So Glad I Can Finally Share This- Here's Something I Did For A Secret Santa Event!!

Jealous ford is my fav thing and i need more of him

someone is a bit too freaky

Random Doodles

Not the prettiest schematic but decided to put together the timeline for the pre-series events, for fanfic writers and other folks like me who were curious at what exactly was going on, since a lot of it is explained vaguely, even in journal 3 itself.

Comments below (additional added day after posting):

Schematic technical comments:

Time is not to scale

Red = events with unconfirmed dates within the last two (black) concrete dates given. Structured so that earlier events are listed earlier with a '-', going off the position within the journals (before/after other events)

The events that occur in 1983 all occur when it's clearly winter, so early in the year

F refers to Fiddleford, because it's easy and shorter.

Sources: Journal 3, Book of Bill and the GF fandom wiki timeline.

Length of time comments:

Ford is in GF for 8 years total (1975-1983).

Journal 3 begins after Ford has been there for six years, thus each Journal spans roughly 3 years.

Ford knows Bill for about 4 years (1979-1983) and 2 years of that (1981-1983) they work together closely

A date given for Ford's investigation into ghosts and the Northwests, something seemingly unimportant, I would theorize is likely due to that directly after the ghost investigations Ford is frustrated about his work, and Bill offers the portal schematics. This suggests sometime in the fall/winter of 1981 the portal is proposed.

The portal is worked on likely for just over a year (likely late 1981-january 1983)

Fiddleford only works on the portal for 6 months (August 1982-January 1983).

Directly after it is noted that Fiddleford is joining Ford and the pages on Fiddleford, is the visit to UFO and gremloblin event. This suggests that it is early in Fiddleford's stay that he makes and begins to use the memory gun. The entry about the memory gun occurs right before an entry on a carnival, which Ford chooses them to go to as a distraction for Fiddleford. The carnival includes mention of a human-Squash, suggesting potentially an early october time frame (at the carnival Fiddleford also speaks to the man who becomes Blind Ivan) . This suggests that perhaps the gremloblin event occurred early-mid September and memory gun event about a week or so after.

This means that Fiddleford for the majority of the time he works on the portal, for about 4 of the 6 months, is using the memory gun. And by the time he creates the Society of the Blind Eye, he's already been using it for about 5 months, and has potentially been keeping in touch with the man who becomes Blind Ivan during that time.

It's late into the building of the portal that Ford lets Bill possess him; considering it's after they visit the carnival, it suggests around October or later of 1982 that Ford lets Bill possess him, which is only at most 3.5 months of possession before the test.

It's suggested heavily that the night of the test Ford confronts Bill, which would mean as he witnesses the Society of the Blind Eye, that he's dealing with Bill's abuse for at least 4 weeks.

I finally figured it out. The reason most fanfics focus on what Stanford wants rather than what Stanley wants is that, when it comes to desire, Stanley is genuinely much more indifferent than Stanford 🤔.

He doesn’t seem to have any strong obsessions (aside from Ford, of course), nor does he appear to be actively chasing anything. Even his pursuit of money feels more like an animal searching for a water source—it’s not about wealth itself, but about securing the resources necessary for survival. He never really seemed to crave a rich lifestyle, and even when he had money, he wasn’t the type to enjoy spending it. He just wanted it.

Strip away everything related to Ford and the ripples caused by Ford’s existence, and Stanley honestly seems like someone who could live just about any kind of life—married or unmarried, doesn’t matter. He likes kids, but the fact that he never had his own doesn’t seem to bother him. His life is, in reality, incredibly restrained. Outside of making money upstairs and fixing the portal downstairs, the only real sources of change or enjoyment in his life are the kids.

That’s what makes these two so fascinating. Stanford plays the role of a detached, rational scientist, supposedly free from worldly desires—when, in truth, he has so many wants, so many pursuits, so much ambition. Meanwhile, Stanley is perfectly content with everyone seeing him as a greedy conman, and he even embraces that image—but in reality, his lifestyle is practically one of self-inflicted asceticism.

;))

Ford is a jerk to Fiddleford McGucket in Journal 3. Let's talk about that.

First I want to preface this post by saying that I adore Ford. He is a wonderful character who has influenced my life in countless ways for the better. All of the things he does in this list a) stem from his own insecurities that he's projecting b) are symptoms of Ford's narcissistic defense mechanisms c) or come from Bill's influence on him. However, just because there are reasons for his actions doesn't excuse them, especially considering just how many there are.

Here's the list of things he does, I'll analyze at the end of the post.

Let's get the petty things out of the way first.

The cubic's cube: I think it is just straight up an absolute jerk move to scramble this thing that's clearly a comfort to him and think it's funny.

Being in shape: It's obvious his comments here are from his own insecurity but on a deeper level it just speaks to how Ford sees him, I think.

Not telling Fidds about Bill: Obviously Bill was feeding him a lot of paranoia but it's the reasoning that he writes down that gets me. It's so condescending.

The Gremloblin & The Shapeshifter

Something I think that's worth taking note of is the way Ford illustrates both of these instances. He brushes off Fiddleford's concerns multiple times and then Fiddleford pays the price and Ford sees himself as some kind of hero and Fiddleford this helpless victim. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

And then afterwards the way he handles not just Fiddleford's anxiety but the genuine trauma he went through. I know he's an old man, I know that's how he was treated, but Fiddleford is supposed to be his friend.

The Portal Test

Specifically their interaction at the diner and Ford's reaction to Fiddleford quitting the project. Fiddleford SELFLESSLY spends untold hours on this thesis for Ford because he cares about him and sees him burning out, even though Ford hasn't been great to him and Fidds has been going through his own hard things - not just with the gremloblin and the Shapeshifter, but things with his family as well. Ford does not match that selfless devotion at all. In fact, he sees it as an insult.

Analysis

The reason I've been thinking about this is because of Book of Bill and how that's influenced the shipping atmosphere. There's this weird notion that FiddAuthor is a less toxic ship but I think that's absurd. Besides their hug at Weirdmageddon, these journal entries are pretty much all we see of Ford's relationship with Fiddleford and it doesn't paint a pretty picture. Yes Ford is excited to have Fiddleford come to see him, yes Ford has that sweet conversation with him under the stars, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that all the above evidence outweighs hat. At the very least it shouldn't be ignored.

That doesn't mean Ford is a terrible person and we should hate him. I believe strongly in nuance and Ford is a character that requires nuance. I don't think he's an evil person, but I also don't think he should be babied as this perfect wittle guy who can do no wrong either. Both readings do a disservice to him.

Ford clearly had a hard childhood. He's isolated himself his whole life and he's been severely traumatized by Bill. But that doesn't mean that he deserves Fiddleford's forgiveness - Ford wasn't really that kind to him and his actions inadvertently led to the memory gun/Fidds' exposure to Bill. Ultimately it's Fiddleford's choice to make; I wouldn't fault him if he didn't want to ever see Ford again, but I think it's a testament to his goodness that he still cares for Ford as much as he does.

So what do I personally think? Man. I'm just sad we don't know more about Fiddleford McGucket than we do. He's so essential to Bill's defeat and to Ford's past and he's such a cool character but we know so little about him. I want to know what his childhood was like, I want to know how he ended up in Backupsmore, I want to know why he cares about Ford as much as he does, I want to know why things ended so poorly with EmmaMay. But we may never know those things for certain. So with the things we're left... Yeah, I think FiddAuthor is a compelling reading, one that I certainly enjoy. I just worry about the fandom babying Ford.

SORRY FOE THE DUMP IM CATCHING UP ITS BEEN A HOT MINUTE

Original source: my mates playing with their dollies

Nunca lo había pensando para ellos, pero creo que tiene sentido(?) Uno de los creadores dijo que había pensando la canción como desamor

"Enamorado tuyo" (In love with you) by Uruguayan band, Cuarteto de Nos, is such a stancest song, and it could very well be sung to each other when trying to get over their relationship, in denial that they love each other.

"And if you think I'm in love with you, that's an invention, I intuit, don't give credit to murmurs." This part is self-explanatory: they have always been known to have each other's back, and suddenly, it's not the case. Nobody believes they stopped caring for one another.

"Because I rarely call to tell you I love you, and more than once, I've done it to the wrong number" This represents the need that they have to contact one another but won't out of pride; Stanley's call that he hanged up despite desperately needing his brother, as well as Ford saving Stanley's scam number; the final straw between him and Bill when the demon called Stanley to tell him he was going to kill himself and remark he "never loved him." Ford was angry for a reason, Bill lied.

Also, the "and more than once I've done it to the wrong number" is them convincing themselves they love other people instead of their twin. Stanley's failed marriage and Ford's "Muse."

"Rarely is the time I get desperate to have you by my side, and that doesn't mean it has a meaning." This one is entirely on Ford being the worst person ever. At his lowest point, the only person who comes to mind who he can trust is Stanley, and once he is there, he only asks him to get away instead of embracing him. Stanley's clearly not the case. He misses Ford every single day of his life, but he can hide it from others.

"If you think love is what I feel, please, don't make a fuss. Don't tell your people about our issue. " This adds to Ford's paranoia and secretive nature. He wants all the details about his private life to be private.

"Don't dress up. Don't pretend you are never seen. I have envisioned singing you 《see you later.》 Don't dress up. Don't pretend you are never seen; I have a song that says, 《See you, lady》" This is Stanley after bringing Ford back and seeing how his brother just pushes him. He wants to pretend he is stronger than that, and he would part ways at any moment despite not wanting to.

"I rarely see your picture on my cellphone. It is still there because I'm too lazy to press *delete.*" This is the holding onto pictures and objects that remind them of each other. Especially Ford, who has a picture of them as kids in his coat, which was always in his pocket.

"I'm not that obsessed, to clarify, if you think that's why I sing this song." This is just them reiterating their denial.

Overall, I already love this song and find it so fitting, even if we make it not incestuous, it would still remark their relationship.

Also, because the Latin American dub was made in Argentina (which is next to Uruguay and very culturally alike) it's easy for me to envision them singing this song and fitting them so much.

ship discourse is unserious but the "who would treat fiddleford better" arguments on tumblr are crazy to me because have we all forgotten nuance? anyways here's a relationship analysis:

fiddauthor has its own unhealthy aspects because ford not only tunnel-visioned on his research to the point of dismissing fiddleford, he was also being actively isolated by his abuser (bill), who was turning the two against each other. and, at the same time, fiddleford was actively lying to ford about the memory gun, then used it on ford, a complete violation of trust. in alex hirsch's own words, fiddleford was like a yes-man to ford (until he wasnt), to the detriment of both of them.

but also they found solace in each other, as two outcasts with similar interests. even if ford could be dismissive at times with his gifts, its so clear that he valued fiddleford as his one friend, that they found so much enjoyment in each other's company in both college and in gravity falls. and ignoring that is doing them both a disservice! none of the hurt they inflicted on each other was done out of malice; they were being slowly broken down by the environment around them.

fiddlestan is more difficult to dissect for obvious reasons but comparing stan's past failed relationships to a hypothetical one with fiddleford is a moot point. we're working with a vastly different scenario here. stan would need fiddleford to stay in his desperation to save ford, and fiddleford could be easily guilt-tripped despite his trauma. would stan be an asshole to fiddleford? yeah, he would probably grow impatient with fiddleford's anxiety, and they would have very clashing personalities and interests, along with bad trust issues. fiddleford would be very reliant on the memory gun at this point, and they both would be at their mental lowest: it would not be an easy or healthy relationship.

but at the same time, it's not difficult to see how two very broken people could find solace in each other, especially due to a shared grief. its a unique situation that only they could understand, so of course it would make sense that fiddleford's desire to fix vs stan's abandonment issues would lead to something, for better or for worse. at the end of the day, they both understand the broken bonds of family and they both want to feel needed. it's not farfetched to speculate that they'd find comfort in each other.

anyways. i love these three very flawed, very hurt, and very human individuals. i think they're capable of causing each other a lot of pain. they do cause each other a lot of pain. but also they grow and they heal, and it pains me to see people reduce them to their singular actions. (but also the jokes are funny so yknow...i get it carry on)