AD ASTRA PER ASPERA!

!! THIS IS A MAAAASSIVE WIP !! PLEASE BE PATIENT :P

Welcome to my Ford shrine hehe... This is basically my corner to be super autistic about him. You'll find my personal analysis, some headcanons, and more! I just have a lot to say about him so here is my place to do so. :)

Ford is a very special character to me, both as a kid and now, so there's lots here to read! I hope you enjoy. And if you don't I don't really care because I'm gonna write all this stuff about him anyway. Lol.

WHO IS STANFORD PINES?

Stanford Pines is a character from the 2012 Disney animated show Gravity Falls. Though he doesn't appear until the second half of the second and final season, he drives the narrative from as early as the very first episode, as Dipper finds the third journal he wrote documenting his time in Gravity Falls.

Stanford is a 50-something researcher and inventor, as well as being Stan's long-lost twin brother, and the author of the journals. He has 12 PHDs, and dedicated his life to researching the oddities and anomalies of Gravity Falls, hoping to publish the Grand Unified Theory of Weirdness. In this pursuit of knowledge, he meets Bill Cipher, a dream demon who promises that in helping him build a portal to other dimensions, all will be revealed-- this is, of course, a lie, and Ford realizes all too late, spending 30 years trapped in the portal, and now dedicating himself to killing Bill and saving the universe after he finally escapes.

A PERSONALITY ANALYSIS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A CHRONIC FORD DEFENDER

View also: Hana Hyperfixates' incredible "A Defense of Stanford Pines" video essay

Ford immediately portrays himself as a strong, jaded, yet confident person. He wants to be seen as intelligent, as above others-- but if you ask me, and if you read the journal and actually absorb his character, it's all a front, at least in my eyes. Of course Ford is intelligent and strong, no doubt about that, but he needs to make sure you know it. Ford, in reality, is a deeply self-concious and insecure person; he has Gifted Kid Syndrome, for lack of better wording. As an effect of the pressure placed on him as a young kid into adulthood, he feels as if he must always be the best, he must be the golden child, he must be perfect; because if not for his grades and intelligence, what is he? Without his grades and intelligence, he's just the six-fingered nerd from Glass Shard Beach, and who would want that?

Ford's insecurity is evident from some of the first moments we see him. One of the first scenes we see of him is a flashback to a young Ford, somewhere from 10 to 13 years old, being bullied for his fingers and wondering if he really is everything they say he is, wondering if he is worth anything at all. Ford's fingers make up a large part of his identity-- they are his biggest insecurity, yet also something he prides himself upon. They are the entire reason he takes such an interest in weirdness, after all.

"To put it simply, I am strange. I was born strange, I am attracted to the strange, and the strange has always been attracted to me."
- Stanford Pines, discussing himself in Journal 3

This insecurity is the exact reason he throws himself so deeply into his research, the reason he allows Bill into his life, and the reason he loses Fiddleford; but that's to discuss later in their respective sections.

Outside of his insecurity, Stanford is an incredibly passionate and kind man, albeit one who has made major mistakes in the past. I think that many of the "horrible" things he's done can be easily tied back to and explained by his trauma. Does that make it okay? No, of course not, but it is an explanation that many ignore. Ford is, at his core, a deeply caring person. Again, we can see this in one of the first moments he is introduced. In A Tale of Two Stans, he initially is incredibly angry at Stan (discussed later in my Stan and Ford analysis), but immediately softens upon learning he now has a niece and nephew since he's been gone. He immediately expresses joy and love towards them, even upon his very first time ever speaking to them, and fresh out of 30 years of instability. In the next few episodes we see him, he's shown to be passionate and kind, even if he expresses it in ways that may seem odd to some.

I think many people view Ford as pretentious or rude, hell, while the show was still airing many people theorized he was the true villain of the show, but I think this perspective is a massacre of his character. Yes, Ford can be unkind, and yes, he can be a know-it-all, but it doesn't come from a place of malice. I'll discuss his specific behavior in his relationships in their respective sections, but I think Ford is, frankly, just autistic and struggling to cope with trauma beyond most people's comprehension. The autistic part isn't canon, to be entirely fair, but I and many others see him as incredibly autistic-coded, and he exhibits many of the traits of autism. He's almost a stereotype: blunt, nerdy, outcasted, but incredibly passionate and intelligent in the right spaces. I think viewing him through this lens gives us a much more forgiving, brighter view of Ford, but either way, deep down, he is a good person. I don't care what anyone tells you. If you still disagree, watch the video essay I watched above. I don't care if it's 5 hours, you WILL love Stanford Pines.

A TALE OF TWO STANS: AN ANALYSIS OF FORD AND STAN

View also: Hana Hyperfixates' A Tale of Two Stans (over)analysis video essay

Stanford isn't actually introduced directly until S2E11 (though we do see him in S1E9!), and up until then, we are to believe that Stanley is Stanford. Confusing, I know! There's a whole joke about it in the show, it's that bad. Basically, for those who haven't watched the show, here's the Cliffnotes: Stanley (Grunkle Stan) and Stanford are twins. They have a falling out as Stanley ruins Stanford's chances of getting into his dream school. Years later, Ford meets Bill, builds portal for him, and goes insane. Stanford calls Stanley to come help him. The two fight, and Stanford is accidentally pushed into portal. Stanley assumes Stanford's identity, pretending to be him to avoid suspicion, and spends the next 30 years trying to bring the real Stanford back. Got it? Good.

When Ford is introduced in a full sense in S2E12, A Tale of Two Stans (HE SAID THE THING!), he is immediately meant to be seen as the "better" twin, whether the viewer agrees with that or not. Especially after the build-up from the rest of the series of trying to find the author, finally seeing him is a big moment not only for the viewers, but the characters as well. Dipper, especially, takes a liking to Ford, idolizing him even more than he did the mysterious figure of The Author. Where Stan is sarcastic and lazy, Ford is serious and driven. Where Stan is messy, Ford is tidy (metaphorically). Where Stan is a trouble-maker, Ford is the golden child. Where Stan is nothing, Ford is everything. Do I agree with these sentiments? No, of course not, and I don't think the viewer is supposed to either. We are meant to like Ford, but we've spend a season and a half learning to love Stan even through his faults, and that doesn't fall apart now. However, by general society, Ford is always seen as the better twin, and Stan lives in his shadow-- he even takes Ford's identity, for Christ's sake, he spends his entire life living in the shadow of his brother.

I think that the twins compliment eachother well-- where one has weakness, the other has strength, and vice versa.

THIS ISNT DONE SORRY I HAVE SO MUCH ANALYSIS TO GO HERE

MY MUSE (WAS A MONSTER): AN ANALYSIS OF FORD AND BILL

ONE OF THE BIGGEST HEARTS I'VE EVER SEEN: AN ANALYSIS OF FORD AND FIDDLEFORD

MY PERSONAL HEADCANONS & THOUGHTS

WHY I LOVE STANFORD

View also: my selfship page, featuring some info about my selfship with Ford!