Inspiration

Always serving! Thank you for the meal 🍝✨👌

the first time i posted this it got flagged as mature and i dont know why??

anyways new ish style i like teehee!!!

bonus w/o text

A good night's rest

I SUCK AT BACKGROUNDS SORRY

Yep .

Good night.

s1 -> s5

be careful what you wish for, Fordsy

commission info here

look it’s Alex Hirsch enjoying his favorite meal

this is what happened right

what A day

Why Filbrick Pines is not as bad as he seems (UPDATED)

WARNING: This post is the updated version of the same post I wrote in 2019. Since I deleted the old blog, I did not want to lose this old analysis, so here it is. I hope you will keep enjoying it even thought I’m not THAT deep into Gravity Falls anymore.

Also, this is a personal opinion, so it’s completely fine if you do not agree. On the contrary, it is even better, because we can have a nice discussion! So if you want, feel free to share your thoughts about this.

____________________

Before starting: I am NOT saying Filbrick Pines is a perfect father. I am NOT saying that everything he did was the best possible choice. I just want to put down everything we know about him, every word and every detail, in order to analyse them, find connections and possibly reach a better understanding of his character. Or at least trying to.

Said that, let’s start with something a lot of people forget: the time period Filbrick Pines lived.

____________________

The time period

According to the Gravity Falls wikia, Stan and Ford Pines were born somewhere between late 40s / early 50s.

If we assume Filbrick Pines was 30 when his sons were born, that means he himself was born around 1910. If we assume he was older, that means he was born at the beginning of the 1900. More than a century ago. And I do not know if you have any idea of how society was at the beginning of the XX century. Spoiler: it was completely different from now.

But let’s assume Filbrick was 30 years old when his sons were born. Okay, let’s even assume he was 20. That means he was born somewhere around 1920. That means he saw the racial laws agains Jews. He saw the Second World War. He saw Berlin’s wall, he saw a lot of things today we find in textbooks. We are talking about events that took place EIGHTY YEARS AGO. If a lot of things changed from 2000 to 2022, just imagine how many things changed from 1920/1930 until today!

For example, let’s just consider how men were supposed to be, back then. Always strong, always confident, never a moment of weakness. Men were not supposed to cry like frail women: they had to be leaders, head of the family, always the best, always ready to prove how strong and brave they were.

This is a mindset we are starting to dismantle just now, in the XXI century. Something we see as an old relic of the past now.

But back then? That was the norm. And if this mentality was the norm, is it so weird to imagine that Filbrick was probably raised with this exact same mindset?

Just look at him: what do we see? A tall, strong, intimidating man, “tough as a cinderblock”, as Stan described him. A perfect incarnation of the “strong, brave man” ideal.

Let’s keep this in mind: Filbrick Pines is a man from the past. His mindset is completely different from our own, so it would be wrong to just look at his actions through the lens of the XXI century. We cannot forget he was born 80 years ago (more or less) and what for us is wrong, for him it was the only right thing to do.

Does that mean we can justify everything he does? Of course not. That means we can understand what he wanted to do and recognize what went wrong. He is a man from the past, but we come from the future: we are more open-minded, we accept cultural, racial, sexual differencies. Society evolved and that allows us to look back in a more impartial way.

So, let’s do it.

____________________

DREAMSCAPERERS

Let’s start with a quote, directly taken from the transcript of Dreamscaperers. Stan is talking with Soos, explaining why he is so hard with Dipper. The reason is quite simple: when he was young, he was bullied.

“It was terrible. I was the biggest wimp on the playground! So one summer, my pop signs up me for boxing lessons. It was even worse than the school yard! Y'know, that time I thought my pop was trying to torture me. But wouldn’t you know it? The old man was doin’ me a favor all along!”

So his dad signed him up for boxing lessons. And Stan, by his own admission, did not like it. Boxing! Something that he deeply enjoys now! And something he kept doing during his teenage years.

“That time I thought my pop was trying to torture me”

Well, it doesn’t look like he’s hating it. Actually, he seems quite confortable on a ring, with bowing gloves on, having fun with his bro.

Have you ever done something you did not like, but had to do, because your parents forced you? It happened to me, when I had to learn how to ride a bike. I did not like it, I was grumpy and said that no, I would never use a bike… but then, I enjoyed it. And now I still prefer it over a car.

“The old man was doin’ me a favor all along!”

If you’re doing a rewatch, focus on this scene, because there’s a small, important detail: Filbrick nods in approval. His son was a wimp, not strong enough to stand to his bullies. So, he did what he thought was the best: teaching Stan how to react.

And his father’s lesson helped Stan. When he grew up, he saved his girlfriend from a thief, people cheered him and he gained more confidence in himself.

Filbrick wasn’t good at talking with his son and helping him build confidence through support and approval. But he helped him anyway and he did it the only way he knew: by making him physically stronger.

And it worked! Heck, it worked so well, Stan does the same with Dipper. In the whole series, I do not remember a single scene where Stan sits with Dipper and tells him how much he supports him. But I remember Stan showing his support, by pushing Dipper to improve, to become a better person. He always gives Dipper the hardest works, in order to make him stronger. And when Dipper shows his strength, Stan smiles in approval.

“Not bad, kid. Not bad“

So yes, Filbrick probaly was not good with words and quite hard with Stan, but the reason behind his actions was very understandable: as every father, he wanted his son to be strong enough to stand up by himself and protect his loved ones.

____________________

LOST LEGENDS: PINES BROS MYSTERY

I am putting Lost Legends before ATOTS just because here the Stans are still kids, while in ATOTS they are already teenagers.

But before going into the story, let’s share this:

Not only this is the cutest thing ever, but also shows how Caryn acts towards her husband. She gives him a small, gentle kiss and then laughs at the camera.

Why? Probably because of his “tough guy” reaction. As said before, Filbrick was not raised to show any kind of emotional “weakness” because man = strong and all that jazz. So he probably wasn’t used to publicly  show affection towards his wife either.

Still, if he was a heartless man, I doubt she would be this cheerful. If she didn’t love him, I doubt she would give him such a gentle kiss.

But let’s get into the story now.

The Stan bros are having a nice day and planning some adventures, when their father calls: one of his items is missing. And he knows who the culprit is:

Please notice: Filbrick is not accusing Stanley because he hates him. He accuses Stanley, because Stanley has a reputation of stealing. “You are ALWAYS pickpocketing”: that means it is not something that happens occasionally. It is something that comes out regularly.

And, of course, Filbrick is not happy about that. One of his sons is not behaving well, so as any typical strict father, he grounds him.

Here’s another interesting details: Filbrick already knows Ford is smart - probably because Ford showed some talent in school and started to achieve good grades. So Filbrick already knows one of his son is clever and good at school, while the other brings trouble.

After that, Stan and Ford go to search the Jersey Devil. The story is adorable and hilarious, then this happens:

Do you remember what Stan said, in Dreamscaperers?

“So one summer, my pop signs up me for boxing lessons. It was even worse than the school yard! Y'know, that time I thought my pop was trying to torture me.”

Here we can see the same emotions: Stan clearly wanted his father to show him more support. A more emotional father, someone who talks to his son, tells him what he is doing wrong, shows support and and love.

But we already saw that Filbrick is not that kind of father. He’s from a time period where the general idea of being a good father was something more like: “my son is misbehaving, so if I am hard with him, he will become better”.

He was being hard for Stan’s own good. And sure, being a strict father is good. But he was missing the most important thing: to show some support too. Filbrick was so focused on being a strict father, to not show Stan enough affection. And this is a mistake, but also a consequence of the mentality he was born with: Filbrick wasn’t a man used to express his feelings.

Heck, considering that kind of mentality, maybe Filbrick thought that being nice with Stan would’ve been like allowing the kid to misbehave. Showing affection would’ve been like showing a crack in his stern façace, a weak spot that could’ve been used by Stan as a way to keep going with his bad habits.

“Sometimes feels like Pa hates me” it has the same vibe as “Y'know, that time I thought my pop was trying to torture me” from Dreamscaperers. As said before, Stan didn’t realize how his father was trying to teach him.

Also, there’s another important information here: Ford says their father has a short fuse. We already saw that, at the beginning of this story, when Filbrick immediately accused Stanley of being the culprit and decided to ground him. It was a very quick reaction, made in a fit of anger. Almost like another decision we will see him making.

And yes, it was heartbreaking learning the reason why Stanley broke the case and stole the chain. It shows how hard it was for him, living with a father that never showed him the support he needed.

Here again we can see the limit of Filbrick’s way of teaching. He wants to toughten his son, to teach him how to better behave, but he lacked the affection part. So yes, Stanley became a better person, but it took him years to realize how his father was teaching him and that he actually cared.

At the end, we have this:

This is one of those great moments in which words are not necessary, because the body language speaks loudly.

We see Filbrick carrying the chain in his hands and looking at it. His face is conveniently half covered, but the gesture is enough: there’s no anger, no sadness, no frustration. He’s touched by this.

And if this gesture alone isn’t enough, we have Caryn’s espression: sure, Stan did something bad, but only to give his father a gift. To show him some affection. And Filbrick WAS touched by it.

But if you don’t believe me, there’s a code that is linked to the Lost Legends book, that leads to an internet page full of nice additional informations (here is the link, if you had no idea that thing existed: https://partners.disney.com/shmeb-you-unlocked).

If you click on one of the books, there are some additional informations about Filbrick. And, among them, there is this one:

Never wiped “#1 dad” off his gold chain.

So Filbrick maybe never thanked Stan for his action, but he appreciated it. And he showed it, by keeping the chain. Just like Stan will show his affection over time.

And so, the story ends with Stan and Ford grounded for the rest of the summer. You may say it’s not fair, but it makes sense. Why? Because Stan’s idea was nice, but his actions were wrong. Lying, stealing, destroying the glass case and hiding it from his father: this is not what a good child should do, no matter how pure his intentions were.

And this is a preparation for the future. As Ford said, Stanley takes a lot of bad decisions, prefers shortcuts and “sometimes it gets you into trouble”. Now he’s still a child, so Filbrick is responsible for him. But his father won’t protect him forever: Stan will grow up and, one day, he will take full responsability of his actions.

Filbrick is preparing him for that day. By showing Stan that bad action have bad consequences, he’s indirectly saying that he should better behave, because he won’t be protected forever. But he does it poorly, by not showing enough affection to his son. So, instead of fully understanding the lesson, Stan will think he’s just the stupid twin, “half of a dynamic duo”.

____________________

A TALE OF TWO STANS

“Dad was a strict man. Tough as a cinderblock and not easily impressed.!

Stan confirms what we saw from Dreamscaperers: his father is a strict man, tough and unimpressed. A “real man”, as the mentality of the time wanted him to be.

But, one day, his dad is called by the school, because there are some great news:

“I’m saying your son, Stanford, is a GENIUS! All his teachers are going bananas over his science fair experiment! Ya ever heard of West Coast Tech? Best college in the country. Their graduates turn science fiction into science FACT! The admissions team is visiting tomorrow to check out Stanford’s experiment. Your son may be a future millionare, Mr. Pines.”

Let’s try put ourselves in his shoes: you always knew your son is clever, but now the principal tells you that he has the incredible opportunity of attending the best college in the country. And not “one of the best”, not “a good one”, but the BEST.

And he could become a millionaire! Just imagine your life, if one of your relatives suddently becomes a millionaire: no more worries about bills and taxes, raising kids will be way easier, every problem will disappear, you may even quit your job.

Of course Filbrick is impressed, anyone would be! I would probably die on the spot, so it makes sense they are THIS shocked:

And then, one evening, Stan and Ford start arguing.

“This was no accident, Stan; you did this! You did this because you couldn’t handle me going to college on my own!”

“Look, this was a mistake! Although if you think about it, maybe there’s a silver lining. Huh? Treasure hunting?”

“Are you kidding me? Why would I want to do anything with the person who sabotaged my entire future?!”

We all know what really happened, but see it as someone who doesn’t know anything. If you just hear this conversation between, would you believe that Stan is innocent?

Now, try to see it from Filbrick’s point of view: your clever son, future millionaire, comes back home one day, yelling that his good-for-nothing brother sabotaged him. And his brother just tells that “It was a mistake”, before changing subject: a reaction that sounds more like an half-ammission of guilt, rather than an explanation about what really happened.

From his point of view, Filbrick just heard Stan admitting he destroyed his brother’s life, by making him lose a chance that will never happen again.

“You ignoramus! Your brother was gonna be our ticket out of this dump! All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother’s coattails. Well this time you cost our family potential millions! And until you make us a fortune, you aren’t welcome in this household.”

“All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother’s coattails”: same vibe as “You’re always pickpocketing and monkeyshining” from Lost Legends.

But now Stan is not a child anymore. Now his mistake isn’t just breaking a glass. Now his mistake is HUGE and it affected his own brother. He made Ford lose an occasion that will never come back. And the consequences of his action affected the whole family too! (“Your brother was gonna be OUR ticket out of this dump! / This time you cost OUR FAMILY potential millions”).

Sure, it was naive from Filbrick to think Stan would intentionally do something this bad to his own brother, the person he cares most in the entire world. But remember: Filbrick has a short fuse. And Stan has a long history of stealing and lying. So Filbrick connected all the dots and reached the most obvious conclusion: Stan did it on purpose, in order to keep his brother with him forever.

And this shows another interesting detail: how Filbrick cares about Ford. Because before ruining the family, Stan’s action ruined his own brother’s future. He could have studied in a great school, instead of a mediocre one. And ihis is not something any parent would see, for none of their kids.

Speaking of kicking people out, I want to share something that happened in my family some years ago.

My father’s sister has two teenager sons, A and B: A left school at 17, but he quickly found a job with a watchmaker. B left school too, but instead of finding a job (or even attempting to do it), went out with his friends all day, smoking and drinking all night.

One day, my uncle found out his bank account was empty. When he tried to recollect what happened, he found out B took all the money from his bank account to bet on horses.

My uncle was livid. He came back home, told him he would not spend a single cent anymore and kicked him out of the house.

B stayed with his aunt for several months, before my uncle accepted him back and when he did it, he kept an eye on him all the time and forced him to find a job.

Why am I sharing this story? Because my uncle is a man in his 60s and he has always been a laid-back, carefree guy. Despite this and despite being in the 21st century, he got so mad at his own son, to kick him out without a second thought.

Does that mean he is a bad father? Or that he does not love his son? Of course not. He was so angry, to not think straight anymore. He needed several months of boiling down, to welcome his son back.

Of course that doesn’t mean that not kicking your children our of the house makes you automatically a good parent: parenting is not easy, there are a million of other mistakes parents make all the time and I don’t envy them at all.

My point is: Filbrick is not a bad father, because he kicked Stan out. He is a bad father, because he never expressed his support to his son. Because he was hard, without any kindness. Because he tried to teach him, but never showed how proud he was of him. 

And you know what is truly awesome? That Stan is a good person. Even if his father was not very good and his teaching methods were questionable, not only Stan became good, but better than him.

And he did it, even by keeping his father’s sayings, like this one:

Or even by choosing the same job:

And, as we saw in Dreamscaperers, Stan ended up using the same teaching method his father used with him: by being hard on Dipper, in order to make him stronger.

The big difference between them, is that Stan shows his emotions. He shows how much he cares about his niece and nephew. He shows how much he cares abot his family. Unlike his father that never managed to show any emotion because he was taught to be stern and strong, Stan is free to be both kind and strong, both weak and stern, while still being the beautiful, great man Filbrick wanted to see.

And I really believe that, if Filbrick was (is?) alive, he would probably be very proud of how his son became so much better than he never was.