"I'm Going To Pretend That I Think You're Joking, Because Otherwise I Might Have To Do The 'responsible

"I'm going to pretend that I think you're joking, because otherwise I might have to do the 'responsible parent thing' and scold you."

Had this bit of dialogue pop into my head and it wouldn't leave.

I'm imagining that Sherman does end up getting drafted. He leaves his little brother's his apartment and makes them promise to look after each other, they're almost legally adults, and it's either they take care of each other or they're sent back home.

Sherman survives (I'm not that cruel), but being without him for the years he's gone is not an easy adjustment. But, sharing in that trauma of almost losing their closest parental figure and just generally being less emotionally stunted thanks to a lack of Filbrick's influence causes the twins to not drift apart like in canon. Ford is just as scared of being separated as Stan is.

The story with the portal is beginning to alarm me. First of all, Ford will not be able to impersonate Stan. Because of his hands (from this chapter we will learn that the whole problem is in them), and do not forget about Carla. She won't let Ford just take Stan's identity (especially if Stan gets into the portal because of him)

In addition, I noticed that you like to surprise us with plot twists. And now Stan falling into the portal is too obvious an option. Although maybe I missed something? Maybe you just already confirmed this information?

I still don't want to outright confirm or deny anything, but I can guarantee that I've got all the major story beats planned out already. And some of the things you've brought up may or may not end up becoming relevant issues for characters to overcome (or, fail in overcoming).

And on the subject of plot twists:

I don't like having plot twists just for plot twists sake, I want buildup and foreshadowing. If something has been hinted at and the readers put those hints together right, I want them to be rewarded for it. I'm not going to change any major story beats just because people figure out where things are going, that'd just defeat the point of speculating, and speculating is fun.

Like, when a commenter figured out Stan's motivation for building the portal all the way back in ch 12 - something I wouldn't outright reveal until ch 17.

Even if you know where something is going to end up, it's interesting to see how it's going to end up there and what it'll cost.

Doodled my boi

Ah yes, back in business with my favorite dumpsterfire project. Nah, but in all seriousness, it was nice to get back to work on this after the mess that's been this week. Thanks for hanging in there.

Translations:

Why is he here btw?

You know, Ford has been running away for 2 years, but I still don't understand why they didn't kill him. Why did they keep him captive like a rat? What was the point at all?

Basically, they figured Ford would inevitably end up in another dimension but had no idea how/why. So they settle for just keeping him under observation and hoping he will act as 'bait' for whatever phenomena is going on so they can control where it happens. All if this while not quite realizing that their interference might have already very much changed the outcome.

They couldn't kill him because of scientific curiosity. But now, with what a mess he's made, Ford is pretty sure they'd conclude that the risks of keeping him alive outweighs the benefits. Which is why he's doubly insistent on not being caught again.

Finished one of the two sketches. Tiny Stan with a big griffin Ford.

Hope like.