History GravityFalls / TropesAToE

** The various dice and Probabilitor's game board in "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons".

** In ''Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons,'' Ford locks the Infinity Sided Dice and suggest saving it for when they might need it. However, it's never used again.
** ''Northwest Mansion Mystery'' seemingly builds up to Preston Northwest being a major antagonist. He has a tapestry of Bill in his mansion, implying that he's part of a cult that worships Bill. However, the most that comes from that is him getting his face distorted after attempting an alliance with Bill during Weirdmageddon. There was also a scene where he gifts Mayor Befufftlefumpter an aggressive chimpanzee, which may have been leftover foreshadowing for when he was originally going to be Stan's opponent in ''The Stanchurian Candidate.''

** Mabel, Grenda and Candy have all displayed ActionGirl traits.

** [=McGucket=] unintentionally taught Dipper and Mabel that forgetting a memory isn't as great as it sounds, and that the past can never be avoided no matter how much you try to remove triggers for that memory or try to cut it out of your life. [[spoiler: He had gone insane due to excessive use of the memory gun in order to forget his encounters with the creatures, which resulted in him previously living in a junkyard and his own son abandoning him and ignoring him due to embarrassment and disappointment.]]

* AgentMulder: Dipper and Soos, the former spurred on by a supernatural compendium. For example, in "Tourist Trapped," Soos says the mailman's a werewolf and believes Dipper's theory about Mabel's boyfriend being a zombie, a theory Dipper came up with after looking though the book.

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: The Bill Cipher wheel (canonly known as The Zodiac) was foreshadowed since the very first episode, but in the final episode it was disrupted by Stan and Ford's argument, which caused all but Stan, Ford, Dipper and Mabel to be captured. The Zodiac was then replaced by Bill being defeated by underestimating the bond between the Pines family.]]

* AlphaBitch: Pacifica Northwest's debut in "Double Dipper" flags her as this, as she demanded the party crown and insults Candy, Grenda and Mabel. Pacifica ends up becoming Mabel's rival through her chastising and haughty attitude until her later character development in season two.

** It's hard to tell given the art style how similar-looking Dipper and Mabel are supposed to be. Physical similarity is never a plot point (neither disguises themselves as the other, for example). Fan art in different styles pretty much always makes them [[HalfIdenticalTwins as similar-looking as possible, though]].
** Eventually, we find out about the ''original'' Mystery Twins, [[spoiler:Grunkle Stan and his brother, Ford]]. They are [[spoiler:[[ThickerThanWater family]], and the fact they are both twins, [[ShownTheirWork is correctly shown]], [[TruthInTelevision as such thing can happen in real families]]]]. These two are first assumed be fraternal twins, given certain differences--most notably one having [[spoiler:six fingers on each hand]], despite the fact such things also ''can'' happen to identical twins, with one not having it (this is part of the individual evolving of the embryo). However, like Dipper and Mabel, they have enough of a [[spoiler:StrongFamilyResemblance]] to [[spoiler:switch clothes and fool the Big Bad in the finale]].

** Nate and Tambry, two of Wendy's friends.

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Stan Pines loves his family and repeatedly demonstrates that he would do anything for them, but he's also a cheater, a con artist, and an unashamed thief. He is so comfortable in his criminal nature that he announces his thefts ahead of time, steals in broad daylight in front of people who are trying to make him stop, and openly mocks the police. While this is often PlayedForLaughs, it also formed part of the central plot for season 1 and 2, which relied heavily on the character's moral ambiguity for its tension and drama.

** Tyler Cutebiker. He shows up in the restaurant where Mabel and Gideon go on a date, calling the two adorable. His shorts are... pretty short, and he has visible eyelashes, which otherwise, only female characters have. In "Irrational Treasure" he and Manly Dan are briefly seen sharing a plate of meat between themselves. In "Boyz Crazy," he, along with Old Man [=McGucket=], are in the audience at the Sev'ral Timez concert. Finally, in "The Love God," we see the titular Love God exit his rock-star van accompanied by a woman and Tyler, both of whom he explicitly identifies as groupies.
** Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland act very much like a married couple most of the time. Blubs' pronunciation of "Durland" sounds suspiciously like "darlin'". In the final episode, they claim to be "mad with power...and love!" while holding each other's faces and look longingly into each other's eyes. It was later confirmed off-screen that they [[WordOfGay are indeed a couple]].
* AmbiguouslyJewish: The Pines family. Mabel and Grunkle Stan occasionally use Yiddish words ("mazel tov," anyone?), and Mabel herself has been known to put "Moses" where others would use "Jesus Christ". [[JewishAndNerdy Dipper]] and [[AllJewsAreCheapskates Stan]] fit a couple of stereotypes respectively. There's also the fact that "Pines" is an eastern Ashkenazi Jewish surname. However, despite Alex Hirsch's Judaic background and the fact that he based the Pines on himself and his family, he has confirmed that the Pines family are [[https://31.media.tumblr.com/3b25ef523ae8d77f7df25993283b9c9c/tumblr_inline_nh0s0ltaTL1qm9usw.png not necessarily Jewish]], and [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/579343833260957696 welcomes people to their own interpretation]]. In another tweet, he proceeded to draw the twins wearing [[http://31.media.tumblr.com/a59913e8450294491fd15bbff911029c/tumblr_myc4cxVJ2B1sbotlno1_400.jpg Santa hats]], while ''A Tale of Two Stans'' shows a [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/8c2c8d72557a7ee2f313264f7c572c65/tumblr_nrig1fXC6S1qjcd3co3_1280.png Mezuzah]] outside Stan's house. The official release of Journal 3 confirms that Stan had a Bar-Mitzvah, though Alex said in [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/758547032554344448 a tweet]] that he is now an atheist, and Dipper and Mabel were raised non-religiously but Mabel insists on observing all the Jewish holidays.

** Played mostly for laughs when Dipper regains control. He jumps up triumphantly, announcing, "Yes! I'm back in my own body!" ...and then doubles over in pain, clutching his back.
--->'''Dipper:''' ...And it's just as underwhelming as I remember. Ohh... everything hurts.

** And then, there's "Weirdmageddon 2," in which [[spoiler:Bill turns the inhabitants of Gravity Falls to stone and then assembles their contorted bodies into "a massive throne of frozen human agony".]] "Don't worry! They're not conscious any more. Probably." [[spoiler:Yes, they are.]]

** The intro scene where Dipper is investigating, gets scared by a monstrous skeleton and drops his candle was animated by [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation renaissance]]-era Disney animator James Baxter.

** Robertson's sprites get even more complex in "Soos and the Real Girl"; justified in-story, as the dating sim ''Romance Academy 7'' has much more processing power than an arcade game from the 1980's.
** The animation during the climax of "Not What He Seems" is ''gorgeous'', as it was animated by Creator/DanaTerrace and key frames by Creator/MattBraly.

** In the Season 2 episode, "Society of the Blind Eye," [[spoiler: the main cast and Old Man [=McGucket=] find that the Society of the Blind Eye uses a device to remove memories of paranormal activity. They recover Old Man [=McGucket=]'s memories of inventing the device from the Society, and watch them depicting his descent into insanity by repeatedly wiping his own memories.]]
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Justified by Grunkle Stan. In "Bottomless Pit!," Stan states that everyone's stories are far-fetched, even though he is falling through a bottomless pit even as he speaks, and even ''lived through'' one of the stories. In "The Land Before Swine," Stan refuses to accept magic, but is totally okay with dinosaurs alive in the summer of 2012 specifically because they ''aren't'' magical. It's revealed in "Scary-oke" that he was aware of the supernatural the entire time, and had been trying to pretend that none of the supernatural events in the series were happening to keep Dipper away from it all.

*** There are also three major story arcs. The first takes place throughout season 1, and is centered around the twins learning the secrets of Gravity Falls, with Gideon as their primary antagonist. The second occurs over the first half of season 2, which focuses on [[spoiler:Dipper attempting to uncover the identity of the author and the secrets Stan has been hiding, with Agent Powers and Agent Trigger as the main antagonists for this arc]]. The third and final story arc occurs in the second half of Season 2, and focuses on [[spoiler:Ford's return to Gravity Falls, and his efforts in trying to prevent Bill Cipher from bringing the town into the apocalypse, with Bill Cipher being the main antagonist of this arc, as well as the main antagonist of the series as a whole]].

** In-universe, important characters appear to have their own symbol designated to them, which Bill Cipher uses to identify them verbally and on the Cipher Wheel. The appearance of these symbols in the show are often signs to who and what will be important later. It is revealed in the GrandFinale these symbols represent TheChosenMany who have the power to destroy Bill forever:

** During the short "Clay Day" in "Little Gift Shop Of Horrors," Mabel, Dipper, Stan and Soos visit the mansion of Harry Claymore. The cyclops and skeletons are a product of claymation. Soos even [[spoiler: gets turned into clay at the end.]]

* ArtEvolution: It's subtle, but the art did change between seasons one and two. For example, Bill Cipher no longer has a black outine in season 2.

** It's strongly implied that Wendy's ([[spoiler: temporary]]) attraction to Robbie is due in large part to the fact that he plays guitar in a band. Dipper is fully aware of this and is resultantly threatened by him. In "Double Dipper", Dipper tries to keep Wendy away from Robbie when he sees her swoon when Robbie pulls out a guitar, and even has a jealousy fantasy about it. In "The Time Traveler's Pig", he again tries to keep Wendy away from Robbie since the latter has "tight pants and a guitar." In "Boyz Crazy", Mabel outright states that Wendy likes Robbie because girls like musicians, which she and her friends demonstrate themselves by fawning over the members of [[BoyBand Sev'ral Timez]] throughout the episode.

-->'''Mabel''' "Don't worry, brother. Whatever happens I'll be right here, supporting you every step of the-- ''oh my gosh a pig''!"

** Dipper is very rational, observant, and is the go-to guy for information about Gravity Falls. He also gradually gets more and more badass as the series goes on, shown off best during [[spoiler:his NoHoldsBarredBeatdown with Gideon in "Gideon Rises"]].

* BadassFamily: All the members of the Pines family shown up to date fit some form of Badass or another. There's BadassBookworm Dipper, who regularly takes on supernatural menaces and emerges the victor, with his [[BadassAdorable twin]] [[LittleMissBadass sister]] [[CuteBruiser Mabel]], right by his side. The twins' Great Uncle Stan was a boxer in his youth, and can still punch out a Pterodactyl, or [[OneManArmy a horde of zombies]], or three bald eagles (while hanging from an electric tower), or [[spoiler:[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu an interdimentional demon]]]] (not to mention scale a construction frame and climb a mountain bare-handed to rescue his great niece and nephew) despite being in his [[CoolOldGuy sixties]]. Handyman Soos (who is more or less one of the family) has great [[TheBigGuy strength]] and [[{{Acrofatic}} surprising athleticism]]. And as of the second half of Season Two, we also have [[spoiler: Stan's long lost [[CoolOldGuy twin brother]], [[BadassBookworm the Author of the Journals]] and a literal genius who not only creates devices that shouldn't theoretically be possible (like a perpetual motion machine), but managed to survive being trapped inside nightmare dimensions for ''thirty years'']].

* BadGuyBar: A bar named Skull Fracture appears in "Headhunters" and in "Bottomless Pit!". It's a dimly-lit and shabby building guarded by a tough-looking bouncer and has rugged bikers, various other strongmen, and other shady people hanging out there. There's even been least one unconscious patron lying on the floor (with Mabel commenting that "he's resting").

** In "Dipper vs. Manliness", Dipper is shirtless in a good number of scenes throughout the episode, and has visible nipples in all of them. The Manotaurs are also shown with visible nipples, and one gag even features a Manotaur with [[https://youtu.be/hn7fD-5OLug fists for nipples]].

* BewareTheHonestOnes: In one of the vignettes from "Bottomless Pit," Stan is given magic teeth that compel him to honesty. The consequences of this decision are nearly disastrous, as Stan proceeds to horrify the family with his honesty and even tries to confess to all of his crimes when the police come by.

** [[spoiler: The Mystery Shack Humongous Mecha]] is equipped with one, and is used to repel the Henchmaniacs. [[Awesome/GravityFalls Successfully.]]

** Dipper watches out for his sister's well being and safety. He doesn't smother her, but whenever the two of them encounter danger, her safety is always his number one priority. [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/820/947/629.png This tumblr post]] really sums it up best. Even in less dire moments, like when she needs emotional or moral support, he's always there to lend her a hand and will stop at nothing until she feels better. For example, in "The Land Before Swine," when Dipper finds out that a pterodactyl took Waddles, he is dead-set on helping his sister get her beloved pet back.

** Stan proves several times to have a big gruncle instinct towards the twins, going out of his way to protect them from danger and obfuscate the perils of the town. [[spoiler: And of course, there is the 30 years he spent laboring to rescue his brother from exile in some extra dimensional plane of weirdness. And how he sacrifices himself for the sake of his brother and the twins at the end of the series.]]

** Both Invoked and DoubleSubverted in "The Love God." Mabel tries to match-make Robbie with Tambry, but when the date seems to be going poorly, [[spoiler: she resorts to stealing love potion from a cherub to make it work. While her methods are questionable, the two seem to genuinely complement each other, and Mabel ultimately decides against undoing it. By the end of the episode, they're still together and it's unclear if that's because of the magic or if they really ''were'' compatible with each other once they got past their initial hesitance]].

* BiteTheWaxTadpole: Product name "Pitt Cola" is a bit awkward to Swedes because "pitt" (spelled and pronounced that way) is a highly profane word for "penis" in their language. So it's essentially saying "Dick Cola," which make it more surprising that the translators haven't even bothered to censor it.

* BizarreBeverageUse: [[PlayingWithTropes Played with]] in the episode "Sock Opera", where Bill Cipher possesses Dipper Pines' body. He opens a soda and announces that he is going to "drink it like a person", then proceeds to pour it in his (Dipper's) eyes.

* BlackComedyBurst: In the "Lefty" short from "Dipper's Guide to the Unexplained," the twins investigate a man who seems to only ever show his left side. And the end, it's revealed that this is because [[spoiler:he's actually a robot with his right half completely gone, and he's being operated by a bunch of small amoeba-like creatures. Upon realizing that their cover has been blown, they all immediately commit mass suicide ''on camera'' by shoving green pills down their throats. One of them even protests by saying that [[IHaveAFamily he has a family]], causing one of his comrades to tell him "You signed the oath!" and then shove the pill in for him.]] This is PlayedForLaughs as Dipper and Mabel flee the scene, hastily agreeing to destroy the tape.
* BlackDotPupils: The standard design for most of the cast. Exceptions would be the some of the creatures, the members of Sev'ral Timez, a few extras and the cursed wax figures.

** Soos finds an "Shmez" dispenser in [[spoiler:Ford and [=McGucket's=]]] bunker, which is an obvious spoof of the RealLife "PEZ" handheld candy dispensers.
* BlindIdiotTranslation: In-universe, all the dialogue of Rumble [=McSkirmish=] and the "Fight Fighters" game. This is also played for laughs in "Soos and the Real Girl." The videogame Soos plays to learn how to interact with real women is the English translation of a game that was originally released in Japanese. It contains lines like, "Anthyding can Hadplen."

--> '''Mabel''': Alright, here's the plan. I'll take out those two guard guys, you karate chop the other dude in the neck and then we'll back flip through the front door!

-->'''Wendy''': Finally! A place where I can be violent with zero reprecussions!
* BloodStainedLetter: The page in a journal on how to summon the demon Bill Cipher is covered in blood, with the words, "Do not summon at all costs" written directly in blood.

* BobFromAccounting: Tad Strange, the only man in town who isn't a tad strange.

** In "Tourist Trapped," the beginning of Dipper and Mabel's story arc, Mabel gives a boy a questionnaire which asks "Do you like me?" with the options being "Yes," "Definitely," and "Absolutely." The episode also ends with Dipper and Mabel having an "awkward sibling hug." In the end of the final episode of their arc, "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape from Reality," Mabel offers Dipper an awkward sibling hug, to which he replies, "Yes. Definitely. Absolutely."

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: [[spoiler: Stanley and Stanford]] in "A Tale of Two Stans". [[spoiler: Stanley only]] wanted to spend the rest of his life with [[spoiler:his brother]], who was his only friend. When he saw they might grow apart, he acted out and accidentally ruined [[spoiler:his brother's chance at a prestigious college, which his father]] punished him for with extremely DisproportionateRetribution. He resorted to [[spoiler:illegal means to make money and ended up poor and homeless, with no contact with the rest of his family, and when he finally meets Stanford again, his brother, in panicked frustration, throws all of his failures at his face. Stanford, on the other hand, worked for years to achieve a [=PhD=] ahead of schedule and attain a grant so he could do field research and better mankind, only for all of his research to turn out to be so horrifically dangerous it (and possibly a [[EldritchAbomination certain triangle]]) drove him to the brink of madness and he decided it had to be split and separated from him for the good of mankind. The only person he trusted with his research was his brother, who refused to cooperate and hide his notes because Ford was showing such blatant disregard for Stan's opinion and circumstance. Then Stan accidentally pushed Ford into the portal, and thirty years later, Stan brought him out, but risked ending the very world Ford was trying to protect in doing so. Ford was self-centered, Stan nearly ended the world, and both have good points about the other.]]
* BottomlessPits: Gravity Falls has one not far from the Mystery Shack, which Stan uses to destroy evidence. It becomes the focus for the episode, "The Bottomless Pit."

** In "Not What He Seems," we see that [[TestosteronePoisoning Manly Dan]]'s truck has a Sev'ral Timez sticker. In order to [[spoiler: escape from Agent Trigger]], Mabel writes on her car window, "Sevral Timez is overrated," which causes Dan to [[BerserkButton run his truck into the car Mabel is in]], throwing it off the road.

* BreakTheHaughty: Pacifica. She starts as a typical AlphaBitch, happy to rub her status as a member of Gravity Falls founder's family. Then, she sees her family origin exposed as a fraud, discovers that her ancestors are a bunch of [[VillainWithGoodPublicity criminals with good PR]], she loses her father to BodyHorror in the Weirdmageddon and both her parents TakenForGranite and is reduced [[RichesToRags to dress with a potatoe sack]] and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking to wear one of Mabel's sweaters]].

** Episode 11, "Little Dipper," has Mabel rant about an "invisible wizard" in their closet as a theory on how Dipper is suddenly a millimeter taller than her. Come episode 16, "Carpet Diem," Grenda steps out of the same closet after an obviously intense sleep over, her face covered in kiss marks, stating, "I don't know what I was kissing in there, but I have no regrets!"

* BrokenPedestal: Almost the entire town (save for Dipper, Mabel, Stan, Soos and Wendy) practically worships the ground Gideon Gleeful walks on, and doesn’t care when [[spoiler:Gideon takes The Mystery Shack and throws the Pines out.]] But when Stan exposes [[spoiler:that Gideon has been lying about his abilities and spying on everyone]], they’re devastated and immediately turn on him. Deputy Durland, Manly Dan and Tyler Cutebiker take it especially hard.

** Soos is occasionally this. He gets turned into a zombie once, eaten by a monster and stalked by a violent AI.

'''Mabel:''' I rigged it!

** As a consequence of being a fighting game character, Rumble [=McSkirmish=] does this a lot in "Fight Fighters." At one point, he even calls taking a drink as "Bowl of PUNCH!"

* TheCameo: Jason Ritter and Linda Cardellini briefly appear as live action versions of their characters Dipper and Wendy in "Weirdmageddon Part 1".

** Creator/NickOfferman plays a [[Series/ParksAndRecreation very serious, no nonsense employee for the government.]]
** Tad Strange is voiced by Cecil Baldwin, so it's not his first time playing the straight man in a [[Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale town that is a magnet for Lovecraftian horror.]] Also his love of bread, or rather, [[InsistentTerminology wheat and wheat by-products]] is ironic considering his voice actor spends a good amount of time warning people that they're [[Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale highly illegal]].

* CatharticChores: Gideon's mother uses this technique to not draw attention to herself. She's anxious, stressed out and terrified of the kid because her son literally wants to take over the world. "Just keep vacuumin', just keep vacuumin'" is her Madness Mantra.

* ChristmasInJuly: Gravity Falls loves Halloween so much they celebrate it twice via Summerween. It's the same holiday, but with watermelons standing in for pumpkins.

** "Fight Fighters." Dipper is challenged to a fight against a teenager and is afraid for his life, so he recruits a fighting game character, Rumble [=McSkirmish=] to fight on his behalf instead. [[spoiler: This quickly gets out of hand, forcing Dipper to find the courage to fight the unstoppable warrior his cowardice unleashed.]]

** "Dreamscaperers": After spending the entire episode trying to thwart Gideon's plans to steal the Mystery Shack's deed, [[spoiler: the episode ends on Gideon pulling off his B Plan and blowing open Stan's safe with dynamite. The episode ends on Gideon's triumphant victory as his father brings in a wrecking ball to demolish the building.]]

** "Not What He Seems": This episode ends on one of the most earth-shattering reveals in the entire show. [[spoiler: The mysterious device in Stan's secret basement has finally done was Stan wanted, and a mysterious figure has emerged from the portal it created.]]

** "Little Gift Shop of Horror" has the short story "Abaconings", which goes out of its way to show that using your gifts to help better humanity isn't as important as your best friend being comfortable with your life choices. Also, you shouldn't accept changes in your friends even if they're happy about them, and are right to ask them to return to how they were if the changes make you uncomfortable.
*** [[spoiler:This actually takes on greater after "A Tale of Two Stans" as it can be interpreted as a Stan fictionalizing his relationship with Ford and changing the ending to the one he'd have preferred.]]
*** Becomes more heartbreaking after [[spoiler:noticing the intelligience-enhancing machine looks like the portal.]]
** "Roadside Attraction"'s "Being a playboy is wrong" aesop is cool until you realize that the reasons they give for it being wrong run along the lines of "girls will misinterpret any interaction you have with them as deeply romantic and meaningful to you both, so giving attention to more than one at once is a bad idea."
** In "The Last Mabelcorn", Mabel tries to win the approval of a Unicorn who will give a lock of it's hair to anyone who is pure-of-heart and after struggling for half the episode to prove how good she is, it's revealed that that [[spoiler: Unicorns can't see into people's hearts and was putting Mabel though the ringer just to screw with her. After hearing this Mabel decided to for-go being nice and just take the hair by force. Mabel perfectly sums up the aesop at the end of the episode with the line "Morality is relative" (she needed the hair to protect her family so beating up and stealing from a unicorn was okay.) The unicorn was being a massive lying bitch, so she could have been sarcastically directing towards her.]]

** To a lesser extent, Mabel as well. She deals with first love, first kiss, breaking up with somebody, and learning to put others needs above her own wants.

* ConspiracyTheorist: Dipper never misses a chance to probe the hidden depths of Gravity Falls for secret meanings and connections. The more he discovers, the more questions he has and the harder he works to find the truth. In "Tourist Trapped," Mabel implies Dipper's always been like this and that the discovery of Journal 3 just gave him a legitimate conspiracy to pursue.

* CoolCar: Stan's car, the appropriately-named Stanmobile. It's appearance is based on the 1965 Cadillac Deville. Aside from being a classic car, it seems to have some unstated supernatural abilities of its own, considering Stan's [[DrivesLikeCrazy questionable driving skills]], and his claim that it's been torched at least twice. Flashbacks show he had the car when he was kicked out of his house, meaning he's had the car for at least 40 years. "Irrational Treasure" shows him to be on a first name basis with a local car mechanic, so maybe he's just careful to keep the car in tip-top shape.

* CouchGag: The backwards whisper at the end of the theme song when the title pops up, varying from episode to episode, which is a clue to decode the cryptogram that appears in the end credits.
* CrackInTheSky: The series finale involves a big cross shaped crack in the sky granting access from another dimension.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: Mabel Land, on the surface, is a colorful and happy paradise with everything you could ever hope for. [[spoiler:But just under the surface, it is a maggot infested trap and surveillance system built by Bill.]]

** In "Bottomless Pit," Alex Hirsch appears briefly on the television.

* CuttingTheKnot: In "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons," when Stan, Mabel, and Grenda go to rescue Ford and Dipper from Probabilator, they encounter one of Probabilator's henchmen, who tells them they must complete seven dangerous quests in order to progress. Grenda merely knocks out the henchman by hitting him the head with a sofa.

** Poor Soos never got to see his dad in all birthdays he had.
** Wendy [[BrokenAce is cool and popular]] mostly because of her stress her family gives her. WordOfGod says her mother died (though it is unknown how their relationship went), her LongList of exes and out of all, Robbie's manipulation of her and making it look like he has a crush on her.

** "Dreamscaperers" marks the point where the series undergoes this shift; it's even helped by the picture on the sweater Mabel wears being a sunset over water.

* DarkReprise: Happens a few times, especially when the cast has hit RockBottom.

** Robbie has one of Dipper.

'''Soos''': Second thought, gonna flip the script. Can I eat your brains, yea or nay? I'm seeing some yea faces over here....

** One of Stan's attractions at the Mystery Shack is the "Rock That Looks Like a Face" Rock: The Rock That Looks Like A Face.

** Incidentally, [[spoiler:Old Man [=McGucket=] recovered his memories earlier in the series after using the memory gun on himself for years. The real life Journal 3 reveals it took a week for Stan to fully recover, which is still pretty fast.]]

* DisappearedDad: [[spoiler:Soos's father]] walked out on him when he was a kid.

--> '''Old Man [=McGucket=]''': I made lots of robots in my day! Like when my wife left me and I made a homicidal pterodactyl-tron or when my pal, Earnie, didn't come to my retirement party and I constructed an eighty-ton SHAME-BOT THAT EXPLODED THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN AREA!!! Well, time to get back to work on my Death Ray.

** In "The Society of the Blind Eye," the titular society uses a memory eraser gun to prevent the people in Gravity Falls from discovering the supernatural elements of the setting. It's indicated that the Society uses the memory eraser on themselves to manage the pressures of their day to day life, creating parallels to addiction and substance abuse.

** Gideon. He is devoted to Mabel but she just wants to be friends, and in-universe, everyone seems to think that his attempts to win her over are charming...but the truth is, Gideon is an AxCrazy, EntitledBastard who uses emotional manipulation to trap Mabel into a relationship. He performs over-the-top acts of kindness, manipulates her into going on more dates with him by asking her ''very'' publicly in front of large crowds of Gravity Falls citizens who think it's just "so adorable" that Gideon might finally get a girlfriend, and completely ignores her wish to not be in a relationship with him. Eventually, Dipper tries to break the news to Gideon that Mabel is not interested in him, and Gideon responds to this by attempting to ''murder'' Dipper because he believes that Dipper got between him and Mabel. Thankfully, Mabel sees this and intervenes, and she rejects him, not only romantically, but as a friend now, too.

** "Tale Of Two Stans" reveals the horrible lives both Stan and Ford have lived, and ends with both of them still bitterly disappointed in the other.

'''Stan:''' No, but with these cataracts I might as well be. What is that, a woodpecker?

** The Pines family are not exempt from this. Dipper's deep-seated self-worth issues and dependence on the label of being the "smart" twin, Mabel's occasional selfishness, fear of growing up and dependence on the label of being the "good" twin, Stan's dishonesty and temper issues, [[spoiler:Ford's pride and obsessive tendencies]]; and both Stan ''and'' [[spoiler:Ford]]'s tendency to [[InnocentlyInsensitive unwittingly trivialize things important to others]] and project their own past experiences onto their two young charges '''all''' lead to horrendous consequences down the line. By "Dipper and Mabel Vs. The Future," their problems have formed into a PoorCommunicationKills clusterscrew of a mess, and it's actually the Pines family unknowingly tripping over each other's major emotional issues [[spoiler:that allows Bill to take advantage of them and cause the Apocalypse]].

** Lazy Susan appears in the diner for a moment in the pilot, and isn't formally introduced until five episodes later.

** The band Sev'ral Timez' movie appears in "Carpet Diem".

*** When Dipper and Mabel end up at the Shack several years before their birth, someone thought to be a younger Stan appears....[[spoiler:but his facial features and glasses are noticeably different.]]
*** When Dipper, Mabel and Soos find the hidden room, Stan is fairly upset about it, and is seen taking a pair of glasses from a dresser. Later in the episode, he’s seen looking at the glasses and looking uncharacteristically somber. [[spoiler:Because he’s thinking about Ford.]]
*** In a flashback to Stan as a child and his father in boxing class, one of the kids in the stands has similar brown hair to Stan and reading a book, his hands covered by boxing gloves. [[spoiler:A photo in "A Tale Of Two Stans" would conform that it was Ford, who took boxing alongside Stan.]] And before Dipper, Mabel and Soos go into his mind, Stan appears to be having a nightmare, acting like he’s pushing someone and saying "No! I’m sorry!" [[spoiler:His nightmare is reliving the accident that resulted in Ford’s disappearance.]]

** In "Dreamscaperers," Gideon's chant to [[spoiler:summon Bill Cipher]] might sound like gibberish, but when played backwards, it reveals a secret: [[spoiler: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMy2r81gMXU Gideon is saying "Backwards Message" backwards]].]]

* EmoTeen: Robbie, but he was once a nice kid in grade school.

** '''Very''' narrowly averted in [[spoiler:"Not What He Seems". After the machine that brought him back from the multiverse nearly tore the world apart, Ford destroyed it for good and contained the collateral damage to either prevent it, or at least delay it from happening]].

* EscortDistraction: In "Double Dipper", Dipper and his clone Tyrone decide to create two more Dipper clones, and task them to distract Robbie by stealing his bike, so Dipper would be able to spend time with Wendy.
* EstablishingSeriesMoment: That whole opening scene where Dipper and Mabel are being chased by a horrific abomination and are making their escape on a golf cart is a good intro, but the ''real'' moment comes when it's revealed that "Norman" isn't a vampire as Mabel hoped, or a zombie like Dipper suspected, but a bunch of ''gnomes''.

** Stan, Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Soos, Grenda and Candy indulge in one in "Summerween" after Stan's SpoofAesop.

* EvolvingCredits: At the end of the opening sequence, there's a lot of small Polaroid-like photos showing several adventures. For Season 1 and the first half of Season 2, the last of those small pictures shown is the pterodactyl from "The Land Before Swine," but starting in "A Tale of Two Stans," it switches to [[spoiler: Ford holding Journal 1]].
** Then there's the three parts of "Weirdmageddon" (for which see more under SpecialEditionTitle). Part 1's titles introduce the Henchmaniacs replacing the protagonists in the usual footage, Part 2 is a condensed version of the Weirdmageddon opening, and Part 3 has the usual footage of Dipper, Mabel and Stan, but keeps the altered music.

** The episode "A Tale of Two Stans", which introduces [[spoiler:Grunkle Stan's twin brother/author of the journals Stanford Pines]], originally ran without commercial breaks for a full half hour. Rather than cutting it down for rebroadcast, the show is run in full, with 15 minute episodes of other shows filling out the time.

* EyesAreMental: Whenever Bill Cipher possesses someone, their pupils and scleras change to resemble him. Unlike VoicesAreMental in regards to Bill possession, the changed eyes are not just for the audience's sake and are visible InUniverse.

* AnAxeToGrind:
** [[spoiler: The wax sculptures]] from "Headhunters."
** Wendy during, "Into the Bunker," [[spoiler: with Dipper taking a turn while Wendy is occupied with Experiment 210.]]
** The Lumberjack Ghost in "Northwest Mansion Noir/Mystery".

** Among Quentin Trembley's many wacko laws is the "Finders Keepers" law, where you can legally gain property just by taking it, which is played for laughs. Come the Season 1 finale, where [[spoiler: Gideon gains possession of the Mystery Shack by stealing the deed]].

* CerebusRetcon: Has [[CerebusRetcon/GravityFalls its own page]].

** Here's the clip of that with music from the Futurama example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7GuUHAt2cs.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The 38-sided die from "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons". [[http://www.shapeways.com/product/Y5PLZZ99M/d38-38-sided-polyhedral-die D38s do exist]], but their faces are non-uniform, meaning that they aren't ideal for dice, unlike D12s (dodecahedrons) and D20s (icosahedrons). Oddly enough, whenever Dipper is playing the titular game [[spoiler: except during the climax]], it's always portrayed as a D20, with all sides being triangular.

'''Stan:''' I said I was gonna rob you!

* EverythingsBetterWithLlamas: One of Mabel's sweaters has a picture of a llama on it.
** One of the symbols on the Bill Cipher Zodiac is a llama, which corresponds to [[spoiler: the above sweater, which Mabel gives to Pacifica in the SeriesFinale]].

* AwesomeMcCoolname:
** Invoked in "Double Dipper." Dipper #2 decides on "Tyrone" because he's always liked that name.
** [[spoiler:Fiddleford Hadron [=McGucket=]]]

** Wendy proves herself beyond a shadow of a doubt as one of these in "Into the Bunker." Then she takes it UpToEleven in "Weirdmageddon Part 1" [[spoiler:by surviving Bill's apocalyptic hellscape, fighting through Gideon's gang, and proving herself a BadassDriver (without knowing how to drive) through a landscape peppered with madness bubbles.]]

** Creator/JasonRitter plays Dipper, who [[Film/FreddyVsJason battles a dream demon]] with [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor a nasty sense of humor]] and a NiceHat.

** Jason Ritter (Dipper) plays a character who butts heads with a [[RealityWarper reality warping]], LaughablyEvil Dream Demon with a NiceHat. [[Film/FreddyVsJason He's done that song and dance before]].

* AdultFear:
** "Tourist Trapped" contains a quite plausible child-abduction scenario: [[spoiler: Mabel getting kidnapped by what she thought was her "boyfriend", and was almost forced to marry a gnome to become their queen.]]
** In his debut episode "The Hand That Rocks The Mabel", Gideon Gleeful manipulating and pressuring Mabel to continue dating him even though it obviously makes her uncomfortable is depicted semi-realistically, as there are real people like him who will employ similar methods (okay, maybe not the bit with the South American Rainbow Macaw, but you get the point) to manipulate and pressure unsuspecting people into doing things they don't want to do, [[BitchInSheepsClothing all while hiding behind a smile]].
** "Gideon Rises" has a subtle, but very painful one: [[spoiler:Stan is forced to realize that, having lost the Shack, he cannot take care of Dipper and Mabel. This is evident when we see him talking with Dipper and Mabel's parents; he lies to them about their current condition and we see him realize that they cannot live with Soos for the summer since there is little income and little food. He also gives up all hope trying to get his brother back. This strikes a chord for many parents or guardians who fear they may have to surrender their kids to other family members or social services because they can no longer take care of them]].
** In "Blendin's Game," while "fear" may be a strong word in this case, [[spoiler:Soos's deadbeat father]] is portrayed ''very'' realistically. And it's not just Soos who is affected; his Abuelita had to raise him herself and has difficulty helping him understand. Dipper and Mabel simply have no idea what to do.
--->'''Dipper:''' We promised Soos a happy birthday, but how can we give him that now? This goes beyond anything we know how to fix.
** PlayedForLaughs in "Boss Mabel": looking into the eyes of a gremloblin will force you to experience your worst fear. What does the gremloblin see when it looks into a mirror? [[spoiler:Himself saying, [[IAmNotMyFather "You've become your father!]]"]]
** Decidedly ''not'' PlayedForLaughs in "Not What He Seems." [[spoiler:Dipper and Mabel go to child services.]] (Well, they would have [[spoiler:if they hadn't slipped away]].) That's terrifying to kids ''and'' adults.
*** This one also has another "kids and adults" level fear of finding out that somebody you love and respect may turn out to be leading a double life, or otherwise completely lying to you. Watching Mabel try to come to grips to this is painful.
*** And the flipside with Grunkle Stan and the twins, especially Dipper. What do you do if your child finds out you lied to them, and now doesn't even trust you enough to give you a chance to explain yourself?
** Discussed in-universe. Seeing Grunkle Stan and Ford hate each other after they used to be so close, makes Dipper and Mabel worry that their own future could be so ruptured, especially after the same differences start to drive them apart from each other.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The "Insert Token!" machine has no other gameplay beyond its title. The player inserts a token to win the game.

* BerserkButton: Do NOT call Dipper a wimp, or a baby, or not a man, or kid. Point is, he hates being a wimpy twelve-year-old, and hates it even more if you comment on it.
-->'''Woman:''' Oh, I'm sorry. I was looking for the mailman.\\
'''Dipper:''' Oh, what? Are you saying I'm ''not'' a male man? Is that what you're trying to say? I'm not male, I'm not a man?
** Harm his family in front of Stan, '''and you will pay dearly for it.'''

** Soos finds an "Shmez" dispenser in [[spoiler:Ford and McGucket's]] bunker, which is an obvious spoof of the RealLife "PEZ" handheld candy dispensers.

** Soos finds an "Shmez" dispenser in [[spoiler:Ford and McGucket's]] bunker, which is an obvious spoof of the RealWorld "PEZ" handheld candy dispensers.

*** A more [[LikeFatherLikeSon indirect example]], Dipper is a newcomer to a forested TownWithADarkSecret who does battle with a LaughablyEvil [[RealityWarper reality warping]] EldritchAbomination. His [[Creator/JohnRitter voice actor's father]] was in a similar situation in Film/It1990.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality:
** Rumble [=McSkirmish=] spends most of his time running around town and destroying everything in sight with his bare hands. It sounds sick until you remember that he's [[TheGameComeToLife a character in a fighting game come to life]].
** As the series progresses, it becomes increasingly apparent that Bill operates on such a moral spectrum: on one hand, he appears to be quite insane and/or evil from a human perspective. He even freely admits that this would be an accurate judgment of his behavior (not that he cares). However, his conversation with [[spoiler: Ford]] in "Weirdmageddon Part 3" [[spoiler: seems to confirm that he genuinely believes that his actions are ultimately for the good of the universe]].

** Most notable is Grunkle Stan who isn't a laid-back confidence man who doesn't believe in spooks or supernatural; [[spoiler: He believes in the supernatural but pretends not to in order to try to discourage Dipper from seeking out dangerous things. And while he is a conman, he's secretly self-loathing, racked with his own repeated failures with his own brother.]]

* AmbiguouslyJewish: The Pines family. Mabel and Grunkle Stan occasionally use Yiddish words ("mazel tov," anyone?), and Mabel herself has been known to put "Moses" where others would use "Jesus Christ". [[JewishAndNerdy Dipper]] and [[AllJewsAreCheapskates Stan]] fit a couple of stereotypes respectively. There's also the fact that "Pines" is an eastern Ashkenazi Jewish surname. However, despite Alex Hirsch's Judaic background and the fact that he based the Pines on himself and his family, he has confirmed that the Pines family are [[https://31.media.tumblr.com/3b25ef523ae8d77f7df25993283b9c9c/tumblr_inline_nh0s0ltaTL1qm9usw.png not necessarily Jewish]], and [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/579343833260957696 welcomes people to their own interpretation]]. This happened after artists got told by fans that it's offensive of them to draw the twins celebrating Christmas ([[HateDumb even though secular Jews do celebrate Christian festivals as part of the culture of their home countries]]). In another tweet, he proceeded to draw the twins wearing [[http://31.media.tumblr.com/a59913e8450294491fd15bbff911029c/tumblr_myc4cxVJ2B1sbotlno1_400.jpg Santa hats]], while ''A Tale of Two Stans'' shows a [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/8c2c8d72557a7ee2f313264f7c572c65/tumblr_nrig1fXC6S1qjcd3co3_1280.png Mezuzah]] outside Stan's house. The official release of Journal 3 confirms that Stan had a Bar-Mitzvah, though Alex said in [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/758547032554344448 a tweet]] that he is now an atheist, and Dipper and Mabel were raised non-religiously but Mabel insists on observing all the Jewish holidays.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: The Pines family. Mabel and Grunkle Stan occasionally use Yiddish words ("mazel tov," anyone?), and Mabel herself has been known to put "Moses" where others would use "Jesus Christ". [[JewishAndNerdy Dipper]] and [[AllJewsAreCheapskates Stan]] fit a couple of stereotypes respectively. There's also the fact that "Pines" is an eastern Ashkenazi Jewish surname. However, despite Alex Hirsch's Judaic background and the fact that he based the Pines on himself and his family, he has confirmed that the Pines family are [[https://31.media.tumblr.com/3b25ef523ae8d77f7df25993283b9c9c/tumblr_inline_nh0s0ltaTL1qm9usw.png not necessarily Jewish]], and [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/579343833260957696 welcomes people to their own interpretation]]. This happened after artists got told by fans that it's offensive of them to draw the twins celebrating Christmas ([[HateDumb even though secular Jews ''do'' celebrate Christian festivals as part of the culture of their home countries]]). In another tweet, he proceeded to draw the twins wearing [[http://31.media.tumblr.com/a59913e8450294491fd15bbff911029c/tumblr_myc4cxVJ2B1sbotlno1_400.jpg Santa hats]], while ''A Tale of Two Stans'' shows a [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/8c2c8d72557a7ee2f313264f7c572c65/tumblr_nrig1fXC6S1qjcd3co3_1280.png Mezuzah]] outside Stan's house. The official release of Journal 3 confirms that Stan had a Bar-Mitzvah, though Alex said in [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/758547032554344448 a tweet]] that he is now an atheist, and Dipper and Mabel were raised non-religiously but Mabel insists on observing all the Jewish holidays.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: The Pines family. Mabel and Grunkle Stan occasionally use Yiddish words ("mazel tov," anyone?), and Mabel herself has been known to put "Moses" where others would use "Jesus Christ". [[JewishAndNerdy Dipper]] and [[AllJewsAreCheapskates Stan]] fit a couple of stereotypes respectively. There's also the fact that "Pines" is an eastern Ashkenazi Jewish surname. However, despite Alex Hirsch's Judaic background and the fact that he based the Pines on himself and his family, he has confirmed that the Pines family are [[https://31.media.tumblr.com/3b25ef523ae8d77f7df25993283b9c9c/tumblr_inline_nh0s0ltaTL1qm9usw.png not necessarily Jewish]], and [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/579343833260957696 welcomes people to their own interpretation]]. This happened after artists got told by fans that it's offensive of them to draw the twins celebrating Christmas. In another tweet, he proceeded to draw the twins wearing [[http://31.media.tumblr.com/a59913e8450294491fd15bbff911029c/tumblr_myc4cxVJ2B1sbotlno1_400.jpg Santa hats]], while ''A Tale of Two Stans'' shows a [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/8c2c8d72557a7ee2f313264f7c572c65/tumblr_nrig1fXC6S1qjcd3co3_1280.png Mezuzah]] outside Stan's house. The official release of Journal 3 confirms that Stan had a Bar-Mitzvah, though Alex said in [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/758547032554344448 a tweet]] that he is now an atheist, and Dipper and Mabel were raised non-religiously but Mabel insists on observing all the Jewish holidays.