‘If you kill them, you’d better kill me too, because otherwise I’m going to kill you.’ Wendy snarled, the threat directed seemingly aloud to herself in the decrepit mansion she was skulking around in.
‘Whoa uh…’ The Trickster took a step back, well as much a step back as one can take in a featureless magical void, They had been prepared for tears and confusion as is customary when vivid hallucinations and fiendish tricks are your stock and trade.
But had not expected such a strong reaction from one so young. It wasn’t the first time the trickster had been threatened far from it. However this time was…Different, it was if the red headed young woman could actually see him. Which was preposterous of course, nobody could see through their illusions.
And yet that troublesome young man with the constellation on his head had defeated the “sphinx” that guarded the exit from the ancient temple the trickster had trapped him in. Answering all it’s riddles and opening the coded vault which had trapped him in the trickers realm. He just walked into the hall, dispelling the illusion as he did so. Of Course he was no closer to getting out, the corridors and hallways stretched on nearly endlessly. He could be searching for an eternity and not find either of them.
The sister was another matter, the Jabberwok had been reduced to a stuttering mess as it’s incomprehensible chattering was drowned out by an unending series of raspberries blown by the young lady in the sweater as she aggressively ignored it.
unable to say its peace, the creature seemed unsure what to do. After all it had to get through the whole chant before the subsequent devouring of its prey.
The trickster was beside themselves, this was supposed to be an easy mark. An insecure bookworm, a beamish ingenue, and a neurotic tomboy. they should have crumbled the moment the were plunged into their illusory dungeons.
Instead the twins had now both shattered their respective illusions and were working to get their third free as well. The redhead meanwhile was standing in her dungeon arms crossed with a jaded look on her face as hordes of slathering nastys took swipes at her. Their dripping claws and gore caked fangs however passed through her like beams of light.
After her threat she had decided not to play along, and despite the illusions increasing detail and horribleness she remained as unperturbed as one could be while staring down the jaws of a Bandersnatch.
‘This isn’t happening, this isn’t right’ the Trickster hissed, their foxlike ears twitching anxiously.
‘it’ll be fine, I’ve still got the girl. I can leverage her to-’
The trickster felt fingers curl into their hair.
‘nononono’ they stammered as the hand pulled and the fox pelt pulled free in Mabel’s hand.
The trickster patted their now bald head, the layers and layers of enchantments that made them look young and beautiful fell away as the magics wore off.
‘This isn’t possible, you couldn’t have found me’ They stammered, crawling backwards on their palms.
Mabel shrugged ‘you picked the room at the end of the hall’
‘Seemed kinda obvious really’ Dipper added, stepping protectively in front of his sister.
——
Wendy shrugged off another of Dippers doting, insisting for hopefully the last time that she was fine, not taking her eyes (or crossbow) off of the now very defeated Trickster.
‘It wasn’t even real’ she insisted
‘Well the scratches are’ He replied equally insistent, feeling responsible as always.
It was after all the twins escaping their illusions that had “freed up some bandwidth” as Dipper put it. And given the tricksters illusion enough power to make Wendy’s last minutes in the crumbling mansion she had been imprisoned in more harrowing than the ones that preceded it.
‘so it’s a magic Davey Crockett hat?’ Mabel asked turning it over in her hands.
‘It’s a little more complicated than that mabel’ Dipper said, over his shoulder.
‘P-please, give it back. I need it, I’m nothing without it’ The trickster blubbered, begging for the font of their power back.
‘Dude, you are nothing period’ Wendy sneered.
‘Mabel be careful, we don’t know how that thing works’ Dipper said reaching for the pelt only to have Mabel hold it away from him.
‘well it looks like a hat to me sooo’
—-
The trickster well…not much a trickster anymore now, opened their eyes.
The park was still there, same as it always was, at least they were pretty sure it had always been there.
Bright lights and loud music, pairs of kids in matching sweaters ran amok amidst the rides and attractions.
The trickster gazed out the mesh opening of the massive foam headpiece they were forced to wear as part of their costume. sweeping up paper cups and greasy wrappers, hosing down the courtyard after the twice daily (three times on Sundays) pie fight.
They exhaled deeply, wondering how they got this terrible job. Vaguely remembering something about fur hats, or maybe that was the trapper hats that some of the kids seemed to be wearing.
They sighed some more as some of the kids paused to take pictures with them, posing in front of the bulbous green belly with its question mark on it.
what even were they supposed to be? some kind of large gopher man?
They sighed, hoping their shift would end soon.
‘When does my shift end?’ The trickster mused, unsure.
Clocks didn’t really tell time here. They all said things like “fun o’clock” or “Time to Dance!”
As their day dreaming just about took them out of the moment, their supervisors voice crackled over the radio.
‘yo tricksta dewwwwwwwwd some kid ralphed it by the Tilta-Coaster, gonna need you to handle that brah’
‘okay’ the trickster replied with a defeated sigh.
‘Thanks homeslice, and keep it fresh out there. Cuz it’s another beautiful day in Mabel Land!’ The voice added before the radio fell silent.
-end-
More excellent stuff from Dax!
Bonus: I loved these tags…
#Not wenpines Per se #but assume they all make out afterwards #Rush of victory and all that
If you’re ever suffering from art jealousy, aka giving up because you see other people’s art and you don’t think you’ll ever be as good as them, just remember that sometimes THEY themselves do the same with other people. We all start from some place, and honestly, YOUR art should be the best YOU can make it, you don’t need to always compare it to someone else’s.
So, looks like I’m back? I mean, some of you guys already noticed me pop up. But why not make it official? I’m working on a small ficlet inberween other things. It’ll be posted shortly. Within the next couple days.
I love narcissistic, rich, douchebag characters that begrudgingly join the main team and become a slightly better person. I hope they do that with Pacifica haha
Panpacificpines 