The townsfolk shuffled past, their whispers like a swarm of angry bees. Y/n has been accused of… well, no one ever quite specified the accusation, just muttering about unnatural dealings and things best left undisturbed. The truth was far more mundane. Three years ago, was when she first tried to tell people and show them something rather unordinary but was stopped when Weirdmageddon happened at the same time. Some of the people blamed her for it and others spread rumors. Now, she was the town pariah, branded with a suspicion she couldn't even begin to explain.
Two figures approached, their brightly colored clothes a stark contrast to the somber feeling of the town. A girl, her pink headband holding back a riot of curls, her eyes sparkling like captured starlight, bounced towards the girl. Beside her stood a boy, his orange shirt and blue vest, a surprisingly pleasing combination. The two of them looked fairly similar. "Hey! Are you okay?" The girl chirped, her voice full of genuine concern, while the boy shifted awkwardly, his gaze flitting between her and the whispers swirling around them.
"I'm Mabel, that's my brother Dipper!" Mabel continued, gesturing towards her brother. "We saw what happened… it looked pretty rough." Dipper spoke softly.
Y/n, surprised by their kindness, found herself managing a small, shaky smile. The swirling emotions inside her, embarrassment, anger, momentarily stilled. "Y/n… and yeah it's alright, I'm fine." She replied with a slight tremor in her voice.
Mabel, ever perceptive, noticed the tremor in her voice. "Want to grab some waffles?" She offered her usual enthusiasm undimmed. Mabel's warmth was infectious, and even Dipper's quiet and shy presence offered a strange comfort.
As Mabel began chattering about a peculiar gnome she encountered earlier, Dipper started asking detailed questions about the shop owners' actions, though Y/n avoided the questions. The whispers of the townsfolk faded into the background, replaced by the comforting sound of two young voices, offering a strange, but welcoming, friendship.
Mabel Pines, all sunshine and rainbow-striped socks, bounced into Greasy's Diner, a colossal hollowed-out redwood practically groaning under its own weight. Behind her trailed Dipper, he looked at Theo before turning his gaze to the diner. His usual skeptical frown softened slightly by the novelty of the log-shaped building. He adjusted his signature hat.
His journal peeking from his backpack. Y/n had been here for a long time, but she never really went out to eat. She'd just order food online. The scent of sizzling bacon and maple syrup hung heavy in the air, a comforting aroma that momentarily distracted them from the slightly unsettling sight of the gnarled, wooden interior.
They slid into a booth, the wood warm beneath their touch. An old woman with a perpetually closed lazy eye, her face a roadmap of wrinkles etched by time and laughter, shuffled over, placing a stack of plates piled high with golden-brown waffles onto their table. "Food!" The old lady exclaimed, gesturing to the plate, "For you!" She added before walking away.
Y/n stared at the plates, 'We didn't even order anything yet...' She thought, staring at the waffles. Each waffle was a perfect, fluffy square, steaming gently under the diner's surprisingly bright fluorescent lights. Mabel gasped, her eyes sparkling. "These look amazing!" She exclaimed happily, already reaching for a fork. Dipper ignored the food, flipping open his journal, writing in it.
Y/n, meanwhile, quietly studied the interior of the diner before her eyes caught Dipper's journal. Eyeing the journal with a skeptical look. The journal looks pretty new but worn out from usage. It has red fabric and a gold spine with a... six fingered hand cutout glued to the center. It has the number 4 on it. "So... what are you writing about, is it your diary or something?" Y/n asks. Dipper looks up at Y/n, looking like his ego was just damaged and Mabel nearly chokes on her waffles.
Mable coughs a few times as she pats her chest, finally swallowing down the waffle remains. The twins share a conflicted glance. "... Sure, something like that." Dipper says with a small, annoyed tone. While Mabel chuckles lightly, looking back at Y/n. "Hah, uhm well you could say that. My bro bro likes writing about the weird stuff here in town." She says before taking another bite, probably too big of a bite... "Oh cool. I kinda have something like that." Theo says with a small smile. Dipper raises an eyebrow as he looks at Y/n questionably.
"You do?" He asked. Pausing his writing momentarily. Y/n nods and pulls out a tape recorder from her pocket. "I record my thoughts, and play is back whenever I need to remember something." She replies with a small shrug.
"Ooh! That's cool looking thing, can I see?" Mabel says enthusiastically, already reaching out to grab Y/n's tape recorder, stretching across the table. Y/n seemed hesitant to hand it to her but before she could deny, Mabel already took it from her, examining it. Flipping it around in her hand, poking it with the other. Y/n tenses as she watches with growing nervousness. Mabel pokes and pokes the tape recorder before poking a button.
There's a soft click before the tape plays a recording that Y/n took. "Log recording 0-326, Dreams are getting worse. I find it easier to want to fall asleep but I'm not sure if I want to after the last dream. I'll continue my research on this artifact, but I need to be careful. I'm still unaware if this will have a physical effect or damage to myself. End of log." There's another soft click and the tape recorder stops followed by a long awkward silence filling the air.