#[banjos and robots: fiddleford]

[the-unofficial-village-idiot]

I gotta know if emma-may was into the whole death-robots thing

[sharksfrommars]

For the Asylum Ford AU.

Does Ford ever at all go into an emotional breakdown down or on the verge of tears whenever he sees Fiddleford?

Does he get extremely sad and depressed seeing Fidds a broken man?

I want you to know I had a whole ass answer written out last night. Then tumblr died on me and deleted it. I have lovingly recreated it, you all best be thankful.

Fiddauthor angst time. Ford is constantly having a bad time. Poor baby.

———

Fiddleford testified against Ford in the trial. He wasn’t entirely sane at that point, he just received the divorce papers and was building his killer robot. But the testimony wasn’t good for Ford. He knew he ruined Fiddleford’s life, that he should’ve listened the whole time. But Ford was angry regardless. It felt like a betrayal. Fiddleford claimed that Ford was “Workin’ with the devil” (not entirely untrue) and that he was “building a device that would END THE WORLD” (true, but he stopped when he realised it would! Surely that counts for something!). Fiddleford was distressed the whole trial, and ended up running out and doing a little jig as he did.

needless to say, it did not help with the satanic cannibal cultist accusations.

That was the last time Ford saw Fiddleford. Scurrying out the courtroom, like he couldn’t bear to be in the same room as him. It hurt, burned like betrayal. Why did everyone he cared about end up betraying him?

over the years, Ford was angry, then sad. He couldn’t help but feel like Fiddleford doomed him to the asylums. Not that he didn’t deserve it, Ford was just angry. But some nights in solitude, when Ford had a particularly hard day, he’d think about his old friend. About how close they had been, about how good it had felt that day Fiddleford arrived and Ford wasn’t alone anymore. Ford hated silence. He missed his friend’s constant chattering and banjo playing. The way he’d hum to himself as he worked. Or how he would accuse Ford of scrambling his Cubix Cube.

he liked to imagine Fiddleford managed to move on with his life. That he went home to his wife and son. That they had a good life. That he made his computer thing work and was now reaping the benefits. Ford expected to find his name in science journals or the newspapers. He never did.

then, 30 years later, Ford met his old friend in the town that destroyed it all. Living in a dump, dressed like an old Appalachian stereotype. Fiddleford didn’t recognise him, not at first. He saw Ford staring and invited him for some “rat stew with my raccoon wife!”

Ford sat in the shabby little hut, looking at Fiddleford with such unbareable sadness.

“Fidds… do you remember me?”

Fiddleford looked at Ford for a long time, almost as if something was there. Then he smiled, his demeanour changed, and he started playing the spoons.

“nope! I ain’t ever seen yous in ma’ life!”

“come on, Fidds Please!” Ford begged, “I know you’re mad at me, you have every right! I should have listened to you, I know!”

Fiddleford looked around nervously, taking off his hat. Ford noticed the pink, star shaped scar on the side of his head.

“no… Fiddleford you didn’t! I thought you destroyed it!” Ford took a step towards Fiddleford. He flinched, but Ford didn’t care. He was full of righteous fury. “You erased your memories! You told me you destroyed the memory gun, and now you don’t even remember me! Did you really want to forget me that bad!?”

Fiddleford seemed to become lucid for a moment. Then, panicked.

“the eyes!” He whispered, before shouting again louder, “the EYES THE EYES! The beast it coming, don’t let him in! He’s watching’ ya, Stanferd, ya shoulda listened! You doomed us all! Git it, Stanferd! I don’t wanna be seein’ ya!”

“Fidds?” Ford said, wary. But the moment has passed, and Fiddleford was back at his rat stew. He looked up at Ford.

“Do I know you?”

Ford left with a heavy heart. He snuck into the basement without seeing Shermie, something he’d probably regret later. But he didn’t want his family to hear him screaming in frustration and rage. It was his fault, he knew. He should’ve made sure the memory gun was destroyed, he should have not let Fiddleford fall through the portal. Tears stung his eyes as he took out his anger on the desk. Until all that was left was a sobbing mess, hidden under a table with his turtleneck pulled over his face.

he missed Stanley. Somehow, Ford felt that if Stan were there, everything would be easier. He felt like that a lot, especially recently. Especially staying in his house from 30 years ago, where the walls were stained with his blood and drenched in regret. He ruined Fiddleford’s life. And he had no idea how to make it right.

[sickospaghetti-o]

Random future head cannons for Gravity Falls.

(I can’t sleep so I’m gonna make it everyone else’s problem)

Dipper:

- Starts the first ever ddmd club at his high school as well as a Cryptid/ Mystery club (Mabel is the vice president of the club and always plans club events)

- Studies ancient history and journalism in college

- Is 100% a loser trans boy (Mabel always helps him with his t shots)

- Makes journals of his own and tried to publish one (Didn’t go well)

- Meets a really nice girl in college that helps him get out of his comfort zone. She finds Dipper’s work on cryptids very interesting. “She’s the one, Mabel. I know it. She just gets me.”

- Forgets to tie his shoes all the time and is constantly tripping because of it

- Still loves BABBA but also listens to Midwest emo

Mabel:

- Waddles still lives with Mabel and wins the world record for oldest pig alive

- Studies Fashion in college and starts her own alternative clothing business (it’s very successful)

- Stan taught her how to con during the first summer she visited gf and she got really good at it but has refused to use her skills unless someone is being an asshole and “Totally deserved it, Dipper! It’s not my fault he didn’t know how to cheat at poker”

- Listens to bands like lemon demon and will wood after she goes through her boy band phase (she goes back and listens to several timz when she misses Grenada and Candy)

- She and Pacifica have been dating since the beginning of their junior year in high school (they confessed to each other over the summer and are currently doing a long distance thing)

Ford:

- He and Fiddleford hang out after weirdmagedon and manage to rekindle their friendship

- Started a new journal with Stan while they traveled the world on the Stan’o’ war

- Found out that the Cold War ended and he learned about the attack on 9/11 and he found out that gay marriage was legalized all in the same day (had to sit down because he thought he was going to pass out)

- Is slowly learning to forgive himself for “falling for Bill’s tricks” and still has to accept that it wasn’t his fault and that he was manipulated

- His favorite new “technology advancement” is bluetooth

Pacifica:

- Over the years she and her family have drifted apart and Paz has learned to live to be completely independent from her parents

- Works at the dinner with Lazy Susan and has come to see her as a mother figure

- Is actually really good with computers and technology

- She went on a walk on night and ended up at the old Northwest Mansion. She was feeling really homesick and so she walked around the gardens for a while and met Fiddleford. They found out that they have the same passion for computers and bonded of it.

- She made an indie mystery puzzle solving game based loosely on weirdmagedon with the help of Dipper and Fidds

- In a relationship with Mabel and still gets butterflies whenever she’s around

Fiddleford:

- Divorced his raccoon wife (the break up was messy, he doesn’t like to talk about it)

- Invites Tate and his family to live in the mansion with him and they all accept

- He and Tate talk a lot and Fidds apologizes all the time for leaving when Tate was a kid. They mange to figure it out and their relationship is getting stronger

- Teaches Pacifica tons about computer tech and teaches her a little bit of robotics (her first robot blew up and set fire to the south garden of the mansion)

- Relearns banjo and is still one hell of a musician

- Barely remembers dating Stan when they were younger but still has feelings for him, he won’t tell him until later (don’t mind me just spreading my fiddlestan agenda)

Stan:

- Took Ford to go visit Shermie (Shermie hits them both and then hugs them immediately after)

- Has stopped conning people as much as possible and now only does it when absolutely necessary (Normally while on adventures with Ford)

- His favorite band is They Might Be Giants and he and Ford sing their songs together all the time

- Bill still lives in Stan’s mind but has no power he’s just like an annoying little voice in his head (they manage to be “friends” and get along)

- He picked up lace making and is incredibly talented (He originally learned how to knit from Mabel, but didn’t like it as much. She showed him what Lacemaking was and he fell in love with the hobby)

- Has gaps in his memory but has been able to regain most of them

- He and Fidds used to date when he was rebuilding the portal but they don’t talk about it anymore. He has lingering feelings but he won’t ever admit it.

[misteria247]

Mystery Podcast Trio Au consists of-

Stanford Pines: The main head who came up with it. He wanted to make a broadcast system to warn people of Gravity Falls about the anomalies and the dangers they possess. Ends up with him excitedly talking about his findings and the fun facts about them. As well as stories and legends of cryptids and supernatural/paranormal creatures. Does interviews of people who've had encounters with said creatures.

Fiddleford Mcgucket: The assistant who helps. However he has his own part in the podcast where he talks about robotics and mechanics as well as predictions for the future in the realm of technology. Has his own little music segment of bluegrass and other country songs where he'll play his banjo. Despite the difference of his approach on the podcast, it ties in well with Ford's more serious ways in podcast. Is often known to join Ford on his interviews and research travels.

Stanley Pines: The funny man and showman. He's the one who helps add the mystery in Mystery Podcast Trio. Has a segment called the Mystery Shack where he'll regale listeners with somewhat tall tales of his twin and friend's adventures. Stanley accompanies the duo on these adventures as well though he mainly likes to stay within the studio. He'll talk about cursed objects and other spooky stories and myths that sound fictitious however there may be a grain of truth to these stories. Only the trio know.

Mystery Caller: An entity that will call into the Mystery Podcast Trio on occasion. Ford, Fiddleford and Stanley have no idea who he is, nor how he knows about the strangeness of Gravity Falls. But they do know that he's not someone who can fully be trusted. Which makes it incredibly hard for them when this stranger gives them clues to creatures and legends that may be threatening the tiny town.

Mystery Podcast Trio is a radio broadcast/podcast that can only be heard on certain stations. And many callers have reported that usually when they hear it, it's because much like Gravity Falls, something strange is occurring around that time. Perhaps it's because of the strangeness of the area itself that makes this event occur. Either way it's a highly valued source of information that the town enjoys immensely.

[aestheticmystery3]

♣️Monster Hunting♣️

Stanford is excited to study the cryptids of Gravity Falls

Stanley just likes doing something with his brother

but also the stuff in the woods is super cool

Fiddleford prefers building computers at the cabin but the anomalous creatures are a marvel to study

As long as they aren't trying to kill him, which only happens sometimes

Ford has been told on numerous occasions to stop journaling we are running for our lives

Lee can punch his way out of any problem, usually

They've both been saved by an angry Fidds with a banjo or a robot

Lee is actually the only one who calls it 'Monster Hunting'

It's a 'Cryptid Field Study' according to Ford

In the occasion that they needed to be patched up, Ford's the best with the first aid kit

Shanklin II was adopted after Ford captured him mistaking him for an anomalous subspecies and when proved to be a normal opossum, gifted him to Lee.

[legobiwan]

This is the dumbest bullshit I have ever written

~~~~

“If you must know,” his brother crouches to the ground, beginning to gather up loose playing cards, “my first kiss was Fiddleford.”

Stan chokes on air. “What?”

“Well,” Ford's shoulders shoot up somewhere near his ears. “Fiddleford or a near-approximation. I’ve never been quite sure. Wholly irresponsible levels of alcohol were consumed after our dominance at a state robotics championship and Fiddleford had been tinkering with a mechanized version of himself for months prior. Banjo-bot, he liked to call the simulacrum. Mind you, I was fully against this name.” 

”Your first kiss was a robot?”

Ford teeters a hand back and forth. “Possibly.”

Stan grits his teeth. Time to move on to Plan C.

[ro--lal]

It's mugucket ayenon again can i orader a few sea folk with the robot fish fiddleford made also I want to be a banjo 🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕👋 BYEOWDY

. i am southern but i need hells of translation plz. this is too southern 4 me ;(

[youcantkillanidea]

hmmm okay here's my rambles. idk I might turn this into a fic at some point but it's more likely that if anything I just do some art and maybe some oneshots every now and then lol. But I wanted to talk about the portal fidds concept because I'm very attached.

Basically the idea is that, during the portal test, Fiddleford falls into the portal completely instead of just his head poking in and the rope isn't there for Ford to just pull him back out. Fidds gets stuck outside of their dimension, and now Ford not only has to deal with a world ending portal and demonic possessions but also the guilt of convincing his friend to help build and test the portal that would ultimately lead to this. More thoughts below the cut

There's a few reasons, I think, as to why Ford wouldn't just immediately reopen the portal to try to save Fiddleford. For one, it might end the world of course- I don't know that that alone would be enough deterrent here, but it'd probably make a big impact. For another thing, if he had to go in after Fidds to save him, he could get stuck too, and then there'd be no one around to disassemble the portal and make sure Bill didn't end the world.

I think maybe he'd still call Stanley, but when they met up Ford's plan would instead be "I need to go into the portal to save my friend, you need to be around to disassemble it in case we don't come back, and also hide my journal" and this could still pick at old wounds with like- Stan's not the one being told to leave immediately, but Ford is leaving him immediately it's like. Oh okay so you're going on the adventure of a lifetime without me. Obviously he wouldn't agree to it but I don't think there’s be the same "pushing him in" situation. I don't know where I'd take it from here tbh! I'm just kinda brainstorming- maybe they'd go in the portal on a rescue mission together and it could turn into a mystery trio thing?

I've thought more about portal Fidds. He wouldn't have the memory gun with him so that wouldn't be a problem anymore. But now there's a more physical barrier between him and his family and friends instead of a mental one, and he'd probably really miss them all. He's still angry at Ford probably but there's a lot going on and he has a lot of feelings and he's probably thinking about things a lot more without immediately wiping his memory so there's more nuance.

Fidds needs weapons for self defence out there of course and I've thought about that too. Making robots seems to be a specialty of his and he could definitely still find some use for them out there but I don't know how convenient or portable those would be as weapons. He mentions in Legend of the Gobblewonker that he's building a death ray, and I can imagine him doing something similar here as a weapon! Though he could also just use a gun lol

I don't own a copy of Journal 3 and haven't actually read it, so everything I know from it comes from little bits I've heard or seen from other people, it's very limited. So I don't know much about the other dimensions tbh! I'd have to look into it more if I wanted to actually write something. If Fidds can find a banjo or similar instrument out there though I like to think he'd take comfort in that :))

Idk if Bill would be after Fidds really? Like, chasing him down or anything I mean? I don't think he'd care that much? But Fidds is a great way of guilting Ford into reopening the portal for sure! And fuck man it works! As long as they can close the portal right away it shouldn't cause Weirdmaggeddon though? Because like, nothing like that happens when Ford falls in in canon so it should be fine I guess. But it's still a concern ofc! That's why Ford doesn't want to leave it unsupervised!

[a-thing-named-it]

happy fiddleford friday again!! 

x | x | x x | x | x x | x | x

[thatabitcryptic]

Hmmmm there are only 3 works in the fidds and Pacifica tag on ao3.. I might have to change that at some point

[thedoublingcenter]

College Days in a Haze

[ @kingofthecon​ || Pulled from here!]

Stanley wasn’t about to question it or his imagination’s penchant for weird things. It must have been a side effect of trying to bring light to his and Ford’s childhood. Fat lot of good that did him, considering that he and his brother were no longer on speaking terms. It was funny and stupid how much he thought of his brother when he made it clear that he didn’t want to even be in the same zip code as him. His brother was self-centered despite how self-conscious he was. It was laughable, really–and there he went thinking about Ford. Ugh, feelings were stupid. He was supposed to be holding a grudge. He was also supposed to be helping out his inner weird with a Valentine’s day present. Yeah, that was apparently his life at the moment. “Yeah well, I’ll jus’ take your word for it.” Mainly because he didn’t know WHAT was going on at the moment. Setting the con-artistry and…other questionable comments aside, he decided to take everything he was hearing with a grain of salt even if he wasn’t one to judge. After all he’d been sort of fixated with the occasional dead animal in his childhood. He’d even told Ford all about the dead rat he’d seen floating in a bucket once. He’d been sort of fascinated by things like that, though that’d all been squashed when Shanklin had been hit by a car. He’d been attached and watching something close to him die had hurt. Some people dealt with death better than he did. He knew about taxidermy, courtesy of his twin, but that hadn’t made him feel better because it cost money and their Pa didn’t even want to dish out cash for his sons let alone a pet that Stanley wasn’t supposed to have to begin with… “Maybe hold off on the heart for when ya get hitched or somethin’?” He wanted to say never, but honestly whatever weird stuff was going on it probably would be rude NOT to present a still-beating heart after a certain amount of time with them dating? Is that what this was? He was assuming that since it WAS Valentine’s Day that they were at least, on some level, more than friends? W-why was he putting more thought…nope, the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could pretend that none of this weirdness, minus his time well spent with Fiddleford, out of his system. No need to get invested. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll pass on that invite, Tri-Guy. But maybe during Halloween?” A time that was appropriate for wanting to be freaked out despite the absurdity that came from people dressing up and trying to scare the mess out of someone i.e. one of his favorite holidays ever. “I wouldn’t mind teaming up for some sort of haunted house–no! A hut where dumb teens get murdered for making stupid choices like running up the stairs where they’ve blocked themselves from getting out of two story building without twisting their ankle or breakin’ their leg or something.” Just thinking about it…the scams he could pull, the suckers he could relieve of their hard earned cash. Maybe there was something to this whole con artist thing? …nah. “Wait, I actually helped?” The surprise was more so because it seemed like a really basic idea with all the things laid out in front of him like that. Maybe it was some sort of moral or lesson…that he shouldn’t overthink things because sometimes the most obvious solution was just as good as something super convoluted. It would certainly tie into him trying to talk with Fiddleford. He should just be himself. That’s what he was wanting to do when he came to college after all. He wanted to get out of Ford’s shadow and be himself, and yet here he was incapable of trying to just…talk to his crush like he had with Carla. It shouldn’t have mattered if Fidds was a guy or not. People were people? “Eesh, I do NOT want to know the story behind the soggy animal purse.” Luckily the information wasn’t coming anyway, and he was due for a wake up call since Mr. Top-Hatted Triangle was dismissing him with some…pretty interesting…conspira– Stanley sat up with a start, momentarily forgetting where the heck he was which was very unfortunate since he was sitting at his desk. Joining the waking world was disorienting already, but still being slightly sick didn’t help matters especially when he toppled over and onto the floor taking his chair with him. It clattered, loudly, and the most he could do was groan out a curse that might have impressed his old man. He had no idea what time it was nor did he have any idea of whether or not Fidds was even in their shared dorm. Hopefully it was early enough for him to be in class and not late at night like he hoped it was. He fumbled for much longer than he would have if he was completely sober and managed to right the chair before fumbling his way towards the bathroom - hand in the bird nest he called his hair while muttering about weird dreams though there was a pleasant feeling in his chest because he certainly remembered talking to Fiddleford, even if he didn’t really recall what it was he’d said…though he did vaguely recall laughter…? Weird dreams indeed.

Of course, Fiddleford had already been up for a few minutes- but seeing Stanley suddenly jolt awake had nearly caused him to ram his head into the wall as he started, words just barely catching in his throat out of surprised confusion. He finally managed to regain his bearings, re-adjusting his ruined glasses long enough to see Stanley basically bumbling towards the door to their shared bathroom. He spotted the chair, heard the mutterings.. Weird dreams? His own mind was still filled with fleeting images- many of them involving Stanley, and-- well-- a few... Things... That had his cheeks coloring as he thought back on them.

But even as he tried to grasp those memories, they started to flicker and waver- ghosts in the dead of night. He turned his head, spotting his alarm clock- which read a very painful ‘3:33 A. M.’. Early.. Very, very early. Too early for his first class, but late enough that he didn’t want to go back to sleep... But it was tempting, even as his memories grew foggier, fainter with each growing second. He was trying to grasp them, but they continued evading his grasp- dashing into the dump for thoughts as he tried (in vain) to hold on. That was when Fiddleford finally stood, mouth still moving slightly to try to figure out something to say.

“Didja have ah... ‘Weird dream’... Too?” He wasn’t even sure what he could qualify it as. Thoughts dashed through his head every time he tried to think back- a confession, a kiss, a steady light in the core of his very being that grew at the mere sensation of what he thought he remembered. He wanted to go back, but a paralyzing fear held him in the present. “... Ah jus’... Ah jus’ woke up...” He breathed out. Was Stan even listening? Should he even be trying? He wasn’t entirely sure.

One thing was certain: he probably wasn’t going to get any sleep the rest of the night. It was too late for anything more than a power-nap, given how alive he felt. It was strange, his body was all at once chilled to the bone with exhaustion and wired down to every last nerve with energy. He wanted to run and scream, and at the same time pass out on the bed and wake up in two weeks.

It occurred to him then that he probably shouldn’t be trying to ask Stan what was going on- after all, the other was going to the bathroom, clearly- conversation was probably the last thing on his mind. So Fiddleford slumped a bit in his bed, staring at his banjo resting beside the bed, the strings waiting for a good pluck while he tried to figure out what to make of his jumbled mind. There were only faint impressions now- but enough that he could piece together a general idea. A general idea around Stan, around love- and the thought worried him. Had something manifested in his dreams? Had he just... Had a wish-fulfillment dream? Maybe a nightmare? It would explain the fight-or-flight response he was feeling... If it could be called that.

Faded afterimages of sunlight drifted from the curtained window (they really needed thicker curtains), the faint blue a reminder of just how early it truly was. Although really, ‘early’ and ‘late’ were subjective at best... He readjusted his glasses, before silently taking them off with a hint of a laugh. He hadn’t needed to adjust them... But it had been done out of habit. He looked them over, the cracks still quite visible- so small, so hard to spot from a distance... But up close... Clear words and images.

“... Di’ som’ne break m’glasses?...”

[anotherspookyarchivist]

Thanks! Couldn't resist looking for a green ballpoint pen, those shorts are iconic. And that's the vision! ;D Fiddleford is the only one who knows the truth, because he'd been there that initial night, but Ford managed to stop him from telling anyone. (the banjo playing rules suddenly became far more lenient - for no reason whatsoever) It was also Fiddleford that introduced the first 'salamander' themed gift to Ford. (Fidds knew(t) exactly what he was doing. He was setting a precedent to ensure Ford could never escape it); I do think Stanley would be so excited to see Ford show off the tattoos, and after hearing how much Ford likes newts? Oh, he'll train. He'll ensure that his brother's new salamander craze will look beautiful. and to borrow from @shanklin - it would absolutely be funny if Stanley managed to accidentally get some more... magical inclined ink... during one of his supply runs. Stanley: So for that Axolotl, should we try my new ink, I've heard it'll make it look life-like. Ford (after unwrapping it and realising it wasn't there - frantically looking for it): HOW DID IT GET FROM MY ARM TO MY NECK! Ford (seconds later) taking his journal & writing in it and telling his tattoo to come up to his hand so that he could draw it better. The tattoo: :3 That's how we get Frilliam the 1st. Fiddleford meanwhile is actually considering asking Stan for a robot tattoo that'll use the magical ink. (Stanley compromises by inking a robot-newt).

Tattoo artist Stanley Pines and his very drunk college student customer / twin, Stanford Pines

[thehandwitch]

i like to think that ford and fiddleford absolutely hated each other at first.

ford doesn’t want to be there, okay, he didn’t choose backupsmore, he didn’t choose this b-rate school where the professors hardly know what they’re talking about and the students are foolish and careless and there’s more keggers than there are study sessions. he’s bitter. it’s understandable. and it’s easier to be bitter than it is to be sad. his stupidly cheerful roommate with his incessant banjo-playing does not help. ford doesn’t understand how anyone can be so happy here, let alone this happy, and if his roommate jovially invites him to the dining hall one more time he’s going to scream.

fiddleford is excited for a fresh start in the city, getting away from his siblings and the farm. he didn’t choose backupsmore either (there was an incident involving a too-ambitious malfunctioning robot and a very on-fire west coast tech admissions team) but he’s just grateful to be somewhere where he can learn. but the people are strange, communicating in languages of partying and status that he just doesn’t understand. and his roommate is hard and cold and won’t even talk to fiddleford, the arrogant jerk, which is so frustrating because he seems like the only other person at this school who does the readings and asks questions in class and really cares about what they’re studying.

everything changes a few months into the school year. they find themselves arguing over something stupid, like noise levels in their room, because “if you get to play that god-awful instrument all day then me clicking my pen doesn’t matter” “there’s a difference, you’re clicking your pen AND muttering to yourself AND pacing around the room at three in the morning” “i’m doing important work, you just wouldn’t get it!”

and fiddleford just snaps something about how ford’s not better than him just because he’s going to do twelve phds, ford’s not even smarter than him because the calculations on his desk are wrong and ford just goes. What. he storms over to his desk and reads the paper and fiddleford’s right. the calculations are wrong.

and it’s a mix of ford feeling stupid and ashamed and ford going Oh. because the roommate he’s been dismissing all this time as an annoying too-happy hillbilly is the only other person at this school as smart as him, if not smarter. the only other person who cares.

ford apologizes — stilted, but still an apology — and fiddleford accepts it in a heartbeat. from there on out, they’re thick as thieves.

[brightdrawings]

Reminisce

inspired by this piece by @stephreynaart

It was almost a year now. Their world wide trip had taken longer than he had first planned. Or maybe he had extended it on purpose. Staying at each port for an extra day, taking in sights, picking out gifts for his family. Taking more detailed notes than necessary, observing the world with a slower pace than he normally would. Trying to enjoy as much of his life as he could.

"It's what he would have wanted." Stanford would tell himself.

It was almost a year now, but walking into town, knowing that he couldn't hear his laugh anymore. that he wouldn't have his old friend's wild ramblings, impressive inventions or admittedly enjoyable banjo playing to return to made his heart feel like stone. Weighing down in his chest until it felt too difficult to take another step. He missed him dearly, and a world without him felt wrong. A gravity Falls without Fiddleford McGucket felt like perverse reality he didn't want to live in. No living would be too kind a word. He wouldn't be living in a world like that. he'd be enduring.

The thoughts in his head began to form a maelstrom of pain and sorrow, of memories that he couldn't relive. Of Relationships he couldn't build. It felt like a big cruel joke. But as the thoughts began to take hold in his mind, the familiar sound of banjo strums echoed through the woods. It wasn't the same, the tune too modern to be something Fiddleford would play. Despite this, Stanford found himself following the plucked strings until he found himself at the Shack.

Sitting on the porch was a familiar long nosed man, with bushy hair and ball cap covering his eyes. Tate McGucket was steadily plucking away at a banjo, playing a tune from the radio. Beside him were Mabel, Wendy and Grenda, cheering him on. On the grass in front of them were Dipper, Soos and Candy, working on a new machine together. Stan stood aside, laughing his usual gruff laugh at what nerds the former trio were.

Watching his new family, Stanford felt his chest grow lighter. They weren't the same as Fiddleford. But they didn't have to be. His old friend was dead. Stanford accepted this long ago, he missed him dearly, but he knew he was dead. He wasn't looking for a replacement or something to fill the void in his heart. His family was already there. Alive, well and ready to support him no matter what.

However, in this instance they might need his help as he watched Dipper and Candy's robot catch on fire.

[lesbiten]

okay HELLO who is fiddleford!!

this motherfucker!!!! hes just some dude who is a mechanic and plays his stupid banjo and then his old college friend invites him to the woods to Research The Paranormal. and eventually he falls halfway into a portal to the Nightmare Realm and peeps the horror so he invents a memory wiping device And starts a cult for it (more images provided)

so then he just keeps wiping his memory and proceeds to get worse and worse and worse and in present times he is a feral old man who builds giant killer robots for funsies

in the end he gets most of his memories back but guy is fucked UP

[ask-mister-mystery]

Stan frowns and shakes his head, he wasn’t familiar with any of this. All of his medical appointments had been dealt with in the vaults medical office. All of his childhood injections and requests for band-aids had been dealt with by Nurse Perry, a small bespectacled man with permanently watery eyes. He, like everyone else in the vault seemed to have little time for Stan. He couldn’t even imagine having the overseer himself, the chief medical officer of the vault attending to him.

A vague memory of asking Perry about this when he was younger.

“Because the Overseer has more important things to attend to than to deal with the scrapes and cuts of the general populace. He reserves his time for those who require special attention. Now hold still, you don’t want me to miss with this needle.”

He isn’t sure what necessarily qualifies his brother for that attention. Or Aggie for that matter. Well. Maybe with her she got it because she was the overseers daughter after all. Like most things though, Stan had generally grown to accept the reality with which he had been presented. Even if that reality did rankle with unfairness to him.

“Honestly Aggie…” Stan took a mouthful of the mac and cheese and chewed thoughtfully. “Suppose we do get in and find there’s this big evil plan? Who do we tell it to? Ford? I mean, unless you want to wait another four months and we tell it to that Fiddleford kid who comes in with the caravan from the outside world. He seems to know everything after all.”

That was putting it mildly. The biannual arrival of trade caravans to the Vault had first commenced a generation or two before Stan had been born, and it was always a cause for much hub-bub. It had been a couple of years previously, and a kid around Stan and Aggie’s age had joined his trader parents in entering the vault. He regretted it, but at the time he had definitely looked down on him. No shoes, funny accent, missing tooth. Carried a banjo. He smelt and looked like an outie alright.

Then the damndest thing, the computer system that ran the security network crashed. Apparently everyone in the maintenance team were stumped, but then this kid, Fiddleford McGucket, all of ten years old jumps in and debugs the whole system.

‘Why it’s just a standard RobCo operatin’ system! Good thing they built these with plenty of backdoor access!’

Ever since, the McGucket kids name had been spoken in hushed tones, especially by some of the other kids,like he was some kind of genius wasteland boogeyman.

‘I heard he has his own army of assaultrons.’

‘I heard he reads a whole book of coding before he goes to sleep.’

‘I heard he IS a robot.’

Stan finishes his mac and cheese, before getting up and putting the bowl in the washing up tray. Agnes scowls at him from across the room. He beats a retreat back to Aggie.

“So step one, we swipe a keycard? I mean if you know where to get one, I’m definitely joining you on this. If only because I can say I told you so when we get in there and they’re counting beans or pushing pencils or whatever.”

“Let’s drop by the cafeteria. I don’t want Ma listenin’ in on us.”

Or Ford. If word got out that they were talking about the science wing, Ford would be on them quicker than molerat on a sweet roll. Stan knew his brother was top if his class. Deservedly so. But he also knew that smart kids got fast-tracked to work in the Science Wing. They didn’t even have to take the G.O.A.T or anything. And that meant Ford would be off…working on experiments or inventing things or whatever it was they did in the science wing. And Stan would be alone. Probably stuck working in Pa’s general store for the rest of his life. It didn’t strike him as fair at all.

However, what Stan considered unfair, unfortunately remained the ethos of the vault. As they entered the vault atrium, giant banners could be seen hung from the ceiling. Each of them had one of the Vaults many credos, along with an accompanying illustration of a Vault Boy or Vault Girl. Stan had been sick of the sight of them for years now, but he could still recite them all off by heart, as could any other vault resident.

‘WE CAN ONLY ADVANCE IF WE EXPERIMENT!’

‘AN ORDERLY MIND MEANS AN ORDERLY VAULT!’

‘THROUGH OUR COMBINED EFFORTS, WE TOO CAN SOLVE ANY PROBLEMS!’

And so on. Stan walks over to the cafeteria area, and goes up to the counter.

“My Agnes…you’re looking particularly lovely this afternoon. Is that a new perfume you’re wearing?”

Agnes is a seventy-something woman wearing a hairnet. Her face is lined with a lifetime of cares, worries, and the stress of having to deal with Stanley Pines. She definitely does not have time for Stan today, nor has she ever.

“Pines…” she rasps at him with a smokers growl. “I thought your father told me that you’d be eating with them in future…”

Obviously she hadn’t forgotten about the rubber spider in the tuna bake just yet.

“Well yeah…but I….uh…got special dispensation. I’m with the overseer’s daughter.”

Agnes looks at Aggie and blinks at her slowly, as though trying to gauge if this wasn’t another trick. Agatha Yearling was just as bad as Stan, if just for the fact that she willingly hung around with Stan. But she was the only living relative to the Overseer, and only an idiot would risk getting on his bad side. She eventually seems to accept this and looks back at Stan.

“Just remember I’ve got my eye on you” she said as she ladled out some mac and cheese into a bowl, which she hands over begrudgingly to Stan. “You should take a leaf out of your brothers book Pines. He’s going places, mark my words…”

“Yeah yeah…” Stan mutters as he walks over to an empty cafeteria table and sits across from Aggie. Thankfully it was relatively quiet in the atrium for now, the day shift workers wouldn’t be off shift until 6pm. So that left plenty of time to discuss what to do.

“So how do you suggest we get into the science wing anyway? If they are doing evil plans that is.”- he pauses to wiggle his fingers in front of him for emphasis on the word ‘evil.’

“For all we know they could just be growing mushrooms, or watching paint dry.”