#mabel learning to sign is something that can be so personal

[taiturner]

Only Murders in the Building ━ 3x07 "CoBro"

[cookinguptales]

As someone who grew up in a bilingual household where we spoke English but also signed, the part of Mabel and Theo's relationship that fascinates me the most is the communication, or lack thereof.

I'm mostly hearing (...sort of...) but grew up around a lot of d/Deaf people, CODAs, interpreters, etc. so while I can't give any input on the experience of profound deafness, I can at least tell apart different styles of signing. It's a little hard to tell sometimes how much of this is characterization vs. the skill level of the actors, but it is interesting.

Teddy Dimas does not sign fluidly. It's immediately obvious. It's not that he's terrible or that he can't be understood... it's just that there are a lot of tells that he does not sign as a primary language. The terseness of the signs, the deliberateness. You can tell that there's a second of thought before each sign, a jerky sort of compactness to them, that's common with people who learn to sign later in life. (Or who don't get a ton of practice with it.)

Signing, when you do it right, requires the use of your whole body. That can be hard for hearing people, who are generally used to more restrained movements. Teddy Dimas has never quite lost that restraint. He still can't go all in, not with his signing or his parenting.

I always thought this was really interesting, because it means that Teddy most likely learned to sign for his son (tragically uncommon with hearing parents of Deaf children) but that he still can't quite translate his thoughts properly into sign language. He can't quite get his emotions through to his son. There's a barrier there between them, and it seems to be largely one that Teddy's erected -- until Theo starts snapping back.

What I'm getting at is that Teddy has always forcibly drawn his son into his world instead of immersing himself in Theo's, and it shows. And it has really harmed their relationship, in more ways than one.

Zoe... we don't see a ton of her signing, but there does seem to be something somewhat performative about it. It's more fluid, like perhaps she's done it her whole life, but there's also something sort of... idk, false about it? And I wonder if that's just Zoe. It felt like she was always covering up her true feelings of loneliness and emptiness with a flamboyant personality, and the little flourishes to her signing seem to convey that as well. Her signing feels almost theatrical to me.

Theo and Mabel, though... I've always loved that episode where they go to Coney Island together. I get the criticism that Theo said at the beginning that he couldn't understand much of what she said when he was reading lips -- and then she proceeded to just talk at him for the rest of the episode anyway. But to me, at least, that always seemed like it was kind of the point. They couldn't understand each other, not fully, and that was something soothing to them.

There's something healing, I think, about shouting into the void. Letting out all of your most personal, complicated feelings without fear of repercussion or judgement. Talking into the wind because you know it won't talk back. You need to feel that echo but also know that it won't be heard.

I think there was some of that there in their initial relationship. Both of them desperately needed to talk, to get everything off their chests, but both of them also have trouble opening up to others due to trauma. So I think speaking to someone who couldn't understand them was, in some ways, ideal. They could make a human connection while keeping it fairly impersonal. They could unload without fear of judgement -- or worse, understanding.

Oddly, I think their mutual need to communicate without being understood was the one thing they understood best about each other. They could sense each other's loneliness and wariness and inability to trust that they could tell someone something important without it being used against them -- because their love and their trust have always been used against them.

So maybe in a way, their inability to talk to each other was actually what helped them communicate on a deeper level...?

Still, though. Still. I was so pleased to see that Mabel is learning more sign language so she can talk to Theo. She's got a long way to go, but no one learns to sign overnight. She's making progress, and you can tell that Theo appreciates it. There are still times where he gets too excited and signs too fast and she doesn't catch all of it, and there are times when she gets so wrapped up in her own soliloquies that she forgets that you have to face Deaf people while talking to them, but there's a familiarity to it now. When he signs too fast, she smiles and teases him. When she talks too quickly or forgets to sign or turns away from him, he just smiles and sighs and shakes his head. Then waits for her to come back.

Theo finds it irritating, obviously, but also understands that it's just... Mabel. She spends so much time in her own head that she has trouble communicating even with people who speak her language, as evidenced with Tobert. And maybe Theo does understand her in ways that others can't. Maybe it's the very fact that he accepts that he can't always understand her that makes her feel comfortable with him.

I also have to wonder, y'know... Has anyone ever learned to sign for him before, other than his father, who clearly saw it as a burden? Has anyone ever seen him as worth the effort of learning, not out of an obligation to speak to him but a desire to? No wonder he's being patient with her. I wonder if anyone has ever put in as much effort for him as she already has. It makes me so sad to think about, because what she's doing now is so... bare minimum. Theo has been so desperately alone, and so much of that is because his father isolated him. It's because no one else ever reached out. :(

idk, it just makes me happy that these two people who originally bonded over their inability to communicate are now comfortable enough with each other to try actually talking. There's something so shy and so joyful about it. I love that for them, especially Theo.

I don't want him to be alone anymore!! I want him to have someone he can talk to, whom he trusts enough to talk to, who thinks he's worth learning to talk to back!

Their odd brand of bilingual communication (or lack thereof) is just fascinating to me. ;;

[pinesfamilyguidetotheweird]

Ford and Trauma™ Part 6 (The Weight of Guilt)

Here is Part 6 of Ford and Trauma™!

Last time, I brought up how even what  can be perceived as the littlest of things can cause a bigger impact later in life. I’m sure there is a fair number of us still recovering from bullying.

For this part, we’ll be tackling something that had no doubt eaten at Ford’s psyche every now and again.

The feelings of guilt over his mistakes.

Mistakes are normal. It’s a part of life. Just some…make worse mistakes than others.

So, this was lightly tackled in Paaart…3, I believe? Harboring some flavor of survivor’s guilt during his travels.

There is more to it and it probably started not long after he learned of Bill’s true intentions. Once the realization set in, Ford placed blame onto himself for everything that led up to this.

The first was probably his treatment towards his friend, Fiddleford. Afterall, Ford needed help on rebuilding the portal and Fidds had the means. Ford had Fidds come all the way to Gravity Falls, leaving his wife and young son back at home, under the promise that he will return in a few months.

He never did, losing his mind. And while it was Fidds' choice to use the memory gun to erase his own memories, Ford was the one who drove him to it. Ford had robbed a brilliant man of his mind and family, a wife of her husband, and a child of his father.

This is all your fault, Sixer…

Furthermore, were there other victims of Ford's mistakes?

It is confirmed that to an outsider, the person that Bill is possessing can sound like the person. (To others, Bipper just sounded like Dipper and since we weren’t seeing from Blandin’s point of view, we just heard his voice rather than Bill’s)

The only sign of Bill possessing someone are the eyes. Yellow eyes with slitted pupils.

Had people lost their eyes because of Bill?

This is all your fault, Sixer…

Sure, the reaction could be just a product of Ford’s sleep deprivation, him hallucinating eyeless and bloody sockets on the faces of strangers, but what he is feeling is very real.

To him, people are suffering so Bill could get to him.

Let’s fast forward to when Bill has Ford in his clutches in the Fearamid.

I have very little doubt that while Bill administered physical torture, he also implemented mental torture and just because Bill couldn’t enter Ford’s mind, using his words could still yield a similar effect. Pretty much weaponizing victim-blaming.

This is all your fault, Sixer…

Now, post-Weirdmaggedon.

Stan had to lose his memories to save everyone from Ford’s mistakes, which only added to his feelings of guilt, especially when he remembers his treatment towards his brother since returning to his home dimension.

How could he have treated his brother so horribly after everything he has done for him?

How could he have let their father kick Stan out over a stupid science project?

And then comes his rash proposal towards Dipper, asking him to stay and become Ford’s apprentice. Sure, it was Dipper’s choice to accept it, but the fact remains…and it inadvertently caused Bill to finally get his hands on the rift and set a course for the end times.

Plus, Ford had learned about Bill possessing Dipper during Sock Opera.

His young niece and nephew had to suffer because of Ford’s actions.

Sure, things have gotten better, now that Bill was gone and Stan got his memories back. But, thoughts remain. Emotions remain.

This is all your fault, Sixer…It’s because of you that Bill was able to get here…It’s because of you that all these people got hurt…It’s because of you that the world nearly ended...

You brought Bill here...You broke Fiddleford...You killed people...

You hurt Stan…you hurt Dipper…you hurt Mabel…

You have no one to blame…but you.

You deserve it...

Those...never go away.

[talesfromsiteredacted]

Random Things Iris Has Said in Her Sleep

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Iris too talks in her sleep. These were lovingly collected via sleepovers with Eveyln, talking with Viktor, and a few firsthand examples. Hey, she ratted me out, I'm only returning the favor. (Maybe Clef is rubbing off on me, I need to watch that)

"Dr. Waters, go jump in a lake. With cement crocs."

"Not the crackers? Who the hell eats actual goldfish?"

"Abel, put down the sword, pick up the cannoli. You get really cranky when you're hungry."

"CLEF, NO!" This had me giggling so hard I had to coax Evie back to sleep.

"Why is it purple?"

"Someone skipped leg day. Abel would not be amused."

"Smile! No, not like that. That's better. Now say... '343!'"

"Why are the trees exploding? WHY ARE THE TREES EXPLODING, DR. MYRIAD?!"

"Spiders. It just had to be spiders."

"Uh, I'm going to have to pass on dinner, Ferdinand. It's nothing against you, I'm just not a humanitarian."

"This sign must be for 035. 'No glitter beyond this point.' They made that rule for him, I bet."

"Weird. The grass is pink. The sky is green. And the mushrooms are talking smack about Iceberg's legs."

"343'S SAKE, NO MORE CAKES! I COULD BUILD A PYRAMID WITH ALL THESE DAMNED CHOCOLATE BRICKS! I COULD BUILD A BRIDGE OUT OF THESE AND GET OVER IT IN THE TIME IT TAKES YOU TO LEARN PROPER BAKING!"

"You had me at hot fudge. I'm in, you crazy bastard."

"Quick question: why are you here?"

"Be honest with me, Cain... you used one of Mabel's rolls to kill Abel, didn't you?"

"Oh, nuggets."

"I have... well, a LOT of questions. First, why are the chickens exploding?"

"I've seen blind men with better aim. Plus, how do you even take a picture of the back of your own eyeball?"

"I know you said it's a geode cake... but pink might not have been the best color choice. It looks like... er... something else."

"See that? That big empty field there? That's where we grow the fucks we give about your kinks, Lenny."

"I feel like I just got slapped in the mouth by a fish." A pause. "Trout. Rainbow, maybe brook? No, definitely rainbow. Does it matter, Doc?"

"Uh... not to be "that person" Abel... but I think leather is supposed to bend. When did you last get a new kilt? What? He's a guy, it's a kilt, end of discussion. Right. We're getting you a new kilt."

"Tell me, how do you breathe with your head so far up Dr. Gerard's butt?"

"Wait... he used a time machine... for a damn nugget sauce? How many weeks of Keter Duty did that earn him?"

"Grapeshot? I'll take 'Things That Scream 'Get Off My Lawn!''for $400, Alex."

"No... never met the Muffin Man. Why, he offering deals?"

"That escalated quickly."

"That's soap. You use it with water, and get what we call 'clean'. No, I think you can find someone else to show you how it works, monkey boy."

"You were nailing Jello to a tree?" A long pause. "Wait... your boyfriend is named Jello? That's both sad and hilarious."

[katyspersonal]

Also I kind of need to get something off my chest regarding queer headcanons and alike because it’s been bothering me (and I need to talk about something light instead, considering... my current life lol)

I used to feel kinda attacked when people put lesbian headcanon on female characters that were attracted to a man in canon, but I feel like I allowed intention they give off to get to me, because most people /I’ve/ personally seen doing this are like, legitimate man-haters, and just hate attraction to men as a concept, and believe lesbian love is always healthy and hetero love is always man abusing a woman. But like... not only surely not everyone is like this, but also objectively this concept is not bad?

But like, it is actually even simpler? Being LGBTQ+ is supposed to be about continuous self-discovery? Like you coulda been bi before and then find you changed into gay, you coulda been asexual but then at some point in life you started feeling sexual attraction, also you can identify as different gender later in life. So why it should be solid in fiction? Art imitates life, so characters can change over time too like people. It is just not fixed in time and can change back and forth, and we already have it hard enough feeling like we “”“betrayed”““ our “““community”““ if our feelings or identity change.

Besides, why only have single interpretation as a ‘brand’ one should uphold for the rest of their life? I talk a lot about how it is absurd that once someone picks a queer headcanon for a character, it is as if they sign a ‘contract’ and are not allowed to ever retract this when changing opinion over time exist? My friend also admitted to me she views a female character she likes as bi or lesbian depending on what version she feels in the mood for at the time, and that’s valid. I myself have my bi feels swing from ‘wow I must actually be a lesbian and all my crushes on men were wishful thinking??’ and ‘wow my attraction to men is more intense, could I be a confused het??’

And there are characters who are so fake and shallow in seeking someone of opposite gender to date that it feels like comphet? (Makes me think of Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls that clearly just wanted a boy just to have a boy and “crushed” on every guy, unlike Dipper who had more deep and legit crush on a girl. Yet the moment Gideon (a cute and funny and rich and popular boy, well, that was his exterior, remember) approached her with serious intent, she back-pedalled? She always felt for me like either a lesbian or aro who just grew obsessed with idea of finding a cool boyfriend because her femininity is over the roof, and a girl ‘gotta’ have boyfriend, right...? right?..)

Like, in either case I make the same mistake over and over and don’t seem to learn - I attack the objectively harmless, even valid concept, just because I let people who used it for hate and spite get to me. Just better to let this go, I guess.

[lilyvines]

Got any headcanons about Dipper and Mabel? (if there's no new content we'll make our own >:3)

yess!!

dippers bad with technology, like modern phones and laptops and stuff. he’s not like “tech hates me” because he doesn’t know how to use it, he knows how to use it fine, it just legitimately hates him. he writes an entire essay and his computer decides to spontaneously crash. he keeps paper versions of most things because of it

mabel bullet journals!! dipper does too, kinda, but his is more of a clean and orderly planner, hers is glittery and covered in color and stickers. at first glance it looks like the least functional planner in the world but she makes it work really well somehow

mabel never does her homework unless she finds it interesting. dipper LOATHES busy work, like more than the average person.

once they get back home they probably both sign up for some basic fighting lessons under the assumption that it’ll help them in their supernatural happenings, but it doesn’t really, because the stuff they learn isn’t super helpful in fighting gremloblins

mabel keeps every card she’s ever received in a neat little pile in a drawer!!

dipper probably does some more chill exploring on school breaks and stuff, like he’ll go looking for supernatural stuff that he can solve (and Mabel usually comes along) in order to find these supernatural happenings he’s subscribed to like 400 small town newspapers. his parents don’t approve of this so he pays extra for a guy to covertly deliver them to him during school (some of the other kids in his class TOTALLY think he’s buying drugs)

as dipper gets older & learns more about science he prob takes a more science-y approach to his research. however whenever he hits a road block he brings whatever rock or shiny object he’s looking at to Mabel and goes “ok. what’s the weirdest thing I could try to do with this”. this method is how he’s solved like at least 6 major mysteries

mabel gets SUPER into the supernatural for a little while because she wants to find something that will let her talk to animals, she ends up buying some magic potion from a fairy and drinks it (much to dippers distress) and eventually concludes she got scammed. despite this, sometimes she swears squirrels are attuned to her desires

this one doesn’t really count but they both have nicknames for Pacifica! dipper calls her paz and Mabel calls her pax. at one point i imagine some kind of shapeshifter thing where Pacifica immediately knows something is up bc the shapeshifter used the wrong nickname

also bonus bc it’s not abt dipper and Mabel: stan doesn’t really remember things as clearly from the years where he was on his own, he has vague memories and ideas, but nothing specific, so whenever he gets asked about anything he was up to during those years, he just makes up some absolutely absurd lie. he thinks it’s always obvious he’s lying, but it’s gravity falls, so there’s multiple people who believe he killed jfk

the stan o’ war looks like a pretty basic boat, but since supernatural adventures take them many places and ford gets bored sometimes, stan allowed him to make modifications, so it can now fly, go on water, and go on land. when they go to see the twins, Mabel and dippers parents are like “how did u get here??” and they’re like “uhhh we drove our boat down the highway. don’t worry about it”

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

So I just finished rewatching Gravity Falls and I have Thoughts, particularly about my girl Pacifica

After the whole Preston-endorsed-Bill-and-lost-the-family-fortune thing, Pacifica’s social status plummets

Her old friendships were superficial at best and, when she tries to reconnect with her old friends after Weirdmageddon, they ice her out

Pacifica is on the receiving end of her group’s cruelty for the first time and realizes, hey, this is actually awful. She’s already realized that her family’s beliefs are messed up, but now the shame of what she personally has done catches up with her

So the day before the twins’ thirteenth birthday she visits the shack and pulls Mabel aside to apologize

She explains that her parents’ approval hinged on her being the best in everything, and she thought being the best meant putting everyone around her down. But, she says, Mabel has saved her life twice now without Pacifica doing anything to deserve it, and that probably makes Mabel the better person anyway

Mabel probably tears up a bit, equal parts moved and vindicated. She tells Pacifica it’s all water under the bridge

She pays closer attention to Pacifica after that and realizes she’s no longer hanging around her old friends. Or any friends, really (besides Mabel, who’s leaving for nine months the following day)

Well, Mabel won’t stand for that

At some point during her birthday party she asks Grenda and Candy if they’ll look out for Pacifica while she’s gone

Both of them are understandably reluctant, but they agree anyway because they love Mabel

So on the first day of school, when they enter the lunch room and find Pacifica sitting in a corner doing her very best to make it look like she’s there alone by choice and failing miserably, they go to sit by her without any further discussion

Admittedly, Pacifica’s first thought is that she can’t believe she’s sunk this low

But fortunately, her second thought is that this isn’t low— these people are kind, and if there’s one thing she learned during Weirdmageddon, it’s that kindness always overrules dignity when it counts

So when anyone makes a joke about Grenda’s voice or mocks Candy’s latest invention, she’s ready in a second with a retort that scalds their egos so badly they never so much as think about making another comment

All of Pacifica’s years of collecting social blackmail are finally being used for the greater good

And Candy and Grenda start to see a side of Pacifica they never got a chance to before: that she’s quick and clever, passionate, and fiercely loyal

And rather against their better judgement, they start to like her a lot

Pacifica, meanwhile, takes a little bit to get used to her new friend group. After a lifetime of backhanded insults mixed in with a thousand false compliments, after a lifetime of friendship being nothing more than a game of strategy and status, being around people with such unbridled sincerity is new

But slowly she realizes that Candy and Grenda mean it when they compliment her, that they never judge her or correct her unless she’s doing something worth correcting

She has friends that she can be entirely herself with for the first time in her life, and the relief is almost overwhelming

Candy and Grenda start going to the diner to talk with her on breaks. She takes them on shopping sprees and lets them meet her pony. They spend their lunches poring over magazines and laughing hard enough to deafen the other students

The first setback in their friendship comes when Pacifica invites them over for a sleepover in her house (no longer a huge mansion, but still pretty upscale) while her parents are out of town at a meeting

She begs them to leave no sign of their presence. Candy and Grenda assume it’s because she’s still a bit ashamed of them and, with discretion not being part of their vocabulary, absolutely trash the place

Preston and Priscilla are livid when they come home and it’s the first time Candy and Grenda really realize what Pacifica’s childhood was like

They apologize sincerely and spend months trying to make it up to her. In the end, they all trust each other more as a result of it

Pacifica and Mabel also keep in touch over the school year

It’s confirmed in Lost Legends that they swapped numbers (although Pacifica was under the impression she had Dipper’s number at first. My headcanon for that is that at the end of the party at Northwest Manor she asked Dipper for his number “in case there are any more hauntings” and Dipper, sweet, clueless thing that he is, just gave her Mabel’s, figuring that if she had a ghost-related emergency she could contact him through her)

Anyway, Mabel and Pacifica’s text thread starts out just being a steady stream of mini golf-related videos before slowly developing into actual conversation

Pacifica doesn’t talk to Dipper, although she finds that she gets a weird feeling in her stomach whenever Mabel brings him up

(She has herself convinced it’s just nerves from remembering their ghost-related adventures)

Still, they ask about each other often enough that Mabel starts getting a bit suspicious

When the twins finally return for the summer, Pacifica is overjoyed (though she’ll deny it to her grave)

Mabel settles right back into old rhythms with Candy and Grenda, and the four of them become inseparable almost immediately

After a few false starts, Dipper invites Pacifica over for a Ghost Harassers marathon. After a few hours of yelling advice and trying to categorize the ghosts as soon as they come onscreen, they’ve found their way back to friendship, too

Now, Dipper and Pacifica definitely developed huge crushes on each other after Northwest Mansion Mystery, but neither of them acknowledge it at all

The only one who notices it is Mabel

She tells Candy and Grenda, and together the three of them begin a summerlong campaign of trying to get them together

The grand finale of this comes at the annual Northwest family gathering, which Preston manipulates McGucket into holding at the manor. The trio’s efforts to engineer a romantic evening are not subtle, and all they really result in is dire humiliation, three small fires, and half a dozen very angry quails

Mabel ends up apologizing to Pacifica for the whole fiasco, explaining that since she thought that even if she never ended up finding love, she could at least find it for her brother and her best friend

Pacifica forgives her on the condition that she never tries to meddle in her love life ever again. Mabel agrees

And just as she’s walking away, Pacifica calls, “And Mabel? Thanks for trying”

So in the end she did accomplish one thing: Pacifica and Dipper, while not a couple, have finally realized the nature of their feelings

Dipper and Mabel get new phones for their fourteenth birthdays from Stan and Ford, souped up with all sorts of paranormal investigative apps and ways of connecting with them when they’re off monster hunting. Dipper and Pacifica exchange numbers, and it’s equal parts a relief and a torture over the next year

By the time the twins return the following summer, Dipper has resolved that he’s going to tell Pacifica by the end of the summer

(He’s strongly encouraged by Mabel, who has spent an alarming amount of her free time finding loopholes in her and Pacifica’s no-meddling agreement)

Two months of awkward mishaps and near-misses later, he makes a pact with Mabel that he’ll at least ask her to slow dance at the Northwest party, no matter what happens

That “no matter what” bit turns out to be kind of important when a monster attacks the party halfway through

At some point, when it has both of them trapped and is off in search of more victims, Dipper decides it’s probably now or never

“Hey Pacifica?”

“Yeah?”

“This is kind of a stupid question, given the circumstances, but I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me? If we survive?”

There’s a pause long enough to make Dipper have about six separate heart attacks

And then Pacifica gives an elated laugh and calls back, “only if you agree to take me out sometime next week”

They manage to defeat the monster, obviously, and even though it wrecked all the instruments, Mabel is not about to let that stop her. She marches into the woods and blackmails the gnomes into being the new band before catching Dipper’s eye and wildly giving him a thumbs up

So Dipper smiles, turns to Pacifica, and extends his hand. “I guess you owe me a dance. Since we survived, and all”

“I guess I do.” And as she pulls him into position, she adds, “and as for your end of the bargain, there’s a new Ghost Harassers movie coming out on Friday. You can pick me up at six”

They date for the rest of the summer, both of them ecstatic, and video call every weekend when the twins return home. Despite how much they like each other, long distance does a number on them, and they’re equally relieved when Dipper returns that summer

It gets worse in junior year, though, and that summer they finally decide that with the distance between them, maybe they’re better off as friends

They both try to see other people during their last year of high school, but after a few breakups, they simultaneously realize that they’re not really interested in anyone but each other

As prom approaches, Candy and Grenda both secure dates, but Pacifica’s on the heels of a fairly public and humiliating breakup and commits to going alone

Mabel tells Dipper as much, and that’s when he gets the idea

“Mabel? Are you up for a road trip?”

Long story short, they drive all the way to Oregon with about an hour to spare before the start of prom. Mabel goes to surprise Candy and Grenda while Dipper performs the truly classic move of tossing rocks at Pacifica’s window until she opens it

She’s pretty sure she’s seeing things

Especially when Dipper calls up, “hey! I know it’s short notice, but do you want to go to the dance with me? If we survive, I mean”

Pacifica just stands there, working out whether or not she can believe her eyes

And then she lets out a squeal that could rival Mabel’s in pitch and runs to get ready

No one minds the twins crashing the Gravity Falls prom, and really, there’s nowhere else they’d rather spend it

Pacifica and Dipper keep in touch for the few months until graduation, and this time, when the twins return, they’re there to stay

[agftheorist]

After reading this post of @fordtato I kinda gathered what is written on the post and my own theories. First I believe you all should first read that post first to understand this one better. Anyway, after that, THIS THING HAPPENED:

Theory of Mindscape

(Click for better quality and read the notes)

The detailed analysis is under the cut, because I believe it's gonna be a long post...

The numbers will show you which order you should look and I will write.

1

This is the general layers of human brain/consciousness. I know those aren't the real parts of the brain. Just try to see it like an iceberg. The deeper, harder for Bill to reach.

2

The Threshold

If we consider that without a physical form, Bill can only invade the person's dreams unless he is summoned, this is the first layer. It is entered right after falling asleep and is black and white.

Y'know that feeling that you're not asleep, but not awake either? This is that era. Which means it is the easiest one to wake up. In both occasions he's inside a mind but it's black & white, the person is not exactly asleep. Gideon, Mabel and Soos was wide awake during the summoning and Dipper was probably shifting between consciousness to unconsciousness.

When Gideon summons him. It is where he enters, because at that moment Gideon is neither awake nor asleep. In my opinion it puts him some kind of a trance situation. But there is one thing that bothers me. When Ford summons him (which I'll come later) Bill is inside his dreams. But when Gideon does, Mabel, Soos and Gideon all have the memories of it which means Bill was inside three of them's mindscape at once. This makes me believe that the summoning spell is both too powerful and has some kind of a bonding feature.

3

The Mindscape

That one is the deepest layer and where the memories are contained. For Bill, this is the hardest place of the mind to reach. He needs a deal in order to get in there.

Also, in my opinion, if the owner of the mind is aware that the self is in the mindscape, I believe this is a sign of lucid (controllable) dreaming. Basically, with my theory, even if not all the times, Stanley has decent control over his dreams. He might be like this since he was a child, or he may have thought it himself with practice after Filbrick kicked him out of his house. Because before and after the portal incident, something important slipping out of his mouth while he's asleep would be disastrous. Please keep that in mind.

4

The Dreamscape

This place is the layer where people who unconsciously dreams are when they're asleep. The conscious dreamers are in the not blue part of the mindscape. Blue is, of course, the memories.

This place can be both black and white or colorful.

5

The Summoning of Bill Cipher

The spell is probably too powerful that it puts both the summoner and the witnesses to the Threshold.

Also you may think 'why it didn't happen like that with Ford?' Easy. Because he needed information about him. Ford wasn't like Gideon who only wanted one little password. Or Dipper who was already cautious towards him. He needed to manipulate him for a long time, around a year which could have easily lasted longer. Dreams are the easiest way to learn about one's psychology, it's not just me, the doctors also say so.

6

The passage from the Dreamscape

Okay, this is where the things get a little more complicated...

Unless he's summoned, Bill's travel from the Threshold to the Dreamscape is more than barely a flashing second. After that, there are two possibilities.

First one; Bill's entrance alerts the mind and in order two throw Bill out it gives the person nightmares, because if they wake up they're no longer dreaming so there is no Bill.

Second one; the Dreamscape doesn't fit to Bill's plans and he gives the nightmares to the person.

How I got this? Each time he enters someone's dream they seem like they have a nightmare.

First picture is the exact moment Bill 'dives in', so to say. Second is one of Ford's memories which I believe the night he wakes up like 'I have to warn them!'. And we don't know how Dipper looked outside but after seeing all this he too was probably behaving all nightmare-ish.

7

Afterwards

After mind itself or Bill gives the minds nightmares, the mind has two options.

1: The person can transfer to the Threshold, where he'll be able to wake up in an emergency. This is what happened with Dipper.

2: The person can transfer to the Mindscape, where he'll both be conscious therefore be able to contain or control the dream. That one is Stan's situation.

I want to talk about Stan and his dreams a little more. Most of the times, dreams are based on our daily experiences, thoughts and ideas. We don't know if those other memories would be aware that they're memories too. But especially that day, Stan was hard on Dipper more than usual. Right before Bill enters his mind, he mutters something like ' 'M so sorry...'. I've seen people say that he was dreaming about his brother, but when you think of it, if he can control his dreams, maybe he specifically picked that moment to dream (I've heard people doing way crazier things while Lucid dreaming) and he actually regrets for treating Dipper like that.

That means before Bill was about to enter, he was consciously dreaming.

~~~~~~

It's not on the mind map I did but I just want to add that. Because there is some misinformation on some platforms.

So, Bill entering the mind opens a gate like this. Dipper, Mabel and Soos couldn't enter his mind if Bill hadn't before. They followed through that figurative gateway Bill opened.

~~~~~

8

The Metal Plate

The plate protects the mindscape and probably the Threshold. This is why Ford could only interact with Bill while he's asleep. But when/if he deals with him, the plate cannot hold Bill out. So as I understand it, the metal plate works like a one way door to his mindscape and memories.

9

Weirdmageddon- Mabel's Bubble

Have you noticed? In this bubble, Mabel's powers are so similar to Bill's. Also you may have seen some posts or generally anything about how Bill gave Mabel what he would want.

This bubble is kinda like how her mindscape would look like, as if it's somehow reflecting her mind to outside.

Another thing about this bubble is that it works exactly like a mindscape. As I said earlier, the easiest way to wake up is a nightmare. After judging Dipper, Mabel wanted to go with him. She wanted to wake up. After having that desire everything turned into a nightmare, and she ran. She then burst out the bubble, which means she actually woke up. The bubble somehow full filled her wish.

10

Weirdmageddon- The Deal

I told here my theories about why the memory gun wouldn't work on Bill (I also advise you to read that one too) but here we'll focus on how he entered there.

You see, firstly he leaves his physical form behind, but everything's colorful. Then in flashing moment, we're in Threshold. We know this because we actually see Stan is still conscious.

*******************

And this was the theory, thanks everyone who bothered to read to here, please feel free to share your thoughts and theories with reblogs or comments, have a good day!

[fallen-gravity]

Soft Hearts and After-Midnight Talks

Ford can’t let go of the past. Mabel can’t stop worrying about the future.

Put together, they’re a melting pot of insomnia and overwhelming emotions.

AO3 Link

Love had never come easy to Ford. 

As a kid, his father always said it wasn’t manly to show affection. It made a man weak to wear his heart on his sleeve, and he was merely doing him a favor by showing him tough love, because out in the real world the men who put their emotions first would get torn to shreds. 

His mother tried her hardest, but she too had times where she was too busy running her psychic hotline or helping Pa run the pawn shop to pay him much attention.

Ford supposes the closest he ever had to unconditional love as a kid came from Stan. Whenever Ma or Pa were too busy, or the kids at school were screaming and running from his deformity, he knew he could always rely on Stan to be there for him. He’d always been the one to throw a punch for him, to talk him through a panic attack, patch up the scrapes and black eyes he’d received from Crampelter, or even assure him that getting a B minus on an exam wasn’t the end of the world, even if his eyes were rolling into the back of his skull the entire time he said it.

 But even that sort of love felt fickle. The night of the science fair, it felt as though something inside of Ford shriveled up and died, and he knew that the rejection from West Coast Tech was only the half the cause of it.

When Stan drove off into the night, it’s as if he took that shriveled up little piece of Ford with him as his grand final fuck you. 

After that, Ford tried everything he could. In college he buried himself into the research he was most passionate for, but that could only get him so far when Fiddleford would drag him to bed and force him to be alone with his thoughts. He’d tried going out drinking to forget said thoughts, but he learned the hard way that he was an emotional drunk and alcohol only made those thoughts worse. 

If there’s anything he did know, it’s that this lack of love in his life could probably explain how he was able to fall for Bill’s cunning tricks so easy.

“Unlovable?” Bill’s words still rang in the back of his head. “By the time this portal’s finished, you’ll have the whole world at your feet! You’ll be a household name! There’ll be thousands cheering the name Stanford Pines, the man who changed the world!” 

What a fool he’d been, blissfully ignoring all of the warning signs for even the slightest chance that a gateway between worlds could earn him love.

What an even bigger fool he’d been to turn away his brother’s love even after ten years of nothing but fear and resentment standing between them.

Ford sighs. He knows, logically, that dwelling on the past will only make things worse. He knows things are okay between him and Stan now. They’re setting off on their first journey on the Stan-O War II next week; things couldn’t get any better between them.

But he also knows that insomnia and intrusive thoughts are a package deal. He’d tried sitting out on the front porch to gaze at the stars and feel the late-summer air on his face to relax, but his inner demons always find their way. 

There’s a tiny knock on the doorframe behind him. He jumps at the noise, and turns to see who else could possibly be awake at nearly three in the morning. He’s half expecting Stan, but to his surprise it’s Mabel, sleepily rubbing at her eyes with one hand and holding a half-empty cup of ice water in the other. 

“Grunkle Ford?” her voice is groggy and strained. “Is that you?” 

“Mabel?” is the only comprehensive response that comes out. “What are you doing up so late?” 

“Dipper cursed me with his insomnia and now I can’t sleep” she pouts, and takes a sip from her cup like it’s a shot glass as he joins him on the couch. “Why are you still up, Grunkle Ford?” she squints. “I feel like I should ask you the same question” 

He chuckles. “Nothing you need to worry about, dear. I’m just doing some thinking”

“Hmmm…” she squints long and hard at him, like she’s trying to read his mind. “Okay, but I’m watching you. I’m the expert at annoying people until they tell me what’s bothering them” 

Ford can’t help but smile. “Noted,” he replies, and shifts his position so he’s facing more towards her. “What about you? I’m the expert in insomnia, so I can’t imagine it’s the only thing keeping you awake"

For the briefest of moments, Mabel’s playful smile drops. She hides the sudden shift by taking another sip of water.

“What? Psshhh…” she dismisses the thought with a wave of her hand. “That’s silly! Everyone knows insomnia means you can’t sleep for no reason. Some expert you are, Grunkle Ford” 

She smiles, but it’s strained, and fake, and nothing like the usual smile she flashes when she’s joking around. 

“Mabel.” Ford says once, in a firm yet soft tone, and she winces. 

“Okay, fine” she mumbles, and drinks the rest of the water from her cup before she continues. “I’ve been having some dumb thoughts too”. 

Ford shakes his head. “There’s no such thing as a dumb thought, Mabel. Even if it’s bothering you, it’s indicative of how you’re really feeling” he pats gently at his lap, inviting her to scoot closer. “Maybe I can help” he smiles, ever so slightly, ever so softly. “Even us experts mess up in our own fields sometimes” 

She moves too quickly into his arms for a hug for him to read her expression properly. 

“Then I feel like a big dumb hypocrite” Mabel murmurs into Ford’s sweater, her voice on the edge of breaking. 

Ford frowns, and places an arm around her to reciprocate the hug. “What for?”

Mabel scrunches up his sweater in her fists. “I...I made this whole big ordeal about Dipper wanting to stay here with you after the summer’s over for the apprenticeship, and I still don’t want us to be apart, but…”  she buries her face into his sweater, like she’s ashamed of herself for even daring to speak them. “...now that summer’s actually over, and Dipper and I are supposed to be leaving in the morning, I’m not sure I even want to leave” 

Her voice finally breaks, and she sniffles into his sweater. “Everyone’s always saying that the real world is so scary, and high school is the worst, and all these things about not knowing what you had until it’s gone, and...I don’t want it to be gone, Grunkle Ford, I love Gravity Falls. But I can’t just tell Dipper that, because then he’ll get all worried, and think that he did something wrong, because he’s already apologized for what he said when we were fighting a thousand times, and-”

Ford gently grips Mabel’s shoulders to cut her off, and pulls her away to make her look him in the eyes. “Mabel, are you going through all of this trouble because you’re worried you’re going to...miss Gravity Falls when you get home?”

“Not just the town!” Mabel exclaims, and rubs at her eyes with her wrist. “I’m gonna miss everything! I’m gonna miss the Shack, I’m gonna miss my friends, I’m gonna miss you and Stan,” she counts off on her fingers and sighs. “I miss everyone at home. I do. But now that I have so many friends here, I don’t want to feel like I’m leaving them behind”

There’s a brief pause, but before Ford can open his mouth to respond, Mabel goes on, murmuring so quietly it’s as if she doesn’t mean to speak out loud at all. 

“Or...I don’t want to feel like they’re leaving me behind.”

...Oh.

The fear of being left behind.

Forgotten.

The fear of becoming….unlovable. 

That….Ford knows better than anybody. 

“Mabel, listen to me,” Ford gently tugs on her chin to force her to make eye contact with him. “Nobody in this town is ever going to forget you. It doesn’t matter if you’re gone for a year, or three, or ten, I can guarantee that the next time you step foot in this town everyone’s going to remember the name Mabel Pines”

“You...really think so?” she blushes. 

“I know so,” he nods. “And it’s got nothing to do with Weirdmageddon, or saving the world, or any of that. It’s because you’re magnetic, Mabel. You’ve got a personality that everyone loves. I bet that pizza delivery man you became pen pals with is just sitting at home eagerly awaiting his first letter from you” 

She giggles. “I don’t know about that…” 

“Still,” Ford continues, “You’ve shown kindness to everyone, Mabel. People don’t forget kindness easily.” he gestures out towards the forest. “Gravity Falls may not be your home, but the people who lived here sure don’t seem to see it that way. You’re not just a tourist, or just some kid visiting her great uncle, you’re one of them.” he beams. “They’re lucky to have had you, Mabel, even just for the one summer” 

Her eyes have pools of tears in them, but the beaming smile on her face outshines them. She hurls herself at him in a tight hug, burying her face deep into his sweater. 

“I’m lucky to have you too, Grunkle Ford” she murmurs. “I love you”

I love you.

Ford hasn’t had those words spoken to him since he was a kid. 

I love you.

It feels like he’s floating on air, and the most grounded he’s felt in decades. It’s freeing, and exhilarating, yet it’s comfortable, and warm. It’s unfamiliar, yet everything he ever lost. 

The words ring in his ears and bounce around in his chest before they settle comfortably into the piece of his heart that had been broken for decades.

I love you. 

Mabel Pines, after everything he’s put her through, loves him. 

A sound escapes him that’s halfway between choking and sobbing. He pulls her even closer into his arms, and silently vows to never let the cruel world dig its pessimistic claws into her for as long as she lives.

“I love you too,” he manages to whisper, and gives her a smooch on the top of her head.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Okay okay okay so I'm gonna go over how Familiar Contracts work in The Crossover.

At it's base, a Familiar Contract is an agreement made by two Magic creatures, usually to enhance the powers of at least one party of said Contract.

This is done for many reasons. One reason could be that it gives a power boost to one's Spellcasting. Think of it like having an extra tank of fuel at the ready. Or sometimes if you're 'level three' and need to do a 'level four' spell, you can borrow from a 'level one' to match it.

Another reason is that some people have Magic that leans toward a certain branch. Say one has no leaning, but the other leans toward Fire. The first person could tap into the other's natural Magic to have an easier time accessing that brand of Magic.

Now, there are typically two kinds of Familiar Contract. Sapient and Non-Sapient, or Sapient and Sapient.

Sapient and Non-Sapient:

This is what most people think of with 'Familiar Contracts'. A Witch of some sort with a 'pet'.

The Witch's Familiar can be of any species, as long as it has Magic. It could be something straight up Cryptid, or it could be a normal cat that happens to have Magic.

The Non-Sapient Familiar is, well. Like a pet. They typically are more intelligent than regular animals, some even capable of speech(or become more intelligent and capable of speech when the Contract is made). However, they are still animals. Think of parrots or gorillas that learn sign language.

The Familiar Contract in this case is usually very simple. The Non-Sapient creature gets food, shelter, and loving affection from the Sapient Witch, and the Witch can use their Magic at will.

Examples: Jagged Stone and Fang, Shaggy and Scooby Doo, Sunset Shimmer and Philomena, Mabel Pines and Waddles, Lillian Hale and Napoleon, Matt Olsen and Mr. Huggles, Ron Stoppable and Rufus.

Sapient and Sapient:

This type of Contract is more rare, and more Complicated and prone to negotiation.

Both parties are fully Sapient. And as such, they rarely form simple Contracts as 'take care of me and I'll give you a power kick' (though yes Magic Glucose Guardians totally exist).

In fact, this type of contract is rarely formed at all! Few Witches feel the need to form a long-term contract. Usually they would just team up as needed without anything formally binding.

When said Contracts are made, they are usually far more complicated. Each party wanting one thing or another to make the deal 'fair' to them, sometimes stipulating when and how their partner can call upon their Magic.

Though there are a few benefits to this Contract, it can also have some cons. Like any relationship, it can become toxic or downright abusive, at which point the Contract needs either renegotiated or annulled entirely.

Both can happen, of course. Renegotiations can be simple discussions and temporary amendments. Annulment is typically harder if one party doesn't wish to, but under Magic Law they have to if it is brought to the attention to a higher authority such as a Guardian Dragon.

Examples: Twilight Sparkle and Spike, all of the Miraculous Users with their respective Kwami, Zak and Fisk Saturday, Dashi and Dojo, Jack Spicer and Wuya, Sakura Kinomoto and Keroberos and Yue, Lilian Hale and Matt Olsen, Billy and Mandy and Grim.

[toothpastecanyon]

A Name From the Mailbox, Chapter 4

Dipper finds out the author's name before Not What He Seems. It's not the person he expected.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

“The end times?”

The ride home had been strange so far. Dipper and Mabel exchanged glances before looking back at the old man sitting between them.

“There’s a doomsday device under Gravity Falls?” Dipper made a face. “No offense, but is this, uh, like the Gobblewonker situation?”

“It’s real! Look at these gravitational readings, kid!” He gestured at a matrix of numbers on the screen. “Waves of anomalies! And once it activates - you best be holding onto something, cause you’ll start floating up!”

Soos looked back. “Whoa. That sounds pretty cool, dude.”

“It’s not cool! It’s tearing a hole in our universe!”

“Aww.”

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Dipper raised a hand. “We can shut it down, right? Where is it?”

“Ohhh… I used to know, I don’t recall!”

“Maybe it’s in that old bunker?” Mabel sat forward. “We should go back there!”

“Maybe…” He frowned. “After the Shack, yeah.”

At that moment, Soos turned into the parking lot. Mabel’s frown deepened.

“Why after?”

“We’re already here, right? It’ll just take a second.” Dipper opened the door and jumped out. He held it for McGucket, and raised an eyebrow when Mabel remained in the car. “Mabel? Come on!”

“We should find the bunker, Dipper.”

“Yeah, we will, just-”

“We should go look for the bunker, now.” Mabel crossed her arms. “We just got told there’s a big scary thing that’s gonna end the world and you still want to look for Stan stuff? He’s not gonna know about a doomsday thingy.”

“Well, we don’t know that-”

“Dipper.”

Mabel was looking at him with a very knowing expression. He took one look at it, and then sighed.

“Well… if Stan’s the Author, he’s gotta know where it’ll be, right? He probably built it.” He watched Mabel raise her eyebrows. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Because I don’t think Grunkle Stan’s the Author, Dipper.” She pulled her hands into her sleeves. “You know that, right?”

Dipper hesitated. He looked back towards the house; Soos was opening the side door. “I mean, it’s very possible. And we’re already here, we might as well-”

Mabel got out of the car and pushed past him without a word. He frowned and hurried to catch up with her.

“Come on, Mabel. Don’t be like that.” A pause. “I don’t think it’d be in the bunker anyways. We looked all over that place.”

“Hey, dude!” Soos waved him over. “What are we looking for? I forgot.”

“It’s…” Dipper glanced one more time at Mabel, then jogged forwards. “It’s a big stack of papers, it should be in the living room. Come on.”

They entered the kitchen, and Dipper suddenly froze - was Stan back? He listened for a couple seconds, but the house was silent… eerily silent. They headed into the living room and were greeted by an empty chair - and no thesis, no picture to show Fiddleford.

“Of course,” Dipper frowned. “Stan must’ve put them somewhere.”

“...What is this place?”

A strange question - he glanced over, and found McGucket looking around the room.

“Oh, it’s just our house,” he said, and then cleared his throat. “I bet he still has it somewhere. Soos, you know where he hides stuff, right?”

“Yeah… he says I’m supposed to keep them secret, though. Like the money under the squeaky step on the stairs, the arrest warrants under the rug in the gift shop…” He counted them off with his fingers. “The wallets in the Sascrotch…”

“Okay, cool, you can take the gift shop.” Dipper looked over at McGucket. “And, uh, take him too, I guess. Mabel and I- oh, you know where it might be? His office, we’ll go there.”

“Okay,” said Mabel. He cringed a bit at her tone, but continued.

“Alright, if we find it, we can meet back up. It’ll be hard to miss, it’s like a giant stack of paper, and it’ll have Stan’s picture on top.”

“Got it, dude.” Soos shot finger guns at him as he backed away. “Come on, McGucket, it’s this way.”

The two of them shuffled out of sight, and Dipper nodded to Mabel.

“Alright, let’s, uh, go.”

“Yeah, to the office.”

Mabel turned and started walking to the back. He trailed along behind her.

“Yeah, it’ll just be quick,” he said. Paused. Then: “It’s worth checking out. I mean, you saw the same stuff I saw. It’s not at least a little weird to you that he’s got a whole PhD on anomalous events even though he never-”

“Yeah, Dipper, you told me already.”

“Then why doesn’t it make sense to check it out?” He opened the door to the office. “If he’s not the author, then we can just go to the next thing, right?”

Mabel snorted. “Oh yeah, and you’re totally ready to let this go. I know you, dum dum. You’re gonna spend the rest of the summer obsessing about this, and not in a fun way. In the ‘arguing with Grunkle Stan every night’ way.”

“Well… well, it’s weird, isn’t it? Stan is hiding something.” He made a beeline for the paper shredder, and picked it up. “Look, look! This thing’s stuffed - ugh, I bet he shredded it! Now why do you think he’d do that?”

“I dunno?” Mabel poked at the paper copier. “Hey, do you remember that dance party we had? Maybe we could ask Grunkle Stan to throw another one!”

“Oh, that? Oh, that…” He started going through the papers scattered around the desk. “I remember that. I didn’t really get to spend a lot of time at it, I was, uh…”

“Trying to nerd your way into dancing with Wendy?”

“Yeah, yeah... Mabel, look!” He grabbed a piece of paper. “There’s one page he didn’t shred for some reason - and it’s the one with his picture! Yes!” He flipped it over to show her. “Look, it is him, right down to the glasses! And he’s building the Mystery Shack - tell me that’s not him!”

Mabel frowned at the photo. She started to open her mouth, but-

There was a sound. A yell. A cry. Both of them locked eyes, and without a word they ran for the gift shop.

“Are you guys okay?” Dipper said as he burst through the door. The first thing he saw was McGucket, on the floor, trembling. “McGucket?”

“I seen it!” McGucket stabbed a finger at - the vending machine? “I seen it, right down there! It’s there!”

“What’s here?” Mabel tried to help him up, but he scrambled away. “What’s wrong?”

“The machine… my mind… I’m not going down there again! You can’t make me!”

Then he bolted for the door. Soos tried to grab him, but he was gone in a flash, the door slamming shut behind him. Dipper blinked, and then looked to Soos.

“Uh… what happened?”

“I dunno, dude! One minute he was fine, I turn around and suddenly he’s freaking out!” Soos picked up a case on the counter. “He left his laptop, too.”

“Weird.” Mabel took it from him. “What do you think he saw? Dipper?”

Dipper wasn’t right beside her. He had walked a couple paces forward, towards the vending machine.

“Dipper?”

It looked normal, mundane. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d passed by this thing without sparing it a second glance. There was nothing really to draw the eye; no flashy colours, no display lights on the snacks, no attempt from Stan to dress it up as any sort of attraction. It was maybe the most normal looking thing in the gift shop, but…

He reached out. Felt the sides. There was decades’ worth of grime caught between the metal edge and the wooden wall, but as his fingers slid down, they came across something - a bump?

He looked.

A hinge.

______________________________________________________________

Shit. Shit, shit. Did he lose them?

Heart beating in his chest, Stan slowly raised himself up, and looked out the side of the van he was driving. Through the cracks in the grass, he could see lights from the highway silhouetting the trees he looked through. White lights - no red and blue, though it was harder to tell with the feds.

He grit his teeth, and forced his shoulders down. It had been quiet for a while. If they were gonna find him here, they would’ve done it by now.

“Alright, Stan,” he grunted. Opened the door. “Hard part’s done. Now I just need to get it home.”

He rubbed his forehead as he got out of the van; there was a split in it that had stopped bleeding not that long ago. He cast one look to the front, to the smoking engine crumpled into the side of a thick trunk, and limped his way to the back - past the side of the van that read ‘OFFICIAL WASTE DISPOSAL VEHICLE’ in large letters. He unlatched the rear doors, opened them, and shone a flashlight inside.

There was the shine of several metal cylinders. One of them had flown up a little in the collision and was resting sideways on the others. It looked like it had a pretty bad dent in it, but nothing looked to be leaking out; not noticeably, at least.

“Hmph.” He nodded a little. “I can work with this. Alright.”

There was a tarp and a couple construction signs thrown about the back; he covered the van, set up a few signs to keep away curious onlookers, then started off through the forest. It slow and dark, but, as he checked his watch, not dark for too much longer. The kids’d be up if he took too long, so he groaned and forced himself to walk a little faster.

Shouldn’t’ve tried to rush this job, he thought. Should’ve learned his lesson from Columbia. If the feds weren’t onto him before, they sure were now. Maybe he should get out of town for a bit, take the kids on a little road trip…

He made a face. Miss the portal opening, probably. Thirty years of work, and he might not even be there to see it pay off.

There was a tug and a ripping sound as his pantlegs brushed past a thorny bush, and he swore under his breath.

“Great. Just great.” Finally he trudged his way out onto the Shack’s parking lot. “Alright, focus. Gotta work quickly.”

Stan grabbed some supplies stashed by the outhouse and loaded them into his car. He put the seats back, started it, and drove right back to where he’d hit the trees; for once he was driving carefully, following the speed limit. Once he saw the flash of construction signs down in the forest, he turned off his headlights and drove slowly down to the van.

There, he stopped. Pulled the tarp off. The words emblazoned across the sides of the van were really gonna catch the eye of whoever found this thing; he took a can of spraypaint and quickly covered them, paused, and then replaced it with ‘PROPERTY OF TENT OF TELEPATHY’ After that, he opened the back and loaded as many drums of waste into his car that he could. When he ran out of space, he wrapped two in the tarp and tied them to the roof.

Stan tightened them one last time, and stepped back to catch his breath.

There. Now all he had to do was get home.

The sky was just barely beginning to lighten as Stan pulled back into the Mystery Shack. He pulled off his gloves as he made his way toward the gift shop, opened the door, and walked towards the vending machine.

Something did catch his eye, though. There was something on the register with a little red light; he picked it up, and immediately he could feel it was a little camera… A camera that was currently recording. Stan frowned at that, and looked up, up to the vending machine it was pointed at.

He had a bad feeling about this. And a second later when he heard a strange creak from the corner of the gift shop, he reached down, grasped the baseball bat leaning against the side of the counter, and made his way to the sound.

He stepped silently, avoiding the squeaky floorboards. There was definitely a figure in the corner, but… smaller than he was expecting. It didn’t look like an agent, actually, it looked more like…

“Kid?”

Dipper squinted when the flashlight came on. Stan breathed a sigh of relief - yup, it was just him - before a new fear started churning his stomach.

“What are you doing here kid? It’s late, you should be in bed!” He shone the flashlight lower. “Are those IDs? Did you go rooting through my room?”

“It is late. Where have you been, Grunkle Stan?”

Stan glanced back to his car. He really didn’t have time for this.

“And what happened to your face?”

“Eh… woodpecker.” Stan motioned him up. “Cmon, kid, off to bed with you. Your parents’d kill me if they found out how late you’re up.”

“Since when have you cared about how late we stay up?”

“Since right now, kid, so-“

“No!” Dipper crossed his arms, and there was a strange shine in his eyes. “What’s wrong with me sitting here? In this room?”

“Dipper.”

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you!”

“Dipper, you’re trying my patience.” He glanced back again. “Look, how about I cut you a deal. You go to bed, tomorrow we can have a proper talk about this, alright?”

“What, so you can tell me more about how you aren’t the Author?” He rose to his feet. “You know, ‘Stan’, at first I thought you weren’t telling me because you wanted to ‘protect me’ or whatever, but now I know what you’re up to. McGucket, he saw what the machine was gonna do to the world, but you kept going, didn’t you?”

“McGucket? What?”

“It’s too late to play dumb, Stan! I know what you’re really hiding. There’s a doomsday machine under the Mystery Shack!”

Stan heard that, and the first thing that came out of his mouth was a startled snort. “What?” He managed. “You spent this whole time trying to figure me out, and you came up with that?”

But the look in his eyes… wow, he was serious about this, wasn’t he?

“You really think I’m building a doomsday machine?” Stan laughed again, but it rang hollow against Dipper’s unsmiling expression. “Have a little faith in me, kid, come on. I’m not trying to end the world.”

“You’re lying.” He said, trying to puff out his chest. “And I’m not gonna let you do this. I’m gonna stop you.”

At that, Stan let out a deep sigh. He looked up at the first morning rays peeking through the blinders, and then back at his nephew.

“Go to bed, kid.”

“No. I’m gonna stay here, I’m- hey!”

In one move, Stan picked him up and hoisted him over his shoulder. He started towards the back, wincing a bit as Dipper pounded on his shoulder.

“Let me go, Grunkle Stan! Let me go!”

Up the stairs. Dipper tried to wiggle out of his grip, but he held him firmly in place.

“You’ve just proved I’m right, you know! You’re not gonna get away with this!”

Stan made his way up to the attic, opened the door, and set dipper down in the bedroom. He blocked Dipper from squeezing past him as he started swinging it closed.

“Stan!”

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow. You get some rest.” As the gap narrowed, he saw the light landing on Mabel’s bed. She almost looked asleep, but he could see her staring back at him. “Night, kids.”

Then he shut the door, turned the lock… and after a second of hesitation he dragged a chair over and slotted it under the handle. A bit extreme, he thought, but the kid was smart. Tonight wasn’t the night to take chances.

Stan backed away, and started back down the steps.

He was so close, now. So close.

And no one was going to get in his way.

Hours later, when Dipper was slumped half-asleep against the door, he grunted at a strange light. It wasn’t like the sunlight; it was strangely blue, and as he bolted up and rubbed his eyes, he could see it shining up from between the floorboards.

Then he felt… strange. Light. He yelped as his feet suddenly left the ground, and suddenly everything in their bedroom was starting to float up, up; McGucket’s laptop, slowly spinning in the air, beeped and displayed a message that made his blood go cold:

MACHINE STATUS: ACTIVE

And then suddenly the weightlessness vanished, and he dropped back down, scrambled over to the laptop.

“Oh, no, no, no,” he said, his face lit red from warning signs. “Stan, what are you doing?”

[portalford]

I Can Picture You So Easily

AO3

It hits Stan at the stupidest times.

Well.  That makes it sounds like Stan just forgets, when really it never quite goes away — sometimes it’s just more.

Like now.

He’s looking in the mirror — he found it tucked way, way back in a closet (and he’s gonna skip right over that because when he got here the mirror in the bathroom was broken, cracked until you couldn’t see a thing and why was Ford—nope) — and he’s trying out a new look for Mr. Mystery.

Gotta keep it fresh, right?  Accessorize?

Glasses aren’t accessories, unfortunately.  He can’t go without them anymore.

(Really, he needed them years ago, but he was too stubborn to admit it, or too broke, or whatever, but he’s literally tripping over his own feet now.  Needs must).

Ford wouldn’t be caught dead in this getup.  No sense of fashion.  So that’s fine.

The glasses—

(Ford started wearing glasses when he was six.  Stan had laughed himself silly when they went to the drugstore and tried on the biggest, most obnoxious frames they could find.  Ma had scolded, but she’d been too distracted checking price tags to do more than scold.

In the end, they went with some cheap horn-rimmed frames that Stan wouldn’t be caught dead in even now.  Old-man glasses, at six.  But that was Ford all over).

—they bring some stuff up.  The twin thing sucks, sometimes.  

(Looking in a mirror and seeing the changes, the lines in his face, the grey in his hair — does Ford have crow’s feet now?  Is his hair going silver?  It was always unmanageable — is it thinning like Stan’s is now, or is it still thick and flyaway, like it was when Ford was sixteen?  Did he even live long enough to get lines in his face and aches in his joints, or is he forever twenty-eight, dead somewhere in the universe?)

Time to stop thinking.

Notice the differences.

Stan’s ears and nose are bigger than Ford’s, always have been.  He’s heavier and his shoulders are broader.

(Has Ford gotten bulkier, fighting to survive?  Or is still he halfway to gaunt, like the last time Stan saw him?)

Definitely time to stop thinking.

Stan flashes a smile, and yeah, that’s all him.  Cheerful, magnetic, and a hundred percent fake.

Time to work the crowds.

*****

There’s an ad for the nice ink pens Ford saved up to buy when he was fourteen.

Stan turns it off.

*****

Mabel finds a picture, once.

“Grunkle Stan!”  Her eyes are all lit up as she shows him the torn photograph.  “I found this under a floorboard in the attic!”

If Stan ever had any doubts about his poker face, he can lay them to rest now. It’s all on the ropes and his expression is perfectly level, maybe even a little curious.

Mabel is still talking.  “I didn’t know there were pictures of you before you were all old!  Do you have any others?”

Oh.

Stan still forgets sometimes, even after everything, that most people can’t tell him and Ford apart.

He knows better.

The young man in the photograph is unmistakably Ford, taken while he was living in Gravity Falls.  He’s got his head bent over that journal of his, but the photographer managed to catch the eager light in his eye, the edge of his smile.

Stan wonders who that photographer was, all those years ago.

A tug at his shirt reminds him he’s not alone, and he definitely can’t get messed up about this picture of his secret twin brother.

Mabel’s face has fallen a bit.  “Grunkle Stan?  Are you okay?”

Stan gives himself two more seconds to look at the picture — Ford just looks so happy; Stan can’t even remember the last time Ford looked like that, even before it all fell apart — and turns to Mabel.

“Yeah,” he says.  He smiles and ruffles her hair.  “Pretty good picture, huh?”

*****

The name is the worst.

Stan never thought identity theft could involve so little fun.

Usually he can get away with just “Stan Pines,” and that’s fine.  That’s his name.  That’s who he’s supposed to be.

Sometimes, though, that’s not enough for whoever’s asking.

“What did you say your name was again?”

He smiles.  Lays it on thick.  “Stanford Pines.”

“Could you sign here?”

He does.  His blocky, uneven handwriting looks even worse than usual where he’s expecting to see neat, flowing script, the way Stanford Pines is supposed to be written.

“This is Stanford Pines,” someone will say.  “Mr. Mystery.”

Stan smiles some more.  Yes, Stanford Pines is certainly that.

Gideon is the worst.  Stanford this and Stanford that and Stan’s never wanted to punch a child so much in his life.

“Stanford Pines!”

He smiles, and he lies.

*****

Dipper halfway drives him nuts sometimes.

It’s not like the kid’s a mini-Ford — he reminds Stan enough of himself, sometimes, though Stan’s not sure that’s great either — but he’s got the brains and the stubbornness and the love of weird nonsense, for sure.

He’s also got that obsessive edge, the drive that sent Ford right off the metaphorical cliff.

Usually Mabel tags along on the weirdness hunts — they make a day of it.  They go out, just the two of them, and come back laughing and joking and shoving at each other.

That’s enough of a painful reminder, but sometimes Stan will catch Mabel sitting by herself, coloring or crafting with a little less energy than usual, and he’ll realize that Dipper’s buried himself in monster theory again.

He tries to keep the kid busy with chores and hustle, but it’s a losing battle.

It was the first time, too.

*****

There’s this old song that Ford used to love when they were younger.

It’s got no words, and Stan used to make fun of it — what's the point of a song with no words?  But Ford insisted it had Meaning, capital M.

It comes on the radio now and then.

Depending on how masochistic Stan is feeling that day, he might let it play.

He still wonders what Ford heard in this song, and if Ford would hear it now.

*****

He realizes, one day near the end, that he’s been Stanford longer than he’s been Stanley.

What’s the point, really?  What does a name matter if it’s so easy for someone else to take your place?

(Did Ford matter so little, in the grand scheme of things, that not one person could recognize him in a place he lived for six years?

Does Stan, in a place he’s lived for almost thirty?)

If he could just stop catching Ford in his reflection now and then, that’d be great.

*****

It’s not any better once Ford gets back (once Stan brings Ford back, the ungrateful bastard).

“Stanford!”

Stan’s got a smile on his face before he even turns around, and what’s wrong with him that he’s halfway made this lie into a Pavlovian response?  Someone calls him Stanford, he smiles and lies.

(Stanford — the real Stanford — is in the basement right now.  He doesn’t even exist, as far as anyone else is concerned.  Stan is Stanford, Stanley is dead, and Ford is a nonentity.

What a life this is).

*****

“So how was it?”

Stan grunts.  “How was what?”

Ford rolls his neck, wincing a little as he works out the unavoidable crick from hunching over a drawing for twenty minutes.  “Being me.”

Stan shrugs.  “Wasn’t hard.  We’re basically the same person, y’know.”

Ford snorts.  A long time (a lifetime) ago that comment might have gotten him worked up, but he’s steadier now, softer around the edges.  “Very funny.  I saw your lease renewal.  You didn’t even change your handwriting, for heaven’s sake.”

“Ford, I rolled up to town, said I was you, and started a tourist trap.  You had a total personality transplant and nobody noticed.”  Stan grimaces.  That sounded really bad.

Ford’s expression has gone rueful and a little sad at the edges, but he doesn’t seem like he’s about launch into full-blown self-recrimination, so that’s fine.  “Yes, well.  That’s what happens when you isolate yourself for six years and your only friend erases his mind to cope with the mistakes you made.”

And that’s Ford trying to shoulder all the blame again, but Stan keeps his mouth shut.  They’re both too comfortable to argue right now.  “Being honest — for once — it kinda sucked.”  Ford’s looking at him, open and encouraging, so Stan keeps going.  “Everyone thought I was you, and it—I wasn’t.  I didn’t want to be.”  Stan shrugs.  “I wanted you you.”

Ford smiles, and it’s a little more worn than Stan remembers, but it’s real, and it’s him.  “I understand.  I met a few parallel versions of you on my travels, and they were you, but — they weren’t really you.”  Ford closes his journal (his new one) and sets it aside, tipping his head back over his chair.  More playfully, he adds, “I wouldn’t want to be you either, Stanley.”

Stan laughs.  “Yeah?  Couldn’t handle the salesmanship?”

“Have more self-respect than to wear any part of your wardrobe.”

“Says the man who wears sweaters in the summer.”

Ford lifts his head and smiles, and this time it’s almost exactly how Stan remembers — quick and a little crooked.  “Fair enough.”  Ford stretches, rolls his neck again.  “For what it’s worth, Stanley, I am glad to be back.”  A wry look.  “Even if it’s going to take ages to sort out the criminal record you gave me.”

Stan slouches deeper into the couch.  Any further and he’s going to slide off, but that’s a risk he’ll take.  “Yeah, yeah.  Talk to me when you’re legally dead.”

“You did that.”

“And?”

“I legally don’t exist.”

“I was trying to learn theoretical physics at the time, Stanford; cut a man some slack.”

Ford laughs, quiet.  “Did I ever thank you for that?”

Stan cracks an eye open.  He didn’t realize he closed them.  “What, learnin’ physics?  Because I’m pretty sure that’s some of the stuff that’s not coming back.”

Ford rolls his eyes.  “For saving me.”

“Hm.”  Ford’s thanked him several times, but lately it’s been less Ford kicking himself and more Ford cautiously trying to engage in the old back-and-forth they used to have, and Stan can get behind that one.  “I dunno.  Might have to say it again.”

“You’re burning through my gratitude very quickly,” Ford says mildly, “but all right.  Thank you for saving me.  You knucklehead.”

Stan never got called that when he was Ford.  He thinks he’s missed it, at least the way Ford says it — like it means something completely different.

“Uh-huh.”  Stan’s eyes are closed again.  He figures he’ll just leave them closed.  “Missed you too, nerd.”

And maybe there’s something to be said for being your own person.

It feels pretty good.

[truly-morgan]

Fanfic idea am too tired to write for now pt.1

So I have many fanfiction Idea, yet my dumb ass is just way too tired in so many ways to actually write anything for now, so I decided “Why not just make a list and see what people enjoy, might give me motivation”. This might be a multi-fandom post, depending on how many idea I can brings back from my bad memory.

After all, what better than writing a fanfic is to just dumb down the plot and ramble about me ideas.

TodoBakuDeku

Soulmate marks AU

They are all soulmates, and two of them a really dumb. The two first to notice are Midoriya and Todoroki. Somewhere after the sport festival, they happen to be changing at the same time for X reason and one of them notice they have a matching marks. We have two dorks unsure what to do, but they decided “Hey, lets give it a chance, we are already on a good start”.

Everything goes well, everyone do kinda notice how close they have become, but hey maybe it just how they are with close friend (especially with poor Shouto being a novice at friendship). But, one day when they are all changing after a sport class, Kirishima points out how similar Bakugo’s mark is to Midoriya’s one, making our explosive boy mad but then realise they have the same. Somehow these two childhood friend either never actually notice it (tbf, Bakugo’s mark isn’t that visible) or just erased that information from their memory if it was ever discovered.

And then we have Todoroki and Midoriya unsure what to do since they weren’t expecting to add a third person (after all it is rather rare thing to happen, but not in my fanfic), while Bakugo is just confused at how this situation as escalated quickly. Then we simply have a couples chapter seeing how thing are evolving between them, maybe some jealous Bakugo who didn’t want any of that at first but didn’t like seeing them this close when he could be a parts of it.

And somehow I wanna have Kirishima trying to help his friends, because of course he would, despite being confused by missing the part where Todoroki is also part of the equation.

Fantasy AU

This one would probably need to be cut in two parts? Like I imagine them meeting on a first quest and kind of slowly falling for each other that way? Like, Midoriya was already on this quest with Iida and Uraraka, joined later by prince Todoroki after Midoriya broke the ice (dum dum tss). They probably meet Bakugo on the way, already acquainted with Midoriya because of past event and decide to tag along “Because I was already going there, anyway Deku would get himself kill if he went alone”. So they ends up kind of bonding over the thing they live through and after killing the demon or something.

Second part is something I feel has more seriousness to it, happening a couple years later, where their relationship is something along the line of “I have no clue what relationship I have with these two exactly, there seems to be something but am not sure, but one thing I know is I am ready to die or kill for them”.

This would happen where Todoroki’s kingdom is dragged into war against the dragonkin because they are allies of the one going against them for land and riches. Todoroki has no choice but to actually follow his dad and obviously Bakugo will take care of his kind. I was imagining this whole scene going where Todoroki asks Midoriya to choice what he knew he wouldn’t regrets doing later on (so obviously going with Bakugo). A truly difficult choice, but the both understand, especially Bakugo, that he has obligation and no real choice in the matter if he wants things to change later on.

So we have this whole war going on, learning that Todoroki was working a little more in the background to actually help or makes thing less bad for the dragonkin when he his the one in commands.

One of the rare fanfic where I had some ideas about how to end this story, despite it being rather unsure yet.

BakuDeku

a/b/o

I was going to make a follow up to Bond where we see some snippet from their daily lives as official mates (yet hidden from the public for obvious reason). I already had a couple of ideas for this one, not sure if it actually count as a fanfiction since all the chapter would be rather “unrelated” to one another, each a little story that doesn’t exactly have a follow up in another chapter.

AllEraserMic

Everyone dies trilogy

I am an angtsy bitch and already started this mini-serie with They Both Knew. It was suppose to only be one story at first, then I wondered “How would the different duo react to on of them dying”. So I already did the Toshinori one, am missing Aizawa and Hizashi. This is purely to write angst since it had been a while since I actually wrote angst (I swear I wanted to cry when writing in on the bus something, the hospital scene was the worst).

So yeah, this is at least already kind of started I suppose.

Soulmate Marks AU

(Can y’all see what kind of jam I like?). This one is an idea that has already be seen quite many time in this ship dynamic, where Both Aizawa and Hizashi are in a nice relationship after discovering they were soulmates when studying at UA. So what happens when Toshinori realise that they are both his soulmate? Of course he can’t tell them, after all he wouldn’t want to break that happy couple.

Of course he’s not the most subtle man on earth about it and the couple does notice how weird he seems to act and how much more than before he make sure that his marks stay hidden.

EraserMic

Villain!Mic

This would most likely be based around the Villain Mic Au created by @corndog-patrol​ because I just really love her Villain!Mic so much (this is the kind of villain I really love too) and it gave me ideas. Go check her little comics about this AU, it’s absolutely lovely.

This would most likely be a slow burn (because that’s my speciality at this point), with different accounters they have throughout Eraserhead patrols, where he slowly get a better understanding of how Mic actually is, which mean not really a villain, despite Mic trying to convince him otherwise.

I like the idea of working with a Mic who is convince his quirk cannot be use for good because he was convince early on that his quirk is dangerous (painfully proved by his now bad hearing), yet still act in more ways that would be seen a heroic rather than villainous.

Am not an original person when it comes to AU apparently, but I just really like this idea and wanted to play with it a little bit.

If you want a good fanfic that is already written in that setting please go check out Villainous Heroics by Ibelieveinahappilyeverafter. I hope I won’t get subconsciously inspired by it (or at least not too much) when I write this.

BillDip

Reversed a/b/o Dynamic

So I already started it, this is probably cheating, but I don’t have the energy to write right now so fuck it  ╮(￣ω￣;)╭. So this is an AU reversing the abo usual dynamic and omega are instead treated very well, coming from a twitter tread i had seen.

The twins are both actors (Mabel the film industry and Dipper more on the theater scene) and Bill is the CEO of the studio for which Mabel’s work. He basically meets Dipper when he was going to greet Mabel and fall head over heel for him, making him want to court him.

This is a rather fluff oriented story, where they slowly get to know each other better and Bill trying to court Dipper because in this house we respect omegas. This is a much more light hearted story than some of the one presented higher in this post. I was only going to start really writing it after finishing my two other AU (the 20′s speakeasy and zombie apocalypse ones), but when i get back into writing I might do that.

Lets make a deal AU

So I already presented this one in a previous list, but I really wanna get to write it down at some point.

This is where Dipper as a lot of confidence issue, comparing himself with his family and not seeing anything good in himself. I wanted to play on Bill not necessarily doing weirdmagedon that year and instead taking interest in Dipper.

I wanted to see Bill slowly pulling Dipper in after getting interested in him and thinking his great mind could help him in his plan. Also what better thing than to have one of the wheel sign on your side?

This is more on a Dark!Dipper AU kind of vibe, where the relationship is probably not as wholesome and good as the other one I’ve written until now, but I wanted to see something different.

==

Welp, can y’all tell I got interested in bnha lately? (if some of my many doodle of it wasn.t telling). I feel like I write for only two fandom despite loving many show. It just sometimes I feel like I would really be able to do it well? Like I’ve read many Hannibal fanfic, but I don’t think I would be able to write one whom is really good.

Anyway, these are the idea I really wanna write at some point, might get to do it in my not so existent free time or if I don’t feel like reading on the bus.

[talesfromsiteredacted]

Orientation Blues, Or Not So Helpful Hints For New Hires from SCP 963 and Dr. Clef

Welp... it's orientation time, or as my boss calls it 'Fresh Meat Friday'. Site Command is holding the briefing. Here's the highlights and important stuff.

Words of er... "wisdom" from 963

"Hi kids. Welcome to the SCP Foundation. A few ground rules. First, the class system refers to how hard it is to contain, not 'power levels'. Second, it's "Ket-ter", not 'Keeter' or 'Kay-ter'. Third, if Dr. Gears runs out of coffee, bring him more. Do not knock on the door, instead start singing 'Ave Maria' to not startle Dr. Gears. We're still picking bullets and D-Class fragments out of the door after the last person forgot. If you don't know 'Ave Maria', until you learn pick something unique. For the love of 343... no REM. Fourth, signing up for the softball team is voluntary. And finally, do as I say, not as I do."

"Keter Duty is a punishment. If you feel the need to volunteer, go talk to Dr. Glass, maybe hug 999 until the urge passes."

"The tuna surprise is not to be trusted, let alone consumed. Also... avoid the cakes in Site Cafeteria. The cakes are not lies, but our chief cook Mabel is terrible at baking. By the way... while bribing Site Command with baked goods is not officially advised... if say, some chocolate chunk cookies were left unattended outside a certain member of Site Command's office along with your reports, there may be fewer edits and redactions."

"If you see my esteemed colleague Dr. Clef with his ukulele, put in your earplugs. If you see Dr. Clef walk by with his shotgun, run to the emergency shelter and wait it out."

"Do not hug the anomalies unless directed to or the anomaly asks. The exception to this is 999. He lives for hugs."

"And now... without further ado, a man who needs no introduction, Dr. Clef with "Reality Warpers and You, Or How Not to Spend the Rest of Your Life As a Latke. You laugh, but it happened to Agent Ducanan. 682 was lined up outside with sour cream and chives."

Dr. Clef's survival tips

"One, Scranton Reality Anchors are vital in containing reality warpers. Read the manual, memorize it, practice setting them up until you can do it blindfolded. Two, never underestimate the power of disinformation, reality warpers are just as vulnerable to bullshit as the rest of us. Three, when all else fails... shotgun!"

"You do not recognize the bodies in the water. Do not investigate the bodies in the water."

"Asking 343 to make you immune to 049's touch just because you 'think the poor bird can use a hug' is violating a whole bunch of rules, which is usually 963's shtick. Plus... he's not the touchy type. Try hugging 999, you'll feel better."

"Check your spelling. 012 hates poor grammar and spelling, and when using 294 it's the difference between a cup of immortality and a cup of immorality."

"For the last bloody time... WE ARE NOT FUNDED BY UMBRELLA CORPORATION, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY OF THEIR CRAPPY INFERIOR BIOWEAPON PRODUCTS, NOR ARE WE OURSELVES PRODUCING BIOWEAPONS. No, 076-2 is not a bioweapon, just really angry and hard to kill. 682 and 096 are also not bioweapons. Again, just really angry and hard to kill."

"Those of you joining the MTFs, be prepared for anything. And... do some cardio. Yes, running from 106 counts, if you like your run spiked with danger."

[goldenchan-fx2thepeacock]

Don’t Go Running Off Into Danger, Even If I Do pt 3

Hek. I woke up today and found that my FNP phic has 41 notes and my DGROIDEIID phic is gaining attention and reblogs; holy shit. And I woke up at noon. It’s Saturday. I sleep in on such days. Anyways. Last I checked, Val and Danny were gonna go get Dani, but we need some Dip and Mabs action cause I forgot last night. I will probably develop an uploading schedule later. For now, just have random updates. I might even make a side blog for this shit.

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Chapter 3

Dipper stood off in the background as Danny got into an argument with a dracula ghost. By the amount of times he heard Plasmius, this must’ve been Vlad. Danny looked pissed when he finished. He still took Dipper and Mabel to their classes, but when they tried to find him at lunch, he was absent.  “I wonder where he is?” Mabel pondered.  “I’m sure he just had something to do,” Dipper replied. Some guy walked up to their table.  “Hey, you’re the kids Fenton is touring. Listen, he’s Phantom and I have proof!”  “And you are?” Mabel said patiently. “Wes Weston. Listen, you gotta believe me!” “We legit just moved here, we have no clue what you’re talking about. Leave us alone,” Dipper said. Wes looked taken aback.  “Fine! Fenton better worry. I will expose him. I just need more proof,” Wes stalked off. Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look.  “Should we be worried?” He asked Mabel. “He seems to have it under control,” 

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Danny stared off into the daylight as they flew. Val set down.  “Come on. She’s fine. Why are you losing it?” “Just a certain Wisconsin Ghost told me about you keeping her,” “Vlad?” “Wait, you know?” “I’ve known since I met Dani,” “Jeez. I’ve known since I met the guy during my parents college reunion. I’m still pissed at him for that whole invisble wall fiasco,” “That was him?” “Yeah. I mean, I started it, but he kept trying to get in my mom’s pants. I needed to put him down a peg,” “You made his wall invisble!?” “Yeah. But it’s not like being naked on camera is going to tell the public any secrets,” “I’m confused. Why do care so much?” “It’s nothing,” Danny grunted. They were headed to the basement. “It seems to be something,” “I have things I’d prefer not to reveal to the entire school,” “No one saw your dick. You managed to catch it in time,” Val was confused. Danny laughed.  “Hey Val. Why would a guy have a female clone? Oh right. I forgot to tell you. Dani is more or less my clone because Vlad was being extra creepy,” “Weird. So she isn’t your cousin. Wait. OH MY GOD! Danny, I understand completely. If Dash knew, you’d be dead meat,” Val caught on quickly. Danny couldn’t but laugh at the dead meat. “Hey! What’s funny?” “I am dead meat Val!” “I’m an idiot. Anyways, we’re here,” She opened the basement door. Dani was sitting on the couch.  “Danny? Val? What’re you guys doing here. Shit, sorry Danny,” “It’s fine. She knows,”  “Who else knows anyways?” Val said.  “You, Jazz, Tucker, Sam and literally all the ghosts,” “Vlad included?” “Vlad included,” “And Amity Park can’t connect the dots?” “No one knows Danny Phantom has a human life. I’d be seriously pissed if someone told the general public,” “That’s fair. Anyways. We’re here because a certain Dracula cosplayer told Danny you were in danger,” Val said. Danny snorted. “Dracula cosplayer? I have to use that on him,” “Why would anyone think that’s a good look?”  “My ‘dad’,” Dani said. Thus causing both her and Danny to break out in laughter. “Where does the whole cousin thing come in?” Val asked. “My ‘Unkie Vlad’. It’s his way of making me family,” “Unkie?” Val looked lost. “I like being a little bitch to him,” “He deserves it! You should expose him,” “If I expose Plasmius, Masters exposes Phantom,” “Oh jeez,” “And there is a very good reason not to expose Phantom. And they wear way too much white,” Dani said quietly.  “I’d prefer not to get dissected,” Danny said haughtily. “They already want to,” Val made a noise of disgust.  “How could anyone with a set of morals do that?” “Heh. I’m a ghost. Not really real to most of the world. I don’t have feelings. Don’t feel pain,” Danny repeated what the ghost hunters had told him way too many times.  “That sounds awful, but we should get back to school. Cya Dani!” Val waved and put on her helmet.  “Hey, wanna leave the quick way?” “What do you mea- AAAAAAAH!” Val screamed as Danny made them both go intangible and up through the roof. “Never. Do that again,” “Hey, at least you didn’t end up going through the table and random floors and get banned from handling anything fragile,” “I’m confused,” “When these powers first came in, I was stuck dropping everything. From my pants to beakers,” “Oh jeez. So, why aren’t nerd and nerdette with you?” “Tucker had to go see a doctor out of town and Sam’s mom took her to this convention thing. They’ll be back tomorrow,”  “No comment on the nicknames?” “They’ve been called worse,” Danny shrugged. “And I’ve been shoved in way too many lockers to care,” “I have one last question. Why on earth would you try to date me when I was trying to kill you? And why did you destroy the suit when I could’ve been inside?” “That’s two questions. But Fenton and Phantom needed a distinction, and I knew you weren’t inside. Technus was controlling the suit,” “You are a mystery,” “I’d like to keep it that way,” “You won’t tell anyone my secret if I don’t tell anyone both of yours?” “That makes it sound like you’re going to tell one of them,” “That’s not what I meant,” “We need to come up with an excuse as to why The Red Huntress suddenly has a truce with Phantom,” “Later. I need coffee,” “I couldn’t agree more,” The plume of blue air showed up. “OH COME ON!” “What,” “I have to deal with something,” Danny sped off. 

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Dipper and Mabel looked at the chaos in the caf.  “Students! Hide under tables! Ghost Hunters and/or Phantom will be here soon,” Mr Lancer yelled into a megaphone. “Already here!” Someone yelled. A flash of white said Phantom. There was blue ghost throwing boxes around.  “I am the BOX GHOST!” It yelled. “Yeah, we know. Just say it already,” “I will win this fight with boxes of... spoons! BEWARE!” “Don’t you know not to bring a spoon to a knife fight?” “You do not have a knife!” “No, but I do have a thermos!” Phantom pulled out a green and grey thermos and flipped the lid.  “I will not stay in your cylindrical object!”  “Looks like you’re gonna have to,” Phantom pressed a button and a beam of light came out of the thermos and sucked the Box Ghost inside. “Is everyone okay?” Kids pushed out from under the tables.  “Phantom! Will you sign my book?” Dash said. This must be a cruel joke.  “Ghost boy! The Fenton Peeler is back in action,” “Whoops, gotta go!” Phantom dashed off as Jack and Maddie Fenton came rushing in. “Darn it. Missed him again,” They ran off. Danny walked into the caf and ran over to them. “You guys are lucky that your first ghost attack was the Box Ghost. Harmless,” “Doesn’t look very harmless to me! That’s gotta’ve been at least a level 5,” Dipper opened the journal. “Nah. Box is a solid 2. Hardly a step up from an ectopus. Might get concerned if Desiree shows up. She’s a level 5,” “What’re you?” “We more or less tested it. Pretty sure I’m a 7,” “That means they aren’t a big concern to you most days,” “Mmm. King Pariah was a level 10. That was terrifying. Vlad’s an 8. Convinced he’s a 9,”  “Okay,” “Skulker gets to be a 6 on a technicality. Without the suit, he’s a 1. He can be an 8 on a bad day. I think Frostbite is a 9. He won’t bother you guys though. Dan must’ve been a 9, but I’m not going into that. Technus is an 8, but can be a 10 if he gets his hands on the right tech. Clockwork is an 11, which technically doesn’t exsist, but Clockwork breaks the mold. He won’t bother you unless you end up destroying the world in the future,” Danny shivered.  “Who’s Dan?” Mabel looked confused.  “Nobody. Just a horrible way to learn not to cheat on tests,” Danny shivered again. “But that’s not important. I didn’t cheat on the CAT,” “Your life seems more hectic than Gravity Falls sometimes,” Dipper said. “Where is that? I’ve never heard of it,” “Oregan. Never Mind All That,” He knew the rules. “You know, the way you say that is kinda creepy,” “We’d be breaking the law if we told you why,”  “Jesus. Well, it’s not like we’ll get another Pariah unless an idiot thinks it’s a good idea. He’ll never get his hands on the crown of Fire,”  “Time Out,” Dipper and Mabel looked around.  “Umm, CW, why aren’t they out with everyone else?” “They’ve met Cipher. At this point, I cannot pause time for them,”  “Eh, whatever. Mason, Mabel, this is Clockwork. What’d you need?” “I actually came to speak to you about the Crown of Fire. In defeating Pariah, you gained ownership,” “I, uh, did what now?”  “Gained ownership of the Crown. Though in your case, it would be the Crown of Ice,” Clockwork repeated. Danny looked lost.  “I don’t need to be the King of the Ghost Zone,” “Someone must take the place. It’s your duty,” Danny looked like he was about to have a full on panic attack.  “Can it wait?” “Two years is a long wait as is,” “B-but it went thousands of years before!” “Because they failed to remove the crown and it wasn’t a singular person,”  “What’s two years in the Ghost Zone? As far as I’m concerned, that doesn’t seem like a long time. Walker was gonna give me a thousand year prison sentence,”  “You get some time, but I’ll tell you, if you take the crown, the Ghost Zone enters an era of peace unprecedented,”  “Danny, what’s happening,” Mabel asked. Danny snapped and started hyperventilating.  “I can’t. No. Why? I just wanted to keep the world safe! Is that too much to ask?” “Daniel, you do get time to think about it. Just remember, time can pass however fast or slow I want it too,” “Right, of course. Cya CW,”  “Time In,”

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Danny trudged home. Exhaustion and anxiety gripped him. Mason and Mabel had been concerned, but he wasn’t about to explain everything. He’d talk to Sam and Tucker tomorrow. It didn’t help that he’d had gym after lunch. At least there wasn’t any more disappearing walls.  “Danny! How was school?” Mom asked as he walked in the door.  “Great!” Danny said and rushed upstairs. He’d deal with The Box Ghost in a minute. Jazz stood in his doorway. She didn’t know about Dan, but she did know about Pariah. “Danny, is everything okay?” “No, everything is not okay!” “What happened? Is it Dash again? We should report him,” “It’s not just that. You remember the Pariah incident?” “Yeah, you don’t just forget that,” “Well, turns out that by beating him, I ‘gained ownership’ to the crown,” “That doesn’t sound bad exactly,” “It’s horrible!”  “How?” “I just wanna be a kid, ya know? It’s hard enough living a double life, but ruling the Ghost Zone? I’d have no chance to do anything remotely useful in the human world,” “You wouldn’t need to. If you ruled the Ghost Zone, ghosts wouldn’t come here anymore,” “The King can’t enforce rules in the Human World. It’s just scary,” 

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Aight, that’s a chapter, I guess. The ideas tend to come from random places, and my brain is running out of ideas. I need to do another “planning session” which is coming up with scenarios in my head to make sure they make sense.

[nataliedanovelist]

GF - How A Star Is Born ch.VIII

A Hercules AU, founded by @evaroze, whom this fic is a gift for. I hope y’all like it!

ch.VII - ch.IX

AO3 link

~~~~~~~~~~

A year after Dipper’s first victory and it felt like Gideon had died a thousand deaths.

Dipper became the most famous hero in all of Greece. He defeated every single monster or villain he had come up against, from angry warthogs that he served to the king on a grill, to wicked shapeshifters, to mad ex-girlfriends of Stan’s. No foe could stand against this hero in any way, shape, or form, and unfortunately this was very bad news for Gideon and Bill.

Bill left his minion alone to smoke and recover from being burned alive, shaking with red anger as he watched the fallen god press his hands into concrete with his teacher by his side, smiling proudly. “I can’t believe this! How is that little twerp still alive?!”

“W-W-We still have time…” Gideon whimpered, curled up and lying on his side.

“I’ve got twenty-four hours to get rid of this bozo!” Bill screamed as he towered over his slave. “The scheme I’ve been setting up for thousands of years is going up in smoke thanks to you! And all you can say is WE’VE STILL GOT TIME?!” And Bill snapped his fingers once more and Gideon was engulfed in flames, crying and yelling in unbearable pain.

Pacifica, with her back to the chaos, was smiling at the hero and enjoying the show all around her. “Tough luck, looks like Dippin’ Dots is hitting every curve you throw at him.”

Bill’s red instantly went away as he stared at the young woman before him. His eyes squinted happily and he floated to her side. “Hm, maybe I haven’t been throwing the right curves at him…”

“Don’t even go there.”

“See, Llama, he’s gotta have a weakness, everybody’s got one. We just need to find out Pinetree’s.”

“I totally did my part,” Pacifica scoffed. “Make Marshmallow over there do it.”

“He couldn’t handle him as an infant.” Bill sneered. “I need someone who can… handle him as a man.”

“Look, I’ve sworn off man-handling.” Pacifica snapped and walked away.

“Well, hey that’s good!” Bill laughed, making the young woman stop. “Cuz that’s what gotcha into this jam in the first place, isn’t it? You sold your soul to me to save your father’s life. And how did the guy thank you? By throwing you out when no one wanted to marry you and give dowry? He hurt you real bad, didn’t he? It hurt that no one wants the bratty little Llama, didn't it?”

“I get it, I learned my lesson, okay?” Pacifica croaked as she held her forehead.

“Hey, hey,” Bill cooed and placed a friendly hand on either one of her shoulders. “I tell you what, since I feel sorry for you, I’ll make you a new offer. You give me the key to taking down Wonderboy, and I’ll give you the thing you want more than anything in the whole Multiverse: your freedom.”

Pacifica’s eyes widened and her pupils shrunk as her mouth hung open.

~~~~~~~~~~

Through the fast-pacing, slightly-overwhelming year, the Temple of the Gods became Dipper’s sanctuary. At night, he would sneak away from prying eyes and visit his family, feeling all of his stress and pressure melt away.

Now not only bound to a small journal, Dipper and Mabel could talk more freely. Even more so now that Dipper funded a statue of the young muse to be put in the temple, and now a Mabel made of stone could hug him and punch his shoulder and talk and skip around him, even if she couldn’t feel his warmth or if she risked breaking bones, but he had god-like strength, so who cares? Their bond became even stronger as they swapped stories and got to know each other very well. Many times Mabel would happily sit criss-cross and listen and watch as her twin brother retold his victories to her.

This evening, however, Dipper seemed very tired. He sat at the foot of the huge statue of the Ruler of the Gods and Mabel looked down at him softly before sitting next to him in her statued-form. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

Dipper blinked and shook his head. “N-Nothing!”

Mabel smiled cockily and poked his ribs to lightly tickle him. “C’mon, you can’t hide anything from me. What’s up?”

The young hero sighed and leaned back with his hands on the steps behind him. “It’s just… I’m the most famous person of all in Greece, right?”

“Right.”

“And I’ve beaten every monster I’ve met, right?”

“Right.”

“I’m even an action-figure.” Dipper added as he threw his hands up in the air.

“Yeah,” Mabel said slowly. “So?”

Dipper looked at his long-lost sister and asked her heavily, “So why am I not a god?”

Mabel’s eyes widened in realization before she looked down at her long dress. “Oh.”

“To rejoin the gods, I gotta become a true hero.” Dipper restated. “What, am I missing something? Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Mabel said quickly and patted his shoulder reassuringly. “You’ve been doing great! And hey, you’ve only been at it for, what, a year? You’re just… not there yet. Remember, there’s a difference between being a hero and a true hero, but you’ll get there one day, I know you will.”

Dipper smiled at her and said, “Thanks, Mabel. You’re right. I just have to be patient.”

“Besides, you’ve got plenty of time.” Mabel reminded him with a giggle. “It’s not like you’re gonna die soon or something.”

Dipper laughed alongside her, though he couldn’t quite shake the desire that he would rather be home sooner or later.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dipper walked back to his very large house after going through the lush garden. He had tried not to have a home so big but he had earned so much gold that even after donating to the orphanage he grew up in and many other causes like feeding the poor and providing housing for the homeless, he still had more money than he knew what to do with and Stan seemed to really enjoy living in the lap of luxury, so they met halfway and had a very nice house that was big but not so big that they required five maids.

Dipper entered his home and could see candlelight coming from down the hall. The old man must still be awake. The young hero smiled and moved down the hall to tease his teacher, but as he turned a corner, he was met with something that scared him much more than any monster.

“STAN!” Dipper dashed to him and was on his knees, the old man lying on the cold floor with a dripping candle by his side, a miracle the house hadn’t been caught on fire thanks to being made of stone. “Stan, can you hear me?!”

Dipper helped the unconscious man sit up to get a good look at him. He appeared more dead than alive, but the hero refused to believe it. He scooped the old man up in his arms and ran as fast as he could to the doctor, praying to the gods that Stan would be okay.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mabel was humming to herself as she emerged from her room, having finished meditating and projecting herself onto a statue to talk to her brother. She grew worrisome, however, when she saw her great-uncle sitting at the front steps of the temple, holding his face, covering his eyes, and breathing heavily, like he was struggling with his emotions.

“Grunkle Ford,” Mabel said softly as she hurried to his side and put kind hands on his shoulders. “What’s the matter?”

He looked up at his niece with heavy, shining eyes that refused to cry. “It’s Stanley. He’s running out of time.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“These things happen,” A doctor calmly explained. “As a person ages their bodies start to fail them gradually over time. From what we can tell, Stan had a heart attack. Slight damage to the heart, nothing extremely life-threatening, but a good sign that his time is running out. I wouldn’t quite count the days yet, but I would also advise you value your time with him while you can. I’m so sorry.”

Dipper was now left alone to dwell on the news. He knew Stan wasn’t exactly young, but he always seemed unstoppable, so lively, that the idea of him dying was scary and already made the young hero very mournful. He made himself get up from his stool in the hallway to enter the door his teacher was in, but he was surprised to find Stan standing up and slipping on his cloak. “There you are, let’s blow this joint already.”

“Stan!” Dipper scolded. “What are you doing out of bed?!”

“What, I’m fine now, kid.” Stan waved Dipper’s worries away casually. “Relax. Let’s just go home, I got a bottle of expired grape juice waiting for me.”

“Stan, this is serious!”

“Look, I don’t blame you for being worried, but I need you to trust me on this.” Stan said firmly with kind brown eyes, giving Dipper a firm pat on the shoulder. “I’m fine, okay?”

“But…” Dipper allowed Stan to lead the way out of the room and throughout the hospital for the quiet night. “But… you’re dying.”

“In a way we all are, kid.”

“But…”

“Dipper, listen to me.” Stan interrupted and gave the young hero a stern look as they walked down the street of Thebes. “I’m an old man, I’ve lived a very long life. I’ve known I was dying for a long time, but none of that matters to me. All that matters is that you become a true hero and get to be with your family, whether I get to see it or not.”

“But… I want you to see it.” Dipper sighed. He was very tired. He could feel so much on his shoulders, he always felt like the entire world was on his shoulders, and as they days wore on it was getting harder to ignore. He sat at a large fountain in town-square and looked at his mentor heavily. “I know you won’t be around forever, but… you’re like family to me, Stan. I want you to see me become a true hero. I want to make you proud. I want you to see me in the stars like you want.”

“Hey hey,” Stan sat next to him slowly and patted his back. “Way to get all sappy on me, hero. And where’s all this coming from? I am proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you. Since day one, I’ve been so proud of you and happy I got to teach you. I know you’ll make it someday, I know you’ll be up in the stars and be with your sister, and that’s good enough for me.”

Dipper smiled sadly, a bit overwhelmed but still appreciative. “Still, I… Am I doing something wrong? I thought I’d be a true hero by now? What more can I do?”

“Being a true hero is something you gotta discover for yourself.” Stan said and poked at Dipper’s strong chest. “You gotta look inside all this squishy stuff. Dig a little deeper. But you got something I’ve never seen in anybody, and I know that’s gonna make you into a god someday, just you wait and see.”

Dipper still couldn’t shake the feeling like he didn’t want to wait for someday to come, but he still smiled and thanked Stan for his words.

~~~~~~~~~~

Miraculously, despite his lifeline being short, Stan was just as energetic and lively as always the next day. Dipper tried to talk him into resting, but the old man refused and was there for all of Dipper’s obligations. Stan was right by his side for the opening of the newest gym, he happily partake in lunch with Dipper and the mayor of Thebes, and in the afternoon they went home to change into nicer togas for a modeling show.

Stan said something about a quick nap and went to his room to snooze the warm afternoon away. Dipper chuckled and was nearly scared to death when a soothing voice from beside a pillar said, “Oh this is what heroes do on their days off?”

Dipper grinned and greeted her warmly. It had been a long time since he had last seen her. “Wow, Pacifica! It’s great to see you again, I… I missed you.”

Pacifica approached slowly and smiled slyly at him. “Thanks, Dippin’ Dots. Man, you look good, but rough. When was the last time you had a break?”

“Oh, I rest, Stan…”

“You know I never really thanked you for saving my life, did I?” Pacifica interrupted. “How about dinner?”

As much as a date with such a beautiful girl made Dipper want to do a backflip, his immediate concern was leaving Stan alone for too long. “Oh, I dunno, Stan’s got the day booked and…”

“He’ll be okay, he’s taking a nap, isn’t he?” Pacifica asked. “He can rest, you can get some fresh air and some food. Come on, my treat.”

Dipper smiled sheepishly and she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, baby blue eyes sparkling at him like a beautiful spring sky. Swallowing, the young smitten hero nodded. “Okay, sure.”