#bdrpclosed

Everything had been a dream.

That very thought left Star feeling more hopeless than she had previously been. This alternate reality, or whatever you wanted to call it, was her shining hope that maybe she wasn’t a failure after all. Though her fears with how her mother views her was amplified. That was a reality she wanted to keep far away from her heart. Everything in that so-called dream had brought everything to the forefront of her mind. Her heart aching with the memory of seeing herself in the mirror and again at hearing her pretend mother’s word. But that wasn’t what hurt the most. 

In that dream she was a Champion. She was special. She was something. Now what was she? Yes, she had Mewni and her best friend and Tom. But did she really? Star had willingly given Mewni up and she hadn’t spoken to anyone other than Tom in the months since she had been there. Hell, even then it was going on day sixty-seven of not hearing from Tom. Even though she had left him at least seventeen messages. It had become increasingly clear that he didn’t want anything to do with Star anymore and the realization of that hurt almost more.

Star decided that since the whole town had the same dream and was recovering from it that she would head to her favorite place. The nearby park. So, she laid with her back pressed to the damp grass. Her long, blonde hair fanned out around her like a halo. Blue eyes watching the clouds as they passed over her. Star thought about everything that had happened in that dream. How she had nearly died. How she had faced not only her heart’s desire but her worst fear. But most importantly... How she had made a friend.

She closed her eyes against the light of the sky. Her mind racing back to how it had felt to have a friend. Mike had been there for her through it all. And she had been just the same. He had seen her cry more times than she cared to admit. But now it was all lost. All gone. Left to that of a distant memory that replayed in her mind like a broken record. Until she decided to look for proof. Star shot bolt upright. Her legs carrying her to the nearest phone book. Who even used these anymore? Until she found his name listed. Mike Wazowski. There he was.

Furiously, she flipped open her phone and began to dial the number in the book. Holding it to her ear and waiting impatiently as it rang. Once. Twice. Three times. There was an answer and Star’s eyes slamming shut as she struggled to keep her emotions--her hope--in check. There was still a chance that he didn’t want to be her friend anymore and all she would be left with was the distant memory of a dream that had given her more than she had in the waking world.

“Is--Is this Mike?” she said, trying so desperately for her voice not to betray her, “This is Star.”

“Fuck, come on,” Pain complained, tossing the distorted paperclips to the ground and pinching the bridge of his nose. He banged his fist against it in frustration. He should have known the one time he went away and lost his keys would be the time Panic hasn’t been home in hours, and can’t be reached by phone. 

He picked up the paper clips and started jostling the lock again. One notch clicked into place, then another, but then nothing. Maybe he’s losing his touch. He used to be very good at picking locks. Certainly he could turn into an ant or something and crawl through the keyhole, but it was too much of a risk what with Peter being so active recently. So he’s on his knees in front of his brother’s apartment trying to get in the old fashioned way.

He pulled out his phone, holding it between his ear and shoulder while he continued to work, “come on, come on, come on,” Please leave your name and number after the-- “Pick up! Man, answer your phone, I don’t know if you’re pissed I left or something, but I can’t get in, I’m bursting for a pee, come on, have mercy.” He hung up, tossing his phone, stubbornly continuing to fiddle with the lock. 

People watching had become somewhat of a favorite pass time for the little blonde. Her sky blues watching as all the inhabitants that passed by the little coffee shop she sat herself outside of. Person after person, her sky blue eyes watched them unbeknownst to them. For some that she had seen, it was sort of a routine for them to come to this little cafe. For others it was just a pit stop. What was it for Star? She thought it was somewhat like a routine. She did come there every day. Sitting in the exact same table outside with the same order of nachos from somewhere else and a tall mocha mint frappe. 

In some ways, Star saw similarities in the people here and the people back in Mewni. They had their ways and their routines. She supposed everyone did no matter where you were from. Just as she finished her last nacho, the blonde noticed a woman with an enormous pile of books on her table. Though it was only a few, it was enough for Star to consider it a pile. Given that she wasn’t much of a reader. Unless you counted the comics that her friends back home tried to get her to read. Curious, she tilted her head and watched her as she gathered her things to leave.

That was until one of the books fell and curiosity got the better of the other dimensional woman. As it often did. She leaned down, picking the book up and setting it back on the table. Her brow furrowed in confusion. Star didn’t understand why someone would have this many books at one given time.

“I’m family, Peter Goldthwait, Percy’s my brother,” he said, thrusting his ID into the hand of the tired nurse at the front desk. “Can you tell me which room he is in, please?” His words were polite but his tone was not, making the woman roll her eyes at him. He took the clipboard from her, and signed himself in as Percy’s guest. She typed at her computer, and directed him to the right room. Pain didn’t even thank her before heading down the hall. 

When he arrived at the door he didn’t knock, just let himself in. He couldn’t really prepare himself for what was on the other side of the door. Presumably he could use his thumbs if he could text, so that was a plus. He took in the state of his brother and swallowed hard. He was pretty beat up. Pain felt guilt twist his insides. He dragged Panic all the way out to Swynlake and didn’t have the decency to stick around most of the time and now Panic’s hurt and he feels awful. 

“You look like hell,” he said, in lieu of an apology, going over to sit down in the armchair by the bed. “What happened to you?”

@chester-glass

In Mitte’s experience, almost everyone responded positively to sparkling rose and face masks. Especially when it was gifted to them. Not that it was any skin off Mitte’s back to get them, especially with an empty backpack in a store with such lax security as that in Swynlake. It was almost disappointingly easy, but Mitte’s excitement over her plans for the evening stopped her from being too bummed out over it. 

See, Chester had been pretty swell to her since her arrival in town. Sure he’d found her boring at the start, but that was all the lies, and eventually she’d found a kindred spirit in him. A con man, a thief, an all round sketchy guy. If he was straight she’d have so hit that by now. 

Plus he’d been letting her crash at his place, which was really great, especially with all the bad weather recently. He deserved a little thank you. So when Mitte burst into the apartment she called out in a sing song voice “sugar pie! I’ve got a present for yoouuu” without even waiting- since she knew he’d be unable to resist the lure of a gift- Mitte pulled out two glasses and cracked open the first of three rose bottles, pouring them each a generous amount.

“I have been so many people these past few days, I wanna just kick back with a lot of wine and be Mitte for a while, figured you’d be interested at least in the wine part of that” She grinned, clinking her glass against his before taking a sip.

The weather was decent today. Mabel had been in Swynlake for over a week now, but it was honestly felt like she had just arrived at the airport. This town was beautiful! The magic in the air was almost tangent, and if she knew more about it she would be having a blast here! Unfortunately, her brother was the brains of the operation, and it just wasn’t the same without him. Being alone.. well, she didn’t have anyone to pick on, and she honestly didn’t feel as safe as she did with her brother. Sure, he could be a butt and he was way too serious, but she had to admit he had saved her life on a few occasions. 

Today however, since the weather was alright and she had woken up in a pretty positive mood, she decided she would go out to the forest alone. A girl she had met in some clothing store when she had first arrived had said something to her about not worrying about boys. And it really resonated with her. Right now, she didn’t want to think about boys. Including her brother. She loved her brother but she wanted to prove that she could go on an adventure without him. She was going to be independent and strong. She would redefine herself in Swynlake. 

Her style, of course, was still the same. Since she was going to be in a forest, she wore a nice pair of jeans instead of her usual skirts. She wore a baby pink knitted turtlekneck sweater with thumbholes and a matching hat. Her makeup was lighter than usual- in case she had to run from a monster or she fell in a lake or something silly like that. She had sensible sneakers and white socks with little pink bows at the top. She filled a backpack with supplies: Extra mascara, a grappling hook, some snacks and water, a brush, a mirror, a flashlight and her extra phone battery. She also took a small notepad and pen in case she made any discoveries in the woods.

What was she expecting to find? She had heard about faeries in Swynlake. She never saw those in Gravity Falls, and she honestly had no idea what to expect. If Dipper were there he probably would have known everything about them, but what was wrong with making observations yourself? Mabel was going to go into the woods, and learn on her own today. And she wasn’t going to think about boys.

Walking through the woods, the path was easy enough to follow. She knew, however, that to be a great adventurer, scientist and discoverer of all things Magick, she would have to veer off the path. What type of mythical being spends its time loitering in the middle of a path in the woods? Surely they would want to hide. She took a step into the actual deep of the forest. She felt the branches prickle at her arm and get stuck in her sweater. This was bad. She pressed forward. Made sure she was going completely straight, so she wouldn’t get lost. It was dark and she was uncomfortable and she just actually wanted to get out. She thought she could do it but it was actually pretty scary. So she began to run. She kept going forward, looking for a clearing or a way out or something. Fortunately, the patch of trees wasn’t actually that deep, and she found herself in another section of path. There was sunlight, and it was actually kind of warm. It was... nice here. She sat down on the path and looked around.

And there was a body.

Of course. Of freaking course this would happen to her. All she wanted to do was find a faerie, and now she had a body to deal with. She got up quickly and took a look at the crime scene. 

The person didn’t look dead! Mabel let out a breath of air. That was a relief! And.... and the best part? (Or maybe the worst part?) It was a cute boy! A jolt of excitement ran through her! She would be his knight in shining armor! If she saved him, he would have to fall in love with her, right? She got out her phone and dialed the emergency number. She tried to give them an accurate location and they said there were medics on the way. Once she was off the phone, she carefully tugged at the hard red mass in his hair. There was blood everywhere. Luckily, she had water, and she carefully tried to wash at the wound. She hoped he wasn’t too cold. She hadn’t thought to bring an extra jacket. What if the water was too cold on his head? Would he freeze??

She began to talk to herself. It was what she did when she was in a panic.

“Come on Mabel, you can’t screw this up! His life is on the line!” She looked him over again. She felt his arm. Like she had suspected, he was cold. “Now what, Mabel?”

A thought flashed through her head. You could always share body heat? “No.”

Yes.

“No, no, no!”

...Yes, Mabel. Just do it.

So she laid down on top of him. She wasn’t sure if she should do that. Was she being selfish and creepy, or was she saving his life? His abs were rock hard, and she was using his left pec as a pillow. This boy was cute. More than cute. He was smoking hot. And she was going to save his life and that was that...

She must have fallen asleep on top of him. She didn’t know how long she had been out for, but suddenly there was a medic pushing her off of him. They were asking her questions.

Are you okay?

“Yeah, I wasn’t hurt.”

Did you see what happened to him?

“No, I was just going for a walk and I found him.”

Do you two know each other?

“Yeah. We’re actually cousins! How strange is that?”

How long has he been here?

“I have no idea. Like I said, I was just going for a walk and I found him.”

Why had she lied? Was it worth it? Mabel didn’t like lying, but it seemed like something she had to do at this point. If they knew she had never met the guy before, they would probably take her away and she wouldn’t get to see him again. She knew, of course, that lying was difficult, and led to more extreme crimes. Which was why she would have to steal his wallet. She couldn’t blow her cover, and she knew that someone was going to ask for a name soon enough. So she screamed.

“Did you guys see that?!? Maybe it was the culprit!” She pointed to a wooded area of the forest. All the heads whipped around to where she pointed, and when nobody was looking, she put her hands into a bulging pocket and she pulled the wallet out. She opened it quickly to get a name.

Terence Sparrowman. 

What a cute last name! Mabel was even more excited now! Her plan was going perfectly, and no one would ever suspect lil old her of anything. They asked more questions, they let her go with them in the ambulance, and soon enough they were in a hospital room, and she was sitting in the chair, waiting for him to wake up. She fixed her makeup while she was in there, and she began to try to count all the tiles on the floor.

It didn’t actually take long for her to notice him moving around in his bed. She stood up and looked him over. Gosh, he was even cuter when he was conscious! She tried to stay calm and not over-do it.

“Hi! I’m Mabel!” a pause. “Are you feeling alright?”

2/8/16  9:07pm

{ @trip-downtheriverstyx }

Yubaba had heard tell of a strong magick that had been in town for a few months now. Very strong. Especially for his young age. Almost immediately she had sent Haku to track him and find out as much as he could about him. And, boy, did she learn a lot. Most importantly, he was a fire magick. How perfect. The heavy weight on her ring finger was growing very lonely and this young man- young attractive man- would be the solution.

She sent out Haku one last time to tail him until he was alone and then send a text her way so that she could approach him. She had a perfect plan in mind and a perfect contract already formed. The information Haku had collected served its purpose well and there was a smile of most definitely evil origin as she descended from her high perch in her hotel, her phone screen still on with the location of the boy.

It was party time. He had spent all week fretting over it, he got the perfect lights, the perfect caterers, the perfect decorations, the color scheme matched perfectly. No garland this year, it was too bulky and out of style. He went with gold, red and white. Everything was sleek and modern, but the reds and the gold still gave it a traditional air that was crucial to any sort of holiday get together. 

And his get together was extreme. There were about 100 people invited, from all over Swynlake and from towns in neighboring areas. Everyone here was from high standings. They were dressed elegantly, in long, expensive dresses with pretty white gloves and swirly hair. The men were all wearing ties and suits that cost at least six weeks of pay for the average minimum wager.

Henry was on his best behavior tonight. He’d had a few slip ups recently, but his father would be there watching him today. Everything was going to go well. He was going to converse with the guests respectfully and all would go well.

He saw a pretty young blonde hanging around the food area. She was dressed nicely, but she didn’t seem to be focused on the party playing out around her. Curious, he walked over to her. 

“Excuse me, miss, is the party enjoyable for you?”