This page covers a short work set after the events of Gravity Falls. Therefore, spoilers for this work and its source material are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
"I just want to know the truth."
— Gwen Pines
Deal is a short webcomic by fan-artist Turquoise Space 35, set thirty years after the events of Gravity Falls.
The tale starts with a young teen, Gwen, desperate for answers. Bill Cipher, eager to make a deal, offers her the answers to all her questions in exchange for something only she can provide. At the last moment, Dipper appears, demanding Gwen to leave. Though struggling to get through to her, his intervention sparks Bill to attack, leaving Gwen to take the deal out of fear. Getting what he wants, Bill shows Gwen the twisted nature of her upbringing, and all that entails.
A few years after the comic ended, the creator did a reboot of the world that turns it into a light hearted Slice of Life series, making dramatic changes.
Story starts here
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This work contains examples of:
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Dipper and Pacifica become a couple sometime after the events of Gravity Falls and have children together. Gideon and Mabel are also implied to be couple, as Mabel now lives in the Gleeful's house with a sign out front welcoming the newest Gleeful.
- Adaptational Sympathy: Preston Northwest maintains his worst traits from canon, wishing to see an end to the Pines family, raise "the perfect child he never had", and staying as greedy as ever. However, being forced to work with Bill clearly takes a toll on the man, and he at least shows enough care for his daughter to ask Bill not to hurt her anymore.
- Broken Pedestal: Gwen initially worships Dipper..until she learns the truth about her brother and how Dipper covered it up.
- Daddy's Girl: Side comics show that Gwen has a strong bond with her father, Dipper. They’re also alike in personality.
- Dead Fic: The comic ends on a cliffhanger and a few years later, the author did a Continuity Reboot of the universe into a Lighter and Softer slice of life story.
- Demonic Possession: After showing Gwen the truth about her brother's existence, supernatural being Bill Cipher proceeds to possess her, needing her as a host to bring about Weirdmageddon once more.
- Distant Sequel: Deal is set thirty years after Gravity Falls, showing a world where Dipper and Pacifica have children and Bill Cipher returns with a vengeance.
- Gory Discretion Shot: When Pacifica strikes Dustin with a golf club, the frame goes to red and black, only showing a silhouette of the blow.
- Killed Offscreen: Stan and Ford died around the time Mabel’s daughter Sara was born and Dipper’s children were born, respectively. While it’s not stated how Stan died, Ford died from a long term illness he contracted in his travels across The Multiverse.
- Monochromatic Impact Shot: In the scene where Pacifica kills Dustin, the frame of the fatal blow is depicted as a black silhouette on a red background.
- Mood Whiplash: The flashbacks of Pacifica, baby Gwen and baby Dustin are adorable with Pacifica being affectionate and cute babies…until Pacifica falls asleep.
- Offing the Offspring: The Awful Truth in a nutshell: Bill got into an unprotected Pacifica’s mind while she fell asleep watching baby Gwen and Dustin. He made her hallucinate monsters attacking her children, resulting in her beating her son to death with a golf club. By the time she came to her senses, it was too late.
- One-Word Title: Deal's title refers to the deal Bill forces on Gwen, wherein she learns the truth about her brother in exchange for her role in bringing back Weirdmageddon.
- Parents as People: Dipper loves Gwen and Pacifica, but did terrible things in order to keep them happy and safe.
- Stepford Smiler: Dipper is a depressed male example, hiding his grief for his son and the burden of being the only one who remembers Dustin existed (or so he believes) under a dorky and cheerful façade.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Gwen is a dead ringer for her mother, Pacifica. Gwen's model is almost identical to her mothers' at the same age, save for her outfit and darker, messier hair.
- Unperson: To relieve Pacifica's devastation after the death of their son, Dipper erases all evidence of the child's existence and does a mass brain-wipe, essentially retconning Dustin's existence away to anyone besides Dipper.
- Would Hurt a Child: Though working indirectly, Bill is not above tricking Pacifica into killing her infant son through blunt force.
"WHAT'S WRONG PINE TREE? AREN'T YOU GONNA HUG YOUR BELOVED DAUGHTER?"
