Just, you know, a warning. Because I know this absolutely will be very, very long.
This is big 'o pile of thoughts on the Ainsworth family, from my apply fic Runs in the Family. Why is this here instead of in the story? Because it's spam & fun. Spam books, ya know? Also I really should stop adding extra chapters to the end of Runs in the Family. It adds to the chapter count and I'd hate to promise people a bunch of chapters only for them to get much less.
Sorry for those not included. RIP you, I guess. Though most people who read this were part of the fic and, let's be real buddy, did you really think a spam book was going to be anything other than self-indulgent half-nonsense?
But enough fluff. Onward and upward.
Albert
Albert Ainsworth seems, to me, the natural start of it all. Out of the family, he is the only character I created. Meaning he's the only one who's characterization is entirely my own - so I ultimately understand him the most. On top of that he has a massive effect on literally everyone else I will be talking about. He's their father after all. So defining him gives an understand of where everyone else comes from.
Though, truth is, if you just go off the story Albert isn't exactly his own character.
At least at the beginning. There's a little of his backstory. It's mentioned he's an orphan who aged out of the childcare system, he met Valamir and used the Maywood to start a writing career, and then used that to adopt a bunch of children to finally build a family. Aside from that though he's defined by his relationship to his children and how he influenced them. His characterization is through the eyes of everyone else.
Though, as much as Albert loves the children, as much as he tries to support and care for them, they barely know who he is. They know a sanitized version of their father, fed to them by his fame and what he was willing to let them see.
Which is sort of the point. Something I sort of build into the plot, and that the applications played into as well, is the idea that a lot of the characters issues come from the belief they have to live up to a perfect legacy. They're so shit at addressing their own issues and struggles because...Albert was shit at addressing his own - and their - issues and struggles.
If I could nail down Albert's biggest flaw it would be this: he is painfully scared of not being okay.
He grew up neglected and singled out, and is so afraid of making his children feel the same way he refuses to acknowledge they have any issues at all. To the extent that he doesn't get Azima help because it upset her. He ignored Sanis's violent tendencies in favor of vague platitudes that, while nice and did Sanis a lot of good, is not a useful alternative to actual therapy.
It sounds like he's a shit parent, but I wouldn't really go that far. Albert did his best. But he ignored his issues - from simple mistakes to full blown depressive episodes - and kept them hidden from his children in an attempt to avoid hurting them. Which is great. Except the forced positivity ended up teaching his children they had to follow this example. That they also had to bottle up all of their issues and repress their way to success.
