The Dreambender: The Transcendence AU In A Nutshell · 2:13pm Jun 8th, 2016
Greetings Gotham, Joker here! Well, now that I've gotten a restful night's sleep (still very, very unhappy with Hamster Master though, and I refuse to unblock him), I think I'll give you guys the full story of the Transcendence AU of Gravity Falls, which has been copy-and-pasted from the offical Tumblr page. Well, let's begin!
Part 1: Dipper’s predicament/The Transcendence
The beginning of this tale generally starts with the end of Dipper and Mabel’s summer, and the supernatural phenomena that is soon called the Transcendence; the event in which all thing paranormal and strange spreads across the globe and becomes commonplace - much like in Gravity Falls.
The Transcendence itself was a side-effect of thwarting Bill Cipher’s ultimate goal of merging the mindscape with the physical dimension humankind resides in. As one of the most powerful supernatural beings in existence, and one of the few able to cross dimensions, Bill’s goal wasn’t one rooted in “good” or “evil”, merely the drive to create chaos, and thus, entertainment. It took him thousands of years to set up such a complicated and powerful spell that would otherwise be impossible without the precise alignment of certain stars and planets, and he influenced countless civilizations with his near-omnipotence in order to steer reality in the right direction. In the end, his final piece to the puzzle was Gravity Falls - which evidently was also his small-scale practice run thirty years ago, in which he allowed a tiny part of the mindscape to meld within the small town… the part that held a portion of humanity’s myths, legends, magic, and imagination.
Dipper and Mabel, along with their small rag-tag team of friends (and a portion of the town who were privy to such information) were able to somehow follow the clues (possibly left behind by Stan’s brother - this tidbit may change along with canon) and just barely stop Bill from achieving his ultimate goal.
They saved they world. Melding the mindscape with reality would have at best attained mass chaos and widespread suffering. However, defeating Bill also destroyed the barrier that contained the sliver of the mindscape that was previously withheld only inside Gravity Falls - and thus, the Transcendence took place, spreading it to every corner of the globe.
Directly after the event, Bill Cipher clung to life after receiving the full backlash of the spell he worked thousands of years to complete. Magic of such magnitude that only exists under such excruciatingly specific circumstances could be just enough to kill an otherwise immortal demon.
In a last-ditch effort to save himself, Bill attempted to possess Dipper without a contract. Such a feat was certainly possible, considering he already possessed Dipper’s body once before, and had an affinity for it. It was a huge gamble, but it was his only choice.
It didn’t work. Dipper fought with every ounce of strength he had, and won. Bill was gone. The demon was dead.
However, Dipper didn’t quite get the happy ending he hoped for.
Though Bill’s mind had vanished, he left behind all residual energy inside Dipper - which effectively pulled him into the mindscape, and altered his very being. He may have escaped the ordeal with his life, but Dipper was no longer human; he had become an entity like Bill Cipher. A demon.
To everyone but Mabel, Dipper effectively became a ghost. For some reason - possibly due to them being twins - Mabel is able to see, hear, and touch Dipper even while he resides in the mindscape. However, this changes quickly through the years, as Dipper slowly begins to realize his existence isn’t just unusual, it’s unheard of - and for a good reason.
Among demons, dream demons have the potential to be the most powerful, as dreams are a gateway to the subconscious that can ultimately bend reality. They can control minds, even distort the very world inside the mindscape. So what happens when a dream demon fuses with a being that has a natural affinity for the physical realm…?
As the years progress, Dipper grows more powerful, and starts realizing that he may have inherited some (not all) of Bill’s powers, but he’s gaining unique ones of his own. He’s able to pop into the physical realm at will for short periods of time with his own body, and the duration gets longer and longer as he grows more powerful. Eventually, Dipper will get to a point where he can exist completely in the physical realm at will, with all the abilities Bill would have had in the mindscape.
There’s a reason a physical dream demon hasn’t existed up until now; if it did, the universe would have been in shambles. It might not even exist. Such a being has the potential to become a god capable of destroying reality as we know it.
Dipper’s only hope is that his human lineage (and conscience) will keep him grounded. Until then, it wouldn’t be thousands and thousands of years before he reaches that level of power anyway.
Part 2: The World After
While the effects of the Transcendence were instantaneous, mankind doesn’t take to the changes in the same manner. It’s many years before panic even begins to subside, and people really begin to accept that the strange world they live in now is the one they need to get used to. It takes a full generation or two for humanity to completely settle into things and regard the supernatural as everyday occurrences.
Schools soon begin to teach supernatural studies, even before Mabel graduates high school - though they start out more as purely defensive courses. Which make sense, seeing as numerous hostile beings are popping up left and right, and hardly anyone knows how to stop them. And unfortunately, summoning circles become widely known, and even amateurs can often use them properly because intent is the most powerful factor in summoning.
In kind, supernatural defense forces quickly form alongside local police departments. Which is good, because supernatural beings, especially demons, start becoming weaponized by people - and governments. And because besides Dipper, who’s more of a neutral case, there are no “good” demons that feel sympathy for their human victims.
Cults become even more problematic; not only do they increase in number, but they now deal in all sorts of dangerous paranormal happenings - namely, summoning. While much of summoning can entail calling dangerous supernatural creatures, there are none more dangerous than demons. And even though Alcor has been known to go easy on some people, he’s still regarded as the most dangerous demon to summon.
And there’s a new threat regarding a person’s “true name” (which can be changed over time, such as in cases of transgender folk).
Unforunately, after a handful of years, Alcor’s infamy ends up biting him in the butt in a rather, uh, unconventional way. Trashy romance novels are written, Mizar’s relation to Alcor is questioned, and shippers destroy lives.
Topic 1: Life After Death
A few supernatural beings are slightly different (demons being one of them), but for the most part, souls are eternal entities that are in a continuous cycle of rebirth.
When humans, and most other beings die, they almost instantly re-enter the cycle in a new life. During this short time in-between cycles (which could be anywhere between a few seconds or a few days, and is determined by both the availability of bodies and the will of the soul), the soul is privy to all information of its past lives.
This is why every so often, Dipper is visited by a familiar ghost of a loved one. It’s not much, sometimes it’s only for a few minutes every 80 years, but it means that he’ll never truly ever have to say goodbye for eternity.
This also means Dipper can find reincarnated souls of those he’s greatly attached to. Mabel’s is the easiest to find, considering the bond they share. Sometimes he chooses to approach them, sometimes he chooses to leave them be. It’s a hard decision, seeing as they’re the same soul, but they don’t have the same memories readily available to them, and thus wouldn’t know Dipper if he appeared before them.
A few things can alter how that cycle behaves. A can be soul corrupted, eaten, or otherwise “destroyed”; it won’t disappear forever, but it could take hundreds of years for it to regain enough energy to re-enter the cycle. During this time, it is unknown if the soul is in despair, pain, or if it experiences something akin to sleep.
Demon souls are a bit different. Because they house such immense energy, in that miniscule chance that one is killed (like Bill), it takes a minimum of a few hundred years for it to re-enter the cycle. When it does, the demon is at incredibly low power.
It’s extremely rare, but not unheard of, for souls to jump species. Meaning, a human soul will almost always be reborn into a human. And souls who become very involved with one another, good or bad, tend to reincarnate close to each other, though this isn’t a steadfast rule.
Reincarnated individuals also tend to be named something that resembles a past life name.
Topic 2: Demons
In this AU, demons are ultimately chaotic-neutral beings that don’t necessarily wish for suffering and pain for the sake of being “evil”; they merely enjoy chaos (and fear) as a form of entertainment. This just so happens to end up meaning death and torment for mortals more often than not.
Demons exist under three main ranks, though each rank has a series of sub-ranks. As a whole, there is also an alphabetical rank that goes from F (lowest) to A (highest), with an additional S rank that’s reserved for the most powerful demons.
It’s also important to note that religious artifacts and locations do in fact affect demons. Including dreamcatchers, though they aren’t so much of a threat as they are an annoyance.
Since demons are beings of pure energy, their eating habits work very differently than normal creatures; their stomachs are basically void pocket dimensions in which they can store their “meals” and extract the energy when they need it.
The demon’s counterpart, angels, are not the angels told of in religion. Angels also reside in the mindscape, though they don’t really quarrel with demons. Unlike demons, they can enter the physical world at will, but are ultimately powerless when they do (taking on a completely human form with only a few abilities like basic spells and flight). They gain the same kind of power demons do from deals, but with faith and worship.
Well, that was certainly lengthy wasn't it? As I've said before, I'm not going to be following what's been established in this AU to the letter. An example of this being that Dipper/Alcor isn't actually interested in having romantic relationships, nor can he have children with anything other than a dream demon. And this is coming from a guy who spent half a freaking summer trying to convince a beautiful redhead out on a date. And besides, love always finds a way to make things happen, so it's safe to say that Alcor and Luna will be having crossbreed children of some kind.
Well, that's all for today, kiddies! Remember: dying is easy, comedy is hard!
Thank you!
Wait so no romance between Luna and Dipper?
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No, there's still gonna be romance between them. This is what I meant by not following what the Tumblr says to the letter. Also, Alcor and Luna are going to adopt the Scootaloo from the Rainbow Factory universe. It won't end well for Dashie when Alcor gets there.