#stan and ford need to learn what assuming does

[tinfoil-jones]

The pursuit of knowledge is long and demanding but do you also wanna know what else is long and demanding? That right! My need for this man *point to jerk Ford* so here are more questions (I realized the lack of child jerk Ford and sea grunks and now my brain won't leave me alone)

1. Since jerk Ford is a jerk from birth and holds a grudge till the day he dies, how much of Crampelter life did he ruin? I wanna see little jerk Ford saying fuck you and little Stan's reaction

2. If Stan were to get grounded or get detention, how much longer till jerk Ford also gets grounded or gets detention? Or does he just break Stan out of them?

3. Has there been time where Stanley does something bad but people just assumed it's jerk Ford pretending to be Stan or that Stan was pressured into helping jerk Ford? I need to know who Filbrick blames for the missing golden chain in the lost legend comic

4. We're there like full-blown panic for the coast guard, the navy, the fishermen, the pirate, and the marine life? Because "oh God he's in the seas, HE'S IN THE SEAS"

(I will be back >:) muehehehehe)

(1)

In High School, people told Crampelter to leave Stanford Pines alone; that even though he wasn't as big as his brother, he still could and would hurt you in ways you never thought possible.

Crampelter did not listen.

After a week of no retribution from Jerk Ford, and Crampelter assumed that everyone must have been exaggerating, sure the guy was mouthy as hell but-

Wait.

Why is he telling everyone he f***ed Crampelters mom?

He's just bluffing, there's no way-

And then Crampelters mom goes to jail for statutory. And he never lives it down.

He had to move out of Glass Shard Beach after High School.

(2)

Believe it or not, in the AU Stan was a good student. Teachers realized early on that the only way to keep Jerk Ford somewhat behaved was to keep his twin with him, because he was the only person he wasn't a jerk to and could actually talk him down.

So Stanley got a lot of extra help and support from the school and even his parents for his learning needs to be met, so he and Jerk Ford could share as many classes as possible throughout their school years.

Obviously they didn't share every single class because they still had differing interests (Jerk Ford taking robotics while Stan was a theatre kid) and Jerk Ford was a Math and Science prodigy, but they were usually in the same core classes.

Jerk Ford was indefinitely banned from detention in his Freshman year because if he was in detention, you bet whoever the teacher or supervisor was wasn't going to be there.

(3)

Because of how catastrophically bad Jerk Ford was, nothing Stanley did in comparison could ever look that bad.

Stanley took the gold chain? That same week, he and Jerk Ford tried opening a lemonade stand only for the Sibling brothers to do the same thing and take all of their business (not that they got a lot because everyone in Glass Shard Beach stayed clear of Jerk Ford even at the tender age of twelve).

And what happens? Well, Jerk Ford said or did something because the Sibling brothers stand was shut down by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and also the f***ing FBI showed up; Ascot and Dickie had to wear ankle monitors all summer.

Stanley wouldn't let Jerk Ford take the fall for something he did, however, so he'd own up to it. He'd be punished like a normal kid, none of that 'hold an extra Stan sign' stuff.

(4)

When the expedition for the Stan O'War II began, Jerk Ford was mostly unknown at first. He'd been out of his dimension and believed to be dead for three decades.

At first.

At first.

[lkfarrout]

I need everyone to understand that Stan and Mabel are SMART. Ford and Dipper are often portrayed as the smart ones while Stan and Mabel are the "stupid twins" but here's the thing: Stan and Mabel are just as intelligent as their twins, they just care about different things.

Alex himself, in one of the episode commentaries (Little Dipper, I believe) says that Mabel is just as smart, if not smarter than Dipper, and could beat him at chess if she wanted to. But she cares more about playing pretend with the cute horses instead.

Mabel is also a genuis when it comes to crafting. If you've never done something like knitting before, you have no idea how hard it is and how impressive it is for Mabel to make all the sweaters and things that she does. Maybe not all her sweaters are handmade, but the Waddles sweater and Goodbye Stan sweater are crazy impressive on their own. There's also Wax Stan, all the puppets, and many other examples. Those types of things take a lot of planning, math, practice, and expertise.

Stan is portrayed as being lazy and dumb in high school because he copies off of Ford in class and has a very lame science fair project compared to Ford, but Stan shows ambition in other areas during that time of his life.

For one, he builds what we can assume to be a sea-worthy vessel out of basically scraps of old wood ("Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"). I personally don't know anyone - much less a teenager - who could do that, especially in a time before youtube. And while Ford definitely did help Stan with the boat, we can tell by their feelings about it that Stan really did put in most of the work and care.

Another example, and a more subtle one, is that Stan was able to save up and purchase a nice, new (7 or 8 years old at the most) convertible catillac by the age of seventeen. He probably spent a lot of time working outside of school to accomplish that, while Ford was more focused on work inside of school. It's highly doubtful that Filbrick would have bought the car for Stan. Stan was highly ambitious during this time in his life, just like Ford was, but in different areas.

In the Land Before Swine commentary, Stan talks about working on the portal and says he had to learn "high school math". He really thought that what he was doing all that time was high school level math when really, it was probably closer to masters-level theoretical physics. This tells me that he probably didn't struggle with the math parts all that much, and because it wasn't super hard for him, he assumed it must have been high school level because he's far too dumb to do anything harder than that. Yes, it still took him 30 years, but that's mostly due to him not having access to all the blueprints that Bill helped Ford create.

All in all, I believe that Stan and Mabel are just as smart as their twins, but it isn't picked up on because the areas that they like to focus on are seen as silly and girly (in Mabel's case) or unprofitable and a waste of time (in Stan's case). In constrast, Dipper's intellectual efforts of solving mysteries, cracking codes, and doing things like converting a CD into a record (impressive!) further the plot of the show and are thus seen as more important. Just like how Ford's academic efforts are seen as profitable and thus more worthy of praise.

I'm of course not saying that Stan and Mabel are better than Dipper and Ford in any way - all the characters have their strengths and weaknesses and I love that about them. I love all four of the Pines Twins so much - they all have so much to offer and are all so smart. I really love this show and they way it creates depth with the characters, and I love analyzing them and writing commentary on them.

[darka-3363]

A fic idea where Stan has never told Ford that he now technically has 3 professor titles and a ride or die arch nemesis in theoretical physics Stanley has acquired by accident 15 years ago and has been in bloody theoretical feud ever since, and that he kept up even after Ford has come back.

He has come clean about his actual identity to that arch nemesis sometime during early 2000s, but asked him not to blow his cover, to which his nemesis was like: you can even be a blue man on the moon for all that I care, now explain what do you mean about your paper on string theory—

Additional points if the nemesis is affiliated with West Coast Tech, and even more if he defends Stanley's theories and papers when talking with his colleagues while simultaneously being his nr 1 enemy (academically speaking).

And Ford only learns about it when he notices a very thick letter on the table addressed specifically to Stanley and not to him, the twins who got the letter from the postman are just as confused, and when Stan comes out for his break, he's all like "oh a letter from Johnny? Finally, I've been waiting for it forever ever since he called."

Mabel: What's in it what's in it?!

Stan: Nothing you'll be interested in pumpkin, just some new paper about gravitational waves. Apparently they're finally working out the details of making the machine that might actually detect 'em.

Stanford assumes Stanley's lying just because, little does he know that Stan was actually 100% honest, and he forgets about the whole thing until after weirdmaggeddon, when they're sailing on Stan-O-War II, and Stanley's phone starts suddenly playing AC/DC 'T.N.T.' while he's busy outside with the fishing net, and Stan shouts at him to take it, he'll be there in a few.

Ford: Uh, hello?

Johnny: STANLEY! YOU NEED TO ELABORATE ON THE ENTROPY CALCULATIONS IMMEDIATELY!

Ford: Uhh... Stanley's busy right now.

Johnny: You know, your excuses are usually much better than pretending you are not you.

But before Ford can explain the situation, Stanley gets into the cabin, gets the phone from Stanford, and starts talking in scientific jargon so fast that Ford can barely even understand what they're talking about, and this is the moment he realizes two very important things

1) Stan wasn't lying about getting a paper about gravitational waves

2) Holy shit Stanley actually seems to know what he's talking about

3) And Stanford doesn't know what they're talking about since some of the terminology has changed during the 30 years he's been away, new discoveries were also made and holy fuck he needs to catch up asap

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

So we've already established that Maurice has been hanging around to watch Shifter Stan as he helps raise Shifty, right? What's his reation when(if? Stan's so bad about talking about things) he learns about that Whole Thing That Just Happened in Doppelganger? Does Stan go up to him and say "hey dad, did you know shapeshifters can have panic attacks? I didn't. Don't recommend it."

Bold of you to assume they weren't hanging out in the trees somewhere watching it all happen.

The thing about Maurice is that they are not as versatile as Stan, limited to only human forms since they don't do anything that requires more advanced shifting techniques. They're a master spy, so they don't need to do anything more than look like humans to get around and do their work.

So they are not made for spying in the middle of the woods in a lowly populated area. That didn't stop them from putting on some camo, climbing a tree, and watching the house through a pair of binoculars. They're old, and have been spying for longer than anyone else in that house has been alive, so they know all the tricks to spying in every environment, even if their shifting ability isn't really made for it. Humans spy on others in the woods all the time, so Maurice is just as good at it as anything else, especially since they're also a skilled hands off mentor, and know exactly how to avoid another shifter's attention and eyes. They stalked Stan his whole childhood and he only knew they were there when Maurice deliberately approached him after all.

So they were watching when Stan burst out of the house, then when Ford went out and yelled for him, and immediately clocked it as having to do with some kind of emotional brotherly fall out. Probably about the cameras that Maurice clocked on day one of investigating the house, broke into the basement, then deleted the footage of them doing any of that which no one else noticed because then Stan showed up and they were distracted.

The other thing about Maurice is that, even with their base several centuries ago, they are a very distant individual. Stan's the first spawn they've ever loved as their own spawn, but they also don't really show it in any way anyone can see as caring. So they saw Stan burst out, changing his form and having a break down, saw Ford, and went 'oh god. I'm going to have to comfort him if they don't sort it out'

Maurice does not want to do that. They hate talking to people, hate touching people, hate interacting with anything face to face. Even with Stan, despite the fact that he wormed his way into their heart by talking them so much. Its a very contradictory thing with them. They very much want to see Stan be happy and succeed, but they don't want to be the one making that happen. They just want to watch him through a pair of binoculars, like Soos's Abuelita. As long as Stan's not facing severe physical danger they don't want to interfere.

Here's a final thing about Maurice. They were watching it happen, so they saw Ford trying to track Stan and failing. Then they watched Stan curl into a little moss carpet and very quickly realized that if Ford did not talk it out with him, then Maurice would have to come up with some excuse on why they were there to see Stan have a breakdown in the first place.

Disgusting.

So it was very nice that Stan left his clothes everywhere, since it made it very easy to gather up, and make a very nice if easily explainable trail from Fords house directly to Stan. Easy to miss in the dark! Easy to see now that it was day time! How nice of the wind and elements not to blow any of it away and obscure the trail!

Extremely nice that Ford and Stan worked it out, and Maurice continued not to talk to anyone. Less nice that Stan actively lives with and cares about Ford, as that's the only thing protecting him from Maurice based petty revenge. Hard to mess with people when half the people in the house know who you are on sight.

[hkthatgffan]

What are your thoughts on the Pines parents? Particularly since the reveal of them having marital issues in TBOB?

I'm pretty conflicted tbh. Part me finds the revelation interesting and a pretty insane new layer to add on to the show's established canon, but I also feel like it could be another case of Gravity Falls fans taking flour and trying to predict what kind of buffet Alex is cooking.

In the case for the assumption this is hinting at the twin's parents having marriage issues and going towards say, a divorce, we have small hints in series that could be assumed as that, from Dipper's initial worry of leaving Mabel alone in Cali without him, Mabel's own fears of growing up without Dipper and the future itself, the abruptness as it sounds of them being sent to Gravity Falls, etc.

Of course, we also have the fact that Alex Hirsch's parents themselves are divorced IRL and him and Ariel grew up with their mom. And as they both are the inspiration for Dipper and Mabel, this can be a case of Alex hinting at that and adding another element of his life to them.

It course also somewhat goes counter to his past statements about how we never really are gonna learn anything about the twin's parents, because he doesn't see them as characters we need to know about as the story is focused on the twin's in Summer with Stan and Ford (I mean, all we initially knew was that their dad worked with computers and got Mabel's night shirt at a Windows 95 event, lol). So, adding this to the pot does feel like a pretty major change in direction.

That said, on the other hand, it could just be that...marriage issues the two of them are working to fix. Perhaps they sent the twins away while they sought couples therapy or something to mend things before the kids got back. We can also make the assumption Dipper may have overheard something that he mistook as being more serious than it was.

I say this from personal experience. I've often overheard arguments or pretty heated stuff my parents were yelling about that I probably was not supposed to hear or assumed the wrong thing about and it left me worried about if well...you know. Thankfully that never was the case and as I've gotten older I've come to better understand that sometimes parents fight but they can resolve things on their own in time. Though as kids, that shit can scare you, especially someone at Dipper's age. And while not all parents probably can resolve those matters the same way, it's always a possibility worth assuming here, especially with the little info we know. I mean, Bill said "Why do you think they were in such a rush to get the kids out the door for the summer?" It sounds like he's asking us fans to make our own guess on that.

And speaking of Bill...there's the Bill factor to consider too. Remember, who wrote this?

BILL CIPHER! And Bill is about as reliable a source for accurate info as the US government or Doug Ford is when it comes to Line 5 or why he REALLY closed the Science Centre (IYKYK).

Many fans doubt the truthfulness of what Bill said in the book. So, he could just be making this up and Dipper may never have had that dream to begin with. Of course, it would be weird for Alex to make a book full of lies about the show, but then...this is Alex Hirsch we're talking about.

Personally, I believe Dipper did have this nightmare and he overheard something intense. But as to what it's alluding to...I'm not sure.

I think this is another case of Alex Hirsch leaving the question open ended. What's up with the twin's parents? That's for us fans to decide.

If you believe they're divorcing, you can. If you think it's nothing and Dipper is over-worrying about an argument his parents had, you can. And if you think it's BS and Bill made it up, you can too.

That's again the beauty of Gravity Falls leaving itself open ended. Every headcanon and theory is possible. I mean, fans believed for years Bill was in Stan's mind till this very book killed that theory off for good.

Maybe in several years if Alex decides to, he'll expand on this plot point and answer the question once and for all. But for now, what the deal with Dipper and Mabel's parents is, will remain...

[sharksfrommars]

I'm curious how Mabel and Dipper reacted when they learned about Ford's past in your AU. Assuming they learned about it in a similar way as to how they learned about Stan's secret in "Not What He Seems". So I'm curious. How did they react? Because I imagine it's a different feeling when you find out your Grunkle had had multiple identities and "died", and a different feeling finding out your Grunkle had been institutionalized and gone to court for (supposedly) cannibalizing his brother. :)

When Dipper and Mabel found out, they went straight to Shermie. Dipper was angry, and Mabel was crying.

“Grandpa Shermie!” Dipper shouted, with all the rage he could muster. “Gr- Ford KILLED HIS BROTHER!”

Shermie was taken aback, he’d been trying to dissuade the twins from investigating. The story was horrible, not something he wanted kids finding out about.

“He’s a SATANIST, Grandpa! He’s a CANNIBAL! You CAN’T TRUST HIM. He’s DANGEROUS!” Dipper’s screams almost sounded like a beg. Mabel pulled her brother’s arm and he looked at her.

“he knows” said Mabel, scarily quiet. “He knew the whole time.”

Dipper stated in shock as that sunk in. Mabel turned to Shermie. “you knew what happened to Stanley,” she said, “you knew what Grunkle Ford did. But you helped him anyway. You trusted him to look after us this summer. Why?”

Shermie felt his granddaughter’s look penetrate his soul. She looked so gentle, betrayal and fear filling her tears. She wanted to beleive in her Grunkle, he knew she did. Shermie sighed, and sat the kids down at the table.

“Stanford’s not dangerous, he’s sick.” Shermie said. “He spent a long time by himself and I don’t know what happened but eventually it broke his mind. That’s why he was in hospitals so long, why he has to take pills every day and talk to a therapist every week.”

“but Grandpa! He killed his twin!” Said dipper.

“the thing is, Dipper, he doesn’t remember it. Some days, he doesn’t even believe that Stanley’s dead.” Shermie sighed, feeling his eyes well up with tears. “Ford loved Stanley. I don’t know what happened or why he killed him, but he does. And he loves you both as well.”

Dipper wasn’t satisfied with this. Everyone had been lying to him, not just this summer but his entire LIFE. He yelled at Shermie in frustration.

“Mr McGucket used to be his assistant, and he said that Ford is going to END THE WORLD! You said he loves us, but how do you know?”

“Dipper, he had a mental episode. He didn’t know-“

“Cus that makes it SO MUCH BETTER? I can’t trust him, Grandpa! He’s planning something, I know it!”

“dipper—“

“no! I’ve been collecting evidence! Think about it, why did he want to come to gravity falls so bad this summer? He disappears for hours at a time. The townsfolk treat him like he’s some sort of cryptid! Did you know, that he was friends with an actual dream demon? I want to beleive him, grandpa, but the evidence doesn’t lie!”

“Mason if you just—“

dipper stormed off, angry tears streaming down his face.

“I’m going to find PROOF. Something you can’t deny! Then you’ll see!”

and with that, Dipper left, leaving Mabel in Shermie’s arms. They sat quietly for a while, Mabel softly crying into her grandfather’s chest.

“grandpa,” she started, “grunkle Ford isn’t… he isn’t bad, is he? He did those horrible things and—“ she trailed off into a sob, and Shermie rubbed her back.

“I know he’s done some bad things, sweetie, but that was a long time ago. He was a different person then. You know who he is now. He’s your Grunkle, and he loves you. You need to trust that.”

Mabel nodded, but she didn’t let go. They say together for an hour, Shermie stroking her hair until she fell asleep in his arms.

—

thanks for the ask! It was emotionally devistaing!

[biteitwhenitssoft]

gravity falls tma fears?

Mabel - Forsaken She's so impossible to give a fear to imo but just going by what she's afraid of it'd certainly be the lonely, given her love of her family and want to make friends and find romance the second she sets foot in Gravity Falls, and her subsequent fear of losing all of that at the end of summer. Also I call it forsaken for her specifically because her fear is of being forsaken specifically, you feel? A fear of abandonment. I also think there's a good argument for her imprisonment in Mabel land to have been very lonely-coded too. (Something about being trapped in a dream-like bubble that does all it can to keep you there, away from your actual loved ones, content with just your imaginations projection of them for company. They can't hurt you if they're not really there.)

Stan - The Stranger Stan is actually a perfect avatar of the stranger it makes me insane. He literally scared the main characters when they found out he wasn't Stanford Pines by finding all of his fake IDs, like come ON. A con man with an ever changing identity showing up in your town and fucking you over, whats not to love? The stranger loves him, he gives up his entire self MULTIPLE TIMES in his life/the show! Not just when he's on the run, all of his fake IDs and different names, the different men he's been, but him becoming Stanford. He killed himself to become a weird, off-putting, not-quite-right version of his brother instead, and then at the end he's more than happy to give up his entire mind and sense of self to kill Bill. This man has no attachments to his identity as Stanley, and frankly the symbolic death he went through with the whole car crash thing works really well as an actual avatar change death. Now, certainly, Stan is much more afraid of the lonely, that's what kicked off his whole... everything. Same as Mabel, he didn't want his brother to leave him, didn't want to be left alone. But that's just the thing, in order to escape being preyed upon by the lonely, he ran to the stranger.

Stanford - The Eye Obviously. Lol. But not like, ONLY because of his connection to the literal eye of providence symbol, he IS a knowledge seeker and always has been. He's not just naturally smart, he actively loves learning and meticulously preserves all of that new information in his research journals. He's a perfect example of "needing to know, even if the information might kill you." Example: Chasing dangerous anomalies. Example: Reading the sketchy inscription on the cave wall that told you NOT to read it because it would bring about your doom. I do specify The Eye for Ford because of Bill though, seeing as (despite arguments for Bills story and personality being able to point him to other fears) Ford is connected to a very literal and obvious representation of The Eye- one who easily manipulates him because for all that Ford can see, for all that he seeks knowledge and understanding, he can never truly see past his own perception. Ford likes to See, and Ford ends up being VERY seen, both by his muse and by his nephew, obsessively consuming his journals and everything they reveal about Ford's life.

Fiddleford - The Spiral He was a man driven to madness by his own fear. He goes after Ford in the list because Ford does brush up against the spiral during his paranoia era, but McGucket lives and embodies it much more. Fidd quite literally seemed to have a problem with spiraling during his anxiety attacks, it can be assumed that he struggled with controlling his own thoughts and was easily swept up into his fears and taken away by them. And of course, his solution to this spiraling, the memory gun, only serves to damage his mind more, leading him even farther into his own paranoia era, until it goes too far and he loses himself entirely. He's pretty different from the canon TMA representations of the spiral as far as I can see, but I personally think he's a fitting portrayal despite that? I'm not sure he genuinely fears not being able to trust his own mind? But there's an argument that just like Stan, he runs into the arms of the spiral to escape the eye.

Dipper - Beholding Where Ford is a peak knowledge seeker in terms of his own learning, Dipper is a perfect audience. Dipper is a knowledge seeker, just like Ford, but more than being bookish, it makes him a big fan of mysteries and stories. Dipper is obsessive about Ford's journals, hooked by all of the hidden information not only about Gravity Falls, but about the elusive author himself. And like his uncle, Dipper is more than willing to get himself into danger to learn and reveal the truth. From being convinced using a real monster as a mystery shack attraction would be better, to making a deal with Bill so he can access the laptop, Dippers thirst for understanding is what gets him and his sister into all of the shenanigans that make up the series. And in true beholding fashion, he sees everything, gets every piece of information he can, but can never truly connect it all. Can see but can't understand. He's certainly not afraid of knowledge, he's compelled by it, and if he's not careful he could very easily slip into serving the eye and becoming a real beholder for it.

Soos - The Lonely Blendins Game really did a lot for our understanding of Soos and his whole deal. A boy with a deadbeat absent father who he wants nothing more than to get to know, a man who maybe doesn't really have any friends? Can't seem to connect with people his age, Soos is a lonely guy, straight up. Stan hiring him at the mystery shack was one of the greatest things that could have happened for him, I am a big enjoyer of Soos seeing Stan as a sort of father figure, and I am always touched by his love for Dipper and Mabel, specifically in Not What He Seems when he prioritizes the kids OVER Stan! He has a lot of heart, but seems to be chronically alone, the only guy his age around the main characters, just reaching out desperately for connection. God bless Melody comes into the picture eventually, probably eliminating his prey status for the lonely. Again, like Mabel, he is moreso afraid of the lonely than a representation or avatar of it. And I chose the Lonely title for him because where Mabel is afraid of abandonment via specific circumstances, I think Soos is more just generally lonely in his life and in the show. He's one of a kind, and that sorta isolates him.

Anyway thank you for reading <3

[monstrousmuse]

*rubs hands together* Right. We're doing this.

or, My Very Serious Attempt At Analysing The Billentines.

"BILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?" - Gods, he's even worse than Stan. Jack of NO Trades, Master of PUN. (Not the actual intent here, but if you add a comma, it almost sounds like someone else is asking him out. In cute-sy speak. "Bill, you go out with me?!?! Pwease?")

"I'VE GOT MY ❤️EYE❤️ ON YOU" - Aww, his eye is so expressive. Also love the way he's just... sitting on the ground like that. His base is so thin, it's no wonder why he needs to prop himself up with his little noodle leg. Like a reverse kickstand.

"YOU'RE ACUTE-Y" - Bill torments his friends with terrible, nerdy geometry puns Confirmed. Stanford Filbrick Pines PhD x 12's dream partner amiright？

"I LIKE YOU FOR SOME REASON" - *apologetically glances towards Ford* What reason, Bill? You can confide in us. Or perhaps you don't know...

"LET'S GET ILLUMINAUGHTY" - HE REMOVED HIS BOWTIE WTF-I-I didn't even think that was possible. Welp, you learn something new every day. ...And, are those his cheeks? I’ve always assumed that his whole surface changes colour whenever he is feeling a particularly strong emotion. Huh.

"I'M BROKEN. WANNA FIX ME?" - ...now you're just mocking us. If this ends up spreading to the wider fandom- Oh. Oh dear. It already has. Well played, Hirsch. In all seriousness though, this one is surprisingly introspective of Bill. Has he been doing some postmortem soul-searching? Read a few self-help books? Perhaps Frills was the one who first suggested that he write his own book as a means of reaching a state of inner catharsis...Or maybe it’s just a reference to how Stan literally shattered his face before killing him.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE" - See my previous post. Long story short, he stopped time for a reason. But. Also. He looks depressed. No offence, of course. (Is the floor comfortable? From data gathered during the period of my life that I spent as a Weird Human Child With Weird Human Quirks, I have come to the conclusion that the floor is not, in fact, the most comfortable of places to lie down and ponder one’s existence, but you do you I guess.)

"I SECRETLY COLLECTED YOUR SWEAT IN A JAR AND ACCORDING TO EXTENSIVE LAB TESTING. WE HAVE AN 88.3% PHEROMONE COMPATIBILITY MATCH" - Bill has pheromones. 88.3%...Is there a significance to this number? Does Bill Cipher even know, or care, about basic lab safety and scientific accuracy these days? The answer is a resounding “No. Definitely not. Absolutely not.”

"THEY CALL ME...THE LOVE TRIANGLE" - How To Become Besties With Mabel Pines In One (1) Quick & Easy Step. But you better watch out Bill, the Love God will probably be filing a lawsuit against you for Stealing His Look...and a minor case of Very Intentional And Blasphemous Blasphemy.

…

Whew. Done. Overanalysis is to me what Ichor is to the Greek Gods.

[alicecatfan2007-owlfallsau]

Stanley Pines Evolution Timeline Part 1

IN ENGLISH

Arrival at the Boiling Islands:

As you may know, Stan arrived at the Boiling Islands due to an argument with Ford, the result of which ended with Stan in another universe.

When Stanley fell through the portal, he felt like he was floating.

A few minutes later, he felt the cold of the snow again.

When he looked around, he saw that he was in a snowy area, but he didn't recognize Ford's cabin, so he felt that something wasn't right

When he got up, he saw that there was a very strange landscape, with a giant skull and what seemed to be the ribcage and ribs of a being that died years ago

The first hours in that place were more terrifying than the 10 years he spent alone in the human world

All kinds of creatures tried to hurt him and kill him, the cold was unbearable, he felt the weight of the last hours and wished that everything was a nightmare

He found a cave and managed to make a fire, he had to use the shirt he was wearing under his jacket, but it was worth it to have some warmth

He had fallen next to the diary and now he had it in his hands, he thought about burning it, but he didn't dare, he wanted to keep it… Maybe it would be the last thing he would have of his brother…

The next morning, he woke up with a strong fever, thanks to Moses, Eda appeared, she had gone to his knee for some natural resources and found him in the cave

Thanks to that, she was able to find a warm place to sleep, where to heal her wounds and where to stay until she returned home

Reunion with Eda:

Eda would be overprotective of Stan, after all, she found Stan in a cave, shivering from the cold, sobbing and hugging tightly the diary of her twin brother, so she would be someone who, even if at first she did not want to show concern, dedicated herself to helping him

Eda sees in Stan the reflection of her younger self, she sees someone small who still needs protection, that is why she gives him a special concoction that keeps him young, she does not like being called old, but she likes to feel that she is wiser than Stan, or at least that she is like a good older sister

Eda learns Stan's story over time, and realizes that they have a lot in common, so she decides to teach him everything she knows about the boiling islands

Adaptation to the boiling islands:

Stan begins to adapt to the islands, learning to create concoctions, potions, and things like their smoke bombs, their years of running away and identity forgery were tools to survive and earn the money they needed to survive

Over time, the nickname "The Mystery Man" became a name to fear, the name of a human who was a fighter, a magician who can create potions and scam the most naive

Time of the curse:

During his stay on the Boiling Islands, trying to protect Eda in a chase, Stan was hit by the spell of a member of the coven, he could not figure out who it was, but Eda hurriedly told him that the person who cast the spell was wearing a white cape and mask, so they assumed he was a member of the emperor's coven.

Unfortunately, the next day, Stan wakes up feeling the effects of a curse.

Through his research on the Boiling Islands, Stan was able to discover that the curse he had was similar to Eda's, only instead of being the Owl beast, it is one with a similar form to that of a werewolf. Lupinotuum pectinem mortis (or as Stan called it, Lupin) is a mysterious entity that acts as the avatar of his own curse.

It inhabits those afflicted by its curse, often appearing in front of its victims within their subconscious when the curse is in effect.

Unlike Eda's curse, Stan's curse is "easier to control," in Eda's words.

Lupinotuum pectinem mortis, true to its name translated as "Werewolf of Death," is a robust, bipedal creature with a werewolf appearance.

It has a thick coat of dirty-looking silver fur, large legs, sharp claws, and a long tail.

His head resembles that of a common Wolf, with a golden circular marking with a small circle, resembling a fish eating something, with hollow black eyes and large fangs.

In the mindscape, he has an astonishing height that dwarfs Stanley, but when weakened, Lupin reverts to a smaller childlike form and is less than half Stan's size.

In the mindscape, he has an astonishing height that dwarfs Stanley, but when weakened, Lupin reverts to a smaller childlike form and is less than half Stan's size.

Nothing is known about this creature beyond the basics, that elixirs counteract the curse, its weaknesses are oversaturating its senses of smell, hearing, and sight, it will behave aggressively unless it senses safety and the scent of members of its pack.

What Stan doesn't know is that Eda knows the truth about his curse, but that information is "not important."

King's Arrival:

When Eda brought home little King, Stan didn't know how to handle him, they weren't used to taking care of children, because as soon as he heard King speak, he knew that this little boy was a baby

Over time, Stan began to take care of King as he was taught, but of course, with the help of Eda, which prevented Stan from using the lessons his father taught him to take care of King

Over time, King begins to learn to defend himself and be a great help to his family

Arrival of Luz Noceda:

When Luz arrives at the boiling islands, Stan showed up making an amazing entrance and distraction for Eda and Luz to flee, when everyone regroups, Luz is too stunned, since in her words, she didn't expect to meet someone like Stan in a world like that

When Luz realizes that Stan is human, she begins to ask him if he is "the chosen one" as in her books, which leads to a long dynamic in which Stan denies being a "chosen" like those in the books, but whose actions make him look like a hero, making Luz keep insisting

Coexistence with Luz and King

Over time, Stanley became fond of the children, Luz learned a lot thanks to Stan's life lessons, not only the things she did wrong, but he taught her to defend herself and fight to protect herself from threats like Emperor Belos or the other members of the Emperor's coven

Agony of a Witch: When Stan realizes Luz was kidnapped, Stan and Eda rush to save her, when Eda and Lilith were fighting, Stan tries to protect Luz, but because Lilith was using Luz as a shield, Stan joins the fight against Lilith

When Lilith reveals that she was in fact the one who cursed Stan and Eda, Stan is shocked, while Eda is enraged, not only because her own sister cursed her, but Stan, who she considers her brother, was also cursed because of Lilith

When Eda exhausts her magic and the curse is about to consume her, Eda orders Stan that no matter what happens, he must protect Luz, she reveals that she always had a way for Stan to get home and orders them both to leave

When both humans return to the owl house, Luz clings to Stan for safety, although Stan reciprocates, it is difficult to stay standing knowing everything that just happened.

EN ESPAÑOL

Llegada a las islas hirvientes:

Como ya saben, Stan llego a las islas hirvientes debido a una discusión con Ford, cuyo resultado termino con Stan en otro universo

Cuando Stanley cayó por el portal, sintió como si estuviera flotando.

Unos minutos después, sintió el frío de la nieve de nuevo.

Cuando miro alrededor, vio que estaba en una zona nevada, pero no reconoció la cabaña de Ford, así que sintió que algo no estaba bien

Cuando se levantó, miró que había un paisaje muy extraño, con un cráneo gigante y lo que parecían ser la caja torácica y las costillas de un ser que murió hace años

Las primeras horas en ese lugar, fueron más aterradoras que los 10 años que pasó en soledad en el mundo humano

Toda clase de criaturas trataron de lastimarlo y matarlo, el frío era insoportable, sentía el peso de las últimas horas y deseo que todo fuera una pesadilla

Encontró una cueva y logro hacer una fogata, tuvo que usar la camisa que llevaba bajo la chaqueta, pero valía la pena tener algo de calor

Había caído junto al diario y ahora lo tenía en sus manos, pensó en quemarlo, pero no se atrevía, quería conservarlo… Tal vez sería lo último que tendría de su hermano…

A la mañana siguiente, despertó con una fuerte fiebre, gracias a Moisés, Eda apareció, ella había ido a la rodilla por unos recursos naturales y lo encontró en la cueva

Gracias a eso, pudo encontrar un lugar cálido donde dormir, dónde curar sus heridas y dónde quedarse hasta volver a casa

Reencuentro con Eda:

Eda sería sobre protectora con Stan, después de todo, encontró a Stan en una cueva, temblando de frío, sollozando y abrazando con fuerzas el diario de su hermano gemelo, así que sería alguien que, incluso si al principio no quería demostrar preocupación, se dedicó a ayudarlo

Eda ve en Stan el reflejo de su yo más joven, ve a alguien pequeño que aún necesita protección, por eso le da un brebaje especial que lo mantiene joven, no le gusta que la llamen vieja, pero le gusta sentir que es más sabia que Stan, o al menos que es como una buena hermana mayor

Eda conoce la historia de Stan con el tiempo, y se da cuenta de que ellos tienen mucho en común, así que decide enseñarle todo lo que sabe de las islas hirvientes

Adaptación a las islas hirvientes:

Stan empieza a adaptarse a las islas, aprendiendo a crear brebajes, pociones, y cosas como sus bombas de humo, sus años de huir y la falsificación de identidad fueron herramientas para sobrevivir y ganar el dinero que necesitaban para sobrevivir

con el tiempo, el apodo "el hombre Misterio" se hizo un nombre de temer, el nombre de un humano que era un peleador, un mago que puede crear pociones y estafa a los más ingenuos

Época de la maldición:

Durante su estancia en las islas Hirvientes, tratando de proteger a Eda en una persecución, Stan fue golpeado por el hechizo de un miembro del aquelarre, no pudo averiguar quién era, pero Eda le dijo apresuradamente que la persona que lanzo el hechizo llevaba una capa y una máscara blanca, por lo que supusieron que era miembro del aquelarre del emperador.

Lastimosamente, al día siguiente, Stan despierta sintiendo los efectos de una maldición.

Gracias a sus investigaciones sobre las islas hirvientes, Stan logro descubrir que la maldición que tenía era similar a la de Eda, solo que en vez de ser la bestia Búho, es una con una forma similar a la de un hombre lobo, Lupinotuum pectinem mortis (o como Stan lo llamaba, Lupin) es una misteriosa entidad que actúa como el avatar de su propia maldición.

Habita en aquellos afligidos por su maldición, apareciendo a menudo frente a sus víctimas dentro de su subconsciente cuando la maldición está en efecto.

A diferencia de la maldición de Eda, la maldición de Stan es "más fácil de controlar", a palabras de Eda

Lupinotuum pectinem mortis, fiel a su nombre traducido como "Hombre lobo de la muerte", es una criatura robusta y bípeda con apariencia de hombre lobo.

Tiene una gruesa capa de pelaje plateado de aspecto sucio, patas grandes, garras afiladas y larga cola.

Su cabeza se asemeja a la de un Lobo común, con una marca dorada en forma circular con un pequeño círculo, asemejándose a un pez comiendo algo, con ojos negros huecos y grandes colmillos.

En el paisaje mental, tiene una altura asombrosa que empequeñece a Stanley, pero cuando se debilita, Lupin vuelve a una forma infantil más pequeña y tiene menos de la mitad del tamaño de Stan.

En el paisaje mental, tiene una altura asombrosa que empequeñece a Stanley, pero cuando se debilita, Lupin vuelve a una forma infantil más pequeña y tiene menos de la mitad del tamaño de Stan.

No se sabe nada sobre esta criatura, más allá de lo básico, que los elixires contrarrestan la maldición, sus debilidades son sobresaturar sus sentidos del olfato, oído y vista, se comportara agresivo a menos que perciba seguridad y el olor de miembros de su manada.

Lo que Stan no sabe es que Eda sabe la verdad sobre su maldición, pero esa información "no es importante"

La llegada de King:

Cuando Eda trajo a casa al pequeño King, Stan no supo como manejarlo, no acostumbraban a cuidar de niños, porque apenas escucho a King hablar, supo que ese pequeño era un bebe

con el tiempo, Stan empezó a cuidar de King como le enseñaron, pero claro, con la ayuda de Eda, lo que evito que Stan usara las lecciones que su padre le enseño para cuidar de King

Con el tiempo, King empieza a aprender a defenderse y a ser una gran ayuda para su familia

Llegada de Luz Noceda:

cuando Luz llega a las islas hirvientes, Stan se presentó haciendo una asombrosa entrada y distracción para que Eda y Luz huyan, cuando todos se reagrupan, Luz está demasiado anonadada, ya que en sus palabras, no esperaba conocer a alguien como Stan en un mundo así

Cuando Luz se da cuenta de que Stan es humano, empieza a preguntarle si él es "el elegido" como en sus libros, lo que lleva a una larga dinámica en la que Stan niega ser un "elegido" como los de los libros, pero cuyas acciones lo hacen ver como un héroe, haciendo que Luz siguiera insistiendo

Convivencia con Luz y King

con el tiempo, Stanley se encariñó con los niños, Luz aprendió mucho gracias a las lecciones de vida de Stan, no solo las cosas que hizo mal, sino que le enseño a defenderse y a pelear para protegerse de las amenazas como el emperador Belos o los demás miembros del aquelarre del emperador

Agonía de una bruja: cuando Stan se da cuenta de que Luz fue secuestrada, Stan y Eda corren a salvarla, cuando Eda y Lilith peleaban, Stan trata de proteger a Luz, pero debido a que Lilith usaba a Luz como escudo, Stan se une a la pelea contra Lilith

Cuando Lilith revela que de hecho fue ella quien maldijo a Stan y a Eda, Stan queda en shock, mientras Eda enfurece, no solo porque su propia hermana la maldijo, sino que Stan, a quien considera su hermano, también fue maldecido por culpa de Lilith

Cuando Eda agota su magia y la maldición está por consumirla, Eda le ordena a Stan que pase lo que pase, debe proteger a Luz, le revela que ella siempre tuvo una forma de que Stan volviera a casa y le ordena que ambos se vayan

Cuando ambos humanos regresan a la casa búho, Luz se aferra a Stan buscando seguridad, aunque Stan corresponde, es difícil mantenerse de pie sabiendo todo lo que acaba de pasar.

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

(hi we're back we had to do a final exam anyway post time)

thought process: what if bill is just a foil to stan and the same coin theory folks are taking it way too literally (joking)

conclusion: holy shit bill is a foil to stan

alright okay, so. to start off. what is a foil in literature? a foil is a character designed to compare to and contrast another character. in other words, x character may be very similar to y character but there are very important differences between them. the purpose of this is to enhance the story and give more information about the character that has the foil

so. now that we've got that basis. how is bill a foil to stan, and why is it not the other way around?

point one: main character syndrome

dipper is often considered the main character of gravity falls, but really the grand story revolves around stan. we say this with nothing but love towards ford. each character has a story and arc they go through, but the vast story of the entirety of gravity falls belongs to stan. you follow him. you don't see ford on the other side of the portal. you never see piedmont. you see stan's childhood, stan's life, stan's struggle to get his brother back and protect his family. it is objectively a story about stan

^ this is important to note. very very often, foils are intended to be compared and contrasted to the main character/s. since you are with the main character throughout the ride, this helps you learn more about the mc. who they are, their motivations, and why the difference between them and the foil matters

point two: comparison

let's make a quick list of what stan and bill have in common: they are both con-men. they both lie and cheat and steal. they both hurt people and don't apologize. they both want the portal open. they both are associated with the phrase 'buy gold'. they are both expecting the upcoming apocalypse. they both aren't concerned with ending weirdmaggedon. they both gun for what they want and don't stop until they get it. they both put on a metaphorical mask. they both value ford, prizing him above others. he's both of their goals, the one thing they want to reach

point three: contrasting

what is different about them?

bill destroyed his world. he killed his family

if stan is one thing, it's a family man. it's like he says himself: everything he does is for his family

bill treats ford as an object. a toy. a little gold trophy that he can throw around and crack and play with

it is true that stan didn't initially see ford as his own person with his own drive. it is evident that he has grown past this, and he continues to grow past this as the show comes to a close. ford may have been the prize, but he isn't a trophy. he's a hostage returned home

bill sees the pines as less than. nothing more than puppets to do his bidding

stan sees his family as his will, his reason for everything. why not give up? because they need him. he punched a bald eagle and a dinosaur for the niblings. he punched a demon thought to be unstoppable into shattered specks for the niblings and ford

bill is manipulative, bending people's minds and emotions and memories to do whatever he wants with them

stan, while still a con-man, is much more genuine

bill doesn't grow as a person. he deflects, deflects, deflects, and parties 'til the pain goes away

stan does grow. he goes from lying about everything to spilling his entire story to everyone he cares about. he goes from painfully wide grins to crying as he tells mabel, genuinely, why he's doing this. he goes from assuming and batting away any of ford's attempts to reconcile to having a heartfelt talk with him in the fearamid, realizing how they've hurt each other (that he has hurt ford too), and eventually sailing across the sea with him. he goes from reacting first with anger and aggression to reacting in more subtle, softer ways. the constant scowl on his face when he's not performing transforms into a hopeful smile by the final episode

all this to say: bill is what stan could have been if he wasn't a good person. if he didn't try. and as long as it might have taken to reach the point he did, he still got there through effort and determination. he still tried. he earned his happy end. that's more than bill can ever say

(and a little final message: ford worked hard too. bill may not be his foil, but that doesn't mean he didn't grow and earn his happy ending too. do not use this post to spew vitriol about him)

[vespertin-y]

OKAY I FINALLY WATCHED GRAVITY FALLS. TEN YEARS LATE I KNOW. i was expecting to have to power through a bunch of boring kid stuff to get to the actual interesting drama and i was so so wrong i locked tf in and finished it in two days. it's so good what the actual fuck. heres my thoughts on the main characters

mabel: when i was the actual target audience for this show i saw a bit of mabel while flipping through disney XD and i immediately concluded that she was annoying af and i would never watch this show because of her. i would like to repent for this evil evil take by flinging myself belly down onto shattered glass. MABEL MY BABY GIRL...if they ever put her in another Situation or Scenario ill kill someone fr. she's a little too selfish and a little too pushy sure but so genuinely KIND and SWEET and so willing to make a fool of herself to pull her dumb brother out of his head. that unicorn doesn't know jack i hope she gets everything she wants forever

dipper: if i had watched gf as a kid i would have been in very real danger of naming myself after this guy (which doesn't even work bc im not nearly as cool as him!! the woodland creatures would have eaten my ass). it would've been so easy to give him a generic gaining confidence arc but he is never a coward when it really matters and i think that's great. he may not be able to talk to a girl but he can and will beat a gnome to death with a shovel for touching his sister!!! also yeah he is extremely transgender.

stan: OUUUUUGH. STARTS SOBBING. stanley pines the man that you are. i assumed at first that his plot would be about Learning To Love but no he is 100% on board with being the world's best grunkle from minute one. he definitely fucks up sometimes (putting waddles outside comes to mind as does. The Other Thing) but he always tries his very best to fix it. every action he takes just oozes with care for his family. every time i thought he had a motivation that wasn't his family they pulled the rug out from under me and revealed that it was, in fact, just his family again. he would give everything for them. AND HE LITERALLY DOES??? im gonna vomit. he hand stitched fishing hats 😭😭😭

wendy: definitely my least favorite of the main cast im sorry wendyheads...i just feel like there isn't a lot to get into here. every time they imply there's something more going on with her or her family they just snap her right back into The Coolest Girl In The World which might be fun but it's not that interesting.

soos: SOOS MY FRIEND SOOS!!!! i wobbled on him during the middle of the show bc i felt like they were making him Genuinely Dumb instead of just a good babysitter but they pulled his characterization back around by the end i think. he is like me in that he would also die for the mystery twins without hesitation or regret 💖. a lesser show would've been really mean about soos but gf is BASED and SOOSPILLED so he gets what he deserves. he does not have to lose weight or drop his "childish" interests or stop living with his grandma to WIN AT LIFE. awesome girlfriend! dream job! big house! stan using that boat to hunt down his bio dad and kill him, probably!

ford: ill be honest and admit i hated this guy at first but eventually i learned to live laugh love about his massive incredibly fragile ego ruining everything all the time and now i am a big ford enjoyer. what a FREAK oh my god. he believed his journals to be capable of destroying the world and still refused to destroy them because they're His Life's Work????? he had the painfully obvious option to tell bill he didn't know the equation and stall for time and chose instead to say that OBVIOUSLY he knows it he's the SMARTEST MAN ALIVE he's just not TELLING YOU 😤 and then immediately got tortured????? he spent most of his screentime projecting his relationship issues onto an Actual Child?????????? he needs to go to therapy and learn he's not the main character of the universe but he will not be doing that so i can only hope the boat fixes him. if i was stanley i'd've fed him to the shapeshifter.

bill: SIGH. YES OKAY HE'S MY FAVORITE. I KNOW I'M FUCKING PREDICTABLE DON'T @ ME. i spent 90% of his screentime cracking up and the other 10% making Homosexual Detection Eyebrows at my brother! the ideal ratio!!!!! i can't wait to get my hands on the book so i can poor little meowmeow him more efficiently. i knew i was saving that barnes & noble gift card for something important.

[tinfoil-jones]

Gravity Falls: What Did You Do? Ch. 3

Summary: "Sixer... what did you do?"

“Nine Lives Lee”, a rare Stanley Pines who ended up on the other side of the portal instead of his brother, literally falls into “The Better World”, the dimension that many versions of Stanford Pines tend to be jealous of and hold over Lee’s head as ‘proof’ that everyone would have been better off if he’d just done what his brother asked him.

The Ford of this dimension, however, isn’t quite what he seems. And neither is his version of Stanley.

Rating: T+  

Warnings:  Language, violence, medical related gore, and mentions of graphic violence. Cross-Posted on AO3 Here.

Disclaimer: Reverse Portal Stan "Nine Lives Lee" is owned by @urdadsceilingfan  

This version of the Better World AU is owned by @mother-ofthe-universe

First - Previous - Next

Ch.3

The Stanley of Dimension-GB1100, designation supposedly Stan-GB1100.

This kid was him? The Stanley Pines of this dimension?

The same Stanley who, by all reports, took Ford-GB1100’s journal away… Thirty years ago? And, assuming this Ford is mid-50s just like Lee, he should have been in his mid-to-late twenties in the early 80s?

Meanwhile, this kid didn’t look old enough to buy a pack of cigarettes… or lie about his age to buy a pack of cigarettes, like Lee did when he was a teenager (and never succeeded because of the baby face he sported until he was twenty).

But Ford said this was his brother, that he’d been frozen since childhood, and as ridiculous that explanation was for several reasons, he said it with his whole chest. With conviction. And what Lee knew about the Fordverse was that they break their convictions as often as they let go of grudges.

 Which is never.

He could call bull right now but…

The kid sure seemed to buy that malarkey. And Lee didn’t need to freak out some kid by shaking the foundations of what he ‘knew’. 

“So this is another you, Sixer? How come you don’t look that cool?” Stan said to Ford, clearly just teasing him. Although Ford did not look amused, he kept glancing between Lee and Stan, still keeping himself in front of his brother as though he was a protective barrier between them.

Lee can play along for now.

“Actually,” Lee said to the teen with a small, albeit wolfish smile “I’m you. Guess I’m one of the lucky ones who didn’t get put on ice.” 

“What? No way!” Stan gasped in response, making his crutches click against the ground as he slapped his own hand over his mouth, eyes wide. “So I become a cyborg in the future?”

“Of course not!” Ford immediately chided before Lee could respond “This is an alternate version of you, he isn’t from the future. And,” he glared at Lee, who was immediately reminded of an angry, wet cat “he should be in the holding area.”

Lee crossed his arms, his prosthetic clinked slightly against his gold chain and Space President's Key hanging over his chest, but his shirt dampened any sound “Ya mean your interrogation room? Course I left; ya didn’t even give me a phone call, or a lawyer.”

“You weren’t arrested, Lee, you were being quarantined. Speaking of which, you can either return willingly, or I can call security.”

‘Bold words for someone in blaster range’ Lee automatically thought, but chose to keep to himself. He gave up to security willingly before, being too curious for his own good when this Ford started behaving strangely after their brief tussle in the basement. Lee could’ve fought them off, easily, but something about the general state of this Ford compelled him to do what he usually doesn’t do, and comply.

A weakness the Fordverse has observed and used against Lee before, knowing he’ll usually hesitate to hurt any of them… Only for them to learn a bit too late, that hesitation does not equal refusal or inability.

“Go back to your room, Stanley, matters like this aren’t safe for you.” Ford told his charge, who looked at him like a kicked puppy. “Besides, we’ve already told you what happens when you make contact with an alternate self.”

But Lee knew this boy wasn’t an alternate self. There was one way to prove it, but it was risky.

‘99% of gamblers give up before they make it big.’ Lee thought, as he silently walked over, Ford was too distracted by his ‘brother’ to notice.

“I think he’ll be just fine.” Lee said, making Ford almost jump at how close he suddenly was. Before he could get a response, Lee reached over to ruffle the kids hair with his left hand, the organic one.

Looks like Lee was in that 1% of gamblers, just as he predicted, because his hand twined right into the kid's hair and against his scalp, but the dimension did not start collapsing into static. This kid was someone else, all right.

If he wasn’t Stanley Pines, twin brother of Stanford Pines, who was he really?

“What do you think you’re doing?!”Ford sputtered in horror and shoved Lee away as hard as he could - Lee could have stayed in place if he wanted, but he let Ford take this one. Lee raised both hands innocently in front of himself as Stan blinked at him in confusion, before looking at Ford without saying anything, but the question was clear on his face.

“Don’t worry, Ford” Lee gruffed, a small smirk that didn't reach his eyes presented itself “I can make contact with my alts. The portal fluid I use distorts my dimensional freq.” It was a lie, a blatant lie that he stole from Rick Sanchez and all of his variants. But he got through half of his life by lying, and the other half through stealing, so he said it with the same casual confidence of giving a standard greeting.

Ford didn’t seem taken aback - of course he wouldn’t, because he must have known that physical contact between Lee and Stan wouldn’t cause a crash-out. However, he was definitely still angry, forcefully shoving his index finger against Lee’s chest.

“Stanley is immunocompromised, who knows what type of pathogens you could pass onto him!” Ford practically spat, but the worry was more evident than his rage, at least at this moment.

Shit, really? 

“My bad, I didn’t know.” Lee quickly said - he could clearly see that the kid was sickly but he didn’t realize he was part of a vulnerable population. He took a step back from the man, who thankfully withdrew his hand back to his cane.

“Oh c’mon Ford…” Stan said, his voice seeming small. Smaller than Lee would have spoken at that age; he’d always been loud and brash, always unabashedly taking up space and establishing himself. Not that different to how he was in the present day, really, having a palpable presence with his rakish demeanor and larger than life behaviour. It was necessary, he had to always seem sure of himself, even when he wasn’t, because if he wasn’t, his enemies both criminal and legit wouldn’t miss the opportunity to pounce. “Can’t we talk at least a little bit? I haven’t met another me yet! Other you’s show up all the time.”

“Absolutely not.” Ford said, quite firm. 

Lee and Stan looked at each other. And maybe this kid wasn’t him, but with one glance they had a nonverbal agreement instantly.

---

“-and I told him, ‘Hey buddy, can’t you see I’m already un-armed!’”

Stan snorted a laugh at Lee’s story, while Ford said nothing but his mouth did at least twitch, so Lee would count that as a win on his end. McGucket, as he was setting out plates for everyone, simply rolled his eyes. Sane versions of the man tended to be dry and sarcastic, so that wasn’t a surprise.

“Charming.” McGucket said, taking a seat besides Stan. “But Lee, you really should remove your coat and headwear at the dinner table.” He ignored the pointed look Ford gave him, instead closing his eyes and pressing his hands together in front of himself, doing a quick, silent prayer to himself. 

Southern table manners, of course.

“I didn’t see a coat rack on the way here.” Lee said once Fiddleford was done and picked up his silverware, but didn’t wait for a response. He did, at least, take his coat off and drape it over the back of the dining room chair he was sitting on.

“The beanie cap.” Fiddleford reminded Lee, who shrugged.

“Stays on.” Lee ‘finished’ for him, stubbornly. When Fiddleford narrowed his eyes but ultimately backed off to continue eating, he added “Tell ya what, I won’t put my elbows on the table.” At that, he did hear something that sounded like a chortle from Ford; when Lee looked over the counterpart of his brother, he did seem a bit embarrassed at first to have been caught, but he regained composure quickly.

“I never thought I’d see- well, you comply with proper decorum at the dinner table.” Ford said, taking a sip from a glass of water. His much younger brother snapped his head over to look at him with a pouty glare.

“Oh come on Sixer! I’m not that bad.”

“Then stop talking with food in your mouth, Stanley.” Ford countered back, and Stan had the decency to at least look sheepish when he snapped his mouth closed and grabbed a nearby napkin to clean his own face. The boy’s elbow crutches were leaned on the table right next to him. It was strange to sit and eat dinner with - a version of - his brother, after almost forty since he last did so with his actual twin. But the kid had practically begged Ford to let Lee stay for dinner.

It was endearing (Lee would never call it cute), that Stan was so excited to meet Lee, an alternate of Stanley Pines; what he believed to be an older version of himself. And it was too early for Stan to realize what a skeezeball Lee was. Too early for all of them, really.

He looked down at what was being served; meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes and glazed carrots. Lee wasn’t sure if it was Fiddleford who made the dinner or if they had dedicated staff for that, but he was guessing the latter. He was just glad it wasn’t another shitty MRE or rations pack. There were certain dimensional travelers out there who survived solely off of nutrition pills and lean, but it couldn’t be him.

“So how’d ya lose your arm?”

“Stanley!” Ford immediately reprimanded once Stan said it, whipping his head over with a stern look “That is a rude thing to ask an amputee, or anyone.”

Seeing Stan start to crumple into himself, Lee interjected “No, no; it’s fine Ford. The kid’s just curious.” He said, then looked to the teen in question “The real stories I’d say- TV-MA rated? So let’s keep things simple and say I crossed some people who got back at me eventually.”

“And they chopped your arm off?”

“They were after more than just the arm, but that’s what popped off in the end-”

“Can we please not talk about this while we are eating?” Fiddleford deadpanned, lowing his current forkful of food, clearly not pleased or particularly voracious at the mental image of a man’s arm being cut off.

“How come ya don’t cover it up like your other arm? Is it to look cool?” Stan continued, to the chagrin of his brother. He was referring of course to how Lee’s overcoat had it’s sleeve rolled up on his prosthetic arm, while his other, natural arm had the sleeves fully rolled down and his hand was gloved.

“I was wearing the same jacket when my arm was lobbed off, took the sleeve and glove with it.” Lee chuckled, “Seemed like a waste to throw it away when just the sleeve was missing.” Also he’d been too lazy to find a new jacket, but they didn’t need to know that part. Looking cool, at least in the teens eyes, was just an added bonus. At his explanation, Ford’s expression changed to something Lee had difficulty reading. 

“That was certainly… resourceful of you, Lee.” Ford said, and his tone was much easier to discern than his face; he spoke in a way that suggested that he was exasperated, and perturbed, but… almost fond, in a way. The corner of Lee’s mouth twitched up, genuinely, but he stopped it before it could start.

---

Two weeks.

It would take two weeks for Ford and Fiddleford to collect the materials needed to synthesize Lee’s portal fluid. 

That was the problem with parallel Earths, they were usually primitive in terms of technology compared to the technology that Lee had seen and used in the multiverse. He may have been an old ass man with a nostalgic preference for analogue, but dammit was concentrated dark matter really too much to ask for outside of the Nightmare Realm?

Why did things like ‘authorization’, ‘certifications’, ‘legality’, and ‘planetary safety concerns’ need to get in the way? Those two nerds were way too squeamish at the idea of bribing, robbing, or blackmailing the government.

Gave Lee time to figure out what the deal with Ford and this kid version of ‘him’ was, at least. 

Said kid was over the moon about it, and Lee wasn’t surprised at that; he would have been the same at that age, although not for the same reasons. Because while Lee during his teen years had his twin, his then-girlfriend Carla, a part time gig, and his car to work on… 

Stan was, putting it nicely; a lonely, sheltered, and fragile shut-in.

His loneliness was a result of not only being the only child in the house and the premises, but he was also home schooled; because of his fragility and compromised immune system Ford did not want him attending regular school. Outside of his Roblox and Minecraft servers, it looked like Stan didn’t have any friends.

Although, admittedly, his builds on Minecraft were impressive. Lee would know, considering the three months he was stuck in the Mining and Crafting Dimension. 

He was sheltered by Ford; Stan trailed after Ford constantly, a far cry from the side-by-side Lee had with his own twin when he was young. It was as if the boy didn’t live in Stanford’s shadow… He was his shadow; he moved as silently as one, after all. Something that was still confusing to Lee, not just because of his crutches, but because that was a skill he didn’t possess until a few years after he’d been kicked to the curb and onto the streets. It wasn’t a trait he inherently had. At least… Lee didn’t think he inherently had it. There weren’t a lot of other Stanley Pines variants exiled out of their dimension like him and most versions of Ford, so he didn’t have a lot of examples he could compare to. Maybe Lee was the odd one out in the stealth department? 

Stan’s fragility was both obvious, but contradictory. He had all of the energy Lee remembered having at that age - and could use now dammit he’s needed a nap since the 90s - but Stan was hindered by his very real physical limitations. Crutches aside, he had a weak constitution overall, getting both sick and injured easily. Judging by how much he’d already talked Lee’s ears off about art projects he was currently working on (he seemed to be going through a watercolour kick at the moment), he channeled that energy into pursuits that were less physically taxing.

Those were a few things Lee had picked up on his younger ‘counterpart’ so far - he could only get so close to him with Ford being a helicopter parent-like, oppressive presence in Stan’s life. Not that Lee could blame him, even if he was an alternative version of his twin brother, he was still a space hobo he just met just this morning. Trust was something earned, and most Ford’s had a very ‘trust no one’ mind set that Lee’d seen over and over and over again in the multiverse.

But, Lee had at least two weeks to work with. Maybe that’d be enough times to get past these defenses of his, and maybe figure out who Stan was and where he really came from.

Lee just needed to play his cards right. Gambling man he was, even if his hand wasn’t good at the moment, he always had a few more cards up his sleeve.

To be continued…

---

In the U.S, back in 2010 it was still legal for people to buy cigarettes at the age of eighteen instead of twenty one. The age was raised in 2019. But Lee is lowballing Stanley’s age even further because back in the 1980s when he was still in his own dimension, the federal smoking age was sixteen and wasn’t changed to eighteen until 1994. Yes, Lee has been to a lot of parallel Earths at this point, but why would he bother to learn the laws if they didn’t apply to him and he would have ignored them anyways?

“Say it with your chest” = saying something with confidence and conviction, like you believe what you are saying.

Anytime the word ‘Fordverse’ is used it's just a shorthand term for “The collective of Stanford Pines versions across the multiverse”. It’s basically referencing Fords as though they are a community.

“he got through half of his life by lying, and the other half through stealing” is a line from Lavernius Tucker from Red vs Blue. Specifically, “Half of the stuff I have in life I got through lying. And the other half by stealing, which is basically just lying about which stuff is yours.” - Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wall, Episode 3

Ford’s resolve was weak in the face of Stan and Lee asking him for the same thing. He folded like a lawn chair to their requests.

You can tell Lee is Stanford's twin, because he's willing to risk an entire dimension just to prove a point.

“Vulnerable population” refers to people who for some reason or another relies on herd immunity to protect them from viruses and other diseases.

Urdadscielingfan once said that Lee’s beanie is an emotional support item, hence why he refused to take it off at the table.

MRE = Meals Ready to Eat. Prepackaged shelf stable meals in a bag often used by the military.

“Lean” is also called purple drank, is a recreational drug beverage that commonly contains codeine cough syrup. Lee is mostly joking but he’s insinuating that the Fordverse does questionable drugs.

TV-MA: Mature audience only, and may be unsuitable for children under 17

Lee having an easier time understanding someone through their tone rather than their facial expression is another nod to Lee’s echoic / auditory based memory.

Lee’s story about not covering his arm comes from this ask.

Concentrated dark matter is a reference from Rick and Morty, specifically the episode M. Night Shaym-Aliens! Apparently Rick uses it as a special fuel to travel through space “faster than anybody else.”

You can’t prove that there isn’t a Mining and Crafting Dimension. And yes, it is basically minecraft.

[amydiddle-fanfiction]

10 Years More (Stanley’s Tale)

Stanley Pines is hitting his late 30s. He has lived a hard life on the road and only when he was in his darkest moment in '82 did he finally turn to family to help. Now, after a few years of living with his older brother, he is mostly on his feet. There are still days where he sleeps in his car but he at least knows he can make an honest living and turn to some people when in a terrible bind.

Still the world does change in terrible ways and now Stan finds himself packing up once again to drive towards a person he is sure never wants to see him again just because his mother asked him to. The last time anyone even heard from him was that same year Stan dialed up Sherman's number, who said that the man just decided to fully cut himself off from family forever?

What kind of town was Gravity Falls anyways? Whose to say Stanford even needed help?

Ao3 (THE FIC THAT MAY NEVER BE COMPLETED IS BEING WRITTEN)

Chapter 2

Property of Stanford Pines.

Once Stanley had read those words he was hooked to the handwritten book. Every page held a peek into the kind of life Ford had been living since he last saw him. He had only started to get into the book when his flashlight died and he was forced back up into the house.

Stan was now sat at the old kitchen table with the dead flashlight and the light of the dawn helping him see.

Every word that was on a page Stan held onto tightly. The creatures, the adventures, and the overall strangeness of this town that his brother described he did not want to believe but he knew it all must be true. There was no way Stanford would stay out here so long or make these things up. This was like his brother’s dream place to research, all the weird and the fantastical.

But it was more than the adventures and monsters in this journal. Small things also caught his eyes as he read through the pages. There were codes and scattered symbols all throughout the edges of the pages. He got the feeling they were important but there was no key written down anywhere so he was out of luck. Stan gave a small sigh when he realized he was going to need to find books to help him decode all of it.

That was a task for later; he needed to focus on what he did learn from reading through his book.

He sat back in his squeaky chair in the ruined kitchen and ran a hand down his face. So, what did he know?

Monsters and strange creatures were real and lived in the woods that surrounded the town and this very house. Stanford had been here for around six years before he had disappeared in the January of 1983. His brother had come across this slime ball of a muse that told him to build an interdimensional portal. Ford and his friend, this mysterious ‘F’, had built the portal and were set to test it. This ‘F’ guy tried to put his brother to stop the test but Ford, being the stubborn ass he was, did not listen.

The day before the test the journal was left blank. The only conclusion was his brother and the other guy were sucked into the portal and lost in some other realm. Or possibly obliterated.  

Stanley stared at the last page that had been written on; a diagram that he assumed was part of the portal downstairs. Probably instructions on how it was built or how to operate it. He let the ink be lightly hit by the sunlight that was filtering through the dirty window before he closed the book.

“Why couldn’t this have been simple?” Stanley muttered and hid his face in his hands. The book had brought him more problems and questions than answers.

What was he going to tell their mother? He had really wanted to come up here, be yelled at by Stanford, and then yell at his brother to call their mother for once in his life.

Instead, her mission of him coming up here had turned into something impossible. He could not just call her up and tell her that Stanford had built a dumb machine and got sucked into it. That his brother was probably deader than dead or at least lost forever since Stan did not know how to get him back.

Stanley moved his hands and stared at the book in front of him. He did not like to entertain the thoughts that he had come too late. That his brother was lost forever and probably dead. There was even the slim chance that the portal downstairs could still work; all the other machines seemed to be functioning down there even though the house was out of power.

Stan stood up quickly when that thought hit his head.

“It could still work,” he whispered and swiped the book off the table.

He headed out of the kitchen. His feet moved him quickly through the rooms until he was back at the door to the basement. That slim chance of the machine being able to work and bring his brother back caused delusional hope to grow quickly in his heart.

The man took the stairs two at a time ad held onto the side of the elevator as it made the slow journey down. He barely waited for the gate to open before Stan made his way across the room to the main control area of the portal.

“Okay. How do we do this?”

He set the book down on the desk he had found it on and started with his desperate idea.

Stan messed with the buttons and turned dials without really knowing what they did. Without the translations on the Journal’s codes, he was winging it. When nothing happened there, he moved into the main area and pulled on a lever that stood in the middle of the room.

“Come on,” he grit out and pulled on the lever desperately, “Come on. Come on.”

He tried everything that looked like it belonged to the machine to try and get it work or give any sign of life. All these attempts came up negative. The years of sitting dormant had left it without power and maybe even broken after the first failed attempt.

“Work!” He kicked the lever in frustration and the metal dented. “Come on you stupid piece of shit just fucking work!”

He kept up the kicks until the lever fell off. The rusted metal was in no condition for the rough treatment that Stanley had delivered.

The man crumpled to the ground, tears stinging his eyes, and took a deep breath to calm himself down. That little bit of hope that he had fed too much had been crushed in the smallest time span imaginable. He almost wanted to throw a temper tantrum because of the hopelessness of the situation. The one easy chance was a failure.

“Why can’t anything be easy with you, Stanford?” he muttered.

With a deep sigh, he sat up and looked at the portal hopelessly. He could not just sit down here and hoped by some higher power it was turn itself on and work. He was outmatched in the brain department to even begin to tackle this problem.

With another sigh, he stood up and grabbed journal off the desk. Stanley sluggishly made his way back into the elevator and hit the button to bring him back to the top floor. The elevator caught about halfway up but a quick hit to the controls made it move again.

“Gonna have to fix that,” he muttered to himself as the journey continued.

Stan felt more lost and confused than he had ever been in his life as he stepped off the contraption. He moved back up the stairs in a daze with the book clutched in his hands. He stared at the messy room the door was hidden in as if his desperate looks would give him the answers he desperately needed. That Stanford would appear from behind a shelf and scold him for messing with his things.

All Stan got was silence and some dust that floated in an invisible draft. There was no answer given to how he should go about this situation. No answer to if he should even bother to start the portal up. No answer to if his brother was even alive on the other side of that contraption.

The idea of calling his mother once again popped into his head but he quickly dismissed it. He could not tell her this. He would call her eventually, but right now it would be impossible to explain what had happened. Stan could not tell her that he had no idea how to save his brother and break her heart.

“No,” Stan mumbled, “Can’t tell Ma about this. Gotta think of something else.”

Stanley moved out of the cluttered room and hesitantly sat down on the couch next to the coat. The man blankly stared ahead at the television and sighed. He glanced once at the book in his lap before it finally clicked.

He stood up quickly and stared at the journal like it was the first time he was seeing it. The gold leaf on the front reflected his face but Stan’s eyes were not focused on that. They were glued to the number three printed in the middle of the palm.

“Three,” Stan said to himself, “That means there are two more. Two more with the dumb portal’s instructions or something.”

Stan laughed. There was his hope; the journals had to have the other parts of the portal’s instructions in them. He just had to find the other two and he could start working to start that device and, hopefully, save his brother from some unknown fate.

He lowered the book from his face and looked around the dingy living room.

“Okay,” he said to himself in a reassuring tone, “If I was Ford where would I hide my nerd books?”

Stanley closed his eyes and hummed to himself. It had been a long time since he had to do the ‘think like Ford’ trick, usually it was to figure out where his twin had hidden the candy in their room, but he was sure that this would work.

The man moved to the doorway of the living room before he opened his eyes to look down the hallway. He took a breath and moved away from the doorway he had entered the night before and glanced into any room he saw. His feet stopped in front of a door and he looked at the wood with interest.

The door was pushed open enough for him to see that sunlight was coming through a window in there. He pushed the door open more to see what it held. A pleased smile appeared on his face seeing that the room was set up like an office space.

“Bingo,” he whispered to himself and entered the room.

The room was not that special in contents. A sitting area under an open window, a desk, and very few personal items. Books, papers, and other random things seemed to be scattered around the floor. Stan concluded that mess was made from whatever escaped from the busted open cat carrier that sat in the corner.

He was not too focused on the mess as he made his way over to the desk and set his journal down on top of it before he began his search.

Stanley started to go through the drawers to see if he could find another journal like the one he already had. He pulled out blueprints, scribbled on notebook paper, fax sheets, pens, and pencils. He pulled out all the drawers to dump them out to see if they have a false bottom. When the desk proves to have nothing, he moved over to the two bookshelves and scattered novels around the room.

Stan picks up every book and looks them over. If they were not the certain two, he was searching for he would stack them up on the desk. The stack on the desk soon became two, then three, and then half of a fourth when, finally, he spotted it.

Stan dropped the books he was just about to carry over to the pile to reach for his prize. The maroon-colored journal had either fallen or had been flung behind the bookcase. The reasons for its hidden place did not matter to Stan as he pulled it to freedom.

Behind the bookcase the journal had been open and the pages had been stuck folded over. Stan tried his best to smooth them out again before he closed it gently since he sensed the journal’s spine may have been hurt as well.

Despite how careful he was being, Stanley was full of excitement that he had now located two out of, hopefully, three journals. The shining gold on the cover of the journal shone up in the dusty light of the house like a beacon of hope. Behind the number one written on the palm, the material reflected Stan’s hopeful grin.

“Two down, one to go,” Stan said to himself and set the book down next to the third journal and went back to searching the office area.

He picked up the rest of the books on the floor and emptied the bookshelves so he could search thoroughly behind them all. He did not want to miss anything. There had been nothing back behind them but dust and a small flip-note book that was written in someone’s handwriting that was too messy to be his brother’s. Stan had flipped through it out of curiosity and found to his delight terrible jokes and sarcastic comments that surrounded random math equations that made no sense to him.

He set the little notebook down on top of the journals and went back to his search for the second and last journal. The search resulted in the room becoming cleaner than when he had found it. The window was shut, the books put away, and the dirt on the ground had been swept up. Everything was spotless and he had found a few papers in the desk that he believed would be helpful, but he had not found the second journal.

“Okay, makin’ it hard for me I see. I like that,” Stan said to the air, “But two out of three ain’t bad. Plus, I got a whole house to search.”

He picked up his two prizes and carried them back into the living room, setting the books down on the small coffee table. If both were not in the office space he found, maybe there was another room his brother may frequent that could have this second journal. Like his bedroom.

Exactly, all Stan had to do was find Ford’s bedroom and he would probably find the journal tucked under the pillow or something. Hope was not yet lost.

He made his way out of the living room and back into the hall. Close to the stairs and front door he found a close doorway. Trying the handle, felt the door stick to the frame from the years of disuse. Old wood had warped just enough to make this more of a hassle to get to. Stan gritted his teeth and pulled as hard as he could. The door groaning in protest before it finally popped open, nearly sending the man off his feet.

“Stupid door,” he grumbled as he brushed off invisible dirt from his front.

Cautiously he peeked inside the room. The shade was drawn over the window and made the room dark as the night had been a few hours ago. But it was clearly a bedroom. A large double bed sat in the middle of the room; sheet rumpled as if someone had just gotten out of bed. It was a contrast to the pajamas still folded nicely at the end of the bed waiting for the person to arrive.

Stan stepped into the room fully and looked around, not quite sure about touching things yet. It had been years since he and his brother had shared a bedroom but here, unlike the office, this place screamed Ford. The posters still hanging on the wall of nerdy old men that Stan could not name. A jar of unusually shaped jellybeans also sat on wardrobe with a big sticky note on it that said ‘DO NOT TOUCH F!’. The DD&MD box set sitting on top of the wardrobe next to a picture of Ma. A few other family photos were there as well. David at age two with a newborn Sheryl on his lap, Sherman’s wedding, a formal picture of Ma and Pa together.

It almost hurt to see himself excluded if he was not already expecting it. Stan had been gone from his life for so long it was nice to see that Stanford at least tried to be part of Sherman’s a little.

Blinking away the feelings he turned back to the room. His first instinct was to push his hand under the old pillows to see if Ford still hid things under there like he did when they were tweens. Sadly, he came up empty.

He next moved over to the wardrobe and started to rifle through the clothing, not caring as he threw shirts and pants onto the bed. Searching for false bottoms in the drawers just in case his brother was being extra crafty. When that came up empty, he stuffed the clothes back in without much care to fold them and headed to the closet.

The closet was a bust too. Stan even checked the steamer trunk but all it held was old college memorabilia, some photo albums and film reels that he did not look too close into. Under the bed was also a bust.

With a sigh, Stan sat down on the mattress and ignoring the creaking groan the old springs did at being touched after so long. Exhaustion from the long drive and pent-up worry starting to drag down his shoulders.

He knew he still had another floor to check. He knew that half this house was trashed and needed a good cleaning, meaning that the journal could be anywhere.

However, it was hard to be optimistic when a personal thing like that is not in a place you expect it to be.

“Come on Stan, pull yourself together,” he said to himself, “You still got a whole house to search.”

At the thought of that his body almost wanted to collapse. He flopped over backward onto the bed and threw an arm over his eyes.

“It’s gotta be somewhere,” he yawned, “I’ll just rest here for a second and then go into the next room. There is no way it ain’t in the house.”

As he laid there, listening to the dead silence of the cabin around him, he tried to think of other places his brother may have placed something like this. Maybe it was in the attic or down in the basement where the first one was. Maybe he just needed to clean up the kitchen a bit. Course, it could take days to get this house full searched. He might need to get a motel room.

A frown crossed his face at the thought of spending what little savings he had on a motel room he might not even use. Maybe he should just stay here, get some nonperishable food from town, and just fix this place up.

Who knew how long the portal thing was going to take anyway once he found this dang journal. A month? Maybe two? It took Ford and his nerd friend six months to make it from scratch, he may not be the smart twin but he could follow instructions well enough that it shouldn’t take too long.

Right?

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

You've discussed Shifter Mabel, but what about Shifter dipper? I could totally see their fight in the finale being in this au since gravity falls just feel better to exist in. Assuming this is the world where Stan helped raise shifty there's also the element of getting to study under them.

It'd be heavily dependent on if this was a canon following au or not. If it follows Doppelganger, then the twins don't have a blow out fight about Dipper staying or not, it'd be something along the lines of Mabel finding out Dipper isn't human, Dipper trying to get into shifter boot camp early, or Dipper trying to coddle her in a fit of paranoia of losing his base to all the threats after her due to her chaotic love life. Neither Stan would try to separate them, as thats the last thing a young shifter needs. The first one is unlikely, as Dipper would be mentored by Stan here and would have been preached to about 'coming clean in a clear manner to avoid future problems', while the second could be a symptom of the first, trying to grow up fast so he can protect his fragile human base (who will end him the moment she hears any thoughts about her being fragile).

In a canon following au then 100% is the fight about Dipper staying in Gravity Falls under Ford to learn everything he has to teach, neither Ford or Dipper understanding that its a Bad Idea for a Shifter that young to be away from their base. Not only is puberty a big deal for humans, its one of the times human bodies are constatnly changing and Shifters are learning about the intricacies of human socialization through school. If Dipper had gone off with Ford he'd basically suffer the same thing that Stan did, where his form would get stuck at 13 and he'd mentally stop growing in a much more noticeable way than Stan did. Stan managed along well because he was pretty much an adult already, even if a really young one, so his lingering 17 year old mindset flared up in the need to look like he knew more than he did and trying to act like nothing affected him. Dipper would be stuck with his paranoia and weird prepubescent sweatyness and self confidence issues. And he'd also be 13 forever (at least his base would be). Post weirdmaggedon Stan would hit Ford over the head and sit him down for Shifter 101, and if weirdmaggedon didn't happen Stan would shut down the apprenticeship the moment either of them brought it up. Not only because of what I'd already said, but because Ford didn't ask the twins parents, and Stan is Dipper's mentor already, he knows what the kid needs at this point better than Ford would. As a mentor he has more say in these things, especially since he's hands on. Dipper would get angry over it, but I think this is something he'd scream at Stan about and Stan would do his eye roll 'I actually know what I'm doing' thing and explain why Dipper can't for the reasons I already stated. Then they'd have a private moment where Stan reveals his base is actually still 17, and that he'll be 17 forever because he missed 40 years of his base's life, and does Dipper want to be 13 forever? Because if so Stan will make it happen.

Cue Dipper apologizing to Mabel for above reasons and also realizing he doesn't have to grow up so fast, and Ford overhearing the conversation and getting Feelings.

[royalnugget42]

Gotta wonder what Dipper’s bubble would be like if and when it forms…

OH and I bet the bio billford AU happens a lot like gaslit au, where Mabel learns who their other dad is and freaks out.

I keep thinking abt how Bill would deal with it, and like it happens pretty similarly to canon? The kids show up in Stan’s mind and he goes “oh okay, I guess this is normal. Time to terrorize some children!”

And because they’re very consistently in their human forms, he doesn’t notice anything id weird until he’s like “oh hang on these kids are WAY too good at manipulating dreamscapes this isn’t normal”

And he puts 2 and 2 together. These kids are calling Stan their uncle. They look like Ford. They have dream powers. And suddenly he’s realizing that maybe it’s not a good sign that he doesn’t remember the karaoke night…

So after that he spies on the kids to confirm that yep, those are half-Euclidean half-human, has a major parental freak out (they’re probably not eating enough teeth, they’re way too small, they need help with their powers), and starts planning Weirdmageddon 2.0 Family Edition, which takes a lot more work as it turns out.

He still has time to freak Dipper out a little, but in this version he doesn’t possess him. He really is just checking up on him, not trying to make deals (he does still try to give him a head that’s constantly screaming. Father son bonding rituals etc).

But up until Ford is free, the kids don’t know who their other dad is. They assume the same thing that Stan did, that Ford did it all by himself. UNTIL Dipper reads his dad’s mind and realizes, hey uh. Now that I’m thinking about it we have a lot in common with Bill. And you were “friends” with him. Oh no. Oh no no no.

Can’t decide whether Dipper tells her immediately and she has her crisis about it early, or if she overhears Stan and Ford talking abt it, realizes Dipper knew all along, and has a crisis about it then. Either way is good.

In Bio billford au.

Does bill allow his hench maniacs to babysit Mabel or dipper? Like a scenario where dipper was able.to fallow Mabel to talk to her and then weirdmagedon happens and they are both in the bubble or fearamid and the others take turns watching over the kids.

Also I feel like in weirdmagedon their Euclidian aspects are a lot more noticeable/ powers are stronger and a bit less controlled.

I think Bill would be crazy protective/possessive over twins and Ford. No way he'd let anyone else watch them. That's what bubbles for safe area kids can stay until he's got global weridmageddon sorted and Ford on his side.

Also bubbles also probably equivalent of wrapped kids in bubble rap while powers surge, like safe area for them to experiment/use powers and let them run wild with all the weirdness. Mabelland or whatever Mabel's bubble is all her creation in this (Subconsciously or not) and not Bill's.

The most responsibility henchmachinc would get is to watch bubble and let bill know if any cracks.

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

If Ford thought about it for long enough after the fact, he supposes that should have seen it coming from a mile away.

Gravity Falls was always a quiet town on the surface. You'd never think something was amiss, with the way (most of) its citizens acted cheerful and welcoming. Folding their laundry, grabbing drinks, running their errands, you'd never assume each and everyone of them lived through hell a year ago. They were good actors that way. It could almost be seen as... safe.

But as Stanford has learned over the years, a lack of excitement did not mean he was in the clear.

A normal day this noon was going to be, and Ford was set on this notion. He had been sent into town to purchase groceries, but alone at the display of Stanley's plain laziness. While he was lounging in his personal armchair and watching old black-and-white reruns, Ford was encouraged to visit civilization alone. He only agreed due to his budgeting freedom, because Stan seemed to have forgotten Ford needed restraint when it came to those places. All those years with nothing, now with everything. (A foolish mistake, Stan would learn.)

Gravity Falls Grocery Store is even quieter than the street it was on. Large and untouched, one could roll their shopping cart through the colorful aisles with eyes closed, and would bump into no one. Ford doesn't roll, of course, but he does walk fast. The sooner he leaves, the sooner he can head to Greasy's Diner, to pick up a sweet pie for their dinner tonight. Ford fills up his shopping cart nicely, so no one else will need to head to this place for a good month or so. The freshest of fruit, the crispest of boxes, he can't help but pick those. He had an eye for those things.

As Ford almost rounds off his trip by scanning the candy aisle for a nice pack of jelly beans, his day takes a slight turn. This neon aisle is nestled in the middle of the rest, right by the eight cash registers. Only two of them are on duty during noon—a pair of elderly teenagers, with matching green uniforms and teenage atmospheres. The left is a tall blond boy who looks to be more than interested with his co-worker, while the right is a shorter girl with all of the heat in her face.

"Yep, just moved to town," the cashier on the right, brushing her blue-streaked brown hair aside, says. "My mom really wanted the 'chill vibes' of towns stuck in the middle of nowhere."

The cashier on the left chuckles, casually leaning forward over his station's conveyor belt. His voice is somewhat familiar to Ford, but it's what he's saying is the thing that gets him to pause. "Yeah, this place is anything but chill. Like, have you seen the place? One time, some really huge guy named Pubetor broke into our school and wanted to fight the principal. It was wild. And don't even get me started on last summer, because that? Could've been the best summer ever, if it weren't for the end."

Ford's hand rests lightly on the largest pack of The Fish's Fish-Shaped Jelly Beans he found in his area. He isn't sure why he's so hesitant to leave—Weirdmageddon was an understandable event to warn a newcomer about. Maybe it was how the subject had been worded. The apocalypse was not to be taken lightly, but teenagers took many things that shouldn't be light as light. It can be ignored.

Ford shoves the jelly beans into his cart and stands just far enough to be hidden from the pair. "Like, it was bad," Blond Boy is saying. "The sky exploded, my friends got turned to stone, I turned to stone, the whole town got turned to stone—it was a lotta stone. We're not even supposed to talk about it."

"Yikes," Blue Streak winces. "Now I get why my mom wanted to be here so bad. So you're just supposed to… keep living? Pretend it never happened?"

"Yep," Blond Boy confirms, nestling back into his stiff chair once more. "Except for the dudes who saved us and stuff, we just think it never happened. Don't tell anyone I told you, though. It's stupid law or something."

"Got it," Blue Streak says, also turning back to her post. Neither of them say any more.

He isn't panicking. Of course he isn't. This is stupid. Under a quarter of his age, making him question his entire sense of self. This is stupid. Ignore it, Stanford.

As silently as he can, Ford leaves the aisle. Looking straight down into his filled cart, as if revising everything he has in store. He glances up so he doesn't crash—Blond Boy's eyes flicker in recognition, and Blue Streak keeps her attention on an open magazine. As Ford looks closer at Blond Boy's name tag, it reads the name Lee.

"Mr. Pines!" Lee says a little too loudly, startling his co-worker off her seat. "We were definitely not breaking the law just now. How's things been with the brain, dude?"

Ford tries not to flinch in confusion at the sad cover-up. He always forgets that everyone in town knew about Stan's sacrifice, but not about who made it happen. "Stanley is doing well. I'm assuming you've mixed us up again?"

Lee begins to scan the items placed on the conveyor belt as he continues talking. "Riiiiiight. Sorry… Doctor? That's you."

"Yes," Ford replies rather stiffly. "I'm the other twin."

"Dang. Sorry about that, doctor dude." Though the teens are separated by both two conveyor belts and Ford's cart, Lee whispers to Blue Streak conspiratorially. "This's one of the dudes who saved us and stuff I talked about."

The girl nods in little awe. Ford pretends not to hear that.

The process is rather quick, but only because of Ford's mind thinking back to two minutes ago. Law? It sounded like the town had a mutual agreement to just… pretend last summer never occurred. But that was absurd! Ford must not have heard all of the context. Maybe the boy meant another law, one obscure and only mentioned to impress the dyed haired girl. It had to be, because if they all really did agree to…

"93.78," Lee says with slightly gritted teeth, like he's had to repeat it multiple times.

Ford almost forgets to mutter a thank you before walking away. He shakes his head of the alarming thoughts, swiftly taking the three bags to hook upon his arms. He doesn't see Lee or the dyed hair girl waving him goodbye, or what they start to whisper excitedly when he leaves through the automatic doors. The sheer concern of it all has clouded his mind completely.

Ford could not be crazy. He didn't spend forty-two years with that eye lurking over his shoulder for his home to dismiss it like a sham.

heheheh. I know exactly where it's gonna go too lol. if you wanna add anything/have criticism/anything of comment I'd like to hear it. this is the Very First Draft. :}

Gotta say, you really know how to build anticipation!

I like that Ford sort of spaces out. Not entirely sure why- just a little thing I like seeing, I suppose. Of course, there’s a lot here that I like, but I’m not great with words. I think it’s pretty good so far!

Also, question: did everyone decide not to tell specifically Stan and Ford about the law? Because- wow, Mayor Tyler really is the worst at decision making isn’t he