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- Bill – “Jinx! Wow! Get out of my head!”
- Ford – “You first”
- — Bill and Ford on their first meeting
Billford is the slash ship between Bill Cipher and Stanford "Ford" Pines from the Gravity Falls fandom.
Canon[]
Backstory[]
In the late 20th century, a young man named Stanford Pines spent six years investigating the strange creatures and oddities of Gravity Falls but eventually hit a dead end in his research. He couldn't find any answers to explain the town's bizarre phenomena. During this time, Stanford stumbled upon an ancient cave filled with stories about Bill Cipher, an ancient being. Ignoring the warnings, Stanford recited an incantation aloud, unknowingly summoning Bill into his mind. Bill, recognizing Stanford’s brilliance but also his arrogance and insecurity, saw him as the perfect target for manipulation. Bill presented himself as a muse, claiming to inspire one genius every century.
Bill and Ford playing chess
Bill revealed to Stanford that the oddities of Gravity Falls were caused by a dimensional rift that allowed weirdness to seep into the town. With Bill's help, Stanford designed blueprints for an inter-dimensional portal beneath his house, which later became the Mystery Shack. Stanford enlisted his college friend, Fiddleford McGucket, to help with the project. As their partnership deepened, Ford became increasingly obsessed with Bill, filling his home with triangular symbols and turning his private study into a space dedicated to Bill. He even allowed Bill into his mind, which made Fiddleford uneasy, especially since Stanford never revealed Bill's true identity to his friend. the two became somehow close, was Ford amazed by Bill and spent most of his time studying him and being with him, while Bill played along with Ford’s ideas to create the portal.
During their first test of the portal, things went wrong. A rope attached to a test dummy became tangled with Fiddleford, pulling him into the portal. When he emerged, Fiddleford was disoriented and muttering strange things, including a warning about a "one-eyed beast." Disturbed, Fiddleford abandoned the project.
Ford confronts Bill
Fiddleford’s suspicions led Stanford to confront Bill, where he learned that Bill had tricked him. The portal was actually designed to open a gateway to the Nightmare Realm, allowing Bill to bring chaos into their universe. Refusing to abandon his life's work, Ford deactivated the portal and developed Project Mentem, a device designed to prevent Bill Cipher from wreaking havoc in the mindscape. Despite these safeguards, Ford remained paranoid and fearful of the catastrophe he had almost unleashed. To cope, he began documenting everything in his journals, even going so far as to amend previous entries using invisible ink.
As his fear of Bill's inevitable return grew, Ford decided it was too dangerous to continue his research. He chose to hide his journals to prevent anyone from discovering the details about the portal's operation. Feeling betrayed by the demon, Ford shut down the project and attempted to destroy all traces of the portal. Ford calls his twin Stan and tells him to take the three journals away and hide them, but Stanley suggests burning them. Ford quickly gets mad as he does not want his notes to be wiped away, and a fight between the brothers start. However, during the fight, they accidentally turn on the portal and Ford falls into it. For the next 30 years, Bill either lost track of Ford or simply didn’t care, but without Ford, Bill lost his physical access to the real world.
Season 2[]
The Last Mabelcorn[]
Bill and Ford meet again after 30 years
Bill appears in one of Ford's dreams, taunting him by saying he's been preparing for "the big day" and warning that Ford won’t be able to protect the interdimensional rift forever. Bill dramatically throws a projection of the rift onto the ground, creating a red triangular portal in the sky and setting Ford’s mindscape on fire. Angrily, Ford orders Bill to leave, reminding him that he has no control in the real world. Bill exits through the portal, cryptically telling Ford, that "things change."
Later in the episode, Bill is shown in flashbacks as Ford recounts his past dealings with the demon to Dipper. Years ago, Ford and Bill were partners. Bill could enter Ford’s mind at will, and with his guidance, Ford constructed the interdimensional portal. However, when Fiddleford returned from the portal traumatized by the terrifying things he had seen—Bill's true intentions—Ford realized that Bill had deceived him. When Ford confronted Bill, the demon revealed his plan to merge the Nightmare Realm with the real world, triggering an apocalypse. Horrified, Ford ended their partnership, despite Bill’s threats that the rift could not be stopped. Ford then shut down the portal and vowed never to trust Bill again.
Bill, watching from the Nightmare Realm, later observes Ford and Dipper creating a "Bill-proof" barrier around the Mystery Shack using moonstones, mercury, and unicorn hair. Unfazed, Bill decides to possess someone outside the shack instead.
Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso[]
When Bill is finally able to be in Gravity Falls, Ford makes an attempt at shooting Bill with the Quantum destabilizer. However, the weirdness wave causes the bell in the church to personify, ringing of its own accord and causing Ford to miss the shot. Bill offers Ford to join him, saying that "with that extra finger he'll fit right with his freaks". After declining the offer, Bill quickly turns him into a golden statue.
Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality[]
Bill and his army try to leave Gravity Falls but are unable to, begging to suspect that Ford is the only one who truly understands the barrier preventing them from escaping the town, planning his next move.
Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls[]
Bill reverses Ford's transformation from gold and confronts him. Bill explains that he and his friends are trapped in Gravity Falls and can't escape. Ford theorizes that a natural magnetic force, one that draws weirdness to Gravity Falls, has formed a barrier preventing anything strange from leaving the town. Ford says there's an equation to break the barrier, but he refuses to reveal it. Bill, attempting to manipulate Ford, offers him unlimited power in a lawless world, but Ford again refuses, calling Bill insane. Bill laughs, agreeing with the accusation, before deciding to extract the knowledge of the barrier directly from Ford’s mind. However, Ford reminds him that Bill can’t access his mind unless he shakes his hand, forcing Bill to find another way to exploit Ford’s weakness.
Bill tortures Ford
Bill proceeds to torture Ford, blasting him with lasers to force him into making a deal. Although Ford endures the pain, he still refuses to give him the equation. Before Bill can resume his torture, he is interrupted by the Shacktron, a massive mech built by Old Man McGucket with the help of Dipper, Mabel, and the townspeople. The group had transformed the Mystery Shack into a powerful machine designed to fight Bill and rescue Ford, who knows Bill’s weakness. Amused, Bill finds it "adorable" that the refugees are attempting to fight back and sends his "Henchmaniacs" to attack them. However, the Shacktron quickly defeats Bill’s minions, leaving Bill visibly irritated as Ford congratulates the twins on their efforts.
Realizing how much Ford cares about Dipper and Mabel, Bill begins to wonder if torturing them might be more effective than torturing Ford. He turns Ford back into a gold statue and flies over to the Shacktron, attempting to crush it with a giant fist. However, the Shacktron remains intact, protected by the "Bill-proof" barrier around the Mystery Shack.
As Bill is fighting the Mystery Shack, Ford, Stans the twins and the grand circle around a zodiac to finally seal Bill, but Stan and Ford start to fight. Bill, who just defeated the Mystery Shack stares in confusion, but then unleashes a wave of fire burning away the zodiac and binding Ford and Stan with ropes. As the resistance prepares to fight, one of them boldly claims they aren't afraid of Bill. In response, Bill asserts that they should be, snapping his fingers and turning everyone but the Pines family into tapestries, with their terrified faces frozen in horror. To further his point, Bill traps Dipper and Mabel in a triangular cell and offers Ford one final chance: he’ll spare the twins if Ford allows him access to his mind. Furious, the twins beg Ford not to give in, which prompts Bill to fly up to them. Acting quickly, Mabel pulls out a can of spray paint and sprays Bill's eye, distracting him and freeing Stan and Ford from their bindings. While Bill is momentarily disoriented, Dipper uses his size-altering flashlight to enlarge the cell, allowing him and Mabel to escape.
Meanwhile, Stan and Ford try to make their getaway, but Bill traps them again, this time inside a larger cell. Enraged, Bill transforms into a monstrous red-and-yellow version of himself and chases Dipper and Mabel throughout the Fearamid, threatening to disassemble them. After recapturing the twins, Bill gives Ford an ultimatum: let him into his mind, or he will kill one of the twins. With no other option, Ford reluctantly agrees. Bill removes the twins' cell and ties up Stan. Ford's only condition is that Bill must spare his family, to which Bill agrees, shaking hands with Ford.
As Bill's physical body turns to stone, his mental form enters what he believes is Ford’s mind. To Bill’s surprise, he finds himself in a seemingly calm and orderly void, a bleak white space with a single wooden door. Eager to access Ford’s secrets, Bill opens the door, only to find Stan inside the Mystery Shack.
Journal 3[]
The Book of Bill[]
Quotes[]
- “As a recovering Cipherholic myself, I want you to know there’s another way. Close this book right now.”
- — Ford
Fanon[]
Billford became one of the most popular ships in the fandom after the release of Gravity Fall's spin-off book, The Book of Bill which allowed fans to dive deeper into their past relationship, resulting in the former rarepair to blast off in popularity with tons of fanworks. This could be due to their former bond before the tragic events of season two and Bill's backstabbing behavior. With Ford's temporary obsession with Bill, this influenced fans to view their relationship romantically, and it is often theorized among the fanbase that Ford or Bill had a one-sided crush or both were mutually attracted to each other. Even though Bill was merely using Ford for his own goals, he does admits he thinks of Ford as an exceptional man with amazing skills.
This ship can arguably be seen as "Toxic Yaoi" and/or "Tragic Yaoi" due to the troublesome events of their relationship. Regardless of the two's aftermath, it feeds fans of this trope.
On Tumblr's 'Year in Review,' Billford ended up in first place among the most popular ships of 2024.[1]
On AO3, it is the most written ship for Ford and the second most written ship for Bill. It is the second most written pairing in the Gravity Falls tag.
Lists[]
| 1st | AUG 19th 2024 | AUG 26th 2024 | SEP 2nd 2024 |
| SEP 9th 2024 | SEP 16th 2024 | OCT 7th 2024 | |
| 2nd | AUG 5th 2024 | AUG 12th 2024 | OCT 21st 2024 |
| 17th | JUL 29th 2024 |
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Bill/Ford tag on AO3
- Bill & Ford tag on AO3
Gallery[]
Video[]
References[]
[]
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| Gravity Falls Ships • Gravity Falls Characters | |||
| SHIPS | het | Dipcifica • Mabill • Mermabel • MysteryOwl • Wendip | |
| slash | Billdip • Billford • Dibper • Parapines • Pinescone | ||
| femslash | Mabifica | ||
| family | Mystery Twins | ||
| friend | Mystery Kids | ||
| CHARACTERS | m/f | Dipper Pines • Mabel Pines | |