Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

During the 1980s, I had the pleasure — or displeasure — of being visited by the dream demon, Will Cipher.

His demeanor was somewhat shy and withdrawn, but he held so many fascinating things in his hands that I ended up listening to the blue triangle: all the power and knowledge I could ever desire.

Of course, none of it came for free — but frankly, I didn’t care.

At first, I thought I could turn the tables and get exactly what I wanted without having to risk anything important. But in a pathetic twist, I ended up wagering the one thing I never imagined would be at stake:
my heart.

“Will... Can I call you Will?”

“Call me whatever you want, just don’t call me late for dinner.”

It sounds ridiculous said out loud, but somehow, that sensitive and insecure little creature disarmed all my defenses — even more than I expected.

“Can I... call you a friend?”

“Call me whatever you want, just don’t call me late for dinner.”

Suddenly, I found myself caught in a whirlwind of emotions I never thought I’d experience.

I was in love, obsessed, devoted, and constantly longing for his next visit to my dreams.

Being obsessed with Will was like being trapped in a constant loop of thoughts revolving around him — a fixation that consumed my mind and stole focus from all other areas of my life.

A constant urgency to be near him or at least be noticed by him.

Will seemed perfect to me, essential — like the key to happiness itself.
Everything I saw in him was a reflection of an insatiable, distorted, and relentless desire.

The mind became a closed room, where there was only space for one name, one face, one voice echoing even in silence.
Obsession was a fever that didn’t burn but consumed; it was thirst in the middle of the sea, where you drink saltwater and still die of thirst.

My soul bent toward his image like plants to sunlight — even if the light burned them.
Time dissolved into waiting: for a message, a look, any crumb of attention.

I wasn’t truly living — I was merely orbiting a Sun.

Will ceased to be a person and became an altar.

But I didn’t care.
I accepted those feelings, nurtured them, and fed them with every ounce of fuel I had — even if it meant burning away my entire life in his blue flames.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t a decision that belonged only to me — not after our last argument.

“What am I to you? Just some idiot moved by your fake devotion?!” the demon asked, irritated, and I could tell he was holding back tears.

“Will, that’s not what you think... Let me explain—”

“You were using me all this time! You just wanted a way to steal all my power for yourself! You don’t love anyone but yourself!”

“That’s not true... Maybe it was, but before! Will, please—”

“I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!” he shouted, his form expanding, his color turning red — but I didn’t care.

My heart was racing, my eyes burning, and I could barely breathe.
It felt like I was going to die.

I collapsed to my knees in front of him, at one of the lowest points in my life, and begged for his forgiveness.

“Will, please. That was all before... I didn’t plan to fall in love with you! I love you” I said, desperate, more sincerely than I’ve ever spoken in my entire life.

“Yeah. I love you too” he said, and for a moment, I thought things might be okay.

But his next words shattered me.

“Goodbye, Stanford.”

“No!” I tried to hold onto him, but when the demon snapped his fingers, I lost consciousness before my head even hit the floor.

No dreams. No sign of Will.

When I woke up, I did everything I could to contact him, but he must’ve known... because he always ignored my attempts.

I even ventured into the Nightmare Realm over the past thirty years searching for him.

I don’t know exactly when it stopped hurting, but at some point, everything good I ever felt for him turned into deep hatred.

So there are no words to describe my satisfaction when I finally managed to imprison him permanently — with the help of my niece and nephew, Mabel and Dipper Gleeful.

I didn’t yet know exactly what I’d do with Will, but I left him with the twins while I gathered all the ideas I’d built over the years.

Curiously, I’m sure Will is also very eager for our reunion.

Chapter Text

While I was on my little interdimensional adventure, my journals ended up in the hands of Dipper Gleeful and Gideon Pines.

Dipper got a hold of my journal number two, which contained A LOT about my relationship with Will.
Including interactions, experiments, powers, how to summon him and even how to dominate him.

I couldn’t bring myself to do that after falling in love with him, but Dipper had no such hesitation.
It was a very pleasant surprise to discover my nephews had already done a good portion of my work.

When I revealed I was the author of the journals, it wasn’t hard at all to get them to listen to me without question.

I got closer to my nephews as their Great-Uncle and later invited both to be my apprentices.
Their parents obviously didn’t care—it was easier not to have the kids around while they tried to squeeze as much as possible from each other during the divorce.

To keep things simple, I explained to them that I’d need Will for certain matters and they didn’t ask any questions.

They didn’t care about Will.

I could torture him.

Enslave him.

Kill him.

About two weeks passed before I actually asked for Will.
Truth be told, Will belongs to them and I depended on their goodwill to hand him over whenever I needed.
I tried to see it as a useful arrangement.

I knock on Mabel’s bedroom door, and she opens it with an annoyed expression that softens when she sees me.

“Grunkle Ford! Would you like to come in?” she asks calmly, with restrained joy.

“No, dear. I know you're busy, I just wanted to ask for Will for an experiment,” I explain as if it were nothing.

“Perfect. I swear I was about to kill that useless demon,” she says annoyed, then clenches her fist as I hear chains dragging. “Will, move it.”

“Please, no… I’ll do anything… I’ll clean your floor with my tongue,” he pleads, but she grabs the chains and throws him out of the room like a ragdoll.

“Have fun,” she waves at him and shuts the door.

He doesn’t look at me, just floats silently by my side, trembling and scared.

“We won’t take long. I have a little gift for you,” I say, walking forward, expecting him to follow. “For your own good, don’t resist.”

I take him to my lab, feeling his angry gaze stabbing me.

If looks could kill.

I shut the door and turn to the demon, our eyes meeting for the first time in years.

It gives me a strange feeling.
I wanted to smile.
Start laughing.
Fall to my knees and worship him.

Such thoughts disgust me.

“Please stand in the center of the circle,” I order.

Please?!

Will silently obeys and sits at the center of the circle I drew on the lab floor.
I grab some candles and start placing them around him, lighting them one by one as the demon watches me in confusion.

“Still doing the silent treatment? That’s immature… even for you,” I tease.

“What are you doing? Some ritual to steal my powers?” he retorts.

“No… Not yet.” I smile at him, and he looks down as if about to cry.

I continue the preparations and pick up my journal to read the spell I had learned.

“This is going to hurt you more than it hurts me,” I warn as I begin to read.
“In nomine axolotis omnipotentis, da huic daemoni formam physicam.”

The entire circle bursts into high black flames that consume the demon until I can no longer see his body within the fire.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

All I can hear are Will’s screams and sobs that make my blood run cold.

It all lasted less than a few minutes, but I imagine it was the worst minutes of Will’s life.

Soon the flames start to die down, revealing Will’s small, trembling form—this time with a human body.

When the fire goes out completely, I take off my coat and place it over his bare shoulders.

Will slowly uncurls himself and sits up with difficulty, looking weak.

I examine his human form carefully, with a purely scientific fascination.

He looked like a man of ethereal appearance, as if he belonged to a realm between dreams and nightmares.
His skin, pale as moonlight, seemed almost translucent under any light. From his shoulders fell a cascade of long bluish hair that swayed with the slightest motion.

His eyes were strange and hypnotic, adorned with long, feminine lashes—irises dyed a deep, cold blue, and pupils thin and vertical like a cat’s, gleaming in absolute black.

On his face, a broken expression between sorrow and fear. His lips trembled as if holding back a sob, and his eyes, as inhuman as they were, seemed to beg for mercy.

“What did you do to me?!” he demanded angrily, looking at me with disdain.

I watch him try to jump on me, only to hit the barrier that made up the circle.

“You now have a human body that will limit your power. Isn’t that amazing?” I smile.

Will looks at me in a way that makes me feel strange.

What is that?
Disappointment?
How dare he be disappointed in me?!

“Stop looking at me like that. You’re annoying me,” I say coldly.

He looks away and sighs tiredly.
“Is that all? Can I go now?” he asks, exhausted and uninterested.

I hand him some clothes I had prepared and kneel to undo the barrier.
Will glances at the pieces and gives a small smile but quickly hides it.

I turn away as he begins to dress.

“To answer your question… yes, that’s all. At least for today.”

I don’t understand...
I should want to kill him, but I seem to freeze before I can even get close.

“How do I look?” he asks with an indecipherable tone, and I turn to see him.

Will was standing, nude, with the coat still draped over his shoulders and an enigmatic smile on his lips.
For a moment, my gaze lingered on his naked form—gliding from his broad shoulders to his pale, lightly flushed chest, then down his slim abdomen, where the suggestive curves of his body whispered a silent invitation to go further.

I look away, feeling my face flush, and mutter for him to get dressed already.

I hear his soft steps behind me, then feel one of his hands on my back and the other on my chest, all with a playful smile on his lips.

“Thanks for giving me the answer I was looking for, Fordsy.” He looks pleased and snaps his fingers, magically dressed.

I grab his shoulders and slam him against the wall.
He lets out a cry of pain, and I pull his hair to force him to look at me.

“Do you think this is some kind of joke? What the hell are you talking about?!” I demand.

“You’re still obsessed with me.”

Those words hit me like knives.

I place my hand on his neck and begin to squeeze until I see his face contort, struggling for air.

“Would someone obsessed do this?” I ask with a smile.

He looks at me with tear-filled blue eyes and a pale face.
“Y-yes,” he says with difficulty.

“Well, let’s see if you still think that afterward.”
I release his neck and watch him brace against the wall, gasping for air.
“Clean up your mess without using your powers.”

He glares at me with pure disdain but kneels and starts cleaning up the ritual mess.

I sit, watching Will work while making notes in my journal about the successful transformation.
I sketch a few rough drawings of his human appearance but start thinking about his words.

I’m not obsessed.
Not anymore…
Right?

I look at his outfit, which matched the demon and his unique style perfectly.

He wears a light blue vest over a pristine white shirt, complemented by a black bow tie adding a classic charm.
On top, a softer blue open-front coat reinforces his refined air.
On his head, a small tilted black top hat, like a magician’s accessory, completes the eccentric look.
On his wrists, light blue cuffs with stylized chains made of pure magic.

“Ford, I’m done,” he says listlessly.

“Ford? I think you haven’t quite understood your position, Will. You can do better…” I sneer.

“I’m sorry… I’m done… Master.” I chuckle dryly and he looks down, trying to hide his expression.

“Great. You may go.”

I sighed. I stood up, leaving his lab and returning to Mabel’s quarters, my stomach churning.

“AAH!” The girl jumped at the sight of me and didn’t recognize me.

Before I could say anything, she kicked me in the stomach and I fell to my knees, breathless.

“Y-young mistress, it’s me… Will…” I murmur, trying to catch my breath, my stomach still aching.
My eyes burn and fill with tears.

“MABEL!” Dipper storms in, worried, and even tries to come toward me, but Mabel signals him to stop.

“Will, what the hell did Grunkle Ford do to you?” she asks in a cold, disinterested tone.

I look at them, frightened and wanting to be alone to cry after my encounter with Stanford.

“H-he gave me a human body to limit my power,” I reply reluctantly.

The twins exchange glances as if telepathically discussing the matter.
Without warning, Mabel kicks me hard in the chest again, slamming my back and head into the wall.

“Finally, you gained another use, Will,” she comments cheerfully.

“This will be perfect for my experiments,” Dipper says, satisfied.

I cry in pain and desperation, hyperventilating with a sharp ache across my chest.
Breathing is hard, and each gasp brings excruciating pain.

“Looks like our Grunkle gave us an early birthday present,” Dipper says sadistically, pulling my hair hard to lift my face.

I see his scornful smile and the sadistic gleam in his deep blue eyes.

Do you hate me that much, Ford?

I had just served breakfast for everyone when Stanley had to leave the table in a hurry.
Then everyone stopped treating me like a regular servant.

I notice Stanford’s gaze on my trembling, weak form, and he asks calmly, trying to sound indifferent:
“Are you feeding him?”

“Does he need to eat?” Dipper asks, looking at Mabel who just shrugs, clearly not caring enough to know.

“Great, another expense to pay with our hard-earned money,” she glares at me.

Hard-earned by tricking stupid people.

“Do we really need to feed him? He looks fine. It’s not like he’ll starve to death…”

Stanford sighs and explains calmly:
“He has certain… needs. If we don’t take care of them minimally, he won’t be able to perform his duties well. And he’d probably start losing weight, which Stan would certainly notice.”

The twins fall silent, still unhappy with the idea, but then Mabel smiles and cheerfully suggests:

“Will, you can have our leftovers when we’re done eating,” she says as if being generous.

“Young mistress, you don’t leave leftovers,” I point out, and she rolls her eyes.

“Those are the rules. Unless you’ve got a problem with that?” Dipper asks, expecting an objection, and I just shrink into my corner.

“No, sir. Thank you, young mistress,” I reply to Mabel, and the twins resume eating, satisfied.

We stay silent for a while until Stanford gets up and starts leaving the table.

“I’m going to my office. This food is awful, and Will burned the meat,” he mutters angrily on his way out.

At first, I’m annoyed at him, but when I go to his plate, I realize Ford hadn’t eaten anything and even left his glass full.
To make it seem like he had, he just cut his meat and rearranged the plate.

I sit and start eating in silence as the twins chat about ideas for the telepathy tent.

I pay no attention to that and think of Stanford with every bite.

He leaves me deeply confused.

I don’t know if he’s an enemy or an ally.
I don’t know if he loves me or hates me.
I don’t know if he’s good or evil.

But maybe people are just like that, right?
They have a duality between being good and bad.
Maybe he’s like that, and I’ll have to get used to it.

Either way, I can’t keep running tests on him like this…

Or can I?