Ever Been A Child? Shit Was Crazy. Every Single Day Something Like This Would Happen, And It'd Be The

ever been a child? shit was crazy. every single day something like this would happen, and it'd be the worst thing to ever happened to you until, like, tomorrow rolled around

big ol' collection of some 80s-era gravity falls textposts ive done over the years

This is such a telling page for Ford. Not only does he detail his social missteps and admit to being lonely in Gravity Falls, despite the scientific wonder of the place, but he also uses what I call "Fordese 2," a scrambled version of the "Fordese 1" code we were first introduced to in Journal 3 to label himself a "six-fingered freak" and to state that "Stanley would have made her laugh." (Her, being the waitress Ford tries out his nerdy science joke on, which goes down like a lead balloon despite the fact that it is legitimately funny, given the right audience).

It's like Bill says. "Ego of a king. The insecurity of a circus freak. And totally isolated..." (Funny enough, Bill could probably turn those exact words on himself, as well.)

Ford so wanted Gravity Falls to be the place where he'd finally fit in, the puzzle to his misshapen puzzle piece.

And as we see in the missing Journal pages from BoB, that was not to be the case. And worst of all? Ford blames it on his hands at first, but the reality is that he says that "Stanley could make her laugh," meaning Ford's "freakishness" (as he would put it) has less to do with his six fingers and much more to do with Ford's personality and the way he interacts with others.

This is actually worse. Fingers, you can fix, if you want to. By the time you're an adult, most people probably wouldn't care. But to Ford, his fingers seem to be more a manifestation of something internal, something he feels is fundamentally broken about him and that's just the absolute worst hell to be stuck in.

So yeah, it's hardly surprising Ford fell so hard for Bill's shenanigans (and you can define "fell so hard" however you want, although that karaoke page in BoB is especially damning). Here's an interdimensional being who not only can guide you to unlocking the secrets of the universe and propel you towards scientific fame and glory (and thus shoving every taunt, invective, side-eye, and eye roll ever hurled at you over the decades down your tormentors' throats) - but he's (on the surface) completely glib about being a freak himself.

For Ford, this must have been like finding a shady, sparkling oasis after thirty years of trawling through the desert (especially after Stanley's "betrayal" - Stanley, who along with Fiddleford, being the only person Ford felt like he could be himself around and still be accepted as a human being).

Now, is Bill trying way too hard to show how much he doesn't care? Uhhh, yeah. Bill has almost the same hangups as Ford. Labeled a freak for a genetic mutation and ostracized by his peers. Has a rare gift in that he can see not only into the third dimension but can see even past that, into possible dimensions and futures, which is a wild skill to have. Compare this with Ford's gigantic science brain and academic overachievement. Same deal. And not only this! Bill, in an attempt to prove what he can do with his "freakishness," to prove his worth and place in the universe - he tries to show off something to the denizens of his dimension (we don't know yet what Bill did), only to end up slaughtering his entire dimension. Ford was a hair's breath away from doing the exact same thing with the portal. Because we know from Journal 3 that part of his motivation is to be famous and get accolades for his work, and that maybe "girls will finally talk to me." (Which, Fordsy, let's be real here - I don't think you're actually into these "girls" for real, but you want the acceptance that comes with fitting in with societal standards, and getting a state-sanctioned girlfriend is exactly the type of thing Ford would want to make himself feel "normal.")

Anyway, the point being that if Ford had succeeded with his initial portal attempt, he would have basically wiped out his own dimension. Just. Like. Bill. And it makes you wonder - yeah, yeah, Bill wanted to party, Bill needed out of the Nightmare Realm, Bill's a psychopath who enjoys destruction.

But honestly? I think part it all was that Bill wanted someone like him. His own puzzle piece. Another monster. A being whose collateral damage in the quest to justify their existence in this universe ends in wholesale slaughter.

And Ford had the capacity to easily fit that mould.

Just realised a parallel that leaves Much to Unpack:

I feel like this is an underrated parallel that I wished to talk about. I just find it interesting that s1ep18, Land Before Swine, is something that hits harder given what we know of the Science Project Incident in A Tale of Two Stans. In both incidents, Stan’s careless mistake costed his loved ones something that they cherished (his negligence caused Waddles to be taken by a dinosaur and Ford lost a potential scholarship to a good college). I also find it interesting how he raises his arms defensively the same way in both confrontations.

I think this ep is important in the sense that stan goes thru a mini arc where he realises that he’s once again on the brink of losing his relationship with a loved one because he didn’t immediately take accountability or come clean. Listen, I know im a stan stan who understands that maybe him being defensive/doubling down on the lie stems from years of being accused of stuff or worried about the other person’s reaction/punishment or a combination of both. But I also acknowledge that bro lowkey dismissed ford’s reasonable frustration just cuz the turn of events was suddenly convenient for Stan cuz ford not getting into west coast tech meant that their original childhood dream was back on (Tho Ofc him getting kicked out was def a disproportionate response to said offense). In a similar way, he temporarily forgets abt Mabel’s missing pig that she cares a lot about to remark about what a great money making opportunity the sap covered dinos are. He still inadvertently hurt them through that even if he never meant to. So that’s why it’s so important for him to maybe somehow recognise the similarities. Which leads to him immediately stepping up to help mabel get her pig back in the same way he wished he could’ve immediately came clean to ford about the project before the science fair.

Bonus Parallels:

all good endings end up with two old old men on a boat, exploring the world and finding treasure and cool anomalies and being happy and content actually. it ends with two brothers being able to finally hug and say they love each other after years of bitterness made it seem damn near impossible. that’s the best timeline