Something About Them Being Kids And Doing Kids Stuff Is So Important To Me, I Love Season Fun (one)

I love flatland. <3

It's concept and world building is so unique. But one thing I've always found interesting is the concept of a 2D creature actually being able to SEE 3D when it is lifted out of it's plane.

In the book and in most interpretations, The 2D person is finally able to SEE 3D. But in reality it's likely that it would be physically impossible for them to see outside of their regular field of view.

Remember, a 2D person's eyes are also 2D, and because of this, they are specifically only able to see lines.

They're eyes have evolved this way, so when lifting them out of their plane of existence, they still can only see lines. These lines may change when flipping them around in space, but they'd never TRULY be able to see in 3D.

Not that I care too much, because it's a much more interesting concept to ignore the reality. But still an interesting premise....

......i hope at least one person even slightly understands what im trying to talk about.

Ford "Icarus didn't flap hard enough" Pines

stancest edit – me and my husband (mitski)

i only have the energy to color somthing once a month it seems 😭😭

@dejabooooo’s post about the Stans and jealousy got me thinking! I debated with myself whether to add a bunch of stuff in the tags or to reblog with an addition, but ultimately I’ve decided to make my own post because this is more of an analysis than anything. I hope you aren’t bothered by me chiming in, it really is an interesting subject!

In my country we have two words for what in English is described only as “jealousy.” When you feel envious of something someone has, be it their success, their house, their intelligence, or their cool vibes, the word used is inveja (envy), always. When you feel jealous of the affection a loved one is bestowing upon someone else, on the other hand—for example, jealous of your best friend’s new friend who always hangs out with them—it’s a specific feeling worthy of a specific word, ciúmes, which can be familial, platonic, or romantic. It’s a very useful differentiation, imo, and I remember being very confused when I started learning English for real and there wasn’t any. I believe that the English logic is that if you’re jealous of your best friend’s new friend, you are still jealous of something they have that you feel like you don’t have (your best friend’s attention & affection, in this case). I think the language also affects the culture, though, since here we learn to think of those two things as separate things.

Before we continue, my friend the English teacher advised me to offer proof that in English the words “jealous” and “envious” really are interchangeable since many people think they aren’t, so here you go, Merriam-Webster:

Ok, so. Back to the analysis!

All the Stan jealousy examples you’ve used would fit more with inveja and not be so related to ciúmes, but Stan has both in spades.

In this one scene, for example, the jealousy is not just related to something Ford has (genius intelligence)/Ford can do and Stan can’t do (build a light bulb), aka inveja, but also related to the attention/love Soos and the kids were bestowing upon Ford because of that, aka ciúmes. 

In fact, Alex talked about that in the commentary of Stanchurian Candidate:

At this point, the kids have become a surrogate family. In the beginning of the show, they were just kind of a little nuisance, and he kinda tried out getting the family from them that he never got from his brother—the idea that he would lose them to his brother is his greatest nightmare. 

Not only that, but ironically, Stan was jealous of THE KIDS, due to the attention Ford was bestowing upon them! According to the commentary of AToTS:

In order to bring out the maximum amount of frustration in Stan, he needed to have a bit of a heart. Like, [Stan] would see him being kind to the kids—he’s not all bad, which is so infuriating to Stan. The idea that he would quickly get along with the kids when [Stan] can’t get any respect from this guy—Ford is designed to what would bring out the most amount of conflict in the family.

And how does Stan act when he’s feeling that specific kind of jealousy (ciúmes) out of fear that Ford appreciates someone else more than him (which would be our focus as stancesters)? He amps up the passive-aggressiveness to 11, hahah. 

I mean, Alex never commented on Stan’s feelings in this scene, but just look at him.

In the same way he was jealous of the kids for receiving Ford’s respect, he was likely jealous of Fiddleford for receiving Ford’s apologies! Not in a romantic way, just... jealous.

You can notice the resemblance:

My conclusion is that when he’s feeling jealous (both inveja and ciúmes) of Ford (that is, he feels like Ford has something he doesn’t have OR receiving appreciation he doesn’t get) he goes to extreme measures to one up Ford and prove himself better, just like you said. However, when he’s feeling jealous (ciúmes) of someone else for receiving something from Ford (Ford’s respect, Ford’s affection, Ford’s apologies), though, he just... sulks.

Now, Ford! I can’t recall Ford feeling inveja of someone, despite his ambition, but we do see Ford feeling the ciúmes kind of jealousy:

Ford is not passive-aggressive and indirect about it. Ford is confrontational about it. He angrily asks Bill if Bill was “off inspiring some other scientist” and even questions the nature of their relationship to Bill’s face, but Bill manipulates his way out of that by guilt tripping Ford and pointing out that Ford had been the one skipping portal work to hang out with Fiddleford.

Imo, jealousy/ciúmes and possessiveness are somewhat different. You can’t be possessive without being jealous in the first place, of course, but you can be jealous without being possessive. Jealousy is just the insecurity at the core of it, but possessiveness entails at least some measure of entitlement, a certain confidence that this person should belong to you/be with you.

Ford does feel entitled to Stan’s help, at least (“I’m giving you a chance to do the first worthwhile thing in your life, and you won’t even listen!”) so considering the very codependent nature of their relationship as boys and the fact Stan has always treated Ford like the center of his life, it’s not a stretch to imagine Ford growing to feel entitled to Stan’s love or Stan himself, period. They’re twins -> Stan is his other half -> Stan belongs to him subconscious pipeline.

I think Ford is definitely more confident than Stan, whose confidence is a performance, and as such he has the potential to feel entitled to and possessive of Stan as a result, but that side of him wouldn’t be as easily awakened (like it was with Bill) because he’s more secure in the knowledge that Stan is indeed his—he’s more secure in everything, really, including his masculinity and physical appearance and potential. (Actually, it really is the same thing with their toxic masculinity! It looks like Stan is the only twin with toxic masculinity because of how insecure and pathetic he is about it all the time! Ford, on the other hand, has tons of it, but is way more subtle about it because he actually believes in himself.)

Stan’s jealousy, meanwhile, would be more easily awakened. He is in the corner crossing his arms and glaring very, very hard at you as Ford praises your new scientific project. He is, indeed, very pathetic about it.

Messaging people for the first time is so hard. What am I supposed to say? Like, "You seem really odd and your blog intrigues me. Do you want to have philosophical conversations or perhaps talk about fictional characters?" What! Whatever. I will just follow you back and stare at your blog with my big beautiful brown eyes.

Pinesot4pril Prompt 19

Winter

80's Stancest moodboard with wintery vibes

Happy Valentine’s Day!

loved the newest chapter! The Realignment Theory ❤

I think the most interesting and under-explored part of gf canon is the formation of the blind eye and I'm tired of pretending it isn't: a long post

Because hear me out here, if we really take a look at the timing of the only concrete source we have (mcgucket's video diaries), it doesn't... line up at all?

The clear implication here is that he started making the diaries after the first portal incident on January 18th 1983, so this would be our "day one"

"For the past year I have been working as an assistant for a visiting researcher... But something went wrong. I decided to quit the project, but I lie awake each night, haunted by the thoughts of what I've done... Test subject one: Fiddleford."

But this makes no sense. We know from J3 that the memory gun was actually invented after a series of traumatic events with Ford, months before he left the project. Further, the timeline the video diaries set up of the blind eye show that he began to deteriorate and founded the blind eye on day 22, which would be February 9th, but in J3 the blind eye is already a full blown cult by then.

In addition, where is he in this video? we know from TBOB that he isn't on good terms with his wife after Christmas of 1982 and he likely didn't leave GF after the portal incident, but he was living with Ford up until this so where is this room? If he had somewhere else to stay, why only stay there now?

Now, realistically the answer here is that the lore was changed and slightly retconned between the writing of this episode and the publishing of the book (which alex discusses in some of the commentary for this episode when discussing fidd's character), but I think a more interesting theory to solve this contradiction can be found in the source material.

If we play this all completely straight, there are two options here, both involving Fiddleford lying in his diaries. this isn't entirely new to the series, unreliable narration is a big theme, especially in Journal 3 and TBOB. the only real explanations are that:

A) Fiddleford was lying about this being the first time he used the gun, meaning this video diary takes place after the portal incident.

B) Fiddleford was lying about leaving the project, and was filming these diaries while still working with Ford.

Now, either of them is plausible, but ultimately Fiddleford is a scientist. He has dedicated his life to engineering, and it seems to be his lifelong passion considering it's one of the only character traits that he continues to practice after losing his mind. Would a man who is this talented, this dedicated, really lie about testing results in a video diary he chose to make?

If he had used the gun before, any kind of result he is trying to observe would be ruined. It would be a pointless venture, since we know for a fact that by the time he leaves the project he has used the gun on himself, Ford and other civillians multiple times. It's a complete failure of the scientific method, and I don't think it makes sense for the character we know, the man who quadruple checks his own calculations just to be sure they're right.

However, the other explanation feels like something he might do. We know he invents the gun after the Gremloblin incident likely sometime in August, and seems to use it immediately as evidenced by J3, on both himself and Ford. We know from the audio commentary that for Fidd, the memory gun is very much an addiction, it's something that he uses to curb his anxiety and appear like a better partner, to try and keep himself together until the project is over. But ultimately, he's known something is wrong with the project for a long time, and Ford mentions his tendency towards self destructive anxiety when Fidd rips out his own hair after Ford reveals the tip of the weirdness iceberg to him.

All this to say, I think it's far more realistic for Fiddleford to lie about leaving the project rather than his results. He knows that something is wrong, that he should leave and be with his family, and on the other side of that we know that Bill is using this anxiety to whisper into Ford's ear that Fidd is unreliable and will leave. He's been through a severely traumatic event with the Gremloblin, trapped for days in his worst nightmares, to the point where he is prepared to cause himself potential brain damage to un-see it.

But despite all of it, he doesn't leave. He is determined to stay, maybe out of loyalty, maybe out of fear for Ford's safety, maybe he needs the money from the project for his family. He has a wife and son who need him and we know that he feels guilt for his treatment towards them, he even cites them as his sole reason for backing out of using the gun immediately before he does it anyway, and uses it on Ford to cover his mistakes up. Fiddleford is a man who is wracked by anxiety and shame and is such a bad way by this point that he is absolutely willing to self-destruct and lie to just get through this project.

I think he absolutely would start documenting his use of the memory gun, even if that meant lying that he had followed his instincts and left the project when he should have done. After all, he says himself that he wants to use this gun on a wider scale as a therapy tool, assuming the gun doesn't turn his brain to mush, surely the tapes of his initial testing will need to be peer-reviewed? He's presenting the reality he wishes was true, the one where he is brave and stands on his principles and doesn't fall into step beside Ford on his path to destruction.

So, where does this leave the timeline?

Finding exact dates is difficult, mostly because the only concrete numbers in J3 are few and far between, but we do have the dates of the tapes to go off as follows. This isn't concrete but it's a fun way to recontextualise the events of J3:

Day 1:

First usage of the gun, followed by it being used on Ford

Sometime after the Gremloblin incident, Fidd's arm is either healed or on the mend from the incident as his cast is gone, so likely towards the end of August.

Note on the cast: It could also be gone as a result of him removing it too early, he doesn't seem to take a lot of time to recover from the incident before he gets back to work in fear of disappointing Ford.

The room he is in is likely his bedroom in the Shack, or whatever location he initially uses to form the blind eye, maybe a room in the museum? The "probability of failure" graph in the back is the same one that he shows Ford the night before the Portal test, albeit a bigger version, meaning he has likely been tracking the output results for a while.

Day 5:

Still exhibiting postive results, no deterioration yet.

Day 22:

First signs of mental deterioration

First mention of the blind eye, Fidd draws the symbol onto a notebook but it is already scribbled in the background over a diagram of the portal. The blind eye symbol is first mentioned in J3, when Fidd hands it to the carny who becomes the eventual leader of the cult, so this diary likely takes place after he has begun using it on other people.

Official formation of the blind eye as a group to help people forget traumatic memories.

His room in the shack is in a state of disarray, his plants are dead and there are handprints in oil or ink on the walls. Notably, he seems to be connecting the idea of a single eye and the portal despite not being aware of Bill at this point, which I'll touch upon later.

The carnival is likely in September according to the timeline by @fordtato

Day 74:

Slight physical deterioration, more physical anxiety

It seems that Fidd has been regularly using the memory gun at this point, to erase even minorly distressing images from his head, and his anxiety has taken a nosedive. Likely explanation is that this diary is after the bunker, where he had another severely traumatic experience (kidnapped by a shapeshifter and reduced to mute from anxiety) and seemed to become obsessed with doomsday planning. During the bunker arc he also used the gun on multiple workmen and Ford once again.

Likely takes place in October/November

His room is a complete mess by now, with the walls covered in papers and "Help Me" scrawled on the walls.

At this point in J3, Ford has made his deal with Bill and is allowing him to possess his body whenever he pleases. Bill has also sucessfully driven a divide between the other two by making Ford doubt that Fidd will be able to make it to the end of the project, and Ford describes his frustration with him.

According to Ford, Fidd is just as agitated and nervous before the portal test as he was during the Gremloblin attack, and obsessively checks and rechecks his calculations, causing Ford to worry for his resolve.

In between this diary and the next are the stolen pages from J3 that are in TBOB, which give us slight insight into Fiddleford during this time but not much. We see that he tries multiple times to reach out to him the only way that Fidd knows how, through invention and creation, with the snowglobe and the six-fingered gloves. Ford, however, treats them carelessly as a result of his increased attention to his muse. At the same time, he tries to visit home but is kicked out by Emma-May after he forgets to get her a Christmas gift. This is played as an example of his connection with Ford, him remembering two gifts for the man and none for his wife, but if he really is suffering from his use of the gun at this time, the forgetfulness makes even more sense and his argument with his family means he doesn't have a support system outside of Ford who is paying all of his attention to the project. After this, Fiddleford is more reclusive than ever as he spends early January compiling a thesis for Ford to publish

Day 189

Physical deterioration is in full effect and he can't hide the result of his addiction any more, even just to keep up appearances.

His arm is broken, likely due to the car accident he mentions accidentally causing, but its the same arm he broke during the Gremloblin attack and could be a result of him taking his cast off too early for it to have healed right in the first place which could explain why he wears it for so long.

Significant mental decline as he has started exhibiting signs of brain damage or swelling (decreased vocabulary, forgetfulness, loss of motor functions) however, he is seemingly lucid enough to question if the memory gun is causing negative side effects.

There are actually bottles visible in the back of the room, possbly referencing the addiction metaphor being used here

This would take place after the portal test, likely late January. Ford is at the height of his paranoia, Fiddleford has left the shack and taken every trace of his research with him except his college picture with Ford, and the blind eye is a fully established and seemingly self-governing cult.

Day 273

At this point, Fidd has relocated to a motel and is seemingly completely mentally gone, ripping out his hair and developing his hunched posture. This likely takes place after the blind eye takes his memories, or he continues erasing them himself. It's possible that the blind eye continues visiting him and taking his memories even after he is ejected as a member, or at least until they forget who he is after using the gun on themselves too many times.

It appears to be snowing outside? Which doesn't line up with either the canon timeline or this timeline, so potentially the days on the video diaries could be incorrect assuming he isn't filming them every day, or has lost so much of his mind by this point that he isn't labelling them right and has lost track of time

The final two entries are a similar story, serving only to show us the end of his decline and him eventually becoming fully homeless, retreating to the junkyard he lives in for the next 28 years (jesus, he really deserved that mansion).

Ultimately though, this timeline asks a lot of interesting character questions.

Why did Ford not realise how bad Fiddleford's decline was becoming? Maybe a mix of circumstances, he was falling deeper into his worship of Bill at the time, to the extent that he was regularly being possessed and judging by the lack of journal entries at the time, very pre-occupied. We also know that Fidd used the gun on him at least twice in canon, and possibly used it more than we know in order to convince Ford he was okay.

If Fiddleford was erasing parts of Ford's memory, did Bill know? Personally, I feel that Bill was aware but knew that ultimately it would serve him. Fiddleford, without ever encountering Bill at this point, created the blind eye symbol which is eerily close to Bill's symbolism, how would he know that when we know Ford is possessive of his muse and doesn't share anything with Fidd about it? How does Ford have visions of Fidd in a red cloak without ever knowing that the cult and Fidd are directly connected? My thoughts are that Bill, who we know has erased Ford's memory himself before when he stole the journal pages we see in TBOB, was using most of this as fodder to drive a divide between the two, mentally creating associations in both of their minds so they stop trusting the other. Chess but with troubled gay men.

All in all I think Fiddleford's decline is such an interesting way to approach a theme of addiction, particularly a high-functioning addiction. If this really is how things played out, we know that throughout his use of the gun and even 30 years later when he is considered a write-off, the one thing he maintains is his engineering prowess and his smarts. It makes sense that even when actively using the gun and hiding it from Ford he would be able to keep up in terms of building the portal, especially when we know he secretly hired workers. It's also a great example of someone drawing others into their addiction, even if it was unintentional and he didn't believe they would be hurt in the long run.

I feel like sometimes there's a lil bit of a push to see Fidd as a naive or morally good character even through his mistakes and to demonise Ford in response, but ultimately both of them are very morally grey and have their own vices that they develop and grow from.