MADE IT MY MAIN

the episode in a nutshell

The Rick & Morty writers room: ...

The Rick & Morty writers room: "What if we start the season off with incestual undertones?"

The whole room, apparently:

I needed to fulfil my hunger

Dipper and Mabel are Stan and Fords biological kids. I’ve seen some really fun AU’s where either Stans their dad or Fords their dad, or Ford and Stan had one each and coincidentally had them at the same time. For this idea I think it would be deeply funny if they slept with the same girl unknowingly and she calls them both up and tells them she has no idea which one of them is the father but doesn’t care she just wants them to take the twins.

Let’s just say she gave motherhood a shot but after 4 years she just couldn’t do it anymore. I think she does care for Dipper and Mabel but more in a wine aunt way than a mom way.

Stan and Ford meet her on neutral ground and meet her and the twins. They both instantly fall in love with the twins and agree to take them, with both of them raising them. Stan and Ford are identical twins in this so genetically speaking they’re both the father. (But they both individually think they’re the father and butt heads over it at first)

Things are still messy between Stan and Ford since they haven’t seen each other in 7 years and now have to raise kids together. (Ford has only just met Bill and hasn’t started on the portal) They keep it together for the twins and try not to fight in front of them. They reach a tentative agreement about what to do, with Stan moving in with Ford, and the two of them taking on the stereotypical breadwinner and homemaker roles. I wouldn’t say one is the mom and the other is the dad, I think they’re both dads. It’s the same thing for the husband and wife dynamic, they’re each others husband (for the kink it’s free game but we’re not there yet)

I think at this point their relationship would have been platonic in the sense that they hadn’t been sexually attracted to one another, but they both have some deeply repressed/misunderstood romantic feelings for each other (In the co-dependent emotional incest way)

They probably only make it two weeks without fighting and that’s only because they had been successfully avoiding each other. Dipper and Mabel have both picked up on the tension between their dads and they get it in their heads that it’s somehow their jobs to fix their relationship. Mabel likes to make them “get married” and have them tell each other “I love you” over and over again, while Dipper makes logical arguments on why they should be best friends forever. With both of them making using play as a way to force them to spend time together. Dipper and Mabel probably want a real family like the kind they see on TV, and they see their chance to have one once they move in with their dads.

One night after they put the kids to bed they both agree that they need to get their shit together because it’s effecting the kids. They get into a huge fight down in the basement that plays out the same as it did in ATOTS but with it ending right when Stan gets burned. They finally have a real conversation when they’re upstairs treating Stans burn. The fact that they have to whisper yell and that they’re not directly facing the other is the only reason they are able to get through it.

Ford lets Stan sleep in his bed while his burn heals and they both have feelings about it. Finally they stop avoiding each other and move on to trying to fix their relationship. Dipper and Mabel think that all their hard work finally paid off when that morning they wake up to pancakes and their dads laughing at something the other said.

Then it’s just moments of the twins being adorable as they bond with their new dads while Ford and Stan get closer.

Scene pack:

• Ford staying up too late and forgetting he let Stan sleep in his bed, so he goes into his room and passes out next to Stan. Stan wakes up but doesn’t leave, he just grumbles something before going back to bed, and yes they wake up cuddling. Ford ends up doing it so often it becomes routine, even after Stans burn heals and they’ve had more than enough time to set up a separate bedroom for Stan, they don’t, and it becomes Stans room just as much as it is Fords.

• Mabel feeling left out because she’s the only girl in the house and the family taking her out to do “girl things” Stan lest Mabel pick out his apron and she picks the pink frilly one. They also play dress up which Ford unironically loves and Stan hops aboard the braid train and agrees to never cut his hair because she likes it long. (And yes, the apron absolutely does it for Ford)

• Stan and Ford absolutely have a kiss-it-better moment with the burn but after Ford can’t stop wanting to kiss the spot.

• Stan secretly buying a daddy issues book along with a number of parenting books that reads frequently because he can’t stand the thought of making his kids feel like he and Ford did growing up. Ford doesn’t realize until he finds his spare glasses missing and catches Stan up late taking notes as he reads wearing Fords spares. Stan has an eye doctor appointment ready the next day.

• Stan kinda gets obsessed with doing things to make Ford like/praise him. Most of which revolve around just taking care of Ford and the kids. But some stuff Stan can’t help but feel like it toes the line on flirting, but Ford likes it so he doesn’t stop. (Things like feeding him, using the same shampoo to smell like him, grabbing Ford by his waist, sharing clothes, ect)

• They take turns being the “mean” parent because they both hate it but also know that one of them has to lay down the law and put the kids in time out. Don’t make me get your father gets used a lot.

• Back when they were fighting they would compete on who could be the better dad and when they first made up they kept doing it but in a more playful way, until one of them has an insecure parenting moment where the other comforts them, and eventually they stopped thinking “these are my kids who I share with my brother” to “these are our kids”

• When people ask which one of them is the father they always reply “I am” which leads to much confusion to the towns folk. Stan and Ford make it worse when someone asks while they’re together and they both point to each other and in unison say “He is.”

• Dipper having a nightmare and waking up Mabel so that they can go sleep in their parent’s bed. With all 4 of them having a big cuddle pile.

• Stan and Ford unlearning toxic masculinity via the kids, with Mabel having them do “girly” things and them not wanting Dipper to internalize that he’s weak by any means.

• Ford loves playing with the kids, to the point where he finds child friendly adventures to take them on because he wants an excuse to work and spend time with them at the same time.

• They don’t tell their Ma that they’ve made up and that they have kids until literally months later. They just fucking forgot.

• At some point Dipper had disconnected the phone because it started ringing when everyone had fallen asleep after movie night. This leads to Fiddleford just showing up one day thinking Ford had finally gone off the deep end.

• Stan and Ford start doing the forehead taps nose nuzzle thing as a way to express their gay longing for each other without admitting that it’s romantic

• If they saw the rest of the Pines family for the holidays, Filbrick would be the one to inadvertently put the idea into their heads that they might be incestuous. Since up until this point they have both firmly been in the “this is a normal way to feel about your twin” stage and had never really entertained the thought that they might be anything else.  

• I can’t decide if I should go with my fave dynamic of Ford getting carried away x Stan going into tsundere mode or if it would be more accurate to have them kinda shyly test the waters between them. Or something else completely. Maybe they’re too busy being dads to really think about it and one night they kiss after a stressful day and from then on they’re just together.

• At some point Ford would accidentally refers to Stan as his husband before immediately back tracking—it starts a rumor among the towns people that they’re husbands pretending to be brothers because of the stigma against two men raising children together.

• They both cry on the twins first day of school, Ford cry’s first and Stan manages to hold it together until after they’ve dropped them off. And the twins start to experience separation anxiety towards the end of the day. When they get home they get caramel apple slices and cuddles. 

• If Bill was around during this AU I think it would be funny if Ford agreed to do the portal but hasn’t even started on it because on the kids (guy hasn’t even submitted the idea to the grant board) So Bill decides to talk to Stan and convince him to raise the kids full time (he tries to prey on the insecurities about how this is the only thing he’s good for) But Stan ends up cussing him out and basically just taking his frustrations out on Bill to the point where Bill actually fucks off for a while (he comes back when the twins are older to try again, but he’s fucking mortified over what Stan said to him)

• I really want a marriage scene between Stan and Ford, as unofficial as it might be, maybe it’s some mystical protection ritual where they have to promise their souls to each other to complete it, either way they get married and live happily ever after

I imagine this could work at any point in time in their relationship (30s Stans I’m looking at you) but I’m really into pre-relationship twins getting temporary amnesia on the Stan O’ War II, either by plant or magic artifact ect and as they both try to navigate who they are and what’s going on they both come to the conclusion that they must be married!

Evidence being:

• There’s only one bed! (It was cheaper guys, really there isn’t that much space on the boat it was convenient, practical even.)

• There’s only one laundry basket. Enough said.

• Letters addressed to them have little drawings of them holding hands with hearts around them (Mabel’s doing. This is also how they learn their names, they think the Basically the Same Name thing is a cute quirk about their relationship//which I mean they’re not wrong)

• Various Journal entries of Ford gushing about Stan and their kids. With many pages just being drawings of Stan and how wonderful it was for Stan to have given him a second chance and how happy they are together (Ford only uses Stan’s name and nothing else as a descriptor. Plot hole? No it’s not shut up)

This leads to them slowly beginning to flirt with each other as they try to figure things out. I’m talking hand kisses, slow dancing on the deck, stubble brushing against stubble as they smile into kisses. They both think it’s romantic that they get to experience each other for the first time again, even under such unusual circumstances.

Stan pretending not to notice Ford watching him change, Stan playing it off as normal when Ford steals his sweaty clothes, Stan brushing off anything creepy Ford says claiming his twin is just clumsy and awkward with his words, Stan pretending to be asleep when Ford takes the chance to feel him up.

Ford thinks he’s so good at hiding his feelings when really he’s terrible at it and Stan is really just constantly covering for him so Ford doesn’t get in trouble with their parents or teachers. Classmates are also very aware that Ford is a creep to his twin, but Stan pulls off being the dumb twin so well that people feel bad for him thinking he’s too dumb to notice.

When Ford takes an interest in college he immediately asks Stan to go with him and presents him a new life plan that’s incredibly detailed but boils down to them leaving Glass Shard Beach and getting an apartment together. With plans for the Stan O’ War being saved later (Ford swears and feels guilty for putting it off) Stan of course accepts and tells Ford that it was never about the boat, it was just about them being together. (This only makes Ford fall for Stan even harder.)

Ford unfortunately does not get into WCT but not due to any accidental sabotage but because the college scouts never had any intention of letting someone from a working class family into their school.

So during Ford’s first semester at Backupsmore him and Stan share a tiny apartment. It’s then Ford notices that Stan is letting him get away with way more romantic (creepy & perverse) things between them, and doesn’t brush off Fords flirting (intense possessiveness). No Stan is suddenly more shy but willing to entertain Fords indulgences.

Stan lets Ford “convince” him that they only need one big bed for them to share. Stan lets Ford grab and cuddle him outside of the privacy of their room. Stan agrees that showering together would save water, and yes Ford can wash Stan’s back. Stan lets Ford give him massages after a hard days work (Ford feeling Stan up when he’s awake). And even lets Ford nibble on his shoulders when he’s frustrated.

Ford basically lives the dream for about half the semester, convinced that his feelings are still hidden and accepting that this is as probably as good as it’s gonna get in terms of expressing his affections (despite it all this isn’t a dark Ford and he doesn’t expect Stan to return his feelings) but of course Stan proves him wrong and starts reciprocating.

Stan is actually normal about his flirting/teasing. He starts giving Ford pecks on the cheek when he leaves and comes back from work. He just generally starts initiating physical contact with Ford more. When they go out together he calls them dates. He deliberately sexy poses and stretches with a teasing wink sent Fords way. He just starts saying genuinely soft and romantic things to Ford about how much he cares about him and how he’s so happy they get to spend their lives together. Basically just giving Ford very obvious hints that he feels the same.

Ford is a complete mess over this, he’s completely over joyed that Stan might feel the same way, but he starts getting too in his head about making the confession absolutely perfect to the point he keeps accidentally self sabotaging himself.

It all comes to a head when Ford doing his normal perv routine (smelling Stans clothes, jerking off to a picture of them, generally something inexcusable) Stan walks in and instead of ignoring it or brushing it off or any of his usual catching Ford in the act tactics, Stans face goes red and he goes very still, a stormy expression grows on his face. Ford immediately tries to deny what’s happening (it’s not what it looks like!) but Stan doesn’t respond, he marches up to Ford angrily. Ford heart has completely dropped as he stars to think he was wrong about Stan feeling the same way and now his twin was probably going to beat the ever loving shit out of him for being a creep.

Ford braces himself to get punched, but instead Stan embraces Ford, burying his face into his brother’s chest. He’s crying. Ford has no idea what this means or what to do, but before he can get a word out Stan looks up at him tearing eyed, flustered, and very very jealous. “Why do you always do this shit when you have the real deal right in front of you?!”

Stan tries to start an argument (is he not good enough, does Ford just like the taboo and not actually him?) But Ford cuts him off by pulling how twin into a fierce, desperate kiss. “Moses, Stan it’s always been you.” They both just pour their adoration for each other into the kiss.

Stan eventually confesses that he knew the whole time, but he didn’t want them to get kicked out or worse back in Jersey, but now they actually had their own place he felt safer to explore his feelings. And admittedly, he had been hoping Ford would confess (because he’s a romantic at heart)(Ford proceeds to feel a bit like an idiot)

Mabel finds these dolls that look suspiciously like her Grunkles, so of course she has to play with them. She makes the dolls make up and promise to stay together forever before she makes them kiss. And then kiss again. And a few more times just for the hell of it. She takes them with her everywhere that day, making them little outfits, having them go on dates and profess their love for one another, rubberbanding them together so they can hold hands. And finally she makes them get married. She has a cardboard alter and everything.

Dipper then burst in with an "I object!" and explains that something in the basement turned Stan & Ford into plushies, and he's figured out a way to undo it and has been looking for them everywhere.

Mabel still wants to make them get married, and Dipper ends up chasing her around the house as he tries to chant out the spell to fix them. Dipper finally corners her, and she holds up the dolls, making them kiss just as Dipper finishes reading the spell.

Stan and Ford get turned back to normal, but are still kissing and in their wedding outfits. They jump away from each other and agree to pretend that the whole day never happened.

Ford and Stan are separated at birth due to conspiracy and to remove the complications of who gets the crown with them being twins.

They meet each other again by pure coincidence in their late teens. Stan is a thief with a heart of gold while Ford is a seemingly perfect prince with a mischievous side he often has to repress.

They fall deeply in love, meeting in secret as often as they can. One night Stan is able to sneak onto the princes balcony, and he proposes to him, asking Ford to runaway with him.

Ford accepts, but they are soon caught. Stan is arrested, while Ford has to convince/beg his father into letting Stan go.

While Stan is in the dungeons he briefly encounters the queen. She caresses his face and tells him he would have made a fine ruler of his own, in another life. Stan misunderstands her and believes she somehow knows about him and Ford, and approves of them. It gives him hope.

Ford comes down later that night and tells Stan he’s worked out a deal by lying to his father that he had hired Stan to find “gaps” in the castle security. And that Stan will be reviving a reward instead of a punishment. It’s a relief to them both.

The next day, Stan is then brought before the king. The moment the king sees his face is attitude completely changes, and he banishes Stan from the capital. The prince shouts in confusion and the king rises, slapping his son across the face. He claims Ford is a fool, and he has no idea what he has brought before him. The king reminds his son of who he is meant to become, how is the one who will bring greatness to their kingdom.

The guards begin to drag Stan away, and he screams for his prince.

And Ford turns the other cheek.

Something in Stan breaks and he lets the guards drag him out of the capital. The queen is waiting by the gates. She gives him his reward, and a horse. She whispers Find Jheselbraum to him, and sends him off.

Stan rides the horse with a numbness in his heart. Though it is only a precursor to the fury that will guide him on his quest.

Meanwhile Prince Ford lays awake at night, heartbreak and guilt overwhelming him. It gets worse as his father summons him, informing him of his new royal advisor.

The advisor keeps his entire body covered, a single eye decorates his veil, and despite not being able to see it, Ford can somehow tell he’s smiling.

Bill Cipher.

End to part 1