ghostharasser | Open Post

[It's funny, Stan has had to explain this to so many people over the years, but rarely anyone who wanted real, detailed answers.]

We're...tourists. Castaways. We're not exactly from here, but we turn up here as babies and a lot of the time we get separated from each other and forget everything about our kind.

[Maybe the easiest way to do this is to drop his own glamour - it fades bit by bit, because it's tough to manage undoing all of that and not burning this kid's breakfast, but it does come undone. His horns are large and ram-like, curling in on the sides of his head, and his eyes have a gold shimmer to them. His hands are dark and clawed, and a thin tail with a tuft of fur at the end peeks out from the back of his pants - it will probably be the first glamour to go back on, once he gets sick of how that feels. When he opens his mouth to talk again, he'll reveal several sharp teeth.]

Humans call us changelings sometimes - y'know, old stories about us swapping out our kids for theirs because they couldn't deal with the fact that the kid they adopted is a little weird. Stuff like that.

[Not from here. So ...did that mean- like. Aliens? Were they aliens?]

[It's honestly less shocking than he expected? Like okay, yeah, its a big deal to be told something like this, but it doesn't feel wrong. Dipper's always known something weird was going on he's just never seen what it's supposed to look like on another like him. The little horns he knows he has hidden in his hair, and the way his eyes sometime shine weird at night- things that have gotten him picked on or screamed at in the past, they've always been a part of him.]

...Is there a way to go home? Is- how many others are there out there? I only met Mabel a month ago but now there's you and I keep getting the same weird feeling from you that I did her like we're ...family? Is that just because we're the same kind or ...

[Huh. This kid isn't as surprised as Stan would have guessed? He reminds him of Ford a little bit, always learning hard into questions to make things make sense.]

Eesh, one at a time! How are you this full of questions on an empty stomach?

[Stan turns the heat off the stove and the frying pan lifts itself up and hovers, tilting to dump the scrambled eggs and meat on a plate. He takes it by hand after that and sets it in front of the boy, and then grabs a seat himself. He sits sideways in the chair to make more room for his tail.]

Anyway, not in order but...there's a lot of us! More than you'd guess. Most sets of twins are, but even without counting them a ton of people come here as babies and get separated for good.

[They just never learn the truth - they go their whole lives feeling like something is missing, like they don't quite belong in this world.]

I've met a lot of 'em, but it doesn't usually feel like this. I don't have any kids or anything, so you've gotta be some other kind of close-ish relative. Maybe a nephew? A nephew and niece?

[That feels right in a way that hums through his whole being, so that's good enough for now.]

And...yeah, I can get you home. It's, uh. Gonna be a while? I guess that works if we gotta find your sister though.

Please, if I'm ever not asking questions, just assume I'm dead.

[He knows this of himself because he knows he's been "returned" more than once for being an insatiable busybody. It, like the weird changeling thing, is also just a part of him the can't help nor does he want to.]

...An Uncle. [Yeah, that seems about right. That does confirm that Stan felt that same feeling too, so. It must be right, like with him and Mabel. Weird but, eh. It's par for the course these days. Weird powers and weird feelings and things that feel wrong or right based on vibes-]

...Really? Just like that? [It seems absurd. To feel like he's never belonged anywhere and to find out there IS a place that he should supposedly belong to and to just have it dropped in front of him just like that. Even if it sounds like he might have to wait a bit. Still, that. He isn't sure what to do with that. It feels too good to be true.]

[Unfortunately it sort of is too good to be true, but probably not for the usual reasons.]

Well...just like that and about nine years, give or take? I just sent a group of Tourists off last night, so you and your sister just missed the bus.

[It's pretty tough luck. If they'd broken out even a day sooner they might have been home by now!]

But hey, if you can hang around that long I can get you two there no problem!

Edited 2024-11-30 06:10 (UTC)

Nine years!?

[Welp, there it goes. The catch. Dipper leans back in his chair and- right food. He should....eat something...]

[He takes a few bites to try and process that. Nine years...He and Mabel missed the boat by a night, and if he hadn't gotten them caught, maybe they would have been fine! Maybe they would be home right now and all of this behind them.]

[Sigh. It really was his fault, huh? Getting distracted by that...]

...

[He sets his fork down.]

Was that crazy red light in the sky last night you?!

[At first Stan can't help feeling bad for the poor kid. Even if this would be a safe place for them to stay, that's still nine years to wait to go home. He and his sister would have to grow up here, instead of getting the chance to find the rest of their family even sooner. No matter how much Stan would like the company, that's still rough.

But then he brings up the red light and Stan lets out a surprised laugh.]

The one that went alllllll the way up to the stars? Yeah! That was me! I'm surprised you kids could even see it that good from the woods, especially with the rain.

[Half the town is going to assume it was weird lightning and then just go about their day like nothing unusual happened.]

Are you kidding? It was huge! It basically light up the whole woods! I-

[....sigh.]

I ...I got really distracted by it while we were trying to get through the forest. That's how I slipped. We were ...we were so close.

[And now they would have to wait. But ...still, it's something right? They have a goal? They have a destination to get to. That's better than running away and hoping for the best. And also ...he guesses he's found his uncle! So they might have somewhere to stay in the meantime! Maybe! He's not going to just assume but ...it could be an option.]

[Are there laws about breaking adoptions when real family gets found?? Is there some way to annul the adoption?]

[Stan's face falls a little, sympathetic.]

Heh. Oops? I'm guessing it won't make you feel any better to know that there's no way you would've made it from the Northwest's in time anyway. We can only open the portal up for a little while, 'cause the stars don't stay aligned all that long. By the time I gave you kids the rundown, the window would've closed.

[So pretty much no matter what, they would have gotten stuck for a while.]

But hey - the actual bright side is you're not gonna have to live with those rich jerks anymore. At least if you gotta wait nine years, you can do it with family?

[Stan has never cared about a law once in his life ever. If humans are gonna act like they're changelings, then fine! He'll steal a couple of orphans and Preston Northwest can die mad about it!]

[Well...it kind of makes him feel better? It feels a little less like maybe it was his fault, though of course if he had decided to act sooner, maybe they could have left the day before, maybe they would have made it in time after all-]

[He tries to banish those thoughts since he knows he'll get worked up in an anxious fit otherwise. He already feels terrible that he doesn't know where Mabel is and he's sitting here eating breakfast.]

[He chews on his scrambled eggsandmeat thoughtfully, before looking up, kind of with surprise.]

Wait- [Dipper wasn't about to assume Stan would just let him stay. He wasn't super sure how to feel about it to begin with. He literally just met this guy! Even though they're family- did he know what kind of person Stan was?]

[Nervously he taps his fingers on the table, gears turning, turning.] You'd really just take us in? [Because they were going to be a packaged deal, no matter what.]

[Stan shrugs, like it's nothing to just take in a couple of preteens.]

Sure, why not? You're family. Unless there's somewhere else you two wanna be?

[He's not going to force them to stay, but if they're really leaving Northwest Manor then they probably don't have anywhere else to go back to. Getting chucked back into foster care is probably the last thing they want.

There was never any question of whether or not it would be both of them. They're a package deal. You don't separate halves once they find each other.]

[It's almost suspicious how readily he agreed, that paranoid little voice tells him. No one would actually care that much, right? Even if they're family? What does he know about that? But Mabel cared. Mabel was family and she cared, so maybe Stan also...?]

[What if this is a bad idea? What if this is some kind of trap?]

[But what if it isn't? What if this is actually some safe place they can live until they figure out what they want to do? What if Stan really can get them home?]

Okay.

[But he sounds like the decision is actually really hard for him and he's got a lot going on in his head. Like he's deciding how to defuse a bomb.]

Okay, but listen. I've run away from plenty of places that were terrible, and I won't be afraid to do it again, if it turns out you're someone like Northwest, family or not. Okay?

Pfft. Who hasn't?

[He takes a swig of his coffee, like that's a normal ass thing to just say to someone - especially a child.]

Anyway, it's not like I'd be able to stop you. I'm not gonna make you stay here, but there's a lot of perks. [He sets his mug down and counts off on his fingers.] No one trying to ship you back to foster care, you'd get to actually know about who you are, I make some pretty okay scrambled meat...

[He's kidding about that last one, but he's clearly trying to put the kid at ease.]

Plus you wouldn't have to come looking for me again in nine years! You and Mabel would already be where you need to be.

[These are all facts that are true. He takes another bite of scrambled meat. Stan is appealing to the part of him that likes to have the facts all laid out, he can't argue that.]

[After some incredibly thoughtful consideration, where Dipper looks like he is thinking it over like someone might be thinking over a legal contract, he nods.]

Okay. I'll stay. Mabel gets to weigh in on this when we find her, of course, but I'll stay at least until then.

[Another beat, and then-]

Dipper.

[Makes enough sense - Stan said he's not going to make them stay if they don't want to, and that goes for Mabel too.]

Sounds like we got a deal.

[Since Dipper's been so methodical about this, trying to find every loophole like he's reading a contract, Stan holds out a hand so they can shake on it.

If Dipper takes him up on it, light will shimmer out in the gaps between their hands, deep red and blue mixing into a purple. It seems to even surprise Stan a little, though he doesn't say as much. It can just be felt in the air, stronger with their connection. The light isn't a bad surprise, it's just...never happened with someone other than his own twin, that's all.]

...Uh. Welcome to the family?

[Unexpected, but Dipper strangely appreciates it. It feels like he has an actual choice for once rather than being at the whims of social services. Having any kind of control over his life has always been something he's only grasped when running away from whatever shitty situation he'd been put into. Of course they would catch him and right back to the system he would go.]

[Extending this little taste of agency meant a lot to him actually, so he shakes.]

Oh.

[Yeah, that's the same sort of light show that happens between him and Mabel, too. That sort of seals the deal, huh? What a surreal experience this has all been. He kind of looks around for a moment.]

...Thanks. Man, I really hope I didn't just die in that ravine and this is all some crazy deathbed hallucination.

Yeah, well. If you're dead, then I'm losing it too.

[Stan spreads his arms wide, like he's pitching a headline for a newspaper.]

"Old Man Spends So Long in Old Cabin He Starts Hallucinating New Family Members!"

[He laughs at his own dumb dark joke. He's fine, he hasn't been alone here too long for their kind at all and Dipper shouldn't be reconsidering his choices!]

Well, if I'm dead and you're crazy, then clearly I'm just a ghost haunting you so I guess you're stuck with me.

[Haha, this is funny to both of them. This is totally a normal thing to joke about and not at all concerning about the state of both of their lives.]

[Oh right, food. Dipper is ravenous actually so he finally starts actually eating. He was so wound up earlier he could barely pick at it but now that things seem Settled, it's easier to eat. He can let down that hyper-vigilance for a bit.]

Man, say whatever you want about your cooking it's still a thousand times better than that awful rich people food at the Northwests. They actually put caviar one everything? It was so gross. I just wanted some freaking pancakes, and they looked at me like I was crazy.

[They're both very obviously normal here! Stan shudders at caviar everything though, because obviously that's the least normal thing about this conversation.]

Ugh. But hey, you want pancakes? I can make pancakes too! I cook a pretty okay caviar-free breakfast, if I do say so myself.

[Even if Dipper declines, Stan will lean back in his chair and wave a hand to start pulling stuff for pancakes out of the cupboards. It's kind of fun to show off for someone he can actually show off to.]

I could go for some pancakes, but I probably should get back to looking for Mabel.

[Even as he says that he yawns. It could be that. He has been awake for a long time and what sleep he did get was on the floor of the fae woods in the pouring rain.]

If there's any tracks or anything, they might not stick around much longer with this weather, you know?

[Stan raises an eyebrow.]

Tracks? You're already the best track we've got. All we gotta do is hike back up toward the Northwest's manor and if she's around on the way, you'll know. You'd be surprised how much range we have.

[He taps his temple and winks, hoping Dipper gets the picture. If she's within a fairly large radius, Dipper will feel it.]

Plus, you sound exhausted. I know you're worried sick, but it's gonna be harder to find her if you're tired. And who knows? Maybe if you nap a couple hours she'll find her own way here. It's not like there's a ton of shacks out in the middle of the woods around here.

[Honestly, he could use a nap himself now that he's not opening shop - he did sort of spend his night ferrying twins to outer space after hiking them out to the middle of nowhere.]

Yeah, but there's a chance she isn't there, right? Maybe she got away and she's somewhere else. Maybe she's hurt? Or stuck? Or-

[Dipper tries to punctuate this by getting up. Like he might try and leave right then and there but- hey, guess who is having the entire past 24 hours catch up to them!! This guy!]

[Dipper stumbles as his vision suddenly swims and he just straight up hits the ground like a bag of rocks.]

I'm okay...!

[He is not. he is laying on the floor.]

[Stan just sort of lets Dipper ramble and watches this happen, at least until Dipper hits the floor.]

...Yeah, I'm not buying it.

[Especially since Dipper isn't, you know, getting up. Stan sighs and rises, so he can scoop Dipper up like a child-sized sack of potatoes. ]

Look, I can't make you nap, but I am gonna put you down somewhere until you don't fall on your face when you try to get up, alright?

[Said with all the concern of someone who really, strongly thinks the kid should nap. It takes a minute of thought, but he decides on Ford's dusty old room for now. He hasn't sealed it off, but it's been untouched for a really long time. More importantly, there's a couch in there. Stan lays him down and grabs a pillow and blanket so it feels a little more like a bed.

When he goes to leave, he hesitates at the door. First instinct is to shut it to give the kid privacy, but after the conversation they had...Stan leaves it cracked open. So Dipper knows, without a doubt, that he's not being locked in.]

[It's a very kind gesture that will mean a lot to Dipper when he wakes back up. The truth is, by the time Stan has him scooped up, he's already asleep. He simply wasn't going to be able to keep going like this anyway. He only stirs a little bit as he's being settled down, but a funny thing happens once Stan has him tucked in all nice and safe.]

[That blue glow of his returns, soft like a sky just moments before the onset of dawn. His skin lights up with stars, like a tiny living planetarium, and when it finally fades, Dipper will be laying there with his entire glamour gone for the very first time. His little ears twitch as he curls up tighter under the blankets and sleeps fully, for the first time in a long time.]

[Dipper dreams, though. It's a weird, fuzzy sort of dream. He's had these before, where he thinks he's being told something, but whatever the signal is, it's just too far away. Knowing that he shares a psychic connection with his family, does mean that Dipper tries to reach out, and he thinks maybe he gets close. But whatever was trying to reach him (Mabel?? Mabel are you there? Mabel!), it's just too far away and he falls short.]

[He sleeps probably more than just a few hours. It'll be late afternoon before Stan hears Dipper shriek, signalling that he's finally noticed his lack of glamour.]

[Stan takes his own nap in his armchair, but honestly he half expected Dipper to wake him up in the middle of it. But no, he wakes up naturally on his own to a quiet house. At first he sleepily wonders if the kid took off after all, but he finds that if he really pays attention he can feel Dipper's presence. He's still in Ford's old room, still asleep.

He used to be able to feel Ford that way. It's...not a bad feeling, but it definitely stirs up mixed emotions in him.

Dipper collapsed on the floor though, so Stan's sure as hell not going to wake him up. He decides to fuss about in the gift shop while it's closed, restocking some celestial snow globes and personal-sized telescopes. Maybe he should've opened today after all. He could've made some kind of profit--

Then there's a child's shriek from back in the house, immediately proving him right. Stan comes running like the house is on fire and it isn't long before he throws open the door.]

Dipper? What's--

[Stan has had decades to adjust to what he looks like without glamour on, so it doesn't...immediately click what's wrong. Dipper seems to be having some kind of crisis, but this can't be that new for him, right?]

--Uh. You alright in here?

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