#& 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 : DIPPER PINES

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @faiirytalcs !!

" morning , " dipper whispered, voice gruff with exhaustion and a hoarseness from the onslaught of emotion that rocked him the night before. her sheets were soft, bunched against his bare torso, but the velvet of her cheek was even softer beneath the gentle graze of his fingertips against it. he wasn't sure what time it was but . . . it had to be early, the light bleeding through the curtain so faint it were as if the sun itself were just waking up. they had been up late — many words, feelings , exchanged . . . dipper was hoping that despite the dawn of a new day, those confessions still held value. held TRUTH. they did for him, at least.

" you sleep at all ?? " he inquired gently, pointer and middle intwining themselves with the soft silk of her hair, gold ribbon winding around tanned digits as he leaned forward to brush his nose against hers. he had slept but , not well . . . not soundly. he had been too preoccupied with her, ready to wake her from any nightmare that might have come her way in his presence. watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the pursing of her lips as she exhaled, the twitch of her nose and the scrunching of her brows as she dreamed.

[wildcstwinter]

❛ i don't know, we've been in weird situations before, ❜ he reminded her with a lazy shrug of his shoulders, squeezing the blonde a bit tighter, almost protectively. it went without saying that anyone who lived in gravity falls had seen their fair share of STRANGE, dipper especially. the man had learned at a young age not to believe everything was as it seemed. there was always something going on, something that wasn't always able to be described with words, and with his entire life mission being to figure out those weird happenings and protect the people he loved from them — dipper was constantly thinking about weird situations they could potentially need to be concerned with. it was part of the reason he was such an anxious mess most of the time. ❛ i'm not gonna just let you die, pacifica, c'mon. ❜

it felt so domestic of them; fresh from the shower, engulfed in his clothes, practically unified on his bed as his thumbs lazily dragged up and down her sides. talking about dinner, cypher at their feet, joking about an apocalyptic future that would result in the blonde having to eat dog food... dipper wanted to freeze time and live in this moment together. where was the damned time-traveling tape measure when you needed it ?? nuzzling his face into her neck, exhaustion and comfort working him into a much sleepier state, he hummed lowly in response to her inquiry. ❛ i hate it, ❜ he replied simply, the smell of his soaps on her skin and in her hair making his heart pool in his chest. dipper only slightly lifted his head to look at the phone in her hand, squinting at it for a moment before dropping his head back down into the crook of her neck. ❛ noooo, ❜ he drawled against he skin, though that was exactly why he was saying it. he truly didn't care, he'd eat fish if the girl wanted him too — he'd probably walk to the ends of the earth right now if she asked. holding her a bit tighter, he hummed in response to her question. ❛ whatever you want, paz, i'll make it work. ❜

and he meant it; both in regards to food and... everything else.

"Why would we ever be in that situation??" The way his mind went to worst case scenario so quickly was a little concerning but, considering the kinds of things they'd gone through back home, maybe it wasn't all that surprising. "If we get into that situation, just let me die. I will do a lot of things, but I have to draw the line somewhere." If they were going to die, the least she could do was die with a little bit of dignity. Someone would one day find their bodies and probably come to the conclusion that she'd died first from starvation but c'est la vie, at least she wouldn't have eaten dog food. Yuck. No, thank you. Scrolling through the menu, the blonde fully missed his reaction to the suggestion of sushi, knowing if she'd seen it, she would have immediately shifted to another option. One hand stayed on Cypher's fur while the other held his phone, reading over all the options and searching for whatever their fishless choices were. "Wait, do you not like fish?" She finally asked, lifting her head up as he gently shifted her a little on the bed so he could climb in behind her. "They do," she had a feeling any sushi spot would have dumplings of some kind, "but if you like don't want sushi, you can say no." Leaning back against him as soon as he was settled, Pacifica held the phone up at a better angle so he could see it. "You're not just saying yes 'cause I suggested it, are you?" Which normally would have been an incredibly smart move. But Paz felt like they were a little passed the point of lying about what you liked just because the other one said it. "You have to tell me and come up with something else." / @wildcstwinter

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter ; @faiirytalcs !!

now that the fog had lifted and dipper could see through the mist , he knew the current blur in his vision was a fault of his own . for two months , he had been nothing more than a shadow , , , clinging to the outskirts of reality with a weakened grasp , enduring it only because he had no other option . although he could not touch her , he had stil felt her . he remembered pacifica's scent ; a rich blend of cashmere vanilla and notes of floral . even his palms had still buzzed at the thought of her skin , warm and velvety . his nerves had remembered fondly how often she'd get on them , how often she'd soothed them . they'd send electric currents to his pulsing heart and remind it who , and what , it BEAT for . . .

standing on her porch , disheveled and desperate , dipper was relieved he could once again feel the weight of the concrete beneath the soles of his converse . cradled in his arms was a buschel of flowers , adam's apple bobbing as he stared at the painted wood of her front door . breathing through the emotion already welling inside of him , dipper found enough strength to lift his knuckles to the door . three times , he rapped them against the paint , floating fingertips moving to hover over the handle . half tempted to just barge right in and fall to his knees before her .

" pa - pacifica ?? " came his voice , the tail end of her name cracked and splintered by the sob that tucked itself behind its utterance . " paz , baby , are - ?? " dipper swallowed , fear and anxiety steering a ship he couldn't recall boarding . he drew the hand floating near the handle back towards his chest , pressing it to his heart , willing it to steady .

" paz, are you home ?? "

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @wendayee !! location: ursula's bar

❛ i'm gonna warn you right now, i can drink you under the table now, ❜ dipper grinned as he slid into the bar stool next to wendy, drumming his palms on the bartop enthusiastically as a shit-eating grin split across his face. his reasonings for having a higher tolerance as of late certainly weren't anything he was proud of but, drinking with wendy had always been fun back in gravity falls. ❛ shot for shot, beer for beer... what do you say ?? ❜

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @faiirytalcs !! location: pacifica's place

dipper felt like he couldn't breathe, and he wasn't sure if it was from the cold air he had been deeply inhaling during the walk here or the fact he was definitely on the brink of having some kind of meltdown. he didn't know where he was going when he had first stepped outside, but his feet had taken him across town to where pacifica lived and... now that he was here, he couldn't will himself to walk away. it was the middle of the night, he was sure she was sleeping, but that hadn't stopped him from knocking on the door anyways. he needed to see her, he couldn't do another night of this by himself. dipper had tried to keep her out of this, but with nightmares involving her every single night, he had to see her — to make sure she was okay. ❛ can i stay here ?? ❜ dipper asked, almost begged, the moment the door was open — emotion and anxiety gripping his throat and interweaving into his words as his eyes met pacifica's. he didn't even have it in himself for formalities, but it eased him to see pacifica was alive unlike version of her that existed in his nightmares, tugging on the sleeves of his hoodie and looking more disheveled than normal. ❛ — please ?? ❜

[wildcstwinter]

dipper didn't know why he was expecting his sister not to believe him... but hearing that she did provided him with a sense of comfort he didn't know he was searching for. the man pushed air out from between his lips, air he had been unknowingly holding captive in his lungs, nodding to show mabel he had heard her, and was grateful that he had. ❛ — okay, ❜ dipper spoke aloud, more so to himself than to his twin, needing to reassure himself that it was okay to ask for help, that mabel was more than capable of helping him through this as she had too gone through it before. he continued to nod his head, like that was the only movement he was capable of doing, tongue collecting the tears that had dampened his lower lip as it slid against it. his eyes fell from hers, aiming now towards his lap, trying to get it together enough to have a serious conversation but unable to slow down his heartbeat. adrenaline still pulsed hot through him, and his hands shook as he let go of her and twisted his fingers together in his lap.

❛ i know, i'm... i'm going to stop pushing you away, mabel. i know haven't been the best brother or... person and... and i'm sorry for that. i thought i could handle this alone but, i don't want to do this without you. i can't.❜ his eyes eyes hesitated to lift her at his pathetic attempt at an apology, looking up and pressing his lips together when she said together. nodding in understanding, he looked back down; ❛ look, bill... he's... he's different. he looks human, like a human that... has bill qualities. it was so weird, ❜ his forearm hissed in remembrance, his temple throbbing, and he stopped to slow his breathing before continuing; ❛ i don't know if he believed me when i told him that i didn't have the journal but... i know for a fact i don't have the other two... i didn't make the deal he wanted and, and now i'm certain he's going to try and invade your head while you're sleeping and — ❜

suddenly, body stiffening, dipper looked up at mabel and met hieyes with a look flashing in his that was almost stern; ❛ mabel, you need to make sure you refuse any deal he makes you, okay ?? i don't care what he says or what he promises. you need to make sure you say NO.❜

mabel tried not to wince at how hard he was holding onto her through his panic. she only had ever had a taste of the torture bill was capable of doing and while she had trauma of her own, most of her experience was her own selfish doing. she could only just use her free hands to touch her brother's face and wipe his tears away the best she could. to let him talk and to listen. if she knew anything, she knew dipper didn't play around when it came to bill. whether it was fact of fiction in the grand scheme of things. it was very real to dipper.

"okay....i believe you, brother. bill is back." she was a little confused as to how he knew the triangle had visited pacifica but that was a question for a later date. she still talked to paz, so maybe dipper was finally playing nice too. "okay...we don't have all of the journals. that's okay. we aren't going to give him the one you have either. and you don't need to know what to do, dip. you're not all alone in this. i know you want to save us all, go in all headstrong and tough....but you don't have to be that way alone. we are stronger together, remember that? we have defeated him before.....and we are gonna find a way to do it again." it was easy to say this when she didn't have to be a victim to his mind games. she meant every word she said, but she was still worried. and guilty. if she was the reason bill returned.....dipper would never forgive her. but she couldn't let herself spiral at that right now when he needed her so badly. "i need you to get it together now so we can figure out what to do. together."

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @faiirytalcs !! location: the museum

this shift felt like it was never going to end. his uniform was too tight on his arms, his hair was pissing him off, the few museum goers they did have weren't in the mood for a tour and so he had no distraction from the nagging headache he had from the lack of sleep had had been getting. it overall sucked, and as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, the room felt like it was shrinking around him... at least, until he saw a familiar head of blonde hair come into view, his heart holding on to hope until she turned around and it felt like a fresh breeze had just blown through the establishment. ❛ hey you, ❜ dipper greeted, a look of relief seeming to grace his features, smiling genuinely for the first time in hours. ❛ what are you doing here ?? ❜

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @mabelgiirl !! location: their place

❛— aHH !! jesus, mabel !! ❜ dipper gasped, jumping back as he opened the front door to his sister already standing there, like she was waiting for him to get back. by the look in her eyes, he could tell she was NOT pleased with him. ❛ uh, i mean... heeeeeyyyy sis. how's it... uh, how's it goin ?? ❜

[wildcstwinter]

closed starter: @jeepersdcph !!

" daph, please, i really don't know what you're wanting me to say , " dipper groaned, irritation thick on his tongue as he pressed pointer and middle to his right temple, attempting to rub away the throb that pulsed there.

" i seriously am not the person to ask about dating advice. i hardly even understand my own dating life, let alone someone elses . . . . "

[wildcstwinter]

❛ okay... so like, the arm of a small dog or something. c'mon, cor, ❜ dipper pleaded again, leaning into them and nudging coraline with his elbow, plastering the most desperate and puppy-dog expression on his face that the man could muster. at the small sliver of information they granted him, his eyes lit up, but as the sigh came and the dismissing of his inquiries followed once more, dipper frowned. he didn't want to have to explain himself, get more people entangled in bill's web than necessary, but just being associated with him seemed like an in for bill. dipper cared to much about people, and unfortunately, the dream demon knew that. ❛ look, i'm just trying to stop something before it gets any worse than it already has. there was ... ❜ he paused, debating what to share, sifting through his words very carefully. ❛ — a rift, of some kind, back home and... i'm just trying to understand how it happened so i can stop history from repeating itself here. i'm not willingly dancing with 'dangerous shit,' i just... i don't have much of a choice. ❜

"an arm bone isn't that small depending on the person," they said flatly. of course there was a part of coraline that wanted to know why he was especially interested in other dimensions. a larger part of them never wanted to find out. it was bad enough that the other evermore was trying to push its way into this dimension....knowing other things in other dimensions might want evermore too would just probably send them over the edge. "no portal required," they let slip out by accident before sighing. "dipper, whatever you think you know about this stuff.....i promise there is so much more. and it's evil and it's going to cause you more harm than good. i can't understand why you would want to dance with that dangerous shit."

[wildcstwinter]

to say dipper was doing would be a bold faced lie ; to even imply he was doing anything but incredibly poorly would be a falsity. he had noticed the shift, when he had become visible again, the way people's gazes found his and brows scrunched with concern instead of them seeing right through him. when he standing in the middle of the sidewalk resulted in a disgruntled huffs as strangers navigated around him instead of passing right through him. dipper didn't know what he believed to be worse now ; disappearing and having no one care , or disappearing and having people care.

he almost preferred the later.

he was staring longingly into the mystery shack, a cramp in his stomach as he tried to quell the anxiety that had decided to plague him. dipper didn't know what he would do when the people he loved realized they could see him again — he was more overwhelmed by what would be his reaction as opposed to theirs. seeing wendy misted his eyes almost immediately, pulling his lips back in a strained smile as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets and limply shrugged his shoulders. " sorry i uh , you know , had no control over this one. . . " did he tell them he had seen everything ?? heard everything ?? " i uh — i'm not gonna lie i don't really know what to do with myself right now. i kinda got . . . used to people not being able to see me. "

LOCATION: outside of the mystery shack FOR: @wildcstwinter (dipper)

At first she didn't believe her eyes, seeing him through the window so casually, as if he had not up and vanished for an entire two months. Like he'd never left at all. They wanted to break into a sprint, to pull him into a tight hug, ruffle his hair, question if he was hurt, then smack him for not saying goodbye... but Wendy had never been particularly good at wearing her emotions on her sleeve, and she had a long list of failed situationships to show for it. Leaving the browsing customers to fend for themselves, they settled into the bench outside the doors, staring at him for a moment. "Dude, you have to cool it with the disappearing acts," she finally spoke with a hint of a smile, biting back the questions and all feelings that came with them for now. "I couldn't hunt you down this time, you know, I'm kind of... well, stuck here."

[wildcstwinter]

❛ yeah, i guess it's kinda cool, ❜ dipper brushed it off, shrugging his shoulders as he brushed the rogue strands of his hair back into place. ❛ once i got over the humiliation of being bullied for it, i guess it grew on me. my actual name is mason but, no one calls me that. ❜ besides pacifica northwest. ❛ i think everyone's got a birth mark somewhere. anything can count as a birth mark if you want it to❜

"Whoa. That's so cool," Casper breathed, leaning in a little to thoroughly study the freckle constellation he was showing them, feeling special, like they were being let in on a little secret. The smallest, silliest, most mundane things could interest them so deeply. "I wish I had a birthmark." If they'd ever been, well, born, they wondered if it would be different. If they would have freckles and birthmarks and things like pimples and tangled hair, too. All of the little things humans took for granted.

[wildcstwinter]

dipper grinned at casper, shaking his head at the association with his name. he lifted a hand to push up his hat, gesturing to his forehead. ❛ yeaaahh, like the constellation. see these freckles on my forehead ?? i've had this birth mark since i was a kid, it looks just like the big dipper. or... little dipper.❜ the man honestly wasn't the biggest fan of the birth mark on his forehead and he spent a lot of his youth hiding it. now he just didn't really have the energy to. ❛ i wouldn't say that so confidently, i can get pretty creative with my words when the circumstances require it.❜

"I don't know," Casper confirmed, eyes lighting up at the compliment. "Thank you! I like it! Dipper is a cool name too! Like the little dipper. Or big dipper!" They were quick to add. They weren't saying he was little. Or big. Some people seemed to get quite offended by comments like those. "Okay, deal. I think I can handle some words."

[wildcstwinter]

❛ you don't know ?? ❜ dipper pressed, humor in his inquiry as he lazily leaned back against the wall he was standing by, thankful for this conversation from keeping him from dying of boredom. at the name, dipper's brows furrowed, then he grinned; ❛ casper — that's a cool name. i'm dipper, ❜ he introduced himself, holding out his hand for the other to shake. ❛ — alright, but i'll hold you to that. the moment i find a fingerprint and i find out it's yours, we'll be having words. ❜

"I dunno," they admitted with slight reluctance, "I haven't had much experience with it." Though they didn't like being frightened... or frightening other people. It made them a poor ghost, indeed. But a better friend, they liked to think. "Casper, but not to worry — you definitely won't be finding any of my fingerprints around here!" Or anywhere, for that matter.

[wildcstwinter]

❛ are you included in that most ?? ❜ dipper inquired with an almost knowing smile, amusement flashing in his eyes. he'd be lying if he were to say that he didn't run face first into danger at the sight of it — he'd been doing it as a kid... but, he had the journal to rely on. dipper never truly went into anything BLIND. ❛ well, i uh... i appreciate that. mind telling me your name ?? so i know who to pretend not to know when things mysteriously go missing or finger prints show up on things they shouldn't ?? ❜

"Most," Casper agreed with a nod, some people seemed to enjoy adrenaline rushes, being frightened. Silly things, humans were! "Oh! Oh no, I wouldn't want to put your job at risk." They frowned momentarily. Maybe not a good idea to go messing around, then. Though they were pretty sure he'd have a real hard time escorting them if they went invisible... "If I decide to get into any funny business, I'll make sure you're off first. Scout's honor." Whatever that meant...

@wildcstwinter !

[wildcstwinter]

maybe this was corny — some typical, romance novel, enemies to lovers kind of story that mabel would be all over but . . . it was their truth. it was them. the connection had always been there, rooted from the moment they found a familiarity in one another as kids, but it took them growing separately in order to find one another like this. in pacifica's eyes, he could still see that small, blonde girl who was barricaded by walls an equally small and young dipper didn't see the point in scaling but . . . now, he wanted to replace those walls. he would be a strong and solid structure for her to lean on, a foundation to fall back onto, a person to trust and to rely on as a shield. dipper's love was unmoving, strong and firm, and all he wanted was for the world to see the pacifica he had now fallen in love with. all he wanted, his entire life, was to take care of the people he loved . . . and now, he had an opportunity to truly do that. at her grin, dipper's widened, the expression falling easily on his lips as a genuine laugh fell from his lips; exhaustion encompassing him. ❛ make me work for it ?? ❜ dipper breathed, leaning forward to brush his nose along the slope of her neck, inhaling deeply as he tried to fill his lungs with air once more, hands moving to the dip of her waist and squeezing playfully. ❛ i don't know, paz, i feel like . . . i feel like i have worked for it. but . . . if you want me to work a little harder,❜ a soft and adoring kiss was pressed where shoulder met throat, grinning against her skin; ❛ i guess that can be arranged. i'll work for it now just to hear you say it again.❜

The blonde nodded slowly as he echoed her words, hand cupping his cheek in a soft touch, warmth radiating through her. She could have never imagined when he showed up tonight, set on the edge of a panic attack, that this would be where they ended up but it made sense? Somehow, it all made sense for them because when else had they ever been this honest with each other. Never before had any of their feelings been laid out on the table unless something had driven them to the very edge, whether it was a lumberjack ghost trying to kill them or Bill invading their dreams to make them nightmares. It all made sense. "You think I saw this coming?" Pacifica asked, laughing softly as she met his gaze, feeling completely elated every time he admitted to his feelings, every time those weird left his lips. He loved her. And not in the way she had ever been used to being loved before but in something far better than she could have imagined. Whether or not Bill could hurt them was irrelevant to her at this moment, she had to imagine he'd be try and might succeed but all that mattered was that they would be there on the other side of it, ready to help heal the damage. They could survive this, they could survive anything he threw at them. She knew she could. It didn't matter how many visions of her parents Bill conjured in her mind, making her relive the horrors of that house over and over again as long as Dipper was waiting for her once she woke up. "We can do this." Pacifica repeated, smiling wider as she leaned into him. "I can't believe I told you I loved you...I was going to make you work for that."