Day One; After Body Announcement, Before House of Horrors in the afternoon

[ineptus]

[A lot about today has Mabel rattled, and the previous night didn't help any at all. So once investigations get under way and after the debacle with the whole newspaper deal, Mabel takes Dipper back to her room to talk, sitting down on the bed. Because there are Things to discuss.]

...Dipper, I don't like this game. I don't like any of the rules or any of the roles or anything.

Comments

[ineptus]

Is she cute? [Elbow to his ribs.]

[terci]

W-what? No! [MABEL NOW IS NOT THE TIME]

[ineptus]

I think she iiiiis~ [NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME]

[terci]

She's not! [NO]

[ineptus]

She's not cute? That's awfully rude to say! What kind of gentleman are you?

[terci]

N-no I-I didn't mean that she isn't cute! I'm not just interested in her, okay?! [Boy he could feel his ears and face heat up in embarrassment]

[ineptus]

Uh huh. Sure.

[She'll continue the ribbing later when she's seen this mystery girl.]

Alright, any other important business to discuss or are you ready to go investigate a dead body?

[Mabel you really don't need to sound so excited about this. It's amazing what a shift in mood can do to a girl's view on a situation.]

[terci]

[He just gives her the most unamused frown.]

Yeah I was kinda curious about earlier? With the whole newspaper thing? I mean, it sucks for the person who writes the paper to be careless about it but you threw it on the ground and stomped on it.... [His unamused expression turns a little concerned.]

I didn't really hear anything you guys were talking about.. did she say something rude about you or me or something?

[ineptus]

That is no newspaper! That letter has to be a complete lie! Not only is Legion a good person and great sibling and it's wrong to accuse him like that, she said she'd put anything in the paper whether or not it's a lie! That's just going to put us all in danger...

[terci]

Yeah, there's really no point if she's not going to bother checking her facts. [He crosses his arms.]

I'd suggest we run a newspaper ourselves with real facts, but I'm going to be too busy investigating and solving stuff. [He puts a hand on her shoulder comfortingly]

I'm sorry your friend has been accused, Mabel. I don't think anyone is going to vote him though. It's probably too early to even figure out who's a VIP and who isn't.

[ineptus]

He's not just my friend, Dipper. He's our brother! I adopted him, because he said he didn't have any family and never did and that was just too sad. So it's even more important.

I think our own Newspaper would be good, but I might as well just show off my arms right? [Look, she's putting humor into all situations again!]

[terci]

...so you're telling me we have a robot brother now? That's not weird at all. [He seems a little unsure, but it's only because he's never met him before!]

And how about you don't go around and show off that stuff to everyone...

[ineptus]

He's really nice! You'll like him! [A genuine smile and then oh, she wasn't...?]

Oh well...I kind of already showed some of it to my friend Hiko, hehe...?

[terci]

Sure.

[He crosses his arms again and tilts his head a little.]

I guess that's fine, because it's just speculations and stuff but I don't think we should tell anyone else about anything else we discover. Especially stuff that involves murders or getting any closer to finding out who the VIPs are.

Even if they're a really good friend to you. [It might seem a little harsh, but he has good reasons..]

[ineptus]

But...we already said we'd work together. I made him pinky promise, and it was a very serious pinky promise! So I think we can trust him.

[terci]

...are you talking about the yakuza guy? [OH YEAH THAT ASSHOLE]

Mabel, I really don't think you should trust him.

[ineptus]

His name is Hiko! And why do you say that? If you say it's just because he's part of the Japanese mafia I'm going to be really disappointed with you Dipper so you better have a different reason.

[terci]

Because my partner knows him better than we do, and she said he wasn't someone you could trust!

[ineptus]

Have you met him though? I talked with him and he seemed really smart! He's really nice too and he is a total dreamboat.

And plus he promised not to kill anyone and if he does I get his pinky finger.

[terci]

[He slaps his forehead]

So you're trusting him because he's another one of your stupid crushes?!

[ineptus]

[REALLY DIPPER]

Didn't you listen to anything else I said?!

[terci]

Yes, I heard you! He'll cut off his finger if he kills anyone sure, but it's just a baseless promise, Mabel!

How do you really know he'll keep it?! How do you know anyone here will keep any promises about not killing anyone?!

[ineptus]

Because someone who knows him was so serious about it when she warned Ibuki and me! Clearly if it's something to warn me about, he'll go through with it!

I mean you were the one saying he's super dangerous because someone who knows him said he is, weren't you?!

[terci]

Okay, fine. But please tell me, Mabel, what's a lost finger to being dead?!

[ineptus]

Because-- [Mabel takes a deep breath, curling her fingers into tiny fists and closing her eyes. Holding her breath for a few moments, she slowly lets it out.]

Listen. If you meet Hiko, you'll see. He is a really okay guy! I don't think it's fair to judge someone by what other people say about them. How do you know your partner just doesn't like him? What if they're rivals, like Pacifica and I? Sure you don't like her either, but if I was someone you just met like your partner, wouldn't you rather meet her first and form your own opinion?

Or are you just going to believe what everyone tells you?