Takes place in Gemverse, where everyone is a Gem, they just keep their human names, and they can be born OR made. It's not fully fleshed out, it's just an idea that's been stuck in my head and I need to get it out of the way.
As far as Gemkind went, Dipper and Mabel Pines were oddities. Twins were a rarity in their world, and one or both even more rarely survived. But they did, to the surprise of everyone.
What was less of a surprise was that being twins, their gems were incomplete.
Dipper's gem was on his forehead, normally hidden behind his bangs or a hat. It was an indecipherable shape, like a shard of broken glass. 'Or a shattered gem,' he would often think bitterly. It was a light pink in color, which was helpful in blending in, save for when his hat was off and the sun hit it. Then it would sparkle along with the speckling of color around the gem that were commonly known as 'birthmarks'. Mabel loved them and often said they looked like stars. He was just always reminded that it made him more of a 'defect'.
He never said it out loud because calling himself a 'defect' would mean calling his twin a 'defect' too, and that would never do. Mabel's gem shard was much like his, only slightly more discernible in shape, resembling something of an askew W, pale blue in color and nestled just under the hollow of her throat. It too had speckling much like freckles around it, and it too shined and sparkled in sunlight, not that many people saw or noticed. Although she claimed to not be ashamed of her partial gem, she always wore sweaters that covered it up. She said it was because she just liked wearing colorful, bright things, but Dipper had a feeling she didn't want him feeling like HE had to show off his gem too.
School was both good and bad for them, more often bad because the other young Gems would tease them for being twins, and 'incomplete defects'. But it was somewhat improved because they gained a reputation quickly for being the first in their grade to summon their weapons.
It was their second week of school, and by that time everyone knew they were twins. Mabel had doubled back to get her pencil case she had forgotten in the classroom, and Dipper was quickly cornered by other students.
It was years later, and he STILL remembered the terror of being surrounded and the hurt of what the other kids were calling him. 'Defect'. 'Incomplete'. That he was never supposed to have been born. The insinuation that he was actually improperly incubated in a Kindergarten. He didn't know which insult hurt more.
One of the students had grabbed his hat and torn it off, exposing his gem shard, and that was when Dipper felt a strong pulse coming from it. A blinding light he could FEEL resonated from his head, and he was suddenly surrounded by a large pink barrier that threw everyone else back.
Within the barrier were speckles of pink lights, much like the ones on his head. Dipper wouldn't notice until much later that they were in the patterns of constellations.
Not two seconds after his barrier sprung up, Mabel came flying out of NOWHERE, her own gem shining a blazing blue through her sweater as, of all things, a grappling hook appeared in her hand. She fired it toward the ceiling, making it hook onto a rafter, and then took out about seven other kids with one swing. The grappling hook was dispelled, and Mabel walked right through Dipper's barrier and hugged him, moments before some teachers came out.
After a long, tiring meeting, their parents gave them the choice of whether or not to remain in the school. Dipper and Mabel said they would think it over.
Things sort of turned around, though. Word of their advancement in Gem powers spread overnight, and they began to make some friends for once.
Mabel, ever the social butterfly, was naturally more popular of the two. Dipper found he didn't mind much. The fiasco in the hall somewhat damaged his trust in other people. He instead focused on his studies and hobbies, making him, academically, top tier in his school. His force field bubble came in handy, since even regular Gems weren't safe when they were nerds, and it definitely kept him from getting his books taken or spitballs stuck in his hat.
There were difficulties, naturally. Even as twins, they were still separate entities, and at one point, Mabel had to stay home sick and Dipper went to school alone. It was there that he found out he was having difficulty summoning his bubble. A book he had been reading was snatched from him and tossed into the mud, and his hat was stolen.
After holing up in the guidance councilor's office for some protection, he was told that Gem Twin Theory done on surviving twins suggested that twins were two halves of a whole Gem, and that Mabel's absence was affecting his ability to use his bubble. Mabel would probably have trouble using her own weapon too.
Another meeting between the school and Dipper and Mabel's parents brought up an unheard-of and somewhat controversial topic—the possibility of Fusion.
Fusion was still a sensitive subject in their world, once considered taboo except for the most dire of situations, like a planetary invasion or the like. But in the case of twins like Dipper and Mabel, it was possible that Fusion could make them a complete Gem.
While their parents looked thoughtful and almost hopeful, Dipper and Mabel exchanged almost terrified looks. They WERE complete people, weren't they? Dipper was Dipper, and Mabel was Mabel; they had different interests and abilities, different ways of thinking, different personalities.
While their parents talked it over later that night, Dipper and Mabel did talking of their own. They didn't want to Fuse. It didn't matter if they just had partial gem shards, they still worked, didn't they? They could still be functional members of society, they just had to work on using their powers apart from each other for a while.
Regardless, they were taken to a specialized training facility that was normally open only to adult Gems with fully-recognized powers, and a Fusion expert taught them the theory and application of Fusion, and that even an unsuccessful Fusion performance would show SOME progress.
They were wrong.
There was no light, no spark, no partial melding of physical forms, nothing.
Weekend after weekend in that place reaped no results, and Dipper and Mabel went home, exhausted, and weary of everyone telling them to 'just try to be one'.
Luckily, their parents appeared to realize that the efforts were exhausting the pair, and at the end of the school year, they told them that they were sending the twins up north to stay with a relative for a while, just to unwind and relax.
The relative turned out to be a sort of black sheep of the Pines family, an older Gem named Stanford, who ran a tacky tourist trap in some backwoods town in the woods. As tedious as the bus ride was up there, Dipper had to admit the atmosphere was nicer than what he was used to in the city, and Mabel barely put her bags down before running after the nearest animal to coddle over it.
Great-Uncle Stanford's 'Mystery Shack' was full of weirdo oddities (most of which Dipper was SURE were fake) that attracted a surprising amount of tourists, but Dipper was sure Great-Uncle Stanford's REAL attraction was the fact that he appeared to have not one, but TWO complete, identical, and fully-intact red gems embedded in the backs of his hands, triangular in shape. He shrugged when Mabel asked about them and said he was probably supposed to be born with it square-shaped, but it was split in two, but he wasn't complaining. It was a good conversation starter.
Personally, Dipper thought the extra finger on his right hand was more of a conversational piece, but he didn't voice that opinion.
Although the trip was supposed to be relaxing, Great-Uncle (or 'Grunkle', as Mabel shortened) Stanford had them helping out in his business. At first indignant, Mabel and Dipper warmed up to it, bonding with their Grunkle, as well as the other two employees, a teenage Gem named Wendy who had a green gem on her wrist that would flash out an axe if she saw a customer try to steal something, or if some boy was getting fresh, and a friendly handyman named Jesus "Soos", who didn't have a weapon so to speak, but instead tools that came from the gem on his abdomen.
Although supposedly a sleepy, boring town, Dipper and Mabel quickly realized there was a LOT more to Gravity Falls than met the eye. From finding an old journal that described all sorts of oddities and mysteries to encountering them face-to-face, they found that there was PLENTY they could do here.
That wasn't to say everything was a good adventure. There was plenty of danger, especially a young Gem who came around by the name of Gideon, who posed himself as a psychic. He seemed interesting, but his obsession with Mabel showed him out to be a grade-A creep. When Dipper tried to get him to back off, Gideon revealed the true power his gem granted him was telekinesis.
Dipper was sure this kid was fifty shades of insane, and was only stopped from getting seriously hurt or worse by managing to summon up his bubble. It only held Gideon off until it dropped from Dipper's exhaustion, and he was sure he'd be SOL if Mabel hadn't shown up and punched Gideon in the gem so hard it cracked, making his powers fizzle out. He left, vowing revenge.
It wasn't an empty threat, come to find. Gideon returned later, with a journal just like Dipper's, and a repaired gem, only it seemed to be much more powerful. He stole Dipper's journal and attempted to abduct Mabel.
Dipper broke free of Gideon's telekinesis and ran up, managing to grab Mabel's hand. In an instant, both their gem halves exploded in a dazzling, sparkling light, and when the light faded, Gideon saw their gems glowing, a large purple shield shifting and sparkling like a clear night sky protecting them for a brief moment until the twins collapsed.
Both were exhausted, and unable to resist when Gideon bound them both in a telekinetic paralysis, saying something about how Yellow Pyramid would be interested in seeing them. Wendy, Soos, and Grunkle Stanford came running up with Stanford in the lead, his left-hand gem glowing as he summoned up a set of spiked brass knuckles on his left hand, punching at Gideon.
Gideon blocked with his telekinesis, and pressed his hand to Stanford's body, letting out an unnatural zap of energy through Stanford's form, causing Stanford's body to disintegrate, leaving behind only his two gems.
Dipper and Mabel's horror was short-lived, being knocked out telekinetically, the last thing they heard was Wendy and Soos screaming and charging forward.
