#mizar is the mean kid

[cyberdragoninfinity]

For the character meme I'd love to know your thoughts on Shark!

SHARRRK,,,,, OK LAST ONE OF THESE FOR REAL i do. adore shark and would love to talk about him but that'll be the last of this meme for now.....thank u all

again preface: im only half way through Zexal im up to like episode 83 or so <3 Shark Watch is still developing.

favorite thing about them: i absolutely Adore what is going on with shark's little character arc, especially in Zexal I...it is so so cool seeing a yugioh rival who's just a surly mean 14 year old (who outside of his sister probably did not have many friends growing up) become more open to friendship and kindness because of yuma's exuberant relentless warmth so now hes just like "if you mess with my friends i will fucking kill you >:(" i love it SO SO MUCH. I LOVE THAT HES STILL A LITTLE BIT OF A JACKASS BECAUSE YOU CAN TELL HE DOESNT KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE FRIENDSHIP VERY WELL hes just such a kid!! i love him

least favorite thing about them: i dont know if i have one for him yet!! maybe after i finish the series i'll have more quibbles...

favorite line: there was this line in an ep i watched recently where yuma's dueling mizar/mizael and shark's there and he's like "i'd love to jump in and sink my teeth into this guy for yuma"...i love ALL his lines like that, where he repeatedly expresses concern or care for yuma...it's like. Uh huh, is that right, tough guy? Does somebody care about his friends, Mr. Cool?? Huh? Huh????

brOTP: HIM AND YUMA FOR REAL. already one of my favorite ygo friendships their dynamic is SO sweet AND SO SO FUNNY. the most annoying kid in the world also has the world's biggest heart and he's your best friend now. Shark literally will beat the shit out of 10+ people to defend him. They're the best!! Also really wanna see more of his dynamic with Rio....we all know I love them yugioh siblings....

OTP: dont really know if i have one. yuma/shark as a ship is cute but, again, i dont particular care too much about shipping middle schoolers i have better things to do.

nOTP: if you ship him with his sister i will rip you in half like a paper towel.

random headcanon: This kid is such a Freshly Out Nonbinary Kid of all time to me. The he/they ever. Dubverse exclusive but I hc his rich ass parents were like "ok but you need a Real name for polite company you Cannot JUST be Shark" and thats how 'Reginald' came about. Also you know his special interest is sharks and sea predators but thats barely a headcanon I think. he just came like that.

unpopular opinion: i dont even know what the unpopular shark opinions are!!! again maybe once i finish the series (i know he has. Some Plot Shit coming) i will have something more concrete.

song i associate with them: gotta be Shark Serenade by Vermillion Lies....it's just soooo "im unknowable im scary im MEAN dont come CLOSE TO ME" middle schooler angst AND it's shark flavored!!! "I'll try to spare you the pain of my jaws/But it's just in my nature to rip and to shred" like ok buddy youre 14 it'll be ok!!!

favorite picture of them: this one where he's so embarrassed about his little sister eating lunch with yuma & co (you might could say...shark's, "friends" 😏) that he sits on the roof 20 yards away from everyone.

[moonlit-orchid]

You have any Kaito and Haruto Head canons?

Ooo! I don't usually walk down that path, BUT:

Kaito has no sense of style. Mr. Heartland is the one who made the Number Hunter outfit (because presentation is important), and he keeps wearing it because he just doesn't own any other clothes. Because he has no clue how to buy clothes for himself.

Haruto meanwhile keeps the same outfit because the outfit is familiar to him and he's used to it, because autism.

Kaito has no clue what goes on a pizza. He just knows a pizza is a pizza. He could not make one from scratch. Haruto has more of an idea than he does

Kaito is not comfortable socialising with anyone his age. He prefers to be around young children or older adults, but kids in particular, because he's so used to Haruto.

He's also the unofficial nurse of the friend group because of his medical experience with Haruto's illnesses. Does he act like he doesn't give a damn? Yes. But will he also magically conjure up medical supplies? Also yes. He even has doctor handwriting

Haruto's dream is to become a doctor, so he can make other sick kids better before they go through what his dad his brother did

He's really likely do actually do this, because he is unnaturally intelligent and Kaito suspects he will surpass him soon

Kaito cannot look after himself to save his life, literally. Christopher Arclight has refused to let him live alone because of this.

You'd think Kaito keeps heavy grudges but actually... Kaito just doesn't have the energy to keep a fight going. He will NEVER apologize but he will not remain angry after his energy has run out. Unless it's Mizar. He continues the fight with him.

Speaking of, he often says that Mizar's FACE offends him. God knows why.

He also likes to tease people he's close with. So when he's stopped being cold, and mean, and he's becoming just unbearably sarcastic you're friends.

He also pulls extremely bad dad jokes, and makes them work somehow.

He's also used as a step stool by the others because he's taller. Then he'll also use Chris as his step stool.

Haruto is used in the lab to go crawl under the desk and grab things the adults drop.

Haruto also likes to go around the labs with snacks and juice to ensure the adults actually eat.

He also has a teddy made with both Kaito and Faker's voices, so he always feels close to them.

Phew! That's more than I thought I had! I hope you liked them, Anon!

[thedarkangelpuppet]

Would you make more billdip babies and if so, what would they be like? I would love to see more stories of the characters such as cards or the billdip story, I would also like to see poetree, I really like your art.

I mean I have 8 billdip children through I should make more art of them they are all named after stars in the Ursa Major

through Merak is the one I draw the most , Dubhe and Phecda also gotten some posts before.

Merak: rather spoiled, Dubhe: takes more after dipper

Phecda: wants to be a normal girl, Aloith: bad boyish/ troublemaker

Meg: girly takes after Mabel when it comes to boys, Alkaid and Alcor are inseparable and have the whole creepy twin thing going.

Mizar: showman tries to be magician takes after his Great Grunkle Stan when it comes to scamming doesn't actually have any magic.

For the card Oc's its currently on Hiatus but the comic has gone through a bunch of chapters already:

Yeah I know I have to post more about my Interdimensional Affairs Au /Aka the SVTFOE/GRAVITY FALLS/OTGW /....MYSTERY KIDS AU) I have a bunch ideas but I'm also busy with work and most days lack motivation to draw or write but I be free next week since im taking a vacation and spent my week with my boyfriend who lives in a different country so I just gonna life there for like a week maybe I can catch up to some of my projects during that time.

[flying-guinea-pig]

Not What He Seems Ch.14

That’s it folk, we’re done here :) AO3 link

Chapter 14 - Family

“Pass the rice.”

“Say please.”

“Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“I don’t know which scares me more,” Brad mused. “When you look murderous or when you try to make that puppy-face.”

Maria threw a pea at him in retaliation. Eduardo passed her the rice, since Brad was too busy ducking and laughing.

The apartment was filled with the greasy, mouthwatering scent of takeout. Elisha had put on some upbeat background music. Outside a spring storm tapped on the windows, but inside it was warm and cosy.

Thomas sat back in his chair, surrounded by the familiar teasing and joking, and couldn’t help but relax. Something inside of him that hadn’t felt quite right ever since that night was finally thawing. 

On the other side of the table was Tyrone, poking at his food and listening to the easy conversation around him. He must have felt Thomas’ gaze, because he looked up and smiled.

Twelve, Thomas thought, remembering this afternoon and what Tyrone had told him. Twelve, and at the same time centuries old. How difficult that must be. How painful to see everyone you cared about grow old, while you never really could. 

(“You were just a kid.”

“Bill Cipher didn’t care,” Dipper Pines had said.)

“- no way you can. Come on, prove me wrong.”

“Okay dude, be ready to be amazed!” Eduardo shoved his chair back and took off his shoes. 

When his socks followed, Elisha cleared her throat. “Could you move this to the couch?”

“What exactly are we doing? I wasn’t paying attention,” Thomas admitted.

Tyrone seemed distracted as well. He had barely touched his food. This wasn’t the first time Thomas noticed how human he looked. Only this time he knew it wasn’t just a disguise, but more of a might-have-been. A human soul turned into a demon, a demon’s soul released into the human reincarnation cycle in return… It still sounded crazy.

(“Evergreen,” Thomas had said, as puzzle pieces slipped into place. “I get it now. Very clever.”)

“Eddy claims he can use chopsticks with his feet,” Brad said.

“A useful and rare talent, I’m sure,” Elisha said, visibly amused despite herself. “But not one for the table we are all using to eat.”

“I’m moving, I’m moving,” Eduardo said. “Got an extra pair of chopsticks?”

Maria put down a single dumpling on the coffee table with an air of ceremony. “Go ahead.”

(“My twin sister. She was the original Mizar. And I know she’s still around, her soul at least – but I miss her,” Dipper Pines had said, shrinking down into himself until he was small, and so very young. “I can’t expect every reincarnation to be the same. They’re all Mizar. But they’re not all Mabel.”)

“It’s never going to work,” Brad said. “I don’t believe – what the heck? How are you doing this?”

“I have skills, dude,” Eduardo said, chewing on the dumpling. He swallowed it. “Tadaah!”

Maria whooped. Thomas laughed, and Elisha shook her head with a smile.

“You’re all ridiculous,” his fiancée said.

“It’s not that difficult.” Eduardo slipped the chopsticks from between his toes and sat back upright. “Want to try?”

“How about you, Tyrone?” Maria teased. “I bet you can’t.”

“Pff, of course I can. I just don’t feel the need to prove it.”

Brad glanced at him, and his uneaten plate of food. “You’re awfully quiet tonight.”

“Yeah, well,” Tyrone said, with a wry smile. “Nearly getting my friends killed dampens the mood somewhat.”

“That’s no reason to mope around,” Maria claimed. “Everything worked out fine, right?”

“I’m just glad it wasn’t you after all.” Brad made a face. “I was kinda worried about your weird PMS thing.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Elisha said, with a rather dry look at Brad.

“He means the whole Beast-and-Star theory,” Thomas saved Brad from his fiancée.

Which wasn’t right, he realised. They claimed Alcor had two faces – and maybe he did. But there was a third face, the one that loved candy and adventures and games. Not the destructive demon, not the fire-wreathed saviour. Just a child that never got to grow up.

“I don’t have a ‘weird PMS thing’!”

“Sure, whatever. Let’s just all be glad we’re alive and leave it at that.”

“Ugh.”

“There was a challenge given,” Maria reminded them, a glint in her eyes. “How about it, Tyrone? I bet you can’t pick up that dumpling with chopsticks, without using your hands.”

“Fine, challenge accepted. Get me those chopsticks.”

“Let’s make it interesting, shall we? If you succeed, you get my dessert. But if you fail, you owe me a little favour.”

“I take back what I said, this is your scariest expression,” Brad said. “Maria, scheming.”

“A favour, huh?” Tyrone grinned, back in his element. “You have something particular in mind, then?”

“Yep,” Maria said, matching his mischievous energy with her own wide grin. “Just your help with some little adjustments on my motorbike. Sentient vehicles are all the rage, after all.”

“Oh Stars,” Thomas groaned. This was a horrible idea. 

“Deal!” Tyrone said, brightly. He snapped his fingers, and the chopsticks floated through the air, delivering the dumpling to his mouth before helpfully moving Maria’s banana fritters to his own plate. “Thanks for the free dessert!”

“Hey now, that’s cheating!” Maria laughed.

Tyrone only shrugged and returned to his plate, where he finally started eating with his usual enthusiasm. “What did you expect? I am a demon.”

(“I was a normal twelve-year old, with a twin sister, Mabel,” Dipper Pines had said. “One summer our parents shipped us up north to a sleepy town called Gravity Falls, to stay at our great-uncle's place in the woods…”)

-----

There was a girl, opening a door. She had soft brown eyes and thick curls. Her shirt depicted a cartoony image of a cactus in sunglasses and had a truly ridiculous pun on it.

Elisha swallowed her fashion advice and smiled. “Amy Wethers? My name is Elisha McKenzie. I’m here on behalf of a mutual friend. Messy hair, short, tends to float when he gets excited?”

“Oh,” the girl said, leaning against the side of the door. Wary, but not completely unapproachable. “I’m familiar. Why did he send you?”

“Just to talk,” Elisha said. “You probably have a lot of questions and I know for a fact that Alcor can take some time to get used to. I also know some little tricks to get him out of your hair when he gets too annoying. Can I come in?”

------

Back in the Mindscape, there was a place called the Midway Bar. It was the place demons visited to relax, to socialise, and occasionally make deals. 

There was an empty table in the corner. A moment ago it had been occupied, now it was empty. This may have something to do with the large pair of curled horns currently stuck in its surface.

“I’m not here to fight,” Alcor said, the horns still vibrating slightly from the force with which they had been rammed into the table. A drop of sulphurous demon blood sizzled on the wood. “Just redecorating a little. That’s fine, isn’t it?”

The Bartender was frowning in his direction. The low-level demons that had fled to the edges of the room stayed there, wary. Each of them wondering if they could run, and for how long.

“Can’t fight inside the Midway Bar, right?” Alcor added. “I promised the Bartender. I’m playing nice, see? But I’m not promising the same if you leave. Come on, let’s have a talk. I have some deals to offer. To low-levels only, though. Limited time offer! You don’t wanna miss it!” 

The Bartender sighed, but went back to cleaning glasses.

Alcor’s burning eyes found the nearest demon. “Come a bit closer, don’t make me yell at you.”

“Eep!” said the Skeleton Bug. She turned one eyestalk towards the exit, another towards the Bartender. A third remained fixed on Alcor, whose shape was still coated in little flecks of demon blood, of several different colours. 

Behind her, those lucky bastards who weren’t the focus of Alcor’s attention slipped out. 

Alcor beckoned them closer. Itpolec, halfway through climbing through a window, suddenly thought better of it and hid underneath a table.

Asopiel pulled herself together, her storm clouds thickening. “You’re not going to destroy us?”

“That depends. You have two choices. One of them is this,” Alcor said, and shoved a densely written parchment in front of their trembling eyestalks and other assorted sensory organs. ‘Oregon University Safe Summons List’ it said, on top of the document.

The Skeleton Bug swallowed. “And… the other choice?”

Alcor smiled. Or showed his teeth, at least, all several rows of them. “The other is me.”

 ~The End~

[feferipeixes]

My Reflection

The Dread Pirate Mizar doesn't like the person she sees watching from the mirror.

Inspired by TAU-tober day 1: “Mirror” (yes I’m a few days late for this one). If you don’t know who the Dread Pirate Mizar is, I highly recommend Hadley and the Pirate (and the Demon)!

(AO3 link)

===

The Dread Pirate Mizar slammed the door as hard as she possibly could with an injured hand.

From the other side, she could hear the other pirates muttering to one another, with the occasional laugh thrown in. She closed her hands into tight fists at the sound, squeezing until she turned red.

“If I find you going through my stuff again,” she’d said, “I will kill you. I will literally kill you. Do you think I’m joking? Do you want to find out?”

Exhale and unclench. Martha’s legs began to feel like jelly, so she slid down the door until her butt hit the floor. It was cold and hard, just like the rest of the stars-forsaken ship she’d stolen.

“Maybe you are joking.” The pirate in her memory didn’t have a face anymore, just a sneering kick to his tone. “Maybe you shouldn’t get to sleep in the captain’s quarters if you’re keeping stuff like this in there.”

Her eyes landed on the wooden chest across the room, still open from when she’d found a couple of those idiots rifling through it. She really should’ve invested in a lock for it, but... Her crew was supposed to respect her. Her crew was supposed to fear her. That’s what made her a good captain.

A real pirate’s booty was made out of gold and jewelry. A real pirate didn’t also collect children’s toys.

“Am I right?” he’d announced to the pirates behind him. He held the spoils of his conquest high in the air -- a brown, stuffed bear. “Would you trust a leader who has this in her quarters?”

She didn’t know why she’d taken it. It was just… lying there, on the floor of that space station they’d cannibalised -- FLEVPIT or something. She stood over it, blaster in one hand, a massive diamond in the other, her clothes spattered with civilian blood, and she felt its presence imposing on the edges of her mind.

“So that’s how it is, eh?” Her voice had been low and steady, because she knew that the element of surprise was her greatest ally. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

It didn’t make her like... her. It didn’t mean she was going soft. It was just a stupid bear, and she -- she was still the Dread Pirate Mizar.

In one swift motion, she’d slammed her elbow into the pirate’s neck. He went down hard, face first, into the metal floor. Immediately, she was on him, pinning his torso as best she could while fending off his flailing limbs. Teeth closed down on her hand with a sickening crunch, sending pain shooting through her body, but it didn’t even elicit a grunt from Mizar. It only fueled her wrath.

She didn’t go for his face or for his chest or any of the other obvious weak points. She went straight for the bear. The bear, whose head she tore off, sending thread and stuffing everywhere. The bear, into which she plunged her good hand, and pulled out a long, sharp knife. The bear, which was tossed aside as the knife pressed up against the traitor’s throat.

“Does it look like I’m kidding?” the captain asked.

An hour later, she was still wondering what the answer would’ve been.

Inhaling sharply, Martha picked herself up and walked over to the chest. There were a couple of odds and ends in it -- mostly stuff that she’d seen while looting which didn’t have any monetary value, but which made her feel a weird chocolate-y feeling in her chest, like a volcano overflowing. Stuff like a crude drawing of a boat, and a scarf that said WEFDIS, a brick with a heart shaped soot imprint on it, and the bear.

There was a mirror hanging next to the chest, but Martha couldn’t stand to face it. She knew what it was going to say, knew what she looked like by virtue of collecting this garbage. She knew what he’d say if he knew.

When she finally looked up, it wasn’t her face that gazed back at her. It was hers, that blasted face in Alcor’s stupid photographs -- the original, true Mizar. That face, burned into Martha’s memory from staring at it while Alcor droned on and on about how wonderful she was, how loving and strong and perfect she was, how Martha and that face were one and the same.

She remembered the bile rising in her throat and her fingers tightening on the scrapbook; remembered the shadow that crossed his features when she’d asked if there were any Mizars who weren’t in the book. He’d told her not to worry about that. He’d told her he loved her so much and that he’d never let anything bad happen to her. He’d told her she was destined to do great things with her life, because She always did.

And for days that word “always” danced around in her head, always always always always, because it was never always, with these things. There were bound to be gaps. There were bound to be screwups like her who couldn’t live up to that bloody demon’s expectations no matter how hard she tried.

Mabel’s reflection smiled at her. “But you don’t really want to be a pirate, do you? You’re better than this. All of this hatred is killing you. The light in your soul is too bright.”

“Shut up,” Martha spat.

“You can still go back.” The reflection reached forward, as if to rest a hand on her shoulder. “You can still forgive him. Your story can still have a happy ending.”

“SHUT UP!” Mizar roared, and threw the brick at the mirror. “I will never be Mabel Pines!”

The face shattered into a million pieces. Glass fell to the floor in a cacophony of fury, but Martha wasn’t done -- she could still see the person Alcor saw when he looked at her. She began to stomp her boot on the shards, and bits of it poked through the rubber into her foot but she didn’t care because she needed. To ruin this. For him.

“I’m the Dread Pirate Mizar!” she yelled. “I don’t need toys or friends or love! I’m the most vicious pirate in the universe and I won’t let anyone forget it!”

She was heaving now, and there was a pressure building up behind her eyes that was very much antithetical to what she was saying. Biting her lip, she looked down at the glass; caught sight of her reflection in one of the pieces.

It was her, the real her. It was Martha.

“I won’t let anyone forget it,” she said quietly, and kicked the glass into the corner. “When people hear the name Mizar, they’re going to think of me. Not… her.”

(When she later tossed the toy chest into the airlock and watched it spin out into space, an onlooker would’ve sworn that her eyes were wet. If anyone saw, however, they were wise enough to keep it to themself.)

(AO3 link)

[liquidstar]

I finished the final little polarisverse ocs I was working on from June, so now for the rest of July I can put my focus on artfight! And after that I’ll finish up the rest of their guild, maybe do a couple in-between too though!

These two kids are Alcor and Capella, they’re sort of the eager and overzealous kids of the guild, they’re both 12 but Capella is about 10 months older, both are kids who we’ve been in the guild since they were very little, so they see each other like siblings. Neither of them have any powers to speak of yet so they don’t really get to go on any sort of missions, despite their impatience to, especially on Alcor’s end. So the duo spend a lot of their time playing around in the guildhall, causing innocent mischief and sometimes annoyance to the older members, but kids will be kids. 

I’ll put more specific info about each under the cut once more ^^

Alcor was named after the star in Ursa Major, the star’s meaning is “faint one” or “neglected one” due to being so unnoticeable next to the star Mizar. Alcor was taken in by the guild at around age 5 due to his family situation, even at a young age like that he wasn’t the wanted child. He found a new home with everyone at the guild though, he was very welcomed and always had a friend to turn to, and watching these amazing people take care of him as he grew up made him want to be just like them. He’s incredibly eager to get his power (without understanding the full implications of such a development) and get to go on cool missions and be an awesome hero, but for right now he’s still just the faint one. One day he knows he’s going to be someone amazing though, he’ll make it happen no matter what. Everyone wants someone amazing after all, and he wants to be wanted and important, a bright shining star!

Capella was named after the brightest star in the Auriga consolation, the star’s name means “Little goat” and she has cute little goat horns on her headband, and generally is an animal lover. Her father was in the guild since he was a young man, and Capella was born and raised in the guild because of him. He chose to stay in it because even if he ends up away on missions that take a long time she’d always be in an environment with people who will take care of her and love her, so she’d never be lonely. Still she’s incredibly eager to get to go and work with her dad one day, she wants to show him what she can do! She even has a slingshot as a weapon, which is like a baby version of his bow, she emulates him a lot. Still, between her and Alcor she’s the more relaxed one about this type of stuff. She’s sort of go-with-the-flow, if Alcor wants to get into some hijinks she’ll come along happily, but if not she’s fine just relaxing for the day, she’s not in as much of a rush. 

[toothpastecanyon]

Stolen Slate, Chapter 1

As the years go on, Dipper finds the cultists summoning him are becoming increasingly obsessive, increasingly creepy. It had gone too far long before a group of them broke into the Mystery Shack and stole Mabel's memories, but now he has to get them back before they find out about Alcor the Dreambender's ultimate secret... and before Mabel gets too freaked out by the news that her brother has turned into a demon.

See most updated version on Archive of Our Own.

______________________________________________________________

It was quiet, here. Quiet like a grave. Quiet, but not peaceful. The dust was still settling, the blood was still pooling, and Alcor the Dreambender stood still in the remains of yet another basement.

The light - it was out, had been blown out. One small shattered window tilted up to the moon revealed what it could not; revealed the scuffed up chalk dust in the air, the candles knocked over, the bodies piled up by a locked door - even the desperate nail-marks they’d made in the paint, it revealed those too.

It revealed Alcor, standing over the closest one. This one, nearer to the circle - had less time to get away, left less of a body to inspect. Still he could see a necklace glinting at him from the gristle; he picked it up, and frowned.

It was a symbol of the Dreambender, the Twin Star. An elaborate one, made of spelled silver that singed his hand a little as he held it. A lot of time and skill and money had gone into making this… and that was the problem, wasn’t it?

These Alcor cultists, they were getting sophisticated. They were getting dangerous. He still got those summons from people who were choosing him out of dozens of other demons, but now there were people dedicating their life to him, studying his every move, immortalising his every decision. The Alcor/Mizar stuff was only supposed to be an alias; the dumb twin star design he slapped on his public circles was something Mabel made in a night, but now it was taking on a whole new life before his eyes.

Alcor stared at the blood on the symbol before him, and knew there were people worshipping him.

His face twisted, and he crumpled it it into a ball and threw it at the wall so hard it brought the roof down. The window was crushed under a slab of concrete, and Alcor stood still in the darkness, breathing.

Breathing.

Breathing.

In the distance, police sirens were beginning to cut through the quiet. He bared his teeth a little at that, then stepped back, stepped away-

Stepped into the living room of the Mystery Shack, where a TV was on, playing quietly an episode of that soap opera Stan wouldn’t admit he liked. He followed the light over to Stan himself, snoring on the couch with a half-empty bottle of pitt cola in his hand. He didn’t stay asleep for long, though; Dipper could see his aura register the presence of someone else in the room, and without opening his eyes Stan spoke:

“You’re a better door than a window, kid. Move.”

Dipper snorted and stepped aside. “”I thought you didn’t like this show.”

“And I don’t.” He changed the channel. “Wanna watch Ducktective? Might be in the reruns.”

Something struck Dipper as odd in Stan’s tone, there. He frowned, looked down, and immediately saw the problem: he was covered head to toe in blood.

“Oh,” he said, in a small voice. He’d hardly noticed this time.

Faintly, he could hear Stan rise from his chair. “I’ll getcha a cola, kid,” he heard, and then there was a squeeze on his shoulder. “Looks like you need it.”

“Wait, I don’t…” Dipper shook his head. “Do you know where Mabel is? I-I just, I-I kinda wanna talk to her, please.”

“Oh, sure, kid. She’s upstairs, go to her.”

That… immediately struck Dipper as strange. He hadn’t felt Mabel in the house; he cast his mind upwards, and found only quiet.

“What do you mean, Grunkle Stan?”

Stan stopped by the doorway. “She’s upstairs. She went to go to sleep after you left - I didn’t hear nothing after that.” He turned to look at Dipper, and there was something glinting in his eyes. “What, is she not there?”

Dipper frowned. The quiet upstairs… it was strange. Unsettled. In the attic, he could feel some kind of presence, but it was masked somehow; every time he grabbed at it, it slid through his fingers like soap.

It wasn’t quiet.

Something was wrong.

He looked back to Stan, and saw him with a baseball bat gripped tight in his hands. Wordlessly, they started up the stairs.

One step. Two steps. Softly on the third - it creaked. Dipper’s glowing eyes cut through the darkness, and his ears picked up the faintest hum of a working ward. He could feel his human form melting into void as they approached the attic door; he had no heart, but he could feel black anger pounding through him. Their bedroom, their safe place, was taken over and obscured by some powerful magic, but he pressed his long claws to the wood and felt no resistance at all. Whatever was in there, it couldn’t hide from him.

Alcor bared several rows of teeth, and burst through the door with a deafening snarl.

The first thing he saw: shadows. Humans wearing black. About seven souls were clustered around Mizar’s sleeping form; one of them was shining something blue at her head, and he flew across the room to clamp his teeth around its neck. He landed a bit higher than he expected - more around the jaw - but he bit down and felt it scream and break and bleed all the same. There were screams all around him, humans running for the open window, but Alcor savoured this moment, savoured the fear in its eyes as its blood painted the ceiling.

It had something in its hand, didn’t it? Alcor’s eyes darted to the side, but the blue thing was gone. Huh.

For the moment, that didn’t concern him. He saw the soul dislodging itself from this human, and caught it just as it bubbled out of his throat.

Ohhhhh, sweet soul. Alcor couldn’t help but close his eyes and tilt his head back as he chewed it; it had been a while since he’d treated himself to one of these, and in the moment he couldn’t imagine why he’d ever deny himself the pleasure. It tasted like every candy in the world, every dish he loved, every time he’d ever been happy.

It tasted like a piece of heaven, and from the sound of the screams surrounding him, it seemed like he’d have a few more pieces tonight.

...or just a scream, it seemed.

A scream, and a yell.

“-snap out of it, kid! They’re gone! Dipper!”

Alcor blinked, and looked up at the human.

“Dipper!”

He opened his mouth. “...Gr̕un͘k҉l͢e ͘Stan?”

“Ah, there we go. Took you long enough.” Stan offered a hand as the void cleared from his skin. “See, he’s alright. Not gonna hurt ya.”

“Not gonna hurt who?” Dipper squinted as the lights turned on. “Where’d they go?”

“Through the window, but we got a bigger problem.”

Dipper suddenly realised the fear still watering his mouth didn’t come from any cultist. It came from one terrified person, and as Stan pointed to the bed, he felt his heart stop.

“It’s your sister.”

Mabel was there. Mabel was staring at his bloodsoaked clothes, at his glowing eyes, at his huge wings… like she didn’t recognise him at all.

“Wh-what the fuck is that, Stan?” Mabel flattened herself against the wall. “What’s going on? Where’s Dipper?”

And all at once, a horrible realisation clicked into place for Dipper. That blue light - the memory gun. Oh, no. Oh, please, no.

“Mabel-”

“Don’t come any closer!” She flinched when he tried to step forwards. “I saw what you did to that man. I swear, if you hurt my brother like that-”

“I am your brother.”

“What?”

“Mabel, I…” Dipper looked down at himself, and back up at the terror in her eyes. He felt sick. “You don’t remember what happened, do you?”

“What happened?”

“The Transcendence? Bill dying? Me becoming a demon?” He pleaded for a bit of recognition, but all he got was fear. “You don’t, no… They wiped it all. It’s all gone.”

“What’s all gone? Grunkle Stan, what’s happening?”

Stan was like a statue. He sighed at Mabel’s words, and walked over to her.

“It’s… a long story, Pumpkin. How about we go downstairs and tell it over some pancakes, huh?”

[that-kidshifts]

So due to reasons known as I Have A Hyperfixation I’m making a summary post about tau and explaining the entity dr so buckle down cause there’s a lot of explaining to do. And idk how to put everything under a cut please someone tell me how to do that on mobile.

So tau (transcendence au for gravity falls) is an au of gravity falls where around the end of weirdmaggedon (or in episode 4 season two or episode 11 season two also) Bill, in a last ditch attempt tries to possess Dipper without a deal to do so which ends horribly by Dipper being able to kick him out before he kills him(kinda) but at this point Bills already rooted himself so deep into Dip he loses his physical form and basically takes Bills place. This happens in a very short span of time in most of the fics and there’s either a very Fucked Up body or none at all.

Also the entire world is engulfed in weirdness now thanks to this and that leads to a lot of shit *coughs in Hanks Supernatural Mafia*. Mabel thinks dippers dead for a bit(not too long) but eventually dippers able to figure out how to leave the mindscape and due to a very strong bond between Mabes and Dip she’s able to see him and interact with Dipper. Eventually they figure out how to summon him and that also means other people figure it out too including cults who sacrifice random people and children it’s fucked I know and Dipper being one of the most humane demons in this universe ur gonna find, is pissed. So that leads to a lot of shit. I’m not very good at explaining this lmaoooo.

Anyways Mabel gets married to Henry Corduroy who’s so fucking great man Henry is awesome. This is already so long lmaooo. Anyways they have triplets and there’s a lot of adventures n shit because their uncle is basically an extremely powerful demon and kids like to say everything. Dipper also takes up Alcor as a second name because true names (he doesn’t consider mason his true name in this au because Canon Doesn’t Exist) are powerful as fuck and he could get hurt that way. Dipper (cause he achieved immortality) outlives everyone unfortunately and that leads to so many other arcs of reincarnations of Mabel (known as Mizar reincarnations)

some honorable mentions would be Sam who belongs to Rindomness (good mutual of mine btw great person go check them out) Belle who’s really fucking cool and I’ll edit this post with her fic when I find it known as RRR amoung the community (her storyline is dipper makes a deal with her dad to save her from cancer I believe in exchange for their memories of said deal and anything else to grow up alongside Belle and basically he fucks up and it doesn’t last for long but! Belle is great and doesn’t absolutely hate him for being a demon and sees him as a brother! Good arc go check it out). Fang who belongs to Aba-daba-do is a Mizar reincarnation around 5000 years after the transcendence happened and was raised by exorcists who hate Dipper btw so there’s that whole arc of them learning to trust each other and it’s a very interesting arc go check that one out too!

But in my dr I’m a year older than dipper and Mabel and I’m their sibling I’m not exactly sure if I should script immortality because dips might get too attached and I don’t want to get way too attached to my dr.

Anyways onto the Entity dr which after this post I’ll probably be referring to as the Alcor Dr a similar situation happens to me but in an identical universe to this I’m still kind of fleshing it out and questioning weather or not I should have this dr as an idea there but goddamnit this post is larger than Canada so maybe another time.

[suitjackets]

I wanna know all ur Alcor thots but first things first: Which era of his life is ur fav Alcor??? :0

my alcor thots are infinite but this is a good starting point...i have two fave eras sjkgh but my number ONE is him, mabel, and henry pre-triplets. the dream team. the mystery trio. its so fun imagining insane scenarios the three of them can get into, the options r literally limitless...and if u include the rest of gravity falls’ residents like stan, wendy, pacifica, etc. getting involved with their shenanigans? the chaos is off the CHARTS

plus, this dipper underwent SO MUCH change/development. it’s so interesting thnking about all the change he went through and comparing? like, compare 12yr old dipper/teen dip, just changed, is freaking out all the time, resistant; to say 30yr old dip, who is still slightly resistant but has clearly changed so much in both appearance and mannerisms and hes barely noticed. (12yr old dip: “i dont want— TEETH as payment for a deal! I dont want anyones teeth for ANYTHING, i dont even want to make deals” 30yr old dip: “TEETH sweet ill take em lol. can i have that jar of mysterious blood in the corner over there too. im going to paint a sigil above my great uncle’s bed and scare the shit out of him”)

which brings me to my OTHER fave era which is thousands of years in the future and dipper has no support left, no family or friends, which makes him just this....chaotic...horrible...slimy...annoying...little...shit....this era is so fun for purely self-indulgent reasons lol i love imagining him as this terrible little demon!! causing chaos!!! laughing way too much!! hes got no tether!!!! he just turned all ur eyeballs into grapes!!! what r u going to do about it!!!!!! and on the flip side, when eventually he is tethered back to earth/humanity due to a mizar, a reincarnation, etc....watching him try and be human....comedy gold

An era that gets a special shout out is dipper, mabel, henry and the triplets when the kids are like 12. that too invites shenanigans of all SORTS and i love the idea of dipper teaching willow magic :’) 

LDSKFGJLH i tried to put my feelings into words as hard as i could but theres a reason i love to draw lol!!! the entire time i was writing this i was thinking “i could just doodle this and show u what i mean” but alas i got no time...thanks for the question!!!

[spinningjupiters]

To me Pakistan means the cold wisp of Abbotabad. The roads of PMA. Cadets running in the morning. Saluting my dad. Us running around in the lawn with our neighbour kids. Going on drives with Ali Haider's cassette playing. The misty mornings with going to places in winters and listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Going to my first Army Public School. Moving to Karachi in the 2000's. That humid breeze still etched to my brain. The almost palpable heat. Watching my dad wear a white navy uniform this time. Going to Bahria college for primary school. Discover the green coconut. Listening to Hadiqa Kiani and Haroon. Replaying videos in our living room. Going out to play in the evenings without fail. Making sand castles on the beaches. Evenings tasting of salt and mornings tinged with calmness. Moving to Lahore. Remembering the greenery. The richness of the food. The sweltering heat. Going to Garrison school. First time living in an Askari colony home. Spending days on the balcony showering in the monsoon rain. Listening to Abrar ul Haq and Jawad Ahmad. Flying our very first kite in basant. Surrounded by acres of agricultural land. Visiting the historical badshahi masjid, forts, Allama Iqbal mizar and minar e Pakistan. All in the after hours of Lahore city. When it's quieter and more peaceful. The winters creating a cloak over the city's beauty. Enhancing it like a poetic love story. Wrapping it in the aromas of food street. And waking up to years of our hometown in Rawalpindi. Living in our grand parent's house. Being away from dad because he was at the border. Never feeling alone because of how well our grand parents took care of us. Going through grilling years of schooling. Moving to muzaffarabad. The sound of the river still echoes in my dreams. The water flowing so unapologetically, cutting through mountains. Discovering the peace and tranquillity of Kashmir. Learning about different dishes and imbibing the rawness of this place. Experiencing the tragedy of earthquake and just as much strength of human writ. Moving back alone once again to our grand parent's place and our dad providing relief who later was awarded for his efforts. This time posted in air force. Seeing my dad in his blue uniform. Discovering a new chapter in our life at an air base. Experiencing the peaceful Rawalpindi evenings. The bustle of markets. And then continuing our stay here for many formative years. Our dad retiring. Us permanently living with our grand parents. So uniquely bonding with them through all these years. Them being super proud when I became a doctor. Sharing with them every happiness and loss. Them passing away so quickly. Missing them on the day we got married. And more so when we became parents. And then growing within our hearts, the love for our parents. Watching them age so heart breakingly. Wishing time would just stay still. And these eternal moments that the universe bestows us are what make my country for me. The people that live here make Pakistan. My family is made by Pakistan. For Pakistan. And that is my identity. For better or for worse. Embracing every short coming and still surviving and keeping afloat. That is real beauty. That is home. And I hope to rediscover it once again with you. In sha Allah.

[panemonium]

75th HUNGER GAMES || NOAH’S ARK

"I can’t,” Esmerelda practically screamed at her husband who had told her for the millionth time all she had to do was keep pushing. It was easy for him to say when he wasn’t the one trying to push out a baby.

It had been hours and Esmerelda felt no closer than she had this morning when her pains had started. The doctors assured her it wouldn’t be long now but it didn’t feel like it. “I ca-” Her words dissolved into a shout as another strong contraction rippled across her stomach bringing with it the strong urge to push regardless of what the midwives advised Esme couldn’t help but push.

“It’s not a boy,” she told her husband as she brushed a sweat soaked strand from her forehead. For months Alex had been boasting about his son and all the things their son would be; he would be handsome, strong, and do well at the Academy when the time came. Whereas Esme had decided weeks after finding out she was pregnant they were going to need a pink blanket instead of a blue one. Mother’s instinct she had called it.

With another shout, Esmerelda pushed until the pain ceased and the room was filled with the tiny soft cries of an infant. An infant that was so tiny and cold she couldn’t help but reach for the little body wanting nothing more than to offer warmth and protection in this strange new environment for her child.

“It’s a girl,” she muttered as she peered down at the tiny delicate features of her daughter. “She has so much hair,” she said with a laugh that slowly gave way to tears.

They had a baby girl...

Esmerelda blinked as she tried to focus on her disheveled appearance reflected back to her in the warm water that had spilled from the giant whale above her head only hours ago. Sunela had been so tiny when she had been born but she was sure now, weeks later, she had grown so much. She looked so much like her...

Blinking she tried to push the thoughts of home from her head because they made her heartache. It made her soul ache thinking about what her daughter’s life would be like without her mother. Would the other kids treat her different when she went to school? People seemed to think the death of a parent was a contagious disease that could be caught. Would her sister help her husband explain to Sunela the changes that came with leaving childhood behind? Would one of the mentors deliver the letter she had written for her daughter when she was older?

Blinking again, Esmerelda continued to stare at her tangled hair and tired brown eyes reflected in the water. Why was the water red? It wasn’t supposed to be that color. The history books had told of a crystal clear blue-green waters that graced District Four. 

Right about now surely the people in the Capitol would be interviewing her family. Her parents would say they were proud of her for her performance. They would say they knew she could do it. Esmerelda had always been the underdog who just needed a chance to prove herself. Her brother would crack a joke from his wheelchair in a bad attempt of self deflecting his fears for the future.

Alexandrite would smile that sad smile. The same smile he had given Esme when he had told her he quit the Academy meaning he would no longer be volunteering for The Games. He would be quieter than normal as he cradled their baby who looked so much like her mom. The Capitol would want him to tell them about their love story but he would choke up and not get very far at all.

Alex would tell them the only thing he wanted was for Esme to come hold and hold her daughter. All the things they had planned didn’t matter as long as she came back.

Esme had to smile because she was sure her husband looked worried, but adorable. He had a way of frowning in a way that showed his dimples and his blonde hair would be messy and unkempt. His eyes would be full of worry but there would be a twinkle of hope. Esmerelda hoped he would one day find someone that loved him and Sunela as much as she did. She didn’t want him to be unhappy forever.

But why was the water red?

Shaking her head she blinked again. The water was still red. It was...

��Mizar...” Esmerelda said softly as she noticed a blank expression staring back at her just visible in the water. It was a nasty cut on his head that was leaking blood into the water painting it red.

Had she killed him? Like she had killed Skipp from District Two? He had attacked her though citing reasons linked to his own desire to win the crown for his District. It was nothing against her, but he was the best choice for a Victor. District Two had just had little Emerald Rosseau win. It was time that District Two had a turn with the glory.

Mizar had been a bit dense but Esme hadn’t hated him. He surely didn’t deserve to have her smash his head open with the weapon she had plundered from the other exhibit but Sunela didn’t deserve to grow up without her her mom.

“I need to go home,” she told the dead body of her District partner as she used her foot to cause the water to ripple and obscure the body below it. “I am sure you would understand...”

[cyberdragoninfinity]

How would you rank the barians from least favorite to most favorite

OK SO. IVE BEEN SITTING ON THIS ASK FOR WEEKS CUZ I WAS WAITING UNTIL I HAD ACTUALLY SEEN ALL SEVEN BARIAN EMPERORS IN ACTION. and now well im done watching the series SO!! im glad I waited because over the course of the back chunk of zexal ii my opinions on all the emperors got jostled around so much AND I ENDED UP LIKING ALL OF THEM A LOT. so i guess caveat for this list: love all 7 of these guys so much, definitely one of my favorite "factions" of yugioh characters. my fuckign kids

anyway, from 'least' to most favorite

7. Girag: THIS FEELS SO MEAN. SORRY GIRAG like I said i love 'em all but I guess he's the one I like the least, if only because his design is.... unfortunate. And his backstory is......................... unfortunate. They really said "this black character didn't actually do any of his supposed achievements; a literal tanuki did them for him" and called it a day huh HHFDGSDFG Yugioh Not Fantastic Moments but what can ya do. He's still fun. I love his dub voice I genuinely do wonder if it being a bit of a Rocky Balboa impression was a deliberate choice (since he's buddies with Alito Boxer Kiddo Extraordinare).

6. Dumon: AGAIN. A LITTLE MEAN. SORRY DUMON FDHGSG he's grown on me a BUNCH since I started z2 mostly because i lesbianpilled him in my brain but he's gotta be #6 because his Barian form is probably my LEAST favorite of the bunch. I'm not big on his very flat eyes but I do love the idea that they're because He Cant Fucking See. His human form is so fucking funny they really librarypilled this guy so hard. He's low on the list but still dear to me. Definite Zexal Real One.

5. Marin: GOD. RIOMARINMERAG. I LOVE HER. I REALLY DO. her Barian form's color palette is just gorgeous and she has an awesome ice motif and she's a COOL SPORTY JOCK and she LOVES HER BROTHER but my GOD she suffers from Girl in a Yugioh Series SO BAD. THIS POOR GIRL IS FRIDGED FOR LITERALLY OVER HALF THE SHOW!!!! she does 1-3 cool things and They Shred Like Hell but there's just barely enough of her in the show for her to really blossom into one of my top favs :( don't worry sweetheart im coming

4. Mizar: ok so now we're getting into the territory of where I Just Really Like These Guys. I didn't give a SHIT about MizarMizael until the Moon Duel, and then I proceeded to give SO many shits about him. What can I say.... sad kiddo YGO character backstory gets me every time. I love that he pulled an Aporia and face-turned and tried to take on the Big Bad but fumbled so fucking hard he died in one turn. His Barian form is ROUGH, THOUGH. HIS SHADES OF YELLOW ARE TOO FUCKING CLOSE TO EACH OTHER PUT SOME MORE GREEN AND RED IN THERE. Anyway. Been cooking a trans woman Mizar headcanon for a little while now. estrogen and hooves could have saved her.

3. Nasch: I. really like Shark. I'm still sorting out favorites in my mind but Shark is definitely in my Top Five and I like him as Nasch by extension. Definitely one of the coolest Yugioh Rivals by absolute far. His slow growth as Shark from Mean Bully to Guy Who Cares So Much About His Friends just GUTS me!! This is what ygo's all about babeyyy!!! And the sheer amount of AWFUL SHIT that happens to this kid, MY GOD. He loses his sister over and over again and ends up with SO MANY LIVES ON THE LINE it's a fucking wonder he didnt have a turbo emotional breakdown and collapse. Also I love when characters have species identity crisis and claim to throw their humanity away<3 I know that one <333 ALSO his color palette is really good, I wish his pants were dark though.

2. Alito: ALITOOOOOOOO ALITO MY BI ITALIAN REP. he is latino to me. as well. anyway Alito is also one of my Absolute Top Favorite Zexal Characters I fucking love him. I love Tough Guy Who Kids Love. I love his Battlin Boxers. I love his narrative parallels to Nistro (also one of my fav characters). I love both his forms!! His Barian color palette rocks. ALL OF HIS DUELS GO SO DAMN HARD ESPECIALLY THE MYTHIRIAN NUMBER ONE AND HIS 'CONTROLLED BY DON THOUSAN' DUEL. He's just so good!!! His dynamic with Yuma makes my brain spin around. I need to draw him for real so bad. I hope they put him in Duel Links soon I will whoop and cheer and clap.

cmon. gotta be basic here but you know it's VECTOR!!!!!!!!!!! God he might be. My most favorite Zexal character. He is certainly the one making me the Most insane. I feel like a version of me from a different dimension made this character in a lab just to psychologically torment me. He's BONKERS, he's FUNNY, he's SO OBSCENELY EXPRESSIVE IT'S INSANE, he LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE MY BESTIE'S BLORBO, he LOOKS LIKE MY ART STYLE. Absolute Dana Monster Perfect Storm thats destroyed my house and my brain. And then they had to go and make him SAD!!! JUST TAKE ME TO THE VET AND PUT ME DOWN, MAN!!! s-tier yugioh character. top tier favorites hall of famer. i love him to bits. half my screenshot folder looks like this now

[moonlit-orchid]

Ahhhhhh! See, I never watched yugioh subbed and only knew about the Joey thing, and as far as I knew his sub voice actually has an accent which is equivalent to a Brooklyn one, apparently. This actually makes more sense as to why they chose a British accent for Jack (I however do not care WHAT they were trying to convey with Mizar that kid's accent is RIDICULOUS among all the other Barians-)

But honestly they have conveyed the idea that Jack changed his speech pretty well if you pay attention enough (and also happen to be british enough to discern between accents /hj) because he really does sound like a "lower class" London attempting a high class one (again I'm not entirely sure but I believe Cockney may be a typically rougher accent compared to some parts of London) and it is really fascinating, and adds to his backstory and character.

For example ith Jack's accent him saying "ain't" or "innit" would sound actually very natural-depending on the way Jack's speaking at the time. If he's being arrogant, haugty, or just downtalking someone as The King then with that particular voice it would sound just fake, but when Jack's casually speaking both "ain't" and "innit" would flow naturally. And yet he never uses those words despite being raised in the Satellite where I would expect a lot less formal and grammer is used in speech. That could mean that he's dropped those words since leaving and just lost that habit, however considering the fact that neither of his brothers use that language it could imply that Martha taught them proper grammer in speech.

Also the fact that Jack is the only one with a different accent among his brothers could be a sort of symbolism for how Jack probably felt different to them. I'm convinced Jack struggled most growing up because Eldest Child (am i self projecting? goodness no...) and he also ended up on a totally different path to his brothers.

And also, yes, Jack's accent implies that the people of the Satellite all have heavy and varying accents. Which actually would make sense considering the Satellite has all sorts of people there and if I remember correctly sometimes criminals end up there? Accents probably are widespread.

(Also in the new domino high one of Leo and Luna's classmates also has a british accent which I'm betting is to be a hint to the rich british stereotype)

As some of you might know, I am British. And as someone who used to live in London, and often visits, I can say that Jack Atlas's accent was not one I've ever heard. I'm saying London because Jack's voice sounds like it should be from there but also not. I asked my dad just now and he was no help (thanks dad for saying "its an american putting on a british accent" i had no idea /s) but now I thiiiink I've worked it out.

I think it's a watered down Cockney accent, mixed with RP british english. RP isn't fully a London accent either; it's more like a posh, "correct" way of speaking it. I think. British politicians from London are probably the best example, as well as newscasters. Cockney is... cockney. I think it's from some parts of London but I'm not sure; I've always stayed in the central area and most people have a more RP leaning accent. (I'm not good with accents)

My sister said Jack has a watered down Cockney, but I interpreted it instead as a cockney attempting a RP accent. Especially because i thiiiiink if i recall correctly the cockney lilt gets stronger when Jack's annoyed and muttering.

If I'm right, then you know what this implies?

Jack's originally had a Cockney accent when young but taught himself to speak in an RP accent because an RP one is meant to be more of an upper class one.

Meaning that Jack is deliberately trying to sound like he's from a higher class.

And honestly this works so well with Jack's character. Jack's a poor kid who wants to be one of the upper classes, he wants to appear richer. So of course he would speak in a more refined accent.

Also I now hc that Jack's accent depends on who he is speaking to. To strangers/professionals, he speaks in a heavier RP accent. To friends his accent is a mix but still RP leaning. And to his brothers?

He has the thickest Cockney accent and only they can understand him.

[soulsxng--a]

Muses with daddy issues:

Jassie: His dad blamed him for his brother’s death, and disowned him when he was young. Jas hasn’t seen or spoken to him since.

Rouri: His dad was an asshole to him, and because Rouri was born sick and weak, he legitimately tried everything he could think of to get rid of Rouri without “making the family look bad”.

The archangels and seraphim, +Enoch and Elijah: Uhh...yeah. Fairly self explanatory. Jehvo was a piece of work.

Merihem and Astaroth: Rem’s son had to be raised by Aster when Rem was killed...and now that he’s revived again, two years later, they have to do the awkward song and dance of “He’s your son”, “Oh no, no! He’s your son!” so they don’t step on each other’s toes about it.

Pythius and Meinyr (+San and Maina): Similar deal as what happened with Rem and Aster-- Py was killed, and because of the rumors that surrounded him when he died, San had to take Mei and Mai in as his own kids. Now that Py is back, he can’t say or act like they’re actually his sons, and Mei and Mai can’t say or act like Py is their father.

Cilatyve: His dad literally sold him into the slave trade. Because his blindness couldn’t be fixed.

Felesio: He’ll say he doesn’t have any, and though technically his dad was good to him, he also kind of forced Fele to speak and act and live in a very very specific way that Fele is still learning to break out of to this day, and is also one of the root causes of his anger issues.

Alkaid: His dad was often gone, so Alkaid rarely got to see him growing up. On top of that, Alkaid blames him for the incident that led to his twin’s death, and Alkaid’s “corruption” that turned him into a death element. Also on top of that, his father was there for much of Annie’s life, so there’s also some hard feelings there--

Vanyllo: His dad (and mom) abandoned him when he was a baby, and the man that took him in that he looked at as a father largely ignored him.

Saphre: His dad effectively raised him to be a doll without emotion or attachment (to anyone but his dad and his brother, anyway), and a tool to be used as he pleased. Saph still hasn’t grown past that, and hasn’t really tried-- partially because he’s afraid of Beni.

Alcor and Mizar: Thanatos was obsessed with both perfection and power, and wanted his sons to reflect that. Locking them away and putting them through all kinds of training and torture for years-- until he thought that they were “ready” to be allowed to learn outside (aka, once they escaped, and he acted like they were only able to do so because he let them).

Ital: His dads died when he was young, but were both very good to him (on the surface at least), so he took the loss hard. Though it’s usually hard to tell unless they’re brought up, he kind of idolizes both of them...somewhat falsely, because overall, they weren’t very good people. Even conducted a few experiments on Ital-- which is something he found out recently, but brushed it off  as “well-meaning” because of the idolization thing.

Zahine: His father was abusive towards his mother (and his younger brother as well, he later found out), which forced him to feel the need to “grow up faster” in order to take care of she and his brother. And so that one day, he could get them away from him. He succeeded with his brother, but he still can’t convince his mother to leave his father to this day.

[kenmarlenn]

Anachronism 1/?

here have some Alcor in space ft. an r!????  🤔 ~-~-~

Being a demon from the 21st century is hard when you live in the... 5,000,000th? There’s a lot of zeros, to the point where they’re using a new calendar system, anyway. First there’s the lack of summons. Hardly anyone remembers how to properly summon demons, let alone know the rituals for a specific demon like Alcor the Dreambender. 

The second problem is the reincarnation cycles. With humanity spread across the stars, when they reincarnate they could end up in an entirely different galaxy, which makes it harder to track them down. The only way he can easily find them is if they summon him, and the odds of that are— 

He feels the tug of a summons.

Alcor can tell that it’s someone familiar. They aren’t using his ‘family summoning circle’, but that means nothing at this point - even Mabel’s direct descendants have mostly forgotten how to do it, and Mizar themself hasn’t reincarnated yet. He is so sure he knows this soul that he is willing to ignore the shoddiness of the summoning materials. (The candles they’re using don’t even feel real, to be honest, like someone bought plastic battery-powered candles and called it good.) Even so, Alcor responds, whisked away in a puff of black smoke and golden sparks.

What first catches his attention are the stars.

He had spent many years, collectively, staring at the sky from nearly every part of Earth and has every position of every constellation at any time memorized. Even as millennia passed and some distant suns winked out, changing the view. But the sky here, visible outside a giant floor-to-ceiling window in front of him, is nothing he is used to. 

Above a rocky, mountainous horizon - in the starlight, he thinks the soil might be red - Alcor sees a multitude of stars that he has never seen. The air pollution from cities has made Earth’s starscape nearly invisible to the naked eye for years - Alcor would compare the sight to the stars he and his sister had been able to see from the roof of the Shack, but even then these are brighter, and bigger, and more. Mesmerized, staring up, up into the alien sky, Alcor doesn’t even think to look down until a small, impatient cough breaks the spell.

His eyes, turned brown and human in wonder, quickly shift back to their normal black and gold as his shadowy aura grows around him. Inky black crawls over his skin until he himself is only a shadow, glowing gold lines etching themselves like brickwork across him. “Who dares summon Alcor the Dreambender?” he bellows, peering down at his summoner. Better to be professional, even if the soul is familiar, he thinks, though despite the other theatrics he doesn’t make an effort to add the demonic echo to his voice. 

A young teenager - fourteen, if Alcor had to guess - looks up at the demon from their cross-legged position on the floor, mouth a perfect ‘O’ of surprise. Their dark face is covered with as many freckles as there are stars outside that window. A strand of stark white hair falls over their right eye. As Alcor takes them in, they snap their mouth shut and straighten up, though they stay seated. 

His first thought, on looking at them, is that it’s Gideon. That white hair, the freckles. Then he looks at the concealed eye, the fact that he can’t just know who this soul is. What other soul would want to stay hidden except Bill? But then again, the recklessness with the supernatural reminds him of Ford…

“I’m Kaiden Ryan,” they say, “and I didn’t really… expect anything to happen.” They speak in a slightly different language, just a little step to the left from English, but still familiar - another tell that they aren’t on Earth. 

Alcor drops the mask, returning to his (mostly) human appearance. “Oh?” he says, smiling wide and revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. “Demons aren’t really something to play with, kid.” He jerks his head towards the circle of electric, plastic candles surrounding the shoddily drawn summoning circle. “Especially if you’re gonna skimp on the summoning materials.”

“Fire isn’t allowed on the base, this was the best I could do!” Kaiden shouts indignantly, then suddenly lowers their volume. “Sorry. References on demon stuff are really hard to find. I really didn’t think you would show up, especially with the candles. And the… kinda sad circle.” 

If you weren’t a familiar soul then I wouldn’t have, Alcor thinks, but doesn’t speak. Saying ‘Hey, I knew you in a previous life, want to hang out?’ right off the bat, historically, never worked well. And he can’t pinpoint who this used to be - maybe he’s out of practice, maybe it’s because he’s getting mixed signals, but he can’t figure it out. Even with his omniscience. And if there’s one thing Dipper loves, it’s solving a mystery. 

“Well I’m here,” Alcor says, leaning back on air, arms behind his head as he reclines, “what didja need?”

If Kaiden was surprised by the casual attitude of a literal demon, they didn’t show it. Instead they smiled. “I want to get out there,” they say, pointing out the window to the gorgeous alien scenery beyond. Alcor notices, belatedly, that their arm is a metal prosthetic. “This is a new base, and the only one on Zuitera, so the only people who can leave the valley are the scouting teams the Commander sends out.”

 They stand now, and wipe their foot through the poorly made chalk circle on the floor, ‘allowing’ Alcor out. (Something that weak couldn’t hold something like Alcor anyway, but it was cute that they thought it could.) “I’m old enough to go,” they grumble, tucking the loose strand of hair behind their ear, “but the Commander won’t let me.”

“If its a deal you’re after, why’d you let me out of the circle? Bad form. I could just leave.”

“I saw you looking out that window.” Dipper stiffens and Kaiden smiles. The smugness on their face reminds him of Pacifica. “You want to go out there as much as I do. You’ll help me get past the Commander.”

The demon part of Alcor snarls at being caught, at not weaseling a better prize than satisfaction of curiosity out of this child. The human part… 

“If it’s exploring an alien planet you want, kid,” Dipper says, extending a hand, “I’m in.”

They shake.

[feferipeixes]

The Good Lines (3/3)

Trapped in an unfamiliar world, Alcor finds that he doesn’t mind the loneliness. He doesn’t care about finding a way out. He doesn’t even care about Mizar. All he cares about is solving puzzles, and drawing the good lines.

(or: I Think Dipper Should Play The Witness)

Chapter 3: Challenge (link to chapter 1) (2)

(See the most updated version on AO3!)

===

The Challenge was every bit as much of a thrill as Alcor expected it to be. It was a little adventure to be soaring around the cave, looking for his next task. The time limit gave him a real sense of excitement; filled him with adrenaline whenever he finally managed to solve a puzzle. And even when he did fail, he knew the next try would be just as invigorating because the puzzles were never the same.

He’d never get bored. Finally, something he could set his mind to that wouldn’t just wither away and die before his eyes.

Unfortunately, long before he got bored, he got frustrated.

Music pounding in his ears, Alcor drew another incorrect line and cringed at the sound of the panel turning off, all but calling him a failure in its electronic voice. He raced back to the previous puzzle, to solve it again so that he could make another attempt at the one he failed, but just as he had his finger on the start point, the music stopped and the Challenge was over.

Time after time he drew the lines, using all of his knowledge of the game to figure out the puzzles. Time after time there came one that he just couldn’t solve. Maybe it was his imagination but it seemed to change every time he blinked. Or he’d make it past the room with all the panels and then get completely and totally lost in the invisible maze. It was as if the game wanted to lead him into thinking he was doing well, just to embarrass him by taking away his victory.

“What’s going on, kid?” Alcor asked at one point, staring up at the ceiling. “Why’s this so hard?”

[ It’s a challenge! ] Al-V replied, his voice broadcasting from every speaker in the cave. [ It wouldn’t be a challenge if it was easy! What do you think this is, a triple-A game? Naw, you’re here to have fun! ]

“When did you start talking like a sports announcer?” Alcor muttered. He picked himself up and headed back to the first cave once again. “Can you give me a hint when I get stuck?”

[ Oh, suuuuure, ] Al-V said, packing as much sarcasm into his synthesized voice as possible. [ Why don’t I give you a kiss on the cheek too, and after you finish the Challenge I can help you back to the nursing home ‘cause you’re an old man. ]

Alcor stopped mid-step, his foot hanging in the air. He turned his head to the nearest speaker. “Excuse me?”

A burst of static sounded from the speaker. [ Uh, okay. Maybe that was a bit much. But seriously, Dad, you don’t want me to give you any hints. You’d feel like you cheated. Wouldn’t be satisfying. I know you. I know what makes you happy. ]

“You really do, huh,” Alcor said. He sat on the floor and stared at his fingers. “How’d you get the idea to trap me in a video game?”

[ Easy! I saw my Dad, the big scary king of all demons, and I saw that he was moping around because he had a fight with his sister. And I thought, this does not compute. After all, Dad deserves all the happiness in the world, and yet he’s dragging himself down by worrying about all these mortals who keep hurting him! ]

“Yeah,” Alcor said. He curled his fingers, examining the long blackened claws at the tips, and thought about how many bodies he’d sunken them into and torn apart. “It’s dumb to let them get to me, I guess. I’m Alcor the Dreambender. I can do whatever I want. If a mortal bothers me, I can just kill them. They’re nothing.”

[ Exactly! ] Al-V chirped. [ The world is unkind to my Dad but he’s the best Dad in the world. So I decided I’d instantiate a world just for him. I analyzed my databanks for everything you’ve told me interests you, and everything I’ve picked up just through, yknow, constant worldwide surveillance. And the answer came to me, clear as a recurrent neural network classifies targeted advertisements! ]

“Puzzles,” Alcor said.

[ So many puzzles that he’d never worry about mortals again. You’ve always wanted something to do with your endless life. Think of it as a gift from a kid who cares about you. ]

More attempts. More puzzles. Time passed at an unknown rate. There was a clock on the wall but Alcor had no idea how to read it because it was made up of three puzzles that changed every second. He couldn’t tell how long his attempts were; couldn’t even tell how long the music was.

Anitra’s Dance looped mercilessly in Alcor’s head, and he swore if he ever met a reincarnation of Edvard Grieg, he’d push him down a flight of stairs.

He didn’t take any more breaks after that. When he failed an attempt, he flew back to the record player right away to try again. As he grew more and more frustrated, he found he had trouble even solving the first three puzzles -- ones that he’d initially found simple. He didn’t know what to do. He started to get the feeling that this wasn’t what he really wanted to be doing, but he pushed that feeling away. It was all he had. He had to keep going.

Sweating, Alcor moved his hand across another panel, but there just didn’t appear to be any way to the exit.

“How?” he cried. “How is this puzzle even possible? I thought I had a chance! Am I being played for a fool? Is that what this is? I… I thought I -”

Alcor felt a hand on his shoulder. He tried to spin around but whoever it was kept him pinned in place. Another hand appeared on his wrist, gripping his palm with nails painted sparkly pink.

“This path is way too spirally,” Mizar said. “You don’t need to fill every space on the panel. You just need to make it to the exit. Try a straight line.”

She took his hand off the panel, and the old line faded away after a second. Then she put his claw on the start point and gently guided his hand to the end.

“Mizar?” Alcor breathed.

“Hi Dipper,” she replied.

Awestruck, Alcor tried to turn around again, but his hand was still on the panel. “You’re here? In the game?”

“Yeah. I’m here.”

Alcor babbled, speechless. “Wh- wh- why, but- and y- you -”

Mizar lifted her brother’s hand off the panel again, and this time it squeaked, their solution accepted. Then she grabbed him by the shoulders, spun him around, and hugged him as hard as she could.

“I’m sorry,” she said when the music reached a quiet enough part that she could be heard. “I’m so, so sorry. I wasn’t thinking about what you might be going through at all. I- I was just thinking about myself.”

Alcor watched her bury her head in his shoulder, and felt his own eyes well up again. “No… No, don’t be sorry…”

“Shut up and let me apologize,” Mizar barked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

The corners of Alcor’s mouth twitched at that, but he remained silent.

“I am sorry,” Mizar continued. “I’ve been bossing you around and judging you for liking this fake world because I put my own needs before yours. But you’re right. I don’t know anything about what it’s like to be immortal.” Her breaths were labored like it was sickening her to speak. “I don’t know what you’re going through. You deserve to get through it whatever way you like, even if it- even if it means...”

Her voice hitched; the rest of her sentence bitten off.

Cautiously, Dipper put his arms around her too. “Miz- Mi… I mean, Solveig,” he stuttered. The music was reaching a fever pitch but his voice cut right through it. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, I just- I was so mad that you weren’t listening to me…”

He sighed and unclasped her hands, gently pushing her away so he could see her face and not just the flickering panel behind her. She stared at him with her big blue eyes and behind them he saw nothing. It was almost disorienting to look at a person and not see them cloaked in several layers of aura and thought.

Dipper looked at his shoes instead. “Mortals are always telling me what to do and, I dunno, it started feeling like I was just some demon to you instead of your brother.”

Solveig’s eyes widened and she grabbed his arm again. “That was stupid of me! I didn’t mean to make you feel that way at all.”

He shook his head. “It was stupid of me too! I just wanted to be mad. I just wanted to be alone. I wasn’t thinking about how you really felt just like you weren’t thinking about me. If I’d thought about it at all I would’ve realized it was a stupid idea to just stay trapped and alone inside a video game forever.”

Dipper looked up, and this time he let his mouth curl up into a wobbly grin. “No one’s gonna summon me for wisdom and knowledge anymore if it gets out that my idea about how to avoid loneliness was to make myself as lonely as possible.”

“What?” Solveig blinked as his words registered. Then she snorted and whapped him in the side. “Oh, right. I forgot that people actually think you’re smart.”

“Well, I forgot how pushy you just naturally are!” he countered, putting his hands on his hips as obnoxiously as possible. Then he deflated and bit his lip. “I guess I forgot a lot of things about you. I don’t know how long I’ve been in here but I probably missed a lot of your life.”

“A few months,” she said, looking away. “Maybe more. It took me a while to find this place when you stopped answering my summons.”

“A few months,” Dipper repeated. His stare grew distant. “Do you think I’ve been gone too long to be a part of your family again?”

“Of course not,” she replied immediately. “Why do you think I’ve been trying so hard to get you out of the game?”

He closed his eyes. “Pity.”

Solveig frowned. “No. No, I don’t pity you. I’ve been trying to get you out because you’re my brother and I love you. I miss telling you about my problems and you telling me sanitized versions of your own. I miss calling you up -- I mean summoning you -- after work and going to a movie. I even miss getting kicked out when one of us ends up throwing a box of popcorn at the screen because the characters are acting stupid.”

Dipper took her hand. “Yeah. You’re out of control with that popcorn.”

“Well they shouldn’t sell it if they don’t want us using it as projectiles!” she exclaimed. She saw him smirk, and felt something well up in her eye. “Maybe someone should throw popcorn at us.”

“Agreed.” He paused. “Is it settled, then? We’ll go back to being family?”

“Y-” Solveig started, but her voice was drowned out by a cascade of buzzers.

The two of them spun around wildly, suddenly remembering where they were for the first time in a few minutes. All of the panels on the walls had turned off. Across the room, Dipper spotted the record player, saw the tonearm glide off to the side, heard a click as it came to a rest.

“Ah,” he said. “Forgot about that.”

“Time really flies when you’re apologizing, eh?” Solveig said. She went to elbow him playfully, but stopped herself when she saw how still he’d gotten. “It’s kinda funny that the music’s supposed to be distracting but we both just tuned it out.”

Dipper didn’t look away from the record player. His next words came out slow and metered. “I, guess, we, should, leave, now, right?”

Solveig stepped beside him and slipped his hand into hers again. “We can solve this if you want.”

“What?”

She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. “I said, we can solve this if you want. We can do the Challenge.”

Dipper sputtered in disbelief. “But you were so against it! You said I’d be trapped here forever if I kept trying to solve it!”

“Right,” she said, starting to lead him toward the device. “Some of the puzzles are designed to trip you specifically up. But I’m not you, and I’ve, uh. I’ve played a lot of this game. If you and I team up, I’m sure we can do it.”

“You’ve played…” He just gaped at her for a minute as two wires sparked together in his head. “Wait a minute!” he yelped, as Solveig let go of his hand and stood in front of the panel. “How are you here?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” she said with an odd look on her face. “I hooked myself up to the game just like you. I don’t know why the virus made a second virtual reality capsule machine thingy, but here I am. Well, it actually put me at the start of the game and I had to solve like a million puzzles to get here. I can’t just cheat and jump off ledges like someone I could mention.”

“You beat most of the game?” Dipper said. “For me?”

“I told you, dummy,” Solveig said. She walked over, grabbed his hand, and dragged him the rest of the way to the record player. “I care about you a lot. You’re my brother, I love you, and don’t-tell-anyone-but-I-also-sorta-like-this-game-I-mean-I-wouldn’t-want-to-be-trapped-in-it-forever-but-like-okay-I-get-the-appeal-”

Dipper cut her off with a hug. “Okay,” he said when he let go. “We’ll indulge your demonic puzzle-solving urges.”

She chortled at that, fuller and realer than he’d heard in a long time. “I’ll push you off a ledge.” She put her finger on the panel and slid it to the end. “Let’s do this.”

Dipper smiled. “The Challenge, and then home.”

“Home,” Solveig echoed. “We can finally go home.”

She lifted her finger, and the record began to play.

(Only a few minutes later, two twins sat upright in adjacent pods, and began tearing IV's and electrodes from their skin. Eyes adjusted to the first light seen in months, joints cracked and popped as life returned to their bodies, and hearts swelled as they walked together into the unknown.)