ghostharasser | Open Post

[Stan appreciates it, he really does. But does that mean he believes it? Not a chance.

Still, he slings an arm around Dipper's shoulder in a side-hug. It means more than he can actually express with words.]

Yeah, well. Either way, it's still something we've gotta deal with. But at least you've got a good month before you really need to worry about anything. And in the meantime, you've got me. I don't know as much about the technical mumbo-jumbo, but I can still tell you what I know.

[And that's got to be worth something, right?]

[Well, if Stan has thirty years of experience with being a werewolf, then yeah, it’s definitely worth something. Dipper is honestly relieved that he’s not going to be dealing with this alone.]

Don’t worry, I’m compiling a list of questions as we speak.

[And like, he’s already on page two of his mental journal. One question does stick out to him first, though, because it’s important for another question he has, which he needs straightened out as soon as possible.]

How many werewolves does Gravity Falls have, exactly?

Uh. ...Two? As far as I know? Me and the mailman.

[The mailman is almost certainly a werewolf. They've never outright talked about it, but they have a certain understanding...or, at least Stan thought they did.]

There could be others, but I dunno. It's not like we hang out. The sensible werewolves hide on the full moon, y'know?

[So the only werewolves he knows are himself, and anyone who's being particularly obvious about it.]

[Dipper is thoughtful, taking that in. Stan can practically see the gears turning in is head.]

So, you definitely weren’t out last night, right?

[It sounds like the answer is yes, which means that it definitely narrows down the suspects of last night’s incident. He had a feeling it was the mailman, but its nice to get some kind of confirmation before he considers maybe throwing a brick through the guy’s window.]

Definitely not. I go down to the--

[He seems to realize mid-sentence that in the process of revealing one secret, he's about to inadvertently reveal another. He tries to backpedal, but the damage is done.]

--I've got a place I go. Mabel can back me up; I was here at the Shack when she came looking for me.

[Dipper doesn’t even try to hide the way he raises his eyebrow at that blatant backpedal.]

Right, so then that narrows down who attacked me.

[Because even if they only know of one other person in town, it doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more. However, Dipper is certain he has some damning evidence. His voice drops some, because the memory is still fresh and awful.]

I got a pretty good look at the other wolf, thanks to the scampfire. I’m ...about 80% sure it was red.

[That is damning evidence. Stan can feel his teeth sharpen and that gold appears in his eyes for just as a second as the thought of murdering the mailman and flinging him off a cliff with his teeth creeps into his mind. There's a low growl in the back of his throat.

He shakes his head though, and with a blink or two the gold is gone.]

Yeah, that's the mailman alright. I mean, I've never seen him as a wolf, but if he's anything like me he'll be red all over, 'cause of his hair.

[Because again, Stan does the right thing and hides himself like the monster he is instead of running free in the woods once a month biting people like the mailman apparently does!]

[That’s quite a reaction, though not at all surprising. Dipper’s honestly kind of pissed, too! Especially since Stan’s confirmed he’s probably right! But it does set off something in Dipper that catches him off guard. A flood of instincts that both feel alien and familiar. New, but unmistakably his.]

[He mirrors Stan’s growl with one of his own, though probably its much less threatening sounding, and his own eyes flash. He’s not growling at Stan so much as he’s agreeing, and responding to this instinct of this guy threatened their pack and needs to pay that is suddenly very apparent.]

[Unlike Stan, Dipper isn’t able to just shake it off, it takes him a moment to realize what he’s doing, and when he does, he startles with a yelp and clamps his hands over his mouth.]

...Whoa. Okay, that’s going to take some getting used to.

[Even Stan is a little startled, though not scared. It's just...well, he doesn't usually see it on anyone else, and it takes him by surprise to have his irrational wolf sentiments echoed by Dipper.

The reaction when it's over makes Stan laugh though, and he leans over to ruffle Dipper's hair reassuringly.]

Eh, you'll get there. I've had thirty years to perfect this routine!

[Thirty years, and no one to show him the ropes at all. Heck, he doesn't even have the satisfaction of knowing for sure who bit him.]

Sometimes you can sorta shake it out a little, but it takes practice. ...and a lot of undignified blinking like you're trying to get something out of your eyes.

[Ah, hair ruffles. This pleases the suddenly very awake inner wolf. His eyes haven’t faded yet, but he seems to be more relaxed at least.]

I’ll ...try to keep that in mind.

[He’s not exactly looking forward to having to navigate social situations with sudden wolf instincts when his social skills were already abysmal. Ugh, this was going to be such a pain. He doesn’t voice that, though. Instead something else catches his attention.]

[Dipper frowns, and then begins to sniff the air.]

...Wait. What is that.

[He’d sort of noticed it before, but was focused on other things, other scents but now he just caught a huge whiff of ...something pretty foul! It was dirty, a little sour, and sweaty? He leans over to Stan, sniffs him, leans back, wrinkling his nose, but then shakes his head.]

It’s not you. But what-

[There he goes, easing off the bed to continue looking for this smell. It’s somewhere in this room, he’s sure of it.]

[It takes Stan a second to realize what Dipper's doing, or rather what he's smelling that's gotten his attention all of a sudden. That smell is something that Stan's gotten used to, even with his overpowered sense of smell. It's been present in the background all summer long.

So when it finally clicks, Stan looks incredibly amused.]

Oh. Oh, this is rich. I wish I had popcorn!

[He is absolutely not going to give Dipper any hints. He's just watching the kid figure it out for himself, as it he's waiting for a punchline.]

Edited 2020-11-20 16:36 (UTC)

[Dipper gives Stan such a funny look at that, but he’s far too invested now to stop, so he keeps on his search. It’s bothering him now, so he needs to know. Also its a really bad smell? So, he should get rid of whatever it is or it’ll drive him nuts.]

[Stan will be rewarded by watching Dipper sniff all over the room before he figures out how to hone that sense and follow the trail, which finally leads him too...]

[His dirty laundry.]

[The noise he makes once he realizes this is the single most offended noise Stan has heard Dipper make, and seeing how Dipper makes offended noises at many things, this is pretty impressive.]

Are you serious, is that what that really smells like?!

[Hold on a second - Stan's too busy laughing to answer. After a few seconds, he wipes a tear from his eye and stifles the last of his chuckles.]

We've only been trying to tell you all summer! Well-- Mabel more than me, but still!

[What was Stan going to do, say "Actually your dirty laundry reeks twice as much for me, your Werewolf Grunkle Stan!"? It was never going to happen. Better to just pretend it was a normal amount of stinky.]

[Dipper feels like his entire reality came come crashing down around him. Not because of the life-changing werewolf problem, and not because he’s realized just how bad he’s smelled this whole time, but because he has senses now that won’t let him ignore it. He’s furious.]

[Dipper grabs his laundry basket, gives Stan the biggest stink-eye, and then heads right out the door with it. No, this gets fixed now.]

[His first act as a werewolf is to do his laundry. Incredible.]

[Stan doesn't follow right away, but once Dipper's out the door he gets up and listens down the stairs for Mabel's inevitable reaction to the laundry.

She absolutely does not disappoint, and Stan's in stitches again for the second time in the last two minutes. Dipper can probably hear him. Honestly, that isn't even the wolf powers - he's laughing hard enough that Mabel can hear him too.

Once he's got it out of his system he heads downstairs after Dipper. That's probably enough laughing for now, maybe. Kid's still got werewolf ropes to learn and all that.]

Edited 2020-11-22 06:39 (UTC)

[Yeah, yeah, yuck it up. He’s not even going to argue that he doesn’t deserve some of that, after this hideous discovery. Mabel’s reaction is exactly what he expected, and she hollers and hassles him all the way down to the utility room.]

[They actually have a decent conversation while they’re in there, though, free of Stan’s echoing laughter from above. Mabel helps him get the load started and then lets him borrow one of her sweaters after he discovers that his shirt is in just as bad of shape as the rest of his laundry.]

[She asks him about his injuries, and he shows her the healing scars. She yells at him about scaring her and they share a hug while Dipper apologizes.]

[They’ll eventually head out to the kitchen where Dipper’s stomach loudly informs possibly the entire town of Gravity Falls that he is starving.]

[Stan's actually already in the kitchen when they get there, rummaging through the fridge. They haven't had dinner yet, and also Dipper hasn't eaten in almost two days so...yeah, he should probably feed the kids.

He is also, thankfully, done laughing. Maybe he'll snicker a little later when Dipper goes to switch the laundry over, but he's good for now.]

Since you just got up, how's about breakfast for dinner?

[It's a good cheap way to feed Dipper a bunch of red meat, and Mabel's never going to say no to pancakes for dinner.]

[Mabel immediately starts cheering, because yes, obviously she is not going to say no to pancakes for dinner. Dipper lights up, similarly, though his cheering is a little more subdued. He’s understandably a little tired, and kind of dealing with a lot! Still, that doesn’t stop him from scampering into his chair with his twin as they start pounding on the table chanting.]

Pancakes for dinner! Pancakes for dinner! Pancakes for dinner!

[That’s at least incredibly normal. Dipper seems to be taking things at least moderately well. For now.

[For a half a second, everything feels normal. The kids harassing Stan, Stan being a questionable guardian feeding them breakfast for dinner - this could be any normal day, really.

And that's a good thing. It's a stark difference from the first few months Stan was a werewolf, and that's honestly the best he could do for Dipper. Plus it keeps things sort of ordinary for Mabel too.]

Yeah, yeah, hold your horses! Chanting isn't gonna get you your Stancakes faster.

[Not that he actually minds.

Soon enough, there's three platters on the table to serve from. He's made a large stack of pancakes, plus plenty of bacon and a big bowl of "scrambled meat". It's not the classiest breakfast out there, but it's also real hard to mess up breakfast food.]

[It’s not the classiest but its absolutely what both twins are ecstatic for. Mabel doesn’t waste any time grabbing for her pancakes and then absolutely drowning them in syrup.]

[Dipper lets her do that and instead goes for the bowl of scrambled meat. Having to sit there and wait for it to cook was frankly agonizing, and he was antsy practically the whole time while Mabel did various things to distract him. Getting used to his senses was going to be an adventure for sure.]

[It’s probably of no surprise that he dumps half the bowl of meat onto his plate and then immediately reaches for the bacon next. The pancakes are an afterthought, and when he realizes he doesn’t have space for them he decides maybe he’ll go for them later. Or just let Mabel have them all.]

[It’s a blissful quiet while both of them eat. Dipper can’t think of a single time in his life that he’s ever been so hungry, so he eats like he’s starved. Once he’s finished most of his plate he slows down and takes a breath or two, leaning back in his chair. He sits there in thoughtful silence for a moment before he looks over at Stan.]

I still have questions.

[Stan, being older and more used to the whole werewolf thing, is more composed around meat. He's had decades of practice forcing himself to have some amount of restraint. It smells fantastic, but his plate is more balanced with a little of everything. No amount of lycanthropy will get rid of his sweet tooth.

He can't say he's surprised that Dipper has more questions, but with an opening like that he has no idea which ones Dipper's going to ask. More about being a werewolf? About himself?

Either way, it's better to let the kid ask - it means he doesn't have to volunteer as much, and he's got no idea where he would even start.]

More questions, huh? Alright, hit me.

[It’s kind of weird that Stan isn’t trying to deflect, even if it’s ...well. It would be pretty shitty to be cagey about things like how to be a werewolf but he’s used to Stan being cagey about a lot of things. Like his tattoo.]

[He gives it some thought and passes a glance to Mabel. She had told him in the laundry room that she’d been filled in on basically everything, but he doesn’t know what that exactly means. Either way, he decides its best to have this conversation with her here, because if he trusts anyone with these kinds of secrets, its Mabel.]

...I’ve read a lot of books and seen a lot of movies. How much of it’s made up and how much is real? Am I allergic to silver now? Do I just have to worry about full moons? What do I need to know.

[Stan wiggles his hand.]

Eh, probably about fifty-fifty depending what you've seen. Silver burns, but that's pretty much only gonna be a problem if some weirdo actually shoots you with a silver bullet - half the things people say are silver aren't, so it's pretty good for figuring out if somebody's scamming you.

[Which is the only reason Stan's ever had to think about the whole silver thing, to be totally honest.]

For everything else, it waxes and wanes - pun intended. Y'know how the moon controls ocean tides? It's kinda like that, except it's your whole body. It takes some getting used to, but basically around the full moon you're gonna feel like absolute garbage. You can't possibly miss that the full moon is coming, 'cause you're gonna feel like death warmed over. But then by the time new moon rolls around you're gonna feel more like yourself. It kinda...tugs and pulls on you, I guess? Either way, you're not gonna be one of those werewolves that can just rip off their shirt and turn whenever they want. That's never been real.

[Mabel cries out in disappointment where she's sitting - "Is EVERYTHING I love a lie?!" Stan ignores her.]

Full moon's obviously the big one. You're gonna turn, and it's-- it ain't great. It hurts like hell and then you just sorta black out 'til the morning. You always gotta make sure you're somewhere safe where you can't get at anybody, cause there's no knowing what the wolf did or didn't do.

[Dipper laments that he did not bring one of his notebooks downstairs with him. He’ll just have to pay close attention and write it all down later.]

[He frowns in thought as Stan talks. Some of it is stuff he knows about, some of it really isn’t. The stuff about the moon phases making you feel terrible is new and sounds incredibly unpleasant, so he makes a note to keep an eye on that.]

[When he gets to the last part, the part that Dipper was the most nervous to learn about, the dread drops in his stomach and he feels a very uncomfortable chill under his skin. A painful transformation and a total blackout. Not unheard of, but basically the worst case scenario in most werewolf lore. Great.]

[He takes a deep breath for a moment, trying not to seem like that had rattled him before he speaks up. His voice waver only a little bit.]

So, there’s no control over it, then. Where ...um. Where do you usually go? If that’s the case.

...No, there isn't.

[The admission is heavy, and probably far from what Dipper wants to hear. There's no getting around it though - not anymore. Not now that he's been bit.

A quiet falls over the table, and Stan hesitates at the question. He's been thinking about it constantly since they found Dipper, since it became apparent what he would become. Still, he can't make the words at first. Where the hell does he even begin?]

Tell you what. Once you kids finish eating, I'll show you! Trust me, you're never gonna believe it if I just say it. Besides, you always like a good mystery, right?

[Stan winks!]

I can tell you my spot's pretty good though, especially if it had you two fooled.

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