can we get some filbrick thoughts? (from any of your aus or canon) I’ve just been thinking about him and stan a lot lately, and I love your interpretation of him <3
For one, he was an awful parent, but I don't think he was the scum of the Earth. He was just a bad dad, like thousands of bad dads out there, who wasn't ready and didn't want to be a parent, and thought it was his responsibility to try anyway. Did he love them? I think so, he got them in boxing and tried to prepare them for the world in his own way. Did he suck at showing it? Of for sure 100%. He was a man who had expectations, and was given two kids that didn't meet them for one reason or another.
Like, look at their room as kids. That place is full of toys, the walls are skuffed, and they have all their things splayed around everywhere. Caryn probably got some of it, but Filbrick was the man of the house, there's no way he wouldn't have a say in some of it. I can very much see a younger Stan or Ford begging for something at a store, and Filbrick telling them they have to earn it.
Then only bought one, because they can share.
So yeah, I think he loved them. I think he also wanted to be men in the same way he was raised to be a man. Don't show emotions, be tough, be responsible for your actions, do Manly things, contribute to society and be independent.
Except he also treated them as a unit, and didn't encourage them to become independent from each other, just pit them against each other.
I think he was neglectful, and abusive, and didn't know how to express his frustration in healthy ways or be patient or find value in their interests. I don't think he cared for Fords success either, until it was a way to make money. Sure he'd display Fords achievements, but it was an expectation to succeed, not something to be proud of.
I think he definitely was the root cause of their splintering, but he was a human person, and probably acted the way he did for a reason. Its not an excuse, just a fact of life. He was the adult, it was his job to look after his kids and help them grow, but he didn't want to be a dad, and also probably didn't really know what he was doing. Just got angrier every time Stan messed up without addressing the root cause, and just washed his hands of him when it was one big mistake too many. I wouldn't be surprised if he told Ford not to come home unless he had something to show for it either.
Hmm. Just. People come in a variety of flavors, and some are jerks or assholes for no real reason, and he was stuck in his ways and there was no way he was going to change how he went about raising the Stans.
(Side note, I think Caryn was probably just as neglectful. Its said straight out that the Stans only had each other, and while, again, i think she loved her sons, i think she loved the ideas she had of them in her mind more than the actual kids she had. I don't think they would have turned out much better if she raised them by herself, just had different problems. Very much to me like a parent who gets drunk and waves the kids to go play because she's too busy. She was there for the fun of having kids but let filbrick discipline them)
Anyway, its why i like fics that explore in what ways he could have been a better parent. It wasn't going to happen on its own, so what forces could push him into changing? I've seen one where Ford disappearing led him to treating Stan better, where he time traveled and realized he had a chance to change things for them and fix some of his regrets, and I just turned him into a werewolf and forced to confront the feelings he'd been suppressing.
Thats my thoughts anyway. I think he's interesting, that he should get blamed for the Stan fall out more, and that he would have been happier without kids.
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