#specifically how mabel and ford interact after getting out of the portal

[megamindsupremacy]

Drifting Stars headcanon where Mabel and Ford use the "we're father/daughter" story so often to avoid suspicion that Mabel calls him "Dad" instead of "Grunkle Ford" now.

Ford has a reasonable amount of emotions about this and does not nearly cry the first time Mabel calls him "Dad" outside of lying to people.

[i-am-trying-my-best-okay]

Potentially a hot take but I think Dipper might be the most emotionally intelligent out of both sets of Pines twins, but in a very specific way.

Ford really isn't overly concerned about people's feelings; it's just not something he really tends to think about or prioritize. And when he does think about it, he tends to only view people's emotions based on how he would feel about the situation.

Stan is skilled in knowing how to handle people and quickly grasping their intentions. He's a con man that understands crowd mentality and how to play it. Overall, he just knows what people tend to want to hear and gives it to them, so quick with a lie. And because of this, he's wary of when people tell him what he wants to hear. He's a con man that recognizes a con, and knows a person's intentions and desires are important so he looks for them. But he doesn't really know how to interact and connect with people genuinely and openly. He wants to have genuine connections, specifically with his family, but for all of his life he's either delt with people that didn't care for him and made it obvious (his father), people who didn't seem as invested in having a relationship with one another as he did (Ford), or people he's had to constantly lie to and thrown on a persona to survive (his years being homeless and being Mr. Mystery). Because of this, genuine feelings and connections are difficult for him to navigate and articulate, or even really understand.

Mabel, out of all of them, definitely cares the most about other people's feelings. She spends time thinking about others feelings long after the fact, considers them carefully, with the end goal of everyone being happy. But she can get so caught up in what she thought would make everyone happy, that it can be difficult for her to take a step back and look at if what she's trying to do is really the right thing for people.

But Dipper is the one that tends to just, like, quickly grasp the heart of an emotional situation and just points it out. And, unlike Mabel, he doesn't really prioritizes everyone being happy, so when he points it out he tends to be very blunt about it. He also, surprisingly, is the first to take a step back and look at a situation, and what the right thing to do is, even if it's not what he wants, something Mabel and Ford have difficulties with. He also doesn't get upset if he's the one in the wrong, able to admit it easily once he realizes it and immediately has a desire to amend what he did wrong. However, he too has a blind spot, as does everyone. This blind spot being his paranoia; if he doesn't fully know about the situation, the conclusion he'll end up at will always be the worst one (stan portal situation). Dipper very rarely takes previous loyalties into consideration when trying to figure out what's going on; if it's someone he knows and loves he'll try to find out proof that go against his suspicions, but if he doesn't immediately find any he'll jump to an answer that speaks to his paranoia (opposite from Mabel, who is predisposed to firmly see the best in others even if there is evidence proving otherwise).

[happypinesfamily]

you have an au? i'm intrigued (hopelessly hooked by the words u spoke in ur tags), could you by chance be willing to tell me more?

OF COURSE I’d be willing to tell you more!!!

It’s kinda half my AU, half not mine? I saw this post by @years-late-to-the-party ​and immediately fell in love with the idea! And then the idea grew into a monster which currently sits at 21k words and is nowhere near even halfway done! :D

The general gist is that Stan is, from birth, able to see the future, but there are a few “rules” (made up by yours truly) in the way he sees it and in how much he sees of it, because the story of Gravity Falls wouldn’t be half as fun as it is if he just knew every single thing that is going to happen.

So you have a smol Stan having visions of the future and not knowing that’s what they are until he’s a little older, around ten or twelve, and then, in Stan fashion, using that power to charm his way in and out of trouble and to mess with other people. Ford is the only one he tells (because he loves Shermie but Ford is his twin), and Ma figures it out because whenever he and Ford “help” her with her predictions to customers, a lot of Stan’s jokes end up being too accurate to be just jokes. At some point, Ford starts to think that Stan’s just pulling his leg, since Stan uses “I’ve seen it happening!” as an excuse to do dumb stuff more often than not, and eventually concludes that Stan isn’t actually psychic.

The science fair accident in this AU kinda turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy, where Stan saw it happening, tried to stop it, and actually made it happen, so he unfortunately still gets kicked out. Rather than getting into the salesman business, he becomes a traveling psychic, though he still hops from town to town after people get tired of him or after he happens to piss off the wrong people. He gets by much better than he does in canon, but he still dreams of making a fortune to return home if only to apologize to Ford, who fully believed that Stan had wrecked his project on purpose and was blaming it on his supposedly “future vision” to get off scot-free.

LONG STORY SHORT (since one of my favorite GF moments is Stan vs. Bill in the finale and I’m always a sucker for more of those interactions in fanfics, and relating back to the tags that hooked you in), Bill finds out that Fordsy’s brother can see the future, and after the incident with the portal, he starts invading Stan’s dreams, disguised as Ford, in order to strike a deal with him and access his mind and, therefore, every vision Stan has had/will have. Stan immediately distrusts him, because as far as he’s concerned, someone wearing the face of a person Stan knows and misses and loves to gain something from him can only mean bad news.

After a few significant events, Stan kicks Bill out of his first mindscape (his childhood home) and destroys it, wanting to get rid of Bill’s presence in it, and he starts to build a new one: the shack he’s living in now. Bill has already seen a lot of his memories, but Stan wants to keep the ones he didn’t see hidden, especially the ones regarding or having anything at all to do with Ford, so he tucks them away behind literally locked doors that will not open to anyone but him–not even to someone disguised as his brother.

He keeps up these “mental defenses” for around a decade. Sometimes he’ll have a mindscape dream and see a flash of yellow (Bill’s disguise as Ford always had yellow eyes behind the glasses), and he’ll increase the locks on some of his memories and add even more fail-safes. But after a decade, he stops seeing any sign of Bill around and gets sloppy with his mindscape defenses, so when Bill comes back twenty years later, most of the doors’ protections have faded and rusted away, except for the strongest ones (I’m looking at the Hopes and Fears doors, specifically).

That’s why I liked the theory on this post about Stan being able to create false memories as decoys so much, and why I said it fit with the AU! :D

I have most of the pre-series story worked out? Stan’s life before the kids come into the picture, at the very least, from his childhood to around the time Mabel and Dipper are born, but it’s the series part of the AU I’m struggling with, haha! My idea has always been to kind of split the whole story in two, with the pre-canon being the first part and the “canon” being the second one. The future is its own character, which started as an experiment and then became one of my favorite characters to write scenes for, and Stan believes his visions are unavoidable and set in stone–because it mostly is–until the twins get to Gravity Falls and immediately change the “predetermined” outcome he had seen for their first week in town. I like the idea that Mabel and Dipper are such a force to be reckoned with that they are able to change the future, which brings about its own amount of hijinks to ensue!

I would LOVE to talk more about this AU, because it’s probably my most ambitious project ever and I feel bad about having kinda left it aside for so long, haha! I just didn’t want to go on for too much longer in case I already had talked too much!

(Also, I feel like I should mention that the idea of Bill disguised as Ford while on Stan’s mindscape was hugely inspired by the fic of 1 Step Forward, 20 Years Back by @infriga, which is FANTASTIC and I highly recommend! uwu)

[minijenn]

Notes for Revenge Trip

Ooo good choice! My notes for that chapter are rather interesting, given how I wrote out the flashback parts, so hopefully this make sense… 

Characters: Stan, Amethyst, Gideon, Garnet, Pearl, Dipper, Mabel, Steven, Vidalia, Greg, Soos, Rose (in flashbacks), various GF and SU characters (Blubbs, Durland, Bud, Fryman, ect), Rose Quartz (flashbacks)

Settings: Mystery Shack, various locations in Gravity Falls

Episodes to look at: Original, though use episodes like A Tale of Two Stans and Maximum Capacity and Onion Friend (watch it) to help

Tone: Humor, friendship, some angst, drama, flashbacks, action, character building

Start the chapter off with Stan unveiling his latest attraction at the shack (come up with something creative) (probably include the twins in this)

However, things soon go awry as he realizes the attraction has torn apart/defaced (again be creative), and because it this the tourists leave, disappointed

In the midst of this, Stan discovers that Gideon was the one responsible, but of course he gets away with it

Around this point Amethyst arrives, so have some snappy banter between the two of them until Stan points out to her that the temple was also defaced (graffiti or something), also done by Gideon

No sooner than that, Garnet and Pearl order Amethyst to clean the temple up, believing it to be one of her pranks despite her cries of innocence

Follow her up there and have a little interaction between her and Steven, where she comes up with the idea to get revenge

Later that night, cut to Stan, mourning the loss of his ruined attraction until Amethyst comes in and suggests they get even with Gideon by going on one of their infamous Revenge Trips (imply that its been years since they’ve done one)

Initially, Stan tries to protest the idea, saying that its too risky and he has the twins to worry about; Amethyst calls him out on it though and after a little prodding, she finally convinces him into going on the Revenge Trip

Show them gathering supplies and planning for a little bit, and have the twins come in during the middle of this and question them, though make it comical as Stan and Amethyst remain super vague about it (and instruct them not to tell Garnet and Pearl)

After a little of this, they set out; On the way though, they get on the topic of how they first met, so go into flashback #1

They go to Vidalia’s house so introduce her like in Onion Friend, though maybe a bit differently; show her rapport with both Stan and Amethyst but don’t explain everything about their past

Anyway, explain that the reason why Stan and Amethyst have come to Vidalia is to have her help in their scheme by contracting her to paint a huge, realistic painting of the Tent of Telepathy; Vidalia is skeptical, but agrees to it nonetheless and promises to have it done before the night is through (as she’s helped out with their schemes before)  

The pair set out once more and so have some more dialogue as they’re driving, which eventually leads into flashback #2

After its over, they arrive at the first stop on their revenge trip: the Tent of Telepathy; there, they take its pegs out and make off with them; Amethyst cheerfully brings the whole tent down and Stan uses his flamethrower to burn it (make this aptly hilarious)

Once they’re done, they nearly get caught escaping but still manage to flee the scene undetected (make this a bit suspenseful)

From there, go into a montage of Stan and Amethyst going around town and vandalizing every Lil’ Gideon sign in creative ways while just barely avoiding the police who are on their tails

In the middle of this, they talk about some of their previous Revenge Trip escapades, leading into flashback #4

Eventually, the pair get ready for the final stage of their revenge trip, which involves them pretty much stealing all of the merchandise out of Gideon’s factory and dumping it into the lake; using their respective talents, they break into the factory and get to work

They eventually gather up all of the merch and start hauling it over to the lake; during this they show their complete confidence in not getting caught and prepare to celebrate their triumph…  

Only for them to get caught at the lake, where Gideon and Bud are awaiting them; have a bit of a confrontation between them before Stan and Amethyst take off and escape, and of course, Gideon follows right behind them

Back during the chase (and do actually have this play out with a car chase as Stan drives and Amethyst tries to drive them off), the pair eventually drive Gideon off by driving straight into the woods

In the middle of this, have them get into a rather rough argument that centers around why they don’t really do Revenge Trips anymore (because the last one nearly ruined their friendship; make it poignant, have Amethyst show her bitterness over loosing Rose and have Stan hint at Ford maybe)

They think they’re in the clear, but suddenly, they’re confronted by Garnet, Pearl, Steven, and the twins

Before anything really starts, cut to flashback #6

Back in the present, Garnet and Pearl scold Stan and Amethyst, having learned about everything they’ve done (the kids occasionally add their two cents but not often); in specific, Garnet and Pearl come down hard on Amethyst for being so irresponsible and setting a bad example and they mention briefly what happened in flashback #6

In the middle of this, however, Stan comes in to Amethyst’s defense, claiming that this was all his idea (even though it wasn’t); the older Gems are still quite upset, but in the end it’s the kids who speak up and defend the pair (make this touching)

In the end, Garnet and Pearl relent and tentatively apologize; as Gideon catches up to them, this time with the cops, the elder Gems actually end up covering for Stan and Amethyst, (have Stan mention he threw away Gideon’s note in here for logic) allowing them to get off scott free (much to Gideon’s anger)

Everyone heads home, since its really late; as this is happening, have another rather heartwarming scene between just Stan and Amethyst as they reflect on their rather disastrous night but admit to each other that they’d do the whole thing over again if they could

The next day, cut to Gideon as he prepares to host a show at the Tent of Telepathy, only to discover that it’s a painting (Vidalia’s painting) and the real tent is gone

End the chapter with Stan and Amethyst watching Gideon throw a fit over this, laughing all the while; end the chapter on a generally heartwarming, yet humorous note

Flashbacks (22 years ago, done in italics)

Start with just Stan, finishing up a day of work at the Mystery Shack (Murder Hut), so have some introspection (be vague, but imply his ongoing mission to get the portal working and bring Ford back; however, he’s startled by a sound outside; he goes to investigate and finds Amethyst rooting through his trash; cut back before any real interactions happen (was originally supposed to be split in two flashbacks) Pick up right where the last one left off, with Stan angrily trying to drive Amethyst off, but she’s hardly phased by him and instead thinks he’s joking; as per her curious nature, she tries to strike up conversation with him, but he rebuffs her by going inside; however, she follows by sneaking in (probably using shapeshifting) and the humorous banter between them continues (show that Stan wants nothing to do with the Gems, though Amethyst doesn’t really understand why);

eventually, they start reaching a common ground as Amethyst mentions how the Gems went on a mission without her and how she thinks they don’t really want her around, which evokes sympathy from Stan, who knows well what that’s like

Cut to another day, where Stan’s just finishing up a tour at the shack and Amethyst pops in again; once again, Stan tries to brush her off (he’s less mean about it this time though); in this, explore, compare, and contrast things between the two of them, like personalities, skills, ect. But kinda keep it mostly interactions and dialogue

The next flashback is set several months later; Stan and Amethyst have been hanging out occasionally for a while now and they’ve established something of a loose rapport with each other; imply that Amethyst is keeping her newfound friendship with Stan a secret from Garnet, Pearl, and Rose, but Greg knows about it and he’s still working at the shack, so have a little interaction there; all the same, a bunch of kids come by and end up discreetly stealing from the shack or something and both Stan and Amethyst notice it but the kids get away with it, prompting Stan and Amethyst to start plotting their first revenge trip to get even with them

In this flashback, detail the first revenge trip, which involves Stan and Amethyst breaking into the kids’ houses and stealing the lost merch back; be sure to detail a bit of their planning as well as their execution; however, they end up being sloppy about it and get caught by the police and arrested

Cut to later on in the next flashback, as Stan and Amethyst are sitting in jail, contemplating escape until Rose, Garnet, and Pearl arrive; have Rose scold Amethyst (but make sure she’s still gentle) and show her surprise and disapproval over her hanging out with Stan (show how the two of them don’t get along); eventually, Stan and Rose get into an argument, but in the end, Amethyst is the one that interjects and pleads with Rose to let her continue hanging out with Stan, since he’s really the only person who she feels she can act like herself around without being judged (make this poignant); this outburst surprises everyone, including Stan, but in the end, Rose is resolute about Amethyst staying away from Stan (though she won’t give her reason why)

Cryptogram (A1Z26):  

Translated:

Never ever underestimateWhat just might be greatThey see themselves with little worthBut what they’ll do could save the earth

Untranslated (CHECK):  

4-15-14-20 5-22-5-18 21-14-4-5-18-5-19-20-9-13-1-20-520-8-9-14-7-19 20-8-1-20 13-9-7-8-20 2-5 7-18-5-1-2020-8-5-25 19-5-5 20-8-5-13-19-5-12-22-5-19 23-9-20-8 12-9-20-20-12-5 23-15-18-20-82-21-20 23-8-1-20 20-8-5-25'12-12 4-15 3-15-21-12-4 19-1-22-5 20-8-5 5-1-18-20-8

[minijenn]

Notes for the return.

Here you are!

Characters: Steven, Dipper, Mabel, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Lapis, Peridot, Jasper, Stan, Soos, Greg, Connie, Lion, Waddles, various other characters (Mayor Dewey, Frymans, Pizzas, Corduroys, Millers, Northwests, ect.)

Settings: Mystery Shack, Gem Temple

Episodes to look at: The Return, some parts of Political Power

Tone: BIG drama, action, angst, lore

Start pretty much the day after the last chapter, pretty similarly to the episode, with Steven hanging out with Greg and telling him about the most recent happenings (Peridot’s robiniods, Lapis returning, ect)

Have some fun/fluff with this for a while before they notice a giant green hand in the sky, slowly descending closer to earth (cut as they both worriedly wonder what it could be)

Cut to the shack where the twins are hanging out with Lapis (trying to get her mind off of the possibility of Peridot coming to Earth), so have some cute fun in this (specifically between Mabel and Lapis, since there hasn’t been too much interaction between them yet, but also a fair bit beween her and Dipper to (to carry over from the last chapter))  

In the midst of this, have Stan come in, so have some more humorous bits of him stoically interacting with Lapis for the first time (maybe some foreshadowing as she briefly mistakes him for Ford), as well as some fun interactions between her and Mabel) before he offhandedly mentions the giant hand in the sky, something that instantly sets Lapis, as well as the twins on edge

They rush outside to see what it is, only for Lapis to fearfully reveal that it is indeed Peridot’s ship coming to earth; at the same time, Steven rushes by and together they all go up to the temple to tell the Gems

Of course, the Gems already know about the ship and are already trying to get rid of it (using light canons); their attempts have no effect, leading the Gems to fear that they’re way out of their league in handling this threat (though they try their best not to tell this to the kids, still give them some inflection here)Side note: Keep the tension and dread high throughout the bulk of this chapter 

By now, the town has noticed the approaching hand and, seeing it as a threat, Mayor Dewey orders a complete evacuation of Gravity Falls; cut to several very brief scenes of everyone being moved out of the town (include various characters in here (as well as both dread and humor) such as the Millers, Frymans, Vidalia and fam, Corduroys, Northwests, Soos and his Abuelita, ect.) (maybe give the agents a brief cameo in here, to hint)

Of course, Steven, Dipper, and Mabel want to stay behind and help the Gems, but Stan staunchly refuses to let the twins stay behind given the impending danger

However, Stan also reveals that he is staying, stating that he needs to protect the shack (though imply there’s more to it than that), which neither of the twins understand and angrily protest against, though they eventually fold when Stan essentially insists they leave along with Soos (make this pretty emotional)

As the twins prepare to leave, include a brief bit in here between Stan and Soos, as well as a brief scene of Lapis telling the twins that she’s staying behind too (though she doesn’t have any intentions of aiding the Crystal Gems); so include a sad, but heartwarming moment between her and Dipper especially  

The Gems also tell Steven he has to leave along with Greg, which he tries to argue against at first, until Garnet tells him that its his job to protect humanity, just like his mother did before him (possibly add more to this)

And so, after some emotional goodbyes, Steven sets out with Greg and the twins with Soos; in the aftermath of this, show both how fearful the Gems are for what’s to come; also include a brief scene of Lapis (introspection for her) flying up to wait atop the temple hill as the ship draws ever closer

Cut to the twins for a bit as they talk over what might happen, as well as their shared worry over Stan for staying behind (include Soos in this, for a little humor, but mostly keep it straight)

After a bit of this, go to Steven as he hopes that Peridot will leave the earth alone up seeing how beautiful it really is; Greg doubts this however, and gradually go into him revealing that Homeworld Gems have invaded the Earth before

Of course, Steven presses him for more information on this, and Greg anxiously tells him that Rose rebelled because Homeworld wanted to essentially destroy the planet; he also reveals that a lot of Gems and humans perished in the impending war, and that Rose was only able to save her closest friends because of her shield

Understandably, Steven panics at this, knowing that he has his mother’s shield now and fearing that Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl will be defenseless without it (give him a little more introspection at this part)

He begs Greg to turn the van around so he can go help them, but of course, Greg refuses; Steven ends up knocking himself out of the van, causing the rest of the evacuating townsfolk (including Soos and the twins) to stop and worry if he’s ok (have some specific characters in here)

Steven tells Greg that he intends on going back to help the Gems and upon hearing this, Dipper and Mabel insist upon going with him; he tries to talk them out of it out of fear that they might get hurt, but in the end, they wear him down, since they all are the reason why Peridot’s coming to Earth in the first place (and some friendship stuff about how they’re in everything together, be thematic ect)

After briefly reassuring Greg and Soos, the kids set out on Lion, and in the midst of this, Steven calls Connie to tell her what’s going on (but only gets her voicemail) and he also informs the twins of what his dad told him (so give their appropriate reactions to this)

Before the kids arrive, include a scene in here of Stan working on the portal, promising himself to not let anything happen to it, regardless of the no doubt coming disaster, but also expressing his relief that the twins will be safe from it

Ironically cut at this as the kids arrive at the temple, just as the ship is coming down; include the scene of the Gems desperately trying to fend it off (with Opal), only to no avail

Upon seeing that the kids have returned, the Gems appropriately panic and tell them to leave, which they adamantly refuse to do; after a moment of this, Lapis also descends from her hiding spot and insists they leave as well (make this intense, given what happened in the last chapter)

Before they can argue with her however, the ship finally touches down (be descriptive) and out of it emerges two Gems: Peridot and a large, intimidating soldier: Jasper (describe her well!)

Have some initial interactions (and in them, imply that Peridot learned where their base was from an unknown source (implied to be Bill); also show the grudge Jasper carries against Rose in here, and be sure to show off her personality well (original dialogue) (also show the CGs and the kids reactions to all this)Side note: Make everything in this part VERY climactic (Have Peridot mention how Stepper destroyed her robinoids in here, much to Steven and Dipper’s shared brief fear) 

Before much can really happen though, Lapis rushes forward to defend the kids the moment Jasper notices them, only for Jasper to easily restrain her (and reveal that she wasn’t just interrogated when she was on Homeworld, she was actually their informant, much to the kids’ (especially Dipper’s) surprise)

Not impressed by what she sees and disappointed that Rose isn’t there, Jasper dully orders Peridot to shoot the group with the ship; she starts to do so, at which point the Gems order that the kids leave; the twins protest, but Steven outright refuses, boldly rushing forward to protect everyone from the impending blast with his shield

As the smoke clears, Jasper notices the shield and recognizes it as Rose’s; have a bit of confrontation in here as Jasper apprehends Steven, believing him to be Rose and insisting on taking him to Yellow Diamond (imply more with her first mention here)

While Dipper, Mabel, Pearl, and Amethyst are horrified by this, Garnet rushes in to Steven’s rescue, only for Jasper to easily take her out with a Gem destabilizer (make this terrifying and detailed as she’s split apart into her two component Gems)

Jasper triumphantly declares her victory as she knocks Steven out (but go longer after this); Peridot uses her lasers to take Pearl and Amethyst out; she also knocks out Lapis (who is desperately trying to save Steven)  and orders that they set off to Homeworld at once

However, before they can, Dipper and Mabel stand up to her (albeit fearfully) to try and save Steven, which Jasper just laughs off; she easily bats them both away (mildly injuring them) and mocks humanity as a whole as she does so

End the chapter starkly on both twins briefly blacking out as Peridot and Jasper heading back to the ship, taking Steven and the Gems with them

Cryptogram (Rev. Ceasar):

The Earth, once saved from plotting Gems, With a hope that peace would finally stem

But things have changed and years have passed, And Homeworld is finally returning at last

Untranslated:  

QEB BXOQE, LKZB PXSBA COLJ MILQQFKD DBJP

TFQE X ELMB QEXQ MBXZB TLRIA PLJBAXV PQBJ,

YRQ QEFKDP EXSB ZEXKDBA XKA VBXOP EXSB MXPPBA,

XKA ELJBTLOIA FP CFKXIIV OBQROKFKD XQ IXPQ