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tinfoil-jones · 2 months ago

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Tate Pines AU

(aka Tater McGucket is an oops baby Fiddlestan kid)

Note: LONG POST. This is me hyper fixating on a brain worm because the Gravity Falls Fandom roared back to life. This is probably misspelled in a lot of areas, and not the clearest or most concise post because this is me rambling at 2 in the morning. Also the characters are maybe OOC. Also, this is written without accents because I'm not from the Midwest or southern United States.

In this AU/Scenario, Stan is a transgender man, and 'encountered' Fiddleford during his vagabond years. It was a heavily drunk/high one-night-stand, so they never properly met or even knew each others names. This happens after Ford graduating Backupsmore University, and for this scenario to work let’s say that Fiddleford went to BMU for his undergraduate program, but then went to the local university in Palo Alto for his graduate studies.

Years later, just like in the OG show Fiddleford is Stanford's research partner in Gravity Falls, and married to Emma-May Dixon; but they don't have any children together at this time, and they got together *after* his encounter with Stan. So this isn't an affair baby scenario.

Tatum "Tate" Pines is 5 years old, living on the road with his dad, currently staying in a motel but they're about to move into a real apartment for the first time ever because Tate needs to start school soon. Stan is still a drifter and a con man, but he recently came upon a large sum of money because Tate accurately guessed the lottery number for the state they were currently in.

Stan still receives a postcard from Gravity Falls that says "Please Come", and is allegedly sent from his estranged Twin who he hasn't seen in almost 12 years. But this is roughly a few months before it would have happened in-canon.

Given Stan's disownment, no one knows that he even has a son, not even Ma Pines. Not like he'd want them to know. Having his own son and loving him unconditionally made him realize that his own dad Filbrick was a monster, who he didn't need to prove himself to. But he still wants to reconcile with Ford, so he decides to go just like in canon.

This post card, however, wasn't sent by Ford. It was sent by Fiddleford, who was watching Ford spiral in real time and hoped that if anyone could convince Ford that he was acting crazy and unstable, it was his twin brother.

While Stanford doesn't greet Stanley with a crossbow like in the original because this is before the portal test with Fiddleford, he's definitely shocked to not just see Stanley there, but Stanley with a tiny gap-toothed child in tow.

Stan doesn't know that Ford wasn't expecting them, and excitedly introduces Ford to his nephew.

Ford: Stanley, are you sure this child is yours? Stan: ...Ford, did you forget we're not identical twins? Ford: ...Oh! Oh my, Stanley... Stan: *thinking* 'I don't know if I'm touched that you don't see me as anything other than a man... or insulted that you forgot something so fundamental about me'

Flabbergasted, Ford lets them both in; Fiddleford is welding something downstairs so he doesn't see or hear any of this. Ford plants Tate on the couch in front of the TV and practically drags Stan to the kitchen to talk to him privately; he's too surprised by Stan having a child to question why they were there in the first place.

Ford: Is there a... another parent..? Stan: ...It's just me and Tate. Always has been. Ford: How did...? Stan: I didn't plan a pregnancy... but I had no money for T-shots for months on end, and without the T, everything down stairs went to factory default. Ford: Do you know who it is? The father- I mean, the other father? Stan: Not exactly, some southern guy, don't think I ever got his name. Ford: What happened? Stan: Funny you should ask. (FLASHBACK) Fiddleford, high out of his mind: -and that's how I won a golden fiddle. Stan, drunk out of his mind: That's crazy, dude. *grabs him aggressively by the shirt collar to pull him close* Now shut up and fuck me until I can't walk. Fiddleford, horny out of his mind: Hoo-whee, well don't you diddly-darn mind if'n I do. (END) Ford: Stanley? Stan: Hmm? Ford: Are you okay? You just said 'its funny that you ask', and then stared off into space for 10 seconds. Stan: Let's just say I never touched tequila ever again.

Eventually, Fiddleford does come upstairs when he notices Ford didn't come back downstairs, and see's the brothers in the kitchen just as Ford asks Stan why he even came here.

Fiddleford admits it was him who sent the postcard, that someone needed to 'talk some sense' into Ford, and then introduces himself to Stan.

While Stan isn't perplexed by Fiddleford because he was too drunk to remember a face- Fiddleford, who has very good memory, immediately knows he met Stan somewhere, he just can't quite place where, when, or why.

Ford does show Stan the portal, saying it's his life's work and he'll need to test it soon, and casually asks Stan if he wants to stay and help. Before Fiddleford can protest that's a bad idea and Ford should just stop, Stan agrees because he wants to reconnect (and also keep a roof over Tate's head, what were the chances they'd win another lottery?), it did hurt his feelings that Stanford hadn't reached out out to him after all, but maybe they could work on that.

While Ford hasn't exactly forgiven Stanley for the science fair incident, he can't just let his brother, a single father be homeless with a five-year-old (Stan had to drop the lease with their intended apartment to come to Gravity Falls). And... well, Ford gets attached to Tate quite early:

Tate: ... *staring at him* Ford: Can I help you with something, Tatum? Tate: Uncle, is your name "Stanford"? Ford: Yes, but if you prefer you can call me Uncle Ford. Tate: Oh. Okay. It's funny, Stanford is my middle name. *later* Stan: Kiddo, why has your uncle been sobbing in his room for the past thirty minutes? Tate: *shrugs*

Not realizing the gravity (hehe) of the situation, Stan gets settled in the house and helps Ford and Fiddleford where he can (usually just moving heavy objects or punching paranormal creatures, or forcing Ford to shower). He does notice that Ford seems a bit... unhinged, and weirdly obsessed with some new geometry based religion, but people change after college right?

He does get unnerved by Fords weird episodes where his personality seems to shift and he goes into town to act like an absolute menace. Stan can't help but think that isn't Ford; its been years since he saw him but damnit he knew his brother and whatever entity possessed him just to slap a cops belly, *that* was not Ford. But Ford always brushed him off when he tried to bring it up, and one time 'Ford' even coldly reminded Stan that he could remove Stanley and his son from the home at any time if he wasn't going to be useful.

During this time, Stan and Fiddleford get to know each other, they get along quite well actually; Fiddleford is fond of little Tatum, who along with Stan enjoys listening to him play the banjo. One could say, given Fords obsession with his current passion project and prioritizing work over his relationships, that Stan and Fiddleford become close.

Fiddleford picks up, however... that little Tate is a genius. Although he's a quiet kid, he has an advanced vocabulary for his age. He's able to read and write at what must be a 2nd or 3rd grade level despite not even starting kindergarten yet, and... one time Fiddleford left an 8x8 cubiks cube unattended, and came back no more than five minutes later to see that Tate had already solved it. And Stan had told him that Tate has actively predicted lottery numbers before.

He brings it up with Stan, who admits that he already knows Tate is a genius, but he also knows what academic pressure and high expectations can do to someone (referring to Ford), and he just wants Tate to live life by his own terms, not let other people dictate that for him based on his IQ.

Fiddleford... also see's resemblances between himself and Tate. Sure, Tate has browner hair like Stan, but the wavier texture is just like his own. And while Stanley does have a prominent nose, it's not as prominent as Tates, which is much more similar to Fiddlefords.

Fiddleford begins to ask Stan about his past, specifically bringing up that he believes they may have met before.

Fiddleford: Say, Stan, did we meet before you moved here? You're so familiar to me. Stan: I wonder where you could have possibly seen my face before? *glances at the lab* Fiddleford: No. I feel like we've met before - you ever been to Palo Alto? Stan: That city in Cali? Yeah. I'd say about six years ago. I was just passing by, resupplying, and selling weed to college students. Fiddleford: You were a weed dealer? Stan: Among other things, yeah. California's *the* place to go to for weed. I don't do it anymore. Fiddleford: Did you... ever visit the university there? Stan: A couple times. Hated going there because it reminded me of... well, I think you know. Why? Fiddleford: I did my graduate studies there, maybe I met you there? Stan: You think so? I only saw buyers, did you buy weed from me? Fiddleford: No... I had a dealer, but it wasn't you. Stan: Other than that, I did get invited to a frat party once. Think they were called "SigEp" or something. Fiddleford: That's 'Sigma Phi Epsilon'. That was the fraternity I belonged to. Did I see you at that party? Stan: Probably - oh man that party was crazy. I made so many bad decisions that night. Fiddleford: Stanley... how old did you say your son was? Stan: Five, why? Fiddleford: ... Fiddleford: Stanley... *reaches out* Stan: *jerks back, before pointing away* Hey look over there, a distraction! Fiddleford: What- *looks away* Stan: *jumps out the window and makes a run for it*

Stan does not entertain any further discussions with Fiddleford about his past, and goes out of his way to keep Tate with him and away from Fiddleford. Given his criminal past, he's afraid that if Fiddleford is correct, he could make legal actions to take Tate away from him.

Fiddleford eventually goes to Ford about his suspicions.

Fiddleford: Stanford I'm going to tell you something, and I need you to promise you'll stay calm. Stanford: *doesn't look up from microscope* Are you going to tell me you suspect you're Tatum's father because you slept with my brother around the time he would have been concieved? Fiddleford: ... Stanford: Because you are. Fiddleford: What in tar- Stanford: *tosses a file folder towards Fiddleford* I have all of our DNA on file - Fiddleford: You do???? Stanford: Of course I do! I store the DNA profile of everyone who's entered my residence, just in case there's a shifter afoot. Comparing yours and Stanley's DNA to Tatum's, there is only a 0.001% chance that he isn't your biological child. Fiddleford: ... *speechless* Stanford: Congratulations, according to science you're a father.

Fiddleford does eventually manage to talk to Stan about it, and clear the air between them. Stan is apprehensive because Fiddleford is married, but he's at least relieved that Tate happened before Fiddleford was in a relationship with Emma-May. Stan allows Fiddleford to spend more time with Tate (supervised), but they agree Tate doesn't need to know just yet what Fiddleford is to him.

Fiddleford also holds back on telling his wife about Tate, he'd prefer to tell her face-to-face.

But then the portal test happens and Fiddleford gets a glimpse of the horrors beyond the portal, which traumatizes him just like in the original. This doesn't convince him to leave, because Ford is becoming dangerous and Fiddleford is worried about what would happen if Stan and Tate were left alone with him. He invents the memory gun, but holds up on using it on himself.

The relationship Ford has with both Stan and Fiddleford becomes more explosive. Stan and Fiddleford are both telling Ford that he's messing with forces beyond his control.

To get Fiddleford off of his back about the portals, Ford instead lashes out at him about something else.

Stanford: Fiddleford... you know you're my best friend right? Fiddleford: ...Of course. Stanford: Stanley and I don't have a good relationship... we haven't in a long time. *puts a hand on his shoulder* But don't you dare hurt my brother, or nephew. I don't care how strained things are between Stanley and myself, or how close you and I are... He's my brother, and I'll always protect him, even if it's from you. Fiddleford: Do you think I would try to steal Tatum, Stanford?! *Pushes him away* Also, if you're going to threaten me, you could at least not be such a hypocrite. Stanford: How dare- Fiddleford: You say you care about Stanley? That you'd protect him? He's been homeless for over a decade! You SAW him get kicked out of home when he was still a minor! He escaped three different prisons, had extremely shady black-market top-surgery, chewed his way out of the trunk of a car, and gave birth by himself in an alleyway! He had walking pneumonia for nearly a year straight and almost died from it because he had to choose between himself and Tate over who needed treatment more! But you didn't know any of that, did you? Because you don't talk to him or try to reach out. You still avoid him. You still treat him like he's your enemy. You're still resentful about that damn science project. You don't know him or what he went through. You didn't even want him here, I called him up here so maybe somebody could set you straight! Working with this portal, messing with these forces beyond comprehension and control- the only threat to Stan and our son is you! Ford: Get the hell out of my lab- and stay the hell away from my twin.

But this 'Mystery Trio'-esque era of their lives has a Bad End:

After Ford gets sucked into the portal the same way as he did in the original, Stanley decides to take over his identity; Fiddleford helps him with everything up until Stan fakes his own death.

As Tate's biological (other) father, and Stan having recently altered Tate's birth certificate to add Fiddleford, the boy is given to Fiddleford right away following Stan's 'death' and not put into foster care or an orphanage. This window of time is also when Fiddleford establishes the Society of The Blind Eye, but he chooses a leader after he founds it rather than leading it himself.

When Stan makes it clear he's going to dedicate himself to fixing the portal and bringing Ford back, Fiddleford makes a drastic decision.

Knowing what the portal obsession did to Stanford, Fiddleford doesn't want Tate to be around if- no, when, the same thing happens to Stan.

He uses the memory gun on Stan to make him forget about their son entirely. He does the same thing to Tate to make him forget about Stanley, legally changes his name to Tater McGucket, and takes him back to California with him.

He makes this decision because in this scenario he never used the memory gun on himself, so the memory of what's on the other side of the portal still haunts him, making him more desperate and callous, especially with a child involved.

It breaks his heart that he did this, but he doesn't want Tate to be dragged into Pines drama. He takes the boy home and tells his wife that he was conceived before they were together (looking at Tate's age, he was born at least a year before they started dating), and uses the news clipping about Stan's death to explain how he got custody without any trouble, and Emma-May adopts Tate. Tates memory gaps are excused by his young age, and the trauma of losing a parent at such a young age, so Fiddleford and Emma-May decide not to tell him about Stanley.

Stan forgets about both Tate and Fiddleford, but he has this deep sense of loss and betrayal that he can't place. He figures over the years that maybe it's just some of his feelings about Ford having gone through the portal...

Decades later, and after a divorce, Fiddleford moves back to Gravity Falls, bringing Tate with him so Tate can start his Bait and Tackle Shop somewhere quiet. Fiddleford is there to check up on the Society of the Blind Eye, and also to check on Stanley because he feels guilty about what he did. Although he knows that this is Stanley pretending to be Stanford, he says nothing to anybody about it, it's the least he could do.

When Stan see's Fiddleford again - he doesn't know why, because he's 'never met the guy', but just looking at his face pisses him off. And every time Stan see's Fiddleford from then on, whether its across the street or at the shops or what have you, he is openly hostile towards him even if he can't adequately explain why he feels this way about Fiddleford. Also strangely attracted to him, particularly his banjo playing, but its overshadowed by his hostility.

Stan meets Tate shortly after the Tate and Backles Bait and Tackle shop is opened... and he doesn't know why, but this young man he's never met makes him feel sad. But also... Relieved? Elated? Proud?? He comes by often, sometimes not even buying (or stealing) anything, he just chats with Tate (and Backle to a lesser degree).

Tate himself feels strangely fond of this frequent flier customer. Like he's met a dear old friend. He is awfully confused why Stan will sometimes call him 'Tatum', seemingly without noticing, and why he never feels like correcting him.

Fiddleford knows why, because he never erased his own memory, and he feels so guilty. But it's been 30 years, he can't say anything without ruining his relationship with Tate (which became strained after the divorce, which in this timeline happened maybe around Tate's late teen/early adult years).

One way that this whole thing can be revealed is when Dipper and Mabel deal with The Blind Eye society, they find two memory tubes, one labelled "Tatum S. Pines" and another labeled "Stan Pines" take it with them because it has their last name, and Grunkle Stans name, on them.

They play the one labeled Stan Pines at first, and realize it's Tates early childhood memories of Stan.

When they play the one labeled "Tatum S. Pines" they see it's all of Grunkle Stans memories of Tate, leading up to his confrontation with Fiddleford.

(MEMORY) Stan, backing up: Wait, what is that thing? Fiddleford, what are you doing with that?! Fiddleford, pointing the memory gun at him: I'm sorry Stan, I truly am. But I can't let you drag our son into this... I do care for you, and I wish things could have been different. But you're just like him! **BLAST** (END OF MEMORY)

This horrifies them, and they have a real moral conundrum of if they tell Stan and Tate, or if they keep it to themselves to keep the peace.

They deserve to know... but it'd be so painful. And this would take place before "The Tale of Two Stans" so they don't even know what Fiddleford was talking about to justify stealing Tate, or who 'him' is.

Eventually, it's Wendy and Soos who confront McGucket and tell him that he better be honest with Stan and Tate, or they're going to do it for him. That he's a selfish coward who ripped someone's young child from their arms.

Or, an alternative scenario; Fiddleford never stored those memories in the first place, or at least didn't store them with the Society of the Blind Eye, and it's Ford who brings this all up to Stan. Ford was already through the portal when Fiddleford decided that parental abduction was totally okay if there was amnesia involved.

Ford: Are these Tatum's children? *motioning to Dipper and Mabel*. Stan: They're Shermie's grandkids, and - who? Ford: ...Tatum? Tatum Stanford Pines? Your son. Stan: ...I don't- I don't have a son. *tears gathers in the corner of his eyes, but he either doesn't notice, or chooses to not react* And if I did, I wouldn't give him your name as a middle. Ford: Yes you do, and yes you did. You introduced us right before the portal incident. I even DNA-sequenced him to confirm that his other father was Fiddleford. Stan: WHAT? And- who?? Ford: Here, look *pulls up his DNA files from ones of his secret safes in the lab and shows it to Stanley, which not only has the DNA results but also pictures of Stanley, Fiddleford, and Tate from the time* Honestly Stanley, how could you forget a child you car-.

Ford realizes something is wrong when it's clear that Stanley is distressed, but also confused, like having a son is legitimately a surprise to him. He's so shocked he has to lie down for a bit. His eyes keep leaking tears but he doesn't know why 'Fords cruel and oddly elaborate joke' is making him so upset, because 'clearly it's not true'.

When Ford hears Fiddleford lives in Gravity Falls, he seeks him out and demands answers.

At first, Fiddleford tries to play it off like maybe Ford was remembering things wrong - but with enough pressure, and a ray gun pointed at his chest, Fiddleford finally comes clean. About what he did. Why he did it.

Ford is still angry at Stan for getting him trapped in the Nightmare Realm Multiverse for 30 years; and then stealing his name, identity, and house, but that's still his twin brother. And what Fiddleford did was to him was horrendous, especially after Stanford had already warned him years ago to not to hurt Stan or Tate. This was a crime against the whole Pines family.

So Ford beats him up. No, he doesn't kill or maim him, but he beats the living dog shit out of him until Fiddleford promises the glass tubes of Stan and Tate's memories in exchange for mercy.

Mabel, Dipper (and Soos/Wendy) are clearly confused (because they wouldn't have seen the memories in the "The Hall of the Forgotten"). Although, this whole revelation does bring Dipper closer to Stan, because Dipper had no idea he wasn't the only transgender person in the family.

Ford shows these memories to Stan first, who is going through all kinds of emotions especially after getting Ford back and their bitter reunion. This allows Ford and Stan to somewhat reconcile early; just like how Ford lost 30 years of his life to the portal, Stanley lost 30 years with his own son because of his conviction to fix it.

Ford also has to physically stop Stan from hunting down and murdering Fiddleford (who Stan only knew as McGucket up to this point) with his bare hands. Reminding him that it's more important that he reaches out to Tate.

But Stan is conflicted. He wants to be Tate's dad again but... Tate is in his mid-thirties, he doesn't need him like he did when he was 5. And Tate already has two loving parents, both of which don't have an extensive criminal record, and who provided him with a stable home, which Stan never did because they were homeless the whole time.

Does he really want to uproot Tate's life and/or peace of mind with a revelation this big?

This goes all the way to Weirdmageddon, where everyone gathers in the Mystery Shack for security; faced with a possible end of the world, Stan takes Tate to the side, dragging Fiddleford with them, and tells him the truth. Fiddleford confirms it all, ashamed and apologetic. Finally, they give Tate his memory tube, which he watches.

For a moment Stan and Fiddleford have a moment of solidarity; Stan can see that Fiddleford really did want to spare Tate from whatever unknown-at-the-time fate had befallen Stanford because of the portal.

Fiddleford finally faces his past mistakes, and apologizes for what he did. That what he did was wrong, and he can never make it up to them, but if they survive this maybe he could try to make things right.

This is their last family moment between the three of them pre memory-wipe.

The mind wipe thing still happens. Gravity Falls is saved. Mabel and Dipper manage to jog Stan's memory but there's no way to make him remember Tate - the glass memory tubes have already been used, and Stan didn't keep any photos from his homeless era because he couldn't afford it most of the time, and when he could he always managed to get kicked out of whatever state they were in before the photos were done developing.

Once again, Ford comes in clutch. Throughout his last journal, just like how he made entries about Fiddleford, he also made entries about Stan and Tate, including detailed sketches. How Tate liked to get into high places, exasperating Stanley who was afraid of heights. How Stan would take him to the woods to follow the creeks because Tate was intrigued by waterways. How Tate said so few words but Stan always seemed to know exactly what he wanted or needed at any given time. How Tate only liked eating the green M&M's but Stan was fine with it because he got to eat the rest.

Now while Stan's heartwarming memories of his son come back, so does his desire to break Fiddlefords neck.

Fiddleford still buys the Northwest Mansion and converts it to "McGucket's Hootenanny Hut", but because the Pines families are the heroes of Gravity Falls, they (Ford) manage to convince the local government to put Fiddleford on house arrest for an indeterminate amount of time as punishment for 30-something years of parental abduction and alienation (also the whole starting a Cult thing). Fiddleford accepts this, and Tate still lives with him.

Post memory-wipe Stan still reconciles with both of them, and his relationship with Fiddleford is... weird, but not entirely bad. It's like they're dating, but with a lot of emotional distance. Like, Stan still tells Ford he wants to murder him... but also tells him to never, ever, check their texting history.

Stan still goes to sail the world with Ford on the Stan O'War II. They do invite Tate, who declines because "He'd rather just live the simple life in Gravity Falls, and not get involved in whatever supernatural gobbledygook his dad and uncle are sure to get into".

And Stan is so proud of him... because just like he said thirty years, there's nothing he wanted more for Tate than to live his life by his own terms. He video chat's with him as often as he does with Dipper and Mabel.

Tate ends up keeping McGucket as his last name, but he changes his first and middle back to what it was originally.

And that's the end of this tale, thanks for sticking with me. Here's a passage where Ford teases Stan while they're on their sea adventure;

Ford: It was so sweet of you to give your son my name. Stan: Poindexter, I swear to Moses. Ford: Even after a decade apart. Admit it, you missed me so much. Stan: *rolls his eyes* Of course I did. Stan: Stan: But the real reason that's his middle name is because he was conceived at Stanford University. Ford: I- Ford: I really didn't want to know or think about that.

The End... Go home.

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tinfoil-jones · 2 months ago

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Tate Pines AU One-Shot: Goodnight

Context: Total AU, Extra Info Post

Rating: Teen/General

Summary: Stanford has been lost to the portals, and Fiddleford can only see Stanley following a similar path. He can't let him drag Tate down with them.

Fiddleford wasn't surprised when Stanford Pines ended up getting swallowed up by his own "greatest achievement", even if it was due to a scrap with his brother. It was a tale as old as time; a brilliant mind punished by it's own hubris because it was too preoccupied with asking if something could be done, and not at all if it should be done.

He wasn't surprised either when Stanford's twin brother, Stanley Pines, was wracked with horrible guilt over it. He'd been the one to, even if accidentally, push Ford into the portal before it broke down because of a physical altercation following an argument between the brothers.

While a man of emotion, Stan was equally a man of action; his first step was to secure the house now that Ford was unavailable. He'd wasted no time pretending to be his twin, as they were nearly identical, and turning the house into a tourist trap of sorts so he could pay the bills.

Stan's next step was faking his own death.

But it wasn't as simple as crashing and burning down his own car - there was the issue of the custody of his son, Tatum Pines. If Stan died, his son would end up in an orphanage or the foster care system. Or worse, with Stan's parents. There was a possibility that Tate could end up with Stan's older brother Shermie, but Shermie already had a son of his own, and Stan wasn't going to let anyone take his son away from him.

With his experience and skill with forgeries, Stan changed Tate's birth certificate; there was only one copy, because Tate was born in a dark alley and not in a hospital. Originally, Tate's only parent was listed as Stan, and the 'father' part was left blank. Stan had Fiddleford sign the previously blank entry, and even though all of this was done illegally and dishonestly, it wasn't a lie. Little Tate didn't know yet that Fiddleford was his other father, but he'd learn soon enough.

Sooner than Stan would have liked. Much sooner.

The 'funeral' of Stanley Romanov Pines was only attended by his mother and an IRS agent. Fiddleford made sure that in the obituary and in the funeral service, Tate wasn't mentioned at all. He didn't need this to have any more complications.

If Stanley had only planned on taking over Stanfords life after faking his own death, Fiddleford wouldn't need to do what he was about to do. But Stan made it clear to Fiddleford early on that he was determined to fix the portal and bring Ford back. No amount of Fiddleford trying to convince him that it was too dangerous, or Ford had probably died, or Ford would never have done the same thing for him, could deter Stan from this mission of his.

One thing Fiddleford found endearing about the Pines Twins was how different they were for each other. Stan sought connections, where Ford sought isolation. Ford thought with his mind, and Stan thought with his heart. Stanford could be swayed by a con artist, while Stanley was one himself.

What Fiddleford hadn't counted for was how similar they could be. Ford had obsessed over this portal for the past year, and his enigmatic 'muse', it destroyed his health, sanity, and relationships, but he hadn't let up in the slightest. Even when he finally realized this was out of his control, he refused to destroy his research journals and instead hid two of them, and left Stanley with the first.

Stanley had seen the tail end of Ford's downward spiral, he saw Fiddleford suffer after having briefly glimpsed the horror beyond the portal during the test run; and still he stubbornly insisted that he would rescue his brother. His loyalty (guilt ridden or not) was admirable.

They were both far too stubborn for their own good.

And Fiddleford wasn't going to allow for even the possibility of his son being hurt by the tunnel-vision ambitions of a Pines twin. This portal was dangerous - Gravity Falls, and its weirdness, was dangerous.

While Stan had been working through the paperwork and showmanship needed to pick up the pieces of his brother's life and start a new one under his name, Fiddleford focused on his own side project.

Shortly after having gone through the portal and witnessing its horrors, Fiddleford strongly considered leaving Stanford and the project. The only thing that kept him there was the thought of leaving Stan and Tate alone with an increasingly unhinged Ford. One idea he entertained to cope with his trauma was a memory gun - a device that could pin-point specific memories and erase them in one blast. At first, he was just going to use it on himself after this was all over… but it never ended. Stanford was gone, but it wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

Instead, he focused on the weirdness of Gravity Falls - perhaps if he could curb the public's beliefs and perceptions of the rampant paranormal activity, he could prevent something like this from spreading or happening again. He founded a society, a secret cabal of people who would take it upon themselves to find people who had encountered the paranormal, and erase their memories of it with the memory gun. Keeping the population ignorant and compliant. He appointed a leader, who dubbed this group the Blind Eye Society.

Today, he needed that memory gun, and had taken it. He wouldn’t need it for long, though.

He felt terrible.

He didn’t want to do it.

But he needed to.

He hadn’t been in Tates life until recently- Sam hell, he didn’t know about Tate until recently. But that was still his son, and he owed it to him to prioritize what was best for him over his own feelings. Over Stanley’s feelings.

Tate was playing some puzzle games upstairs, but that would only distract him for so long - the boy was far too smart, he would solve those puzzles quickly and get bored. Stan had just gotten done with this last tour for the day, and has just flipped the sign on the door from ‘open’ to ‘closed’, and was sliding his coat off onto the nearby rack. His back was turned to Fiddleford, who approached him slowly, and as unassuming as possible.

“Stan?” Fiddleford began, heart pounding. Could he really do this? What he was doing was so morally reprehensible. He could never come back from this.

He's just a man.

“What’s up?” Stan replied casually, back still turned.

“You really love Tate, don’t you?” He asked, while typing ‘Tatum S. Pines’ and ‘Fiddleford H. McGucket’ onto the memory gun screen.

Stan didn’t hesitate “More than anything.” And Fiddleford believed him, but that wasn't going to stop him, it would only make this more painful.

“And you want what's best for him?” Fiddleford raised the weapon, aiming it directly at the remaining Pines twin “Even at a personal cost?”

“Why are you-” Stan turned around and froze; even with his poor, uncorrected vision he could clearly see the engineer pointing something that looked far too much like a gun directly at him, and it was glowing a brighter and brighter blue by the second. Stan backed up until his back hit the wall, his hands held up in front of his chest.

His lack of an exaggerated response told Fiddleford this couldn’t have been the first time a gun had been pointed at him. “Wait, what is that thing? Fiddleford, what are you doing with that?!” He demanded, his authoritative tone wavering slightly in confusion.

Fiddleford swallowed his emotions down, reminding himself that he needed to be firm. This was the right thing to do. “I'm sorry Stan, I truly am.” He apologized genuinely, and took one step closer. He could clearly see the look of betrayal in Stan’s eyes as they reflected the bright blue glow of the memory gun, but steeled himself in spite of the self-disgust he already felt. “But I can't let you drag our son into this... I do care for you, and I wish things could have been different. But you're just like him!”

He doesn’t let Stan respond, he isn’t fully sure that Stan registered everything Fiddleford just told him. He just pulls the trigger quickly before he can stop himself from doing so.

Fiddleford expects a scream of some kind, but no. As Stanley's head is wreathed in bright blue light, his jaw drops and he gasps, his eyes flickering through every emotion in the spectrum as every last memory of his son is erased from his mind, before they glaze over, and finally close.

Stan collapses onto the floor, unconscious.

---

“Tate?”

The five-year-old boy looked up at Fiddleford, and for once the engineer was glad that Stan allowed the boy to grow out his hair enough to cover his eyes. If he looked into the hopeful, innocent eyes of this child right now, he might just vomit.

“Fiddlesticks?” Tate responded with the silly nickname Fiddleford never had the heart to correct. He smiled down at the boy and knelt down with his arms out. The youngest Pines recognized the gesture, and walked over so Fiddleford could pick him up and carry him - he was quite independent, but Stan still carried him around a lot, and over the few months they’d been there, he’d learn to allow Fiddleford and to a much lesser extent his uncle Ford, to pick him up and carry him as well.

“Listen Tater-tot,” Fiddleford said, keeping his voice as steady as possible as he carried him downstairs “Your dad is really tired- he fell asleep early today.” He explained.

“But he promised me a bedtime story.” Tate pouted, crossing his arms, and Fiddleford couldn’t directly respond to that. Stan didn’t own a lot of physical child books, so most stories he told him were either a summary of old classic fairy tales told from memory, some allegory from the Torah, or a downplayed and childfriendly-ish retelling of a time he escaped the cops, the cartel, or a crazy ex (or some combination of the three).

“He’s just really tired, but he still wants you with him okay?” Fiddleford explained, feeling his chest clench up as he walked them both over to the sofa in the livingroom - Stan was in a seated position, still in his work clothes minus his hat and jacket, and completely unconscious.

“Daddy?” Tate inquired innocently, making grabby hands towards his father. Fiddleford forced himself to swallow down more bile.

He really was such a sweet kid, even with his rough upbringing. Emma-May would love him. They both wanted children so bad, but Emma-May had issues conceiving; adoption had already been brought up, but it had been put on the shelf for the time being. Not for much longer.

Fiddleford placed Tate in Stans lap, and he immediately curled up under the crook of his much larger arm. It was a common position; Tate usually slept with Stan because there hadn’t been a bed in the car that they’d lived out of. And Stan took Tate with him almost everywhere, he almost never put him down; he believed that Tate was safest in his arms, and acted accordingly.

This would be the last time Stan would hold his son in his arms, and the revelation made tears gather in the corner of Fiddlefords eyes.

“W-Why don’t you tell your dad goodnight, Tate?” Fiddleford suggested shakilly, he could almost see the boy blink in confusion behind his bangs.

“But he’s sleeping.”

“He’ll hear you… Just tell him goodnight, and that you love him, just like he tells you every night.” Just like he never would again.

Tate rested his head against Stans chest and hugged him best his thin little arms would let him. Fiddleford typed ‘Stanley Pines’ and ‘Stanford Pines’ onto the memory guns command screen.

“Night-night.” The little boy told his unconscious father, gripping his shirt slightly. The tears in Fiddlefords eyes grew heavy enough to fall, leaving a wet trail on his cheeks.

“Close your eyes, Tatum.” Fiddleford told him, and hoped he actually listened. He silently pulls the memory gun out from his lab coat, and approaches the pair as quietly as he can.

Tate must’ve closed his eyes as he was told because he doesn’t react to the gun, not even when it starts to charge up with blue light. As far as Tate’s concerned, he has nothing to fear; he’s safest in Stan’s arms.

He’s just a boy.

“I love you dad.”

Fiddleford pulls the trigger, erasing that sentiment in an instant.

THE END... Go home.

#tate pines au #tate is a fiddlestan kid au #tate mcgucket #tater mcgucket #fiddleford mcgucket #fiddleford hadron mcgucket #old man mcgucket #stan pines #stanley pines #grunkle stan #fiddlestan #kind of #trans stan pines #gravity falls #gravity falls au #mystery trio

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