imdopperpines

[imdopperpines]

"Oof-"

Dipper stumbles slightly with the addition of Mabel's weight. He wraps his arms around his twin, holding her as tightly as he can.

"I love you too," he says, and he reminds himself that this is real. It's not some vision conjured up, or his mind playing a trick on him. It's real, they're real. They're alive.

They're alive.

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

Dipper knows that tone in his twin's voice.

Mabel doesn't like talking about her guilt, but that doesn't mean he hasn't learned how to pick up on the signs that she's feeling it.

"Mabel..." He reaches over to take her hand and squeezes it tightly in his own.

I'm sorry, he thinks. I should have told you about the rift. I shouldn't have said I would take on that apprenticeship. I should have realized that you were hurting sooner.

He says: "Bill can't hurt us anymore. He's gone. He can't hurt us or anyone else."

(It's easy to say, but much harder to believe. They can say he's gone as many times as they want, but when Mabel wakes up screaming in the middle of the night or Dipper's goes quiet and trembles so hard he nearly drops whatever he's holding at the time, it doesn't make a difference.

Gone doesn't mean a thing when Bill is still alive and well in their memories, haunting their every moment, awake and asleep.)

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

Dipper stiffens, and his lips press together into a frown.

“Bill would not have been our uncle,” he says tightly. He doesn’t push Mabel off of him, but his body language is tense, as though something about what she said ticked him off. “I don’t understand how you can take this so lightly, Mabel. Bill tried to kill us. Several times. Even if he and Great Uncle Ford did have something going on, he still tried to hurt us.”

He still tried to hurt you, he thinks but doesn’t say. He tried to hurt their Grunkles and friends, too, but Dipper doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the fear in Mabel’s eyes when he came to after Bill possessed him (or that one note he’d found, from Bill to Mabel, pasted in the journal by his twin after), or the way Bill had locked her in a time bubble. And he isn’t planning on forgiving or forgetting any time soon.

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

"WHAT?!"

Dipper sputters, gaping at Mabel for several seconds, as if he's expecting his sister to start laughing, or for Justin Kerprank (from "Ker-Prank'd!") to pop out at any second.

"That- that's not what Weirdmaggedon was," he insists. "Mabel, Bill- he was trying to take over the world. He was trying to kill us. He turned Great Uncle Ford into a statue! How is that trying to get him back?!"

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

“Wha- I understand romance! I’m great at romance! A- and, anyway how, exactly, was it obvious?”

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

“…what do you mean, ‘just now’? Mabel. Mabel, what does that mean? Are you saying you knew?”

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Ford and Bill were WHAT?”

[imdopperpines]

Now that Dipper was no longer screaming in fear and panic as he had the day prior, his curiosity had the space to grow. It coiled around his stomach and into his chest, before clenching onto his heart like a vice. Once more, his hand snaked upward, scratching at the back of his neck in a gesture that was more self-soothing than it was to relieve any sort of itch (except, maybe, that persistent itch of fascination, of the desire to ask and observe and learn and know).

"It's, um, it's nice to meet you, Ing... Ingvar." He stumbled on the pronunciation, the combination of a pre-teen's changing voice and an awkward uncertainty proving, as usual, troublesome. At least out here in the forest there was no Mabel or Grunkle Stan to make fun of him for it.

Would it be rude, Dipper wondered, if he were to ask this giant—Ingvar—all of the questions burning in his mind? Probably, although it wasn't as though he had ever cared all that much about 'being rude' before. And Ingvar seemed, for whatever reason, to have some sort of inclination to speak to him (although he may have just been being presumptuous to think that).

Where would he even begin? There were so many things he wanted to know—where had Ingvar come from, had he always been in Gravity Falls, was he the only one of his kind, had he ever met the author, could he tell Dipper who the author was, and a whole multitude of whos and whats and wheres and whys and hows.

(And even then, as that scholarly eagerness for answers raged in his mind, he could not shake the creeping sensation of unease. Since arriving in Gravity Falls for the first time, Dipper had grown used to the feeling of being watched at all times. It was pervasive and uncomfortable, but it was familiar.

This was not entirely different. Actually, if asked, he might even say it was all too similar, just dialed up about a hundred times more. And yet, as he studied the giant in front of him—Ingvar, who seemed far kinder than a majority of the strange beings he'd come across thus far, and who had not only not killed him, but also returned his (well, not his, but by this point he felt it may as well be) journal, when he could have destroyed it or blackmailed Dipper for it or gotten him to pay an exuberant amount of money in order to have it returned (perhaps he was spending too much time around Grunkle Stan, if his first instinct was to believe that someone would rather scam him out of his (non-existent) cash than simply return his property)—, Dipper began to wonder if maybe it wasn't Ingvar who was putting him at ill ease after all. This was his first time meeting the giant, and that feeling of being watched had formed barely moments after stepping off the bus and into Gravity Falls for the first time.)

"Are you from Gravity Falls?" he finally asked, when the silence between him and Ingvar was growing just a little too loud for his liking. (Huh. Dipper had always been fond of the quiet—had craved it ever since he was a little kid, actually. He supposed somewhere along the line, his twin sister's hyperness and the constant chaos of the Mystery Shack had begun to change his mind, so that it felt more wrong to be without noise than to be with it). This question, out of all the ones he had, felt the most harmless. And maybe it could reveal a little more about Gravity Falls. The Author wrote that much of the world's strangeness and anomalies centered around the town, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was the only place anomalies could come from. And since he had never seen Ingvar mentioned in the Journal (at least in Journal 3—it could be that he was listened in either Journals 1 or 2 somewhere, but Dipper only had so much information to work with), it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

Dipper bit his tongue in order to stop any further questions from slipping out as he eagerly (and not as subtly as he thought) awaited Ingvar's reply.

And what if he lies? You read the Journal, you saw what the Author said. Trust no one, trust no one, trust no one, trust no one.

"Thou comest again. This is a surprise."

A great shadow is cast over Dipper as a hand of magnitude to match it reached out — this, clearly, was not a creature called a giant for nothing — but instead of snatching the boy up and doing whatever it was giants did to children in the frightful human imagination, the hand delicately held out something awfully small in comparison to itself: the Journal, the one Dipper had lost the previous day. Mind you, he'd lost it running away from Ingvar as quickly as he could... which, truly, the giant felt terrible about. He never wanted to frighten anyone.

"I was fearing you would never be returning. This... is being awfully important to you, hmm?"

"My Journal!"

Dipper snatches the Journal from the giant, clutching it tightly to his chest, and backing away. It isn't until he's put some distance (although not nearly enough, if he had anything to say about it) between the two of them that the reality of the situation hits him.

He's still alive?

And- and this giant just gave him his Journal back.

"I- I, um, yeah, I returned," he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Maybe he was a little quick to judge, yesterday. "Sorry for. Um. Running away from you screaming and stuff."

In the inner depths of his mind, a small voice whispers the familiar warning written by the Author and repeated throughout the many pages of the Journal. Trust no one.

Dipper's grip tightens on the Journal until the binding creaks beneath his fingers. Trust no one. Trust no one.

But... he's never met a giant before. An actual real-life giant! He's met so many strange things since arriving in Gravity Falls, but nothing like a giant. And, from what he can remember, he's never seen one mentioned within the pages of the Journal, either. Maybe the Author had met one and written it down in the first or second Journals, but he wouldn't know, since he only has the third.

And maybe if this giant has met the Author, Dipper could find out some information! Even if he hasn't, he could do his own research, too! Maybe he could start recording some of the anomalies in Gravity Falls, starting with this giant!

"I'm- I'm Dipper, by the way," he says, before he can put any further thought into the idea. "I don't think I got your name, with the whole 'running-and-screaming-thing' yesterday."

Talking to the giant doesn't mean trusting him, Dipper tells himself. I'll just make sure to be extra careful.

[imdopperpines]

"No, of course not. I think it would take the end of the world for that to even be remotely possible. Besides, I'm pretty sure Mabel's already got claim over adding you into her 'best friends list' alongside Candy and Grenda, so...."

“Huh, Mabel told me that there was someone’s blog that I should follow on here, so whose is i-

Oh. It’s you.”

oh hey dipper, how's it going? nice to see you've got a blog for all your spooky nerd stuff lol

[imdopperpines]

"You- You're welcome? Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something at that party? I don't think I've ever heard you say the words 'thank you' together in one sentence.

Also. Um. Sorry again, about the... the things I said at the party."

“Huh, Mabel told me that there was someone’s blog that I should follow on here, so whose is i-

Oh. It’s you.”

oh hey dipper, how's it going? nice to see you've got a blog for all your spooky nerd stuff lol

[imdopperpines]

"Heyyy, Pacifica. It's going... fine. You know, solving mysteries and stuff, and- hey, wait! It's not spooky nerd stuff, it's discovering the secrets behind Gravity Falls, and documenting different monsters and experiences and-

...Yeah, okay, I can hear it now.

Anyway, how are things with you? And how have things been with, um... with your parents? No more murderous ghosts of lumberjacks or anything?"

“Huh, Mabel told me that there was someone’s blog that I should follow on here, so whose is i-

Oh. It’s you.”

oh hey dipper, how's it going? nice to see you've got a blog for all your spooky nerd stuff lol

[imdopperpines]

"Hmmm....."

Dipper considers the offer very carefully, choosing to ignore Mabel's first statement. He doesn't really need anything at the moment--Mabel already comes with him whenever he goes looking to solve the mysteries of Gravity Falls, so there's really no point in asking for that, and even if she hadn't added that rule, he wouldn't have done anything particularly cruel, anyway.

He playfully nudges her, giving his sister a small grin. "I'll let you off easy this time. You just have to help me try to get as much glitter as possible out of my stuff. That seems fair enough."

"I put edible glitter in all my drinks. That way it's always delicious and pretty."

[imdopperpines]

"Woah, hey-"

Dipper hurriedly pats Mabel's back to help her as she coughs. His face pinches with concern, but he waits until his sister has finished choking on the glitter before speaking again.

"You... you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" he asks hesitantly, watching Mabel. It's not like the two of them to keep secrets from each other, and it leaves his chest feeling weirdly tight. "If something's bothering you, I want to be able to help, Mabel."

@imdopperpines liked for a starter

"Okay close your eyes your surprise is coming!" Once her brother's eyes were properly closed she took the sweater she'd been making him and pulled it over his body. Even helping his hands get throw the arms holes. "Ta da! I made you a sweater! So now we're matching. I have my shooting star one and you have your pine tree one. Isn't it great?"

[imdopperpines]

Dipper hums in agreement, but before he can respond, his smile wavers. Dipper knows his sister better than anyone else, and he can always tell when something's bothering her. And right now, something clearly is.

"...Mabel, are you okay?" he asks. Her expression is just entirely un-Mabel-like. Sure, she's smiling, but there's less of a sparkle in her eyes, making them appear almost... dull.

@imdopperpines liked for a starter

"Okay close your eyes your surprise is coming!" Once her brother's eyes were properly closed she took the sweater she'd been making him and pulled it over his body. Even helping his hands get throw the arms holes. "Ta da! I made you a sweater! So now we're matching. I have my shooting star one and you have your pine tree one. Isn't it great?"

[imdopperpines]

"You and I have very different definitions of the word great," Dipper mutters, before frowning. "And, hey! I've already told you, washing clothes is just a waste of time, okay?! There's really no point if I'm gonna wear them again and get them dirty all over! Besides, if they ever get too messed up, I do wash them!"

He crosses his arms over his chest, but a moment later he tilts his head slightly to the side. "Anything I want?" he asks, studying his sister. That seems very generous of Mabel to offer, and he can't imagine his sister suggesting something like that without having some sort of ulterior motive. "What's the catch?"

"I put edible glitter in all my drinks. That way it's always delicious and pretty."

[imdopperpines]

"Hm..."

Dipper glances down at the sweater Mabel made him, and then back up at his twin sister. "Well, sweaters aren't really my 'thing', but... if you want to, I'll wear 'em. Occasionally."

It might mean sweating his butt off during the summer, but once it gets closer to the winter, the sweaters might actually come in handy. Piedmont, their hometown, can get kind of chilly during the winter sometimes.

Dipper peaks over Mabel's shoulder, looking in the scrapbook. "I'm surprised you haven't filled that entire thing by now, with how many pictures you've been taking this summer," he says, watching as she adds yet another sticker.

@imdopperpines liked for a starter

"Okay close your eyes your surprise is coming!" Once her brother's eyes were properly closed she took the sweater she'd been making him and pulled it over his body. Even helping his hands get throw the arms holes. "Ta da! I made you a sweater! So now we're matching. I have my shooting star one and you have your pine tree one. Isn't it great?"

[imdopperpines]

Dipper you may enjoy Hackett's quarry

"Hackett's Quarry...? I've never heard of that before. Let me see.... Hm, says here that it's a summer camp, with lots of rumors of supernatural creatures surrounding its history? Huh, that kind of sounds like Gravity Falls. Weird. Maybe I'll convince Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford to let us go check it out! There's probably a lot of cool things for us to research there!"