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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | Sixty degrees that come in threes. Watches from within birch trees. Saw his own dimension burn. Misses home and can't return. Says he's happy. He's a liar. Blame the arson for the fire. If he wants to shirk the blame, He'll have to invoke my name. One way to absolve his crime. A different form, a different time. |
„ |
| ~ The Axolotl on Bill's past and his need for redemption |
| “ | You cannot regrow through denial, You'll have to face my hardest trial. See my program to the end, Then you may yet live again. |
„ |
| ~ The Axolotl sentencing Bill to therapy |
The Axolotl is one of the two overarching protagonists (alongside The Oracle) of Disney's Gravity Falls franchise. It is a massively powerful and ancient cosmic being that is worshipped throughout the multiverse as a force of goodness and order, capable of restoring people to life and giving out knowledge unknown to anybody.
Shortly after the events of Weirdmaggedon 3: Take Back the Falls, the Axolotl is summoned by Bill Cipher, who hopes to use its cosmic powers to restore himself back to life. The Axolotl, noting Bill's misdeeds, instead sentences Bill to an eternity of therapy in hopes of making him redeem himself, infuriating the demon and leading to the events of The Book of Bill, being his attempt at escaping punishment.
Appearance[]
As its name suggests, the Axolotl takes the form of a gigantic, majestic leucistic axolotl, with pinkish-white skin, pink frills, two beady black eyes and a long finned tail. However, in The Book of Bill, it seems to take on the form of an axolotl-shaped nebula. As the time the Axolotl takes on an organic form is the only canon part of Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure!: Select Your Own Choose-Venture, it's likely that it changes appearance based on who it's talking to.
Personality[]
Owing to its complete lack of screentime in the show and enigmatic nature, the Axolotl's complete nature seems to be a mystery, with many key details about it being unknown. However, from the few times it has appeared, it seems that the Axolotl is a kindly and benevolent deity, taking on an almost parental role in its duty to protect the multiverse. It seems happy to oblige Dipper and Mabel a question each when they accidentally stumble into it, and is also shown to be rather forgiving, merely showing disappointment towards Bill's complete lack of remorse and sending him to therapy instead of punishing him, which it genuinely believed would help Bill redeem himself. This shows that the Axolotl shows a complete lack of bias towards any who invoke its name, no matter how nefarious, and at heart believes in reformation rather than punishment, though this approach seems ineffective on the dream demon. Thus, it seems that while the Axolotl is capable of benevolence, it is not naïve and will put in measures to stop those that may reject its kindness to harm others, seeing as it puts Bill under maximum security and orders the Theraprism's staff to stop him from sending out the Book of Bill to find a patron to free him.
Biography[]
Background[]
The Axolotl's exact origins and past are unknown, but it seems that it is a major benevolent deity that has governed over the multiverse for untold eons, bringing peace and prosperity. Based on recordings in Journal 3, it appears that the Axolotl is worshipped as a herald of order and justice, with Ford noting that the aliens marooned in the Nightmare Realm exclaimed "Praise the Axolotl" when he proclaimed his quest to defeat Bill, and Jheselbraum the Unswerving, one of Bill's ex-Henchmaniacs turned enemy, lives in a shrine dedicated to the amphibian deity.
Conversely, it seems that creatures of chaos, such as Bill in particular, despise and fear the Axolotl. Bill himself insults the Axolotl in some writings in Journal 3, calling it names as he declares even its power will be unable to stop him, while he also writes "CURSE THE AXOLOTL EVERY CONSPIRACY IS TRUE", implying that the Axolotl has been indirectly foiling Bill's plans somehow. Furthermore, the This Is Not A Website Dot Com ARG reveals that Bill was terrified of the pet axolotl Ford received from Fiddleford McGucket and demanded he get rid of it, showing how paranoid Bill was of the amphibious deity. This is probably because, as Ford speculates, the Axolotl is not only far stronger than Bill, but also is a force directly opposing him, rendering him powerless against it.
Gravity Falls[]
While the Axolotl isn't seen at all, it is briefly mentioned by Bill as he recites his backwards incantation, calling on its power to revive him from death.
Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure!: Select Your Own Choose-Venture[]
In one of the endings of this non-canon story, as Mabel and Dipper compete in a futuristic space race, they end up falling in a void which leads away from space and time. Using a code found in the book, the reader can unlock a website which follows up Dipper and Mabel's encounter with the amphibious deity. The Axolotl allows the twins a question each, with Mabel asking its name and Dipper its knowledge on Bill Cipher. To these, the Axolotl reveals its name to Mabel and gives Dipper a cryptic poem, detailing how Bill destroyed his home dimension and while feeling guilty for this act, refuses to take responsibility for his actions. Furthermore, for Bill to absolve his crimes, he must call on its power and assume a different form in a different time. This would of course, foreshadow the reveal of Bill's ultimate fate.
The Book of Bill and the This Is Not A Website Dot Com ARG[]
Shortly after his demise at the hands of Stanley Pines in the mindscape, Bill's incantation succeeds and he gains an audience with the Axolotl. Bill professes his belief that all of his nefarious and wicked acts, including his attempt on the lives of the Pines family, were completely fair and he feels no remorse at all. The Axolotl is reasonably disappointed to hear this and thus informs Bill that to be reincarnated, he will have to pass one of its trials. Bill, anticipating a battle against the deity and numerous other cosmic beings, accepts willingly, only to be informed that the Axolotl doesn't want to hurt Bill but instead, help him outgrow his denial. Thus, the Axolotl banishes Bill to the facility it thinks he needs the most: the Theraprism, a mental health institute located outside of space and time meant to rehabilitate deceased villains for reincarnation.
Bill is obviously mortified at this revelation and thus does his best to escape, to no avail, with his Henchmaniacs also refusing in retaliation of his mistreatment of them. During an arts and crafts session, Bill takes this opportunity and heists a human spine, soul and skin to create The Book of Bill: a grimoire via which Bill can directly communicate with another soul outside of Theraprism, who which he can forge a deal with and restart his attempts at universal domination. Unfortunately, his escape attempt is spotted by the Axolotl (faintly seen in the background as Bill tries to make a deal), who alerts the Theraprism's staff. Thus, Bill is given only 5 more minutes to talk to the reader, during which he goes on a villainous breakdown about his current situation and the people at fault for this before the book's confiscated.
While the Axolotl doesn't physically appear later on in the ARG, Bill's repeated and failed attempts to torment the Pines family imply that the Axolotl may be rather lax on Bill, providing him some free time to freely communicate with others outside the Theraprism, provided that he doesn't start continuing his evil deeds.
Trivia[]
- As Gravity Falls has been confirmed to share a multiverse with Amphibia via the presence of characters such as the Curator and the Core’s cameo in The Book of Bill, it’s been theorised that as both are animal-like, benevolent deities that govern over justice and rebirth, the Axolotl and the Guardian are actually the same being but in different forms. Still, it is more likely is that the Axolotl is just the superior/boss of the Guardian.
- In certain episodes, an axolotl can be seen living in an aquarium inside the Mystery Shack’s living room. Seeing as it only appears periodically and Ford’s axolotl Frilliam was released back in 1982, being too old to still be alive even if it was taken back, it’s been theorised that this axolotl is the Axolotl itself watching over the Pines family.
- Ironically, while the Axolotl is worshipped as a deity of order and justice, its real life counterparts were named after the Aztec god Xolotl, the god of misfortune, fire and odd phenomena whose behaviours match up more closely with Bill’s own actions, making it possible that Bill is inspired by Xolotl instead.
- Thus, it's possible that the Axolotl is inspired by Xolotl's twin brother and good counterpart: Queltzalcoatl, the god of knowledge, wind and creativity, whose creation and knowledge-related domains are shared by the Axolotl. Queltzalcoatl's feathered serpent form also bears some resemblance to the Axolotl as the feathery frill Queltzalcoatl is often depicted with resembles the Axolotl's gills.
- Axolotl is heavily hinted to be God as in the Monotheistic, Supreme, One True God himself, with its alias "The Frilly Guy Upstairs" being a reference to the phrase "The Big Guy Upstairs" referring to God. The phrase "Axolotl is My Copilot" found in Journal 3 is also a spoof of the phrase "God is My Copilot", referring to the trust in God believers of Him are expected to show. Finally, typing in “God” on thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com displays a video of a swimming axolotl, most likely representing the Axolotl itself.
External Links[]
- The Axolotl on the Gravity Falls Wiki
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