The Line

The Gravity Falls Gossiper is alight - and not just because of its awful quality making it only good for kindling.
No, the Railroad is returning to Gravity Falls, and the townspeople are excitedly working on setting up a much-needed second link to the normal world around them. However, with Blubs and Durland lost to a major investigation, only one set of folks come to mind to guard the worksites - and Ford is all too eager to take the opportunity for some good old family bonding.
Now, the Pines are taking to the (rail)road and camping out in the weirdest place of all; a forest clearing with nothing strange going on.The Line is the 10th episode of Return to the Falls.
It is preceded by The Scuttlebutt Fog and is proceeded by Call of the Boggles.
===Synopsis===
Following the events of the Summer, Fiddleford McGucket has decided to reopen the Gravity Falls Railroad. The old rails are plucked up and replaced like-for-like, led by the Corduroys, with McGucket planning to utilise the Dinkies Factory for government-sponsored projects, and operating the railroad to keep his workshop supplied - while also bringing a new tourist link to the town.
He asks the Pines family to keep watch of the railhead, inside one of the old railroad carriages - deep in a forest clearing. Together, the Pines, Pacifica and Kevin Corduroy exchange stories under moonlight, in a rare escape from big events and terrifying monsters. In the process they fill in numerous secrets and expand numerous parts of both A Return to the Falls' canon, and that of Gravity Falls itself. 
===Chapter Titles===
#Spikes and Ties
#The Arrangement
#Backpacks
#Campsite
#Setting Up
#A Deeper Dive
#Pre-Summer, Pre-Return
#Rise of the Nymphs
#Reassembly
#Bland State
#Below the Surface
#The Future
#The Great Frilly
#Daybreak
#Reconsolidation
#To the Grindstone - I mean Stone Grinder 
#Confession in Transit
#Switching Strategy
#Floundering Over Frills
#Posterity
===Character Revelations===
* The Gravity Falls railroad is being rebuilt, in direct following from the previous episode.
* Dan and Marcus are largely leading the fray thanks to their impressive strength and love of hitting things with hammers.
* The forest smells so pleasant due to Pete, a very pleasant smelling gnome that bathes in nectar. 
* Soos is an ardent - and quite well-spoken - supporter of public transportation.
* Dipper is no longer particularly interested in being 'manly' - Pacifica has taken the interest out of him.
* Ford is desperate to actually learn about his family; feeling he never got the chance last Summer.
*Fiddleford continues his development; still kooky but now all-in to his government role.
**However, he has somewhat removed himself from town - thanks to the things he's done while categorically insane.
*Mabel has seen Dipper's video game OCs. Apparently some are betraying Dipper's growing interest in none-kid things.
*Kevin has posted urbex videos on youtube. They mostly deal with things like the abandoned RV in front of the Corduroy Cabin.
*Ford reveals a lot more about Filbrick Pines. This view of him is far less 'completely abusive father'.
**Much of the Pines' tensions seemed to be environmental - the Cold War was a particularly impactful time for New Jersey.
**Filbrick was a dog smuggler, much like his son eventually became.
**Caryn was well aware of her husband's criminal nature - and seemed rather encouraging of it.
**Caryn defends Stanley very eagerly. She believes Stan is 'just like them', while Filbrick hopes to turn the family 'straight'.
**Shermie was one of the only ones to immediately know about the Stan/Ford swap.
**He discovered this when he came to meet the twins for the first time; Stan also attended according to the Legend of the Gnome Gemulets.
**Further elaboration is made on the Gnome Gemulets anecdote. Shermie is reportedly a stuffed shirt still working in the Navy.
*We're given a run-down of Pacifica's hiring at Greasy's Diner. This elaborates a lot on Susan and Pacifica's relationship.
**Pacifica was banned from reading any Gravity Falls History unless it's Northwest-Published.
**Before she found Journal 3, she didn't even realise there'd been a train crash. The Northwests covered it up.
**Wendy had put in a good word for Pacifica. Seemingly she had a feeling Pacifica would be applying for a position.
**Susan pays Pacifica cash-in-hand to get around child labour laws.
**Pacifica is seemingly oblivious to Wendy's knowledge of her through Dipper and Mabel.
**Pacifica had never learnt the names of the two girls she had hung around with during the events of Gravity Falls.
**Pacifica is very much not a 'fitness and exercise' person and would much rather play video games.
**Preston agreed to let Pacifica work there purely as she had signed a contract - and he never breaks contracts.
*Nymphs are such massive hipsters that they're scared of discount coffee, off-brand Graham crackers and off-brand marshmallows.
*Champagne et Fleur de Luxor - Eaue d’Bidet - Pacifica's incredibly powerful perfume - proves to work on Nymphs, too.
*Gravity Falls offered insurance against sticker attacks until 1999. After that, it insured against teeny-weeny-beanie-baby riots instead.
*Dipper and Mabel's story reflects on the kids' immediate response from returning to normality.
**Dipper and Mabel's parents are distinctly counter-culture individuals.
**They just figured the gnomes and suchlike were ornaments used by the Shack to garner tourists.
** The first girl Dipper tried to talk to at high school shared plenty in common with Pacifica.
**We hear a little more about the one-armed girl from the Donut shop. Apparently she lost her arm in the donut machine. 
*** She also ended up going to juvie for trying to stage a militarised coup of a rival donut shop.
***She also, also tried to marry Mabel during visitation hours at Juvie.
**Mabel is happy to date anybody that's 'different', as she finds it exciting. This matches up nicely with her previous partners.
**The Ghost Harassers boxset Pacifica got Dipper at the end of Gravity Falls is actually the special edition, with the foldout spook detection kit and a blueprint for the Perturbing Vehicle!
**Pacifica wrote the love-heart over the 'I' in Dipper's note especially - it's not part of her usual handwriting.
**Mabel and Dipper's parents still have no idea of the Great Grunkle Switch.
*Ford fills in a little more about the fuel leak from Crash Site Omega.
**We learn that the fuel leak is likely to keep making Gravity Falls weirder as time goes on.
**He also elaborates that it's not dissimilar to radiation.
*Ford is beginning to consider his need for a student again.
*We learn a little more about his prosthetic - which was apparently carved by Stan over a period of 4 days.
*Ford has become so protective of Dipper and Pacifica's dynamic that he's now genuinely worried about them breaking up.
*Some references are made to Fiddauthor - which seems to have been a momentary fling in Backsupmore.
*It's likely that the fuels McGucket plans to use are Omega-tainted.
*Pacifica and Ford are both very aware of how much of RTTF has taken place underground.
*Ford is actually terrible in hot weather.
*His turtleneck is wired up with a miniature AC unit after a visit to to the world of #2341.112.114.115 - a dimension that apparently specialises in tiny microchips.
*He also has a miniature document printer, an electric toothbrush and a water distiller.
*He's also beginning to pick up Monstermon, at Dipper's suggestion.
*Dipper has been prone to night terrors - mostly involving his own self-esteem and doubts.
*The Axolotl visits Dipper with a rhyme that aludes to much of the series:
**We find out that Northwest Greed does indeed play a major part in the finale.
**The Gravity Falls Railroad is indeed a circle wrapped around the town - part of Nathaniel's portal blueprint.
*The Axolotl believes he is an instrumental part in Dipper and Pacifica's romance. It's not clear if that's true.
*Stan has a habit of getting Bill Cipher's name wrong. It seems to be a factor of his memory gun shenanigans in the series' finale.
*Toby Determined apparently has whiskers where you shouldn't have whiskers.
*He also has what appears to be 'Super Scabies'.
*All of Soos's golf carts are tax write-offs.
*Blubs and Durland are investigating the Pines' activities.
*Blubs doesn't trust the Chinese restaurant as their pancakes aren't like his idea of pancakes.
*Pacifica is particularly unconvinced by the Axolotl's words.
*Gus is particularly short-tempered when it comes to his real name. Pacifica finds that amusing.
*Soos is occasionally very profound due to watching anime with mis-translated captions.
*The Multibear is now roaming Gravity Falls, mostly in search of snacks.
*The Gravity Falls railroad is finally completed - leadining into the next episode, Call of the Boggles.
===References===
*The 'Siberian Guy' who sold a load of tents to Soos - after removing the dead guys - is a loose reference to the Dyatlov Pass Incident.
*Fanatical Frederick is a reference to the Mad Max movies - and a little bit of Hardcore Henry, which the author has a fondness for.
*Stan's explanation of Shermie directly references - and elaborates on - the dialogue from Legend of the Gnome Gemulets.
*Ford's anecdote fills in Filbrick's dialogue from Dreamscaperers - something Stan paraphrased.
*The arrival of the Nymphs is a pastiche of Horsell Common and the Heat Ray, from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds.
*Nymphs are a real folklore creature - small fairy-like beings obsessed with carnal pleasure.
*Teeny-Weeny-Beanie-Babys are of course a reference to the Beanie Baby toys, which were subject to a particularly chaotic 'bubble' in the 90s.
*Vague magazine is a reference to Vogue.
*Wordpush is a reference to Wordpress.
*"Where will we get the talking dog to complete the group" - Pacifica is referencing Scooby Doo.
*The Axolotl refers to the alt-universe nature of Curse Of The Time Pirates.
*"you’ve put your fist through the paranormal" is a very specific reference to Judge Dredd, the author's favourite comic. Particularly, page 15 of Rob Williams' The Small House.
===Title Cards===
File:Theline1.png
File:Theline2.png
File:Thelinehead3.png
File:Theline4.png
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===Extra Artwork===
File:Thelinelogomed.png|The story's logo
File:GFRailroadCar.png|The railroad carriage
File:Lyingtogether.png|Characters from the 2nd title card
===Accompanying Comic Strips===
File:COMIC21.png|Arrival.