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AU where Stan loses his voice while he's on the run from a throat injury. So he starts communicating with his hands. No, not sign language, he doesn't have time to learn that shit. He always moved his hands around when he spoke, he just has to do it even more now. Without speaking. And using his facial expressions. And hoping people understand him.

When he gets the postcard and arrives at Gravity Falls, Ford notices Stan has been overly quiet. Which is not a thing Stan has ever been. He always talks! Is he seriously holding a grudge at him? If anything, he should be the one to hold a grudge at him (which he does)! Why does he keep moving his hands around?! He's seriously giving him the silent treatment? That stupid, immature, irresponsible- wait, what's that scar on his throat? And why is it so big?

While writing the tags I thought to myself: What if instead of a throat injury, his "friends" caught him and cut off his tongue instead? It'd be slower and much more painful, and it'd make eating so much harder. So yeah.🙃

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Something about the "don't come back until you've made millions" and Ford's resentment.

There's no way Stan could actually make millions by himself. Ford knows this, because it's, well... obvious. The way he sees it, their father kicked Stan so he'd learn to "get it together" and fend for himself.

What Ford fails to understand (and will not understand until they're sailing together) is that 1. Filbrick wasn't teaching Stan any lesson, he simply wanted to get rid of a child he didn't deem worthy of his family; and 2. Stan DID take the "making millions" part literally.

So Ford goes on with his life telling himself that Stan will be fine, because this warning is enough for him to get it together and grow up. He's charming, he's resourceful, he's good with people. He'll find a job in no time. He might not get rich, but he'll finally become an adult and stop acting like a selfish kid. Maybe he'll even reflect on what he did and will finally stop making excuses. He'll apologize, and maybe then Ford will forgive him.

So when Stan shows up at his cabin all dirty and unkempt, Ford is decidedly disappointed: his brother didn't even bother trying bettering himself! And now that he has the chance of doing something good, he's still being selfish!

Meanwhile, Stan, who's given up on "making millions" and is just trying to survive with his guilt and the decisions he made to try and make it up to his family, is furious. Ford knew from the start that Stan would never make it, and yet he sided with their dad! And he didn't even fucking miss him!

Something about the many layers of miscommunication and misunderstanding these two had between them. It wasn't just "you were being selfish/you betrayed me/you left me". Things are never that simple.

Also I want to kick Filbrick with a steel chair.

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“it’ll all be okay, now.”

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BDAY KINGS OF NEW JERSEY!

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Had a minor epiphany this morning when I woke as to why I love Stan like I do....

We are always 🤏 close to having better, yet we are doomed to failure by self sabotage of character or unintentionally bad choices, or when we are aware of the bad choice, we go full force into doing it, because we have reached our limit and feel we are not worth saving or living to begin with.

We may look collected and manage on the outside, but on the inside, we're still that kid that always thought we were not enough as we are.

Stan, I could never hate you 🫂

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You ever think there was a point when Stan tried to go back home?

That barely a year after being kicked out, he actually swallowed his pride and came back to knock on his house's door and beg to be let in...

Only to be told by his own father that he doesn't give a shit about his pleas and what gives him the right to come back if he doesn't have anything worthy on him?

The thing is... I can see it. Just like he tried to call Ford so many times and always chickened out, but this time the memory is so recent that he actually has hope.

A young man fresh out of adolescence, who hopes his family misses him just a small fraction of how he misses them.

After the most amount of constant misery he's ever had to face, he is so lost and alone that he just has to try. Even if he doesn't have the money, even if they don't like him, even if they're disappointed... he needs to see his family. And he hopes they can tolerate having him around, even if they aren't thrilled about it.

So he drives home. He goes to the door and knocks, hoping to see his mom or Ford, but that would be too much to ask, specially considering the door leads to the pawn shop, and his mother is usually upstairs and the lights are off.

His father opens the door, and Stan can see how he goes to close it again before he stops and asks what he wants. Stan tries his best to keep his voice firm (he knows his father hates a weak voice), but as the conversation goes on he's getting more and more desperate. His dad is not budging, keeping his answers to either one word or just sounds, and clearly itching to finish the discussion.

Stan just breaks down. He can't help the sobs and the tears, even though he knows for a fact that it'll only make his father angrier. He apologizes over and over again, saying that he learned his lesson and will do anything in his power to get all the money he costed the family. He's sorry, he's so fucking sorry, and even though he can't change the past he is adamant on taking any kind of job necessary to bring money home.

Filbrick just stares at him the whole time, until Stan is crying so much that he's unable to keep talking. When the sobs decrease, he simply states that there isn't any space for him in this house anymore: that Stanley Pines, the guy who has always been a failure in every possible way and completely ruined their chance at a good life is not someone they're willing to have under their roof. He can take all of his sorrow and piss off: he better not come back until he has something worth a crap, and not just a bunch of empty words.

The door slam reverberates across the street.

That night, Stan cries himself to sleep in the cold backseat of his car.

The next day, he leaves New Jersey for good.

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The horrible sleep schedule aboard the Stan O' War II

If it wasn't already obvious, none of them can sleep properly. But they're still old men, they're stubborn as hell, and they deeply care about each other. Therefore, they have a very strong "do as I say not as I do" attitude towards each other.

I think Ford would be the first to try to tell his brother to get some sleep (he's the oldest, he needs to be bossy). However, Stan will not take it from someone who spends every waking moment with their nose in a book, drinks more coffee than water and takes 15-minute power naps thinking they actually work.

They fight a lot about who gets to boss the other around, but in the end they always compromise. They have to. They don't have the energy to fight anymore. And they don't want to.

Sleep, however, is a trickier subject. They don't compromise on that as fast.

Ford tries his best to be the responsible big brother he used to be: the one who would follow a schedule, the one who always had their day or even week planned. But he also conveniently forgets that Stan was the one who had to drag his ass to bed when they were kids. Also, he hasn't had a schedule in 30 years, and he doesn't want to fall asleep for too long.

Stan, on the other hand, doesn't like going to sleep if his brother isn't already asleep. He knows Ford has always been prone to nightmares, and when they were kids he would always try to stay awake and wait for him to either fall asleep first or climb into his bunk to keep him company. He needs to make sure Ford actually goes to sleep and he doesn't want to wake up without his brother in sight.

The solution? They spend a few days pretty much sleep-deprived and cranky because no one wants to be the first to budge. One day, after a particularly silent lunch, Stan stands up and goes to wash the dishes. Last thing he sees is the plate slipping off of his hand and into the sink, and he falls to the floor.

Ford is panicked. His brain is already going through every possible sickness his brother could be suffering from, before he realizes he's just sleeping. He shakes him awake, but all of his anger disappears at the sight of Stan's equally panicked eyes. He understands that it was not a trick and sighs, helping Stan up and guiding him to their room, all while his brother complains and tries to break free.

When they reach Stan's bed, Ford helps him get on it and just stares, his arms crossed, as if waiting for an explanation. They basically accuse each other of not taking care of themselves and yell until Ford accidentally says something along the lines of "I can't fall asleep, Stan! Do you know what lurks in these waters? What if something happens and I'm not awake?!"

Stan's suspicions are then confirmed, and with whatever energy he has before he passes out again he tries to make his brother see that he's going into his paranoid 'Trust-no-one!' mode again. He assures him that the ship is as safe as it can be, and if something happens they'll deal with it. Ford insists. "You don't know that! Anything can happen! What if someone gets hurt?!"

Stan clocks him right there and then. "Who is going to get hurt?"

"You, you knucklehead! Who would it be?!"

"Sixer, I can take care of myself."

"Not against the supernatural. You don't have the experience that I have against creatures of this kind!"

"I've been dealing with all kinds of stuff in Gravity Falls for 30 years!"

"I- we're not there anymore! What if–?"

"What if nothing, Ford. You can't be worried all the time about things that are not happening. You need to calm down."

"Yeah, like that is going to work."

Stan watches as his brother looks away. He notices his hands are hidden, too.

"Fine, lay down."

"What?"

"Let's be honest here, okay? We both need to sleep. I'm not gonna wait until you pass out too. And you're scared of something happening to me while you sleep, right?"

"Well..."

"Don't answer, I know. So, since we don't have time to unpack all that, the best we can do right now is sleep at the same time and place. Will that help?"

"I- There's still a number of cases that–"

"For fuck's sake, Ford, you cannot control more what happens to me until you plant a chip on me like a dog– which is not gonna happen. So, if I'm within reach, that lowers significantly whatever number of cases you're brewing in that big brain of yours, right?"

"I... suppose that's statistically correct."

"Great, then lay down and sleep, 'cause I'm about to do just that. And so should you. You get even more annoying when you're sleep-deprived, which is always."

"I'm simply being cautious."

"No, you're being paranoid, Ford." Stan snaps back. With his barely remaining energy, he tries to soften his tone and puts a hand on his twin's shoulder. "Now shut up and get some rest. If I wake up and you're not here, I'm gonna be pissed. Don't you dare get up before I'm awake, you hear me?"

"Any reason in particular?"

"Because I say so." Stan lowers his hand, laying on the bed and pulling the sheets over his shoulders. "Down. Now."

Although hesitant, Ford does as told and turns to Stan, who's facing the opposite wall. Slowly, Ford reaches an arm and grabs the back of Stan's shirt. His brother doesn't complain.

With the fistful of fabric in his hand and the warmth of the bed, Stanford has a harder time focusing on his panic. As his worries try to get a hold of him once again, he uses his free hand to pull the sheets over his head, just like he would do when he was in college and those blankets felt like a shield against his nightmares. He scoffs at the thought of this nearly-60-years-old version of himself using a kid's tactic, but it quickly turns into a bitter reminder of endless sleepless days and nights in the multiverse, where these soft sheets were replaced by whatever scraps he could gather to hide in his most vulnerable state.

The fabric tightly clenched in his fist tugs, and Ford lets go when he notices Stan turning around, now facing him. Slowly, he pokes his head from under the covers and looks at his twin's expression. He looks... peaceful. Probably not how the average person would define as peaceful, but it is for Stan's standards. His brows are not tight-knit anymore, and his jaw isn't clenched. He's breathing regularly, snores gradually growing louder. He's alive. Alive, for fuck's sake, and here. Just like himself.

Ford closes his eyes and focuses on the sound of his brother's peaceful slumber and the waves gently crashing against the boat. He knows his paranoia won't dissipate with just a good night's sleep, but it doesn't matter. He's done being scared about the unknown; whatever tries to harm them will have to go through him first.

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"I fixed it!!"

Oh Astra....

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I have a feeling that this mini-comic already exists, but I forgot the original🥀

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Happy birthday to Stan and Ford btw!! Take some really crappy doodles from the past couple days,, I feel bad about not having a full post for today 💔

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🐰❤️🃏

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I need angst, I need 19 year old Stan and ford timestuck au where they meets their mid 20year old counterparts (a bit before the betrayal and ford hits rock bottom).

Now I have so many ways this could work:

1) Stan and ford (teens) end up getting stuck together and get stuck with Stanford, which leads to both fords having a lot of emotions. Stan looks sick, his baby fat is not quite gone but compared to ford it’s like he’s aged years despite him being 19 and the same age as his twin who still looks full of life. He sees Stan and ford as a child and the guilt that he tried to hide behind anger and betrayal is starting to peak out once more. His twins younger self is covered in new scars and his compared to the loud mouthed brother who always spoke his mind at any given time without any thought of consequences is now eerily quiet, always hanging in the background, trying to make himself small, trying to disappear.

Paranoia oozes out of Stan with every twitch and flinch at the slightest sound, and while not super obvious, he can tell that while ford has gained an inch or so, his body still maturing into one of an adult, Stan — well he isn’t. And while he is hunching Stanford knows that one inch difference should have never happened. Ford is almost the same noticing as much as Stanford except that that guilt comes crashing harder because that’s HIS twin brother looking absolutely miserable, exhaustion etched onto his skin. And the worst part for ford is that Stanley keeps avoiding him (well he avoids both fords but Stan and him are in the same situation so why can’t Stanley just stop his avoidance for one second? Be mature about this! Let ford make sure he’s okay-).

And meanwhile Stan feels super happy that Stanford got himself a good place and that even thought Stanley ruined his life he still made something of himself! Even if it was without him. Because pa was right, everyone was and Stan was only holding ford back

And also for a little curveball Stan thinks his older counterpart is dead. He’s 19 barely scrapping by, he lives in his car, gangs are coming after him, and Stanford hasn’t mentioned anything about his Stanley, and when asked where his Stanley was he had this far away look as he shamefully said I don’t know. That was enough confirmation for him to know that he wouldn’t make past 30.

(He does indeed freak out when Stanley shows up still alive and looking worse for wear)

2)The Classic Stanford gets Stan and Stanley get ford. Except ford is there for the aftermath of either the Tijuana incident, the trunk incident, or the kidney incident. Either or but basically he saved Stanley and comes to the realization that his own twin’s future could be like this. That he could lose or have lost Stan without knowing. The fact that HE saved this Stanley and that if not for him this ford would have lost his brother and possibly have never of known. It sickens him and he makes it his personal mission to get home, rebuild his relationship with Stan if possible, and save his brother no matter what.

Stanley meanwhile is trying to fix his “mistake” (ford shouldn’t have seen that, he should have never known-) and is pampering the shit out of ford, stealing whatever he can for his little brother (?) , which caused more tensions because Stanley is the one hurt not ford! He needs to rest not be trying to shoplift his favorite snacks, books, etc!!!

On the other end of things Stanford still had the same realization from the first idea (minus the height thing but he does take into account that Stan is severely malnourished) and does try to pamper and connect with him. Does it backfire on him? Yes. Does Stan feel like he doesn’t deserve it? Yes. Does Stan lash out because clearly ford is doing it out of guilt? Yes. Is there drama where Stan ends up running away because ford reveals that the dream of sailing was never going to happen, especially not with Stan suffocating him!

(Some dialogue I thought for it.

“Stan, that’s not what I meant to say-“

“You think I’m suffocating?”

“No- well, yes I did but that doesn’t-“

“Is that why- that’s why you wanted to leave me. I’m suffocating, a burden-“

“Stan you’re not a burde-“

“YES I AM- IM THE EXTRA STAN, THE DUMB STAN, THE STAN THAT NOBODY WANTS-“

“STAN YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND-“

“Oh i understand, i might be stupid but i understand this, you don’t want me, nobody does. All my life I’ve been nothing but a burden to you, all I’ve ever done is ride on your coattails. It’s just like Pa said. But you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Stan what are you-“

*restraints Stanford in some way idk *

“You don’t have to help me anymore, it’s not like I’m worth much”

*runs away* )

3) Stanley and Stanford are the ones to get stranded in time thanks to Stanford doing some magical stuff that had the twins connected and sent to the past. Idk too much about this one but it could be fun. Especially if Stanford accidentally gets drunk trying to help Stan and reveals stuff about bill only for Stan to clock his shit and be like “yeah no you’re getting scammed bro. Played like a cheap kazoo”

Meanwhile Stanley is idk doing drag, perhaps going through withdrawal symptoms from lack of “flour”. Maybe some mental issues? Who knows, ford sure doesn’t!

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Instead of crumbs we were given bullets but hey, gotta work with what ya got amirite

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Thinking about Stan still finding pieces of the undead in his house. Unfortunately, one of his precious late nights spent watching The Duchess Approves may have been rudely interrupted by a zombie staggering in front of the TV. Cue the brass knuckles.

Can't get Scary-oke Stan out of my head. I mean how can you come up with THAT and expect me to still be fine HAKSHAIXJEKCHEOCJ That was a real spiritual awakening for me. Okay bYE

Also, his glasses wonky

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