slowlyvaliantmoon

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

Can someone send drawing requests please? 👉👈

I really wanna draw some Stans but I don't have any ideas :(

#gravity falls #stanford pines #ford pines #stanley pines #stan pines #art requests #svm yells

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

Last week, I got to go on a road trip to see the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse in totality. Seeing it was unlike anything I've seen before... It was just... incredible. The Sun was gone- my domain, the Moon in its place- and despite it being mid-day, it was dark.

The Moon completely covering the Sun is something so incredibly beautiful yet rare to see, there's absolutely no way Ford wouldn't drag Stan to see a total solar eclipse post-Weirdmaggedon, whether it be about three years after in the Faroe Islands, or just last week after a road trip from Oregon to somewhere in the path of totality.

The background picture of the eclipse they're looking at was taken by me when I saw it last week :). It is probably the best picture I've ever taken.

#gravity falls #stanford pines #ford pines #stanley pines #stan pines #stan twins #solar eclipse #total solar eclipse #solar eclipse 2024 #eclipse 2024 #svm art #art #gravity falls fanart #a glimpse behind the fourth wall

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

re-watched gravity falls recently and was ferried back to the days of old where I filled time with 437385848 different aus... my favourites were always ones where they go through the portal together and brave the multiverse as a duo :)

#ooooh #ford pines #stan pines #researcher ford #mullet stan #gravity falls au #portal stans au #the journal 4 🥹

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

#dude i am so sick of that guy #i want to be Free from acknowledging him #i alr blocked like 4 people in the span of a couple minutes #like no hate to those people genuinely but i’d rlly not want to see anything about fords supposed “ego” #or about h*rchs view of his relationship w bill #that book abt bill or whatever it’s called it haunts my dreams #ive been distancing from gf content slowly so that it won’t hurt so much #when i have to block every tag when it comes out #ford is my character now i will not stand to see his name slandered a decade after the show (Tags from coyacoin)

eegggghhhhhhhhhhhhh

#I keep forgetting to reblog this #REAL #us: *look directly at hirsch* #*casually pick up ford* #*walk away carrying ford* #svm yells about the fandom #filthy ford apologist squad #the book of bill

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

Yeah, a lot of it probably boils down to our own definitions of ego. Despite that, I still think we disagree somewhat… regardless of definition, I really don't think Ford is a character with some notably big ego, nor do I think that "ego" is a good descriptor for his motives. I say this with no disrespect to you nor anyone who experiences that; I don't want to demonize anyone nor any mental disorders with that. I've just had enough of everyone using the word "ego" in relation to Ford.

But the point is that Ford is not a bad person. Not at any point in the story. He was never "evil," never some "moral failure," never Too Far Gone for his own good. What he was (and is) is someone in need of a fucking hug.

If you see yourself in your perspective of Ford though, then I respect that. If I'm against someone for relating to and resonating with Ford, (unless they blatantly are wrong about/misunderstand his character) then I have become the very thing I sought to destroy.

Anyway I'm going to hit Filbrick Pines with a car.

well hold on, if we define a character flaw as any limitation a character deals with, regardless of whether it's something Morally Wrong With Them or not, then Ford's paranoia counts as a character flaw since it does in fact negatively impact him and the people around him. Let me use better wording here: I will die on the hill that Ford's paranoia is not a moral failing.

#okay im too tired to articulate any further #stanford pines #ford pines #gravity falls #svm yells about the fandom #filthy ford apologist squad

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

Overall, I agree with what you're saying, although personally I disagree with a lot of it, namely the talk about "ego."

To be fair, almost any talk about Ford having a "big ego" or whatever turns me off since so much old anti-Ford rhetoric is ego-this, ego-that, Ford's ego is massive and it gets in the way of everything, blah blah blah all of that stuff.

Truthfully, I don't think Ford has some big ego. At the very least, not any bigger than that of most other characters like the fandom depicts it to be. I can see how this appears as ego... but I think it's better explained by him being "the weird kid" in his school years, autistic, and an abuse victim. These are some things I know from experience very well. When you're othered from your peers for being weird, the only thing you can really do, aside from internalizing it and having low self-esteem, is to try and embrace your weirdness and your strengths (i.e. intelligence) in an attempt to defend against said low self-esteem, since it feels like that's all you have. So I agree in that what Ford is doing is in self-defense... although I really don't think it's egotistical. It's just... low self-esteem. Ford's defense against low self-esteem. There's no real motive of "I'm so superior to everyone" behind it. It can appear to others as ego, but it really isn't that so much as trying to survive.

There wasn't some huge ego driving Ford's "putting down" of Stan. Everything in Ford's point-of-view suggested that Stan intentionally broke the science fair project. In their reunion before the portal incident, Ford was literally working against the possible end of the world and probably hadn't slept in two weeks. When he came back through the portal, Stan was expecting Ford to thank him for putting the world at risk for Ford. (Reminder that Ford has some pretty damn low self-esteem. He didn't think he was worth being saved, so why would Stan risk so much just to save him?) When completing the Cipher Wheel, Ford's "Grammar, Stanley" comes after hearing nothing but passive-aggressive remarks (some more aggressive than others) from Stan since Ford was unfrozen. The list goes on. As for Fiddleford, Ford's "putting down" was after months of a literal demon manipulating Ford against Fiddleford, subsequent paranoia, and a general state of high emotion. Don't forget, this is a parallel to what Stan yelled after being kicked out ("I don't need you, I don't need anyone!") yet no one calls Stan egotistical for that. They see that Stan is hurting, and just putting up a front as defense, not necessarily ego- and Ford does that in the same way. You say Ford's "ego blocks his vision from some of Mabel's attributes and fails to realize she's still a growing child," but is that really "ego" and not him simply not knowing? Remember, up to this point, Ford doesn't know Mabel as well we do- it's dramatic irony, people! So of course he's going to have some misconceptions about her! When he offered Dipper the apprenticeship, he genuinely believed that Mabel would be fine on her own ("She has a magnetic personality!") Was that belief correct? Of course not, but Ford simply didn't realize that about Mabel. There was no egotistical motive behind it... Ford literally just didn't understand Mabel the way we as the audience do.

As for how Ford regards his work, I can see how that could be technically defined as egotistical, but everyone says that with bad faith and doesn't actually understand it SO I think it's better explained by, like I keep saying, Ford's low self-esteem. He takes pride in his work because of his general low self-esteem- researching anomalies is something he feels like he's actually good at- not because of some general big ego. The reason why he wants recognition for it is that it's like art. You probably wouldn't want some art piece you worked so hard on to just be reposted and the reposter gain the recognition for your art. It's the same thing for Ford's work. And since I mentioned autism earlier, combine the fact that anomalies are a special interest of his, and of course Ford would want to be recognized for the studies he worked so hard on over something that means so much to him.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record here, so to be concise: it's his low self-esteem that led him to fall prey to Bill. It's Bill's manipulation and abuse that led to Ford's paranoia. I agree with all that you're saying... it's just that I don't think any of it resulted in Ford being egotistical, nor that he was egotistical in the first place.

Again, I understand how Ford may appear as egotistical. Hell, it seems that was the original intention for his character. But the actual character we got in the show was something different. I really like how @roasted-thoughts puts it:

[Alex Hirsch] was not thinking from the perspective of people who understand the perspective he was writing. it’s bizarre and uncanny to watch the third dimension bleed out.

We got a character that is (in my opinion) better explained as someone with low self-esteem, autistic, and an abuse victim, who's just trying his best. A perspective that writers weren't really thinking from, but a perspective that some people like myself completely understand and relate to.

I've never related to a character as much as Stanford Pines; never seen a character with such a similar perspective to me as Stanford Pines; never felt so understood by a character as Stanford Pines... but apparently, I was never actually understood in the first place. It's kind of funny to me.

Well... I definitely went a bit hard with this one. Anyway, that's why I don't think Ford is egotistical.* Hopefully that all makes sense.

* Not any more egotistical than most other characters in the show.

well hold on, if we define a character flaw as any limitation a character deals with, regardless of whether it's something Morally Wrong With Them or not, then Ford's paranoia counts as a character flaw since it does in fact negatively impact him and the people around him. Let me use better wording here: I will die on the hill that Ford's paranoia is not a moral failing.

#the random influx of reblogs last night was me looking for old posts on this topic from people better at articulating things than me #stanford pines #ford pines #gravity falls #meta #svm yells about the fandom #filthy ford apologist squad #abuse mention #I have to say: Thank you for not taking Ford in bad-faith #thats a first as far as people analyzing him under the lens of being egotistical #long post #fandom wank

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

every popular Ford meta: the word “ego” accounts for every single thing Ford does. cutting people off? ego. opening up to people? ego. changing a fucking light bulb? ego. don’t you see that the whole aim of meta is to narrow the range of thought? in the end we shall make Ford Apologia literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. every Hot Take that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten

me: …but being a perfectionist to avoid being just a “freak” is low self-esteem

#ford pines #filthy ford apologist squad

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

#im sorry i didnt mean for this to turn into a rant #but people are constantly getting ford's character WRONG #and as someone with abuse trauma and mental illlness i NEEDED a character like him #and seeing people talk him down like this is SO HURTFUL (Tags from mathes0n)

@boopboopitydoop

With all due respect I completely disagree. Ford’s fatal flaw isn’t that he has a “big ego”, because the show and Journal 3 constantly contradicts that, whether or not the creators intended it.

It’s shown from a young age that Ford has a very low self esteem, due to his six fingers and the constant bullying he’s endured. From Journal 3, it’s pretty heavily implied that he saw his smarts as all he was good for, and thus put a lot of effort into that (and from the type of parent that we know Filbrick is, it’s likely that Filbrick encouraged this mindset)

Ford’s ego didn’t get Stan kicked out. No, I don’t think that Stan deserved to be kicked out, but he did treat something of immense importance to Ford as something that barely mattered, and Ford’s anger is understandable; how would you feel if someone ruined your life (for a poor teenager with very little chances of success, that HAS to be what Ford felt like) and then brushed it off like it was nothing? And like I said, Filbrick was a terrible guy. Do you think that Ford really could’ve talked him into not kicking Stan out? None of this was caused by Ford’s ego, but by Stan’s (understandable) fear of the situation and Filbrick’s shitty parenting

And riddle me this; if Ford’s really so egotistical, do you think that he’d fall for Bill’s tricks so easily? Ford canonically has a dangerously low self esteem, as he seems to have no regard for his life or safety and constantly puts others’ safety above his own, and Bill prayed upon that. Bill filled the void that was Ford’s lack of self-worth with praise, and a purpose. If Ford had a big ego, do you really think he’d just let Bill help him?

Bill used him. Bill groomed him. Bill manipulated him. Bill abused him. And Alex Hirsch himself could come to my doorstep and try to tell me otherwise, but literally everything in the show and Journal 3 gives us a clear sign that Ford is literally an abuse victim. And I can tell you, that really really effects your trust and relationships with people.

And despite Bill trying to convince Ford that he’s this super genius that Bill has chosen, Ford still insists that Fiddleford is smarter than him. I keep seeing these OOC fan comics where Ford underestimates Fiddleford or treats him like shit and it’s so awful because Ford has nothing but respect for Fiddleford. Yes, they argue, and yes, they disagree. But it’s not because of Ford’s ‘ego’; never does Ford insist that he’s smarter or better than Fiddleford in any way. If anything, their arguments can all be linked back to the fact that Bill is manipulating Ford (don’t forget, Bill is literally in Ford’s mind; who’s to say that he didn’t change some things in Ford’s subconscious to make Ford see his way? Not saying this is canon, but it’s a possibility, and not something that I’d put past Bill)

The only two times that Ford ever talks down on Stanley is something about “earning his worth” and “Grammar, Stanley”, and he doesn’t say this out of ‘ego’. He says these because in both of these instances, he had gone through extreme trauma and hurt, and while I won’t say that those were the right things to say, he probably wasn’t in the right state of mind because of the literal mental and physical torture he’s endured. Other than that? Ford’s had a lot of respect for Stan! He stays away from the kids under Stan’s respect (people LOVE to say “Ford kept hanging out with Dipper bc he doesn’t respect Stan!” when at the end of DD&mD, Stan literally says something like “Dipper you can hang out with Ford if you want”), he tries to invite Stan to join him in a game, and not O N C E has he flaunted his ego over Stan, or anyone.

And, to finish this off: Ford wanting to stop his abuser is not ‘egotistical’. Ford wanting to atone for the mistakes he’s made and the lies he’s believed is not ‘egotistical’. Ford wanting his life back after 30 years of places that he’s never belonged is not ‘egotistical’. Ford wanting to do something right when, in his opinion, all he’s done is wrong is not ‘egotistical’.

Stanford Pines is not egotistical, and his ‘ego’ not NOT result in ‘Stan getting hurt’, and implying that is a huge disservice to his character.

#ford pines #bill cipher #abuse mention #filthy ford apologist squad

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

i think they see how proud he is of his work and take that for a huge ego, like no hes so proud because he doesent have an ego, he feels like a piece of shit, but this is something hes good at and personally relates to, so of course hes proud of that

the boy hates so many aspects about himself… to him the journals are the ONE good thing hes done with himself bc hes poured so much of his life and work into them that if he didn’t have some appreciation for them then he’d be a bigger mess than he is already

#ford pines #filthy ford apologist squad

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

i dont why ppl always claim that ford is so egotistical and has a huge self esteem…. like the boy Hates himself he’d always willing to throw his own life away and i dont think he said a single positive thing about himself in the entire show….

#ford pines #filthy ford apologist squad

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

If bitches keep talking "Word of God"

I'm about to become a Reddit atheist

#svm yells about the fandom

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

do i want to spend time complaining about journal 3? is it worth kicking the hornet’s nest of a dead fandom in the year of our lord 2022

#thinking about this again after last night #to bring myself back down to earth

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

eegggghhhhhhhhhhhhh

#apparently those alex hirsch interviews came out #i'm not watching them because if i do i will go insane (negative) #so ofc my perspective here is flawed but #i saw a couple posts of some of alex's quotes from the interviews and #ohhhhh boy i am not having a good time right now !!! #yay more stuff about how ford is icarus #yayy more stuff about how ford is trapped too far in his head to have any meaningful relationships #yayyy more stuff about how ford ''result[ed] in Stan being this hurt and needy and mad'' #sooo glad to hear how meaningful it is when people say something resonated with them and they feel a connection to it #ohh but btw the character *you* resonate with his Too Far Gone for his own good and ruins the lives of everyone he comes into contact with! #that's right! the character who made *you* feel *seen* in a way you never had before!!! #ah... such a nice and impactful thing to hear 😌 #i feel so touched by these words 🥰 #can't wait to hear this in so much more emotional and provoking detail when the book of bill is released #(for the record the previous 9 tags are sarcasm.) #k ive said enough #good night #svm yells #svm yells about the fandom #<- or rather its creator #but i already know the fandom is going to eat this up if not already #fandom wank #filthy ford apologist squad

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

messy :p

#gravity falls #ford pines #dipper pines

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

@missglampaws @fishy--friend

Too emotionally constipated to cry. Just face on the ground in distress.

new current emotion

#svm yells

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

#'i'll die on this hill' one second later: un-dies on that hill on a technicality #godsrambles #one way in which i probably differ from ford is that i could not care less about winning any arguments all i care about is being accurate #people are right about a lot of fords character flaws actually. the part they are wrong about is which ones are Moral Failings #and also people misinterpret his motivations and intentions behind things. but the flaws themselves? sure yeah people can identify those #unpopular opinion but i think ego is fine on its own too depending on how you define ego. case in point: papyrus. yknow the skeleton #it only becomes a problem when you're putting other people down. which i dont think ford is guiltless of but. the others do that too #idk sometimes when other people go 'omg... ego moment :/' im like 'a chance to hype eachother up! yay' i dont assume im being looked down o #unless thats specifically demonstrated to be happening #but the thing that kills me is that stan constantly puts other people down. but since he doesnt idk have an ego or talk weird its fine?? #i very much agree with dipper when he replied to mabel with 'ford doesnt make fun of me all the time like you guys do' #and like once again. to each their own #some people see that level of making fun of people/being made fun of as just friendly banter and thats fair enough #but i really appreciate that ford isn't like that (Tags from godsfavoritescientist)

well hold on, if we define a character flaw as any limitation a character deals with, regardless of whether it's something Morally Wrong With Them or not, then Ford's paranoia counts as a character flaw since it does in fact negatively impact him and the people around him. Let me use better wording here: I will die on the hill that Ford's paranoia is not a moral failing.

#can't believe i didn't see any of this until now #YES!!! to everything OP!!! #although i also am of the belief that his paranoia isn't entirely a character flaw either #like bruh i really dont think traits of mental illness and/or neurodivergence are character flaws #they're traits of mental illness and/or neurodivergence. #ford pines #ableism mention #svm yells about the fandom #filthy ford apologist squad #fandom wank

[slowlyvaliantmoon]

#like would you call anxiety or depression a character flaw? maybe people out there are doing that too idk. but that would be equally false #one of these days i'll give in and make a list of his actual character flaws since its apparently so hard to figure out #obviously every character is open to interpretation and personal readings. but man#no wonder this guy didnt trust anyone. people take his every action in bad faith even in the real world </3 #no i will not say why this is on my mind right now. im simply having a moment #edit: I made a follow-up post with better phrasing since character flaw and moral failing are not actually interchangeable words lol (Tags from godsfavoritescientist)

I will die on the hill that ford's paranoia is not a character flaw

#fucking same #ford pines #ableism mention #filthy ford apologist squad #fandom wank