mod z here!

Alcor and Mizar were chosen because I wanted Dipper’s “theme” to ultimately be different from Bill’s so he can be his own person (er, demon) rather than just an echo of the creature that ruined his life. Since Dipper already has meaningful attachment to the stars, I decided that would be his motif.

And, well, Alcor and Mizar are actual stars in the big dipper! And they’re considered “twin” stars. Mizar is the one that shines brightly, just like Mabel’s outgoing personality – and Alcor is the dimmer twin, a kind of solemn metaphor for how he really relies on his twin’s “light” (her spirit, her kindness, her optimism) to keep him going through multiple lifetimes.

Alcor is also buried in mythology (mostly Japanese) that ties it to foreboding death – some say if you see this star, you’ll die within the year; some say if you DON’T see it you’ll die within the year. The character Alcor symbolizes this loosely by the fact that he can have two faces – one benevolent and willing to save people, and the other as a ruthless bloodthirsty monster.

Alcor and Mizar are always together in our skies, but in reality, they’re terribly far apart. Similarly, the demon Alcor is usually never far from his twin, but there is an insurmountable distance between them due to their now-different species.

There are a handful of other reasons why I chose these names, but those were the big ones 🙂