Stayford was selfish, his emotional dependence on Bill Cipher and how he ruined the lives of those who loved him without he realizing it
Look, first of all, I want to make it very clear that this is not an attack on the character, Besides Ford, he's my favorite character after Stan, but i think Ford has some aspects that I think we should notice.
Firstly, it's that thing from the last post I mentioned that I mentioned, that Ford doesn't love the stand as much as it loves him, that Ford doesn't value Stan as much, but even so Stan he spent years and years dedicating his life to trying to bring his brother back and even so, Ford didn't pay attention to it, he didn't care, so much so that as soon as he left the portal he arrived and punched Stan in the face and he didn't even apologize for that, afterwards and didn't even thank his brother, because as I said, at the end he said thank you, but it was also a sarcasm thank you.
It kind of starts there, his brother was always by his side, took care of him, defended him and when Stan needed him Ford wasn't there, when Stan was being kicked out of the house due to an accident that he didn't even intend to cause committed, Ford didn't do anything, it's not that I'm saying he doesn't have the right to be upset or mad at his brother for ruining his chance of getting into college, but still man, it was his twin brother and he didn't even try to talk to his father or try to resolve things and didn't even try to defend Stan like he always defended Ford, he didn't do anything.
And then years later, when he did all that shit there because of Bill, he simply calls Stan for help asking him to go as far as possible with the diary even though he knows that Stan's biggest dream was to live with Ford. And furthermore, based on what I said in the previous post, about their anniversary there is that page in Bill's book where he says that Bill gave him that gift that was dead rats.
But then, nothing about Stan, nothing, he didn't even think about his own brother because he was so fixated on Bill and his research.
Everyone here probably knows Fliderford and knows how much he cared about Ford, to the point of putting Ford's name as the password on his computer and losing years and years with his family. To end up going mad because of Ford's ambition for knowledge that was fueled by Bill Cipher. I bet Fiddleford had tried many times to warn Ford about Bill, so much so that a scene of Ford meditating on an altar to Bill shows Fiddleford looking at him disapprovingly.
And one thing that makes me a little resentful of Ford is the Christmas pages, which Fiddleford took the time to make a gift for him and not one for his son or wife, showing how much Fiddleford put Ford first before his own family, and Ford probably didn't notice it.
I've been thinking and reflecting and I think about how Fiddleford is a suffering and even sad character. Losing years and years of his family, losing his mental health and sanity, losing the love and attention of his son, and all because of one thing... Stanford.
Look, I don't think Ford was aware of all the damage that was happening, because he apparently always had his head stuck in his research and in Bill Cipher, but I don't put all the blame on Bill, since Ford was an adult and should have known better who to trust, yes, he was manipulated, but if he hadn't trusted Bill Cipher a lot of things would have happened differently. (Gravity Falls probably wouldn't even happen)
But now back to the main topic, I also want to point out that he called Dipper to be his assistant and apprentice, I'm not saying this was bad, it was actually a great opportunity for Dipper, but what I mean is that Ford didn't think about Mabel, he didn't even think about how he was shaking the relationship between the two younger twins, just like he did with his relationship with Stan. Think about it, Dipper and Mabel's parents were probably in the middle of a divorce (as mentioned in Dipper's dream about him accidentally witnessing his parents fighting) and Mabel was going to be alone without the person she loved the most and who was always there for her, the story of the Pines twins was going to happen again.
It upsets me that Ford didn't think of Mabel as much as he did of Stan in his teenage years (when Stan was kicked out of the house).
"Ah, but Stan had Mabel as his favorite."
Yes, I know that, but even so he never stopped thinking about the two twins, so much so that he only teased Dipper with the intention of helping him grow and become stronger so that he wouldn't have to the same fate as Stan, he cared and thought about the future of both twins, unlike Ford who chose only Dipper.
I'm not saying he doesn't love Mabel, he actually adores her and has a lot of things in common with her, like writing in a diary and wearing sweaters, but that part about her breaking up with Dipper is what bothers me.
Now about your emotional dependence on Bill Cipher. I think he has this because he seemed very attached to Bill and several times in the book he says that he missed Bill when he disappeared from his head, not caring how much harm Bill did to him and his body when he took control of him. Ford says several times in the book that his body was sore from the highly dangerous things and situations that Bill put him in and yet Ford never put a stop to it. He only stopped when he saw how traumatized Fiddleford had become and when he confronted the yellow triangle who quickly gave the game away and exposed that he had been deceiving Ford all along.
And then in the final moment where he would shoot Stan with the memory-erasing gun, you can see that Ford was hesitant, about having to shoot Stan but also about erasing Bill Cipher, the muse he had for so long.
Ford spent several fragile moments with Bill Cipher and became very attached to him. Bill in turn did the same, because it is clear how bad Bill felt after separating from Ford.
Bill and Ford are a relationship just like Lapis lazuli and Jasper in Stiven's universe, a toxic and harmful relationship for both parties in the relationship, in addition to dependence, emotional overload, trauma, and physical damage. Ford probably got a few scratches here and there from when Bill would take over his body and roll around on the floor or any dangerous place, plus a tattoo in a very... specific place (In the area above the butt).
Bill is also a character with a great story and tragic lore behind him, but I will talk about that another time.
Look, guys, I see Ford as a lovable character who has suffered a lot and made a lot of mistakes and who is learning from them, yes, he is often selfish as I have shown, but he regrets it. As demonstrated when he apologizes to old Mcgucket in the end it is even shown that he tried to repair his friendship with the same one who forgives him.
We make mistakes, we are human, we make mistakes and we learn from them. It is not wrong to make mistakes but it is important to learn from them.
Well, folks, that's all for now, from what I can think of at least, Ford is my favorite character along with Stan and I love exploring the personality and attitude of the two that they had, because as I said rather, liking a character means knowing their good and bad points.
If you have a different opinion or something you would like to add, please share it, but please do not be rude or offensive.
Thank you for reading, bunny kisses 🐰💋
