My Collector design in my Starflower AU :)
Yes, CollectDip (Dipper x Collector) is canon in this AU but they probably wouldn’t start dating until after the events of the show. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even think of their friendship as anything more until next summer.
When he first meets the Collector, Dipper doesn’t really like them and sees them as a weird shadow that stalks him 24/7. He reluctantly frees them from their disc in Gideon Rises but only because he thinks they can help him and Mabel out. He’s still on edge around them especially after Dreamscapers, where Bill revealed that he knows the Collector, but after losing their eye to shield him from the Gideon robot, Dipper starts to paint them in a more positive light.
Then Sock Opera rolls around and the Collector is right by Dipper’s side, ushering him to make a deal with Bill because they themself are not aware of his true intentions. Then Bipper happens and at first, the Collector is ecstatic to have both of their favorite people in one place but when Bipper fights Mabel for the journal and starts beating her on stage, the Collector realizes their actions have consequences. They’ve always had little doubts about Bill’s actions but was willing to bottle them up because Bill was their best friend! But friends aren’t supposed to hurt one another. So the Collector makes a decision and runs onto the stage, tackling Bipper and turning him into a puppet…but not before they’re impaled by a broken floorboard.
The Collector goes into a coma for a few days after, and by now Dipper sees them as his friend and has a lot of moments to reflect. Making the deal, hurting his sister, his friend. Since the nerd himself isn’t feeling too hot, Mabel forces him to stay in bed and decides to have a sleepover in their room. Miraculously, the Collector wakes up during karaoke and seems to feel perfectly fine. In fact, the scar on their chest is the only indicator that something happened to them at all.
When Ford comes back, he doesn’t recognize the Collector and is wary around them. They’re uncomfortable around him too, often telling the twins that the old scientist looks “mean and smelly”. They eventually come around to accept Ford as another one of their friends, though.
Fast forward to Weirdmageddon, and the Collector gets in a full-on anime battle with Bill. They end up severely injured and retreat to the stars. After Weirdmageddon, Dipper spent days looking for his friend but they were nowhere to be found. Then summer ended and he went home. The Collector didn’t come back until next summer, and now that there’s no evil triangles to threaten them, the two kiddos have time to play and be together.
One sunny day, the Collector lays in a meadow in the forest right next to Dipper, who has fallen asleep rambling about some weird sci-fi show. His hat - the one that Wendy gave him - has fallen off his head, revealing his fluffy brown curls. Without thinking, the Collector reaches out and run their fingers through his hair. They’re impressed by how soft it is, considering this is the boy who’s always sweating buckets per day.
The Collector suddenly feels self-conscious about being so far away from their best friend that they shift a little closer to him. Their long white braid curls around Dipper’s legs as if it had a mind of its own and they just…stare at him. Sleeping peacefully, like a 12-year old boy should. They always thought that Dipper was a cute little mortal who sneezed like a kitten, but seeing him up this close…it drew something out of the child’s mouth.
Dipper’s eyes snap open. His face is just inches away from the Collector, who begins to sweat similarly to him. The only sound that can be heard is their breathing and the chirping of birds.