#don’t mind my name being alpha dipper

[dipperscavern]

OH WE'RE TALKING TWD. daryl dixon more like daryl dixON ME

ummm that’s really gross idk why you would say that

[willowknee]

Forever is a long time - WillNE

Title: Forever is a long time  People: WillNE x reader Word count: 1,549 Warnings: n/a Songs to listen to: n/a  Prompt/request: Anon requested: Hi! Please can I request a really fluffy Will one shot? It can be anything I just need more cute Will haha 😂 A/N: I hope this is okay! I tried to make it as fluffy as I could, but it didn’t quite turn out how I wanted it. 

Will was someone who you had never expected to be the romantic type, sure he flirted with you a lot and sent you cute messages in the morning for you to wake up to but he was very secretive when it came to relationships, it took your friends nearly a full year to figure out that you two had far crossed the line from being just friends. But despite Will’s preference to keep everything between you two, he was one of the softest and sweetest boys you had ever had the pleasure of loving.

Opening your eyes on a particularly frosty Wednesday, you take in your surroundings, beige wallpaper, a desk full of recording equipment and two strong arms wrapped protectively around you. Will. You smile and turn around to face him and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was already wide awake and had recently showered, his gorgeous brown locks still slightly damp and a few strands sticking to his forehead.

“Mornin’ love,” he says softly, brushing a strand of hair out of your face and gently tucks it behind your ear.

“Morning handsome,” you reply just as softly, leaning into his touch, closing your eyes.

“Nuh huh, I’ll be having none of that, you need to get up we have things to do,” Will shakes you awake, his voice normal volume and he laughs loudly when you let out a groan and try to bury yourself under the covers which he rudely pulls away from you.

“Will it’s my day off! What could we possibly need to do at half ten in the morning? Its lie-in day!” You complain.

“Hush woman, just get your pretty ass out of bed and get a shower because quite frankly, you stink,” he says playfully, but pulls you out of bed and pushes you in the direction of the bathroom.

“I need clothes, William,” you chide, trying to turn around.

“They’re already in there, now stop fighting me before I Batista bomb you to assert my alpha male dominance,” 

He wasn’t joking.

“Fine, if you want to get rid of me that much, jeez,” you chuckle before stepping into the bathroom and locking the door in an ultimate power move.

Walking towards the shower you start it up before waiting for it to warm up, as you stand and wait you notice a bag on the toilet seat lid, you peek inside and find brand new lingerie and pyjamas that you had been eyeing up in the store about a week ago. 

“Oh Will,” you sigh happily.

You take your time in the shower, deep conditioning your hair and shaving, exfoliating the whole works. After drying off and moisturising, you slip into the new clothes and brush your teeth, smiling the whole time. How cute was he? He always noticed the small things, you hadn’t even told him that you wanted them, but he still noticed and bought the exact same pair in your size in secret so he could surprise you.

Walking out the bathroom you go on the hunt for your boyfriend before finding him in the kitchen. He was surrounded by burnt food and messy pans and he looks up from his phone sheepishly.

“Okay so phase two didn’t exactly go to plan, normally I’m alright at cooking but the one day I need it to go well I just get done dirty, therefore as substitution, our Maccies breakfast is currently being picked up and will be here within the hour, so let’s move to phase three!” He exclaims.

You laugh at how adorable he was.

“First, we clean, you know it will be on my mind otherwise,” 

He nods and you two make quick work of throwing away the burnt food and rinsing the bowls and pans before putting them in the dishwasher. Once you were done, Will races you to the front room. The first thing you notice is how many sheets, blankets and pillows were on the sofa. 

“Uh, Will? Are you having a sleepover?” you question, confused.

“Nope, we’re building a fort!” 

You both have a blast building the fort, a couple of arguments about pillow arrangements, but you hear a knock at the door and you kick Will out of the semi-built fort so he can go collect your food while you finish up building.

“Bob the builder has nothing on you, ay love?” Will jokes to which you just poke your tongue out at him in response.

You both climb into the fort and Will sets out your food while you turn on the TV and turn on Disney plus. Will groans as you scroll through the selection of tv shows and films before you stop at a childhood classic. Phineas and Ferb. Will shakes his head with a smile at your choice but stays quiet nonetheless as you both get comfortable and dig into your food. 

The whole day was spent in the fort, around 5 in the evening Will began to frequently get up and disappear before returning with a smile. You didn’t question him, you just let him get on with it because you were sure that you would find out soon enough. 

A couple of hours later Will calls your name, you pause your game which you had switched to out of boredom of watching things without actively participating in it and you follow the sound of Will’s voice to the dining room. 

The table was properly laid out, decorated with a lit candle and a few rose petals which made your heart skip. Two glasses of what looked like wine had been poured and the plates were full of chicken dippers and potato smileys, which made you grin widely. It was a nostalgic meal that you always raved to Will about, you used to eat it all the time as a kid, a meal that reminded you of home. 

You walk over to Will and plant a soft and slow kiss to his lips, your heart was pounding hard and your chest felt tight, you were so in love with this man, you couldn’t imagine a life without him. 

He leads you to your seat and tucks you in before sitting opposite you, you both raise your glass in cheers and you take a sip to find out it wasn’t wine, after all, it was Vimto. Nostalgia level 100. The entire time you were sat at the table was full of flirting and playful banter, reminiscing about times you’ve spent together alone and with friends, peeling with laughter as you bring up embarrassing memories, this was well and truly perfect.

“There’s one more thing to end the day with,” Will says, walking off before returning with a neatly wrapped gift and an envelope. “Happy birthday, Gorgeous,” 

You feel your eyes begin to water, in all honesty, you had forgotten about your birthday, it just wasn’t something you celebrated to the point where on occasion you forget about it completely. You pick up the envelope and open it carefully, reading the card more tears appear as you fall deeper in love with the man before you who was looking sheepish. 

To the love of my life,

It’s your big day! No, I’m not proposing, when your man starts wracking in as much as Alex then I’ll consider buying you a ring, but until then, I just want to say Happy Birthday! And I want to tell you that you are the most gorgeous, kind and talented person I have ever known and I’m glad I get to call you mine. While I may not show you off a lot, that’s just simply because I don’t want to share you, I don’t want others to see the smile you wear when I make you happy, because that smile is mine, it’s my prize and it gives me something to look forward to and work for on a daily basis.

I love you, Y/N, and I want you to be mine forever.

Love, Big Boy Will. 

You laugh, tears streaming down your face and you look up to Will with the biggest smile you think you could ever wear.

“Will, I-”

“Open the present,”

You nod and pull the box closer, inside was another box, this one made out of wood that was delicately decorated. It was beautiful. 

“It’s beautiful Will,” you say, putting it on the table before you.

“Look inside it, Dummy,” 

Unlocking the clasps you open the lid and look inside, taking in all the little items and smiling more. 

“It’s all the things I’ve collected over the three years I’ve had the pleasure of knowing you, I cherish all of them because they’re all little pieces that make us… well, us,”

The piece of cardboard they put around the Starbucks cups so you don’t burn your fingers, he had both of yours with your names on from your first date together, he has the photobooth strips from your cousin’s wedding that you asked him to go with you so you didn’t look like a loner, it was all there.

“I love you, Y/N, and I will for a very long time,”

“Well, forever is a long time,” you smirk at him.

He smiles back with a little laugh. “Then forever it is.”

[billnoncipher]

Wendip Week Prompt 2

Just My Luck

By William Easley

(Not part of my normal continuity and written for the Wendip Week 2018 prompt 2, "Typical Pines Luck")

Before the Mystery Twins had been in Gravity Falls for more than the first three days of June 2015, Mabel had found a new boyfriend.

"A fawn?" Dipper asked. "Seriously? You're going with a baby deer?"

"No, silly!" Mabel, who was preening at the mirror, said. "F-a-U-n! As in part hunky boy, part goat!" She narrowed her eyes and whispered confidentially, "He doesn't wear pants!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dipper said. "T.M.I! And also, no. No, you cannot date this guy, thing, whatever it is—"

"He's a faun," Mabel insisted. "And his name is Raymond."

"I don't care if he's a—Raymond? Raymond is a faun's name?"

"Yup," Mabel said, changing her earrings. "He's got the cutest little hoofs, and a twitchy little tail, and these two little curly horns."

"Yeah," Dipper said grimly. "I've read in mythology that fauns were always horny! Look, you know this guy's just gonna dump you for another girl. Or maybe another goat. Take my advice and give Raymond a wide berth!"

"You're not gonna spoil this for me, Dipper!" she said. She'd settled on earrings in the shape of little gold pine trees. "Anyway, we're just going to frisk in the meadow for a while. You can come along if you want. Hey, you could do the—"

"Don't even say it! I am not doing the 'Lamby Lamby' dance. Especially for a guy whose mom may have been one!"

Dipper told Wendy, whose response was, "Mabes can take care of herself, Dip. Besides, I give the relationship two days, tops. Just wait until they have a meal together!"

He had to chuckle. "Yeah, heh. I guess a faun would be pretty disgusting to watch eat."

"Um, right," Wendy said. "The faun . . . ri-i-ight."

Next he told Ford, who said, "That's interesting. The fauns rarely come down from the tablelands below the western cliffs. I'll have to ask her to collect a hair sample for DNA analysis."

And the last resort was Grunkle Stan, who shrugged. "Meh, she'll find out soon enough the guy don't have any money, and that'll be the end of that."

When Dipper collapsed groaning into a chair, his Grunkle gave him a sharp look. "What's the matter, kid? Scared a goat-guy's gonna elope with your sis?"

"Noooo," Dipper moaned, drawing it out. "It's just that—we've been here practically no time, and she's got a date already! I asked Wendy if she might want to go see a movie with me, and she told me, 'Wait until you're old enough to drive, and then we'll talk.'"

"So, ask somebody else," Stan suggested. "Plenty of seafood in the ocean, kid!"

"Wouldn't do any good," Dipper said. "I have terrible luck with girls."

"Give me a fr'instance," Stan said. "Maybe I can help."

"Aw," Dipper said, "there was this girl, Francine, at one of the school dances, and she wasn't dancing with anybody, so I walked over, got my nerve up, and asked if she wanted to dance. She said yes."

"See, you were in luck!"

"No, because when we walked out onto the floor, she stepped into a little pool of spilled punch and her heel skidded and she sprained her ankle! Just my luck!"

"Don't sound like hers was any too good, either," Stan said. "Come on, Dipper, that was one time!"

"Another time," Dipper said, "Mabel talked this girl, Ellen, into being open if I asked her on a date. I asked her to a movie for that coming weekend, and she said yes."

"Luck turned around, see?"

"No, it did not," Dipper said. "Because the movie was on Saturday, and on Friday her dad moved the whole family away. Turns out he was in witness protection, and somebody in the family let their real last name slip."

Stan's eyes narrowed. "Realllllly? Uh, what was the name?"

"Farghandahler," Dipper said.

"Never heard of 'em. Well, it was worth a shot," Stan said. "Kid, it sounds to me that you need a good-luck charm."

"Oh, come on," Dipper said. "I don't believe in horseshoes and rabbits' feet and all!"

"Got a point there," Stan conceded. "Horseshoes were invented so hicks could beat city folks at a stupid tossing game. And if a rabbit's foot brought luck, you wouldn't be able to buy any, 'cause every rabbit's got four of 'em! Nah, I'm thinkin' along the lines of an amulet. They really work. Sometimes."

Dipper remembered Gideon's amulet of telekinesis, which did seem to work. "Worth a shot," he mumbled.

"Come with me."

Grunkle Stan led him to the stock room. Though Soos was Mr. Mystery these days, and Melody was engaged to become Mrs. Mystery soon, Stan still kept a close eye on what the Shack offered. He fiddled around in a box and then came up with something shiny. "Aha! Knew we had half a dozen of these. OK, kid, I'm gonna make you a gift of the world's most powerful good-luck charm. It comes all the way from Niue!"

"Where . . . is that?" Dipper asked. He'd never heard of it.

"Ah, somewheres near Metuchen, I think. Anywhoo, this here is a five-dollar silver piece. No kiddin', real silver, so take care of it! Look at it. See these little insets? This here is a genuine four-leaf clover from County Cork, Ireland, blessed by a priest who's also a part-time leprechaun! And this is a miniature horseshoe, actually manufactured from a real shoe once worn by Man O'War, the luckiest horse that ever ran in the Derby! This is, uh, a preserved ladybug. Not killed, it died of old age, ya understand. Ladybugs are notoriously lucky!"

"What?" Dipper asked.

"C'mon, Dip, ya never heard of one's house actually burnin' down! And last this is a little figure of a lucky elephant. With all them on your side, your luck will turn right around! You'll see! If it don't work, double your money back."

"How . . . much are you charging me?" Dipper asked.

"Nothin'! It's a free gift! Take it before I change my mind. I could sell this dealy to a sucker for fifty bucks!"

Oh, well. The silver disk had been pierced for a thong, and Stan threw a rawhide one in for free. "Word of caution," he said. "The gals go nuts for a guy who wears a thong! Don't get yourself in trouble, kid—or them, either."

Dipper put the rawhide cord around his neck. What the heck, it would either work or it wouldn't.

And Gideon really had almost cut out his tongue with lamb shears that one time.

Strangely, that night Dipper had a vivid dream of a tourist couple parking in the Mystery Shack lot. They had a cute daughter about fourteen and a little baby not more than a year old. The weird thing was that they pulled their Grand Rover van into a slot, the dad and mom and daughter got out, and they turned to take a photo of the Shack and the totem pole—and the van rolled away backwards, because the dad had evidently not put it in Park. The mom screamed as the van rolled over the edge of the hill and then fell and rolled over and over down to the forest edge, where it collided hard with a tree.

And the baby was inside.

The next morning, while chatting with Wendy at the sales desk, Dipper glanced out the window and saw a maroon Grand Rover van—exactly like the one he'd dreamed of—just pulling into the lot. "Be right back," he said to Wendy and dashed outside.

He felt creeps all over his skin—the van was parking in the exact spot that he'd dreamed of. He sprinted across the lawn and leaped over the low fence just as the mom, dad, and teen daughter got out and the dad hefted a camera. The van started to roll. Dipper leaped into the driver's seat—the dad hadn't closed the door—and jammed on the brakes, while pulling on the emergency brake handle. The mom screamed.

The dad came running up, white-faced. "What happened?"

Dipper said, "It's OK, sir. I saw the van start rolling. I think you didn't put it in Park."

The mom opened the rear door and took the baby—a cheerful little one-year-old boy who had no idea he'd been in any peril—out of his baby seat. "He's OK," she said. "Bless you!"

The father was reaching for his wallet. "How much can it—"

"No, sir," Dipper said. "Just—I don't know, pay it forward. Help out somebody who's in trouble. And enjoy the Mystery Shack!"

The dad got behind the wheel, started the engine, and pulled the car back into the parking slot. He very carefully put it in Park and set the emergency brake.

Someone tapped on Dipper's shoulder. "You can take this, anyway," the teen girl—braids, freckles, really cute—said. And she hugged him and kissed him on the mouth. "Thanks for saving my baby brother!"

Dipper realized he had an audience. Wendy and Stan had come out on the porch. "Uh, you're welcome," Dipper said.

The girl took his hand and wrote something on his palm. "My email," she said. "Get in touch with me. My name's Laramie."

"O-OK," Dipper said.

He walked back to the Shack, where Grunkle Stan clapped him on the shoulder. "Lucky you spotted that!" he said. "Saved us from losin' some customers!"

Wendy, settling back behind the counter, asked, "You know that girl, Dipper?"

"Uh, no," he said. "Just saw their van start to roll and she was, I guess grateful or some deal."

"You mean this isn't gonna be a regular thing?"

"Gosh, no! They're probably from Canada or someplace. I'll never see her again."

Wendy grinned. "Just teasing, man. Good going."

Later that afternoon, because he really couldn't think of an excuse, he went with Mabel to meet Raymond. Raymond waited for Mabel in the bonfire clearing. He seemed skittish when he saw she was not alone, but then she introduced Dipper as her twin. "I'm Alpha, though," she confided.

Well, Raymond wasn't quite what Dipper had expected. True, he had curly little horns and a crown of curly black hair. True, his ears were pointed, and his eyes had strangely slit-like pupils. And he definitely had hoofs and a strange ankle joint. However, the fur on his legs and waist and, um, that general area, was six inches long, very fluffy and shaggy, and he might as well have been wearing pants.

And he talked normal. No baaas or godawful puns, no "I'm Mr. Satyr day night" or anything like that. He seemed interested that Mabel had a brother. He wanted to know where they were from, what Dipper liked to do, why they had come to the Falls, did they like the forest, would he like to see some secluded beautiful areas, and so on.

Mabel looked increasingly uncomfortable and finally reminded Raymond, "You were gonna show me that beautiful forest pool with a cascading creek leading into it. Dipper doesn't have time, sorry." And she led him off.

In about an hour she was back, looking mad. "You win," she said. "I broke up with Raymond. I hope you're happy!"

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Dipper said.

"Yes, you did! Raymond asked me if you were attached. He wants to date you! Lucky!"

"Tell him I'm not into guys or goats. And especially not into guy-goat combos!" Dipper said. He was beginning to think that luck had its downside.

But he tested it. The next day he asked Wendy if she'd like to go see that movie on Friday night. "I'm still not old enough to drive," he said. "But I don't mind being driven."

She grinned. "OK, Dip, just this movie. But it's no big deal, understand? Just two friends going to see a three-D earthquake movie!"

"I understand," he said. "Just friends."

And then the next day Candy came over to visit Mabel and wound up telling Dipper he was really growing up to be a handsome guy, and she sat uncomfortably close to him. And a little later he went outside just to get away from her and found a wallet on the ground. 

He opened it and saw a drivers' license, the picture looking familiar—oh, yeah, a guy who'd gone out on the tour with a bunch of others. And speak of the devil, Soos came driving the tram back just then, and the very guy jumped off, looking anxious, and headed for his car, which he opened and checked—

"Excuse me, sir," Dipper said. "I just found this wallet. Is it yours?"

"Yes!" the guy said, looking relieved. "I must have dropped it while going out to the tram."

Dipper handed it over. "You might want to check to make sure everything's there."

The man did. "Yep, all the cards, all the money. Here you go, son." He held out a twenty.

Dipper shook his head. "I didn't want a reward, sir. My great-uncle co-owns this place, and he'd never want to make money from someone's misfortune." That was true, sort of. Of course, Stan didn't mind a bit if he made money from them any other way.

But the guy asked his name, went inside, and evidently praised him to Soos and Wendy, because they both gave him thumbs-up when he came back in. And Candy hugged him. "My Dipper is an honest and truthful man!" she announced.

Wendy raised an eyebrow at "my Dipper."

Still later, downtown at a convenience store, Dipper fed a dollar into a vending machine and bought the first and only scratch-off lottery ticket in his life so far. Back in the Shack, he scratched it off.

Yeah, it figured. He'd won $1,000.00. There was, of course, a catch. He gave the card to Stan. "I can't use it," he told his Grunkle. "You have to be eighteen or over."

"I'm eighteen or over," Stan pointed out. "I'll do somethin' nice for ya, kid." And he did. He went into town to cash in the ticket and brought Dipper back a candy bar.

That night, Dipper complained to Mabel about the amulet. "It's making me lucky," he said, "but not in any way that helps me out. And it's got you mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Mabel said. "Just disappointed that Raymond prefers you to me. That's not your fault. My irresistibility must've rubbed off on you a little." She picked up the candy bar. "You gonna eat this?"

"Don't like coconut. You can have it."

"Thanks, Brobro!"

Mabel bit into the candy bar and chipped a tooth. Fragment of coconut husk. Stan had to rush her to a dentist he knew who owed him a favor. She came back with a repaired tooth and a rueful, "You're lucky you didn't want the candy, Dipper!"

But the amulet didn't work with Wendy. The next morning, she said, "I gotta break our date, Dip. Sorry, man. My dad wants me to go with him and my brothers to visit my aunt this evening."

And without Wendy—meh. The kind of luck he was having just wasn't worth it. After some soul-searching, Dipper walked out to the Bottomless Pit and walked back a little lighter and amulet-free.

Just before quitting time, Wendy apologized again—but then the phone rang, and she answered it. "What? Oh, OK. No, tomorrow's even better. Sure. OK if I see a movie, then? Thanks, Dad!"

She hung up the phone. "Huh. My aunt called Dad and asked him to put off the visit, so our date's back on, unless you got someone else to see it with."

"No!" Dipper said. "Uh, no. No, I don't. Uh. If you want to go."

"Yeah, I guess so," Wendy said. "Guess you're in luck, Dipper."

Yeah, for a change, he guessed he really was in the best kind of luck. Seeing a three-D movie about an earthquake sitting next to a gorgeous redhead who made a practice of not dating anybody under the age of sixteen? But she would make one exception?

Hmm, maybe he shouldn't have tossed that amulet away so quickly . . . .

Nah. Typical Pines luck was better than anything it could dish up!

The End

[secret-kkh-fics]

Anywhere But Home | Chapter 4

Due to this not being posted anywhere else yet, please like but DON’T REBLOG my fics.

Chapter Summary:

The twins call a Code Fluffy to try and make Pacifica feel better. Mabel gains some new blackmail material.

Author Note:

Hello all again! Well, all I have to say about this chapter is that it is pure fluff. Every bit of it. So, I hope you enjoy it!

Cuddles and Potential Blackmail 

“Hey, Dipper?” Mabel called out from the kitchen.  

“Yeah?” he called back.  

“Code Fluffy?”  

He looked at Pacifica, staring at her like he was trying to decide something. “Do you want to sleep?” he asked her. Pacifica shrugged in response. “Code Fluffy!” he shouted.  

“Okay, you're getting the blankets!”  

“I know!” He turned back to Pacifica. “We're going to have to try and get you upstairs.” She groaned at the prospect. There was no way she was going to be able to get up a flight of stairs. “It's okay. You won't even have to put any weight on your foot at all. I'll help you.”  

“No offence, but I saw your stairs on the way in and they look tiny.”  

“Yeah, they are a bit... Why would that be offensive?”  

“Ah... because I kind of think that everything in this house is tiny and dirty.”  

“Pfft!” he snorted. “That's because you live in a mansion. And because this place is really old and inhabited by an old man who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'clean'. Now come here, you snob.”  

She glared at him for that, but it wasn't as sharp as her usual one, she noticed that his tone seemed teasing. Like... in a nice way, not a nasty way. The way that friends teased each other. The idea of Dipper seeing her as a friend kind of made her feel... warm.  

Smiling slightly, she gingerly lifted her foot off the skull table and rested it on the ground. Dipper grabbed her bag and hoisted it onto his back, then offered her a hand. Once he'd helped her to her feet, he stood on the side of her bad foot and ducked his head so that she could put an arm around his shoulder. Even though he was stooped down, she still found that he was a bit tall. She knew that by the end of this, he was going to be as sore as she was... well, almost.  

“Ready?” he asked.  

“Yeah, I guess.”  

Slowly they began walking, Dipper going as slow and steady as she could, acting as her crutch. She hobbled along beside him, glad that she didn't have to put any weight on her foot. The hopping was already starting to get to her, her feet already sore from running. And she was sure she was putting most of her weight on Dipper. She turned to apologise or something for it, then noticed that he was still practically at her eye level. “Are you still crouching?” she asked incredulously.  

“Well, yeah, you're short.”  

“Hey!”  

He chuckled. “Relax. Why do the really short ones always get so worked up? Height's no big deal I mean, I'm short for my age. Even Mabel's taller than me.”  

“Seriously?”  

“Yep. Well, only by a millimetre, but that's enough for her to claim she's the alpha twin. Doesn't help that she's outgoing and older than me by five minutes... I'm just crossing my fingers for another growth spurt soon.” She suddenly realised that they'd been standing still since she'd noticed him stooping, and she realised why. They were standing at the base of the stairs. She bit her lip, looking up at the rickety staircase in apprehension. “Hey, it's okay, you can do this,” he told her. “You've got me and the rail. You'll just have to kind of jump I guess.”  

She gave him a determined nod, and they started up. She relied on Dipper and the rail quite heavily, putting all her weight on them and swinging her way up. They almost fell down a few times, and her arms and good leg were horribly tired by the time they got to the top. She felt a bit sorry for Dipper, but he just grinned at her.  

“You made it!” he celebrated.  

“Your room is way too high up.”  

He raised an eyebrow. “Your room is on the fourth floor of your house.”  

“Your room is the attic! That's the top of your house!”  

“That's not- You know what, never mind. The attic is the best place anyway, apart from maybe Soos's break room. We'll see if he's willing to give it up while you're here. But for tonight it looks like we're having a sleepover in the attic. Now come on, we have to get set up.  

“For what? What's Code Fluffy?”  

“It's love in a blanket!” Mabel said, skipping up behind them with a tray of hot-drinks and other sweet snacks. She went off ahead of them, and they slowly made their way along behind them. It was a good thing that Stan was still up, or all the thumping would have woken him.  

“It's our method of making each other feel better,” he explained further as he helped her along to the room. “Our favourite advice is to get a nice drink, some snacks, bundle up in blankets, cuddle something fluffy, and watch a feel-good movie. So if either of us is upset or not feeling great, we'll call a Code Fluffy.” As he was saying this, he led her over to a bed and helped sit her down on it.  

“Dipper calls them the most. He gets panic attacks,” Mabel said casually.  

“Mabel!”  

“What?”  

“That actually sounds really nice,” she said, stopping them from arguing further.  

“It is. And it really works. Of course, it works better with other people. It relaxes you and makes you happier because when you hug someone, it releases serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, which-”  

“Alright, alright, nerd,” Mabel said. “Just go get the blankets, would ya!” Dipper huffed out a sigh, rolled his eyes, and left the room mumbling under his breath. “Right, down to business,” she said matter of factly. She bounced over to the other bed and picked up a pile of stuffed toys from it. “What one do you want?”  

Pacifica blinked at the lineup before her in bewilderment. She hadn't cuddled a stuffed toy since she was six. Her mom had thought they were too childish after that. The next thing she knew, Lily the Llama was gone. “Um... the... rabbit, I guess.”  

“Done. Her name is Daisy.” She handed the white rabbit over to her, a purple felt flower had been stitched on just above one of the ears. Then she began to pick out a few more. “Dipper usually likes Mr Bearington. I'll take Kitty Snufflepants today. And Waddles can have Widdles!”  

“Widdles?”  

“Yeah!” she cried in delight, holding up a stuffed pig. “He's like Waddles, but he's 'widdle'! Dipper won him for me in a crane game.”  

“Oh, okay.” She didn't understand why the pig needed its own toy, but whatever floated the strange girl's boat. She and her brother were being way too nice to her for her to care.  

Quickly she made the decision to divest herself of any uncomfortable clothing while Dipper was out. She unhooked her bra and pulled it out from under her shirt. She also took off her other shoe and sock but decided that it would be easier to leave her jeans on, rather than painfully struggle to get them off and again struggle to put on her night clothes.  

“And now onto the movie,” Mabel cried. She went over to the bed Pacifica was sitting on and pulled a laptop from underneath. It had a blue sticker of a pine tree, just like the one on Dipper's hat. It must be his... which would also make this his bed. That made sense considering the toys, glitter, and Sev'ral Timez posters on the other bed. Mabel tapped a few keys, then frowned. “That's weird.”  

“What?”  

“His password's changed.”  

There came a muffled chuckle, and they both turned to see Dipper staggering back into the room under a big pile of blankets and bedrolls. “I was wondering when you were going to notice.” He dumped the pile on the ground near the window.  

“When did you change it?”  

“Like, three weeks ago or so.”  

“Oh... Well, that's good, I guess. Ooh! Hold on, I bet I can guess the new one...” She sat there a moment, her tongue stuck out in thought. Then her eyes widened, a smile creeping over her face, and she quickly typed something in. It instantly logged her in. “Yes!”  

“Aww, damn it.”  

“How did you do that?” Pacifica asked in amazement.  

“It's easy. Dipper's passwords are things he's obsessed with at the time. It wasn't hard to guess 'journal author'. He's been trying to find clues about him since he found that book.”  

“I really need to think of better passwords.”  

“At least you change yours. I've the same password for three years now,” Pacifica told him.  

“I have to change it. I have a Mabel to attempt to protect it from.” He fluffed up some pillows and blankets, starting to put together a makeshift bed to fit three.  

“Never works,” she grinned. “Okay, here's the movies. What do you want to watch? Pick any, Dipper's okay with all of them.”  

The man in question shrugged. “I'm not picky.”  

“Really? You'll even watch girly chick flicks?”  

“I was raised with Mabel. I'm used to them.”  

“And he just likes them anyway. He even likes Babba! Oof!” She was knocked over when a pillow hit her square in the head. Dipper grinned smugly.  

“Really? Babba's awesome! Have you seen the musical they made that had only their most popular songs? Cheesy as hell to watch, it was good.”  

“We've never actually been to see any musicals,” Mabel told her.  

“Well, we'll have to change that. You have to see Wicked! It's not an option.”  

“Ooh! I've always wanted to do Wicked as like... a play or something!” Mabel said excitedly. “We should totally put on a performance here! I could be Elphaba, and you could be Glinda! You're blonde! And you can hit all the high notes!”  

“And your friendship started out about the same,” Dipper commented.  

“Loathing. Unadulterated loathing...” Pacifica sang, her smile faded. “Yeah, sorry about that.”  

“Ah, you know how it is. Water and bridges and all that. Maybe something about ducks? I don't know. I think there should be ducks somewhere in that saying.”  

“You're thinking of 'water under the bridge' and 'water off a duck's back', Mabel. Though, if you mixed them together you'd get a pretty interesting malaphor.”  

“You mean metaphor.”  

“No, I mean malaphor. The combining of two or more idioms. You know, like 'we'll burn that bridge when we get to it' instead of 'cross that bridge' and 'burning bridges'.”  

“...You're right, he is a nerd,” she said to Mabel.  

“Hey!”  

“What? I never said it's a bad thing. So what, you're smart.”  

“Don't encourage him!” Mabel cried. “His head is already big enough. Literally.”  

“Beats me then. My head is tiny. The only reason I can fit half my hats is because my hair is so thick and boofy! Ooh, hey, how about this?” She turned the screen around to show them her selection.  

“Princess Diaries 2. Heck yeah!”  

“Sure. I'm in.” He gestured to the blankets. “Also, I've made the bed.” To be honest, it looked more like a giant nest of pillows and blankets. They were a little old looking for her liking, but it did look comfy.  

“I call middle!” Mabel shouted, scrambling over. She snuggled down under the top layer of blankets, putting the laptop on her lap.  

“Here.”  

Dipper held out his hand to her, and once more he helped her walk over to the bed. He sat her down beside Mabel, and she was able to tuck herself in. It would be a close fit for the three of the of them. She wasn't really sure how she felt about that. She wasn't used to it. At her sleepovers, her friends would all get their own double bed. Dipper grabbed the tray of snacks and sat them down beside her, then he took his place on the other side of his sister. As soon as he was settled in, Waddles came trotting over with the stuffed pig in his mouth. With a soft oink, he plopped himself down with his head resting on Dipper's lap. She passed out the hot chocolates, which were somehow still hot, and took a sip of her own. The top was completely coated in melted marshmallow. It was so sweet but really good.  

“Alright, that's the hot drinks and snacks, the blankets, the fluffy things, and the movie. So, without further ado, let the Code Fluffy commence!” Dramatically she hit the play button, and the movie started.  

They all smiled and settled back to watch the movie. Pacifica had seen it many times, but it was the kind of movie that you could still watch many times more and still want to watch it again. It was so cute, and Julie Andrews was a goddess!  

Their drinks were all gone by the time Mia had intentionally stomped on Nick's foot. But they continued to eat the chocolate, and other sweets as the movie went on. Dipper even got up to grab the candy she'd told him was in her bag. She found herself slowly leaning into Mabel to get a better view. Her eyes were starting to become heavy, and she just gave in, leaning on the girl in something similar to a cuddle. It actually felt... kind of nice. When it got to the scene where the Queen showed Mia her new room, Mabel gasped in wonder, despite how many times she'd already seen it.  

“I'm just imagining that that's what your wardrobe is like,” she said. “Is that what your wardrobe is like?”  

“Pfft! Don't be ridiculous,” she told her. “I don't have crown jewels in my wardrobe.” Mabel laughed, and she smiled in reply. It wasn't quite true, her wardrobe was way smaller than that... though, it was still a rather large walk-in wardrobe with mirrors and everything. Still, that was irrelevant.  

As the movie continued, her eyes grew heavier and heavier. She would catch herself with her eyes closed for too long and jolt herself awake. She finally gave in sometime around the engagement slumber party. The last thing she remembered was hearing Julie Andrews and Raven singing together. At one point she was woken up by Mabel laughing at Mia exclaiming that she was a moose, but sleep quickly pulled her back under again. She was exhausted. And this was nice. This was very, very nice...  

      By the time the movie was finished, Mabel was pretty tired. She yawned loudly, giving a stretch. It was a little awkward with the other two leaning on her so heavily. She looked at her brother and new friend to find that they were both asleep. Waddles looked up at her and gave a soft oink.  

“Yep, they're totally out to it,” she whispered to him. “Come on, let’s get to bed.”  

Carefully, she extracted herself from between the two of them. She closed the laptop and put it back under Dipper’s bed, and cleared away all cups and trash. She considered waking up Dipper to get him back in his own bed but decided against it. She knew how hard it was to wake him up, and how he'd react. And considering the fact he'd only just fallen asleep, it was probably best to let him sleep.  

Waddles oinked again. “What? It's not like they're cuddling or anything. They're on opposite sides of the nest! They can complain about it in the morning. I'm too tired to deal with Dipper.”  

She shuffled over to the lights and flicked them off, before going back over to her bed and curling in. She held on to Kitty Snufflepants, and not long after, Waddles jumped up to his usual spot on the bed. Soon, she was as fast asleep as the other two.    

                           Mabel groaned as sunlight shone in her face, dragging her out of her wonderful slumber.  

“Ugh, stupid sun!” she grumbled. She rolled over, having to push Waddles back on the other side of the bed, so she didn't fall off, and looked at the clock. 11am. Geez, she'd slept in! Well, she had been up to like, 6am, so it wasn't that bad really.  

Yawning, she jumped out of bed and started gathering her clothes for the day. She was confused by Dippers empty bed for a moment until she remembered that she'd left him down on the floor last night. She looked over towards the nest and had to stifle a giggle.  

Lying curled up in the middle of the nest of pillows, Dipper and Pacifica were snuggled up to each other. Their stuffed animals had been abandoned at some time in the night, as had half the blankets. One of Dipper’s arms was cushioning Pacifica's head, his other was wrapped around her waist. Pacifica seemed even more tangled up than he was. One of her arms was stretched up above his head, her fingers twisted in his curls, the other arm was flung over the arm that was holding her, and her leg had hooked itself up over his waist.  

Huh. Who knew that they were both cuddlers? They... actually looked... kind of cute.  

Silently she grabbed her phone and took a picture of them. “Hehe,” she giggled. “Blackmail.”  

Then quietly as she could, she snuck out. Those two deserved their sleep.  

      Pacifica had been drifting in and out of dreams for a while. Strange dreams that she couldn't recall. And she was too tired to remember any of the moments shed woken up either. This time she blinked at the hazy light around her. Morning.  

There was something in front of her, a pink and brown blur. And she was holding onto something. What was that strange shape in front of her? She blinked a few more times, trying to focus.  

“Dipper?” she mumbled.  

“Mmm,” he replied, still half asleep.  

“No, dipper. On your head.” Lazily, her hand attempted to point, but it didn't really move far before flopping back around his body, her eyes drifting shut again.  

“Yeah. Wait, what?” His eyes flew open, and he looked about cautiously. No one else was in the room. Just him and Pacifica... cuddling. “Uhh...” He looked back down at the girl in his arms. She seemed to have fallen asleep again.  

Hmm... she looked rather cute when she was sleeping. No! No, he was not having any thoughts along those lines when they were cuddling like – like, well, a couple. Nope!  

Carefully he began to extract himself from their human tangle, taking her arm from around him and gently placing it in close to her body. She muttered something when he tried to de-tangle their legs, but when he looked up at her, he found she was still asleep.  

Once he was free he let out a sigh of relief, then he grabbed his clothes for the day and his hat and went off to have a shower. Erm... he better make that a cold one.  

 EXW PRQVWHUV RI WKH GHHS DUH VXUH WR EH IHDUHG

Author Note:

To be honest, I didn't think this much would take up an entire chapter. But oh well, just means there'll be more chapters later. Also, Code Fluffy is a real thing for me. I do this often when I feel down, usually watching Disney films and cuddling my partner or best friend. It's always my advice for people who aren't having a good day. And I always get told that it made them feel a little better. So, if you ever feel horrible or anxious, Code Fluffy. It works. Also, nests are great. Me and my friend used to make these outside in summer on my veranda (back when we lived in a double story house), usually with candles and fairy lights. Anyway, that's all for now. Bye!

Chapter Index  |  First Chapter  |  << Previous Chapter  |  Next Chapter >>

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Holy Crap! Nicotero just called Daryl the OMEGA man!

Good morning Bethyl peeps! So today's post is kind of a small thing, and I honestly wasn't going to post about it. It started out as something interesting I posted in my FB group, but I didn't expect it to blossom into a full-fledged theory/post. But then, as usual, the ingenious fellow-theorists in the Safe Zone (my FB group) had tons of insights and it ended up being a detailed and lively discussion. The wonderful Nonny-M encouraged me to post it, so here it is.

So this is what happened. I noticed this post on Greg Nicotero's IG account a few days ago. 

It was posted on Friday the 23rd. I could tell right away that it was a movie poster that had been edited to be a Daryl/TWD poster, but I had no idea what film the poster had been for originally. I'm not sure why--maybe because it was Nicotero posting it--but I had a little niggling suspicion in the back of my mind that I should look into this. I didn't get a chance to until Saturday evening. At that point, I noticed the caption, which told me what the movie poster had been originally: The Omega Man.

For those who don't know, The Omega Man is an old Charlton Heston film from the 70s based on the book I Am Legend. If you've seen the 2007 Will Smith film, the story is nearly identical. (Synopsis HERE.)

So of course this makes sense on many levels for Nicotero to post. 

1) It's zombie genre. 

2) We've heard several times over the past few weeks from tptb that Daryl will "go rogue" this season, which I think means he may spend a lot of time away from TF at large and be on his own. 

(Of course we're side-eyeing that anyway. Is he going to be ALONE alone, or is he perhaps going to meet someone out in the woods? Let's face it: Daryl wandering around out in the woods alone for the entire season would be pretty boring. And the last time he was alone for a bit in the woods was in 6x06, where he first ran into Dwight, Tina because a Beth proxy, and there were a crap-ton of Beth parallels and symbolism. Just saying.)

So of course Nicotero could simply be hinting at Daryl's arc for S8. In I Am Legend/The Omega Man, the character is out on his own in a zombie-infested world. But I thought, if the parallels to the story are there, what other parallels are there? So I checked out the synopsis, and sure enough, there are other possible parallels that make me smile. The main character in The Omega Man meets a random woman while he's out and about. She saves him from a horde of zombies, and has a kid with her. (Think the Beth and Daryl as Protectors of Children theory.) The synopsis even mentions the two of the riding around a zombie-infested, but otherwise empty, city. *coughs D.C.*

Oh, and then there's the title: The Omega Man. As in Alpha and Omega? (X). I mean, Nicotero could as easily have made this edit using the I Am Legend Poster, but he specifically chose the older film with the Omega title.

So I posted this in my group as something with possible parallels that could be important. Enter Nonny M, @katkhaos, @boltthrutheheart, and @wdway.

So here's what we talked about:

@boltthrutheheart pointed out the "one survivor" line, which I didn't even notice. Definitely has callbacks to Beth's line about Daryl being the "last man standing."

Then Nonny-M figured out that Alpha can mean…wait for it…The North Star. I'd never picked up on that before. The North Star, also called Polaris, is designated Alpha Ursae Minoris. (Source).

So bear with me here. We've considered that Alpha and Omega is biblical, meaning beginning and end. It's also a name for Christ. The "end" is particularly important heading into S8 because of all the 8/endgame references. Eugene: "8-ball, corner pocket." (X) Which is literally the end game. Also note that we had two separate 8-ball references around Beth and Daryl in Still as well. So we can trace this back to them.

We've also considered that Alpha and Omega might mean Alexandria to Oceanside. This was @wdway's insight, and it comes partly from Abraham's last speech to Sasha (☹). "Alpha to omega. Whether on a battlefield or a beach…" Battlefield/Alpha = Alexandria. Beach/Omega = Oceanside.

So now, we have this poster. If Alpha = North Star, and we already think North Star = Beth, because, as Carl told Judith, it's at the end of the Little Dipper, which correlates to Beth's D.C. spoon, then Alpha = Beth.

Nicotero has just designated Daryl the Omega Man. So Alpha to Omega in Abraham's speech could be translated into, "North Star to Daryl" or, even better, Beth to Daryl.

Holy crap! And, you know, four weeks until the start of S8 as he's posting this. Four weeks!

This is huge, guys. We can now correlate the North Star stuff, the Bear Stuff (because the North Star is part of the Little Bear constellation) and the Alpha Omega stuff. We've always thought it was all about Beth's arc, but now we can connect it through true facts! Thanks Nonny-M! What an amazing insight!

So then our conversation turned some other, interesting side-notes. Nonny-M is Swedish, and she and KatKhaos were talking about names for the Little Dipper in their native languages. Nonny-M made the observation that we actually see a lot of Swedish around Carl. (He was part of the convo because of his Little Dipper line to Judith.) In the pudding house, we see the word "Fredag" which is Swedish for Friday.

@KatKhaos and I have noted that before, but could never make anything concrete of it. There is the theory that S4 = Good Friday, S5 = Crucifixion, etc., but by that theory, the resurrection should have been S7, and she didn't show up. Now, I'm not saying that theory is wrong. It could still be a thing, but we'd have to lengthen out the timeline to her showing up in S8 instead. That's all.

But Nonny-M also noted that in this shot, we see the poster on the mantle for checking one's eyesight. Some of the letters (middle row) are Swedish: A, O (my keyboard won't do the Swedish versions.) 

I asked her what letters they correspond to, but they don't correspond directly to English letters, though they are derived from them. So my first thought was that perhaps these letters aren't there for their own meaning. Rather, we once again have A and O. Alpha and Omega. Nonny-M also informs me that these are the last three letters of the Swedish alphabet. The Swedes have 29 letters, and these are 27-29. End game. The alphabet also starts with another A, but of course ends in O. So once again, A to O, Alpha to Omega, Beginning to End.

And why Swedish? That, we’re not entirely sure about yet. The only thing I can think of is that in Swedish, the Little Dipper is called the Little Bear. So maybe it’s a way of pulling in the bear symbolism (X). They can say Little Dipper in English any time (and they did later in S6 with Carl) but this is a way to tell us that the bear stuff is also related to all of this?

@wdway also added that at the top of this chart is an A and an X, both of which represent Beth. (A = Alpha and then X Theory) That's especially important given the other stuff in this episode. I've talked about this frequently lately, but in the pudding house, Carl sees a dead song bird, then has tons of resurrection symbols around him. Lamps, a bat, yellow scissors, loses a shoe, shoots a walker in the left side of the forehead, and it jumps back up. Carl's whole arc in this episode, while immensely important for him, was also one big foreshadow of Beth. (He was trapped, had to get out on his, emphasis on sheriff's hat, fell down on the first try, room with the nautical theme, I could go on.)

Oh, one other thing I almost forgot to mention! Daryl’s shirt. This really looks like something from S7, and it’s his blue shirt he wore for most of 7b with the pocket missing. The color has obviously been altered…to green. I don’t think we’ve seen him wear that particular color on the show. Like, ever. But who has?

Just saying. So yeah. I posted this as just a point of interest and it became a four-hour discussion with something like 40 comments. Who knew?

And of course Nicotero (of the 800 walkers in Coda, the missing 17 days, and maybe Creepy Wolf Dude was in love with Denise) LOVES to drop TD hints for us. So this kind of made my weekend.

Thoughts?

[fangirlwithapen]

Where Dreams Turn Into Nightmares

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Chapter: 14/?

Read on AO3 ; Read on fanfiction.net

Dipper Pines is willing to do anything for his twin sister Mabel. Even if it means traveling into an alternate dimension with someone he barely trusts to get her back.

Chapter 14: Reunion

Happy (late) new year everyone! I know it's been, like, a million years since I updated last, and I'm really sorry about that! Life's been hijacking my plans a lot lately, and things have been piling up for me to do! I'm gonna try as hard as I can to update more often. Enjoy!

The first thing Dipper noticed when he came to was an intense headache. He groaned, lifting his head to his hands, and he sat up onto his elbow. He was about to scan his surroundings when he was startled by a nasally voice behind him.

"Don't worry; the headache's normal after a hypnosis trance."

Dipper spun around to face the voice, not sure if he should be ready to fight something or run for his life. Instead he saw the red circular demon who had been with Diablo- Alvin, he thought- with his back to him and a light blue flame sprouting from his hands. "What... What's going on? Where am I?" He asked the demon, not fully sure if he'd get a response. After all, this was a DEMON he was dealing with, and he wasn't sure if this was gonna end in some form of bizarre mutilation.

"Storage closet. Near the Converter. I had to knock both of you out so I could convince Diablo you had collapsed of exhaustion. That way I had an excuse to get you away from there."

"Wha-" Dipper was beyond confused. This was a demon, right? One of the monsters that had kidnapped countless children- including his own SISTER- to fuel their sick dimension? Why in God's name would a demon be trying to help him and- MABEL! Where was she? Had Alvin taken him away and left Mabel to suffer in the hands of Bill and Diablo? "Where's my sister?"

Alvin didn't answer. From what Dipper could tell, he was muttering something in a language Dipper couldn't recognize over the flames that he was creating. But why?

"Hey, you! Didn't you hear me? I'm talking to you!" Dipper shakily rose to his feet, still dizzy from the trance, and stumbled over to Alvin. "Where is- Mabel!"

There she was, encapsulated in the blue flames that Alvin was creating. She was still unconscious, and from the looks of it, she wasn't breathing much. Which was a sight that Dipper did not respond well to. "HEY! What are you doing to her? Back away!"

Alvin gave Dipper a terrifying glare, one that made Dipper squeak with fear. "I'm removing the trance that Diablo placed over your sister."

Dipper swallowed nervously. "Trance?"

"Yes. Diablo cast a fear trance over Subject 621 so she would fear all other humans and try to annihilate you on sight. It's an incredibly powerful trance, so it may take some time to undo. Now step aside."

"You have done this before, right, uh... Alvin?" Dipper raised an eyebrow skeptically at Alvin.

A sheepish look appeared on Alvin's face. "Well, not exactly... no. But I've studied trances extensively, and I've memorized how to cast and undo trances. It should be fine. Now stand aside. I have work to do."

Dipper couldn't believe his ears. He was supposed to entrust his sister's fate with a demon who had never undone a trance before? "Wait just a minute, man. You've never done this before? How do I know you won't screw it up and like, erase Mabel's mind or something?"

"Stand aside," Alvin's patient tone became increasingly irritated. "I know what I'm doing."

"Only because you read about it! This is my sister we're talking about! Why should I trust you with saving her, anyway? You've been trying to kill her for weeks!"

"I SAID STAND ASIDE!" Alvin roared, and Dipper shut up immediately. "And you don't know the half of it! If it wasn't for me, your sister would have died a long time ago, boy!"

Shock filled Dipper's entire body, and he took a step backward. "What... what did you say?" He sputtered.

"I'm sure you remember the DVD we sent you of Subject 621's dreams, yes?"

How could Dipper forget it? He had watched his sister go through torture; that DVD was probably something Dipper would never forget, no matter how hard he tried.

"Well, before we filmed the DVD, Diablo had entirely different plans for her. He originally planned to keep the dream the same, except he wanted to let your sister bleed out on camera while you and your family watched. It was me who convinced him to keep her alive, boy! I told Diablo that her dreams could give the Converter enough power to keep the Dreamscape running for decades. Luckily, he believed me, and he let me patch her up afterwards."

Dipper breathed shakily and heavily. Man, Diablo was gonna make him watch his own sister's death? He couldn't believe it. Dipper had seen a lot of messed-up crap since he'd been in the Dreamscape, but absolutely nothing in the universe would have been more painful or horrifying than that. Just the thought was like a punch to Dipper's stomach. "What- why would you want to save her?"

Alvin sighed as he continued to work. "You may not believe this, but I have a family too. And I know I would be absolutely crushed if anything happened to them. Family is... It's one of the most important things in the universe to me. I've done a lot of things that I desperately wish I could take back while I've been under Diablo's care, but I would never purposely tear apart a family. And when I saw that Diablo wasn't afraid to annihilate your twin and your family- that was the last straw for me."

"Wow." Dipper came closer to Alvin, flashing him a soft smile. "I just- I don't know how to thank you, man. Mabel's the most important person in the whole world to me and I just... I wanna thank you for giving her back to me."

Alvin looked over at the grateful twelve-year-old standing next to him. He could tell that Dipper was trying to act mature and calm-well, as calm as one can be when his sister has been abducted by an insane demon overlord- but he was failing. Alvin could easily see the fear and innocence etched all over the boy's face, and to be quite frank, it broke his heart a little. Granted, if any other demon, even, God forbid, Diablo, found out that he felt sympathy for a weak, feeble-minded 12-year-old human, he would be cast out of this dimension faster than you could say treason. But Alvin had stopped caring what the other demons and his boss thought of him a long time ago. He was done ruining lives under Diablo's watch. So done.

After a few more minutes, Alvin finished his incantation and released his fiery grip on Dipper's sister. Both the demon and the boy watched her in anticipation, praying that she would open her eyes and be back to her normal self. Well, anyway, half of that happened at first. Dipper nudged her softly and she stirred, opening her eyes slowly and groaning. Dipper smiled lightly, sighing in relief. But his smile faded when she inched away from him.

"Dipper?" Mabel squeaked, almost sounding frightened of him.

He couldn't understand why she was afraid of him. She was his twin; they'd lived together, played together, and been best friends for their entire lives! Didn't she know that he would never in a million years try to hurt her? "It's me, Mabel," he said hesitantly, "It's Dipper."

She stayed silent, but the fear still remained in her eyes as they darted to Alvin, standing next to Dipper.

"It's okay, Mabel," Dipper said soothingly. "Alvin's not gonna hurt you. He's the reason we're together again. He saved your life!"

The mask of fear still remained frozen on Mabel's face as she stared Dipper dead in the eyes. "How... How do I know that you're not like the others?"

"The others?"

"They- they always acted the same. They would pretend they cared, that they were sorry for everything that happened down there, in the basement. Then they stopped; they took it all back and- they hurt me. Badly." She sucked in a breath, trying to contain her composure. "How do I know you're not gonna do the same thing?"

Dipper swallowed thickly. He couldn't really describe what he was feeling; it was somewhere between rage and melancholy. He felt an intense, burning rage at Diablo for making his sister go through all that crap, and at the same time he felt a deep sadness with her, with everything she had experienced in her time here. He knelt down so he could face Mabel, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Mabel." He lifted her head with his hand. "I can't begin to know what's happened to you here. I've only heard bits and pieces, and what I've heard is messed up, sis. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you from it. And I can't promise you that I'll protect you from everything from here on in, because I'm not perfect, and you know that. But I swear, I'm gonna try my hardest to. I'm gonna protect you from as much as I can, just like you protect me from bullies at school and the weird things in Gravity Falls. Because you're my sister, and my twin, and my best friend, and- as much as I hate to say it- you're the Alpha Twin. But you've gotta trust me if we wanna get out of here. Grunkle Stan is waiting for us somewhere, and you need to trust that we will keep you safe from now on, okay? Will you rejoin the Mystery Twins?"

Mabel stayed silent for a minute, scanning Dipper's face for any dishonesty or any sign that this was like her dreams. Meanwhile Dipper held his breath in anticipation, hoping with all his might that she believed him. After what seemed like an eternity to Dipper, Mabel smiled tearily and replied, "You know it, Bro-Bro."

Dipper couldn't help but laugh in joy as he grinned and pulled his twin in for a long awaited hug. For a moment, it didn't even register in Dipper's mind that they were in the basement of a genocidal dream factory and they were probably being hunted by a demon who wouldn't hesitate to blast them off the face of the earth if he found them. For that small moment, it was just him and Mabel in a little time-defiant bubble. Dipper knew that soon they would have to get moving again, but for right now he really didn't care. They Mystery Twins were finally back in action, and for that one infinitesimal moment, that was all that mattered.