The thing is, Stan was wrong.

In the end, you don’t only need one relationship in your life. Whether it’s a best friend, a brother, a lover, a parent, or whatever–having just one person in your life who you spend all your time with and who needs to fulfill all your emotional/social needs is a terrible idea.

Stan and Ford’s relationship was always loving, but it was never healthy, even when they were kids.

It’s fine now–Stan and Ford are living together on their boat and probably spend most of their time with each other, but they aren’t the only people in each other’s lives any more. They both have Dipper and Mabel, Ford has Fiddleford, Stan has Soos, and there’s a whole ton of other people in their lives who could potentially be counted as friends.

When Ford made that “isn’t it suffocating?” comment to Dipper it was upsetting to a lot of people, myself included, because at that point we hadn’t really gotten any canonical information regarding how he felt about Stan deep down. For a while that line was all we had, and it wasn’t exactly encouraging.

But to be honest, I don’t think Ford was describing Stan or his love as “suffocating” when he said that.

He was responding to Dipper’s comment that he and Mabel had never been apart. He assumed they had the same unhealthy relationship he and Stan did–only having one person to go to for everything, at all times, and having that same person go to you for all their needs. That kind of relationship is suffocating, no matter who it’s with.

Of course, Ford was wrong. Dipper and Mabel’s relationship wasn’t like theirs. They have other people in their lives to go to. They have friends, and a supportive family. But Ford was making another mistake as well. In his mind, the problem with that unhealthy relationship was the other person in it, and the solution was to cut loose that person and depend only on yourself. His advice to Dipper was to do the same.

Ironically, whether he realized it or not (spoiler: he didn’t) by inviting Dipper to “go it alone” with him by becoming his apprentice, he was actually setting up the exact same unhealthy relationship he was calling suffocating for himself and Dipper.

That’s what Dipper rejects by not taking Ford’s apprenticeship, by the way. He isn’t rejecting the supernatural–Dipper is undoubtedly going to keep exploring that for the rest of his life. Nor is he turning down a relationship with Ford–obviously they are going to see each other again, and keep communicating while Dipper’s at school and Ford’s at sea. He’s rejecting the mindset that Ford is presenting to him. The idea that he and Ford are special and set apart from other people, and that they don’t need anyone else.

That’s the “fantasy world” the apprenticeship represents. It’s a fantasy that Ford has been clinging to for a while, one he finally rejects himself by the end of the series.

And by losing that fantasy, he gains everything–his brother, his family, his friend, and finally, finally, happiness.