#gf analysis

[dimonds456]

Okay so we were talking on Discord about Bill and his redemption arc, and how it may or may not happen, and I wrote this behemoth about my own headcanons-turned-semi-fanfic that took me like a half an hour to type out in full.

To start: I strongly believe Bill cannot move on until Ford is dead. He needs to loose something permanently that he genuinely cares about to allow himself to grieve, and only THEN can the door open for proper healing. So this is going to take him a LONG time.

Buckle up for this one, I suppose.

Now presenting, in accordance to my own headcanons:

Bill Cipher's Redemption Timeline

- Denial

- Denial

- Denial

- Information about Ford getting sick, demanding to see him, refusal.

-Ford dies. Bill denies more, insisting that Ford deserved it or that Bill doesn't miss him

- He misses him. Badly.

- Lashing out at others

- Realizes he does truly have nothing

- MORE lashing out

- Looses energy

- BIG CRASH

- From there it's messy as fuck. Peaks and valleys. He doesn't want to get better but he also wants to stop feeling like this

- So he starts listening to his therapists more (but also fights them/undermines them/pretends like he isn't)

- Lashes out at other patients a lot when the therapists can handle what he dishes out

- Basically fights tooth and nail the entire time his arc is going

- At one point, he finally, finally opens himself up to the idea of processing his grief about Ford being truly gone

- This is the first time he cries in. However long. At least since O'Sadleys, but that was more of a drunken thing than anything truly genuine

- Just wants to be left alone for days. They let him.

- Once he finally shows back up, he's snippy and angry, but overall more cooperative (because he's depressed and doesn't have the energy to fight rn)

- Over time he gets that spirit back, but it's never to the same high it was before

- They keep processing other things- the fact that he never had true friends, that he feels powerless without subjects, that he can't differentiate a friend and a tool, ect

- Finally, after thousands of years, they start to ask him about Euclydia

- INSTANT SHUT DOWN. NO.

- But there's not much else to talk about.

- Bill, at this point, DOES allow himself to feel bitter and remorseful about what went down for most of his life. He's still snippy and has an attitude, that never left. He also still thinks gore is funny. But he's self-aware enough to understand that he isn't letting himself move on.

- But Euclydia is a no-touch zone

- Eventually, with his consent, they try hypnotism on him to see what that would reveal about his past, without him getting consciously denial-crazy about it. Bill is hesitant, but does agree, under the impression that that won't do anything. (basically a "tch, sure. Can't spill if there's nothing too spill! So why not! No skin off my teeth!")

- It does.

- Under hypnotism, Bill is able to recount exactly what happened on Euclydia, and once it wears off, he goes back to denial. He was making it up. You faked that recording. That didn't happen. He can't even *listen* to it without dissociating or going "LALALA I CANT HEAR YOU"

- (btw this is a real strategy you can use to uncover repressed memories. The science behind it is really interesting if you wanna look into it)

- Eventually, Bill cracks. He just screams at them about how he can't heal. Because he's a monster. And monsters are meant to be ridiculed, and everyone was right about him. yadda yadda my own HCs about his time on Euclydia ect ect

- Once that dam breaks, it all comes spilling out

- He can't take it back

- Everyone knows

- Oh, god, everyone knows

- He's pathetic

- He hates himself

- god, he hates himself

- But he's stuck with himself

- He can't go anywhere

- Nothing to distract him

- It's just him

- Only him

- Basically he has a several year-long spiral about it

- It's once he's able to calmly discuss with a therapist what he's done that the Axolotl appears to him

- You see now, they speak, softly. You see what I tried to tell you for so long. That admittance and accountability is what you needed. You feel better, yes?

- "No," Bill says flatly. "I don't."

- Are you sure? They circle him in his mindscape, gentle. You feel bitter, and sad. But does it not feel good to let it out?

- "No." Bill turns away, getting defensive. "If you're not here to do anything productive and play therapist when I already have a full roster of 'em, you can go."

- The Axolotl chuckles. It is my institution, Bill.

- "Whatever."

- They circle around him. Just answer me one thing; if you could do it over again, what would you do?

- Bill pauses. No one's asked him that before, too busy trying to get him to just admit he was in the wrong. "Why?"

- Just a thought experiment. You like those, right?

- Bill sighs. "I dunno. I don't think I'd do anything different."

- They tilt their head. Why not?

- "Cuz I wanted out!" Bill shakes, old anger returning. "I wanted to see! There was NO WAY I was going to live a life there on that pathetic two-dimensional narrow-minded plane of NOTHING! I wanted out, and I'd do ANYTHING to get it!"

- The Axolotl nods. The people who raised you failed you.

- "You can say that again." He frowns. "If you're about to say that everything I'd done wrong ever is because my mother didn't love me, you can stuff a pillow in it."

- No, of course not. Your actions are your own. They swim back in front of Bill again, facing him. What I meant was that, if you had another option, you'd take it.

- Bill stiffens, then deflates. "...yeah."

- The Axolotl extends a paw. Then I believe you're ready.

- Bill freezes.

- No. No, there's no way it was THAT simple.

- "...What are you talking about?"

- Life. I believe you're ready. They tilt their head at him. My staff told you of the reincarnation process, yes? About how you will be reborn, in a new form, with a new life, for a second chance?

- Bill just stared. Then, he waved his hands around. "You can't be serious! All this time, and you're just gonna give it to me, just like that?! I thought you said that I needed to overcome trials!"

- And you have. They swim closer, expression soft. Did you think these thousands of years in the Theraprism were for my own enjoyment?

- Bill stares.

- You are ready. I have a time and place where I believe you will thrive.

- As they start to swim away, Bill on the edge of waking up, he floats after them. "WAIT! But, I can't- I don't-!"

- They stop, turning to him in surprise.

- Bill himself also seems shocked. "I just..." He blinks. "How do you expect me to do better with a history like mine?"

- Ax's face softens again. That is the best part. The world starts to turn bright, Bill waking up. You won't remember this life, but will still be your core self. It's a true new chance where you can live the life you denied yourself.

- And Bill woke up.

- Then, the red light outside his room started flashing green.

- He was escorted to the reincarnation chamber, and for the first time in ages, felt anxious. Truly, truly anxious.

- "What if I mess it up again??" he finds himself asking the escort. "What if I end up back here?"

- They smiled. "You won't. But, I guess we'll see you soon."

- And then he was thrown in....

- And then he awoke, hearing a demon's roar in the distance, as the shell surrounding him began to crack.

[pines-troz]

As much as I love Dipper’s final design, I do love the concept of his wardrobe gradually changing, starting off as a disinterested city boy and becoming a brave adventurer to show how much he’s grown accustomed to Gravity Falls.

Because in the first episode, Dipper initially did not care to spend the summer in the woods with his eccentric family member. But once he finds Journal 3, he quickly becomes enraptured with the town’s mysteries and supernatural creatures. And I love the idea of him adding more outdoorsy gear and dressing up for adventure as a physical indicator of not only how much he’s grown as a character, but how much he loves the town.

[picturejasper20]

So, i made a recent post about some issues i have with Mabel Pines' character writing in the main Gravity Falls series like how her characters flaws don't get addressed properly and they can be potrayed as something acceptable.

A mutual of mine, @amazingrich101 , told me to check out the graphic novel Gravity Falls Lost Legends since one of the stories (Don't dimension it) acts as a follow up for the Weirdmageddon and it starts Mabel as main character.

And I'm very surprised i haven't seen more people bringing up this story when it comes to Mabel's character because it addresses quite a lot of things the main series brushed off about her character and problems people have with her characterization. Because of this, i would like to do a semi-analysis about this story myself and talk about the things that explores about Mabel's character and the development she gets.

So ¨Don't Dimension It¨ starts with a semi recap of what happened post Weirdmageddon: There are dimension-rifts as consequence of Bill taking over Gravity Falls, the protagonists are going around trying to fix these rifts. In a moment Mabel pulls up Waddles from her bag, partially ignoring how Stanford said these rifts are dangerous and Dipper tells this to Mabel:

Dipper saying this of all other characters is important, since Mabel has the habit of taking advantage of Dipper quite a lot in the series and he more often than not finds himself in situations he has to go with Mabel wants to do regardless of how he feels about it.

So we have the story bringing up from near the start that Mabel can be very self-centered in occasions and ignore the potential danger in serious situations, like Dipper points out. That's a good start.

Mabel accidentally falls into one of these dimensions rifts and ends ups in a dimension that is full of different versions of Mabels that got lost and ended up in that place. One of the Mabels tells protagonist Mabel that Brain Mabel has been trying to build a spaceship to escape but she got bored and got herself distracted with stickers.

Prot Mabel tries asking for help but the rest of the Mabels don't take the situation seriously, ignore her or do their own thing, not caring about taking priority in escaping.

I think these are more extreme versions of prot Mabel but one thing that prot Mabel realizes is how irritating it is to be ignored by well... versions of herself. She wants to espace this dimension, the issue is that other Mabels are too ¨busy¨ doing their own thing that they don't care about helping.

Mabel eventually finds one Mabel that actually is helpful, lets call her ¨Mabel 2¨ for the moment. Mabel tells Mabel 2 how irritating the rest of the Mabels are and the two work together to send a signal for Stanford and Stan to pick them up from the dimension.

When the ship shows up to pick them up, Mabel 2 betrays Mabel and traps her inside a bathroom. She reveals herself to be ¨Anti-Mabel¨, the most evil Mabel in the multiverse.

....I think this writing choice for to have just ¨Mabel but bad¨ without further exploration is pretty shallow but, meh, i want to focus on Mabel's character, not the antagonist.

So prot Mabel manages to escape from the bathroom she was trapped in while Anti-Mabel takes her place in the ship. Mabel asks for help to the other Mabels again, only to be ignored... and that makes her reach her own limit.

She finds herself repeating almost the same things that Dipper told her at the start of the story and she finally realizes how self-centered she can be to others and not see when something is a bigger priority. She tells to herself that ¨i need to work on myself¨, meaning she admits she has some growing to do as person.

She tries asking for help again, which leads her to admit how she messed up by being selfish in ¨Dipper and Mabel vs The Future¨. She talks about how she negleted those around her for being so absorbed in what she wanted to do that she didn't pay enough attention how this could bother people around her. She promises that she is going to try to be a better person from now on and work on to be more caring of other people.

This is very crucial for Mabel's development because, while she learned that changing is part of growing up in Weirdmageddon, her habit of making things about herself, coming off as too self-absorbed and making people do the things she wants without considering much what others want wasn't properly addressed. And this can become a toxic trait of hers, like ignoring things that are a bigger priority and taking advantage of her friends and family.

Mabel isn't a demon because she can be very selfish at times, she is a just 13 year old teenager. However, it still an important lesson she needs to learn to mature as a person over time. This is why in this story having her confronting these problems that she has was good for her character to have.

She manages to escape along with the rest of the Mabels helping her, they stop anti-Mabel and defeat her. Mabel goes back to Gravity Falls with Stanford and Stan while the rest of the Mabels use the ship to find their way back their own homes.

When Dipper asks to Mabel how was her trip in the multiverse, she has this to say.

She apologizes to Dipper for being selfish during this summer and that must have been a lot for Dipper to deal with. Dipper makes a joke about it, implying that he accepts Mabel's apology and forgives her for her behaviour.

It isn't super big but is still really good having Mabel apologize to Dipper for how she would treat him in certain episodes. I have talked about how their dynamic could come off as toxic in certain occasions because Dipper had to do what Mabel wanted and his feelings weren't always taking into consideration. So Mabel apologizing feels proper for the situation.

I have some issues with this story (Anti-Mabel just... being a not interesting antagonist, for some reason having a meta commentary about how Stanford and Stan aren't the best caretakers which is fine but i don't think it suits Gravity Falls imo). However i do appreciate the development that Mabel gets in it, bringing up her character flaws and her realizing that she messed up in some ways, telling to herself that she needs to work on that.

It definitely leaves Mabel in a way better place than the main series did, by her recognizing she has to change her selfish tendencies and acknowledging her mistakes, a lot healthier than just waiting for others to comform to do what she always wants. Her relationship with Dipper is a better place too, apologizing for the way she would sometimes treat him during the summer. It doesn't fix *every* problem with Mabel's character writing in the series but does solve some main issues and it does leave a better conclusion to Mabel's character arc overall.

[fordanoia]

You know, come to think of it - The Stan Twins really are dressed into color schemes that... I’d almost say don’t quite match their personalities?

Here, look at them with me here for a sec. This is not just an excuse to look at them either. Which, I know nothing about color theory, so that’s not really what I’m talking about. 

-Stan’s outfit: Practically all black, with very little points of white, red and brown. -Ford’s outfit: Mostly beige and red, and about half dark colors.

Black can generally be off-putting and well - think about Robbie, another character who wears all black. Goth aesthetic aside, I’d say it fits with his aloof and closed off nature. Then that beige is definitely lighter and... I’d almost say more ‘pleasant’ a color. 

This is veering into personal opinion, but it’s like the lighter color scheme is more welcoming and ‘open’ as opposed to the all black. 

Which, although both characters are multi-faceted and everything - please don’t ever get me wrong on that - I’d say Stan has the more welcoming personality where Ford is in general more closed off, at least upon first impressions.

We have also briefly seen both of them in their opposite color schemes though.

-Ford in all black.

-Then Stan in a beige/red color scheme.

BUT okay like you see what I mean? These colors... I’d dare say fit their personality types more. The tan/beige and red of Stan’s outfit aligns with his more open personality whereas the black of Ford fresh out of the portal is fittingly ominous with the dramatic situation he arrived in. Although, as a whole, does also fit the aloof loner he was initially presented as.

This set of brief moments isn’t the only time we see them in these sort of color schemes though!

May I present, the good young boys:

In my opinion, the color schemes (and outfits) they have as kids perfectly fit their personalities of that moment. 

Fun and adventurous with the vivid colors of Stan’s shirt, and Ford’s partially dark covering himself while mostly still having lighter colors - not entirely closed off, but still almost protective in a way.

It just- It’s hard to explain, but it fits them.

I think this can be attributed in part to how each twin presents, or maybe even the unintentional nature within themselves.

For example, despite Stan being a conman dealing with customers he still has since develop a lot of closed off traits such as his gruff demeanor. Where Ford still has this very innate openness to people and interacting with them despite the serious mission constantly in mind and his behavior which he often goes against with his own actions.

There’s also something that could be said for the Sea Grunks outfit which has them wearing a pretty even balance of colors or Stan’s outfit change to the pink sweater when they’re saying goodbye to Mabel and Dipper. I could make a whole post about Stan wearing that sweater from Mabel actually, there’s a ton to say about that.

[pines-troz]

One of the things I adore in Society of the Blind Eye is the subtle indications of Fiddleford’s development in terms of riding in Soos’s truck. When they ride over to the history museum, Fiddleford is relegated to sitting in the bed of trunk. 

After the gang overthrew the cult and helped Fiddleford regain his memories, they head back to the truck and Fiddleford hops into the backseat Dukes of Hazzard style and sits inside the car. Best of all, the gang is happy with Fiddleford’s presence!

[pines-troz]

I was reading through wy’s liveblog, and was caught off-guard when he stated that ‘Dipper would blame Mabel for (causing Weirdmageddon).....Forever.’ 

Dipper is not the type of person who would stay mad at a family member for a long time, especially Mabel. Even if Dipper was angry at someone, that anger would immediately dissipate when he listens to what the other person says and takes their feelings into consideration. 

In Little Dipper and The Deep End, Dipper and Mabel were arguing over something (The height altering crystals/the megaphone to help Mermando). But once Dipper hears Mabel out, his frustration subsides, he reaches an understanding with her, and the two of them resolve the issue together.

In NWHS, Dipper was rightfully upset at Stan for keeping so many secrets from him and his family, especially hiding something as dangerous as the portal. But in ATOTS, after Stan explains why he had to keep so many secrets (since he was focused on rescuing his brother), Dipper acknowledged where Stan was coming from and immediately apologized for not believing him initially, and Stan forgives him, even stating that “I wouldn’t have believed me either”. 

In Land Before Swine, Dipper was annoyed with Soos for his clumsy nature, and even angry when he got everyone lost. But after Soos proved himself by showing the twins how to escape the Pterodactyl, the Pterodactyl Bros make up.

Heck, even in NWMM, Dipper expresses his ill-will towards the Northwest family after learning of their discrimination against the lower-class, even calling Pacifica ‘another link in the world’s worst chain’. But later when Pacifica tells Dipper of the secret room and confesses how afraid she is to stand up against her parents, Dipper apologizes for lashing out at her, and even encourages her to defy her controlling parents (I know that this isn’t a Pines Family-related example, but it’s still just as important).

Even though Dipper is the more ‘logically-inclined’ of the twins, he’s still able to understand others on an emotional level.

(I’ve read many great meta posts articulating why Ford would not get upset with Mabel concerning the rift, but I wanted to get my two cents in). 

[pines-troz]

List of my (unpopular?) Gravity Falls opinions

- My top three favorite episodes are Weirdmageddon Part 3 (satisfying conclusion that ties all loose ends and goes out on a high note), Northwest Mansion Mystery (great character development from Pacifica and Dipper, creepy atmosphere, Pacifica overcoming the emotional abuse from her parents, wonderful background art, the kids dress up in fancy attire) and Society of the Blind Eye (Fiddleford McGucket was fantastic and became a key player in the show’s main plot, great and creepy portrayal of cult, explains why most of the citizens of GF are unaware of the supernatural happenings in town, the memory gun as a brilliant metaphor for addiction). 

- While I do love Stan and Ford, I sometimes feel that the GF fandom focuses a little too much on them. 

- I wish the show developed Wendy and Pacifica more. While I do respect Alex for wanting to tell the story he wanted and ending the show on a high note, I wish he was able to expand on their characters a bit. Wendy is a great character in her own right (loves hanging out with the Pines, is a slacker, will kick ass when she needs to), I wish the show explored more of her flaws (using her chill persona as a front to hide her stress and anxiety, how her mom not being around anymore affected her). And while I love seeing Pacifica becoming more humble, it would have been cool to see her hang out with Dipper and Mabel more. Maybe the Graphic Novel will develop Wendy and Pacifica, but who knows.

- I do love how the show handles romance with none of the main characters getting together with anyone (with the exception of Soos). I like how Dipper and Mabel grow and learn from their failed romantic endeavors, with Dipper and Wendy being friends, Dipper learning that you shouldn’t force someone to love you and that you should strive to be someone worthy of loving, Mabel learning that not having a boyfriend isn’t the end of the world and learning to love yourself is more important. Even Stan of all people learns how pick-up artistry doesn’t work. I believe that these are all important lessons that viewers, especially kids, should take away from the show. 

- Bill is a great villain, but he is also a shitty demon. The dude tries to manipulate Ford through his charisma alone, he’s super cocky and confident that his plans will work and when they don’t he’s prone to procrastination, and he’s super impulsive whenever he tries to obtain something he wants to the point where he ignores everything else. Sure Bill can be scary and threatening, but he also has some weaknesses. It baffles me how some people place him on this pedestal of ‘oh, he sees everything’ ‘Bill is super smart and powerful’, when in reality he’s been duped by humans not once, but three times! Namely, two twelve-year-olds and a pair of old men! There’s no way Bill’s pride recover from something this embarrassing! Overall, Bill Cipher the perfect mixture of a petulant toddler, a used car salesman, and a college frat-boy who only wants to party and ignores his homework until the last minute. 

-Gideon was a fun villain in season one. While Bill overshadowed him in the evil department, people tend to forget how intimidating and creepy he was (not only his obsession with Mabel, but he was abusive to his own parents) all while being a funny parody of televangelist preachers and child stars. He was a great foil for the Pines family (Dipper and Mabel could have ended up like Gideon, but the twins had their compassion for family and their moral compasses in the right place). Plus he was an amusing business rival for Stan. 

- Roadside Attraction was not a bad episode. While it does have some issues with how the plot the presented, there was enough good stuff in it that I really liked. I loved seeing Dipper and Stan bond (the ‘we’re both failures’ scene is one of my favorite moments), after episodes of Stan being woobified in ATOTS and Stanchurian Candidate it is nice to see him acting like a wacky criminal again, Darlene was a cool villain, and I liked the whole road trip aspect to it (another perfect example of childhood nostalgia that the show perfectly emulates).

- Boss Mabel and The Stanchurian Candidate were my least favorite in my opinion. While there was plenty of humor in both episodes, I personally did not like the ‘moral’ presented in Boss Mabel (in order to run a successful business, you have to treat your workers like dirt). And while I understand the main conflict in Stanchurian Candidate (Stan feeling overshadowed by Ford and jealous of his twin, Stan wanting to prove his worth to his family), I feel like the plot of the episode could have been executed better. 

- I am not a big fan of trans!dipper headcanon for a few reasons: Mabel’s incessant teasing of Dipper’s masculinity (I know it’s just her being innocently insensitive, but that would be harmful behavior if her brother was transitioning), Dipper’s real name is Mason, and Dipper was seen without his shirt a few times in the show and he has the physique of a typical preteen male. Even though this is my opinion, I will not dismiss other people for headcanoning Dipper as a trans boy. 

- I do support the idea of Grenda being a trans girl. While the show does have a few issues of trying to present her without being a walking punchline, there are some admirable qualities to her character. She’s confident, fun-loving, and cares about her friends. There is never a moment in the show where Grenda is mistaken for a boy. And I appreciate that she does end up surprising Mabel and Candy, who were initially dismissive of Grenda’s flirting, by winning over Marius with her bold attitude and becoming his girlfriend. It may not be a perfect representation, but I understand the intent of the writers wanting to positively portray a trans character and Grenda is a step in the right direction.  

- While the parallels between Dipper and Ford / Mabel and Stan are quite obvious, I find the parallels between Dipper and Stan / Mabel and Ford to be more fascinating. Dipper and Stan not only share similar flaws (insecurities over themselves and feeling like the lesser twin, both lie to protect their family (the portal/the rift), both willing to get their hands dirty to achieve a goal) they both share their best traits (putting all of their effort in protecting their family, sarcastic sense of humor). The same goes with Mabel and Ford with their flaws (more self-absorbed, innocently insensitive at times, believe their ideas are the right ideas) and their strengths (confident in themselves, very creative). 

- I am not a big fan of the majority of AUs. Monster Falls doesn’t really appeal to me, the whole Stan is actually Bill theory irritates me. I especially don’t like Relativity Falls because of how it slaps Dipper and Mabel’s sibling relationship onto Stan and Ford’s when in actuality Dipper and Mabel have a much healthier sibling relationship and it would be out of character for them to act otherwise. But there are some AUs that I like (Mystery Trio AU, Big Dipper AU in which Dipper an older brother to Mabel, any positive GF/Rick and Morty crossovers).  

- All ships involving Bill are disgusting and you can’t tell me otherwise. 

[pines-troz]

Ridiculous Gravity Falls Headcanon with Canon Evidence

Dipper befriending Shmebulock! 

*gasps in shock*

This is a bizarre theory, I know, but bear with me. Despite our beloved Mystery Twins having less than pleasant encounters with the gnomes throughout the series...

I recently I came to the conclusion that Dipper and Shmebulock must have been buddies over the summer. And I have a few pieces of evidence to back this up!

1. In the Gnome Gemulets game, Dipper and Mabel comes across Shmebulock, who gives the twins their very own power-ups: Being Dipper’s battle cuffs and Mabel’s bedazzle sweater that works like a whip.

2. In the show’s finale, Shmebulock signed the See You Next Summer note Wendy gave to Dipper.

3. This cute little illustration from Ford’s last entry in Journal three.

tl:dr - Despite their past interactions, Dipper and Shmebulock definitely became buds at some point over the summer.