Arghhh the "everyone trying to change Stan into Ford" AU is killing me because when Ford finds out and tries to help Stan I can't see that 'Stanford' wanting to be Stan again even if he could undo all that brainwashing... not to mention Ford seeing the messed up compliant version of himself that the two people he trusted after Stan left his life wanted him to be and tore his twin apart to do so!
Its not going to help that Fords not going to find out about this for, at the very least, five years. That's the minimum amount of time I can see it talking for Stan to get the portal back up and running, but with him having to work around Fiddleford and his increasingly erratic behavior and having Bills late night 'study' sessions leaving him reeling every night, I'm thinking it takes him the better part of ten years to get it going. Thats about when I figure Ford got the metal plate, and also gives both Fiddleford and Bill plenty of time to cement the identity of 'Stanford' onto Stan.
And you're right. Even after it all comes crashing down them and Stan's left facing the truth that he was warped into his own brother due to the whims of his 'friends', he's going to see it in a very 'well its not all that bad because this way I had Bill to help me save Ford'. He is in fact madder at Fiddleford for making it possible, but see's Bill taking advantage of it as a win in his book, even if, if Bill hadn't started spamming Fords and his own memories into Stan's mind, theres a chance Stan might have remembered on his own that he wasn't Ford.
Then on Fords end he gets sucked into what has to be a parallel dimension, one where Stan got sucked into the portal instead of him, only to see a Ford who's living... not a better life, but certainly a better one than Ford is.
(I'm not sure if 'Stanford' (Stanley) is running the institute of oddology here, but if he is there's no portal research going on, as thats his 'pet project'(Probably not though, as Bill would heavily discourage other people being around))
This 'Ford' still has his home and his research and Fiddleford, who is doing better than he is in canon since he has 'Stanford' there to... not rehabilitate him, but sort of take care of him. At this point not even Fiddleford remembers that 'Stanford' isn't the real one, as thats a memory he long snipped once the guilt got too much for him. He's still 'Stanford's' assistant, and still low key using the memory gun, but not over every little thing or from jumping at shadows. The two of them are still living together, still researching all the oddities of Gravity Falls and publishing some more 'acceptable' research. Fiddleford might even have gotten a head on his personal computers and bringing in money that way.
Unsure at this time, still mulling it over.
In any case, this 'Stanford' is doing better, and feels bad for yoinking Ford out of the multiverse, but refuses to turn the portal off or shut the project down until he brings his brother home. Ford offers to help him re calibrate and fix his dimensional locator (and maybe make a few heavy alterations while 'Stanfords' upstairs pretending everything is normal so that this dimension doesn't fall under Bill's sway)
Doesn't take more than a week to get frustrated with the thing, and then an hour for Ford to, full of growing horror, check and see that this is in fact his dimension, and that the scanner works just fine. Turns everything off, heads upstairs, and stares at a shocked Fiddleford while 'Stanford' tries to rapidly lie on why there are two Fords walking around.
And its like looking at a twisted mirror of himself. 'Stanford' is a Ford in that he's how Fiddleford thinks Ford should act more than how Ford actually was, and their similar enough that you don't notice he's not the real thing until the real ones standing right there.
And its even worse once he figures out Bill's involved in this whole mess, and even more worse if weirdmaggedon happens here.
For Stan, because even though Bill's put tenish years into pounding into Stan's head that he's Ford and twisting him into a version of Ford that Bill likes, one thats got less hangups about ending the world and more likely to say what Bill likes to hear directly to his face, the moment the real Fords there Bill is ditching him. The world is ending and Ford is yelling and Stan desperatly asking Bill whats going on, what happened to his brother and why this other Ford is claiming he's his brother, and the most Bill's going to do is laugh in his face about how stupid he is to think he was ever Ford in the first place, pat him on the head for doing such a good job, then full ignoring him to talk to Ford.
The real deals back after all, no need for the spare.
Got a little off topic here, i just love the psychological horror aspect of it all. There's no going back to being completely himself for Stanley, and even after Ford comes back and wrecks Fiddleford and Bill for what they did to his brother, its still going to take a long time until Stan starts even responding to his own name.
