Stanford Filbrick "Ford" Pines, Ph.D. (born in Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey), also known as the Author,[1] is a mysterious paranormal investigator who came to Gravity Falls, Oregon, to study the huge concentration of supernatural activity in and around the town. After spending years cataloging his research in a series of journals, he disappeared into an alternate dimension, his writings the only evidence of his existence.
His identity and whereabouts were a central mystery of the Gravity Falls series until the middle of the show's second season, when he was revealed to be Stan Pines' long-lost twin brother who vanished into an alternate universe after a falling out with his brother caused him to stumble into the universe portal.[8][1]
History
Early Life
Ford grew up in the town of Glass Shard Beach, New Jersey, along with his twin brother Stan. At one point, the two brothers found a broken ship in a cave along the beach, which they decided to rebuild. They named the ship the Stan O' War. To toughen them up, their father, Filbrick, made Stan and Ford take boxing lessons.[9][10] At one point in his childhood, Ford and Stan observed the seaside while swinging on a swing.[8]
The Author brainstorms hiding places for his journals.
In the 1970s, a year before college, Ford had built a perpetual motion machine for a science fair which impressed all of his teachers. Because of this machine he got a chance to go to the best college in the USA, West Coast Tech. But in his anger over Ford leaving, Stan accidentally broke Ford's machine and any chance of going to his dream college. The next day, when the college admission team came, they denied Ford entry into the college.
Ford ended up going to Backupsmore University, where he worked twice as hard. He went from undergrad to PHD in just three years, and ended up earning a grant for his scientific research. Ford decided to study anomalies, inspired by his own anomalous six-fingered hands. He learned that the location in the world with the highest concentration of anomalies was the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Ford settled in Gravity Falls and built his home with the help of some locals.
Ford dedicated six long years to studying the supernatural secrets of Gravity Falls.[3] His discoveries were recorded in a series of three journals emblazoned with a drawing of a six-fingered hand, representing his own.[8][1] Ford felt that the biggest mystery of Gravity Falls was where its anomalies came from, and came to the conclusion that a dimension of weirdness was the source, and it was leaking into Earth's dimension. Hitting a roadblock in his attempts to discover that source, Ford stumbled upon ancient inscriptions in a cave describing a "being with answers," which he summoned out of desperation in spite of the warnings.[8]
After seemingly nothing happened at first, the dream demon Bill Cipher later greeted Ford in his dreams, deceiving him with his seemingly affable nature[11] and claiming to be a muse who chooses one brilliant mind every hundred years to inspire. Bill would then assist Ford in the building of the Universe Portal, claiming it to be the answer to finding the mysterious source of weirdness. In order to construct the portal, Ford recruited a college friend, Fiddleford McGucket. But McGucket grew increasingly suspicious of Ford's enigmatic source of information.
With Ford and McGucket working together, the Portal was completed and was activated for a test run. However, McGucket was taken by the portal and was almost pulled in completely. He was pulled out by Ford, but McGucket had consequently gotten a glimpse of Bill's true plan for the portal--one that could bring about the end of the world. After McGucket quit the project and erased his memory of it with his memory erasing gun,[12] the disillusioned Ford confronted Bill over his deception and shut the portal down.
The Author's secret bunker.
As his work in Gravity Falls continued, Ford found himself increasingly paranoid and fearful, developing a fear of an unknown entity referred to only as "He." Now writing in his journals via invisible ink,[13] Ford took extreme security measures and created an underground laboratory serving as a fallout shelter, keeping it hidden beneath the Gravity Falls forest.[3]
Sometime around 1982, Ford called his brother, Stan, over to Gravity Falls, feeling he was the only person left he could trust. Ford instructed Stan to take Journal 1 and hide it as far away as he could, all the way on the other side of the world. However, Stan was angry that his brother was telling him to leave after they had just seen each other for the first time in ten years, and the two began to fight. Stan accidentally activated the Portal and pushed Ford into it. Before he was completely sucked in, Ford threw Journal 1 into the hands of Stan Pines, and the Portal deactivated itself. Stan began a search for the other journals so he could reactivate the Portal, spending thirty long years hunting for their knowledge.[14] Stan remained among one of the few people aware of the journals' power, the others being Gideon Gleeful, who was able to locate Journal 2,[15] and eventually, Dipper Pines, who located Journal 3.[3]
During the events of "Gideon Rises", Stan was able to locate all three journals and use them to activate the Universe Portal again. It would remain active for all of season 2, and during the events of "Not What He Seems", a countdown initiated to the Portal's complete activation, a tremendous event. Gravitational anomalies spread throughout town as a result, and on the completion of the portal, Ford reappeared from the Portal after thirty years spent trapped inside.
Season 1
Dipper finds a journal.
In "Tourist Trapped," Dipper unwittingly stumbles upon his third journal and becomes entranced by the information it contains, and he quickly begins to use this knowledge to aid him in his encounters with the supernatural.
In the episode "The Time Traveler's Pig," the author can be seen sticking his head out of the snowy Mystery Shack.[10]
The next on-screen appearance of him is in "Dreamscaperers," where he can be spotted in Stan's memories, sitting in the background, and holding a book over his face.[10]
Eventually, Dipper and his family become entangled in Gideon's quest to learn the Author's secrets[16][17], convinced this knowledge would give him unprecedented power that would allow him to take over Gravity Falls. Gideon nearly achieves his goal of gaining all three journals in "Gideon Rises," but is stopped by Dipper and Mabel. His defeat enables Stan to seize possession of Journal 2, and Dipper's revelation of his ownership of Journal 3 lets him complete this same goal.
Season 2
The Shape Shifter impersonates the Author.
After learning about the invisible ink in his Journal[13], Dipper leads his friends into the Author's bunker to search for clues on his whereabouts in "Into the Bunker." There, they come face-to-face with the mysterious figure's 210th experiment, the Shape Shifter. After successfully recapturing the beast, they emerge with their greatest lead yet: the Author's laptop (which actually belonged to Fiddleford McGucket, as later revealed) .
In "Sock Opera," Dipper devotes himself almost excessively to cracking the password for the laptop. After innumerable failed attempts, he makes a deal with Bill Cipher, but is tricked into letting the demon take possession of his body. Bill destroys the laptop to prevent Dipper from coming any closer to finding out some "major answers" and attempts to do the same to Journal #3, but is stopped by Mabel.
Dipper concludes Old Man McGucket is the Author.
In "Society of the Blind Eye," after discovering that the laptop was manufactured by McGucket Labs, Dipper becomes convinced that Old Man McGucket is the Author of the books. In his confrontation with the elderly man, Dipper learns of the mysterious Blind Eye Society and goes to look for them. Recovering McGucket's stolen memories from the Society reminds him that he worked side by side with the Author (and that the laptop belonged to him, not the author), and begins trying to remember the man's identity.
In "Northwest Mansion Mystery," McGucket succeeds in fixing the laptop, and discovers a countdown to an "Imminent Danger" which McGucket refers to as the end times.
The Author revealed.
In "Not What He Seems," it is revealed that Stan has been collecting radioactive waste, for the purpose of powering a doomsday device, and the twins encounter an old newspaper article which claims Stan Pines to be deceased. Contrary to this incriminating article, it is discovered that Stan Pines is at least the direct brother of, if not, the one mentioned in the article who is actually alive. At the same time as this discovery the author of the journals is definitively identified, after his emergence from a portal in the center of the aforementioned "doomsday device," by Stan's reference to him as his "brother."
In "A Tale of Two Stans" Stanford, Dipper, Mabel and Soos ask Grunkle Stan about everything that's going on, so he explains in backstory (see in Early Life) after Stan's tale, After the story is told, the government agents descend on the Mystery Shack. Stanford takes Dipper's mind erasing gun and amplifies it, also connecting it to the speakers outside so the effect is broadcast all around the Shack, making the agents forget about this entire operation. He later talks to his brother, telling him he can have the house for the rest of the summer, but after that he will give him his name back and his house. In return, Stan tells Ford to stay away from Dipper and Mabel.
In "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons," Ford emerges from the basement, fighting a Cycloptopus, which he quickly defeats. Dipper tries to ask him questions, but Ford tells him not to get involved with his work. Later, when Dipper falls into the basement with his 38 sided die, Ford becomes excited, saying that he loves to play Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons. They begin playing in the basement, and their session gradually takes over the house, including the living room where Stan, Mabel, and Grenda are going to watch the Duck-tective season finale. After Stan accidentally rolls the infinity sided die and releases Probabilitor the Annoying, Ford and Dipper are captured by the wizard and taken to the forest. When the others arrive, Probabilitor shrinks Ford and Dipper, turning them into playing pieces. With Stan and Mabel's help, they defeat Probabilitor. After that, Ford shows Dipper what he's been doing in the basement - not only did he destroy the portal, but he has also contained the interdimensional rift produced by the portal in a small case. He makes Dipper promise not to tell anyone about its existence before putting the rift away.
In "The Last Mabelcorn," Ford is shown having a dream with Bill Cipher in it, wherein Bill greets him as an old pal and tells him that he's been preparing for "the big day," going on to say that Ford will slip up and "things change", Ford warns the family and sends Mabel on a quest to obtain unicorn hair to Bill-proof the shack while he and Dipper go into Ford's research room. While having his mind read, Dipper decides to see what Ford is hiding about Bill and discovers that Ford made a deal with Bill and used to be friends with him. When Ford wakes up, he tells Dipper he "shouldn't have done that" and proceeds to try and take the rift from Dipper. Dipper, thinking Ford is Bill fires the gun, it ricochets off Ford due to the metal plating in his head and destroys the machine. Dipper apologises and Ford forgives him, and proceeds to explain his past with Bill, revealing that Bill had tricked Ford into thinking he was a friend, until Fiddleford McGucket discovered that Bill had tricked him and Ford into building a portal between the real world and the realm of nightmares. Ford and Dipper then form a partnership and by using the unicorn hair that Mabel had retrieved they form a protective shield around the Mystery Shack, protecting their minds from Bill.
Appearance
Ford's hand.
Ford bears a close resemblance to Stan Pines. However, there are a few notable differences: His hair, unlike Stan's, has a silver streak along the sides of it, and he possesses unusually long sideburns. his chin has a much less prominent five-o-clock shadow, and possesses little to no hairs on his chin whereas his twin's is covered in grey stubble.
When he first comes out of the Portal, he is seen wearing a large black coat with multiple pockets on the inside, and an item that appears to be a gun rested on his back. Underneath his coat, he wears a black shirt and pants. He also dons bulky black boots, a brown belt that slings from his shoulder, a tattered cape, and a gray scarf. He has a gold dot on either side of his glasses and a crack on the left lens. He is a polydactyl, having six fingers on each hand. In Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons, as well as all subsequent appearances, Ford is seen wearing a tan coat, red turtleneck with a black belt that slings across his chest, black pants, and large, brown boots coated in dirt.
Relationships
Stan Pines
Stan and Ford are twins just like Dipper and Mabel. During their childhood Stan and Ford were the closest of friends and would go out on adventures together. As they grew older, they slowly grew apart from each other, they finally separated when Stan accidentally broke Ford's machine and ruins his chances to go to a superior college and as an extension a chance of a large fortune for the family. Due to this incident, Ford held a grudge against Stan for many years. When Stan finally managed to send Ford back to their dimension, Ford still held a grudge at Stan for all he had done despite Stan's efforts at rescuing him. Ford and Stan eventually reconciled albeit strained. Ford allowed Stan to stay in the shack until summer ends whilst Ford kept the interdimensional rift contained and worked on finding a way to stop Bill Ciphers plans. He then told Stan that when summer ends, Stan is to return Ford's shack and identity.
Old Man McGucket
Ford and McGucket were close friends in Backupsmore University. During Ford's time at Gravity Falls, he called his old friend Fiddleford for help in researching the mysterious paranormal activities in Gravity Falls. They researched together and eventually, they built the Universe Portal. When they test the machine, McGucket was accidentally sucked into the portal causing him to see something he wanted to forget, McGucket even questioned who Ford was really working for. Ford and McGucket eventually cut their ties and McGucket quits helping Ford in his experiments and they never see each other again as McGucket eventually becomes a crazy old man.
Bill Cipher
Bill Cipher is Ford's greatest enemy as Bill tricked Ford into building the Universe Portal. Ford attempted to warn people who read his journal about Bill Cipher's existence and the dangers he could do to their world. During Ford's time doing research at Gravity Falls, he hit a roadblock and he summoned Bill to assist him. He considered Bill a friend due to the amount of help and knowledge that Bill shared with Ford however when Fiddleford McGucket was sucked into the Universe Portal, Ford realized Bill's true goal and stopped him by deactivating the portal. Ford's current mission is stopping Bill Cipher from getting his hands on the interdimensional rift and goes to great lengths in doing so (to the point where he would Bill-proof the Mystery Shack).
Dipper Pines
Ford is an idol to Dipper as Dipper was always obsessed about the Author of the journals. When Dipper obtained Journal 3, one of his main missions was to find out the Author of the journals and when he finally meets the Author, Dipper becomes extremely excited. Ford was initially reluctant to allow Dipper to help him at all because he is a child and he didn't want Dipper to be in danger, however during their game of Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons, Ford finally allowed Dipper to assist him due to their common interests. Despite their close relation, Ford still kept secrets from Dipper about Bill Cipher, but he finally tells Dipper the truth in "The Last Mabelcorn" as he didn't want Dipper to distrust him. Due to this, he tells Dipper that no more secrets should be kept between them.
Mabel Pines
Ford hasn't interacted with Mabel as much as he has with Dipper however they are seen to be in good terms with each other. Mabel (along with Stan and Grenda) rescued Ford and Dipper from Probabilitor the Annoying despite Stan and Grenda's reluctance to do so. When Ford called for a family meeting, he allowed Mabel to him find a lock of unicorn hair to protect the shack from Bill Cipher. Despite Ford's belief that Mabel won't be able to succeed, Mabel returns with the required item, shocking Ford. With Mabel's help, Ford assures Mabel that she is a good girl.
Sightings
- Intro: "Gravity Falls Main Title Theme"
Season 1
- 101. "Tourist Trapped" (mentioned)
- 109. "The Time Traveler's Pig" (no lines)
- 119. "Dreamscaperers" (flashback, no lines)
- 120. "Gideon Rises" (flashback, no lines)
Shorts
- 3. "Mailbox" (mentioned)
Season 2
- 201. "Scary-oke" (mentioned)
- 202. "Into the Bunker" (mentioned)
- 204. "Sock Opera" (mentioned)
- 207. "Society of the Blind Eye" (mentioned)
- 211. "Not What He Seems" (no lines)
- 212. "A Tale of Two Stans"
- 213. "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons"
- 214. "The Stanchurian Candidate"
- 215. "The Last Mabelcorn"
Quotes
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"It's hard to believe it's been six years since I began studying the strange and wondrous secrets of Gravity Falls, Oregon." |
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"Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. I'm being watched. I must hide this book before he finds it. Remember: in Gravity Falls there is no one you can trust." |
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"If my suspicions are correct, this is the work of Fiddleford. Does he really have to go to such great lengths to forget?" |
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"The portal when completed will open a gateway to infinite new worlds and herald a new era in mankind's understanding of the universe. Plus, it will probably get girls to start talking to me finally." |
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"I'm sorry, Dipper, but the dark, weird road I travel, I'm afraid you cannot follow. Well, call me for dinner!" |
Trivia
The Author's symbol, a six-fingered left hand.
- Alex Hirsch has on multiple occasions joked about the Author's identity:
- He "leaked" a false image of a younger Old Man McGucket writing in a journal.[18]
- Via his Reddit AMA and Twitter account, he has stated the Author is actually Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation.[19]
- In Journal 2 on Bill Cipher's page, there's a quote saying "He's in my wallet!". Under it, it shows half of the back of a Negative Twelve Dollar Bill. This is odd, considering Quentin Trembley's time in office was long before Stanford was born. This may mean that Ford is a collector, unless Bill is on other dollars.
- Ford wears the same type of glasses that Stan finds in "Carpet Diem."
- To keep Bill away he had a metal plate inserted in his head.
- According to Bill Cipher, Ford will die of a heart attack at the age of 92.
Gallery
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "A Tale of Two Stans." Matt Chapman, Josh Weinstein, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Sunil Hall (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. July 13, 2015. No. 12, season 2.
- ↑ "The Last Mabelcorn." Alex Hirsch (writer) & Matt Braly (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. September 7, 2015. No. 15, season 2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Tourist Trapped." Alex Hirsch (writer) & John Aoshima (director). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. June 15, 2012. No. 1, season 1.
- ↑ "The Time Traveler's Pig." Aury Wallington, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Joe Pitt, Aaron Springer (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. August 24, 2012. No. 9, season 1.
- ↑ Stan's Brother
- ↑ "Into the Bunker." Matt Chapman, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Joe Pitt (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. August 4, 2014. No. 2, season 2.
- ↑ "Gideon Rises." Matt Chapman, Michael Rianda, Alex Hirsch (writers) & John Aoshima, Joe Pitt (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. August 2, 2013. No. 20, season 1.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Not What He Seems." Matt Chapman, Jeff Rowe, Shion Takeuchi, Josh Weinstein, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Stephen Sandoval (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. March 9, 2015. No. 11, season 2.
- ↑ "Dreamscaperers." Matt Chapman, Tim McKeon, Alex Hirsch (writers) & John Aoshima, Joe Pitt (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. July 12, 2013. No. 19, season 1.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Stan's Brother
- ↑ "Dreamscaperers." Matt Chapman, Tim McKeon, Alex Hirsch (writers) & John Aoshima, Joe Pitt (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. July 12, 2013. No. 19, season 1.
- ↑ "Society of the Blind Eye." Matt Chapman, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Sunil Hall (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. October 27, 2014. No. 7, season 2.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Scary-oke." Matt Chapman, Jeff Rowe, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Rob Renzetti (director). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. August 1, 2014. No. 1, season 2.
- ↑ "Society of the Blind Eye." Matt Chapman, Alex Hirsch (writers) & Sunil Hall (director). Gravity Falls. Disney XD. October 27, 2014. No. 7, season 2.
- ↑ "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel." Zach Paez, Alex Hirsch (writers) & John Aoshima (director). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. July 6, 2012. No. 4, season 1.
- ↑ "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel." Zach Paez, Alex Hirsch (writers) & John Aoshima (director). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. July 6, 2012. No. 4, season 1.
- ↑ "Little Dipper." Tim McKeon (writer) & Joe Pitt, Aaron Springer (directors). Gravity Falls. Disney Channel. September 28, 2012. No. 11, season 1.
- ↑ Hirsch, Alex (November 22, 2014). Tweet Number 536054960018825217. “1) Make hoax 2)Upload to 4Chan 3) Post angry tweet about "leak" 4) Delete tweet 5) Let internet do rest”
- ↑ Hirsch, Alex (November 20, 2014). Tweet Number 535308123259408384. “The author of the journals is Geordie LaForge. That is now law. It can't be undone.”