#dipper's guide to the unsolved

[kale-of-the-forbidden-cities]

Snippet of the Bill Isn't Real AU - Probably will be titled "Dipper's Guide to the Unsolved" because it mostly follows Dipper and him figuring out the past

@iwasonceabookworm because you asked to be tagged :)

this is just part of chapter 1, but depending on how much more i write it might be most of it (as "chapter 1" is currently 5k words and still not done. so i might split it). I'm posting mostly as a sort of interest check to see if people like it.

enjoy and feedback appreciated :) also none of this is 100% final

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“Welcome back to Dipper’s Guide to the Unsolved. I’ve been running this podcast for, um, a few years, and, I think it was last year, I discovered an unsolved case that really interests me. It interests me because it’s actually kind of… personal. 

“My name is Dipper Pines, and today, I will begin my investigation into the unsolved murder of Stanford and Stanley Pines.” 

△▽△▽△▽△

Piedmont, California

March 2019

“How’s that?” Dipper asked, clearing his throat before taking a sip from his water bottle. 

“It sounds great!” Mabel encouraged him. “Nice and catchy.”

“I think I stuttered too much.” He picked up the script laid out in front of him and glanced over it. “And I forgot I was supposed to look at the camera. You’d think after two years of video stuff, I’d remember to do something so basic.” 

“Aw, don’t be so hard on yourself,” his sister said as she came over. “People love you despite your awkwardness.” 

Dipper scoffed. “First of all, not true. They don’t love me, they just come for the true crime and whatever. Second of all…” He paused, considering. “I mean, I guess I am awkward in most of the stuff I do.” 

“Like your first TV interview?” 

“Oh god, don’t remind me,” he laughed, his face reddening at the thought. “There’s a reason they never invited me back.” 

Mabel giggled. “It was funny, though!” 

Dipper tossed a crumpled piece of paper from his desk her way. She dodged before picking it up and throwing it right back at him. He sighed and turned his swivel chair back to the desk. 

“...Do you think it’s weird that I’m doing this?” he wondered aloud.

“Huh?” Mabel walked over and leaned on the desk. “What do you mean? You’ve been solving cases since you were sixteen, and making true crime stuff even longer.” 

“I mean, like,” Dipper paused, fumbling for words. “Like, I’m investigating the suspected murders of people in our family. Is it weird to be documenting it like this and posting it online?” 

Mabel thought for a moment. “I don’t think so? It’s not like you’re doing this for any of them. You never were, you just like doing this stuff. Cause you’re a nerd.” She flicked his bangs. “They’re just along for the ride.” 

“I guess,” he admitted. “In any case—” 

“Any case?”

He gave half a smile to his sister’s joke. “...This whole thing is weird. Did I tell you that I already covered a case that happened in the same town? Though way more recent. It was only… a year ago, maybe? Closer to two.” 

“Yeah, I remember you mentioning it! Axe murderer?” 

“Yep. But when I was looking for stuff about Stanford and Stanley, I found out something weird.” He rolled his chair over to the bulletin board that Mabel had dubbed his “conspiracy board,” because, he had to admit it, it did look like some kind of conspiracy was happening, from the pinned up photos, notes, and string. “Apparently, a bunch of people go missing in that town all the time.”

“Ooh, and we’ll be going there!” Mabel said with enthusiasm that sounded genuine, but really shouldn’t have been. 

“Yeah, I already told you you don’t have to—” 

“I want to come! It’ll be fun!” she insisted. “Plus, the only thing worse than going to a town where people go missing on the regular is letting you go to that town alone.” 

“I guess that’s true.” 

“Plus! I get to help out with your channel in person! And self advertise!” 

Mabel had helped Dipper with his little hobby of a podcast since the very beginning, drawing his profile picture (a little blue pine tree inspired by a “lucky hat” he’d had as a kid), and later a banner for his channel, as well as putting together thumbnails and such. Dipper also helped Mabel with the things she liked to do, from doing the shopping for her baking, to grabbing any yarn he thought she’d like when he saw it. He wishes he could do more for her, but other than researching and talking about criminal cases, he didn’t seem to be good at much at all. So the least he could do would be to let her promote her baking channel, which was already linked in his profile. 

“We’re already all packed for tomorrow, so it’s a little late to cancel anyway,” Mabel pointed out. 

“Yeah, I know,” he admitted. “I guess I’m just a bit nervous.” 

“You’re always nervous.” 

“Heh, you’re right about that…” 

The conversation died down after that. Dipper did a couple more takes of the introduction, and wasn’t happy with any of them, so Mabel picked the one she thought was best. Now all he had to do was finish writing out what he was going to say to cover the basics of what he knew at the moment. 

Mabel had suggested that they do a “vlog” style video as they investigated the town and the case. Which actually wasn’t a bad idea. Not because Dipper had any interest in vlog content, but because he was a strong believer in the sentiment of always having a camera to catch something, just in case. He had an old VHS camera that still worked, and, despite the low quality, it’s what he preferred to use. Easy to hold, don’t have to worry about literally everything ever being lost if something happened to it (like with a phone camera). 

He wasn’t all old fashioned or anything, don’t get him wrong. He actually considered himself pretty tech savvy. He could never admit it publicly, but he had hacked his way into security camera files in the past. Nowhere too protected, so it wasn’t like it was hard. He’d been able to make connections that police couldn’t, which is what eventually led to him solving his first case. When talking about it online, he would just say he “gained access” and leave it at that. 

“Make sure to get some sleep, Dip,” Mabel said as she got up to go to bed for the night. “We leave bright and early, remember!” 

“I know, I know.” Dipper suppressed a yawn at the thought. “Night, Mabel.” 

“Night!” 

With Mabel gone, it didn’t take him long to fall into his habit of chewing on the neckline of his shirt. It made him feel like a kid, but it helped him focus. And didn’t hurt his teeth as much as biting his nails or pens. By two in the morning he’d written generally what he wanted to say. He would let Mabel know that she could say whatever she wanted. He planned to upload the video right before they left for Gravity Falls. 

[gravityfallsrewritten]

SHORTS #1: Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained

#76: That Thing (Takes place after "Bros Before Dinos")

Dipper had decided to start his own paranormal show after finding an old camcorder they had found in the dusty corner of the attic. It has a surprisingly full memory, with no videos in the storage, so that was Dipper's cue to record all of his investigations.

He wanted Y/n to come along with him and include her as some sort of 'co-host' and Y/n was honestly honored, but she preferred to be behind the scenes and hold the camera instead of talking in front of it.

So the two started preparing the set to look like one of those TV shows with title screens and props surrounding the host, but the only props they could afford were old cardboard and a sharpie. The main title was "Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained," as Y/n insisted that her name wasn't necessary. Dipper was a little upset, so he made every effort to include her in his videos.

As he sat in the chair, the cardboard was placed on the table behind him. His vest and hat were discarded because he was supposed to be in his pajamas. They had to keep their voices as low as possible because Mabel was already asleep. Y/n positioned the camera to face Dipper, who sat holding a basket of something.

"Are we ready?" He asked.

"Yep. Looking good," Y/n nodded. "Recording in five, four, three, two..." she nodded in his direction and Dipper took the cue to begin his introduction.

"Welcome, to one of the many episodes of Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained," he spoke. "Gravity Falls is a strange town filled with wonder never before seen, and I'm here to take you all to a trip full of unsolved mysteries and weird anomalies. We might encounter dangerous monsters or scary ghosts, but today we're analyzing this specific case for the unexplained. Behold,"

Dipper lifted a chicken strip from the basket that he was holding, but it was no ordinary chicken strip.

"A Möbius Chicken Strip," he named.

Y/n remained behind the camera throughout the episode as she and Dipper discussed the Möbius strip and how the chicken could form this shape. The video consisted of eating crunchy chicken while questioning its existence. Y/n wasn't lying when the chicken tasted infinitely delicious - she loves bad jokes.

It lasted for about 15 minutes until it had to come to an end. Dipper adjusted his seating position and faced the camera again. "Well, that concludes Gravity Falls anomaly #13: The Möbius Chicken Strip," he ate a piece as he smiled. Y/n couldn't help but chuckle at his expression, the camera slightly shaking. "It's infinitely delicious!"

A strange creature screamed as it ran between her and Dipper. It slithered around Y/n's legs, causing her to drop the camcorder, but she caught it at the last second. Dipper dropped the bucket of chicken strips by accident. "Woah, hey!"

A small beast with hairy skin was still screeching around as it circled around her ankles until it pushed her away and she eventually fell to her butt. "What the heck!?" Y/n exclaimed as she watched it scamper away.

The room was a complete mess already but the critter didn't seem to care, retreating to a random corner and eating the twins' pile of candy. It was a miracle that Mabel didn't wake up despite the ruckus going on. "Oh no," Dipper said, burrowing his hands on his brown hair. "It's eating our leftover Summerween candy!"

"WHAT?!"

Screams from Mabel were heard as she finally sat up and got out of her bed. The beast was still munching on candy with the wrappers still on. "Ew, it's like ... a naked little man." Mabel commented. Dipper urged Y/n to keep recording as he was quickly writing on a new blank cardboard.

While the camera was still facing the eating critter, Dipper held the cardboard close to the lens as he spoke. "Uh, this is now Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained #76: That Thing."

It was still in the attic, wreaking havoc, so they had no choice but to capture it. Dipper was suited up into action, protecting himself with a bunch of Mabel's stuffed toys with a golf club as his weapon and a trash bin as a trap.

Y/n zoomed in on Dipper's determined look with narrowed eyes. "Get this on tape in case I die or whatever."

She rolled her eyes. So dramatic.

The camera followed him as he slowly approached the creature from the other side while it was still busy eating candies. It quickly noticed Dipper coming closer, regarding his movements. They walked in a circle, staring each other down.

Dipper used the golf club to scoop a small pile of candy as if luring the beast closer. The thing watched and as expected, took the bait, biting down. Dipper brought down the trash can, but the creature was unfortunately faster.

It began climbing up one of the wooden columns until it reached the ceiling. Mabel shouted, throwing one of her stuffed animals. "Oh! Die, mutant! Die!"

The creature crawled and crawled until it went through the open doors of the twins' room and downstairs. The trio followed its path until they reached the living room. "Save the candy!"

Y/n pointed the camera at Dipper standing in the middle of the room. "Where is it? Have you seen it?"

Mabel and Y/n watched as the thing jumped down and attacked Dipper's face. Mabel jumped into the scene and tried to punch it away, and the creature let go, screaming at her and waddling away towards the kitchen. Y/n tried following as she watched it climb up the fridge with the stash of candies.

She was just honestly amused at the creature munching on different things. He just looked like a very weird specimen who liked to eat. Dipper and Mabel came in the room and the monster, sensing that they were stepping closer, immediately threw food at them.

Dipper shielded himself from the projectiles with his arm, as Mabel opened her mouth to catch the candies. "Dipper, open your mouth!" Mabel said while chewing. "Try to catch the candy in your mouth! He's wasting it!"

"What? No! Why would I-"

An unwrapped piece of sweet fell in the middle of his teeth and Dipper stopped to nibble on it. "Mmm. Actually that's pretty good-"

He was cut off as he got smacked by a chocolate bar in his face. The thing jumped down, wriggling back to the living room as Mabel failed to catch it. Y/n followed it as she kept recording its movements with a huge smile on her face. This felt like advance journaling for her.

While staggering on the floor, one of its feet landed on the remote laying on the ground, turning the TV on. The creature huffed, hearing the sounds from the TV. His eyes stayed glued to the show that was premiering, his attention undivided.

"Oh wow," Y/n said, " Now he's hypnotized by the TV."

Dipper walked in as the creature sat back in the yellow chair. "Ha! And he dropped the candy." He stepped around and stood beside the mesmerized beast. "What a little dummy, glued to the..." Dipper trailed off. "To the..." he paused. "Oh, I love this movie."

"What are they showing?" Mabel asked, picking up the littered candies.

It was the rerun of The Fear Guy from Terror Town Street from channel 7 tonight. Mabel and Dipper sat together in the chair while the thing sat on the chair's arm, eating golf clubs. Y/n sat on the ground beside the pile of candies, tossing the twins if they wanted a specific piece and vice versa. Every loser candy was handed to Y/n and she didn't know if she should be offended, but she's not going to complain since it's her favorite ones from the bag.

The four of them quietly watched the movie as they munched on candies. "Shouldn't we... do something about the monster?"

"Candy now. Monster later." Mabel said without moving her eyes away from the TV.

Soos eventually walked in the room, stupidly mistaking the monster for Grunkle Stan.

#23: Stan's Tattoo (Takes place after "Exchanging Bosses and Bodies")

He didn't see it the first time, but after a few days and he heard a camera snap from behind him again, he knew that he was secretly being photographed.

Could it be a private investigator trying to get some dirt out of him? Or did the government finally got a hold out of him?

Alas, when Stan finally turned around, he saw his nephew standing behind the doorway with a camera in his hand snapping pictures of... him? He narrowed his eyes as the tween scrambled away. What was he getting suspicious of this time? Instead of dwelling on it further, Stan drank the rest of his Pitt Cola and stood up, retreating back to his room.

Dipper stared at his cork board full of pinned photos and notes. On top of the board was a ripped paper with "Stan's Tattoo" written on it. He couldn't find Y/n anywhere so he had Mabel to hold the camera this time. He had no idea where the girl could've gone considering it was only their second episode and she wouldn't be able to make an appearance, but Dipper couldn't wait longer to record.

"Okay, Mabel, I'm ready," he told his sister.

Mabel presented a thumbs up as she pressed the red button on the camcorder. Dipper stood beside the cork board, smiling. Mabel grinned, beginning to push her forefinger and thumb together in front of Dipper's head "Hello, I'm Dipper Pines. The girl trying to crush my head is Mabel."

"His partner isn't here so I'm helping!" she said from behind the camera, failing to notice the way Dipper blushed when he heard her say 'his partner'.

"Okay, that's- that's enough," he shooed her hand away before talking in a serious tone. Today we investigate Anomaly #23,Grunkle Stan's secret tattoo." He raised a flat cardboard with the same writing. Mabel then pointed at the board full of evidence.

"What is he hiding? A college prank? Secret symbol? Or something stranger?" Dipper questioned out loud. "Stan claims it doesn't exist, but today we're gonna find out."

The day proceeded as normal as Dipper tried to be while relaying the plans he had for Stan to reveal the secret markings behind his back. Y/n was still nowhere to be found but he placed that worrisome thought at the back of his head as the recording started again. Mabel held the camera, pointing directly at Dipper and Soos standing besides the Shack's thermostat.

"Okay, here's the plan. Stan never takes off his undershirt-" Dipper got closer to the camera, "obviously to hide his tattoo," he whispered before going back. "But me and Soos are about to turn up the heat on this mystery."

Dipper grinned, raising the temperature on the thermostat. Soos chuckled at the younger boy's pun. "Heh, literally! I love how you come up with stuff like that!"

Despite Soos' efforts to convince Stan to 'take off their clothes' to battle against the heat while they were working, Stan wasn't buying it, walking away to 'find a melon baller or something to pluck his eyes out' instead.

Hours passed by. It was a slow day, it seemed, as there weren't many customers around- actually, there weren't any tourists at all (it happens), so Dipper caught Stan lounging in the living room with just his undershirt. He figured it was the perfect time to initiate plan B as he readied his camcorder.

Dipper started recording and subtly faced it towards Stan. "Heavens! Is that poison oak on your shoulder? Let me scratch it for you." He reached for his tattoo, but Stan smacked it away without even looking at him.

"Kid, if you're trying to see my tattoo, you're gonna have to try harder than that."

"A-ha!" Dipper said, "I thought you said you didn't have a tattoo!"

"I don't. But you do," Stan replied, taking out a red marker and began leaning towards Dipper.

"What do you mean I- AAAHH!"

Dipper didn't have the chance to step away as Stan managed to write 'GOOBER' on his forehead near his birthmark. He tried so hard to wipe it away but the permanent ink wouldn't budge. TIme passed by once more when he heard sounds coming from their bathroom. Bathing noises and a deep, grunkle-y voice singing "du-du" jingles had Dipper deduct that it was no other than Stan who was using the bathroom at this time.

So he had Mabel hold the camera once more and didn't even adjust his bangs back when he pressed the button. "Okay, Plan C. Stan is in the shower. I wish it hadn't come to this, but sometimes you have to do terrible things for science."

"I believe in you, Goober!" Mabel said in the background.

He blinked. "Dipper. Just say Dipper." He took the camera from her and pointed the lens at the door of the bathroom, nerves in his veins. He was trudging ever so slowly towards inevitable terror and agony. Who knows what he might stumble into once he opens the gateway? With a deep breath, he pushed the plank open and walked inside. Here goes nothing.

Fog from the shower greeted him inside, and water was still pouring. He faced the shower curtain and eventually pulled it to the side, ready to take a peek.

The curtains were swept aside, and there stood Stan, fully clothed with the water running down his back, and a very angry look on his face. "You're never gonna see it, kid," he seethed. "Never. Gonna. See it."

"How long have you been standing there?"

Stan lunged forward. "Give me that camera-!"

"AAAH!"

Stan jumped out of the tub and scrambled towards Dipper as he burst out of the restroom. The boy dashed around every corner, hoping to lose the older man, but it was a small Shack. Dipper tried to rack his brain for possible hiding places while still being pursued before his brain came up with an idea.

"Give me that camera, Dipper!"

"Eek!"When he saw Stan trying to corner him, he bolted in the opposite direction. While Mabel tried to distract her great uncle, Dipper relied on his little feet to get him to the gift shop as quickly as possible. He nodded gratefully at his sister's assistance before locating the familiar ladder leading to the roof. He climbed the ladder quickly after putting the camcorder in his pocket.

He opened the hatch expecting to be alone, but there sat Y/n, with a book on her lap and a surprised expression when she saw Dipper.

"What-"

Dipper reached out and shook his hands, signaling her to be quiet. He pointed down with his finger to his lips.

"What happened?" She mouthed.

Before he could explain, a voice shouted, "I'M GONNA FIND YOU, KID!"

Y/n nodded as if she understood. Dipper might've done something to piss Stan off and he's currently trying to escape his wrath. He caught her eyes and speechlessly gave her a look as if saying 'mind if I stay here?' and she nodded again, going back to her reading.

That was until the pursuer himself was outside of the Shack and was waving his hands for her attention. "Hey, Y/n!"

She looked over the roof and saw Stan. "Yeah?!" She shouted back.

"Have you seen him?"

"Who?" She answered back as casually as she could while Dipper was trying to minimize himself as small as possible. Luckily, from the angle they were on, the older man was able to only see Y/n and not him, but he was still trying not to be seen.

"Dipper! Have you seen him?!" He shouted back.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't seen anyone the whole day!"

Stan narrowed his eyes at her, but Y/n was confident that he'll believe her, because it was an honest answer. She hadn't seen anyone since she was downstairs for the entire afternoon- until now.

The older man let it go and walked back inside. Dipper figured that the coast was clear and let himself loose. "Thanks."

"No problem, Goober."

***

PDQB RI BRX ZLOO ODVW. 🗝: caesar

[thisisnotacreativeusername]

in my head after high school/college mabel and dipper start a ghost hunting show called "the mystery twins guide to the unexplained" or something similar and it basically becomes their universe's equivalent of buzzfeed unsolved and now i want to draw buzzfeed unsolved screenshots with them

[aziraphalesbookkeeper]

Do you have any werewolf Hugo hcs to share?? Or just more werewolf au in general

Ahh sorry I missed this yesterday! Hmm...

My only real official HC that hasn't been shared and spoofed in various Discord chats is that after the events of How to Train Your Werewolf, Varian stays in Hollowstowne and starts a vlog. He captures the weird and strange happenings of the town, oftentimes by poking something he really shouldn't have touched. Think of it as a cross between Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained and Buzzfeed Unsolved. Varian's spouting science to the camera and Hugo's fighting off whatever supernatural entity Varian managed to piss off in the background.

As of right now, I'm not planning on doing anything more with that 'verse, but I'm happy you like it! Thanks for asking about it!

[pinkbiscuits-perks-and-curses]

Okay so, this all takes place after Dipper and Mabel have graduated highschool. They both of course get scholarship offers form placed like Harvard and other schools like that (thanks great uncle Ford!) but they both turn them down, saying they want to take a gap year and figure out what they want to do.

During this gap year, they start a YouTube channel that has the same premise as the 'Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained' shorts. They call it 'Mabel and Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained' (because why not).

And they go around and investigate things like MothMan and Bigfoot. And they've even done a video on the Stan 'o War || with their Grunkles.

It ends up getting really popular over that first summer it's up, mainly because in their videos, there is real proof that they exist (it's the Pines twins, of course they find them) but they way they show it makes it seem like it's just another blurry shot or something along those lines (the pines ain't snitches!)

It gets so popular that they end up getting invited to Comic Con to be on a panel with other people that do shows like that, like Ryan and Shane from Buzzfeed Unsolved.

During the panel, they get asked about what got them into the super natural, and they say that it was likely the summer when they were 12.

This panel take place at the end of their gap year, they announce that they are going to take a bit of a break from the channel for school. Videos still come out of course, but they're more about things that are going on at their college like 'Is my Advanced History teacher a Vampire?' and 'Interveiw with local college cypit'

Eventually it goes on to them spending Thier next summer back in Gravity Falls and doing videos there, same sort of stuff like before, only a bit to the left.

The viewers learn that the twins don't like triangles, but not why. The fact that there is a weird triangle in the background for these videos sometimes is even weirder.

Not to mention the video titled 'My brother is a dork' that's just Dipper singing 'Disco Girl's with was looks to be a weird CGI Bear while Mabel giggles from behind the camera. (It's the most viewed video on the channel)

At one point some fan of the channel goes to the town to meet them, and they asked about the triangle thing, and are subsequently freaks out when THE WHOLE TOWN says "Never mind all that!" at the same time.

That all I have of it so far, and ideas that could be put in?

it sounds like something they would do

it would be kind of fun if it turns out that bigfoot and the other cryptids help them make their videos and they have quirky personalities, like bigfoot is into poetry and wants to video to be a self expression, or mothman wants to redo every shot because it didn't capture their angle right, when the image is like 144p

[stwberryshtcake]

Even More Episode Ideas

- Ginger Snap becomes addicted to gambling games when a traveling carnival (run by Licorice Whip) comes to town. After they leave, Ginger joins in on Monkshood and Snowberry’s poker games and ends up needing an intervention. Very serious, after school special type episode to add to the surrealism.

- Cranberry teaches Apple Dumpling about grey morality and uses this as an excuse to hurt Life’s Antagonists. Strawberry sings a song about being kind to enemies while Cranberry sings about revenge. It becomes clear that Cranberry is less morally grey and more chaotic evil that happens to be on Strawberry’s side.

- An episode where different characters write and read stories they’ve written to entertain each other during a blizzard, animated in different styles. They teach their own unique lessons that showcase the character’s worldview.

- A detective episode where Blueberry, Huck, Orange Blossom, and Winterberry try to figure out who’s really behind the kidnapping of their animal companions after Strawberry is falsely accused. Each kid has a different approach to it: Blueberry is more a Sherlock Holmes type, while Huck leans hard into the Noir detective stereotypes (to annoy everyone), Orange Blossom is basically Encyclopedia Brown, and Winterberry is a Jessica Fletcher type. Chaos ensues and it turns out to be the Purple Pieman and Sour Grapes.

- Maybe several detective episodes where they open their own agency, I like the idea.

-  A cooking competition judged by Honey Pie Pony, the winner gets a train trip. Simple episode about not cheating and sabotage except the perpetrators (Chamomile Tea and Peppermint Fizz) don’t get to go on the trip in the end. They are still forgiven by everyone except Pumpkin and Ginger Snap.

- Strawberry helps Annie Oatmeal with a cattle drive along with nearly all her friends. They end up having to deal with a trio of rustler’s, a couple of years older than them, named Apple Water, Ash Cake, and Dump Cake aka D.C.  Pumpkin finally gets to hit someone in the face with his frying pan, with absolutely no consequences. 

-  Second Halloween episode where Fruit Bramble kidnaps Apple Dumpling and Strawberry and Pumpkin have to save her.  Fruit Bramble is animated in a more sketchy style since he’s a ghost.

- Short segments during the month of October where Raspberry Torte and Ginger Snap make ghost hunting videos, similar to Buzzfeed Unsolved mixed with Dipper’s Guide to the Unexplained. Fruit Bramble is Displeased but they don’t notice him even though everyone else sees him in the background.

- A new boy name Banoffee Pie moves to StrawberryLand and turns out to be a detective, specifically an occult detective (Harry Dresden/John Constantine type.) He helps Blueberry Muffin and her agency solve a series of break-ins where victims believe they saw Fruit Bramble tearing up their house. It turns out to be Marmalade, who had strings tied to her as a cruel joke by Snowberry. Monkshood is decent for once and was pursuing Marmalade and trying to catch her to help her get the strings off.

- A Valentine’s episode dealing with crushes or the lack of them. Huck attempts to avoid ‘mushy stuff’ by hiding with Ginger Snap and then his guy friends after Ginger Snap reveals a crush on a famous scientist. Pumpkin gives a good speech on how some people don’t ever have crushes and it’s best to move at your own pace rather than try and do what your peers are doing. He refuses to sing a song about it point blank when Huck asks why he didn’t sing. 

If anyone wants any elaboration on these, I’d be happy to, I have MANY ideas.

[furbyfries]

I have watched them (and adore them) and that’s what really kind of gave me this idea. Plus I’ve had Gravity Falls on the brain and I’m rewatching old buzzfeed unsolved eps lmao.

But yeah basically Dipper’s Guide to the Unexplained is already Buzzfeed Unsolved, but just a lower production obviously. I just really adore the idea that they actually properly take on that idea as a legit show and it ends up like buzzfeed unsolved. Plus I can redraw the twins from iconic buzzfeed unsolved moments with this au/headcanon thing.

I propose something to you all:

Gravity Falls AU where the twins have a YouTube show like buzzfeed unsolved. Mabel taking Shane’s spot and Dipper taking Ryan’s.

Dipper does all the research and Mabel gives a lot of comedic relief and Dipper is curious of course. I’d say he has more confidence than Ryan, but still gets freaked out.

This is my new favorite thing in the world and I need to come up with a name. If this au already exists, please let me know.

[firstmatedville]

I really love cryptid hunter pines twins??? Like give me 17 year old dipper and mabel who are fuckin done with school and social drama cause they've had to deal with so much more than that, so they kinda just go "fuck it" and restart Dippers Guide to the Unexplained. They start with more local, accessable cryptids but end up dropping out of school to go on a road trip around the US. They do it as professionally as they can, and the channel is kinda set up like buzzfeed unsolved in that sometimes they're giving factfiles and sometimes they just go fucking sleep in a place full of demons?? Loads of people think the channel is just an elaborate hoax but the pines twins have kind of become legends back in their old school just because the whole idea of "yea those two wierd twins dropped out to go bigfoot hunting and now they're on national television cause apparently dipper punched an alien in the face" is so wild

[darkspine10]

GF Fanfic - A New Course

A New Course (1829 words) by darkspine10

Chapters: 1/6 Fandom: Gravity Falls Rating: Teen and Up Additional Tags: Beach City, Sea Monsters, Maps, Monster hunting, Twins, Aged-Up Character(s), Reunions, Missing Persons, Dipper and Mabel solving mysteries, Bows & Arrows

Summary:

People are going missing from the beach town of Sapphire Bay. College students vanishing by the dozen with no obvious cause. Dark spectres haunt the forests and beaches, but no-one in town wants to talk about it.

May Pines, renowned activist and trouble-maker, has made it her mission to save the town. Calling on the help of her brother, the twins must reunite to work together to solve the mysteries of Sapphire Bay.

*

The small beachfront house stood alone at the barrier between forest and sand. Waves lazily sprayed against the beach out below the house which hung over a small slope. From behind, the leaves of the trees rustled, a soft wind blowing in from the sea. Stepping out into the sunset light, Dipper Pines shielded his eyes and spotted a reclining figure on the wooden balcony.

Shutting the car door, he gave a deep sigh. This was still something he wasn’t yet fully used to. Meeting up with his sister as a regular thing, rather than it being an aberration. Time and new perspectives had healed the cracks that had led to their separation, but it still took some adjustments to his mindset.

Forgetting his initial wariness, he strode over and yelled out. “Mabel! I’m round the front!”

Out on the balcony her saw her stir – or fumble to get up rather – and disappear inside. He took a last look at the surroundings, building up a picture of where he’d be based for the foreseeable future. It would help to know every little detail, so any differences would stand out all the more clearly.

The wall of dark trees inland was much like what he knew from Gravity Falls, but the unmistakeable tang of salt ever-present in the air made him aware of the Pacific just a stone’s throw away. Dipper sensed this was a different kind of forest entirely. The chances of running into a cryptid were almost certainly lower for one thing.

A muttered cursing from behind the front door was followed by the sound of locks being unhinged. A single heft and the door was pulled away, leaving a grinning Mabel, sunglasses perched on her forehead, leaning against the frame affecting a cool air. “Yo yo yo, welcome.” She wrapped herself around Dipper in a side-hug, then gestured him inside. “Come on, park your keister, bro. I bet you’re tired from the drive. It’s great to see you.”

All his concerns from before melted away. There divide he feared between them was nothing but a bout of undue anxiety. Mabel was happy to see him, as she’d always be from now on. “Great to see you too,” he said with a grin. “So, this is where you’ve been chilling out for the last few weeks.”

Mabel had a habit of moving around a lot, never in one place for long. Often his attempts to contact her would fail, his letters arriving after she’s already left or spotty connections keeping them apart. The only constant was that she’d always call from someplace else than before, some new exotic locale where she’d parked her special brand of troublemaking.

In the past he’d resented her for this. In his eyes she was just running away from any kind of responsibility. Now he sympathised more with that wanderlust. To simply take what you could carry and head off into the unknown.

Mabel’s newest abode was hard to make out with the sunlight glinting through the wide bay windows. Squinting, he saw the interior of the rustic cabin. It was airy, with an open sitting area dotted with pillows and comfy sofas abutting a kitchen with cabinets of painted wood.

Donning her sunglasses, Mabel grabbed a bottle of beer from the counter took a deep swill, before guiding Dipper out onto the balcony. “This is the life, eh.”

He sat down on a chair overlooking the sea and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I could get used to this. Not quite got the same…” He drifted off, an expression of warm remembrance on his face.

“Same what?” Mabel asked.

“Not got that same thrill as home though, does it.”

Mabel leant over the balcony as memories of the hundreds of adventures they’d gone on as a pair or trio with Pacifica. Her smile grew into a smirk, something Dipper didn’t fail to notice. “Well… you might be surprised.” As he raised an eyebrow, Mabel’s tone grew serious. “Let’s talk.”

With the sun now long set over the distant horizon and reheated pizza scattered around the living room, Mabel spread a bunch of papers across her kitchen table. She tapped a basic map of the coastline. “Nearest town, that’s Sapphire Bay. About 20 minutes on foot. They got beaches, boardwalk, carnival stuff. Perfect place for a getaway.”

“Is that the reason you brought me out here?” Dipper crossed his arms sceptically. “To unwind?”

“Hold your horses, I’m getting to the important stuff.” Mabel sifted through the documents and grabbed a pamphlet of local hotspots. “Most tourists that pass through are college kids, visiting for their spring breaks or whatever.”

“Lemme guess, lots of young adults getting wasted and partying all day and night.”

“Not all of us go on boring walking vacations like you.” Then she shrugged. “But yeah, you’re not far off.” With her black crop-top and colourful tattoos Mabel looked every bit the part of a small-town rebel, sticking it to the man and living life to the full on the beach. She fit in perfectly.

“That why you’re here then? A rest.”

“You could put it like that.” Mabel lent back in her beanbag, oddly pensive. “Needed a break from all the travelling. Last year was totally intense, as you well know. And with Zera off in space with that budding phase of her lifecycle, I thought I’d take some Mabel time to myself.”

Dipper detected a hint of reticence. Mabel’s relationships had never been easy to define – let alone when her partner wasn’t even from Earth. “You two still all good?” he asked gingerly.

“Oh yeah yeah, fine. This is something she’s gotta do, I understand. She’ll be back in a month or two.” Mabel sipped from another bottle of beer. “Anyway, how about you? Pacifica really chose to stay home watching the kids? Don’t tell me she’s gone all maternal at last?”

Dipper snorted with laughter. “You really think? No, she just doesn’t care to drive all this way on a whim.”

“Ha, that sounds like her. When you get home tell her she missed out on all the fun.”

“You bet. I gotta say, moving back to the Falls permanently was a great idea.” It had been a hectic few months deciding to finally return to the West Coast. The work of moving had left little time for their traditional Mystery Hunts or journal time. But Dipper wouldn’t have given up one second with his new family for the world.

“Pacifica’s certainly got her hands full. Merrise is struggling a little; still a new environment for her and all. Plus someone’s gotta look after the baby.” He set down his own drink and bent over the table. “Anyway, enough about me. I know you; we could be stuck on gossip all evening. Tell me why you need my help.”

Mabel leant back, melting into the beanbag, puffing out her cheeks. She was deep in thought about where to start. Stretching up out of her cocoon, she grabbed a single sheet off the pile strewn on the table.

“I got here a few weeks ago. My last protest kinda went south, you know, the one in Paris, with the unions, and I wanted somewhere to crash.” Dipper nodded. He remembered seeing his sister’s face on a news channel, though thankfully only in passing as part of a crowd. Mabel was getting better at keeping a low profile these days. To minimise the consequences should her actions suffer repercussions that might affect him and his family. Still utterly devoted to the cause, but mindful of getting others caught in the crossfire.

Mabel turned the sheet around to show Dipper. There was a grainy shot of a young man with name and identifying features beside it. Traditional chiselled features of your average jock visiting the beach. At the top of the poster was a single word, underlined in red:

Missing.

Dipper felt a pit of dread in his stomach. He knew where this was going.

“Spotted this on the boardwalk,” Mabel continued. At first I thought it was nothing. One lost kid, what can you do? Then more people started disappearing. Almost all the cases have been tourists. Like I said, lots of college kids passing through, having fun… and never going home.”

“And you think there’s something linking them?” Dipper cautiously asked.

“Lotsa kids vanishing, all recently, within the last few months as far as I can reckon. Normally I wouldn’t call you for something like this, but there’s something else on top.”

Her next document was a blurry polaroid. Dipper could make out crashing waves and a bulky shape in the water, but it was vague enough that it could have been anything, a boat, driftwood. Seemed to him that most cryptids were naturally camera shy.

Mabel was deadly serious however, and he was there right along with her. “You took this?” he asked, but she shook her head.

“Local paper. Last Tuesday. And there’s more.” She rifled around for a list of witness testimonies, but Dipper held up a hand.

“I get it. This is more than a simple missing persons case.”

Dipper pondered the facts. There was something oddly haunting about unsolved mysteries quite like this. Mundane in some ways, but the thought of people just disappearing off the map without a trace still gnawed at the back of his mind. Maybe, he considered, it was parenthood. Being responsible for his own kids, imagining a myriad of potential fates for these lost youths got to him.

Mabel tossed the paper down, her face contorting into an angry scowl. “I’ve tried figuring out what’s going on, but nobody likes talking about it. The cops certainly don’t care; to them it’s just a bunch of out-of-towners getting overwhelmed partying. ‘Can’t handle the lifestyle’, that’s what they say, before dropping all investigations.”

From her tone, Dipper could guess this was a common point of contention for her. She’d probably attended a number of riots protesting against the very corruption she was outlining right now. As a whole, she preferred relying on herself to sort things out.

“I know it’s not some grand conspiracy to solve or anything big like that. But it’s real, Dipper, and it’s happening to innocent people.”

Immediately he assuaged her doubts. “You don’t have to worry. I know how important this is. Besides, after everything we’ve been through in our lives we deserve to take it small-scale. Do some practical good.”

Mabel’s resulting grin was infectious. The spark of adventure was already spreading. “Right then!” She stood up decisively and tucked away her messy pile of collected evidence. “Tomorrow morning we can head into town. I’m already friends with a bunch of the locals, we can work on getting some pointers.”

“I’m sure once the Mystery Twins set up in town we’ll have this cracked in no time.”

“Cheers to that.” They clinked their bottles together, ready to solve this thing as soon as the sun rose.

[kale-of-the-forbidden-cities]

Mia and I added Ms Gleeful to the most fucked up AU ever. naturally she is fucked up. Gideon is fucked up. I hope you guys like dark AUs where everything is bad and nobody is happy and everyone's just a little bit insane

[gluttonousgoddess]

I thought it was a mix of Buzzfeed Unsolved and Dipper’s Guide to the Supernatural.

if you aren’t reading the invader zim comics you are missing out

[firstmatedville]

Okay so pines twins cryptid hunter au where mabes and dipper are youtubers who similar to the buzzfeed unsolved guys (I've talked about this before but I'm expanding on it because i rlly like it) - Mabel wanted the channel to have a weekly crafts segment but dipper said no so she has a separate channel for that - on Halloween one year tho she gets candy and grenda to come on her channel and play around with some witchcraft stuff dipper found, because it's "still a perfectly valid form of crafting" - the channel initially started with just the "dippers guide to the unexplained" clips from when they were kids, but they started filming new stuff every summer when they visited gravity falls - eventually tho people start suggesting places for them to visit, and the twins start collabing with other similar youtubers - dipper tries to take the channel as a Serious Thing but Mabel completely ruins that plan - you know their comment section is just filled with "omg you should collab with the psychic twins!!!1!1!11" - Mabel designs all their merch, the grunkles help with all the business side of being a youtuber - their parents take them to Scotland one school break and Mabel makes a t-shirt that says "Nessie is real and she let me paint her nails" - dipper has one of these shirts (they're comfy ok) - the twins drop out of high school as soon as they can and become full time youtubers, dipper buys a pick up truck and the two travel across America making videos

[iwasonceabookworm]

AGH THIS IS SOOO GOOD

YOU NAILED THEIR DYNAMIC STYSYCYDUSABCXUIF

Snippet of the Bill Isn't Real AU - Probably will be titled "Dipper's Guide to the Unsolved" because it mostly follows Dipper and him figuring out the past

@iwasonceabookworm because you asked to be tagged :)

this is just part of chapter 1, but depending on how much more i write it might be most of it (as "chapter 1" is currently 5k words and still not done. so i might split it). I'm posting mostly as a sort of interest check to see if people like it.

enjoy and feedback appreciated :) also none of this is 100% final

△▽△▽△▽△

“Welcome back to Dipper’s Guide to the Unsolved. I’ve been running this podcast for, um, a few years, and, I think it was last year, I discovered an unsolved case that really interests me. It interests me because it’s actually kind of… personal. 

“My name is Dipper Pines, and today, I will begin my investigation into the unsolved murder of Stanford and Stanley Pines.” 

△▽△▽△▽△

Piedmont, California

March 2019

“How’s that?” Dipper asked, clearing his throat before taking a sip from his water bottle. 

“It sounds great!” Mabel encouraged him. “Nice and catchy.”

“I think I stuttered too much.” He picked up the script laid out in front of him and glanced over it. “And I forgot I was supposed to look at the camera. You’d think after two years of video stuff, I’d remember to do something so basic.” 

“Aw, don’t be so hard on yourself,” his sister said as she came over. “People love you despite your awkwardness.” 

Dipper scoffed. “First of all, not true. They don’t love me, they just come for the true crime and whatever. Second of all…” He paused, considering. “I mean, I guess I am awkward in most of the stuff I do.” 

“Like your first TV interview?” 

“Oh god, don’t remind me,” he laughed, his face reddening at the thought. “There’s a reason they never invited me back.” 

Mabel giggled. “It was funny, though!” 

Dipper tossed a crumpled piece of paper from his desk her way. She dodged before picking it up and throwing it right back at him. He sighed and turned his swivel chair back to the desk. 

“...Do you think it’s weird that I’m doing this?” he wondered aloud.

“Huh?” Mabel walked over and leaned on the desk. “What do you mean? You’ve been solving cases since you were sixteen, and making true crime stuff even longer.” 

“I mean, like,” Dipper paused, fumbling for words. “Like, I’m investigating the suspected murders of people in our family. Is it weird to be documenting it like this and posting it online?” 

Mabel thought for a moment. “I don’t think so? It’s not like you’re doing this for any of them. You never were, you just like doing this stuff. Cause you’re a nerd.” She flicked his bangs. “They’re just along for the ride.” 

“I guess,” he admitted. “In any case—” 

“Any case?”

He gave half a smile to his sister’s joke. “...This whole thing is weird. Did I tell you that I already covered a case that happened in the same town? Though way more recent. It was only… a year ago, maybe? Closer to two.” 

“Yeah, I remember you mentioning it! Axe murderer?” 

“Yep. But when I was looking for stuff about Stanford and Stanley, I found out something weird.” He rolled his chair over to the bulletin board that Mabel had dubbed his “conspiracy board,” because, he had to admit it, it did look like some kind of conspiracy was happening, from the pinned up photos, notes, and string. “Apparently, a bunch of people go missing in that town all the time.”

“Ooh, and we’ll be going there!” Mabel said with enthusiasm that sounded genuine, but really shouldn’t have been. 

“Yeah, I already told you you don’t have to—” 

“I want to come! It’ll be fun!” she insisted. “Plus, the only thing worse than going to a town where people go missing on the regular is letting you go to that town alone.” 

“I guess that’s true.” 

“Plus! I get to help out with your channel in person! And self advertise!” 

Mabel had helped Dipper with his little hobby of a podcast since the very beginning, drawing his profile picture (a little blue pine tree inspired by a “lucky hat” he’d had as a kid), and later a banner for his channel, as well as putting together thumbnails and such. Dipper also helped Mabel with the things she liked to do, from doing the shopping for her baking, to grabbing any yarn he thought she’d like when he saw it. He wishes he could do more for her, but other than researching and talking about criminal cases, he didn’t seem to be good at much at all. So the least he could do would be to let her promote her baking channel, which was already linked in his profile. 

“We’re already all packed for tomorrow, so it’s a little late to cancel anyway,” Mabel pointed out. 

“Yeah, I know,” he admitted. “I guess I’m just a bit nervous.” 

“You’re always nervous.” 

“Heh, you’re right about that…” 

The conversation died down after that. Dipper did a couple more takes of the introduction, and wasn’t happy with any of them, so Mabel picked the one she thought was best. Now all he had to do was finish writing out what he was going to say to cover the basics of what he knew at the moment. 

Mabel had suggested that they do a “vlog” style video as they investigated the town and the case. Which actually wasn’t a bad idea. Not because Dipper had any interest in vlog content, but because he was a strong believer in the sentiment of always having a camera to catch something, just in case. He had an old VHS camera that still worked, and, despite the low quality, it’s what he preferred to use. Easy to hold, don’t have to worry about literally everything ever being lost if something happened to it (like with a phone camera). 

He wasn’t all old fashioned or anything, don’t get him wrong. He actually considered himself pretty tech savvy. He could never admit it publicly, but he had hacked his way into security camera files in the past. Nowhere too protected, so it wasn’t like it was hard. He’d been able to make connections that police couldn’t, which is what eventually led to him solving his first case. When talking about it online, he would just say he “gained access” and leave it at that. 

“Make sure to get some sleep, Dip,” Mabel said as she got up to go to bed for the night. “We leave bright and early, remember!” 

“I know, I know.” Dipper suppressed a yawn at the thought. “Night, Mabel.” 

“Night!” 

With Mabel gone, it didn’t take him long to fall into his habit of chewing on the neckline of his shirt. It made him feel like a kid, but it helped him focus. And didn’t hurt his teeth as much as biting his nails or pens. By two in the morning he’d written generally what he wanted to say. He would let Mabel know that she could say whatever she wanted. He planned to upload the video right before they left for Gravity Falls.