#stan twin theory

[randomcartoonbro]

Bro. Thinking about how wild being in the Gravity Falls and Steven Universe fandoms at the same time was. Especially with both the Stan having a twin theory and the Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond theory both being shit on until the reveals and everyone losing their shit. Wild times

[prettyinpwn]

Please Reblog to Solve a Fandom Mystery

So... long story short, I'm an ancient, crusty old part of the Gravity Falls fandom, best known forgotten for having made the original Stan twin theory post that got it going on Tumblr back in the day when the show was airing. AKA the person that predicted Ford conclusively first before Not What He Seems even aired. Here's the original post in question from eons ago:

Or... at least I thought I was.

I have a bit of a conundrum I'm wondering if anyone can answer, or if anyone from the fandom from that time - like I am - might remember. See... for a very long time, I always thought the 'someone on Tumblr cracked the case, so we made the McGucket hoax' quote from the GF commentaries meant my blog and post was the one that scared Hirsch into making the hoax, but then I realized:

My theory had the McGucket hoax in it (I believed it hook, line, and sinker, too - thanks Alex, you plaid rascal). So... the McGucket hoax wasn't made in reaction to MY Stan twin theory post on Tumblr, which means... someone else's was.

But here's the thing: I was OBSESSED with GF at that point (who am I kidding, still am, the brainrot in me is strong), constantly refreshing and checking the tags and the people I followed every day for hours on end, deep in the theorist side of the fandom, and I do not remember anyone having fully made a post like mine that "cracked the case"... until mine. The idea or suggestion that Stan might also have a twin existed, sure, but as far as I know, no one fully proved it until me, with the above post rounding up all the evidence.

So... then who DID? Does anyone remember or has found anything from those days that conclusively proves what post was the one that sent Hirsch into a frenzy to make the hoax? Because I'm pretty sure now it wasn't mine.

The absolute earliest mention I personally remember was on the Mystery Shack forums, I think they were called, but once again... not sure by who, and it was without evidence and was just a 'wouldn't it be cool for Stan to have a twin, too?' type deal, iirc. And my theory post itself from back then says it was already a circulating idea, so it must have existed elsewhere, first, but I for the life of me CANNOT remember any posts before mine that fully solved the plot twist.

My one thought is that - and this is how I remember it - me saying "the famous amongst Fallers Stan twin theory" in my original twin theory post was me mis-stating theory when really it was only a 'what if?' idea at that point, but... then again, the McGucket hoax was made before my twin theory post, so there must have been an earlier Tumblr post than mine, right?

Anyways, sorry for the long explanation, but I wanted to explain my thought process and what I remember. Please reblog to help me solve the mystery! The more this gets reblogged, the more people who might remember from back then might see this and know the answer. Or maybe a newer fan that's delved into super old posts in the fandom might have seen one earlier than ~July-Aug 2013 (roughly right after Dreamscaperers was released) that cracked the case before my post did at that time.

[prettyinpwn]

I remember when people told us we were looking into things too much. Ah, good times. EDIT: Forgot to add... for fandom preservation purposes, here was the original twin theory post that kicked it off on Tumblr around July-August 2013, right after Dreamscaperers released (the idea existed before that but this was the first post as far as I know that collected all the evidence into full ass "holy shit this theory might be legit!" territory).

Also, excuse my blog's vomit level design at that point:

Becca pointed out to me that in an early episode of Gravity Falls, The Legend of the Gobblewonker, Stan has a licence plate with “Stanley Mobile” on it. (“STNLYMBL”)

Which is rather strange, considering Stan’s full name is Stanford.

I’ve seen theories, or perhaps just headcanons, floating around that Stan is a twin. Stan must have (or must have had) a sibling who is Dipper and Mabel’s grandmother or grandfather. Twins often run in the family, and “Stanley” and “Stanford” sounds like a cute pair of names for twin boys.

I don’t know if those idea are substantiated or not. I don’t know if the family will ever be touched on or if they’re significant at all, but it seems like a pretty weird error to make for the animator to confuse “Stanley” with “Stanford”

[nenoname]

Parallels and contrasts between Stan and Bill in the new book and website

Aka miscellaneous thoughts that I'm too lazy to condense into something comprehensible– what you see is what you get folks! (Book stuff, DVD commentaries! The website that came out when I was trying to write this out and is now making me pull my hair out! But in like a good way? That god damn poem!)

not necessarily same coin stuff but I sure am thinking about it.

It’s been said that a large part of Ford’s relationships with Bill, Fiddleford and Dipper was him trying to fill a hole that his estrangement with Stan had left, with none of them clicking in that same way. Dipper was directly compared to Fiddleford as someone who was completely charmed by Ford but is ultimately too anxious of a person to properly deal with the life he's offering nor pull him back when he starts going too far. Meanwhile, Bill is more analogous to Stan but to the extreme with all the doubts that Ford had been fed about Stan (that he was using him, he never grew up, he betrayed him, sabotaged the machine on purpose) turning out to be exactly true with Bill.

The book has Bill saying flat out that Ford wanted the charisma Bill had and then shows that at the peak of Ford's loneliness he was being envious of Stan's charisma, social skills and hands.

[STANLEY COULD HAVE MADE HER LAUGH]

(There’s an irony that Stan always thought that Ford was the popular twin even after doing embarrassing stuff like the kissing machine – if you haven’t seen the Swine Before Time Stan commentary get going, it’s great)

Then Bill swoops in with jokes and endless encouragement and the nickname only Stan used for him, all this in a way tailored for Ford to immediately like him while also reminding him of Stan but "better."

(The show rarely used it but Bill’s use of Sixer is extremely frequent in Journal 3 alone but the comics solidify it as being a pretty personal childhood nickname that kid!Stan used as his default way to call Ford.)

And then you see all of this working because Ford straight up writes Bill’s words using Stan's handwriting (and it turns out that Ford’s capital letter ‘for emphasis/angry’ font in general is the same as Stan’s handwriting too)

(It’s important to note that this is different from all the fonts that Bill uses for himself!)

All of this leads to the deja vu of Ford getting stabbed in the back by someone he was codependent on over a machine he thought was going to change his life for the better

Other things in the book that I’ve seen others point out and noticed myself:

Bill trying to reinforce that Ford would be alone without him, and threatening to tell Stan that Ford never loved him but the first thing Stan does in his letter is tell Ford that he loves him with their childhood code

Stan also only uses ‘Sixer’ in his letter when he normally tends to use a mix of nicknames post-Weirdmaggedon (sure it’s only twice but idk I find it noticeable)

Stan ripped a dollar in half when Bill taunted the reader earlier about how they wouldn’t do that

The promo photo vs the one in the book, Ford’s face being untouched vs Stan’s. While I initially interpreted this as “Bill’s book being a way to torment Ford” and then “him ending up having a meltdown at the thought of Stan”, the new poem kinda gives off an ominous vibe of "him moving on to focus on Stan instead whether he wants to or not"

Ford writing “miss you” in the bro code soon after arriving at Backupsmore which is shown in the Fiddleford photo, then Bill taunting Ford that he misses him

Bill and Stan now have another parallel of losing everything because of a genuine mistake but only Stan was willing to work to make up for it while Bill doubled down and became far far worse

The utter hatred Bill has for Stan being able to win in the end and get back his family

Both of them being institutionalized, with Stan’s mentioned in Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun (which has references to Bill liking Mabel for her chaos, silly straws, etc. Also Dipper basically came up with the Author theory but slightly wrong from theorising about the ink blot like a year before the Ford reveal)

(saturn devouring his son perfectly depicts my emotions when reaching this part of the book)

(EDIT: I was thinking about how Bill giving Ford three days to open the portal striked me as odd for some reason... and then I remembered;

Stan gave Mabel 3 days for their bet as well. Both of them specifically say 72 hours too.)

And now for the stuff we know from the website:

Bill having severe family issues with daddy issues implied since only his mum is mentioned directly with her trying to comfort him as a kid vs Stan having severe family issues with a definite focus on his dad while his mum was the only one to ask about Stan during that meeting with the principal and her being the only one to show up to his funeral

Both of them wear their dad’s hat despite of all of this

Bill starting a billion cults and has a lawyer called Multilevel Mark, Stan having his Scientology-esque cult being shot down by irl Disney and as a kid having his “technically a pyramid scheme” comic being shot down by a publisher

(I doubt that Stanentology would’ve gotten far but also you can see that a trend that the main way Bill gathers followers is by reading minds and revealing secrets only the victim would know, so let's hope that Disney-let-him-start-a-cult AU Stan never gets mind reading abilities)

Despite how we know how Stan is traumatised as hell from losing Ford, it’s noticeably isn’t referred directly in the Wheel of Shame (like you can’t tell me that the time between pushing Ford into the portal and starting the Shack isn’t as rock bottom as it gets, Bill literally recognises Stan in the first place by thinking about his brand). This probably is because Bill knows that they managed to repair their relationship and he’s fucking pissed about it.

There's further parallels between Stanley and Bill in poem; with lies and redemption and home, and further association with fire for the both of them

“Saw his own dimension burn.

Misses home and can't return.”

“Always dragged his family down.

One mistake, disowned, denied,

Only thing to do was hide.”

“One way out: the open road.

Reinvent, retry, reload.

A girdle, eyepatch, fathers fez,

"I'm a new man!" so he says”

“One way to absolve his crime.

A different form, a different time”

“His big break, it finally came,

Redemption from a life of shame.”

“Says he's happy. He's a liar.”

“Truth is just whatever sells.

When you've lost track of your lies,”

“Lie until you aren’t lying anymore”

Bill in a rotting corpse of a snake oil salesman

This triangle can fit so much self-loathing projection while being a hater

(Also it's funny that Bill is so insistent that Ford had to be the one who came up with the plan

Like look at this

See ‘em cogs turning in Stan’s head while Ford has clearly given up hope)

“How dare he dress up fancy when his jokes suck!!”

There's a parallel of Ford projecting onto Dipper in a way that makes him feel like kindred spirits with his nephew but Stan projects on Dipper in a way that causes him to be more harsh even if he has good intentions. Meanwhile Bill projects onto Ford in a more positive light in comparison to Stan, who in this case Bill wants to rip him and himself into shreds whenever he thinks of the guy. Bill’s shared love for fun/chaos with Mabel (despite them being so different at their core) is why he likes her the most out of all the Pines but that doesn’t stop him from trying to murder her (although I think most folks don’t know about that interview where Alex was like “yeah, I think Bill would’ve burnt Ford alive the moment he got the equation, he’s done playing with his toys at that point”)

Other tidbits:

I find it interesting that the full version of the Wheel of Shame has blue sparks and fades to grey scale (which automatically reminded me of his mindscape)

Stan signing off as Stanley in the book – this ain’t anything huge to chew on I'm just very over emotional about this… but also there’s Bill being called Billy by his family/in the codes

Ford thinking of Stan as childish/someone who never grew up and then we get hit by “yeah Ford always had some part of himself stuck at 18” oof

Ford underestimating Stan’s control over the mindscape, not knowing that he’s able to hide memories in Dreamscaperers, manipulate the layout of his mindscape enough to trick Bill and memory!Stan telling Dipper how to use the mindscape which Bill was genuinely surprised by

I'm headcanoning that Stan doing so bad at that history test is due to some latent bs from what Bill knows which is all crazy conspiracy level stuff

I think it's also intensely funny that all of the Pines promise that they'll murder Bill if they ever see him again and then they immediately turn to Stan and go “now it's your turn to write a letter! :D!!”

(I feel like the main requirement that the Theraprism has for Bill before he can reincarnate is mainly acknowledging his family idk which honestly would fit even better if his soul becomes Stan’s)

EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION THE OUROBOROS PASSWORD (or... uh oroborous which is a typo when theres a suspicious amount on the site which may mean somethng but i digress) anyway that leads to the Shack Axolotl lore where it bluntly states that Ford released it despite it showing up 30 years later anyway

and theres....

[hellsquills]

Unknown Scars

A small drabble about the Stan twins at sea and hidden memories. No trigger warnings for this one, other than the mention of scars. There'll probably be a second part too. Thank you so much to @babyblankyerror for encouraging me to post this <3 Enjoy!

⪻ ⪻ ⪻ ⨳ ⪼ ⪼ ⪼

There’re a few scars that Stanley doesn't remember getting after the memory wipe.

It makes sense, of course, but it is a reminder of the parts of his life that he's missing. Part of him tries to convince himself that it's better this way; the last one he remembered was the one at the base of his left foot, and boy that memory sucked. He could've gone the rest of his days without ever feeling that glass again.

However, these remain a mystery. Ford asked him about them as soon as he saw them, worried about their size. Stanley simply made a joke, as he usually did whenever he found it difficult to talk about something. Seeing Ford's expression, Stan shrugged and admitted that he had no clue.

Obviously, that didn't stop his hypochondriac twin from writing down every single detail about them. Stan wasn't happy about it, but obliged, probably because he knew Stanford would otherwise interrogate him relentlessly. In his new journal, next to their encounters in the last months at sea and some sticky notes courtesy of Stan, there was a page dedicated to their injuries, a way to keep track of the damage the creatures (or the stove, in Ford's case) had dealt them. The new text read:

March 14th, 2013

I have discovered some new scars on Stanley's body, although they are not the product of any recent altercation. He has not regained that memory yet, which is most definitely worrying: his worst ones are those that take longer to come back, as I have been noticing lately. If I had to guess, I would assume they belong to his decade away from home; this part of his mind is still locked away somewhere in his mindscape, and I’m fairly certain that it is more than just the effects of the memory gun.

They are located on both sides of his torso: two sets of semi-even parallel lines over his ribs. On each set, the upper scar is around six inches below the armpit, and the remaining two are three inches apart from each other. What concerns me about these scars in particular is their size: they are about eight inches long, horizontal, not straight but parallel between them. Their even distribution leads me to believe that each set was done at the same time, probably with a sharp object with three blades, like a trident of some sort. I have yet to figure out what could’ve caused such strange markings. Stanley said he shouldn’t have gotten involved with Wolverine during his 20s, quote “he didn’t take it well when I told him we should break up”. As stupid as the joke might’ve been, it made me think about the possibility of some animal-like creature being the culprit of the scars. However, as I said before, it is highly unlikely that Stanley encountered supernatural creatures before arriving in Gravity Falls, whether he remembers it or not. Therefore, I believe it is more plausible that whatever happened occurred before we reunited the first time.

The “animal” theory would make sense, if it weren’t for the way the scars look. They are nothing like some of the others I’ve previously seen on him. The first one that comes to mind whose size resembles these new ones is the one above his left kidney– or rather, where his left kidney used to be. It is a long and poorly healed line that, even 30 years later, still looks like it was heavily infected, forcefully done and clumsily stitched back together, probably several times. These new, unknown scars are completely different: they're roughly the same color as the rest of his skin, which usually means it wasn’t a deep cut, but they have a slight relief, which means that it was. They don’t have any noticeable stitch signs, even though cuts this big would almost definitely need them, and judging by some other scars on his body, I doubt he ever managed to get suture thread and/or staples. Although wobbly, they look neatly done, which makes me skeptical to believe it was some vicious animal.

The nature of these scars remains a mystery for the time being. Even though I would like to ask him more questions until we figure it out, I don’t want to force him to remember something that his brain is obviously trying to lock away. I will keep my inquiries at bay. In the meantime, I will do some research to at least figure out what the weapon was.

⪻ ⪻ ⪻ ⨳ ⪼ ⪼ ⪼

It's a rough night for the Pines twins. Ford's latest research had led them further from land that they had expected, and it was too late to turn back. Now they are right in the middle of a storm, a pretty wild one at that.

Both men are doing their best to keep their ship afloat. Even though the boat is resilient, the waves are slamming hard against its side and crashing onto the deck, making it almost impossible to stand straight.

"There's no reason for a storm of this size to have formed in such a short time! There must be some sort of climate irregularities of supernatural ilk, otherwise–”

"Sixer, does it look like the time right now?!" Stan's voice roars over the storm, cutting his brother's train of thought. He cannot afford to have Ford distracted. "Go downstairs and get the life jackets, now!"

"Are you insane? I cannot leave you here by yourself, the boom is too heavy!"

"Well you better hurry the fuck up, then!"

"Stanley, you can't handle this on your own, if a bigger wave hits it'll—"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET THE LIFE JACKETS!" Stan's voice is now impossibly louder, and desperate. "If I let go, the boat will overturn. If you stay, we'll both die out here. Get the damn jackets before the big wave hits, now!"

Stanford is quick to puff his cheeks in annoyance, but as stubborn as he is, he's not an idiot. He runs to the cabin, rushing downstairs to get the only thing that might keep them alive in case the sea decides to eat their boat for dinner. As he reaches their bedroom, lightning crosses the sky outside their window, and he makes out the shape of the life jackets, their color heightened by the sudden light. He quickly puts on his own, damp hands shaking with cold, and makes his way out of the room.

He barely has time to process where he is when the boat shakes, almost as if it had collided with another at an intersection. The crash is so brutal that it sends him almost flying against the opposite wall, falling to the ground unceremoniously. Thankfully, the cabin has a good few layers to protect the ship from impacts like this, so he isn't too worried about the hull.

The exterior will be fine. What won't be is whatever is on it.

Ford's vision goes tunnel in an instant. That was the Big Wave, and it was hard enough to make him lose his usually impeccable balance. But Stan isn't as agile, and he's outside, on his own, and without a life jacket.

He's out of the cabin in a matter of seconds, although in his mind it might as well have been hours. His eyes scan the deck, finding only a pool of water covering it and some broken boxes they didn't manage to put away in time, as well as Stan's fishing chair stuck in a corner.

STANLEY. WHERE. SEARCH. NOW

His mind, usually as eloquent as his speech, is now screaming the words he can’t manage to get past his throat. Another bolt lights up the night, and Ford can clearly see everything for a few moments.

Everything and nothing. His brother is not on the deck.

STANLEY. WHERE. WHERE

Stanley was holding the rope when he left, making sure the sail wouldn’t turn around and disrupt the ship’s balance— or worse, break the mast with its weight. Ford’s eyes follow the mast, then the boom, then the rope Stan was gripping. He stares at the spot he was at, noticing that the rope is now securely tied around a cleat. No trace of his brother.

WHERE. STANLEY

Ford’s ears are starting to ring from how hard his jaw is clenched. He walks around the deck, checking every single corner behind the cabin, the only place that was out of his view when he exited. Stan is nowhere to be seen.

NOWHERE. WHERE. NO

With his right hand still firmly gripping his twin’s jacket, Ford makes his way to the gunwale and looks around the water. The boat isn’t shaking as violently as before now that the sail is tied in place, but the waves haven’t stopped hitting the hull the whole time. His eyes stare at the infinite mass of water in front of him, which now resembles more a deadly trap than the freeing space they both have loved since childhood.

He wants to shout his brother’s name, but the screaming words in his mind can’t seem to make their way to his vocal cords. Instead, all he manages to emit is a sort of roar that emerges from his guts. It isn’t entirely animalistic, but it definitely isn’t human either. His vision is getting blurry, and he quickly wipes his eyes. There’s no hint of Stan anywhere, the waves making it impossible to discern any shapes on the surface.

GIVE HIM BACK

The smallest voice at the back of his head, the only remnant of his non-wild persona, keeps him from jumping overboard and swimming until he finds Stan. It would be useless; the waves don’t appear to be slowing down any further, and the water would be too turbid to see anything regardless. Besides, even though they’re not far from the equator and it’s spring, the water might still be cold enough to provoke hypothermia if exposed to it for too long. The risk is too high.

A bright red spot appears on top of the next wave. Stanley’s beanie.

Ford’s inside voice stays complicitly quiet as the man jumps overboard.

To be continued...

[hkthatgffan]

Careful! This right here is a piece of history!!

Stan's Twin Theory

Hey, this is a new blog dedicated to Gravity Falls, and specifically to theories about Gravity Falls. We have some interesting (possibly far-fetched) theories. This is one of them.

Stan’s Twin Theory:

Stan has to have a brother (although not necessarily a twin), because he’s Dipper and Mabel’s Great-Uncle, and they all share the same last name, therefore he must have a brother. However, we believe he has a twin. Here’s why:

twins are genetic (and the gene can skip generations) 

There are some pieces of evidence found in the show that supports our claim

We also believe that Stan’s twin may be the Author. Here’s why:                            

1. The Hiding Spot

Look, a hole in the ground

In Tourist Trapped, Dipper found the 3rd book in the forest near the Mystery Shack. This may seem like a stretch, but think about it! where would you hide something important that you might want to access easily? By your house.                                        

Gideon’s factory

In The Hand that Rocks the Mabel it is shown that Gideon’s family factory is located on Gopher Road, the same street as the Mystery Shack. 

The Mystery Shack’s address via the Deed is 618 Gopher Road.

This could explain how Gideon found the 2nd Journal. 

And it’s interesting to note that Gideon was searching for the 1st Journal at the Mystery Shack. 

Possible hiding spots

There are possible hiding spots listed in the 2nd Journal, they seem to be located around a building similar to the Mystery Shack.

2. The Bunker

The Bunker is located underground, in the forest near the Mystery Shack.

There is a sign on the wall of the bunker that says that it is a nuclear fallout shelter. Now, where would you build a fallout shelter? Near your house of course! During times of bomb scares people would build fallout shelters in their backyard.

And since the Author did experiments in the bunker and was observing a shapeshifter, it would be more convenient for him to have the bunker close to the place where he lived. 

3. The Glasses              

In Carpet Diem, a secret room is discovered in the Mystery Shack, and Stan finds a pair of glasses.                                                                  

Stan finds the glasses

Later he is seen staring at the glasses, and he frowns at them in both scenes.

Stan contemplating the glasses

This could possibly represent an old memory of a friend or *cough* brother. It is obvious that someone lived in that room at some point, so why would Stan want to cover it up?

!!!

In Dreamscapers, it is shown in the 2nd Journal that the Author was surprised to see glasses on the Bill Cipher wheel, possibly because those are his glasses.Take a look at the glasses, they are similar to the ones found in the secret room.

We don’t think these are Stan’s glasses because his glasses are square with rims at the bottom, while the glasses found in the room and on the wheel don’t have rims at the bottom and are rounded.

Also in Dreamscapers, is a flash back of Stan when he was just a wee lad.

Notice his glasses are square and have rims at the bottom.

Here is Stan a little bit older. Notice that he still has square rimmed glasses.

But, in The Time Traveler's Pig, a younger “Stan” is shown with round glasses without rims at the bottom. His glasses look exactly like the one’s found in the secret room. 

Is this really Stan?

Also, this “Stan” has a cleft chin, whereas we have never ever once seen Stan with a cleft chin (not even in flashbacks). 

4. The Calender

Another small point: the calendar in the secret room has the date July 4, 1982 circled. It can be assumed that 1982 is the year the room was abandoned.

The room definitely looks like it hasn’t been touched since the 80’s

However, in the Author’s bunker, there is a calendar on the wall. Guess what year is on the calendar. 1982.

The calendar in the Mystery Shack and the calendar in the Author’s Bunker are from the same year, 1982. 

This suggests that both the room in the Shack and the Bunker were abandoned around the same time. 

5. Wrestling Match Flashback

In a brief scene in Stan’s flashback in Dreamscapers, we see young Stan at a wrestling match. There is a kid reading a book in the stands that looks very similar to child Stan, he even seems to be wearing the same clothing.

Could this be Stan’s twin?

6. The Swing-set 

In Dreamscapers, Stan’s mindscape is very creepy. One notable object in Stan’s mind is a dilapidated swing-set. This is the stuff of horror movies. 

Good times

Since we can assume everything in the mind is a symbol of a significant part of Stan’s life, then this swing-set is very telling. It likely symbolizes a broken childhood. Since it is a two swing swing-set, it could symbolize another person, likely from Stan’s childhood. A close friend… or sibling…

The fact that only one of the swings is broken is also interesting. In Into the Bunker, the Shapeshifter states that the Author “hasn’t been himself in 30 years” suggesting that he probably went crazy. 

…

Are all these merely coincidences? Maybe… But this is Gravity Falls we’re talking about. This show is filled with foreshadowing, plot twists, and secrets. There is just no way that all of this could be a coincidence. 

So, what do you think? Is this a stretch? Or are we on to something? Feel free to comment with your own theories. The more the merrier! :)

[noone-can-kinda-draw]

the Pines all cried watching Bo Burnhams inside. Like specifically they all cracked at all eyes on me and were sobbing a bit at the “stuck in a room” reprise. That’s it that’s the post.

[moonie-moth]

GRAVITY FALLS INKTOBER DAY 2: UNDEAD💥💥

posting everything late here lol anyways

[prettysugarandthespacepirates]

Does anyone remember the mystery trio au? I miss it so much. Like 2014-2015 gravity falls fandom era specifically. Those were great times...

[dangerous-fighter-fairy]

So I love gravity falls, don’t get me wrong, but now that I’m an adult and a writer myself, I feel like one of the few things it fumbled was the Ford reveal. Anyone who theorized that Stan had a twin would have been written off for reaching, the “Gideon is a vampire” theory had more substantial evidence (I’m joking but also kinda not). The foreshadowing to the Ford reveal are things like “Stan finds an extra pair of glasses in the spare room” and “Stan’s license plate is ‘Stanley mobile’” which is kinda weak for such a clever show? They make no sense until you rewatch them, I feel like stuff like that reveal had to be something you could guess without sounding insane. No one pre-Ford reveal would have EVER guessed that Stan had a twin which made it feel a little bit like a cop out to me unless you REALLY reached for it.

Don't get me wrong, l like it, but for a show with so many details hidden in the background, it's a surprise that they didn't allude to it any better than that. No photos in the background with Stan and Ford as kids where the Stan half of the photo is covered so all you see is Ford, who looks wayyy nerdier than Stan would look as a kid, but there's no way it's not him, it looks exactly like him, just nerdier. Plus, isn't that weird, it looks like he has six fingers? Maybe it was an animation error. Besides, current Stan doesn’t have six fingers or a scar from a finger getting taken off. Maybe you get one scene where Mabel finds it and goes “HAHAH Grunkle Stan, look at you, you looked like such a dweeb!” And Stan snatches it out of her hand and grumbles something like “I’m the only one who calls Stanford Pines a dweeb.” Dipper gets confused and goes “you know it’s really weird that he was a nerdy kid, I wouldn’t have guessed that” and Mabel’s like “well he was really smart in college, right? People change.” Now the question is “what changed? Why isn’t he like that? It seems so opposite of how he is now.” It makes being hit with “he’s been masquerading as his twin brother” make a little more sense.

And never ONCE did Dipper say "my parents told me you're a well accomplished genius who had a lot of scientific potential and you CANT see how weird this town is?" only for Stan to get all withdrawn and go "that was a long time ago, it was a different life, things are different now.” Dipper, being a nerd, would definitely be intrigued by Stan's past as "an up and coming genius who suddenly went quiet for a while & now runs a bogus tourist trap" SOMEONE WOULD HAVE POINTED THAT OUT. DIPPER WOULD HAVE INVESTIGATED (Mabel probably wouldn't care because "come on dude, people change, and isn't he cool now?" but Dipper would care). And their parents never pointed out how weird it is that Stanford went from this genius his parents were so proud of to this weird reclusive conman?? That's WEIRD, right??? Isn't conman stuff STANLEY-level nonsense??? Maybe they didn’t know much about him since he’s their reclusive uncle or whatever, but surely they’d know the bare minimum about him. “Yeah he was a real genius back in his day, went out to study something, I don’t remember what, and he’s still out there” which would mean Dipper and Mabel finding this old conman who couldn’t even tell you the Pythagorean theorem is Weird For Sure

I just feel like they could have done wayyyy better in the build up. It wouldn’t have taken much time to establish something more substantial than “Stan freaks out when he sees Mabel’s wax figurine” (which I always brushed off as “wax figurines are scary and he’s a weird looking old man”)

[prettyinpwn]

How do you feel that you ruined the show and alex was mad that you basically spoiled the entire thing?

Yowch, yeah... this is the kind of attitude that caused me to leave the fandom for a while after it was done airing (besides, you know, being busy with college and adulting). I got a lot of fingers pointed at me, telling me I was the reason the show ended, that I was the reason there were only two seasons, that I ruined it, etc. It ruined Gravity Falls for me for many years.

As for whether or not it made Alex mad... I'm not sure? He never indicated that he was mad that I know of, but if you have proof, go ahead and share with the class. Or even better, explain to me why he left clues for a mystery if he didn't want it to be solved? Or ask him yourself on Twitter what he thought about it and report back to me what he says, if he even answers you.

[scarletgemstone]

a dream or was it?

(caryin is seen tucking her sons in bed stan however ask her something)

stan" mom?"

caryin" yes stanley?" stan" that story you were telling how did it end? how did the little triganel find his home and know they were his parents?"

(she just smiles)

carlyin" aww sweeite that's easy after all you have your mother's eye"

(the world changes as baby bill is seen in his crib with euclid and scalene watching over him)

(stan wakes up and sits up right ford looks up from his book)

ford" nightmare?"

stan" not really i had this dream where mom and dad where my abopted parents and I meet my real parents"

ford" your real parents? what were they like?"

(stan thinks for a moment)

stan" they were...perfect"

[shadowymetalhead]

Hot take:

Dipper and mabel are the same person

I will not elaborate further

[a-scary-lack-of-common-sense]

There has been requests about getting a full body colour for Kook!Ford, so here he is, in all his beige, white, and brown minimalist glory <3 (THERE’S A REASON WHY HE HAS SUCH A BORING PALETTE I PROMISE)

Stupid colour rambles that are WAYY too in depth and probably mostly far fetched but this is my AU and I get to pick how much over-analysis goes into the characters’ colour schemes, fuck you:

Ford:

Characterised by pale, almost pastel-ish colours to emulate a sort of sick, unhealthy look.

The paler colours add to the illusion of Ford lacking presence, almost disappearing into the background, to convey how his existence often ignored or dismissed by most of the townsfolk.

Without any visually striking or contrasting colours in his palette itself, his own features blend into one another, blurring the details and diminishing any identifiable traits that would have typically identified him as Ford, or even a person (<- if that mindfuck of a sentence make any sense)

Hints of yellow to show remnants Bill's past influence on him. Because I’m dramatic like that.

Fiddleford:

Deep, rich forest greens with golden accents (influences of Bill appearing in his outfit) (I need to hammer Fidds out a lil’ more ngl)

Stanley:

Deep, rich blues and purples (opposite spectrum of yellow, aka. Bill's colour, which means = safety to Ford)

The inside lining of his jacket is vivid red, to reference his original colours palette and as a representation of his past self being hidden underneath the layers of his predominantly blue exterior, colours representative of his new identity (also red = warm and blue = cold)

His colours palette will eventually open up into something warmer on the outside, veering into purple.

Extra notes on his character: Stan (in this AU) is colder and quieter than his canon counterpart. After years of being in the mafia business, and years of running it as well, he has long since learned to mask his facial expressions and master the poker face (*cough cough* resting bitch face *cough cough*). But, his intimidating and serious air does not serve him any favours when it comes to literally anything other than his “work”, his inexperience when it comes to emotions all the more apparent with the twins. He has trouble expressing his feelings outwardly, and despises this part of himself, because it reminds him of his own father. He feels as though he is failing the twins by being too cold and distant, and tries his best to open up more.

Mabel:

Maintains her original colours palette with pink, but has more hints of red in her outfit, similar to Stan’s, particularly around her sleeves (allusion to “wearing your heart on your sleeves.” Yes, I know that it’s tacky)

The red shows she is more inclined to trust Stan, as she is willing to see past Stanley’s exterior facade of cold aloofness to see his “true” colours (good HEAVENS that is disgustingly cheesy to say but idk how else to really word this)

Extra notes on her character: Mabel trusts Stan fully. Perhaps a little too much. She I dolises Stan to an almost unhealthy degree, and is constantly plagued with the underlying fear of somehow losing Stan’s “interest”, as their mother seemed to have lost interest in her and Dipper. Deeply fears being abandoned again, and believes she “owes” Stan for having adopted them. She believes it is her fault that neither of their parents wanted the twins during the divorce.

Dipper:

Maintains original colour palette with blues, but pretty solidly lacks red in his outfit. He serves as the opposite spectrum of Mabel, instead being unwilling to fully trust Stan and takes him at face value.

Extra notes on his character: Dipper does not trust Stan, and is far more hyperaware of what kind of “business” their “uncle” runs. He is mostly worried about Mabel’s slight obsession with pleasing him, and fears that if they don’t behave, Stan might use his dangerous power and influence against them. He is convinced that Stan had ulterior motives to adopting them, cannot fathom what he, a seeming stranger with all the power in the world, could possibly hope to gain in adopting two abandoned children. Even more so, when even their parents didn’t seem to want them.

[nenoname]

Details in Stan's letter that still haunt me

(how long will I continue thinking about a two page letter that's technically not even that long because Stan's handwriting is fricking large? .....you don't need to worry about that.)

The bro code only shows up in the Lost Journal pages, and to me Stan's message feels like it purposely echoes Ford's "miss you" in the college photo (and for some reason the message doesn't appear in the website version of the photo?) ....or alternatively Stan simply noticed how distressed Ford was about this entire thing and wanted to support him in a way so he can be sappy but without the kids knowing, or both!

Stan's claim about the Oregon lottery contradicts what the Lost Legends website said about Tate McGucket's ability to predict the winning numbers!! ...but also breaking into the Lottery HQ is definitely a very Stan thing to do and it's not the first time small gags have been retconned

Despite spending most of his letter nonchalantly destroying him, the taunt about ripping a dollar bill in half is the only part where Stan is directly responding to Bill. Maybe it's the two of them having similar ways of thinking but it's rather specific considering Bill taunts the reader about it...

And after Bill spends an entire book calling Ford Sixer despite normally using a pretty wide range of nicknames for him, Stan then spends his letter mainly referring to Ford as Sixer, even though post-Weirdmageddon he tends to use a mix of nicknames. And it's not like he'd gotten to see Bill himself for long, let alone see him steal that childhood nickname (that is only used twice in the actual show btw!). Did Ford tell him what happened or...?

With all this and the website's "still on your mind" message, what I'm getting at is my tinfoil hat theory of Stan somehow seeing some of the pages the irl readers saw, even when it should be personalised to the specific reader, and he's been lying about it for some reason. Considering that the book flat out doesn't make an attempt at convincing Soos, I find it a stretch that whatever Bill was telling Stan via the book was an attempt to convince him either.

Wouldn't be the first time Stan's skimmed through a book and lied about what it meant to him.

(...Now I kinda wanna see a story about the family reading their versions of the book and making fun of it while Stan is improvising every single one of his pages and blatantly ignoring Bill's attempts to mock and taunt him)

But also I'm fascinated by the letters that only showed up on the website (aka the Soos+Wendy+McGucket+Pacifica ones). I'm assuming that Mabel had stuck them on after Stan's letter... but they were basically eaten by the book itself because seeing Stan's letter kick-started Bill's breakdown which takes up the rest of the book

[lore-of-amphibia]

Where are the Ponds Twins in Amphibia?

This post contains Spoilers for The Book of Bill below.

So in Season 2 of Amphibia there is a episode titled Wax Museum where Anne and the Plantars meet the Curator aka Mr. Ponds. Mr. Ponds is an alternate universe version of Stan Pines, somethings Frog Soos hypothesizes about. In addition in another episode Marcy is seen flipping through a book that contains an image of Bill Cipher. But something that is notable is the absence of this world's Pines Twins.

So through Lost Legends and The Book of Bill we know a multiverse exists, but Bill tells us something interesting about it. Bill says the following about Dipper and Mabel. "They don't consider for a single moment the sheer improbability that they got to exist in the ONE timeline where they kept all their bodily organs, out of the INFINITE timelines where they were erase, shattered, drowned, frozen, or dismembered before they could make it to 13." So I question, if the Amphibia world a timeline where the Mystery Twins weren't so lucky?