#it was fun while it lasted but this is it. this is where i die and we never meet again

[yoredoesmore]

Old Habits Don't Die | Hoshina Soshiro

pairing: Hoshina Soshiro x Reader

genre: fluff/a lil romance/slowburn/enemies to lovers

summary: your childhood enemy still gives you a hard time even after all these years.

wc: 3k

Taglist: @adimelymanner @soshirohoshinasimp @istarluvx @hoshinasblade

“Mrs. Yuki! Soshiro stole my building blocks again!” A voice yelled out. It did not take much to depict the clear annoyance and irritation that were laced into the cry. And if it wasn't obvious enough that you were moments away from lashing out on the other kid, the deep frown on your face served the purpose of further indicating your strong emotions of anger.

“They don't belong to ya!” Soshiro claimed boldly, completely disregarding the possible threat you would turn into, and continued to dangle the red pieces just slightly out of your reach. It was in that moment where you felt deep sympathy for bulls and learned to understand how seeing a simple color could drive on to go such lengths.

Kindergarten was supposed to be a place free from complications and pressure, for the children at least, yet you found yourself in a solid cloud of stress constantly. The source of your worrying state being no other than Hoshina Soshiro.

"You can't hog the animal plushies, you have to share them, Soshiro!”

“So that they end up stinking like ya?? "No way!"

The boy's snarky remarks were often followed by a rude motion of similar disrespect. Darting out his tongue and giving you nasty grimaces have become an everyday occurrence. You have thought about smacking him too many times, more than you would like to admit but you refused to lower yourself to his antics.

Besides the constant nagging and stealing, Soshiro loved to call you names. Pigtails had turned into a bad word when taken into his mouth and it has even come so far that he no longer used your name and rather referred to you by your hairstyle.

You sat neatly tucked in one of the reading corners, the world but just a mere background sound to you. The picture book held images that you have never seen before, it was deeply interesting. Caught up in the moment and feelings, you did not notice the malicious source approaching you.

By the time you took notice of his presence it was already too late.

Soft hands reached out for your pigtails, slightly pulling you up by the hair. The motion was more sudden than painful, yet you still let out a loud scream. Almost immediately, one of the caretakers came to your aid and you wasted no time telling them about Hoshinas' antics.

He was sentenced to 15 minutes in the corner after.

A sly, almost triumphant smile sat on your lips, watching the boy finally get the punishment he deserved. And of course you did not fail to show him your jolliness.

“Serves you right!” You cheerfully exclaimed, tongue darted out to give him a taste of his own medicine. The boy simply rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“All ya do is cry cry cry, that's no fun!” It appeared that Soshiro was more upset about you ending his antics before he could even start, rather than having to carry out the punishment. His eyes sat on yours for a while, as if he was trying to communicate something, but then he returned his gaze to the corner for good.

The day went on, and to your surprise, Soshiro did not even think about approaching you. The moments felt peaceful and calm, yet something was missing. Once again, you found yourself in a play corner, building towers that were meant to reach great heights. A figure approached you and it was no other than Mrs. Yuki.

“The tower looks amazing, Y/n!” She cheered you on, earning a smile from you.

“Without Soshiro here, I can make it even higher than before!” You cheerfully chimed.

“True, at last there is peace. But it must also be boring without him, right?” She suddenly suggested

“Not at all! Soshiro is sooo noisy, like a goose! I'm glad that he is no longer around to bother me.” You said firmly, standing your ground. The woman simply chuckled, her hands finding themselves in your hair to give it a strong ruffle.

She had a certain look in her eyes, one you found yourself unsure of. Then she left.

Whatever they told Soshiro after getting out of the corner had a strong effect on the boy for the remaining day. He stopped bothering or insulting you and when he had to start a conversation, he made sure to address you by your proper name. The newly established peace felt great for a while, but as the day moved on, it began to bore you out indeed. You missed the old dynamic and how he used to enthusiastically approach you just to get on your nerves again– but of course you would never admit that.

Did you break him? The Soshiro who was known as the powerhouse of your kindergarten group?

A subtle frown accompanied you on your way to the front door where your mother was waiting for you for pick up. Once again, you were so deep in thought that you did not notice the kid that was running right at you.

And then you felt someone harshly pull on your pigtails.

“Soshirooo!” You started crying and Mrs. Yuki already came to your aid to comfort you.

The boy topped off his harassment by showing you the nastiest expression known by a child, or mankind, his tongue spitting at you from a distance.

Old habits unfortunately never die.

After that day, he was put into a different kindergarten group, to no one's surprise. You still saw him every now and then but it never came to any big interactions besides on excursions. But even then, the caretakers made sure that you stayed unbothered by him.

The moments of silence soon turned into solid years. You almost forgot what it felt like, to experience true anger during elementary and middle school. Of course there were some pesky and annoying peers every here and there but none of them had the unfortunate effect that Soshiro had on you. Thus, life remained livable until you reached the academy.

Like a vicious circle everything fell back into place, the insults, the bickering, the testing of your patience– it was like a bad joke that repeated itself over and over again.

“Students are not allowed to use the training rooms on the third floor, they are strictly reserved for the higher ranked students. It's written in the student manual, very hard to skip, unless you don't read it of course..” You spat sternly, the last part coming out as a mocking whisper. You took your job as a student council member as serious as ever and especially Soshiro got to feel the abuse of your powers.

“Calm down, Pigtails.” He replied, not even looking at you as he continued with his stretching.

“Literally nobody cares besides ya and yer stupid manual book. The training rooms downstairs are too crowded– and besides, the higher ranked students barely come up here.”

Whenever you tried to use rules and order on this guy, Soshiro would simply disregard you. It was a constant back and forth with the man, a nightmare that you desperately hoped to escape one day..

11 years later…

“We should get the report back soon.” Okonogi said, a soft smile twirling on her lips as she looked up at you. You nodded your head, exercising one last bow before exiting the room.

You had just started your job at the Defense Force, specifically, as the operations Vice Leader for the Third Division alongside Okonogi.

Today is going to be another all nighter You thought and sighed.

It has always been your dream to secure this position and after hard training and lots of extra studying you finally made it.

Your eyes scanned through the countless files in your hands, trying to figure out which one you should tackle first.

It was a habit of yours, (one you desperately tried to get rid off) blending out everything and everyone around you the moment your eyes fell on a text. You walked in wonky motions, shadowing as many passages as possible before reaching your destination. To your luck, the last time you checked (two minutes ago) the hallway was empty.

It was peaceful all around you, so much that you even began to humm a melody. But what pulled you back into reality was the sharp pain that suddenly spread through your skull, inflicted by a flick to your forehead.

“Watch it, Pigtails.” A light, yet cocky voice suddenly spoke into the silence.

What the..

Your body froze over from head to toe, all senses on high alert. The man who made the comment simply kept walking, not even bothering with your presence. All that remained of him was the soft tone of his voice in the back of your head and the burning feeling his fingers had left behind on your head.

“Soshiro..?”

*

All night was spent thinking about the black haired individual and the memories you were taken back to. The Hoshina Soshiro, the child who made your childhood a mess and caused you stress beyond imagination, he was now working at the exact same place you applied for. What a joke.

Since you both went to Tokyo Neutralization University, you figured that he was going to walk down this path but to end up at the exact same Division..that was simply your bad luck.

Those thoughts accompanied you throughout the remaining day– and their weight was evident on your face. Okonogi took notice of the change in your usually cheerful demeanor and wasted no time in addressing the matter.

“Is all well? You seem a little out of it today.” Her voice sat laced in concern and worry.

“Oh yes, no worries please. It’s just..I think I ran into an old acquaintance of mine yesterday. Here in the building. Haven't seen him in a while and we go like, wayyy back.” The chuckle that left your lips was drenched in awkwardness and discomfort. You placed a strong emphasis on the words acquaintance, refusing to refer to him as enemy or bully to not create a misunderstanding.

Okonogi shook her head in an understanding manner before returning her attention back to her screen.

“Sounds great. Why not talk to him and ask how he has been? I'm sure he was just as surprised to see you again.”

It was such simple advice, easy to digest and execute, yet you immediately knew that you could not follow it. Walking up to him of all people would destroy your mind, even thinking about it had your head spinning.

While the thoughts in your head once again went spiraling, you failed to notice the appearance of a new presence. The door opened and almost immediately all the workers around you stopped their work and researches in their tracks to greet the individual, all but you.

Okonogi gave you a soft nudge against the shoulders in an attempt to get your attention but you failed to react in time. A soft “hm?” was all she managed to acquire, while your eyes stayed focused on your lap. And when you finally turned your head to the direction she was looking at, all you were met with was the back of a clipboard that was milliseconds away from colliding with your head.

Thud

You groaned. The weight of the item came crashing down on your head out of nowhere. It hurt your pride more than it did your body and the discomfort was clearly displayed on your face.

“Normally I don't need to go such lengths to get my subordinates attention, Pigtails.”

Almost immediately your eye shot open and locked with the man who stood before your seated figure. Your heart tightened into a knot and for a second, you could feel a slight gush of heat sweep over your face.

“Hoshina..” Your eyes held a shimmer the man did not know existed. Astonishment and fright, two so distant emotions, came together in your eyes to create something indescribable.

“..Address me with Captain if you seek my acknowledgement. Now, pay attention or move somewhere else.” Without allowing your heart or mind to catch up to the situation, Captain Hoshina moved back to the center of the room to make the announcement he came for.

There he was, an old enemy, right in front of you. The years have only done him favors. Although he never abandoned the bowl cut, his face has grown into that of a man, handsome with no imperfections to be found. His body too has adapted to his age and profession. Lean muscles and a fit build– he was far from unattractive.

Hoshina had come to pass down some information about the approval of the request the operation team put in a while ago about improvements on both the suit supervision and training program. (Un)fortunately (you were conflicted about his sudden visit) he did not stay for too long, bidding the room goodbye before disappearing as fast as he came. But before fully exiting the room he made sure to shoot you one last look.

“He has changed..” You whispered, thinking about the vigilant rebel you once had to deal with who somehow managed to transform into a high ranked supervisor. Never would you have thought that Hoshina would be one to play by the rules, that simply left you speechless.

From there on no day went by without him somehow finding a way to disturb your work life. He wasn't as persistent or flashy as back then but he made sure to pull you out of your little daydreams or sneak up at you when you were idly walking around the hallways.

Old habits truly never die.

If it wasn't for Okonogi taking care of you every now and then, sending you little notes in which she reminded you to eat enough or covering you up with a blanket whenever the all nighters had you falling asleep at your desk, you would have imploded from exhaustion.

Today was that kind of day. You had fallen asleep around 9pm in your small office and found yourself wrapped up in a cozy blanket. You smiled softly, rubbing the remaining sleep out of your eyes as you got up and folded the rug into a neat cube.

After taking a long and calculated look at the papers you had worked on before drifting off, you decided that you have truly done enough for the day and deserved to sleep in a proper bed.

Therefore you left all as it was and moved forth to exit your office. But as you pulled open the door and took the first step out, you were met with a view that had you thinking that this might be a dream after all.

Soshiro stood leaned against the wall across the hallway, arms crossed over his chest and surprise written all over his face. It seemed like neither of you had expected the other here.

“Soshiro?” It was evident in your voice that you had just woken up.

“Yer awake already?” The way he was asking the question sounded like you were not supposed to be, which left you even more confused.

“What are you doing here?” Although still tired, you did not allow yourself to ease your guard. Knowing him, he was never too tired to spit out a snarky remark or send something flying against your forehead again. But waiting for you in front of your office? That was too much, even for you.

Hoshina did not answer your question immediately, allowing it to float around in the air for a moment before picking it up again. His body moved forward, abandoning the support of the wall and inching closer to you. His arme remained locked though.

“Came to check on ya.”

“The truth please, I'm too tired for this.”

“I ain't lying..don't make this awkward.”

The sudden switch up in his demeanor from sarcastic to soft already made the situation awkward enough, but fortunately for him, you were indeed too tired to properly react. And you could not deny, his softness did manage to peak your interest.

“Yer always doing the most, putting effort into tasks that did not need all that endeavor. I already knew when I first saw ya here that yer were going to burn that little skull of yers out.” His fingers, surprise to none, poked your forehead, slightly pushing you back. You groaned, ready to go off on him but he cut you off.

“So I came to check on ya..every now and then. Maybe, I don't know, because I felt bad for stuff.. “ Hoshina did not finish that sentence, he didn't have to, his emotions were written all over his face.

His words took your mind into a distant space where nothing made sense and all that was floated around in the atmosphere. Hoshina changed. It took him a decade and fragments of his old persona remained but he was not entirely the same anymore. Little you would have died to experience this moment.

Wait a second..

“So those notes and the food on my desk– and the blankets..that was you?” The only reply the man was able to give you was a subtle nodding of his head.

And in exactly that moment your heart skipped a beat.

You immediately felt repulsed. The fact that he of all people was the cause for your fastened heartbeat was a difficult thought to stomach but somewhere, deep down, you were smiling.

“Oh, yer pigtails came undone while ya were asleep.” Hoshina acknowledged, trying to divert the gravity of this conversation to another point. The tension had indeed become so thick it was almost palpable.

“Oh no..I took them out after a certain someone mocked me for them today. He said something along the lines about how they're not fit for such a serious work environment.” You shot him a judgy look and rolled your eyes to which he replied with scoff.

“I was just joking, ya gotta stop taking everything so seriously. Besides,” Soshiros's hands suddenly moved up to your hair, caressing it in gentle motions.

“I think they look cute. Always have.”

He was teasing you again, he had to be. The gentle smile on his face and the soft blush that hushed over his cheeks, he must be toying with you, right? Just like back then in kindergarten, where he would add cute hair clips into your hair without you noticing at first or changing your name cards so you would sit next to him during lunch, he was simply goofing around. After all, old habits don't die.

a/n: me: I have no motivation to write but here is a 3k slowburn fic guys 🥺 lol idk what came over me but the words for this fic just appeared out of nowhere (hope this keeps up)

The city (tumblr) needs me so I hope I will be able to provide you guys with more hoshina content and I also hoped you enjoyed this piece! Not much romance but a little something at the end 😼 consider this a warm up.

Btw I have absolutely no idea how a taglist works, I just tagged random people who interact with my content ^^ (hope you guys don't mind)

See you next time!!

[darkshrimpemotions]

There's no way I can be even REMOTELY coherent and putting under a read more to make EXTRA sure I don't spoil anyone but MY GOD. OH MY FUCKING GOD. (so many spoilers below the cut, I cannot overstate this lmao)

This episode. This fucking episode. First of all, me and some friends watched The Warriors (1979) - the film Colin references at the start of the episode and the inspiration for the episode's overall plot and premise - a few weeks ago and I have been feral ever since at the Implications and Possibilities. But in the end, I knew they couldn't give us EVERYTHING that a 90-minute movie gave in 25-30 minutes. There are the things I desperately wanted, in order of most to least:

Guillermo being confronted with the vampires and his slayer family and choosing to go with the vampires once and for all.

Guillermo and Nandor argument while broken away from the group that ends in a feverish kiss (yes, I knew this was a very remote possibility, but it was a nonzero chance, Swan/Mercy is SO Nandermo coded!!!).

Guillermo fight scene, Nandor fight scene, OR Guillermo and Nandor fighting back to back against a horde of vampires.

The death of fucking Jerry.

Either no Guidor at all or a solid rejection from The Guide.

A bunch of themed vampire covens facing off with our beloved Staten Island vampires.

Just a big wide-lens look at vampire society overall, maybe with some cool cameos from other vampire media again.

Fun costumes and direct references to the movie beyond just the plot, whether in filming style, music choices, specific lines, etc.

And here's the thing. This episode gave me MOST of what I wanted, some of it in ways I didn't expect, and the only thing it DIDN'T give me that I desperately wanted was the Swan/Mercy parallels with Nandermo. But then...it honestly kind of did still? It was SUCH an episode.

Like I said NONE of this is coherent but once again, Colin Robinson being the MVP of little asides that are so fucking funny when you catch them. Nadja killing spree my ABSOLUTE beloved. More Ladja talking through some of their issues and being thee married couple of all time. THE GOOD GUIDOR i.e. Nandor finally tries to make a move and gets shut down SO hard, with the Guide EXPLICITLY positioning herself as just another check in Nandor's long-standing pattern of chasing after relationships that won't ever work long-term.

And all the vampire family talk! First, Nandor saying Guillermo isn't part of the family anymore (HELLUVA WAY TO FIND OUT HE EVER WAS LMAO) and the rest of them chiming in and egging him on about how he's made it SO clear he wants nothing to do with the vampire world. And what I love is how soundly it reads as utter bullshit. OF COURSE he's still part of the family. They all know it, and so does he honestly.

That's why he doesn't even hesitate later when he says Nandor's his best friend. That's why they immediately call him when they need help, and he of course immediately runs to help them. If anything, that was ONCE AGAIN Nandor trying to get Guillermo to insist on his place at Nandor's side (a la THE LAST THREE SEASONS) and this time the whole family backed him up on it and Guillermo STILL didn't take the bait. Because Guillermo doesn't need to insist on it, he knows where he really belongs and fits. He practically said it himself when he was talking to Miguel about Familia.

And then Nandor being so delighted to meet Miguel...having heard and remembered stories Guillermo has told him about Miguel...saying Guillermo's family are their family and of course Nandor and the others would never hurt him.

AND THE RETURN OF SLAYER MEMO. The way Nandor looked at Guillermo when he killed that guy with a fucking No. 2 pencil. The way they all not only trusted that Guillermo could handle it without them, but also were having such a great time watching and calling out encouragement (Colin again my beloved).

GUILLERMO TELLING MIGUEL ABOUT VAMPIRES AND MIGUEL BEING COOL ABOUT IT. Miguel being ride or die for his primo despite clearly thinking he's lost his mind.

EVERY SINGLE FUCKING OUTFIT. YANA CAMEO MY BELOVED. ALEX SKARSGARD. ALL THE VAMPIRE GANGS WERE SO FUNNY AND PERFECT. FUCKING JERRY IS FUCKING DEAD.

They gave me basically everything I wanted except Nandermo making out in a tunnel as a train rushes by them. But like. I always knew that was Unlikely lol (still, I do have Thoughts and Feelings about it but. Eh...I'm not going to let it ruin my enjoyment of the episode, not with Nandor and Guillermo giving each other all those fucking heart eyes and basically reaffirming that they're family, and Nandor MEETING YET ANOTHER MEMBER OF GUILLERMO'S FAMILY AND BEING ACCEPTED. Introducing his bf in increments).

And the Baron being absolutely on top of his shit, the hair, the robes, the plan, the several kids and a doting husband at home...He is Everything.

Just a great fucking episode! And after last week's very cute fun little episode! I feel like I could lift a bus. No idea how I'm going to sleep.

[arrowheadedbitch]

Okay, I've officially seen the Mephisto death scene (though not the actual episode it happens, what can I say, I'm bad about seeking out spoilers) and I have to say, I'm not convinced.

You're seriously telling me that they killed off a fan favorite character and WEREN'T planning to reveal that he survived in the next season they thought they were getting? Don't make me laugh. It is shown time and time again that the twins have a teleport away spell, it's a perfectly planted scapegoat to explain how he got away! Even from the first episode, we see the twins teleport away just as a blast is about to hit them, I don't think this is any different.

I am ONE HUNDRED percent sure the plan was to reveal Mephisto was never dead and I have a knack for calling this kind of thing so just trust me, all right?

And this isn't just denial talking, could that blast have killed him? Yeah. But, he's not only a fan favorite character that many watchers liked more than the PRINCESSES, the perfect way for him to escape has been planned since his introduction!!

But, Praxina was clearly meant to be the villain in season 3, fighting Iris since she blames her for her brother's death, right? Yeah but that doesn't mean he's actually dead, just PERCIEVED dead

An explosion like that? There wouldn't really be any suspicion if they couldn't find his remains since he got magically blown up, there's no way to prove he died and since Prax literally watched him sacrifice himself for her, she would assume he was dead even if she couldn't find any evidence because...why wouldn't you? He exploded and didn't come back right away.

So where is he? Obviously, we don't know this since we didn't get season 3 but I'll share my guesses on the matter

1. He could be in a different kingdom

It's possible but I don't see it being what actually happened but him turning up in the kingdom of a princess who didn't help fight Gramorr and doesn't know who he is with amnesia and being her jester or something for a few episodes could be fun

2. He's at down near the wreckage where he supposedly died

He didn't have to have teleported far to have survived, and we don't know if anyone went down there to try and recover his remains, he could just be at the bottom and unconscious

3. He's in some random human's house

He teleported to earth with amnesia, some nice human took him in, probably a character who's just being introduced at the start of s3, and is nursing him to health as he tries to remember who the heck he is. I always liked how Mephisto had more knowledge about earth and humans in general than Prax so I'm not sure how I'd feel about this one to be honest

4. He's passed out in the woods

He teleported to earth, landed in a random forest near the cave the twins usually hang at, maybe unconscious, maybe just injured, maybe with amnesia, either they find him completely KO'd or he's living in the forest when they find him

5. He's in the cave

We have no reason to think Prax checked the cave the twins typically stay at, maybe he went there and passed out or something

6. He has amnesia

He's literally wherever and has amnesia, it's a classic. this would likely be thematically compared to when *Praxina* got amnesia and turned good for a while, temporarily forgetting who Meph is. Yes, I am aware of the overlap this has with other items on the list

7. He's low on magic

Maybe he used his last bit of magic to teleport away and with his current injured state he can't really do anymore, so he's stranded where ever her landed until he can get better, which is why he wasn't able to tell Prax he's okay

8. He's in a magic coma

I actually really like this idea. He teleported somewhere but he was injured and low on magic so he had to use an emergency spell to put himself into a magical sleep as he heals to, yknow, not die. He can be in any of the prior listed places for this, cave, woods, floor, I imagine the princesses would eventually find him and wake him up

These are the ideas I have right now

I imagine the conflict resolution would be a fight that is ended by Mephisto stopping Praxina and a reunion, as I can't really see Prax still wanting to fight LoliRock when she sees her brother safe and sound.

I can go more in depth on how I envision this going later but I have to get ready to go home now lol

[ricky-mortis]

They're the best of each other!

[welcometogrouchland]

I miss them so bad (Dick and Damian)

[eddis-not-eeddis]

.

[todayisafridaynight]

one day ill stop treating aoki like he was a guy i personally knew that died but todays not that day

[moe-broey]

No context but I got So distracted. I did not set out to do All That today. I don't even know where the fuck I am anymore. It was all an impulse decision and I didn't even write down the second distraction because it was So Strong. In my mind. But then a second distraction hit my two braincells. I have no idea whwre I am anymore. I was just gonna whip up a shitpost doodle and then go back to my main project. I never even got to the shitpost doodle. 🧍

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[dennisboobs]

this is genuinely... so funny to me. like the hilarity of copypasting rational tweets. i'm literally right. it's not even a funny copypasta because it's literally just. objectively correct. it's a criticism of twitter culture and that makes it funny to you because...... god forbid you actually have empathy for other people. caring is for losers if you're on twitter dot com, you have to be snarky and funny at all times.

[smoothoperador]

.

[milo-is-rambling]

Someone tell me how to make me not hate myself and make my family not think I’m a bitch and make me want to see my family or drive back down the coast or stay in strange places or do anything other than kill myself I mean whaaatttt haha what a weird thing to say *stares directly into the camera knowingly*

[cabeswaterdrowned]

not saying I will actually write this but inspired by before I fall if I did write a Gansey’s death loop fic who should be stuck in the time loop; Gansey himself, Blue, or both Blue and Adam?

(I dismissed Adam only as an option because I’ve read a fic about the same concept thought it was done beautifully don’t think I have a better take on it.)

[bluefuecoco]

i loked content warning so much that i bought copies of lethal company for me and my friends, and that shit was a blast oh ny god.

I think my favorite moment is when you're separated and you die, and you find out someone else has alread died and yall are just sitting there like "How did you die?!" and laughing over it

or when you die and you go to spectate and your friends who already got back to the ship are talking shit about you

[halfricanloveyou]

the only laid i wanna get is laid to rest. permanently or just for a few hours, either sounds great

[ckret2]

So a while ago some friends were talking about fans who claim the Same Coin theory is canon. And I made the mistake of saying:

Do you know who also has tons in common with Bill? Mabel. Yet nobody claims Bill reincarnated as Mabel. …wait now I want a "same coin but it's Mabel" AU. Funniest Bill reincarnation option. The all-seeing arsonist is making macaroni glitter art. The omnipotent tyrant is crying because a unicorn called her a bad person.

And then I overthought it for two months.

So—AU where after death, Bill's soul shoots 13 years into the past and reincarnates as Mabel. I'll call it ✨ Sparkly Coin AU ✨

Don't leave yet. Lemme show you why it works. Behold the eerie amount of parallels in their personalities, dialogue, behavior, mannerisms, tastes...

I could have kept going but my attention span ran out. All right, we all on board now? Convinced we could segue from one personality into the other? Great. Now here's why you should be interested: the juicy post-Weirdmageddon angst potential.

As long as a small fringe of the fandom still thinks Weirdmageddon is Mabel's fault, why not amp that up x100 and have some fun with it?

Is everyone sold now? Great. Let's get into the details. I've got 8 more pieces of art under the read more.

So the AU starts the instant Bill dies. Thanks to invoking his deal with the Axolotl—one way to absolve his crime, a different form, a different time—the Axolotl gives him a new shape and shoots him thirteen years into the past. Apparently, the Axolotl thought it would be very funny to stick Bill in the family that defeated him.

Which probably made for a jarring transition.

(It's fine, she's like 10 minutes old, she probably can't even tell who she's looking at. Not being able to tell who she was looking at is what got her into this situation ayyyy)

When Dipper & Mabel come back from Gravity Falls complaining about this triangular jerk Bill, their parents mention that Dipper's name was nearly Bill. See, after they knew they were going to have a boy, one night their mom dreamed about a visitor—some kind of magic pink salamander??—calling her child "BILL." Then at the next sonogram they found out they were having twins, the girl must've been hidden at a weird angle the first time, and they wanted matching names, so they thought, Bill and Bell. But they didn't really like Bell; but eventually they stumbled on Mabel, so to keep the names matching they switched from Bill to Mason. Isn't that the darnedest thing?

(Of course, Mabel and Dipper assume Bill harassed their parents to try to trick them into naming a kid after him. To be a jerk.)

When Bill meets Mabel, he's unaware that she's his future self—Bill's notably bad at doing things like, say, double-checking to see whether he's going to die anytime soon—but like... he can tell something's up.

Naturally, before visiting Gravity Falls, there were echoes of who Mabel used to be—but nothing anyone would be able to identify without context. All her Bill-ish quirks either smoothed out with time (see: how between second grade and fourth grade Mabel went from being the "freak" to the popular girl in class), or else they were accepted by her family as Mabel-ish quirks.

After they meet (and kill) Bill, they have the context to understand some of Mabel's behaviors... and unfortunately, some of Mabel's latent Bill-ness starts surfacing after she's been directly exposed to her prior incarnation.

The part of the Pines family familiar with Bill thinks the worst case scenario is that maybe Bill's survived and is slowly possessing Mabel; but far more likely, they think this is just some weird way of trying to subconsciously process last summer. Mabel doesn't think she's being weird, you guys are being weird, stop giving her weird looks. They get attacked by one triangle and now she can't wear yellow or pick up macrame as a hobby??

(It's not all red flags and uncomfortable triangle imagery, though. When Stan asks her what she'd like as a gift for some important event, she shyly admits that she thinks she's starting to outgrow her plastic gem jewelry and maybe she's old enough to get her first piece of real gold jewelry, if that's not too expensive? And Stan's never been so proud of her. Thirteen years old and already thinking about buying gold!)

But of course, the real fun starts when Mabel finds out.

That's the face of a girl who's just discovered that she tortured her great uncle. Now imagine running into the brother she possessed.

But I've already spent a million words and thirteen images on this post. If enough folks are interested in the AU maybe I'll expand on it later. Let me know what y'all think.