Fully Clothed Snow Boys

Fully clothed snow boys

hi just wanted to drop by to let you know i love your content and your blog is one of three blogs i have notifications turned on for and i really hope you can get a normal pizza soon

Thank you! This is such a lovely comment! 💙

(And thankfully I got my own pizza, so I may eat this evening)

Sooo... Pirate AU Stan and Bill's first encounter?

The Mystery and The Isosceles

Ch 4: What Is Gravity Falls?

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Also on AO3

“So… These people…” Mabel paused halfway through the motion of squeezing the saltwater out of her hair, instead beginning to spin a lock around her finger. “They’re pirates. Aren’t they?”

Dipper looked at the scratchy blanket twisted between his fingers and nodded.

“They found me on that island those sailors-”

“ Poopheads .”

“-poopheads-” Dipper corrected, the faintest shadow of a smile creeping onto his lips. He offered the fabric to his sister. “-ditched me on.”

Mabel took the blanket and carefully wiped the salt from her face as best she could. Her clothes were still drenched.

“Why’d they help us?” She asked. Dipper chewed his lip.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Maybe they just hope we’re from a rich family or something.”

“Wouldn’t be stowing away on a smelly trading ship if we did.” She combed her fingers through her wet curls, catching in a tangle and tugging hard, making herself wince.

Dipper caught her hand and helped her untangle her fingers.

“Don’t do that.” He chided gently. “But, yeah. I guess that’s fair. I don’t know, their captain said I could come with them to the next port because they didn’t feel right leaving me, but… I don’t know. I don’t know why that’d matter to them.”

Mabel continued to comb through her hair more slowly. “Maybe that’s really just it. Leaving you would have been wrong.”

“They’re pirates, they don’t care about right and wrong.” He looked away. “We’d still have family if it wasn’t for people like them.”

“Yeah but…” Mabel paused, and finally dropped her hair to hang heavy over her shoulders. “Right now, we also wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for people like them.”

Dipper fidgeted in his seat, looking out one of the open gun ports providing what scarce natural light there was.

“You remember grandpa's stories.”

“Of course I do.” Mabel bristled slightly. “I swear, you and grandpa can be so rigid about things.”

“Mabel. They killed both grandpa’s brothers.” His voice turned stern as he looked back at her. “If they were still around, maybe we wouldn’t have to be relying on a bunch of criminals just to stay alive.”

“Not they . Pirates . Pirates killed them. There’s more than one crew.”

“Alright, okay. Whatever.” Dipper sighed. “Look this… This has been a really stressful few days for both of us so… Let’s just not do this right now, okay?”

“Okay. Sorry.” She shrunk in on herself slightly.

“Are you okay? The people on that other ship didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Mabel shook her head slightly, carefully rubbing a red mark at her wrist.

“No, just tugged a bit hard.” She mumbled. “I think… Isn’t that ship familiar? Isosceles?”

Dipper looked away again, thinking it over.

“I think… Maybe I’m just being stupid but… Grandpa said…”

“It’s not the same ship.”

“How many red and gold pirate ships can there be?”

“Fine, but it’s not the same crew. Great uncle Ford died thirty years ago, it’s not going to be the same people. I… Look, let’s just not think about that.” Dipper reached into his jacket, freeing the red and gold journal hidden inside. Moving over to sit next to Mabel, he spread the book open on his lap. “I found this thing on that little island they ditched me on. I have no clue how it would have gotten there but…”

“Ooh! Lemme see!” Mabel leaned over, and he quickly pulled the book out of reach. A few drops still managed to hit the page. “Hey!”

“Just let me, okay? I didn’t have much time to look it through before, but it seems to be some kind of research notes. Something about a place called Gravity Falls, but- check this out! There's a bunch of pages missing, and suddenly it just stops.”

“What’s the last page say?”

Dipper angled it towards her.

“I think it’s Latin, but that’s not important. The thing is, someone wrote this and buried it on that island. But there was no other trace of people. No… You know, bones or anything? Whomever it was managed to get off that island, but left this behind.”

“Buried treasure!” Mabel’s eyes twinkled with enthusiasm. “Maybe they went back to Gravity Falls?”

“Gravity Falls?” Wendy crouched under the low beam in the doorway and appeared behind Dipper, a wicker basket full of fabric resting against her hip. “S’ that where you're from?”

Dipper hurriedly hid the book under the blankets on the hammock and regarded the redhead with apprehension. “No.”

“Figures. I would’ve remembered ya.” She leaned over casually and began digging through the basket, unearthing a set of girls clothes and handing them to Mabel who accepted them readily. She collected the wet blankets and squeezed the water out onto the floor. “You think you can wear any of that? I was probably a bit older than you when I first came here, but I was a scrawny kid.”

“Oooh, flannel!” Mabel held the dress up and regarded it carefully in the candlelight, before nodding and scuttering off around the corner to change, leaving Dipper alone with Wendy once again.

“You’re from Gravity Falls?”

“Sure am. We’re actually en route there. Boss wanted me to ask if you guys want to get off there or if you’re planning to stay.”

“We can?”

Wendy shrugged, picking at the calloused palms of her hands. “Why not? I’ve seen kids way younger than you two on legitimate ships. Ships boys and powder monkeys and all that. At least it means a bed and somewhere dry to sleep, right?” Wendy looked at the puddle and wet wool, bending to pick some of it up and toss into a haphazardly pile. “Mostly dry.” She corrected.

Dipper felt the hard edges of the book under him.

“Back in your hometown… Did you ever see any researchers?”

“That’s a dodge. But, no. Not that I know of.”

“Anyone with…” Dipper cringed, before resolving to press on. “Six fingers?”

Wendy paused. Relaxed posture tensing slightly before she shook the hardness out of her body. “No. You looking for a relative or something? Hey, you two have rich parents? Maybe we can ask for ransom.” She smiled broadly at him, as if inviting him to share the joke. He folded in on himself.

“We don’t have parents.”

“Oh.” She looked away awkwardly. “I… Sorry. No, of course you don’t, you wouldn’t be out here if everything was peachy back home. I’m sorry. I know it hurts. My mom died when I was a kid.”

“Was that how you wound up having to work here?” Dipper prodded carefully.

“I don’t have to do anything.” She scoffed. “And, no. It sucked to lose mom, but it’s not like dad wasn't able to provide for us.”

Dipper’s already conflicting feelings decided to get even more confused at that. Wendy didn’t seem like a bad person, so if it wasn’t a last resort type of situation, then why was she on board a pirate ship? If she had other options, why turn to that?

“Did… Did they kidnap you or something?”

Wendy choked on air, coughing sharply before turning back towards Dipper with an indignant expression and the faintest hint of angry red at her cheeks.

“Fuck no! You think they make just anyone second mate these days? Listen kid, these people are all weirdos and losers but they’re not bad people. Captain Pines is pretty much the most frustrating boss you could have, but we’re loyal to him for a reason.

“Yeah.” Dipper muttered. “He pays.”

She paused. “Okay, so we’re loyal to him for two reasons.”

Wendy pinched her nose frustratedly, but when she turned back to Dipper the residual anger in her eyes melted. She looked almost solemn, pulling a crate over and seating herself on it. “Do you… The Isosceles. You looked like you recognized it. Do you?”

Dipper was taken aback by the sudden change in both atmosphere and topic, but nonetheless he nodded carefully. Suddenly apprehensive of where the conversation was going. “I’ve never seen it, but grandpa would tell us. Our great uncle was kidnapped and killed by whoever ran that ship back in 1682.”

She nodded sternly. “Believe it or not, that ship has had the same captain since way before I was even born. At least that’s how the stories go. ‘Bill Cipher’. Actually, as far as the stories go, it’s been him in charge for over half a century. I don’t know about that, but Captain Pines swears up and down it’s at least the same guy it was thirty years ago and given his grudge I’m inclined to believe him.” Wendy’s gaze seemed very far away. Her voice was low, without a trace of the earlier humour. She picked up one of the discarded blankets again and twisted it between her fingers. “All of this happened way ago, but… That town, Gravity Falls, was attacked by Bill out of the blue. Just like that, in the dead of the night. Burned the place pretty much to the ground.”

Tugging so hard at the piece of fabric her knuckles went white, Wendy grit her teeth before continuing. For a second she looked older, haunted by an event she hadn’t even been alive to witness.

“It was a massacre — an unprovoked bloodbath. And there was nothing anyone could do. Our island was a tiny insignificant colony, it wasn’t even on any maps. It was like he actively sought us out and…” She threw the blanket and stomped her boot against the floor hard, restless anger flaring up with nowhere to go. “The place was wrecked. It was a good little law abiding town, and still nobody came to help. They asked for help in the aftermath, I know they did. They asked . Any kind of relief or help to rebuild. But our port wasn’t profitable enough to warrant the investment, so fuck us I guess.”

“But then Stan showed up.” The anger seemed to settle almost as soon as it had come. She shook her head, the gesture bordering on wistful. “I wish I could have seen it. This random, scruffy looking, twenty-something, off-islander showing up with a hijacked ship and ranting like a grade A conman about how he was going to hunt down Bill. Only an idiot would join the cause, right? But… Everyone was so tired and so angry, and here was someone appearing out of nowhere and offering to get us justice.”

“My family are lumberjacks back on shore. Rebuilding took material, and once that was done, more and more pirates and off-the-books traders started showing up and their ships needed repairs more often than not. Demand for lumber went way up, and my family could continue supporting itself. I got to be born in a port that was rough, sure. But free and prospering.”

“The Captain is a ‘bad guy’. We all are. But I’d guarantee you more than half the folks back home would follow him to the end. He brought trade back, helped us rebuild, and gave folks hope that at least someone was doing something .“

“I don’t think he sounds like a bad guy.” Dipper jumped, turning to the doorway where Mabel was standing dressed in an only slightly too long flannel dress. Fumbling with the sleeves, her eyes shone through the gloom at Wendy and Dipper. “Bill is the one who’s horrible.”

“Just because there are people who are even worse out there it doesn’t justify it.” Dipper answered, echoing the sentiment they’d heard for ages now. But his voice was less steely, his posture less certain. “People don’t put that much effort into something without their own reasons.”

“Well… Yes.” Wendy conceded.

“So?” Mabel walked into the room and retook her seat on the hammock, resolve unshaken. “Just because both people get something out of it doesn’t make it selfish.”

“Depends. Why is he after Bill?”

Wendy opened her mouth briefly, then closed it again—shaking her head briefly. “No, sorry. Not my story to tell. Ask him if you want to, but it isn’t something he likes talking about.”

“He talked to you about it.” Mabel pointed out, smiling.

“Me and Soos. But don’t expect him to blather about it either.” Wendy stood and added Mabel’s wet clothes to the basket along with the blankets. “Help me hang these up on deck, okay? You’ll be stuck with us for at least a week, so might as well make yourselves useful.”

Mabel hopped off the hammock first and gladly followed, Dipper conceded the point and dragged his feet a few steps behind out into the sunlight. As Mabel kept chatting to Wendy, his mind swam with the uncomfortable dilemma. Throughout all of it, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from wandering back to the book in his jacket with it’s six-finger emblem and strange air of familiarity.

Yesterday was not a good day for drawing, so I'm going back to basics with some expression practice. Found a more expressive way of drawing eyes.

"I am Celestabellebethabelle, last of my kind!"

"Did someone say unicorn hair?"

She even lights up!

Bonus!🤣

I'm really happy with how C-Beth turned out! It was fun making something other than a human for once.