Chapter 84: Northwest Party Crashers
Art by Crash X Fusion: We've all got skeletons in our closet. Question is, how many?
Pacifica asks the Pines Twins to help deal with a ghost before her family's annual party, and things soon take a turn for the worst.
Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Abusive Parent: Preston is shown to not just be emotionally abusive to his daughter, but physically abusive as well, having once broken her arm and gone to great lengths to cover it up rather than face the consequences.
- Adaptational Explanation: It was never disclosed why the Blind Eye Society erased Pacifica's memory; it was only assumed to be to make her forget about the Liliputtians. In LC, Preston broke her arm and paid them off to erase her memory along with that of everyone who knew.
- Adaptational Villainy: Preston here goes even farther than his canon counterpart with the reveal that he once broke his daughter's arm while he was angry and he was in league with the Blind Eye Society, using them to erase the memory of anyone who knew of his crime.
- Ambiguously Related: Duchess Aurore hails from France and has a beef with the Fae for hurting her family. This implies, if not confirms, that she's a descendant of Princess Aurora and knows of Maleficent.
- Bait-and-Switch: In the beginning, Amity is speaking to two individuals about learning that Puck's alive. Instead of Ghost and Sam, it's Waddles and Gompers she's talking to.
- Big Damn Heroes: Luz comes to Northwest Manor just in time to stop Archibald from turning Amity to wood, giving him someone to fight so Pacifica can open the gates.
- Big Damn Kiss:
- Pacifica pulls Mabel into one after she cheers her up, and later Mabel has a downplayed moment in pecking Pacifica's cheek while they're dancing after letting the townspeople into the party.
- Luz pulls Amity into two kisses, one after Amity scares Preston, another after their Love Confession.
- Big Damn Reunion: Luz reunites with Amity, Gus, Eve, the Pines twins and Wendy at the Northwest party, and Amity and Gus reunite with Eda, Lilith, King and Camila when the kids return to the Mystery Shack.
- Big Eater: Vee establishes herself as one. She attends the Northwest party just for the free food, in every scene she appears in at the party she's shown eating something, she gets turned to wood while trying to make off with an armful of food, and Blubs tells her to find a bucket to carry everything home in.
- Bilingual Bonus: When flipping off Duchess Aurore over her "advice" on dating a Fae, Luz calls Amity her "tesoro" (her treasure).
- Bittersweet Ending: Pacifica stands up to her father and becomes Mabel's girlfriend, Luz reunites with Amity, Gus, the Pines and their friends as do Camila and the rest of the Clawthornes, and Luz and Amity manage to say "I love you" to one another. Unfortunately, Powers & Trigger ambush everyone at the Mystery Shack before Department A, which is run by Angel, takes control of the situation, capturing the Clawthornes, the Pines, McGucket, Amity, Gus, Star, Eve and Vee while confiscating the portal key.
- Brick Joke: After Pacifica compares the Shadowy Secret Expozers to Scooby Doo, Eve asks who that is and does so again after Luz is told that Old Man McGucket's the author of Azura.
- The Bus Came Back: Michael reappears for the first time since debuting in "Viva Last Vegans!": like last time, he appears in the ending ready to cause trouble for our heroes.
- Call-Back:
- Back in "Summerween Fright" Pacifica mentions Luz crashing the previous Northwest annual party and Luz expresses hope in returning to Gravity Falls in time for the next one. The cambion makes good on her word and makes a big entrance only to find everyone turned to wood by Archibald Corduroy.
- Pacifica remembered when Blind Ivan mentioned erasing someone's memories within her friend group in "No Big Deal" and went back to the Blind Eyes' base to learn who, finding out it's her.
- Luz and Amity confess their love to each other, both girls having wanted to do so since "Tragedy at Eclipse Lake" and "Amity in Echo Creek", respectively.
- Caught Monologuing: Mabel manages to knock out Aurore while she's stating why she believes it's Amity causing the chaos at the party.
- Cliffhanger: The Clawthornes, the Pines, Amity, Gus, Eve, Vee, Star, and McGucket are now in the custody of Department A and being taken to their base, a location known as "Purgatory".
- Commonality Connection: Amity finds herself projecting on Pacifica after seeing how Preston treats his daughter, seeing it as an even worse version of how Odalia treated her and her siblings. This leads to Amity standing up to Preston and scaring him senseless, Paz appreciating it and coming to see Amity as a surrogate older sister.
- Continuity Nod:
- Ghost continues eating Acorn, and the pixie retaliates by messing with the palisman.
- Once again someone mistakes Lilith for Eda's younger sister, to Eda's anger.
- Crush Blush: After complimenting each other's formal wear, Dipper and Candy each sport one hinting that they like each other.
- Cuteness Proximity: Amity and Mabel smile from seeing Ghost start to nap on Waddles' back. Mabel later squeezes King in a hug upon seeing him again.
- A Day in the Limelight: Like canon, Pacifica is the star but here she shares it with Mabel, ultimately focusing on their becoming a couple.
- Diabolus ex Machina
- Dynamic Entry: Luz crashes through the ceiling of Northwest Manor when she comes to crash the party and ends up finding the Lumberjack Ghost and her girlfriend.
- Expy Coexistence: When Eve explains that she and her friends bust criminals who dress up as ghosts and monsters, Pacifica compares it to Scooby-Doo, much to Eve's confusion.
- The Friends Who Never Hang: Amity and Gus are well aware that they've never spent time together without Luz or Willow around and make the most of their time at the party with each other by riffing on the guests.
- Gamer Chick: Soos got Vee hooked on "Fight Fighters" and she finds herself teaching Star how to play the game.
- The Ghost:
- Toffee is referenced but not named by Star, who explains to Vee what he was like.
- Luz mentions Matt helping to complete the portal to the Human Realm.
- Willow's mentioned when Luz admits to her friends that she couldn't contact her.
- After Mabel sees the tapestry of Bill, she asks Luz about the last time she saw him.
- Happy Ending Override: The Clawthornes have reunited with Amity, Gus, Eve and the Pines and it seems they're all ready to start catching up but then the government agents strike. And then Department A arrives...
- I Always Wanted to Say That: Luz can't resist quoting the iconic Ghostbusters line while fighting Archibald.
- In Spite of a Nail: Pacifica stands up to Preston and lets the townspeople into her parents' party, allowing Archibald to rest in peace, Candy still team flirts Marius with one of her friends, but Grenda is the one who hooks up with him, and McGucket warns Dipper about the calculations he's been doing that something big's about to happen.
- Internal Reveal:
- Pacifica meets Eve and has already been told about Gus.
- Amity lets Pacifica in on her old life before her going nameless and living with the Clawthornes.
- Vee is told that Tres, Megan, and Ivy are all alive and well.
- Amity learns that Raine was rescued and that Puck was responsible for theirs and Skara's kidnappings, Darius's death, and Boscha's paralysis in addition to her and the others being stranded in the Human Realm. She's also told that Puck was being possessed by the Inner Demon at the time.
- Luz learns that Amity is part-Fae, meets Sam and Star, sees Mabel's scar and Vee in her human disguise for the first time, and realizes Robbie's not only back in town, but that he's also hooked up with Tambry.
- Luz fills in her friends on how she failed to give Willow the same instructions she gave to Gus and Amity.
- Thanks to Michael, Blubs and Durland learn that Vee's a basilisk.
- Lilith is filled in that Eda's ex is Ford's brother, who has been using Ford's name. Likewise, Lilith tells Stan that she's seen Ford in the Boiling Isles.
- Dipper and Mabel meet Lilith for the first time.
- Lampshade Hanging:
- Gus points out that Vee's a Technically Naked Shapeshifter after hearing she makes her own clothing using her powers, embarrassing her.
- Star questions if the names of the actors and the characters in "The Duchess Approves" are real: Stan just shrugs.
- While at the party, Amity and Gus establish themselves as The Friends Who Never Hang since they don't have anything in common besides Luz.
- Lilith points out that since Stan's been using Ford's name, Eda is legally married to Ford. Eda dismisses it.
- Laser-Guided Karma: After learning what he did to Pacifica, Amity gives Preston another "Reason You Suck" Speech, threatening to come after him if he hurts her again before scaring him senseless with an illusion.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone:
- Seeing Pacifica get caught up in the moment and kiss Mabel out of nowhere leaves Amity little time to turn around in order to give them at least a bit of privacy.
- When Luz asks all her friends to give her a moment alone with Amity, they all comply by going back to enjoying the party.
- Love Confession: Amity and Luz, once reunited, confess their love for each other.
- Luminescent Blush: Vee has one after Gus's previously stated Lampshade Hanging, while Dipper and Candy share one after complimenting each other's formal attire.
- Make Way for the New Villains: Now that Puck and the Inner Demon have been dealt with and things have completely shifted to the Human Realm, Director Gates and her Archangels become the singular villainous faction for the arc.
- Misplaced Retribution
- Mood Whiplash
- Mythology Gag: The way Mabel and Pacifica get together is how they would've begun their relationship in the Reunion Falls version of "Northwest Mansion Mystery" had the comic not been canceled.
- Nightmare Face: As her final warning to Preston, Amity uses an illusion to make her face look monstrous to scare the living daylights out of him.
- No Sympathy: More like "Faux Sympathy", as Michael musters up as much fake sympathy as possible to Blubs and Durland for exposing Vee as a demon to them before taking her into custody.
- Not with Them for the Money: When Mabel asks how Pacifica would respond if Mabel said she's in love with her, Paz responds that it's only because of her family's wealth. Mabel then says this:Mabel: Oh Pacifica, your heart is gold enough to last me a lifetime! (Pacifica snickers.)
- Oblivious to Love: Dipper feels threatened by Candy hanging out with Marius, and doesn't know why.
- Out of Focus: A bit: Star sits out the party since she isn't into such events and spends the evening watching "The Duchess Approves" with Stan at the Shack.
- Point of Divergence: To "Northwest Mansion Mystery"; Mabel volunteers to bust the Northwest in an attempt to impress Pacifica while Dipper enjoys the party, the Lumberjack Ghost (who reveals his name) is freed from the silver mirror in Northwest Manor, Mabel and Pacifica have a Relationship Upgrade, Dipper gets jealous of Candy's attraction to Marius von Fundhauser which leads to Ship Tease between them, Wendy attends the Northwest party with her family, Dipper heeds McGucket's warning about the upcoming catastrophe, and Powers & Trigger secure the Mystery Shack afterward knocking the Pines family and everyone else inside out.
- Quirky Girl, Quirky Tux: The girls all wear dresses for the party except for Eve, who goes with a black long coat-button shirt combo, straight-leg trousers, and black heel boots. There's also Angel wearing her white suit.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Amity gives not just one, but two to Preston Northwest. The first is over seeing how he treats Pacifica and telling him that he isn't going to be remembered after he dies; the second is after learning he broke Pacifica's arm and covered it up, warning him not to do it again or she'll kill him where he stands.
- Red Herring: This chapter ultimately shows that Abigail was never actually the current Director Gates: it's Angel.
- Reunion Kiss: Once the antagonists at the party have been dealt with, Luz pulls Amity into a kiss after being separated for over a week.
- The Reveal:
- The Blind Eye Society erased Pacifica's memory at Preston's request after he lost his temper and broke her arm, with Pacifica falsely remembering her getting the broken arm from a "pony accident".
- The 'A' in Department A stands for "Archangels".
- The current Director Gates isn't Abigail; it's actually Angel, who turns out to be alive.
- Scooby-Dooby Doors: Archibald chases Mabel, Pacifica, and Eve through these, which ends with Pacifica reminding everyone that the ghost is the one who's doing the chasing.
- Sequel Hook:
- Given their luck, there's always a chance Amity might face Aurore again.
- Luz and Amity decide to have Star meet with Hunter in order to learn more about the winged mechanical creatures.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Along with the Pines twins, Pacifica, Candy and Grenda, Amity, Gus, and Eve (who wears a suit like the boys) all don formal wear for the party. Vee even wears an actual dress instead of creating one naturally and Grenda compliments her on it. Notably, Mabel gets a fancy dress from Pacifica who shot down the feathered design she wanted to make.
- Ship Tease: Candy and Dipper have some: Dipper becomes threatened by Marius and purposely makes him look bad in front of Candy. After apologizing for his behavior after all the chaos ends, Dipper compliments Candy's appearance and she returns it, both of them falling into silence before awkwardly looking away from each other blushing.
- Shout-Out:
- "Tell Me, Tell Me" from the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Werewolf?" is used during the chase scene.
- As Luz begins to fight Archibald, she says "I ain't afraid of no ghost!"
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Eve and Star get some new clothes to replace the damage outfits they've had since coming to Earth.
- Star wears a blue flannel button shirt gifted to her by Wendy, dark jean shorts, socks and red sneakers.
- Eve now has a purple long sleeve dress with a black skull belt, gray leggings and black combat boots.
- Stealth Pun: Not that stealth because it's Luz making the pun, but her smashing through Northwest Manor's ceiling shows she's literally crashing the party.
- Tears of Joy: Dipper cries when he reunites with Luz, and Amity sheds these and smiles after hearing Luz say she loves her.
- Title Sequence: Despite being a written story, the chapter includes one dedicated to Reunion Falls set to the Gravity Falls theme (with a rock cover of the canon theme), containing visuals inspired by said opening with both LC and RF elements thrown in.
- Trauma Button: Vee starts panicking when Michael tases her as it reminds her of her time imprisoned in Hieron Labs, leading to her human disguise coming undone in front of her adoptive fathers.
- Wham Episode: Mabel and Pacifica become an Official Couple, Luz and her family reunites with her friends and the Pines, Powers and Trigger launch a siege and knock everybody in the Mystery Shack out, and Department A/the Archangels capture the Boiling Isles residents (Michael capturing Vee after exposing her to Blubs and Durland), the Pines, and Star with Angel, The Leader, taking the portal key.
- Wham Line:
- Wham Shot: Aurore attacking Amity, Pacifica pulling Mabel into their first kiss, Gus and Vee having been turned to wood, Luz making her Dynamic Entry, Michael appearing in Vee's bedroom, the knockout gas incapacitating everyone at the Shack, and Eda recognizing Angel.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- Ghost and Acorn disappear in the ending and there's no hint to whether or not they were even still in the Shack when the Government launched their siege.
- It also isn't clear what happened to Fazio as he doesn't appear in this chapter.
