screaming and Yelling.
There was a thud and a scuffle of material as mabel shot upright and glanced around the room, her bedding rolling away from her torso. Geez, cold night.
She looked to the bed over on the other side of the room, and sighed, struggling from the folds of quilt and bedsheets.
Dipper was having a nightmare again, always violent and vivid. They both had them, all the time, less than they used to though. However the last five years had been a challenge. Nightmares at least once a week, seeing monsters in shadows, etc.
Mabel stumbled across the room in a bedraggled hurry, ignoring the chilled draught that raced up her shirt, rushing to where dipper was thrashing on the ground in a panicked, fear induced rage. Hed fallen out of bed.
"Dipper c'mon bro bro! Its okay! Its okay wake up!" she pulled at his shoulders, shaking him awake until with a strangled sob he bolted into a sitting position, eyes snapping open.
His breath was harsh and uneven, his eyes red and bagged, each bordered by a few tears.
He relaxed a little settling against mabels chest, leaning his head on her shoulder, shaking in damp sweaty clothes. After a minute of catching his breath, he spoke quietly. "Sorry mabel".
She said leaning her head on top of his "you apologise every time Dipp, you dont have to, you do this for me when I have nightmares"
"And you apologise all the time"
She paused for a moment. "which nightmare?"
He answered immediately, the words sounded rehearsed "Bill and gruncle stan"
She tightened her grip on him. It was the worst one. Last time hed had that dream hed cut his hand on a broken picture frame.
She looked at the alarm clock on dippers table, 3:52. Not a lot of night left.
"come on dip, into bed" she stood up, never releasing his hold on him. He followed Mabel to her feet and crawled on to the bed to the back wall, choosing to sit against it instead of lay down. They'd done this before. She picked up Dippers quilt and sat next to him, draping it over both of their shoulders.
She didnt wear the greatest of pyjamas but they shared a room. Dipper had seen much worse than a cat t-shirt and pink underwear.
By the time the sun rolled up, they had fallen asleep, leant into eachother. Their parents found them that way.
/Chaos\\
"you guys all packed?" Dad called. Dipper called in confirmation, ever organised.
Mabel herself was also packed, albeit not quite as orderly. She was checking herself in the mirror, tidying her hair straightening her skirt admiring the latest mabel sweater. Black with a rainbow pine tree.
At eighteen and five feet four inches she'd grown a lot in the last five years. Her hair hadnt changed radically, aside from a single streak across her fringe which was an aggressive shade of hot pink.
Dress sense? she really hadnt changed, dipper was the one to radically change his style.
He'd taken to flannel shirts and skinny jeans, big boots and fun under shirts. his hair was long on top and short on the side, styled as wavy curtains around his eyes. He still had the hat that wendy gave him, and he still wore it. He was also six feet tall now. Ridiculous.
Today was blue flannel and grey jeans. The shirt he had on white with a three eyed yellow smiley face.
Mabel grinned as dipper flicked her on the forehead as he passed armfulls of suitcase, both hers and his. Oh one small thing. She'd gotten her braces out.
"Thanks dipp dipp!" she yelled out the door as he started down the stairs.
They were still close, twins were as twins were, Dipper was a lot quieter than he used to be but three times as intelligent, a genius in the making. Hed gotten good at the physical side of education as well. he was no Dwayne Johnson but he had definitely ridden himself of those noodle arms. Mabel was still as enthusiastic, she was just more tactical about it. She'd become more artistic directing her hyperactive tendencys to paper and various mediums of artists equipment.
There was a sudden rumble of heavy footsteps as Dipper ran back into their room, grabbing his glasses off of the bedside table. Yeah he'd also started wearing glasses, the hipster thick framed style.
"come onnn mabel. Curb your vanity and lets go, the bus is gonna be here in ten minutes you dork"
He waved with his left hand flashing a circular tattoo on his inner wrist. The cypher of runes they were going to use on bill all those years ago. He hadnt quite left the room before hed backed up to slide open the bottom drawer. He reached in and retreived an emerald green, hand made, leather bound journal, complete with silver corners and a matching silver pine tree. He called the book The Big Dipper One by Mason 'Dipper' Pines. Where else would he take it but the source of its inspiration? you may have heard of the place?
Mabel stopped to grab a back pack, prepacked with snacks and drinks, before rushing downstairs, her flat shoes tapping orderly.
She stopped, giving hugs to both Mom and Dad, before passing Dipper and Waddles through the garden gate. The trio walked to the bus stop, barely containing their excitement. It had been a whole five years since they had stayed that one summer.
The bus, rusted metal, and cracked blue and white paint, dirty windows. the doors creaked open, an old man with no hair stared down at them with a raised eyebrow, "All aboard for Gravity Falls" he said.
/Chaos\\
"Dipper its happening!" mabel squealed.
Dipper himself was still in disbelief, the little town of the weird and wonderful seemed too vivid and outright odd to belong in this reality. Yet they were on their way there, where Gruncles Stan and Ford were. The two were finally home from their own adventures.
Soos was of course currently In charge as Mister Mystery.
Wendy was twenty now, working at her dads saw mill.
Robbie? Pacifica? Candy and Grenda? They would all be different people, atleast a little.
"This is awesome, I cant beleive its been so long" Dipper grinned.
He adjusted the hat, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. It was warm too, which was always nice. Mabel gave him a soft punch in the arm, "wendys gonna be so much hotter" she grinned mischievously, earning her a sidelong glance from dipper.
"Probably" he brushed off. Hed learnt a little slowly, but hed learnt. One word answers and no dramatic reactions. Mabel lived and thrived on the reactions received while teasing him.
He quietly scratched his wrist as mabel seethed at her lost opportunity.
"Oh Dipper don't scratch, I dont think there are any tattooists in gravity falls"
He glanced, realising hed been itching the scabbed over tattoo, only a few weeks old.
The pine tree was highlighted in a leaf green, the shooting star, in hot pink. the cipher itself was done simply in thick black lines.
Hed already considered the possibility mabel was suggesting. He grinned thinking of the still boxed power pack in his bag, accompanying four bottles of ink and a brand new tattoo gun. The ink? two bottles of black, one for line, one for shading. one bottle of hot pink and one bottle of leaf green. The ink was expensive so hed chosen to prioritise.
Dad had bought it when hed expressed interest in tattooing, an exciting eighteenth birthday present. He found it fascinating and the pain therapeutic. And hey they looked nice. He doubted he would persue it as a career though, his intention presently was a fictional author, mystery or science fiction. Hed already published one book, a year in the works but only a month old.
It was a short story, a novel about a boy and his sister, aspiring paranormal detectives. The first of many he hoped, though he was still waiting on some feedback from the outside world. Mabel had been his illustrator of course, designing the characters physical appearance.
They had received a little recognition, not the crowds of admiring fans he'd envisioned but the occasional teenager with requests of autographs and photographs. it had gotten both of them atleast two or three phone numbers, non of which were persued. It wasnt quite summer romance season for mabel and dipper still wasnt well versed on talking to girls. On the topic of romance, mabel had also taken an interest on the other side of the gender ball game. Lucky her. She had more chance of scoring with girls than he did. His sister the ladys man.
The bus trip wasnt a short one and only at only an hour in, mabel was falling back to sleep. He couldnt blame her. theyd been up only an hour prior, and once again one had woken the other in the middle of the night. he draped an arm over her shoulders, as she muttered in her sleep. As long as she didnt drool then she was fine there.
Despite the nightmares, neither feared the rolling fields of What The Fuck Land. Gravity Falls attracted pines twins, and besides the place wasnt the source of the nightmares, just the stage they were played out on. The pros outweighed the cons.
More time passed, with Dipper deep in thought and Mabel muttering nonsense. With how early they left they should arrive at roughly twelve o clock. He glanced at his watch, then out the window. 11:49 and there it was. no obvious sign or notable land mark, just the water tower over the trees. Fundamentally it was the same as any other water tower, aside from that tilt.
The tower hadnt stood up straight since the skirmish with Rumble.
And there it was. Dippers favourite sign in the whole damn world.
WELCOME TO GRAVITY FALLS
He sure felt welcome. He took the time to shake mabel awake, fill her in before grabbing their bags in preparation. Unbeknownst to her, she was slowly edging closer to the edge of her seat. He hadnt seen her eyes sparkle like that in a while.
The bus stop. That humble little blue sign, rolling around the corner to be the first to greet them. Hello sign.
The bus hadnt quite slowed to a hault when mabel was racing down the gangway to the slowly opening doors, dipper was fresh on her heels, with no intention of being left behind.
"Thank You!" they both shouted over their shoulders. The bus driver shook his head with a small smile as the doors closed. he pulled away with a smile. He slowed to a stop when he realised that waddles was still on board.
/Chaos\\
Walking into town, they were surprised how little everything had changed. The two biggest changes were the sign and sleepy susans diner, which was twice the size. The sign was brand new, bold bright letters 'Come Visit The Mystery Shack!' All the letters were still on the sign.
They continued to walk, gazing around them in fondness, like a warm homesickness being sated.
"Dipper!? Mabel!?" a call came. They glanced over the road to where a tall girl with dark skin and died hair was waving to them. Her hair was shorter and the piercings were new, but other than that tambry hadnt really changed much.
They took a moment to catch up, finding little digits of information from her. The biggest being that the northwests had ditched, all but pacifica choosing to stay. They had left her the mansion and a trust fund, and pretty much disappeared. they said their goodbyes and continued to walk, encountering nobody familiar except for Tad Strange who waved cheerfully.
following the road to the edge of the forest, they of course found the shack, bordered by trees. It looked fantastic.
The letters were fixed to the roof, bordered by bright LED bulbs. The walls had a fresh lick of paint and the windows were gleaming. the car park was flat and clearly sectioned, lined with all the weird and wonderful plant life. The Twins looked at each other then half ran half skipped to the door, calling like children, shouting with joyful abandon.
Obviously the people in the house had heard them, the doors flew open and six people greeted them, Gruncle stan and ford stood tall, looking twenty years their youth. Stan had retained the stubble, though ford was clean shaven. both were dressed casually in slacks, ford in a button up and stan im a ducktective shirt. soos wasnt quite as wide as so many years ago, though still chubby. he wore the fez like a crown, and the same shirt under a blazer.
Grenda and Candy were taller, grenda was still very broad and masculine, Candy veerry tall and slender with the same glasses.
Wendy was there too, taller, bustier, just as freckly but a little longer in the face with sharper cheekbones. Like a rugged model. she was wearing his hat still.
They collided with their gruncles, hard hugs, and throaty laughs before moving on to everyone else. He reached wendy last and was surprised to find she wasnt as tall as she looked. She stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug.
"hey dip. you want your hat back? " she said in his ear. he laughed and hugged back.
AN: So it begins, my take on gravity falls. This is a darker take on the cartoon, but I planned to mature it with the characters. Non of the main characters are children anymore. This will be a mix of episode like oneshots, shared between two chapters, and a full mainstream plot throughout, containing blood, romance, potential lemons and loss of life. This is your warning, and if you stick around feel free to criticise constructively. Keyboard warriors can fuck a cactus.