The passing of time is a mysterious and wonderful thing. In the moment it can sometimes feel like time is passing slowly. Each moment dragging while we anticipate what comes next, however when given the chance to look back it becomes clear how quickly it really moves. By then the cruel irony is that it is too late to turn it back.
This was the reality for Stanley and Stanford Pines. When they were well into their older years a blessing in the form of two young pre-teens burst into their lives for what was meant to be one summer full of memories. Fate had other plans for the family, however when tragic circumstances gave the two childless old men the chance to be parents well beyond the years where a person was expected to raise children.
To some it might seem jarring to take in two children on the cusp of adolescence and try to form a parental bond, but for the Pines family it was a reality that they wouldn't trade for the world.
The four of them were closer than most traditional, nuclear, families, despite appearing on the outside to be anything but. They had stuck together through the ups and downs of the teenage years, and with each misadventure grown closer. They made quite a team; with Ford and Dipper being reserved, but resourceful and brilliant beyond compare, while Stan and Mabel were always looking for a good time, and living life on the edge not hiding their outgoing personalities from anyone.
It had not always been easy, there had been the typical issues of adolescence such as puberty and mood swings, but there had also been deep trauma such as losing their parents and uprooting their lives, and a particularly horrific incident involving Mabel and a deeply disturbed young man.
In spite of all of this, the family had thrived, primarily because all four of them maintained fiercely loyal to each other. In the blink of an eye Stan and Ford's parental responsibility had come to an end, and the outcome were two amazing, well-rounded young adults.
Dipper had followed in Ford's footsteps in constantly seeking knowledge (particularly in the supernatural) something about the unknowns of the world fascinated and challenged the young man as he constantly pursued more and more knowledge. By the time he was 25 he had managed to obtain a whopping 12 PHDS (the same as his brilliant uncle….though he joked that he wanted to get 13 so that he could beat Ford).
His twin sister Mabel had her own brand of brilliance. She was not as keen on following the rules and laws that seemed to come along with traditional knowledge, but in the areas she shined she was the brightest star in the sky. She had managed to receive a Bachelors in the arts and moved on to Portland, Oregon, where she not only used her creative mind, but her Grunkle Stan's eye for business to become one of the most successful and sought after art curators in the pacific northwest.
They were not only interested in advancing their careers, however, they were both still vastly interested in maintaining deep and meaningful relationships. Just like in their careers Dipper and Mabel were as different as night and day. Dipper was more inclined to only hold a few relationships at a time and to make them count, meanwhile Mabel had never met a stranger in her life, and appeared to make new friends everywhere she went.
This held true in deeper relationships as well. Dipper had really only loved one woman in his life, and he had met her when he was only twelve years old. Her name was Wendy Cordaroy, and Dipper knew the moment he met her that he loved her, though when they met she was fifteen so the age difference held more weight. When they began to grow older, however it became clear that they were meant for each other, and shortly after graduating college Dipper gathered all his nerves and popped the question, which she gladly said yes to.
For Mabel romance was a more difficult and complex topic. When she had arrived in Gravity Falls for what she thought would simply be a summer away from home she fully embraced her boy crazy phase, and appeared to have a new crush every week. Some of the crushes were typical of a girl her age (boy bands for instance) while others were a little out there (Stan had once walked in to see her lovingly stroke a 10 dollar bill, because she thought Alexander Hamilton was cute). Even still love to her was a beautiful, innocent, fantasy thought…..until she met Bradley Edwards. He was a wealthy, but deeply disturbed older teenager who took Mabel's kind and loving heart and attempted to destroy it forever. He chose the wrong victim, however, because despite being deeply traumatized by his actions Mabel remained the sweet, innocent, open hearted soul that had stepped off that bus to Gravity Falls.
Despite not taking her pure and kind heart, he did manage to tarnish her view of love for a long time after that. Her boy-crazy phase virtually disappeared after that, and while she had plenty of friends she appeared to have given up on the search to find a soul to share her romantic heart with. That was why both Stan and Ford were shocked when she called and announced that she would be coming back to Gravity Falls to visit her family, and that she was bringing a boy she wanted them to meet.