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licorice-tea · 4 months

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I Wish You Knew I Was Real

Pairing: Vinsmoke Sanji x reader

Content: strawhat! reader, fluff and feelings, confessions, midnight snacks (literally), mentions of WCI but no huge spoilers, reader has no specified gender

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: first fic of the new year! i don’t usually write for sanji so i hope this isn’t ooc… anyway, enjoy! also lmk what you think bc idrk how i feel about this one 🤷‍♀️

It’s well past midnight when you sneak into the kitchen of the Thousand Sunny to fix yourself a snack. It wouldn’t really matter if you get caught, seeing as it’s your ship too, but you’d rather not wake up or bother your crewmates.

“Y/n?”

You pause your chopping to find the source of the voice, Sanji, standing in the doorway. He yawns behind his hand as he walks in, “It’s the middle of the night, what are you doing up here?”

“I just got hungry.” But as soon as he’s close enough to see your hands working on cutting up fruit, he seems appalled. “What’s wrong?”

In Sanji’s mind, you should never have to cook for yourself. At least, not when he’s there on the same ship. Not when he would always be so willing and ready to help you out; to use his skills to please you.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? You know I can do it for you, sweetheart-“

“That’s why I tried not to wake you up. You need to get your rest, but I guess I was too noisy, huh?”

Sanji shakes his head determinedly, then gently moves his left hand over yours to take the knife while also holding your waist with his right so that he can maneuver you away from the cutting board. You let him, and he explains, “I get plenty of rest; if you ever need something, y/n, you can come to me. Day or night.”

You hum in acceptance of his statement, and feel content with simply watching him cut the apple into slices from your place beside him. He finishes creating the perfect little slices quickly, then goes the extra mile by carving small triangles out of the peel of each. A smile grows on your lips as you realize they’re meant to look like little bunnies; and they do.

“Cute,” you muse quietly at his creation “Thank you, Sanji.”

The cook smiles to himself before looking over at you, “I thought you’d like them more this way.”

This makes you laugh before replying, “Like a kid who only eats dinosaur shaped nuggets?”

“No, no,” he chuckles as well, “but I know you have an appreciation for aesthetics. Besides, I was right wasn’t I? You think they’re cute, so that’s all that matters.” Sanji says while plating the bunny-apple slices.

You scoot closer, so that your sides are pressed against each other, in a futile attempt to reach across and grab the plate. But, Sanji stops you again with his gentle touch (he’s always so very soft with you, rather than overbearing and borderline obsessive. But, you’d like love him either way.)

His right hand stays on your wrist as his left reaches up into a cabinet to grab the honey jar. He makes a display of lifting a generous amount of honey using the honey dipper over your plate, and drizzling it over the apples. Enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, but not so much it will create a sticky mess.

“Perfect.” he gestures for you to go sit at the kitchen island, but you insist you can “carry the plate just fine.” To which Sanji replies, “I know, but I don’t mind. I like taking care of you like this.”

There’s a faint tinge of red on his cheeks, but you’d never mention it. Especially not when your own, not so platonic feelings for the cook seem to constantly be in the back of your mind these days.

You take a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen island, and Sanji presents your midnight snack with a flourish. “Enjoy, y/n.” He’s walks away to wash his hands, and you expect him to return to sit beside you, but then he walks toward the door.

“Sanji…” He pauses and looks back at you, “Do you want to stay?” You feel sort of awful asking, really, because he’s probably tired, but something inside you just can’t let him go.

And sure enough, his lips curve up into a smile. “I thought you’d never ask!”

He pulls out the stool next to yours and slides onto it, then rests his arm on the back of your seat. The proximity is not unwelcome- you felt it never could be when it came from him- but even if he was, he’s not invading your space. More so creating a kind of link between the two of you, and a feeling of closeness beyond the physical.

You take a bite of one of your apple slices, only to frown slightly when you pull the half eaten slice away from your mouth and realize you’ve destroyed the bunny. Sanji nearly laughs, for he has a similar empathetic disposition and knows how you feel, but then he notices something.

There’s a smidge of honey left behind on the corner of your mouth, which you have not taken notice of, because if you had you surely would’ve licked it up. Even the thought of that sight could make him act a fool, but he’ll try his best not to (just for you.)

“Look here.” he says in a near whisper, and you do. With no other words, he cups your chin and wipes the honey from your lips with his thumb. Your eyes go wide at the first action (when he touches your face to begin with), but they seem to soften when you realize what he’s doing. Sanji takes notice of this too, and just offers a smile. Because what else can he do?

He’s a flirt; he knows that, and so do you, and everyone else he’s ever met. So if he ever were to make a move on you, there’s no way you’d take him seriously. Then again, that’s why he tries to tone down his flirting with you in the first place. He can’t stand the thought of you being under the impression that you’re the same as every girl in the world is to him; because you’re not. You’re… special, in a way. He feels bad saying you’re his favorite of the many objects of his affections, because he has genuine love for so many people (you are though.) But, he can say with certainty that his feelings for you are the only serious ones. No matter how many women he tries to woo on all the adventures of the Straw Hats, he’ll always come back to you. Sanji will always choose you.

“Um, Sanji?” His hand is still on your jaw with his thumb on your bottom lip, so you pull it away with gentle force. “Sanji?” Hearing your sweet voice pulls him out of his stupor (the first time, he was concentrated on simply the sound of your voice.)

“Sorry, sweetness, I uh… Your pretty lips distracted me for a second~” Sanji purposely exaggerates his tone a little, so you just accept his reasoning with a giggle.

“Sure thing, Sanji.”

You eat your apple slices in comfortable silence for a bit, thinking of the aforementioned feelings you’ve been harboring for the chef since… Who knows- but you didn’t realize these feelings until you saw him for the first time after 2 years spent training apart. There had never been such a strong excitement in your voice as when you called his name that day, and he launched himself onto you in a tight hug. You had walked to the predetermined meeting place and entered the bar together, hand in hand. It felt so natural, too; like your hands were meant to fit together. Of course, you’d never voice these feelings, because if Sanji had feelings for you surely he’d tell you. Eventually, you hope. This brings about another question in your mind;

“Why do you like women? I mean, like, every woman we meet, even if she’s an enemy?”

He shrugs slightly, “At one point, the only people who were kind to me were women. Remember I told you about my mom and my sister?” During the Whole Cake Island experience, Sanji had in fact explained more about his relationships with his family members, and you recalled how his mother and sister were the only ones that showed him any sort of empathy.

“Mhm… That makes sense.” a moment of silence passes, as you’re a little nervous to ask this next question. “And why do you like me?”

The cook’s eyes widen like a deer in headlights, and he glances at you before concentrating on the surface of the island table. “I… I like this crew because you’re all my nakama. But…” It’s unusual to hear the typically very passionate man say something so quietly. You tilt your head as if to say, “Go on. I’m listening,” so he continues, “You’re important to me, y/n.”

“Good, you’re important to me, too.”

“Really?” Sanji seems a little shocked, “You know, I… I try not to be the way I am with women, with you, because I want you to take me seriously. I want you to know I mean it when I say nice things or do favors for you. I want you to know that it’s real.”

“I do take you seriously.”

Then, he takes a deep breath and puts both of his hands around one of yours, “And I want you to take my feelings for you seriously, when I confess them to you.”

“…Didn’t you just…?”

He grins and shakes his head, “No, y/n. When I confess the type of feelings I have for you and the extent of them, I’ll do it much more romantically than this.” Sanji looks positively giddy now, smiling and tightly (but not uncomfortably) holding your hand. “I just want you to know that what I feel for you is real.” And with that, he plants a chaste kiss on your cheek. It’s nothing like his occasionally vulgar and pg-13 methods of wooing women, but it makes your heart skip a beat. You’re sort of at a loss for words…

This time you’re the one pulled out of a daze by the other’s voice when he says, “Goodnight, y/n.”

“Oh, goodnight Sanji.” You smile at him, and he smiles back before nodding at you and leaving.

Even if that wasn’t a real confession, and maybe the timing wasn’t quite right, you were still biting back a smile as you rinsed off your plate and placed it in the dishwasher. But now you have a real confession to look forwards to, according to Sanji.

#one piece x reader #one piece x you #fanfic #one piece #x reader #oneshot #sanji x reader #sanji #vinsmoke sanji #sanji x you #please forgive the poor grammar #i wrote this in the a.m.#he’s so cute

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abyssalzones · 5 months

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3 and 7 for wendy if ur still doing the character ask thing!!

finally I get to talk about one of the girls

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

the misogyny in gf's writing always makes me extremely sad. this goes for most if not all of the female characters in the show but I think wendy suffers from it most heavily as the object of dipper's affection. she's cool, sure, but she isn't really allowed her own ambitions or weird stand-out traits the same way other characters are. wouldn't it have been way more interesting for dipper (and by extension the audience) to start seeing her more as her own person once his crush on her becomes old news? ...of course, that leads me into my other point, which is that it was incredibly lazy to continue the plot thread of ~dipper's crush on wendy~ after that arc had been neatly closed off. roadside attraction was a mistake and I would have gladly traded it for that scrapped episode about stan and wendy pulling off a heist.

I suppose the real problem here is that almost everything we know about wendy seems to be through dipper's interest in her, so there isn't a lot of room for her to be anything except Badass(tm). let her be weird! there's literally nothing weirder than being a teenage girl!!

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

It's so much more difficult to find things I like about fandom portrayals than things I dislike, but I am a fan of the almost universal understanding that wendy is a lesbian. I'm also glad trans headcanons are fairly popular for her, I think it makes her confiding in dipper about being taller than all her brothers very fun (and the common theme in gf of characters bonding over being considered 'freaks' always resonated with me in a trans interpretation way).

#lab notes #lab creations #askbox #sorry it's late I wanted to draw something since I didn't have any good wendy pictures #gravity falls

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yamayuandadu · 8 months

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Consulting the convoluted history of supernatural foxes, or why is Tsukasa like that

I know I said you should only expect one long Touhou-themed research article per month, and that the next one will be focused on Ten Desires, but due to unforeseen circumstances a bonus one jumped into the queue. For this reason, you will unexpectedly have the opportunity to learn more about the historical and religious context of the belief in kuda-gitsune, or “tube foxes”, as well as their various forerunners. Tsukasa is clearly topical thanks to Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost, and I basically skipped covering Unconnected Marketeers in 2021 save for pointing out some banal tidbits, so I hope this is a welcome surprise. The post contains spoilers for the new game, obviously.

Obviously, in order to properly cover the kuda-gitsune, it is necessary to start with a short history of foxes in Japanese culture through history, especially in esoteric Buddhism. Early history: the Chinese background Early Japanese sources pertaining to foxes show strong Chinese influence. There was an extensive preexisting system of fox beliefs to draw from in continental literature, dating back at least to the Han dynasty (note that while the well known story of Daji is set much earlier, its modern form only really goes back to the Song dynasty). This is way too complex of a topic to discuss here in full, sadly, so I will limit myself to the particularly interesting tidbits.

A multi-tailed fox in the classic Chinese encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng (wikimedia commons)

It will suffice to say that historically the fox was perceived in China as a liminal being, and could be associated with pursuits regarded as ethically dubious, ranging from theft and banditry to instigating rebellions and promoting divisive religious views (so, for example during the reigns of firmly pro-Taoist emperors, Buddhist monks could be associated with foxes). Literary texts focused on supernatural foxes emphasized their shapeshifting abilities. In contrast with some of the other well attested supernatural beings in Chinese tradition, they could take a range of human forms, appearing as men and women of virtually any age. Often they favored mimicking people who lived on the margins of society, like bandits, courtesans or migrant laborers. It was also emphasized that they displayed a considerable degree of disregard for authority. The fact these animals lived essentially alongside humans without being domesticated definitely played a role in the formation of this image.

A contemporary statue of Bixia, a deity in the past associated with fox beliefs (wikimedia commons)

At the same time, foxes enjoyed a degree of popularity as objects of semi-official cult, still practiced here and there in China in modern times, for example in Boluo in Shaanxi. The religious role of foxes was reflected in, among other things, the development of terms like hushen (狐神) “fox deity”, or huxian (狐仙), “fox immortal”. The belief in such “celestial foxes” (tianhu, 天狐) was relatively common, and there is even a legend according to which there was a formalized way for the animals to transcend to higher states of existence, with the goddess Bixia making them undergo the supernatural fox version of the well known imperial examinations. If they failed they were condemned to live as “wild foxes” (yehu, 野狐) with no hope of transcendence. There are also accounts of foxes pursuing the status of a xian through illicit means, through a combination of praying to the Big Dipper and draining people’s energy, as documented by He Xiu in the 1700s. Note foxes were already portrayed as worshiping the Big Dipper during the reign of the Tang dynasty, but back then it was only believed this let them transform into humans.

The ambiguity of foxes is evident in the Japanese perception of these animals too. Supernatural foxes are probably among the best known youkai, and especially considering this is a post about Touhou I do not think the basics need to be discussed in much detail. They were believed to shapeshift and to steal vital energy, much like in China. Their positive role as messengers of Inari, a kami associated with agriculture, is generally well known too. The earliest sources documenting encounters with supernatural foxes are obviously, as expected, the earliest chronicles like the Nihon Shoki, where they mostly appear as omens. By the Heian period these animals are well established in the written record. For instance, Nakatomi Harae Kunge includes “evil magic due to heavenly and earthly foxes” among phenomena which require ritual purification. In addition to the tales imported from China being in circulation, some setsuwa written in Japan involved shape shifting foxes. However, supernatural foxes only gained greater prominence in the Japanese middle ages due to the growth of relevance of two deities they were associated with, Inari and Dakiniten. The latter is more relevant to the topic of this article.

Foxes, Dakiniten and tengu

Part of a hanging scroll depicting Dakiniten riding on a fox (wikimedia commons, via MET; cropped for the ease of viewing)

The connection between foxes and Dakiniten reflected their associations with the dakinis, a class of demons in Buddhism. Originally the dakinis were associated with jackals instead, but Chinese Buddhist authors presumed that the animal mentioned in this context is basically identicial with more familiar foxes, and that belief reached Japan as well. It was strong enough for Dakinite, the dakini par excellence, to be regularly depicted riding on the back of a fox. Dakiniten was originally a regular dakini, according to Bernard Faure specifically one who appears in Heian period Enmaten mandalas (Enmaten is related to but not quite the same as the better known king Enma, for the development of two distinct reflections of Yama in Buddhism see here). However, she eventually developed into a full blown deva in her own right, and her prominence was so great that it basically resulted in the decline of references to the generic dakinis in Buddhist literature in Japan. She was particularly popular in the Shingon school of Buddhism, and at the peak of her relevance played a role in royal ascension rituals, developing a connection with Amaterasu in the process (Amaterasu acquired many peculiar connections through the Japanese middle ages, it was par the course). A Tendai treatise equates her with Matarajin instead, though. An interesting phenomenon related to Dakiniten is the occasional fusion of beliefs pertaining to foxes and tengu, which might have originated in the similarity of the terms tengu and the Japanese term for the already mentioned “heavenly foxes”, tenko. Its best attested examples include the inclusion of tengu in mandalas focused on Dakiniten as her acolytes. However, a different deity ultimately exemplifies this even better. Iizuna Gongen and "iizuna magic"

Iizuna Gongen riding on the back of a fox (Museum of Fine Arts Boston; link to the source is temporarily dead, the image is reproduced here for educational purposes only)

The indisputable center of the network of connections between foxes and tengu is Iizuna Gongen (飯綱権現), depicted as a tengu riding on a fox. As you can probably guess, he was a (vague) basis for Megumu, as evidenced by the similarity of the names. While many other aspects of his character aren’t really touched upon in the game, I’d hazard a guess he’s also the reason why ZUN decided to include a kuda-gitsune in the same game as Megumu - the evidence lines up exceptionally well, as you’ll see.

Originally Iizuna Gongen was simply the deity of Mount Iizuna (飯綱山), located in the modern Nagano prefecture. Near the end of the Japanese middle ages he spread to other areas, likely thanks to traveling shugenja (also known as yamabushi), mountain ascetics belonging to a religious tradition known as Shugendō. Two aspects of his character are particularly pronounced, his role as a martial deity and his association with foxes.

I was unable to determine when Iizuna Gongen’s connection to foxes originally developed, but it was strong enough to lead to the use of the alternate name Chira Tenko (智羅天狐; “Chira the heavenly fox”) to refer to him. Foxes also appear in a legend describing his origin. It states that he was one of the eighteen children of an Indian king, and arrived in Japan alongside nine of his siblings on the back of a white fox during the reign of emperor Kinmei (the remaining eight went to China and became monks on Mount Tiantai). His connection to foxes is also reaffirmed in an Edo period treatise, Reflections on Inari Shrine (稲荷神社考, Inari jinja kō), which declares that names such as Iizuna Gongen and Matarajin (sic!) are used in the worship of wild foxes to hide the true nature of the invoked entities. The author further states that the true form of “these matarajin (plural) and wild foxes” is that of a three-faced and six-armed deity, which curiously has more to do with early Matarajin tradition than with Iizuna Gongen as far as I can tell. The two were not really closely associated otherwise, but it’s worth noting that apparently shugenja perceived them both as similar tengu-like deities.

The key feature of conventional iconography of Iizuna Gongen, the fox mount, has nothing to do with Matarajin strictly speaking, and likely reflects the influence of Dakiniten. However, the animal in this context developed its own unique identity thanks to the presence of foxes in a type of ritual focused on Iizuna Gongen, which could itself be referred to as iizuna. The shugenja community centered on the worship of Iizuna Gongen was not very formalized, which led to poor understanding of their practice among outsiders, with the term iizuna basically acquiring the vague meaning along the lines of “magic”. and rather poor reputation. These rites are where the kuda-gitsune comes into play. Kuda-gitsune in iizuna magic and beyond

The kuda-gitsune, as depicted in Shōzan Chomon Kishū by Miyoshi Shōzan (Waseda University History Museum; reproduced here for educational purposes only)

At first glance, kuda-gitsune is just one of many local variants of the standard supernatural fox, similarly to the likes of ninko, osaki-gitsune or nogitsune. The etymology of its name is straightforward. I’m sure you can guess what the second half means, while kuda (管) in this context refers to a bamboo tube. You’d think the name would basically guarantee it was universally accepted that’s how one could carry such a critter undetected, but apparently there was an alternate explanation, namely that it was invisible. I have not seen any further discussion of this in literature, but I assume this might be connected to shikigami beliefs, as these quite often are described as invisible. Do not quote me on that, though. Even more bizarrely, there is no consensus that the animal meant was always a fox. According to Bernard Faure it is distinctly possible the term referred to a weasel. Kuda-gitsune could be described as a type of shikigami, but note that this term had a much broader meaning in real life than in Touhou, and referred to basically any supernatural being which acted as an extension of the powers attributed to “ritual specialists” (祈祷師) such as onmyōji, shugenja or Buddhist monks. In Buddhist context, the analogous term could be gohō dōji (護法童子; “Dharma-protecting lads”), though there are also cases where gohō and shikigami are contrasted with each other. The shikigami category didn’t just consist of animated papercraft and animal spirits typically designated as such in popculture. Even the twelve heavenly generals defending the “medicine Buddha” Yakushi could be labeled as shikigami. Obviously, kuda-gitsune is closer to the familiar meaning of this term than to Buddhist deities, though. People relying on kuda-gitsune were referred to as kitsune-tsukai (狐使い), which can be loosely translated as “fox tamer”, and it is said they were often shugenja. Given the popularity of the associated deity among them this shouldn’t really be a surprise. Various supernatural abilities were ascribed to the kuda-gitsune. The ability to possess people attributed to other supernatural foxes was the domain of kuda-gitsune too. Apparently people afflicted by it were compelled to eat nothing but raw miso. Purportedly they were bringers of wealth - but said wealth did not necessarily come from legitimate sources. That, in turn, could lead to distrust or outright ostracism of people allegedly relying on foxes to acquire wealth. They also provided aid in divination, and could supposedly reveal past, present and future alike this way. However, they could look into the soul of anyone using them this way and learn their secrets. Bernard Faure notes that occasionally it was said that they even could even be utilized to kill enemies who attempted casting spells on their owner. Shigeru Mizuki's kuda-gitsune

Kuda-gitsune, as depicted by Shigeru Mizuki (reproduced here for educational purposes only)

While there isn’t much information about kuda-gitsune in scholarship, especially scholarship available online in English, they received extensive coverage in various books about youkai written by Shigeru Mizuki, famous for arguably canonizing the modern concept of youkai. Note that while I am a fan of Mizuki's works, his encyclopedias are best understood as something closer to Borges’ Book of Imaginary Beings, complete with some dubious sourcing and possible fabrications. However, ultimately modern media about youkai, including Touhou, owes much to him, and arguably he continued the tradition of night parade scrolls which often invented new creatures wholesale, so it strikes me as entirely fair game to summarize what he has to say too. Shigeru Mizuki cited the Edo period writer Matsura Seizan as an authority on kuda-gitsune. He states ccording to the latter, certain ascetics (yamabushi) were provided with these critters upon finishing their training on Mount Kinpu and Mount Ōmine. In his account cited by Mizuki there are a lot of details I haven’t seen elsewhere. The storage tubes after which kuda-gitsune are named apparently had to be inscribed with a certain sanskrit phrase (left unspecified, tragically) so that the animals didn’t have to be fed. However, releasing them and giving it food was necessary to gain their help in divination. There was a downside to this - kuda-gitsune were apparently hard to place back in containment once released without the help of a seasoned specialist. Also, they refused to provide anything of value unless fed well, and they had quite the appetite. Mizuki cites the particularly disastrous case of an ascetic who kept multiple kuda-gitsune in a single tube, and eventually couldn’t pay for enough food for his collection since the animals kept multiplying inside. According to Mizuki it was believed that a kuda-gitsune could be gifted by its owner to another person, but the creature would come back if it was not satisfied with the food provided by the latter. If the original “fox tamer” dies before passing their kuda-gitsune to someone else, it will instead go to the Ōji Inari shrine located in what is now the the Kita ward of Tokyo.

Conclusion: Tsukasa and her forerunners

In theory I could’ve kept pointing out “see, it’s just like Tsukasa!” in virtually every single paragraph of this article. To answer the question from the title, evidently she is like that because that's how foxes have been in folklore both Japan and China for centuries. It is not really hard to see that ZUN is genuinely great at research when he wants to be, and Tsukasa's character is remarkably accurate to her real life forerunners, both as an adaptation of kuda-gitsune specifically and as a representation of the broader tradition which lead to the portrayal of foxes as supernatural creatures of questionable moral character. She engages in morally dubious “get rich quick schemes”, she definitely provides advice (of variable quality), and her self-declared ability from her omake bio pretty clearly reflects skills actually ascribed to the kuda-gitsune in folklore. In the newest game the ability to provide information is clearly in the spotlight - Tsukasa seems to be reasonably knowledgeable (she brings up Kojiki in a line aimed at Hisami, among other things), and other characters generally agree she’d be more useful doing something else than fighting. I do not think there’s any real reason to doubt this is what is meant. I think it can even be safely assumed that Zanmu’s decision to pressure Tsukasa to partake in her assassination bluff is rooted in genuine tradition. I’m obviously not going to say that Tsukasa reaches the platonic ideal of Okina, the quintessential character aimed at fans who like research, who largely seems to exist to get people to dig deeper for sources explaining the dozens of religious allusions in her dialogue, spell cards and design, but I do think it’s worth appreciating that the series reached a stage where even the minor animal youkai can be enjoyed as multilayered representation of centuries worth of genuine folklore and mythology. Bibliography -Bernard Faure, Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 1-3 -Michael Daniel Foster, The Book of Yokai. Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore -Berthe Jansen and Nobumi Iyanaga, Dākini (Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism) -Xiaofei Kang, The Cult of the Fox: Power, Gender, and Popular Religion in Late Imperial and Modern China -Shigeru Mizuki’s assorted writings on kuda-gitsune (collected online here)

#touhou #touhou project #tsukasa kudamaki #kudamaki tsukasa

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fairlyaltheticquails · 10 months

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imagine ford’s first few days of being back and he’s surprised to learn you still live in gravity falls when the kids mention you. he eventually asks if you’re married, trying to act casual about it (and failing)

hes my little awkward boy (hes 70)

words: 687

this is kinda poopoo but whatever

“Hey, I know them!” Dipper exclaims, picking up the framed photo from the desk.

The picture’s old, several decades old at least, but it's one of Ford's favorites. He specifically tracked down where Stanley had hid it within a day of coming back, restoring it to its rightful position in the lab. Fiddleford had set up the camera after a particularly special breakthrough, when everyone was still riding the high, smiling and laughing like little kids. What gets Ford is the way you are looking at him.

Clearly unaware of the photo being taken, you look at the side of his face, stars in your eyes with a wide grin. Fidds had silently given him the photo, a knowing look on his face.Truth be told, Ford has always liked you. You're smart, you laugh at his bad nerd jokes, you're kind (even when the receipt doesn't deserve it), and you're pretty easy on the eyes. When he'd lost you, he knew if he'd ever make it back, you'd surely have someone else, somewhere better than Gravity Falls.

This is why Dipper's comment makes him drop and completely shatter the vial he was holding. Ford turns briskly to Dipper, observing him closely for any sign of his knowledge.

“What do you mean? How?” It wouldn't surprise him if Bill had placed some false memory of you in Dipper's head just to torment him, knowing that Ford would want to try and track you down if he could.

“Oh. They helped Mabel and I out earlier this summer when we, uh,, ran into some not so friendly ghosts. I've seen ‘em around town too.” Dipper says casually, unnerved by his grunkles strange state and reaction. “How do YOU know them?” he prys.

“We knew each other long ago, It doesn't matter.” Ford is unsurprised to hear you still poke your head into the strange natures of the town, It's in your nature as is helping others in a bad way. He imagines you fighting off ghosts like the 80s movies Stanley made him watch once he'd returned. His chest warms with something pleasant, before dropping like a stone. It's been thirty years. If you'd even made the connection to him from the kids, chances are you've long since moved on from your research days with him. Surely you've moved onto better people than him. “Have you, um, seen them around with… anyone?”

Dippers face changes to one of confusion. “Like who? Wait, Could they be working with Bill? I should've paid closer attention to them, they've been right under my nose, I…” Dipper spirals, panic increasing as his word vomit flows. Ford cuts him off.

“I meant a… partner. Spouse?” Ford adds, embarrassed. He isn't thirteen anymore, he has no need to be prying into his crushes from thirty years ago. His hand rubs the back of his neck, and he intends to tell Dipper to just forget it when Dipper thoughtfully hums.

“Nope, don't think so. Or at least, not that I've noticed,”. Dipper's tone and expression are unnervingly neutral, not betraying his thoughts on this awkward line of questioning.Dipper ends the conversation there, placated by the information given, placing the photo back in its spot and returning to the task Ford had assigned him.

Ford feels a bit lighter that afternoon and has to force down the smile trying to work its way up. Mabel had offered to teach Ford all about the world of smartphones, and Stanley might have a phonebook lying around here somewhere. Ford resolves himself to having to hold off on looking until after the rift has been resealed, when he knows it will be more safe to contact you. He goes to bed that night imagining what you may look like now. If you still have the same glimmer in your eyes, or if you still do your hair the same. If you still pick at your sweaters, or smudge the ink everytime you write.

bonus: dipper totally knew what ford was hinting at and when he relayed the conversation to mabel that night, she went into matchmaker mabel mode setting up an "accidental" meeting, where you see each other for the first time since ford got back

#ford pines #ford pines x reader #my writing #ask answered #i had a bigger plan for this but lost motivation halfway through :{

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bomber-grl · 2 months

Text

Dipper Pines x Drop dead gorgeous!reader

Pairing(s): Dipper Pines x Gn!Reader

Dipper is awe struck when he sees you for the first time

I mean the first few interactions between you two consisted of a very flushed Dipper and usually only ever did he interact with you if someone else was near

Particularly Mabel since she probably became your friend first

Yknow, because of obvious reasons

Anyway the inevitable happens and you two start dating

One thing to mention is how exhaust replaced dippers initial giddiness as soon as Stan and Mabel found out you two were finally together

They continuously teased the two of you and especially dipper when you weren’t around

Particularly because of how many people were lined up to date you and he somehow happened to be the “lucky one”

Stan and Mabel obviously used this to make sorta harmful jokes about how they didn’t know why you chose him

He obviously knew to ignore these said “jokes”

He’s pretty much learned to do so

This sorta plants seeds of doubt in his mind and a bit more humiliating, he becomes a little too self aware

More than he’d like

When the two of you get together and do your usual nerdy adventure hangouts (as Mabel and Stan like to call it) you take note of how distant he is

It’s sorta hard not to

But when you decide to bring it up he deflects so badly and eventually lets you know what’s been going on

He’s pretty embarrassed about the whole ordeal

Of course he decides to just tell you especially if you’re persistent and you reassure him it’s alright

Usually when the two of you are walking around town you two are constantly getting teased and called cute together

It’s sort of endearing in your eyes but it’s easy to tell that dippers embarrassed

He actually likes that it’s known you’re together but let’s be real here, he’s new to being in a relationship so he’s easily flustered

Let’s continue shall we?

You’re usually scouted by modeling companies and when you let dipper know after a particularly harsh encounter with a model scout? He honestly believes you

Although that doesn’t exactly reassure him- if only it worries him

Literally makes him sorta scared you’d be kidnapped by the gnomes to be their new “bride”

(Bride in quotations because even if you’re not a girl dipper doesn’t doubt that the Gnomes could care less if you are, as long as you’re beautiful I guess)

So besides the constant business cards you get and constant teasing, you also get asked out

A LOT

Guys and girls and everyone in between (or outside) ask you out all the same and if dipper were any more insecure it would not work out

Plus this continuously humbles him each time he works up the confidence to be more bold 💀

Not to mention how the SUPERNATURAL falls for you

He’s not surprised, again but DAMN he gets it

Everyone wants you 💀

Well besides all those points I’ve made that could be perceived as negative-

Let’s talk about how dipper sees you

I mean you’re an attractive person and he knows it

No you don’t get it, he knows it

He could look at you for hours and not mind

You’re both beautiful inside and out which is why dipper likes you

He really though you’d be those weird stuck up guys Mabel likes or those “popular “ posh” girls like Pacifica

So knowing you’re kind and just goes with whatever dipper needs to do?

Yes that definitely has him caught up with you

#fanfic #gn reader #male reader #fluff #female reader #fanfic fluff #fluff headcanons #dipper gravity falls #dipper x reader #dipper pines #gravity falls x reader #gravity falls dipper #gravity falls

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kimiethehedgehog · 3 months

Text

So I’ve been binge watching gravity falls lately. I wanna talk about something.

In the episode bottomless pit (s1 e14) Mabel tells a story called ‘Truth Ache’. (According to dipper, they just lived through it)

You know how easy it would have been for Stan to reveal the identity of the author! In the episode, Dipper clearly asks Stan “what do you do in secret everyday during your lunch break?” I know he only goes down to the basement at night and probably avoids going during the day but it’s just a thought. Still, he could have let’s something accidentally slip out like, “I think about my twin brother I lost in the portal in the basement, also he’s the author of a series of journals that explain how to operate it.”

Also in the episode ‘DreamScaperers’ (s1 e19) Dipper could have accidentally opened a door revealing Ford and all the secrets of Gravity Falls could have been revealed to him. The thing is, he DID appear in the episode. On the bleachers, his face is hidden behind a book. (And he’s wearing boxing mittens) Who else would be in the same class as Stan and be reading a book. Not many.

I’m giving Stan props for this, he’s really good a hiding anything about Ford until the big reveal.

#gravity falls #stanuary 2024 #ford pines #stan pines #authorofthejournals

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fordtato · 2 months

Note

Gffan has done the following:

-Letting people comment transphobic stuff on his Server

-associating with a reddit mod whos known to be transphobic

-openly showing weird distaste for the Dipper being Trans headcanon (didn't he also say: "I hate the Dipper Trans Theory" to us once?)

He also believes there’s only 2 genders

Hello. So. I do not normally respond to anonymous discourse like this in my inbox as a rule (especially given this site's proclivity for seeing anon callouts weaponized against trans people and women and people of color), but I felt it was important to do this in this case, since I am publicly working on a project with ThatGFFan.

I have known GFFan for over a year now now (in an exclusively online capacity), and in that time, he has not only never misgendered me (a nonbinary trans person, someone outside the "2 genders" framework) but has also actively corrected people who have misgendered me. I have witnessed him speak against transphobia in the fandom and against transphobic content creators. The idea that he "believes there are only 2 genders" is inaccurate by every account I have of him.

As for other accusations in this ask, such as him "associating with a reddit mod who is known to be transphobic" I don't have any evidence for this presented to me, and even if I did, association in a public online space is not the same thing as sharing transphobic sentiment. There is room in any online space for a conversation about the optics of this kind of engagement, but if I had to apologize for every person I've ever engaged with civilly who I later learned was problematic in some way, I'd be here all day, and that would be an unproductive use of my time, and would not undo any harm done by that person.

Lastly, I hope ThatGFFan will not mind me saying this, but he is a young person (younger than you think, I assure you). If he has engaged with unsavory people in the past, or has indicated any kind of transphobic sentiment (neither of which I have any evidence of) it is my belief that we need to allow people to grow, especially when I have actively witnessed that growth firsthand. And in that case, I do think (and maybe I'm putting my faith in the wrong person here, so I hope this doesn't bite me one day), that he has made an active effort to learn how to do better, even if he makes mistakes in that process.

What you have done, anon, is entered my inbox with accusations against a person of color, half of which have no evidence behind them, and the other half that I personally know to be demonstrably false. Nobody who is a victim of this transphobia has come forward, at least that I saw, and if they did, that would be up to ThatGFFan to respond to - not me, a trans person unrelated and far-removed from whatever incident you are talking about (an incident that likely occurred when ThatGFFan was a minor, in any case).

I don't have a big platform. I am a small creator (much smaller than ThatGFFan), and a trans Palestinian person. Why am I being called upon to answer for a cis person's (alleged) missteps as they grow into an adult? Why am I being called upon to publicly shame and renounce a person who has shown me kindness and allyship? Is it so I can prove my dedication to the fight against transphobia? My entire blog, my entire body of work, my entire existence, has been an active fight against transphobia.

I mean, by God, all I can do is hope I'm doing the right thing here, but I vouch for him. Or I at least vouch that he is trying.

(p.s. I hope this goes without saying, but someone disliking a specific queer headcannon does not indicate one's political beliefs, and this is not going to be an accusation that I really engage with, because it sets a bad precedent. This is not a moral wrongdoing. This is an opinion you are suspicious of.)

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fridayth13 · 5 months

Text

—it's a love story

↳ chongyun, fanan/bonanus, lyney, wriothesley, and la signora × reader (separately) (royalty au!)

↳ genre: fluff, hijinks, a bit of crack(chongyun), hurt/comfort(wriothesley and maybe lyney's too), fantasy elements(signora) | wordcount: 1.8k | warnings: reader being a bit presumptuous and assuming(fanan)

↳ notes: while writing i did realize that some of these scenarios could happen even without the medieval setting, but i think everyone needs to imagine their favorite characters in a royalty au. at least once. for the aesthetic

—chongyun

if anyone's ever watched gravity falls, think of that episode where dipper explores the northwest mansion with pacifica. it goes something like that

your family, as well as even the servants around the castle, grew wary of things that went bump in the night over the last few years

eventually, they called in an exorcist to get rid of anything with malicious intent

his name was chongyun— the best of the best in liyue

it was said even the most gruesome of evils steered clear of his presence. and when you first met, you thought it was no wonder

with his icy stare and his imposing ceremonial greatsword, he looked almost surreal as the ghosts themselves

you were tasked with representing your family. you and the exorcist were about the same age, so your parents thought it would help make him more comfortable

once you got to talk to him personally though, that assumption immediately fell flat on its face

as you went through the palace, his coldness didn't seem to waver, no matter how much you tried to lighten the mood. his tone when speaking (limited to one word replies and/or lengthy explanations about evil spirits) was clipped and entirely professional

it didn't take you long to resign to the fact that you were probably annoying him, and so you stopped

chongyun, however, was left stuck asking himself why you'd suddenly started acting so stiffly

as you forlornly inspected an ancient vase, he wondered if he should apologize for.. something? was he being too cold? he hoped not

though chongyun did worry that his long time crush on you would have him combust if he ever stood an inch too close

besides, he was on a job. professionalism, chongyun. professionalism

just ignore the unwanted whisper of the xingqiu devil on his shoulder urging him to talk to you

he could do that later

maybe. hopefully

his friend would have definitely been having a field day if he saw him now, fumbling over himself about whether or not to initiate a conversation

you, however, had absolutely no clue what chongyun was glaring at the wall about. the mural maybe? was that cursed? you sidled up to chongyun's side and voiced your question to him

if you knew him any better, you'd recognize the vague pink creeping up his cheeks

—bonanus / fanan

you'd initially thought she was a.. strange choice to be assigned as your personal knight

to be honest, you used to think she was one of the nurses. you often saw her in the infirmary, her deep blue hair and pretty smile catching your eye quite easily

fanan's frame was slender, but with the way she carried herself, anyone might guess she was a member of the royal household like you

you couldn't imagine her in all that clunky armor, swinging a hefty sword against the other warriors. you had thought she was too soft-hearted for that

that was a misjudgement on your part

the first spar you witnessed her partake in was when she was training one of her subordinates

the first thing you were wrong about was her weapon— fanan didn't have a sword, no

she had two

long, elegant twin dao sword with carvings of the waves and ocean legends from the hilt to the iron of the blades. the metal was such a beautiful silver it could pass for blue under a certain light

the second thing you were wrong about?

fanan had no use for armor, apparently

she flowed as easily as water, practically dancing around her opponent in a blur of blue

her blades, the seafoam and her azure apparel, the current; she was a tsunami crashing into the tide

her opponent fell before a minute passed

"you've improved." yet she smiled at them, as sweet as ever

you had to hold yourself back from voicing your bafflement. improved? at this rate, you felt you might as well could have fired every other knight at the palace

"i noticed you stop to watch earlier."

it was only after fully checking in on her subordinate did she ask for your thoughts

"what did you think, your grace? was my performance to your liking?"

you could only blink at her

"y..your grace?"

"i—" you cleared your throat. "um.. yes. yes, it was. more than satisfactory, i think. you are quite skilled, sir bonanus"

then she beamed at your words

your heart fluttered

—lyney

in lyney's words, you were a noble of many treasures, and a bouquet of even brighter blossoms. you sometimes found his riveting manner of speech a bit difficult to understand, but that statement was thankfully not one of them

you thought the notion of having a jester was a bit silly. but you didn't have any other way to describe him either

you supposed magician worked well enough

to start, the court of fontaine was simply enamored with him. who wouldn't be?

a charming fellow from humble origins, rising up with nothing but the little mora in his pocket and the support of his family to keep him afloat. and he'd made it. in no time at all, he was a regular presence on the stage of the opera epiclese.

and while the court of fontaine was enraptured with the magician, lyney himself found himself enraptured by you

he didn't believe in love at first sight, but he knew when he was smitten

you came to every show. every night. he even caught a glimpse of your watching eyes during one of his smaller performances

the immediate night after, the opera's crowd was in complete shambles by the end of his tricks, when a single rainbow rose had been thrown into the crowd by his very hand

it had landed in your lap, just as planned

the look you shared that night was the talk of the entire kingdom for weeks

as for you.. well, he made you laugh. what else was there to say?

soon enough, lyney was giving out backstage passes (pass-es, he told lynette. but she saved him the trouble and requested you to come by herself)

you grew close quickly. lyney seemed like an easy person to get close to, after all. he was a devoted suitor as well; never passing up every opportunity to try and impress you or tell you how grateful he was to you for even looking his way

every performance after that concluded with a rainbow rose in your hand. sometimes even several

your visits to the house of the hearth (previously only for business) increased in number

so when the order came from father to get even closer to you and sleuth about your estate and properties, lyney's heart just about stopped in his chest

—wriothesley

you knew each other for as long as you could remember

he was just a random servant boy in the castle that liked keeping you company. you, in turn, had no complaints. he was fun, if not unpredictable, and a welcome interruption to the rigid palace routine

to him, you were like an angel. he called it the luck of the gods themselves that you wanted to play with him at all when they were kids

with the crown on your head as a halo, the cadence of your voice was your song. you always smelled so nice, and your hands were so soft. your smile, however, was the most stunning. the sight of it almost gave him a sense of pride, knowing that more often than not, it had appeared because of him

you were inseparable, and everyone hated it. especially your parents

it was almost ironic. of all the people to have figured out how the two of you felt about each other first, it had to be the ones that needed you apart the most

he didn't exactly help his own case, what with his smart mouth and knack for getting in trouble. it came as no surprise that he was at the receiving end of someone's scolding quite often. you just hadn't expected it to get so far

the trial went by you in a blur of whispers

"i always knew he was trouble" "what a dreadful child" "how unfortunate"

you couldn't sit still, practically leaning over the rail to look at him. you wanted to snap at your family gossiping behind you. you wanted to jump over the rail and run to your best friend. your only friend. you wanted to yell at him. you wanted to comfort him. you wanted to grab him by the hand and run off somewhere no one could catch you

and he wasn't even looking at you

if only you'd known what he was thinking in those moments. that the mere sight of you at the edge of his vision had him near tears

"i'll come back to you. i'll come back." he repeated to himself every night after that before he fell asleep, dreaming of you

years passed. wriothesley never forgot

now the duke of the fortress he was exiled to, he ran back to the overworld the first chance he had

as soon as he saw you on the streets of the city, he knew

and as soon as you caught sight of him, staring longingly after you across the street, you did too

—la signora

the signora lohefalter was a mysterious woman

the fair lady. an esteemed member of the snezhnayan court. from the way she dressed, the way she carried herself, the way she spoke, it could be said she was the very definition of the word 'luxuriant'.

between the two of you, it had started with a spark

on her end, a spark of interest

you were a bold one. whether you were a lowly servant, a fellow noble, or somewhere in between, you had a certain look in your eye. one of unyielding fire

it drew her in, this mirror of her own disposition

the court was often a rather desolate place to be. the people flew by and drifted off, colder than the wind. your heat was tantalizing to her. and eventually, she learned to crave your warmth

on your end however, the spark was rather literal

witchcraft was forbidden in all but written law. so when you caught the slightest lick of light escaping the signora's ungloved hands, you weren't quite sure what to do

she'd caught your gaze with an amused smile

"you look like you've seen a ghost, y/n."

not quite

it was an odd game of cat and mouse. it was as if the mouse bared fangs, and the cat was left to do nothing but scramble to catch it

it might take a while longer for her to accept her own feelings if you weren't a noble, or draped in finery from head to toe

but when she does, she claims the feelings with conviction. no matter how much longer it will take for the two of you to end your little game, it's clear what's going on to any outsider watching the two of you

maybe it wasn't so much that you wanted her caught. maybe you just wanted to know why. you've voiced this curiosity to her once, in one of your attempts to obtain a confession

she smiled again, in that coy, oh-so-innocent way that she did. she'd tell you, but.. well, you already knew, didn't you? what was there to tell?

and could you really blame her if she enjoyed the way you looked as you chased her down?

dividers from @clutteredfun

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tswwwit · 10 months

Note

Hey! You mentioned a while back that if the other dimension Dipper/Mabel/Ford might call the penthouse for advice in dealing with their Bill, and Familiar!Dipper might pick up the "call". I've been rereading the Bill v Bill series and can't get the scene out of my head. Any chance you'd be interested in writing it?

I'm certainly interested in writing it! I think there's a lot of opportunity for Shenanigans, and that's totally my jam.

The problem is: Actually Getting Around to writing it. But perhaps one day!

#answers #I do have some very amusing ideas for it #But sadly they can't all fit in the same fic #I have to carefully select which ones work best and mesh with each other to create a Structure™#Which is a whole thing #But perhaps I shall get around to it #In the meantime I'm almost done with this short 'Dipper forced to tell the truth' thing so we'll see how that goes #One potential thing I envisioned at one point was the Other Universe (or specifically that Dipper)#Trying to Spy on Bill to figure out if he could find a weakness. A crack in his defenses. A way to get that Dipper out of his clutches!!#Sadly he doesn't find any of that #He does see Bill with who he assumes is his husband though! Not sure who it is; can't see his face #Dipper doubts Bill would be taking a nap with his head on a non-hubby chest. Hugging them around the torso lying between their legs #IS that.... cuddling. No it can't be. It feels super weird to observe and now Other Dipper's uncomfortable #The person Bill's lying on is some guy who's fully clothed but it feels weirdly creepy to be watching anyway #Even though said guy is just dicking around on his phone. At one point he swats Bill for presumably no reason and that's amusing at least #Other Dipper decides he's gonna quit while he's ahead. Spying's not a great idea when who the hell knows could be going on the other end #(Our Dipper was playing a crossword and woke Bill up to provide an answer)#Clue: 'Suave' five letters. Third letter is 'u' Answer: Acute

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gravity-falls-au-tournament · 9 months

Text

The AUs in the running!

With the submission now closed, the time for the Tournament to begin is fast approaching! With that in mind it is time to reveal the AUs in the running:

Drifting stars AU by @the-subpar-ghost

During the events of not what he seems, Mabel ends up falling into the portal instead of Ford coming through it, and Mabel ends up stuck with Ford in the multiverse. The two of them travel the multiverse and get into many a shenanigan trying to find a way home. In most versions Stan and Dipper also work to bring their twins home

One of us AU by @ashidaii

During the events of Weirdmaggedon, Ford accepts Bill's offer to join him and is transformed into a demon. In some versions it is with the intent to betray Bill later while struggling with Demonic Corruption, in others it is genuine.

Reunion falls AU by @sailorleo (Now @hellspawnmotel)

Not long after Mabel and Dipper were born the two were separated, with Dipper being sent to live with Stan and Mabel remaining with their parents. After finding out about her twin years later, Mabel travels to Gravity falls to meet him.

Timestuck AU by @dodofiasco

In which one of the Pines twins (or both, in which case usually they get separated but sometimes they are together) end up stuck 30 years in past due to the time tape and meet the younger version of one (or both) of the Stan twins.The most Popular version of this AU has Mabel travelling with a younger Stan.

Blind Faith au by @gravity-what and @thesnadger

During the events of the Portal incident in the 1980s, Both Stan and Ford fall through the Portal. Due to McGucket being driven mad by what he saw when he entered the portal, Ford fears the same could happen to Stan and thus blindfolds him to prevent him from Seeing whatever lurks in the mysterious and insidious dimension where they have ended up, and the two travel to escape. However, while Ford cannot see fully due to losing his glasses, what little he can see is starting to take its toll. This mounting paranoia and fear eventually reaches a Boling point and leads to Ford attempting to blind Stan to keep him safe from the horrors (In some versions he succeeds, in others he only manages to do so for one eye) Eventually the two manage to leave this dimension and they begin travelling the multiverse.

Monster falls AU by various

The discovery of a magical stream results in the characters of gravity falls being transformed into various monsters. Dipper is turned it a Cervitaur(Deer centaur) Mabel is turned into a Mermaid or a Unicorn centaur, Stan is turned into a gargoyle, Ford is turned into a Greek sphynx, And the list goes on.

Mystery trio AU by various

Based on a popular theory prior to the release of Not what he seems and a tale of tale of two stans. The story of the Mystery trio au has many different variations, but the general premise is that in sometime in the past before the portal incident, Stan and Ford make and the two of them plus Fiddleford work together to help with Ford's research in Gravity falls, getting into all kinds of trouble.

Beauty and Beast AU by @artsycrapfromsai

A Familial love take on the Disney movie of the same name, in the Beauty and the Beast au the pines twins end up living in the castle of the Stan twins, who were cursed years ago by bill, with Ford being transformed into a Book and Stan into a beast

Reverse portal AU by @busket

During the events of the portal incident, Stan is the one to fall in the portal instead of Ford. Ford then spends the next 30 battling with himself over whether he should risk the universe and try and bring Stan back, Meanwhile Stan travels the multiverse, probably getting banned from numerous dimensions.

Relativity falls AU by Doidles and Gargunk

An age swap au where the stan twins are twelve years old and staying in gravity falls with their Grauntie Mabel, who is secretly working to bring back her brother.

Transcendence AU by Zoey Chu(Now @transcendence-au)

Due to a long series of events, Dipper gains Bill's powers, becoming known as "Alcor". Meanwhile in an event known as the "Transcendence" gravity falls weirdness spreads to the rest of the world.

One and a half stans AU by @disappeareddraws

After the events of a tale of two stans, Stan ends up being reverted back to a kid through some means or the other.

Ghost stan AU by @gryphsdeadbones

Some point after a tale of two stans, Stan dies and becomes a ghost, eventually becoming a category 10 ghost.

Never human AU by @notllorstel

Stanley pines was stillborn, replaced by a changeling at birth. In some versions Dipper is also a Fae and the story deals with the aftermath of these revelations

Pirate AU by @gobblewanker

During the 18th century, Orphan stowaways Mabel and Dipper find themselves on the mystery, A pirate ship manned by its notorious captain Stanley pines, who is fueled by a desire for revenge against the man who killed his brother.

Summer job AU by Various

After the events of Steven universe future, Steven gets a job working at the mystery shack (sometimes post-series sometimes pre-series)

Round one will start on the 10th of August Aest and the brackets will be up on the 9th. See you all soon!

#i tried my best to do background checks on all the aus here and make sure there wasnt anything nasty #but please let me know if i missed anything #gravity falls #gravity falls au #bracket tournament #tournament blog #masterpost #tournament poll #tumblr tournament #tumblr polls

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maganne-bonete · 1 year

Text

Thinking about the people who constantly criticize and hate Mabel for being a kid and would compare her to Dipper. Like look, the two of them were written to be foils to eachother and same goes for their take on maturity and growing up.

Dipper is someone who wants to grow up fast. He wants to be treated like a mini adult instead of a kid his age. It's not necessarily a bad thing but people keep forgetting that he's still 12 who should be experiencing kid things. Meanwhile there's Mabel, someone who doesn't want to grow up as fast and decides to act as a kid while she still can.

Dipper was supposed to be the "smart one" between them. Therefore, it's not surprising for him to constantly try to make the more mature decisions. One of the episodes that people keep pointing at was The Time Traveler's Pig when he gave up his shot at impressing Wendy for saving Waddle.

Most people, of course, tend to gravitate towards relating to trying to impress a girl more over someone getting their pet for the first time. But people seem to miss the immaturity of Dipper's actions this episode. He literally travels back in time multiple times, something that has been referenced earlier in the episode as irresponsible, just to get with a girl who he sees as a trophy.

Yes, yes, Mabel has done this before too. She was so focused on winning a guy's affection by making a puppet show over helping her brother in something her brother cares about and it was even something very important.

But everytime, people are always so focused on Mabel being the selfish one. Mabel being the childish one. Mabel being the immature one. Mabel's the real villain of the show. Mabel is worse than Bill, etc.

But even then, good on Mabel for being a kid, acting like a kid, and angering a bunch grown adults on the internet because of how much they've projected on Dipper.

And honestly most people themselves have a big misunderstanding of his character because of how much he has been boxed into this position.

Dipper can be selfish. Dipper is childish. Dipper can be immature. Dipper was literally settled on the idea of a bunch of government agents dying to zombies he has accidentally summoned.

#gravity falls #marge's stuff #gravity falls meta #mabel pines #dipper pines

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fantasyinvader · 6 days

Text

With the last few points in mind, we can see how SS, AM and VW are may be somewhat radical from a Japanese POV.

In SS, Byleth's leadership goes against a very common mentality in Japan where it's viewed as wrong to give people money they did not earn, even when that person is in dire straights. In fact, begging for money is actually illegal over there. So with that in mind, Byleth focusing on reconstruction of Fodlan in addition to the Japanese text saying he supported “every soul” in a motherly-fashion, it does point to Byleth's rule being one that looked out for the people.

It also has elements associated with oudou, considering the Sword of the Creator's Japanese name the Sword of the Emperor of Heaven. Emperor of Heaven is term for the Jade Emperor, the deity that oversees Heaven's mandate (Mazu, the Emperess of Heaven, is commonly depicted in red robes... but she's associated with water as a sea goddess, not fire. She's also said to be an incarnation of the Jade Woman of Marvelous Deeds, and associated with a star in the big dipper, who is said to oversee all aspects of life and death and help those who call upon her. So, Edelgard's color scheme itself might be a red herring, as Sothis is the one associated with water). Byleth judged Edelgard as unworthy of following, rejecting her and in turn leading the Black Eagles to do the same. They no longer bend the knee to their emperor simply because she is their emperor, they take a stand against her actions and work to remove her from power. And this is consistent for them regardless of whether Byleth taught their House or recruited them to another House, not joining Edelgard is tied to their character development (see Ferdinand and Caspar's paralogues not being available in Flower).

Dimitri takes Byleth's supporting the poor a few steps further, believing change has to come from the people and giving them a voice in politics while at the same time supporting them. He empowers the masses, and on top of that even has focus on improving relations with foreign nations (whereas the Japanese text indicates Edelgard begins invading other countries). Dimitri is also meant to represent oudou himself, a benevolent ruler justly governing the people.

Claude also identifies Edelgard's rule as oudou, stops her, but then puts Byleth and his version of oudou in charge of Fodlan. I think the best way to put how Claude is radical is, to put it bluntly, fuck the past and fuck the traditions associated with it.

Claude's goal in coming to Fodlan was to learn from it in order to change Almyra, and he got that in Verdant Wind. He begins transforming his homeland into a trading powerhouse, works with the Church in order to bridge the two nations, and can even introduce magic to his country in one ending. On top of that, people have noted that he embodied a very negative stereotype of his people in Hopes, so his character growth proved beneficial. He's no longer the type who will flee to save his own life rather than protecting his people, he stops trying to manipulate everyone and instead work with them as well.

When applied to Fodlan, it's not saying that the Church is bad. It still continues to exist, but now the false history of Fodlan has been corrected. People now know what the past really was, not some glamorized image of it from the Agarthans nor the story told as part of a peace treaty. The Church is still going to be there, helping to rebuild Fodlan after the slate was wiped clean, free to spread it's messages without having to also recite falsehoods that can give people mixed messages. And on top of that, there's also support for other faiths and customs to be brought in, accepted and learned from. The game really drives home it's the dawn of a new era for a reason.

So, we have that. Meanwhile Edelgard trying to set the clock back on Fodlan, spouting ideals informed by Agarthan manipulations, and trying to conquer the world... this is all supposed to be tyranny according to the devs. SS, AM and VW all support some form of progress whereas Flower, once you see through the cracks and get to know Edelgard, is supposed to be regression. To return to old ways, old traditions, that the Church put a stop to for good reason.

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eldragon-x · 10 months

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Since I wrote an analysis looking into Bill's view of and relationship with Ford a while ago, I thought I'd do the same with Bill and Mabel, especially since the other analysis is partially supported with points about those two.

Comparing these posts, while the one about Bill and Ford is like "I believe Ford is very important to Bill and here's why", this one's more the reverse, as in "it's confirmed that Bill is fond of Mabel and I'm gonna look at their interactions and relevant episodes through that lense"

Bringing up the points of confirmation first, "Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun" has Bill bringing up that he likes Mabel

and in the DVD commentary for Sock Opera, Alex Hirsch says the following:

“Bill genuinely believes that Mabel’s kinda like him. He sees Mabel as a chaos agent. Like, Mabel has got a little bit of a seed of anarchy in her, she’s a little bit selfish, she likes to have fun at whatever cost. And Bill is all those things times a billion. So he thinks when he lays it all out for her like: ‘How about instead of being lame, you do something fun! And crush whoever you want in the process!’. He thinks that’s gonna go over. And he’s not wrong in seeing that side in Mabel but Mabel is a better person than Bill Cipher.”

Which are just really interesting to me, especially since the show doesn't make it very obvious that Bill has this view on Mabel. But it certainly does put their dynamic into a new perspective.

For instance, there's the scene in Sock Opera where Bill tries to convince Dipper to make a deal with him by "calling out" Mabel:

which I'm tempted to compare to the bit in Journal 3 where Ford mentions that Bill "warned" him that Fiddleford may not be dedicated to the portal project.

To be exact there's two ways I'd compare these interactions. For one, in both cases Bill is putting a wedge between two people via manipulation to further his own goals. Second, you could argue that Bill himself genuinely believes what he's saying here.

I mean, this is the episode with the commentary basically telling us that Bill believes Mabel to be as selfish as himself. The examples he gives Dipper of the so-called sacrifices he made for Mabel aren't even that strong? One is Dipper just rescuing Mabel, one is Dipper fixing a situation that he messed with in the first place and caused Mabel to loose something, and the one where he did make a sacrifice but just so Mabel can help a third party, rather than for her own personal interest.

But of course Bill would view these as sacrifices that Mabel would owe Dipper for. Bill wouldn't give anything up for someone else if he's not getting something out of it.

As for the Ford and Fiddleford situation, if you haven't read my other post my thoughts on Bill's views on Ford basically boil down to "Bill defenetly started out bullshitting Ford when he told him he was special and they were friends, but these feelings became genuine".

And while you can make a strong case that it hasn't gotten to that point until shortly after the betrayal, considering Bill was gloating when Ford confronted him, I still want to put the idea out there that Bill started to believe Ford was actually outstanding and Bill may be able to let him in on his full intentions eventually while Fiddleford had far less potential to go through with everything.

But anyway all this really goes back to Bill possibly genuinely thinking Mabel "owed" Dipper something (because helping someone and expecting something in return is something he would do) and using that to manipulate Dipper, and him also thinking Mabel was seizing the opportunity all those times without ever returning anything to Dipper and as a result starting to see himself in her because that is something he would do.

But the reality is that while every party has to put effort into a relationship, relationships aren't transactional and Mabel wouldn't leave Dipper in the dust when it comes down to it, which this episode builds up to.

Now, I do want to say here that Sock Opera is about addressing Mabel's selfishness and that she was in the wrong here, but do not take this as me hating her or anything. Mabel is a twelve and will make poor choices in her own interest sometimes. And the point of comparing her selfishness to Bill's is that she's willing to own up to it and clearly has her limits because she cares about other people whereas Bill doesn't own up to anything and has no concern about how his actions affect anyone else.

Also, assuming Bill did take a liking to Mabel at this point, I think it's intruiging to think about the above dialouge as Bill wanting to "help" Mabel. To convince her to ditch Dipper in favor of her own self-interest because it'll be freeing. Because Bill's own reckless, selfish choices have only made him feel less restricted and absolutely never ever caused him any regret at all.

Well anyway let's skip forwards to Weirdmageddon.

The build-up towards Weirdmageddon concerning Mabel comes with her gaining more and more reason to be afraid of the future and the struggles that she expects to come with it until everything just boils over and Bill manipulates her into handing him the rift by posing as Blendin and promising to let her have a bit more time in Gravity Falls. And, in a way, he keeps that promise.

Despite Mabel and Bill not at all interacting between the rift breaking and the climax of the finale, I think the whole Mabel Land situation is sooo interesting in terms of showcasing the ways Mabel and Bill are similar but yet so different.

Now, the section of the Axolotl poem I put just a bit above in this post carries some very intruiging implications with it. Like you're telling me Bill regrets burning his dimension yet frames it as a positive thing and even plans to do it again with another dimension? And despite his silly jokester demeanor he's actually unhappy?

Perhaps being afraid of acknowledging his mistake and growing past it and accepting that life will always come with difficulties?

being so very deep in denial about it and his own feelings about it?

and drowning all that out by reveling in the chaos of the Nightmare Realm and throwing parties even though none of that will really be fulfilling?

You can also probably say something about how both Mabel Land and the Nightmare Realm are pictured as literal bubbles.

and how Bill thought it was basically impossible to escape Mabel Land and was pretty confident in that to the point where he seemed to just stop paying attention to it and not notice it bursting despite it being placed in the most notable location in the town, near the Fearamid.

And to go back to "despite their similarities, Mabel and Bill are very different", part of the reason Mabel escapes her literal and metaphorical bubble and Bill doesn't is because she has a support system. Mabel has people who look out and care for her because she has looked out and cared for them.

Bill on the other hand? His relationship with the Henchmaniacs doesn't go much deeper than party buddies who are also his lackeys who are also his punching bags if he's upset.

And while he's shown to be willing to be vulnerable with Ford, he's still way too deep in his own denial to open up a wound that deep, on top of Ford having every reason in the world to want to have nothing to do with Bill. The man has tried to kill him several times and was entirely justified in that.

Moving on to a point that's more about Bill being fond of Mabel rather than similarities and that I also brought up about Ford, the fact that Bill spares their lives during Weirdmageddon.

Like, the Bipper note and Bill telling his henchmen they can go eat Dipper tells me he's very much down to kill anyone who's a threat to him. And once you take the Quantum Destabilizer out of the picture, the only apparent threat is the zodiac wheel. Meaning every member of the zodiac has a target on their back.

Note that the only zodiacs Bill has contact with during Weirdmageddon, prior to the climax, are Dipper, Ford, Mabel and Gideon.

Dipper, again, he attempted to get killed even before Weirdmageddon. Gideon temporarily served as his henchman as part of a deal and was possibly only kept alive afterwards for the sake of being punshed.

Mabel and Ford meanwhile? Got their lives spared for no apparent reason other than Bill simply wanted to.

I guess you can argue that the whole Mabel Land business was part of the deal with Gideon but I always assumed the deal was just for Bill to break him out and put him in a good place during the apocalypse, plus Gideon didn't seem to care much about Mabel's well-being at this point. Still, it does help Bill if he can hold Mabel in front of Gideon but I do like to think he also spared her just out of having grown a liking to her.

The more it strikes me then that the scene at the start of Weirdmageddon where Bill could've easily taken out Mabel but just snapped her unconscious instead,

seems to mirror the scene near the end of Weirdmageddon where he's about to snap out her life.

This and Bill seemingly being done with Ford at this point as well almost feels like Bill is dissapointed by the fact that Mabel and Ford both proved to be more different from him than he thought - Mabel by getting out of the manifestation of escapism and Ford by refusing to accept Bill's offer no matter what - and lashed out at them for it.

#this feels more rambley than the ford and bill post I hope it still makes sense i just have a lot of thoughts okay #gf #bill tag #mabel tag #gravity falls #bill cipher

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