Someone Had To Do It!

<3

My brother started playing music and I hear "it's the Holy Ghost Party" and am very confused. But I'm also not, because I know what he listens to. But also. What?

Loooool

I just realized the correct tag is "anti billford"

Every day I long to shake roughly 3/4 of the fandom by the shoulders and shout at them that any relationship Bill and Ford had was horrifically abusive

Dipper: It's dark. Like your soul.

Pacifica: My soul is glow in the dark, actually.

Pines Twins Parallelisms

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who thought about the parallelisms of the oh-so untouched dynamics of Ford and Mabel, and Stan and Dipper, but humor me.

In a previous post, I mentioned Mabel is a mini-Ford in Stan’s font and Dipper being a Stan Jr. in Ford’s flair so here’s my take.

Mabel is just like Ford because, other than being the sweater-loving older twin that would always add something to in their diary/scrapbook, her mind is the only other stand-out to the Bill Cipher other than Ford's. He took genuine interest to her mindscape.

As for Dipper, he's so much like Stan. No book? Left hook!

Both Dipper and Mabel mirror the different aspects of Ford's mind and Stan's heart. Let's start with the obvious:

Dipper has Ford's academic mind and craving for problem-solving adventure.

While Mabel has Stan's emotional capacity to know what to do to the things left unsaid.

And now for the other way around:

Mabel has Ford's mental fortitude to face the unknown with the optimistic belief that they'll survive it all just so that they can record it on paper.

And Dipper has Stan's immovable tenacity to protect the family he loves so dearly, no matter how dangerous or afraid he is. For them, he'll do it all.

I just love them so much how can I be normal about it.

not wanting to be outdone by the benders in the gang, sokka invents the flamethrower, the supersoaker, the leaf blower, and the concept of throwing rocks at people

Everyone needs a Mabel for their dash.

Og Treehouse gang was fucking broke. They’re broke as fuck. They live in a goddamn treehouse with only one room, they don’t even have a bathroom. They Barely scrape by with numerous odd jobs around town. They survive by eating copious amounts of suspicious stew. Power of found family friendship can’t pay the damn bills.

~~~

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.