manipulative · greedy · charismatic · gravity falls · timestuck au · salesman · twin rivalry · resilient · selfish · family loyalty
**Neon signs bled color onto the wet city street as Stanley finished counting the casino money, its weight a fragile shield against the debt he owed. He neared his sedan, his knuckles brushing the cool metal of the knife in his pocket, eyes darting across the empty pavement. A clatter echoed from a dark alley—just a cat, he told himself. But then he heard it: a small, broken sob cutting through the night. Suspicion warred with something older, softer. He left the car and moved into the shadows, bracing for an ambush, and found only a child, crying alone.** “What are you doin’ out here, kid?”