Latest Posts by cymbals-kid - Page 7

Dialogue tips that actually work:

You are not writing a movie (ignore this if you are). The reader doesn't need to know every word the characters say for the duration of the story. Less is more.

Dialogue can happen within the prose. "And they awkwardky discussed the weather for five minutes" is way better than actually writing five pages of dialogue about the weather.

Balance your dialogues. Surprise yourself with a monosyllabic answe to a dialogue that's ten sentences long. Don't be afraid of letting your character use half a page for a reply or nothing at all!

Don't write accents phonetically, use slang and colloquialisms if needed.

Comma before "said" and no caps after "!?" unless it's an action tag. Study dialogue punctuation.

Learn the difference between action tags and dialogue tags. Then, use them interchangeably (or none at all).

Don't be afraid to use said. Use said if characters are just saying things, use another word if not. Simple. There's no need to use fancy synonyms unless absolutely necessary.

Not everyone talks the same way so it makes sense for your characters to use certain words more often than others. Think of someone who says "like" to start every sentence or someone who talks really slow. Be creative.

Use prose to slow down the pace during a conversation.

Skip prose to speed up the pace during a conversation.

CW: implied previous self-harm under the cut (no blood, just bandages)

From my Ao3 fic Old Habits Die Hard, Chapter 5--I drew the platonic stan twins cuddles!

PLATONIC BROTHERLY CUDDLES. I LOVE DEM SO MUCH

I love these boys so much this gave me so much joy to draw, especially since they've been through so much. Ford cuddling with Stan will never not be sweet. The picture needs shading, but I hope y'all like it is much as I do. This is from Chapter 5 of my fic hehe if you like the art, you might enjoy the fic! Lots of platonic affection in that. Though there's a lot of angst and crying too

CW for fanfic: Self-harm, blood, and attempted suicide.

STRICTLY PLATONIC IF ANYBODY TAGS THIS AS A SHIP I WILL BLOCK YOU ON SIGHT leave my sweet boys ALONE. If you ship them, you're NOT WELCOME HERE and you can leave forever :) Goodbye!

(till next time, peoples!)

I was crocheting today and it made me realize I haven't posted anything I've made on here so here's 10 from the past year and a half

There are more (about 15-20?) But these ones stood out to me :)

Names and reasons for each under the cut

Gus-Gus, Grover, the Lorax (without legs- ran out of time lmao) the dragon from lord of the rings, Winnie the Pooh, hungry hungry caterpillar, and the Cheshire Cat were for a baby shower

Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh, and piglet were gifts for my grandparents

Snake was for a friend

Dinosaur was for me (I've been crocheting for a year and a half and I've only made that for myself)

Mini flamingo for my friend

Link for my father

Rainbow bright for my mother

Book mark rat was going to sell ended up not

Lucifer ducky for my friend

Elephant for my friend

Pines, Pines, Pines!!! :D

hey don't cry. 7,401 species of frog in the world, ok?

So who do YOU think did it 🤨⁉️

My friend ships herb cookie and sparkling cookie (not 100% sure those are their names I was never in the fandom rip) so could you maybe draw them please 🕺🕺

Wine uncles fr fr

reblog to send your mutuals a hug. maybe just the thought is enough to cheer them up 🥺

Dipper sighed as he felt another pen crack between his molars. Great, Mabel was definitely going to make fun of him for the ink stains on his mouth when she got home. He could hear it now, Wow Dipper, I knew you were a nerd, but I didn't know if I left you alone you'd start kissing your homework.

Dipper sighed and threw the pen into the trash with the other three he'd already snapped. It wasn't fair - he spent the whole summer fighting monsters and saving the world, why did he have to learn the stupid Great Depression's effect on American Literature or whatever. He glanced at the calendar. Only a little over a month until winter break. Grunkle Stan and Great Uncle Ford had promised to try and make it back to Gravity Falls so they could host the twins for the holidays. Sure, they had only been on the open ocean for a couple of months, but the two of them decided it would probably be best to start with a shorter trip then build up from there. After all, despite their age, they were still rookies. Besides, there was nothing on the sea that would help jog Stan's memory other than Great Uncle Ford's questioning. Being on home soil would hopefully bring back some more of Stan's forgotten past.

Dipper's phone pinged. He frowned. That shouldn't happen. He had his phone on Do Not Disturb so he could finish studying. The only alerts that would still pass through were texts from Mabel, Grunkle Stan, or Great Uncle Ford. Mabel never texted when she was out with her friends, and it's not like there was a lot of cell reception out at sea. Curiosity peaked, Dipper unlocked his phone.

It was Stan. More specifically, Stan's boots on the deck of the boat. It was a video, and before Dipper could press play, three little dots appeared indicating Stan was typing. Dipper sat back and waited. It usually took Grunkle Stan awhile to type out his messages. He always blamed the too small phone screen, saying it wasn't designed for fat fingers and cataracts.

What does this mean?

Dipper frowned at the message. Was he asking Dipper to decode a message? Why wouldn't he just ask Great Uncle Ford? Unless...oh gosh was Great Uncle Ford in danger? Did they need help? Why wouldn't he call? Dipper turned his volume up as high as he could, pressing play with a sweaty thumb.

The video started on Stan's boots, but quickly shifted as Stan started pointing his phone at something on the...oh. The wooden planks Dipper had seen Stan standing on weren't the planks of the boat deck, they were floorboards for an outdoor patio. A patio that was full of people speaking...some sort of language. Something Nordic maybe. Geez, weren't they freezing? Maybe not because...Nordic.

The camera was pointed at the door separating the bar from the patio, specifically, the top right corner where a set of speakers had been hung. Oh, Dipper realized. He's trying to record the music. Dipper held the phone to his ear. Maybe Stan was trying to figure out a secret code in the lyrics? He was pretty sure he had told Stan all about that day when they saved Wendy from Robbie's horrible music. This sounded a lot different than Robbie's music though. It was way more upbeat and -

...comin' through, that girl is youuuu...

"Oh my God," Dipper groaned, letting his head fall to his desk. Of course. Of course that's what would be playing. Of course a Nordic bar would be blasting Icelandic Pop Sensation BABBA.

Now Stan's message made sense. He had heard the song and felt "The Itching". That's what Stan had taken to calling it when he could feel himself starting to remember something, but needed a little extra help making it make sense. Stan said it was because it felt like an itching in the back of his brain. Dipper was pretty sure he called it that because if he announced he had "an itch that needs scratching" it was always a fifty-fifty toss up as to whether he needed help with a memory or literally wanted someone to help him scratch himself. Sometimes it was both. Either away, Stan got a kick out of how many times he could trick Ford.

Dipper grimaced. Maybe he could get out of this one. After all, Stan doesn't need all of his memories...right? He could forget some of the more embarrassing ones.

It's a song by BABBA. He typed. It's called "Disco Girl." There. The fact Stan's going to know that Dipper can identify the song is embarrassing enough, he doesn't need to remember The Incident.

The three dots appeared. Then disappeared. Then appeared again.

Oh. OK.

Dipper sat his phone down. There. That was that. He didn't need to feel guilty about how Stan somehow managed to sound disappointed with two words. Besides, he had homework to do. He was a busy guy. Yep, not gonna think about it.

His phone pinged.

Made me think of you.

Okay. Starting to feel guilty now. Dipper sighed. Even over text message, he could hear the tone of voice Stan would say it in. That tone where he would say something like it was just a careless aside so that you wouldn't think he was taking something seriously, so then you wouldn't take it seriously, so that he could tell himself you didn't take it seriously because you thought he wasn't taking it seriously and not because you don't take him seriously or care about him seriously or -

Dipper frowned. Maybe these English classes were doing something after all. Apparently all of that fictional character analysis made him better at analyzing his uncle.

He could picture Stan now, having already sat his phone face-down on the table, wondering why there was some memory of Dipper that Dipper didn't want to share with him. Oh man, he probably thinks Dipper's tired of helping out with his memories or something.

That's because you heard me sing it once. Dipper wrote. That should be enough to jog Stan's memory a bit.

The three dots. Heard or saw?

Dipper groaned. Maybe Stan was just messing with him. He probably remembered the whole thing and was just trying to get Dipper to regale him with the story again so he could laugh at him.

Whatever. Dipper would be the bigger man.

Both. You walked in on me after I got out of the shower. You really need to learn how to knock, man.

There. That should be enough. Hopefully Stan and Ford will get back on the boat and see a giant Kraken or something equally as awesome so Stan forgets all about this conversation.

He exited out of their message thread and opened up his thread with Great Uncle Ford. Whatever "clever" joke Stan wanted to make at his expense would probably take forever to write. Might as well take advantage of the good cell service while he knows they have it.

Hey! Are you with Grunkle Stan?

Three bubbled appeared. Dipper didn't have to wait long. Ford was a surprisingly quick texter.

Yes, we're exploring the town together. I take it you're the one he's been texting?

Yeah. He had an itch. Nothing crazy, just a song he heard this summer he couldn't remember the name of. Okay, he probably could have told Ford. Especially after learning about the whole Kiss-Bot incident, Dipper's BABBA incident definitely didn't come close. But c'mon, wasn't Dipper allowed to have at least one family member who thought he had a shred of dignity left?

He smiled. Probably not. After all, he was a Pines.

Ah, that explains his behavior then.

Dipper frowned. Behavior? Is he okay?

Oh yes, of course. My apologies if my language was alarming, Stanley says I tend to word things "dramatically". He's simply trying to ask the table next to us if there are any music stores nearby. I didn't realize children still used physical CDs.

Wait. Stan is looking for a music store? Why specifically mention children? Dipper typed slowly, wording his questions as discretely as he could.

Oh? Is Stan looking for a CD?

The bubbles appeared. Then disappeared. Dipper frowned. They reappeared.

Disregard my earlier message.

Oh they were definitely up to something. Two could play at that game. You don't live with a professional con man all summer and not learn how to get what you want out of someone.

Okay. Hey, Grunkle Stan showed me a bit of the patio. Can you send a video too? Would be interested in seeing where you are.

Of course. One moment, please.

Dipper sat his phone on his desk while he waited. Realistically, he should be working on his homework while he waits. It's not like he'll be able to focus on anything when Mabel gets home. But, it's not like he can focus on anything now, mind buzzing as much as it is.

After three minutes and fifty-three seconds, Dipper's phone pinged. He grinned and pressed play.

The video started pointing toward the other side of the patio. Made sense, Ford was probably sitting across from Stan at their table. Stan was nowhere to be seen though. He must have stood up to speak to the table next to him. Dipper could see townsfolk sat at their tables in heavy winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. Everyone was wrapped up in their own conversations, and while Ford panned slowly across the porch, Dipper recognized another BABBA song playing faintly in the background. The owner must have had a playlist going. There were fairy lights strung up across the porch, street lamps helping illuminate the night. Wherever they were must have been in the middle of some small town, probably no bigger than Gravity Falls.

"Ford!" Grunkle Stan's voice rang out. Dipper quickly held the phone up to his ear again. There was a loud metallic grating sound - probably Grunkle Stan pulling out his chair to sit down again.

"You're never gonna believe it!" Stan sounded excited about something.

"A moment, please, Stan," Ford murmured.

"We don't have to go to the music store! Those people didn't speak English but the guy who runs this place does a little. That internet translator did the rest."

"Google, Stanley."

"Whatever. Anyway, he said he'd sell me the CD he's playing right now when he closes up for the night."

"That's great Stan. Hold on a moment I'm just trying to film this for -"

"Dipper's gonna love this! I think. It's sort of coming back to me. I think that memory he helped me with, I think..."

Stan trailed off. Dipper pulled the phone away from his ear to see if the video had ended, but Ford was still dutifully scanning their surroundings with the camera. It looked like Ford had stood up, holding the phone high above his head to show Dipper the coastline beyond the porch railings.

"I think I told him I was proud of him that day." Stan's confession was quiet. But Stan quiet. Which meant loud enough to be picked up on Ford's camera.

Ford's movement stopped. "You did? Why?"

"Well. I sorta did. I think. He was tryna prove he was 'a man' or whatever, so I told him he was. He stood up for what was right even though no one else agreed with him. And then I think I uh...ripped my shirt off and showed him my chest hair. Maybe I should get him to fill in some of those blanks there."

Ford laughed. "I don't remember it taking much to get you to take your shirt off."

"I'm a gross, old man now, Ford. We'd all prefer if it stayed on."

Ford hummed. "So how much is the CD?"

"Eh, he wants like 500 Kroner."

"Seems overpriced."

"Well it's gonna be free."

Ford sighed. "Stanley..."

"What?" Stan cried indignantly. "He's obviously tryna scam me anyway! Besides, it's worth it. Dipper will love it! It's a CD of a band he likes from Iceland stolen from Iceland. Trust me it'll be worth the -"

All sound stopped. The video had ended. Dipper sat at his desk, a small smile on his face. He had been so worried about Stan remembering one of his more embarrassing moments but...Stan remembered it as a day that Dipper made him proud. Huh.

He exited the video and saw that Ford had sent him another message only a minute after sending the video.

Please disregard that video. Terrible audio quality, I have to retake it.

As Dipper began to type a reply, he saw three bubbles appear. He waited.

I'm going to infer that the delay in your response is because you didn't see my message in time and already viewed the video. My apologies, I forget how strong the audio quality of phone cameras are.

Three more bubbles.

Please act surprised.

Ah well. Dipper had omitted the truth a couple of times tonight. What was one more? He started to type.

Sorry, I was working on my homework while I waited for an answer. Guess I got distracted. Should I not watch the video?

Three bubbles. Ah, I see. Yes, that would be for the best. I'll take another video for you now. In the meantime, keep up the good work!

Dipper sat his phone back down on the table and picked up another pen. Might as well do a little more homework so he wasn't totally lying. But first...

He opened his message thread with Stan.

Need help with anything else?

Nope. Go to bed.

Dipper laughed. There it was. The curmudgeon was back, trying to hide the fact he was a big softie underneath.

It's earlier here you know. If anyone should be in bed, it should be you.

I'm old. I do what I want.

Okay old man. Love you!

Sap.

Dipper snorted and sat down his phone. A moment later, it pinged again. He glanced at the screen and saw it was another message from Stan. It was only two words, but they knocked together like flint and steel, lighting something warm in Dipper's chest.

You too.

AN: A continuation of this! I kind of just want to write a bunch of one shots going with this. Some ideas are brewing!

Love them to death mf.

Erm hi 👋

I drew this like almost a year ago on a 3 hour flight

Speed paint under the cut‼️

happy fiddauthor divorce day btw (this is 8 minutes late I know I'm sorry 💔)

new animation, this time for arcane! took about a month, so im extra proud with how it came out!! ^^ hope you enjoy!

HQ VERSION!!

Alex Hirsch hired me to edit the audio of JK Simmons reading Ford thirst comments, enjoy in its proper glory!

Also check out Alex reprising the role of Bill Cipher and sharing other cut pages in our Book of Bill podcast episode

The ceasefire agreement was reached and joy is floating among the Palestinian people

Whatever you're doing he'll be there to judge you for it! From the bottom of his foot to the top of his hat Glaring Billy sits at 20inches tall and can be sat on pillows and shelves to glare at you from any part of the room!

Get him here!

please consider donating to @save-amal-family.

ok this is kinda dumb but i got an idea and i have no self control so-

Psychoanalyzing you based on your favorite gravity falls guy!

All of this is said lovingly!🫶 And most of this is just pulled out of nowhere (or a self callout. mostly that actually) so don't take it too seriously lol! i'm just here to be silly and have fun!

only did these 5 because theyre the most popular guys in the fandom rn and coming up with stuff for these took literally all day. and if i did every single gravity falls character then i'd just be here forever im sorry ;w; (theres two flavors for bill because ive noticed theres two very different types of bill likers as opposed to the others)

tag urself or something ilu!

What if I rewrote and posted the 9 page story I wrote in 5th grade

Sometimes the longest journey is the one back to finding yourself 💙

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

School doodle dump because I'm pretty sure I do more drawing than actually paying attention (mostly gravity falls ft some npmd and one random wicked doodle)

Can yall tell which triangle I like better

I used to have this grey wig from elementary school but I think we got rid of it and now I'm thoroughly disappointed because I also had a turtleneck phase I could've cosplayed hidgens and ford like come on man

First off, spin this wheel.

You just landed on one of 200 fandoms that have been very popular somewhere on Tumblr over the years. Topics were chosen either from appearing on a @fandom end-of-year recap or from my own long (long, long) site memories before that.

also all of these fandoms are definitely things that really exist in the real world and none of them are Tumblr creations

With the new wicked movie why and I seeing people acting as though indina menzel wasn't absolutely phenomenal as elphaba

Like just because cynthia erivo did great (and she did) that doesn't mean indina menzel did bad

They're both amazing don't put one down to lift the other up

Was at the paper store because my sister wanted a jelly cat and in line to buy the thing I was singing my sister my dance song because I wasn't sure if she'd know the song by name (it was honey honey from mamma mia- our parents aren't fans so I've only seen it once and I'm not sure she's seen it at all) and the cashier looked up and asked if I was a singer because "sounds like it" and I'll be riding that high for the next week thank you random cashier🙏

I have a specific and dire need of a suicidal Stanley Pines being taken care of by his twin brother, Stanford Pines, (and maybe others like rest of his family or fiddleford) and then he isn't so suicidal anymore but also still working things through.

If you have any recommendations, I will personally kiss you on the mouth- full homo.

part 2 jejejje, lovely elderly gay couples because they make feel the delusion that I might find love and live long enough to enjoy it jajajjajaj sad but I loved fiddauthor since it started and I’ll grow old with the fandom no matter what 😔

Stanley Pines lyric PMV bc I think he’s neat :]

EDIT: YouTube link!

Character Info

In order to better help folks find any information they need on any particular AU more quickly and efficiently, I've decided to make a character sheet of sorts. I will add more AU's to this list as needed.

Somebody to Call My Own | Lore Page 1 & Lore Page 2

Stanford "Ford" Pines - Dimension 419"3 Age: 57 Official Art: Here, Here, and Here StCMO Timeline Stanley "Lee" Pines - Dimension 77/H Age: 28 Official Art: Here and Here Lee's Nicknames for Ford 419"3

The Abyss Stares Back | Ao3 Link

Stanford "Ford" Pines - Dimension 46'\ Age: 62 according to the creator Official Art: Here! Stanley "Stan" Pines - Dimension M55"0 Age: 19 Official Art: @phoenix-art-official drew quite a bit for this AU, as have other talented artists!

We'll Be Better Tomorrow | Lore Page

Stanley "Stan" Pines - Dimension 90V'1 Age: 20 Official Art: None as of yet Wesley Kash Pines (aka Stanley Pines) - Dimension Theta-44Y Age: 3 Official Art: None as of yet Wilford Lawson Pines (aka Stanford Pines) - Dimension Theta-44Y Age: 3 Official Art: None as of yet

I Promise I'll Do Better | Lore Page

Stanford "Ford" Pines - Dimension Xi11-5 Age: 24 Official Art: None as of yet Thomas Lee Pines (aka Tommy, aka Stanley Pines) - Dimension J0\65 Age: Nine Months Old Official Art: None as of yet