Apprentice {Gravity Falls}

Headcannons

Hello! This isn't a chapter per se, but I thought it'd be cool to share some of my headcannons about Ford and Dipper bonding! ^_^

- Dipper, although he does have nightmares of Bill, also has nightmares about Mabel's bubble, Dippy Fresh, and his family not liking him. Ford comforts him and promises to support him for who he is.

- Speaking of nightmares, sometimes if Dipper's having a particularity bad night he'll sneak into Ford's room and lay down next to him. He always leaves before morning because he's kind of embarrassed and doesn't want to get caught, but Ford can tell if he's there and after the first few times he starts leaving his door ajar just in case Dipper wants to join him.

- If Ford has a nightmare, especially if it's about Bill hurting Dipper, he'll go up to the attic and trace his finger over Dipper's birthmark so he knows his boy is safe. Dipper pretends he's asleep.

- They can read each other's emotions pretty well. While Stan might think Dipper is just calmly reading, Ford would be able to tell he feels down. Likewise, Dipper can tell if Ford is overworked or didn't get enough sleep and nudges the elder to take care of himself, even if it isn't always obvious.

- Ford likes having his hand on Dipper's shoulder. Like look at this:

In every single picture Ford has his hand(s) on Dipper's shoulder. And this is all from just one episode!

- Ford's terms of endearment for Dipper include: my boy, my dear boy, son, major (as in ursa major), Mason, and very rarely, sweetheart.

- Ford thinks of Dipper as his son and will occasionally accidentally refer to Dipper as his son outloud.

- Dipper likes to try to roll the D20 across his knuckles like how Ford does in Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons.

- Ford rarely ever gets angry at Dipper. It'd take a lot for Ford to truly be mad at the boy.

- If neither of them can sleep, they'll sit in the living room and read together in comfortable silence.

- Sometimes Ford (and Stan) will watch Dipper play video games. One of Dipper's favorite games is Undertale and due to watching him, Ford will occasionally hum some of the more calmer songs from the game such as "Home," or "His Theme,"

- On the subject of video games, Dipper also likes Pokèmon (Monmon in the Gravity Falls universe) and after some time watching Dipper, Ford asks if he can teach him how to play the game.

- Dipper likes to sing if no one else is around. The truth is, Ford can occasionally hear Dipper's voice from the lab, but doesn't comment on it because he's afraid if he does Dipper will stop.

- Ford likes to sing "Everything Stays," to Dipper. He even learned the song on piano (I read somewhere Ford can canonly play piano. I don't remember where tho).

- Dipper likes to listen to Ford play piano, even if he doesn't know the song. Eventually, Ford asks if Dipper wants to learn how to play, and although he's not that good he enjoys learning it.

- Ford has a habit of remembering the most obscure interests of Dipper. For example, he could mention once he likes a tv show and Ford ends up buying him the whole series.

- Ford considers Dipper the co-author of Journal #3 due to the amount and quality of information Dipper wrote.

- Dipper and Ford will tease each other but it's extremely light compared to how Stan and Mabel tease Dipper. Ford might comment on how infatuated Dipper was when he first stepped out of the portal or Dipper might tease Ford about his "All Star," tattoo. They can both laugh at it, and Ford would never tease Dipper about his insecurities such as his height or masculinity.

- Ford lets Dipper wear his trench coat if he's shivering or complains about being too cold

- The first time Ford heard Dipper's kitten sneezes, he thought an actual kitten somehow got into the Mystery Shack. Ford thinks his sneezes are adorable, but doesn't say anything because he knows Dipper likes to look tough.

- Ford will let Dipper sit on his lap while he's working. Like, look at this fanart! (Not my art)

Adorable!!

And finally, this isn't a headcannon, but I think one of my favorite scenes between these two is in DaMvsF when Ford is showing how UFOs shaped the ravine.

I don't know why, but this scene is freaking adorable to me!!

Anyway, that's all my headcannons about these two! I'd love to hear about yours in the comments!