#these stans are fucked up

[unearthlyfromage]

Une's Nonsensical Ramblings Episode 3;

Blind Faith

Oh, oh this AU. How wonderfully fucked up.

First, lets take the basics of this and explain it out. Stan and Ford go through the portal together, during the fight between them Stan still gets branded, is still injured, and both are still pretty pissed all things considered. And Ford blinds Stan with a blindfold (eventually permanently blinding him) for the purpose of protecting his mind. One thing I've never quite understood about that is;

Why is Stan blinded?

It seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? To rob the stronger of the two of sight, thus making him impaired and unable to properly use his more apt strength. Ford, regardless of mental state, would be able to see that blinding his only help in this situation would only be a set back.

Unless he was tricked into believing that weren't the case, of course. Perhaps Bill, after the incident with Fiddleford catching a glimpse, convinced Ford that only he was able to perceive the contents of the other side without extreme consequence (such as acute insanity, etc.)? That allowing Bill into his mind and body gave him the capability to withstand the horrors that lay beyond. Playing into Ford's lone wolf complex, as well as building onto his insecurity born mindset of being far too different from the average man to be one with the general populace, Bill weaves a narrative that only Ford can enter through and stay sane (at least, stay sane longer than the average human) - maybe as a means to stop Ford from allowing anyone else through, anyone else that could see his true plans. Easier to deal with the human you've already bent around your claw than a human you don't know.

Armed with this narrative where Ford had it drilled into his head that Stan catching even a seconds worth he would, just like Fiddleford, start to go mad, it makes the blinding far more reasonable. Yes, Stan is not nearly as able and independent in a blindfolded state, but the sanctity of his mind is better than anything else.

Ford is able to justify it, this way. I just have a hard time coming to terms with the idea of Ford making such a blatant tactical error without reasonable doubt and excuse for the action.

Now that we have that out of the way, we need to think of the Stans separately, in regards to mental state and how it would change as they go through the multiverse together (or how it would degrade, more aptly).

Ford;

Still pissed, still sleep deprived, still paranoid beyond measure. Ford would develop into a near-manipulative nutcase as time went on. He'd acknowledge the power dynamic he's inadvertently created between him and Stan, in the act of blinding him. Needing to herd him like a shepherd. The act of which would go to his head after a while. In his state he'd convince himself what he's doing is right, that he's protecting Stan by keeping him this way. Which would eventually reach a crescendo with actually permanently blinding him, after one too many close calls where Stan nearly removes the blindfold. It's for his own good, he'd justify.

As he learns more of Stan's life after being kicked out, this would only increase. He'd feel immense guilt from all angles and without a proper head to stand on would act impulsively about it. Despite this all, he's still the mastermind of them both. I imagine he'd be able to twist things to their collective favor, with complex plots that compensate for Stan's lack of vision.

His goal to defeat Bill would drive him, and his goal to keep them both alive would keep him from losing the plot entirely. His issues in having faith in others would carry onto Stan, as well. Unable to trust him with anything, unable to disclose much information, he feels that for Stan ignorance truly is bliss and keeps him near completely in the dark. Much to Stan's dismay, of course. Ford becomes prideful, unhinged, aggressive and impulsive and cryptic. Yet despite it all he still DOES care for Stan - even if Stan's presence doesn't necessarily help him - and would go crazy if he ever lost him in any way. Situations where they're separated are panic incarnate for him. I can see situations where Ford was stuck under something in the carnage around them and Stan was not, trying to lead Stan around with the sound of his voice and the snapping of his fingers for echolocation (something he probably taught to Stan for that purpose specifically).

Which, brings us to the man himself.

Stan;

Stan would be completely ass out in this situation. First the dashing of hope, followed by a fight, ending with a brand, and beginning a new hell of blackness and insanity. Still pissed, he'd keep fighting Ford even through the portal, confused as to why Ford is less hitting back and more desperately trying to cover his eyes up. Hearing him out after a while of tense shouting, he'd begrudgingly accept the blindfold only after Ford nearly erupts into a paranoid fit trying to explain what would happen to Stan if he saw what they were in.

His distrust is blatant, he will take any and every chance to attempt seeing anything, but Ford is even more paranoid than he is, and always catches him. Stan knows he's in a hell dimension, and he's desperate to be useful and help more than be a pack mule for the items they've accrued, but Ford will never let him. All the way up until Ford actually, legitimately blinds him. Forcing Stan to be dependent to Ford, as well as making him sufficiently near-useless. Over time he'll start to trust Ford again. What other option does he have? He'd continue to follow him, continue to do as he says. Despite it all he still cares for Ford, even if it isn't exactly logical. Sure the guy hated him for the better half of their lives, sure they fought, sure he BLINDED him, but he's also the only person that's ever actively taken care of him. There have been many others before Ford that've hurt him, but all of them left him to die. Ford didn't. Ford didn't have to make sure he was healthy, make sure he was fed and had water and stopped when he said he was tired. All the same, he didn't have to care about Ford in turn. But he did. Maybe he's a fool for that, maybe he should run as fast and as far away from Ford as he can but he doesn't.

He's always been stupid like that, hasn't he?

What are they, some 10-odd years after the portal incident?

After a few decades of mental hell and tormentation, perpetuated by crime and hard survival, Ford and Stan are hardly anything they were when they left their home dimension. Stan is quiet, more focused, jumpy and attentive and clingy to Ford. And Ford is paranoia incarnate, he cannot and will never put the gun down. He's loud, he's demanding, he shoots first and asks questions later. He's even jumpier than Stan is, and the moment the other leaves his sight he's threatening the nearest living soul. And I imagine Stan being away from Ford is a scary thought for him, as well. With Ford he had guaranteed safety, he knew where to put his feet, he had stability. But without him? He was even blinder than normal. I imagine if he ever found himself away from Ford he'd stand still and listen, either for the sound of Ford snapping to lead him to his general location or maybe even footsteps that match the sound of his brothers. His dependency would only get worse as the years go by, and Ford's protector complex would only worsen.

Despite this, Stan is still Ford's rock, and keeps him sane. When Ford's damn near about to snap, Stan has them sit down. He cracks jokes. Lightens the mood, any way he can. Reassures Ford.

When things are calm, Ford likes to describe things to Stan. The way the sky in the dimension their in looks, the colors around them, the places they were around that day, etc. It's the closest thing Stan has to seeing those things. And while Ford does write it all down, he makes sure to tell things to Stan that he feels he can - without stressing him out or stating too much, stuff Stan isn't 'built to hear'.

They become a mutualistic symbiotic duo, to put it bluntly. A bloody, messy, unstable symbiosis where Ford helps Stan physically and Stan helps Ford mentally.

They're criminals, vagrants, murderers and nomads. But most of all, they're brothers. Brothers that have been terrible to each other, breaking and maiming each other, but they rely on themselves.

They're all they have.

Gonna tag @koraesdoodles and @trangenderstan cause you guys requested this AU :D I admit I didn't change much. Just built on mental states and gave probable backstory to the major element of the AU.

I can see myself making a fic about this. Who knows, might just do one.

Next episode; Evil!Stan

[knockknockwhosthereartistism]

The worst trauma comes from those who you love

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

pls pls heard me out...FIDDLESTAN! <3

ok, i got this ask ten days ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since. Because I got two other asks asking for fiddauthor, and I dON'T KNOW HOW TO LET THEM DOWN LIGHTLY BECAUSE I'M A FIDDLESTAN BITCH THROUGH AND THROUGH 😭😭😭😭 I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!!

Don't get me wrong, fiddauthor is great and makes sense and everything. But listen. Billford and fiddauthor are multidimensional ships, they are good! But FIDDLESTAN!?!? that shit is the WHAT-THE-HECK-A-HEDRON!!!!!!! Even though it's literally 100% speculation, the implications are FUCKING CRAZY!!!!!!!!! I jumped between three ships so far during this gravity falls thing, each time thinking one is better than the other. I've decided that FIDDLESTAN IS KING!!!!!! I'm sorry. I could rant about them forever. I've been listening to nothing but extended versions of disco music for the past week. (YES THEY HAD A CRAZY ROMANTIC FLING IN VEGAS NO I WILL NOT ELABORATE!!!! (yes i will. I will elaborate at some point. it will be like ten pages or text. or I will draw it. idk.))

Here is a sketchbook doodle from like a week ago. I'm gonna post another fiddlestan thing in a few moments, but my style changes like I'm a completely different artist every week without warning, so I'm gonna leave this by itself!

He comes into YOUR house, he steals YOUR identity, and he fucks YOUR research partner!!! Fuck you!!!!!!!!!!

[bubbarnes]

“... is that Bucky?”

[univemma]

I acknowledge that the season was cut almost in half so I should really cut them some slack but I WON'T, SO:

Plot holes/Forgotten Stuff in TUA:

(some of these are mostly just unanswered questions)

-Sloane?? Where tf did she go?

-Why was Jennifer (in the original timeline) in a cage? In Moldova?? Like, was she discovered to have something ( the dimaldo stuff whatever) inside of her, so they wanted to test on her? if she never came into contact with marigold before ben then why would they? WHAT

-also wait how the fuck did she get that stuff in her anyway? How did the dimaldo get to earth after it caused the end of Reginald's home planet? Like,,,shouldnt we know that?

-Her,,,in a squid??? she was Inside a giant squid? W h a t

-the S3 post credits of ben in the train. sure, whatever, that means nothing LMAOO

-I also can't get over - Five explaining "oh yeah when we do this EVERY ALTERNATE TIMELINE is gonna be destroyed, leaving only what should've been - the original," and lila fighitng to put her family in the train station,,,All the other timelines will be destroyed??They're dying and being reborn/reincarnated in the new one anyway GIRL WHAT ARE YOU DOING

(unless ive highly misunderstood that which is likely)

-this isnt a plot hole just - five "trying desperately over and over again to save his unhelpful family who he loves very very much" being literally turned into,,,that. did someone say character assassination?

-lila and five. thats a plot hole in and of itself I DONT CARE if he's aged 12 years from season 3, (6 yr timeskip at beginning of season, then 6 technically 7 in teh train), I DONT CARE IF HES 25 NOW, I DONT CARE IF HES MENTALLY 60 SOMETHING. Lila met and spent time with him when he looked like THIS

THATS A CHILD. and clearly, the family had SOME contact in the 6 yr skip, so she WATCHED HIM GROW UP from 13 - 19, like thats just so WEIRD WHAT

this was supposed to be plot holes and just turned into me being pissed im sorry but HOW DO YOU FUCK UP AN ENDING THIS BAD??

[cinnamontoads]

AITA for moving my family to the country and making my 10 year old son do weed chores

[thirstywaffles]

When your crush finally loves you back

[ID: Scum Villain fanart of Luo Binghe. He's standing with his arms spread slightly at his sides, palms up. He's smirking and his eyes glint red. There's a large caption across his body that says "i am no longer mentally ill". /end ID]

[alovember]

Got that 10 year old on tiktok emotional maturity

[24bughours]

I really enjoy these two

[scurvyboy]

fiddlestan epic win

[aria-greenhoodie]

Just a few pieces of Pines Family shenanigans

Click for Quality!

[lotus-pear]

soukoku shippers name ONE (1) song that ISNT partners in crime by set it off that accurately characterizes their dynamic challenge‼️‼️‼️ (IMPOSSIBLE)

[olliedollie1204]

taps mic. clears throat. remus being the embodiment of the thoughts and fantasies thomas considered "forbidden" means he was, at least for a while, the sole embodiment of thomas' queerness as something to be feared or ashamed of or disgusted by. before any of the other sides could accept this about themselves, before thomas could accept it about himself. remus is the source and the holder of thomas' most unwanted thoughts, which at one point (and while this is technically subtext it is like 1 inch away from being text) included thomas being gay. if we get any dialogue or confirmation of this in the series I will do 1000000 backflips break my neck and pass out on the floor

[joicecubes]

im feeling especially unwell today about the fact that ford was canonically the one who was the most committed to helping stan get his memory back after weirdmaggedon. i’ve been thinking about it nonstop. that he’d fall asleep next to stan watching old videos of them as kids, that he’d recount as many memories he could think of, that he spent all that time apologizing too?

like as much as they were both in the wrong for everything that happened to drive a rift between them, i feel like this is when ford would finally be able to come back down to earth and realize how much he’s failed stan. because there’s a sizeable chunk of stan’s life, aside from the 30 years he was in the multiverse, that ford knows nothing about. and how does he explain that? how is he supposed to admit to a completely unknowing stan that the reason they were apart for so many years is because stan broke his science fair project? ruined his chances to go to that college, of course, but he made it alright regardless, didn’t he? and what did stan have to go through as a result? all ford knows is that hes been to prison in three different countries. that he once had to chew his way out of a trunk of a car. his life must’ve been so difficult, he was kicked out as a teenager after all, and ford had done nothing to reach out. held this pointless grudge for over a decade.

i just can’t imagine the sheer amount of guilt ford must be feeling. to be the one to recount these memories to stan, it would give him this kind of perspective that he never had before. ford runs from self-reflection. he doesn’t think about the ways he’s wronged the people he cares about because it scares him to come face-to-face with his failures. but now he’s forced to come to terms with the reality of their situation, and the reality is that stan didn’t deserve the harsh consequences of his mistake. the reality is that, no matter how responsible stan was for selfishly ruining ford’s dream, it was ford who so stubbornly kept the distance between them. he was right to be angry. but in turning his back on his brother, his best friend, the person most important to him in the world, ford has fundamentally failed him.

ugh. i need to write a fic about this

[thatgaywizardoverthere]

Arthur keeping tabs on Merlin day 1 so they can “accidentally” run into each other at the market

[lesliemeyers]

using matt & trey pics as stankyle refs will never get old. To Me. [also i just wanted to do something with their post covid designs]