#relativity falls au but Mabel is the author

[spectralscathath]

Tour Guide to the Unexplained- A Gravity Falls Fanfiction

Chapter 1: Pines vs Gnomes

Stan and Ford didn't expect much when getting shipped up to Gravity Falls to stay with estranged family. Not gnomes, not a town full of secrets, and definitely not the Mystery Shack and their lying uncle who runs it. But with Ford's smarts and Stan's punching, there's no mystery they can't solve.

Ao3 Link

Stan didn't know what he expected of the old guy Shermie called their Grunkle Dipper, but it wasn't what they got. Ford closed the door to their new attic bedroom as Stan stood in the middle of the room, looking between the two beds. Not bunk beds. Nothing like home. 

The silence was thick, so Stan broke it with a laugh. "What a load a' hokey, whaddaya think, Sixer?"

He expected Ford to start laughing and making fun of all those stupid 'exhibits' in the tourist trap their grunkle called the Mystery Shack. Fake cursed stuff, fake monsters, and fake ghosts. Fake and fake and fake.

Ford wasn't laughing. He stomped past Stan and threw his backpack and duffel bag at one of the beds, immediately claiming the left side of the room for himself. 

Stan picked anxiously at the edge of his wrist brace, unsure what to do with himself as he stood in the middle of the room. "Sixer?"

" What , Stan?" Ford snapped, already climbing onto his bed and emptying out his stuff with less care than usual.

"Is this 'cuz I called it hokey? I know you like this stuff, Ford, but that's all definitely fake down there-"

"I hate it." Ford growled out, gripping his typewriter as he pulled it out of his backpack. Dad was never able to pawn it, so it became last year's birthday present. 

"You hate it?" 

"Yes! There's actual real anomalies and stuff out there- we saw the Jersey Devil for cryin' out loud- and he's making a big stupid joke outta it!" Ford's face went red with anger, six-fingered hands shaking. "Outta freaks!"

Stan got the jolt that he needed to move, scrambling up onto Ford's bed with him and shoving his shoulder against his twin's. "Kay then, let's go kick his butt about it."

"Stan!" Ford instantly looked stricken. "We can't do that!"

"Why not?" Stan punched his fist into his palm and winced at the twinge of pain in his bones. "He's made you feel bad so he gets the left hook. Them's the rules."

"He's an adult."

"Adult, schmadult-" Stan waved off. "Screw that-"

"And mom said you can't punch anyone for another week until you get the brace off."

"Then I'll kick him! Ka-pow!" Stan kicked his feet out in demonstration of his awesome fighting moves and Ford snorted, giving him a small shove. 

"He's twice your size, knucklehead."

"So we'll team up," Stan shoved him back. "Kings of New Jersey, right?"

"Kings of New Jersey," Ford repeated, already looking less mad. Sad. Smad. "We still can't fight an adult though."

"Sure we can! I'll trip him and you jump on his head when he's down-"

"Stanley," Ford rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, so that was a plus. That was Stan's job. They only ever had each other, and they only ever would, because neither of them would ever have any friends, but that didn't matter, and this was why. Things were always better when you had a twin to have your back. 

"Okay, okay. But he can't make us work here. He's got that cashier and that handyman guy, and he has to run tours, so we can just run off in the woods. It'll be fun, let's find Bigfoot."

"Do you think he'd be out here?" Ford's eyes lit up and he scrambled for his notepad and pencil, already scribbling a vague map of the area from his recollection of the trip from the bus stop, probably. Ford's brain was so cool, he had to be the smartest person in the history of ever. 

"Sure, it's forest-y." That was his thing, right?

"Then let's find Bigfoot." Ford grinned and hopped off the bed, flicking the collar of his jacket up like he was an adventurer. A real one, not the fake kind Grunkle Dipper dressed up as. 

"Bigfoot!" Stan jumped off and threw his fists in the air. "Let's go!"

"C'mon, Stanley, you gotta wear a jacket."

"Nah, sleeves are for nerds."

"Hey!" Ford punched his arm, grinning bright. "Don't call me a nerd, goober."

"Don't call me a goober, nerd!"Stan punched him back and ran out the door, past their grunkle's bedroom with its big 'no kids allowed' sign, and down the stairs, taking a big jump over the last two, nearly crashing into Dipper at the bottom.

"Whoa-" Dipper darted back, holding something behind his back. He was still dressed like some Indiana Jones rip-off, like he should be diving into old cities for gold but here he was, running a tourist trap. "You're in a rush, what's going on?"

"We're Bigfoot hunting!" Stan blurted out.

"Can it, Stan!" Ford ran down to join him and slapped a hand over his mouth. "We're gonna go exploring- EW, STANLEY!" He ripped his hand away as Stan finished licking his hand. 

Dipper stared at them before shrugging. "Yeah, I was the same at your age. Just don't go too far, alright? Oh- and hang up these signs, while you're out there." He pulled out a hammer and signs from behind his back and tossed them down. 

"What?" Stanley stuck out his tongue even as he caught the hammer, Ford fumbling the signs as they clattered on the carpet. Heh, and mom thought Stan needed to wear glasses more. Lame. "But we're exploring."

"Explorers have to mark their trail, don't they?" Dipper grinned and struck a pose, tipping his hat. "As this town's resident monster hunter, paranormal investigator, and Tour Guide to the Unexplained-" if Ford didn't hate it, Stan woulda applauded the showmanship- "I'd know."

Ford bent down to pick up the signs, grumbling under his breath. Dipper didn't hear, but Stan did. 'Faker' was accurate. 

Stan spoke over him to prevent either from getting in trouble. "We'll hang up the dumb signs."

"Yep." Dipper patted them both on the head as he walked by. Stanley tried to scrub his hair clean of the touch. What was that for? "Don't get too disappointed if you don't see Bigfoot today, alright? Gravity Falls is a pretty sleepy town. Be back by dinner!"

"We will!" Stan only lied a little, following Ford out through the gift shop, past Carla reading a music magazine behind the register, past Boyish Dan lifting boxes out of Dipper's beat-up old pick-up truck, the faded blue paint chipped and dented, and past the attached shed where Waddles Jr. took pictures with tourists.

Ford stopped at the edge of the trees, the signs gathered in his arms before he handed them to Stanley. "We'll show him. Let's find that Bigfoot."

"Yeah! Let's show this place how we do things in Jersey!"

#

Gnome bites really hurt. Were they venomous? Surely not, but maybe he should test their wounds for toxins? Even if there wasn't venom, there could be bacteria! Who knew what gnomes ate- and Ford bet they didn't even brush their teeth. "What if we get some magic gnome disease?"

"Uh- soup, I guess?" Stanley carried most of Ford's weight as they limped out of the woods, covered in twigs and dirt and a lot of scratches. "Mom always makes soup when we get sick."

"Yeah. Soup is a primitive but effective cure for ailments." But it wouldn't be Mom's soup out here. "Where did you even get that switchblade?" And how did Ford not know about it? Tying a knife to a possum was one thing when they were nine- but Stanley had a switchblade and Ford didn't know about it.

"Nicked it when we were packing." Stanley shrugged as if that wasn't the scariest thing Ford had heard and they just stumbled on gnomes making abduction plans. Didn't Stanley remember getting grounded for a whole summer? 

"But, Dad'll be so mad-" 

 "Dad won't notice." Right, with the renovations. With all the asbestos and lead paint the city was making him get rid of, a single switchblade might not be missed. He could see Stanley's logic, but he still wasn't sure. And it didn't answer his real question anyway.

"So… why did you take it?" 

"I dunno- in case of mountain lions? Or bears? Maybe there's wolves out here!" Stan grinned, a gap in his teeth. "And definitely for scaring gnomes. Did you see that guy's face?"

"Yeah," Ford laughed because it seemed like the right response, still uneasy. "I'm glad they didn't chase us too far. I wish we could have caught one though, just to show Dipper."

"Let's go do that tomorrow. They look pretty small, and pretty stupid, so you should figure out a trap easy." Stan gave him a friendly squeeze. They didn't hug so much anymore, Ford missed it. All part of growing up though, that's what this trip was about. Toughening up and becoming real men, dad said. Learning how to pull their weight instead of letting other people carry it. Speaking of-

"I think I can walk now." Ford pulled away and tested his foot. Still hurt a bit, but felt better. "Thanks, Stan."

"Hey, that's what I'm for, Poindexter," Stan grinned and reached into the back of his jeans. "And look! We didn't lose Grunkle Dipper's hammer either!"

"Yeah, and we found this too." Ford smiled and reached into his jacket, pulling out the diary they'd found. It was definitely a girl's diary, neon purple and covered in sparkles and puffy stickers that were peeling off and a painted-on shooting star that trailed rainbows. The big number 3 inside the star was what really held his attention. Were there other diaries? The writer's name was missing, and the pages stopped halfway through, and the scratch-and-sniff stickers on each page had lost their sniff, and the entries grew increasingly paranoid. He wondered where the writer was now. Were they the ones who left all those scratches on every tree around the Shack?

There were so many questions. He had to know more.

"Do you think that diary's right about 'Gravity Falls having a secret hidden dark side'?" Stan did a pitch perfect impression of Ford, spinning the hammer his hand and nearly dropping it on his sneakers.

"It was right about gnomes in the forest," Ford shrugged, flipping through. Some of the illustrations were wacky and cartoony, some were more realistic, some had googly eyes glued on, and all of them were the coolest things he'd ever seen. He liked the stickers too, some of them were cute, but he couldn't admit that. Stickers and cute things were for girls. 

"Are you gonna show Grunkle Dipper?" 

Ford hesitated, an inexplicable feeling of being watched settling right between his shoulders. He turned around, looking at the forest behind them and didn't see anything. 

Waddles Jr. oinked loudly from his pen, making Ford jump and Stanley laugh at him. Stupid pig. Why did Grunkle Dipper even have a pig? It was so big too, he thought pigs were supposed to be smaller.

No. He didn't want to tell Grunkle Dipper. Dipper wouldn't understand, he'd just use it to make more fake anomalies. He wouldn't believe it. He wouldn't believe Ford. He might even laugh at him for carrying around such a girly-looking book.

Ford put the diary back into his jacket and looked at Stan. "I don't want to tell him."

"Cool, super twin secret." Stan agreed immediately, holding up his braced hand. "High six?"

"High six," Ford smiled and gently tapped his palm against Stanley's, careful not to aggravate his healing wrist. Stan said it was a boxer's fracture, and he complained about it hurting after a boxing lesson, so it had to be. Stan was a good liar, way better than Ford ever could be, but after the Jersey Devil incident, he'd agreed to never lie to Ford again. 

The bell jingled as they entered the Mystery Shack, closed for the day and devoid of suckers for their Grunkle to swindle, Carla the cashier and Boyish Dan the handyman already gone home for the day. Just them and their Grunkle, the conman.

"Wow. What happened? You two look like you got in a fight with a- a wolverine? Or something?" Dipper stood up from where he sat behind the counter, his hat hanging over the register. Ford hadn't noticed the little tree pin on the hat's band before. 

"You should see the other guy." Stan slapped the hammer on the counter, following Ford towards the house section of the place. Ford didn't want to talk to their Grunkle, he just wanted to check his gnome bites and read the diary until his eyes fell out. 

"Uh- hey!" Dipper called after him, and they both stopped. Dad made sure they had manners, after all. Dipper cleared his throat, tapping his pen against his chin. "Listen- I know this was last minute, but I want you two to have a good summer. Tell you what: you can both pick something from the gift shop as a welcome present, on the house."

"Really?" Did he think he could bribe them into liking him?

"What's the catch?" Stan asked, instantly suspicious. Dad would never allow that. The only way he ever gave stock to them was as a birthday gift if he hadn't been able to sell it and didn't think anyone would ever buy it. They didn't get very many birthday gifts from him. Ford's typewriter had been the first in two years. 

"No take-backsies?" Dipper chewed the top of the pen- gross- and shrugged. "No swaps, how about it?"

"Deal!" Stan nodded and dove into the aisles, Ford following behind at a sedate pace. Just one thing? But there was so much choice, so much stuff that was weird for a gift shop to have. He could see socks, bookmarks, mystery gift bags, survival kits, all sorts of gemstones and crystals, weird runestones, keychains, power tools, snow globes, Waddles Jr. bobbleheads, question mark headbands, bottles of formaldehyde, fake cyclops skulls, baseball hats, postcards, toys, t-shirts, salt and pepper shakers, jars of fake body parts…

He stopped in front of the grappling hook box and stared at what was in the next basket, 'world's strongest magnets!!' emblazoned on the packaging. Seeing the two next to each other was like a localised lightning strike of inspiration, his brain sparking with an idea, a need to create. Not the grappling hook- too unsafe- but the general shape…

"Can I have these magnets?" He grabbed them and held them up to show Dipper. 

"That's a good choice," Dipper leaned over the counter to see. "Just don't aim them at your fillings and you should be fine."

"We don't have fillings." They were still losing all their milk teeth, after all. Dad said they wouldn't need to waste money on dentists until they had teeth worth losing. It was factually incorrect, but their father was not a man to argue with.

"Then you're good to go." Dipper smiled at him as Stan ran out from the aisles. "Whatcha got there, Stan?"

"Smoke bomb kit!" Stan yelled excitedly.

"Not like- brass knuckles?" Ford blinked in confusion. There were probably some for sale in this place. Stan was good at punching. 

"I'm gonna make smoke bombs!"

"Have fun with those." Dipper popped on his hat. "I'm gonna feed Waddles Jr., be ready for dinner in ten."

There was a moment where Ford wanted to tell him everything, that the gnomes were just outside the treeline, that they got into a big fight with a whole colony of them after Stan fell into their cave and saw them practicing their human disguise, that they got away with just a few bites and scratches. 

Ford wanted to tell Dipper that the supernatural was real, the anomalies he sold to tourists as a hoax were real , but all he had to go on were some bitemarks and the diary of a mad artist. 

And Dipper would probably just blame squirrels for the bitemarks. Just like everyone else always blamed clumsiness for everything else. 

No. Ford couldn't trust Grunkle Dipper, who only Shermie spoke fondly of and no one else in the family had seen or talked about in years. Grunkle Dipper wasn't someone he could trust. No one was.

Except Stan. 

Ford tucked his magnets next to the diary and ran upstairs to join his twin, head spinning with a million questions and a deep, burning surety that he could find the answers himself.

#

Dipper waited for all the lights to go out before he slipped out of the Mystery Shack, a denim jacket thrown over his pajamas as his boots crunched on the dirt, vanishing into the woods under the full moon. 

He hopped down into the gnome caverns, the moss springy under his feet. "Hey, you gnomes! I wanna talk to whoever's in charge!"

Gnomes popped out of every crevice- he nodded once in respect at Schmebulock, who nodded back- and one of them pushed through the gathering crowd until he stood on a rock that put him just at Dipper's knee height. 

"Well- since the old queen got eaten by a badger and we're looking for a new one, I'm currently the one giving orders." He flicked his suspenders with a smile that Dipper wanted to punt. "Name's Jeff. And you're-?"

Dipper lifted his bangs in answer, watching the gnome horde start chattering nervously amongst themselves. Yeah. He wasn't thrilled about his reputation with the secret side of Gravity Falls either. Still- it could be useful. 

"There were two human kids today." Dipper dropped his hair and crossed his arms, cutting in before Jeff could start talking more. "I want everyone in the forest to know not to hurt them. They're my nephews."

"Well- they caused some trouble in our territory, so you see, we had to-"

"No. Don't care, not interested." Dipper reached into his jacket and pulled out his flashlight, brandishing it like a weapon at Jeff, the crystal attached set to 'shrink'.

"Now hold on-"

"Tell everyone in the forest: no one messes with the Pines twins. Or else I start showing real attractions again." Which would tank his profits unless he picked very carefully, and would be more trouble than it was worth, but the forest didn't need to know that.

"No- no, we're all fine and dandy with how things are!" Jeff laughed nervously, waving his hands. "Alright, gnomes! You heard this guy, no one kills the new kids! Someone go tell the manotaurs!"

"You do that." Dipper started walking towards the exit, throwing out one more suggestion for the road. "And don't kidnap anyone this summer, alright? It's seriously messed up when you do that."

Stepping out of the gnome cavern had him drawing his jacket tighter and doing up a few buttons to ward off the feeling of being watched. He could hear the faint rustling behind him of a hundred gnomes rushing off in every direction, the wind catching in the pine needles, and it sounded like an echo, laughter in the back of his head. 

He left the trees and returned to the Shack, past Waddles Jr., and into the gift shop. The boys were- well, a setback, but one he could work around. He just had to keep them alive for the summer and send them home in one piece. Why did he even agree to this? Didn't matter, he did, just had to work with it now.

The vending machine slid open with a hiss. Just one small setback. Mabel would understand. She just had to wait a little longer.

He wasn't going to let the rest of the family ruin things.

[iamtellingtrustedadult]

An average Tuesday in Pines household after the reunion

It’s a Relativity Falls au “Levity Rises” by @hasnomoxxie ❤️❤️❤️

I am obsessed with your interpretation of this au!!! Mabel as author for win🤘

I have a loooot of ideas for this au. Like too much too just shut up

[maniaeofmadness]

Relativity Falls au but instead of the journal having Dippers birth mark or something, it has a hand print with only 4 fingers since Dipper and Mabel are only drawn with 4 fingers

Great-aunt May (Mabel) always wears gloves or something, and when the Stans ask her about it she explains how she lost her pinkies in a craft-related accident with proof of a scar on each hand (faked of course) so they’re not suspicious of her

Ford thinks the journal is the coolest thing because the author has weird hands like him (Mabel is immediately reminded of Dipper when seeing Ford at the beginning of the summer)

When we get to the Not What He (she) Seems episode, they find news clippings of someone with the initials of MP dying in some car accident where foul play is suspected, then another clipping of a “homeless woman at large” with a picture of Grauntie May, who’s missing the scars on her hands

Stan trusts her and doesn’t press the button, someone comes through the portal…

A four fingered man places his hand on the journal, finger splaying over the decorations in a perfect match. Dipper is revealed as the author, right before he promptly gets into a fight with Mabel, before realizing there are children present

Stan thinks it’s cool that Dipper is missing a finger when they shake hands, probably saying something about how Dipper and Ford could make a pair of normal hands together.

Ford freaks out because he’s related to the author of the journals, and Dipper thinks that Ford’s extra fingers are fascinating

[meshaamem-li]

I see a lot of author Mabel relatively AU lately, but everybody still puts Ford in Dipper's role!

consider it: young Stan, always dreaming of going on pirate adventures and getting babes, but born in a world too modern for his dreams. until one day he finds a mysterious book in the middle of Gravity Fall's forest, full of unsolved mysteries and mythical monsters.

sure, Ford would love the scientific stuff, but imagine Stan's absolute GLEE when he realises there are maps and legends and adventure in this town, Ford might want to study the book at home, but Stanley would go outside and kidnap a gnome to force it to give him treasure!

[nonsensology]

So I've had these Grunkle Stan crackships on my mind for almost a year now. Could be interpreted as platonic, but I think there's great and fascinating potential if interpreted fully romantic. Full musings and explanations below (Warning: very disjointed and random).

Uncle Chan from Jackie Chan Adventures

Maybe Ford and Stan stumble across the Chans on one of their globe-trotting adventures. Both groups fight off the same supernatural threat and surprise each other with their ease and familiarity with the weird and fantastical.

I feel Uncle is kind of a weird in-between of Ford and Stan. He is knowledgeable but not a nerd like Ford, is generally cranky but doesn't get into trouble like Stan does, although he does have a level of disregard towards authority if it gets in the way of his goals. He's quick to do research instead of impulsively charging into a situation.

I think Uncle's dynamic with Stan would be hilarious. They would argue a lot on how to deal with a threat, but once they agree to work together, they could kick ass. Once he gets past his initial annoyance, Stan would probably enjoy Uncle's quips, even more so when he realizes that Uncle does not say them to be funny, he's just naturally snarky.

Uncle is never shown having any romantic interest or relationships, so I kind of headcanon him as ace, but I think it would be really interesting to see what kind of queerplatonic relationship he and Stan could form.

Jade and Mabel would probably hit it off immediately, and while Jade isn't as studious as Dipper, she also has an enthusiasm for the supernatural so she'd probably get along decently with him. She'd also probably think Stan and Ford are super cool, especially considering their lax attitude toward giving children weapons. Though they do still take the kids' safety very seriously.

Jackie is doubtful of Stan, much like he was with Viper, but seeing Stan look out for the kids would probably endear him a little. Ford might also help ease his worries, and maybe they both could have fun discussion about archeology.

I think Tohru and Soos could get along decently, though Tohru would find Soos' eccentric musings odd at first.

Additionally, Uncle's shop is in San Francisco, practically next door to Dipper and Mabel in Piedmont. The kids would easily visit each other every weekend.

Bruno Madrigal from Encanto

Stan has been to prison in Colombia, so I don't think he'd willingly travel there for fun, and Encanto Valley seems relatively closed off from the rest of the world, so I imagine their meeting is accidental, maybe a result of the Stans getting caught in a storm or something. They stay for a while in the valley while repairing their boat.

Stan might initially be outraged at the idea of the Madrigals not charging anyone for the use of their gifts, but perhaps lightens up when he sees how close-knit the community is. He'd still come up with ways they could show off their powers Mystery Shack style, probably butting heads with Alma in the process, lol. He might encourage Bruno to adapt a more showman-like approach to his seer abilities to make it more presentable and less intimidating.

Bruno and Stan connecting over their shared feelings of isolation from family is definitely what drew me to these two together in the first place. If they ever got serious about their relationship, I can imagine the biggest hurdle would be deciding if they should continue a long-distance relationship, since neither is keen on asking the other to be separated from their family.

Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHolic and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Major spoiler alerts for both series. It's been many years since I've read them, and Tsubasa had so many plot twists that even CLAMP (the writers) admitted they were confused by the end result. I also might be misremembering some details, so bear with me. Factoring in the plotlines for both series and Gravity Falls would make for an incredible AU fanfic that I unfortunately am not qualified to write.

Due to Yuuko's shop being in Tokyo, a whole ocean away from Oregon, I like to imagine some timey-wimey space mumbo jumbo allowing Yuuko and Stan to meet in the dream realm. Maybe at some point, Yuuko's shop would obtain a door connecting it to the Mystery Shack.

Stan and Yuuko both have a mischievous side, though Yuuko is generally more reserved. They could start out as drinking buddies, though I imagine Stan would probably favor a light beer, while Yuuko loves sake.

They also both use aliases (it is never revealed what Yuuko's real name is), but Yuuko would likely be upfront about it. As their relationship progresses, Stan would probably feel comfortable telling Yuuko his real first name, even after she tells him the supernatural dangers of giving your real name.

While Stan scams his customers, he generally sells harmless entertainment and trinkets, whereas Yuuko grants wishes and operates strictly on an equivalent exchange basis. To quote the wiki, "All of Yuuko's customers must pay a price in order to grant their wishes, which can be no more or no less than the one demanded, or else harm will come to one's way. She is not one to tell the customer the most direct way to solve their problems because in the end, it can only be solved with that person's own realization and resolution to change themselves... Her abilities are not unlimited and may almost seem like a curse as it appears that she is unable to do anything for anyone or grant any gift (other than feelings) without it becoming a binding transaction." 

When Stan finds out just how powerful Yuuko is, I think he might react with a mixture of hesitation and awe, especially when she reveals she knows about his past, and Ford being lost in the multiverse. I am on the fence on whether Yuuko would use her powers to bring Ford home sooner, or let Stan continue working on the portal because he's already close to completing it and this would be significant in defeating Bill.

I found that the main villain of Tsubasa, Fei Wang Reed, surprisingly parallels Stan. Both endanger reality to bring back someone who is lost, but while Stan does it out of love and devotion to his family, Fei Wang Reed only did it in an arrogant plan to prove himself a powerful sorcerer. And in Fei's case, the person is already dead. CLAMP's universe establishes that the dead cannot be brought back to life, and Fei's wish to do so would cause the universe to be destroyed. I wonder if Bill would factor Fei as part of his plans.

Stan also surprisingly shares a lot in common with Fai D Fluorite. Both use their twin's name (Fai's real name is Yuui), and for much of the series Fai's tragic backstory regarding his twin is unknown, and he hides his trauma under a laid back exterior. I think Stan would empathize a lot with Fai, after he finds out his backstory.

Kimihiro Watanuki is revealed to have been created to fill a void left by Syaoran after the latter wished to turn back time. I remember Watanuki's character arc involved realizing that people cared about him. "Don't disappear", "Continue existing". Stan would probably take Watanuki under his wing, much like he did with Soos. Watanuki might find life with the Pines family far more chaotic than he's used to, but slowly warm up.

Yuuko is revealed to have died a long time ago and has basically been in magical stasis due to Clow Reed's unintentional wish. When time finally moves forward again, Yuuko eventually passes on. She doesn't return in the canon series, but Watanuki is stated to have also suspended his time to wait for her return. In this AU, maybe she reincarnates in the past and reunites with Stan and the Pines in the present day.

[summerrosie08]

RELATIVITY FALLS AU DESCRIPTIONS

MABEL PINES: The eccentric, excitable, crafty and still scrapbooking 60-something year old. She is the owner of the ‘Mystery Crafts’ where she creates sweaters, crafts, fake (or real..?) attractions and sweets! She has a degree in Art, and used to be a teacher in Piedmont California before getting fired and moving up to Gravity Falls Oregon to live with her brother in the early 80s. After a year with Mabel living with her brother, he mysteriously died in a car accident. Mabel seemed distraught and to keep paying for the shack’s mortgage opened the tourist trap ‘Mystery Crafts.’

DIPPER/MASON PINES: The stern, quiet, egotistical and nerdy 60-something year old author. After graduating college Dipper moved up to Gravity Falls Oregon to seek a more quiet life where he could get his research done. His old-college friend Candy Chiu followed after him wanting a quiet life too, and learning of the anomalies Dipper had found. Dipper and Candy were seen less and less by the town as they worked on their ‘projects’ a few years down the line. He began to put his studies into journals, even after Candy and him spilt. When Mabel moved in he was seen less and less by society as Mabel did his errands for him. One day while disassembling his biggest project, Mabel and him got into a huge fight. They had activated the portal on accident, Dipper was then sucked into it and since it wasn’t fully put together was unable to come home until thirty years later.

STANLEY PINES: The loud, curious and pickpocketing twelve year old. Sent to Gravity Falls Oregon from Glass Shard Beach New Jersey to stay with his Grauntie Mabel. Stanley had wanted to stay home, but since his father wanted to teach his kids to be more ‘independent’ he was sent to Gravity Falls. Trying to become accustomed to the new place Stanley had found a wild baby goat while exploring the woods, along with a journal with a Pine tree..

STANFORD PINES: The quiet, curious, and nerdy twelve year old bookworm. Who came along with his brother to live with his Grauntie Mabel for the Summer. Always trying to solve mysterious or having his head stuck in a book, while his brother was off exploring the woods he sat by a tree and began reading. Noting the strangeness of this town. Until his brother came back, not only with a wild baby goat he had named Gompers. But with a blue journal with a pine tree on the front, he had found in the woods.

CANDY CHIU: The deranged, psychotic and dissociated psych-ward patient (Takes half of Fiddle-ford’s place) Having grown up in California, moving to Gravity Falls Oregon with her best-friend she had made in college had been a dream. She had assisted him on his many projects, and he had assisted her with her projects as well. But when an unexpected accident occurred causing Candy to view another dimension from a portal-eyed view. She immediately quit, saying she couldn’t help Dipper anymore. As she left her work and Dipper behind. She slowly began going insane. Whether it be not talking, blinking oddly, muttering weird words or screaming she was eventually thrown into a psych ward after another incident.. She was visited by Dipper monthly after that, receiving flowers from him before his ‘death’

BILL: The demonic and evil triangle that had befriended Dipper (HIM AND DIPPER HAD NO ROMANTIC RELATIONS OR CRUSHES ON EACH OTHER. THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS MORE AS FRIENDS BECAUSE DIPPER STRUGGLED WITH TALKING TO PEOPLE AND MAKING TJEM) trying to bring the nightmare realm to Earth. After Dipper found out his true intentions after the Candy incident he immediately stopped the building of his project. This enraged Bill as their friendship ended.. But Bill wanted revenge from Dipper’s betrayal..

[tuffypelly]

So many people put dipper in fords role in relativity falls aus but im over here thinking about Mabel being the author and her approach to the journals is the same as her scrapbooks

Like imagine relativity!ford opening this scrapbook all serious as he talks about vampires or something and its a glitter covered two page spread of all these photos, drawings, stickers, and pop-art detailing what Mabel discovered about them

Im sure im not the first to think of this but i havent seen anyone do it yet

[calangolengo]

I am asking for HC for Mute Dipper or Little or Big Dipper AU's. These Gravity Falls AU's are interesting.

You ask, you get it!

I had never thought of a mute!Dipper anes because I always kind of hoped his parents would be responsible enough not to let it happen, but here are some headcanons I made for this scenario.

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Dipper was born the younger twin and that seemed to have been the rule of his life for as long as he could remember, the youngest, the smallest, the slowest, the most antisocial. Not being the most talkative ended up quickly making it onto the list as well, after all his sister did enough talking for both of them.

His parents sent him to a pediatric speech therapist on the school's recommendation and to some pediatric doctors as well. The result was always the same, that he needed to be encouraged to talk, to socialize and to do group activities. For a while this helped, children are very sociable when they want to be and having his sister by his side helped too. Dipper started to talk more at home, with Mabel and his parents.

Things had changed at school. Children, despite being sociable, were also very susceptible to making cruel comments when they met people who were different from them. Not even his super sociable sister seemed to be doing better than him, which made him sad, but still comforted him. At least he wasn't alone, he still had his sister to talk to.

The older he got, the more he realized he was different from the people around him, preferring to keep to himself, studying and reading at home instead of running around, talking only to teachers or his family, keeping his head down and avoiding older children. Speaking only when asked and not drawing attention to himself. His parents seemed too busy to notice that one of their children was falling into an old habit.

When his parents decided to inform him at the beginning of the summer that he and his sister would be spending not only their vacation but also their birthday in some hidden place in the country with some relative they had never even heard of before, Dipper seriously considered running away from home. It wasn't in his plans to spend three months with a complete stranger who might be interested in talking to him, until then few words and Mabel's help had made him go unnoticed at home and at school, but in a completely new environment? He was in serious trouble.

When he arrived in Gravity Falls and met his grunkle Stan the urge to run away was still strong, the man seemed very interested in giving Dipper a hard time or at least making him work without expecting anything in return, but by the end of the week he had the journal, had fought gnomes and earned a resentment from Stan, who actually acted as if Dipper's moments of silence didn't even bother him and was content with his few words and with Mabel filling the gaps between them.

He'd started talking more over the summer, his muteness showing up more when he was stressed, scared, or overwhelmed by the day's events, and every time Grunkle Stan acted like it was just something natural for him to do, filling the silences with answers he thought the boy would say or simply requesting responses in the form of nods. It felt right to Dipper, it felt like acceptance.

When the author of the diaries himself emerged from that portal in the basement it seemed to be the craziest and most overstimulating day of his short life. He could barely form words, his mind racing all over the place, he asked more questions of that adult than he could remember ever asking any adult, talking to his great-uncle Ford was different, it was like talking to Mabel only better, although he didn't understand Dipper's silences as well as the others when Dipper couldn't speak anymore he was still amazing to be around.

After Weirdmageddon Dipper thought he was fine, he and his sister got on the bus feeling like they weren't really going home but to their parents' house, leaving the people who understood and accepted him completely behind and heading towards the place where he didn't seem to be completely accepted. The first week went well, he and Mabel unpacking and getting ready for the new school year, but as soon as classes started he noticed he was back to square one, as if he was wearing old clothes that no longer fit him. The people around him didn't seem to see his growth or be happy for him.

He didn't want to, but being silent in the most diverse situations seemed to be becoming normal again. Luckily he wasn't alone, Mabel Grunkle Stan and Great-Uncle Ford were there, even if only on video calls, with them he could be silent and be heard, his sister was still by his side filling his silences, he would be fine. It was a matter of training, of finding his tribe and staying in touch with the people who cared.

He would be fine, he had his family by his side, even if he remained silent again he knew he would be accepted by them.

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I hope this is interesting to you, I found it quite fun to imagine a scenario for Dipper, although I wouldn't want to add too much trauma to his past since the summer was traumatic enough for a 12 year old.

[firesofdainix]

Relativity Falls AU time

This won't be a one on one counterpart for the entirety of Gravity Falls. Since we're not doing this one on one, we're changing contents of some episodes!

Here's the swapped characters:

Ford = Mabel

Stan = Dipper

Shermie is a fusion of both twins

Pacifica = Bill

Wendy = Fiddleford

Euclid and Scalene = Preston and Priscilla

Axolotl = Smile Dip Dog

Shanklin = Waddles

Soos = Abuelita (her name's Maria, or 'Ria' for short)

Bud and Mrs. Gleeful= Gideon

And now, context!

Mason is the Pines brothers' grandpa, who had a falling out with his son Filbrick before the events of the show. The fight is unknown (but will be revealed later on) but Filbrick cuts off all contact- until he and Sherman began butting heads, teenage rebellion and all, so Filbrick asks his dad to 'set Shermie straight.' What happened was the best summers Shermie has, and annually he goes to Gravity Falls to be with his grandpa.

Much to the family's obliviousness, Shermie has been helping Mason cover up any supernatural things happening within the town, while also using the tourist trap known as the mystery shack to give tourists and other townsfolk the benefit of the doubt. Because of this, Shermie has few to several run-ins with the Society of the Blind Eye but disagrees with their methods of keeping the townsfolk safe from Gravity Falls' weirdness.

Mason trusts his oldest grandson completely with working around the house and keeping the supernatural creatures distant from their family, but he hasn't told him anything about his sister or the portal inside the basement. He doesn't trust Shermie enough for this.

In Shermie's 18th year, his parents are finally in their divorce proceedings, and Caryn wants custody of his younger brothers. Since he's been admitted to college, he offers that he and his brothers stay in Gravity Falls with their grandpa Mason for a while, to which both parents accepted.

Shermie secretly keeps the fact that he was moving away from New Jersey to California for the college years for his university, something that WILL be found out by the twins. The twins assume that Shermie is going to be studying in a community college near them.

Stanley doesn't trust Grandpa Mason at first but starts warming up to him when he sees how much Shermie trusts him, and the way Ford is smiling to be with someone as weird as him.

Ford's main gripe with Mason is the fact that he makes a 'mockery' of weirdness, which is then soured by the fact that Gravity Falls is TRULY weird and Mason seems to think they're just 'special effects.' When he found the third scrapbook, he starts trying to find out about the author, and figuring out the many weird things in Gravity Falls, even adding more information in the scrapbooks provided.

Since Shermie is included in the twins' adventures (mostly- if he's not being a distant dumbass most of the time) some of the stuff will not stay the same if Shermie has anything to say about it. He just has a hard time trying to be like... a perfect role model for his brothers. He's not socially awkward, he just doesn't feel dedicated socializing with people. It's a lesson he learns at the end of the series, that being distant won't help him in the long run.

Mason and Mabel have a good relationship. Once Mabel is out of the portal, Mason takes it upon himself to resolve the rift that had formed between the two of them, and grow a stronger sibling bond. Meanwhile, Ford and Stan's bonds are starting to fracture. Stanley idolizes the bond they shared, promising that he and Ford will be like Mason and Mabel when they grow up, minus the portal thing.

Mason feels very guilty about pushing Mabel in the portal. Even if it was an accident, he still managed to rob Mabel 30 normal years. She's always wanted to get married, and Mabel tries to make him feel less guilty over it. He was just paranoid, mad and hurt Mabel was sending him away over again. She takes responsibility, wishing she could've been more direct and explained the situation better.

Wendy is Fiddleford, wherein Mabel asks her to help her with heavy work and heavy lifting, along with Candy and Grenda who were recruited to help with the portal project. She was the one who fell into the portal the testing day and found out about Pacifica's true plans. She tries to get Mabel to stop the project, but she only ended up convincing Candy and Grenda, who admit that ever since the portal project started, Mabel hasn't been feeling herself. Mabel wouldn't budge, so Wendy and her friends left, causing Mabel to be isolated socially.

Mason married a high school sweetheart after he left his house when Mabel was still upset with him over accidentally ruining her discovery that won the science fair. He stayed with her and decided to have a family, because that's what grown-ups do, right? Start a family and raise kids? And he wants to be better than his parents, no fighting with children and whatnot.

But happy endings don't last forever, he ends up being in the same cycle as his parents are, but at least the two of them fight privately unlike what his parents have done. But it was inevitable that they end up divorcing, and his wife won the custody battle with Filbrick. But that's mainly because he had been in Gravity Falls during the entire divorce trials, seemingly not caring about the divorce proceedings and his son.

Mason and Mabel reunited after ten years of no contact on the cusp of winter. Mason is incredibly stressed with the divorce proceedings, while Mabel is paranoid, sleep deprived, and afraid of Pacifica coming to get her, and Mason is eager to get this over with so Mabel can maybe vouch for him in the divorce proceedings so he can gain custody of Filbrick. But then he sees Mabel look so broken and shattered, he stops his motivations, tries to calm her down, but it leads to the portal incident. Or accident! Mason tries to hold onto her, but Mabel still fell, and now he has lost both families in one day.

When he realized he lost the custody battle, he relocates to Gravity Falls fully, becoming some sort of monster hunter and tourist guide respectively, and to work on the portal. He introduced everyone as Mabel's brother, saying she entrusted him to take care of her house while she navigates the Arctic. Then, he fabricates Mabel's death, stating she is forever lost at sea after her shipping vessel exploded, so now Mason has the rights to the shack. Of course, when he is found by Mabel's old friends, his memories of the unknown were almost erased, since the trio ended up making a cult.

Candy is the new leader of the Society of the Blind Eye, however, because of her close ties to the author and Wendy remembering her old friend even a little bit, the twins are a lot more lenient with erasing almost the entirety of her memories. She does face the consequences of her actions about running a cult, though.

That's all I have for the characters as of this moment! As I said before, not everything is gonna be a one-on-one counterpart! Everyone is unique in their own ways!

Here's a few episodes that might be altered thanks to Shermie's involvement (idk some stuff yet ok):

Tourist Trapped: Dipper and Shermie immediately figure out that Stan's new girlfriend Darlene is a spider monster and ushers her out there. Stan becomes rebellious and rendezvouses with Darlene, causing her to reveal her true nature. Ford thinks she's a fairy about to kidnap Stanley to make him her queen.

Society of the Blind Eye: He's going to punch Blind Ivan, RIGHT IN THE FACE-

Lee, Ford, and Shermie vs. the Future: Instead of Mabel asking Ford to be his apprentice, Ford asks Mabel if she is willing to mentor him. When she asks if his brothers would be fine with that, he says so, and she says she'll think about it. When he returns, he finds out that Stan heard the conversation, and Shermie immediately begins to scold Ford for thinking about himself. The ensuing argument forces Shermie to reveal that, since he's going to California for college, the twins should stick together. This makes the Stans feel betrayed, that their only possible role model is now going away from them 'forever.' Stanley runs away, and Ford and Shermie try looking for him.

Some episodes may be different or have a different monster of the week! I want Ford and Stan and Shermie's adventures to not be identical to the Pines twins!

[dont-know-where]

Alright I've been thinking about the Levity Rises AU and came up with ~ideas~ for Bill

btw the Levity Rises AU is by @hasnomoxxie and it's like Relativity Falls but the usual swaps are different (Dipper swaps with Stan, Mabel swaps with Ford, Soos swaps with Manly Dan, etc.)

I got two ideas for this guy:

Idea 1 (Closer to Smile Pup's role):

Created The Book of Bill. Maybe to drive people insane? Maybe to help him make the portal, but then he got bored of it? Idk...either way it works similarly to how it does in canon.

Sixer finds a copy of it at the run-down Dusk-2-Dawn.

From Sixer's perspective he learned the secrets of the universe.

From everyone else's perspective, he flicked through a few pages, stopped, passed out, violently shook Stanley while spouting out random conspiracy theories when Stanley tried to ask for Sixer's advice, passed out again, got possessed by a ghost, and woke up with a thousand yard stare.

Sixer didn't sleep that night.

Idea 2 (Closer to canon role):

There was this one fic where Ford was an author and he thought Bill was a fictional character he made up as a kid and this is HEAVILY inspired by that.

He's Sixer's imaginary friend muse version of the Cool S. Though sometimes the doodles come with answers to problems he's having trouble with.

Bill is still very much a dream demon, just one that made a deal with Sixer to slip into his doodles or something.

Why?

...I don't know.

There's a Betrayal Moment that gets swept under the rug where Ford just. Doesn't talk about Bill. Ever again.

No one's exactly sure what that Betrayal Moment is but Ford...doesn't draw Bill anymore.

[mbat]

after seeing a post yesterday about if there was a relativity falls au but mabel was the author, im just SO curious about it and i really wanna know if theres anyone who has that au please

[spectralscathath]

Tour Guide to the Unexplained- a Gravity Falls Fanfiction

Chapter 8- Still Waters

Stan and Ford didn’t expect much when getting shipped up to Gravity Falls to stay with estranged family. Not a weird historical festival, not being a strange lady who lives in the junkyard, and definitely not the Mystery Shack and their lying uncle who runs it. But with Ford’s smarts and Stan’s punching, there’s no mystery they can’t solve.

Ao3 Link

“Fish-ing day! Fish-ing day!” Stan and Ford chanted in the back of the truck, Stan’s left hand now stuck in both a sling and a bright red cast that had Ford’s neat cursive and Dipper’s messy scrawl signed on it. He’d printed his own name in block letters as well, and he was going to make sure he got all sorts of signatures. Jimmy and Carla for sure, definitely Dan, he supposed he could allow Ford’s cool nerd friends to sign it if they asked, and hopefully Soos and Dolores as well. Last time he broke his wrist, no one but Ford signed his cast, but this time would be different. 

“Yunno, Granpa showed me how to put a hook on a line with my eyes closed,” Stan bragged. 

“He showed me how to make a fishing lure,” Ford bragged louder. 

“I’m sure you both have lots of fishing skills to teach me,” Dipper, despite his claims that he hadn’t ever fished, had managed to pull out a solid fisherman’s outfit, overalls and waders and even a beanie. He’d mumbled something about a cursed lighthouse when they’d pressed him on it.

“Yes we do.” Stan looked out the window as they drove into town to buy some fishing gear, but something seemed off. “Is that a covered wagon?”

“What?” Ford scrambled to look out his own window, voice growing increasingly  worried. “Grunkle Dipper?”

“Oh, it’s Pioneer day. I totally forgot.” Dipper drove around a cow and pulled into a space on the side of the road. “Yeah, this is the anniversary of Gravity Falls’s founding, so everyone dresses up and does historical activities. It’s kinda fun, what do you think?”

“This looks stupid.” Stan rolled his eyes.

“Grunkle Dipper, those costumes are historically inaccurate!” Ford sounded like he was about to have a breakdown. 

“Okay, no Pioneer day.” Dipper shrugged before he pulled out his wallet and handed them five dollars each. “I still need to go get fishing gear, so how about you two get yourself some old-timey candy and we’ll meet back at the car in, say- half an hour?”

“What? You’re leaving us alone with the hicks?”

“They’re using modern breeds of chickens for their re-enactments, this is terrible.” Ford sounded faint.

Dipper got out of the driver’s seat, reached into the back, and dragged them out by the jackets, setting them on the sidewalk before he locked the car doors. “Go on, try candle-dipping or something. Museum’s free entry if that’s your style. Half an hour.”

“Half an hour,” Stan grumbled and scuffed his shoe against the pavement. 

Dipper smiled and patted them both on the head before walking off, leaving Stan and Ford surrounded by covered wagons and people being silly in costumes. It was so uncool. 

“... wanna get some old-timey butterscotch?” Stan shrugged. 

“Yeah, okay. I still think everyone’s using fabric that’s way too modern- that lady’s got a zipper showing, for crying out loud.”

Ford picked up Stanley’s discarded butterscotch wrappers as he followed his twin, his own pockets full of candy. Stanley kept opening the butterscotch wrappers with his teeth instead of just getting Ford to do it or doing it one-handed. He was so strange sometimes.

“Nope, this whole thing is still lame,” Stan announced after they did a circuit of the main activities. 

“Yep,” Ford agreed without hesitation. “I don’t think the pioneers should be celebrated very much either, I researched the Donner party.”

“Ugh. I remember you telling me about that. And you think I’ve seen gross things.”

“You told me you once saw a seagull get stuck in the freshwater taffy.”

“And it was one of the greatest things I’d ever seen.”

“Ewwwwww,” Ford laughed and had more butterscotch. “Wonder what that crowd’s about?”

“Let’s go see.” Stan thumped his shoulder, Ford giggling and returning the favour. Not to the arm in the cast, obviously, but the rest of Stanley was totally fine. 

They darted through to the front of the crowd, arriving at a stage in front of a stone statue of a guy who Ford felt had a very punchable face. A man sat in a chair in front of the statue with a creepy grin, and a kid with dark hair walked up to the microphone in a fur hat and suit that was obviously English Victorian- not Western Frontier. 

The kid reached up to the microphone stand and lowered it, tapping it a few times to make that awful feedback sound before he spoke. “Hello, everyone. I’m Preston Northwest, richest nine-year-old in Gravity Falls, and also great-great-grandson of our town founder. Go Northwests! We’re super rich and fancy!”

The crowd clapped and Ford shared a look with Stan. “He talks a little like the-”

“Sibling brothers, yep.” Stan scowled. “Snooty.”

“Wait-” there was something important about the name ‘Preston Northwest’. “Isn’t this one of Grunkle Dipper’s enemies?”

“Maybe?” Stan chewed his butterscotch seriously. “Why do people like him bragging about being rich?”

“Do you have the Pioneer spirit?” Preston’s eyes scanned the crowd before landing on Ford and Stan. Ford immediately shoved his hands in his pockets to hide his six fingers. He hoped he did it fast enough. 

Preston scowled, nose wrinkling in disgust. It was a common expression aimed at the Pines twins. “Uh- you guys don’t have any Pioneer spirit. Where’s your costumes?”

The entire crowd shifted to look at them and Ford stared directly at the ground. Why were they at the front? That was where people were noticed.

“I dunno, why are you wearing a dead rat on your head?” Stan pointed. 

“Uh. It’s a raccoon, duh. And it’s because I’ve got Pioneer Day spirit.” Preston sniffed, looking down his nose. “You clearly don’t. Who are you?”

“We’re the Pines twins.” Stan raised his chin defiantly, Ford keeping an eye on him, the crowd, this kid. He hated how this kid looked at them, like they were dirt on his shoe. Ford was a genius, and Stanley was- well, Stanley. Everyone kept treating them like nothing when they weren’t, they weren’t. 

“Pines twins.” Preston growled. “Ugh. Whatever, you’re not even invited anyway to Pioneer day. You’re not Gravity Falls people.”

“So what?” Stan snapped back, already getting angry. Ford gritted his teeth, matching his brother’s temper. How dare this kid say that? When Gravity Falls was the first place Ford felt like he truly belonged?

“Your kind don’t belong here, dummies.” Preston scoffed. 

“ Our kind?” Stan took a step forward and Ford grabbed his elbow. As great as it would be to see Stanley punch this smug lil kid’s face in, he was also aware that was a bad look. 

“Stanley, let’s just go.” Ford looked around, pretty sure the crowd was not on their side. Unlike the freak show, there was no way showing his hands would suddenly get this crowd on his side. They were pretending uggs were historically accurate, for pete’s sake. “We’re going fishing. Who needs Pioneer spirit?”

Stan looked back, tense and ready to fight. He huffed, reaching into his vest and turning his glare on Preston. “Congrats on being special because of some dead guy. Smokebomb!”

They darted into the crowd the moment the plume of smoke appeared, running out the other side and running away until they’d rounded a building. 

“They’re not very good pioneers anyway,” Ford patted his brother’s shoulder, trying to bite back his own anger at losing that confrontation. He may have been used to losing against bullies, but that didn’t mean he liked it. It made him feel small and his brain was too big for that. He was smarter than Crampelter and his goons, smarter than this kid, they should have realised that meant something. 

“Yeah.” Stan scowled and kicked a rock on the ground. “Ford, would it be wrong to beat up a snotty nine-year-old?”

“Rational, that sounds like a rational course of action. But not in front of a crowd, okay?”

“You’re a bit anachronistic.”

Dipper barely kept himself from fumbling the fishing supplies in his arms as he turned, rods, bait and tackle box, and a few other things precariously balancing. He looked at the woman, strands of silver-white glinting throughout her platinum blonde hair. She lifted her sunglasses to fix him with her usual judginess. “Fishing season started weeks ago. It’s practically retro now.”

“Pacifica.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re not at Pioneer day?” 

“No, Preston’s doing the usual Northwest ceremony.” She checked her painted nails, leaning against her car. She looked far too modern for the town holiday. “He’s very excited.”

“Giving the speech with his dad?” Dipper knew exactly what minefield he was stepping into, but he’d never been anything but blunt with Pacifica in his life, and he wasn’t going to start dancing around issues now.

“Of course, Paxton’s an honorary Northwest, after all. It turns out we had a very interesting marriage contract.”

“That bad?” Dipper walked over and set his newly-gotten fishing stuff on the hood of her car, leaning against the vehicle beside her. 

“Split custody, he’s getting the mansion, the split of other financial assets is also stacked in his favour,” Pacifica rolled her eyes. “All in legal terms that would go over even your big head.”

“I’ve made it my mission in life to never return to a court of law,” Dipper shrugged, tucking his hands in the pockets of his overalls. “Why go through with it if you’re losing so much?”

She glanced at him, arching a brow. Probably tinted, or sculpted, or whatever people did with their brows. She’d aged more gracefully then he did, sure, but no one made it past forty without a little wear and tear. “You owe me a drink before I start answering those types of questions.”

“Yeah, do you want to start at the Skull Fracture or will we skip straight to Gnasty’s?”

“I’m not going back to that gnome bar.” The look she gave him could have deep-frozen a mountain lion. 

“You’re no fun anymore, Paz.” He grinned at her, long immune. 

“You’ve never been fun in your life.”

“Oh-ho, ouch.” 

“I’ll be getting you to throw up your anti-ghost wards on my new house once I’ve had my stuff moved in, by the way.”

“Can do. You’re staying in town?” His grin fell. Was she sure that was a good idea?

“Is that an actual question?” She scoffed. “It’s my town.”

“But the recurring bouts of amnesia- we still don’t know what’s causing them, but we know they’re localised to the town and being in the town itself heightens the risk of possible forgetfulness-”

“Are you still talking about that? It makes you sound like an insane conspiracy theorist. Like you have a corkboard and string.” She studied him. “You do, don’t you?”

“I’m not answering that question.” He had multiple. One for each theory. 

“If you’re so worried about your memories, why are you in town?” She looked him over. “And making such a fashion statement.”

“Uh- family fun day?”  

“That sounds like a nightmare, don’t tell me you’ve got a checklist again.”

“Checklists are extremely efficient!”

“The last time I saw you use a checklist you ended up fighting twenty of yourself and ruined Preston’s birthday party.” She pulled out a hand mirror, checking her reflection. Dipper was sorely tempted to poke the surface, just to leave a smudge. But no, he’d like to keep his hand attached to his wrist, he was quite fond of it where it was. 

“That was unintentional.” He was pretty sure that kid really hated him. Hated his shins, at least, Preston had a surprisingly sharp kick. 

“Whatever.” She glanced at him. “How’s your crafts project?”

“Won’t get much further without the other books in the series.” He slipped into the basic code they used, nothing like backwards talk but she refused to go along with that. No fun at all. “Still can’t find them at the local library.”

“Pity.” Pacifica sighed and pulled her sunglasses on. “And your ex-roommate?”

“He can’t evict me anymore.” Dipper placed a hand over the binding sigil hidden in his tattoos, meant to lock his spirit inside his body so Bill couldn’t pull him out into the mindscape. “I’ve got it sorted.”

“I remember the last time you said that.” She huffed and tossed her hair like a show-off. “You better be right this time.”

He chuckled and picked up the fishing gear. “C’mon, Paz. When am I ever?”

Stan hopped out of the truck, carefully parked in the woods around the lake rather than near the shore. Also not near the parking area by the pier. “What’s the plan?”

“You kids are gonna go into the building by the pier and be a great distraction, then meet me back here. It’s out of sight, so that should keep you guys from also getting banned.”

“Are you sure stealing a boat is the most logical course of action?” Ford hesitated before he took his jacket off and placed it under the car seat. Good idea. Stan did the same, only worrying about one sleeve since he was hiding the cast a bit, arm still in a sling. He didn’t want his smokebombs getting wet. 

“Stealing sounds fun to me, Sixer,” Stanley grinned and reached over the seats, messing up Ford’s hair. Ford laughed and batted his hand away. 

“Get off, you knucklehead.” 

There was the sound of paper flicking. Stan turned to see Dipper with a long list that unfurled in his hand. 

“Alright. You kids go first, try to be distracting for twenty minutes, set a watch or something, then bail. Got it?”

“I hope Fiddleford’s in there,” Ford smiled and clicked a button on his watch. “I wanna tell him about Gideon and the carnival.”

“I’m gonna ask if the lake water’s drinkable!” He said it for the disgusted look Ford shot him.

“It’s not. Try asking about what to avoid, Tate’ll give you the whole spiel. Bubbles and all.” Dipper folded up his list again, tucking it in his overalls.  “Ready for an adventure?”

Stan held out his good fist. “Ford, get your hand in here, we're gonna do a thing.”

“But we already have a high six-”

“A thing with Grunkle Dipper. Fists in.”

Dipper smiled bemusedly and did as told, leaning down to make it easier. Stan placed his fist on top. “Ford, complete the tower!”

“You’re really insistent about the weirdest stuff.” Ford rolled his eyes and did it anyway.

“Three, two, one-” Stan stole from the school sports teams back home, especially the one Shermie was on. Stan never had the knack for that team sport stuff, even though he liked watching other people do it. “Pines!”

Dipper followed Stan’s gesture with a grin. “That’s catchy.”

“It seems redundant but alright. I guess if we’re all scheming together we should have a thing?” Ford looked at his hand, wiggling his fingers. 

“Meet you back here, you rascals.” Dipper messed up their hair before he disappeared into the trees. Stan watched him go. He had to teach Stan how to pull a vanishing act like that, it was like something in a movie- like when people turned around and the killer suddenly wasn’t there. Super cool.

“So the amulet’s broken now? Forever?” Fiddleford clarified. Ford wondered why he’d gotten so pale during Ford’s recounting of the previous night. It was a pretty sunny and nice day, after all. 

“Yep. Too bad, I wanted to study it a bit, take some notes,” Ford sighed. Fiddleford gently patted his shoulder, which was nice too. It was amazing to have a good friend who could really keep up with him when he talked about science. He loved Stanley, but sometimes having to dial down what he was saying into layman’s terms was annoying. 

“Well, I mean, if it was so obviously evil, probably a fine thing you didn’t get the chance,” Fiddleford tried to cheer him up. “Do you and your brother want some sunhats? It’ll keep the sunburn off you.”

“Uh…” Ford did remember how painful sunburn could be. “Yes please. We don’t have much money though, we got a lot of butterscotch. Want some?”

“Well I would not say no to that!” Fiddleford smiled brightly and hopped the shop counter. “Let me nab those hats first.”

“Thanks.” Ford glanced over at Stanley, in the middle of bombarding Fiddleford’s dad with endless questions about the lake, but specifically weird distracting ones that weren’t easy to answer, like ‘have you ever personally drank the lake water’ or ‘could I fish using my foot as bait’. Weird stuff like that. Nothing all that useful, but maybe he would get some indication of supernatural occurrences they could investigate?

“It’s real nice having you drop by,” Fiddleford hummed as he sorted through the various fishing hats, limbs contorting with disturbing ease as he scuttled up shelves exactly like a possum. “I’ve been darn well bored stupid out here, I think the only reason my pops wants me to sit here behind the counter is so I can’t make any horrifying robots.”

“It does seem pretty quiet here. I guess it's more popular when it’s not Pioneer Day?” Ford felt a bit guilty about being a distraction now.

“I mean- first day of fishin’ season was a bit busy, but it’s a small town, not really anyone looking for anything they don’t already have.” 

“But… is it nice spending time with your dad?” Ford tried to be positive. Mr Tate didn’t seem all that scary, not like Ford’s Pa. 

Fiddleford set down two hats and gave Ford the driest look he’d ever been on the receiving end of, even after thirteen years sharing a room with Stanley. “This here’s the most I’ve heard him talk since I got here.”

“Oh…” Ford blushed a little in embarrassment as he tugged on the hat, looking down at the ground in hopes it might eat him. Or spontaneously turn into a second bottomless pit, even though that was by definition impossible. Maybe. Possibly. Could Grunkle Dipper let him do some tests? 

“Yep.” Fiddleford popped the P. “Don’t you worry none ‘bout that though, that’s my business.”

“Okay.” Ford was very grateful for that. But maybe- “we’re planning on exploring around the lake. Do you want to come?”

“I’d rather not be goin’ near that lake, on account of that terribibibble-” Fiddleford stumbled over the word and shook his head, looking a little annoyed, “ terrible shape I saw beneath the water. Long as a bus, I dare say.”

“... Would you happen to remember where exactly and could you mark it on a map?” Ford tried.

Fiddleford sighed and reached for a pamphlet. “Don’t do anything reckless, Stanford. And don’t show me whatever you fish up, I’d rather sleep at night, thank you kindly.”

“I’ll credit you as a key element of the discovery when I submit my evidence to all my favourite science journals!” Ford promised excitedly before the door to Mr Tate’s boat rental shop slammed open. Ford whirled, back pressed to the counter as he stared at the entrant. Blinked twice. What? “Who is that?”

“Oh no.” Fiddleford sucked air in his teeth. “Miss Chiu, I’m sorry, but you’ve been banned from this location!”

“Candy saw something in the woods!” The woman was short and hunched, her hair shock white and tangled, falling over half her wizened face, a frumpled, ragged sweater hung off her, so covered in moss and muck he couldn’t tell the colour or pattern it used to have. Her feet left mud tracks on the wood, tattered skirt held together by bandaids and mismatched stitching. She had forks bandaged to every finger on her right hand as she gestured excitedly. “I have seen the doppelgangers again! They’re gathering!”

“Hey!” Mr Tate pulled a spray bottle out of somewhere. “I told you to get away from the lake, you’ll scare the customers.”

“Dad, you can’t spray bottle her, she’s just an old lady.” Fiddleford gracefully hopped the counter and blocked his dad, hands raised to show his hands were empty. “Miss Chiu- do you need us to call someone for you?”

“I am a Mrs now.” She beamed and pulled an actual, honest-to-goodness fox out of her hair. “He will make me a happy wife.”

“... Congratulations?”

Stan joined Ford at the counter and picked at his teeth with his good hand. “I think they need to call someone , definitely. Maybe the nuthouse.”

“Stanley, that’s rude.” Ford chided. What did she say? Something about doppelgangers? 

“Lady, I need you to get away from my boathouse.” Mr Tate loomed behind his son. “You’ve been banned from the lake ever since you released boat-eating fungus into my shed.”

“My experiments require feeding.” The old lady- Candy- barely looked at them, her attention instead caught by the trail mix bags by the door. She drove her forks into one of the small bags, lifting it up and spilling mix everywhere. “Sustenance for Candy. And husband.”

The fox shoved under her arm stared at Ford with the most resigned expression he’d ever seen on a human or animal. He felt really bad for it. 

“Out!” Tate raised the spray bottle threateningly. “Go back to your dump, you old hag!”

“Pa!” Fiddleford snapped back. Wasn’t he scared? Why would he do that? “Stanley, Stanford, will you help me escort uh- Mrs Chiu outside? Mrs Chiu, why don’t you walk with me and tell me about these- er, doppelygangers.”

“I will explain in excessive and horrific detail.” 

“Yep!” Ford wanted to ask about the doppelgangers. “C’mon, Stanley. Also- I got us hats.”

“I didn’t agree to be volunteered for this.” Stan sighed and followed anyway as Fiddleford managed to bustle the old lady outside without touching the fox. Ford risked a glance at Fiddleford’s dad, expecting the glower that spoke of an oncoming explosion, but he’d just gone back to sorting out the tackle boxes. Strange. 

“I see them in a clearing, all with the same face,” Old Lady Chiu was gesturing animatedly, occasionally stopping to shove trail mix in her mouth, some of her teeth chipped and missing. “They are plotting great doom! There’s a blackboard with a many-stepped plan and they wear stupid hats marked with numbers. In four years they have not aged!”

“That sounds mighty creepifying, I reckon,” Fiddleford informed her bluntly as he managed to get her moving in the direction of the road back to town. “Maybe you should go tell the sheriff?”

“Yes, yes, Candy should. Grenda is… who is Grenda?” She reached up with her forks in a motion Ford recognised, and adjusted glasses that weren’t there. He felt an instinctive need to adjust his own, seeing the familiar movement. “Never mind! You should visit! I will let you assist in building death ray.”

“... I will- I will consider that. As an option.” Fiddleford gave her a nudge. “Please don’t come back? My pa’s really not happy with you.”

“But Candy is adorable!” She shoved the fox back into her hair as it stared at Ford. Its eyes screamed ‘help’ before it disappeared into the snowy white tangles.

“Yeah… I reckon Pa wouldn’t know adorable if it hopped up and bit him in the backside. Off you go, now, stay safe.”

Old Lady Chiu patted Fiddleford’s face with a smile, leaving a muddy handprint, and scampered into the woods. Ford felt like an observer, the same way he did reading the diary, or watching kids at school having fun and making friends. Something he wasn’t probably meant to be part of, but he knew it happened anyway.

“Well, that was random and made no sense.” Stan leaned his elbow on Ford’s shoulder. “Hey Ford, has it been twenty minutes yet?”

“You know her, Fiddleford? Has she mentioned doppelgangers before?” Maybe they should call off fishing day? 

“Why were you so nice to her?” Stan’s nose crinkled. “She seemed sorta-” he pulled away from Ford, made a circle by his temple, and whistled. 

Fiddleford’s shoulders straightened and the look on his face was stern, hard in a way Ford hadn’t seen. He’d seen Fiddleford excited, he’d seen him bored and glum talking about his dad, and he’d seen him scared, but he hadn’t seen Fiddleford look mad . 

“She’s a harmless old lady, that’s all.” Fiddleford glared at Stan, his accent gone from silly to sharp. “Not her fault her mind’s goin’ a bit. Least I can do is be nice to her, no one else in this darn unfriendly town is. So you mind your goshdarned manners.”

“Whoa, okay. Touched a nerve.” Stan put his hand in his pocket. “Who is she?”

Fiddleford scratched at the muddy handprint on his face. “I don’t rightly know. But I know she’s not meaning any harm. Just because someone’s a bit messy and don’t recall everything the right way, doesn’t mean they ain’t deservin’ of a bit of compassion.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I called her a nutjob,” Stan rolled his eyes. “What did she mean ‘doppelgangers’?”

“I wouldn’t put stock in it. She says a lot of things.” Fiddleford shrugged and trudged back to the boathouse. 

There was a yell inside of ‘where did my boat go?!’, and Ford winced while Stanley ignored ir. Looked like Grunkle Dipper was as good at boat theft as he said. 

Fiddleford didn’t notice the guilt on Ford’s face, taking his glasses off and cleaning the lenses with the edge of his sleeve. “Thanks for droppin’ by, Stanford. Stanley. Hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

“Leaving?” Stan asked as Fiddleford stepped inside, finally accepting his hat from Ford and fitting it on. They both remembered how painful sunburn could be.

“Leaving.” Ford agreed as they ran into the woods towards where Dipper had parked, out of view of the little shore and the pier that acted as the lake’s only dock. Sorry, Fiddleford, but the hats weren’t that important. Not when Ford had the map. “Do you think we could look for the doppelgangers?”

“Can it wait? We’re fishing, right?” Stanley huffed out as they raced, shoes pounding on the forest floor. 

“Well- I mean, we’re monster hunting. Fishing is an extra, Grunkle Dipper’s going to show us supernatural stuff now, since he stopped lying.”

“But we’re fishing.” Stanley stopped running, forcing Ford to do the same if he wanted to continue the conversation. 

“Stanley, fishing’s fun,” when something was caught, “but Gravity Falls is full of real anomalies. Fiddleford’s lake monster, these doppelgangers, we have to investigate them.”

“Can you investigate the lake monster while we’re fishing?” Stan fidgeted with the brim of his hat.  

“Well- I suppose, but I mean, it’s not that efficient, and it would distract Grunkle Dipper,” Ford hesitated before he confessed, knowing Stanley would understand. He always understood. “Fishing’s not that fun anyway...”

“You’re just saying that because you’re bad at it and got a hook stuck in your hand.”

“It really hurt!” Ford’s cheeks grew hot as Stanley made fun of him. Why would Stanley say he was bad at it? Why didn't he understand? “I’m not bad- I just don’t like it!”

“Ford!” Stanley glared at him. “Why do you not like things that are fun?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ford stared at him, brows furrowing. He was always so hot-headed, Ford never knew why . 

“Whatever, nerd.” Stanley scoffed and stomped by, his shoulder knocking against Ford’s. 

“Why are you always so boneheaded!” Ford snapped at him as Stanley broke into a run, because really, this was illogical. Fishing was circumstantial fun where the circumstances were rare. It was a gambling game, an old man hobby, except the old man they were currently accompanying didn’t even do it. That made it a Granpa hobby. 

Monster hunting, now that was much better. That was Ford’s dream. 

Ford took a second to take a breath and focus on what was important. Doppelgangers in the woods with numbered hats, a giant shape in the lake marked on a map, a million other anomalies just waiting for him to discover. Why did Stan get angry so easily? It was rash, Ford wished he was better at not getting mad himself. He was supposed to be the logical one. Short tempers had no place in an intellectual mind. 

He looked out over the lake, placid and serene, but with fog gathered around the island in the middle. That looked like a perfect place to find anomalies! So many options, he could spend all day just chasing leads.

But he needed a boat for that, and the diary. Stanley had probably calmed down by now, Ford hated fighting, especially when he didn’t do anything wrong. Stanley was just being weird again. 

If Stan had to hear one more ‘can we go to that mysterious island’ outta his twin he might actually shove Ford overboard. Just a little bit.

“You mean Scuttlebutt Island?” Dipper deliberately enunciated the name as he pushed the tiller, steering them to the far side of the lake and away from the boat house.

“Butt Island.” Stan repeated, but he didn’t really feel the humour meant to come with something so funny.

“I’m not calling it that.” Ford huffed.

“Yeah, ‘course not.” Did he think he was better than them or something? Because of his mysteries? Better than doing something fun with family? Stan wanted to show Grunkle Dipper he was good at things that wasn’t just being a delinquent, couldn’t the monster hunt wait one day? 

“Trust me, kid, there’s nothing on Scuttlebutt Island but some really cute beavers. Soos and I scoped the whole place once, he took a ton of pictures.” Dipper reached into his jacket and pulled out a polaroid.

Stan perked up at the sight. “Wow, beaver with a chainsaw. That’s the greatest thing I ever saw, and I once saw a cockroach-”

“Please don’t mention the cockroach,” Ford cut him off before he studied Grunkle Dipper. “You just keep this picture? All the time?”

“Yeah… I was sort of insane that day. Convinced that I heard the Gobblewonker roar.” Dipper bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. “But it was just this lil guy.”

“Gobblewonker?” Ford turned his whole attention to Grunkle Dipper. “Is that a lake monster?”

“Yeah, but trust me, if I haven’t found it, it ain’t in this lake. There is a giant nocturnal boat-eating head, but there’s no Gobblewonker.” Dipper smiled at the beaver picture, tucking it back into a pocket. Stan swore he caught a glimpse of other polaroids in there. “That’s what the beaver picture is for, a reminder that not every weird thing is an anomaly. Stuff just happens sometimes.”

“But Fiddleford says he saw something!” Ford pulled a pamphlet out and pointed at a marked section. “Right here! It’s even on the far side of the lake, please?”

“Well…” Dipper’s face scrunched a bit, the lines in his skin deepening.

“Can we just pick somewhere and fish?” Stanley kicked the side of the boat. “We gotta stay still when we do. Go to the stupid monster spot, I don't care.”

“It’s not stupid!” Ford shoved him. “Why are you being so mean?!”

Stanley got ready to shove him back before Grunkle Dipper intervened. Again. Like yesterday at the carnival. 

“Guys, guys, this is family fun day,” Dipper held them both by the shoulder, hand scrunching on the life jackets. “You’ve been getting along great since you got here, now two fights in two days? What’s going on?”

“Is this because of fishing?” Ford scowled. “Stanley, there are more important things then that-”

“It’s important to me!” Stanley snapped at him. “I thought it was important to you too but you’ve not shut up about anomalies ever since Chiu mentioned the doppelgangers!”

“Doppelgangers…?” Dipper echoed quietly.

Stan continued, ignoring Dipper. “You were gonna run off into the woods on the word of some crazy old bat and ditch me!”

“Stanley, you’re allowed to come on my anomaly hunts-” Ford adjusted his glasses and he wasn’t getting it . Stan wanted to tip over the whole boat.

“I want to go fishing!”

“Why?!”

“Because it’s something I’m better at than you!”

Ford just stared at him. Stan sat with the snapped-out words just a moment longer before he felt an awful knot of guilt in his stomach. He wasn’t supposed to say that. He wasn’t supposed to think that. 

He was the spare Stan, he was meant to be proud his brother was so amazing- he was- so why was he saying it like it wasn’t the best thing ever? Toughen up, Stanley. Be a better twin. Do it for family. 

Ford shoved him overboard. 

The splash was loud enough that Dipper managed to shake his head clear of the memories of such a similar fight- history really did repeat, didn’t it- and leaned over the edge, scanning the water. Up bobbed Stanley, buoyed by his lifejacket. Dipper reached out a hand, keeping one braced on the boat’s edge. 

“Stanley, here-” he gripped the kid by the jacket, helping pull him up. The silence behind him shattered as Ford seemed to finish processing. 

“Ohmygosh Stanley I’m so sorry! I don’t know why I- are you okay?!”

Ford might not have known why he did it, but Dipper could make a guess. 

He remembered the fit he threw when Mabel got taller first, he hadn’t understood why she’d been so harsh about it, he thought she was the one who was good at everything he wanted, and the fight had brought down the house. He had been a raging bundle of insecurity back then, one poke and out came the venom. 

It was afterwards when Mabel handed him their games tally he’d finally understood, just a little bit. They were both jealous of each other for stupid reasons, in the end. She was fearless and he was nervous, he was tactical while she was impulsive. Different strengths for different scenarios, who even cared about how many chess games he could win?

Wouldn’t it be great if he could keep these kids from making his mistakes?

He got Stan out of the water and reached for the towel, wrapping it around the kid’s shoulders. He hoped the cast wasn’t gonna be damaged by a dunk in the lake. Stan batted at his hands, hackles up. Made sense, kid had a proud streak. “I’m fine , Dipper. I’m no weenie, I can take a dunking.”

“Stanley?” Ford asked hesitantly, and Dipper sat back, figuring that it might be best to let the kids talk it out. Preferably with no more shoving, why were these kids so pushy to each other sometimes? Had he and Mabel been like that?

Maybe they had. After all, shoving his twin through a portal had to come from somewhere, right?

Ford was wringing his hands together, polydactyly lacing and unlacing. “I… I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“Eh, I was thinking about pushing you overboard lots,” Stan shrugged, and then he smiled. It was big and bright and Dipper thought it would remind him of Mabel, because there was so much of his twin in these kids, but no. Mabel’s smiles were real in a way this wasn’t. This smile was a lie. Stan still wore it. “Since you were being all nerdy about monster hunting.”

“... Sorry?” Ford fidgeted. “... Do you not like monster hunting?”

“I didn’t say that.” Stan rolled his eyes. “Sweet Moses, Sixer, I like the monster hunts. Don’t worry.”

“Then why are you so focused on fishing? And…” Ford shifted nervously. “Why did you say that you being better at it matters?” 

Dipper rested his elbows on his knees and folded his hands together in front of his mouth as a less-obvious method of clamping them over his mouth. The answer seemed obvious from someone who lived it, but if he just told them they’d roll their eyes and say ‘whatever, oldtimer’ or whatever teenagers did nowadays.

“Dunno.” Stan looked away. “It was a dumb thing to say.”

“Then why’d you say it?” Ford’s tone got sharper, more desperate. They were both so quick to anger. Dipper wondered if that was from Filbrick, not that Dipper knew anything about him beyond being his one and only nephew. It had to be Filbrick, or Caryn, right? Their grandpa had been the most relaxed older brother Dipper could have asked for. Mabel’s anger was deep and hidden, as long as a crush wasn’t involved. Dipper knew he wasn’t exactly a gentle soul, but these kids flared up so quick, their fuses were so short. Maybe it was just them, but even then…

Was Jersey really that much of a nightmare to grow up in?

“Why do you want to be better at me?” Ford leaned forward, hands pressed together in his lap. 

“It’s stupid, don’t worry about it.” Stanley deflected. What had gone on in his head, that he’d switched so quickly on a dime?

“You’re not stupid!” Ford pleaded. “Just say something.”

Okay, maybe Dipper could intervene a little bit. Tiny bit. Just a nudge. “You know- when I was growing up I was convinced your Granpa was better than me at everything. Maths, sports, you name it.” Mabel was good at everything Dipper wasn’t. Art, friendships, having people actually like her…

They both stared at him. Ford blinked first. “And?”

Dipper shrugged unhelpfully. “End of story. It’s a choose-your-own-message thing. Do you want me to look away and cover my ears now, let you have your moment?”

The mirrored unamused expressions were kinda funny, even if this was not a laughing moment. Dipper still covered his ears, pretending he wasn’t paying attention. It was a bit awkward to be in the middle of a sibling fight in a small space, he finally had sympathy for his parents during Pines Family Road Trips. Three kids jammed in the back, vying for space, legroom, control of the music, who could look out the window. He remembered elbows jammed in ribs and all three of them fighting like wild animals until dad threatened to turn the car around.

Family was such a pain sometimes. He missed it.

Stan was the one who scoffed and broke the silence this time. Ford bit his tongue to keep himself from bubbling over, mind whirling with a million things to say. Why did he push him? How could he push his brother off a boat? Why did Stanley say he wanted to do the same, what was wrong with them?

“I’m not jealous or anything lame like that. Don’t go thinking something stupid like that, okay?” Stanley started off, glancing at Grunkle Dipper. Ford also wished their Grunkle was not there momentarily, why did they have to do this on a tiny boat?

Focus, Ford. The real problem was there, and he could solve it, he just had to identify it. “Then why?”

“I just wanted to…” Stan looked away. “I’m not a screw-up at everything , alright?”

Oh. Ford remembered in the Jersey Devil’s lair, how Stanley had tried so hard to do something nice for dad and ruined it. It was an accident, but it still cost them a summer. It wasn’t bad, being inside all the time, certainly better than having to dodge Crampelter and his goons, but… “Do you think you’re a screw-up?”

But why? Stanley wasn’t- well, he wasn’t as smart as Ford, but nobody was, really, so that wasn’t his fault. Stanley was good at other stuff! Like- like punching! And lying! And reading people!

And… fishing too, he supposed. 

“You’re not a screw-up,” Ford repeated, trying to make Stanley believe it. “Is that why you want to show Grunkle Dipper how to fish?”

“You can do your monster hunting any time.” Stan mumbled, Ford straining to hear. “All summer. But we can’t get a boat every day. Not like home.”

“Yeah…” Ford knew exactly what he meant. A beach of sand and glass shards, and their perfect treasure, found by them, all theirs. They’d pushed it back into the secret cove and boarded it back up the moment they could, in the scant time before Shermie announced they were going to Gravity Falls and getting packed onto a bus. “It’s no Stan O’ War, is it?”

“Yeah.” Stan looked at him and smiled. Was it real? Ford couldn’t tell. He hoped so. “I mean- where’s the sail? I like that sail.”

“Me too.” Ford liked feeling like a dashing adventurer. 

“Speedboats aren’t very adventure-y,” Stan kept going, and Ford hoped this meant things were okay again. “Fighting a monster in this seems boring.”

“True, having a sail and a steering wheel is more suitably dramatic.” Ford smiled a bit brighter, hoping his contribution was acceptable. Was that it? All fixed?

Maybe… Maybe he should make a concession. “I don’t dislike fishing.”

He had all of Stan’s attention now. Stan was very good at focusing on someone. “You said-”

“I was… I guess we both said stuff we didn’t mean?’ Ford tried. “We can… we can look for the Gobblewonker tomorrow? And the doppelgangers?” It felt like a waste of time, but… he shoved his brother overboard, he probably owed him something. 

Stanley’s eyes shone. “Really?”

Ford nodded once, unprepared for Stanley to tackle him in a hug and drench him to the bone. It was freezing. 

Ford cautiously hugged him back and waved at Grunkle Dipper. “You can listen again.”

Dipper pulled his fingers from his ears. “If I could have gone to stand over there-” he gestured in a vague direction, “I would have.”

That would have made things less awkward. “Tomorrow can we go monster hunting? Today we’re teaching you how to fish.”

Dipper smiled and it looked like he was… proud. But why? For what reason? Could Ford recreate that?

Stanley let go of Ford and he looked happy again. Was it so easy to do that, all this time? Why did it matter so much to him?

“Grunkle Dipper, welcome to the Stan Pines Super Fishing School College!"

“Saying school and college feels repetitive,” Ford pointed out, unable to help himself.

“Shh, I’m teaching.”

Ford woke up in the middle of the night, looking around the room he and Stanley shared. Something didn’t feel right. Stanley wasn’t in his bed and Gompers wasn’t sleeping on the floor. 

He reached for his glasses before he realised he had them on- did he fall asleep wearing them again?

Blue and purple light shone in through the closed window and a jolt of familiarity hit him. Oh, this was another of those dreams. Okay. 

He always seemed to forget them until they happened again. 

He hopped out of bed and reached for the window, the words ‘it is polite to knock’ echoing in his head for a moment. 

Knock, knock on the window glass, the lines of a triangle etched into the panes, and the window opened, the milky way looking so much closer then it was supposed to. Ford grinned excitedly.

He climbed out the window to see the usual staircase of books leading up into the starry sky, colours that only existed in illustrations and not in the real night sky. 

Up the pathway of floating tomes he climbed, until the ground disappeared and he was left surrounded by the vast cosmos, infinite and mysterious. One day, he was going to explore every inch of it. 

And at the top there waited a friend. 

“Hiya, Sixer!” 

“Hello, Mr Cipher,” Ford smiled excitedly, stepping off the last book and into zero gravity, floating. It was so cool, these dreams were really fun. It was nice to not have nightmares about going to school with no pants on, or about Cathy screaming at him in third grade. 

“Ready to pick up where we left off?” Mr Cipher snapped his fingers and a chessboard appeared, the pieces placed just as Ford remembered them. “How about some space tea?!”

“I’d love some,” Ford smiled and accepted the cup as it appeared, the liquid inside full of swirling nebulas. It was like someone poured glitter into blackcurrant juice, and tasted just like it but even sweeter. 

He took a sip and stared at the board, waiting for Mr Cipher to make his next move. Mr Cipher’s hand hovered over the pieces before settling on his white bishop. 

“You know it was pretty selfless what you did today,” Mr Cipher commented, sliding the bishop three spaces along the board. “Letting your brother take over for a bit.”

“I mean-” Ford hesitated as he stared at the board. Hm. Rook or Knight? “It wasn’t that bad. It was fun. We even caught a carp." A boring normal carp, sure, but still a fish.

“Sure, but it was still nice of you to make your brother happy. You do that a lot, sacrifice your dreams for him. You think he appreciates it?”

“Of course he does!” Ford knew Stanley would do anything for him. “I don’t sacrifice things. Do I?”

“I’m just saying, kid, I bet someone as genius as you could have found the doppelgangers and the Gobblewonker in one day if you didn’t have to worry about him.”

“Well, yes, obviously- but it wouldn’t be fun if Stanley wasn’t there, you know?” Ford made his decision, moving his rook backwards to cover his queen. “We’re monster hunters together.”

“Like I said, you’re a real selfless kid.” Mr Cipher shifted a pawn forward. “I bet your great uncle thinks so too. He’s a weird guy, right?”

“He’s not so bad. Now that he’s not lying, at least.” Ford scanned the board as he thought five moves ahead. “Hey, why don’t I ever remember these dreams until they show up?”

“I dunno, Sixer! I’m just a figment of your subconscious!” Mr Cipher reminded him. “This is all in your head, so you should know!”

“I know, I…” he thought it over, hand dithering over his pieces. “Maybe it's just… happy dreams are harder to remember?”

“That sounds right to me, kid! Man, we’re a smart brain!”

“Can’t deny that.” Ford grinned as he made his move, placing his knight in position to take that pawn Bill had moved. Next turn, he’d make his move. “It’s still a little weird that a part of my subconscious is so aware. I’ve never read about anything like that.”

“We’ve never read about how other genius-level intellects dream!” Bill moved a different pawn. “Playing chess with yourself is a tried-and-true method of improving your skill!”

“That’s true.” Ford took Bill’s pawn with a smile, adding it to the small collection on his side of the board. “And that piece is mine too.” 

“Great move, kid!” Bill tipped his black top hat. “You’ve really got me on the ropes here!”

“Well, guess you’ll have to find an opening,” Ford smiled graciously as he picked up his tea cup from where it was floating. He almost had Mr Cipher in check. 

“Guess I will!” Mr Cipher laughed, high and screechy. Ford laughed with him, holding his tea cup, books and some of his favourite things floating gently around him. 

It was a nice dream. Sometimes it was a shame he had to wake up.

[ahkylous]

Drifting Stars Masterlist Ⅱ

I never thought there would be a part two of this solely because of the limited number of fanfictions there actually are for this au. Yet here we are, four months later and somehow able to make this post. Same rules apply; general order of favourites, you are all entitled to your own opinion, add any I may have missed, and that's kinda it.

Onward!

Disconnected by DarrowWyrlde - 4th part of a series, 2 028 words, 2/13

Ok so this one probably should not be in this post at all since it's not drifting stars and more of a lost legends fic. I only put this one here because it's still about Mabel in the multiverse and who knows, maybe that's why you read drifting stars. I don't have much else to say, just thought I'd put it here.

Drift Away by GravityUniverse115 - oneshot, 1 174 words, 1/1

This one was written well despite it being fairly short, the only catch being that it - again - is not entirely drifting stars. It is about Mabel going through the portal, but it is written more as a concept in comparison to a typical oneshot. If someone did write a fic based off of this tho I would definitely read it.

The Drifting Star by Booblybaba - standalone, 35 337 words, 15/?

This was your typical drifting stars fic, I don't have too much else to say except that it was good and that it ends just as I was getting into it. It was a bit fast paced but again, not bad.

Into the Unknown by MintGreenMare - standalone, 31 681 words, 22/22

Finished and Drifting Stars does not go in the same sentence, and yet this fic exists. Fully complete, 100% resolved. It only took like 9 years for someone to actually finish writing one of these. It did take me a bit to get into it compared to other stuff I've read, mostly because it feels more like a collection of oneshots as opposed to a whole fic, but I did still enjoy it.

Ad Astra by Queen_Mab - standalone, 103 406 words, 18/?

So many people go crazy for this fic and I kinda get why, the worldbuilding is done really well and the stuff going on back in Gravity Falls is a lot more interesting than just Dipper and Stan rebuilding the portal. The only setback for me is that it feels unrealistic and was almost pushed too far in some aspects. But again, I get the appeal and do wanna see what would happen next.

Save That Light by Mezzorellasticks - standalone, 11 293 words, 5/?

I'm surprised there aren't more fic's with some of the concepts in this one. I won't spoil it but I could see this happening to Mabel more than once and yet no one has written about it. Some parts felt a little off in terms of character but overall it was pretty cool.

A Familiar Face by Missintroverted - 1st part of a series, 2 350 words, 1/1

This is another fic that's not entirely drifting stars but at the same time kinda is. Instead of Mabel being fully related to Ford, it's another version of her but older (possibly a relativity + reverse portal version). I thought it interesting and I enjoyed the interaction between the two.

Among The Stars by Maviiigirl - standalone, 4 603 words, 2/?

This fic follows the typical outline so far; Mabel falling through the portal, Ford being an awkward dumbass, the two figuring out what's going on before any proper multiverse madness occurs. But the way it was written was really good, that and the fact that this author also wrote a very good oneshot which gives me hope for the future of this fic.

A Little Help by Maviiigirl - oneshot, 3 130 words, 1/1

I thought this oneshot was so cool. Mabel being all responsible while internally panicking and Ford being delusional was actually so funny to me. Some parts were a little quick but overall I thought it was really well done. I kinda wanna see it be continued just to see what Ford would say when he woke up tho.

That's mostly it, if I were to compare the two list's I'd say the quality of the fics from the other one are far better, but these one's are a lot more recent meaning there is hope that some of them will be continued.

I didn't mean to insult any of these, I find my main problem with fanfiction is the way the characters are written and the way characters bond, especially since many are rushed and often there isn't enough time allowed for certain emotions to properly form before diving straight into hurt/comfort. I understand tho, I struggle with that a lot in my writing too.

Anyway, here's the first masterlist if you wanna look at those too :))

[echoes-fandoms]

My Top 100 Ships (#54: Bill/Mabel)

Source: Gravity Falls  

When Did I Start Shipping Them? Honestly, I finished the show and started reading the fanfiction, and it was all Bill/Dipper content, and I just... was so much more compelled by Mabel in the fanfiction, even as a side character?? And then I rewatched the show with that lens and completely sold myself on it. Why Do I Ship Them? I think that fandom likes to dull down the fact that Mabel is deeply weird: she drinks glitter, she superglues fake jewels to the people around her, and she does temporarily doom the world to have a little corner of paradise for herself. I want to see more unhinged Mabel, and I feel like the merging of her chaos and Bill's chaos would just be a LOT of fun.

Favourite Fanfiction Tropes/Staples? I've only read a few good Mabel/Bill fics, and they've faded into the blur of me rewriting billdip fics in my head to be about Mabel and Bill. I like the temporary human AUs where Bill is relatively stressed to be limited to a human form, and I also deeply appreciate the authors who make no effort to get around his original design, and just embrace it as it is. Life is weird, fuck a triangle.

[sock-monkey-zd]

Hey guys! So, after doing some thought I have decided to write my first fanfic series! I am very excited about it ! Here’s the summary,

After getting a job at Greasy's Diner and starting high school, it's hard for Pacifica to manage her new friendships, change what it means to be a Northwest, and figure out who she is. Join in on her unlikely adventures with Robbie Valentino across the Universe to get back home

Click the source link below to read :)

[my DMS are always open to criticism and ideas]

[doodledoodlewizardry]

Grauntie Mabel asked them to get something from the attic.

Well I made a comic for my relativity falls AU! There’s no “journals” in this universe. Instead we’ve got a whole collection of VHS tapes for “Mystery Twins’ Guide to The Unexplained”. 

Naturally, this means that the identity of “the author of the videotapes” is not very mysterious. But why does no one talk about their missing Grunkle...?