#therandomtiger

But oh man that is some of the BEST stuff because I think a tattoo would practically PERFECTLY encapsulate ford’s relationship with bill In his mind just bill being around him is mind-blowing and an amazing gift. And when he finds and cleans up all the relics not only is it the least he could do, but he wants bill’s image around his house. It belongs there. But it’s not enough. Ford wanting to give bill everything and being almost desperate to give him the next thing he can offer because this is Bill, his muse. And the tattoo. It only makes sense, of course. He decorated his home, but tapestries can be moved or taken down. A tattoo shows commitment, it shows that he really means it all. It’s proof that he truly believes everything he says about bill. Getting the tattoo itself, every bit of pain feels like he’s doing something more for bill and he readily takes that. And afterwards? Oh. This is one of the best decisions of his life, and he feels that through and through. He can feel the tattoo burning and it’s a distinct reminder that it’s there and he can practically feel the specific lines to make up the design or at least he likes to think he can. Bill likes it of course, and that just cements it completely - Ford did right and he’s just so satisfied. The tattoo is constant and ford is proud to have it. It doesn’t matter if nobody else would understand, it’s still a declaration of his devotion for Bill. The burning hasn’t even stopped and he already feels like the tattoo perfectly belongs on him. That it’s appropriate he got a permanent tattoo because it’s not some trinket that can be broken, he’s going to have it for the rest of his life, as it should be. Ford is desperate to prove himself, and especially to show that he means everything he says to bill. A tattoo might not last until the end of time, but it’s the best he can do. Besides, in addition to it belonging there, it’s also just… nice. No matter where he goes, there’s always a piece of Bill with him. There’s ALWAYS Bill, and Ford wouldn’t have it any other way. … Then that betrayal. And he immediately trashes and covers up all the relics in his house. When he remembers the tattoo he just…. stops. It’s a tattoo of course, what is he going to do? But bills eye is on it and it doesn’t really MATTER what it is because he has to at least cross out bills eye so bill can’t see him all the time. Hiding the relics was important, but of all his eyes of course the one physically slapped onto his body is the most worrisome of all. He could go back to the tattoo shop and request the quickest x line to cross it out, but that takes time. He’s not going to waste any time. He just has to break the line of the design enough to make the eye ineffective. 

Ford gets a knife or something, pulls off whatever clothing is restricting access to the tattoo and probably having to use a mirror and he just- he hesitates. For a moment, he looks at the whole tattoo and all the relics seemed like cheap novelties, but this? This wasn’t a small statue he’d spent an hour to clean up. The whole design looks good and more than that, all the intentions and emotions behind when he got it- every single thing was meant. 

And there’s just such a flare up of anger and bitterness that his throat chokes up. He hates Bill. He hates that he believed Bill. He hates just how DEEPLY devoted he was - he HATED that Bill didn’t even ask him to get a tattoo really or to put up all those relics. Bill never asked for any of that. Ford just did it all - Because it was his muse and he wanted to. 

He could blame Bill for most of it. But the worst of it is just how much ford himself did. How far Ford went and gave Bill on his own, only content in the instances where he’d given Bill everything. So he scratches the x across bill’s eye harshly, an impulsive need to prove himself. He spent too much of himself trying to prove and show that he would do anything for Bill - and now he has to prove to himself that that’s NOT the case anymore. He spent so long believing and doing what he could to prove that he’d do anything for his muse until his dying days, that now he has to show that none of that rings true anymore. It’s not true. It never was, Ford lies to himself. Ford is going to hide away or destroy every single piece of ‘proof’ he had of his devotion to bill if it’s the last thing he does. 

When he’s on the other side of the portal, that’s really when he vows to vanquish bill. It doesn’t help him forget about the tattoo, but it’s almost enough to make it appear less significant. His whole life goal centers around defeating Bill. And sometimes he swears he can feel the tattoo on his back burning some days, and he knows it’s his own imagination but the thought of the tattoo is more than enough to make an angry bitterness eat its way though his chest. Thankfully with time he thinks of it less. But the tattoo represents more than Ford even cares to think about. It’s a (near) perfectly preserved time capsule of Ford’s utter and complete devotion to Bill. A time in his life that he would rather wipe away clean through. He never tells anybody how thoroughly Bill has fooled him, but more so just how deeply devoted he was to Bill. 

‘He tricked me into building a portal to doom my dimension.’ And there lies so much more beyond just being tricked, but nobody questions it very far. 'He told me it’d open up a gateway to other dimensions.’ Nobody ever really asks for the details and Ford is grateful for that because he couldn’t admit it. The simple way he tells it to others he always makes it sound much more shallow than it actually was because he can’t stand to admit the truth. And every time he becomes acutely aware of the covered tattoo with a crossed out eye, and he wants it OFF.

Now ford doesn’t have all the time and resources in the multiverse, but he does have some now and then. The multiverse has a fairly wide variety of different places too of course. It’s not that hard to find a tattoo parlor. It’s also not that hard to find a tattoo removal shop. But. He doesn’t. Ford considers it… and he thinks about himself walking up to the shop and pushing through the door then finding someone to ask if they could safely remove the tattoo from his kind of skin. But… he just stands there, on the wrong side of the street and looking at the building. His skin could be completely clear of the ink and… he… doesn’t like the idea of it. He doesn’t really want to think why, because there’s something gnawing inside his stomach and it’s easier to ignore it then consider even for a little while that just maybe…. he still……… because of course he wouldn’t. He’s been on the portal far longer than he knew Bill in gravity falls, and Ford had long since learned his lesson, clearly. So, he doesn’t wipe the tattoo clean. 

But he can get a coverup tattoo and he loves the idea. It’s symbolic, practically, and even on the run Ford still can be a bit of a poet at times. Isn’t this perfect? Taking Bill’s betrayal and it becoming transformed into something different? It’s what he’s doing, after all. Bill tricking him only doomed himself by making an enemy out of him. Stanford Pines learned of Bill’s true nature and went past his tricks to defeat him and indefinitely not only save his world, but the whole multiverse from Bill. So, Ford gets a coverup tattoo that incorporates the old one into something different. And he’s proud of himself and feels like the hero he so desperately wants to be. The hero that transformed from his weaker self and left every bit of adoration he felt for Bill behind him to ultimately defeat Bill.

Alternatively, he doesn’t. Alternatively, he can’t. But that’s okay because he tells himself that it’s not because he wants to KEEP the tattoo. It’s because the tattoo is a reminder of just how awful Bill is and how Bill hurt him. So that he’ll never lose his motivation to find a way to kill Bill.

But the truth of the it all no matter what is that Bill is embedded into Stanford Pines’ skin and always will be.