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Happy "Hug a Tiny" Day!
I've had a one-shot in mind for this day for the past couple of weeks, but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. I'll be posting it once I'm satisfied with it. I'd rather post high-quality writing late than low-quality writing early!
“Pine Tree Responsibility” Chapter 3: “A Girl and Her Pig”
Wendy could hear hammers, table saws, and blowtorches at work outside. Thankfully, Stan hadn’t tried to compel her to help with setting up the Mystery Fair.
A few minutes before noon, little Dipper opened the door with a smile on his face. But Wendy’s eyes widened when she saw several bruises on his arms and legs. “Dude, are you alright?” she asked.
“I think so. The skytram fell when I was in it. I thought I had broken a bunch of bones, but thankfully, I only got some bruises.”
“You’re sure you’re okay then?” asked Wendy.
“Pretty certain. Honestly, I’m more worried about being locked up again if Officer Blubbs and Durland find out Grunkle Stan faked the ride permits...”
“Again?” said Wendy, all the more surprised.
“Yeah, a couple weeks ago when Stan had Mabel and me make counterfeit money with him,” he said with a shiver.
“Geez, and I thought Stan treated me harshly.” Wendy sat on her stool for a moment in thought, before smiling a bit. “Maybe I can help you take your mind off these things. Let’s enjoy the fair together.”
Dipper smiled in response.
***
The 15-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy perused the fair for which Stan, in his own words, “spared every expense”. A variety of booths were lined up, along with a Ferris wheel, a small dark ride, and the remains of the closed skytram. Among the booths stood a food vendor titled “Mystery Dogs”. Dipper and Wendy curiously approached it, only to be interrupted by a loud voice. It was Stan, using a megaphone.
“It’s 12 o’clock! The Dunk Tank is now open!”
The feedback from the megaphone made almost everyone cover their ears, including Dipper and Wendy, but once it subsided, they turned their attention back to the booth.
“Two Mystery Dogs, please.”
To their surprise, they were given corn dogs that had been sculpted into question marks. “How do they get them into this shape?” asked Dipper. “It’s unnatural.”
Noticing the sign above them, with the text “delicious”, Wendy got an idea. “But Dipper, they’re so...” she said, before holding her Mystery Dog in front of the end of the sign, “delicious?”
Dipper started laughing at her visual pun and she joined in. Who said only guys get to make jokes with their dates? But then a drop of mustard from her Mystery Dog dripped on her flannel sleeve. “Aww, boo!” she said in annoyance. “I’ll be right back.”
Since Stan cheapened out on everything, there were no public sinks or water fountains in sight, so she had to head back to the Mystery Shack.
Thoughts of her deceased mother, dating, and future co-dependency all passed through her mind over and over until she had washed off the mustard.
Making her way back to find Dipper, she walked past the snobbish rich girl that was Pacifica Northwest, complete with her designer clothes, blonde hair, and a look of contempt for everyone around her. Wendy was surprised at this, thinking Pacifica would have viewed herself as “too good” for something as common as a fair. The redhead considered calling the blonde out for cheating at the contest the other night, until she caught a glance of Dipper again.
They finished their corn dogs as they walked side by side again, to see the rest of what Stan’s gamble had to offer. Wendy spotted a booth with a ball toss game, and one of the large prizes caught her eye. “Woah, check it out! I don’t know if it’s a duck or a panda, but I want one!” She glanced at Dipper. “Want to try to win it for me?” she asked playfully.
To her surprise, Dipper suddenly looked nervous. “Uh, I don’t know. My noodle arms aren’t great at throwing. I bet you’d have a better chance at winning it.”
Wendy shrugged. “Fair enough. But don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s totally normal for a lumberjack’s daughter to be stronger than a city boy,” she said with a teasing smirk. Dipper chuckled at that.
“Well, I can at least pay for it,” he said, pulling out a ticket. “One ball, please,” he said to the carnie running the booth, handing him the ticket.
“You only get one chance,” the carnie said in an oddly ominous tone.
Dipper handed the ball to Wendy. Concentrating hard, not wanting to waste Dipper’s hard-earned allowance, she took her stance, aimed for the stack of bottles, and swung. While it managed to knock down the entire stack, it also ricocheted off the back wall and came right back. Then it struck Dipper squarely in the eye.
“Oww!”
Wendy gasped. “Oh my gosh! You okay, Dipper?”
“I’ve been better,” he answered, covering up his swollen eye. “I was not expecting that...” he muttered.
“I’ll go get some ice!” said Wendy, running off to look for it. She remembered the snow cone booth on the other side of the fair. It was quite the distance, but there weren’t any other booths that had anything cold, so it was her best bet. Partway there, she found Robbie, idly holding a snow cone. Wendy’s eyes lit up.
“Robbie, can I use that snow cone? Dipper’s got a black eye, and it was my fault. I’ll get you another one!” she said quickly.
Robbie scoffed. “Like I’m gonna help out a dweeb like him,” he said dismissively.
Wendy scowled at him. “Fine, I’ll find some ice myself, you jerk!” She shoved past him, starting to run again until she finally made it to the stand.
***
Dipper looked up at Wendy with his non-injured eye, a grateful look on his face. She was holding some of the ice in a clean cloth up to his black eye. “You’re one of the greatest people I’ve ever met,” said Dipper quietly.
“Eh, it was just the decent thing to do. If I had been more careful, I wouldn’t have needed to grab you the ice.” She then saw Mabel walking toward them, with a small pig in her arms. She looked ecstatic until she saw Dipper’s condition.
“Are you alright, bro? What happened?” she asked, frowning.
“It’s okay, Mabel. It will heal,” said Dipper, sounding less pained than he was earlier. “Congrats on winning that pig.”
“Ooh yeah, I love him already!” she said, smiling again and hugging the little swine.
Wendy raised an eyebrow. “You have a name for him yet?” she asked.
“Yep, I’m calling him Waddles,” she answered, “because he waddles!”
Wendy’s eyes widened to the size of dishes.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV show Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
“Pine Tree Responsibility” Chapter 2: “Too Close to Home”
When Wendy awoke the next morning, her first instinct was to call Tambry, her best friend since preschool. She asked to meet with her at the Mystery Shack during lunch break, to which Tambry agreed. After changing into her usual green flannel shirt over a white tank top, jeans, rain boots, and trapper hat, she stepped into the living room, expecting chaos. To her relief, none of her rambunctious brothers or father were present. “Probably already took them out to the lake or something,” she thought.
Entering the Shack a few minutes later, she found her co-worker Soos Ramirez dusting the merchandise. “Hey, Wendy,” he said in his usual friendly tone.
“Hey, Soos.” She glanced around the room and glanced into the exhibits room, and raised an eyebrow. “You seen Stan around?”
“Oh, he’s out with the twins, getting either groceries or some chicken heads for an exhibit. I forget which one.”
With that information, Wendy stepped behind the counter and discreetly typed out another text to Tambry, asking her to come sooner.
“Maybe he’s getting something for Pioneer Day,” said Soos.
“Today’s Pioneer Day?” asked Wendy.
Soos looked over a calendar on the wall. “Yep.”
“And Stan didn’t give us the day off?” asked Wendy in disbelief.
“Never has for me,” said Soos with a shrug.
Wendy gave a sigh and pulled out one of her magazines. Business was slow, so she didn’t need to ring anyone up before Tambry came through the door. With Soos in the other room, Wendy quietly started catching up with her purple-haired friend.
“That dance party last night was sick,” said Tambry, splitting her attention between Wendy and typing things into her flip phone. Wendy didn’t mind this, she was used to it.
“Yeah, Soos was a solid DJ,” said Wendy.
“But that Northwest girl totally cheated at the contest. Mabel deserved the win.”
The image of 12-year-old Mabel tearing it up on the dance floor last night and the image of 40-year-old Mabel flashed through Wendy’s mind.
“I’m sorry I didn’t talk with you last night,” said Tambry.
“That’s alright. Stan made me keep the ticket stand, so I was stuck out there for most of it.” Wendy thought of how Dipper tried to make small talk at the ticket stand, seeming quite nervous about it. It must have been because he didn’t want to feel awkward in front of his crush. Wendy smiled a bit at this thought.
“I mean, I would have met up with you, but Nate kept asking me to dance over and over,” said Tambry, sounding annoyed.
Wendy remembered Dipper on the dance floor last night, gazing up at her affectionately, with one hand in hers and the other stretching up to reach her waist.
Taking a breath, Wendy said, “Speaking of dancing with someone—”
“Wendy, remember what Mr. Pines said,” interrupted Soos, who had just reentered the room. “No friends during business hours!”
Wendy’s heart raced. “Oh, uh, Stan said that he would specifically allow it for Pioneer Day!”
Soos narrowed his eyes suspiciously. But after a few seconds, his expression returned to normal. “Cool, works for me.” He resumed sweeping, humming a happy tune.
“Close call,” thought Wendy. Turning her attention back to Tambry, she continued, “Have you ever dated someone who’s younger than you?”
“I did go out with this one guy Jordan once. I’m about 6 months older than him.”
“Would you consider someone a little younger than that?” asked Wendy.
“Well, in the State of Oregon,” explained Tambry (apparently looking at a legal website on her phone), “if you’re over 18 and someone else is under 18, it would still be legal for you to date them as long as you’re less than 3 years apart. And of course, when you’re both under 18 or both over 18, there’s no legal issue.”
Wendy’s 16th birthday wasn’t until after the summer ended, and she knew Dipper’s 13th birthday would be on August 31st, so that meant they could start dating at any time. This made Wendy feel better, knowing that there wouldn’t be anything holding Dipper back legally from dating her.
“Why do you ask?” asked Tambry.
Wendy froze up, not sure how to respond. She could tell Tambry was trying to read her expression, not looking down at her phone at all, so Wendy tried to keep her face neutral.
“Did Dipper ask you to dance?”
Crud, Tambry figured it out. She must have remembered that Dipper revealed his age when they broke into that abandoned convenience store, and must have connected the dots.
“Yeah, after you left,” said Wendy, looking down. “And I said yes.”
Tambry gave an understanding smile. “No judgement here.”
Wendy smiled back. “Thanks, Tambry. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about all this.”
“These kind of things take time,” said Tambry, glancing back at her phone again. “Speaking of Dipper, I saw him out on one of the hiking trails the day before yesterday.” She started snickering.
“What’s so funny?”
“Hey, Wendy, I could use help moving the ‘rock that looks like a face rock’ exhibit,” said Soos, entering the room again.
***
Tambry had left when Wendy returned to the cash register, and sent her a text explaining she had to go. The rest of the working day went uneventfully.
As closing time approached, Stan and the tween twins came through the front door. Stan had some red, translucent liquid on his suit and neck, as if he was pelted by tomatoes earlier.
“What happened to you?” asked Wendy.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” said Stan flatly.
On the other hand, the 12-year-olds were happy to divulge their day. “We proved that Pacifica’s great-great-grandfather was a fraud!” exclaimed Mabel.
“Yeah, he wasn’t the one who established Gravity Falls after all!” said Dipper.
“It’s so endearing when he get excited about uncovering mysteries,” thought Wendy.
The 3 talked for a while, later joined in by Soos, until the sun touched the tops of the pine trees outside. Wendy tried to work in the dream into the conversation, but to no avail.
“Alright, kids. It’s getting late,” said Stan. “We’ve got a fair to set up tomorrow.”
Oh, that’s right. The curmudgeon had purchased a bunch of supplies via mail order a few weeks back. Another wild attempt at scraping in a few extra bucks.
Soos made his way outside to his truck, and Mabel started running upstairs. Dipper turned away, but then turned back again. He seemed reluctant to join his sister.
“So you’ll be helping out with setting up the fair tomorrow?” asked Wendy.
“Grunkle Stan would be furious if I didn’t,” said Dipper.
“Well, then we can spend some time together once everything’s ready,” said Wendy hopefully.
Dipper’s eyes widened. “Oh, that would be great!” he said, maybe a little too loudly.
Wendy chuckled. “See you tomorrow, Dipper,” she said with a smile, starting to head for the door.
“Good night, Wendy,” said Dipper, returning the smile and waving.
***
Wendy stopped her bike between the old camper and the recliner in the lawn of her home. She was taking off her bike helmet when she heard a car screech to a halt behind her. She glanced around to see some of her high school peers, but they weren’t her friends.
One of them said in a mocking tone, “Out past your bedtime, Borduroy?”
Wendy felt her cheeks heat up a little. “First of all, it’s ‘Corduroy’. Second, you’re not my dad, dunderhead!”
“Your meathead of a father? Yeah, I’m glad I’m not. Wouldn’t want to be rotting like your mother either.”
Wendy’s breath caught in her throat, and her shoulders began to shake with each breath. But she wouldn’t let herself shed a tear in front of these losers.
Steeling herself, she spat, “If you don’t leave, I’ll have you arrested for trespassing!”
Everyone in the car just laughed. “And you’re not our mom,” said another one of them.
Wendy suddenly grabbed an axe from a nearby stump. “I’m gonna ask you one more time,” she said, her jaw clenching and eyes narrowing. “Leave. Now.”
The driver shrunk under her seething gaze. “The lumberjack’s daughter’s as crazy as he is! Let’s get out of here!” He immediately floored it.
As she watched the car was racing down the dirt road, Wendy felt her heart rate slowly return to normal. “Jerks,” she muttered, before returning to putting away her bike.
She pushed away the thoughts about her late mother, only for a different set of difficult thoughts to replace them. While Tambry was fully supportive of her feelings, what would her other friends think? And how would others like those jerks respond? Wendy gave an exhausted sigh before she unlocked her front door.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV show Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
“Pine Tree Responsibility” Chapter 1: “Wendy Versus the Future”
Wendy Corduroy rode her bike home from the Mystery Shack, the summer moon illuminating the dirt path ahead of her. She thought about the dance party earlier that day that Stan had organized to get more people to buy his merchandise. She had been put on ticket duty with her new friend Dipper Pines, Stan’s great-nephew. After they both managed to get out of that slog, she had opened up about how “freakishly” tall she had been compared to her younger brothers for years, and Dipper likewise about how he got his nickname from having a birthmark that resembles the Big Dipper.
She glanced up at the dark sky and glanced at the constellation. The resemblance was honestly uncanny.
A few minutes after they had talked, Dipper came up to her and asked her to dance, to which she happily said yes. It was clear that this was his first time dancing with someone, as he struggled to keep with the steps, but he definitely put all his heart into it. And he admittedly looked spiffy with that little bow tie.
But the thought that occupied her the most was the fact that Dipper had asked her to dance, combined with his past behavior specifically around her. “Huh,” thought Wendy. “I think he actually likes me.”
She arrived at her log cabin home, and once inside, she saw that her brothers and father were already asleep in their bedrooms. It had been a long day and Stan expected her back to work tomorrow, so she didn’t hesitate to immediately get ready for bed. The whole time while she changed, brushed her teeth, and put in her retainers, the thought of dating Dipper ran through her mind. What would happen? What would others think about it? Could she be happy with him?
She rubbed her forehead, not being used to thinking this deeply about a potential romance. She had always been quite casual about her many previous boyfriends, so this was in a whole different league for her personally. “I can think about this more tomorrow,” she thought. “But right now, I need some rest.”
She settled under her sheets, and slowly drifted to sleep.
The next thing she knew, she found herself inside a house with cream-colored wallpaper and a light beige carpet. The living room she stood in had a 2000′s style to it, but it looked a couple decades older than that. Dust and cobwebs coated the stairs railing, the crown molding was chipped in many places, and the ceiling fan looked broken. Also, it was crawling with cats. Dozens of them, all of various sizes and colors. Wendy caught a whiff from the dark kitchen, which must have been of several uncleaned litter boxes. She gagged at the smell and plugged her nose. Oddly enough, the cats seemed to take no notice of the supposed intruder, just continuing to mind their own business licking their paws and scratching up the walls.
Wendy turned around to see the other half of the living room, and to her shock, she spotted someone who looked so familiar and yet so different. It appeared to be Dipper’s twin sister Mabel, complete with a crazy sweater, but she looked like she was in her early 40s. She sat on the floor, typing away on a smart phone, with several of the cats right around her.
Wendy cleared her throat, wondering if she could get this middle-aged Mabel’s attention, but no response. She then tried speaking up and even clapping, but it was like she wasn’t there. “Freaky situation,” she thought.
She went into the dining room, and found a pile of letters, all addressed to an address in Piedmont, California. Wendy’s eyes widened. “This must be the house of Dipper and Mabel’s parents,” she thought. But why is she seeing this, and why is apparently 30 or so years in the future?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door unlocking. On instinct, she bolted back for the living room.
As if this wasn’t weird enough, she saw Dipper coming through the front door, but he looked to be the same age as this adult Mabel. He stood taller, but rather lanky. His facial features had become more angular. And prominent bags were under his eyes, as if he had little sleep for days.
He took off his fast food uniform and looked over a paycheck in his hands, sighing sadly.
Mabel, still on the floor, looked up at her tired-looking twin. “Hey, Dipping Sauce! Guess what? I made a 50-foot butterfly made of comics, which I then set ablaze! I’m still the goddess of destruction!” she said with enthusiasm. “Also, the police are here to fine us for burning stuff without a permit, also for the unintended arson damage to the neighbor’s house.”
“Wait, what!?” shouted Dipper, with an expression of disbelief.
As if on cue, a disgruntled-looking police officer came out of the lightless kitchen, stepping around the various cats on the floor. He snatched up Dipper’s paycheck and looked over it. “Yep, this should about cover it,” he said.
“Ah, come on, man!” shouted Dipper in exasperation, apparently so exhausted that he didn’t care if he was talking back to law enforcement. “I worked overtime the whole week at the drive-through to earn that!” But by the time he finished, the officer had already left, slamming the door behind him.
Just a few seconds later, a drop of water came from the ceiling and fell on Dipper’s head. “And now the ceiling is leaking?” he muttered.
Mabel spoke up again. “I also created a water slide for Waddles!”
“Who’s Waddles?” thought Wendy, but her silent question was quickly answered. A giant crashing sound came from above, and the ceiling gave way as a large pig came through it, smashing into the floor. Water started pouring from the hole left by the giant hog, soaking the entire living room. Dipper and Wendy covered their heads instinctively, while the water caused the cats to scatter in panic, breaking any household objects in their paths.
Mabel laughed at the whole situation. “Aww, they’re cute when they’re crazy!” she said, taking pictures with her phone.
Dipper gave another defeated sigh and went over to the nearby hall closet, and Wendy followed. Glancing over his shoulder, she saw him open a box labeled “Emergency Fund”, only to find it empty.
Mabel ran over next to them. “Hey, Dipping Sauce! Can we get pizza tonight? Duck-tective will be on!” she shouted, cheerful and oblivious. Dipper hung his head, tears starting to fall from his eyes.
Wendy woke up in a cold sweat. She checked her room, everything looked normal. She checked herself, still 15 years old and wearing her usual nighttime tank top. And she glanced outside, the familiar pine trees of Gravity Falls illuminated by the moon.
Was the dream prophetic, or was it just her imagination? She had seen some weird things in this town before, including shopkeeper ghosts and a talking wax statue head of Larry King, so this wouldn’t be the most far-fetched.
Feeling a little parched, she got up and went into her bathroom. While she filled a cup from the tap, she caught a glance of a glowing triangle from outside in the mirror, but only for a fraction of a second. She blinked to make sure she saw correctly, but there was nothing there anymore. She shrugged it off and went back to bed, wondering if she should tell Dipper about the dream tomorrow.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV show Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero. Also, I consider this work to have a separate timeline from my Wendip Week submissions.
“Sugar Rush Left Behind” Chapter 3: “Rancis Gone Turbo?”
Rancis landed in a plaza surrounded by a city that seemed to go on forever, and dozens of human avatars walking around him. “Golly, this must be it,” he thought.
He walked up to a stand where a purple humanoid wearing a graduation cap stood with an inquisitive expression. “Hello, I am Knowsmore. Can I help you find something today?”
“Actually, yeah,” said Rancis. “I’m searching for Slaughter—”
“Slaughterhouse? Slaughterer? Or, did you mean, coleslaw?”
“— Race. Slaughter Race. The video game?”
Knowsmore’s eyes darted back and forth rapidly as he went through his index. “Ah, the top result is that way,” he said, pointing to his right.
A quick trip on a redirect transport led him to a building (the Website) that held the online video game. A giant skull and exhaust pipes spewing fire hung over the logo, towering over the front doors. Gulping a bit and taking a deep breath, the young racer strode to the entrance.
The fresh air of the Internet behind him was replaced by thick smog. He found himself in a town where the sky was yellow and litter stood everywhere around him. Cars rushing and crashing were audible in the distance. All a far cry from the world of Sugar Rush.
“Why would Vanellope want to stay here?” he thought.
Expecting that the source of the car noises would be players and non-playable characters (NPCs), Rancis followed the sounds. He weaved around dim alleyways, stepped over broken glass, and ducked under a live power line that had fallen. Boxes, garbage cans, and piles of paper had glowing symbols over them, but Rancis did not dare look in any of them, knowing they could just as easily contain hazards as they could contain helpful items.
“If you die outside your game, you won’t regenerate,” echoed Sonic the Hedgehog’s voice of warning in his mind.
After what felt like hours, he glanced around a corner, and saw the silhouettes of what appeared to be several adults carrying knives, chainsaws, and firearms. Instinctively, he hid back behind the wall, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. Then he heard voices.
“We wanted to introduce you to Miss Destruction, a fellow NPC,” said a voice. “She was in another part of the game during a limited-time quest the past few weeks, which is why you haven't met her until now.”
Then came a familiar voice, one that made the little blond's heart flutter. “Nice to meet you, can I call you Dez?”
Without another thought, Rancis bolted around the corner, and his sights were greeted by a ragtag bunch of people. A woman wearing more piercings than Rancis had ever seen on a single person. A tall, bearded man with a bandana around his head and tattoos covering his brawny arms. A woman wearing a tank top with a skull on it. A man with a flamethrower, goggles, and a gold chain around his neck. A woman in a leather jacket with long, flowing hair. And in the midst of all of them, stood Vanellope.
They all look surprised at his sudden appearance, but none are more visibly shocked than the former president of Sugar Rush.
“Rancis? What are you doing here?”
***
The router interior was illuminated by the arcade, and some green, glowing indicators. Felix and Tamora entered it cautiously. They had offered for Ralph to come with, but he said he was basically banned from the whole Internet. Called it “IP-banning” or something like that.
A circular platform stood close to the center. Tamora stepped onto it by instinct, with one hand by her side, ready to pull out one of her weapons if needed. Felix quickly joined her as well. She expected they would need to wait a few minutes until Mr. Litwak had a reason to use the Internet, but within just a few seconds, the whole room shone in green radiance. A small figure resembling the arcade manager popped into existence next to Felix, causing him to nearly fall off the platform in surprise.
The mini-Litwak was conveyed to a metal hatch, which opened and took him away into the Internet. With their platform just behind him, Felix and Tamora gave each other a knowing look. They felt themselves lifted into the air, and a pill-shaped pod materialized around them. An announcer’s voice announced an Internet Protocol address, and suddenly they were racing faster than even Felix in debug mode. They instinctively put their arms around each other, holding on for dear life. Felix constantly screamed, and even Tamora let out some yelps.
Before long, they landed in the Internet, found and talked to Knowsmore, and finally came up on the entrance of Slaughter Race. "Jiminy," said Felix, looking at the game's intimidating logo.
"I have a feeling I'm going to like this game," said Tamora with a smile, being more used than Felix to edgier games.
Just as they were about to walk through the entrance, a large figure jumped in their way.
Felix yelped in shock and held his chest, feeling his heart pound furiously. The figure was a humanoid with a logo titled “CAPTCHA” emblazoned on the front of their guard uniform.
They spoke in a grandiose voice. “Prove you are not a robot. Solve the puzzle to enter.” They then pulled out a large touchscreen with 9 blurry images on them, labeled at the top with: “Select all the images with sidewalks in them.”
While Felix had perfect vision, the subjects of the photos were tricky to determine. After some investigation, he tapped the ones that looked right and hit the button to submit.
“Invalid. Try again,” said the guard in a contemptuous voice.
Felix tried several more times, before groaning in frustration. “How does this prove I’m not a robot?” he said out loud. The guard did not reply to this.
“Maybe I could try?” asked Tamora.
“Yes please, Tammy,” he said with gratitude.
After about 26 tries collectively, the figure’s expression suddenly became sinister. “You have failed too many times,” said the figure, before pulling out a blaster of sorts and freezing the married couple with it.
A few minutes later, they were unfrozen in a white jail cell with the words “429 Error: Too Many Requests” on the wall.
“How long do you plan to hold us?” demanded Tamora, looking out the cell door at the figure.
“You will be released in 24 hours,” said the figure, starting to walk away.
“But we can’t wait that long! A little boy of ours could get hurt or worse in that time,” shouted Tamora.
“And our games need us. We cannot risk them being unplugged!” added Felix.
“Eh, things disappear to link rot all the time on the Internet,” said the figure with a shrug, before walking out of earshot.
Felix gave a defeated sigh. “Unjustly imprisoned again.”
***
“...and then I found you,” finished Rancis.
“Wow, that’s some real determination, Butterfingers!” said Vanellope with a smile.
Rancis smiled back and then looked at the group of NPCs. “Sorry about invading your game,” he said in a sheepish tone.
“Hey, as long as you’re not here to steal our items, we’re cool with it,” said the woman in the leather jacket.
The NPCs then introduced themselves. The woman in the leather jacket was Shank, the woman with all the piercings was Little Debbie, the brawny man was Butcher Boy, the woman with the skull tank top was Felony, the man with the flamethrower was Pyro, and Miss Destruction stood next to them, having a build similar to Ralph’s.
While the rest of them had welcoming expressions, Miss Destruction had her eyes narrowed and hadn’t smiled the whole time. “Shank, can I have a word with you?” she asked. Miss Destruction and Shank walked off, and Vanellope watched with interest.
“Let’s go listen in on them,” she whispered to Rancis.
“I’m not sure if we should be eavesdropping,” he said nervously, but once Vanellope took his hand to pull him along, all other thoughts washed away.
Standing behind some fallen debris to not be seen, they could hear the 2 ladies clearly.
“I’m concerned about being seen with that Von Schweetz girl,” said Miss Destruction.
Rancis saw Vanellope’s smile fade away.
“Well, you’re gonna have to get used to it. I already added her code to the game,” said Shank with a chuckle.
“You did what?” shouted Miss Destruction, before taking a deep breath. “No offense, Shank, but you do realize how she stands out among the other NPCs, with a completely different art style? Not to mention that visual glitching when she teleports. Players might think she’s malware.”
Vanellope’s hazel eyes widened.
“We don’t know that for sure,” said Shank. “They could just as easily think she’s an Easter egg or something. Plus, I had to add her code so she would regenerate. She wants to be here, can’t we give her a chance?”
Miss Destruction remained silent for a few seconds. “Okay, but we need to be cautious.”
“Good, let’s rejoin the group,” said Shank.
With that, Rancis felt his hand being taken again, and teleported with Vanellope several times to get back to the other NPCs.
---
This is a fan work, based on the movies Wreck-it Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 7: “The Evening After the Engagement”
“Oh my gosh, it’s so pretty!” said Mabel, comparing Wendy’s engagement ring to her own wedding ring. The older but still lively Waddles eyed the jewels with interest, mesmerized by how they sparkled.
Stan, Ford, and Dipper entered the room. “Nice job on getting the cheaper diamond alternative, kid!” said Stan.
“Hey, Wendy specifically said she wanted something that wouldn’t break our bank account,” replied Dipper.
Stan chuckled. “Honestly, I never would have expected you to end up with her.”
“I mean, you made it work with Carla,” offered Dipper.
“I still have no idea how,” said Ford, teasing his brother.
Stan laughed louder. “It was the right thing for her to finally ditch that Thistle loser.”
Next to Mabel and Wendy sat Carla and Melody, who were looking through catalogs for wedding venues. “How about this one?” asked Carla.
“Not bad,” said Wendy. “Where’s it located?”
“Just outside Roadkill County.”
Dipper sat next to his fiancé, and their hands instinctively intertwined.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to live in Portland after you get married?” asked Melody.
“If possible,” said Wendy, with a wistful tone.
“There’s this complex just a few blocks from where my parents live, and it has the best rent for your value for miles,” said Melody with a smile. “I could set you up with it.”
“That would be fantastic!” said Wendy.
Just then, a knock at the Mystery Shack door. Ford opened it, to see Manly Dan and Wendy’s 3 younger brothers. Dipper turned his head and looked at the ginger-haired men and boys in surprise. “Hello Corduroys. I thought you had a fishing trip planned.”
“Not when we have my daughter’s wedding to plan!” said Dan triumphantly.
“We pushed it back until after the wedding,” explained Marcus, Dan’s 2nd eldest behind Wendy.
“I think I’ll need to cook more stew,” said Ford, adjusting his kitchen apron.
Later that evening, when Dipper was helping Ford wash the dishes, with the view of pine trees out the window in front of him, Wendy came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso. He loved it when she did that.
“How’s my special man doing?” she said.
“Absolutely amazing,” said Dipper, looking up into Wendy’s eyes.
“I can finish the rest of the dishes, thanks Dipper,” said Ford.
Dipper washed his hands clean, and Wendy only broke her embrace with him when he finished. They walked side by side to see family and friends discussing the various details of their future wedding in the living room. Dipper stopped and turned toward Wendy, and she smirked slightly as she immediately understood what Dipper was about to do.
He stood up on his toes so his lips could reach hers. She put her hands around his neck and he placed his hands on her waist as they kissed.
“I love you, Wendy,” said Dipper.
“I love you too, Dipper,” said Wendy.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 6: “Confession Letter”
“So much is changing,” thought Wendy. Ford and Stan had left for the Pacific Ocean with that boat of theirs, Soos was now in charge of the Mystery Shack (hopefully he’ll be a better boss than Stan), and both Mabel and Dipper would be back in Cali by now. Dipper, wearing her hat, and she his. Every time she passed a mirror, the sight of the pine tree on that cap reminded her of all the adventures they had been through during the summer. They had only known each other for 3 months, and yet it felt longer than that.
She climbed the stairs of the Mystery Shack. Admittedly, it was entirely out of curiosity rather than something responsible like “making sure the Shack is clean”. Entering the attic room where the twins once slept, she saw the empty beds nicely made, and there were no sounds besides the gentle rustling of the wind through the Bill-shaped window.
Man, surviving the apocalypse together and more.
Wendy noticed a scrap of paper in a nearby wastebasket, with some writing on it. She pulled it out and unwrinkled it. While most of the words were crossed out, every one of them was still legible. She recognized that handwriting anywhere.
“Dear Wendy, I’ve always wanted to tell... I feel... Today’s the day I’ve got to tell you I like you. Is that crazy?”
Wendy smiled. He not only kept all the pictures they had together, but he was going to confess his feelings on that day in the bunker.
“You mean a lot to me.”
The feeling really was mutual.
Wendy clutched the incomplete but sincere letter, holding it close to her heart. She tucked it into her pocket before heading back downstairs. That evening, she placed it in a drawer in her room, taking it out and reading over it again and again in the ensuing months.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
This chapter was inspired by a post by meet-me-in-the-woods-tonight-de, replied to by matenrou39.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 5: “Asking Her to Dance”
Dipper stepped up to the door of the Mystery Shack, pop music playing over speakers inside. He looked through the window of the Mystery Shack, to see Stan happily counting the cold cash he just made, Mabel dancing next to a couple of girls that appeared to be her age, and Wendy, nodding her head to the beat.
He took the list that had been holding him back all evening, and tore it to shreds. Steeling himself, he entered the Shack.
“Dipper! Where have you been? Meet my girlfriends!”
Dipper raised a hand. “Hello, I’m Dipper, Mabel’s twin brother.”
“I’m Grenda,” said the taller, muscular one.
“Candy Chiu,” said the one with glasses.
“We’re gonna have a sleepover tonight!” said Mabel.
“Nice!” said Dipper. “You both from here?” he asked, looking at Grenda and Candy.
“Yep, my whole life,” said Grenda.
“My parents are from South Korea, but I was born in Salem, before we moved here a few years ago,” explained Candy.
“Any chance you could convince your great-uncle to refund us?” asked Grenda. “I think there are bugs in the fruit punch.”
“Grunkle Stan is vehemently opposed to giving anyone their money back, so probably not. Sorry,” said Dipper.
“So Dipper, have you asked you-know-who to dance yet?” asked Mabel expectantly.
“Ooh!” joked Grenda and Candy in sync.
“Yeah, Grunkle Stan made me keep the ticket stand alone, so I couldn’t ask her yet.” Dipper did not feel like sharing his trouble with sentient paper clones of himself with Mabel’s new friends, but he certainly intended to share it with just her later.
“Yeesh, even when Wendy was in here dancing?” asked Mabel, looking disconcerted.
Dipper nodded.
“Well, no worries now that the stand is closed!” said Mabel. She walked up to the DJ booth, where Soos was experimenting with sound effects, and said something to him that Dipper could not hear over the peppy song playing.
“We have another request,” announced Soos, as if there was still a significant audience, even though there were only half a dozen people present. “Another slow song.”
Mabel ran back to her little friend group and they started lightheartedly dancing with each other, as girls often do.
Taking a deep breath, Dipper made his way over to Wendy.
“Nice, another song I love!” said Wendy in response to the slow song starting.
“Hi, Wendy.”
“Hey, Dipper.”
“I was wondering if maybe you’d like to dance?” said Dipper. “With me?”
Wendy smiled. “Happy to.”
Dipper’s cheeks reddened as his hand intertwined Wendy’s hand, his other hand stretched up to reach her waist, and her other hand rested on his shoulder. “Alright, remember the steps. 1, 2, 3, 4,” he thought.
He struggled at first to get the rhythm right, but Wendy seemed unbothered. “Ever danced with a girl before?” she asked.
“Nope,” he answered honestly.
“Not bad for a first time then.”
Over the next couple of cycles through their basic box-step, Dipper felt himself getting more comfortable, and he found himself able to spend more time looking up into Wendy’s dazzling eyes than looking at his feet. She took her hand off his shoulder and raised her other hand, signaling that she wanted him to spin her. While he hadn’t practiced it, he trusted the gesture and raised his hand as far as he could. Wendy twirled effortlessly before placing her hand back on his shoulder.
“Wow,” uttered Dipper out loud. Wendy chuckled at this.
Dipper glanced around to see Mabel looking on with approval, Soos giving him a thumbs-up, and he thought he even saw Stan look up from his money counting for a moment.
“Dipper, I’m sorry I left you outside to handle the tickets on your own,” said Wendy, sounding unusually sheepish. “I shouldn’t have abandoned you like that.”
“I understand,” said Dipper, giving a kind smile.
Wendy smiled again, and then her expression turned into a slight smirk. She gently gripped Dipper’s hand on her waist and moved it to on her back. His eyes widened in realization. She wanted Dipper to dip her. Remembering his practicing, he spread his legs to help keep his balance, and slowly lowered her. He worried his “noodle arms” would be too weak, but Wendy apparently understood in that she kept herself from leaning in too deeply.
Her head was brought down to being level with his head. With their faces being so close that they nearly touched, Dipper’s face flushed further. It only lasted a moment though, and then Wendy was upright again.
Once the song concluded, Dipper said, “Thanks for the dance, Wendy.”
“Same, it was fun,” she said.
Later that evening, while Mabel, Candy, and Grenda giggled at the sight of shirtless men in a magazine Grenda brought, Dipper wrote in the journal he found at the start of the summer. He recorded the events of his paper doppelgangers, and how he had worked up the courage to dance with his crush for the first time.
That feeling of swaying with her to that gentle tune played over and over in his mind as he drifted to sleep with a smile.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 4: “February 14, 2013”
Mabel and Dipper arrived in their Piedmont home after another day of school. It was Valentine’s Day, and Mabel had once again received some cards from several boys from their various classes, while Dipper got none. As was tradition at this point, Mabel would share her cards, and the candy that came with them, with her brother. Dipper always appreciated it, but the idea of receiving a real Valentine’s card from someone still weighed on him a bit.
Before they went inside, Mabel insisted on checking the mailbox. Mabel found a small stack of additional Valentines. “Honestly, I’m surprised boys weren’t all over you in Gravity Falls,” observed Dipper.
“I guess the guys here just know how great Mabel is!” she said proudly.
Dipper chuckled and rolled his eyes.
In their living room, on the cat-hair-covered couch, the twins started looking through the pile, discussing who got which candies. Then Dipper spotted an envelope with a different name on it. He looked over it multiple times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Sure enough, it was addressed to “Dipper Pines”. Eyes widening, he opened it to find a little card decorated with foam pine trees. He read the message on it.
“Hey, Dipper! Hope the past few months have been treating you okay in Cali. I heard from Mabel last summer that you didn’t receive Valentines much, so I thought of mailing you one. You mean a lot to me, and I’m looking forward to seeing you again in June!
“— Wendy”
Dipper read every word with intensity, and felt all warm inside after reading the name of the young woman who meant the most to him.
Mabel glanced over his shoulder. “Look who got a Valentine from Wendy!” she said with excitement.
Dipper snapped out of his daze. “She’s just being friendly,” he insisted.
“She said you mean a lot to her…” said Mabel in a singsonging voice. “Absence makes the heart want!”
Dipper playfully shoved his sister away, and she responded with a joking press back. The twins laughed as they lightheartedly pushed each other, Mabel teasing Dipper about Wendy, and Dipper teasing Mabel about “all her boyfriends wanting to be her Valentine”.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 3: “Context Is Everything”
Trying to escape the far future, Dipper and Mabel found themselves in Gravity Falls on July 13th, 2002. Knowing the consequences of tampering with time, the twins resolved to keep a low profile until they could figure out how to get back to 2012. As they walked down a sidewalk on the way to the Mystery Shack, two little girls on tricycles came rushing toward them.
“Woah!” exclaimed Dipper, trying to get them to stop. Thankfully, they did right in front of them.
“Oops, sorry,” said one of the children.
Dipper and Mabel realized that the 2 little girls were none other than Wendy and Tambry, at 5 years old. Little Wendy, staring at Dipper, whispered something into Tambry's ear.
Without any subtlety, young Tambry pointed at Dipper and declared, “My friend thinks you're cute.”
Tiny Wendy scowled at her friend. “Oh my gosh, Tambry! Shut up!” She shoved Tambry off her trike.
“Ow! Hey!” said Tambry in response.
Dipper found himself blushing, on account of the fact that he had feelings for 15-year-old Wendy. “Thank you,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I mean... you're super young, so this is weird.”
Mabel chuckled. “Now you know how she feels, creep,” she said, bumping Dipper in the arm.
“Hey, this is not same!” said Dipper. “A kindergartner liking a tween is much weirder than an 8th-grader liking a high school sophomore!”
“Ah, I'm just teasing you, Dippy,” said Mabel. “I don't actually think you're a creep.”
“Oh,” said Dipper. “I totally misread you there.”
Wendy and Tambry started to pedal past them.
“That's alright, it happens,” said Mabel with a shrug. The twins continued down the street.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 2: “1, 2, 3…”
It was June 1st, 2013. Dipper, Mabel, and Waddles had just returned to Gravity Falls a few hours before. Stan and Ford shared adventures on the Stan-O-War over the past 9 months, Grenda shared how her relationship with Prince Marius was going, Soos shared the new Mystery Shack exhibits he had made up (hand-in-hand with his girlfriend Melody), and the young Pines twins shared their experiences from the past school year.
Much of the crew decided to get lunch at Greasy’s. “Ford’s buying!” announced Stan, to Ford’s surprise.
Mabel, who had been watching every interaction between Dipper and Wendy with interest, suggested that they get a booth to themselves.
“Works for me,” said Wendy, in her usual collected tone.
“Same here!” said Dipper, a bit louder than he intended.
The 2 teenagers sat opposite each other, and continued catching up on their lives since the previous summer.
“Hey, that ‘Test Your Manliness’ machine is still here,” said Dipper, while Lazy Susan delivered their pizza and burgers. “I made quite a fool of myself last summer on that thing.”
“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself. Not everyone can be my dad.” Wendy brought her voice down to a whisper. “In fact, I think those ‘free pancakes’ have been sitting there for several days.”
“Huh, they do look stale.”
A couple minutes later, Wendy’s high school friends entered the diner. She glanced over to make eye contact with them. They wanted to discuss summer plans now that school was out, so she shared her schedule with them. When they left, Wendy looked back to see Dipper looking a little distracted. An affectionate expression. Mumbling something.
“What’s up, dude?” she asked. “You look like you’re in a trance or something.”
“Oh, sorry. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“I promise I won’t laugh.”
Dipper looked at the sticky floor. “I was counting your freckles.”
Wendy raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“How many so far?”
Dipper examined Wendy’s expression for any kind of contempt, but found none. “17,” he answered.
“You know what? Change of plans,” said Wendy, starting to type away on her cell phone.
“What do you mean?”
“I cancelled with Tambry and the others for today. It’ll be just me and you for the rest of the day.”
Dipper’s eyes lit up and he grinned. “Works for me.”
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
This was inspired by the premise of the fanfic “Freckles” by dancingthroughrain.
Wendip Week 2025 Day 1: “Shared Separation”
Dipper turned his attention away from the ancient laptop that Soos had found and Bill Cipher had broken. “I wouldn't get your hopes up, Mabel.”
“Too late! Hopes are way way up!” squealed Mabel, starting to read the message she received from Mermando the Merman.
Mabel's tone quickly turned from ecstatic to miserable. “‘In order to prevent an undersea civil war... arranged wedding... Queen of the Manatees?’” Dipper looked at Mabel with concern.
“And she’s so beautiful!” exclaimed Mabel. “This can’t be happening!” Tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“Oh man, that’s terrible, Mabel,” said Dipper, feeling sorry for his sister’s plight.
Mabel pulled out her “Summer Memories” scrapbook from under a sweater. “Look at my luck for summer romances. Norman, a bunch of gnomes. Gideon, child psycho. Gabe, made out with his own hands. And now, this! I wish I could just forget about them forever.”
Dipper glanced at the floor. “Well, if it’s any consolation, my luck with romance this summer hasn’t been good either.”
Mabel put down her scrapbook. “Her rejection still hurts, huh?”
“A lot. I’ve never felt that way about anyone before.”
“How have you been handling it?” said Mabel, her tone still sad, but also curious now.
“Focusing on finding the author of this journal has helped distract me most of the time. But whenever I’ve seen Wendy working at the register the past few days, I get this pit in my stomach. I wonder if it would have been better if I never developed a crush on her at all.”
“I guess we’re kind of in the same boat then,” said Mabel, her frown curling up into a slight smile. “Thanks for understanding.”
“Awkward sibling hug?” offered Dipper.
Mabel opened her arms. “Awkward sibling hug.”
“Pat, pat,” they said in unison, while patting each other on the backs.
“I hope you eventually find someone you’re happy with,” said Dipper.
“Back at you, Dip-Dop.” Mabel began to smile wider. “You know, maybe things can still change in the future with Wendy.”
Dipper raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Mabel took the bottle Mermando’s message came in and started looking through it like a telescope. “Your age gap will become less and less important when you get older. A 21-year-old and a 24-year-old getting married is quite normal...”
“You think Wendy could maybe change her mind in the future?”
“Not to get your hopes up, but anything’s possible!”
Dipper smiled a bit.
“Wait a minute. Dipper, look! The old laptop says ‘McGucket Labs’ on it.”
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Gravity Falls (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
The Future of Wendip Week?
Hello Wendip fans! I messaged @wendip-week a while back about whether there are plans for Wendip Week this year, but I have received no reply. I hope that the account owner is okay. Last year, prompts were made available several weeks in advance. Should we make a poll to determine prompts, or should we approach this year's Wendip Week freestyle? Personally, I'm open to either.
“Janna and Princess Turdina” Chapter 2: “Hear Ye, Hear Ye”
The towers of St. Olga’s Reform School for Wayward Princesses loomed over the 3 teenagers. Grey clouds prevented any sunlight from reaching the ground, leaving only the crooked windows to illuminate the dark valley.
“This place is so eerie,” said Janna, glancing at Turdina and Star to see familiar dread. “It’s my kind of vibe!”
“You won’t be saying that once we get inside. It’s a dystopian nightmare in there,” cautioned Turdina in a treble pitch. Janna couldn’t help but think about how cute she found this higher voice.
One of the towers lay collapsed next to the complex. “Did you do that?” asked Janna.
“We had help from the other princesses,” explained Star, starting to smile again.
They entered the main lobby, not a single light on. Star tiptoed in front, Turdina pulled up her pink ballgown to avoid tripping, and even Janna decided to step more quietly.
Suddenly, a light came from the top of the stairs. Star grabbed her wand in anticipation, and Turdina carefully stepped right beside her. A silhouette emerged, blocking some of the light.
“I have a wand!” shouted Star.
“And I have a red belt!” said Turdina.
The silhouette spoke. “Turdina and Star? Is that you?”
Star took a relieved sigh, and Turdina’s tensed shoulders relaxed.
The silhouette revealed herself as Princess Arms, one of the many princesses inspired by Princess Turdina’s cause. Having 4 hands, she simultaneously shook the hands of Star, Turdina, and Janna.
“So glad you’re back,” said Princess Arms. “A lot of new princesses don’t believe Turdina was real, so now we can prove it to them!”
“I thought another headmistress would’ve taken over the school once Heinous was kicked out,” said Turdina.
“They tried to install others, but every time they do, we fought back,” said Arms.
As the four walked across the lit hallway at the top of the stairs, Janna saw a large number of Turdina posters hung on the walls and some holiday lights strung above.
“We’re going to renovate the school to our liking, so you should come back again in a few weeks,” said Arms.
“I already like it now,” said Janna, almost dizzied by the sight.
The group stopped at the intersection of 2 hallways.
“I’m going to gather up all the princesses, Turdina,” explained Arms. “Meet us in the assembly courtyard.” She ran ahead down 1 of the hallways, while Star led the way down another.
Turdina walked quite a bit slower than Star, apparently not as used to walking in high heels as her. Janna took this opportunity to walk next to Turdina.
“So I heard Jackie broke up with you,” said Janna in a hushed voice. “How are you holding up with that?”
“Okay, I guess,” said Turdina. “I feel bad that she felt our relationship could not work. I never meant to disregard her, I just…”
“Wanted to help on Mewni?” offered Janna.
Turdina nodded. Janna realized how much between a rock and a hard place Marco/Turdina was in, trying to be there for Jackie but also fighting for Star’s community.
“Who knows? Maybe someone else will come along,” said Janna with a shrug.
Turdina looked down at the floor, glittery eye shadow sparkling in the hallway candelabras. “I’m not sure about that.”
“Oh great kingdom of Echo Creek!” announced Janna in her best town crier voice. “Who shall take the hand of this fair maiden?”
Turdina chuckled a bit.
“What you two talking about?” said Star, glancing back at them.
“Relationship issues,” said Turdina honestly.
“Your lady-in-waiting wants to be swept off her feet again!” Janna continued in that theatric tone.
Suddenly, Turdina and Star froze in their tracks, eyes widening. Janna looked ahead to see what looked like a middle-aged woman with a tattered dress.
“Miss Heinous!” exclaimed Turdina. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard that you would be returning to St. Olga’s tonight,” said Heinous, “so I returned to turn the princesses against you!”
Janna noticed Star’s expression quickly turn from surprise to annoyance. Star pulled out her wand and lazily said, “Spider With a Top Hat.”
Heinous flinched at the sight. “You may have won this round, but I’ll be back!” She climbed out the nearest window.
“Darn, not even a chance to attack,” said the magical spider. He turned around to see Star, Turdina, and Janna. Focusing on Janna, he said, “Hello, who are you?”
Star placed a hand on Janna’s shoulder. “This is Janna Ordonia. She’s a friend of mine.”
“Sup!” said Janna.
“Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ordonia. A friend of Princess Butterfly is a friend of mine!” said the mustached arachnid.
He walked up and Janna instinctively put her hand to the ground so Spider could climb on it. “Woah,” she said, intrigued with the machine gun that had popped out of Spider’s top hat, “does that shoot real bullets?”
“It does indeed!” said Spider With a Top Hat proudly. “Though my fellow spells are quite formidable too, and they throw the best parties.”
The trio continued onward, Janna spending the whole time asking Spider questions about living in Star’s wand. After they reached the courtyard stage, Turdina asked, “So Cloudy and the laser puppies aren’t the only sentient spells?”
Unlike Janna and Turdina, Star took no apparent interest.
“Not even close!” said Spider with a hearty laugh. “There’s a whole community in there. They’re my greatest friends, gotten me through difficult times.”
“Wow, I’m glad we didn’t lose you when Toffee made Star destroy the wand,” said Turdina.
“As long as the magic survives, we survive,” said Spider. “So there’s no need to worry!”
It wasn’t long before Princess Arms had gathered the rest of the school. At the center of the stage, she introduced Turdina then declared, “I told you she was real, Tiffany!”
Turdina took a deep breath, and slightly pouted her lips in determination. The thought of kissing those pink, glossed lips ran through Janna’s head before Turdina approached the stage pulpit and started speaking encouraging words to her fellow princesses.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Star versus the Forces of Evil (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
“Sugar Rush Left Behind” Chapter 2: “The Players Love Her”
Mr. Litwak had just installed the new steering wheel for Sugar Rush. The 9 racers chosen for the roster that day (at random, so everyone could have a chance) stood on the podium next to the race course. Dozens of candy characters cheered in the bleachers.
Also in the audience sat Tamora, Felix, and the security guard for Game Central Station, Surge Protector. The married couple had insisted on being there to support them for their first race after being reinstated.
“I’ll get back to Hero’s Duty before any player can say, ‘Let’s shoot some cybugs!’” said Tamora with unbridled enthusiasm.
“And the same for my game,” added her husband.
Rancis, standing on the podium, noticed the other racers’ elation at being back in business, and the similar energy from Felix and Calhoun.
“I should be happy too,” he thought. “I’m not game-less any more.” But he couldn’t shake that empty feeling inside.
Suddenly, a familiar, booming voice came from the large screen listing the roster. “Quarter alert!”
“Alright, head in the game,” Rancis told himself.
Rancis climbed into his Reese’s peanut butter cup-themed kart. Markers indicating the players hovered over Taffyta and, actually, him.
3 lights, and they were off.
Rancis let the player guide his kart across the track, around racers and giant gumball obstacles. He didn’t need to concentrate much, but that only let him dwell further on the fact that Vanellope would neither be racing alongside him nor cheering from the audience.
His kart grabbed each power-up box it came across, and each item hit its mark. This caught his attention, as normally players would often run into at least the occasional obstacle. By the time they reached the jumping ramp out of the giant cake, his player had brought him to 3rd place. Only Taffyta and Adorabeezle remained ahead of him, and only by a few kart-lengths.
Shortly after they flew off the ramp, Taffyta threw an expertly-timed power-up at Adorabeezle, stopping her midair and sending her into the cupcake frosting below.
Taffyta laughed in her usual, haughty way. While Felix and Calhoun’s teachings about being kinder seemed to impress on the other racers, Taffyta only seemed to be nice when Felix and Calhoun were watching.
It was player versus player now. Powdered sugar snow began to pelt Rancis’s face, he looked around for Taffyta, but no sign of her. Suddenly, she ripped past him, coating his kart in the snow before they plunged into darkness.
The sugar crystal caves glimmered at the kart headlights, and the roar of the engines echoed throughout. Taffyta still rushed ahead, but Rancis slowly gained. Back into the sunlight, and the race was almost over. Every second, Rancis drew closer and closer. The finish line came into view. Just a couple more kart-lengths. Taffyta hit one of the boxes from the last line of power-ups, and less than a second later, so did Rancis.
The other player launched the item at Rancis, but his player anticipated it and swerved out of the way. Then at the player's command, he launched his perfectly-aimed power-up, causing Taffyta's kart to spin out. Rancis sped forward, and before Taffyta could catch up, he crossed the finish line.
“Wow, I finally won,” he thought, “after so long.” Then he spotted Taffyta coming to a stop beside him.
Rancis knew what it was like to have someone just beat you at the last second at a race, so despite everything, he still felt bad for her. “Oh, golly. I'm sorry you didn't win, Taffyta,” he said with sincerity.
Taffyta looked unimpressed for a moment, but as soon as she caught a glance of Felix and Calhoun, her expression turned nicer. “Pfft! Our friendship is much more important to me than winning, Rancis.”
***
Rancis stood on the podium, trophy in hand. One of the players looking through the screen was whooping in victory. For the first time since he heard that Vanellope had left for good, Rancis smiled. He looked back up at Felix, Tamora, and Surge Protector. Oddly, Surge looked actually surprised. Could it be because of how he pulled ahead last minute?
Felix and Tamora waved goodbye to all the racers and left the stands for Game Central Station, with Surge rubbing his forehead, still apparently in shock. There were no more players for a few minutes, so the participating racers discussed the race with the ones sitting out for the day.
Then sounded another “Quarter alert!” The racers glanced at the screen and noticed 2 familiar faces, Swati and her friend Nafisa, the former of which had accidentally broken the game’s steering wheel after Vanellope started going against her control. The 9 chosen racers went back to their places on the tracks as the players each opened the character select screen.
“Where’s Vanellope?” asked Swati.
Rancis glanced at Swati, who had a confused, almost concerned look.
“The roster changes every day,” explained Nafisa. “She’ll probably be playable tomorrow.”
“Oh, alright,” said Swati, in a disappointed tone.
For the next 4 days, Nafisa and Swati came at least once to see what the new roster was. Every time, whether from his kart or in the bleachers, Rancis noticed Swati’s reaction to Vanellope’s absence, and even Nafisa started to become visibly confused.
On the 4th day, Swati asked, “Is there a way to see all of the racers, even the ones not chosen?”
Nafisa typed something into her phone, most likely looking up Swati’s question. “Yes, if you go into settings, then characters, then list all.” A few sounds from navigating the settings echoed through the game. “Huh, didn’t there used to be 15 racers? Now there are 14.”
Rancis’s stomach tightened. “Stick to the program,” he remembered, so he kept an unemotional look.
“Vanellope’s not here at all,” said Swati. “Check on your machine.”
“Not there either,” said Nafisa.
“Should we tell Mr. Litwak?” asked Swati.
“Well, the game was just fixed. Maybe we can wait until there’s a factory reset?”
The 2 girls stood up and left for another arcade console.
Rancis couldn’t stand it any longer. He bolted out of the stands and into the racer village behind.
“Why’s he leaving?” said Citrusella.
“Who cares?” said Taffyta dismissively.
“I’ll go talk to him,” said Swizzle.
He walked into the village and knocked on Rancis’s door, hearing a faint, “Come in.”
Swizzle found Rancis on his couch, his face in his hands.
“Is this about Vanellope leaving?” asked Swizzle, with a concerned tone.
“Yes,” said Rancis. “Are Swati and Nafisa the only other people who are bothered by this?”
“It’s alright, they’ll come back and play eventually,” said Swizzle. “Sugar Rush got plenty of quarters before Vanellope became president.”
“You mean when Turbo had us all brainwashed?” snapped Rancis.
Swizzle stood in silence, looking tongue-tied.
“The players love her, and for good reason. She’s charming, funny, and has those deep, hazel eyes—”
“What do her eyes got to do with this?” said Swizzle.
Rancis felt his cheeks flush a bit. He didn’t mean to mention that last part.
He continued, “We treated her like dirt after Turbo took over, but she forgave us and treated us like equals. She never did anything wrong to us. I made fun of her glitching…”
“Exactly, she forgave us,” said Swizzle. “And we were brainwashed. And that was 6 years ago!”
“Were we boring her? Not giving her the life she wanted?”
“Whatever it is, she’s happy where she is now. It’s time we move on.”
Rancis raised his head out of his hands and looked Swizzle in the eye. “Easy for you to say. You have Sticky as a girlfriend!”
Swizzle’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a thing for Vanellope?”
Rancis looked away. “I need some time alone.”
Nougetsia stood outside Rancis’s house. Swizzle came out. “He won’t talk to any of us racers,” he explained.
“Maybe we should ask Felix and Tamora about this after the arcade closes,” suggested Nougetsia. “They have great advice for these kinds of things.”
***
The California sunset shone through the arcade doors, partially blocked by Mr. Litwak locking up before he left for his car. Calhoun was high-fiving Markowski (he had become more adapted to fighting bugs over the past 6 years), and Felix was sharing cake with Ralph and the Q*bert characters when Nougetsia and Swizzle told them what had happened.
“I should have fixed the elevator faster. Then we could have gotten down before Rancis finished talking with Ralph,” said Felix, while he and his wife walked through the crowded Game Central Station.
“Look, you didn’t know,” said Tamora, dodging around Dig Dug. “We’ll smooth this out faster than a torrent beating against an ancient igneous.”
As they came up to Rancis’s home, Felix asked, “Should you talk to him first, or should I? Or maybe both of us?”
“I can try first.” She knocked. “Can I come in, lamb?”
No answer.
“I heard what happened,” she said. “You must feel devastated. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love, and you ever want to talk about it, I’d sure be happy to.”
Silence. Raising an eyebrow, Tamora put her hand on the knob and, to the surprise of both her and Felix, it turned easily. The unlocked door creaked open and the couple entered. Calhoun spotted a note on the graham cracker table:
“Going to the Internet. Will be back soon.”
“Oh my land!” exclaimed Felix.
---
This is a fan work, based on the movies Wreck-it Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
“Sugar Rush Left Behind” Chapter 1: “A Letter from Rancis”
Rancis Fluggerbutter sat on top of the main Fix-it Felix Junior building, wistfully looking out at the unplugged Sugar Rush arcade machine. The racer illustrations on the machine’s side, all with happy faces, contrasted sharply from its dark screen, which was usually alight with vivid color.
The silence was broken by footsteps behind him. He whipped around his head to see Felix walking toward him, who looked concerned. “What brings you up here, Rancis?” asked the repairman. “Getting some fresh air from all the bedlam downstairs?”
“It’s not that,” said Rancis in a faint voice.
Felix noticed where Rancis was looking. “You’re concerned about your game, aren’t you?” said Felix in an understanding tone. He sat down next to him. “I was horrified when this game was almost unplugged 6 years ago. There’s no shame in feeling troubled about it. For what it’s worth, I’m darn tootin’ sure that Ralph and Vanellope will find another steering wheel.”
“I’m sure they will,” said Rancis. “There’s actually something else though.”
“Care to share?”
“Well, there’s this girl I know.” Rancis felt his face flush slightly.
Felix smiled with a knowing look. “Ah, she gives you the honey glows!”
“Yeah, but I don’t know if she will like me back.”
“You’ll never know if you never ask,” said Felix. “You think I would have ever ended up with Tammy if I wasn’t honest with her?”
“I just don’t think I can say it,” said Rancis. “I haven’t been able to say it for 6 years.”
“There are other ways you could tell her. Write her a song, give her flowers, write a letter—”
The heaviness in Rancis’s stomach suddenly became lighter than air. “That’s a great idea! Thanks, Felix!” he said before eagerly running downstairs, leaving Felix with a stunned expression.
“Huh, maybe I’m not such a bad father figure after all.” The mechanic smiled even wider.
***
“Done!” said Rancis in triumph. After agonizing over the exact words and crumpling up drafts for hours, he could at last put the final letter in an envelope. He had spilled all of his feelings for this special someone onto this paper, and felt ready to share it with her. Taking some water from his apartment sink, he sealed the letter.
Then, as if on cue, he heard a knock. He tripped a bit over all the crumpled up paper overflowing the nearby wastebasket on his way to the door, which he opened to see Candlehead.
“Ralph’s back!” she said without hesitation. Rancis’s eyes widened and his heart began to beat rapidly.
“Great! I’ll be right down!” he responded.
Candlehead nodded and went down the hall. Rancis raced to his desk, steering clear of the paper on the floor, and wrote the recipient name on the envelope. After briefly checking his hair in the mirror (perfect, as usual), he sprinted out his apartment to the nearest elevator.
“Out of order?” he thought in disbelief. That’s what the sign said, but it wasn’t there an hour ago. Ugh, maybe Gloyd broke it for a prank again.
Rancis was not used to the stairs. Even though he was going down, it was still a lot of floors and he had to stop every few flights to catch his breath. Finally, he reached the lobby. Once out of the building’s front double doors, Rancis spotted a crowd of Sugar Rush racers next to the train station, huddled around the giant that was Wreck-it Ralph.
By the time Rancis got to the group, they were already starting to disperse. “Taffyta, what happened?” he asked.
“Ask yourself,” she said in her usual haughty tone and left without another word.
Rancis groaned in frustration. “Did they find another steering wheel?” he asked Adorabeezle as she walked by him.
“No time, gotta go!” she said with a grin.
Rancis spotted Gloyd and without thinking, he glared at him and shouted, “Did you break the elevator again?” Gloyd just gave him a smug look and shoved past him. The last of the other racers disbanded, leaving Ralph standing in front of the little railroad tracks. Focused again, Rancis came up to the Goliath-sized man.
“Sorry, the elevator was broken. Can you fill me in?” asked Rancis.
“Sure can,” said Ralph in a lighthearted voice. “We got another steering wheel and it’s being shipped here.”
Rancis gave a sigh of relief. “Glad to hear that.” But then he noticed that no one was in the Nicelander-sized train. “Where’s Vanellope?” he asked.
“Oh, while we were out in the Internet, we found this game called ’Slaughter Race’,” explained Ralph.
Rancis cringed a bit. “Gruesome sounding name.”
“Yeah, I thought so too!” said Ralph, sounding validated. “But anyway, she made some friends and she decided she wanted to stay there. Despite the game’s name, the people can be quite nice once you get to know them, as long as you’re not one of the players.”
Rancis smiled at this. “Wow, sounds cool!” he said. “So, when is she planning on getting back?”
“Well, that’s just it. They added her code to the game.”
Rancis’s heart sunk. “She isn’t coming back then?”
“Ah, don’t worry,” said Ralph in a matter-of-fact tone. “As she put it, she was one of 16 racers, so no one would miss her.”
Rancis hung his head.
“You feeling okay, Rancis?” said Ralph.
Without replying, Rancis started to trudge back to the apartment complex. The envelope slipped between his fingers onto the ground, and he didn’t bother to pick it back up.
The light from the arcade illuminated the recipient’s name: “Vanellope von Schweetz”.
---
This is a fan work, based on the movies Wreck-it Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.
“Janna and Princess Turdina” Chapter 1: “A Whole New Diaz?”
Janna Ordonia scurried out of the Echo Creek Cemetery while the caretaker spewed violent threats at her. She was only trying to dig up a grave! Out on the sidewalk, she yelled back, “Nothing you can do now!” The caretaker grunted in defeat and walked back to the columbarium.
Janna readjusted her beanie and crossed the street into town. “What should I do now?” she wondered. The morgue was closed, and the John Keats reading club wouldn’t meet again until next Tuesday. Maybe a burrito would help her think.
As she approached Britta’s Tacos, employee Sensei Brantley eyed her with disgust. Oh yeah, Janna was banned from Britta’s Tacos, and she forgot to bring a disguise. “I’m not hungry,” she declared in front of the burly employee. “I just wanna sit and think.” Brantley’s eyes narrowed further, but he went back to making tortillas.
Sitting at one of the outdoor tables, Janna rested her head on her hand. Maybe she could find a wrestling match to attend, but she didn’t know of any at this hour. She looked back at Brantley, still garbed in his martial arts attire underneath his restaurant uniform. There was someone else she knew who was good at martial arts: Marco Diaz.
Ever since she met Marco in elementary school, Janna jumped at every opportunity to spend time with him, even if it made him “a little uncomfortable.” This led to her mother often asking, “Do you have a crush on that Diaz boy?” Janna quickly denied this every time, of course.
***
The Diaz residence, complete with the room magically added by Star Butterfly, stood in the evening darkness, soft light pouring out its windows. Janna smiled at the light coming from Marco’s room. With how much Star whisked him away to the planet Mewni, Janna was starting to miss Marco’s dorky grin.
Janna didn’t need to knock on the door, she already had a stolen key. Inside, she spotted Mr. and Mrs. Diaz in the kitchen, wearing pajamas.
“Hello Janna,” said Mr. Diaz nonchalantly, placing teabags into steaming mugs of water. “What brings you here?”
This was not the first time Janna had just walked into the house, and neither of Marco’s parents ever seemed to mind her entering uninvited. If they ever did have a problem with it, she could just sneak through the window.
“Just visiting Marco and Star,” said Janna.
“They’re upstairs,” said Mrs. Diaz.
“Peppermint tea?” offered Mr. Diaz.
“No thanks,” said Janna before heading up.
She first walked to the closed door leading into Star’s room and knocked. “Hey, you there, Star?”
“Hi Janna!” came Star’s voice muffled through the door. “Sorry, I’m just about to get into the shower. We have business on Mewni,” she said in her usual bubbly tone.
“How about Marco?” asked Janna.
“Getting dressed.”
Janna smirked. She loved sneaking in on Marco in embarrassing situations. “Cool. Thanks, Star.”
Without a moment of hesitation, Janna opened the door into Marco’s room without knocking. Nothing out of the ordinary, just empty. Spotting the door to the bathroom, she grinned mischievously and barged in, warm steam from the recent shower permeating the air. Even though she had seen Marco in just a towel before, she was not ready for what she saw.
Marco sat in front of her, wearing a frilly, pink ballgown and pulling a stocking up his leg. He apparently noticed the sound of the door slamming open, since he looked up to see Janna’s surprised expression.
Marco yelped. “Janna! What did I tell you about knocking?”
Janna didn’t respond. She could only keep looking Marco’s outfit up and down. Finally, she said, “Marco, I had no idea you were into cross-dressing.”
Marco’s already red cheeks went an even deeper shade of scarlet. “It’s more complicated than that! I’m doing this for the princesses of St. Olga’s!”
Janna blinked in confusion. “You mean that school you saved Ponyhead from?”
Marco nodded. “When we went to save her, Star disguised me as a princess so we could move around the school undetected.” He explained how he inadvertently became a symbol of liberation to St. Olga’s students as “Princess Turdina”, and wanted to continue supporting them. He then closed his eyes with an embarrassed face.
“Honestly, it’s super cool that you’re willing to do that for them,” said Janna.
Marco opened his eyes. “You really think so? You’re not just pulling my leg?”
Janna gave an unusually sincere smile. Marco sighed in relief.
“Anything I can do to help you out?” said Janna.
“Actually, yeah. I’m having trouble with the dress zipper. Star usually helps me, but she had to wait to shower until I finished.”
Janna raised an eyebrow. “Were you hogging all the hot water?”
“Poor planning on my part,” said Marco in a sheepish tone.
“Well, I’ll help you zip up.”
She walked behind him and started to pull up the zipper, only to stop for a second to chuckle. “Is that a bra you’re wearing under there?”
“Janna!” Marco protested.
After the dress, stockings, and shoes were in place, Marco opened a drawer under the sink and pulled out various bottles and tubes of makeup. Janna watched with interest while Marco put blush on his cheeks. He then attempted to add mascara to his eyelashes, but kept poking himself in the eye. “Ow!” he said each time.
“Not much experience, huh?” asked Janna.
“Yeah, I’ve only done this a couple of times before.”
“Mascara is hard to put on yourself. Want help?”
A brief pause, then a nod.
Janna expertly applied the mascara while Marco did his best to remain completely still. He thanked her once she finished and continued on his own.
“Can you grab my wig from the cabinet to the right?”
Janna did so, noticing the cute ponytail it was tied into. She placed it on the double-sink vanity in front of the mirror, in which Marco was now applying lipstick. Finally, Marco put on the wig, double-checked everything in the mirror, and turned toward Janna.
“How do I look?” Marco gave a nervous smile.
Taking it all in, Janna was shocked. The stockings and tennis shoes went surprisingly well together. The mascara really brought out Marco’s, or Princess Turdina’s, eyes. The pink lipstick perfectly matched the dress. His, or her, lips looked soft, so soft…
“You look super pretty,” admitted Janna.
“Thanks.”
“So, should I call you Marco or Turdina?” asked Janna, curious.
“You can call me either if I’m not in public like this. But I need to keep up this persona at St. Olga’s, so call me Turdina there.”
“Are you inviting me to come with?” That would somehow be the biggest surprise of the evening.
“Star and I can use all the help we can get tonight.”
“Alright then, Princess,” said Janna in a lighthearted tone.
Marco/Turdina blushed again, supposedly at being called “Princess” by Janna.
The duo met Star in the hallway, who was all dressed up and ready to leave. They explained to her that Janna was willing to come with.
“I can be a rogue princess who refuses to wear a ballgown,” offered Janna, in explanation of how she could blend in.
Star agreed. She pulled out the interdimensional scissors to open a portal and entered it.
“Ladies first,” said Janna, joking.
Princess Turdina rolled her eyes and made her way toward the portal. Before following though, Janna couldn’t help but be mesmerized by how daintily she walked.
---
This is a fan work, based on the TV series Star versus the Forces of Evil (copyrighted by Disney). Everything copyrightable in this text that is not copyrighted by Disney is released by its author, only-here-for-the-ships, under the Creative Commons Zero.