I was GOING to put this with the art I just posted but TUMBLR wouldnt let me so here's all the basic info needed to know about Sherm and Barbera (Rigby's parents)
They’re pretty unideal parents to say the least, both demonstrating major favoritism towards Don over Rigby (which screws both of those poor kids over in different ways). They’re actually the only parents here that aren’t in love, constantly being on the brink of divorce.
Sherm is about what you’d expect, being pretty abrasive and aggressive. He’s a MAJOR yeller, probably explains why Rigby is so particularly annoyed by Benson. He constantly criticizes and berates Rigby for not being a “good son,” continually comparing him to Don and all that jazz. Rigby caught a major case of DADDY ISSUES. Despite this, Sherm does have some standards; he’d never physically hurt or lay hands on any of his family. (Maellard’s the only parent who is willing to physically abuse.) Sherm doesn’t really care for Rigby, he’s the type of parent to see kids more as novelty pets than..y’know, kids. He treats both Rigby and Don like dogs. And he doesn’t even actually truly care about Don, he just likes that he has an ideal life; makes the family look at least a bit better (their family is constantly judged for being poorer and having..Rigby be part of it)
Though to not make Sherm come across as a boring one-note ahole whose only purpose is to make Rigby go on his angst arc, there is some nuance to him. He never wanted to be a parent, neither did Barbera, but were kinda forced into it due to an accident when they were only young adults (like literally only 19-20 years old). Which yeah goes into those two not actually being in love, but getting together nonetheless, cause what else were they supposed to do? Sherm was actually on the calmer, friendlier side when he was younger, but due to being so stressed out about being forced to be a parent, he ended up developing the..attitude he has in the present. The anger helps him cope with all the regret he has (mostly about himself cause he does NOT like himself and where he ended up). But yeah, this overall explains why he doesn’t act like a proper dad to his sons, nor really much of a husband. He’d like for all of them to have a better life, but has NO IDEA how to even begin to accomplish that. And has almost no one to turn to for help.
Sherm is extra miserable because he basically can’t do a lot of his hobbies/interests anymore. He actually loved writing and wanted to become a famous author, but that dream is longggg gone.
A lot about Sherm applies to Barbera, mostly her being forced to be a parent and definitely not knowing what to do. She’s on the surface a lot nicer and sociable. She tries to understand what’s troubling Rigby from time to time, but doesn’t know what advice to really give him or how to actually help, thus defaulting to thinking he’s just a “problem child.” And yeah, demonstrating favoritism towards Don cause he makes things “easier.” Barbera actively tries to make the family look better and build some relations, but her social game is pretty fucking weak. She doesn’t know how to actually talk to people. Or how to keep things tidy and organized, even though that’s part of her job. Or just how to be the “rightful” mother figure that’s just expected of her. Internally, she and Sherm are opposites, where she’s actually the one with wild aspirations and had a more aggressive, confident personality when she was younger, while Sherm demonstrated something more calm and collected. Barbera just wanted to play drums when she was younger, man.
One of the big reasons both of them had such a personality shift was because the pressure of being parents made them think they had to embody the “ideal” traits of a mother and father, respectively. Mothers are usually sociable, tidy, and organized, right? Fathers are usually stern and leading, right?
Honestly, their relationship to Don and Rigby is too damaged to be fully repaired, but they do end up getting the help they need to make the best out of the rest of their lives, even receiving a lot of it from Rigby himself. And it’ll help Rigby a lot in a way to just..see his parents for who they really are, it’ll help him realize who he really is (or the good guy he has the potential to be.)
