#thinking of stan and dipper bonding over struggling to read

[starlovincowboy]

Gravity Falls but dipper has dyslexia and can barley read ford's handwriting.

Like I think it'd be so funny bc a lot of ppl like to say stan has dyslexia but what if dipper (the dork who likes to read) does and he's over here not only trying to decipher these fuckass codes but also ford's cursive handwriting and stressing tf out over it.

Especially in like dire situations when they're under like gnome attack or smth and he's like "WHAT DOES THIS EVEN SAY???"

I just think it'd be neat guys ok

Pls tell me u guys understand my vision

[stupidvillainousposts]

Fidds and Dipper Bonding Post Because They Both Deserve it

Dipper: *Quietly Reading*

Fidds: Hey there, hon. What's that ya got there?

Dipper: The Iliad.

Fidds, shocked: The... come again?

Dipper: I met a pixie who knows an elf who knows a centaur who met a human libr- libary- libarinan!

Fidds, smiling fondly: Librarian, sweetie. *Sits Next to Dipper* And if that's the case, I think we need to make stricter rules on who ya talk to.

Dipper: But why? The pixie was nice! And she even said I could keep the book as long as I want!

Fidds: Does the librarian know ya have their book?

Dipper: *Shrugs* I dunno. But it's a good one! *Wags His Tail Excitedly* I've gotten past the first three pages already!

Fidds: Really, now? Why, that's mighty impressive of ya!

Dipper: I thank ya kindly!

Fidds, trying not to die of cuteness: *Pulls Dipper in for a tight hug* I don't deserve ya.

Dipper: Sure you do! Otherwise we wouldn't have met!

Fidds: *Giggles* Alright, ya got me there.

-----------------------------

Fidds: *Sitting on the Porch in the Middle of the Night*

Dipper: *Walks Outside and Casually Sits Next to Fidds*

Fidds, caught off guard: Mason? Why're ya out here so late, Sugar?

Dipper: I had a bad dream. Couldn't find Grunkle Stan.

Fidds: Oh, honey. Here, why don't y'all tell me 'bout yer dream?

Dipper: *Scoots Closer to Fidds* I dreamed that I was in a forest, but not our forest. It was dark and cold and scary. I tried to call for you, but every time I opened my mouth, all I could get out was a weird wheezing sound... Then I think I met some guy named Steve. He had lots of jobs.

Fidds: Well, that certainly is a dream worth notin'. Though I can assure ya that Stanley and I will always be here for ya. Both o' ya.

Dipper, leaning against Fidds and drifring off: Promise?

Fidds, wrapping his arms around Dipper: Promise.

Dipper: *Yawns* Okay... g'night. I love you, papa.

Fidds: *Tries Desperately Not to Cry*

---------------------------------

Fidds, avoiding the sunlight in the "Mystery Shack": Ugh, I don't understand how people enjoy these tourist traps. Too much goin' on at once in my opinion.

Wendy: Then it's a good thing your opinions don't run the joint.

Fidds: *Rolls His Eyes and Chuckles* You kids...

Dipper and Mabel: *Giggle and Run Into the shop*

Dipper: *Accidentally Knocks Fidds Into a Sunspot*

Fidds: *Hisses in Pain* MASON! What have I told y'all 'bout runnin' 'round in the shop?!

Dipper: *Whimpers and Looks Down with Guilt* I'm sorry, Papa Fidds! I didn't mean it, honest!

Fidds, calming down: *Sighs* No, don't apologize. I was outta line fer yellin' at ya. *Opens His Arms for a Hug* C'mere.

Dipper: *Yips Happily and Nearly Tackles Fidds to the Ground*

Fidds, voice cracking: I f'rgot how heavy y'all pups are! Oh, this was a bad idea!

Dipper: But it's hugs! Hugs are always good!

Mabel: HUG PILE!

Fidds: NO, MABEL, WAIT! *Gets Tackled*

Wendy: *Grabs an Umbrella and Opens it Over the Group to Protect Fidds*

Fidds, relieved but still struggling: I thank ya kindly, Wendy.

Dipper: You're trapped now! We have you for the rest of forever!

Fidds: When you're talkin' 'bout my heart, yes. Yes you do.

[serendark]

Too Many Triangles

Summary:

Stanley Pines never knew what to make of that creepy cult room full of triangles that he found beneath his brother's house. Decades later, as the portal turns on, he thinks about what he's seen in all three of his brother's journals. He thinks about the note that Bill left behind for Mabel. This demon triangle has been harassing his family. There’s entirely way too many triangles in this house and in this family’s lives. Hours later after the worst reunion Stan's ever had, he steels himself and travels back downstairs, back to the portal basement. He needs to talk to Ford about Bill. He needs to protect his family. Even if that family apparently includes someone who hates him now.

Word count: 8,717

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Language: English

Characters: Stanley Pines (major), Stanford Pines (major), Bill Cipher (mentioned repeatedly), Dipper Pines (brief), Mabel Pines (brief)

Tags: Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Self-Harm, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Bonding, Guilt, Minor Violence

Spoilers: Season 2 (canon divergent: s02e11 "Not What He Seems"), Journal 3 (lore reference), The Book of Bill (lore reference)

Read on AO3.

Glistening rainbow shimmers of long-abandoned pyramid prisms were indiscernible from the flutters of stale dust motes that fell around Stanley’s shoulders like a hideous ceremonial scarf as he tore pallid drapes down from the walls to the floor beneath his feet.

All too suddenly the room was all too small, walls caving in and seizing the man’s lungs while tumultuous needles pinned his frozen legs in place. He didn’t know where to look, but there was only one place he could, washing over him in waves of deep, dark, terror: Dozens upon dozens of eyes gazing back at him, staring right through him, every inch of his soul torn open and laid bare to see, to be chewed and drank by these confusing triangles… By the absurdly gaudy golden statue that might as well have winked back at him for all that it deigned.

Stan stumbled backwards, backside and hands meeting the floor as he struggled to process what he was beholding. This did not feel like something he should have seen, and he couldn’t shake the gross feeling bubbling under his skin that there was no taking it back, no undoing the fact that he is now privy to this awful, terrible room of goddamn cult secrets. He has become a part of this and he cannot scrub that away.

“What the hell, Sixer…?”

He never knew what to make of this room, and after scouring the piles, drawers, and corners for anything that might help with the portal he never once returned, preferring to forget about it entirely if he could. Unfortunately, forgetting was rather difficult since he passed the place every time he went down to the basement and he kept finding more of those damn prisms in random rooms in his brother’s home.

Sometimes he wondered if he should care more about this discovery, but it’s not like he had a lot of leads to work with. The journal in his possession didn’t mention anything about it and neither did any of the papers scattered around the room or lab, so other than the obvious similarity with the shape of the portal, Stan doubted if there even was more for him to learn, anyway. He just needed to fix the portal, get it running, and get his nerd brother back home. That’s all that mattered. No creepy geometry could alter the path which Stan has stitched into his very soul.

He will fix his greatest mistake or he will die trying. If this house does not see the two brothers reunited, then it will bear witness to the disappearance of both instead.

It’s the least Stan can do.

—

An extensive, wavering exhale rolled over Grunkle Stan’s nerves as he sat on the edge of his bed, head in hands and mind whirring over everything that had happened today. Finally, Stanford Pines was home. The real Stanford.

… Home? What was ‘home’ to Stanley Pines, now? Certainly not in his brother’s arms like he had hoped. Apparently not in the Mystery Shack, either. Not for much longer. A dark chuckle wheezed through his lips as he gingerly massaged the bruise on his temple.

No matter. His twin hates him now, but that won’t change what Stan needs to do. He’s almost tempted to hate himself for his own stubbornness, at this point, but that won’t change the facts. Ungrateful bastard or not, a sad 30 years of daring to hope only for it to leak down the drain… And Stan still knows what path he has bound himself to. He is going to protect his family. Even if that family now includes someone who, once again, is trying to send him away to never see his sorry mug ever again. Even if that family now includes someone who he himself disowned as family merely an hour or two ago.

…Shit, he really regretted that. He idly wondered if Ford might be regretting that whole conversation too, but Stan just shook his head before he got lost in that train of thought for too long.

Bill Cipher. It’s been a long time coming: Stan finally needs to confront the damn triangles with their damn eyes.

He still didn’t know what to make of the private study he found beneath this house all those years ago. But what he did know is that, whatever the geometric eyesore is, it’s dangerous. Stan has scoured every page of the second and third journals lately, blacklight included, and it was all… a lot to take in. Despite what Ford had said, Stan isn’t an idiot. He knows that triangle is bad news. He knows Ford was real chummy with the guy once and then fell out of line, with some rather disturbing pages in Dipper’s journal to prove it.

This demon triangle has been harassing his family. There’s entirely way too many triangles in this house, in his brother’s journals, in the kids’ dreams, in this family’s lives. And Stanley Pines is going to do something about it.

—

He swallowed down the static in his head and the cotton ball in his mouth as he waited for the elevator to carry him down to Hell. He was hoping beyond hope that this wasn’t a mistake.

Well, even if it was, he was doing it anyway. He’s pretty good at that. He’s sure Ford would be more than happy to remind him, even. Safest bet he’s ever gambled.

Once more partaking of their familiar 30-years-long song and dance, the elevator rattled and released Stan into the maw beneath this home for yet another time. Cautious feet stepped forward as he peered ahead, trying to locate his brother.

Stanford was in the portal cavern. Hands busy, head ducked down, sparks flying. The room was still a mess from the gravitational anomalies that had preceded the worst reunion in Stan’s life, though it looked like Ford had pushed some things into comparatively tidier piles. The portal was in even more pieces than it had been after the chaos earlier.

Alright. It’s showtime.

Stan wasn’t looking forward to it.

“We need to talk, Poindexter.”

The speed with which Ford whipped around, choking back a yelp, would have been impressive, perhaps funny, even, if Stan weren’t so anxious. Ford had damn near fallen over, peering towards the source of the sound with too-wide eyes as he dropped what he had been doing and reached beneath his coat towards his gun―

“Wh… Stanley–!”

Stan just shrugged. “Yeesh.” He felt as tired as Ford looked. It’s been a long day and now he’s come back down to this accursed old basement to make it even longer.

Before Ford could finish stringing together his thoughts or lacing his tongue with venom, Stan wagered to jump right into the train directly, disregarding the nausea settling in his stomach: “We gotta deal with that Bill Cipher guy, right? I don’t exactly understand what the sitch is but–”

He saw the ceiling rotate over him and felt his back collide with the floor before he could even blink, world spinning and stars infiltrating his vision as hard as his lungs hissed. He swallowed against the muzzle of Ford’s gun pressed to his neck, those angry owlish eyes boring mere inches away from his face, the man’s full body weight keeping Stan pinned flat; knees digging into thighs and wrists scrunched in a vice grip by an impossibly firm six-fingered hand. Ford growled. Oh sweet Moses, yeah this was going about as well as Stan figured it would.

Panic. Gotta say somethin’. “Oookay, uh, Ford… Stanford, care to explain why ya just came at me like a damn cheetah pouncin’ a bison?” A gruff cough betrayed the grin he tried to steady his heart rate with.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds–

Confusion crossed over Ford’s eyes like a delayed signal, eyebrows furrowing as the gears in his brain turned. Stan swore he could see smoke coming out of this nerd’s ears. He blinked, spluttering, leaning back slightly with his grip on Stan’s wrists slacking. “Cheetahs and bisons aren’t even on the same continent, Stanley!”

Stan simply offered him a million-dollar grin and the best shrug he could in response. Which was difficult, by the way, thank you Ford. “Get off me, dammit.” Ford leaned back, letting Stan sit up, but frowned at him the entire time with his gun still primed and waaaay too close to Stan’s face for comfort. Was that a snarl? Seriously?

He was seconds away from figuring out what he was going to say next when an offensively bright light beamed into his eyes and shocked his mind to blankness, Ford’s hands gripping Stan’s face as he forced each eye open in turn before the light disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Stan swore furiously, waving his arms in front of his face and trying to scoot away, only succeeding once Ford finally backed off and let him free.

When Stan finished rubbing his eyes and pulling himself back onto his feet, he saw that Ford had returned to his earlier position of crouching by the ruined portal. Okay, seriously? All that bullshit that just happened and you’re desperate to shove your nose back into some busywork like I’m not even here–

“...How do you know about Bill, Lee?” Ford was back on his feet, body facing Stanley though eyes downcast as though the floor could answer his questions instead. Stan hesitated, the bite of his anger gradually receding as his eyes took in his brother for what might truly be the first real time since he walked through that luminous, ephemeral, triangular frame of metal. His eyes drank in the deep, dark circles under Stanford’s cracked glasses, the pasty color of his skin, the patchy stubble on his face, the sweat sliding down his forehead from his mop of greasy mussed-up hair…

The way his closed fists were trembling as if taut with tension, just like his brow and his lip, presenting a portrait of a Poindexter who was teetering on the cusp of erupting into his own flaming supernova where he stood. Stan knew that feeling. Had partied with it multiple times. He was intimately familiar with the way it burrowed a hole in your chest in place of your heart: a fear that was all-consuming, an anxiety that buzzed beneath one’s skin; a frantic, off-kilter energy that kept a ragged man going on his feet when he had nothing else yet couldn’t bear to simply not care.

This was a man who was running on fumes, no fuel left in the tank, and ready to collapse into non-existence the moment the strings puppeting him forward decided to stop yanking him along.

A man with one reason to live, yet even that reason is barely enough. The worst buried secret in the world; a heavy weight plain as day upon his shoulders and carving out the marrow of his bones.

Stanley recognized pretty easily the poorly-hidden tells of devastated fear and utter exhaustion in his brother’s body language. Because he had lived like that, too. Because he still struggled to remind himself when it wasn’t one of those days.

Sixer had never looked so… small.

Stan heaved a deep breath, slow and rickety enough for him to feel it vibrate down his limbs.

“Read ‘bout him in your journals.” Ford’s head lifted slightly, eyes flashing to Stan’s face. “...‘Nd the kids had the misfortune of fightin’ him.” Stanley might as well have punched Ford directly through his core for all that the words, hanging in the air, impacted this man and hung despair on his face. “‘Course, they don’t know that I know that.”

“... What happened?” His brother’s voice was barely a whisper, almost a keening whine from his lungs as he ran his hands through his hair and down his face, fingers creeping under his glasses to push into his eyes as he massaged his temples. It was like his eyebrows hadn’t left his hairline in minutes, the creases in his forehead deep enough to age him by another few decades.

Stan hobbled over to the ruins of the portal, taking a moment to stretch his lower back before sitting on the cold stone and patting the ground next to him. Ford didn’t immediately follow, but kept his eyes trained on him the whole time. Stan just started talking anyway.

“Alright, without talkin’ to the kids about it I don’t got the whole picture, but I got enough. Some rascal kid that was freakin’ Mabel out tried to take the Shack. Same kid who found your second journal, wherever the hell that was.” Ford had carefully stepped closer, hovering over Stan before letting himself sink into place on the floor beside him. He looked like he didn’t know what to do with his hands and was awkwardly twiddling all twelve of his fingers while he listened, muscles in his face twitching.

“Mabes and Soos saw this kid, Gideon is his name, summoning the guy. Bill, I mean. Made a deal with ‘im to go in my head ‘nd find the code to my safe, so he could steal the deed to the Shack.” Ford raised an eyebrow, making his posture straighter for a moment as he prepared to speak before Stan just continued and cut him off. “The kids used that spell in yer third book to go into m’ head, uh, my mindscape, and fight him out. Whatever they did, it worked, though that piece of geometry didn’t seem to amount to much compared ta what that Gideon did next anyways. Kid had a plan B that didn’t involve Bill.”

“You weren’t there for this.” Ford said it like a statement, but with an intonation to his voice that made it an inquiry. Stan shook his head. “I was out cold. Not sure I even dreamed that night.” Ford nodded.

Silence chilled the air between these old men as Stan cracked his neck and began popping every one of his knuckles in turn, only releasing his breath once he was finished. Ford wanted nothing more than to break this silence, to urge Stan to continue, but it felt… sacred, somehow. Once Stan was ready, he balled his hands into fists and snorted. “S’next part really pisses me off.” He didn’t notice Ford gulp and tentatively hover a hand in his direction before changing his mind.

“I dunno what was said, I dunno what it all looked like, but that bastard got in Dipper’s head, got in his body.”

He suddenly turned to look at Ford, eyes wide. “He hurt him. Gave him scars. Gave him nightmares. Gave Mabel nightmares, too.” Stan’s mouth opened and closed, hanging strangely for a moment while his eyebrows knit together. “...Bill left a note, Stanford. For Mabel to find.”

One shaky inhale later, he continued. “Was gonna… jump off the water tower. Invited Mabel to the same.” He turned away from Ford, leaning back against the portal again and flexing his fingers, shoulders tense while he cracked his neck again. Stan’s gaze was forward and distant, a hollow feeling taking over his face and posture.

A loud slam startled him back into awareness.

Ford had sat up and punched the piece of portal he had been leaning against, struggling with growled breaths of air and trembling shoulders. He grit his teeth and punched it again. And again. Then he tottered to his feet and slapped both open palms into the metal, dipping his head forward and colliding against it. He hissed, rearing his head back like he was preparing for a larger blow―

“Woah― hey, hey, Ford! Stanford!” Stan was on his feet in no time and shoved Ford away from the portal, digging his hands down into Ford’s shoulders to hopefully keep him immobile. Ford wobbled and refused to meet his eyes, but Stan managed to keep him rooted where his feet stood. “What the hell was that about? Ford, buddy, are–”

Ford growled again and yanked himself backwards out of Stan’s hands, but made no move towards the portal. Stan’s hands floated, the man hesitating while he tried to put together what to say while his brain was still buzzing from whatever the heck it was that just happened.

“...My fault…”

Stanley froze, unsure if he heard that right.

“It’s my fault! I’m the reason why the kids are hurt, I’m the reason why they can’t sleep in peace. This is my fault, damn it!” Stan couldn’t entirely understand the next few words Sixer spoke, like some kind of foreign language, but he didn’t need to. His brother slumped over to the portal, giving it a half-hearted kick before leaning one shoulder on it and crumpling down to the floor. He tucked his face into his knees and wrapped his arms around his bent legs in a gesture that Stan well and truly understood.

Seeing his brother like this gave him flashbacks of a different time, of back when two young boys had spent the sweltering afternoon venting about life on a beach with grains of sand and glass between their toes. The shade of a patched-up wooden boat enveloped them in comfort much like the warm, salty air did the same. Stan needed to punch what was making Sixer feel this way. Stan needed to hug his brother. Stan needed to protect him and take care of him and make sure he never felt like this ever again. Down here in a stuffy basement in Oregon, Stan could have swore he smelled the ocean for just a moment. He licked his lips and tasted salt.

But when he reached a hand out to Stanford’s shoulder this time, his brother slapped it away and glared daggers at him. “It’s your fault for interrupting me during my fight! You should not have turned the portal back on!” Stan gaped at him and reeled back from the outburst of rage and accusation, his head feeling like an out-of-control jackhammer of confusion and pain.

He saw a nerdy little boy shaking his head, shoving his twin’s chest, and running out of the shade, running out of the sand, his snot-nosed face poorly hidden in the crook of an elbow.

“This was an insanely risky move, restarting the portal! Didn't you read my warnings?!”

“Stanley! Stanley! Do something! STANLEY!!”

Memories and voices from hours to years past spun a cacophony in his brain, a terrible chokehold that rattled the old man and stole his tongue. The room felt as though it were trying to take the air from his chest, twisting and swaying and becoming smaller around him. The broken portal sneered at him, trying to scare him away with taunts of his mistakes, with visions of a brother who pushed him into a burning hot panel 30 years ago and would gladly shove him out of his life today. It felt boiling, perspiration rolling down these walls of stone while sweat poured down his face and his burnt shoulder throbbed, stung, and scarred just like yesterday.

There was a painful pressure between his ears that urged him to leave, to escape, to find safety in a dark corner out of sight and as far away from here as possible like he failed to do three decades ago. If he stayed here then this grisly room, no, this ghastly portal, were going to squeeze his guts out inch-by-inch and break his bones one-by-one, the lightest punishment they could sentence him with. The eye of the portal would be judge, jury, and executioner, even from the floor as it was. He thought the laughter coming from the elevator behind his back sounded like his brother’s… only, higher-pitched and strangely distorted. Something off-putting, much like how he is out of place and out of his league in this basement. He was the one who willingly came back down here, letting his feet bring him to Hell. He was the one who dared to talk to Stanford. He should flee Oregon, he should ditch his name again, he should take Ford’s journal and go back out through the blitzing snow and leave and―

Stan closed his eyes, eyebrows scrunched as hard as humanly possible while he thought about why he came down here in the first place.

Bill.

Bill Cipher.

Right, that’s right.

That triangular devil.

The ruckus in his head slowed down all at once as he pictured Ford’s intricate drawings and written warnings, his mind’s eye blocking everything else out as it tunneled in on what mattered the most. A glowing triangle seated amidst a blackness that blanketed the cavern around him in an act of grace which smothered his fevered thoughts. A white hot fury in Stan’s chest that radiated outwards in this dark, musty basement, encouraging him forward. The portal was nothing more than piles of scrap, tape, and screws. The elevator was silent with only rust and age to its name. His brother was home. Stanford was here. Ford and Bill. His brother punched him in the face.

Stan huffed and abruptly spun away from Stanford, stomping over to the control hub area of the lab. Upon returning to the portal chamber moments later carrying one of those clear pyramid prisms, he made eye contact with Ford and then roared as he chucked the pyramid into the stone floor with all the might he could. Unsurprisingly, unfortunately, it did not shatter or break. Stan knew it wouldn’t. He’s taken out his stress on it before.

Ford was startled by Stan’s sudden violence, jumping at the impact noise and cringing as the prism rolled an echoing clatter across the floor. He swallowed when Stan whipped around to face him, his brother’s eyes searing a fierce unforgiving flame into his retinas as he glowered.

“Let me make myself clear. I’ve READ yer nerd diaries, Stanford. I KNOW ya have that really damn creepy room down here with this triangle bastard all over the walls, ‘nd I also know the last things you wrote about him were ugly as all hell.” He crossed his arms, turning his head to look real hard at the shadows in the corner. “I get it, whatever, you think it’s a mistake that I saved ya, you think it’s just another worthless screw-up from Stanley Pines. I don’t need a reminder of how much ya hate me.”

“Stanley–”

The con man snarled, meeting Ford’s eyes again. “What’s important right now is this guy is messin’ with our family. I dunno how you know this guy or what all happened between ya, but if you care at all about protecting the kids then let’s just go find some unicorns or whatever the hell and take care of this weirdo already! Then I’ll be outta your hair just like you wanted ‘nd we can pretend this all never happened.”

He shoved a finger at Ford, stepping closer. “‘Nd I don’t wanna hear it outta your mouth that any of this is your fault. I won’t stand for you badmouthing yourself, and I don’t wanna see you hurtin’ yourself again.” His eyes flickered to the portal frame briefly. “I am gonna protect this family from that demon monster and that includes you no matter how much you make it clear you don’t wanna see my sorry face. So DEAL with it, Poindexter, and stuff it.”

With that, Stanley stomped his foot and went to lean against the portal a little farther away from Ford. Ford couldn’t seem to swallow the tension in the air down enough no matter how hard he tried, sheepishly keeping his head turned down towards his feet.

The only sound that hazarded being heard now was the ever-present hum of resting machinery in the nearby control room. Red, white, green, and blue lights slowly blinking in and out of existence. Dark screens and large windows reflecting blackness and the distant visage of two upset twin brothers. A glossy, framed photograph of Dipper and Mabel smiling at the camera; Dipper giving Mabel bunny ears while she stuck her fingers in her mouth and stretched her face into the silliest, widest smile she could.

Twin siblings sharing the moment together like nobody else could do it better.

A captured memory of two kids being kids.

Happy memories from the beginning of an Oregon summer that supervised the final stretch of Stan’s very long 30 years, now bookended at last by the portal finally turning on.

Happy memories from nostalgic summers on Glass Shard Beach that safeguarded Stan through his shivers in the sleepless night, jacket pulled tight around his shoulders while he waited out the bite of winter in his car.

A worn photo of two boys that burned a hole in Stanford’s chest where the pocket of his black coat rested.

Dust hung in the air for minutes, fluttering in a draft so small it might have been imagined. Silence that built itself into a fortress, brick by brick. Tension that polluted the very air, threading it into thick, inedible cotton and dry tongues.

Breaking the silence had never felt less appealing. It would have been preferred had a chasm opened up and swallowed him instead.

Ford wiped his hands down his face again and sighed. “Alright. I can accept that I need to tell you about Bill. You are the other adult here and the primary guardian of these children. You’re already involved, anyway.” In his peripheral he caught Stan looking at him in the corner of his eye, clearly listening.

“Bill is… a dream demon made of energy who possesses no physical form in our world. He must manifest through dreams–projecting into our mindscapes–to interact with our realm. Or… make a deal that gives him control of a human body. Like… Like a puppet.” It didn’t escape Stan’s notice how Ford cringed, shame and fear washing over his face instantaneously.

“The purpose of the portal is to enable Bill access to our world in the flesh with his own physical body. Then he can use his god-like powers to take over and wreak havoc upon human society as we know it, bringing the whole of planet Earth, nay, Dimension 46'\, to pure chaos and ruin.”

As Ford continued to speak, Stan carefully came back closer and sat down on the floor again, trying not to grimace at his back as he did so. He was careful not to touch Ford. For but a moment he felt dizzy as he lowered himself, swimming colors in his vision putting his knees in sand before he blinked and was back on the stone floor.

“I… There is a deal between Cipher and I that is still in effect, but I have a metal plate in my head now that nullifies his influence over me. So I am safe.” At Stan’s raised eyebrow, Ford knocked his knuckles against his forehead. Sure enough, Stan heard the metallic echo.

Stan licked his lips, trying to choose his next words carefully. “If ya got that while in sci-fi sideburns land, then… you didn’t have it when ya asked me to come here, back in the 80’s.”

Ford seemed surprised, but nodded, looking at him.

“Is this guy the reason why you looked so god-awful back then?”

“...Indeed. I had only recently found out about his true intentions and was trying to thwart his efforts with the portal. He… was not happy about that and tried everything to get back at me, to sabotage my efforts, to win, and to punish me for even trying to resist.” Ford swallowed, glancing away while his fingers tapped at each his knuckles, eyes somewhere else and filled with long-buried memories. Was each word he spoke making him seem smaller, or was that Stan’s imagination?

Stan knew he was receiving the sanitized version of the story. It was written all over Stanford’s face: he was trying to be detached, objective, clinical. Like he was relaying scientific information from a formal paper and not reluctantly spilling secrets about his traumatic personal life story. But Stanley couldn’t find it in himself to blame him, not really, not when he knew he’d do the same if he had to talk about… Rico. Ford had created what might be the most acceptable version of events to present to Stan, the extent of what Ford himself could swallow, the most he could face his own shame and torment. It chilled Stan’s heart as he felt the cold sorrow creep into his nerves. This was just one more miserable thing that Stan wished he couldn’t relate to his brother about. Ford should never have gone through this, no, Stan should be the only one, and yet…

“...Stanford, in the days after I lost ya, I cleaned up a buncha junk in this house. Nonsense scribbles ‘nd piles of paper, old dishes, shards of coffee mugs, sticky notes covered in eyes, weirdo science books.” This time Stanley didn’t hesitate to put a hand on Ford’s shoulder. “There was a lotta blood. Random messes of it on piles ‘nd notes. Bloody bandages in the bathrooms. Bloody handprints on wrecked walls ‘nd doors with broken locks. Bloody clothing under your bed, crammed into piles of laundry...”

Ford leaned his head back against the portal and took in a large, stuttering inhale. His motions were slow, hesitant, like the pins and needles in his limbs were pinning the cavity of his chest open and revealing himself to Stan; the flayed pages of a tattered open book against his will. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he had to talk about this eventually, but he always hoped he could just ignore it and handle it on his own. His brother didn’t deserve to be roped into this burden. This was Ford’s problem, Ford’s pain, and Ford’s mess, no one else’s.

Yet, hearing the truth that Bill had been winding his spindly claws into the kids, into Lee, during Ford’s absence… made the gut-wrenching scope of this plague undeniable. The plague Ford unleashed upon not only this world but his family. He swore he could feel the sticky wetness of his great-niblings’ blood on his hands.

Ford noticed a question in Stanley’s wide eyes and, while hesitant, nodded. This was all the answer he needed to give. His brother simply understood. But Ford forced it out of his throat anyway. "Yes… The blood was Bill's doing."

This time, Stan was the one who punched the portal, cursing and sneering at what remained of the triangular structure. “I was so far up my own ass that I couldn’t even protect my own twin brother after he reached out to me for help… All I did was yell, fight, ‘nd shove someone who was hurt, someone who was scared ‘nd needed me to do something and I didn’t…!”

Ford’s reaction was immediate: clumsy and unfamiliar yet harkening back to what Stanley had thought was long gone and left beaten and buried in the sand. “Stanley, no… No, no no, you didn’t have a clue. Because I didn’t tell you enough, you could not possibly have known. I escalated the argument with you and I fought back. I don’t… think it would be right to fault you on that.” His hands were held up, fingers curled and loose and unsure what to do but yearning to reassure Lee, hankering to clarify and correct about Ford’s mistakes and where the blame lay so someone else need not falsely feel that vice.

Stan stared at him, shoulders rising and falling as his breathing returned to an even and steady rhythm. He didn’t really know what expression he had on his face, and judging by the look on Ford’s, that genius had no idea, either. He exhaled something fierce, erratically rubbing his hands up and down his face. He settled back down after a while of de-stressing and slouched against the portal debris again, looking like he didn’t really care about how he landed or if he were sitting comfortably or not.

One inhale. One exhale.

He twisted his torso to face his twin.

“But you think it’s right to fault me on other things.” Ford averted his eyes. Stan clicked his tongue. “Whatever… So what do we need to do? Make that unicorn barrier crap, smash this ugly piece of work back into scraps,” –he rapped his knuckles on the metal over his shoulder– “and then what? Anything we gotta do to the kids? Ya better not suggest installing metal into their skulls, Sixer, or so help me god.”

His brother spluttered at that, staring at Stan incredulously. “No, of course not! Besides, I wouldn’t trust anyone in this dimension to successfully pull off such a surgery.”

“Oh yeah? Aliens got it that much better than us?”

“Eh…” Ford shrugged his shoulders and made a so-so gesture with his hand. “It depends on where you look. I cannot say that consistency is a term the multiverse is particularly familiar with…”

Stan leaned closer and clapped Ford’s back as he laughed. “Ha! Not so different from us, huh.”

His brother could only just muster up an awkward chuckle alongside him.

“That aside… Yes, I believe you have the correct idea about how to tackle the… Bill problem. I intend to review my journals again for the sake of verifying my old memories pertaining to some key details, and then I will take care of it. I will disassemble the portal and erect a unicorn hair barrier–”

Stan cleared his throat in the most obnoxious way he could. “Ahem. You ain’t doin’ this alone, Poindexter. We’ll destroy the portal, and we’ll put up the barrier.” He raised a hand when it looked like Ford was going to protest. “Uh-uh, I’ve read those diaries more than you have at this point, or one of ‘em anyway. Ya can’t keep me out of this ‘nd you are not gonna do this alone, do I make myself clear?” He wiggled his fingers and flashed a well-practiced salesman’s grin.

Ford’s face contorted through a few different emotions before he finally hung his head and sighed, crossing his arms. “Fine.” He straightened to his feet and gestured over his shoulder for Stan to follow him to the control hub room, not looking back once.

This was going better than Stanley had dared to let himself hope. It still felt like Ford was at risk of exploding if Stan said the wrong thing, but his brother apparently didn’t have as much fight in him as he had earlier that day. Or when Stan first came down here, for that matter. He rubbed his wrists and winced his left eye toward what surely must be a fully formed bruise on his face by now.

He wanted to say he was happy, but as he swallowed around the rough feeling in his throat he knew he couldn’t fool himself about that. This sucked balls. His earlier attempt at levity seemed promising at first, but it was like trying to hold back the might of the entire ocean when Ford slipped right back into trying to exclude Stan again. This dense pressure surrounding his brother was suffocating, impenetrable, and something in Stan’s chest that he tried not to think about hurt like a raw wound at the realization that he didn’t really know how to broach this wall of Ford’s like he once used to.

Something in his chest chafed even more when he thought about how he didn’t really know how to talk to Ford like he used to, either. In fact, Stan didn’t feel like he had managed to actually talk to Stanford straight for once during this entire confrontation. He was being tolerated and he knew his brother was probably silently pleading for him to go away and leave him to his misery so he could mope around until this awful day finally came to a close. Would they repeat this song and dance tomorrow? …Would it be worth it to?

But despite all the eggshells, they had managed to connect just a little bit about their shared concern for the kids. He tried not to think about their shared pains from the past decades, something which was undeterred despite both twins living such wildly different lives.

Maybe Stanley doesn’t need anything else. Just think about the kids.

This is fine. This is surely fine.

Don’t think about the end of summer.

Don’t think about a rickety old boat casting shadows on the beach.

He entered the control room just in time to be shaken out of his daze. He watched as Ford arranged all three journals on the desk… and suddenly collapsed, holding onto the desk’s edge for dear life before he hit the floor.

Ford raised a hand to keep Stan away, fingers wiggling something indecipherable, limbs visibly shaking as he forced himself into a seated position on the nearby desk chair. He immediately staggered forward, elbows hitting the hard surface and his face sinking to hide in his hands, glasses falling down to land haphazardly on Journal #2.

Stan felt like he was watching his brother crumble into pieces.

Pieces of glass smothered in sand.

After another moment, he cautiously approached his twin, unsure what exactly happened.

“My apologies,” Ford rubbed his eyes, swallowing and bouncing his legs on the balls of his feet while he sat. “I’ve wasted so many decades of my life on that accursed charlatan.”

His sunken eyes glanced over at Stanley through his fingers like that was all he had the energy to do.

“I was one trigger away from having finally wiped myself clean of him before I was unceremoniously forced back here.” He scrunched his eyes closed, teeth grinding as he grimaced. “I shouldn’t be here, my life should have been spent on taking him down, on redeeming myself for being so big a fool as to fall for his schemes!” His arms swung to hang limply down at his sides as he leaned back, face staring up at nothing on the ceiling.

Like a doll with no control of its limbs. A puppet left to rot somewhere without strings.

“And yet he and I both persist, continuing to unjustly live, and it simply isn’t enough that he has me wrapped around his fingers, but now I find out that fiend is harassing the kids as well!” Ford’s words tapered into a roar, the spike of energy pushing him to lean forward far too fast while his round eyes located Stanley in the room’s dull light. He ground his hands against his knees, needing some kind of anchor.

“That’s personal, Stanley, I can’t help but fear that it must harken back to his gleeful torment of me all those years ago where he knew I was trapped and was toying with my psyche. He’s happy to hurt my family because he’s happy to hurt me, because he knew I wasn’t here to stop him, and he can laud his power over my head and rub my own powerlessness and failures back in my face, and… a-and…”

Stan’s arms were wrapped around his brother before he even finished registering that Ford’s voice tripped into a broken choke.

Ford cried out, “And when… when I saw all three of my old journals laid out bare here, I felt heavier than ever the monumental weight of my mistakes and how wretched my life has been. How, just how, could I have gotten my niece and nephew caught up in my disaster?”

The raw wound in Stan’s chest throbbed as he took in those words, the weight of them carving a home where he was already torn asunder and bruised.

Stanford’s full body lurched as he sobbed in his brother’s arms and gasped throttled breaths of air, returning the hug and scrunching the material of Stan’s shirt beneath all twelve of his fingers. “I’m so tired, Lee, I’m tired of Cipher! I’m tired of forcing those around me to continually suffer from my mistakes! I’m tired of running, I’m tired of being a puppet, of.. of being his toy, his property that he can jostle around the board as he pleases…!”

Stan began to rub small, gentle circles into Ford’s back while he thought over what he’d just heard, the motion so natural to him and so ingrained in his muscles that he didn’t need to think about it twice. For his brother to expose his heart like this… It was truly serious. It set Stan’s face in a grave expression. Not that long ago a rekindled relationship between the two of them had seemed impossible, and yet Stan now held the delicate reins of responsibility, an instinct burning inside him that made him want to protect his twin. He didn’t want to mess this up. He wanted to be there for his twin the way he should have been three decades ago.

He kept rubbing his brother’s back as the two of them sat there on the sand with their eyes closed, sniffles being carried away by the ambience of the ocean and tears falling down to the beach beneath their feet. Wet droplets left dark marks in the sand as though they could become sea glass.

Soon the sky was awash in pink and orange, and the cold shadow of the Stan o’ War stretched longer and longer, reminiscent of young boys chasing after the last remnants of dimming sunlight.

Once Ford’s sobbing diminished to but a few sniffles, Stan made his decision.

He picked up his twin’s glasses and gently sat them back on his face.

“I know this isn’t what you wanna hear right now, but, let’s get ya in the shower, and I’ll cook up some warm food for ya before we get ya to bed.” Ford lifted his head off Stan’s chest just a little, quizzically raising an eyebrow. “You need rest, Sixer, or else you’re gonna keel over ‘nd die before ya can do anything about Bill. It’s been one hell of a day.”

“But… The kids. Bill is too dangerous to ignore.” Ford’s voice was small and pathetic, yet as determined as he could make it. The familiar scared face of an insecure little boy standing on the edge of help and hurt. On the edge of where the tides meet the sands.

“I know, I know. You said the metal plate makes ya safe, right? The portal’s non-functional ‘nd in pieces that woulda taken me months to fix, ‘nd the kids are in the attic, prolly pretendin’ to sleep, so…”

“So…?”

“So I think we can afford to spend a lil’ time on makin’ sure you don’t fall apart first, brainiac. We’ll need that bright brain of yours runnin’ on something more than ten cups of alien coffee, right?”

Ford was struck with a look of astonishment following that comment. “Coffee… I can have Dimension 46'\ coffee again! Oh how I have missed it terribly; nothing else ever compared.”

His eyes glittered like Stanley had just hung the stars in front of an aspiring child.

Ford leaned back from Stan, using the collar of his black turtleneck to wipe the wetness from his cheeks. “I… do not like it or feel entirely comfortable with it, but I will concede that you have a point that’s hard to argue. I’ll freshen up my hygiene if you include coffee with whatever food you make– I do not care what time it is right now.”

“You’re s'posed ta go to sleep, knucklehead, but sure, I’ll make ya a mean coffee,” Stan chuckled as he swapped his hands over to patting Ford’s shoulder a couple times before stepping back to give him some space. The soothing lull of cool waves echoed and receded from farther and farther away. “Ha! I am unsure even coffee could keep me going on my feet tonight, as much as I would prefer it to.”

They both turned towards the elevator and had managed to take a single step before Ford abruptly stopped. He turned back towards the portal room, glancing between it and Stanley, his brows set in a worry. “I need to check something…!”

Stan just shrugged. “S’long as it won’t be too much work.”

“Excellent! Now, if you’ll excuse me.” His coat billowed behind him as he rushed out into the cavern.

Stan didn’t follow him all the way, but did hover near the entrance, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. “So what’s got ya in a tizzy?”

“It is of crucial importance that I check for any possible rifts.” Ford looked over his shoulder to verify where Stan was before he continued. “During my travels between dimensions, I had to track where potential rifts might form in order to continue my journey. While some rifts were man-made, or should I say alien-made, others simply occurred as a natural consequence of the unnatural frayed fabric of reality. Like a hole in a piece of cloth whose threads weaken, loosen, and allow additional holes to form.”

“So in other words, yer lookin’ for smaller holes near the portal?” He couldn’t help but smile like an idiot just a little bit. It was nice to hear his nerd brother again.

“Precisely! Seeing as our shiny punched hole in reality here was designed to lead to the Nightmare Realm, also known as Bill’s domain, I fear that any rifts will follow in those footsteps and do the– Aha! Stanley, could you bring me a borosilicate jar?”

“Come again?”

“Laboratory glassware! I need a resealable container, such as a jar. I used to have some spares sitting around here somewhere…”

Stan disguised a chuckle with a cough as he watched Ford crouch near the far corner, legs and hands splayed far apart, before turning to go fetch what was needed. When he returned, Ford was several feet away from the corner and busy with his hands on the portal instead.

He jumped when Stan suddenly slapped his shoulder. “What did I just tell ya about takin’ a break? Anyway, here’s your jar.”

Ford sheepishly nodded and retrieved it from him. He inspected it for a few moments, removing and replacing the lid a few times, before going back to the corner. Stan tried to stand on his tippy toes to peer at what the heck a rift might look like without getting any closer to the corner. He observed as Ford swung his arm in wide arcs and seemed to be capturing… floating blobs of spacey stardust? He thought they’d make for a cool alien lava lamp. I bet I can sell that.

His brother turned back to face him, sealed jar clasped between his hands.

“There we have it! It is but a small thing for the time being, but we will need to seal it and monitor it in case of any changes. I believe I know just the thing and can have this taken care of…”

Stan gave him a look. He put a lot of work in making sure that unimpressed eyebrow was as judgmental as it could be.

“...We’ll take care of it tomorrow.” Ford looked a little dejected as he changed course, sighing wistfully.

Stan gave him a thumbs up. His brother just snorted, shaking his head and smiling as he walked past and back into the control room. He seemed ponderous, one hand on his chin while he considered whatever it was he was thinking about, and then he opened a cabinet on the wall and locked the jar away inside.

“Ready to head upstairs now?” Stan was back by the elevator.

“Yes, I believe so. Well, no, but I accept that I should.”

For a short while, the tension between the twins had disappeared. But the elevator felt suffocating again.

Ford kept fidgeting and looking everywhere except at Stan. When Stan caught his eye once, he cleared his throat. Ford took in a deep breath.

“Stanley… It is very difficult. I do not have the words for everything it is that I am feeling, and everything that I want to say to you. I am still unsure of a lot of things, not the least of which is myself. But… I am glad to be home.” The wrinkles on his face were the softest Stan had ever seen them.

It wasn’t a thank you, but it was close enough for now. Close enough for Stan’s face to beam into a great big toothy, giddy grin. “Glad to have ya here.”

When the elevator reached their destination at the top and Ford made a motion to leave, Stan held him back with a hand on his shoulder. Ford turned to him, eyebrows raised questioningly.

Stan averted his eyes and coughed into his free fist. “I, uh… Sorry. For earlier today. You’ll always be my family, ya nerd.”

Ford gave him a small smile. “Me too… I apologize for punching you earlier. I am not entirely sure why I did, honestly.”

Stan shrugged, then wrapped his arm around Ford’s shoulders in a hearty embrace. “Eh, stress ‘nd nerves probably. ‘Sides, you sound like ya could use somethin’ to punch!” He gesticulated dramatically with his free hand as though he were painting a picture for Ford to see. “Maybe we can pull out that boxing dummy from storage tomorrow ‘nd draw a triangle on it!”

“Oh that isn’t necessary, Stanley…” Stanford snorted, leaning into Stan as his laughter made him less steady on his feet. “Nah don’t worry about it Sixer, I wanna punch it too. And if that guy ever shows up here again, I’ll punch him for real!”

Stanley grabbed both of Ford’s shoulders as his laughter died down, turning his brother to face him. “I really mean it, ya know. Don’t gotta ask me twice. Easiest sell of m’ life, even. No one messes with my family like that ‘nd gets off scot-free, ya hear me?”

Ford visibly swallowed and gave a tiny nod.

“... Thank you. I appreciate it.”

They shook the sand off their shoes as they stepped out of the elevator.

They held each other for support as they trekked through the ocean, waves lapping at their calves as they climbed the stairs one step at a time.

When they stepped through the vending machine, the nostalgic laughter of two twin little boys wrapped around them like a scarf before evaporating into ocean mist.

The vending machine had only been closed for a second before Mabel bounded right up to her Grunkles and planted herself right into their legs, trying to wrap her short arms around them both in a hug. Stan gestured for Dipper to come over as he and Ford crouched down to Mabel’s height, apparently already knowing that the little dork was nearby. Ford watched as Dipper meekly came from around the corner and joined them, repeatedly glancing between Stan and Ford all the while.

Stan spread his arms wide and trapped all of his family in a big bear hug, laughing and feeling weightless and the most alive he has in years. “I knew ya little knuckleheads wouldn’t be asleep! Tell ya what, I was about to make some Stancakes ‘nd coffee for my nerd brother here. How ‘bout I make a few ‘nd some hot chocolate for the two of ya, ‘nd then you can head to bed this time?”

Dipper’s guilty smile fell sideways into laughter as Stan broke the hug to noogy him and his sister, but Mabel was undeterred by her hair getting ruffled. “You better give me extra marshmallows and heaps of glitter!”

“Yes Stanley, and I better have no less than four tablespoons of sugar in my coffee.”

“A-and I want four Stancakes, Grunkle Stan!”

Stan broke out in a belly laugh and clapped Ford’s back as he stood up straight. “Sheesh, no wonder none of ya can sleep!”

He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this positively about the future. The spring in his step and the healing salve on his heart nearly made him feel like a new man. As he pulled out the flour and baking soda and opened the fridge to grab the milk and butter, he couldn’t help but feel like no matter what may happen, things would work out just fine.

[femboyhorror]

🌲 pines family headcanons ✨ click the read more for more in-depth headcanon stuff!

this started out as a little silly edit of ford, then i decided to do one for stan as well and once that happened i knew i had to do edits for the pines twins as well. i might end up doing others like soos, wendy and pacifica but for now we have the main four pines.

🌲 dipper has glasses but prefers not to wear them. he thinks they look nerdy but wears them more often with the support of mabel and his grunkles. 🌲 bisexual disaster. 🌲 dipper will always be a transboy in my head. struggled with gaining acceptance from his parents but knows he always has a place where he can be himself in gravity falls. 🌲 CW SELF HARM IMPLIED: his dysphoria and dissociation from his body ends up worse for a while after sock opera. for a while turns to… not so great methods to remind himself that his body is his own. 🌲 became clingy after weirdmageddon, either clinging to his sister and grunkles before going back to piedmont or just staying by mabel's side often after. 🌲 probably has pierced ears but would wear very subtle earrings, to mabel's displeasure.

🌠 big decora kei vibes. so many stickers and hair pins. she also will often wear mismatched socks! 🌠 is the one to suggest she and dipper get a matching hair streak. blue was the only color dipper would agree to. 🌠 mabel gives me big pansexual vibes. starts to discover her own identity around the time dipper does, and ends up dating candy and/or grenda for a hot minute. 🌠 wholly supported dipper when he came out as a transboy and was his biggest ally growing up. 🌠 after weirdmageddon she asks ford for drawing lessons. the two bond over arts and crafts. 🌠 CW MILD ED suffers from a sort of survivor's guilt after weirdmageddon, guilt over being tricked by bill and almost staying in mabeland manifesting mostly in the form of being a people pleaser, forgetting to eat and sleep. the other pines thankfully notice this and put a stop to it.

🎣 i love long haired stan. i like to imagine after the series the guy feels comfortable enough to grow his hair out again. 🎣 stretched earlobes! 🎣 is a transman and also gnc as hell. he also is insanely good at using makeup. (dipper and ford don't really use makeup and mabel just likes to be Silly with makeup.) 🎣 (tbh i can also imagine stanley as being transfeminine as well, they're just That Gender.) 🎣 as soon as mabel saw his "glorious mane" she was practically begging him to let her braid it. he pretends to just go along with it for her sake but he secretly loves having her do his hair. 🎣 the adhd to ford's autism. he definitely suffers hard from rejection sensitive dysphoria and tends to panic if it seems like someone is upset with him. (i.e. ford confronting him over the broken machine, mabel upset with him for lying in the land before swine.)

✋ his sweater is a huge comfort for him. in general he likes heavier clothes to ground him. ✋ i like to imagine him with plenty of earrings and tattoos. earrings mainly themed around space and stars and ends up getting some tattos on his wrists to cover the burn scars from weirdmageddon. ✋ a touch of the tism. has a hard time distinguishing tone. (i.e. not being able to tell if wendy was complimenting him ironically or not.) ✋ while he doesn't mind if people see him as a man, he himself doesn't feel all that attached to the idea of being male. fine with any pronouns but probably likes to use neopronouns. (maybe star/starself?) ✋ achillean, mainly attracted to enbies and men. tried to date a few girls growing up to try and be "normal" (comphet's a binch) but at around high school enough bad experiences made him avoid dating for a while. ✋ he loves loves loves space and astronomy! it's sort of his hyperfixation. used to name constellations with stanley while spending nights on the stan o war and they bond over this on the stan o war ii!

[cravingpepsimax]

HOLY SHIT OP YOUR MIND.

HI. I LOVE CLASSPECTING. AND I AM FUCKING OBSESSED WITH YOUR FORD ANALYSIS HERE.

i initially read ford as a Light player, but. Blood ford is actually fucking perfect??? oh my god???

Those bound to the aspect of Blood draw their strength from bonds, from the trust and camaraderie that blooms among a group of people who all share a single vision. Blood-bound are absolutely leaders, but they inhabit more of an inspirational role than a commanding one. They are prophets, rather than generals, giving others the strength and motivation to keep fighting. The Blood-bound can dispense excellent advice even when their own lives and interpersonal relationships are disasters. They can be very "do as I say, not as I do" types. A Blood-bound can often be found on a sinking ship, forcing an endeavor forward with sheer stubborn force of will. No matter how bad things go, a Blood-bound can always count on friends and allies. At their best, they are charismatic, uplifting, and magnetic. At their worst they can be sullen, unkind, and set-in-their-ways.

like. this is ford! this is absolutely ford!

i initially thought ford was a Light player due to his connection to Knowledge, Relevance, Narratives, and Academia, but pretty much all of those end up biting him in the ass. more importantly, the solution to his problems is NOT to become more Lightbound! it's to become more Bloodbound! his doesn't conclude by ford getting more Attention or by getting more Knowledge -- it's when ford realizes the importance of Family and Relationships!!! ford isn't a Light player -- he's roleplaying as one!

oh, man, stan as a Knight of Light is making me CONFLICTED. he seems more like a Time player to me -- constantly struggling because he can't accept things as they come, valuing action over acceptance, being goal-focused, his connection to Money, the fact that a lot of the shack's attractions are Taxidermies, his association with Destruction... but, also, MAN do i like those ford parallels. plus, the association with the Spotlight, and stan being, well, THE mr. mystery, Light's association with Fortune -- both as in Luck and Money... then there's also the "my light!" "yeah, pal, you're the light of my life too" bit in little dipper... THE TRUTH TEETH??? URGGGGGGG

i'd go back to the whole arc-culmination-thing, and i could see stan's sacrifice as being both very Time-y (Serving through his own Destruction (Destruction of his Past!)), but also pretty Light-y (killing bill via a Loop Hole)... and, sure, stan's pretty secretive throughout the series, which might seem antithetical for a Light player, but remember -- it's about the destination. stan learns to be less secretive.

but this also got me thinking about Knight of Mind stan?? which. i was hesitant bc i think dipper's a Mind player and that is 2 Mind players. scary. but. i am a "Knights Serve Others" truther, and goddamn, does this guy Serve Mind:

Mind is Choices, meaning that stan would Serve Choices. and. well. stan definitely Serves a Choice in NWHS. arguably, like, THE choice in the show. (not to be confused with The Choice, that's an sburb thing).

also, just, in general, stan's life is very painted by Choices? which sounds. really stupid like yeah everyone's life is painted by Choices it came free with your fucking free will but like. there's. a reason why a lot of canon divergent fics are based around Something Different Involving Stan Happening

Knights already have an association with Facades, but so do Mind players. normally, i'm not a huge fan of classpect redundance, but, like, one of stan's big things is his constant Identity Fraud throughout the years. and it's GOOD for his arc that he does it! without his lack of connection to any kind of strong sense of Identity, he wouldn't have been able to take ford's identity -- both allowing ford to be brought back at all, and allowing bill to be destroyed.

Knights Serve Mind. look. stan sacrificing all of his Memories to save everyone else, possibly forever, is. the definition of Serving Mind.

keeps the whole "you'd think ford would be this, but, lol, psyche"

oh ALSO HE GETS MIND CONTROLLED FOR LIKE AN ENTIRE EPISODE LMAO

i’d love to join the ask train! Do you have a crossover with Gravity Falls you like the idea of?

Hi!! Sorry it took so long for me to respond to this one, I gaslit myself I need to draw something in order to answer it 😭 buuut that didn't happen. Maybe later, we'll see

I think a tf2 crossover would be fun, whether if it's the characters meeting each other or them taking mercs' roles. I always end up assigning Stan as Soldier, just coz the way I draw him reminds me of how I drew Solly back in the days when I was in tf2 fandom. Also Fiddleford and Engie would get along really well I think. So would Mabel and Pyro!! For the rest of them im not really sure. Overall, these two universes match each other's freak so to speak, anything weird that happens in Gravity Falls is just a regular halloween for the mercs lmao

Also!! Thanks to this ask I get to yap about homestuck classpects. Less of a crossover and more of a me loving to assign classpects to all my favorite guys in every fandom

Ford is a Prince of Blood! Destroying connections is basically his entire purpose in the show, so that's pretty fitting. I'm also on board with the interpretation of Princes as these obnoxious assholes who are convinced of their divine purpose of defeating the world's evil by themselves, antisocial fuckers <3 and I also would like to point out how his plan to defeat Bill with the zodiac would be his first attempt to actually Destroy with Blood, not Destroy Blood yk!!! I'm really proud of it overall

Stan is a Knight of Light! Knights tend to hate themselves a lot but also be the real heroes when the team needs it, to the point of self-sacrificing. Being a Light player Stan would also neatly fit in the party of pathological liars that the Serkets are making up lmao. I don't know if I can make my case on Stan more convincing but here's a thought I like: you'd have much easier time assigning Blood to Stan with his "everything I've done was for this family" motto, and Ford with Light as a scholar, reaching to stars through hardship. But switching it up would connect the two, make them two sides of the same coin. Ahhh shit it's stancest again ain't it.

Hope I answered your question!! Even if I ended up sidetracking kinda haha

[ramblesanddragons]

So you want to know what Bill’s was looking at in Chapter 3 of A Man Made of Stone? Aka an Index of Fics mentioned.

rum-and-shattered-dreams had an amazing bit in their fic about Bill gazing at dimensions and I wanted to play with that idea. I’ve read A LOT of Gravity Falls stuff since re-falling in love with the show. Here’s a list of the ones that Bill takes a glance out. I felt I should share the works and authors!

In order of mention:

The Whole of Us (Is Greater than the sum of our broken pieces) by @nicnacsnonsense   

Excuse me while I cry. In this reality Ford discovers Dipper and Mabel on his doorstep in 1982 and he’s their dad. This is both a heart warming and heart breaking work. They do an amazing job of keeping Ford and Stan in character. Kid Dipper and Mabel are so well done. Soos’ mom is such a great character. Bill is still a jerk and so is Pa Pines but we knew that.

Major Warnings: There are warnings for Past Child Abuse and Neglect and oof that neglect rang a little close to home for me but I was able to handle it.

1 Step Forward, 20 Years Back by @infriga (Ppleater on A03)

Fountain of youth= TINY STAN. I love the concept of the Fountain of Youth here and I can’t talk about other stuff without spoilers but there’s a great Ford to the rescue moment in this and Stan’s natural charisma gets a +2 bonus as a kid. It’s great.

Major Warnings: Past Child Abuse and Broken Bones/Resetting those bones.

Timestuck AU by @the-subpar-ghost

Mabel interacting with her way younger, way too stressed Grunkles is the best. The ending chapter is such a ride from start to finish.

Major Warnings:  There’s some violence with mentions of blood but nothing graphic.

(Relativity Falls is where Dipper and Mabel are the old ones and Kids Stan and Ford go visit Gravity Falls one summer. My favorite fic to come out of that Au was)

New Normal by @scribefindegil

It’s a one shot but it’s the perfect sort of end to this AU’s story. Old Dipper and Mabel being badass and young Stan and Ford being adorable.

Major Warnings: References to past child abuse.

The Man Downstairs by @rum-and-shattered-dreams

The fic that inspired this scene. I love how they weave the canon of the show with what’s happening in this AU. Ford never went through the portal but Bill can now take control of him at will.  Ford and Stan’s bond is just so good in this. It’s dark but it has great humor too.

Major Warnings: Bill is a sadistic bastard and lets that out on Ford. Big ones are torture, eye trauma, and suicidal ideation.

A Little Bit Lost by @impishnature

An idea that Ford comes out of the portal much more feral than in canon. Just read it. Trust me just read it. It covers very realistic post trauma Ford in a series of one shots in a way the show probably never could have.

Major Warnings: Ford’s PTSD and the associated side effects (flashbacks and panic attacks) is very evident in this.

30 Seconds Later by Shayera (Also no idea if there is a tumblr)

Such a fun concept. Ford only spends 30 Seconds in the portal but for Stan it was still 30 years. There’s a great family D&D&MD bit in here that made my heart happy.

Major Warnings: Bill can also control Ford when he’s out. He attacks someone while possessed and there’s some damage. 

Ad Astra by @themadqueenmab

An amazing Drifting Stars AU (Mabel gets pulled into the multiverse by accident) The balance between Ford and Mabel in the multiverse and Stan and Dipper fighting to get them back is so good. The worlds are so creature and horrifying and I’m at the edge of my seat reading it.

Major Warnings: There’s some pretty scary stuff in here I think. Mabel and Ford get roughed up quite a bit. I would also mention alcoholism and abuse towards children because again Bill Cipher is a jerk.

A Step in the Wrong Direction Series by impishnature

 When Stan tries to bring back Ford he ends up in the portal instead. I’ll go on about impish nature’s writing in a moment if I start here I’ll never get to the rest lol.

Major Warnings: Some blood if I remember right and angst.

Blind Faith by @pinesinthewoods

Stan falls into the portal with Ford in 1982 and things got very awry in a realm of horror but the bond Ford and Stan share may just get them through after all is the basis of this AU. Be warned it gets dark but it’s super good.

Major Warnings: Psychological Trauma and Eye Trauma

Demonic Conman by Impishnature

Stan takes up Bill’s offer to join him and becomes a demon. With two separate endings this is one of the first GF fanfic I read and I have loved EVERYTHING Impish has written. Like I could just recommend all of their stuff. Stan as a demon is amazing.

Major Warnings: Major Character Death...kind of

OTHER: These are fics that are either post canon (Bill can’t see past when he gets erased) or an AU I couldn’t figure out how to put in there.

Fisherman’s Knot by @scribefindegil

This is the very first fic I read when I wanted to find more GF stuff since I missed the show so much. It wrecked me in such a good way and I read the whole thing (it’s a big one) in like 2 days. I cried. The angst and humor is amazing. The original character is great and I love her. The last line stuck with me for days. As someone who has struggled with depression and it’s darker hold over a person it spoke to me beyond it being about Ford and Stan.

Major Warnings: Suicide Ideation/ Attempt, Anxiety, and Deep Depression.

Live by the Book by @anistarrose

The Adventure Zone/ Gravity Falls crossover I didn’t know I needed in my life. I love the inside of the Journal and a certain someone’s reappearance. I think you can get the basics of the story without having to listen to TAZ but if you haven’t you should lol.

Major Warnings: Just Peril I believe. Nothing really comes to mind.

The Lighthouse Keeper AU by Impishnature with art by @sightkeeper

Gravity Falls set in a lighthouse on the coast of Oregon. What I love about this one is the take on Bill is probably even scarier than canon Bill. It’s beautifully written and makes me both want to go to the ocean and never set foot in it again. Dipper and Mabel are also super cute in this as well.

Major Warnings: Drowning, Depression and Intrusive Thoughts.

The Past Up In Smoke and Stan’s Diary Hand’s Off by @beacandy

The first one is a great telling of a thing from Journal 3 where they burn all the Bill related stuff they can find. It’s so cathartic.

The second one I don’t want to say too much about because I don’t want to spoil it but once I got what was happening I was floored with feels.

Major Warnings: I don’t really think there are with these two besides angst.

Everyone mentioned has more than one fic to read and there’s so many more out there but I can’t mention them all. I hope this little guide gets someone new a good starting point.  

Art Recomendation: I would be remiss if I didn’t also shout out @artsymeeshee and her art. She makes some great comics. Lots of funny indirect quotes and angst comics.

[theodosia-cipher]

Just One Summer (3)

↠Chapter 3, Connections?↞

⋯⋘Y/N pov⋙⋯

I just sat on the chair while reading Journal 3 again. I looked up and watched Dipper and Mabel having a syrup fight... Or is it race? Mabel won but she ended up coughing it out, cause, you know... Syrup and all. Dipper was a little upset that he had lost, but then proceeded to look at a particular page in the newspaper on the dining table.

"Woah, ho.. No way! Hey, check this out! Dipper said to Mabel. I was curious so I got up and sat beside him, looking at what they were looking at.

"Human-sized hamster ball?! Omg! I'm human sized!" Mabel exclaimed after looking at it. I giggled at her.

"We're all human sized, Mabel," I told her, while trying to hold in a few giggles.

"No, no, no. This. We see weirder stuff everyday!" Dipper said, pointing at a page. Oh hey, a page on a photo contest on weird creatures. This is gonna be fun! I clapped my hands cheerfully as I nodded.

"Eh, and I have his beard hair!" Mabel said, taking out Jeff's Beard's hair. Dipper backed away in disgust.

"Ugh, why did you save that?" he asked. Mabel replied with a shrug.

"Oh, give that to me!" I said, reaching out for the beard hair.

"Ewww, why do you want it, Y/N?" dipper asked me, making a face while Mabel gave it to me.

"For further investigation, silly!" I said as I kept it in a small zip lock bag.

"Oh well, kids, do you know what day it is?" Grunkle Stan asked us. I replied with a shrug.

"Uh... April fools?"

"Squakle top!(I think that's what she said :v)"

"Eh, it's family fun day, genius!"

"Grunkle Stan, is this gonna be like our last family bonding day?" Dipper asked. I shivered at the memory.

─Flashback���

We were all sitting around a table, painting fake money on green paper. Until the police caught us, that is. We were thrown in the county jail.

─Back to present─

Mabel shivers.

"Ugh... The county jail was so cold..." she said. I nodded in response.

"Eh, I know I haven't been the best summer caretaker but I'm sure you'll be okay. Now, who wants to put on some blind folds and get into my car?!"

"Yay!" all three of us exclaimed.

"Wait, what?" Dipper and I asked. We put on some blind folds and actually get into Stan's car.

⋯↣Time skip cause idk and I can't seem to catch the words that they are saying in the episode... This video quality SUCKS↢⋯

"Grunkle Stan, are you wearing a blind fold too?" Dipper asked, as the car was bumping around. After a while, the car crashes into... Something... And we all scream. And not long after that, we were pulled out of the car with our blind folds still on.

"Okay, okay, you can take them off now," Grunkle Stan says and we take off our blind folds.

"Oh my gosh! I had forgotten all about fishing season!! I still remember the last time we came together, grunkle Stan," I said as I tried to stifle in a giggle.

─Flashback─

"Ahh! Y/N help! I'm sinking!" grunkle Stan yelped as he tried to swim back up. I just stared at him a started to laugh, then I threw a life bouy (how the crap do you spell it..?!) at him. I watched him struggle as he tried to get back up. I then pulled the string which was tied onto it and I brought both of us back to land.

"I didn't know you couldn't swim!!" I said as a laugh escaped my mouth. Not long after, I found myself rolling on the ground, laughing and crying while clutching onto my stomach. Grunkle Stan watched me, unamused. He then went into the car and I rushed in. We both went back to the shack.

─End of Flashback─

"Hey, it wasn't that funny. And you're still doing the same thing as if it had happened again," he said to me, giving me a playful death glare. I was rolling on the ground while remembering the entire scene, laughing my eyes out. Dipper just looked at me and Mabel, weirded out while Mabel just laughed along with me with no clue on what's going on.

"So, who's up for a day of family fun?!" Grunkle Stan exclaimed, while holding 4 fishing rods in his hands. Dipper, Mabel and I looked at each other, unsure if we should go or not.

"He really wants to go fishing with us," Mabel said, looking at Grunkle Stan.

"Well, I think he d-" I said before I was cut of, rudely, by someone.

"I'VE SEEN IT! I'VE SEEN IT AGAIN!" Old Mcgucket exclaimed.

"Seen what?" Dipper asked.

"I've seen the Gobblewonker again! This time I've got proof!" he said, doing a small jig... Dance... Whatever...

"Aww! He's doing a happy jig!" Mabel said.

"It's not a happy jig! It's a jig of terror! I will show you proof!" he said, leading us to a broken boat.

"Behold! Its mighty tail has crushed my jiggly boat apart!(lol I made this up cause I don't remember, and I don't care LOL)" he exclaimed, pointing at a crushed boat.

─Time skip to when they are at Scuttlebutt Island cause Author Chan here is a lazy butt with a forgetful memory─

(Btw, it's still your POV)

"Woah... This... This is incredible!" Dipper said, as he stepped out of soos' boat, walking around with a lantern in his hand. We took Soos' boat to come to Scuttlebutt Island.

I hummed in response, nodding a bit with my head in journal 3. I was trying to look for a page with information on the Gobblewonker, but sadly not finding anything. I snapped the book shut and looked up. We were on an island where everything is foggy and we could barely see. Dipper was the only one holding a light source. I sighed and rummaged through my bag, looking for a torchlight of some sort. I managed to actually find 3 in my backpack. Huh. Actually, it was just one torchlight, a flamethrower, and a lamp... I don't even know where I got the flamethrower. I took out the lamp and zipped up my bag. So now we have 2 light sources on us.

"You never told us you had a lamp on you too," Dipper said, his eyes narrowing at me. I rolled my eyes and focused on where we were going.

"Haha! Look, if we cover out Scuttle, you can see Butt! Butt Island!" Soos said, covering the "scuttle" from "scuttlebutt". He and Mabel laughed at that little joke.

"Guys! Take this seriously! We can split the prize up to 3 parts! WE are doing this TOGETHER!" I yelled at them, which shushed them up. We then made our way, aimlessly walking forwards.

"My name is Mabel, it rhymes with table. It also rhymes with.. Able. It also rhymes with... Shmabel!" Mabel said, as we all walked. Soos was behind her, making some rapping noise(idk what that is :T).

"Dude, you should be writing that down!" Soos said before we heard a noise coming from the distance.

"Guys... Shush. Listen," Dipper said, as he grabbed my lamp, since his one was taken by a squirrel earlier on the way.

"Hey! That's mine!" I said as I took the lamp back, and shone it at where we had heard the noise coming from. I stepped in front of the three of them and headed closer to the noise. We managed to see a figure which looked like a monster. A smile twitched on my mouth as we got closer, but slowly changed into a frown as we got close enough. It was just a wooden structure, with beavers on it. They must be made this.

"B-but... What about the sound that we heard...?" Dipper asked, a frown on his used-to-be excited face. We heard it again and turned to see it. But it was just a Beaver with a chainsaw. The chainsaw was making all the noise. Dipper and I sighed in defeat, at the same time. And that's when I heard something in the water. My head shot up to look for where that came from and that's when I was Dipper looking at something in the water. My eyes sparkled in excitement as I took out my camera. I quickly took a good pic of it and I hugged the camera. Dipper was taking multiple pictures of it. That's when we turned to look at Mabel and Soos.

"Guys! I've got a good picture of it!!" I exclaimed, jumping around.

"U-uh... We... We have to g-go..." Soos said as he gestured Dipper and I to follow him. Dipper and I looked at each other and made a face saying what-why-what's-wrong? That's when we felt the ground Shake.

"Dudes, we gotta run!!" Soos said, as he and Mabel started to back away, eventually running. I turned around and saw the Gobblewonker ON LAND, about to EAT us. I quickly shot up and grabbed Dipper's hand. His hand is so soft.... No! Do NOT like him! He's so rude to you!! I shook the thought off my head and I dragged him while I ran. He was struggling to get my hand off his, yelling at me to let go. Well, does he want to suffer? He seems like he wants to. I let go of him and stood there as I watched him fall. The Gobblewonker got closer to us as I just stood there and watched Dipper blankly. I started to space out when I heard the gobblewonker growl, that's when it snapped me back to my senses and I freaked out a bit before helping Dipper out and both of us ran. Well, I ran. I was carrying him on my back for some reason.

"Soos!! Help me out here!" I yelled over to Soos. He turned and picked both of us up. My camera was starting to slip out of my pocket.

"No!" I pushed Dipper off me and he responded with a groan, then ran beside us. I managed to keep the camera with me and a sighed in relief. I saw Dipper was far behind us and he was near the Gobblewonker, so I jumped out if Soos' grasp and helped him.

"Your welcome, now I just wish we are at the boat already!" I said, then suddenly, all four of us were at the boat. Before anyone could speak, I cut them.

"Soos! Move, now! GO GO GO!!!" I said, pointing at the other direction as the Gobblewonker got closer.

─Another time skip cause Author Chan is so lazy haha─

(you guys have to watch the entire episode cause I'm not gonna write a lot on that, but about something to do with the teleportation thingy. So... Ye. Now, the time skip is skip to when everyone is back at the shack)

"Haha! That was a LOT of fun!" I said, plopping on my bed.

"I have SO many pictures! Still have one pic of the Gobblewonker machine tho. I know exactly where to keep it!" I said, as I took out a scrapbook. I flipped to an empty page and pasted the pictures on it.

"Oh hey! I have a scrapbook too!!" Mabel exclaimed as she took out hers. Mine was filled with lots of memories from my previous summers. The first summer with Grunkle Stan, and many with my.. Parents. And a few of me having fun alone after the little incident. Mabel's was filled with a few pictures of when they arrived here. It's quite new to be honest. Mine is an old one. I had it since I was six. That's when I started to go on monster hunts. I gave a happy sigh as I flipped through my pages, tearing up at a few. Mabel noticed my tears.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" Mabel asked me. I looked up and she had a concerned happy face. I decided that it was about time I told them.

"Well... I guess I have to tell you everything, huh?" I looked down a bit. When I looked up again, Mabel and Dipper were sitting next to either side of me. Dipper was much closer to me now. My face flushed a bit red as I started to tell them my life. I flipped through each page of my scrapbook as I told them.

"Well, I've lived here in Gravity Falls all my life. My parents were monster hunters. They were extremely enthusiastic about it. It was their main job. Of course they had their own jobs to earn money and all for us. When I was six, they decided to take me on my first monster hunt. Back then, I was a girl who is full of mystery. I was a good schooler to be really honest. I still have my trophy collection in my old house before I met Stan. My most prized possession was this.." I said, walking over to under Dipper's bed and took out a box. They watched me curiously as I opened it. I took out a small mechanic. It looked like a camera, and it kinda was.

"This... This was my first invention. It was for my school science fair when I was 9. I was the so called smartest kid in the school and everyone adored me. My parents were really proud. It's called a camera bag. It's a camera which you can put the pictures that you take with it in. Heh, I still use it even now. I don't want to bother to throw it away," I put the camera bag away as I went back to telling them about my parents.

"My parents were really kind people. Our family was called 'The Mysteries' cause the three of us would go into the woods at night for monster hunts. One day, when I was 11, we were out on a monster hunt again. We were looking for that bear with lots of heads. Heh, it was a nice creature. That's when we bumped into a three headed dragon. It started attacking us. My father had given me a crossbow and arrow, a sword and pepper spray. I brought all three items along that particular night.." Dipper's eyes widened at the part where I mentioned a three headed dragon.

"The dragon... He... I was the only one of the three of us who survived... M-my parents were killed and eaten up by it... I watched the Dragon eat them. I watched them... I saw that they had dropped their things and the most important thing that we always brought on each of our monster hunts. The magic dust. I quickly sprinkled some on me and I became invisible, so I took the chance and took my parents things and ran back home. I locked every door, every window. I came home and I was really bloody because... The dragon.. Yeah.. You know... I had wounds on my body. Heck I still have a number of scars from that incident! I never went on another monster hunt after that. That's when your Grunkle found me..-" Mabel cut me off.

"That.. That was terrible! Wait, grunkle Stan found you?"

"Yeah.. Now. You want me to continue or not?"

"Yeah, go on."

"Well, I was sitting by the Gravity Falls Lake, thinking about the incident AGAIN. That's when I saw someone heading my way. I approached him and I asked him if he had any food. Apparently, I had used up all the food supplies I had at home so I needed to eat. It had been 2 weeks since I had eaten. But I still had water. Water from that lake that is. He was like "eh" and brought me to the mystery shack. He asked me what I was doing out there alone and I explained the whole thing to him. He took me in as his great grand daughter. Ever since then, I worked and stayed with him. It all happened last year. Heh.. And now that you two came, I can finally feel like I have an actual family..." I said, closing my scrapbook with tears in my eyes. I looked at the twins who were on at the verge of crying and Mabel gave me a tight hug. Dipper stayed there and he didn't have anything to say. He just turned and didn't look at me.

"I-i'm so sorry, Y/N.. I never knew..." Mabel said, who was now bawling on my back. I pat hers and tried to shush her.

"Hush, Mabel. It's okay. I'm over it now," I said, as a tear rolled down my cheek. Guess I have something to look up to now.

TO BE CONTINUED MUAHAHAHA!