He and Y/n shared a worried glance.

"Come on, Mabel," Y/n cooed as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll help you get down." She took Mabel's hand and led her towards the ladder.

She was shaking, closing her eyes as tight as her grip on Y/n's palm. Gently, they climbed down as silence washed over them. The moment they touched the ground, Mabel immediately reached for Y/n's hand, holding it tightly that would have hurt, but it was never an issue for her.

While walking away from the water tower, Stan was telling the story about how he bravely faced his fear and eventually overcame it. Mabel was spacing out so clearly she wasn't listening, while Y/n was watching over the ruined park where Wendy had just arrived from her trip and was now talking to both Dipper and Robbie until she kissed her boyfriend and pushed down the boy's hat before walking back to her family.

The two boys talked briefly for a moment, agreeing on Dipper's offer of having a cold war with each other instead of fighting and risking Wendy seeing them. Robbie walked away with a scoff as Dipper stood there. Soos offered to walk him home seeing that he was still injured.

Everybody arrived home. Y/n already had the first aid kit out since she saw how bruised Dipper was. She waited until the door opened to the living room from the gift shop, and it didn't last long when it did open to reveal Dipper limping inside. "Ow, ow, ow," he muttered under his breath.

"Are you okay?" Y/n asked. Of course he wasn't, but she didn't know how else to open up the conversation without him overthinking the fact that she waited with the kit. "You should sit down."

Dipper obliged, sitting on Stan's yellow recliner. He closed his eyes but winced as he felt his black eye swelling again. "Ow."

Y/n ran to the cooler for ice and quickly handed it to him as he immediately placed it on his eye. He hissed as the cold, cold temperature met the bruise.. She began tending to his other wounds and it was quiet. The type of quiet where they could hear just their breathing. The type of quiet where you cringe when something rustles in the background. But it was the type of quiet where it was comfortable, calm, pleasant.

He closed his eyes as he breathed out, "Thank you, Y/n."

"You're welcome," she replied without missing a beat but she was still looking at his wounds.

Dipper had to admit, he felt guilty. He didn't know why. Maybe because she's always been helping him without expecting something in return. She had always been kind hearted and selfless, often seeming to be looking out for him and his sister.

He was brought out of his stupor when he felt her hand brush against his cheek. She was cleaning the scratch with wet cotton. He gulped at the proximity. What is happening?

Y/n was very gentle with every wipe. Every time her hand caressed against his skin, he felt warmth, but her stare could be so cold. She looked very determined to clean away his gashes. Dipper noticed the way she stopped moving. Her eyes shifted to meet his, and the two remained staring. Can you stop looking at me?

He had to back away. "Okay, I think I feel a little bit better. I can– handle it."

"Alright," she said after a brief moment and began cleaning up the dirty wipes and cottons. Dipper breathed what he didn't know if it was a sigh of relief. Y/n stood up. "I'll be in my room. Good night, Dipper."

"Good night."

***

It was one peaceful morning. Stan and the twins were watching another episode of Ducktective, when all of a sudden they heard a knock on the door.

With all of his might, Stan trudged towards it, opening it to reveal a suited man with a stern face. "Stan Pines..."

"Oh, no," Stan sweat-dropped upon a cold realization. "The tax collector! You've found me!" He threw a smoke bomb to the ground that effectively temporarily blinded the man and that was Stan's cue to take his bag of money hidden inside the walls of the living room and escape while he still could. He was looking desperately for a fake opening. "Which one of these is the trap door?!"

"Mr. Pines," the man spoke again, now inside of their living room. "I'm from the Winninghouse Coupons Savers contest, and you are our big winner!"

A cameraman, along with two women carrying a large check of ten million dollars, came in. Confettis were thrown around as Stan was shocked. "My one and only dream, to possess money, has come true!"

"We're rich!" Dipper exclaimed. "I'm gonna get a butler!"

Mabel punched the air. "I'm gonna buy a talking horse."

The man brought out papers. "Just sign here for the money."

"You bet!" Stan wrote into the paper without hesitation.

Only, it was all a lie when Gideon tore through the large check, exclaiming. "Stanford, you fool! You just signed over the Mystery Shack to lil 'ol me!" He began to do a little celebratory dancing jig.

Dipper and Mabel gasped in horror, but Stan was unperturbed. "Uh, you might wanna take another look there!"

Gideon raised the papers to his line of sight and began reading. "The Shack is hereby signed over to..." he saw the signature, 'SUCK A LEMON LITTLE MAN'?!"

Stan bellowed as he took pride in humiliating Gideon. The twins laughed as well to see the priceless look on his face.

The little boy tore the paper violently. "How dare you! I am not a threat to be taken lightly." He reached for the guy he hired to be the fake host. "Come here, I need your arms."

The unnamed lawyer followed his order and lifted Gideon before backing away slowly.

"I"ll get you, Stanford Pines! I'll get you all!"

First, get the name right.

Stan shook him off. He shouldn't dwell his attention on kids such as Lil Gideon. He had bigger matters in his hands. One of them was getting the cooler fixed– and another was setting up the gift shop. He was too lazy to do any of those, that's why he hired people for a reason. Soos will handle one of those tasks, though it was quite unfortunate that Wendy didn't work today...

He excused himself to the kids, telling them that he's going to go to the restroom. Boy, he's slowly running out of excuses and it's not even the half of the summer. He stood in front of the vending machine, surveying the closed shop before forcing it open and quickly shutting it once he got in. He meandered down the ramp that led to the elevator, punching the level's number, and waited until it took him there.

The elevator opened with a ding, and he walked to the pathway that showed the portal. "What are you doing here," deadpanned the girl who was casually working on the portal. She was typing the data that was coming out of the old-timey processing unit that Ford had designed for this portal. It was always ciphers– classic Ford– that Y/n had learned to decode. So far, the results have been... neutral.

"I should be asking you that question. You should be out there."

"I have nothing else to do."

"Then I'll give you something to do, fix the cooler."

Y/n groaned. "What? Have Soos fix it. I taught him how."

"I already assigned him other duties. Do you want to rearrange the shelves in the gift shop?" Stan asked. He waited, and when he heard nothing from her, he smirked as he felt cheeky. "I thought so. Now get off your butt and go upstairs!"

She punched down the table in defeat as she stood up, letting out an annoyed huff. "I hate you,"

"I love you, too. I'll take care of these while you're gone." He dismissed her, taking the seat she was previously in.

She rolled her eyes. As if he could understand a single symbol plastered there. Surely, he'd just take a nap.

Reaching the top level of the Shack, she took a peek on an opening from the vending machine. The gift shop was vacant, and no one seemed to be wandering around. So as quickly as she could, she slotted herself out of the machine, punching it shut for a Pitt Cola to fall off. She took it out and opened it like nothing had happened for the last ten seconds.

The universe was on her side when Soos had just opened the shop's door. "Sup, dude."

"Hey, Soos," Y/n said with her lips on the tip of the can. The two met in the middle of the room to give each other fist bumps. "You're on shelving duty right?"

"Yep, one of my favorite pastimes," he chuckled. "I just like looking at neatly arranged items that are all identical and stuff. Pretty satisfying."

She nodded, "Well, you get on that. I have to repair the cooler– again. Did you know why it broke?" The girl walked towards the cooler and circled around it, examining it from afar.

"I have no idea." Soos spotted the cardboard box from a corner and began inspecting it. It was a couple of Mystery Shack bumper stickers and other merchandise. "Maybe it was the heat of summer that's causing it to like– overheat. Or something."

Y/n couldn't help but smile. "You are exactly right, Soos. How did you figure that one out?"

"Well, the first thing I fixed was a cooler– uh, that cooler specifically. I helped Y/n – wait, not you you, but the you who was older... who was also named Y/n... She helped me fix the cooler. Your older sister."

She almost snorted in laughter. Stan was right, Soos was never going to pick up the clues. "Yeah? What did she teach you?" She already had the back of the cooler facing her, with the panel being opened. The toolbox was ajar, but she hadn't started yet.

"Everything I know," Soos answered. "She's the smartest person I know. Ten-year old me would have probably freaked out if it wasn't for your sister. Which is why..."

Soos trailed off. Y/n poked her head out the side of the freezer to look at him. "Which is why..." she repeated, wanting him to continue.

He smiled sheepishly. "Which is why... I'm kinda grateful that you're here, Y/n. The younger sister Y/n. It's like– you're continuing your sister's legacy. I don't know, I say dumb things."

There it is again, what Ford referred to as tears. It was simply there. To a normal person, it would feel like it was pricking the corner of their eye and about to come out, but to Y/n, it was just an inconvenience.

But what she felt inside after Soos said such a heartwarming statement... was enough to make her cry.

She quickly wiped it away. "I didn't think it was dumb..." she muttered.

It was times like these where she just wanted to tell the truth. "I was the same Y/n from ten years ago. I never grew up, never had a sister, and had been residing in this Shack for more than 30 years."

She wished it were that easy. Despite her desire to tell the truth, she would rather be selfish for a moment and let Soos talk about her nonexistent older sister with her than tell everything. The truth would eventually come out, and she had no idea what would happen or how he would react.

The twins entered the room before her mind could conjure up any more depressing scenarios. Dipper held a chessboard in his hands. "We need a table!"

"Hey, Dipper, what about this one?" Mabel pointed at a green, fake turtle shell with a random skeleton inside. "This seemed sturdy enough."

"Sure." The two brought the shell meters from the counter as well as dragged two tall wooden logs for chairs.

Mabel sat down, her legs swinging around because she couldn't touch the ground. Dipper crossed his legs as he brought out the chess pieces from the board. "What are we playing?" Mabel asked.

"Chess."

"Ooh, I love chess!" she expressed her excitement.

The two set everything up– well, Dipper did since Mabel doesn't know where to put the pieces– before they began the game.

Soos was on his way to reorganize a collection of Stan bobbleheads on a high shelf. Y/n was quietly turning a screw as she listened to the twins argue about the game. The game was full of commentary and Mabel impersonating a horse sound every now and then. Dipper was becoming increasingly enraged by his sister's casual approach to chess. This sport should be taken seriously.

After a few hours, Y/n had completed the cooler repair and was confident that it would work again. She connected the plug into a nearby wall outlet before switching it on. It hummed back to life as a single light turned on. She smiled proudly, her hands on her hips.

"Little guy to black space 9!" Mabel announced knowingly.

"It's a pawn, that's not your color, and stop stealing the tiny horses!" He pointed at her with an exasperated look.

Mabel smiled carelessly, cuddling the pieces close to her as it snuggled inside her sweater's pocket. "They like it better here!" She leaned closer to the black and white. "Don't you, babies?" Once again, she neighed in response to herself.

Dipper ignored her and lifted a bishop piece. He toppled Mabel's king with a big grin. "And checkmate."

"What? Booo!" Mabel shouted.

The boy took out his trusty notepad and pen, turning to the page that listed his victories in chess against his sister. He just got his 85th win. "OHHH! Dipper wins again!" He exclaimed. Mabel glared at him, annoyed.

Soos cast a glance to his right, where he noticed a brain in a jar wearing a tall hat and another brain in a jar wearing a blonde wig. He intended to replace the jars behind the bobbleheads, but he couldn't go down the step-ladder without letting go of the falling lantern beside him. He will have to fix that later, too.

He turned further to his right to go look for Y/n, but it seemed that she walked out of the room already. She was the tallest one out of the three preteens. She was taller than the twins by approximately four inches. Guess he had to go for the second tallest person in the room who could help him.

Still holding the lantern, he called, "Yo, Mabel, could you pass me that brain in the jar? The lady one?"

Dipper was already standing up. "I got it."

"Thanks, but Mabel's taller."

"What?!" Dipper reeled, "No she's not! We're the same height! We've always been."

Soos let the lantern fall, placing his fingers under his chin as he examined the two. "Better check again, dude."

He hopped down the stepladder, pushed them together back-to-back as Dipper removed his hat. Soos brought out a measuring tape he conveniently had in his pocket and began measuring. "Yep. She's got exactly one millimeter on you."

"What?!" Dipper was perturbed.

Mabel was amazed. "Woah, don't you see what's happening, Dipper? This millimeter is just the beginning. I'm evolving into the superior sibling! Bigger! Stronger!"

"Like some kinda alpha-twin!" Soos happily pointed out.

"Alpha-twin! Alpha-twin!"

Dipper crossed his arms, exhausted. "C'mon, guys, nobody even uses millimeters. It only makes you taller than me in Canada."

Mabel wondered aloud, completely ignoring her brother's complaints. "Y'know Dipper, I've always wanted a little brother. Who knew I already had one?" She laughed at her own joke.

Stan walked inside the gift shop, rubbing his eyes. "I was awoken by the sound of mockery." When actually, he was woken up by Y/n herself, telling him that she'd just finished the repair. "Where is it? Show me the object of ridicule!"

"I'm taller than Dipper!" The girl exclaimed.

"By one millimeter," the boy emphasized.

"Hey, hey," Stan warned, "don't get... short with your sister." He laughed uncontrollably. Dipper deadpanned.

Mabel put her hands together. "Now Grunkle Stan, I hope you don't think little of him."

He remained bemused while Stan laughed some more. "Yeah! And, and uh... he's short!" He and Mabel laughed in unison as Dipper began to think about his life choices.

Soos felt bad. He thought he had some kind of liability as he started all this height comparison thing. "Dude, maybe you should lay off a tiny bit."

Stan guffawed. "HA! Tiny! Soos is in on it now!" The two cackled hysterically, watching as Dipper finally stomped away.

"N-n-no, I didn't mean that!" Soos clarified.

Mabel placed her hands on her hips, walking towards her grunkle. "Dipper will forget. He's got a 3... 2... 1..."

"SHORT-TERM MEMORY!"

Y/n was about to return to the gift shop to see what Stan had to say when she ran into Dipper in the hallway. She chose not to say anything because she noticed he had a deep frown on his face and his brows were furrowed, indicating he was stressed.

She opened the door and saw Stan in tears because he couldn't stop laughing. Mabel, too, was howling with uncontrollable laughter. "What happened just now?"

"Oh, Y/n! There you are! Can you believe that I'm actually taller than Dipper? This is the best day of my life!"

"Congratulations?" She didn't know what to say to that trivial news.

Stan pulled Y/n to his side and playfully gave her a noogie. "Oh, come on, Y/n. Why don't you give Dipper some of your height? He could use it!" Once more it was followed by rounds of laughter.

She withdrew herself from the older man. "I didn't come here to make fun of Dipper. Have you seen the fixed cooler yet?"

"Eh, I trust you enough to know that you did a good job." The way he said it felt so dismissive, but she still felt pride when she heard that. Stan's compliments are a rarity. "Welp! I'm off to go back to my office. Waking up to this was better than some cup of coffee." He chuckled as he walked away.

Soos went back to the counter and got the jar of brain himself, while Mabel sat on the barrel chair beside it. Y/n bought herself a nice can of Pitt Cola before retreating towards the living room.She plopped on the yellow chair rather ungracefully, the content inside of the soda sloshing around as she did so. Sipping slowly, she stared at a random spot on a ceiling.

This was the same couch that Dipper had sat on as she had tended to his wounds. That felt like so long ago when it was actually just last night. What was she thinking?

This is just a ploy to get closer to them. The more you do something nice for him, the more he trusts you that he'll eventually lend you the journal.

He shouldn't even be lending it in the first place. It belonged to her first!

Another reminder that she's doing this for Stan as well. He was desperate to redeem himself and change. To show the kids that he wasn't just the stupid older brother. He wanted to be a good role model (though he wasn't really living up to that), but most of all, he wanted to protect them and keep them safe. And, as much as possible, they should avoid doing anything that will raise their suspicions.

Slowly, but surely.

She rose from her seat. It's pointless to dwell on these thoughts. She was drinking the last of her Pitt Cola when Dipper marched into the living room, almost making her spit it out as she noticed something different about him.

Dipper came to a halt, feeling unwell as he realized he no longer looked slightly upwards whenever he spoke with Y/n. He's looking directly into conniving eyes. They were the same height this time, and she noticed it right away.

"When did you get so tall, Dipper?"

He laughed quite nervously. "Oh, you know... puberty and stuff."

"Hm..." She'd read a few medical books about the topic because she hadn't got a personal experience, but she didn't realize that going through puberty also meant having your clothes enlarged...? It was too convenient to consider.

Dipper clenched his knuckles, looking like he was about to break. "Okay, I give up! Y/n follow me," he said, taking the lead and marching up the stairs.

Y/n watched as Dipper approached the shelves and reached for a seemingly ordinary flashlight—except it wasn't. It had a crystal taped to the spot where the light was supposed to shine.

"Wait, where did you get that?" Y/n pointed out as she realized something.

His eyes briefly widened. "Do you know this?"

"I see these exact things from time to time whenever I take walks. I thought they were just shiny rocks..." Gosh was it hard to act dumb.

He almost had a smirk on his face. "Well, you thought wrong because they were actually height-altering crystals. I read it in the journal. For example, this knight is tiny. I just shine a light at it and–" he presented like it was show and tell. "--BOOM! It's bigger now. But it can also be reversible. Just flip the crystal over and it'll shrink." He pointed the flashlight towards the knight and turned it on, this time the light was pink.

"That's interesting! But...why did you need it, Dipper?" She just had to question it out loud. Though Tall Dipper was a sight, she had to know what his intentions were.

"I... I'm just sick of my sister teasing me, and I have a habit of proving people wrong, so..."

When she said nothing else, he stepped forward and gave her the flashlight.

"Here, just aim it at me and turn it on then off. Do it quickly so I won't turn into a giant."

She nodded. following his instructions. He had his arms out as if embracing it. and that was her cue to turn it on. It was only a millisecond of the blue light washing over him and he grew in an instant.

Y/n stepped closer just to compare. This time, he was so tall that she had to look up slightly to meet his brown eyes. Woah.

Dipper's thoughts were racing. It was as if he had been slouching his entire life, and stretching his back changed his entire perspective. She was looking up at him. She had considered it before, and she had considered it again. Tall Dipper was a sight.

He couldn't help but smile at Y/n's stunned expression. He wanted to treasure this priceless reaction for the rest of his life. Surely he can keep being taller than her forever.

What was he saying?

All of a sudden, Mabel opened the door. "Give it up, Dipper!" she declared as she entered. As if they were electrocuted, the two hopped away from each other. Mabel marched up to them. Either she didn't see or she did but was too distracted by her frustration to notice.

As quickly as she could, Y/n turned around and made her exit. Only then did she notice an enlarged pawn literally behind them that went through the ceiling. How could she have missed it the first time she walked into the room? Her guard had been completely lowered.

The more Mabel trudged closer, the more she realized that her height couldn't compare to Dipper's right now. She gasped and instantly glanced down on the ground to see that he wasn't standing on anything. "What happened?!"

Dipper shrugged casually with a smirk. "I told you, sis. I just had a growth spurt. No big deal."

"This doesn't make any sense! Just a second ago you were– WAIT A MINUTE!" Mabel yelled. "This is some kinda magic-y thing, isn't it? Was it a wizard or something? There's a wizard in this closet, isn't there? ISN'T THERE?" Mabel strode to the closet.

"What? NO!" Dipper shouted back.

"You're telling me that there is not a wizard in this closet. You're telling me that if I open this door right now-"

"Fine! Open it."

She did, revealing a flannel shirt, a tee, and a pair of boots clearly too big to fit for either of the twins. Whose clothes are these?

Mabel remained unfazed, looking completely disappointed. "An invisible wizard! Really, Dipper?"

Meanwhile, Y/n had just run down the stairs. She could feel her very normal heart pounding in her chest. What the heck is happening?

"Woah, you alright?" Stan asked the moment he saw her.

She began walking away. "I'm fine. I just need... some space."

"Maybe you need some free entertainment," he suggested, on the brink of laughter. "Look out the window if you want a laugh."

She raised an eyebrow, but did what he said. She leaned on a nearby window and saw Gideon running around wildly as he smacked his hair repeatedly. He was screaming the words 'TERMITES!' over and over.

Stan was laughing beside her. "Come on, you gotta admit. It's hilarious."

"It's quite amusing."

"Boo, you're not even laughing." He glared.

Y/n looked at the clock and she suddenly looked surprised. "Oh, my! Is that the time? I have to do something really important! In the meantime, don't you have to be ready for your tour? The people would be waiting! Welp, ta ta!" She rambled before dashing away without giving him a chance to speak.

"Stop changing the subject!" Stan burst out as he watched her down the hall.

Upon entering her room, Y/n clenched her fists. Her plan to get closer to Dipper appeared to be working, but why did she feel so differently? She experienced emotions she had never encountered before. Is this normal? To be fair, she wasn't even normal to begin with. She punched a nearby wall until it was literally smashed to smithereens. It didn't hurt her hand in the least. Yep, definitely not normal.

She wasn't having the best day.

Dipper wasn't feeling well either, having been shrunken down by Gideon himself using the same magical flashlight he'd created. Now he and Mabel are trapped inside the jar as the boy takes them home. When Gideon arrived in his dark room, he opened the container and shook the twins out, causing them to fall to their butts on the wooden drawer.

"You two!"

"What are you gonna do with us?" Mabel asked.

Gideon giggled. "Why Mabel, I wouldn't hurt a hair on your itty-bitty head– if you agree to be my queen!"

"We live in a democracy! And never!" She pushed his finger away from her hair.

"Maybe you'll change your mind after this!" He picked her up by the collar of her sweater, bringing her to a pack of her favorite snack.

"Gummy Koalas!" Mabel gushed after threatening to fight Gideon until the day she died. That would keep her suppressed.

"As for you, boy," Gideon continued, facing Dipper. "Tell me, how exactly did you come upon this magic item? Hmm? Did somebody tell you about it? Did you.... read about it somewhere?"

Dipper raised his gaze to the pale child. His vest pocket became noticeably heavier as he realized the implication of his question. He remembered the journal tucked inside as the words 'TRUST NO ONE' flashed across his mind. He took a look around and noticed an air horn nearby. "Lean closer and I'll tell you!"

"Well don't mind if I-"

He sounded the air horn right in his face, making Gideon scream. He cupped his ringing ears as his face turned red from anger. He was breathing heavily before turning back around pushing away the lamp. "I COULD SQUASH YOU RIGHT NOW!"

Dipper stepped back in slight fear.

But Gideon stopped himself. "Steel yourself, Gideon. You could use them." His voice dropped into a whisper. "You could use them."

The ringing of the Shack's main telephone echoed throughout the house. Y/n's eyes opened for a brief moment. She laid on her bed with her hands on top of her stomach. She was waiting for Stan's order to answer the call, but nothing came and the ringing already stopped. He must've been nearby. After a long silence, it was cut off by his obnoxious laughter.

"Y/n, can you come down here!"

She blinked. She may not have been called to answer the phone, she was still ordered to come down nonetheless. What did he need this time?

Leaving her room, she trudged down the hallway. But before she could take a turn towards the parlor, she took a detour to the gift shop. She needed that soda intake before dealing with anything. Gideon Gleeful busted open the main door to the shop before her hand could reach the employees' only door. "The Shack is mine, Stanford Pines!" She heard, and that's when she took a peek at the slightly ajar door.

She saw Mabel's eccentric pink sweater and the blazing blue vest that Dipper wears by Gideon's grasp. In his other hand, the magic flashlight that he blatantly stole, with the pink light shining towards a direction.

Y/n followed the light, and that's where she noticed Stan's fez on the ground. She clenched her fists so tightly as she feared that Gideon may have won the battle– until he lifted the hat revealing a green speck. Gideon had shrunken Soos instead. "What?!"

The boy captured little Soos and took a random jar lying on the counter. He opened it and carelessly tossed the trio inside, even shaking them for a little bit of torture. "Tell me where Stan is!" Gideon yelled onto the jar.

Y/n observed him as he suddenly had a huge grin on his face, indicating that he had figured it out. He moved towards the door where she was hiding. She exited the living room as quickly as she could and headed straight for the kitchen."Stanford! I'm coming for ya!"

She peeked from the kitchen as Gideon turned to the direction where the parlor was located. Come on, think! She needed to tell Stan about Gideon's attempt to shrink him, but she had no idea where he was. He could be in the mirror maze that he was talking so proudly about, but Gideon could be ahead of her already.

Even after a few unsuccessful attempts to smack the glass, the twins and Soos remained helplessly trapped. As he felt guilty, Soos placed his hands on his head. "Guess I kinda 'Soos'ed that one up, didn't I?"

"It's not your fault, Soos," Dipper said," I"m the one who put together that shrinking device. I guess it's just..." he turned to Mabel, "... you kept teasing me, Mabel, like, all day! What was that all about?"

Mabel frowned, feeling bad. She tossed Dipper the notepad with the list of their games. He glanced at the paper cluelessly. "I guess it's that... you're better at me at, like, everything! And you always rubbed it in my face. Chess, checkers, ping pong..." Even croquet. "I guess I finally felt like I was winning at something for once."

Dipper felt bad as well. He lightly smacked the notepad against his head. "Aw, man. Now I feel like a big jerk."

"Don't you mean, a little jerk?"

"Oh!" The two of them chuckled at the lighthearted joke. "Alright, I walked into that one. Are we cool?" He stretched his arm for a fist bump.

"We're cool."

"Am I cool?" Soos spoke, presenting his fist as well.

"You're cool, Soos."

"Yes!"

Dipper smacked his hands together. "Alright, let's find a way to get out of this jar. We can't break it, so let's just open it the old-fashioned way. Soos! Carry me on your shoulders."

The handyman raised him until he was sitting comfortably on the back of his neck. He then raised Mabel, and Dipper grabbed her until she could step on his shoulder and sit on it, forming a tower. Mabel twisted the cover until it was loose, and a hard push was all it took. Soos stood on his tiptoes until she was able to lift the cover. The container had finally been opened.

"Let's get that flashlight before Gideon gets Stan!"

Y/n stalked after Gideon as he walked down the steps and into the mirror maze. It indeed looked like a maze made out of mirrors. Now how much did this cost Stan? "Ew, termites!" Gideon suddenly exclaimed, slapping the back of his neck. He continued walking until he saw Stan looking down on him.

He jumped, instantly reaching for the flashlight and turned it on. The light bounced off the various mirrors until it landed on the wall mount of a moose head. Unsurprisingly, it shrank.

Stan was laughing at him, causing Gideon to become enraged and throw the flashlight at him. "No!"

The flashlight broke one of the mirrors, shattering it into a million pieces. "Hey, watch the merchandise!" Gideon picked up the device, and with a devilish smirk, he had the perfect plan. He began smashing the mirrors with his flashlight one by one, not caring if it would prick him. He broke about 10 mirrors until Stan finally showed up, his hands on his hips. "You little troll! These mirrors caused me 10- I-I mean, uh 20- 5, 500... 500 dollars each! And you're paying for all of them!"

Gideon imitated his pose. "Au contraire! It will be you who pays!"

Y/n burst into the scene and tackled Gideon to the ground, reaching for the flashlight and attempting to apprehend him by pushing down his wrist, but he was quick, withdrawing his hand and pointing the flashlight at her. But before he could turn it back on, Y/n slapped his hand, causing him to drop the flashlight, which rolled to the ground.

"Ah! No!" Gideon screamed, thrashing around like a toddler. With the way he smacked his fist down her cheek, he wasn't exactly throwing back punches. Y/n didn't even flinch as she grabbed his wrist. She steeled herself against punching him back as much as she wanted to. All she has to do is keep him away from the flashlight.

"What is happening out there?!" Mabel exclaimed as her grip on Gideon's pocket tightened.

Dipper felt dizzy. "Y/n must be helping us by stopping Gideon from shrinking Stan! We gotta help her!"

"Wait, she knows about the magic flashlight-?"

"It doesn't matter, to his armpit!"

"Uh-uh!" Mabel grimaced.

"Just- just go! Come on!" He pushed her down until they were both crawling on his skin.

Gideon smacked Y/n several times, but she didn't budge. "Ugh, let go, you fool! Give me back my flashlight!"

"That's not yours to begin with!"

"You will rue the day you cut off my vengeance against Stanford." Gideon glared, pointing at her. "I wasn't going to include a nobody like you in my schemes, but now you've made a grave mistake messing with me! You and the rest of the Pines family will feel the wrath of Gideon Glee-"

He began giggling.

Y/n and Stan stared at him confusedly.

"Gideon Glee-!" He was laughing uncontrollably on the floor.

"I don't even know how to respond to this," Stan spoke aloud.

He was chortling before stopping himself. "No-!" Then he's back to laughing. Stan looked at him as if he were insane. He looked to Y/n for assistance.

Y/n stood up and began kicking Gideon, causing him to roll on the ground. She took up the flashlight as Stan took over the punting this time. The two rolled a laughing Gideon until they reached the front door, where Gideon landed on the ground with one last kick.

He finally stopped laughing. Gideon clutched his pockets and yelled, "My light!"

"You're the light of my life, too, pal," Stan replied before closing the door. "Phew! Freak show, am I right?"

He left without saying anything else. Y/n stood there motionless as she watched him walk away. "Dipper? Mabel?" she whispered after a moment.

"We're here! Y/n, we're here!"

Two little dots were jumping on the ground below her. She smiled and pointed the flashlight at them after flipping the crystal. She turned it on and the light was back to blue. The twins had all returned to their normal height, but they still needed to measure for... good measure.

"Hey! You're letting me keep my extra millimeter?" Mabel said.

"Oh," Y/n said, facing Dipper. "Do you want me to...?"

"Nope, she earned it." He brought his hand up, though he really missed the feeling of being taller.

"Aw, thanks! Little brothe-"

"Stop it."

The night had ended. Of course, they didn't forget about Soos and bringing him back to his normal height, too, before destroying the crystal completely.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 14!

MASTERLIST

author's note: i planned to include a scene where dipper comforts mabel after having a newfound fear of heights (it was already written out and everything), but i scrapped it since it would really cause major plot holes. let's just say that mabel's fear of heights wasn't perman64ent.

anyway-

23-8-1-20-0-9-19-0-20-8-9-19-0-6-5-5-12-9-14-7- -19-15-0-19-21-4-4-5-14-0-1-14-4-0-14-5-23-?

[gravityfallsrewritten]

Chapter 9: Even Bigger Fraud Than Stan

"Hey, have you seen my pants?"

She stood there, deadpanned, as Stan asked her in his boxers. His top half was wearing the classic Mr. Mystery shirt and coat, all that is missing is his pants. "No," Y/n replied, sipping on the soda. "Where are Dipper and Mabel?"

Stan looked around the kitchen for where his pants could've been misplaced. "The kids are in the room with the wax figures. They have been there since this morning."

Y/n glanced at the clock hung on the wall. She didn't even notice that it's afternoon already. "Oh?" she wondered, "How did they find it?"

"Eh, I have no idea. I even forgot I've been keeping 'em in the Shack!" he replied, marching to the living room. He kept muttering, "Where the heck did my pants go?" under his breath.

"Where did you last put it then?!" Y/n exclaimed, getting tired of him searching.

"I don't remember! That's why I'm looking for it!"

She left him alone by himself. Watching him looking at every crevice for his large pants even got her tired so she went to the room where the twins were.

A shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the faces of those wax figures. It really crept her out and she doesn't even know who these people were.

The door was already open when she arrived at the hall. Soos, Dipper, and Mabel in a beret were standing in front of a wax statue. Y/n took a casual sip of her drink.

"Y/n! There you are," Mabel greeted once she saw her. The girl in the sweater dashed towards her friend and grabbed her wrist before pulling her in front of the statue. "What do you think?"

Y/n's jaw dropped as the contents of her Pitt Cola had escaped her open mouth and to the ground.

"Woah!" Mabel exclaimed. "I guess my work is jaw dropping, huh?"

Stan entered the scene, now with his pants on. "I found my pants but now I'm missing my- woa- ha- AH!" He fell to the ground and scrambled away once he noticed the wax figure that looked a lot like his twin brother.

It's not him, Stan. Calm down.

"So, what'd you think?" Mabel asked Stan.

He had to ease his quickening pulse before responding, "I think... the Wax Museum's back in business!"

***

***

All of the people in the Mystery Shack helped transfer all the wax statues outside on a makeshift stage, with banners and chairs already set up.

"Ugh. So creepy," Y/n muttered under her breath as she lifted wax Sherlock Holmes, the last person, to the stand. "Never liked them in the first place."

"In the first place? Have you seen them before?" Mabel said behind her. She must've overheard.

"No. I- I've seen them on TV. I just don't like how hyper-realistic they looked."

Nice save.

"Oh, okay. I think they look cute though!" Mabel replied, holding her hands together with a huge grin. "I hope people will show up."

"I'm sure they will," Y/n reassured, "People will want to be in the reopening of the amazing Wax Museum."

Her sentence was dripping with sarcasm, but Mabel was too much of a sweetheart to notice.

Rest assured, people did come, although Y/n had a feeling that they only came because of "free pizza" that she's sure Stan wouldn't be able to provide.

"You all know me, folks! Town darling, "Mr. Mystery." Please, ladies, control yourselves!" Stan said over the microphone. As you know, I always bring the people of this fair town novelties and befuddlements, the likes of which the world has never known. But enough about me. Behold... me!" He walked towards the clothed statue and uncovered it, revealing a wax replica of himself.

Soos pressed multiple keys on his keyboard, emitting various fanfare sound effects. Two people in the crowd clapped while someone coughed.

"And now a word from our own Mabelangelo!"

"It's Mabel." she grinned, taking the microphone. "Thank you for coming! I made this sculpture with my own two hands! It's covered in my blood, sweat, tears, and other fluids!"

The crowd winced as they expressed their disgust, "Ugh, ew!"

"Hehe. Yeah..." Mabel chuckled. "I will now take questions! You there!" She pointed at the familiar hobo.

Old Man McGucket asked about the eventual wax-man uprising and Mabel wittily provided the answer. Followed by Toby Determined who was shamed by Stan who pointed out that his microphone was a turkey baster.

"Shandra Jimenez, a real reporter." A woman stood up with her cameraman. "Your fliers promised free pizza with admission to this event," she announced before showing said flier, "Is this true?"

The murmurs in the crowds resounded, until it had transformed into chatters of complaint and protests of pizza. Stan quickly exited the scene with his trustworthy smoke bomb and escaped with the box of admission fee in his grabby hands.

Dipper and Wendy sat by the booth where the admission box once lied. They both look concerned and a bit scared, while Y/n just looked out of it. Mabel enthusiastically placed her elbow on the table with a proud smile. "I think that went well."

The sun had set and the moon had risen. Owls were hooting as Stan was spouting old expressions. "Hot pumpkin pie! Look at all this cash!" He said, "Now you kids wash up. We got another long day of fleecing rubes tomorrow. Go, go!" He pushed the twins outside the room before sighing and placing an arm on Wax Stan's shoulder. "Kids."

"You, uh, got something going on there with good 'ol Wax Stan, huh?"

Stan jumped at the sound of her voice and turned around to see her behind the lounge chair. "Sheesh, you almost gave me a heart attack, and hey you should be washin' up, too, kid."

Y/n crossed her arms, ignoring his order. "I know we saw the same thing... with... this guy," she referred to the frozen smile that belonged to the wax figure in the room. "He really looked like you, you know? He could be your twin."

"Oup, no. No, no, no." Stan shook her head. "We're not talking about that. We're here to relax and watch my favorite show, Ducktective," he said grumpily, getting the remote and sitting down with wax Stan standing beside him at a weird angle.

Y/n stared at him switching through the channels. She was about to go back to her room to sleep when he spoke again.

"So, you gonna watch Ducktective or what?"

A hint of a smile appeared on her face. Wordlessly, she took a seat on the ground by Stan's feet just as Ducktective captured the criminal. The show has been their favorite ever since it premiered and they just find peace in watching it together — though they watch it to make fun of it.

Stan laughed at the corny catchphrase from the show. "Stupid duck! Well, I'm gonna use the john." he stood up and stepped away from the two of them. Y/n stood up as well, dusting her clothes. "Guard him while I'm gone, alright?" Stan told her before leaving the room.

She rolled her eyes. "Why does he act like it's a real person?" She took Stan's seat beside the figure. "Sure, he may look like him– a lot but it's not... real."

Y/n reached and slotted her hand around the wax statue's arm and leaned slightly. She chuckled weakly. "Heh, miss you. You're probably gonna be looking like an old man now just like your brother. Meanwhile, I'm still the same thirteen year old me that you left behind.

Might need an explanation once you come back..." Fatigue gradually overtook her. She really shouldn't fall asleep whilst clinging onto Ford- she meant Wax Stan, but she couldn't help but feel comfortable at the moment. She missed this.

She must've been a heavy sleeper because the next thing she heard, Stan screamed, "NOOOOO!"

Y/n scrambled up to her feet and didn't realize what was going on until she saw Wax Stan already on the ground... with its head gone.

The twins ran to the scene, Y/n stood there with a puzzled expression while Stan was shaking grimly. "Wax Stan has been murdered!" he turned to Y/n with a panicked look. "Y/n, what did you do?!"

"Me?! I didn't do anything!" she emphasized. "I fell asleep and the next thing I knew this guy's head was chopped off!"

Mabel fainted dramatically with the back of her head on her forehead. Dipper caught her before saying, "Everybody, calm down. Let's call the cops and see if they can help."

Surely enough, the cops arrived. They questioned the events before said murder, and Stan nervously told his point of view, "The three of us were just watching a show when I went to the bathroom. And when I come back, BLAMO! He's headless!"

"My expert handcrafting besmirched." Mabel kneeled next to Wax Stan's "corpse", carressing it gently. "BESMIRCHED!"

Dipper comforted his sister. "Who would do something like this?"

Blubs drank from his cup of coffee, "Why don't you ask the only person who was present at the scene of crime?"

They all looked at Y/n, who was already looking offended. Dipper frowned. "I don't think Y/n would have done this."

She smiled, grateful that he could trust her. Her happiness shifted to anger as she faced the cops again. "You can't accuse me of murder when you don't even have the evidence!"

"That's true!"

Blubs remained dismissive, "Then unless you don't think that this girl here is guilty, let's face it: this case is unsolvable."

"WHAT?!" Dipper, Mabel, and Stan exclaimed.

Stan pointed an accusatory finger at them. "You take that back, Sheriff Blubs!"

"You're kidding, right?" Dipper said, "You're not even gonna do investigations and search for more evidence?"

"Oh, Dipper can help!" Mabel chimed in, supporting her brother. "He's really good. He figured out who was eating our tin cans!"

"All signs pointed to the goat."

Even Stan wanted Dipper to help, only for the offer to be turned down by both the sheriff and the deputy. They laughed in his face, making fun of Dipper because he was a little kid.

They really shouldn't be underestimating him.

"Adorable. You should leave the investigating to the grownups," was their final words before being called to attend an emergency.

Determined Dipper turned to his sister with a fire like no other. "That's it. Mabel, you and I are going to find the jerk who did this and get back that head! And we'll see who's adorable." he seethed before unconsciously releasing an adorable sneeze that could've been mistaken for a kitten sound.

Y/n will also agree that he's adorable. His sneeze was adorable.

The twins started transforming the living room into what appears to be a crime scene. Mabel was photographing the headless wax figure repeatedly, while Dipper was pinning pictures to his corkboard.

Stan walked out of the room, depressed. Y/n wanted to go console him, but she was stopped by Dipper. "Hey, wait. Y/n."

"What's up?"

"I know that you wouldn't do this, but what happened at the time of murder? What were you doing?"

She was irritated, but she replied truthfully, "I was sleeping. I didn't know what happened. I didn't hear a sound because I was asleep."

"Well, wax Stan lost his head and it's up to us to find it and prove your innocence. Would you like to join us?"

As much as she would like to go be with them, she has to prioritize. And right now, Stan is her first priority. "I don't know," she began. "There's not much room for one more detective, don't you think?"

"But-"

"I'm sure Sherlock Holmes and John Watson will handle it." Yes, she read the books. "The question is, who is Holmes... and who is Watson?" she left without another word.

The twins stared at one another before Mabel smiled. "I'm Sherl-!"

"No," Dipper immediately turned down. "Mabel, focus. We have to solve this case. The murderer could be anyone."

Mabel's eyes widened. "Gasp. Even us!"

"In this town, anything is possible," Dipper muttered, taking out his journal and skimming through it. The book was full of codes and ciphers that he might use to find clues.

"Hey, look, a clue!" Mabel's voice brought him out the pages. She pointed down to the ground they were standing on.

"Footprints in the shag carpet!" Dipper marveled. "It looks like one of the shoes has a hole in it." Their eyes noticed the marks all leading somewhere behind the big, yellow chair.

The twins found an ax just lying there on the ground. This must be the murder weapon!

To clarify, they took the object and delivered it to Soos the handyman. He examined it thoroughly before concluding, "In my opinion... this is an ax."

Mabel suddenly got an idea. "Wait a minute. The lumberjack!"

They began to piece their assumptions together enough to go out and find the aforementioned lumberjack. Soos had told them about the biker bar.

With newfound information, they walked out the Shack in unison. They passed by Stan who was struggling with bringing out a coffin from his car trunk.

"Hey, give me a hand with this coffin, will ya? I'm doing a memorial with wax Stan. Something small, but... classy," he said, giving it all his all until the coffin eventually was pulled out.

Dipper clutched the straps of his duffel bag tighter. "Sorry, Grunkle Stan, but we have a big break in the case!" he emphasized with a clench of his fist.

"Break in the case!"

"We're heading into town to interrogate the murder."

"Oh, well in that case, do me a quick favor and fetch Y/n for me? This coffin is surprisingly heavy."

Mabel sprinted inside the shack, loudly shouting Y/n's name. "Y/n! Stan needs you!"

"I hear ya!"

And that was Mabel's cue to leave and regroup with her brother. "She's coming!"

Stan placed his hands on his waist. "I know this is dangerous and I would honestly forbid you from going if I am a responsible parent... good thing I'm an uncle! Avenge me, kids!

AVENGE ME!"

The kids took off, with Mabel carelessly swinging around the ax that they found. Stan watched them with an almost proud look on his face.

"You said you need me?"

He glanced beside him and it was Y/n, in the flesh. "What took you so long?"

"I was in the bathroom, jeez!"

Stan scoffed playfully. "You're probably performing another album from ABBA in the shower. Not surprised."

"Do you need me or not?" she glared at him.

"Help me carry this thing," he said before lifting up the other end of the box.

Y/n rolled her eyes but went to the opposite end and brought it to her chest anyway. "Put respect to their name. It's Number One All-Time Icelandic Pop Sensation BABBA."

"Right. How could I forget? You always play it in the basement. I swear, the twins might hear the sounds from the attic."

"Oh, shut your yaps and tell me why you need to set up a funeral for this wax statue that reminds you of your twin brother?"

Stan fixed his gaze on Y/n and her direct question. He stopped moving, but she knew he wasn't mad at her for essentially touching a nerve. He exhaled a sigh. "Would you mind letting me do this just once?"

He never said anything else, but she understood. It may look and sound weird, but the intention behind it was deeply saddening. It's like he wanted to do a proper farewell... in case of it being true.

"And, hey, doesn't he look like... your teacher? Your boss? Your-"

"He's my mortal enemy now, Stan," she cut off, a playful grin on her face. They positioned the coffin over two stools. Soos was cleaning the floors.

"Oh," Soos said once he saw the casket. He frowned deeply. "I'll... go and set up the chairs."

Y/n placed her hand on her hips. "Where are the twins anyway?"

"Oh, they're off to find the killer."

"What?"

Soos appeared behind her again. "Yeah, you know, the one who... ch-chopped... Mr. Wax Pines'... head. I heard them say that they're doing it to clear your name."

Her heart leapt at the prospect of them attempting to prove her innocence. She appreciated the effort of going out and probably questioning everyone in town, but she knew. She knew that no human could do this and escape in record time. No human in Gravity Falls, that is.

It was already late at night when the mini podium for Stan was set up. Dipper and Mabel eventually returned home, apparently with nothing to share. Y/n sat beside Mabel, who sat glumly holding an ax.

As Stan regained his composure, Y/n leaned in closer to Mabel and whispered, "Did something happen? Why the long face?"

"We thought we cracked the case and blamed Toby Determined for a crime he didn't even commit," Dipper answered for his sister, sighing. "Those cops were right about me."

Stan cleared his throat loudly and began his eulogy with sad organ music in the background, before Mabel or Y/n could object.

"Kids, Soos, lifeless wax figures... Thank you all for coming."

Soos dramatically blew his nose on a napkin.

"Some people might say it's wrong for a man to love a wax replica of himself."

"They're wrong!" Soos screamed, pointing an accusatory finger.

Stan tried to coax him. "Easy, Soos," he said before turning to wax Stan who lay still on a coffin. Its iconic pose of a thumbs up stuck out. "Wax Stan, I hope you're pickin' pockets in wax heaven."

This made Y/n frown. Stan was visibly upset, and she could tell it wasn't a joke to him. He took off, sniffing despondently. "I'm sorry, I got glitter in my eye!" he exclaimed as he dashed out of the room.

"Dude...!" Soos cried, chasing after Stan as he sobbed also.

Y/n stood up, looking at both Dipper and Mabel. "I have to check on him in case he does something crazy."

She walked away, straight towards the living room, where Stan sat glumly. His glasses were perched on top of his hair, and he rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. Soos stood next to him, attempting to offer him a napkin.

"No, Soos. You need it more than I do," Stan said, sniffling.

She walked into the room. He gave her a quick glance before returning his gaze to the ground. Y/n motioned for Soos to return home, and she'd take care of it. He nodded and walked away, closing the gift shop door behind him.

It was quiet except for Stan's sniffles. Y/n gave him time to let it out. She's seen him cry before– many times now. It makes him the more emotional, empathic person out of the Pines twins.

If you think it's rare to see Stan cry, then it is incredibly anomalous to see even a glimpse of Ford letting out a single tear.

The first time Stan cried was, of course, the first night of his brother's disappearance. She could hear the bawling from her room. He was completely devastated and he always blamed himself.

Every other night for the last thirty years, Stan had grown to be comfortable to be himself around Y/n. Comfortable enough for him to cry a river. She's the only one who understands what he's going through.

She leaned against the doorframe of the living room, staring at a wall painting. Stan was constantly wiping his tears away. "I..." he began, but it got cut off with a sharp exhale. "I just– really, really miss him, you know?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly.

"I don't even know if he's alive out there. What even is out there? On the other side?"

He has asked this exact same question a thousand times, and even though Y/n is vague with her answers every time, it would always end it with, "He's alive."

"I hope."

"I know he's alive," she said. "Sure, there might be aliens and other dimensional lizards and whatnot, but he is the smartest guy in the world. He knows what to do."

Stan kept to himself. Looking down, he ran his thumb across the rim of the glasses he recognized as Ford's. "You know, I'm really glad you're here ."

"Happy to be of service, old man."

They stayed within their comfortable silence.

Meanwhile, the twins faced the sentient wax figures that were all staring them down menacingly. Wax Sherlock Holmes had just recounted their heinous history up to the time of the murder.

"So you were trying to murder Grunkle Stan for real?!"Dipper asked in disbelief.

"And you could've almost killed Y/n, too!" Mabel exclaimed, lifting her forefinger. "You made her look so guilty that the cops almost arrested her!"

"Enough!" Wax Sherlock bellowed, "Now that you know our secret, you must die."

His pupils vanished as his eyeballs rolled. The other wax figures joined him and marched slowly, grunting like zombies.

Dipper and Mabel felt cornered, stepping back from them. "What do we do?!" Mabel panicked.

"I don't know!"

"What the heck is going on here?!"

Everyone came to a halt and looked at the door where Y/n stood. She looked perplexed as she assessed the situation.

"Y/n. watch out!" Mabel screamed, flailing her hands around. "Wax Sherlock Holmes was the real murderer. All of the wax figures are alive!"

Hm. Y/n narrowed her eyes on them. "I've always known you guys were creepy."

Wax Sherlock fumed, "Oh you kids are driving me up the wall. Attack!"

Half of the wax army charged towards the twins, while the rest rushed over to Y/n, who skillfully dodged them before kicking their limbs apart. Wax Thomas Edison yelled out a curse when she punched his head loose and went in a different direction.

"Y/n, use this!" Dipper threw a hot fire iron at her, and she grabbed the handle just as Wax Sherlock brought a sword down on her head. She deflected the blow before swinging her own weapon at him.

The two of them fought their way out of the room, inadvertently leading themselves to the attic, where the fight raged on. Every strike from Y/n was deflected, and Wax Sherlock continued forward until she was pushed up against the wall.

He pointed the sharp blade to her nose. "I know you're still the same little girl you were ten years ago," he said, and it couldn't help but send a shiver down her spine.

Because the fire iron was gradually losing its heat, she realized that killing him with it would be pointless. She looked out the window next to Wax Sherlock, the light reflecting off it.

So she rolled under him and escaped through the window and onto the Shack's roof. Wax Sherlock pursued the girl with the sole intention of murdering her. They fought until she was forced to retreat and stall for more time. He continued to spout more British slang before darting towards her, cornering her once more.

She glanced to her right and saw a twinkle of sunlight.

Wax Sherlock turned to face her, his sword poised above his head, ready to strike. "We all have secrets that we keep hidden, and yours is bound to be revealed; it's just a matter of time!"

"I'll let you in on a little secret: I adore watching the sun rise."

"Watching- what?!" Wax Sherlock shrieked as he realized that this was all a trap.

In his final act, he attempted to swing down, only for Y/n to literally stop the blade with her hand. Wax Sherlock quipped briefly before being knocked to the ground by her kick.

"Any final words?" she asked as she let go of the sword. His lower half was already slipping off the shingles.

"Shut your festering gob, you sniveling- grmmm!"

The rest of him melted into liquid until it all fell down to the ground.

"Gross."

She walked back to the parlor where Stan now stood. "Y/n!" The twins exclaimed. "Are you okay? What happened?"

She shrugged casually, smirking a bit. "Heh, you should see the other guy," she said before making a melting sound and moving slowly.

The twins chuckled at her joke but at the same time, glad that she was alright. "So, do you also want an affectionate noogie from Grunkle Stan?" Dipper asked.

***

"Who?"

"The 'child psycho' Gideon Gleeful," Stan told Y/n, getting the both of them Pitt colas. They were working so hard with the portal, tackling the parts for it. She didn't remember who brought in cards, but the next thing they did was play poker all night. She didn't remember who was in the lead either.

"What about him?"

Stan grumbled. "You know the monster's been terrorizing me ever since he rolled into town, and now the kids are checking out the competition with his so-called 'Tent of Telepathy'," he said the last part in exaggerated quotes.

"Woah, calm down," she said, coaxing him, "Maybe they're just seeing if it's the real thing. We all know he's a sham."

He sighed. "You're right." He took a sip of his can before retreating to his office. "I'll be in here in case you need me."

"Don't worry, buddy. You just relax," Y/n answered back.

Just as Stan left the room, the back door opened and the twins entered. "Y/n! Where have you been!?"

"Sorry, I... overslept," she trailed off, "But, hey! You're back. How was the trip?"

"Oh, Y/n, you should have seen it!" Mabel gushed, rushing towards her. "Gideon was the cutest! He had this little cape and sang in rhymes! He even guessed my name! He truly is a child psychic."

Y/n and Dipper exchanged glances. "Is that so..." she hummed, looking at Mabel's sweater with the letters M A B E L sewn into it. "He must've been really entertaining."

"She is easily impressed," Dipper pointed out, crossing his arms before walking to the kitchen.

Before going to the table by the living room, Y/n went to the fridge and got another can of cola. The boy took a glass of water and sat in the other chair at the far end of the table.

The two sat in comfortable silence until Mabel came back with sparkly gems plastered on her entire face, from her eyelids to the inside of her mouth. "Check it out, guys! I successfully bedazzled my face!" She struggled to even manage a single blink with the jewels stuck.

"That was quick."

"Is that... permanent?" Dipper asked.

Mabel frowned. "I'm unappreciated in my time."

Someone knocked on the door and the three looked at one another. "Somebody answer that door!" Stan shouted from the other room.

"I'll get it!" Mabel yelled back, easily scrubbing off the colorful stones and heading to the door.

It turned out to be Gideon on the other side, asking Mabel on a tour of his dressing room. The two hung out and played make-ups until afternoon. Later, Gideon invited her once again to come and sightsee the entire town from the roof of his warehouse. They even brought their own pair of opera glasses.

She just didn't think Gideon would ask her out on a real date. She had a good time with him, but she never liked him in that way. Mabel thought this kid was creepy as he drew her into a hug and unabashedly sniffed her hair.

The next day, she and Dipper were playing video games when the doorbell rang again. Mabel replied, opening it to reveal the head of a horse peering inside. Gideon sat atop the horse, wearing a cowboy hat and a sickening grin.

And they were off to some probably expensive restaurant that Gideon bribed the staff into doing everything he asked.

"Hey!" Stan exclaimed that morning, getting the attention of Dipper, Wendy, and Soos. "What the jackal is Mabel doing in the paper next to that greasy pickpocket Gideon?" he aggressively pointed at the large picture in the first page of the newspaper.

Wendy and Soos were excited about it, Stan was exasperated, while Dipper was a little scared of him right now. Y/n was nowhere to be found.

Stan went out as well to deal with the whole 'dating grandniece' situation. The three were left to themselves, until they had to go and do their own thing.

Dipper went back inside the living room to do some reading. He was already in the ghost section when he felt someone enter the room.

"Oh, hey, Dipper."

He looked up and saw Y/n with a cup of coffee this time. "Y/n! Hi."

She sighed and yawned. Even though she had only slept for 30 minutes, she felt a surge of rage in her veins when she saw the Journal 3 in his hands. "What are you reading?" she asked, sitting across from him in the chair. They had always sat at this table, sometimes in different seats, but their conversation was always about the journal.

"Oh, I'm just trying to catch on to some ghost categories. Can't believe there's 10! The author must've experienced all of them!"

How'd you think he would write all of that down if he didn't go through them?! I was there with him.

Y/n didn't realize she was glaring at Dipper, but she rationalized it as her being insane from lack of sleep. So she slurped the coffee silently but angrily.

"Are you okay? Looks like you stayed up all night."

She couldn't tell him that she had spent the entire morning attempting to stabilize the energy distribution of the Shack and the portal. Energy was required for the portal to remain idle, while electricity was required for the house.

"Just like you, I was also trying to catch on some... reading," Y/n replied once she had her thoughts together. "Quantum Physics."

"You're already studying in summer? What?" Dipper was grinning from ear to ear. "What grade are you in?"

Grade? She didn't know what that term meant.

"Huh?"

The employee door opened from the gift shop, and Mabel appeared gloomy as she carried a lobster past the two of them.

"Hey!" Dipper called, his smile never left his face albeit being slightly confused from Y/n's response. "How did it go?"

"I don't know. I have a lobster now," Mabel said slowly.

Y/n placed her head on her propped hand. "Well, at least it's over and you will never have to go out with him again."

But Mabel didn't say anything. She was anxiously tapping on the glass box with the idle lobster.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked after a brief moment. "It's over, right? ...Mabel?"

"BLARGH!" The twin sister flailed her arms around in a panic. "He asked me out again and I didn't know how to say no!"

Dipper furrowed his brows. "Like this: no!" he enunciated, pointing at his mouth.

"It's not that easy, Dipper!" Mabel reasoned, "And I do like Gideon... as a friend slash little sister! So I didn't want to hurt his feelings!" She smacked her fist onto the table between the two. "I just need to get things back the way they used to be, you know? Friends!"

Unfortunately, Mabel's plan did not go as planned. Her heart seemed to always win in every situation, which she disliked. She disliked Gideon's advances on her and her inability to say no. She liked Gideon, but not in the way he desired.

So, the moment she got home, she was pacing all over the living room, weighing her options. He's just too nice but she can't keep doing this! – but she can't break his heart! There's no way out of this!

Dipper's voice jolted her out of her reverie. She was terrified of her upcoming date with Gideon. Dipper reassured her that it wouldn't come to marriage, until Stan stormed in with a TEAM GIDEON sign on his shirt, declaring that Mabel must marry the twerp.

Y/n entered the room with her favorite Pitt cola in hand. She stared disapprovingly at Stan. "What?" he asked. "Bodies change."

The boy twin found his sister in a place she dubbed, 'Sweater Town'-- where she just pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her huge sweater around her until she is completely covered.

Dipper has had his fill. If Mabel does not want to end her relationship with Gideon, he will. Mabel, of course, was overjoyed at her brother's offer.

He entered the restaurant where Gideon was allegedly waiting for his sister. He couldn't believe this little charlatan would basically force Mabel to date him. He's been behaving strangely since he saw him on stage.

Gideon was initially polite to Dipper, though he was perplexed by his appearance. Gideon's eye twitched when Dipper told him Mabel didn't want to see him again, but he still wore a sickening grin.

"You're not gonna- like, freak out or whatever?"

Bygones be bygones, he said. Dipper took it in stride and walked out. He didn't look like he was angry, so he thought that he'd understood.

But Gideon's gaze remained fixed on Dipper as he walked out of the restaurant. He suddenly felt a surge of rage coursing through his veins. How dare he put himself between him and Mabel? He has no authority to intervene! Gideon and Mabel were supposed to rule the town together as king and queen!

Dipper just made the biggest mistake of his life.

The next day, everything seemed to be back to normal. The twins were having fun with Soos outside the Shack, doing random shenanigans until the phone rang from the gift shop.

"Your turn," Mabel said first, beating Dipper to it – which means, he has to go and deal with whoever was on the phone.

Dipper had no idea it would be Toby Determined, the lamest guy ever, who was suddenly interested in interviewing him about the 'unusual' things going on in town.

Dipper's excitement overtook his worry, and he quickly scribbled the address Toby provided on the notepad from his pocket. He was about to leave the gift shop and continue on his way when he noticed Y/n out of the corner of his eye.

"Y/n, hey!"

She turned around, trying to look casual after having heard of the telephone conversation. In her defense, it was a total coincidence that she walked into the gift shop from the living room and... stayed until the end of the call.

"Dipper," she answered. "What's up?"

Wendy and Soos gave her that greeting. What does she know about interacting when she's been cooped up in the basement for the past 30 years? Stan is mostly responsible for grocery shopping and going outside.

Dipper told her about Toby Determined and wanting to interview him with the address already etched in the paper.. "So, what I'm saying is," he began, "do you wanna come with me? We found this journal together, so I figured I shouldn't take the credit alone."

Her heart skipped a beat not only because of the thoughtful offer, but also because of the heavy anxiety. She took a look at the journal he had brought out. Knowing the journal was with Dipper - within her arms reach - calmed her a little, but she couldn't help but think about the risk of revealing the journal's secrets to anyone else, let alone someone like Toby Determined.

So she had to go with him. Just to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid.

"Sure," she finally said, smiling. Dipper returned the smile, and the two proceeded to the cleared path in the forest to the address. Because the Shack is located at 618 Gopher Road, it took some time to locate 412. It appeared to be an abandoned warehouse on a cliff.

Y/n and Dipper exchanged uncertain glances before hiking up the hill to the main door. Dipper opened it to reveal a dark room full of shelves and unused cardboard boxes.

"Hello?" Dipper's voice echoed through the confines of the warehouse.

Y/n furrowed her eyebrows, confused with the silence. Someone was supposed to meet them there, but apparently no one came. "Let's just get out of here. Maybe it was a prank call."

"Yeah. Maybe you're right."

The two were about to leave when the door unexpectedly shut. Dipper jumped and tried unsuccessfully to open the door. He knocked, expecting someone to close the door on them as a joke, but no one answered. Panic gripped their chests.

A row of lights illuminated the warehouse until it reached the far end, revealing an office chair.

The seated turned around to see Gideon, who was petting his puppet version of himself like a supervillain. He had a menacing grin on his face. "Dipper Pines... oh, and you brought Y/n, too. Isn't that just swell?"

"Gideon?" The boy beside her rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"How long have you been living in this town, a week? Or two? You like it here?" Gideon inquired, innocently fidgeting with the stuffed toy.

Dipper crossed his arms. "What do you want from me, man?"

"Listen carefully, boy," he said slowly, "this town has secrets you couldn't even begin to comprehend."

"Is this about Mabel?" Dipper asked. "I told you she's not into you!"

"LIAR! You turned her against me!" Gideon stood from his chair and marched towards the two of them. "She was my pink dumplin'!" He grasped his bolo tie with a hard look on his face.

Dipper had the nerve to be concerned, "Are you okay, man?"

Gideon raised his hand, and the two of them were surrounded by a blue aura. They quickly realized that their feet were no longer touching the ground. Dipper panicked slightly, whereas Y/n felt dread mixed with familiarity.

When Gideon made a motion with his hand, the two were launched into the air. They landed in a heap of cardboard boxes containing his merchandise.

"Wha-what? But I- I thought he's a fake!" Dipper stuttered.

"Oh tell me, boy! Is this fake?" His hand on his bolo tie again, he lifted the other and the stuff around them were floating.

Y/n was staring at Gideon's closed fist. It can't be.

Gideon laughed maniacally as he directed the floating clocks towards Dipper. Dipper was the most targeted of the two, so he had to avoid the most hazards. Y/n stepped to the side, conjuring up some sort of plan. If only there was some kind of distraction so she could retrieve the mystical amulet.

So that's why his hair was unnaturally white.

Dipper jumped away from the tumbling shelf, rolling until his back hit the wall. He stroked his head, which he was certain was developing a lump. "Grunkle Stan was right about you, you are a monster!"

"Your sister will be mine!" Gideon's laughter was cut short when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck from behind. He screamed and flailed his arms around, attempting to punch Y/n but failing. "No! Let go of me!" He screeched, but she didn't falter, only squeezing tighter.

"Dipper, get the amulet!" She feared that once she let go of her other hand and reached for the necklace, Gideon would have the chance to unhand himself and use the magic against her.

Dipper stood up and ran towards the two of them. Gideon was still writhing under her grasp, sweating like a pig now. Dipper had a small triumphant smile on his face as his hand inched closer to the amulet, until-

"Guys?"

The three looked over to see Mabel by the opened door.

"What's happening?"

It was silent. No one really knew how to start at explaining the whole situation.

But Gideon quickly recovered, elbowing Y/n in the face—which didn't hurt, but caught her off guard—causing her to loosen her grip, and that's when Gideon took the chance, holding his bolo tie again and lifting his other hand, sending both Y/n and Dipper afloat. So much for a diversion, she reasoned.

"Gideon! What are you doing?!" Mabel exclaimed, panic settling in her features.

"Marshmella, I want to apologize for my behavior, but these two have come between our sweet relationship! Don't you want to get rid of them?"

"Heck no! I'm sorry, Gideon, but I can't be your marshmallow. I needed to be honest and finally tell you that myself," Mabel replied.

Gideon furrowed his brows. "I... I don't understand," he said, clutching the amulet tightly, with the gesture and his growing frustration, it made it so that he was choking both Dipper and Y/n while they were still afloat.

Dipper thrashed around in an attempt to relieve the pain in his throat. Y/n imitated the action, attempting to persuade herself that she, too, is in pain.

She yanked the glowing amulet from his suit as quickly as she could. "No!" Y/n and Dipper both fell to the ground, their magic practically unused. "You were like attacking my brother and my friend!What the heck?!"

"My tie! Give it back!"

He tried to reach it, but Mabel tossed it to Dipper.

"Ha!" Dipper caught it. "Not so powerful without this, are you?"

Gideon screamed and charged at Dipper, making him drop the amulet and breaking through the window.

"Dipper!" Mabel yelled. Y/n glanced at the amulet on the ground and wasted no time going for it. She picked it up, grabbing it tightly, and harnessed its powers. It was the same feeling when she held it the first time. With her mind, she thought about floating and instantly she was.

Mabel was astounded. She levitated as Y/n raised her hand with the amulet. She rushed the two of them outside the broken window and, with no time to waste, gestured her other hand up to stop Gideon and Dipper's horrific fall. The two stared up at them until Y/n and Mabel gracefully descended.

"Listen, Gideon," Mabel began once her feet landed, "It's over. I will never ever date you."

Y/n, too, put her feet on the ground, eventually letting go of the magic before it could affect her again. After all, the white streaks were still visible beneath her natural hair. She gave Mabel the amulet, knowing exactly what she wanted to do with it, and Mabel delivered, throwing it to the ground and breaking it.

"My powers!" Gideon exclaimed. "Oh this isn't over. This isn't the last you'll see of wittle... ol'... me," he said before walking back to the dark forest.

The twins looked at each other, both weirded out, before they turned around and made their way home. Meanwhile, Y/n stared at the broken pieces of the mystical amulet.

"'Buried deep underground where nobody can find it,'" she muttered under her breath. Ford was a terrible liar.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 10!

MASTERLIST

RG'H Z HNZOO DLIOW ZUGVI ZOO RG'H Z HNZOO, HNZOO DLIOW

[gravityfallsrewritten]

Chapter 5: Curse this World

author's note: TW blood, vomit, hallucinations. take care!

***

Fiddleford McGucket was distinct from Ford, as Y/n discovered once the three began working together. She remained on the sidelines, only waiting for orders because she couldn't contribute anything useful to their conversation. She chose to be a simple assistant, which she has always been good at.

"The plans in these blueprints are unbelievably complex," F said after the three of them had moved on from the subject of the "leg warmers" fashion trend. "Did Y/n also help you come up with the idea, or did you consult with anyone else?"

Ford paused for a moment, as if he was debating something. He looked at the girl next to him, who was trying not to look like she was judging him despite the fact that she was speculating on his expressions. F's question made her think, too; she knew damn well that Ford didn't have anyone else to consult about his plans because it was just the two of them.

The man in question then averted his gaze from F, then from her, before dismissively stating, "With hard work, anything is possible. Anyway, I want you to double-check these," he said before moving to the other side of the table and handing F a stack of calculations. "Y/n, follow me."

She did, trailing behind Ford as he scribbled in his journal. Before she could take a peek at it, he shut it close, earning a loud poof. He turned around and handed her a copy of the blueprint, as well as a demonstration of the portal's structural form, and suddenly everything made sense. She was a quick learner, which was one of the many benefits of eating that mushroom.

It was the following day when F suddenly went into a panic and began rambling about how the portal would require a Temporal Displacement Hyperdrive before spouting about his worries about humanity and its limited knowledge. At that moment, Y/n remembered something, and it appeared that Ford did as well. They exchanged glances before Ford exclaimed, "We know exactly where to get that kind of device!"

F was stunned, pulling some of his hair out, and their grins grew even wider at his reaction. The destination was Crash Site Omega, which had the coolest name ever, and Y/n and Ford had already begun packing for the two-day trip.

Ford had reminded Y/n to bring curses and spells for when they ventured into some of the dangerous areas of the Uncharted Forest, and they were on their way.

***

***

On the first day of the journey, Ford, F, and Y/n hiked up the granite pass to the lake, where their secret mountain shortcut is located. For years, Y/n and Ford had been walking and climbing up mountains, but that wasn't the case for Fiddleford. Around midday, he took a break and could be heard grumbling about wanting to invent a pair of robot legs while eating a sandwich. With a stick, he even drew a diagram in the dirt.

"Would you like one?" " F offered the girl, but she politely declined. She ate a light breakfast, but it was sufficient.

A low-pitched growling was heard, and an odd red-and-black-checkered beast unexpectedly waddled out of the brush for a bite of F's sandwich.

Standing up from the small boulder, Y/n exclaimed. She looked at the creature with awe. She didn't believe they were real! "Oh my gosh," she mumbled, hiding her mouth behind her hands.

"Don't go near it, Y/n," Ford cautioned, but Y/n paid no attention. Many of Ford's commands were always ignored. "Y/n, it could be venomous."

"It could not," she countered. One of her hobbies appeared to be defying his orders.

The creature stared up at Y/n, motionless, but when she took a step forward, it growled, causing her to come to a halt. "Actually, I would like a sandwich," she said to Fiddleford, who gave her one shakily. Y/n unwrapped it from its plastic wrapping and waved it in the air, as if producing an aroma. The creature perked up in interest and approached her innocently.

Her face lit up as the creature bit off a piece of the sandwich and munched on it quietly. It bit again, and this time a larger piece was ripped off. "You're so adorable," Y/n said. She looked up to see Ford scribbling in his journal with a small smile on his face. F was also taken aback.

"It looks like a platypus-" F began.

"But its skin has a plaid pattern," Ford added. Y/n stood there, a teasing smile on her face, waiting for her friend to make yet another witty pun. "I'm guessing it's called a plaidypus?"

Her lips trembled with laughter. The sandwich in her hand was gone, and it appeared to want more. Y/n took an item from her bag. It was a biscuit box. The plaidypus seemed to enjoy salted crackers as well. She deliberately picked it up and gladly obliged, as long as it was accompanied by food. The plaidypus made a sound, but she couldn't tell if it was happy or disgruntled due to a lack of crackers.

"Don't feed it too much or we might just run out of food."

"Yeah," she said. "Or I could've been destroying this cutie's dietary habits or nutritional intakes, or something..." She petted its bald head, and her heart skipped a beat as she listened to its purr.

"Is it a female?" Fiddleford questioned, repacking his backpack.

"I think so," Y/n concluded after peering into its underbelly. The plaidypus wriggled its way out of her arms, and she let it go, carefully placing it on the ground. It waddled back to where it came from, and Y/n dutifully followed. Silently, the two men followed as well, intrigued by this creature's movements. They didn't want to split up so might as well follow the girl's trail.

What welcomed them was the plaidypus' nest where its egg had the same plaid pattern as its skin. "Good thing none of us are hungry, because I would advise not to eat those eggs."

The sun had finally set, and the three of them had unanimously decided to take a break. Ford proposed going to the top of Gravity Peak and setting up camp for the night. Y/n huddled inside her sleeping bag, gazing up at the vast expanse of night sky made up of various constellations. She mentally named a few constellations that she recognized right away. Her favorite was the Big Dipper. It appeared to be so simple, and it is literally a big dipper.

Ford had situated meters away, and Fiddleford had followed. For a brief moment, there was only the sound of the flickering fire, which provided them with some light and warmth against the cold midnight air.

F began to open up and talk about his plans after the project was finished. Ford and Y/n listened intently. The former was lost in thought, relating to his friend's ambition. Y/n wondered about her future as well, knowing that this project would end sooner rather than later. She can't keep relying on Ford indefinitely. He'd have to leave Gravity Falls once his research was finished, leaving her all alone.

But she'd considered this possibility before. She considered her own future plans and what she might do. She needed to prepare. She wasn't stupid, after all.

"And how about you, Y/n?" " Ford inquired, clearing his throat.

"Well, I know you won't be here forever, Ford, so... once you leave, I'm thinking of opening some sort of treatment facility for the creatures that live here," she explained, leaving out the fact that she is vulnerable to physical pain. She and Ford had already discussed not telling Fiddleford because he would freak out even more. She didn't like lying to the guy, but she reasoned that it was for his own good. "I sincerely want to assist everyone."

"Such an admiring dream for a little girl. We have the same goal; helping people," F remarked, giving her a smile.

Ford followed and shared his own thoughts, expressing his desire to prove his theory and getting excited about the future, already seeing himself as a prizewinner and genius and rubbing shoulders with other notable prizewinners and geniuses. Y/n admired his determination despite the fact that his dream seemed to be more for his own benefit.

The scope of Ford's plans perplexed F. He's caught a glimpse of the journals, which are thick with pages of amazement that he never imagined could be true. He explained that his former classmate should publish his findings and then enjoy life. But Ford was adamant, acting as if he was in a race with other scientists who also wanted to get their hands on this discovery.

Ford ended the conversation with a sweet reminder that he was glad to be accompanied by his two friends.

The two-day trip was clearly well planned, because they arrived at their destination after an encounter with cows. Y/n noticed that nothing had changed since she and Ford left this two years ago. Ford's excitement returned as he gleefully broke open the hatch and climbed down. They soon discovered what they were looking for: the Hyperdrive. Fortunately, with F's mechanical knowledge, Ford's keen intuition, and Y/n's clairvoyance, they were able to locate and extract it, which is now safely stored inside F's backpack. It was quite bulky, and Y/n agreed that it would be too heavy for her sadly short stature.

Mission accomplished..

It was about to be a terrific day for the three of them, until that turned terrible. Y/n was so used to Ford's life-threatening curiosity. She was confident that she wouldn't get hurt, yet sometimes she feared his complacency when nearing a beast like this one. He doesn't have the same invulnerability as her.

The Gremloblin was a legend, that was what she heard from Ford, and now he got the chance to draw its figure up close because they knew that creatures like it are heavy sleepers. Normally, when it's the two of them, Y/n can sit beside Ford and watch him draw, all the while admiring his line work, but it was different this time now that they have a new addition. Fiddleford was shaking up in his boots as he cowered behind Ford.

"C-can we please, just, move along? I don't like them large chompers."

"You don't have to worry," Y/n reassured F, but just as she finished, the Hyperdrive emitted an ear-piercing alarm from F's backpack. "What! I thought it was inactive!" She exclaimed, slightly alarmed.

The Gremloblin awoke with a start, seized Fiddleford with its gigantic claws, and peered deeply into his eyes, as expected. Ford flung his canteen at the beast, hoping to shock it, but it had little effect. The water simply made the monster scarier!

The creature has just mutated, and its wings have grown to be twice their original size! It flew down the mountain with F still in its grasp, with a powerful heave of its wings. "Come on, Y/n!" She sprinted alongside him, her gaze fixed on the Hyperdrive in F's arms. The gleaming metal glistened in the harsh sunlight, and she had an idea.

"Ford! "Give me your bag," she demanded. Ford handed it to her, unsure why, preferring to trust her rather than question her. The two ran down the cliff-side, tearing their clothes. Ford had a bloody scrape, but Y/n was unharmed. He looked up helplessly as the girl rummaged through the bag, eventually finding what she was looking for. It was...

"The magnet gun! Y/n, what a brilliant idea!" She handed him the gun, and as the Gremloblin slowed down, Ford took advantage of the opportunity and aimed at the Hyperdrive, holding Y/n close to him. With a magnetic rush, the two were lifted fifty feet into the air and landed on the monster's back. Ford drew his gun and delivered a hard blow to the back of the head, knocking it out cold. The four had landed in a soft, cushioned hayloft after crashing through the barn roof.

F's condition caused Y/n to frown deeply. His entire body was trembling, his eye twitching uncontrollably, and his knee bouncing faster than usual. He was in such a state of terror that he didn't seem to notice that his arm was broken and pierced in several places with the venomous quills of the Gremloblin.

Immediately, Ford and Y/n took F home for treatment.

Y/n took the liberty of tending to her friend's physical wounds, having learned to do that because she had practice. The practice being Ford, that is. She successfully wrapped bandages around his arms and forehead, but he was still left shaken. He was still mumbling something about his family. He tends to mention that word a lot.

With a worried gaze, she turned to Ford who was deep in thought. He also appeared to be very concerned about his friend. Finally, he stood up. "Thank you, Y/n, but I fear there are mental wounds not as easily remedied." He grabbed her shoulders and gently drew her away from F. He knelt down to her level once more. "We've survived many monster attacks without trauma, but perhaps he is more sensitive than we realized..." Ford mumbled to the girl, who nodded understandably.

"Maybe you should spend the rest of the afternoon with him. He needs to face his fears with his closest friend."

Ford agreed with her suggestion and nodded. He stood up and affectionately brushed her hair. "You should get some rest. Your dream of opening a clinic will come true thanks to your expertise in wound care."

With a spring in her step, she left the two friends to their own devices. Ford appeared to know what to do, deciding to teach Fiddleford some of his meditation techniques as well as a heart rate slowing exercise he learned to help him control his fear. She was curious where he had learned it because the information came out of nowhere, but she decided to assume he had known it since high school.

A few more weeks had passed and the three were still working on the project until Ford decided it was time to take a break. Fortunately, Y/n read in a newspaper, after beating the daily crossword puzzle, that "Mama Misfortune's Traveling Carnival and Freak Show" was in town for the day. She told Ford that this could be good to get F's mind off his recent trauma.

Ford agreed to go albeit she knew his distaste towards nickel-grubbing circuses and sideshows. She reassured him, telling him that this could be a day of relaxation for poor F and also an opportunity for new discoveries.

Surprisingly, at the mention of a carnival, Fiddleford was excited and was already looking alright, going back to his usual mannerisms.

People swarming in left and right. Looked like it was jam-packed even with the town's low population. And looking at the lively decorations, Ford and Y/n exchanged excited glances and the three entered the carnival.

Unfortunately, Ford and Y/n's excitement turned out to be short-lived. The first "beast" they had encountered at the fair was literally a chicken duck-taped to a silver-back gorilla wearing a wizard hat.

She knew those creatures were fraudulent, but Y/n couldn't help but stifle laughter at the mere stupidity. Ford grumbled lowly as he scribbled on his journal. If Ford hated them so much, then why go through the effort of sketching them. And they looked so detailed!

Even though Ford's mood was sour, he was still happy for his friend who was clearly having the time of his life. He had just won first prize on a pig race by using advanced probability calculations.

A stand of jewelries caught Y/n's eye. She approached the man and inquire about the necklaces hanging from the metal bar. The man with a mustache and kind eyes happily told her about the low price.

"What d'you got there?" Someone stood beside her. It was Ford, and suddenly Y/n wanted to walk away. But a certain necklace attracted her. Ford saw her eyes focused on the jewelry. "Would you like one, Y/n?"

The girl looked up at Ford, a blush on her cheeks. She averted her gaze from him and began thinking of ways how to tell him that she wanted this. Ford took one of the necklaces from the stand and inspected it real close. The pendant was awfully familiar to him. He's seen it before.

"It's a real, tough metal, sir. No need to doubt my handicraft," The man remarked, not liking the way Ford handled the jewelry.

"I can see that," he replied, flipping the pendant back and forth. Y/n smiled, knowing that he was probably looking for parts that might be mystical. The two had a fair share of experiences with cursed objects and magical items after all. "Alright, we'll get this. How much?"

Ford's wallet felt a little lighter after that purchase, but every penny was worth it if he gets to see Y/n's wide smile as she admired the necklace around her neck.

The pendant was a flower with a yellow bud and white petals, resembling a daisy.

Fiddleford brought something troubling over breakfast a few weeks after the carnival. He proposed that the three construct an additional underground laboratory, one designed with the utmost paranormal security precautions. Its purpose is to store and study more dangerous specimens that are on the verge of leaking into their dimension. Fortunately, the three had discovered a location for their hidden storage bunker and began excavating.

Y/n mostly assisted with the layout of each room, deciding which one to put where, while Ford considered the pros and cons of living underground. They would need cooling systems, the ability to provide oxygen, and strong walls to protect themselves from underground creatures.

Meanwhile, FIddleford was the genius behind the horrifyingly complex security room. While assisting F with carrying equipment for their cooling chamber, F revealed the security code, which included multiple variables and equations, but Y/n easily remembered it.

The plans were completed, and the cooling system was completed and ready. They only needed to clear the dirt to find space for each of the rooms. Ford had discovered a large blue egg containing a strange creature during the dig. Y/n approached it with caution, having never seen anything like it before. The first thing it did after hatching was transform its body to Ford's coffee cup, leading them to believe it is a shapeshifter.

F suggested freezing it right away to test their cryonics, but Ford had grown attached to the creature. He even dubbed it "Shifty." Ford enlisted the help of Y/n in caring for this creature. She was assigned to bean duty and reluctantly agreed. Shifty grew so big every day that they had to upgrade from a small kennel box to a full-sized steel cage.

One night, while working late in the bunker and Y/n was about to step in for feeding time, they heard a high, otherworldly, parrot-like voice call out, "Beans!" They knew Shifty had learned to speak at that moment! Ford was the most ecstatic about the news, while F has grown increasingly skeptical of the creature.

Several days later, around midnight, Fiddleford approached Y/n, who was cleaning the surveillance room. He appeared panicked once more, so she was concerned and ready to assist. He was coughing a lot, claiming to have a sore throat, and asking for her assistance in retrieving the journal. "I-I -" he coughed again, "I think I- I saw a remedy in the journal for... these-" cough cough. "-coughs!"

F's unusual behavior piqued Y/n's interest, "I think cough drops are the best sore throat treatment. If you want, I can get you one from the first-aid cabinet-"

"NO!" He screamed. "I- I mean. Little girl, the journal has the answer and I need it."

She became uneasy under F's incessant gaze, and the way he addressed her as "little girl" just doesn't feel right. "Ford?" She called out, her gaze fixed on F's agitated expression. "I'll get you the journal... just stay right here."

Y/n visited Ford's bunker. Maybe he was there, but when she arrived, Fiddleford was leaning against Ford, shaking uncontrollably. His anxiety had rendered him nearly speechless. Strings of rope were on the ground, and the steel cage had been busted open, proving to Y/n that the Fiddleford she spoke with earlier who claimed to have a "sore throat" wasn't the real Fiddleford, but rather the shapeshifter.

"He said he wanted the journal," she said as her voice dropped to a low whisper.

Ford carefully placed F on the mattress and quickly devised a strategy. He drew a crude six-fingered hand on a plumbing manual found by Y/n with gold spray paint. He tossed it into one of their three cryogenic tubes before strolling back to the surveillance room, where the imposter F had been waiting impatiently, his chair shaking involuntarily. "There you are, Fiddleford. You said you needed the journal for your coughing problem, right?" F almost immediately nodded. "I've looked everywhere in my bunker for it, but to no avail. I believe I had inadvertently left it in the cryonics room. Could you please get it for me?"

The imposter didn't even wait for Ford to finish his sentence before fleeing for the journal. If Ford wasn't interested in the unknown, he'd be scamming people left and right with his acting abilities.

The instant he stepped inside the tube, Ford slammed the red button, trapping him in.

Following this incident, the three agreed to put it behind them. Before Ford apologized profusely for yet another traumatic experience, Y/n made sure Fiddleford had no wounds.

Several nights have passed, and the three have spent their time working on the portal, which is nearly finished and will soon be ready for the first major test. Ford had grown extremely frustrated by the necessity of sleep as Y/n dozed off for a bit of rest. He didn't like how fatigue loomed over him, taunting him with the relaxing prospect of sleep. Why sleep when he could've been working on his most important project yet? He's squandering valuable time!

F's mechanical knowledge is impressive, but he occasionally frustrated Ford. He could consider Y/n because she is less knowledgeable in engineering, but F is just stubborn. Ford realized that if they were to stay on schedule, he would have to work at least another three hours. He envied Y/n's peaceful slumber as the minutes passed, and he, too, began to feel fatigue's wretched powers pull on his eyelids.

Y/n blinked a few times before hearing a low hum, which was how a headache felt to her. She was still awake when she noticed movement and realized she was surrounded by stacks of paper. Her arms didn't hurt from sleeping on the table in an idle position. She eventually found Ford, who was concentrating on writing multiple equations. Ford had just finished a calculation when he noticed Y/n and turned to look at her.

Is it just her eyes playing tricks on her because she just woke up, or does Ford have different shaped pupils? It was a thin slit, similar to a cat's eyes. His eyeballs glowed a faint yellow before he cracked a wide grin. "You should go to sleep, Daisy," he urged, scratching her hair. "I'll take care of this."

It was a nice offer, and she was really tired, so she accepted and sat on the couch instead. She had some difficulty getting comfortable in her bed because of the items placed at her feet due to the lack of free space in the house. "Good night, Ford."

"Sleep tight, Daisy."

She fell asleep completely, and the confusion of Ford calling her "Daisy" didn't even enter her mind.

It was the night before the test. Fiddleford, Y/n, and Ford all went out to eat at a local diner to toast their future success. Ford was the most ecstatic, F was uptight and concerned, and Y/n simply wanted food. If nothing seemed to be wrong with the portal, she figured it was safe to proceed.

Ford raised his glass, and Y/n followed, attempting to match his zeal, but F couldn't meet their gazes. "I'm having second thoughts about this," he said nervously as he slid a napkin across the table. It had a diagram with the words "Probability of Failure" on it. "My final calculations revealed significant flaws in your design, flaws that could have disastrous consequences."

The man across from him remained silent.

"I feel like we're being reckless. Reconsider the whole plan for the safety of the town."

Y/n looked at the paper, shaken by F's words. The graph's arrow just kept going up, and she had no idea what would happen if they continued. Fiddleford is the more cautious of the two inventors. He quadruples checks each calculation, so if he knew the portal could fail horribly, she trusted him.

She looked at Ford, who seemed to be contemplating something.

"Where do you get these ideas for the portal, Ford?" Fiddleford asked the same question as that morning from months back. His tone was so careful, as if he was willing to listen and Ford almost considered telling him the truth, the both of them the truth, until F showed him something that shocked Ford. In his trembling hands was a thesis paper: "The Astonishing Anomalies of Gravity Falls" with Ford's name credited underneath. "I have spent the last three days working without breaks and have written a paper exhaustively chronicling all of your greatest discoveries. Publish this," he said, placing it on the table. "This is your research, I merely went through the trouble of cataloging it for you. There are enough discoveries here to make you a multimillionaire. With this, you will have everything you ever wanted, and you won't need to go through with this risky test. Forget about the portal and the Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness! Publish this, get your life back, and move on!"

Y/n sank deeper into her seat. She had never heard Fiddleford yell before. He has always been timid, so careful with his words. She looked at F before turning to Ford and saw that something changed in his eyes. Could it be regret? Restraint? Contempt?

Instead of replying to F's proposal, he asked for the check and refused to even give the paper a glance.

"We will do the test tomorrow night at eight o'clock sharp," he told him. "Be there or get left behind. The choice is yours. Come on, Y/n."

She swallowed nervously and followed without saying anything else. Ford felt something in his pocket as the two walked home in the murky twilight. It was the ring given to him by the Palm Reader at the carnival. Y/n stared at the gleaming black ring, but before she could ask him about it, Ford had already tossed it into the lake before storming off.

Ford opened the door to the house, and Y/n preceded. He threw away his coat, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was clearly tense from the previous situation. Fiddleford's "thesis" paper was a slap in the face, and he couldn't believe he'd done it to him. He couldn't believe it when his friend betrayed him.

"Ford?" Y/n's voice cut through his thoughts. The man turned and faced her. "I can trust you, right?"

'What a random question', Ford had thought at that moment. But he gave her a reassuring smile. In some ways, he felt guilty for dragging her along, and seeing Fiddleford's outburst might have rattled her nerves. But she shouldn't be concerned about a scribbled graph on a napkin. The three of them had been working extremely hard for several months. They couldn't go back now!

"Of course, Y/n," Ford began, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. "You can trust me. And I trust you."

With a smile on her face, she drew him into an embrace. Ford reluctantly returned the hug, but his gaze was distant. He just wanted to skip ahead to the first portal test and succeed. He is excited about tomorrow. Tomorrow, everything could change, and they'll laud him as a hero.

He could feel Y/n's hug tightening, but he couldn't see her frown deepening and her gaze glowering on the ground. She was afraid that this was the last hug she'd ever get from him because his promise could be empty words. Everything could change in an instant, so she's seizing every opportunity. If the portal test is successful, he'll take the first bus out of town the next day to publish his theory and never return. If it didn't work out... that was a thought Y/n didn't want to entertain.

"Good night," Y/n said, pulling away and immediately turning to her couch. She didn't look back or he'd just see her tears.

"Good night, Y/n."

If monsters and other hideous creatures don't scare her, the unknown future might. But Ford had taught her that if she trusts her instincts, there is no need to worry about tomorrow. Her instinct is to trust Ford, so she tried to reassure herself. They had worked so hard on this, so she had to wait for their inevitable success.

And her birthday is the week after that.

***

The big night had finally arrived. This could be a major breakthrough, or it could all go horribly wrong. Fiddleford returned the next day and can be seen working on the finishing touches, but he didn't say anything to Ford. The two exchanged no words. Y/n wasn't sure where to stand. F had also become her friend. She would not dismiss their year-long journey. They were both stubborn scientists who preferred to work in their separate areas rather than work through their differences. She knew from some of Ford's stories that forgiveness wasn't his strong suit.

She sighed helplessly and resolved that if these two boneheads don't get along, she'll just mind her own business.

"Thank you all for coming," Ford said, standing in front of the portal. It was a meaningless speech. He rubbed his right eye vigorously, and Y/n noticed that it was different from his other eye. It appeared irritated, bloodshot, and sluggish. He said a few more words before the three of them went to carry the test subject, a mannequin. A rope hangs from its feet. Ford had the right limb, F had the left, and Y/n had the back.

The portal was so bright that it looked like a sea of diamonds swirling around it. Something is waiting on the other side. They may be testing the safety of this portal, but Y/n should have suggested attaching a camera for photographic evidence.

Standing in front of this portal with the other two is actually making her giddy. This is it. This is it.

"Ready... steady... and-" They all released the test dummy and it got pulled into the portal. So far, so good.

Her joy quickly turned to dread as the rope wrapped around her ankle. Y/n's heart leapt to her throat as she was abruptly lifted from the ground, and gravity was not on her side. She tried to grasp something, but all she found was air. "Help! "She gasped. "Help me!" "

"Y/n!" Ford screamed.

The gravitational magnet was too powerful, sucking half of her body inside before being pulled by the other end of the rope. The two men yanked and yanked on the string until the portal consumed so much energy that it malfunctioned. Static electricity erupted until everything went dark. They were able to pull her out because the portal was no longer active.

She crashed on the ground, hard. Fiddleford's brow furrowed, but Ford was only concerned with what she saw on the other side. "Did it work?" He inquired. Y/n was breathing heavily before twitching uncontrollably. F buried his hands in his hair and tugged hard. "What exactly is it, Y/n? What did you see?"

She sat upwards and the two watched as she slumped exhaustively. The girl was muttering the words, "ꟻɘɒɿ ɟ⑁ɘ dɘɒƨɟ wiɟ⑁ ᒑuƨɟ onɘ ɘγɘ" repeatedly before suddenly retching significant amount of dark brown blood in her vomit before passing out. F grimaced deeply, while Ford was greatly shocked at this revelation.

"We have to shut this portal down," F spoke. "It's clearly highly dangerous! See how this affected a little girl!"

"I can't stop this; it's my life's work!" " Ford drew his brows together.

"This is your life's work?" F angrily motioned to Y/n who was still lying on the ground.He knelt down and drew Y/n to him. "She was almost dead, Stanford!" Ford was surprised by his use of his real name. "Can't you peer inside your heartless soul that we just put a child in danger?" Destroy this portal before it annihilates us all! "

Ford remained deafeningly silent. He wanted to yell at him that Y/n would be fine and that they should try again. Although he couldn't help but feel a pang of panic in his stomach when Y/n didn't move. F lowered his gaze to the girl in his arms. He paused, a deep frown on his face. He was disgusted by this man's complete lack of understanding of the situation. He wanted to take her in his care if he walked away, but... he'd rather forget about it all.

Quickly but carefully, he handed the girl to Ford. Instantly, he pulled her close to him. "I quit," F declared.

"What?"

"I said I quit!" He stormed off without another word.

Anger filled Ford's veins. He clutched Y/n's frail body. "FIne!" He screamed. "We'll do it without you! We didn't need you!"

Those were their last words to one another.

He looked down at Y/n, searching for her pulse. He felt a faint beat on her wrist and felt relieved for a moment. "Y/n? " He said quietly. "Talk to me, Y/n."

She only let out a few groans before collapsing again.

He frowned. He didn't like that response, prompting a sigh from him. He's been working so hard, and sleep is finally catching up with him. However, he became aware of whispers. Ford looked up, alarmed. Did Fiddleford decide to return and apologize for his insulting remarks?

However, there were whispers coming from the left, right, and back. "Is anyone there?" " Ford yelled into the night. "Show yourself! " The whispers continued. It was getting louder, and Ford couldn't stand it any longer, so he stood up, bringing Y/n with him. He needed to get out of this room.

Ford cradled her against his chest and moved her to the upper floor of the elevator. Because he couldn't see well due to the blackout, he walked cautiously between the scattered items left on the ground until he arrived at his room. He carefully placed her on the cushiony mattress and covered her with a thin blanket, but before he could pull away, Y/n reached for his sleeve.

Ford looked at her, but her eyes were closed and she was silent. He tugged on his sleeve, but she wouldn't let go. He decided to comply with her wishes and sat beside her. He placed her head on his chest, and Y/n immediately became calm as she breathed slowly.

As he looked down on Y/n, he felt another pang in his heart. Was it remorse? Guilt? Pain from his anger?

He is indeed guilty for stringing her with this. He went down a dangerous path that he ventures alone, yet somehow she's still here. She has been a part of his journey in Gravity Falls ever since the beginning. He can say that they have been through thick and thin, and these last 6 years have been an adventure.

Ford's thoughts returned to Fiddleford, and his rage resurfaced. He took his journal and pen from his coat pocket without disturbing Y/n's sleep. He had a lot to say to F, words that would look better on paper rather than spoken aloud. He'd rather save his time than spend it yelling at him.

GOOD RIDDANCE!He wrote in bold letters. It felt final and liberating. He shouldn't have contacted Fiddleford in the first place. This project could have been completed with just Y/n and his muse. He'd introduce Y/n to his muse, and the three of them could collaborate. F and his weak, cowardly demeanor were utterly pointless.

His right eye felt like it was burning again. It was stinging and it was much more painful than the last. Is this a symptom that his muse is contacting him?

"wfs yic fswty?"

"jvy xijily cgcujk"

"vevibgsrmt droo xszmtv"

"!eye eno tsuj htiw tsaeb eht raef ,yks emoceb htrae dna sllaf ytivarg nehw"

"Stop!" Ford screamed, standing up. "Stop it!"

He dashed out of the room, but the whispers remained. He clutched his journal close to his chest. It felt like he was drowning for hours, but it had only been a minute. Slowly, his muse's voice became clearer.

"THE DOOR IS OPEN..."

What had he done?

***

Y/n opened her eyes to find herself in a void. She looked around but saw nothing but darkness. Is she able to walk? She took a step forward, luckily not falling. She walked and walked until she felt she had no choice but to run. Y/n was getting short of breath. She didn't have to look behind her back to realize that she was being pursued.

Her foot suddenly lost contact with the ground, and she began to fall. She could see the ground from below and instinctively put her hands in front of her to brace for impact, but she was floating before she could land.

First and foremost, she was perplexed. "Huh..."

Maniacal laughter erupted from above, and she was left puzzled by what was going on. From above, a yellow glowing triangle floated down. He had thick lines for limbs, a top hat, and a bowtie to complete his one-eyed body. She was still processing her situation. Where the heck is she?

"You're inside your mind, short stuff."

Internally, she screamed. Can this slick-looking fella hear her thoughts?

"Oh, why thank you for the compliment. I tend to dress up for a special occasion!" He even stretched his bowtie for effect. "Anyway, how'd you like that glimpse, Daisy?" He placed both his hands on the side of his head/body.

Y/n suddenly remembered everything. She remembered the first test, how she accidentally got caught on the rope, how half of her body got sucked in, how she got a glimpse of what was really on the other side, how she puked blood. If she's in this void of nothingness, is she still unconscious?

"Boy, your thoughts are loud. Ever taught them to shut up?"

She huffed, "Stop reading my mind! And who are you?" she suddenly felt chills as she realized that he had that similar black slits for pupils, similar to a cat's eyes. It dawned on her like a meteor shower. "You were the one helping Ford, aren't you."

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Here's your prize; a handful of fish guts!" he snapped his fingers and it magically made her hand catch, you guessed it, guts from a fish.

"Agh!" Y/n screamed in utter disgust as she threw it away from her. Bill's obnoxious laugh just echoed. With another snap of his fingers, the fish guts disappeared and her hands were clean of the blood.

"Haha! I knew I liked you better than that weak, obstinate Glasses! He was too cowardly to carry out the plan. Meanwhile, you blindly obey every command from Six Fingers. That's exactly what we want to see! Let's give Daisy a standing ovation!"

Y/n stood there, unimpressed as Bill summoned multiple pairs of hands surrounding her, giving their rounds of applause. Some even hollered and cheered even though they didn't have any mouths. He's starting to annoy her second by second. His taunts, his maniacal laugh, and what's with the "Daisy" calling? When had she heard it before?

"Sleep tight, Daisy."

At the chilly realization, she felt like she was showered with a bucket of ice cold water - because she was literally showered with a bucket of ice cold water by Bill. Y/n sputtered and spat out the water as Bill's maniacal laughter resounded. "Stop it and stop mind-controlling Ford!" She pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"HAH! But why should I do that? He's just completed an interdimensional bridge connecting our worlds! We owe him a heartfelt thanks. This dimension will soon learn how to party. Are you ready?" he leaned down and produced a party pipe out of thin air before blowing it in her face. She slapped it away angrily, making Bill laugh again.

"Party? What the-" Y/n shook her head. She didn't know what he meant, but it sounded dangerous. She shouldn't have to think too much anymore or he'll just hear her thoughts! She was already well aware that Bill is a dangerously powerful being. "I'll stop you! I-I'll force Ford to close the portal!"

"And what makes you think I can't take over his body just like last time?" he replied without missing a beat. If he had lips, he would be smirking.

"You aren't welcome here, you psycho! You- you pyramid jerk!"

"Heh, your childish insults tickle my funny bone, and I don't even have one! I don't think you have a choice here once the portal finishes, Daisy." he taunted, pointing finger guns at her. Suddenly, his eyes changed and Y/n didn't like how it meant that an idea had entered his mind. What could the idea be? "And if we're going to have a party..." Bill paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes and before she knew it, it glowed to yellow and emitted a laser. He zapped her, enveloping her entire body in a yellow glow. He cackled so carelessly. "Woo!"

Her body was no longer glowing, and she scanned herself for any changes. Her physical form was unchanged, and she didn't feel any different, but Bill had clearly done something to her. "What have you done to me!"

"Even if Six Fingers stops the portal, he's just delaying the inevitable!" Bill chuckled. Even if it takes a thousand years, I'm sure you'll be present to see it! "

"What the- Bill!"

He began to float away. "Have fun with your birthday present, (nickname)-y! You'll thank me later!" his voice faded and the world around her began to flicker in black and white. "OH! Hey Daisy!" Bill exclaimed one last time. When she looked up, his eyes widened into saucers.

"WANNA HEAR AN IMPRESSION OF FIDDLEFORD?"

She awoke with a start, having no memory of what had happened in her dream or her harrowing encounter with the portal.

***

CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 6!

MASTERLIST

9-0-11-14-15-23-0-23-5'-12-12-0-13-5-5-20-0-1-7-1-9-14-0-19-15-13-5-0-19-21-14-14-25-0-4-1-25-!

[gravityfallsrewritten]

GRAVITY FALLS: REWRITTEN MASTERLIST !

Table of Contents:

SEASON 1 !!!

Ch. 1: Beginning

Ch. 2: Into the Woods

Ch. 3: Lend a Helping Hand

Ch. 4: Let's Get the Ball Rolling

Ch. 5: Curse this World

Ch. 6: I Just Got Him Back

Ch. 7: Pseudonym

Ch. 8: Her Aim is Getting Better

Ch. 9: Even Bigger Fraud Than Stan

Ch. 10: Real Man Or Real Dead?

Ch. 11: I Always Have a Plan

Ch. 12: Sacrifices for Your Sibling

Ch. 13: Through Fears and Insecurities

Ch. 14: Halloween in June

Ch. 15: Exchanging Bosses and Bodies

Ch. 16: Bros Before Dinos

Ch. 17: Escaping Dreams

Ch. 18: After All These Years

SHORTS !!

• Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained #1

• Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained #2

• Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained #3

• Mabel's Guide to Life #1

• Mabel's Guide to Life #2

• Fixin' It With Soos

• Mabel's Scrapbook

• Stan's Birthday

• Pterodactyl Troubles

• Revisiting the Pages

SEASON 2

Ch. 19: Scary-oke

Ch. 20: The Bunker and Tiny Men

Ch. 21: Where's My Other Sock?

Ch. 22: Into the Unseen!

Ch. 23: The Woodstick Festival

Ch. 24: Haunted Mansion and Hugs

Ch. 25: Operation: Don't Get Caught by the Government

Ch. 26: Now He's Back, the Mystery in the Mystery Shack

Ch. 27: Excelsi-Whatever!

Ch. 28: Elections and Betrayals

Ch. 29: Y/n and Dipper Sitting on a Van

Ch. 30: Everything You Care About Will Change

Weirdmageddon Part 1: Beginning of the End

Weirdmageddon Part 2: Escape from Reality

Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls

Weirdmageddon Part 4: See You Later

[gravityfallsrewritten]

Gravity Falls: Rewritten! (A Reader-Insert Fanfiction)

Let's rewind.

It all started when a brilliant man named Stanford Pines ventured to a place he believed was strange; Gravity Falls. Lots of adventures awaits.

Keep in mind that this is set in an alternate universe where a mythical creature named Y/n...? How do you even pronounce that? Anyway, she exists.

***

DISCLAIMERS: Essentially, this story was written to satisfy the author's longing for her favorite show. There are codes and secret messages hidden between the chapters, so keep an eye out! Also, this reader has she/her pronouns because I am used to that! I sincerely apologize in advance.

CAST: Stanford Pines as himself Y/n as herself Stanley Pines as himself Dipper Pines as himself Mabel Pines as herself Others as themselves Eloo Flskhu dv klpvhoi

Started: July 1, 2022 Ended: ????????????

MASTERLIST

[cross-posted from wattpad] note: i have decided to post this story on my tumblr as some sort of back-up/archive. i guess it's also for the people who still has a love for gravity falls and its characters like me. ignore my cringe-y writing and grammar mistakes if u decide to read it.

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #8: Stan's Birthday

SHORTS 8: Stan's Birthday [Takes place after "I Always Have A Plan"]

It was a success when the Shack threw its first ever party to attract the youth. However, it occurred to Y/n as she realized that they had not held a separate party to commemorate the older man's birthday. June 15th. This irritated her because she felt compelled to make an effort despite the man's wishes not to go too much on something so insignificant.

Now she made it her mission to throw a big surprise party that will hopefully send him into a heart attack– she was kidding. Or was she?

When she told Mabel of her plan, she had to cover the girl's mouth to prevent her from screaming excitedly. "Mabel, shh!" She hissed. That man's ears are too big for his own good. "It's supposed to be a secret!"

"I love surprise parties!" The braces-wearing girl squealed, twirling around. "Dipper and I are born birthday experts," she said, throwing an arm across her brother's shoulders.

Dipper pointed a finger gun at her. "We shared every birthday together so we know how to make them perfect."

"Alright," Y/n smiled. "I'm counting on you, guys. I guess I'll be the one distracting him while you guys do the planning."

"We need all hands on deck," Mabel said, reaching for her phone. "I'm calling for back-up," she hurried and dialed the numbers she obtained from her newfound friends, calling Soos for help. She walked downstairs, leaving the two.

Dipper didn't question Y/n's sudden decision to throw a surprise party for his great uncle, but he remained curious. Heck, he didn't even know that his birthday passed. But he felt warmth in his heart when he saw the way that she was willing to give him the best day ever, so of course he would help.

"What are you doing?" Stan deadpanned, not looking away from one of the control panels.

"Whatever do you mean?" Y/n asked with a slight smile, expecting Stan to question her behavior.

He rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. "You're doing that thing where you couldn't keep your hands still. Your tapping hurts my ears,"

"Well, you're an old man with huge ears after all, so of course you're sensitive to these noises," she replied easily, leaning back with her arms behind her neck.

"You only do that when you're nervous or anticipating something," he paused for a moment. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"I would never," Y/n breathed, her face morphing into an offensive expression. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go on a little expedition with me."

"Expe- what?" Stan questioned, glancing at her. "What's with the sudden activity? We haven't gone outside for the last thirty years."

"You mean we haven't gone outside together for the last thirty years," she easily corrected. "Come on, it'll be fun." She stood up and dusted her clothes.

He narrowed his eyes on her. "I'm suspicious of all of this." He spoke slowly, but after tossing the tools to the side, he relented. The two re-boarded the elevator, which took them to the top floor. She peered in through the vending machine's peeping hole. They quickly exited the multipurpose machine once the coast was clear. Y/n wondered where the gang was, but she had a feeling they were going to throw the party outside.

She led Stan outside, purposefully through the gift shop door���the exact opposite side of the Shack where the surprise was still going on. She was grateful for the events' precise timing. Stan wouldn't suspect anything because they walked out the door in front of them. From the corner of her eye, she saw a stray streamer flying aimlessly on the ground. Hopefully, Stan with his poor vision wouldn't notice. He didn't even question the disappearance of his employees and his niece and nephew.

"So, where are you taking me anyway?" Stan asked after a moment of walking idly around town. It took them about half an hour to exit the forest where the Mystery Shack resides. After crossing the wooden bridge, they were finally on the asphalt road. Thankfully, the streets were almost empty, but it was still a small town with people going to places they should go. She was also thankful that they minded their own business that day.

They passed by the Tent of Telepathy, Gleeful's Auto Sale, Greasy's Diner, a few more houses, until they rounded a corner and there was the local market at the other end of the avenue.

Y/n shrugged at his question. "We're going grocery shopping,"

"Well, you're unlucky," he faced her with a solemn smile. "I didn't bring my wallet-"

His words were stuck in his throat when she lazily raised her hand that held his auburn wallet. "You mean, this wallet?" She smirked.

Stan glared. "What are you planning..." He grouched.

"We've run out of food, Stan. What else are we supposed to do?"

He begrudgingly retrieved the shopping cart and began rolling his way in each aisle, Y/n in tow. She had the grocery list memorized in her head as she obtained what they needed. While strolling by the fresh goods area, Jimmy popped his head out from the corner with a smile.

Jimmy was the local grocer, ever the enthusiastic and perky teenager. Y/n flashed a kind smile at him. "Hi, Y/n!" He chirped. "Hey, Mr. Pines~!" He sang, already on his way to gather a dozen eggs. "Ya ready?"

Stan grinned, immediately shifting into a position. His legs were slightly apart as his body crouched. His hands were open and accepting as he eyed the eggs in the other person's arms, about to be transferred into the other. Y/n rolled her eyes playfully, moving the cart away for safety. They always seemed to do this every time Stan went to the market.

'Toss me a dozen eggs' was what they named the game.

But on the bright side, if Stan does catch the eggs, he gets to take it free, and no charge. But if even one egg slipped and fell to the ground, he gets nothing and he gets to pay for the cracked egg.

Stan was confident, though, and it didn't fade when he effortlessly secured them in his arms. "Ha! Nice throw, Jimmy!" Stan didn't forget to leave a compliment. If it wasn't for the boy's skill, he wouldn't have caught it properly.

Jimmy chuckled, impressed. He had his hands on either side of his hips. "Thanks for playing, Mr. Pines. 'Till next time," he retreated back to the storage room again.

All of the eggs Stan had captured were placed neatly on one side of the cart and they began pushing again. They didn't have to buy a lot of stuff so they were quick to check out. The bags they carried were light and soon their feet carried them back to the Mystery Shack.

"So you seriously forced me to go outside with you to go... grocery shopping?" Stan raised an eyebrow.

Y/n couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Maybe."

"That was it!?" Stan actually looked rather annoyed at the entire situation and she could only respond with an amused laugh.

"Yep! Now wasn't that fun?" She proudly smiled at him, to which he didn't reciprocate.

"I'm not having fun," he glared. "I'm not gonna agree to anything you offer ever again."

"Oh, come on!" Y/n expressed, her smile never leaving as she took the grocery bags inside and into the kitchen. She saw Mabel appearing behind Stan while he was busy glaring at her, showing an enthusiastic thumbs up– which only means that they were done with everything.

Well. that was fast.

"Okay, Stan, you caught me," Y/n raised her hands in faux defeat. "I brought you with me to go grocery shopping. But I've actually been wanting to expedite with you. I have these creatures I've been taking care of, but you might need some safety glasses before going to the site." The lie slipped easily from her lips. Stan kept his gaze at her, and his eyes became narrower and narrower in every sentence.

He kept quiet, but his hands remained on his hips.

"Now, we don't have access to either of our safety glasses, so we might need a makeshift one. Uh..." she looked around for something in the kitchen and settled for... "this one!" she said, holding up a random washcloth by the sink. "Here, wear it."

"What?!" Stan exclaimed. "Why do I need to wear one?"

"Um, because I don't feel pain?" She replied as if it was obvious. "And the site is very... bright and colorful. I hope you don't get sick of it." She said slowly, her story gradually falling apart. But the description reminded her of Rainbow-Blooded Equestrians she and Ford had an arm-wrestling match with that lasted for 30 hours.

Stan groaned. "Now I'm having second thoughts."

"Just- just put it on!" Y/n said, frustrated. She just needed Stan to be blindfolded. Was that so much to ask? "You can remove it once we're there."

He reluctantly put on the cloth around his eyes after handing the glasses to her. "Couldn't I put it on when we're near the site?"

Y/n resisted the urge to roll her eyes and bang her head against the wall. Of course Stan decided to be smart and calculating that day. "Good point, but we're actually nearer than you think." She retorted lightly. "Now, hold my hand, and follow the sound of my voice."

Stan wobbled around as he tried to step his foot on the ground. He was voicing out noises of discomfort of not being able to see while Y/n was happily guiding him towards the side of the Mystery Shack where a surprise was waiting for him.

Y/n made sure that her voice was loud for everyone else in the party to hear, taking that as their cue to hide. Everyone hid and managed to fit behind the table. "Okay, just walk over here," they hear Y/n's voice from the corner of the Shack. "And... stop." Y/n placed Stan in a spot where he could see everything.

There was a huge banner with the text saying, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAN!" with streamers and balloons hanging from the trees. The tables were filled with food and Y/n wondered how they prepared it quickly. Then again, they were outside for almost 2 hours.

"Okay. On the count of three, you're gonna remove your blindfold..." She ran to the side and shouted the following words. "3, 2, 1. Now!"

Stan pulled the cloth away from his head and adjusted his eyes to the lighting. Y/n handed him his glasses and as if on cue, the twins and their friends jumped out from the table. "Surprise! Happy Birthday Grunkle Stan!"

"Happy Birthday, Mr. Pines!" the others greeted.

"What...?" Stan was lost for words, looking at the scene in front of him. Mabel wore the biggest grin, while Soos had just thrown a handful of confetti. Grenda and Candy were also present, but Y/n was sheepishly bouncing on her heels.

Stan turned his head towards her. "So this was the reason why you deceived me."

Y/n's smile remained. "It was worth it, wasn't it?"

He wasn't able to provide an answer as the kids surrounded him with big smiles and hugs. "Happy Birthday, Grunkle Stan! Y/n told us pies are your favorite, but we didn't know which one specifically, so we have pecan pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, key lime pie. Lazy Susan and Soos' Abuelita helped, but it's not a birthday without cake so we didn't forget about that one!" Mabel relayed the information to Stan, who was rendered speechless. He was left utterly stunned, his eyes widened in amazement. It was a rare expression for Stan to wear.

"Mr. Pines?" Soos called from beside him. "Are you crying?"

"N-no!" Stan quickly denied, looking away from them. He choked back a sob as he yelled, "I'm just sweating through my eyes! Come on, everybody, let's eat pie!"

"Yay!"

***

It was already nighttime when the duo found themselves back in the basement. It had gone quiet, the remnants of the party dying down from the excitement. The girl silently sat back on her chair after carefully placing the last slice of cake by her table. In the darkness, the older man with her brought out a lighter and a small candle, placing it on the cake after lighting it up.

The fire from the candle flickers, casting a soft glow that reflects the atmosphere.

It wasn't just Stan's birthday.

It was always a tradition on every birthday to make a wish before blowing out the candle. And in that moment, in the silence of the portal room, their hearts seemed to intertwine as they yearned for the same thing: to bring the real Stanford back.

The two exchanged glances, nodding as if to say, "I've always got your back."

They'll bring him back.

***

author's note: HI YALL! welcome to another set of shorts! these are original ones, and will be composed of 4-5 shorts! no codes this time, but prepare for lotta ones in the second season ;) (no way, confirmed second season wowie)

anyways, happy birthday to the original pines twins! in a way, this is my belated birthday present for them. it's all up to u what to give your old man :)

keep on a look out for... anything honestly. sometimes i might feel silly and change things. my brain is getting foggy from writing so i apologize for the mistakes and cheesy writing. i might forget anything important, but i'm sure future me will handle it and add it to the next one. we'll see.

as always, i love you guys so much. i appreciate your comments and they make me amuse every time. i read them all!!! keep commenting!!! i love u !!!

kimmiepines

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #7: Mabel's Scrapbook

Page 15: Heist Movie (Takes place after "Sacrifices for Your Sibling")

"Twelve bucks a ticket?" Stan questioned as he handed everyone the tickets. "Pony Heist better be the best movie ever made!"

Pony Heist had been the talk of the town. The town being the entire Mystery Shack with Mabel as the only population. She had been wanting to go see this movie, and what better way to enjoy it than watching it with her family?

"I wrote a list of hilarious jokes to yell out during the movie. Pony Heist? More like BALONEY Heist! Right?"

Y/n couldn't help but snort at that. If she ever had a weakness, it was bad jokes. She had a fondness for them. Dipper looked to his right and hid his smile upon hearing her chortle.

Mabel grinned. "See? Y/n gets me!"

"That's because she likes bad jokes," Stan deadpanned as if it was obvious, making Y/n pout.

"Hey, don't ridicule my humor, old man." Y/n crossed her arms. "What are we waiting for? The movie's about to begin!"

So Y/n, Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Stan entered the cinema, chanting "Movies! Movies! Movies!"

An unsuspecting candy fell out of Mabel's sweater and Thompson managed to notice it and picked it up. "Hey, you stop! There is no outside food or drink allowed in the theater!"

The five of them frowned in annoyance. "Well, it's just one candy," Mabel reasoned.

"Yeah! I wanna talk to the manager!" Stan placed his hands on his hips.

Thompson glared. "I am the manager! Your family is banned!"

And there they were, sitting on the pavement outside the cinema. Mabel pouted. "No ponies..."

"No explosions," Soos sighed.

That was it. She's not going to let this go any further. Y/n stood up. "Are we just gonna let Thompson do that to us?"

"Yeah! We are not going down like this!" Dipper followed her. "I've got a plan to break in."

The five huddled together and formed a plan to get in. Y/n and Stan dealt with the breaking in part and the distraction to get the other employees to chase them. Soos, disguised as a delivery guy, hauled a huge box with a Dipper inside of it. Dipper managed to reach a panel that controls the displays for the cinemas, including the names of the movies showing.

He deliberately changed one of the movie's titles to " Thompson Drinks Popcorn Butter' with the manager eventually noticing it. "What?! No, I don't! Thompson immediately interjected, stomping towards the cinema in hopes of changing it.

Now the counter was unoccupied, giving Mabel a chance to climb inside a huge case of syrup and began covering herself in its sticky, sugary treat. "This is my favorite part!" She yelled out, not knowing that Thompson was near.

"Hey!"

Mabel escaped in time before Thompson could find her, climbing on the walls and across the ceiling until she reached one of the main vents. She managed to open one without the use of any tools, making one wonder if Mabel really had secret super strength or the cinema had just poor maintenance. Y/n was willing to bet on the latter.

The vent from the outside was opened by none-other than the brown-haired gal and that was their cue to climb aboard and went on a journey to the correct cinema where the Pony Heist was showing. Dipper kicked open the next ventilation bars and before they knew it, they landed exactly in the screening room where they got to see the entire view of the movie without the uncomfortable cramped up space.

Yet, even with the freedom to move anywhere inside the screening room, the family remained as closed as they could on a lone couch. Y/n, Mabel, and Dipper sat on the ground, while Soos and Stan sat on the sofa.

And not even when the movie reached its midpoint was Stsn immersed by the pony movie. The narrator told the story, "But the ponies are filled with– TNT!" Said ponies crashed and exploded in one big boom.

The gang laughed at the occurrence. Mabel brought out her page of Pony Heist jokes and read it aloud for the crowd below. "'Pony Heist'? More like BALONEY HEIST! Am I right?!"

Everyone in the cinema laughed, enjoying the joke. Mabel retreated back to the couch and gave Dipper a high-five. In the corner of her eyes, Y/n noticed Thompson on a small TV screen with them in the room. He was holding a huge bottle of butter. "Hey, look!" She pointed, garnering the family's attention to the monitor.

Thompson flitted his eyes from left to right before drinking the gallon of butter without a care in the world. Everyone laughed as Mabel took a picture with her camera.

"I'd do the same though-" Soos chimed in.

***

Page 26: Petting Zoo (Takes place after "Exchanging Bosses and Bodies")

Good ol' farmer Sprott had recently made his farm into a temporary petting zoo. Mabel invited everyone– including Wendy to a trip on said farm. They begrudgingly agreed and now they arrived at the petting zoo.

"I'm gonna pet you, I'm gonna pet you, oh-ho! You better believe I'm gonna pet you!" Mabel said to the animals she passed by, goats and sheep alike. It was relatively normal– and boring, until a strange creature caught Mabel's brown eyes.

She gasped, running towards a certain eight-legged cow named Octavia, her name written on a yellow banner above. Dipper and Y/n soon followed after her. It was peculiar, the cow indeed having 8 legs placed randomly around her body.

Y/n hasn't seen this type of cow before. The other strange cows she had discovered were Cow Circles– cows coated with designs of otherworldly mathematical precision from horns to hooves (as described by Ford).

"More limbs means more hugs!" Mabel cheered.

Everyone observed closer. "Whoa! I didn't think nature would allow this!" Dipper remarked in awe.

"Yeah!" Stan voiced, turning to Sprott, "Hick farmer! What gives?"

The man was leaning casually against the trunk of the tree. "Octavia? Well, she's just another blessin' from the toxic sludge running off the Mud Flaps factory."

They glanced behind Sprott, where a goat was absently drinking from the toxic river before it grew another head– and died. Y/n noticed the factory being named 'Northwest Mud Flaps', and she just wondered what the toxic sludge contained.

Mabel laughed as Octavia licked her face. "I could pet this cow forever!"

Sprott rubbed his nose. "Well, get your pettin' done now 'cause I'm gonna eat 'er come cow eatin' season."

Wendy, Mabel, Soos, and Dipper gasped while Stan's eyes widened. Y/n grimaced at the thought.

"So you wanna eat the freak to gain its mutant powers. I respect that." Stan commented.

Y/n elbowed his side. "Don't call it a freak," she harshly whispered.

Before the group started to walk away, Mabel pulled on the old man's arm. "Grunkle Stan! We can't let Octavia be eaten!"

"Come on, Mabel! Cows are delicious!" Stan shrugged.

Mabel frowned, hugging Octavia's nose. "But we love her!"

Stan stared at Mabel petting the clueless cow, who was about to be turned into a burger (Sprott was holding two buns from a distance, imagining Octavia as a hamburger). Suddenly, Octavia licked him, making Stan sigh in defeat.. "Warm up the truck."

Y/n smiled at Stan's disgruntled reaction to the cheering around him. The group came up with a plan to wait until closing time to do the mission.

It was now 6PM and eventually, everyone else in the petting zoo left and one of the employees added the small 'CLOSED' sign by the entrance. The plan was on the go.

Soos sat on the roof of the truck, daliang the phone number of Sprott's farm. Not long after, the old phone from inside the barn rang and the farmer answered. "Hi! I'm calling from "Pictures of Tractors Monthly"! Please hold for an important message!" Soos said, holding up his portable keyboard. He began playing a tune and sang, "Da-ra-ta-ra-to! Ta-ra-ta-pa-da-ba-bo!"

While the farmer was distracted, the rest of the Pines loaded Octavia on the back of the truck.

"This is definitely a real message- ta-ra-pa-po!" Soos serenaded.

Once Octavia was safely tucked in the back of the truck, the gang entered the vehicle and Stan drove off in a hurry. Just then did Sprott notice the theft. "They're stealin' Octavia! Emmett! D'Shawn! Close the gate!"

While the truck was speeding away, the gate they were heading straight towards closed automatically and Stan made a sharp turn to the sheep pen, breaking some fences.

"Sheep! Dodge! Dodge!" Mabel screamed.

Stan swerved around the livestock, the truck almost tipping over. "Brace yourselves!" Stan yelled, heading towards a randomly placed ramp in the end of the pen. Everyone in the truck shrieked as the truck drove on a ramp, jumping over hay.

Serves Sprott right for building an escape ramp.

The gang waited until they were far enough from the petting zoo and Stan stopped the vehicle. They opened the trunk and Octavia walked out, mooing

"Goodbye, Octavia," Mabel said, "Here's a little something to remember us by."

Stan stuck a Mystery Shack sticker on Octavia's hind and smacked her back as farewell. Octavia moved forward and the group waved and said their goodbyes. "Bye!"

"Goodbye, Octavia!"

"Have beautiful babies!"

"I love you!"

Stan smiled. "She was alright for a mutant," he said, looking over at Y/n, and she nodded in approval at the correct nickname.

Octavia the eight-legged cow celebrated her freedom by sweetly eating grass. A bird passed by, and suddenly Octavia shot green lasers from her eyes, knocking out the bird as it fell from the sky, blackened and burnt. The moment it plummeted to the ground, Octavia stuck her mutated, long tongue to pull the bird to her mouth, aggressively eating the bird.

"Run," Stan told the terrified group, but Y/n was staring at it in awe, her mind reeling. Mabel stopped to take a picture of the cow's glowing eyes.

"Well, that was a fun day!"

***

KZHG. OVG’H HVV SLD 🗝: reverse

NUMBERS IN BOLD, THEY CATCH THE EYE, A PUZZLE KEY, DON'T PASS THEM BY. THEIR SIGNIFICANCE, YOU MUST DISCERN, A CLUE TO SOLVE, A LESSON TO LEARN.

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #6: Fixin' it with Soos

#1: Cuckoo Clock (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

Soos had the most original idea ever: what if he is the host of his own show where he does what he does best? And what is he good at? Fixing! So he went ahead and used Y/n's room as his set for the show. Y/n didn't mind– as long as he doesn't wreck anything and that he only does it once. It might sound like a harsh consideration and she trusts Soos, but her room is her safe haven. It's the only place where she could get peace.

So Soos excitedly set up on her bed so that it faced him. His cool keyboard was placed behind him to provide him with any sound effects. Y/n left him to his devices and went down to the basement for a moment.

"Hey, dudes! Welcome to 'Fixin' It With Soos', the only home "Fix It" show that I edited myself on my own computer." Soos could already imagine the effects that he's adding to the video once he reaches home. "Today I have this broken cuckoo clock." He picked up the clock. "As you can see, it's tore up from the floor up. Stan knocked it down the other day by accident."

Knocked down meaning Stan repeatedly beat it up with a bat, screaming at it to stop.

"I'm gonna fix it up, and when I'm done, Stan will rate my handiwork on the "Awesome-o-meter"." He took out a chart with a cartoony thermometer and words plastered on it.

A few minutes of duct tape and wood glue later, Soos somehow put it back together, but it didn't look functional. Not moments later, it already fell apart. "Almost there! Although, something off... Ah-ha! It needs decorations!"

Mabel walked into the scene, drinking a box of orange juice. "Oooh! Make it leopard print!"

The two proceeded to add more enhancements to the cuckoo clock, which now had an attached beach house with more miniature birds as friends. He even named them respectively.

Another montage of cuckoo clock repairing later, Y/n had finally come up to the surface– doing so as discreetly as possible before getting herself a classic Pitt cola. She entered through the living room's door and there she saw Soos, Mabel, and Stan with a draped object on a pedestal in the middle of them.

"Y/n! Perfect timing." Soos smiled. "It's the grand unveiling of Mr Pines' brand new Cuckoo Clock!"

"You've joined forces with Mabel. This is an unsettling development," Stan grumbled as Y/n took a sip from her cola.

Soos uncovered the cuckoo clock. "Voila!" and it is revealed to make music, light up the place and more decorations Soos and Mabel wanted, for example the slide and the boomboxes. Y/n's eyes widened and her gaze shifted to Stan who crossed his arms. "So, Stan, What do you think?"

"Why is it permanently set to 1:50?"

"Its hands are in the air, like it just doesn't care! So, one to ten, what do you give it?" Soos carried the cuckoo clock in his arms closer to Stan.

The old man scratched his head. "Well, it doesn't make that horrible Cuckoo sound anymore, so... I don't know, ten out of ten, whatever."

Soos was very happy and surprised, and dropped the Cuckoo Clock, destroying it.

***

#2:Golf Cart (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

"Y/n, just one last episode I swear!" Soos begged on his knees.

"Okay, okay!" Y/n quickly replied, pulling him to his feet. "Just don't do that again." She sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. "Alright. You can film one more, but you know you can always do it in your room, right?"

"I know, but I don't want Abuelita watching me. Here is a safe space," he expressed with his arms wide. "But I think two episodes are enough considering my computer couldn't take any more rendering."

"I understand, Soos," she nodded. "Okay, go ahead."

Dipper and Wendy were outside of her room when she walked out. Wordlessly, she let the two inside of her room before walking out and closing the door. She couldn't wait to just lie down and sleep peacefully.

"Okay! You guys are here. Are you guys ready to be a part of this amazing show?"

"Of course, man. We'll support you," Wendy assured.

After setting up the camera, Soos stood from behind a table with a soldering iron. "Hey dudes! And welcome back to "Fixin' it with Soos," Soos said, while Dipper and Wendy were standing behind him, "the show where I always forget that I'm leaning on the soldering iron,"

Of course he would forget.

A few minutes later, Soos came back with a bandaged hand. "What needs fixing today?" He asked the two people.

"Well, me and Dipper were just doing normal work stuff with the golf cart..." Wendy began, telling the events of earlier. "So now the cart's busted for some reason. You think you can fix it so we can finish our stunt?"

"You have called upon my fix-it powers. I accept this call, Wendy," Soos said with a serious tone.

Meanwhile, the two were left confused. "Huh? What call?" Wendy questioned.

"The Call... of POWER!"

"What's happening right now?"

Soos whispered, I'll show you guys later. Oh no! A bat! Laser eyes, go! Boom."

Dipper blinked. "Still in the dark over here."

The 3 went outside to inspect the wrecked golf cart. Soos and Dipper changed into jumpsuits while Wendy took the couch outside to read a magazine. "It's time to fix the golf cart. At the end of the show, Dipper and Wendy will rank my handyman-ship from 1 to 10." His voice then dropped into a whisper next to Dipper. "Vote 10!"

"Happy to do it, dude." Dipper smiled. "Hey, do you think a girl would think I look cool in this jumpsuit?" He laughed nervously. "I mean..." He kept laughing.

In a defeated voice, Soos laid a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Some things, even Soos can't fix."

Not wasting any time, Soos and Dipper began fixing the cart. They opened the hood and Soos fiddled with the interior parts of the vehicle until he found the problem and fixed it with a wrench. "Huh, looks like a problem with the fuel injector. Dipper, try the engine now."

Dipper walked to the cart and started the engine successfully. "Hey! You did it, man. It works!"

"My fix-it power has been unleashed!"

"Why do you keep saying stuff like that?"

Another montage had passed of Soos adding embellishments and other augmentations to the cart. Y/n walked out of the Shack. It seemed like every time she knew that Soos would do an episode of his show, she would only arrive at the part where Soos is doing the unveiling of his final product.

"Y/n! Perfect timing!" Soos said it again once he noticed her. "I was just about to show Dipper and Wendy the new golf cart!"

Dipper's eyes widened when he saw her. Dang it, I changed my clothes too soon. His mind revolved around that one thought.

"Alright, let's see it," Y/n said, casually sipping on– you guessed it, Pitt Cola.

"Behold!" He revealed the redesigned cart, filled with memorabilia and painted designs. Everything was different and Y/n didn't know what to say, but this new golf cart just screamed danger. "So let's make this jump!"

"Jump?" Y/n tilted her head.

The three went ahead and climbed aboard the golf cart, Soos as the driver and that's when Y/n noticed a giant ramp placed in the middle of the clearing. Y/n merely watched from where she stood as Soos began driving the golf cart at maximum speed, but it didn't seem fast enough to cover the leap.

"I don't think we have enough speed to make it," Dipper said wearily.

"Hit the nitrous boosters!" Soos replied confidently.

"Aren't those illegal?" questioned Wendy.

Soos only cackled. "You bet your life they are, baby!" He pressed the middle of the steering wheel (which was a literal boat wheel) and the boosters came to life, immediately adding speed.

The cart went through the ramp at a greatest speed as Wendy and Dipper screamed happily. "We're clearing it! We're clearing it!" Dipper yelled.

"So, what score do I get, from one to ten?"

The other two chanted. "Ten out of ten! Ten out of ten!"

"Thanks, guys!"

The trio didn't realize that– they hadn't landed yet. The golf cart was still in mid-air, but maybe the roof that they were heading straight towards might be a stark reminder that they might just–

CRASH!

"Oh my god, are you guys okay?!" Y/n screamed hysterically when the golf cart straight-up collided with the Shack's wooden roof tiles. They were able to get off before the disaster but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when they rolled on the ground not-so gracefully.

She went ahead and checked if they were somewhat fine. Wendy had scratches, Dipper had a bruise on his elbows, while Y/n was sure that one of Soos' legs was broken.

She was also sure that Dipper was having a concussion from the way he was shamelessly clinging onto her.

But none of that mattered when Stan went outside and called for the Shack's handyman. "Soos! I think the roof is broken! Can you fix it for me?"

Soos flipped a thumb up. "I make my own economy."

***

ORMVH. GSV KZHG RH 🗝: reverse

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #5: Mabel's Guide to Life

Ep 3: Color (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

"What's your favorite color, Gravity Falls?"

Y/n and Mabel proceeded to ask every person this question. Ranging from common ones to absurd ones- like seriously, what the heck is a Magic Vision poster?

"What about you, Y/n? What's your favorite color?"

"Anything? But I love yellow the most," she answered truthfully. "But really. It changes everyday."

Mabel grinned. "Interesting answer! Just like you, Y/n."

Y/n didn't have time to think whether she should be offended or not because she had already gone to Stan's office. "What's your favorite color, Grunkle Stan?"

He was busy rummaging through suitcases around the room when his great niece asked the question. Y/n almost knew the answer as she had asked the question before, and was again met with the same awkward and boring answer.

"None."

"What?!" Mabel sputtered.

"I don't have a favorite color." Stan stood his ground, not sparing her a glance. "I don't even like colors."

Mabel was exasperated, throwing her arms up in hope. "Not even... rainbows?"

"Beats me, I've never seen a rainbow."

"WHAT?!" She screamed so loudly and before Y/n knew it, she was being dragged to the twins' room, stating it was a 'color emergency'. Surprisingly, Grenda and Candy were already there, while Dipper had just come in after the two.

The four sat on Dipper's bed, while Mabel was on the opposite side with the camera pointed at them like an interview. "Alright guys, how can we get Grunkle Stan to see a rainbow? I need ideas, people!"

Y/n sat idly beside Dipper, her hands intertwined in silence. She thought about the process of obtaining rainbows from the sky, or taking Stan to a unicorn's base and getting them to generate rainbows to their hearts' content.

It was until Candy came out with her own ideas that made Y/n shake off her plans. "What if we reflect the rainbow from the falls into Stan's window?"

Dipper and Candy exchanged enthusiastic high-fives while Y/n tilted her head. "But-"

"Yeah!" Grenda bellowed after drinking a whole gallon of expired milk. She carelessly fell off the bed and began sleeping.

Y/n almost helped the poor girl until Candy stretched out a hand. "It's fine, she does this."

The five- excluding Grenda since she still had to recover from the potential food poisoning- began to commence their scheme. After randomly finding a lone body mirror lying in the parlor room of the Shack, Y/n, Candy, and Dipper set up Soos' truck in front of a waterfall. Y/n guided the two carriers to the right angle where the mirror would perfectly reflect the water directly into Stan's office.

Dipper and Candy were wearing sunglasses as looking at the harsh light that the glass would reflect might literally blind someone. So Y/n made sure to let Mabel know that. She must've had a spare pair of glasses for Stan, right?

Sure enough, screams coming from the said man reverberated across the forest. His screams of agony were so resonating deep within the woods making the birds that lay peacefully, fly away at the noise.

The three sprinted back to the Mystery Shack and went straight to Stan's office to see Soos quickly putting the fire out with a fire extinguisher. Stan was limping as Mabel tried to assist him but he only muttered sounds of annoyance.

"I'll get the medkit," Dipper said in the midst of awkward silence before going away in big strides. Y/n and Candy merely stared at the situation that had developed.

As Mabel supported Stan towards the yellow couch, he screamed louder than before, "I HATE COLOR MORE THAN EVER!"

***

Ep 4: Art (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

"Okay! Ready?" Mabel asked Y/n, who stood behind the camera once more.

"Yep." Y/n replied. "Are you?"

"Never better!"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "But that's not...-"

"Let's get the ball rolling!"

Mabel's enthusiasm had Y/n shaking her head. "Okay. Recording in 3... 2... 1..."

"Art! It's all around us! From the big triangles of the desert, to those pens that go like.. Brooop! Brooop!" She tilted said pen on her hand. "No one knows what art means or where it comes from, but one thing is for sure: I'm great at it!" She shrugged as casually as she could.

On the table were papers with different scribbles of colors as Mabel presented one by one. "At age 2, I was naturally gifted." It was a paper full of blue squiggly lines.

"At age 5, I was a master of portraits." It was a supposed picture of Dipper as a blue stickman.

"Age 7 was a time of free exploration!" She presented a painting of a rainbow court - a court with the occupants being literal rainbows.

Mabel leaned against the statue placed in the middle of the hallway. "But everything changed when I saw this amazing caricature!" She took out a drawing of Dipper with an entirely different art style. His head was uncharacteristically- or characteristically larger and his other facial features were exaggerated in size.

"Gimme that, gimme that!" Dipper voiced, magically materialized beside Y/n before snatching hte paper from her hands.

"What could make it even better you ask? I give you..." Mabel extracted a paper from her pocket. "The Cat-icature!"

It was a gray cartoon cat head with a hat similar to Dipper's. "Just compare this amazing likeness to Dipper!" She glided over towards her brother.

"That doesn't look anything like me-"

"You're right it does look exactly like you! But I didn't just draw Dipper. I'm planning on making more and selling it! I just need to find the perfect entrepreneur who would sell this!"

The two proceeded to go and find Stan and reel him in for the business proposal. Mabel had prepared the cat-icatures she made of Wendy, Soos, Stan, Waddles, and even Y/n and placed them all on the dining table where Stan spectated closely.

"Uh, it's just the same crummy cat face with a different hat each time- except for Y/n and Waddles," he said, specifically pointing at her caricature of an orange tabby with a daisy necklace as a collar.

"Exactly!" Mabel leaned forward. "And I sell 'em for 10 dollars each."

"You need an agent? I am now your agent."

Y/n had never cackled so loudly.

***

Soon enough, Stan had put up a stall that would sell cat-icatures for 10 dollars. It was a commission type thing where people would come and have Mabel draw them as cats as quickly as a minute. The word spread like wildfire and more people fell in line for a cat-icature of their own. Stan happily took all the money. "Mabel! These cat-icatures are sellin' like hotcakes!"

Mabel, who was sitting on the table across the stall, appeared bored. "Cat-icatures are good. But I've moved on to the next level. Behold... " she hauled out a giant cat and on its stomach was a drawn face of a man. "Humani-cat-icatures!"

Everyone paused upon seeing the giant cat. But then all of the customers who wanted to buy the cat-icatures wanted to buy the humani-cat-icatures instead. Their hollers were louder than before. Stan had the biggest smile he wore. "Somebody get this girl more cats!"

An hour of collecting stray cats from the back alleys later, Mabel was in a room surrounded by angry cats who refused to have their stomachs painted. Mabel's hair was disheveled and her sweater looked ripped. Her camera was propped on a crate as she videoed herself stepping closer to a cat.

"That's it for Mabel's guide to art, where we learned that sometimes you have to suffer for your art." She said towards the camera before talking to a dark cat. "Here, kitty, kitty-"

The cat jumped and attacked Mabel in her face. Mabel fell to the ground, screaming as she tried to get away from its sharp claws. "AHH! Y/n, help!!!" She began giggling. "It actually kinda tickles."

***

UFGFIV RH RM GSV 🗝: reverse

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #4: Mabel's Guide to Life

[disclaimer: some episodes of mabel's guide to life could not be found due to technical issues. luckily, soos managed to salvage the important ones. enjoy! -mabel]

Ep 1: Dating (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

Mabel saw Dipper filming his investigations and thought that she wanted to do that as well. To have her own TV show where she talks about her interests and color people intrigued. She got a more modern recorder that Soos found in his attic and let the girl borrow for her show.

All she needed was a cameraman– or rather, a camerawoman.

"Hey, Y/n! Wanna be on my show as my co-host?"

Dipper, having heard of Mabel's offer, immediately objected. "Hey, what gives, she's my co-host."

Mabel scoffed playfully, waving a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, Dips, you'll get your partner back. I just need Y/n to hold the camera for me! No biggie."

Y/n raised a pointer finger. "Uh, actually–"

The other twin ignored the first comment despite the blush in his cheeks. "You can just prop up the camera on a surface. Y/n and I still need to film more episodes."

"I'll help you, Mabel," Y/n said with a smile, overlooking Dipper's glare from beside her. She turned to face him as she shrugged. "I'll help both of you. Just don't clash your schedules with one another."

Dipper hesitantly relented, sighing. "Fine. We're filming the Moth Man tonight, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

"Okay!" Mabel clapped her hands. "Come on, Y/n! I need your help with the props!" Before the two could leave the room, she pointed at her brother. "And don't leave, I'm gonna need your help later!"

While Dipper's set was more cheap (but it was cute), Mabel's props were made with more effort and it showed. It was full of glitters, sparkles, gems, jewels, and glue. Tons of glue. Waddles was peacefully sleeping while Mabel placed the various colorful stones on its fat side. She used what looked like icing to spell out "Mabel's Guide To" as some sort of a title screen.

"Alright, we got the photo for the title," Mabel grinned, swiping a sweat on her forehead.

"So what guides are you gonna do?"

"Oh, a lot," Mabel gushed. "Everything life could offer: fitness, foods, sports, make-up, and more!"

And more she did. The two began setting up what Mabel's studio is supposed to look like. Mabel draped a light green cloth like a curtain for her background, while Y/n placed a white sheet on the table. Two of Mabel's favorite stuffed animals sat beside her as her guests as she placed mugs for them. Two light bulbs were placed inside cardboard boxes as her lights.

She sat on the chair while Y/n checked the camera's settings. "So, Soos gave this to you?"

"Yep, specifically for my show. So, are we ready?"

"What episode are we doing again?"

She raised her arms in joy. "Mabel's Guide to Dating!"

"Great! Dating." Y/n tried to match her enthusiasm. "Okay, I'm gonna count down and you're just gonna do your best."

"I always do my best." The camera rolled and Y/n counted down until she gestured for her to begin. "As we all know, I'm a dating expert. In fact, I can't get the boys to leave me alone!" She suddenly stood. "You know what you did, Zack!" She screamed, startling the camerawoman a bit.

Y/n feigned a confused stare from behind the camera, but she trusted Mabel to know what she was doing.

"Okay, cut," Mabel signaled and Y/n stopped recording. "Now we need to get Grunkle Stan, Soos, and Dipper."

"What for?"

"Oh, you'll see!"

The three were gathered quite easily– except for Stan who accepted but only because he was promised bacon– and now they sat in three separate chairs with a huge sign that says 'CONTESTANTS' hanging above them.

Soos was excited, Dipper was still slightly annoyed seeing Y/n helping his sister instead of him, while Stan was just bemused with the whole thing.

"And– action! Today we're gonna test the date-ability of three of Gravity Falls' swinging-est bachelors. Soos!"

Y/n pointed the camera at him. "Get ready to fall in love, America! Am I, am I looking at the right camera?"

"Over here, Soos," she told him.

"Dipper!"

He crossed his arms. "Who are you even making this for?" Such a baby.

"Grunkle Stan!"

"I'm only here 'cause you promised bacon." On cue, Mabel flung a bacon over her head, directly onto Stan's mouth. "I'm pacified!"

Mabel walked towards the camera. "And now for a simple 9,000 question dating quiz." She said before presenting three long papers.

The three men slash boys were transferred to the living room and they answered the quiz. The two girls watched them think of their answers differently. Mabel nudged her elbows into Y/n's. "Y/n, you wanna take my quiz? I have 1 more extra!"

"I do love quizzes..." Y/n admitted, "But I don't think I can ace this particular quiz."

"You don't need to ace it, you just need to answer honestly!"

"No."

Mabel let out a chuckle. "Heh, anyway, while they're busy working, let's film various animals getting all the love!"

***

A montage of Mabel forcing two of several kinds of animals to date later, and the results were in. The boys were back in their seats as Mabel brought their results. "Grunkle Stan, on a scale from one to five, you scored a three."

"Yes! Yes!"

"This will limit your dating pool to widows, lady plumbers and convicts." Mabel read.

"I still consider this a victory."

She walked over to Dipper. "Dipper. Your score is... eesh! You know, scores don't really matter. You should just focus on being you." She tried to reassure, flitting her gaze between him and the camera from across the room.

Mabel hurriedly skipped towards Soos. "Soos, on a scale from one to five you scored.. a twelve?"

"My grandma was right all along. I am the world's most perfect man!"

Soos stood up and raised his arms. Out of nowhere, three birds flew their way at him. "And cut!" Mabel shouted. "Thank you all for your participation." She smiled at them as they hastily walked out of the room. "Now I just need to film my final thoughts. You did so great, Y/n!"

"I just held the camera."

"Yeah, and I couldn't have done this show without your huge help!" She pulled her into an embrace. "Hugs!"

***

Ep 2: Fashion (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

For this episode, Mabel had called up both Candy and Grenda. "Okay, girls, we're gonna do a Mabel's Guide to Fashion!"

"Great idea, Mabel!" Candy nodded.

Grenda gushed. "You're the most fashion expert out of all of us!"

Seeing the huge pile of sweaters with various colors and designs proved Grenda's statement. Y/n couldn't figure out how it fit her bags the first time the twins came here, but she saw tons of yarn that Mabel might have used to sew more sweaters for half of the summer.

So to start the episode, Mabel wore her unique sweaters and struck poses, Grenda narrating in the background. Dipper was even pulled in for a short cameo, getting him to wear glasses. As Mabel strutted across him with a confident walk, Dipper was writhing with awkwardness. "So wait, what do you want me to do?"

"Flip up your glasses!" Grenda harshly whispered from beside Y/n, while said girl was trying not to laugh.

"Uh, like this?" He flipped the shades of the glasses with an uncomfortable gaze. Y/n thought he looked cute.

After cleaning up the attic a bit, Mabel sat on an office chair with her arms on either side as if she's relaxing. "Guess what. It's Mabel." She said to the camera. "Everyone wants to look as amazing as me. But most people don't have time for fashion in their busy day-to-day lives." She jumped off the chair. "That's why I've created...

"FLASH MAKEOVER!"

Candy and Grenda beside Mabel as they screamed.

The first victim– or client was one sitting in the living room drinking from a mug. Y/n held the camera, appearing on the door and Soos noticed. "Oh, hey, Y/n. What are you uh-"

"Grenda, hold him down!"

Mabel, Candy, and Grenda arrived at the scene, swiftly tackling Soos to the ground. Candy and Mabel went ahead and put makeup on his face. They dressed him up in clothes and a blonde wig that Y/n swore she saw on TV before. "These pants are so tight... I can't move!"

"You can thank us later!" Mabel said as she, Candy, and Grenda dashed through the door.

Y/n was left standing with Soos until he lost his balance. "I'm down! Soos is down!" She had to stop recording and helped him stand back up before teaming with the three girls once again. She found them in front of the common bathroom where she heard singing from inside.

"Start the recording, Y/n," Mabel whispered. "This is our next target."

And she did just that. Mabel opened the door to see Stan singing in front of the mirror, "I'm Stan and I was wrong, I'm singing the Stan Wrong Song-"

Grenada didn't hesitate to tackle Stan to the ground, making him scream. "AHH! What's happening?!"

"BEAUTY IS HAPPENING!" Mabel retaliated as Candy and Grenda began applying cosmetics while Y/n held her laughter.

A full-15 minutes of make-up later, Stan finally saw the results of the girls' creation as Grenda stretched out a hand mirror. He found his skin to be a resemblance of a tiger, probably a reference to "Tiger Fist' – a show he's been watching.

"I'd be pretty mad at you girls," he paused, "if I didn't look so fantastic!"

"Success! Take it to the street, girls!"

The four proceeded to walk around town, looking for potential victims– rather clients. Mabel scoped the streets as she rubbed her chin. "Okay, gals. We need a real challenge."

"Old Man McGucket!" Someone screamed and there he sat on a bench, spitting in a bucket.

Grenda narrowed her eyes. "This one is a toughie." Candy nodded in agreement.

But Mabel grinned despite the task. "Let's try something bold!"

So they pulled McGucket to the sidewalk and turned him around so the back of his head was facing them. Mabel brought a red marker and began drawing a face on his bald head. "Am I good or am I good, girls?"

"Absolutely stunning," Grenda said from beside Y/n.

Mabel walked around the old man and gestured to his entire face. "Now we cover up that... problem... area..." She grabbed a handful of his beard and lifted to his head so that it covered his face. The end of his beard appeared to be his hair from the back as Mabel combed its bangs. "Now you just have to walk backwards everywhere you go and bingo! You're fabulous."

Old Man McGucket wasn't complaining. "That's the way my body naturally wants to move anyways!" He started to go backwards as he sang a tune. A random woman saw all of this and screamed and ran away, horrified.

Going back to the Shack, Grenda was reviewing the tapes as she praised Mabel's handiwork. "You are a visionary, Mabel!"

"Thanks, girls! Couldn't have done it without you guys." Mabel paused. "Though I think we're missing our one last flash makeover."

"Who is it? Is it Dipper?" Candy voiced out with her fists clenched excitedly.

"Nope!" The other girl replied, her eyes seeming to drift towards an unsuspecting girl who was watching the sun without her eyes getting hurt.

Said girl, now aware of the eyes directed at her, stopped in her movements. "What?"

Mabel stepped forward, Y/n paced back. Candy inched closer, Y/n avoided her path. Grenda with the camera began recording before Y/n burst into a sprint inside the Shack. The three girls quickly followed.

Y/n ran to the living room, then the kitchen, exiting through the back door. She waited until Candy and Mabel got to go outside as well and they did, waiting for her next move. Grenda was nowhere to be seen. Y/n sauntered side to side while Mabel and Candy were stomping closer. "You can't hide, Y/n!"

But she could run. She managed to escape their arms and went back inside the Shack where she was anticipating Grenda waiting so she decided to go through the front of the gift shop. Mabel screamed for Grenda, making her assumptions right that Grenda was waiting but just not on the right door.

Y/n made the haste decision to go upstairs instead of her room because typically, they would go to that place first. The room options upstairs were very minimal as it only contained the very-much-full storage room, Stan's room, and the twins' room. Maybe she should just jump out of the window and walk away as if nothing happened.

Why is she even running away? Maybe because she dislikes make-up and doesn't like the feeling of products being put on her face? She heard the ruckus downstairs as well as Mabel telling the girls to split up, and that was her cue to bolt inside the twins' room.

Dipper jumped when the door was suddenly opened. He opened his mouth to ask but Y/n quickly shushed him. "I have to hide."

He pointed at a vacant room behind her and Y/n didn't hesitate to climb a makeshift ladder towards a storage space full of unused toys and things.

As if on cue, Mabel entered the room, her hands almost shaking with glee. "Where is she?"

"Who?" Dipper casually responded as he went back to his reading.

"Y/n! Have you seen her?"

"Nope, it's just me."

Mabel grinned, pointing at him with sass. "Ha, you think you're a good liar, brother? I know she's in here. She can't hide! ...Unless she's in Stan's room then I'll let her be because I don't wanna go there."

Dipper could imagine Y/n's facepalm from her hiding spot. "Uh, well you're unlucky because nobody was here until you came. It's just... me." He avoided her gaze and instead focused on the words of the page.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Sure... I'll leave you alone, for now." Before she made her leave, she made sure to open the closet door, finding it empty. Her eyes remained narrowed as she exited out of the room backwards.

Y/n crawled closer to the light and looked at Dipper. He lifted a palm, silently telling her to wait until the coast was clear. Once he nodded, she jumped down without making a single noise. "Thanks," she sighed in relief."

"No problem. It's only right since you helped me with that Stan incident."

The Stan incident being hiding in the roof after barging inside a bathroom occupied by said old man– all a ruse for uncovering a mystery.

Dipper held his eyes on her. "I can think of a million reasons as to why you're running away from my sister, but care to specify?"

"It's gonna sound pretty lame of me," she shrugged, "but in her episode, she's doing this segment where she and her friends do flash makeovers on random people. Guess who's the next target," she finished with a huge frown.

"Yikes," the boy tilted his head as he tried to sympathize with her. He placed a finger in the middle of the pages as a bookmark while he continued talking with her. "Make-up is weird."

"I just don't see the appeal, sorry." Y/n shrugged.

Dipper agreed. "But disliking it doesn't make you lame at all," he replied, referring to her first statement. "It's a fashion choice– and h-honestly you don't need it." He shrugged, avoiding her gaze as he suddenly found the wall interesting. "But what do I know, I'm a boy." Dipper quickly added, trying his best to lessen the heat in his cheeks.

Y/n sunk to the ground and crossed her legs comfortably. "Yeah, well, I agree with your statement so you know something. Maybe more than I do."

The two sat in a pleasant silence, until it was quite literally destroyed when Grenda burst through the door with Mabel and Candy– their eyes hungry, their fingers twitching, and their tooth-filled grins erupting with saliva. They looked like rabid hyenas.

"Y/n~! We found you!"

Before Y/n could have a chance to stand, Grenda had already thrown her entire body towards her, effectively trapping her. Mabel and Candy brought their bags as Y/n writhed in her cage. Grenda was relentless, even Y/n's strength couldn't overpower her tough stature.

Dipper didn't know what to do. He was afraid that if he were to step up and attempt to pull Y/n away from these... monsters that he'd be the next target, and he didn't want to string himself in this colorful mess. So he just watched with fearful eyes as the girls went ahead and applied blush, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick on her face. An involuntary shiver ran down his spine. He didn't want to have to go through that again.

"And done! – Grenda, get the camera!" Mabel ordered, Grenda having pulled out the camera almost immediately.

Mabel spoke in front of the camera. "Of course, for the verdict of this result, we don't wanna be the judges because it would be biased, so we went with a more biased judge; my dorky brother, Dipper!"

Said boy tensed at the mention of his name, as Grenda pointed the recorder to his face. "Not too close!" He reprimanded. "And when did you decide I was the judge?"

"Uh– since the contestant is her?" Mabel quickly replied as if it was obvious. "Drum roll please!" An imaginary drum rolls over the room. "Tada!"

Candy turned Y/n around to face Dipper and he unconsciously swallowed at the sight. He blinked once, twice, three times, before blurting out his thoughts. "Pretty."

"What did he sayyyy?" Mabel screamed in a DJ voice, honking a horn. "Is our judge giving us a perfect score?"

Dipper cleared his throat, looking away casually. "It's pretty nice, but please don't wear make-up next time. You already look good." He mumbled in one breath.

But Mabel – and the rest of the girls had super hearing and were able to hear his sentences, making the three scream, while Y/n was still trying to process everything. Dipper tried to go back to his reading despite the loud beating of his heart. And while Candy and Grenda were still screaming around the room, Mabel held the camera to her face. "Tune in next time when I tell you what the next fashion trend is! Bye!"

***

VHDUFK IRU WKH VLJQV 🗝: caesar

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #3: Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained

#42: The Tooth (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

"Welcome to Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained, anomaly #42: The Tooth:"

Y/n moved the camera to the said tooth, half sunk into the ground, but the enormous size was hard to miss. Mabel was poking it with a stick. "I'm here for scale!"

"I found it yesterday when I was, uh, practicing..." Dipper trailed off, shaking his head. "Strangely human, but it's gigantic! It's bigger than any fish or lake monster I've ever seen. And we're gonna find out where it came from!"

Y/n had seen this exact tooth before– from the crown to the root. She, Ford, and F were on an expedition when they discovered the human-like tooth on a random lake. She could even remember F using a chisel (and some dental floss) to break free a few pieces.

The three went to the Tate McGucket– one who attends to the lake– for the supplies to go on the adventure. "Sir, have you noticed a large tooth landing on the shore of the lake this morning?"

"Tooth?" he asked, his back to the camera. "No, don't know nothin' about a tooth."

"We were thinking about paddling out on that lake tonight," Dipper said casually.

"Bit of friendly advice, kids: You see bubbles on that lake, run."

"What, why?"

Tate turned around and leaned forward on their faces, screaming, "Enough questions, get that camera out of here!" He smacked the camera away, and if it wasn't for Y/n's vice grip, it would have been on the ground already.

Night fell on the twins plus Y/n. She held the camera again as she panned it over to the two. "We're here at the lake to investigate. I brought Y/n and Mabel for backup."

Mabel grinned. "And I brought Bear-O, my adorable childhood puppet." She lifted Bear-O to her arms and made its mouth move. "Hi-yo! Ain't that right, honey? Did somebody say... honey?" Her voice was gone deep as she used it for the puppet's voice.

The girl laughed, holding the worn puppet close to her. Meanwhile Dipper deadpanned, "Nope. Creepy. Bear-O's creepy. Everyone hates Bear-O."

"What? Dipper, you haven't even asked for Y/n's opinion! So, Y/n, what do you think of my good ol' friend, Bear-O?"

"Uh, next question?"

Mabel pouted slightly. "Aw come on!" She smiled again. "You'll see! You, Y/n, me, and Bear-O, are the adventure team of a lifetime!"

After much time spent on persuading Mabel, eventually Bear-O had to be left on the island which didn't make Mabel very happy at that decision. She remained silent, glaring deeply as she rowed.

Y/n was rowing along with Mabel, while Dipper was holding the camera this time. He pointed the camera at Bear-O being left behind as if he was mocking the bear.

He continued talking about the investigation. "Okay. something out there left that tooth, and we're gonna find out what it is!"

Y/n felt excited– she hasn't been for a long time. It was like reliving her memory but with a different trio this time around. She, Ford, and F had only documented the stray tooth before going on their merry way, but with the twins, they could go and take a closer look.

Eventually, the boat arrived in the middle of the lake and they stopped rowing to inspect. Dipper handed the camera back to Y/n, ignoring the touches that they exchanged.

"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Mabel whispered into the night.

Dipper brought out a flashlight, pointing it at the vast expanse of water surrounding them. "I don't know, just look out for bubbles in the water."

As if on cue, bubbles fizzed near an island. "Guys, look!" Y/n said, gesturing to what she just saw.

"They're over by that island! We have to see what happens!"

The island was suddenly shaking. "What was tha-?"

"Ah!" Mabel screamed and her hands immediately found the oar and began rowing.

"Oh no, what's happening?"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Mabel yelled.

Y/n began rowing as well after handing the camera back to Dipper. "JUST ROW!" The water kept shaking and quaking. Dipper sat in the middle of the two rowing girls as he pointed at the island behind Y/n.

The island arised, revealing to be a giant head with glowing eyes and huge set of teeth. It had a deep, murky voice, like it was out for blood. "!YNITSED RUOY RETNE !nerdlihc ,htuom ym retnE.rebmuls ym debrutsid evah uoY"

"AAAAAH!"

The head island was rearing to slam itself into the boat, but the three managed to escape in time, barely missing its giant mouth. They were close to the shore, hardly being able to reach it, but the monster attacked again, carrying its final blow.

With the opened mouth, it was on its way to eat them until Y/n grabbed the twins' wrist and jumped out to the lakeside, rolling ungracefully. It seemed that it had gotten bored of the chase and decided to sink back into the water.

Mabel coughed off a bit of dirt that got into her mouth. Dipper dusted his clothes and began looking for the camera that he carelessly dropped upon impact, while Y/n looked at the human tooth. It emitted a strong odor and Y/n was very aware of that smell. Yep, had to be coming from the giant island head.

Finally, Dipper found the camera lying on the ground. "The important thing is, we survived. Barely."

Mabel nodded in relief. "Ugh, yeah." Her worried expression was replaced with a smile when she brought the familiar bear back to the frame. "Did somebody say, bear-ly?"

"AAAAH!"

***

#132: The Hide Behind (Takes place after "Bros after Dinos")

"Y/n! Y/n! Take a look at this!" Dipper bounded to the room and greeted her with a huge smile, photos in hand.

"What is it?"

He practically shoved the pictures towards her. "Real-life Hide Behind footprints!"

"The Hide Behind?" Y/n dare asked, "I thought that was only lumberjack lore."

"Well, these footprints might suggest that it exists! I'm planning on filming another video about it and go and track it! Wanna go out with me?"

Y/n shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Meanwhile, Dipper was slapping his forehead for the awkward phrasing. Why did he have to word it like that? "Y-yeah, I'll just go and pack my things... we'll film in my room, and- bye."

He sprinted out of the room before she could blink. Y/n watched as Dipper mumbled grievances as he stalked up the stairs. She had no idea what happened moments ago. He simply asked if she's willing to go and accompany him in an adventure and she obliged. She'd answer in a heartbeat.

Speaking of the adventure... The Hide Behind. Boy, that was a name she hadn't heard of in a while. It's like it was yesterday when the creature hiding behind her, Ford, and F, tapping their shoulders and hiding like a prankster. She wondered if she could finally get a little glimpse of the tall, slender being.

Minutes passed, and Y/n found herself standing in front of the twins' door. She knocked on it once, twice, before Mabel opened the door and gladly let her in. "Where are your things?" She asked.

"I.. don't really need anything."

Mabel first feigned a confused look, before her face broke into a surprise and her eyes twinkled. "Oh yeah! I didn't forget, you're invincible!" She snapped her fingers with a grin. "Of course you wouldn't need all that stuff, unlike my weird brother here."

"Way to rub it in, Mabel," Dipper deadpanned. He was adjusting the straps of his duffle bag full of items he might need; a butterfly net, a pickaxe and other belongings. "Alright," he walked over to his bed where a piece of cardboard and marker lay. "Y/n, do you wanna film the intro with me?" He offered with a smile.

After much convincing, Y/n stood in front of the camera with Dipper, calling upon the gods in the sky to give her the confidence to just say something. Mabel pointed the lens at them, pressing the red button. "We're on!" She whispered.

"Oh," Dipper had just finished writing on the cardboard, "Hello, and welcome back to Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained. I'm here with my–" he cleared his throat awkwardly. "...friend, Y/n."

"Hi," she gave the audience a smile.

He choked back a cough. "So today we investigate Gravity Falls anomaly #132: The Hide Behind. Y/n, you have any idea about this particular oddity?" He turned behind him.

Y/n's body moved involuntarily, picking up the journal on the way and opening it as she'd already memorized the exact page. "Local lumberjacks tell of a mysterious creature with an ability to hide before it is seen. But what is he? A ghost, a living shadow? We might never know."

"But-!" Dipper cut off smoothly. "-these photos suggest it might actually be real! Either way, we intend to find out!"

The two exchanged smiles and Mabel shouted, "Cut!" like a director would.

Dipper's smile never went away. "I knew I should've included you in the title! You should be with me all the time now!"

Once more, he smacked his face with a loud noise as Mabel, having heard everything, laughed aloud. It's like this happened before, but what exactly happened? What did Dipper say that made him react that way? Y/n was a bit confused, but she rolled her eyes, laughing along with Mabel instead.

Dipper groaned, trying to recover from the embarrassment. "Let's just go."

"Okay, are we going to the forest already?" Y/n asked, walking alongside with the twins. Mabel was playing with a random U.F.O keychain she found, Dipper carried the rest of the cardboard pieces, while Y/n fiddled with the camera.

"No, I was thinking we could interview the only lumberjack we know, since y'know, it's lumberjack lore like you said."

"Oh, actually..." Y/n paused, her movements slowing. She bit her lip in contemplation. She remembered the lumberjack who lent her and Ford his majestic cabin that was actually filled with restless spirits and fearless ghosts. Dan Corduroy. She remembered him. Does he remember her? Will she risk her identity being exposed to the locals?

Lady Susan didn't seem to recognize her at first, and the rest of the townspeople ignored her when they went at the reopening of the wax museum-- "Manly" Dan was even present at the event.

Before her thoughts could further muddle in her mind, the twins called her attention. "There he is! He's chopping trees with his three sons." Dipper pointed at a small random clearing where a lone house stood in the middle.

Three little redheads worked together in handling the two-man saw while the father stood inches away, yelling incoherent cheers.

"Manly Dan! We wanna have you for a short interview!" Dipper shouted, his palms cupping the corners of his mouth.

The orange-haired man stomped his way over the three of them. "Huh?" He said.

Y/n shuffled the camera in her hands, trying to avoid his steely gaze. "It'll just be a few questions, sir."

The recording was ready just as Dipper finished writing on the cardboard. "So, mister," Dipper began, raising the cut up cardboard that was supposed to be a name plate. "Have you ever heard of The Hide Behind?"

Manly Dan Lumberjack / Punchung Enthusiast

"Hide Behind? Oh he's real, all right. Real as my beard! He was behind me once, and made a sound-" he imitated the sound by grazing his teeth together and produced a rattling noise. "Mighty spooky,"

Before anyone could utter another word, one of the brothers, Marcus, called for his father, "Dad?"

"It's coming down!"

In the background, the tall tree that they were busy cutting down, was currently falling in an angle. "Daddy's doin' a movie!" Manly Dan retorted in a loud shout. "He's doin' a movie now..."

Finally, the tree fell down in one big boom, crashing on the house and destroying it.

The mystery trio slowly backed away as they exchanged weary glances. They walked and when they were out of sight, they broke into a sprint, heading to other potential witnesses in Gravity Falls.

They found themselves in the diner, catching Lazy Susan doing nothing. Perfect opportunity for an interview. They got closer to the waitress, getting a whiff of her scent. Onions.

"Lazy Susan? Can we ask you a question?"

Susan smiled at the kids, holding a container of hot coffee and a mug on the other hand. "Oh, an interview! I can't wait!"

The camera began rolling, Dipper showed the rectangle shaped cardboard with Susan's name and her occupation.

Lazy Susan Waitress / Smells like Onions

"Have you ever heard of The Hide Behind?" Y/n asked from behind the camera.

"Could I get a refill, ma'am? Refill?" A guy with a gray mustache– that sounded awfully like Soos– requested, shaking his empty mug.

"Oh, the Hide-Behind is definitely real," Susan said, completely ignoring the man and the coffee running down her closed fist around the cup. " Might even be behind me right now! Let me see–" She began turning around and around "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa—!"

Y/n and Dipper exchanged worried glances, while the mustache guy was utterly confused.

Finally, after searching for more people, they went home for the day. As they walked back, they saw Stan sitting by the porch with a Pitt Cola. Mabel skipped over to him. "What about you, Grunkle Stan, do you believe in the spooky Hide Behind?" She wriggled her fingers for extra effects.

Stan grunted, taking a sip. Y/n recorded the old man as they trudged closer to his profile. "What shenanigans are you kids going at it this time?"

"These nerds are going crazy about a mystery creature again," Mabel answered enthusiastically, placing her hands on the arm of the chair beside Stan.

Y/n rolled her eyes playfully. "Just answer. Do you believe that the Hide Behind exists?"

Dipper presented the board with Stan's name in it.

Grunkle Stan Great Uncle / Mediocre Boss

"Don't believe every legend you hear, kid," Stan began. " The people in this town are literally the dumbest people in the world. Literally."

The girl holding the camera stifled her laughter.

"The Hide- Behind's just a rumor. You want a mystery? How about the mystery of why–"

A sudden sound cut Stan's off as something ran behind him. The old man jumped and recoiled while Y/n tried to capture the creature running off to who knows where. "That's it! Come on, Y/n!" Dipper bolted the scene and she was quick to follow.

Stan and Mabel began spouting phrases of "Hey, where are you going, we're doing an interview here!" "Wait, guys!"

But the two didn't stop, sprinting through the woods, panting. "Where is he, where is he?!" Dipper chanted under his breath.

"Over here!" Y/n swore she saw a shadowy figure hastily finding a cover. Dipper snapped his face towards her and followed her step.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned to 4 hours. The two were back-to-back, eyeing every vicinity where they could spot the Hide Behind. They checked every corner, every nook and cranny of the forest from the bushes to the high tops. The only clue they had was the shackling sounds, so they followed it for the rest of the afternoon.

Eventually, after much searching and never letting the creature escape out of their sights, they reached another random clearing where the chattering noise was heard behind a slender tree.

"Alright. After hours of searching, we've narrowed it down to this tree." Dipper said in the camera. "Y/n and I have each other's backs, and Mabel happened to catch up to us so it's three versus one."

"Ayo!"

"Here it goes. Get ready to finally be seen, Hide Behind!"

The trio approached the willowy tree, thin enough to fit the skinny Hide Behind as seen from the journal. "In 3... 2... 1..."

They jumped in behind the three and found an owl with a maraca in its beak.

"What?"

"Woah, cool! Maraca owl!" Mabel enthused as she appeared from behind the bird with a huge smile. The owl flew around for a bit before landing on her sleeve. "Yeah! Play that thing!"

"Well, based on the lack of evidence, I have to conclude, anomaly #132, the Hide Behind, just a legend," Dipper said in finality.

Y/n placed a hand on his shoulder in assurance. "Hey, no worries. Maybe the Hide Behind doesn't want to be found." The two began walking to the direction they came from. "We could go for a banana split at the diner. Walking around is kinda tiring, don't you think?"

Dipper smiled at her invitation. "That sounds great."

Chatter chatter chatter.

"What was that?" The boy turned around and saw nothing. He shrugged in defeat and continued walking. He also decided to ignore the next prattling sounds and focused on Y/n instead. He'd rather just walk alongside her and listen to her stories forever.

***

LQ WKH IXWXUH, WKH 🗝: caesar