#mabel pines analysis

[icanlife]

The tight writing in Gravity Falls just gets crazier and crazier because Alex Hirsch in the director’s commentary of Dipper & Mabel vs. the Future (11:25) says:

“Ford sees Dipper as someone who’s special like himself. That’s Ford’s great flaw, is arrogance. Is he believes that there’s special people, and everyone else. That human attachments are actually weaknesses. And the song and dance that he’s giving Dipper right now, is the song and dance that he gave McGucket, back when they were younger… ‘You and me are different, we’re better than everyone else. We have a path that no one else can understand, and only us can do this.’ It’s a very seductive idea for Dipper… Dipper is a smart kid, but Ford’s projecting. Ford loves Dipper because he sees someone who’ll tell him ‘yes’ to everything. Who’ll never challenge him, who’ll do a really insane dangerous mission.”

I CAN’T BE THE ONLY ONE WHO’S SEEING THE BILL -> FORD -> DIPPER PIPELINE HERE. YOU CAN JUST REPLACE THE NAMES IN THE ABOVE QUOTE. I’M GOING INSANE.

Gravity Falls and the cycle of “Hey, person who feels outcast from your society like me, you’re special, fuck human connection, join me and be something great!”

[rebisrot]

i KNOW the obvious route is to compare mabel-stan and dipper-ford but i need you guys to see my vision of mabel-ford dipper-stan. it's mabel and ford's stead fast dedication to the thing they love, all too easily caught up in it. it's the selflessness that both stan and dipper have. it's being willing to give everything up to make their twin happy. to keep their twin safe. it's "who would sacrifice everything they've worked for just for their dumb sibling?" "dipper would." and stan would too. stan DID too.

[callme-aprilroseisha04]

I DON’T KNOW ANYONE WHO DOES GRAVITY FALLS ANALYSIS BUT ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS?????????

[cracklinhaze]

the most important thing when i write dipper and mabel is to understand that they are not stan and ford.

that's not to say that there aren't similarities. obviously, the twins have dynamics that can be compared to each other in a myriad of ways, both separately and together.

but it's so very vital that dipper is NOT a 1:1 ford. and mabel is NOT a 1:1 stan.

dipper has ford's love of rationality and mysteries, but he has stan's love of stories and family. mabel has stan's pure chaos, but ford's pre-bill trust in people.

dipper and stan both approach the world with cynicism. young ford and mabel approach the world with wonder.

stan was the twin worried about being left behind, just like mabel. ford and dipper both wanted to carve a path for themselves and their future.

mabel was so scared of losing her brother that she accidentally caused weirdmaggedon, just like stan was worried about losing ford that he accidentally sabatoged ford's science project/collegiate future. but dipper was the one who fought like hell mostly by himself in the apocalypse for three days to get her back, just like stan worked for thirty years to save ford. there is nothing dipper wouldn't sacrifice for mabel.

in my humble opinion, this is why the pines family dynamic is so damn compelling. they aren't carbon copies because that's not how people work. there is a sincerity, an honesty, a relatability between all of these characters and their flaws.

mabel and dipper aren't just the younger version of their grunkles. they are a crazy mishmash of the best and worst traits swapped around and punted to the moon and back.

exploring each micro-dynamic is so fascinating. i love this weird little family.

[marlshroom]

came to the fucked up realization after finishing gravity falls again last night the parallels of the dream bubble bill made for mabel and the literal state of delusion he keeps himself in.

in the book of bill on the page where bill cipher describes how he figured out a way to manipulate her into giving him the rift, it says:

"Summers ending, my guy. Ending to death, bro. She'd do anything to make it last just a day longer. Probably something RASH and OUT OF CHARACTER, even!"

as we know, mabel cannot handle the fact that she will be growing up. that the relationship with her brother is going to change. she is scared of high school.

bill then says "That was it. She'd never make a deal with me. But she'd make a deal with someone she believed could give her more time. The dream was done. I had her."

bill then creates the dream bubble for mabel, he makes every one of her dreams come true, a place where time is still and she can be a kid forever. a lie so great that she wont have to face the truth.

in journal 3 on one of the pages bill is writing in code, we see this:

[ID: "I ask you, why must[should] time only move forward? Why must cause preceded effect. Who voted on the law of physics."]

my friend helped me break down what bill means by this:

why can we only move forward in the 4th dimension of time. why does something have to make another thing happen, why must cause come before the effect. why cant you move backwards, in the other direction, change the decisions youve made.

how interpret this is bill asking why he is not able to back and stop what he did to his family. he says to ford that he tried and failed to undo the past.** why did him wanting people to acknowledge his advantages instead of suppress him lead to the destruction of his whole dimension?

**(i just want to point out that this is probably the time where bill is the MOST open to anybody, or at least the first. to his henchmaniacs he had been telling them that he liberated his dimension until the oracle discovered the truth. here, to ford, he got so much closer to telling the truth. he SHOWS ford the last atoms of his world. he says that it was destroyed by a monster, not that it was liberated! destroyed)

back to when bill says "I had her" about mabel, he had her cause he knew exactly what needed to happen to trap mabel in a delusion because it is exactly what he is doing to himself. creating a fake narrative of what happened to him, that he was vindicated in killing his whole dimension. only ever doing exactly what he wants because confronting the truth is too scary for him(good fucking lord). the morality page offers good insight into this too.

i am actually just going to quote the whole page and highlight the important part. it speaks for itself really

"THE POINT IS it's[morality] is a very flexible concept! But parents and presidents don't want you to know that, because then you might start asking other questions, like who put them in charge, anyway? So they cram your brain full of guilt and regrets for transgressing the laws that they just made up(the laws that they made to prevent the destruction of their dimension, regardless of if the law + the wrongful medication of a fucking baby triangle did any good to actually prevent it). Wouldn't it be nice if you could put all that baggage down? Quell the shame that follows you everywhere for a lifetime of crimes? MAKE THE SCREAMS FINALLY STOP? The good news is you CAN silence that annoying voice, and here's how!

DENIAL

Works 100% of the time in every situation. What you you mean there are people who disagree? I can confidently say there aren't!

RATIONALIZATION

If you can do it, you can justify it! "Truth" is open-source code and anyone can edit it anytime! Want to be like me? List 3 "evil" things and then 3 "reasons why they're actually good." You'll be rationalizing like Bill in no time!

DETACHMENT

Did you know 100% of your human cells die and are replaced every 7 years? That means that anything you did 7 years ago wasn't even you-it was some dead loser! You can't be held accountable for what a dead person did! What? You think this is just another form of rationalization? I DENY THAT!

THE BILL CIPHER DECISION METHOD!

Working over the eons, the voices in my head teamed up and worked out a foolproof method for making any decision in any situation.

DO WHATEVER I WANT."

ooooooooooooooooooh boy.

he is fully admitting here that he is living in a completely different really in order to justify doing whatever he wants. he gives mabel the tools to deny, to rationalize, to detach herself from the reality of it all. that time has to move forward. and he thinks it will work because it worked on himself.

but it doesn't work on mabel because she understands that she needs other people. shes vunerable, she lets people in, admits when shes wrong. and bill cant do that because it would destroy the fantasy he's created for himself.

[bags-of-regret]

If I was smart enough I would properly dissect the Pines family parallels and how it corresponds with how the Stans treated the twins, specifically how they treated the twin that wasn’t like them.

Stan understanding the bond the two have and encouraging them because thats what he misses, while Ford pushes Dipper away from Mabel because thats what he had at the time with Stan and thinks Dipper needs the same. Once Ford rekindles with Stan is when he grows closer to Mabel.

Stan being rough with Dipper because thats how he treated Ford, while Ford takes longer to bond with Mabel because he sees how much she’s like Stanley.

Both project themselves and the other onto the twins(Ford more so than Stan). They love and care for both of course, but seeing their brother in one of them hurts deeply in opposite ways. Stan is angry but longs for his brother while Ford can’t stand him but still loves him.

[tiredandoptimistic]

Stan and the cycle of abuse

Like a week ago I saw this good post about Stan and the twins, how with Mabel he's silly because that's what he never got but with Dipper he's stern because that's what he needed. I think the last line was about how punching was all Stan every felt he was good at. Anyways, it wormed it's way into my brain and I typed out a whole response, but it got eaten by tumblr and I lost the original so now I'm just making my own post.

What's so interesting to me about Stan's philosophy towards raising kids is that he's trying to pass on the lessons that saved his life. We don't get too many details about what his life in the time between being kicked out and the portal incident, but it's more than enough to make it clear that he's wound up in just about every shitty situation a person can find. Like he tells Ford, he's been to prison in three different countries and once had to chew his way out of the trunk of a car. He's homeless and living out of his car and motel rooms. He doesn't even have enough money to pay for a loaf of bread. He's got a bat ready to protect himself from "goons" coming to collect on some sort of debt. Being a tough guy and quick liar who'll kick anybody's ass is what's let him survive to age thirty. When Stan gets thrown to the curb, he yells "I don't need you, I don't need anyone!" and he's more or less right. Sure, he's gone through some awful stuff; but as soon as he got a stable house to live in he builds up his own business that thrives for thirty years. The lessons in boxing and cheating and "being a man" paid off in a big way, so that's what he wants to pass along to Dipper. That way, when the world picks a fight, he'll be able to fight back.

Here's the thing though: Stan shouldn't have had to do any of that.

Yes, Filbrick's "tough love" parenting is what prepared Stan for life on the streets, but it's also what tossed him out on the streets to begin with. If Filbrick was really a good dad, he wouldn't have left his seventeen-year-old son to fend for himself. Stan doesn't seem willing to acknowledge this, probably due in part to the extreme guilt and self-loathing he feels leading him to believe that he deserved the treatment he got. Filbrick was straight-up abusive in a lot of what we've seen of him, but Stan sees that as just how boys are raised, so it's what he passes on to Dipper.

It's just something about how Stan is desperate to prepare Dipper for the horrors while also fiercely protecting him. He wants to toughen Dipper up, but Dipper doesn't need to be tough and independant like Stan because he's got the support system Stan never had. If he ever got kicked out by his parents, Dipper would have Stan, Ford, Mabel, Soos, Wendy, and the entire freaking town of Gravity Falls lining up to give him someplace to stay and a warm meal. Sure, Dipper had to fight literal actual monsters at a very young age, but he was never alone for it. When Dipper falls, there's someone to catch him.

I simply love how Stan's attempts to be a good guardian lead to him being kinda shitty in an attempt to protect Dipper from things that he'll never have to face precisely BECAUSE Stan is such a good guardian. I hope that at some point he realizes that the way his dad treated him was fucked up, and that Dipper deserves some of the straighforward caring that he seems to have an easier time expressing towards Mabel.

[asiuapng]

Pines Twins Parallelisms

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thought about the parallelisms of the oh-so untouched dynamics of Ford and Mabel, and Stan and Dipper, but humor me.

In a previous post, I mentioned Mabel is a mini-Ford in Stan’s font and Dipper being a Stan Jr. in Ford’s flair so here’s my take.

Mabel is just like Ford because, other than being the sweater-loving older twin that would always add something to in their diary/scrapbook, her mind is the only other stand-out to the Bill Cipher other than Ford's. He took genuine interest to her mindscape.

As for Dipper, he's so much like Stan. No book? Left hook!

Both Dipper and Mabel mirror the different aspects of Ford's mind and Stan's heart. Let's start with the obvious:

Dipper has Ford's academic mind and craving for problem-solving adventure.

While Mabel has Stan's emotional capacity to know what to do to the things left unsaid.

And now for the other way around:

Mabel has Ford's mental fortitude to face the unknown with the optimistic belief that they'll survive it all just so that they can record it on paper.

And Dipper has Stan's immovable tenacity to protect the family he loves so dearly, no matter how dangerous or afraid he is. For them, he'll do it all.

I just love them so much how can I be normal about it.

[wheeliescoot]

im going insane mabel loves her grunkle and he loves her...shes so dedicated to protecting him from his ex and making him feel loved and he embraces her creativity.....aauauauuaughhhghgh

[raiidsol]

it´s so sick to think what stan's life would be if mabel and dipper didn't spent the summer in gravity falls. yeah i mean he probably would've made it to open the portal but stan changed so much because of the kids. better than that, he didn't change, he just found his heart again inside all of those walls. seeing himself in dipper and learning how to be a better person with mabel? without them, he would stay grumpy and bitter on the inside, fake laughing and preteding that money is all that he wants.

they pulled out the best of him, the funny and caring part. the one part that only ford knew so far.

[jubileebloom]

lots of people talking about all the different character flaws each member of the Pines family has, but I think ultimately they all share the same critical flaw: the belief that they're doing the right thing, regardless of what other people think of them, and the ability to rationalize away their actions. and in some cases this can be a good thing (Dipper deciding being a "true man" wasn't worth murder, and not swaying when the manotaurs tried to convince him otherwise, etc.) but more often than not it's just creating problems because they don't take other people's ideas into account. why would they? they want to do the right thing, and they know what they're doing, right?

yeah I ignored that my brother just got rejected from his dream school, but it's okay, because our original idea was the right one. it's worth it, right? I'm committing a lot of crimes, but it's okay, because I'm going to earn a lot of money for my family. it's worth it, right? yes, I'm about to summon this being that comes with several warnings, but it's okay because it's for the pursuit of knowledge. it's worth it, right? yes, I'm cutting off my only friend, but it's only because he was distracting me. it's worth it, right? yes, I'm going to steal my brother's house and identity, but it's only because I HAVE to get him home. it's worth it, right? I'm going to be the one to defeat Bill, because I'm smart enough to figure it out and I'm the one who summoned him. even if I never make it home alive. even if I reject working with others- I can't put them in danger. it's worth it, right? I'm going to risk shattering our reality through several time anomalies, but it's worth it because this jerk doesn't deserve to date Wendy, and fixing this one mistake can make today better. it's worth it, right? yes, I'm going to bring my uncle to a high water tower despite his fear of heights, but it's okay because I'm just helping him! it's worth it, right? yeah, I'm gonna spy on my uncle in the shower, blatantly invading his privacy, but it's okay because I have to solve the mysteries of this town. it's worth it, right? I'm going to summon zombies that could kill our whole family, but it's okay because I need to prove that I know what I'm talking about so we can solve the mysteries of this town. it's worth it, right? yes, I'm trapping my brother in a bunker with a potential monster, but it's worth it because I know he needs to talk about his feelings to feel better. it's worth it, right? yes, I took my brother's journal, but it's okay because I HAVE to make this show work because I can't end up alone again, and I'll give it right back after the show. it's worth it, right? yes, I could destroy the whole world and my home and my family opening this portal. but I have to bring him back. I have to bring him back. I have to bring him back. it's worth it. right? I cannot tell anyone besides Dipper about the rift. I can't trust them. even if there's a risk with them not knowing... but I know what I'm doing. it's worth it. right?

(and yet somewhere in that, Dipper and Mabel choose to let Soos make the Time Wish himself, even though they think they know what's best- a big reason that episode is special to me.)

especially in Dipper and Ford's case, I think it's the need to prove themselves worthy, and in their minds they can't prove their worth if they're using another person's help or ideas. especially to Mabel and Stan, they genuinely want to help others, but believe that those intentions justify all their actions, even if their impact doesn't always match their intent.

but then the world ends. And Dipper realizes there's no way on earth he's going to be a hero alone, so he teams up with Wendy and Soos. And they go and rescue Mabel, and team up with her, and Mabel learns that she needs to do what will actually help other people, and not just try to give others what she thinks they want. They team up with several other people, working together, listening to each other.

Stan doesn't join them, because he's lost all hope. He couldn't think of a way out, so surely there is no way out, right? So he has to just preserve whatever he has at the shack for as long as he has it. But then he does work with the others anyway, because what choice does he have? And he realizes much, much too late that he should have cooperated with others right from the start.

And Ford has to rely on Stan's plan. not his. Ford can't be the hero this time. He will have no glory in this. But he must sacrifice being the hero, being right, for the sake of doing what's right.

And they come out of the apocalypse a little bit more willing to listen to each other, and work with each other.

[cryoalliums]

Something i never saw anyone talk about was how the trial in “Escape from reality” wasn’t only for Mabel, But also for Dipper.

People tend to brush the trial off as “Dipper reasoning with Mabel” but isn’t only that, it isn’t that all in my perspective.

The trial serves as a way to remind both twins of everything they’ve been through together. Reinforced by the fact that it shows bad moments from both of their lives.

Yes these were shown in Xyler and Craz’s speech to prove their argument that fantasy is better than reality, but it proves the exact opposite to Dipper.

I actually think this speech was constructed in a way that would allow Dipper to reach the opposite conclusion, probably influenced by Mabel’s subconscious — her subconscious desire to go back to reality weakly fighting against Bill’s hypnosis — as we know it affects the entirety of Mabel-Land

No matter if that’s true or not, it still helps Dipper build his own case, as we know he didn’t even have an argument ready previous to being put in trial, as it was completely unprompted, and even worse provided him no attorney ,leaving him to fend for himself.

We know for a fact that Dipper’s argument was constructed based on Xyler and Craz’s case as it shows him holding notes, ones that he probably took mid-speech.

Being faced with these memories reminds Dipper that whenever reality got rough they were always there for each other. I think that at the start of the trial Dipper still intended to take Ford’s apprenticeship, and this is the moment he decides otherwise.

This is the moment he realizes that he doesn’t want to be holed up in a lab, that he wants to grow up alongside Mabel.

After that he shows his conclusion to Mabel, which subsequently brings her back to her senses. This trial was meant for the both of them, to bring back both of the twins from their own respective fantasies by making them realize how much they actually suck.

Mabel realizes that staying in Mabel-land would mean never actually growing up, being trapped inside a dream-like state forever, leaving all her friends and family behind. It would mean never being able to see her brother again after he loses the trial since he would be banished.

Dipper realizes that taking Ford’s apprenticeship would mean growing up too fast, being trapped in his studies for his entire life, leaving his friends and family in favor of acquiring knowledge. It would mean losing his sister.

They both leave these fantasies behind in favor of each other, and yes they might be scared, terrified of what’s coming after since weirdmaggedon is still going on after all. But they know that they will always be there for each other, it’s the one thing they’ve always known.

They know it will be okay because they are together, since they will go home together, no matter what.

[mymanyfandomramblings]

One thing I don't really see anyone talking about with regards to Gravity Falls is the parallel's between Ford's apprenticeship and Mabeland. Many, many times, the question has been raised 'should Dipper have accepted Ford's apprenticeship', but no-one ever argues 'should Mabel have stayed in Mabeland', for obvious reasons, the show portrays one as a no-brainer and the other as a complex decision. But I think the two situations parallel one another nicely.

For Dipper, taking Ford's apprenticeship is definitely the more attractive option. He doesn't appear to have a lot of friends in Piedmont, has been historically bullied and may still be, and Dipper generally doesn't want to deal with the trials of growing up. Ford meanwhile, basically treats Dipper like an equal, not like a kid, encourages Dipper, and allows Dipper to pursue his interests to the fullest. However, to take the apprenticeship, Dipper will be cloistering himself in an environment in which he never has to do the things he's scared of, he avoids confronting the realities that he doesn't want to deal with, and he'll miss out on going through life with his sister.

For Mabel, staying in Mabeland is the more attractive option. There's an apocalypse raging outside, her brother is growing away from her, she's going to have to leave friends that it's implied are the best she's ever had, and we know that she too, has been bullied in the past, and may still be, and Wendy's well and truly terrified her about the concept of growing up. In Mabeland however, Mabel can continue to live in a charmed reality, surrounded by the things she's interested in and in an environment where she's constantly being enabled, and any dissenters are ejected. However, to remain in Mabeland, Mabel is cloistering herself in an environment where she never has to do the things she's scared of, she avoids confronting the realities she doesn't want to deal with, and she's pushed away one of the most important parts of her life: her brother.

During Dipper's trial, we as viewers see Mabel's change of heart as Dipper shows her that despite the trials the real world has thrown at both of them, that they've always had each others backs, and Dipper realises that too (there was a really good essay on this a while back by @cryoalliums ). Even though they're both scared, and both wanting to avoid the reality of adolescence and high school and unpredictability, they both realise through Dipper's trial that by burying themselves in their respective fantasies, they'll lose the one person who's always had their back: each other. Whether or not it's bullies or a giant robot, the twins have always had each other as a support system, and an ally, and they both realise during the trial that they'd rather fight by one another's side than hide from their problems.

So sure, Dipper could have taken the apprenticeship. He could have chosen to take the tailor-made, one-on-one advanced education that allowed him to pursue his interests to the fullest. But Mabel could also have chosen to stay in the world surrounded by her interests, where she was safe from the things she wanted to avoid. I think it's interesting that these two situations are so paralleled, and yet it's rarely discussed.

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

I like ur points here abbout Dipper. And I do actually majorly agree with this:

"while i was rewatching gravity falls, it was clear that dipper always tried to act mature and behave mature, in a way, he himself was trying to appear as an authority figure, as a grown up person (which is unhealthy, and pines parents definitely contributed to this mentality, either directly or not)

"and then, it paid of, in a form of ford seeing him as an equal, and sharing with him very sensitive information, which he explicitly said must stay between them, thus proving dipper that in someones eyes ( of The Author of the Journals no less) he is a grown up capable of dealing with complicated matters"

"but the thing is, dipper can't be a grown up, and shouldn't have been seen as one, when what he is, is a child of 12 going on 13. yes, he is very knowledgeable and capable child, but still a child, who has a lot of time to grow up, and he should not throw away his childhood this soon"

I was trying to say this too in my reblog (when I was bring up Dipper trying to act mature/like a grown-up/adult/etc.), but maybe I wasn't super clear on this.

I do think he was also looking for authority figurres in a way, some sort of stability, like in the Journals and Ford. But I also think it is what u are saying too. Like, it is a bit of both (imo).

Seriously though:

"but the thing is, dipper can't be a grown up, and shouldn't have been seen as one, when what he is, is a child of 12 going on 13. yes, he is very knowledgeable and capable child, but still a child, who has a lot of time to grow up, and he should not throw away his childhood this soon"

SOOOO agreed. My guy is a child, who still has a lot of time to grow up. And while I do think it could be cool to see Dipper and Ford doing stuff in the future together. Or Dipper (and hopefully Mabel too) living in Gravity Falls in the future. Like you said, " he should not throw away his childhood this soon".

"and thats what he did when he agreed to stay with ford, escaping from childhood to the world of grown up

"and thats what he declined when he later said that he would not take ford on his offer, and would like to grow up alongside mabel"

This actually really sweet and makes his and Mabel's too, character arcs and development even better.

And his relationship and development with Ford even better too.

Great take here in the reblog about Dipper.

U have (quite) great takes on Dipper and Mabel.

"'with dipper, i was trying to get my point across, and i don't really think is a matter of authority figures"

Yeah, I thought u were just getting ur punt across; I think it is just rubbed me the wrong way; mainly because I have been seeing some recent takes (mainly involving Mabel and/or Dipper) that I didn't really like. So ur Dipper point probably rubbed me the wrong way more way because of that, more than it usually would. So sorry about that.

Saying that, now that u went more in-depth on ur Dipper point. I really like ur Dipper take here, in this regard. And agree a lot with what u said.

Like I said, quite great takes on both our mystery twins (Mabel and Dipper).

Thank you foe reblog, and for explaining stuff more in-depth.

About ur tags too:

Nah, I get not being apart of the fandom for a long time, or u not liking "that such idea still exists". And that i just wanted to say ur piece. That is all totally fine ofc.

I just wanted to say, that I don't see as much blaming Mabel for Weirdmaggedon, and I usually see other complaints about her more often compared to that (not that I agree with those complaints). Though, I do think there is less Mabel hate nowadays, and more people trying to understand her.

At least, I would like to hope so. And/or from what I have seen (I have been involved in the GF fandom for along time. But I am like, in out of being active n it or more like lurking. I am almost always always partaking in GF fandom content of some sort though).

I always love when people try to under (all) the Pinses (is this how u would try to describe multiple Pines members? Or something else?) and so many of the GF characters, because they are all great, and all feel such like real, flawed people. So I think understanding them/trying to understand them is (usually/can be usually) better. You know.

Btw, welcome to the GF fandom! Since u are pretty new to it, right?

Also, kind of off-topic, but like I saw u reblog this post:

And this post was GREAT. Yes, Stan and Mabel and Dipper and Ford have their similarities, parallels, and great dynamics, but Dipper and Stan and Mabel and Ford have great those things too! And I love posts like this that shows that/that kind of things.

Off that kind of well, off-topic (though still talking about GF and it's characters) thing. Once again, thank u for the reblog. Really good reblog.

i'm rewatching gravity falls and it boggles my mind how people are still to this day misunderstand mabel's character

you know what, EVERYONE who says that mabel is to blame for starting weirdmaggedon, i have something to say to you

You are guilty of the same crime you say Mabel has committed - Escapism

"what does it have to do with us??" excuse you, if you don't have the courage to face the reality and retreat to consuming content of your favourite shows, whilst not having anything or anyone tethering you to the real world, then you are guilty

(and btw, in the light of recent info, i. e. Book of Bill and dippers nightmares, then he too, is guilty of escaping from reality to fantasy of being ford's apprentice :P)

Now Fucking Fight Me

[zephrunsimperium]

I was laying down to sleep when I was suddenly possessed with a powerful urge to rant about one of my favorite things about Gravity Falls that I have literally never heard anyone else talk about and I feel like I have a unique perspective on:

I love that Gravity Falls allows tweens to be as chaotic and vibrant as they actually are.

As an aspiring middle school teacher, I spend a lot of time around tweens. It’s a special age and while I can easily understand why a lot of people would rather avoid kids in those years, I absolutely adore them. Middle schoolers are very invested in the idea of “coolness” but the secret is that being “cool” really just means being loved and accepted.

Not-so-fun fact: most kids stop drawing in 4th grade because they start comparing themselves to others and worry about their art being “good enough.” That is an utter tragedy. Every kid deserves to feel accepted and loved enough to create.

To me, one of the sweetest experiences I can have is hearing kids talk about what they’re passionate about. Because they are passionate. Stan says that you don’t have to grow up even though you get older and I absolutely love that. Kids have so much excitement about life and I think that’s something adults often lose which is a real shame. There is no better way to live than passionately.

So when I see sweet Mabel being aggressively herself and Dipper being so delighted to talk to his Grunkle Ford about what’s he’s interested in, it absolutely warms my heart. Especially because you KNOW Ford grew up being told that nobody cared about what he had to say or what he was passionate about, so you KNOW he‘ll jump at the chance to let this kiddo know that somebody does care.

And Mabel specifically really gets me. It’s so sad to me that she gets as much hate as she does. She isn’t my favorite character, but she is definitely a kid I would love spending time with. I love how sweet she is whenever she interacts with Fiddleford and I love how much effort she puts into making other people feel loved.

So yeah, I like this show a lot and tweens are wonderful.

[discofama]

Was thinking about our Pineses different styles of comedy and I realized Mabel's and Ford's are kind of the same in a way.

Originally was thinking of who of the 4 of them was the funniest for me, and I decided it's Dipper. I can't express how much I've laughed with him. Or more like, AT him, i realized. Unlike the others, most of the comedy that involves him is at his expense. Almost every character thought bad things of him at the very least (including Ford! In his first impressions in Journal 3) and the way he's so insecure and awkward and weird, and that almost everybody bullies him, is just so funny to me. God forbid me lmao.

Stan's comedy is more aimed at how shameless he is with his criminal activities and kind of fucked up stuff he says, like "finally a good reason to punch a teenager in the face!". Most of the times the jokes that involve him are simply funny because they're sudden, mean (him to others, which feeds the kind of humor that involves Dipper and a variety of other minor characters) and/or unexpected of someone as rough as him, like crying at a telenovela. Of course we also laugh AT him many times just like we do with every character, but the fact he is so shameless, unlike Dipper, makes it very different.

Mabel and Ford are funny just because they're both insane and have extremely weird interests. You could say it's also laughing AT them but this feels of a different nature than laughing at Dipper. So i'd say it's more like laughing WITH them, like we usually do with Stan. What's funny (in the strange sense) is that Ford did share Dipper's awkwardness when he was younger, but as far as I remember, it was never played for laughs like it was for Dipper. Mabel and Ford both are reckless, absentminded and go extra on everything, which is very amusing, but they also have a riddiculous taste in everything. For example, Mabel likes toothpaste and Ford likes human blood. Mabel bedazzles her face and Ford sets it on fire. They use grappling hooks and jump out of windows epically. They are shameless too, but while Stan is unabashedly greedy and his comedy usually intentionally harms others or their property, they unabashedly just are their own strange person from start to finish. And the result is pretty funny.