As a teenager, Sherman Pines had a life and many better things to do over summer break than hang out with an older brother he barely remembered. In this, he was unlike Tate McGucket, whose life had fallen apart in 1981 and who just wanted to forget. Fate, however, had business with them both, and thus they both find themselves in Gravity Falls, Oregon, in the summer of 1983.

For Dipper and Mabel's parents, the summer of 2012 gradually became...strange. Not to mention slightly concerning. It was easy enough to dismiss Mabel's letters as creative writing at first, but they found it harder to ignore the stories that came with snippets of evidence...and that was before a boat crashed into their rhododendrons.

When troubles arose, it was natural for the Pines family to reach out to its eldest son. Since he was being impersonated by his legally deceased twin, though, the responses they got always kept them at a distance...but only, Stan always swore, until he could get the real Stanford back. Then he could explain. Then they could be a family again. Then it would all have been worth it.

After Weirdmageddon, Stan Pines had a lifetime of things to remember. It was, perhaps, understandable that his brother put off showing him the missing pieces in the Mystery Shack's basement until Stan accidentally stumbled upon a topic they had both once wished to forget.