#if anyone wants to colab or something...... my dms are open 👀

[earl-ofnewshire]

Sooo someone asked about the au so. I haven't thought through every detail, so stuff here is subject to change. I'm still figuring out how much to deviate from the source material and all that.

I do know this takes place in like the pre-portal incident era, with Stan as a grifter, Ford as a scientist studying anomalies, and Fiddleford holed up in a garage.

I'm putting the actual rough summary under the cut cause it got a little long lol

ANYWAY the plot goes a little something like this: Fiddleford is a nervous reclusive shut in, and gets a ransom letter from Bill. He's has kidnapped his old lab partner Ford to try and get the location of one of the Journals out of him. Ford anticipated this and mailed the map to the journal's hidden location to Fidds. Bill tells Fiddleford to bring him the map, and he'll let Ford go. (The whole time Ford is captive is basically just the penthouse scene btw. So like while Fiddleford and Stan are going through a whole ass hero's journey Ford is like. Getting hit on by a dorito. Or maybe a dorito-coded man. I can't really decide how Bill works in this AU yet, so he might not be a triangle here. Probably will be tho cause if I'm included manotaurs and stuff I might as well.)

Anyway, now Fiddleford now has to journey to either Gravity Falls or Colombia (I'd have to mess with Gravity Falls lore to send them to Colombia like in RtS, but I kind of want to keep it jungley? For this I'm going to say Colombia, but again its subject to change). Either way, he's got to leave Palo Alto to save his old friend.

He arrives in Colombia, gets on the wrong bus, the bus wrecks, and instead of arriving where bill arranged for them to meet, ends up stranded in the jungle. Its there he meets conman, grifter, and exotic bird smuggler Stan Pines. Fidds manages to hire Stan to help him through the jungle. There's an initial personality clash, followed by bonding via shenanigans and such. At some point Stan learns that the guy Fiddleford is trying to rescue is his estranged brother, which brings up a whole mess of emotions.

Bill sends the henchmaniacs after Fiddleford and the map to the journal, so they're trying to evade them as they make their way to Ford. (Side note, in RtS the role I have the henchmaniacs filling here is this guy played by Danny Devito. I'm kind of tempted to keep that the same just because Danny Devito as a henchmaniac is funny as hell and actually works pretty well?? Anyway) Standard road of trails stuff, I'm thinking they meet some manotaurs in the woods? And maybe the Juan-equivalent is some guy who's bought some of Fiddleford's inventions? Again I'm still working out the details.

Regardless, eventually Fidds and Stan decide to use the map and find the journal themselves, then go get Ford, so they can give Bill the map without worrying about him actually getting his hands on the journal. They manage to get the journal, but Danny Devito and the henchmaniacs catch up to them. There's a big chase for the Journal, and it ends with Fiddleford and Stan separated. Fidds has the map, Stan has the Journal, and they have to get to Bill's rendezvous on their own.

Big final confrontation with Bill, trust and courage are tested, there's a fight scene and alligators and shit. Ford is a damsel in destress, Fidds is more competent than he gives himself credit for, Stan punches that triangle.

With Bill defeated, Ford Fidds and Stan are all safe and reunited. Ford and Stan have a lot of catching up to do, so Fidds decides to give them some time to themselves and heads home with bittersweet goodbyes. A week or so later stan shows up at his garage. Turns out he and Ford finally took that boat trip, and sailed from Colombia to California. Stan says some cheesy line about beaches and babes and treasure hunting and how the real babe and treasure is Fiddleford. They make out sloppy style and live happily ever after.

Fiddlestan romancing the stone au PLEASE