a continuation of this thing. tyrone, asher, and odette, and the entirely of the falling phantom universe and like all the next gen kids belong to @fallingphantom, asher’s last name is the only thing that belongs to me. this has actually been almost done for like a year, but i’ve been distracted.
“Odette! Hey, Odette!”
The blonde heard none other than her friend, Asher Kiefer, calling out to her. Normally, the girl would ignore him and simply walk straight up the steps into the school; after all, he was supposed to meet her up at her house to walk together, so it wasn’t her fault that he was late. This time, however, there was a tone of urgency in his voice that surprised her enough to stop and wait for him to catch up. She kept her back toward him and noticed the lack of a second pair of feet along with Asher’s. She turned and saw Asher approaching her alone, a complete shock to her.
“Where’s Ty? Sick or something?” Odette questioned, gesturing to the empty space next to him.
He shook his head. “No, or at least, I don’t think so. When I went to the Shack to pick him up for school, Aunt Dani told me he overslept and to go on without him,” he answered, and Odette caught traces of worry in his voice.
"Oh, c’mon Ash, you can’t get that worked up over our favorite half-ghost boy’s sleeping schedule now, can you?” she cracked a smirk and elbowed her friend, and his somber face made her smile drop off her face for a fraction of a second. “Don’t worry so much. I’m sure he was up late last night failing at writing a love letter to his crush or training like a madman to see if he can beat me in a sparring match.”
“He has a perfect attendance record,” Asher reminded her, opening the door and holding it for Odette to enter.
“Ever the gentleman,” Odette joked, managing to get a roll of the eyes out of him. “And seriously, when does ‘perfect attendance’ ever mean anything? It’s just a bunch of words telling you ‘congratulations, you’ve spent the maximum possible amount of time in this prison. Now go on and take those fancy standardized tests to get us on the top charts as we teach you nothing’.”
“Okay, so I’m going to ignore everything wrong and yet somehow right in that off topic statement,” Asher said, following Odette as she arrived at her locker. “It’s not just that! Odette, seriously! Haven’t you noticed Tyrone’s been acting… weird lately?”
The blonde couldn’t help but to burst out laughing at the statement. “Lately? As in, you’re suggesting he wasn’t weird before? Ash, I think you need to specify what the heck your definition of weird is, ‘cuz we’re friends with not only a half-ghost, but one just beginning to enter the lovely stages of puberty. You’re talking about a boy who finds it physically impossible to say no to any dare, no matter how dangerous of self-degrading, a trait which I adore more than you could ever imagine. He’s a stubborn yet somehow loveable brat and half the time he has absolutely no chill. With all of those traits, weird doesn’t even follow up short on describing him.” Odette watched entertained as Asher groaned and slammed his head against one of the lockers. “Admit it. I am right about that.”
It took a bit longer than she had originally anticipated for him to stop, though she was still pleased with her work and finished inputting the code and opened her locker, and heard him mutter, “Why do I even hang out with you…”
“Because you simply couldn’t survive without me,” she teased as he pulled himself from banging his head into the metal.
“Odette, look at me here,” he said, grabbing her by the shoulders so she would face him. It did make her shut up for a moment, only for her to barely manage to stifle a giggle at the height difference. He ignored it. “I think Tyrone’s avoiding us.”
The girl stared at him dumbfounded for a moment before a grin cracked onto her face. “You’re joking, right?”
“Think about it! For the past few days, he only talks to us out of necessity.” Asher pointed out, and listed off, “Whenever I go over to the Shack, Aunt Dani or Uncle Dipper tells me he’s out training in the woods or I find him holed up in his room claiming he’s studying. He doesn’t respond to my texts, and I’m willing to bet he doesn’t for you either. He disappears during lunch and works alone whenever possible and manages to disappear from class the second the bells rings. And now he’s starting to oversleep so he doesn’t have to walk to school with us. Don’t you notice a bit of a pattern here?”
Odette had to admit, she didn’t have much of a comeback to the evidence Asher had laid out. Looking back on it, it was pretty obvious that he was onto something. “You sound like your uncle,” she concluded as she gathered her books from her locker.
“You just can’t stand that I’m right,” Asher countered at her dismissiveness.
“Okay, so maybe you’re onto something. Maybe,” Odette emphasized the word to overshadow her relenting. “But at the same time, he might just be pissed at us for some reason or the other. And yeah, he can hold a grudge for a while, but it always lets up eventually. We’ll just have to wear him out. And you know how good I am at that.”
A coy and prideful smirk appeared on her face at the end of that comment, and Asher groaned at her cockiness. With both her and Tyrone, Asher wasn’t entirely sure how they would survive if he didn’t hang out with them. “He doesn’t express anger by ignoring people, he does it through careful revenge plots.” Asher reminded her. “Remember when he got mad at you for that mixtape?”
Her eyes lit up at the memory, her recollection of the event obviously far brighter than Asher’s, though he didn’t know what else he was supposed to expect from her. “Oh yeah! It was awesome, he got the school closed down for like a week.”
“I’m not entirely sure calling the situation where a bunch of gnomes destroyed the science wing and kidnapped you to make you their queen would qualify as ‘awesome’.”
Odette shrugged. “Totally worth it. Besides, the ring I got from the gnomes is pretty sweet.”
“Along with the bites embedded into my arms and Tyrone’s leg? And we’re getting off topic again! Odette, seriously, I…” Asher bit his lip, making him appear even younger than he already seemed. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s never acted like this before, and it’s really freaking me out.”
Odette wavered at the sight of her friend looking so… terrified. And that emotion coming from a kid who was borne and raised in Gravity Falls by the Mabel Pines, it was enough to knock her down a notch. “Ash, c’mon, you know who we’re talking about here, right? Tyrone Pines, the stubborn overly competitive half-ghost preteen who never backs down from a fight. It’s probably just a phase. And we both know he can’t possibly last much longer with the silent treatment.”
Asher didn’t seem to visibly relax or calm down at her words, and once she heard it aloud, she didn’t blame him.
“Tyrone doesn’t handle doing the silent treatment thing well and you know it,” Asher reiterated. “Out of all the things he could’ve gotten for a ‘phase’, I don’t think it would ever be ignoring two of his very small circle of friends.”
“Have you ever tried, you know, asking his parents if you’re this worried?” Odette suggested, feeling slightly out of character for her being the one to tell her goodie-two-shoes friend to ask an adult for help. “He’s one of the biggest Mama’s boys you’ll ever meet. Add that with parents like his, I’m decently sure they would’ve noticed a thing or two.”
“And you think he would tell me anything after that?” Asher replied, then shifted uneasily. “I just... I’d rather talk to him before going to an adult. He’s never acted like this before, and the last thing I want to do is isolate him further from us.”
For the first time in her conscious memory, Odette found herself in a complete loss for words. She expected for the sky to fall and it to rain armageddon before she ever witnessed the day Asher rejected the notion of telling an adult about their problem. On any other day in any other situation, she would’ve been shooting confetti cannons and exploding soda.
Instead, the bell rang through the air, pulling Odette out of her stunned silence and back into reality.
“Odette, please, just for once entertain my paranoia here, okay?” Asher begged, rushing the words in order to get to his locker and to homeroom on time. “I’ll go along with any prank you pull or whatever adventure you wanna do no matter how stupid it is if you just help me with this.”
Odette sighed and nodded. “Fine! I have gym with Ty first period, I’ll go test your little theory. But if he’s fine, you owe me a candy bar along with helping me with my next school prank.”
Asher, though slightly annoyed at her additional prices, smiled with relief at her words. “It’s a deal.”
I hope to include her, since she’s my favorite DP character. I’m actually thinking of doing a series of oneshot comics independent of Falling Phantom that will feature Dani, Dipper and Mabel (and maybe others from Gravity Falls) interacting with more DP characters. I just have so many ideas for the way certain characters will interact with the kids, like Johnny 13 and Kitty becoming fond of the kids, and the way Jazz becomes a big part of Pacifica’s support system, and Youngblood with Dani and Mabel (To Dipper’s jealous dismay). The kids plotting to stop Skulker from capturing the rarer monsters of Gravity Falls...
Also, the DP crew vs the Gravity Falls monsters could be heaps of fun, too. Sam’s contempt for the Manotaurs would know no bounds, and Tucker WILL NOT REST until he finds his hot Mermaid girlfriend. And Then there’s Danny, foaming at the mouth at the thought of CONFIRMED ALIEN LANDINGS as Jazz just sighs and longs for normality.
Dipper couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this angry. Or scared. He was trying to focus more on the anger, though. Hold it close and let it burn so the icy terror that had gripped his heart would fade. It was easier to deal with that emotion, after all.
“Did you completely lose your mind or something?” Dipper snapped at the bedbound girl, giving her the fiercest scowl he could manage when a part of him was still fighting the urge to hug her. “Do you have any idea how close you got to dying? Seriously Danielle, what were you thinking?!”
“Don’t call me Danielle, Dip. You know I hate that.” Dani griped weakly, frowning at the brunet.
“Well you wanna know what I hate?” Dipper demanded. “Having to carry one of my best friends’ limp, nearly dead body through the Oregon woods and waiting up five hours while my great uncle performs an incredibly risky, experimental, and likely illegal operation on her so she doesn’t die.”
“This isn’t a joke, Dani!” Dipper exploded. “You nearly died! And for what? If you had just waited ten more minutes for me and Mabel to get there-!”
“I had the situation under control!” Dani snapped.
“Oh really?! Could’ve fooled me!” Dipper retorted. “What, you think that because you have cool powers, you don’t need us to help you fight off a freaking War God?!”
“You saw what that thing did to me, Dipper! Imagine if it had been you! Or Mabel!” Dani shouted back.
“So you do! You think we’re not as capable as you because we’re just human!” Dipper accused, anger swelling. It was a fear he’d been biting back for a while now, the feeling of being inferior to the half ghost. Dani had amazing powers, and she was tough and smart and cute. What was he, compared to her? Just some dumb kid who liked to pretend that he knew what he was talking about, but really didn’t have a clue. “You really think we’re that much of a burden for you, that you couldn’t wait for us to-!”
“I COULDN’T RISK LOSING YOU!” Dani roared, tears streaming from her eyes as she glared at the shell shocked boy next to her bed. “I couldn’t take the chance that I wasn’t going to be good enough again, and wind up getting you and Mabel killed because I’m just a massive screw up who can’t do anything right! And I don’t need you rubbing that in my face now too, okay?!”
And just like that, all the anger and jealousy and the urge to fight left Dipper, leaving him feeling small and guilty.
“Dani…” Dipper said, swallowing hard as he tried to find the words to reassure his friend.
“Get out of here, Dipper. I’m tired, and I want to sleep.” The half ghost said shortly, turning in her bed so that her back was to him. The action stung like a slap to the face, and Dipper found himself meekly complying.
He was still reeling as he rested heavily against the closed door to Dani’s room, though. Part of him wanted to take back what he said, reclaim the reckless accusation he’d flung at Dani because he was angry and scared and wanted to hurt her because she had hurt him by nearly getting herself killed. Another part couldn’t believe the words Dani had hurled back. It wasn’t that he thought Dani didn’t appreciate him and his twin, but he’d never realized how highly she thought of them, or how little regard she had for herself.
Blandly, Dipper couldn’t help but wonder who it was who convinced Dani that she was ‘just a massive screw up.’ But the question did little to distract him from the realization that Dani thought that he saw her that way.
Will Dani fall victim to that body swapping carpet in the shack's hidden room? It would definitely increase the chaos of that episode if one of the twins ended up in Dani's body and had little to no ability to control her powers.
The Pines family had already gotten rid of the carpet long before Dani came rolling into town, but damn if the idea of a bodyswap didn’t get me grinning.
Dipper would definitely try and experiment with Dani’s powers and get in waaay over his head. Mabel would be more interested in giving her friend a cute makeover.
And Dani honestly prefers Dipper’s wanton destruction to what Mabel’s done to her body.
who steals french fries off the other’s plate: Dani. Mabel kinda just lets her, though, so it’s not really stealing. XD
who jokingly moves in for the kiss when someone asks if they’re a couple: Both of them do it, but Dani’s more likely to.
who has to bust or bail the other out of jail: Dipper, because nine times out of ten if one of them gets arrested, the other one does too. XDD Usually though, Dani busts them both out.
who gives the other advice/comfort about dating issues: Mabel. She actually does this without even being asked. Though Dani is the one who comforts Mabel after a bad break up.
who shamelessly cheats at games by reaching over to cover the other’s eyes: Dani. And Mabel STILL wins. XDD
who immediately calls dibs on the top bunk: Mabel always insists that Dani have it, because she knows Dani likes being in high places.
who starts and who wins the pillow fights: Mabel starts them. Dani doesn’t hold back. Dipper is usually a civilian casualty.
who says “your pants would look better on their floor” to the other’s potential crush: Dipper never wanted to murder his sister more in his entire life then he did the day Mabel said this to him. Dani almost peed herself laughing.
How would Dani being there change the latest episode?
Well for one thing, Dani would actually be all for Stan as Mayor and throw herself into his campaign with aplomb. She’s also be WAY not okay with the mind control tie, despite Dipper pointing out to her that it’s pretty hypocritical for her to disapprove when she can walk into someone’s body and take control as she pleases.
Dani... doesn’t exactly react positively to this observation.
That’s all I got so far, though. I want to wait until we’re a little further in the story before I cement anything in stone.
In light of the new episode what's happening with Dani? What does Ford think of her? Like does Stan go "yeah this is your great niece and nephew and also my adopted daughter?"
Ford has mixed feelings about Dani. On the one six-fingered hand, she’s clearly dangerous and not human and his experience with both hasn’t been wholly positive. But on the other, she’s absolutely fascinating from a scientific point of view and he’s even more curious about her and her powers then even Dipper is.
Dani just straight up doesn’t like or trust Ford, though she isn’t vocal about how uncomfortable he makes her because she knows Dipper hero worships him and that Mabel’s thrilled to have another family member while Stan risked so much to bring him back. So she mostly just tolerates him because she has no other option, but tries to stay as far away from him as she possibly can, to the point of even putting some distance between herself and the twins to hang out with Pacifica so she has an excuse to be away from the shack.
