#the gravity archives au

[ifwebefriends]

Okay so like what if Gravity Falls was like The Magnus Archives and instead of journals Ford took tape recorded statements from townsfolk about the strange shit in GF and he’d get into trouble with local creatures and it slowly made him more paranoid and antsy hey hey look at me and like Bill Cipher was there and let Ford borrow some of his power to use and Fiddleford would be his assistant can you hear me and they would work together on shit but when Ford leaned more on Bill and his powers he would start to erase some of his memories and get in with some other powerful being or beings and Ford had to go save him and hello can anyone hear me

[captain--space--buns]

It's been years since I've actually posted something on Tumblr, but a recent fanfic has given me a burst of inspiration :

Earth Becomes Sky in the Most Literal Fashion by IdiosyncraticProjection on Ao3 (this has my full recommendation, it's genuinely so good!)

Spoilers for GF and TMA, as well as Earth Becomes Sky

CWs : Clusters of eyes, Eyes where Eyes shouldn't be, small clusters of pockmarks, knives, stabbing, (uncolored) blood. Let me know if I should add anymore. ^-^

I present very rough sketches of Jon and Martin in the Gravity Falls Art style (feat. Soos, Abuelita, Ford, and Delicious Huevos Rancheros)

I haven't, like, *perfected* their designs, and they're def not 100% the GF artstyle, but I like how these have turned out so far! Also, I'm very unsure if the Spanish part for Abuelita is actually right, so apologies to any Spanish speaking peeps if it is grammatically weird or just completely incorrect! It's also my first time doing ALT text, so feedback for that is more then welcome as well!

Take care! Drink water 💛

[worm-emporium]

behold my magnum opus, a gravity falls/tma crossover au called the cipher archives!!!!

in which the entire plot of tma remains the same, but i just replace the characters with ones from gravity falls. i’ve only done the archives crew so far, but im working on the others.

edit: theres now a follow up post to this here :]

[matcha-milkies]

LIKE AN OLEANDER

Summary: Bill Cipher needs a footstool and a thoroughly Stockholmed Ford is happy to oblige.

Relationships: Bill Cipher & Ford Pines, Pyronica is there too

Content Warnings: Abuse, Master/Pet, Psychological Torture/Horror/Trauma, Stockholm Syndrome, Victim Blaming, Sensory Deprivation

Tags: Triangle Bill, Canon Divergence - Weirdmageddon, Bill Cipher Wins, Collars, Chains, Whump, Hurt No Comfort, Bill Cipher is a Jerk

Word Count: 1,306

Link to AO3: Here

A/N: Based on @jellyskink’s immaculate Domesticated Ford AU, in which Bill mentally breaks Ford in the 1980s and brainwashes him into an obedient and fawning pet. Weirdmageddon started early, and over time the weirdness bubble surrounding Gravity Falls naturally expanded to contain both California and Oregon. If you want to learn more, there’s a lot more tidbits on their blog, though fair warning it’s a pretty dark and sad AU.

Thank you, jellyskink, for giving me the green light to write a fic for this!

I saw someone say this au is “all pain, no sex” which is really at the heart of what I look for in fics, but is so painstakingly absent in most fandoms, so this is a godsend •⩊•

If you haven’t listened to “Oleander” by Mother Mother what are you even doing with your life /lh

Bill Cipher is in a particularly good mood today. He and Pyronica probably broke a record for largest bonfire in California, even counting all their previous antics over the years. Not the dream demon’s most creative endeavor by a long shot, but hey, sometimes you just gotta start a blazing inferno to let off some steam. Nothing wrong with a bit of simple, straightforward arson now and then.

It’s only when he returns to the Fearamid, practically glowing, buzzing and high off the screams of the innocent, that he remembers the state he left Sixer in.

The man is in a kneeling position, collared by the neck. His hair, fluffy and disheveled, feathers down to around his shoulders, brushing against the cruel blue metal. His twelve fingers twitch and grasp at nothing, futilely, as though groping for purchase on a rugged cliffside. His purple sweater is rumpled in places, like he had pulled and grabbed at that too, to no evident avail. He’s whimpering to himself, words that are at first indiscernible as Bill enters the massive chamber.

The scientist is tethered to a ring near the base of the Throne of Frozen Human Agony, staring vacantly into the middle space, unseeing. It’s not his fault. Bill severed all input from his optic nerves, so he literally can’t see. Or hear. Or feel. Yeah, he cut off those nerves too. It was supposed to be a punishment that lasted a few hours. And then Bill had left and gotten carried away with his fun, and well, it had been an entire day.

Whoops.

Make no mistake, he doesn’t feel bad about it. If anything, it’s kind of funny, like forgetting to feed your dog! Wait. Humans don’t find that funny. Well, who can expect them to understand the emotions of an all-powerful chaos god? He draws closer, and the previously indiscernible words sharpen into clarity.

“I love you, my muse. I love you.”

Repeated ad nauseam to the uncaring void.

“Aww,” Bill clasps his hands together and brings them closer to his eye. “He’s so pathetic!” Pyronica, who came in with him, nods her agreement and laughs along. This must be what it’s like to catch your puppy mid-dream, its little tongue lolling and leg kicking at nothing.

He can’t remember whether he instructed his pet to repeat those words or not. Honestly, it’s anyone’s guess. Bill’s will and Ford’s are so inextricable at this point that Ford often does things without needing to be told. Of course, they’re not entirely on the same wavelength, or else punishment wouldn’t be required in the first place.

“Eh, remind me to snap him out of it in another half an hour,” Bill says, settling himself on the throne. With a wave of an arm he summons a martini glass. “I’m gonna have myself a drink.”

“Sure thing, boss.” He summons a glass for her too, and hipshot, she accepts. “Hey, you think we should’ve put the fire out before we left?”

They both share a hearty chuckle over that. “Would be a shame if it all burned down!” Bill sighs as the laughter dies down. “Nah, but seriously. California will still be there for us to play with tomorrow. And if it isn’t, we can always just rebuild it! In my image! Ha!”

“Yeah. Technically the fires are my image though.”

“Touché!”

They talk for a while, maybe 20 minutes or so in this fashion, casually sipping time punch and discussing unnatural disasters like they’re music festivals. Ford goes completely untouched and unnoticed, until suddenly Bill returns his attention to the human, and a light bulb goes off next to his hat.

“Wait. Do you wanna see something hysterical? I have the best idea.”

Every sensation returns to Ford at once in a flood of color, touch and sound. Sometimes, when Bill is feeling merciful, he eases him back into it, but his merciful moods are few and far between. More commonly, he likes to toss the scientist in the deep end and watch him flounder, tears quickly beading at the corners of Ford’s eyes and spilling fatly over his cheeks. His body convulses in a singular, broken sob, and before he can finish another apologetic, “I love you,” Bill hits him with a hard command.

“Stanford! I need a footstool!” The demon extends his legs and wiggles his feet a little. He whistles as though beckoning a dog. “Come ‘ere!”

Despite his disorientation, Ford rushes to obey, lurching in the direction of Bill’s voice and falling flat on his face. Shakenly, he picks himself off the ground, letting loose a singular groan.

“I’m still waiting!” Bill sings, swinging his legs a little for effect. Pyronica snickers. Ford tries again, following the sound of his muse’s voice, although he is quickly dismayed to find that he’s already reached the end of his chain. He falls just short of Bill’s feet, and no matter how he chokes himself, no matter how hard he tugs at the collar or the chain attached, he can’t go any further than this. His distress is evident in the way he keens.

“What are you doing?” Bill demands, rolling his eye. “All I asked for was a simple footstool and you can’t even do that? Bad! Bad dog!” Ford sobs.

“I-I’m sorry, my muse!” he rasps, the cold metal of the collar pressing in on his windpipe as he strains to obey. “I’m so sorry!”

Pyronica is practically in stitches at this point, and Bill is a showman, a class clown ever chasing the next laugh. “Are you really though?” His eye wanes to an amused crescent. “Do you even love me, if you can’t even follow a command as simple as this?”

“Yes!” Ford insists with a cry. “Yes, my muse, I love you! I’m sorry that I’m so useless… Please, please forgive me…”

“Why should I? Do you think you deserve forgiveness?”

“N- No,” Ford sniffs, “but—”

“Alright, alright. Since I’m in such a good mood, I’ll give you a hand.” Bill waves his hand in a circle and the chain elongates, allowing just enough slack for Ford to crawl under his waiting feet. Bill settles them heavily on top of Ford’s back and sighs. “Ahh, that’s better.” The man shakes under the weight.

“Thank you, my muse,” he says. Normally, he would be a lot happier about serving Bill like this, but he’s clearly still torn up over his recent punishment and failures. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it, kid!” Bill rests his hands behind his ‘head,’ or rather, the tip of his topmost vertex. “Maybe after this, if you’re good, you can have a treat.”

“R- Really? Oh, thank you so much, my muse. I promise I’ll be good.” His voice is still wavery from the earlier-shed tears, but his cheer seems to be returning. It’s not difficult to keep the man happy when he’s so thoroughly and hopelessly smitten with his muse. Bill could have Pyronica drop-kick Ford off the top of the Fearamid right now and when he reached the bottom he would find a way to smile and thank Bill, no matter how many broken pieces he was in.

“Yeah. Now shut up while I get some reading in. Hasn’t anyone ever told you footstools don’t talk? Sheesh.” With a sigh, Bill summons an extradimensional magazine and floats it in front of his eye, every so often flipping through the pages. Pyronica says she’s off to see what Teeth and Keyhole are up to, and Bill acknowledges her departure with a little grunt and wave. Ford stifles a whimper. His back has already been giving him issues lately, and this definitely isn’t helping matters, but he soldiers through it for his muse. He’s determined not to mess up again. He’s determined to be a good footstool.

A/N: This is my first time writing from Bill’s perspective! I don’t usually write him this cruel, so it was a fun change of pace to lean full force into that side of him. Thanks again, jellyskink, I hope you liked this little installment!

[lowlylux]

I HAVE BEEN GIVEN PERMISSION YALL SO EXPECT A ANGSTY BILLFORD FIC BASED ON THIS TIMELINE/AU BY THIS WONDERFUL CREATOR COMING SOON

[citricacidprince]

A couple years ago (I think?) I assigned some Gravity Falls characters to TMA fears entities for funsies and doodled them out and since it’s been so long none of them look very good anymore lol

But I was in a bit of a art rut for a second and decided to come back to that concept to force myself to actually draw something

So, here’s my baby boy Dipper with a Web/Eye alignment lol

[the-mystical-aquatic-gay]

wow these spot the difference games are getting harder and harder

i didn’t draw the picture of jon it was by wellotwig on twitter

[minijenn]

Story Summary: What would happen if the Crystal Gems had settled down in a place other than Beach City, a little backwoods town just west of weird…? What if, upon coming to Gravity Falls for the summer, Dipper and Mabel were to befriend Steven and Connie? What kind of magical, mysterious adventures would they have? And, how would they fare against the combined threats of merciless Homeworld Gems and a certain triangular demon?

Find out what happens when Magic and Mystery meet in Universe Falls...

Chapter Summary: The Crystal Gems happen upon a tiny little town just west of weird… Oregon, 1843 Somewhere in the stars, there was a place they once called home.  None of them had seen it in centuries–one of them had never even seen it at all. None of them had any desire to see it either. Why would they want to when they want to, when everything they had fought so hard to save was right here on Earth?  No, as far as the Crystal Gems were concerned, they were exactly where they needed to be. For thousands of years, they’d wandered this strange, yet special planet together. They’d worked tirelessly to protect the humans who inhabited it from the echoes of the danger they first brought here. And though there were only four where there used to be many, they’d still stuck together through it all.  Even now as they headed into the unknown all over again. Click the link to read more; all comments are appreciated!

[spirited-splashes]

Gideon Gleeful as an avatar of the Web! 🕸️

Credits to one of @/abyssalzones old TMA x GF Art for inspiring this!

Gideon FEELS like he should be an avatar of the Lonely because of his hair but he is, at the end of the day: an avatar of the Web since he’s a manipulative demonic child. (I now know how to draw webs—)

List for assigned avatars for some gravity falls characters below

Gideon Gleeful: avatar of the Web

Stanley Pines: avatar of the Stranger or the Web

Dipper Pines: avatar of the Eye

Stanford Pines: avatar of the Eye or the Spiral

Mabel Pines: avatar of the Lonely

Fiddleford McGucket: avatar of the spiral

Wendy Corduroy: avatar of the Hunt

Soos Ramirez: avatar of the Vast (seriously, is anyone gonna talk about the time in Little Dipper where he fell off Gideon’s back when he shrunk down and somehow survived??? I know there was a soft landing but it’s still like, the equivalent of 80 miles off the ground—)

The Northwest’s are definitely this universe’s equivalent of the Fairchilds.

Bill Cipher is definitely a spiral entity even if he feels like an Eye entity.

(P.s if you have no idea what I’m talking about: this is a The Magnus Archives (TMA) X Gravity Falls Crossover! TMA is a Horror podcast and it’s really good so I recommend listening to it!)

[lorebird]

I’m sure this has been done 2748294 times before but. Gravity falls magnus archives au!!!

Ford’s investigations lead him to run-ins with avatars and manifestations of the fears, gradually marking him with each and every one. He became an unwitting Archivist (and I imagine he became a local cryptid who accidentally compelled statements out of the townsfolk on occasion). The portal was something akin to hilltop road, but idk what exactly happens with that yet

When dipper finds journal 3 and starts investigating the town, he starts interacting with the fears as well — and he’s already been marked by the Vast. Accidental Archivist number 2 baby!!! Also Mabel is 1000% plagued by the lonely. It fits TOO well. No one is doing good

[astrumtrain]

Vigilo. Opperior. Audio.

Gravity Falls x Magnus Archives AU

in this world exist Entities beyond our understanding. the small town of Gravity Falls is full to the brim of influence of these Entities.

one sunny summer day young twin Pines were sent there to their great uncle Stan

and they will never return the same

[indigos-shits-and-giggles]

Hey whatever you do don't think about an adult Dipper Pines turning up in London to give one of MANY statements to the Magnus Institute about his time in Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher, and all of his childhood trauma.

Don't think about him eventually deciding to get over it and work in the Archives considering he'd been spending an hour or so weekly just talking about his experience, so he may as well make it a full time thing. Don't think about him catching onto the Horrors and eventually becoming an Avatar of the Eye.

Don't think about how that mirrors his experiences with Bill Cipher. Don't think about how while he succeeded in defeating one eye entity, that didn't protect him from falling prey to another.

Don't think about it.

[crocwearingcryprid]

TMA x Gravity Falls crossover would slay so hard like imagine fucking Stanford Pines avatar of the Eye freaking-

[worm-emporium]

*staring at the tma and gravity falls characters*

well no one’s gonna like what i’m about to do

[sneefsnorf]

THE CIPHER ARCHIVES!!! is this too niche

i feel like since the magnus archives and gravity falls both have a focus on monsters, uncovering mystery, the Eyepocalypse and deep interpersonal relationships, they would make a great crossover!

dipper is the archivist, attempting to organise the archives and investigate the mysterious "smirke's 13", catalogued by the tapes, journal and files left by the previous archivist, a man named stanford (i dont know how stanley plays into this crossover yet).

mabel is dipper's estranged twin, hired by Elias Bouchard (Bill Cipher) after she lied on her CV as an archival assistant, attempting to reconnect with her brother and pay the london rent. she takes on a role similar to martin (swapping out romantic love for familial obviously), and gets entangled in the lonely towards the end of the storyline.

Bill Cipher is the head of the Cipher Institute (taking on the role of Jonah Magnus), an immortal patron of the All-Seeing, All-Knowing Eye. He masquerades as a mortal by posessing the body of Elias Bouchard.

im yet to figure out which other characters from gravity falls are part of this AU, but i think soos will take tim's role and wendy will take sasha's. other characters like basira and melanie might stay the same. i thought robbie would make a good gerard, and instead of being immortalised in a creepy skin book, he lives on inside the cursed cd from that one episode

yeah i really love the idea this au and i hope that there is at least one other person out there that also appreciates this. gravity falls x the magnus archives goes hard

[spookycreeture]

Hello! I just finished reading your latest chapter of your TMA x Gravity Falls fic and I'm honestly super impressed. It seems really interesting! The most recent chapter was super painful but it honestly made sense. Good work!

ohmygod thank you!!! I'm so glad you like my story so much!!! I'm really proud of how it's turning out so far so I'm so glad so many people like it. The next part's taking a bit longer since it's going to be 4 chapters long, but I'm working on it :D.