#gravity falls meta
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I was laying down to sleep when I was suddenly possessed with a powerful urge to rant about one of my favorite things about Gravity Falls that I have literally never heard anyone else talk about and I feel like I have a unique perspective on:
I love that Gravity Falls allows tweens to be as chaotic and vibrant as they actually are.
As an aspiring middle school teacher, I spend a lot of time around tweens. It’s a special age and while I can easily understand why a lot of people would rather avoid kids in those years, I absolutely adore them. Middle schoolers are very invested in the idea of “coolness” but the secret is that being “cool” really just means being loved and accepted.
Not-so-fun fact: most kids stop drawing in 4th grade because they start comparing themselves to others and worry about their art being “good enough.” That is an utter tragedy. Every kid deserves to feel accepted and loved enough to create.
To me, one of the sweetest experiences I can have is hearing kids talk about what they’re passionate about. Because they are passionate. Stan says that you don’t have to grow up even though you get older and I absolutely love that. Kids have so much excitement about life and I think that’s something adults often lose which is a real shame. There is no better way to live than passionately.
So when I see sweet Mabel being aggressively herself and Dipper being so delighted to talk to his Grunkle Ford about what’s he’s interested in, it absolutely warms my heart. Especially because you KNOW Ford grew up being told that nobody cared about what he had to say or what he was passionate about, so you KNOW he‘ll jump at the chance to let this kiddo know that somebody does care.
And Mabel specifically really gets me. It’s so sad to me that she gets as much hate as she does. She isn’t my favorite character, but she is definitely a kid I would love spending time with. I love how sweet she is whenever she interacts with Fiddleford and I love how much effort she puts into making other people feel loved.
So yeah, I like this show a lot and tweens are wonderful.
#gravity falls#Mabel pines#dipper pines#pines twins#gravity falls meta#grunkle stan#grunkle ford#stanford pines#Zephy the English teacher#character analysis#fiddleford mcgucket
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I am not sure if anyone here has already made this connection or pointed this out (apologies if so), but while doing some research into Flatland/the 11 dimensions the other day, I discovered something pretty interesting…
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In the ‘Book of Bill’ announcement video, as well as distorted, synthesised background music and the Morse Code (which has already been deciphered), we can also hear several lines of spoken dialogue, the first of which being the line: “some other mystic dimension”.
Timestamp: 0:04
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Now, this line already raises several questions - which ‘dimension’ is being referring to here? And why is it considered to be ‘mystic(al)’? Well, we don’t have a definite answer to either of those questions just yet, but if you will humour me for a moment, I have a few suggestions. Either this ‘other mystic dimension’ could be referring to Bill’s own homeland, the Second Dimension (which would naturally be considered ‘other’, ‘mystic’ and generally unfamiliar to us, the readers), or perhaps, it is referring to the Third Dimension itself, or what is known as Spaceland (Height/Up) in Abbott’s novella. I think the latter to be far more likely, especially with what I am about to show you. This is where my excessive YouTube deep-diving habits came in useful.
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During my research quest, I stumbled upon this video of the famous astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan (take note of this name) explaining the concept of the Fourth Dimension, as well as other Flatland-adjacent things. And lo and behold, at 4:37, what do we hear?
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“And the poor Square has to say: ‘Well, I was in some other mystic dimension called Up…”
Yes, that’s right. The exact words that were used in the promo video.
To provide you some context, here Sagan is recounting the experience of A Square who, with the guidance and revelations of A Sphere, has just returned from a recent foray into the Third Dimension, and is trying to explain his sudden disappearance and newfound knowledge of Height to his friends. So saying, it is likely that the ‘other mystic dimension’ being referred to in the BoB video is in fact, the Third Dimension, since this is a book that has been written from Bill’s perspective, and it seems that he will be filling in the role of A Square in this narrative, discovering the Secrets Of The Universe and all. Although, I must emphasise that this is still just speculation on my part, based on the assumption that Bill’s backstory will be pretty similar to, if not a direct retelling of Flatland:
“Flat minds in a flat world with flat dreams.”
Who knows, Alex Hirsch may just subvert our expectations entirely.
“I liberated my dimension (…)” / “Saw his own dimension burn. Misses home and can’t return.”
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Anyway, I have another little piece of the puzzle to share. The line spoken in the announcement video isn’t merely a word-for-word recreation of what Carl Sagan said, It is Carl Sagan. They used a direct clip from an episode of Cosmos. This has me giddy with excitement, because Carl Sagan, a man with much notoriety within the scientific community, and many achievements and accolades to his name, is known to be one of Ford’s scientific idols.
The level of detail in this show, and I guess now in its extended literary canon’s advertisement material, is insane. Do with this information what you will. Perhaps there’s a connection here that will be expounded upon in the book. Perhaps it’s just a cool reference. Even so, it is a very intriguing one nonetheless, especially with the tie-ins to Flatland, theoretical physics and Ford’s hero-worshipping. It’s clearly intentional.
…
(If anyone is interested, here is an excellent meta which provides a very detailed exploration and analysis of Ford’s respective connections to Sagan and Tesla.)
#gravity falls#stanford pines#ford pines#bill cipher#bill cipher analysis#the book of bill#book of bill#carl sagan#flatland#flatland: a romance of many dimensions#edwin abbott abbott#second dimension#third dimension#gravity falls analysis#gravity falls meta#I hope this makes sense lol
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One thing I don't really see anyone talking about with regards to Gravity Falls is the parallel's between Ford's apprenticeship and Mabeland. Many, many times, the question has been raised 'should Dipper have accepted Ford's apprenticeship', but no-one ever argues 'should Mabel have stayed in Mabeland', for obvious reasons, the show portrays one as a no-brainer and the other as a complex decision. But I think the two situations parallel one another nicely.
For Dipper, taking Ford's apprenticeship is definitely the more attractive option. He doesn't appear to have a lot of friends in Piedmont, has been historically bullied and may still be, and Dipper generally doesn't want to deal with the trials of growing up. Ford meanwhile, basically treats Dipper like an equal, not like a kid, encourages Dipper, and allows Dipper to pursue his interests to the fullest. However, to take the apprenticeship, Dipper will be cloistering himself in an environment in which he never has to do the things he's scared of, he avoids confronting the realities that he doesn't want to deal with, and he'll miss out on going through life with his sister.
For Mabel, staying in Mabeland is the more attractive option. There's an apocalypse raging outside, her brother is growing away from her, she's going to have to leave friends that it's implied are the best she's ever had, and we know that she too, has been bullied in the past, and may still be, and Wendy's well and truly terrified her about the concept of growing up. In Mabeland however, Mabel can continue to live in a charmed reality, surrounded by the things she's interested in and in an environment where she's constantly being enabled, and any dissenters are ejected. However, to remain in Mabeland, Mabel is cloistering herself in an environment where she never has to do the things she's scared of, she avoids confronting the realities she doesn't want to deal with, and she's pushed away one of the most important parts of her life: her brother.
During Dipper's trial, we as viewers see Mabel's change of heart as Dipper shows her that despite the trials the real world has thrown at both of them, that they've always had each others backs, and Dipper realises that too (there was a really good essay on this a while back by @cryoalliums ). Even though they're both scared, and both wanting to avoid the reality of adolescence and high school and unpredictability, they both realise through Dipper's trial that by burying themselves in their respective fantasies, they'll lose the one person who's always had their back: each other. Whether or not it's bullies or a giant robot, the twins have always had each other as a support system, and an ally, and they both realise during the trial that they'd rather fight by one another's side than hide from their problems.
So sure, Dipper could have taken the apprenticeship. He could have chosen to take the tailor-made, one-on-one advanced education that allowed him to pursue his interests to the fullest. But Mabel could also have chosen to stay in the world surrounded by her interests, where she was safe from the things she wanted to avoid. I think it's interesting that these two situations are so paralleled, and yet it's rarely discussed.
#apologies to anyone who saw this on reddit already#gravity falls#gravity falls meta#character analysis#dipper pines#mabel pines#my ramblings
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The Gravity Falls Timeline
All of this is based on my video, but I assume not many people will want to sit through 2.5 hours of me working this out, so here's a condensed written version.
Some rules I set for myself: If the actual name of an IP, a person or an event is referenced in J3/the Show, I included it into my math for my timeline (ex: references to Ronald Reagan or The Eurythmics, or other REAL WORLD figures). If a REFERENCE is made without the actual name being referenced (ex: in the Journal, Ford mentions Phantom Bustifiers, a reference to Ghostbusters, a movie that didn’t come out in our world until 1984), I did not put that into this timeline (I know what year Ghostbusters came out, but not which year Phantom Bustifiers came out).
With that in mind, let’s begin:
The Stans are born June 15 1951.
Evidence:
Their Bar Mitzvah happened when they were 12 (not 13, as is typical) and their birthday is on June 15th. Because a Bar Mitzvah is dependent on one’s birthday on the Hebrew calendar and not the Gregorian calendar, this means that their 13th Hebrew birthday must land on a date that is BEFORE their 13th Gregorian birthday, something that is typically more rare (the Hebrew birthday is usually AFTER one’s typically celebrated birthday).
The only viable year where this applies is 1951, when their birthday lands on Sivan 11, resulting in a 13th Hebrew birthday in May of 1964, BEFORE their 13th birthday on June 15th
The Stans find the Stan O War in spring of 1964 at age 12 (or 1961, if you think they were 10)
Evidence:
There are two viable dates for when they find the Stan o War, depending on if they’re 10 (the same age Stan was when he started writing Lil Stanley in the Lost Legends comics) or 12 (the same age as Dipper and Mabel). I think that the way the artist drew the young Stan twins in the Lil Stanley comic looks (age 10) looks slightly younger than how they look in the series (and they are designed a little differently than they look in the Jersey Devil comic, when we KNOW they have the Stan O War already), but there is evidence for both sides.
I lean toward them being 12 because they pull out a sharpie, which wasn’t invented until 64, but there is a reference to a Bruce Springsteen song in a magazine in Lost Legends, quoted by someone named “Brucey S, age 11” and Bruce Springsteen would have been 11 in 1961, so this might be 1961 (or the magazine Ford is reading from might be an old magazine.) I went with 1964, because I think 12 parallelled the ages of Dipper and Mabel better.
Stan gets kicked out in spring of 1969 right before they turned 18. Ford starts at Backupsmore in the fall semester.
Evidence:
Stan makes a reference to Jackie O, which means Jackie Kennedy already remarried to be Jackie Onnassis, and is also still in the public eye, something that would be progressively less common after 1969 (she also happened to visit New Jersey in spring of 1969 and that would have made state headlines, something which is probably a coincidence, but nonetheless very interesting).
Furthermore, there is a portrait of Nixon in the principal’s office, and he would have been sworn in in early 1969.
I think 1969 is more likely than 1970 because ‘69 gives more wiggle room for Shermie to be the baby (more on that later) and for Ford to get at least one PhD.
-Stan dates Carla “Hotpants” McCorkle,(reconnecting for another date after the one at the theater in their teenage years), probably in 1971 (if this “hallucinatey” date even happened at all; if you dont think it happened at all, disregard).
Evidence:
We know this is a later date, when stan is an adult, because his design matches the designs on one of his fake IDs from his years on the run. It was likely 1971 because that is when the term “hotpants” was used to describe those short shorts.
The hippie aesthetic also started dying down after 1972 after the Manson attacks, so I picked 71 for the Juke Joint date.
Ford graduated from Backupsmore at the very earliest 1974, MAYBE early 1975.
Evidence:
In the journal it says he went to Gravity Falls in 1975, but we know he couldn’t have graduated earlier than 74, because we know that he played DDnMoreD in college, and he says in the journal that it was copyrighted in 1974. He also says Stanley always mocked him for playing it, which literally isn’t possible, so he’s either misremembering Stanley mocking him for an EARLIER TTRPG, or this copyright is for a later edition (though I think it must be the former, since DDnMD is a clear reference to DnD which WAS copyrighted in 1974. Still. Up to you.)
This means he completed his PhD in 6 years (or, three years ahead of schedule as described in the series). I believe many of his other PhDs were honorary degrees, and didn't bother working them into this timeline. He got them later.
Stan joins Rico’s gang in the late 70s
Evidence:
Sometime in the late 70s, Stan gets tangled up in what is implied to be the Colombian cartel, which would have been most active in the late 70s, between 75 and 79. Following his trajectory on the map in ATOTS showing his path across the country, he headed below the border toward the end of that trackline, so it was probably later on.
Ford started Journal 3 in 1981, shortly after meeting Bill in 1981.
Evidence:
He says he discovered his muse in 1981 in J3. He also says he is starting J3 six years after he started investigating Gravity Falls (which he did in 75). He also says early on in J3 that he is in his 30s, and he would have turned 30 in June of 1981, three days before he started J3.
There is some fuckery here on how he’s known his muse for “two years” midway J3, and the way I explain that in the video is that the first part of J3 spans nearly 2 years, and there is ample evidence that he wrote many pages out of order. This might be a page from later on in 1982, early 83, instead of mid-81.
We know that Reagan was already in office at this point.
Fiddleford shows up in July of 1982. Fiddleford begins making the memory gun after the Gremloblin incident later that year.
Evidence:
We know at least a year has passed because if you track the months, they go from June, to August, and then later on down to July again when Fiddleford is called. As for the Gremloblin incident, it happened relatively close to the bunker incident (which would have been closer to summer, since it was still hot outside) but it was followed closely by the carnival, where they had squash for sale, and squash are in season after September, typically.
First Portal Test is on January 18, 1983
Fiddleford falls through the portal, his head poking through, on January 18 1983, the day after the confrontation he had with Ford in the diner.
Late February, 1983 - The Portal Incident
Evidence:
There are three many reasons I chose this date. Firstly, we know it is 1983 not just because it follows the trajectory of earlier dates, but because we know that Ford has heard The Eurythmics’ chart topper “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” because when he returns he says he is looking forward to their next one, and that came out in January of 83’, before he would have been sucked through.
Secondly, five weeks after January 18th, it would still be snowy in up-mountain Oregon where Ford is, but not that snowy in New Mexico where Stan is when he gets the post card.
Thirdly, we know at least 5-6 weeks have passed because Ford describes about this many weeks during his “paranoid era” in the journal (more than one instance of “a couple weeks, several weeks, a few weeks”, etc.).
In the year 2000, Dipper and Mabel are born.
Evidence:
I know most people think it’s 1999. And that is fine, but I have ample evidence that the show takes place in 2013, not 2012 (see below), so 2000 would have to work for their birthday.
But 2000 also gives a little bit of wiggle room to Shermie being the baby. (If you don’t think Shermie is the baby, disregard this section). If Shermie IS the baby, then if he was born in spring of 1969 (late 68 at the earliest), then you can barely fit two generations of Pines in the space between 1969 and 2000. It would mean that both Shermie and his kid would need to be 15 when they had a kid, which is … not great, but not impossible? I dunno man, take it up with Hirsch. (Or just assume the baby is Shermie’s kid. Follow your dreams).
In 2013, Dipper and Mabel visit their Grunkle Stan in Gravity Falls.
Evidence:
The Northwest ghost died in what is described in the journal as “The Great Flood of 1863”. The Northwests are trying to keep this flood under wraps in J3, because they don’t want people finding out about the lumberjacks killed in the flood. The Northwest Ghost swore with his dying breath to come back 150 yrs after his death. 150 years later from 1863, is 2013.
The 1040 form that Stan is filling out his Tax Fraud note on in the truth-telling ep is a 2012 form. To file tax returns, you use w2s 1040s labeled under the PREVIOUS year
Sevral Timez shouts "2013"
1983 is 30 years before 2013.
Note: This would mean that the Stans are 62 at the end of the summer, which might mean that they are "pushing 70" as Stan describes himself.
Anyways, here's the full video if you have 2.5 hours. Otherwise, enjoy this resource!
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broke: ford has "the face of the man destined to destroy bill" because that man was actually stan the whole time
woke: that prophecy was referring to both stan twins. destroying bill was a team effort. stan dealt the final blow, but that doesn't erase ford's thirty-one-year struggle against bill. the only reason why stan was able to do that is because he and ford could impersonate each other. neither stan nor ford could have defeated bill alone and survived. and this works better with their shared character arc; defeating the big bad by putting aside their conflict and working together to take him down. the point isn't that ford "was never really the hero" or whatever, the point is that he had to learn he can't do everything by himself (and that he had to reconcile with his brother). ford is the hero. and so is stan. they're twins; they both have the face of the man destined to destroy bill.
#gravity falls#stanford pines#ford pines#stanley pines#stan pines#gravity falls meta#in this house we love and respect both stan twins 😤#bill cipher was simply no match for the power of TEAMWORK
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So, how rare ARE Ford's extra fingers, anyway?
I'm not gonna lie, at first I was skeptical of Ford's claims that the Weirdness Magnetism had an effect on him. Like, yeah, the whole having six fingers thing isn't exactly common, but it's a naturally-occurring event. Stan describes it as a birth defect, and there doesn't seem to be a noticeably great number of people with those in Gravity Falls. It wouldn't be all that farfetched for Ford to think he was just Built Different, for like, at least 7 reasons, but then you start actually thinking about it.
Polydactyly isn't exactly common. Approximately 1 in 1,000 babies are born with some form of polydactyly. While it's true that postaxial polydactyly (extra digit is past the pinkie) is the most common form, which is shown to be the kind Ford has in the x-ray at the beginning of AToTS, there are several other extreme circumstances.
Extra digits in polydactyly aren't usually found on all limbs. It can occur on hands and feet (and Alex has confirmed that Ford does, indeed, have six toes on both feet) but rarely does it occur on both feet, or both hands, much less both hands and both feet. And even when it does occur more than once on one person, the extra digits aren't usually fully-formed. Oftentimes they don't even have bones. When they do have bones, they're usually much smaller, or barely opposable (if they have joints at all). When they're big enough to be maneuverable, they usually interfere with the structure of the hands/feet in negative ways. All this means that an extra finger or toe which doesn't direly require a surgery to remove the extra digit within the first year or two of life is incredibly uncommon.
And let's remember: that's just for one extra digit. Ford has four.
For Ford to have fully functional polydactyly on both hands and both feet, to the point where it's basically impossible to tell which one is finger x without x-rays... the odds of that are astronomically unlikely. Never-before-recorded, one in a kazillion, borderline medically unfathomable sort of rare.
I think I do believe the Weirdness Magnetism could've affected Ford, actually.
#I don't think the same about Dipper and his constellation birthmark tho#I have freckles on my arm that make a perfect right triangle u ain't special#while such a large birthmark is certainly rare it isn't unheard of#the actual structure isn't technically any more or less likely than any other random arrangement of dots and lines#unless the fact that it's a constellation makes it special in some way which would make sense but we never saw any supernatural connection#i definitely think that part is just Ford being like “look at my grandnephew :) he is a Special Little Guy I love him he's great”#which is extremely adorable but not indicative of any weirdness in a scientific sense of the word#i can't believe i just typed “weirdness in a scientific sense”#gravity falls#journal 3#gravity falls journal#gravity falls spoilers#ford pines#stanford pines#dipper pines#gravity falls meta#i think#is this what meta is?#am i metaposting?
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Just me blowing my own mind thinking about Gravity Falls again lol (or maybe more like “oh gosh that makes so much sense holy moley…”)
But here’s the thing….people always blame Ford’s pride on his reaction to Stan wanting to burn his journal. And while I agree to some extent, there is another reason for this intense reaction. Which I understand now more than when I first watched the show…
Soooo…the last time Ford saw Stan was right after he feels betrayed because he thinks Stan destroyed his project. His project, which he put so much time, effort, and work into. It was his ticket to a better future. And he believes that Stan did it on purpose, because he was so caught up in their old dream of sailing together. This would create a very painful memory, which I believe, especially with Ford not working through the emotions, is still a very sensitive “trigger” of a sorts for him.
Fast forward to the portal incident. Ford needs Stan’s help, desperately. He is reaching out despite the rift between them, because he doesn’t know what else to do. And he asks Stan to take his work, and hide it. Which to be fair, is already a big thing, because the last time Stan was around his work….he broke it (or so Ford believed). But THEN Stan doesn’t want to hide it, he wants to *destroy* it. Something that Ford, once again, put a lot of time, energy, and work into. To me, that similarity would trigger the pain and hurt that Ford felt when he was a teenager. Plus those emotions were probably increased more due to his huge lack of sleep and intense desperation for help in a situation where he was in way over his head.
I’m not trying to get Ford off the hook or say he doesn’t share in the blame for what happened. But bro…as someone who understands those kinds of triggers to betrayal and deep emotional pain…Where something, even if it’s not totally the same, has very similar elements to the painful event, happens, that pain and those intense emotions are very real. And it’s a very valid reaction, especially for someone who has not worked through or healed any from that emotional trauma.
#ford pines#stan pines#gravity falls#gravity falls meta#stanford pines#stanley pines#not me relating to ford even more…once again#and honestly the same argument could probably be applied to Stan in this scenario too tbh?#I mean maybe a few slight differences but….still yeah…these boys need therapy
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Thinking about the people who constantly criticize and hate Mabel for being a kid and would compare her to Dipper. Like look, the two of them were written to be foils to eachother and same goes for their take on maturity and growing up.
Dipper is someone who wants to grow up fast. He wants to be treated like a mini adult instead of a kid his age. It's not necessarily a bad thing but people keep forgetting that he's still 12 who should be experiencing kid things. Meanwhile there's Mabel, someone who doesn't want to grow up as fast and decides to act as a kid while she still can.
Dipper was supposed to be the "smart one" between them. Therefore, it's not surprising for him to constantly try to make the more mature decisions. One of the episodes that people keep pointing at was The Time Traveler's Pig when he gave up his shot at impressing Wendy for saving Waddle.
Most people, of course, tend to gravitate towards relating to trying to impress a girl more over someone getting their pet for the first time. But people seem to miss the immaturity of Dipper's actions this episode. He literally travels back in time multiple times, something that has been referenced earlier in the episode as irresponsible, just to get with a girl who he sees as a trophy.
Yes, yes, Mabel has done this before too. She was so focused on winning a guy's affection by making a puppet show over helping her brother in something her brother cares about and it was even something very important.
But everytime, people are always so focused on Mabel being the selfish one. Mabel being the childish one. Mabel being the immature one. Mabel's the real villain of the show. Mabel is worse than Bill, etc.
But even then, good on Mabel for being a kid, acting like a kid, and angering a bunch grown adults on the internet because of how much they've projected on Dipper.
And honestly most people themselves have a big misunderstanding of his character because of how much he has been boxed into this position.
Dipper can be selfish. Dipper is childish. Dipper can be immature. Dipper was literally settled on the idea of a bunch of government agents dying to zombies he has accidentally summoned.
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OK, so I've been rewatching Gravity Falls lately, and one of my favorite antagonists is Gideon, so when he was introduced in Season 1, episode 4, I was immediately intrigued by him. He was a good foil to Mabel in this episode.
Gideon Gleeful is a self-proclaimed psychic who uses his charisma and adorableness to make money and mask his true personality. He is the owner of the Tent of Telepathy and has an obsessive crush on Mabel Pines. He also has a longstanding business rivalry with Stan Pines and a grudge against Dipper Pines for "ruining" his relationship with Mabel.
In the episode, Gideon is introduced as a seemingly cherubic and innocent child who performs psychic shows for the town. He is admired by everyone, except for Dipper, who suspects that he is a fraud. Gideon becomes infatuated with Mabel after seeing her in the audience of one of his shows and invites her to his dressing room for makeovers. Mabel, who is impressed by his dance moves and hair, agrees to go with him.
However, Gideon soon reveals his true colors when he asks Mabel to go on a date with him. Mabel, who is uncomfortable with his advances, tries to decline politely, but Gideon insists that it will only be one date and pressures her into accepting. He then takes her to a fancy restaurant, where he shows his manipulative and possessive side. He orders for her, makes her wear a dress that he picked, and tries to kiss her. He also uses his influence and reputation to get what he wants, such as a table at the restaurant and a ride on a horse.
Mabel realizes that she does not like Gideon and wants to end the relationship, but she is afraid of hurting his feelings and losing his friendship. She asks Dipper to break up with him for her, but Gideon takes it badly and accuses Dipper of turning Mabel against him. He then becomes obsessed with getting Mabel back and plots to destroy Dipper and the Mystery Shack.
Gideon serves as a villain and a foil to Mabel in this episode, as he represents the opposite of what Mabel values and stands for. Mabel is a cheerful, optimistic, and adventurous girl who loves to have fun and make friends. She is also kind, honest, and loyal to her family and friends. She respects other people's choices and boundaries and does not force her opinions or feelings on them. She is also creative and expressive, as she likes to make art and crafts and wear colorful outfits.
Gideon, on the other hand, is a cynical, pessimistic, and scheming boy who only cares about himself and his goals. He is also cruel, dishonest, and disloyal to his family and enemies. He does not respect other people's choices and boundaries and tries to control and manipulate them. He is also vain and superficial, as he cares about his appearance and reputation and wears a suit and a pompadour.
By contrasting Gideon and Mabel, the episode shows how different they are and how incompatible they are as a couple. It also shows how Gideon's actions and motives are harmful and wrong and how Mabel's actions and motives are helpful and right. The episode also explores the themes of friendship, trust, and consent, as Mabel learns to be honest with herself and others, to stand up for herself and her friends, and to say no to unwanted situations. The episode also teaches the viewers to be wary of people who seem too good to be true and to value their own feelings and opinions over others.
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@gf10yearslaterzine
This is late but I just remembered something that needs an honorable mention in the favorite joke category: that time when Manly Dan walks into the party with a barrel under each arm and shouts THESE KEGS ARE FULL OF MEAT!
Cuz as an adult, it's so absurd. Meat doesn't come in kegs. We all know this. He's basically turning to camera and yelling right in the face of S&P.
"Excuse me sir, you can't bring alcohol to this party."
"THESE KEGS ARE FULL OF MEAT!"
"Oh, of course, our mistake. Enjoy your party."
It cracks me up every time I think about it.
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one of the most meaningful parts of gravity falls was having a positive brother and sister sibling relationship being depicted on screen in a disney channel cartoon. disney channel was like. renowned for its sibling rivalry shows where the brother and sister were constantly hating each other.
me and my own younger brother were always super pissed at those depictions, since we were (and still are) very close, and while we have our arguments like any siblings do, our relationship has always been pretty positive. both of us are neurodivergent and while we are polar opposites, we practically read each other’s minds and have too many inside jokes to count. we’ve cried to each other, ranted to each other, and struggled together, and he’s one of my best friends.
the first time i watched gravity falls was in 2015 at a friend’s house, my first episodes being legend of the gobblewonker & the time traveler’s pig. witnessing dipper and mabel being a perfect encapsulation of me and my brother, and mirroring our own personalities so well, i was floored! when i came home from that party, i immediately went to my brother and geeked out- “dude, there’s a show that basically has you and me as the main characters!”
this spawned our mutual love for gravity falls and subsequent hyperfixation with the lore, and a profound appreciation of alex hirsch’s love letter to his childhood. our whole family got into it, we convinced our parents and our cousins and our uncle to watch it, my brother and i got our best friends into it, and we even hosted a “farewell gravity falls” party the day the last episode aired.
gravity falls still is so important to me not only as a cornerstone of my fandom experience, but as a piece of media that depicted an earnest celebration of dipper and mabel’s bond as they approached adolescence, and seeing me and my brother’s experience be so aptly represented made a lasting positive impact on me.
happy 11th birthday gravity falls. thank you for the best summer ever :)
#gravity falls#personal diary#gravity falls meta#dipper pines#mabel pines#man i love these two they r literally babey 🥺#happy birthday gravity falls
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Thinking about how BillFord as a ship often gets a bad rap in this fandom as being incredibly toxic.... which isn't wrong. But FiddAuthor is often seen as the "safer" ship even though it's incredibly toxic too?
In canon, they bring about the worst in each other. And yeah, Bill had a hand in that, but he didn't create anything new in Fidds or Ford. That's what makes Bill a master manipulator. Fidds and Ford don't just have the capacity to be destructive, they actively are destructive towards each other in canon.
I love both ships, I think they can both be portrayed deeply without glorifying abuse or toxicity. Bill, Ford, and Fidds are all incredibly interesting characters and their relationships can help us as fans make sense of things in our own lives.
Just my two cents.
#gravity falls#stanford pines#fiddleford mcgucket#bill cipher#fiddauthor#gravity falls thoughts#billford#fandom meta#gravity falls meta#fan fiction#shipping#shipping discourse
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Filbrick Pines had a pawnshop called "Pines Pawns" and had a pawn figure on the roof.
Bill used Ford as a pawn.
The details that went into this show is unbelievable
[ID in Alt]
#gravity falls#gf#ford pines#stanford pines#filbrick pines#gravity falls meta#bill cipher#gf ford#image desc in alt text#lost legends#gravity falls lost legends#gravity falls spoilers#journal 3 spoilers#journal 3#gravity falls journal 3
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Mabel's perspective in Sock Opera is equally, if not more sympathetic than Dipper's: An Essay
Most people generally wouldn't consider Mabel to have a terribly sympathetic plotline in Sock Opera, even those of us who don't necessarily feel that she's horribly selfish. I think that's because, from a narrative perspective, her plotline is (as it so often is) shafted in favour of Dipper's, and from a viewer's perspective, Dipper's makes more sense. We, as viewers want to know who the author is. We, as viewers, know that Gabe is inevitably going to turn out to be some variety of impossible, and we know that the Author of the Journals is a major mystery. However, from Mabel's perspective, none of this is true, because she doesn't have the luxury of knowing she is in a TV show. Even if you take out Gabe, her perspective still makes perfect sense.
At the beginning of summer, Dipper found this journal, and Mabel has generally been pretty happy to go along with his adventures as the journal has led them, but it's clear she doesn't have the same degree of fascination with it. Maybe she may have been a little intrigued by who the Author is, she's probably a bit curious, but not to the same extent. By the time of Sock Opera, she's probably reasonably ready for the Journal fixation to be over, considering that they nearly all got killed by a shapeshifter trying to find the author. She knows that trying to investigate the author is dangerous--Stan warned them away from the supernatural, they've all nearly died multiple times, but Dipper cannot be stopped. And now Dipper has decided to spend hours and hours and hours, forgoing sleep, sitting in front of a screen, typing in passwords. The fact that Mabel tries to drag him away from it is a good thing--anyone with a relative who spends excessive amounts of time in front of a computer can tell you that. Generally, having someone close to you become deeply fixated to the point of obsession with anything can be challenging, however in Mabel's case, Dipper has become obsessed to the point of prioritising getting into the laptop above anything, and this isn't just a regular hyperfixation: this is a hyperfixation that has nearly gotten them both (plus their loved ones) nearly killed multiple times in the last few weeks. It's absolutely the responsible, good thing for Mabel to do to not enable that behaviour.
And then if you add the puppet show back into the equation, then yes, it is kind of ridiculous of Mabel to put on a whole show of that kind of magnitude just for a boy (regardless of whether the boy deserves it), however, as viewers we must accept that this is, in fact, thoroughly within character for Mabel, who is kind of ridiculous. Any kind of production of that size is a huge commitment, especially if you've given yourself a week to work, and I'm not remotely bothered by the fact that Mabel has to get everyone involved on this. And to Mabel's credit, she does try to help Dipper as soon as he appears to her in puppet form, she just isn't immediately willing to stop the show. Back in high school, my drama class did a play that I mostly wrote, mostly managed and also had a small acting role in (yes, I was an overachiever in drama), and let me tell you, it would have taken a lot to have gotten me to call off the show halfway through, much less publicly sabotage it. A demon threatening the lives of one of my siblings? Probably yes. That probably would have done it. And Mabel does allow the thing that she poured blood, sweat and tears into to go literally up in flames in front of everyone, once she realises that's what she has to do (and personally, I don't think that there's anything wrong with not immediately being willing to drop everything for this. It's not like Dipper doesn't dig in his heels about doing what's best until the very last possible second). I don't know why people insist it's not 'technically a sacrifice', because while, yes, obviously Dipper's life was more important, and she 100% made the right choice, it's not easy to wreck something you worked hard on in front of people.
All this is to say that although it's easy to become irritated at Mabel during this episode because she's hindering Dipper's ability to figure out who the author is, it's also very easy not to realise that she has a thoroughly reasonable perspective, simply because the narrative puts greater emphasis and attention of Dipper's perspective.
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Some Not-So-Gentle Reminders and Points for the Gravity Falls Fandom (And for Fandoms in General) to Consider, Especially the Dishonest and Clueless “Apologists”
Note: So here’s my official first Gravity Falls post. I’m not exactly a new fan, though I am having a second wind of interest and appreciation for it and everything in it. For this particular post, I guess I just really felt like getting some thoughts off my chest and just kept going after that. Sorry for lack of pics/direct evidence. This was supposed to be quick and most of this stuff should be pretty obvious if you just pay attention and take the bias goggles off. I might come back and add images/media later. I’ll gladly correct any mistakes too, big or small, if need be.
Now consider this:
- Stan, in the scene where he allegedly “broke” Ford’s science fair project, didn’t even touch it! I repeat, Stan DID NOT touch Ford’s science fair project! What he touched, was the table it was set on when he slammed his fist down! Yet he was and still is blamed for it breaking by everyone in the fandom and show, even himself. How has this common claim so rarely been questioned by a fandom that prides itself on being skeptical and solving mysteries? Just use your eyes and rewatch the scene, people!
- The fact that Ford was so quick to accuse Stan—the one person in the whole world out of his entire life that had supported him through thick and thin and always protected him—of breaking his project based on minimal evidence at best, implies that Ford already had a low opinion of Stan by that point and probably much earlier. It implies that even if he did love Stan, he definitely didn’t believe in him. No one had ever believed in or supported Stan until Soos came into his life, followed by Wendy, Dipper and Mabel.
- No matter how you try and slice it, Ford had been outright shown time and time again, through both words and actions, to have not appreciated Stan’s love or devotion to him, or their closeness. At least not outwardly, to us viewers. His true feelings might not always show and we do get some glimpses here and there of his thoughts on Stan, but appearances matter a lot! Someone being open to doing things with another person, seemingly to keep up an air of decency and calm while they’re trapped in the same place together, doesn’t mean that person appreciates the other. It doesn’t even necessarily mean that you want a relationship with that person or to reconcile.
- Ford’s usage of the words “suffocating” and “meant for something greater” when talking to Dipper about familial relationships and specifically the boy’s connection with his sister Mabel, besides many other talked-to-death things, is very telling and shows how much he was terrified of the intimacy he had with Stan. There’s literally no nicer way to put it. He didn’t just want to escape the bullying he received or the crappy town he grew up in. He wanted to escape Stan. At some point in his adolescence, Ford seemed to have grown to view Stan as an obstacle to his success, a weight on his shoulders, a leech or spotlight hog of some sort, or just a painful reminder of awful experiences. This in itself is a very realistic reaction and when you look at the examples, the case for Ford truly being proud of what he had with Stan looks very shaky. Despite what I’ve noted here, I do think Ford did and does greatly love Stan deep down. But he also seemed to be afraid of something, which seems to have led to him wanting to run away from his feelings—and from Stan.
- Again, it’s possible to love someone dearly but still harm them or view them as harmful to you or for both of you to harm each other. If you really want to view Ford’s immediate discarding of what was supposedly both his and Stan’s dream, along with Stan himself, in a somewhat more positive (well, more selfless) light, you could argue that Ford thought he was holding Stan back (instead of solely vice versa). After all, if Stan did depend on Ford as much as we see him do in the series to the point where they were practically a (mis?) matched pair of socks, it could very well be that Ford felt like he was forcing Stan to be the ‘dumb but brawny and funny’ twin to his ‘smart but weak and weird’ self. Maybe he figured Stan shouldn’t have to keep defending him and making a fool of himself to make Ford happy and feel less alone in his ‘freakishness’ into adulthood. Perhaps he thought some separation was what they both needed to finally grow into two fully-fledged, separate beings.
- There’s an argument to be made that Ford is/was extremely narcissistic and insecure. You know what many narcissists (with or without NPD) have in common? They have low self-esteem. Low self-esteem often born from a childhood of emotional abuse and neglect and constantly being told there’s something wrong with you, that you’re not and will never be good enough. Low self-esteem and a need to hide it and look for ways to avoid rejection or coming rejection, even if it’s just perceived. It can be easy to forget that Stan and Ford were both treated terribly inside the home as well as outside it. Ford was on some level the golden child whereas Stan was the scapegoat. There are some narcissistic dynamics going on here. (They’re very prevalent in families, you know?) Childhoods like theirs are known for breeding such people. This means that Ford may have saw himself in a negative light but felt Stan’s love was exacerbating the problem because he was being led to believe that Stan was a problem; The problem child.
- Stan shows signs of extreme codependency to the point of having traits that practically mimic that of BPD/EDD/EUPD (including insecurity and low self-esteem as well). He’s clearly terrified of abandonment yet of closeness too, at the same time. This is likely also caused by his and Ford’s childhood. Many people with BPD come from homes like theirs, too. Now I understand these are cartoon characters, so the urge to diagnose, while understandable, is typically pointless. However, if we’re speaking theoretically on which disorders match up with characters the most based on what we see and find out about them, then yes, Stanley seems to be extremely codependent—especially toward Stanford—and likely suffers from other emotional trauma that was made far worse after he was kicked out.
Do we ever see it so much as implied that this concerns Stanford though? That he sympathizes with whatever current plight his brother is going through even once outside of the finale of all times, particularly before Stanley had seemingly already been erased out of existence? I don’t think we do. Well, maybe once. Stanford gave Dipper a pretty and high tech tie to give to Stanley... I guess he wanted to throw his poor, dumb dog of a brother a bone. (I kid, I kid. But not really.)
You can’t even claim that it was the same the other way around and say that Stan doesn’t pay mind to Ford’s struggles or want to help him out of them ever, because the show often goes out of its way to illustrate to us the opposite and often also makes it clear just how much Stan adores Ford. Spending their childhood protecting and sticking up for him. Dropping/giving up everything for Ford repeatedly. Being concerned over Ford’s sanity/behavior when he visited him that fateful day in 1982. Still holding out hope he’ll change his mind on their old dream despite the hell he’s been put through. Forgiving Ford for everything even after he almost ‘dies’ to clean up the problem that, mind you, FORD CAUSED TO BEGIN WITH. Ford “ruined” his own life! (And is implied or explicitly shown to have had a hand in bringing about the intense hardship of others’ lives. E.g. Stanley, Fiddleford....the evidence is there.)
- In fact, there can be no talks about “who was more responsible for Weirdmageddon” without acknowledging who was the first one to shake the devil’s hand: Ford! I mean, of course it’s mainly Bill’s fault, he’s the villain! The point is that it’s harder for others to do wrong when we refuse to help them. We know romantic relationship cheaters are jerks but what about those who knowingly help the cheaters cheat? They never get a pass, now do they? Then the same can especially be said for Stanford, who did not refuse to help Bill—even despite warnings about summoning him—until it was too late and the cat was miles away from the bag. At that point he had no one to blame but himself for the problem continuing to escalate. I mean, don’t you remember the many questionable ways he tried to contain it?!
- Stanley is not even close to being the dumb twin. Not in anyway. On top of all the skills he’s learned over the decades, he’s actually implied to be close to as smart or even equal to Stanford. His whole life is actually a testament to how amazing he truly is at surviving and, given the right tools, thriving. You know what some of you sound like when you have nothing but crap to say about this main’s relatively positive traits, irrespective of his actual wrong-doings? Stanford Pines, pre-realization of all the ways he has screwed things up for those around him. You know, who the man was only after he erased Stanley’s memory. Though a lot of you seem to self-insert and project onto Stanford to an unpleasant extent anyway, so I guess that’s not surprising. You know who else you end up sounding like? Filbrick Pines. Yeah, that one. I don’t know, seems a bit disturbing to be. You know who else you often end up sounding like? Bill Cipher, if I remember properly. In fact, wasn’t it implied that much of Stanford’s negative views of Stanley and not needing family, was influenced by Bill? Hmm.
- You can not blame Stanley for pushing Stanford into the portal while completely ignoring the context of the scene and all the actions that lead up to that point. Ford sent Stan a vague postcard (implying he may have known how to reach Stan all along). Ford allowed Stan inside and in the basement where things were bound to be the most dangerous. Ford told Stan to take the book and get as far away from him (“sail as far away as you can. To the edge of the Earth”) as possible despite knowing their were a lot of tender feelings there, especially when it came to the two of them sailing together. Ford started the fight when Stan tried to burn the book he was given, that Ford wanted to get rid of anyway! Ford pushed Stan while trying to get said book back onto a bunch of buttons which activated the portal to begin with! The accidental lever turn came after that and the Stan accidentally pushing him into the portal was just the nail in the coffin of their faux family reunion that Ford caused to happen.
No one made Ford choose an unsuspecting Stan as a tool and means to an end for the mess he put himself and possibly the whole world in. That was his choice. Either they’re both to blame or Ford is solely to blame. What you’re not going to do is put the entirety of the blame on Stan. Call me every name in the book for this, but I believe the BIGGEST innocent victim in that scenario was Stan! You don’t need to blame him for every single terrible thing that happened to Ford because Stan already blames himself for everything! Even when it doesn’t look like it could have been him responsible for it! He already is full of shame and remorse that fill every step he takes every single day. He worried every day for thirty years that the blood of one of the only people in his life that he’s loved, may have been on his own hands.
- I think it’s possible that one of the reasons Ford latched on to Bill despite all the red flags, was because Bill reminded him of Stanley. He wanted a friend. He wanted his best friend back. Bill played the role almost perfectly—until he didn’t anymore and Ford realized his mistake. This could mean that there’s a chance he realized the biggest difference between Stan and Bill since he did end up contacting the former after Bill’s betrayal, and in his own words, chose Stan because he trusted him. He still trusted Stan. It could have been less than when they were children though and all that time with someone that reminded him of Stan yet ended up betraying him ‘too’ may have caused him to start associating Stan with Bill. I can imagine that after he was sucked into the portal, Ford’s associating Stan with painful betrayal may have worsened. But bringing him out of the portal could have slightly improved it. And seeing as they finally sailed away by the end, he realized must have he was wrong to ever associate them, if he had before. I bet they’re probably still sailing around the world together over a decade later right now.
- If the thought of both twins not returning home and choosing to live with their grunkles and exploring gravity falls/world and sailing the sea together, bothers you, ask yourself how it would have been soooo much better if only Dipper had stayed while Mabel went back home? You see the issue with that now? I won’t argue whether or not it’s okay for a 12 - 13 year old boy to stay in a far off place with an adult family member. After all their parents didn’t mind sending them alone to Gravity Falls for the summer to live with their great uncle anyway, which was likely dangerous/irresponsible of them for many reasons. I just think it’s suspicious that some people can only see the issue if someone suggests that both twins should have left their parents and life in California behind to resolve the issue of the apprenticeship and keeping close to one’s sibling all at once.
- The Stan Twins told their story in ATOTS but only we, the audience, actually see it play out. The characters don’t. The way brothers explained it may have made it seem to each other like the other still had no sympathy for them and didn’t think that what they did was wrong. Stan even called Ford’s dream college “stupid” while the flashback was being shown and he was explaining his side of the story. The fact that neither apologizes for the painful things they helped contribute to in their young adulthood which affected them, probably didn’t help either.
- In one of the scenes from the ATOTS flashback, Ford yelled at Stan “Help me Stanley!” as he was slowly sucked into the portal. He wanted Stan to save him! These were Ford’s final words to him that Stan internalized and are what Stan immediately set out to do! He likely worked for decades with these last words in mind, not knowing whether Ford would still be alive when he brought him back to their world! Ford even threw the book that they’d fought over to Stan before he disappeared. How do you think that looked from Stan’s POV? Like a visual cry for help on top the audible one I bet! Also, Ford had some awful nightmares thanks to Bill. It was terrible what was done to him and pushed him to the point of insanity. However, he wasn’t the only one with fears, regrets and a troubled past. Imagine what Stan’s nightmares must have been like, especially the ones with Ford in them? The parts of Stan’s dreamscape that we got a view of were depressing. The dreary colors, the symbolism...
- Both sets of twins are extremely sensitive to and immediately take things to heart, especially insults/criticism and all of them can at times act less mature than their actual ages. They all feel inadequate in some way. They just showed these traits to different extents and unhealthily cope in different ways. Be careful with their feelings and what you say to them because all of them wear a front as a cover for protection. They also all occasionally lack common sense, act silly and say and do the oddest things at times. Plus they all need someone who genuinely loves them dearly to hold them down and would die for their family (or die of heartbreak if they didn’t get there in time).
- Stan and Ford after decades apart and so much animosity between them, are sailing on a ship. They could be together in the middle of nowhere very often. Knowing of all those negative feelings that were present, it leads me to think about all the ways their trip could have gone wrong. Many understand that their father was abusive, but what if they were or became abusive to each other? I don’t want to believe this would happen and I doubt we were supposed to consider such a thought. However, the terrible possibilities are still there. At worst, I prefer to think that things are at times bitter but then sweet.
- It’s very fascinating to me how so much “Stanford Defense” seems to be built upon throwing other characters under the bus to make him seem less culpable for his own choices. It boggles my mind how the same people who claim that characters such as Stan and Mabel are never questioned on anything (laughable to say this point, especially coming from them) seem to be the ones doing everything in their power to keep people from so much as voicing displeasure anymore at any part of Ford’s character. I swear I’m ever seeing the same names on different sites arguing with people about how wrongly ridiculed he is. It’s really is starting to look like all the “Stanford gets soooo much unnecessary HAAAAATE and is always bAsHeD” people are trying to take things in the opposite direction. Which is just as upsetting if not more so, because such behavior only leads to the shutting down of discussion and critique. That’s horrible for a fandom to go through, just like the other way around. Can’t Gravity Falls do better than that?
- Your faves won’t ever be every single person’s faves. Sometimes people will even dislike a character that you like. That’s fine! That’s life! Just don’t forget while loving said character, that this does not have to mean you approve of everything they say or do. You don’t need to jump to one’s defense whenever someone makes a point. Especially a valid one that can’t truly be disproven anyway. It makes you look delusional and like you’re in a parasocial relationship with that fictional character. Learn and never forget the difference between arguing an important point with societal implications and solely defending a character for the sake of it, please.
- Mental illness is not a joke or something to wear as a badge of honor. It’s also not something that, if noticed, should be swept under the rug. In the case of fictional characters, I think it’s quite admirable when people can see certain traits of themselves or their loved ones in characters past the stereotypical ones, but that also gives us a chance to talk about those traits and just how hard it can be to live with them and why sympathy and amnesty is so important to healing and moving forward. I believe Stan and Ford especially show signs of extreme mental illness in the show that I have a hunch were placed in them on purpose. This seems to be one of those cases where we’re supposed to see our own family dynamics in them.
- It’s asinine to claim to love a character but ignore or even outright deny their faults and flaws, even when they admit to it! If you love someone, love all of that person, even if you’re often at odds with them. When someone says they love Stanford for literally deny things about him that are proven to be true, I’m left wondering if that person actually loves him—or just the idea of him. Same with any other character this happens with. Enough with the need for our favorite characters to be pure, perfect versions of ourselves. Enough with the need to wipe away issues and to go as far as making up traits for the character, or even stealing their traits from another to make him or her look better and the other character look worse. You’re in effect masking what depth is actually present and risking putting a bad taste in the mouth of those that are neutral on them; souring them to the character and even fandom.
- Even the characters with potential who were unfortunately underutilized—such as Caryn Pines, the mother of the Stan Twins—still tended to fill their main roles in the story pretty well, even despite time restraints. Some of these and other side characters even managed to gain their own small group of fans and fan-creators on their behalf, within the larger fandom. That is pretty wild and deserves some praise. Nice one writers!
- Sometimes it really does help to just remove yourself from the story and just be meta with your takes, i.e. to distance yourself when discussing something because it helps make you less biased and more evidence-based. There are times where we really do see something in a character that indeed was not there or meant to be there. Death of the author can only allow for so much leeway in interpretations. Authorial intent will always matter. This show was very detailed and there are so many things you only noticed after looking again. Some theories exist that imply the whole story for the Pines Family would have mattered no matter what in-universe. We need to be careful when arguing things, we may be/end up wasting our time even more than we think. Oh and ...cartoon logic haha. Also no one loves or will ever love the Pines Family like the Pines Family can. Nor like the creators/writers themselves do. We also can not understand them the way the ones who made them can. When in doubt, it tends to be best to just trust them and their intentions, and your gut as a last resort.
- The Gravity Falls ending was meant to be a happy, fairytale-like ending. That’s how it’s been implied to be the case by the creator (probably not with the company known for fairytales, Disney, even asking him to) and is the reason why every character was so quick to forgive and forget, and why everyone but the ‘super bad guys’ got their ideal ending. Sometimes it’s really not about what would have been the most interesting or profound (or logical) to viewers when making directive choices but about what would make us feel most at peace.
Note: This was all written with mostly one perspective in mind. There are however, many others ones and I do think lots of them are valid takes too, some of them I may even agree with as well and may have hinted at. Also, although it can be hard to tell with so many questionable decisions made, things not done that should have been and even some writing errors here and there, I do think all four of the Pines Family members and those adopted into the family, truly love each other and express it in different ways. That’s what this whole show is really all about and how it ended: With Love for Family prevailing.
#Stanley Pines#Stanford Pines#Dipper Pines#Mabel Pines#Gravity Falls#Gravity Falls Meta#character criticism#character analysis#mental health#I needed to say all this.#I swear#It was driving me crazy.#Tiresome#None of it can ever be said enough by the looks of it.#Fandumb
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hmm. having some Thoughts about ford, specifically ford and apparent arrogance as a defense mechanism
ford grew up believing that he had no inherent worth. the people in his life were either hostile towards him, or only kept him around because they expected to gain something from doing so. stan, the one person he was close with growing up, (apparently) massively betrayed ford when he dared to express his own desires.
as far as ford is concerned, he is just inherently weird and annoying and if he wants anyone to bother being courteous towards him, he has to earn it. and in his neurodivergent, socially traumatized brain, that makes perfect sense. relationships are transactional and he can't just expect people to put up with his weirdness without giving them a good reason to.
...so when he works hard and accomplishes things and other people still don't like him, the unspoken contract is broken. ford wanting clout and attention and getting snippy when he doesn't get it is less "hey, can't you see i'm superior to everyone here, why aren't you worshipping me?" and more "hey, i upheld my end of the bargain, i'm being productive, why am i still a pariah?"
and it's so much easier for someone who's used to having vulnerability met with aggression to express these thoughts as indignance and grandiosity than to admit that he's lonely and exhausted.
#his utter lack of self esteem also really feeds into his paranoia as well#the moral of the story is ford really needs a hug and maybe 30 years of therapy#gravity falls meta#stanford pines#ford pines
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