#nexstage

[squeeneyart]

It has been a while since I read a Better World AU from Gravity Falls, and yours is by far the best.

I kind of remember that was another version but called Hoodie AU, if I’m right. Although it was much darker.

I don’t know if you’re continuing developing this AU, but still, it’s amazing the details you have put.

I think this version is much more optimistic despite the angst both in the AU and what was shown in Journal 3 when the parallel dimension was mentioned.

Tbf, I’ve never wondered what happened to Stan in Better World AU, that question only came after I read the fanfics that speculated about his whereabouts.

man, now that's a throwback! Glad you enjoyed my take on it haha. I think the last time I sketched something for it was something like 8 years ago which. hoo boy thats wild to think about.

I remember reading the journal and latching onto that part immediately, but even with the angst factor, I really loved (and still love!) the tone and themes of the cartoon. stan is someone who scrabbles to survive (usually due to his own mistakes!) but deep down wants to have a connection to others, especially his family! simply put, grunkle stan Will be everyone else's problem and some monsters chasing him across the world Will Not Stop Him

thanks for the ask! have a stan sketch

[Image description: A digital colored sketch of Grunkle Stan on a boat, looking down confused at a postcard.

Stan: We're in the middle of the ocean, how the f-

EndID]

[inbarfink]

If there will be a season 2 of Fionna and Cake, I wish they show us some resolution between for Finn and Marcy in their friendship with Simon. Especially for Finn, as he is resorting to go from adventure to adventure to avoid thinking about Jake’s death and his feelings about it, that mirrors in some way Simon’s struggles to move on from Betty that resulted in trying to bring her back with the Golb ritual. Maybe by using the same approach Fionna did with Simon, asking about his best moments with Betty, Simon might help Finn to start processing Jake’s death better.

Hmmmm.... okay, while I would like more Simon and Marcy and Simon and Finn content (and I do find it very curious that we didn't get to see them in Simon's Happy Ending Montage. Just Astrid, TV and Dirt Beer Guy), I dunno if would get my hopes up for something like that, cause:

The series is called "Fionna and Cake". So I'm kinda wondering if Simon's inclusion as a main character isn't meant to be just, like, a one-season thing. And the upcoming Seasons will either focus more exclusively on the Fionnaworld Cast or will focus on them teaming up with a different Mainworld Character. Like, either way I'd expect to see some Simon content in there (cause he and Fionna have developed a bond and he's her one contact point with Mainworld Ooo at this point) - but I'm not going to expect him to be as central as he was in this season.

With Finn in specific, it's important to remember that we've seen Finn's future in "Together Again". And that special established that... he never quite learned process his grief about Jake while in life. So while there's still some wiggle-room to show Finn dealing with it better, but not so much that it contradicts "Together Again" - you would need to be careful as to not to step on that Special's metaphorical toes.

Now, I am fully-ready to be proven wrong on this. We don't even know if there's even going to BE a 'season 2' so I'm very hesitant to make predictions. The main reason why I think I could be wrong is... well, like I said at the start, it is a very odd decision to not show Simon hanging out with Finn and/or Marceline during his Happy Times Doing Better Montage. Like, on some level, there might be the thematic undercurrent of "it's good for Simon's mental health if he widens his social-circle to people who haven't known him when he was Ice King"

but considering how important Finn and Marcy are to him and how much they care about him - it still feels SO weird we've gotten no real specific closure for them in this series/season.

But I still just... don't know how much Simon content to expect in a hypothetical F&C Season 2 and I want to be careful with my expectations.

[goodartitude]

i haven't drawn nearly enough miras :33

taglist:

@dodelidoo @calamity-unlocked @turn-the-frickin-frogs-gay @arcadiii @bardicspiration @mood-owl @kaseyskat @maritasdump @eeveearoace @cute-as-buttons @beneaththeiceandsnow @reyraccoon @hachidementa @hey-its-puddlesock @watermelon-converse @bookmermaidcats @linkcalm @ivypond11 @chaoticcerise @nexstage @darcysd20 @gaynessisintheair @bloop-arts @banyanas @impact801 @prism-empurress

[videogamelover99]

[Gravity Falls] Waking Days Ch. 7: Sarah Wheatfield

Summary: Bill Cipher is reborn, but not in the way he would have wanted. Stuck as a mortal and relying on those who brought his downfall, he realizes that maybe he didn't lie as hard as he should have. [AO3 Link] Characters: Bill Cipher, Mabel Pines, Dipper Pines, Stanford Pines, Stanley Pines, Jheselbraum the Unswerving, The Axolotl Pairings: past BillFord Rating: T

A/N: Turns out I'm not skipping out on you this week! Yay! The plot thickens even more, Bill joins a Mystery Twins adventure, Nora learns the joys (and pitfalls) of human recreational activities. Thank you to @megxolotl and @nexstage for beta-reading. Enjoy!

---

High on Gravity Peak, Ford tried to add the finishing touches to his sketch in the dim lighting of his lantern. The sky had long since descended into darkness, clear and perfect for viewing the local constellations. Even the sky in Gravity Falls was undoubtedly unique. Well worth the grass stains on his pants, or the chill that pierced through his coat. 

It had been two years since he’d arrived in this town, and one year since he’d met the most important being in his life. He didn’t know he could be this happy.

“Heya, Brainiac!”

Bill’s habit of sneaking up on him did not falter even when he’d brought it up. Ford startled and dropped his journal, having to pick it up and brush off the wet stains from the grass. 

Bill, at least, had the decency to look sheepish. “Whoops, haha, whatcha got there, buddy?” 

“Oh.” Suddenly Ford felt a lot more embarrassed by what he’d just drawn. He tried to hide the journal, only to realize what a mistake that was – there was nothing that could stop Bill from finding out what others wanted to hide.

Ford was much the same way, really, his curiosity often got the best of him. It’s just that Bill’s curiosity was insatiable. 

“Come on, you’re not gonna show me?” Bill floated circles around Ford, trying to take a peek. Despite his nosiness, Ford couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. 

He quickly muffled his laughter, eyes darting to the tent where he knew Fiddleford was sleeping

“Relax, you’re in your mind.” Bill tapped him lightly on the forehead. “You fell asleep right in the middle of your writing session.”

Oh. That wasn’t good. Ford could feel the crick in his neck he would have when he woke up. “I should go to bed,” he said, thinking of his insulated tent. 

“Sure. After you show me what you’re hiding,” Bill manifested half a dozen eyes all around him to stare him down. 

Ford sighed. “I was just sketching the constellations,” he said, feeling his face heat up.

“Oh.” The eyes vanished, leaving only Bill with a bored look in his eye. “You got stage fright for your drawings? That’s-”

“It’s not that…” Ford showed him the page. “I noticed one I thought you might like. I named it after you, actually.” Now he felt the shame creep in. Was this too much? Should he ask? He didn’t know what he was doing.

Bill stared at the page for a while longer than necessary. William, the constellation Ford had pointed out, was still hovering above them. Observing. 

“Is this too much? I know the statues were a bit much, I just thought-”

Bill giggled and flicked Ford on the nose. Ow. “You? Too much? You’re a real flatterer, Fordsy, you know that?”

“I am?”

Bill fluttered his eyelashes, which Ford would’ve found ridiculous if he wasn’t so flustered. His muse settled down on Ford’s shoulder, small enough to fit comfortably and flop one spindly black arm in Ford’s hair. “Sure you are! You really know how to get my good angle!”

“Technically, it was the stellar masses that make up-”

“Learn to take a compliment, kid, yeesh.”

Bill stroked Ford’s hair, and Ford couldn’t help but close his eyes, leaning into the touch.

“Weird though, huh?” Bill said suddenly, quieter than Ford knew him to be. “Bill’s short for William? Shouldn’t it be Billiam? Who made that up?” 

“I could find out,” said Ford. It would only take a few days of research. “But there’s better nicknames, I suppose. Like Will. Or Liam, both of which are part of the name.”

Silence. Ford frowned. “Bill?”

Concerned, Ford gently took Bill off his shoulder and held him in his palms. Bill’s eye, known to flash symbols and images, was blank, not unlike the static of an empty television channel. His arms and legs were hanging limply from his frame. Ford’s concern grew. “Bill?” 

In the year Ford had known him, never had he considered the possibility that Bill could be harmed. He was so above any physical concerns, and so on top of any conversation or intellectual activity that Ford had assumed Bill being harmed by something was a ridiculous notion. 

He didn’t think so now.

“Bill!” He shook him gently, not knowing what else to do. 

Then Bill blinked, once, twice, and the static was gone. “Huh?”

“Are you alright?” Ford almost reached out to check Bill’s “forehead” temperature, like Ford’s mother had done when he was little.

“Uh, yeah?” Bill looked at him incredulously, hands on his sides. “What were we talking about?”

Ford had the thought then, that they did not need to rehash the conversation. “Nothing important.” He assured his muse. “You don’t remember?”

“Eh, it happens sometimes.” Bill looked completely unconcerned. 

“This happened before?” 

“Hey, don’t make a big deal out of it! When you live as long as I do, you’re bound to pick up a few hiccups. What are those compared to infinite knowledge?”

“I-I suppose…if you don’t think it’s a problem-”

“Sure isn’t! Anyway, where was I-” Bill scrunched up his eye in thought, staring hard at the grass under them. “Oh yeah!” He floated above Ford’s head, and put both hands on Ford’s cheeks, stroking his stubble with a finger. “Learn to take a compliment!” 

—

“Soos! Put ‘er there,” Stan reached out with a hand, only to pull Soos into a bear hug when he got close enough. Predictably, the kid made a noise that was almost like crying. 

“Wow, this place hasn’t changed a bit.” Behind them, Melody set her suitcase down by the cash register, where Wendy was, as usual, slacking off, reading a magazine. “How have you all been?”

“The usual,” Wendy said, not looking up from her magazine. “Except…” She shot a look at Stan, who returned it with a shake of his head and a scowl bigger than what he normally wore. 

“Something wrong, Mr. Pines?” Soos asked.

“Nothin’,” Stan said. “Why would anything be wrong?”

“You can’t not tell them.”

“No one asked you for advice, Wendy.”

“Geez, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

“If it’s anything serious, you know we can handle it,” said Soos. “There are things I’ve seen that no man has seen before.”

“Ugh,” said Stan.

“You want me to break it to them?” said Wendy.

“Hey, anyone seen one of those brush sticks you humans have for your teeth?” As if summoned by a curse, which wasn’t too out of the question, Bill strode into the gift shop and started searching the place. “I was gonna build an effigy that would put a curse on that lady with the ostrich hair. You know the one. Hey, Red, what’s with the face? Question Mark, long time no see! How’s your banal existence been treating ya? I’ve been, well, dead! But you knew that already. What? What’s with the stares?” He finally quit his search and leaned against one of the clothing racks, grinning. “Did ya miss me?”

“Soos,” Melody said. “Is that…?”

“Oh hey, that guy sounds just like the Triangle Dude.”

Everyone was eerily silent.

“...Wait a minute.”

—

“So, he’s-”

“Yep.”

“And you’ve been-”

“Yep.”

“And now he’s-”

“Yep.”

“Wow,” Melody stared into her cup of CALMING, HERBAL TEA! CURES ANY CRISIS!, a box Mabel had gotten for this exact occasion. Soos promptly made an excuse to see his Abuelita and, quote, make sure she’s not a chair or anything. Haha, wouldn’t that be crazy, dudes? Melody, being the only one who wasn’t there for Weirdmageddon, now sat with Stan at the kitchen table and listened patiently as Stan explained what had happened. “I get it.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t get me wrong, this is a lot to process, but I’ve seen my fair share of weird, you know? You’ve never-” She paused when her phone buzzed in her pocket and scowled as she dismissed the call.

“Don’t you wanna get that?”

“No.”

Yeesh. Not gonna pry into whatever that is. 

“There’s another thing,” Stan said, just as the door to the kitchen opened, and his brother headed straight for the pot of coffee on the stove.

He was, well, a mess wouldn’t cover it. With disheveled hair, eye bags so big he could carry something in them, and patches of his lab coat burned off or stained, Ford resembled a zombie more than a normal human being. It reminded Stan too much of how he was 30 years ago when Stan had first stumbled upon his brother’s paranormal mess.

“Stanley, we’re gonna need another order of potassium, have the university- oh, Melody! Good to see you again.” Ford poured the leftover coffee into a chipped mug. It had a sticker on its side that read certified nerd on it, along with a smiley face wearing glasses. “How was your trip?”

Stan and Melody watched as the coffee in Ford’s mug overflowed and started dripping onto his shoes. Ford didn’t seem to notice. “It was, uh, good? Are you alright, Dr. Pines?”

“Never better! Of course, there is a new calamity on the horizon, and everything we know and love might dissolve before our very eyes, but nothing a good amount of problem-solving can’t handle.”

The coffee started to form a small puddle on the floor.

“Sixer?” 

“What is it, Stanley?”

“You’re making a mess.”

Ford only then realized his shoe was soaked through. “Oh.”

“Leave it,” Stan said when Ford’s bloodshot eyes searched for a towel to clean it with. He stood, and gently took the mug from Ford’s hands. “Listen, I get this is the fate of the universe and all-”

“Multiverse, Stanley.”

“But I think you could use a break right about now.”

“We can’t stop, not when we haven’t had a breakthrough yet. But with the new materials, I’m sure-”

“I’m sure you’ll figure all of it out with your magical fortune-telling buddy of yours after you sleep for at least like, eight hours. You look like hell, Pointedexter, even I can see it.”

Ford stubbornly lifted his chin, before his shoulders slumped, as if he was too exhausted to even hold them up. “Maybe I should take a break.”

“Stanford?”

A fourth visitor of the kitchen made herself known. Nora walked in, her nose in a set of notes. “We should try with Potassium-40, the radiation might counter the unstable effects.”

“Right, of course!” Whatever ground Stan had covered in the conversation they just had vanished in an instant. Ford grabbed the cup, chugged down the lukewarm coffee, and reached for a wireless phone. “I’ll order it right away.”

Whatever insanity had overtaken Ford clearly had a source, because Stan spotted the same unyielding tide wave of energy in Nora as she and Ford catered off into a debate on…something so scientific and technical it almost sounded like another language. 

Before Stan could say another word, the two vanished from the kitchen and back into the basement, where he didn’t doubt, they were blowing something up.

“Fate of the multiverse, huh?” said Melody.

—

Dipper might’ve gone overboard with the conspiracy board. Just a little. He stood back and read the words in the center over and over again as if that would get him any closer to the answer. Who was that mysterious entity that talked to him? Why did she reach out to him, of all people? What did she mean when she said reality was splitting at the seams? And did it have anything, at all, to do with Bill’s code?

His phone buzzed. Which meant that the forum thread he started was updated. He grabbed it and eagerly opened his browser.

It wasn’t easy, running Gravity Falls’ sole supernatural blog. Not just because the town’s desire to sweep everything under the rug meant a ridiculous amount of censorship and takedown notices. It was mostly because no one except him sent anything in.

But there it was, a post, from Anonymous37. Dipper opened it and read the contents. 

Hi there!

Didn’t know who to reach out to about this. Recently I had this strange encounter that I couldn’t explain. It was like a visual distortion and looked a lot like TV static, but I swear it wasn’t just in my head! If there’s anyone who knows about these things who can help me sort this out, please come and talk to me! My name is Sarah Wheatfield, and I’m a manager at the Sort It Right clothing store. 

Whoever you are, admin, please help.

This almost sounded too good to be true. Dipper had waited so long for this, for his work to finally be recognized. He needed to meet this woman. 

Dipper found his sister on the front porch, busy adding to her scrapbook. 

“No way,” Mabel read the post and her face lit up. “This sounds just like what happened to Waddles!”

“Exactly,” said Dipper. “If we find there’s a connection, we can help fix him!”

“Then we gotta go talk to this Wheatfield lady.”

Suddenly, a pine cone landed on Dipper’s hat. He heard familiar nasal snickering and looked up. 

Bill sat on the rooftop's edge, his feet dangling back and forth like a little kid’s. He seemed unnervingly cheerful. “Pine Tree! Hey! Over here!”

“Bill’s been giving me advice on some of the scrapbook designs,” Mabel said.

“I still think page 22 should have a lot more dead ants!”

“Some of it’s even been helpful!”

“You have some nerve,” Dipper said to Bill. “I heard what you did to Soos this morning!”

“Hey, hold on! I didn’t do anything! Question Mark can’t handle a blast from the past, that isn’t exactly my fault, is it?”

“Of course it is!”

“Did ya figure it out yet?”

Dipper froze at the question. The code. Reluctantly, shook his head.

“Gotta be honest, I was expecting a little more from Gravity Falls’ ‘best detective’.” Bill did the air quotes as he said it. 

“It’s nonsense!”

“To limited minds, maybe.”

“Boys, boys,” Mabel put her hands up in a placating gesture. “I’m sensing some tension.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Dipper muttered.

“And it’s nothing that some bonding time can’t fix! Bill should come with us.”

“Mabel! No way!” 

“Who said I want to.”

“Come on,” said Mabel. “You!” She pointed at Bill. “You’re bored out of your mind, admit it! Your jokes didn’t leave me as half disturbed as they do on a good day!”

“Or you’re developing a tolerance,” Dipper muttered.

“And you,” Mabel said to Dipper. “You and Bill have like, a ton in common.”

“No, we don’t!”

“You’re both super into codes!”

“That’s like, one thing!” Dipper rubbed his temples. “Why do you want everyone to get along with Bill so badly?”

“Oh, so we just sit around being mad at each other all day? He’s not going anywhere.”

“True!” Bill piped up.

Dipper looked between Mabel’s pleading face and Bill’s devious one. “Fine. This one time.” He mustered his best Grunkle Stan glare. “But if he tries anything, I’m pushing him into the Bottomless Pit.”

—

Ford drained the coffee in less than an hour. He came up the stairs a second time, debating on whether or not to steal the entire coffee maker, albeit temporarily, when he came face-to-face with his brother, blocking the entry to the kitchen. 

Melody stood next to Stan and gave Ford an awkward smile. 

“Alright, Pointdexter, this ends now,” Stan pointed a stern finger at him. Ford was jarringly transplanted into 1968 when his father stood over both of them with the same expression after the twins had broken one of the display cases in the pawnshop while treasure hunting. 

The sleep deprivation must be getting to him.

“What, exactly, are you referring to?” he asked. “And why are you dragging Melody into…whatever this is?”

“Actually, I’m uh, helping,” said Melody.

“With what?”

“With the intervention. That’s happening starting now. You’re taking this day off, and that’s final,” said Stan.

Ford pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t have time for this. “Does the ‘potential end of the world’ not hold any weight to you?”

“Nice try, but we already had one of those, and we turned out fine!”

“This isn’t like Weirdmaggedon! This is infinite times worse!”

“I don’t care!” Stan snapped. “The end of the world can wait a few hours, can’t it?”

“Stanley-”

“Um, if I can say something,” Melody started. She pulled a few pieces of paper out of her pocket. “We have all these free bowling tickets and Soos and I never got to use them. Mr. Pines thinks you should take your mind off things for a little while, and I kinda agree with him.” She waved the tickets in the air.

Now, this was a problem. Because back in the day, the Stan twins had held the Glass Shard Beach strike record for several years before it was briefly interrupted by some kid from NYC. They were ridiculously good at bowling. 

Stanley knew exactly what he was doing.

“I can’t just leave Nora on her own,” Ford gave one last attempt at resistance.

“Oh easy, you’re not.” Stanley grinned. “Fortune Telling Lady’s coming with us.”

—

As they walked to the bus stop that would take them to Gravity Falls’ shopping mall, Dipper briefly pulled Mabel aside, keeping a wary eye on Bill. 

“What’s up, Bro-bro?” Mabel asked.

“I’m worried about you,” said Dipper.

“Whaat?” Mabel laughed. “What’s gotten you this time?”

“Bill,” Dipper snapped. “I don’t understand why you’ve been so buddy-buddy with him since he came back! You know he’s still the demon that tried to kill us and our family, right? You said you wanted to snap him like a corn chip!” 

“Pff, that was before he got all human and pathetic. Duh.”

“So you pity him? Is that it?”

“I told you why,” Mabel lost a bit of her cheer.

“Right. You think you’re the one who brought him back. Still, I just don’t get why…What if he did something to your brain? Last year or maybe even now?”

“Dipper,” Mabel said, all cheer gone. “There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m treating Bill like a person because he is a person now, okay?”

“Did you forgive him that easily?”

Something flickered in his sister’s gaze. She laughed it off. “I just don’t like holding grudges for too long! Besides, he’s been pretty well-behaved.”

They watched Bill find a beetle under his shoe and slowly step on it. There was a long and painful crunch. 

“For the most part,” said Mabel. 

Dipper watched his sister skip back over to the demon and playfully admonish him for the poor bug. Bill must’ve said something less offensive than usual because Mabel laughed and punched him lightly on the side. 

If anyone saw them, they would assume they were friends.

A lump settled in Dipper’s throat. Something was wrong, he just knew it. 

—

“Breathe it in, folks!” Stan took a giant, gaping breath just for the effect. Ah, the scent of freshly polished lanes, overpriced bowling shoes, and cheap fried foods. Gravity Falls’ Bowling sat in the back of the shopping mall, too intimidating for Stan to face without his twin by his side. 

“This is a rather nice place,” Ford remarked. He already looked more relaxed than he did in the car on the ride over.

“What did I tell ya?” 

“Wow, check it out, dudes,” Soos said behind them. “Pretty sure that guy’s only facing one direction.” Melody followed his gaze, her hand clasped in his.

“Charming family moment and all,” said the fifth member of the party. “I still don’t quite get why I’m here.”

Stan had been worried his brother was going to try to jump out of the car or something on the way here, having changed his mind, but Ford turned out to not be the one he should’ve been worried about. 

In the middle of throngs of people in squeaky, smelly rental shoes, Sixer’s space alien girlfriend looked out of place and uncomfortable. 

“You don’t like bowling?” Soos asked.

Nora looked annoyed by the question. “I understand Stanford’s human body needs rest, but I don’t have that issue. It would be best if I-”

“Learned how to have some fun?” said Stan.

Something flashed in Nora’s eye. “I know how to have fun.”

“Oh yeah?” Stan pulled down a pair of bowling shoes, ignoring the indignant cry of the clerk. “Prove it.”

—

The clerk handed them their shoes like he wanted to get rid of them as fast as possible. Soos kept trying to see the man’s right side, and the attempts were skillfully avoided. Giving up, Soos took his position next to Nora and Melody. It was the three of them against the Stans, which Stan thought was pretty unfair. These kids didn’t stand a chance. 

Stan was up first. “Strike!” They watched the little television up above display an animated bowling pin getting brutally flattened by an angry-looking bowling ball. Stan did a little victory dance Melody stealthily recorded to send to Abuelita later.

“Isn’t that bad?” Soos asked.

“That’s baseball, hun,” Melody whispered.

“Oh yeah. Sports!”

Melody took her position when her phone buzzed. She impatiently silenced it and picked up the ball. Her swing didn’t have great form, but she managed to get roughly half of them. Which wasn’t bad. At least it wasn’t in the gutter.

Ford came up to the starting line. “I haven’t done this in a while,” he admitted. “30 years, to be honest.”

“Stop whining and throw the ball!” yelled Stan. Some of the other patrons looked back at their party. 

“If it makes you feel better,” said Nora. “I already know how this ends.”

Ford didn’t seem to feel better at all. Still, he picked up one of the bowling balls. Then another, testing its weight.

“Oh, come on!” cried Stan.

“We believe in you, Mr. Pines!” said Soos. “Even Mr. Pines!”

“Give me a minute.”

Ford brought the ball over, trying a practice swing. Then another. Stan opened his mouth to yell at him some more when-

“Strike!”

“Yeah! Whoo!” Stan threw up his arms, ignoring the glare the clerk sent him. “I knew you still had it in ya!”

“Yes, that was…nostalgic, to say the least,” said Ford. He was smiling. As far as Stan was concerned, his mission was over.

When Nora came up to the lane, Ford offered her one of the lighter balls. “You need to make sure there’s a curve in your wrist-” He tried to demonstrate.

“Stanford, I know how bowling works,” said Nora.

She threw the ball.

It sailed out of her hands, over their heads, and into the group next to them.

“Augh! My spine!”

“Right. Two eyes,” Nora said calmly.

“Someone call an ambulance!”

“Welp, it’s been fun!” Stan steered the four of them toward the exit, smelling a lawsuit. “Who’s hungry?”

—

It wasn’t hard to find the store Sarah worked in. It was the same one Mabel and her friends had taken Bill a week or so prior. Hopefully, the staff didn’t remember them well.

“Out!” The store clerk, a pale man with far too many wrinkles for someone in his thirties, pointed to the exit. He was sitting behind the cash register, a few wrappers hastily crammed into his pocket. 

So much for not being remembered.

The goth girl they’d seen previously spotted them from behind a pile of clothes she was carrying. She waved. Mabel and Bill waved back. 

Dipper quickly pulled them away before there could be another incident. “Okay, it looks like this one will be harder than I thought.”

“Please, they haven’t even called security,” said Bill.

“...So, we’re gonna have to break in.”

“Uh-huh,” said Bill. And walked back into the store.

“Bill!” Dipper whispered.

Bill pretended not to hear him. We sauntered over to the counter, leaning against it like he owned the place. The clerk squawked and shut the cash register. “I told you, sir, we don’t need any more trouble.”

“I know you don’t, uh,” Bill squinted at the clerk’s nametag. “Dave? Can I call you Dave?”

“That’s…my name?” said Dave.

“Sure is! Great name, simple and sweet. Listen, bud, you think I don’t get it? Standing on your feet for 10+ hours, getting penalized for your bathroom breaks, wondering when Joane will call you back, worried she knows your ‘well-paying job’ is a minimum-wage soul-sucking boulder up a hill of sweaty, loud teenagers and moms buying underwear for their kid’s birthday. We’ve all been there!”

“Oh,” said Dave.

“Retail sucks. Also, is that a new hair gel? Looks fantastic, anyone tell you that?”

“Yeah,” said Dave. He looked a lot less confrontational, and a lot more confused. “I mean, no…but I’m still gonna have to ask you to leave.”

“No, I get it, I get it,” Bill looked away as if debating something. “I also get if I, you know, didn’t see you for a few minutes. You were in the back! And if, you know, you came back with one of those pretzel dogs.”

Dave stared at him.

“You’d deserve it,” said Bill. He winked.

“...I would deserve it,” said Dave, as if it was a divine realization. “Okay. You sound like a cool guy, last incident aside. Please don’t touch anything.”

“Atta boy,” said Bill as he watched him go. Dipper and Mabel walked over.

“How’d you know he wanted a pretzel dog so badly?” Dipper asked. 

Bill picked up a greasy wrapper from the floor and flicked it. It landed on top of Dipper’s hat. 

—

Sarah Wheatfield was a middle-aged woman with braids in her hair and a mole over her lip. They found her in the back of the store, sorting clothing without really looking at it, which was either impressive or evidence of a troubled psyche. Dipper couldn’t tell which yet. 

Dipper came up to her first. “Ms. Wheatfield?”

Startled, the woman dropped a few of the t-shirts she was sorting. “You’re not supposed to be here! How do you know my name?”

Dipper pointed at the nametag. Sarah looked down. “Oh. Right.”

“You sent in a post recently, to Unnatural Sightings Anonymous?” He held up his phone. “I uh, I run that blog.”

Sarah squinted at the screen. “I don’t remember sending this.”

Oh. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Heh, might’ve been a prank! Probably from someone you know. Guess it’s nothing,” said Bill.

“No, I…” she looked back at Mabel, then at Dipper. “Wait, aren’t you those Pines twins?”

“Y-yes!” Dipper said, a little too loudly. “Yes, we are!”

“Hi!” said Mabel, “I’m Mabel Pines. We’re like, super on top of all this mystery weirdness stuff. You can tell us anything!”

Sarah looked at Bill. “And who’s this?”

“That’s Willard,” said Mabel, and Bill made a noise between a growling protest and a squeak of rage. She patted him on the arm as if pacifying an angry cat. “He’s helping.”

“I see,” said Sarah. For a moment she looked hesitant. She checked that the door was closed, before turning to them once more. “Well, it’s not nothing. My husband must have sent it in. Or maybe I did, I’ve been…forgetting things lately.” She looked at the three of them in turn, her voice nervous and small. “I know it sounds crazy, but everyone knows your family deals with crazy, so, just…” She made up her mind. “Follow me.”

Sarah led them down a set of musty stairs and a locked door. She pulled out a key, fiddling with the lock as she turned to them. “We use this for storage and breaks. Or, we used to use it for breaks, before…well, before. Now it’s just storage.”

She turned the key and opened the door, flipping on the switch in the corner. The room was illuminated by buzzing fluorescent lights. It was big, about the side of the Mystery Shack gift shop, with rows of shelves taking up most of the space, filled with cardboard shipping boxes of what was probably stock. In the back corner was a table, a couple of coffee cups, and a curtain that was…glowing ominously.

Bill shivered, and whether it was out of excitement or because the room was cold, Dipper wasn’t sure. The room was more than cold, though. It felt tilted, like the space around him was drawn with the wrong perspective. It was vibrating with an energy that Dipper could feel in the tips of his fingers. 

It didn’t help that the edges of that curtain were turning into pixelated static. 

Sarah cautiously approached the curtain. “Just don’t freak out, okay?” she said.

She pulled away the curtain. And Dipper was twelve again, the high of beating some alien robot with this Great Uncle Ford shattered as the sky above him ripped apart at the seams. 

“That’s the rift,” Mabel said next to him. Dipper was still trying to find his voice. “But that can’t be the rift. Why’s it so small? Why’s it underneath the mall?!”

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Sarah answered. “Also, don’t look directly at it. That’s how the memory problems started.”

They had seen remnants before. Ford had taken them to help track down dimensional vortexes and eldritch horrors that were still lurking around. But this was nothing like that. This was the rift. 

The entity’s warning still sat firmly in Dipper’s mind. Reality was splitting at the seams. This was what she was talking about, wasn’t it?

Dipper tore his eyes away and instead glared at Bill. The ex-demon was grinning ear to ear, not caring about the warning as he stared at what could only be a remnant of his apocalyptic takeover.

“Sorry,” Dipper said to Sarah. “We’ll just be a minute.”

He practically dragged Bill outside by the sleeve of his sweater, Mabel not far behind.

“Hey, what the heck?!” Bill tore his arm away. “Get your sweaty hands away from me.”

“What did you do?!” Dipper snapped.

“Nothing!”

“That doesn’t look like nothing! That looks like a rip into your dimension!” Dipper shoved a finger at Bill’s chest. Bill stumbled back, scowling. “Was this human thing all part of some scheme? Answer me!”

“Hey, hey, hey, easy! I didn’t make that thing! Well, okay, technically I did make that thing, but only through a direct causality. So did Sixer, by the way, by building that portal. So did Stan, by turning it on, so really, if you think about it-.”

“You’re the one who tricked Grunkle Ford into building that portal! Are you kidding me? Do you really think I’d believe a word you’re saying, after what you’ve done?!”

“Guys, come on!” Mabel stepped in between the two of them. “Let’s not fight, okay? We don’t know why it’s here, so if we just-”

Dipper gaped at his sister. “Are you serious? Are you really defending Bill right now?”

“I’m not defending him! I’m just saying, maybe if we hear him out…”

Something obvious suddenly clicked into place. Dipper laughed. How could he not see it before? “Bill Cipher ended the world. He manipulated our uncle and drove him to insanity. He locked you in a dream prison. He tried to kill us, Mabel. Multiple times. Did you seriously just forget all that? Because you feel bad for him?”

“That’s not…” Mabel hesitated. 

That’s all Dipper needed to hear. He climbed up the stairs, not wanting to look at his sister. He didn’t want to see her face and confirm what he already knew was true.

---

[next]

[prev]

[first]

[gaveitbackbroken]

Live Audios are Live ^_^

Everything in the live folder has been posted, but here's where you'll find the masterlist

Complete Performances (Studio) Unplugged (Mar 2021) Paste Sessions (Jun 2021) 360 Sessions (Jul 2021) Absolute Radio Country (Apr 2022) Coal Drops (Jan 2023)

Complete Performances (Live) 107.7 Froggy (Jul 2021) 107.7 Froggy (Jul 2022) 103.7 WXCY (Jul 2022)

Various Songs Tractor - Vinylyte Records (Feb 2018) Red Light - 11Alive (May 2018) Who's That Girl - MadLife Studios (Sep 2018) Bless Your Heart - Historic Speedway (Sep 2021) It's Cause I Am - Vevo (Sep 2021) Sad - Opry NexStage (Sep 2022) Brave Girl - Opry NextStage (Sep 2022) Gave It Back Broken - CMT (Oct 2022) Brave Girl - Today Show (Oct 2022) Worst Guy Ever - Vevo (Oct 2022) Bless Your Heart - Griffith Opera House (Mar 2023) Old Soul, Young Heart - Troubadour (Jun 2023) Diamond, Point of No Return, Reckless - Station Inn (Apr 2024)

[sars-wulf]

Ooooh this looks fun!

Last song:

I’ve been writing a lot of Burn abhsgs

Favorite color: Red! I like a nice vermillion red!

Last TV show/Movie: I was rewatching encanto the other day!

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: can’t pick, it’s too hard!

Last book: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon! Very good book, highly recommend!

Last fic:

Very good fic!

No pressure tags: @nexstage @kiwibirb1 @detentiontrack @strengthwuzhere

thank u thank u @fiddleleafedfig for the tag !!

nine people you want to get to know better

last song: when i opened the tag, 'alien blues' by vundabar but currently i'm listening to hozier 'would that i'. as of finishing writing this, radiohead. there you have it.

favourite colour: a deep cherry red. the kind that would make a really lovely lipstick gloss.

last movie/tv show: i'm terrible with shows and movies, but i was watching the bowie doco (moonage daydream) the other day, keeping on brand ik. i also love british comedians so 'would i lie to you?' is probably up there as well.

sweet/savoury/spicy: sweet if it is really well done. i'm talking specifically that one pub down by where i live that for some reason makes the best chocolate lava cake ever. if not, savoury forever.

last thing i googled: beatles guitar songs for beginners. i've decided to relearn guitar and i'm back to the absolute basics.

current obsession: concerts! this is a long-standing love but it is very evident lately. the way concerts down here work is that no one comes for years bc of the trek to aus, and then randomly there's this one month period where everybody is here at once and suddenly i have to choose between favs. that has been this month! hard on the bank account but my soul is thriving with a concert every other week. saw noah kahan, it was life-altering.

last book: i'm between the '50 yrs of led zeppelin' biography by mick wall, and 'anna karenina' by tolstoy atm. (adding it) last fic: blends by rvltn909. finished it yesterday and oh my god. the crime that was me putting it off.

looking forward to: still a little ways away, but i'm moving to america for (my) winter-spring!! i've work in the states, which i'm thrilled abt. it also means i am tracking down artists who refuse to concert in aus (hozier for the love of god) and trying to sneak them in as well.

np tags (apologies if you've already been tagged): @fairylittlebitch @alltoounwellll @the-moon-says-hi @just--vi @whyistarchaser @bellaxisworld @feminist-cult-following @none-of-it-was-accidental @svnflowermoon + ofc anybody else who wants to. tag me. let me know you all.

[borkthemork]

You know, it's funny but when I remember your post about the dynamics on Sprig's birthday and the parallels between this episode and Reunion it makes me think about the parallels between Cracking Mrs. Croaker and New Wartwood when it comes to the theme of not being liked/accepted by everyone and let it go because both Sprig and Marcy tried so hard to be liked by Sadie and the Wartwoodians respectively that they not only ignored/shrugged off Anne's advises but also made things worse and almost got others killed.

A few other key similarities these two have that I always love discussing with people:

-Sprig and Marcy have shown to be afraid of their families getting hurt or separated by arguments/internal struggles. (Stakeout, The Dinner)

-Sprig and Marcy will go to massive lengths to appease or be seen as a good influence on someone. (Thai Feud, New Wartwood, Cracking Mrs. Croaker)

-Has parental issues.

-Seen as eccentric and because of it affects how other people perceive them.

-Still wants to do the right thing after fucking up. (Civil Wart, True Colors)

-If Marcy's parental upbringing theory is correct, then both also had at one point gotten pressured by a guardian out of financial security. (True Colors, Fiddle Me This)

[su-era4-comic]

Love the design of that Lapis Lazuli. Especially the start on her skirt/summer dress(?), very chill, very cool as her personality. And that Aquamarine had a good design too, I love her character!

Thanks very much! I’m glad you’re enjoying things! :)

[a-second-chance-su-au]

I love that piece of art you've made of Spinel during the war!

Wondering what kind of weapon Homeworld used to eliminate the Crystal Gems. It must have been worse than the Breaking Point due to only 6 rebels were left.

Thank you! :D

And I suppose it could be, from a certain point of view...

[sars-wulf]

Ooooh thanks for the tag!

I'm over 5'5 / I wear glasses or contacts / I have blonde hair / I often wear sweatshirts / I prefer loose clothing over tight clothes / I have one or two piercings / i have at least one tattoo / i have blue eyes / i have dyed or highlighted my hair / i have or have had braces / i have freckles / i paint my nails / I typically wear makeup / i don't often smile / i play sports/ I play an instrument / i know more than one language / I can cook or bake / i like writing / i like to read / i can multitask / I have never dated anyone / I have a best friend that I have known for over five years / I am an only child

10/24… Incheresting

No pressure tags! : @kiwibirb1 @nexstage @strengthwuzhere @caspianscabinet

This was fun!

This or That

Thanks for the tag Reb @peakyswritings !! 🥰

I'm over 5'5 / I wear glasses or contacts / I have blonde hair / I often wear sweatshirts / I prefer loose clothing over tight clothes / I have one or two piercings / i have at least one tattoo / i have blue eyes / i have dyed or highlighted my hair / i have or have had braces / i have freckles / i paint my nails / I typically wear makeup / i don't often smile / resting boss face / i play sports/ I play an instrument / i know more than one language / I can cook or bake / i like writing / i like to read / i can multitask / I have never dated anyone / I have a best friend that I have known for over five years / I am an only child

**I’ve played sports…not currently playing anything

Tagging: @peakyltd @little-diable @halsteadlover @writers-hes @writeroutoftime @forgottenpeakywriter @huntingingoodwill

[especdreamy]

Happy new year, my friend!

I wish you the best of the best! :)

Thank you so much!!! You too

[inbarfink]

About Prismo’s boss, do you like that they are still shrouded in mystery? Or would you have liked it more if their identity had been revealed on the finale of Fionna and Cake?

Yeah, to be quite honest, I just really don't see the point in 'revealing' the Boss, at least not right now.

I mean, at least back during 'Prismo the Wishmaster", when people were speculating that the Boss was actually GOLB, I... really didn't like that theory. I thought it really didn't fit in with any of the established lore about GOLB and I'm happy to see that it got very unambiguously disproven. But... I could at least see the appeal of it. I mean, if the Boss did turn out to be GOLB, that would be a Reveal with a lot of meaning and impact behind it! It would have changed and recontextualized so much of the narrative and even the cosmological rules of the AT setting!

But right now it seems like we're out of any Notable Previously-Established Cosmological Characters who could be the Boss. We really are talking about just... revealing the Canon Character Design to this new separate character. So I think it's worth considering... What Are We Doing Here? What would 'revealing' the Boss mean for the narrative?

Is it just about showcasing a Cool New Character Design? I mean, nothing wrong with a Cool New Character Design, but establishing something properly suitably epic and original for what seems to be the Actual Literal God of the whole AT Multiverse is quite a tall order. That might be why they decided to characterize them primarily by their lack of visuals.

You know, both in the sense that nothing the AT artists can create and animate can come close to all of the collective imaginations of all of the fandom. And in the sense that the lack of visual itself is an element that characterize them and makes them stand out against all the other Cosmic Beings under them.

And while a canon design could theoretically pack in a lot of Cool Visual Symbolism that could have interesting implications for the nature of the AT Cosmology.... their lack of visual ALSO has it's own set of implications. You know, there's a reason why so many religions love the idea of 'the Divine as Undepictable'.

I mean, Cosmic-Level Nonsense are already kinda standard-issue for Adventure Time at this point - so the lack of visual is a good way to quickly establish the Boss as so far beyond the reach, or maybe even comprehension, of our main characters and even other Cosmic Beings.

And even the little hints we get of their visual identity via the Winged Star Motif and the use of a corded phone has it's own interesting implications....

Now, 'Revealing' the Boss also means we could get to see a bit more of their personality, and to hear of their own motivation and reasoning in their own words - and not just implied via the actions and reactions of their subordinates. But I dunno how much this would've been necessary for the narrative of 'Fionna and Cake'.

I mean, the personality and motivation are just implied right now - but all the implications have been painting a pretty consistent picture. It's not like Prismo and Scarab's dialogue give out two totally contrasting views of the Boss that require the audience to get a look of them themselves to know what they're really like or something like that.

And it is possible that the Boss could still turn out to be on some level very very different from how both Prismo and the Scarab view them and you could do some interesting stuff with that? But again, we're talking about it in terms of the plot of 'Fionna and Cake' - so you have to consider if you can implement that idea into the narrative in a way that works with the existing story and themes which of course means that the Boss will have depression

And.... actually this is why I said at the start that I don't see the point in revealing the Boss 'right now'. Because I really don't think it would've added more to the current Fionna and Cake narrative.... but if we're talking about the Hypothetical Fionna and Cake Season 2, well, that's a different story.

And by that I mean, literally, that's a whole new different story that could, theoretically be woven around the idea of revealing the Boss and have it actually mean something in the narrative beyond just updating a character image and a voice actor on a Wiki. You know have an actual plot point around the idea of finally getting to see them explain themselves in their own words. Or even just use their reveal to showcase how grand and epic the current adventure is (we need something to raise the stakes after the last season was about saving a whole damn World, after all).

It's not a surefire thing, and honestly.... I think I am still more content with the idea of the Boss being the one AT Cosmic Character that is constantly beyond our reach. I am just offering it as the one way I can see this could work right now.

[goodartitude]

they love you

@dodelidoo @calamity-unlocked @turn-the-frickin-frogs-gay @arcadiii @bardicspiration @mood-owl @kaseyskat @maritasdump @yourpersonaltimebomb @eeveearoace @cute-as-buttons @beneaththeiceandsnow @reyraccoon @hachidementa @hey-its-puddlesock @watermelon-converse @bookmermaidcats @linkcalm @ivypond11 @chaoticcerise @nexstage @darcysd20 @gaynessisintheair @bloop-arts @banyanas @impact801 @toonteller

[thecrusadercomrade]

1. Are you named after anyone?

My dad was Catholic, so both my middle names are taken from saints/biblical figures.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Probably around a few weeks ago. I was listening to some music that really connected with me emotionally, and it just kinda happened.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope!

4. What sports do you play/ have played?

I played soccer on a team for a while as a kid, but I've never really been a sports guy.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

More so when I'm talking with people online than in person, but not very much either way. I usually prefer to be polite when I can.

6. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

This might sound a bit weird, but probably their size. How tall/short someone is is one of the first things that sticks out to me most of the time.

7. Whats your eye colour?

Blue!

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Call me an idealist, but I'm a big fan of happy endings. I'm a huge coward, so horror is not for me at all.

9. Any talents?

I'd say I'm a decent writer at this point. Can't really think of anything else.

10. Where were you born?

Canada!

11. What are you hobbies?

Mostly just writing. I've occasionally dabbled in other things, but writing is the main thing I've enjoyed.

12. Do you have any pets?

My family has a labrador-collie mix, and her name is Sasha!

13. How tall are you?

Funnily enough, I actually just got my height checked today while at a doctor's appointment. I'm 5'8.

14. Favourite subject in school?

I'd say english. It was usually the easiest for me at least.

15. Dream job?

I suppose being a writer, but my main ambitions in life aren't really about work. I don't so much want a "dream job" as I want a job that gives me enough money to focus on other things. If I can do the work without much issue, and it supports me, that's all I need.

@hughjidiot @theyetibacca @citadelspires @nexstage @metalinjector95

15 Questions 15 Mutuals

@kaiarchives tagged me in this game that I haven't had the pleasure of seeing before, so that's exciting. The rules are: Answer the 15 questions and tag 15 of your mutuals.

1. Are you named after anyone?

No.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last Sunday. I don't think it was for any particular reason, I just had a headache and was feeling down.

3. Do you have kids?

No.

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I played a bit of a football as a kid and a bit of volleyball for school. I also did range shooting in my tween years.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Quite a lot. I've been trying to cut back and be a bit more genuine, but my habit for being sarcastic and my generally low moods have given me a bit of Resting Bitch Voice, so people don't always pick up on it.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Facial shape I think. Before I learn someone's name I generally remember them by the shape of their jaw and cheeks.

7. What's your eye color?

Blue, but it's a kinda greyish blue.

8. Scary movies or Happy endings

I like scary movies with happy endings. Give me protagonists who face down with the worst of humanity or the nasties of the world and come out alive and swinging, if not a bit traumatized.

9. Any talents?

I'm told I have a way with words. In general I don't believe in talent in the "innate skill" way though.

10. Where were you born?

Oslo, Norway.

11. What are your hobbies?

Writing, reading, movies, video games (mostly strategy and roguelikes,) I used to sing in a choir and I kind of want to get back into that.

12. Do you have any pets?

No. Haven't really had the opportunity to, but I'd like to get a dog someday.

13. How tall are you?

178 cm, so... what, 5'10?

14. Favorite subject in school

Language and it's not close at all. Social Sciences as a second place I suppose.

15. Dream Job?

Author. Give me a way to live from writing and I'll churn out books at a brazen clip. It might drive me crazy, but it'll be worth it.

As for the tags: @frostedlemonwriter @shay-puppitty @longwuzhere @indigostudies @an-elegant-void @mjjune @marlenadutch @fire-but-ashes-too @meerawrites @sparrowrising @silverslipstream @floweryprosegarden @the-secondborn-of-seven @chishiio @a-had-matter

[videogamelover99]

[Gravity Falls] Waking Days Ch. 8: A Nice Day Out

Summary: Bill Cipher is reborn, but not in the way he would have wanted. Stuck as a mortal and relying on those who brought his downfall, he realizes that maybe he didn't lie as hard as he should have. [AO3 Link] Characters: Bill Cipher, Mabel Pines, Dipper Pines, Stanford Pines, Stanley Pines, Jheselbraum the Unswerving, The Axolotl Pairings: past BillFord Rating: T

A/N: Hi! I'm not dead! Just dealing with my move and my new job! From now on, I will switch to a bi-weekly posting schedule until I feel like I can keep up with posting once a week again. It's a marathon, not a sprint, haha. Thank you to @megxolotl and @nexstage for beta-reading. Enjoy!

---

“Wow, that was awkward,” said Bill. “Anyway! You should probably go talk to him.”

Mabel stared at her hands.

“Seriously, who knows what he’ll get up to.” Bill cast a quick glance at the door. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t thought this through as much as he should’ve. No doubt the first thing Pine Tree was going to do, once he got over his tantrum, was go tattle to Stanford Pines. Hopefully, soon it wouldn’t matter. He could get rid of Sarah. He just needed Star out of the picture, and the rift was his. “Aaand you’re not going. Guess this sibling relationship will stay irreparable. Forever.”

Mabel sniffed.

“You’re not…leaking, right? That thing you humans do with your eyes? Cause if that’s the case-”

Mabel looked up at him. She was grinning. “Whaat? Come on, it’s not a big deal. You’re right, we should just talk to Dipper!”

“We?”

She grabbed his arm before he could protest, and hauled him up the stairs. “We’ll figure out the rift thingy later!”

Bill cast a mournful glance at the door to the storage room. He needed to get to that rift.

—

“Ah, nothing like kicking it back and drinking something terrible that’ll cause a problem later. Right, Ford?” Stanley leaned back against the hard plastic chair of the cafe and took a long sip of his milkshake. 

Ford nursed his cup of coffee Stan had switched out for decaf while he thought Ford wasn’t looking. He smiled. “You were right. I was going at an unfeasible pace. The break was…much needed.”

“Of course I’m right. The world’s not ending today. Your friend over there give you a timeline?”

“Nora isn’t sure herself,” Ford said. “The only way to predict anything is by watching the rift. And even then, it could be months, if not weeks until…” He shuddered.

“Hey, what did I say? You don’t gotta think about this stuff now.” Stan shoved the milkshake in Ford’s face. “Here! Make some terrible choices and relax.”

Ford took the milkshake. It was overly sweet and frothy. The silly straw was certainly a choice. Not to his taste, but Bill would’ve…

Ford shook his head. 

Why did that thought have to come up now?

—

Soos ran out to see if he could catch the hot dog cart across the mall, and Melody took the opportunity to sit down at the table over, where- Nora was her name? Where Nora was picking at the basket of fries in front of her as if they were going to eat her. 

“Hi,” said Melody. 

Nora blinked up at her. She looked…not quite there. “Hi.”

“I’m Melody.”

“I know who you are.”

“Oh. Right. Psychic powers.” This was getting awkward. 

Melody took a fry and popped it in her mouth. Stan said she was an alien, right? Maybe she needed a demonstration. 

It did the trick. Nora picked up a fry and finally put it in her mouth. Her brow furrowed with surprise. “These are good.”

“Right? It’s one of my top ten favorite places ever.”

“You know, you might be onto something,” said Nora. She took another fry. 

“So, what’s it like being an alien from another dimension?”

The other woman shot her a look. “What is it like being a human from this dimension?”

“I don’t…know?”

The corner of Nora’s lips twitched slightly.

Melody laughed. “Fair enough.”

Melody’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She ignored it, despite Nora’s glance. It buzzed again. And again.

Angry, Melody pulled it out and pressed the power button.

“What is that?” Nora asked.

“Oh! It’s a cell phone.” Melody held it up, eager to change the subject. “We use it to-”

“I know what a cell phone is,” Nora said, not without irony. “I meant the messages.” She squinted at the screen. “Who is excelsior21?”

“No one!” Melody quickly hid it. The phone only buzzed again.

‘Doesn’t seem like no one,” said Nora.

“Okay, so maybe it’s someone! Someone who might or might not be my ex?” Why was she spilling her guts like that to a literal stranger? There was something in Nora’s demeanor that made her a little too okay with it. She quickly glanced at where Soos had been sitting, then turned back to her phone and glared at it. Suddenly, she couldn’t help ranting. “I hoped he would just get the message and go away! But he won’t. I tried turning it off, but-” It kept turning itself on again. And Melody knew why. She really didn’t need this ruining her day.

“Can I see it?” 

Melody hesitated, then handed the phone to Nora. The alien woman inspected the device and pulled something from her pocket. “I can trace where they’re coming from and shut off any messages from that cell tower for you.” 

“Like hacking?”

“Better than hacking.” Nora pulled out a small, tube-like device. A hologram erupted from it of some kind of network. “It’s magic.” She spread her hands in emphasis. 

At the word “magic”, Melody shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Nora didn’t seem to notice, pulling out a piece of chalk and writing something on the table. The hologram flickered, then shifted, coming up with strange symbols. Nora frowned. “Well, I know where it’s coming from.”

“Where?”

“That direction,” she pointed down the hall to the nearby row of shops. “Three hundred feet away.”

—

Dipper stormed out of the store, almost running into a lady with a dozen shopping bags under her arm. He found a more secluded corner to pace.

What was Mabel thinking?! Bill couldn’t be trusted! He’d thought he’d gotten through to her, over and over again, but apparently, that wasn’t the case! She’d sided with Bill! Why?!

And the rift…how long has it been there? Were there others? Did Bill make them? What was Dipper supposed to do?!

He needed to tell Grunkle Ford. Dipper stuffed his hands in his pockets and hurried to the exit. His left hand closed around a scrap of paper, and he pulled it out without thinking. 

16 degrees C to 18 degrees C, no higher than 24 degrees C.

Bill’s stupid riddle. Dipper crumpled it into a ball and launched it at the nearest trashcan, only to miss. The ball bounced off the lid and fell in front of a large, red-haired man exiting a nearby store. He looked down at it, and after a moment picked it up.

Dipper hurried over. “Sorry, man.”

The man looked down at the note. “You got a terrarium?” he asked.

Dipper froze, hand hovering inches away from the note. “What?”

“Oh! You’re a fish kind of guy, huh?” The man handed him back the note. “That’s tropical water temperatures, dude, gotta be expensive.”

He pointed his thumb at the store behind him which Dipper realized it was a pet shop. The guy had a small bag full of water in his hand. In the bag was a tiny silverfish. 

“Oh, that’s not-” Dipper looked back down at the note. A realization started forming in the forefront of his brain. Degrees C wasn’t a code or a riddle. It was literal.

Bill had given him this riddle knowing he was going to overthink it. Dipper had two sudden, contradicting urges to either hug this man or go back and strangle Bill. 

“Oh man, oh man, you have no idea what you just…” Dipper settled on shaking the man’s hand for an uncomfortable amount of time.

Then he bolted for the pet store. 

—

Stanley’s stomach did not agree with his milkshake. He bolted for the bathroom and Ford was left staring out into space, having nothing else to do. Soos had been gone for a while, and the girls had disappeared. He hated boredom, a sure sign of his mind being idle and unoccupied, wasting time on the mundane, and yet he was too tired to move from his seat. Ford watched the milkshake slowly liquefy in his cup and wondered idly if he could invent unmeltable milkshakes. Now that would be…commercial drivel. He must truly be sleep-deprived. 

It took him almost a minute to realize the two people coming out of a nearby store were his niece and his worst enemy.

It took him twice as little time to cross the food court. 

“What are you doing here with Mabel?” he demanded.

“Woah there!” Bill took a step back. “Ever heard of personal space, Fordsy? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were eager to see me.”

Ford sputtered. His brain was so fried, he froze on coming up with a good comeback. 

“What are you doing here, Grunkle Ford?” Mabel asked.

“I was- Stanley- They-” Ford left embarrassment to creep through the haze his thoughts were covered with. This was not how he planned this confrontation to go. “Bowling.” He said lamely.

Bill was grinning smugly. He wished Mabel wasn’t here, just so he could punch the demon in the face. 

“I love bowling!” said Mabel. “Wait, no, gotta focus. Grunkle Ford, there’s something you should-”

“Yikes,” said Bill, looking Ford up and down. “You look like hell, Sixer, and I mean that from the bottom of my nonexistent heart. A smidge of bad news and you’d explode where you stand!”

Ford forced himself to ignore him. “What is it, Mabel?”

“Uh,” said Mabel. “Nothing! It can wait. Probably.” She put a concerned hand on Ford’s arm. “We were just…shopping! Super not important! Bill didn’t even make anyone cry today, nothing at all to worry about.” She grinned innocently. 

Ford sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You need to stop indulging him.”

“You’d know a thing or two about that, don’t you?” 

“Oh, be quiet!”

—

Dipper went through 6 terrariums and a dozen fish tanks and found several tanks with a water temperature within the range of the riddle. Most of them were tropical fish. Dipper tried to rearrange the names of the species, going so far as to compose several anagrams, but none of them made any sense. 

He came upon a tank in the corner of the store and stopped. Inside the tank was not a fish, but a large pink amphibian, about the size of Dipper’s forearm. It floated at the bottom of the tank and looked like a frilled, smooth-skinned salamander. Its little eyes met Dipper’s own. For a moment, it almost looked like it was smiling at him.

Dipper checked the thermometer on the inside of the tank. 17.5 degrees Celsius. 

“Interested in our axolotl?”

A woman in a nametag came up behind him. Dipper almost didn’t notice her, too busy staring at the creature depicted in countless tapestries and paintings in the oracle’s shrine. The that had a god-like significance to so many of the aliens they’d met. A creature they knew nothing about, but that felt so familiar. ”Um, could you tell me if this is accurate?” He held up the crumpled piece of paper.

The woman took a moment to read it. “It is! Looks like you’ve done your research. That’s so this little guy stays in a safe environment, temperatures too cold or too warm mess with his metabolism, which can be fatal. You wanna keep the temperature in that range, and not go over 75 Fahrenheit, or 24 Celsius if you wanna be scientific about it. We have two more of these guys if you want to take a look at them. Oh, but it looks like our little William likes you!”

Dipper looked back down at the note, then the axolotl. He noticed the tag attached to the bottom of the tank with a name scrawled in permanent marker: “William”. 

I’m definitely strangling Bill next time I see him.

The axolotl let out a few air bubbles, almost like it was laughing. 

—

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” said Melody.

“Yes, well, I don’t think your stalker is going away anytime soon,” said Nora. “Luckily, there’s plenty of ways to scare him off. I plan to use only the mildly painful one.”

This was turning into a disaster quicker than Melody expected. She had the sense that Nora was more powerful than she looked, but that did little to reassure her. “Look, not that I’m not super grateful you’re willing to stand up for me even though you barely know me-”

“I know more than you think.”

“...That’s kind of creepy?”

Nora shrugged, unbothered.

“Okay, but listen, you clearly don’t know about this, so trust me, it’s better if you just leave it alone- What are you doing?”

Nora stopped and bent over, sticking her head in a plastic topiary bush. “Found you,” she sang.

And Melody watched as this tiny woman dragged a grown man out of the bush.

—

The human man didn’t look like much by Nora’s standards. He had pale skin, shifty eyes, a mane of shaggy, barely-kempt hair, an oversized trench coat, and a nervous demeanor. He held an old leather suitcase close to his chest, having clung to it even as he realized he had been discovered. 

“Hi~,” said Nora. “Having a nice day out? You must be.”

Behind her, Melody gasped. “Lukas?”

“Melody!” The man stood up, brushing invisible dirt off his coat. He puffed his chest out, and at his full height, he was not even a head taller than Nora. Still, her own lack of height in this new form irritated her. “I can explain.”

“This’ll be rich,” Nora muttered.

“What are you doing here?” Melody asked cautiously.

“I can explain,” Lukas said again. “I- I just needed to talk to you! But you were never alone, and I-I can’t just say what I need to say in front of…” He looked down on Nora with such disdain, that she was surprised by his audacity. “Some random hicks.”

“You have an intriguing taste in men,” Nora remarked. 

“You should leave,” said Melody.

“Wait! Please! Just listen, I met this guy, and he’s some kind of a relationship guru? And I know now, that if we just talked, we could-”

“I don’t want to talk to you.”

Something in the man’s demeanor changed - less pathetic and more angry. “You have to hear me out!”

“Actually,” said Nora, producing a small piece of chalk from her pocket. “She doesn’t.”

She drew a circle with the chalk in the air. The circle expanded before striking the ground as if pulled by a giant magnet, completely encircling the man. He let out a startled yelp as the air around him grew jagged, splitting off into dozens of golden fractals. 

“Now, where should I send you?” Antarctica should be great this time of year.”

“Um, Nora?” 

“Relax, it’ll be near a research station. He’ll have a whole sixty seconds before he freezes to death.”

The circle spun, growing smaller and smaller, the fractals along with it. A teleportation spell wasn’t terribly complicated, but it did make for a lovely show.

The circle grew small enough to touch the man’s toes - and promptly shattered. The fractals vanished.

Nora stared at the remains of a spell she’d cast a dozen times before. “What.”

“I should’ve told you,” Melody said quietly.

The man shuddered, looking straight at her. Then he chuckled nervously, pulling a pendant out of his shirt collar. It was covered in protective sigils. “That’s not gonna work,” he said. 

With that, he popped open his suitcase.

—

“Hey, hey! Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Being physically around you for more than five minutes at a time is giving me a headache.” 

“Oh, you’re such a drama queen!”

“Stop following me!”

Ford realized that at this point, half of the mall was staring at the two of them yelling at each other. He was too tired to care. Seeing Bill now had only made Ford agitated and angry. He didn’t know whether to get away from Bill as fast as possible or turn around and throw him off the escalator. 

Mabel ran to catch up with them, trying to reassure some of the gawkers. He didn’t want to make a scene in front of her, but Bill…Bill!

“After all of what happened you have the audacity to barge into our lives again-”

“How many times have I gotta tell you that I DID NOT ASK FOR THIS! You’re the one who put me on house arrest, Fordsy!”

“Why couldn’t you just stay dead?” Ford moaned. 

Bill scoffed, as if genuinely offended by the remark. “Stop acting like you’re so miserable about it, we both know-”

That’s when a bolt of cartoonish lighting struck the ceiling above their heads. 

Sparks erupted from the fluorescent lighting before half of the panels burst from the power surge. People around them shrieked and ran for cover. Ford turned to see a disheveled-looking Melody sprinting towards them.

“Melody! Are you alright?” Ford asked when she came to a stop. Mabel put a reassuring hand on her arm.

“So, uh…” said Melody, looking at Mabel. “You know how I said I dated a magician once?”

That’s when, from around the corner came a literal tornado. It shot more cartoonish lightning bolts, shattering a nearby storefront and making Ford’s hair rise from his scalp from all the static electricity. “Is that-?”

“Yeah.” 

“And you-?”

“Yeah.”

“Girl,” said Mabel. “That’s messed up.”

Melody put her face in her hands. Ford felt a pang of sympathy. 

Nora appeared on Ford’s other side, seemingly out of nowhere. Her hair seemed the worst off, strands of it sticking out in all directions. She seemed genuinely angry, which Ford had rarely seen. “Okay,” she said, “I was a bit too lenient. When this is over, I’m sending him to Mars.”

“Looking good, Seven Eyes,” said Bill.

“Bite me.”

They heard cackling from inside the tornado. Ford realized a person was floating in its epicenter, perfectly safe and balanced in the air despite the rippling winds. It was a man of average, disheveled appearance, in a long trench coat that floated around his body rather theatrically. He held a suitcase in one hand. The other he used to gesture dramatically. 

“Listen closely, mortals!” the man bellowed. He must’ve cast a spell to amplify his voice because it sounded like it was coming out of a bass-boosted speaker. “I am the great wizard Excelsior! My magic power is great and vast. Many fear me, many more ask ‘How does that magic trick really work?’”

“You sure know how to pick ‘em, kid,” said Bill. Melody did not look up, looking like she wanted to be part of the magic trick that vanishes her from Earth. 

“I have come to reclaim my lady,” he said, gesturing at melody to a nonexistent audience. “And I will not stand some mediocre wanna-be magician getting in my way!” he pointed an accusatory finger at Nora.

“The Sun,” Nora said calmly. “I’m sending him into the Sun.”

“Melody doesn’t want you!” Mabel yelled into the tornado. It was remarkable how such a small girl could muster that much oxygen. “She’s got someone else! Someone that’s way nicer than you!”

The tornado vanished. The Great Wizard Excelsior (simply thinking of the name caused Ford psychic damage) floated to the ground, his coat fluttering around him. Gone was the confidence as he hunched in on himself, reeling as if from a blow. “You found someone else?”

“Yeah, and they’re happy together, you big jerk! So beat it!”

Excelsior stared into the middle distance for a moment. “I didn’t want to use this, you know,” he said, ominous.

He popped open his suitcase and pulled out a strange, heart-shaped contraption. It resembled a locket with a chain attached to the edge on top, and yet it was as big as Ford’s fist.

Nora and Bill gasped. 

“Where did you get that?”

“You’ve gotta be kidding-”

The wizard opened the locket. Inside was a 

White.

Blinding.

Light.

---

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[elexuscal]

Hi, elexuscal! Just stop to say that you're post about Do and Don't of how writing amnesia are great! Quite interesting! Just a question, do you think that McGucket from Gravity Falls also falls in the category of well-writing amnesia and amnesiac characters?

Hey! Glad you enjoyed the post! I definitely love rambling about amnesia, so I’m glad other people like reading those rambles XD

But okay! McGucket from Gravity Falls!

Do I think it’s a good amnesia storyline? Short answer: Yes!

So, first off, The Society of the Blind Eye episode is different than what most people imagine from an amnesia episode. None of the main characters actually forget anything, and the memory loss stuff is mostly used as a mystery and a “McGuffin” to drive them forward.

At the time, a lot of people made direct parallels between the McGucket reveal and the Ice King one in Holly Jolly Secrets. They’re both quirky, weird old dudes who are revealed through old video diaries to once have been very intelligent and competent people. 

But the real tragedy of McGucket’s story is... he did it to himself!

A common recurring concept in the ‘eldritch horror’ genre, which Gravity Falls pulls a lot from, is the idea of ‘knowledge man was not meant to know’. Something so alien or horror, learning it breaks a person.

And it broke McGucket. 

Well, maybe not. Maybe he could have come to terms with what he discovered. But McGucket didn’t give himself a chance. He wiped his mind of what he knew.

And then he kept wiping his mind, over and over and over, until he became just a shadow of the person he used to be.

It’s creepy and scary and wonderfully tragic. And it fits very nicely into the overarching theme of the episode, and Gravity Falls overall: 

It’s always good to learn, even if  what you discovery is bad. And you can’t retreat into a fantasy world; you have to keep living and growing.