Some time passes, and the lads are headed up to Crash Site Omega in search of a quantum destabilizer. This whole bit gives us the infamous stargazing scene and I have quite a few thoughts on the conversation they had. Their whole conversation I think continues that feeling of quiet intimacy and comfort between them, but shakes it up with the developments we get. While discussing the future, Fiddleford has pretty modest hopes – just a nice screen door. Ford, meanwhile, seems to think he’s speaking on the same level as Fiddleford while he’s actually going on like a somewhat vengeful gloryhound. Fiddleford’s reaction to this makes me think that he’s noticing something uncharacteristic about Ford here. This is the point where I think Fiddleford is really starting to worry.
Of course, this scene also gives us the infamous and unfortunately edited line that really, really solidifies something ambiguous about their relationship. I far prefer the original line and how easily it can be read in a few different contexts, but that whatever context you put it in, no doubt again this is reinforcing they are extremely important to one another and Ford is glad to have Fiddleford there. I think this might reassure Fiddleford, a little bit, but it’s hard to say. I would like to know more about his motivation for asking Ford whether he would settle down and have a family – whether this was him doubting his own situation and questioning how Ford felt for him, whether it was him expressing worry and trying to discern when Ford would stop working himself rapidly toward burnout, and whether Ford’s response was a quiet confession of romantic love or an indication he simply has no interest in romance (and I do love me some aroace Ford), or whether it’s Ford more generally talking about not really ‘getting’ a lot of societal norms and not wanting to pursue them for other reasons, related or unrelated to his feelings for Fiddleford or his orientation.
Next on the trip, they succeed in getting the quantum destabilizer, only for the gremloblin fiasco to happen. Ford, in a characteristic show of bravado and heroism, chases right after the gremloblin to rescue Fiddleford and brings him home to treat him (though I’d like to know what Ford’s credentials are… Wilderness first aid? Pff. I’d like to know if he did get further medical attention for Fiddleford or not, too, at least for the damn broken arm! If not, I think this only further shows how Ford is changing as a person, getting wrapped up in his own pride at the expense of those he loves…undoubtedly partially because of Bill’s manipulation and sweet-talking). We know Fiddleford is deeply shaken by this event and it directly leads to his creation of the memory gun. We know Ford puts in a genuine effort to help Fiddleford process the trauma as best he can, and that he strongly disapproves of the memory gun. On that note, I think a lot of times Fiddleford functions as the ‘brakes’ while Ford functions as the ‘gas’, but here’s a delightful instance where those roles get flipped and Ford is trying to pump the brakes on a reckless idea of Fiddleford’s (made under extreme duress, mind!)
Ford is led to believe that Fiddleford destroyed the memory gun, arguably because Fiddleford said he did. Now we have Fiddleford lying to Ford, and there is arguably evidence that Fiddleford uses it on Ford, that he may discuss it somewhat with Ivan at the carnival, uses it on the construction workers that he enlisted to help with the bunker, and so on…all while hiding this from Ford. Ruh roh!
Speaking of the carnival, here we have Ford being directly warned by the palm reader. His insistence on proving her wrong and acting like she’s full of malarkey is very him (and somewhat…screams mommy issues to me but that’s a ramble for another day, oops..). Ford ignores the warnings, but now has the ring. Fiddleford gets that wonderfully gourd-geous squash with a human face as a ‘gift’ for Ford. I love this latter little detail – again it’s a hint at that more jovial relationship between them. Things are slowly spiralling and breaking between them, but that love is still there. Of course, after being around the squash and finding it deeply unnerving, Ford gets rid of it. Ah well, Fidds tried. I guess he’s not as good at picking out gifts for Ford as Ford is at picking out gifts for him!
Later, Fiddleford proposes the bunker idea as a safety measure for their study of whatever they find with the portal, and Ford concedes that this is a sensible plan. Despite his irritation at the delays to the portal itself, Ford is still pretty excited about this and Fiddleford goes all out with the plans – leading to Ford’s observation that he’s glad Fiddleford is his friend since he’d be terrifying to have as an enemy! The excavation for this leads to Ford’s discovery of Shifty, which we know Ford was quite jazzed about and Fiddleford not so much.
I think the scene where Shifty mimics Fiddleford only further emphasizes the shift in Ford and Fiddleford’s relationship – contrasting Fiddleford’s observations and noticing of small changes in Ford’s behavior with Ford getting blinded by hubris and getting absolutely tunnelvision-y about the portal and Bill. Ford does not notice that this isn’t Fiddleford for quite some time, despite the fact Shifty was doing a piss-poor job actually acting like Fiddleford or sounding like him. I can’t imagine how much that stung for Fiddleford, on top of the trauma of the whole situation.
Shortly after this fiasco, Ford finds himself frustrated by the need for sleep. It’s clear he’s been pushing himself, and likely Fiddleford, too. Fiddleford retires for the night, giving us this infamous exchange:
Fiddleford: “Don’t forget what happened to Icarus.”
Ford: “He didn’t flap hard enough.”
Here we go, more evidence of Fidds functioning as the brakes, likely noticing Ford is, once again, rapidly working himself toward burnout and neglecting caring for himself. It’s a stark contrast to the idea of Ford we get pre-Bill – a very curious, dedicated, and hard-working person… but one that’s still willing to take it easy sometimes, probably play DD&MD, and to nap under trees like some idyllic Ghibli character.
No doubt Bill is somewhat influencing this, but I think Ford does get easily wrapped up in things he enjoys, but with the added praise and false hopes from Bill? Of course he’s throwing his all into it – golden retriever personality + pride is now biting him in the ass.
Ford goes on to express frustration with Fiddleford, again constrasting what we’ve seen before – which was Ford admiring Fiddleford for who he is. All his previous ‘frustrations’ were minimal, old married couple grade stuff, and phrased in a way I can’t help but read them in a lighthearted way. Here we get something that feels much more like genuine exasperation… and I wonder if Ford vents to Bill about these things. I have a feeling he does.
Not long after this, Ford and Bill interact again. Ford, still frustrated about the constraints of unfortunately being an animal, takes Bill up on an offer to take over and continue working while Ford slept. Ford expresses immense gratitude and makes a comment about Bill seeming to read his mind, lending in a sense of intimacy between them that before, he might have shared with Fiddleford. That’s now starting to crumble even further while Bill continues to foster his relationship with Ford.
The following morning, Ford seems pretty amused about the whole thing, while Fiddleford seems much more dubious. Ford is enjoying keeping secrets about Bill from him at this point. (can I get another ruh-roh?)
Following this, Ford makes notes about noticing Fiddleford behaving differently. He says that Fiddleford is acting much more nervous about the portal, much more finicky and wound up. While Fiddleford shares well-founded concerns about the stability of the portal based on his inevitably flawless equations, Ford dismisses his concerns outright, insisting that the portal is coming along perfectly. He derides Fiddleford for his worries rather than listening, despite having no reason to dismiss him. Remember, not long ago, Ford was gushing over Fiddleford’s ideas, his brilliance, and showed trust in him when he expressed concerns – re: the need for the bunker, and so on. Just like that, Ford’s behavior towards Fiddleford has done a 180. If Fiddleford hasn’t caught on that something is deeply wrong with how Ford is acting at this point, he surely has now.
Another quick bit of speculation… but I absolutely think Bill was pulling strings, here. Ford likely told Bill plenty about Fiddleford, and Bill absolutely weaved his way into driving a wedge between them once Fiddleford’s ‘use’ to the project was nearing a close. Fiddleford was absolutely an asset to Bill, but while being an asset, he was a threat solely for having some goddamn sense AND Ford’s trust and admiration.
Ford is excited to test the portal, regardless of Fiddleford’s worries, and talks some bigshot bullshit, ready to presumably walk himself into the history books. I think it’s important to note here that he exclusively talks about HIMSELF, and makes no mention of Fiddleford despite his immense contributions (he doesn’t even mention Bill, for that matter, though I think this is more arguably justifiable based on earlier things Ford had said about him, worrying about seeming insane, and who knows what Bill told him.. Probably some nonsense that ultimately it was all Ford’s work with just a little nudge or some shit. I’m speculating again! Ah!)
It's January 17, the day before the test, and Ford and Fiddleford are out for a celebratory meal. This is when Fiddleford finally puts his foot down about his concerns. He explains, again, the problems he uncovered with the portal, the dangers it posed, and that they would be reckless to operate it. He once again questions where Ford got the ideas for the portal, and while Ford considers his answer, Fiddleford provides him with a manuscript that pulls together all of Ford’s work in Gravity Falls (presumably since 1975). This is damning evidence that Fiddleford had looked through the journals, and based on that, he now knew about Bill and his role, he could see flagrant, written evidence of the shift in Ford’s personality and the breakdown of his trust in Fiddleford, and so on. Ford is backed into a wall here, while Fiddleford is desperately urging Ford to publish his already impressive volume of work, to abandon this project that’s been destroying him, and to get his life back.
We get the implication far earlier that Fiddleford is a devout Christian, or at least had such a background, and remains superstitious. I cannot fathom quite how severe learning about Bill and what he was would come off to him. It was clearly serious as is, but I imagine a thousand times so given the context in which Fiddleford would have viewed it.
Anyway, continuing on.
I think Ford is plenty justified in his anger, here. I can see why he would take major issue with this and feel insulted. As a scientist myself, if someone took my notes and wrote a manuscript with MY name, I’d be furious. What am I? Not a good enough writer? Did they think I couldn’t do it well enough? Did they doubt the plan I had for how I would present my research? I can only imagine the thoughts that Ford had, on top of this confirming to him that, well Fiddleford had been rifling around in his work, too..
I think this moment is when the real, presently irreconcilable damage is done between them. Fiddleford now has evidence of Ford’s lies, that he’s being tricked and manipulated by nothing short of a demon, and that he’s lost trust in his best friend. Ford, now, thinks Fiddleford completely untrustworthy too, as someone underestimating him, doubting him, and holding him back rather than pushing him forward and lifting him up. Absolute shitshow, really.
Ford asserts his intention to test the portal, with or without Fiddleford, and goes on to fume for the rest of the evening.
The next day, during the test, Fiddleford is there. Despite all the danger, despite all the fears he had, he STAYED to see this through and didn’t let Ford do idiotic shit without him. I think the fact that Fiddleford stayed until this point, that he held on even with evidence the situation was bad and getting worse, even with evidence he was in danger, even through every trial and tribulation he’d been through, he remained at Ford’s side down to this fateful moment. I like to think he tried to make it work. That he hoped against hope the portal would be okay, and that he was mistaken, but I think he knew in his heart he was right.
Sleep deprived, he made a mistake, and we all know what happened from there. Fiddleford met his breaking point and finally left, leaving Ford to watch the most important person in his life exit once again.
And now he’s alone. Again. Left to face his mistakes and realize the gravity of the situation, and to realize quickly how horrible of an error it was to mistrust and dismiss Fiddleford and believe Bill’s silver tongue.
We know things were awful for both of them from then on. I have a lot of thoughts on that, especially the how and why of TSOTBE with Fidds, but that’s all speculation and headcanon so I won’t get into it.
We know that Ford did try to go find Fiddleford, but failed to do so, and eventually called on Stan.
Would Loki really cry if he had a best friend who loved and cared about him unconditionally?
first of all: yes
second of all: yes
there are loads of reasons for this but the first the foremost I think is that the lad was betrayed by everyone he could’ve considered close to him in Thor 1. and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing or any kind of indicator of how he normally behaves, but he spends maybe 70-80% of the film being generally overrun by emotions and crying about it. he literally spent his whole life being drilled into thinking he was inherently lesser than others and if having everyone he thought could’ve cared ripped away from him in the span of a few days put him in a constant state of emotional inequilibrium you’d better believe gaining someone who loves for and cares for him would be an equally jarring realization albeit in the other direction. it may even be more emotionally overwhelming considering he would’ve at least suspected that people didn’t value him as much as Thor his whole life, but his self esteem doesn’t really seem to be enough that he would suspect someone would genuinely care for even some of it which is when the confusion and general ‘overwhelmed’ part comes into play when he’d realize.
second off, we’re given loads of proof that even when people prove time and time again that they don’t really care for him he still cares for them. he is still impacted by things they say and/or do even when he covers it up well. boyo’s biggest character trait and personal flaw is literally that he’s selfless and forgives people too easily for slights against him. he just doesn’t hold a grudge because he’s sentimental it’s ridiculous. not only do I think his affinity for expressing emotions would extend to people who he knows are not actively abusing him but i’m almost certain that every time he’d remember there is someone who cares he’d have a miniature crisis and have to just process that because he’d have to personally come to terms with and remember that he was actually lovable and spent his whole life surrounded by people who just didn’t. It’d mean having to process a very real traumatic event and a life-time of small comments and lesser but no less real toxic environment which he may have believed at some point that he would not be able to leave, but had stayed in, and still holds feeling for.
tldr; yes, because he hasn’t processed past trauma including being betrayed and finding out he wasn’t cared for/loved unconditionally by people he’s known his whole life. yes, because loki is a person with the self-destructive habit of caring too much for people who don’t even deserve it and I refuse to believe he wouldn’t extend that affinity towards and put that energy into people who do care.
tagged by: no one! i stole it from ren <3
tagging: anyone who wants to do it!!
my muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated
Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO
Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK and im too afraid to find out
Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK
Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK
Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO
Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.
Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO
How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL
How strictly do you follow canon? — pretty strictly! it’s really only towards the end of SA2 and after it where i start taking creative liberties! as whirl nearly dies himself trying (and failing) to save his shadow, and then starts going into rider’s time instead of jumping into heroes.
SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — you like the adventure era sonic? you hate how he sometimes handles really serious scenarios or brushes them off like nothing, as if they aren’t traumatic as shit in any way? wanna see a pretty mentally and emotionally fucked up lad struggle with handling his troubles and keep up the dark/serious theme SA2 set that sega is too cowardly to go back to in modern day? well bOY DO I HAVE THE HEDGEHOG FOR YOU. this bad boy ACTUALLY has emotions and struggles with handling them and many other things due to the position he has put himself in over the course of his life, but also doesn’t completely wear him down and stop him from being who he is! as well as dealing with the fact he and his timeline are MUCH further behind than other alternates of himself and friends. sonic “ whirl ” hedgehog is a young hero still running his way through life the way he wants like the rebellious, free-spirited teenager he is, while learning that not only is he a hero, but he’s also a person.
Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — quite frankly, he’s sonic. there’s a lot of them out there. he can probably be too energetic, positive, etc, or perhaps this blog focuses a little too much on his trauma and internal struggles or even the general dark theme to the point it’s a turnoff or just hard to really read. he’s also an annoying idiot to the point it’s frustrating.
What inspired you to rp your muse? — yo sonic was my fucking LIFEBLOOD as a kid. lived and breathed this franchise. sa2 was my first game ever, sonic was my fav character (and still is), so my absolute love for this specific version of him became too much to internalize sooooo here we are ; w ;
What keeps your inspiration going? — straight up, sonic is probably my biggest comfort character to exist ever. always makes me happy, always makes me feel better when im down, etc. there’s nothing he can’t do that doesn’t make me smile, regardless of how sega treats him. being able to pour my ideas into a character i love so much to the point he becomes really personalized (and personal for me), and it’s actually something people enjoy seeing and interacting with? it gives me so much goddamn sertonin.
Some more personal questions for the mun.
Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters.
Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO?
Do you frequently write headcanons? YESSSSS I CANNOT SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT WHIRL ask anyone i Do Not Shut The Fuck Up even if i don’t post abt it on tumblr
Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO just bc im bad at writing them abndhjbfd
Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO
Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO
Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO
Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO / SORTA.
Do you accept criticism about your portrayal? — always!! i’m always willing to learn and improve on things, especially with the canon of some events from games and such, as i’m not 100% with everything besides SA2. all i really ask is that when receiving criticism, people are as nice as they can be with it! thanks adhd and personal trauma
Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — ABSOFUCKINLUTELY I DO
If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — mmmmm? mm. kind of? but also not really? like. everyone’s entitled to their own opinion ofc, i’m not gonna rip anyone apart for disagreeing with something, but like. i have adhd. i’m v hypersensitive to some things, so it can really be processed in my head the wrong way and it makes me feel bad. so i guess just....... be careful about it if you ever wanna tell me why?
If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — i’d probably just kinda be like “ damn that sucks bro, but thats literally not my problem, there’s a whole ton of other sonics out there bye ” bc like. i dont care? don’t even really tell me bc honestly ur just wasting ur time lmao
If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — ill be the first to admit im. v attached to sonic as a whole. he means a lot to me! so going off abt how you may (generally) hate him really....... is just upsetting to me. but thats just bc im v attached to him, and there’s nothing wrong with having that opinion on him!! we all get upset when someone talks bad about something we love. all i ever ask is that try to keep it away from me, especially if it’s abt whirl in particular, bc it can really upset me and thats just not fun for anyone <:3c
Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — absolutely!! i make them all the time and i even have a friend proofread some of my stuff bc of how common it is aBJDBHBJC, again i just ask if people are nice about it when pointing that stuff out to me!!
Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — oh fuckin yes absolutely, im tooting my own horn and i dont even care, im one of the chillest people on this fuckin planet
