#pipanswers

[prettyinpwn]

Hi! I don't remember if anyone asked this, but do you have any headcanons about Shermie Pines?

Ah, see, this is the part where I totally self-promote share this wonderful, totally not owned by me ask blog reply: https://askthestans.tumblr.com/post/756343677567336448/hey-stan-can-you-tell-us-stories-about-your

But here's a full summary of my headcanons on the guy:

Older brother to Ford and Stan. I know the timeline's screwy with that baby in the background of ATOTS, but I personally just headcanon that that's some other baby and Shermie's not around in the house because he's off in the military.

I definitely picture him being in the Navy. I picture he's got sailor's tattoos. And actual cool ones, no offense to Ford.

I can't find the reference for the life of me, but I swear to God I once read from Hirsch (I think it was a tweet?) that Stan learned the "you cuddle up to a girl, knock her up, suddenly your life's fallin' apart" oddly specific joke in Little Gift Shop of Horrors from Filbrick. Going with my headcanon that Shermie's the older brother, that means he's the oops baby.

Because of that, and Filbrick's general suckage, Shermie struggled a lot with his dad like the Stans did. I think like Stan, he wasn't especially exceptional - or at least in a way that could make them money like Ford's brains - and Filbrick might have projected a whole "my life fell apart after I had Shermie" thing on the poor guy. So... I don't imagine Shermie got along real well with Filbrick. I also headcanon the large gap in years between Shermie and the Stans as Filbrick's hesitation to have more kids. I think Caryn would have wanted more, and eventually convinced him to have another (and whaddaya know, two for the price of one!), but Filbrick all over just gives me the vibe of a guy that never wanted to be a father, and Shermie knew that even as a kid, so he felt rather unwanted.

In terms of personality, I see Shermie as like... a straight laced golden retriever. Like a pure heart of gold "sees an old lady struggling to walk across the street and gets out and helps her" type guy. Being Mabel and Dipper's grandfather, I think he shares Mabel's optimism but Dipper's sense of right and wrong, which is what makes him a bit of a square (see the Ask the Stans post linked above). Even so, he's not outgoing like Mabel, he's introverted like Ford and Dipper. Like... people picture introverts as moody and quiet with dark thoughts, but when Shermie's quiet he just has happy fantasies like his granddaughter, Mabel (except replace hamster balls and hot boys with, idk... probably baseball or a movie he saw one time and loved).

I see him as a family pillar of support type guy, too. As the older brother in a poor family, I think a lot of responsibility was put on his shoulders. He definitely helped run the pawn shop (though Filbrick got irritated whenever he gave too generous of a discount), and made extra money on the side for his family with a side job. Going into the military was not his choice - given the era, it was probably a draft - and he sent his money home. Caryn probably did Tarot readings on him every night between his letters home hoping they always turned up positive.

He sent little letters home to Stan and Ford, too. He'd make Stan promise to protect Ford for him since he couldn't while he was out at sea, which is what inspired Stan to be such a protector. Then, he made Ford promise to help Stan with his homework like he used to, but once again, couldn't while in the Navy. And he'd tell them about his "epic ocean adventures" to gloss over the horrors of what he was actually going through, which I like to headcanon partially inspired their obsession with fixing up the Stan-O-War so they could have epic ocean adventures someday like their big brother. It wasn't until they were older that they realized, oh... yeah, he wasn't swashbuckling with pirate ghosts in the US Navy. :(

Physically, I think he's the one who looks the most like Caryn. Stan and Ford are like Filbrick short king copy+pastes, but I picture Shermie more tall and lanky like their mother, and has her aquiline nose. Coloring-wise, he's a Pines: brown hair and brown eyes. And sailor tattoos, can't forget those.

I feel like he had to be a pseudo father-figure to the Stans because of Filbrick. Filbrick wasn't the type to teach them how to ride a bike or play a sport, scare "monsters" out of their closet, bring them home for dinner from the beach, etc. Like he fulfilled more of the emotional role of a father to them that Filbrick couldn't.

With Stan, I think he played defense for the kid against Filbrick. I don't think Shermie would have directly gotten angry with Filbrick, especially given his golden retriever-ness and the era, but he defended Stan in little ways. Say Stan broke something, Shermie might have stepped in and tried to smooth things over before Filbrick could get angry. But boy oh boy, if he saw anyone else picking on Stan (or Ford, for that matter), better watch out. He might be a golden retriever, but he's still a Pines, so he's got that whole, "Mess with my family and I'll send you to the hospital." thing going on.

With Ford, I think Shermie was like Stan to him, protecting him and generally trying to make him not feel weird for his polydactyly and nerdiness. While on the surface I think Shermie and Stan might have bonded more because they had more shared surface level interests, I think Ford really looked up to Shermie, especially since Shermie was - as an introvert - the closest to Ford in personality in their family. Shermie wholly supported his love of weirdness, even if he didn't understand what the hell he was talking about half the time, and often would go along with him and Stan on monster hunts as kids just to make sure they got home safe, even if he had no interest in the paranormal himself.

As far as flaws, I can see him having inherited Filbrick's temper and absolutely hating himself for it. Like normally he's a sweet, happy-go-lucky guy, but when he blows up he feels like such an ass afterwards because it reminds himself of his father. His golden retriever personality might have been a way of him trying his best to form an identity far, FAR away from Filbrick, so when parts of Filbrick come out, he feels gross. The Stans look the most like Filbrick, but Shermie - for as nice and sweet as he is - inherited more of Filbrick's bad personality traits than they did.

When Stan got kicked out, Shermie was out at sea and their mother hadn't told him about it, feeling awful she'd let Filbrick just kick Stan out. So when he got home, he was like, "Where the hell is Stan?", and Caryn had to tell him. Shermie always blamed himself for not being there to play defense for Stan like he always had in the past, but at the same time, he was P I S S E D that Stan broke Ford's science fair project. And given that Caryn felt guilty and didn't want to speak against Filbrick and Ford's opinions, and Filbrick is a dick, and Ford was still freshly wounded from the whole fight and disappointment... well, he got a biased view of Stan. He felt so betrayed by Stan for decades for having "hurt" Ford and the family. I think this would explain why he wouldn't have gone to Stan's "funeral" later on. Cue him feeling like an asshole after the events of Gravity Falls and Stan and Ford and/or the niblings tell their grandfather what went down the last three decades.

Even so, I think he tried to find Stan afterwards in his drifter grifter years, but to no avail. Stan didn't want Shermie to find him and disappoint him, and all the evidence Shermie did find seemed to prove what Ford and Filbrick said about Stan, so... :(

He worked in the IRS for his career after the Navy. It made Stan barf when he found out. But Shermie just wanted a good old normal family life and a boring job after what he went through in the war.

As for the way he interacts with Dipper and Mabel, just... pure cuteness. Picture the most stereotypical sweethearted grandfather. Stan and Ford are like the cool old relatives, but Shermie is the big softie old relative. He buys Mabel craptons of arts and crafts and knitting supplies for birthdays and holidays, and he buys Dipper whatever paranormal stuff or video games he wants. He fully sees Dipper as like a little Ford and a lot like his own son (D&M's dad), but he loves Mabel too, of course.

If I think of any more, I'll be sure to add them to this post. :D

[prettyinpwn]

What is your opinion on Filbrick Pines?

Oh boy... long story short, my opinion on him is pretty low, not gonna lie. I went into his character a lot in my analysis post on Ford's writing (found here), since Filbrick had a large effect on Stan and Ford's characters, even if only in subtle ways. To summarize my points on Filbrick:

Definitely abusive, in my opinion. I don't think physically, but for sure emotionally and mentally. He's the type of father who provided materially, but otherwise didn't seem very good at it.

Was way too focused on money. Now, I think it's very possible that Filbrick could have a great backstory reason for this. My biggest guess is a life of poverty and wanting to provide better for his family, but the cruel irony is that in seeking wealth, he hurt his family (e.g "Stanley, by "sabotaging" Ford you hurt our whole family, because he was going to make us millions, so I'm gonna throw you out, ignoring the fact that by throwing you out I'm currently hurting the family in the way I'm accusing you of."). He also hurt Ford. The way Filbrick treated Ford was like a Willy Wonka golden ticket. "Oh, you're smart? This college might make you a millionaire? I'm impressed!". He didn't care about what Ford wanted, he cared about what Ford's brains could get him. Case in point: he didn't seem to give a rat's ass about Ford's brains or college dreams until the principal implied it could make money.

Iirc, according to Hirsch, the quote Stan says in Little Gift Shop of Horrors ("Movies are great! You watch the movie, you scare the girl, the girl snuggles up next to you, next thing you know you gotta raise a kid. Your life falls apart. Forget that last part.") was actually something Filbrick used to say. Like DEAR GOD Filbrick said that in front of Stan and Ford? "Hey kids, my life was great until I got your ma knocked up with Shermie, and then my life was pure suck after that.". Like... who... who just says that in front of their kids? Who even THINKS that about their kids? Yikes.

The way Stan and Ford are named. The code at the end of A Tale of Two Stans is played as a joke, but when you think about it, it's... kinda sad. "A STUBBORN TOUGH NEW JERSEY NATIVE, FILBRICK WASN'T TOO CREATIVE, HAVING TWINS WAS NOT HIS PLAN, SO HE JUST SHRUGGED AND NAMED BOTH STAN.". Filbrick did not give a single f*ck. "Oh, I have twins? Eh, I'm too lazy to think about a name, just call 'em practically the same thing.". What father does this?

In the post I linked above, I also hinted at how I thought Bill's manipulations of Ford almost were a mirror echo of Filbrick (even in their character design, it's odd how they both have yellow brick and blue with hats themed designs, he's got the literal word 'brick' in his name, etc). Because when you think about it, what did Ford's father teach him but "you are a puppet to be used by me to get what I want"?

There's a reason Ford and Stan are incredibly broken people, and it all started with Filbrick. He's the one that taught Stan to believe he's worthless and a f*ckup, and the one that taught Ford that he's a tool to be used. So... nah, not a fan of the guy, if I didn't make that obvious already lol. BUT... I will say this, as this is something I did give him credit for in my Ford analysis post: a lot of Ford and Stan's positive qualities are things he passed down to them, namely their protectiveness of family and "toughness". But unlike Filbrick, who manifested that in toxic ways, Stan and Ford took a heavy albatross necklace of generational trauma and turned it around to a positive.

This goes even further when Stan passes the lesson to Dipper. Dipper learning to "fight back"? That's a family lesson that comes from Filbrick, originally, when he signed Stan and Ford up for boxing. Some have criticized the way Stan taught Dipper that lesson, but you can't argue with the end result:

TL;DR: Filbrick mostly sucks, but... like most well-written characters, he does have some gray area. Was he a good father? No. But the gauntlet meat grinder he put Ford and Stan through - worth it or not - made them the tough family protectors they are as adults. I will give him that, at least.

[prettyinpwn]

Tough question here: A few people in the fandom drew parallels between Dipper getting the apprenticeship and Ford being offered at West Coast Tech. Some would argue that since it was wrong for Dipper to accept the apprenticeship, did that mean Ford was also in the wrong for wanting that WCT offer? Feel free to note other differences between the two cases.

Ooo, this is a tough one, you're right. I think I'll fall back on the old character thesis of Gravity Falls that I've mentioned in other posts: the show argues, agree with it or not, that a Pines twin alone is worse off than a Pines twin with their respective twin working alongside them, since they make up for each other's flaws. That, and the other thesis that the best way to live life isn't to leave everything behind at rocket speed nor to hold onto the past so hard it makes you stagnant, but to find a good balance between the two.

But even with those theses in mind, I don't think either Dipper or Ford are wrong for wanting the apprenticeship/college experience. I think the issue was more with the lack of compromise each choice offered their twin. I wish the show had explored compromises more, like say Mabel moves with Dipper to Gravity Falls, or Dipper and Mabel move back to California but Dipper apprentices in the summers.

Or maybe with Ford and Stan, they could have worked out moving to the town West Coast Tech is in together and split rent, Stan working while Ford went to school, and then either moved to Gravity Falls together or did the whole Stan-O-War II thing afterwards using the money Stan would have saved up plus Ford's grants. And maybe they could have come to that compromise if they'd worked it out, but instead... oops, Stan breaks the perpetual motion machine and Filbrick throws him out and all that sad business.

But the show needed conflict so they couldn't really make it an easy fix; without Stan and Ford's rift, there is no Gravity Falls. Their brotherhood and argument is literally the backbone of the entire plot and the inciting incident. So... no compromise, because conflict was needed. And honestly, it's true to life; sometimes the greatest rifts can be healed with a simple chat and compromise and apology, but people hold onto anger and grudges and ego for so long that it causes decades of pain that could have been avoided.

tl;dr: Neither Dipper or Ford were wrong for wanting what they wanted, but they're a lot better off with their twin at their side. Ford's arc is a tale of a Pines twin alone AKA misery and mistakes, and Dipper's arc is a tale of a Pines twin who avoided the mistakes and pain of Ford's story because he stuck with his twin and chose forgiveness and sacrifice and compromise.

[prettyinpwn]

It's kind of ironic that Bill, someone who always choose chaos, represents stasis and the refusal to change.

Yup. He's so sunk in denial and refusal to try to be better, yet loves chaos; maybe because some part of him deep, deep down wants change but knows he can't change his own past. He can't change who he is, is the real tragedy. And like I've said before, it's neat how whenever he shows up pre-Weirdmageddon, time stops. Like he's stuck in time. And when he starts Weirdmageddon, he specifically mentions that now, time is dead. AKA stasis. Not sure if that was just a thing done for the cool factor back when the show was made, but it's a really cool piece of symbolism with what we know now.

[prettyinpwn]

Hello, just read your recent Stan(ley) analysis… I’m especially so delighted on the section of (A)Xolotl, because I’ve always heard of the connections in fleeting mentions (like just brief touches on parallels of Stan-Ford = Xolotl-Quetzalcoatl), but I just adore the way you tie it in thematically with the show’s overarching narrative, Stan’s character arc, and the visual cues in GF.

If you were ever interested in elaborating even further on the link between Stan-Bill/Stan-Axolotl like you mentioned, I for one would definitely read it!

Aww, thank you for reading! I'm glad you liked my Stan post. <3

As for my Stan-Bill-Axolotl theory, well...

*Glances at the 40 page unfinished monster.*

Honestly, I paused writing it because I was waiting until TBOB released in order to make sure that it didn't cancel anything I was suggesting out. That, and the hardest dang part is figuring out how to organize it. It goes from hints in the series, to hints in the books, to hints in even the long-forgotten Search for the Blindeye website. I've gone through two rewrites of it just trying to figure out how to make it less, er... crazy red string corkboard and more essay-like.

I can't promise I'll finish and release it, but long story short just in case I don't: the gist of my Long Con Theory (what I call it) blends the idea of the Axolotl being an opposite but similar cosmic force to Bill but for good rather than chaos, who "shapeshifts" (interpret that as you'd like, but we know he can become other/smaller forms, because example: Frilliam in TBOB) like the real life deity Xolotl to basically con Bill over millennia into falling into his trap, but doing so in such a way that Bill doesn't see it coming, and better yet, makes it his choice technically in the process.

Said trap in my opinion was a long, LONG string of cons that eventually led to what we see in Gravity Falls, Stan being one of the Axolotl's forms rather than the commonly theorized idea that he's a reincarnation of Bill (Same Coin Theory), who was the final puzzle piece to stopping Bill. It finally makes sense of why the Axolotl even offered Bill an out or second chance all those thousands to millions of years ago. The whole, "invoke my name if you get into trouble or whatever". That wasn't really an out. That was a trick, in my opinion, to force Bill - through his own free will, technically - into therapy.

It sounds nuts when I explain it without those forty pages of reasoning, but I found so much evidence along the way that... honestly, it started to make more sense to me than the Stan=Bill reincarnated theory (although I like that one a lot, too, for the karmic justice reasons; Bill defeating himself is just poetic and accurate in more ways than one).

If it sounds confusing, the shortest way I can describe my Stan-Axolotl theory is that Bill thinks he's the Multiverse's smartest little trickster, but the Axolotl has been playing 4D chess on him for millions of years in the most cosmically comedic way.

Also, it means that - contrary to popular belief - that would make Stan the echo of the Axolotl, and Ford of all people the echo of Bill; a brother saving his brother from his own mistakes and redeeming himself in the process, both cosmically as a deity chonky boi amphibian and his triangle chaotic bastard rival, and as human twin brothers. It would explain why the Axolotl even gives a rat's ass about Bill getting better and healing, anyways (or, at the very least, would make him a more interesting deity beyond the typical, "me am good god, everyone deserve hugs <3" type deal, as cute as that would be). And it would also tie in well with the Ford-Bill parallels The Book of Bill brought up; both having a "deformity" of sorts, being picked on, almost destroying (or succeeding in Bill's case) their own dimensions, etc.

Like... imagine you're the Axolotl and Bill is your cosmic deity twin brother; a polar opposite of what you stand for. Imagine him messing up so badly repeatedly, but because he's your family in a way, you spend millions of years trying to make him better through a long, complicated manner that involves a lot of deception. Sounds a hell of a lot like Stan's story, right? Whether or not you'd interpret Stan as a literal version of the Axolotl and Ford as a literal version of Bill, or the Axolotl and Bill as literal twins given their physical differences and likely dimensional origin differences, not sure, but... it fits just right to me.

If true, it also would tie in extremely thematically well with the rest of the series: family saving family, the importance of sticking with family, forgiveness and redemption, forgiving the seemingly unforgivable, twin relationships, repeated family cycles, etc. And to go super nutso because that's how I roll, imagine the thematic value of - by Bill hurting and manipulating Ford even if he's technically a "form" of himself - it's symbolic of him abusing himself AKA self-hate, of getting in his own way, etc.

And imagine if Bill KNEW Ford was a version of himself? And Stan a version of the Axolotl? Another reason for Bill to hate Stan, man. And extra reason for Bill to maybe regret what he did to Ford, because it was only hurting himself, and perhaps the only way Bill can learn empathy is to understand how what he does hurts himself because he obviously didn't learn it through hurting others. The angst-bait, I can TASTE it.

Then we add a little bit of the, "Oh, we thought Stan was a Bill reincarnation, but actually he's a form of the Axolotl, so yet AGAIN he's not what he seems goddammit." type plot twists within plot twists within thematic elements within theme circles and dimensions and...

*Long breath.*

And THEN it also explains why Jheselbraum would have even given a damn about helping Ford. Yes, she's nice and incredibly underrated fandom why don't we talk about her more, but she's associated with the Axolotl. He was probably like, "Hey, Jhessie, my twin brother's being a dumbass on the run from his own dumbass self again, can you put some metal in his head for me so he can tune himself out? Thanks.". And Jheselbraum was probably like, "Wtf, but okay, praise the Axolotl, I guess.". Like... we're never told WHY Jheselbraum saved Ford. Yes, they needed him to go home to start the rift and be with Stan again so that Weirdmageddon would happen so that all that timeline nonsense would end in Stan sending Bill to therapy, but HOW? WHY?

And don't get me started on Frilliam. Why the gat damn would the Axolotl shapeshift himself into a tiny chonk version to watch over Ford and give him bombastic side eye when he let Bill convince him to let tiny chonk version go? And then somehow magically shows up in the tank later during Tourist Trapped, when Stan owns the Shack? Like... this deity HAS to have a personal interest in Ford and Stan, right? How in the shit is it normal for your universe's deity to just chill in your house and watch over you unless he had some personal interest at stake?

And FRILLIAM? Which rhymes with WILLIAM AKA BILL? WHICH SOUND LIKE LAZY ASS TOO SIMILAR BOY TWIN NAMES LIKE STANLEY AND STANFORD ARE? COME ON.

And like... their school mascot being the vultures, which is associated with Xolotl's rule over the trecena of Vulture (kind of like an Aztec week in their calendar iirc).... and Stan being a cosmic damn master of the mind in Dreamscaperers and Weirdmageddon 3 so much that he can shift it at will that just never gets explained as to why... and all the parallels I mentioned of Stan embodying the virtues of the Axolotl in his writing in the post you mentioned... and Stan sharing similarities with Bill that led us to think he was Bill's reincarnation ("eenie meanie miney YOU") but maybe he's the Axolotl's different form so shares similarities for that reason instead because twin bros and... all the fire and new identities symbolism and, like... Stan having a horned/frilled reptilian/amphibian mask (albeit not an axolotl) on as his first appearance?

Anyways, the full theory makes a million more points, but yeah, this is why that theory is currently 40 pages long. This post is a microcosm of how nuts it gets. And how it sounds nuts until you put the breadcrumbs together until you're like, "Wait a minute, I'm either insane or Hirsch is. Or both."

lol also I said "long story short" earlier but the short version is an essay in and of itself forgive my rambling sins

[prettyinpwn]

Thoughts on the reveal that the Pines parents are having a rough patch in their marriage such that it became a recurring nightmare for Dipper? Do you think they divorced at the end?

Oof... yeah, that was probably the most heartbreaking part of TBOB for me, other than the awful things that happened to Ford with Bill. I personally think their parents divorced at the end. They could have done couple's counseling in private with Dipper and Mabel still there, you know? Like, "Mom and Dad are going for a date, sweethearts, your grandparents going to watch you tonight." type little lies.

But having Dipper and Mabel gone all summer is like... divorce level prep time. Divorces can take forever, speaking from my own experience having watched my own parents divorce when I was around Dipper and Mabel's age, because there's a lot of legal stuff that needs to be figured out and mediated with a judge. It also can stir up a lot of tension in a household with two people that might resent the hell out of each other, because who knows what the cause was; could have been cheating, financial issues, constant conflict, etc.

Of course, we won't know for sure until/if/when Hirsch confirms it, but I'd lean more towards divorce, given how long the twins were sent away. Plus, it'd make for a good plot conflict to use for story reasons should he decide to ever return to that world again.

[prettyinpwn]

I saw a post on Tumblr of someone saying "Filbrick is not a bad father, because he kicked Stan out" and I was like "What???"

I mean, they're welcome to their opinion, but... yo, like... everything we learn new about Filbrick just gets worse and worse. Wouldn't get his kids gifts and gave them like... what was it, brick samples or dust or some garbage as gifts one year, tried to sell Stan on the front lawn for a few bucks, threw his kid out at 17 without any questions asked, wanted to use Ford's brains as a family gold mine, made jokes to his kids about how having kids ruined his life, couldn't even be half-assed to give his twin boys different names... I could go on.

The one tiny positive thing I can say about Filbrick is that he taught the Stans to be tough and he monetarily provided for them. That's it. He's awful otherwise, I'm sorry to anyone who likes Filbrick. EDIT: Oh, also forgot: dude didn't even come to Stan's "funeral". Screw him.

[prettyinpwn]

Do you believe Pacifica's hair is natural blonde?

Hm, that's an interesting question. I'd lean towards that she dyes it, since both of her parents are brunette:

And it seems most Northwests have dark hair, even Nathaniel and his wife way back when:

However, it's very possible for two brown haired people to have a blonde kid if they also carry a blonde gene (for example, in my family my grandmother was blonde, it skipped a generation, and my parents who are both brunettes had my blonde sister), or it could be that her parents dye theirs, too.

It's also possible that their family's hair turns from blonde to brown as they age. This phenomena (not sure if there's a name for it) is common in my own family. Using the same example as my sister, she was platinum/near white blonde as a kid and turned more light brown as she aged. So Pacifica might have darker hair when she's older.

However, since the Northwests have, er... vanity and control issues, and given that every other Northwest we've seen has dark hair, I would not be surprised if Pacifica's parents make her bleach hers. Which, hey, a neat little thing to use for character development for anyone writing fic involving Pacifica that takes place after the series ends. Who knows? Maybe the summer after Gravity Falls, Dipper and Mabel return and find a brunette or redheaded or black haired Pacifica?

tl;dr: 80% sure she dyes it, 20% she doesn't; it would make it a neat show of character development growth for it to be dyed and Pacifica to let it grow back to its natural color, though.