About This Zine

Keeping It Weird is a free digital zine focused on celebrating the beloved and weird, young main characters of Gravity Falls: Dipper Pines & Mabel Pines.This is an open entry zine: anyone who can meet the zine requirements and guidelines is accepted, regardless of zine experience, age, or skill level. There is no application process at all, and there is no Discord server for the zine.>>> If you are interested in participating, please read the Guidelines and FAQ. <<<

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As a tribute to their endearing shared siblinghood and the long, inspiring future that awaits them after everything they've been through, this zine is themed around the idea of Dipper and Mabel "after the summer" that we see during the show. What will their lives look like in the future? This includes fan designs for how the characters might look when they're older!The zine is divided into these major categories, accordingly:

The Next Winter/Summer

Following in the spirit of "See You Next Summer". This category is for the next time the Mystery Twins visit Gravity Falls, whether that is the upcoming Winter Break, or actually next year's Summer Vacation. The Mystery Twins are at their youngest in this category, being 13 or nearly 14.

High School Years

This category is about the twins' experiences all throughout high school, from freshman year to senior year. The Mystery Twins may be anywhere from age 13 to age 18.

College Age

This category is about the twins' experiences all throughout their theoretical college years. The Mystery Twins may be anywhere from age 18 to age 22 (or older, context depending).

Adulthood Onwards

This category is about the twins as adults, finished with their post-secondary education and ready to live and grow old through the remaining years of their long, weird, adult lives. The Mystery Twins may be anywhere from their early 20's to a more elderly age.

The contents of the above categories will also be further organized by the following sub-themes:

     - Birthday and holiday celebrations
     - High school and college related celebrations
     - Revisiting Gravity Falls
     - Life in Piedmont (daily life; related to Dipper and Mabel's parents; lingering emotions & nightmares from the events of the show; getting used to non-magical life again; family reunion involving the Grunks, Shermie, Dipper and Mabel's parents; etc.)
     - Family bonding with the Grunkles
     - Exploration of hobbies and careers
     - And more...?

Specific details including categories are subject to change as the project continues and we receive submissions.
Please look forward to the zine! Thank you for the support, and good luck creating!

"If you've ever taken a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, you've probably seen a bumper sticker for a place called Gravity Falls. It's not on any maps and most people have never heard of it. Some people think it's a myth. But if you're curious, don't wait. Take a trip. Find it. It's out there somewhere in the woods. Waiting."
- Dipper Pines, "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls"

General Guidelines

Contributors to the zine are expected to read these in addition to the FAQ.
The Submission Form is at the bottom of this page.

There is a maximum of 2 submissions per person.
This is a SFW zine rated T for Teen: Submissions should not feature nudity or erotic/explicit content. Potential depictions of violence should be kept to what is typical for the official show.Preferably, all submissions feature both Dipper and Mabel, even if one is merely in the background while the other is the primary focus of your submission. However, some submissions that only feature one Mystery Twin are okay. Please view our FAQ for further information about what’s allowed in the zine, including information on OCs, AUs, and ships.We will not accept any submissions that feature any kind of incest shipping content, or adult-and-minor relationships. Please do not send us works that include Pinecest, Stancest, BillDip, MaBill, etc. This zine is not the appropriate project for these topics and we ask for all contributors to respect this and respect each other by following all of our guidelines.All submitted works should be original content created for the zine. Plagiarism, art thievery, and GenAI usage or assistance will not be tolerated.We reserve the right to deny any submission, or refuse any contributor, based on personal discretion.The Submission Form is where we will collect such information as your preferred credit name, social media links, and other things.We would like to ask all contributors not to publicly share their completed submissions until after the zine has been released. Cropped art previews or short writing snippets are fine! Please be sure to tag the zine’s relevant social media account(s) so we can share your previews.Please be kind to your fellow contributors.

Artist Guidelines

     - Refer to the General Guidelines and the FAQ.
     - Images should be size A4 (2480×3508px), 300dpi, RGB, PNG or JPG, and portrait orientation. If possible, please provide complete or polished drawings rather than rough sketches.
     - Traditional art, cosplay, mixed media, needle crafts, sculptures, and other crafts will be accepted, but please do your best to provide clean scans/photos/images and follow all General and Art Guidelines. We cannot accept real life photo submissions, such as for cosplay, that feature real life minors.
     - We may not accept submissions if your images are not the correct size. Incorrectly sized images will be forced to have a border in the zine to allow for the entire image to display.
     - Please save your files with your CREDIT NAME.
     - The Submission Form will ask you if you want your artwork to be considered as a potential cover art option for the zine.

Writer Guidelines

     - Refer to the General Guidelines and the FAQ.
     - Writing submissions must not exceed 1,000-1,200 words. Every writing submission needs a title.
     - Writing submissions must be in English. (It's fine for characters to speak a few words in a different language.)
     - Please submit written works as either Word files (.docx), LibreOffice files (.odt), Google Doc links, or Ellipsus links.
     - Save your files with your CREDIT NAME, when applicable.
     - The Submission Form will ask you if you are interested in uploading your writing to the zine's dedicated Collection on AO3.
     - The Submission Form will ask you if you are fine with potential margin artwork or spot artwork being added to your writing in the zine, or if you would rather opt out.

How to Submit

When your submission is ready, please fill out this form:

>>> Submission Form <<<

We'll send you a confirmation email as soon as we can to verify that we have received your submission(s). If you haven't heard back after 48 hours of submitting, please reach out to us via one of our social media accounts or our email.If there are information issues, file issues, or all guidelines aren't followed, you will be notified.
You are free to resubmit up until the submission deadline on August 10th.

Zine Schedule

Zine Team

Contributors

TBD...

F.A.Q.

Contributors to the zine are expected to read these in addition to the Guidelines.

What is an open entry, or free-for-all, zine?

It’s a zine where anyone who can meet the zine requirements and guidelines is accepted, regardless of zine experience, age, or skill level.

Is this a free zine, or is it for-profit? Will there be a physical version, or any merch?

This is a free, digital-only zine that will be offered as a downloadable PDF through Itch.io. There will be no merch. If you are looking for a charity to support, unrelated to the zine, then we recommend the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

What will be the compensation for contributors in this zine?

All contributors will have access to the finished free digital zine in the end alongside everyone else. There is no other compensation beyond being included in the digital book.

What is the theme of this zine?

Please view our About page. In short, this zine is about celebrating and paying tribute to Dipper and Mabel, themed after the idea of what their lives look like after the ending of the show.

Does my submission have to include both Dipper and Mabel?

We would like for the majority of pieces in the zine to at least include both of the Mystery Twins even if only one is a primary focus (such as if the other is a background character), but pieces that are about specifically only Dipper or Mabel ARE allowed.

Are Gravity Falls OCs or AUs allowed?

As long as the primary focus of your submission is about Dipper and Mabel after the show, then Gravity Falls OCs are allowed. However, we ask everyone to keep AUs to a minimum.Some AUs, such as Relativity Falls or Reverse Falls, change too much about the Gravity Falls story/setting or Dipper and Mabel as characters to match the theme for what this zine intends to be. But some AUs, such as trans headcanon AUs or the Handyman Bill AU which are basically about the same canon characters we know and love and are often set in the future after the show, can be considered reasonably on-theme for the zine.If you aren’t sure, please ask. Due to the lack of official content that actually takes place after the show, we recognize that just about every depiction in this zine may be considered an AU in some way… So we ask for everyone to use their best judgment.

Are other official Gravity Falls characters allowed?

Yes! Try to keep Dipper and Mabel involved as a primary focus of your submission, but other characters are meaningful and important to their lives and the show, so of course they are allowed.

Are ships allowed? Will this zine have “proship” content?

We want to be very clear: This is not a zine about ships or shipping, and the primary focus should be on Dipper and Mabel, whether their shared siblingship or them individually as characters.However, we do know that romance is a frequent theme in the show, and there are numerous meaningful or otherwise beloved friendships and bonds that are a part of Dipper and Mabel’s lives. Therefore, ships are not explicitly banned, but we do ask everyone to try and keep it to a reasonable level. For example, we feel that it would be on-theme for the zine to consider the idea that Dipper or Mabel might be dating Pacifica in the future after the show.But we will not accept any submissions that feature any kind of incest shipping content, or adult-and-minor relationships. Please do not send us works that include Pinecest, Stancest, BillDip, MaBill, etc. This zine is not the appropriate project for these topics and we ask for all contributors to respect this and respect each other by following all of our guidelines.

Is this zine SFW? What is the rating of this zine?

Yes, this is a SFW zine rated T for Teen and all submissions should be completely SFW. Submissions should not feature nudity or erotic/explicit content. Potential depictions of violence should be kept to what is typical for the official show.

Can we submit pre-existing works?

We would prefer for everyone to create brand new works for this zine rather than submitting artwork or fic you have previously created. (If you started working on your submission after we first announced the zine but before submissions opened, then that is completely okay.)

How many contributors are you accepting?

Everyone who sends in their submissions before the deadline (August 10th, 2026) will be automatically accepted if they follow all guidelines. We have no limit on the quantity of contributors.

How many submissions can I send?

There is a limit of no more than 2 submissions total for each person.

Is traditional art allowed?

Yes! Please try to scan your art with a good quality scanner, and do your best to meet the Artist Guidelines.

Are cosplay, mixed media, needle crafts, sculptures, and other crafts allowed?

Yes! Please provide photos/scans/images that match the Artist Guidelines as best as you can. We cannot accept real life photo submissions, such as for cosplay, that feature real life minors.

Is GenAI usage or assistance allowed for any submissions?

NO. Please do not send us any images or written works that are AI-assisted or generated. If we have any suspicions about your submitted work, we may reach out to you with questions to try and verify. This zine is a labor of human love and art.

How can I submit my work?

Please view our About page and the Guidelines page. Make sure your submission follows all General Guidelines and Artist/Writer Guidelines, and submit it through our Submission Form (located on the Guidelines page)!

What is the zine schedule? Will there be extensions?

Please view our Schedule page. This zine has no progress check-ins for contributors, simply the final submission deadline for all contributors on August 10th. Any submission potentially received after this date will have to be discarded.We are unable to give extensions, but if you truly end up needing more time, please reach out to us, and we’ll potentially be able to make something work.

There’s only 1 mod for this zine, aren’t you worried about too many contributors? Will you be able to complete the project?

This is why the zine is open entry, and also why I have designed the Submission Form to be as convenient for me as possible. I know that the zine announcement posts on Tumblr and Twitter received a lot of interactions, and I am anticipating the quantity of submissions to potentially be rather high. If everyone follows guidelines, and I pace myself throughout the ongoing months of this project, then it will be a lot of work, but it will also be comfortable and possible.If the final size of the zine proves to have a rather high amount of pages, then each individual category of the zine will also be provided as separate PDFs on Itch.io alongside the primary, complete zine PDF.To help provide reassurance, this is my previous experience as a zine mod and formatter:
- “Again Tomorrow” zine for the Magia Record fandom (2022): Project host, project organizer, zine formatting, cover artist
- “Parallel Station” zine for the Gravity Falls fandom (2025-2026): Art mod, general mod, primary formatting mod, zine graphics artist, page artist
- “Connect” zine for the Madoka Magica & Magia Record fandoms (2025-2026): Art mod, general mod, primary formatting mod, zine graphics artist, page artist

I want to provide assistance and help out with this project, is there anything I can do?

I truly appreciate the thought! The most I can ask of you is to please support the zine when it releases, and support your fellow artists, writers, and other creatives in the Gravity Falls community.