In My Brother’s Shadow AU
Anyone had this idea yet?
Stanley Pines is so used to hiding, he ends up personifying and replacing his twin brother’s shadow. Now, he’s either gone-gone or cursed. Stanford doesn’t realize his shadow is his brother until he tries sending out that postcard.
This is heavily inspired from Peter Pan. Can you guess who’s Wendy? For reference, Bill plays the role of Captain Hook.
- Unspecified origins, Stanley is transported halfway across the globe and ends up in Gravity Falls with his brother.
- Obviously, Stanford is so busy with getting his house being built he doesn’t realize his shadow is sentient until he’s apparently confronted with it. It’s the surprise of his life!
- At first he thinks his shadow is an anomaly. Stanford doesn’t begrudge the shadow for occupying in his impression. In fact, he becomes fascinated with it and its’ ambiguous nature. He ends up trying to ask his shadow a bunch of questions.
- Unfortunately, Stanley has to defer from Stanford’s inquiries because he cannot speak. The lack of back and forth communication makes Stanford somewhat falter. So, Stanley resorts to charades or shadow puppetry to answer Ford’s questions. He’s really good at shadow puppets.
- Stanley doesn’t tell Stanford he’s really Stanley.
- For awhile, it was just the two of them. They’d go out in the woods to document research on strange happenings. Stanford would refer to his shadow just by looking where the light hits the trees or the ground. For some reason, his shadow finds great joy in climbing trees.
- Even under the dim light of the kitchen, Ford is never really eating alone when he can see his shadow splayed out on the fridge or counters. It’s funny to think that Stanley will just be goofing off, all silent, while Ford is communicating for him.
- Maybe they make a game of it. Ford will fill the air with a narrative, Stanley will use his “shadow powers” to make interesting and detailed visuals of silhouettes to pop up on the walls.
- Maybe, in all the silence, Stanford yearned for some actual conversation. Stanley thinks his brother’s been alone by himself for too long, even with him as just his shadow. So, Stanford’s shadow (Stanley) is what inevitably convinces Ford to contact Fiddleford again.
Do you know that one scene from Nim’s Island? The scene where the author Alex Rider is about to back away from leaving the house but is pushed out by her imaginary character? I just thought of something similar happening to Ford when he’s somehow convinced by his shadow to call Fiddleford. You’ll have this whole tug-o-war scene between Stanford and his shadow, pulling on the phone chord, both being too stubborn to let it go.
- Fiddleford thinks Ford’s gone off the deep end when he sees him laughing along with his shadow.
- Mystery Trio (semi) established!
- Fiddleford attempts making an awkward one-sided conversations with Stanford’s shadow. Then over time, he becomes used to talking to the shadow, simply because of how exaggerated the shadow will change its shape to relay responses for him. It does get a good laugh out of Fiddleford each time. He considers the shadow a jokester, which is so unlike serious Stanford. That might offend him, but the trio do get a good laugh over it together.
- That little comparison could be the little hint that makes Ford slowly connect the dots, up until the postcard.
- Imagine seeing Stanley waving his arms frantically in the air on the cave walls momentarily before Ford sweeps his gaze to the painting on the wall of Bill, thus ignoring Stanley’s cry for his attention.
- Stanford still reads the inscription on the wall, leading to the winding road that causes Ford to focus more on Bill and drift further away from his shadow.
- Bill is delighted that Stanley is being pushed away.
- Bill gives Stanford the final hint about his shadow’s real identity.
- Stanford crushes the postcard in his hands. He whirls around and stares down at his shadow (maybe Ford gave his shadow a nickname?). The red light from the control room casts a sinister and eerie feeling in the atmosphere. Stanford confronts his shadow about his suspicions.
You know how Peter Pan’s shadow had to be sewn back to him from his feet? What if, instead of Stanford being pushed through the portal, Stanley is ripped away from Stanford. In the actual sense, like Ford loses his shadow and Stanley becomes lost after losing his one connection to who he used to be. Like, Stanley becomes lost in a dark void, endlessly shapeshifting in hopes of finding an impression similar to his original.
- Years later, Ford still has no shadow. He realizes too late that his brother is not who he used to be anymore. Stanley becomes a distressed mass of a conglomeration of forms of all the figures he tried fitting into over the years.
