I’m fucking obsessed with mac n ketchup Stan I require all the lore
C/W for multiple triggering themes ie arson, sui ideation and thoughts, family drama, s/h, alcoholism, ableism, all that not so fun stuff
AAAA okay so, basically spoilers, this is loosely based on an RP my fiancé and I have been doing since January of 2023, and this AU was insoired by the ocs we created in that, so in the MNK AU, Kyle had met this woman, Grace, in college and married her despite Sheila not liking her, but Kyle was in a “grr I’m a grown man, Ma, I know what I’m doing” and married her anyways (I know this isn’t stan but it plays into Stan’s character); so Sherri is born, and Kyle, Yknow, works and has his emotional shaky relationship with his mom, and Sherri was actually named after Sharon, who Kyle went to mostly because he was like “oh shit idk how to be a parent what have I done”. Naturally, he turns to his SBF to be the designated baby sitter.
Stan fell in love with Sherri from the moment he first held her, and was a Godfather at first. Now Stan, in this au, thought he was bi for the longest time, but once he hit like 20 he realized that maybe, just maybe, he leaned more toward one field than the other. He’s also demisexual, and agender, but uses he/him to keep things simple, just fyi. He talks to Wendy because, especially after experiencing Sherri for the first year, he wanted a baby of his own, so Wendy was a surrogate mother for his son, Nathan.
Now for more STAN background, in the au, he is on the autism spectrum, like that’s a BIG part of his character in the RP and in this AU, so things weren’t easy for him as a neurodivergent person, so he did struggle a lot in social situations and in school, and there was a time where he and Kyle kinda drifted apart.
The event of Tegridy farm burning down IS canon here, and Stan DOES have PTSD from it, in a unique way. The man is OBSESSED with fire but also is a pyrophobe due to the event. In this AU it was kinda more so an accident, because he STARTED the action as a reaction to his intrusive and depressive thoughts BUT as the flames grew stronger and taller, he heard Shelley calling for help from the barn and instead of like- waiting for help and all that and letting her possibly die, Stan actually runs into the flames and rescues her BUT almost gets trapped himself.
It gets deemed as a wild fire incident (Randy blames Stan but SP P.D. Isn’t the smartest and doesn’t wanna deal with Randy), and Shelley and Stan have matching burn scars on their legs. Stan also suffered a HUGE asthma attack from both the smoke and the weed in the air, enough for him to have nightmares to come where he failed to save Shelley/got trapped in the flames (Sharon’s cries for her babies haunts him).
Anyways, fast forward to about Junior/Senior year of college (Tegridy burning down was Jr. high, Freshman year was Randy and Sharon’s divorce, Randy got custody of the kids bi weekly on the weekends because of course the system failed the kids), Crimson Dawn gets back together, legit, starting off as a cover band, and Stan and Kyle’s friendship is somewhat repaired by this time, Stan is still on and off with Wendy.
So, they graduate HS, go to college, Kyle meets Grace and impulsively gets married just to prove a point to Sheila and Gerald (who OBVIOUSLY favor Ike, not really, but Kyle FEELS like that’s the case), Kyle doesn’t talk to Sheila for a hot minute, Grace gets knocked up, and Kyle’s like “oh shit oh fuck oh shit”, turns to Sharon for help, yada yada.
Now Grace is a very head strong and independent woman, and she values her skillset and career choice (fashion designer) above almost all else and she’s almost never home, Kyle’s stuck with the baby and is stressing with college courses and work and his non existent relationship with his mom.
Stan can pretty much only help with one of those things, so he sets up play dates with Sherri and Nate, and supports his SBF best he can (while also running away from his own emotional problems, because he’s Stan and he’s stubborn)
Skip a few years, and Grace gets knocked up (again), still the same old Grace, so now Kyle’s juggling work, lack of familial relationship, AND two kids, except Godfather Stan is right at his side the whole time.
By the time Sherri is 5-6, Nate is 4-5, and Spencer is about 3, Grace basically chooses to pursue her job in New York over staying with Kyle, and even the kids.
Stan, of course, steps up and continues to raise the kids on the side while Kyle is dealing with this woman that he believed would be compatible with someone like him, Kyle and Grace get divorced (it’s not pretty), and Kyle slowly realizes “oh my god the partner I’m looking for is right next to me”. Because all he wanted was for someone to accept him and his kids, and who’s done that the entire time? Stan.
Now, back to more Stan focused: Stan brings the kids to the studio a lot and plays music for them, but that also means that the kids (Sherri especially) have seen some of Stan’s worse moments. He never really SNAPS per se, but he does have moments where they (she) can tell he’s not really ALL THERE.
Stan always struggled with something, whether it was alcohol, or some form of s/h, ranging from avoiding sleep, to punching walls (or himself), but he never does it in front of the kids; Sherri, unfortunately, is observant as Hell. So is Spencer, both of which are ATTACHED to Stan like duct tape, so they end up telling Kyle “hey, I know you’re going through a thing but maybe you and Daddy/Stada can help each other out (Spencer calls Stan “Stada”), so then it becomes like a counselor/boyfriend relationship from Kyle to Stan, and Stan’s broken mindset finally gets the attention it deserves.
Stan has had a record of “spacing out” when pyrotech goes off on stage, and this is one of the first triggers Kyle makes note off, after a concert that takes place near Stan’s birthday, about a year after they get together, which inspires Kyle and the kids to get him an emotional support dog, a girl Swiss Shepard named Zappy, named a little after Sparky. In the AU, Sparky had a little lightning bolt on his paw pad, and so does Zappy, so it’s believed that Zappy is a reincarnation of Sparky. Stan keeps her close to try and keep himself grounded, especially in crowds. She’s often back stage during concerts just in case.
And that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. That and Stan’s shoulder injury in this AU came from him rescuing Shelley in the barn, one of the pillars fell and slammed into it, hard enough to dislocate it. Also, another fun fact, Stan bleached his hair once in HS, and later, Sherri helps him bleach it a second time.
Stan also helped Kyle reconnect with his parents, AFTER they get married; Sheila got to meet her grandkids, and Kyle and his parents have a decent relationship, at least in good enough terms to talk to each other again.
Kyle took Stan’s last name in their marriage as he wasn’t in good terms with his parents again YET, and Stan ended up adopting Kyle’s kids legally and also changing their last names.