fang2_d2 | Meta Ramble on Fang's Papa Issue (Reply)

When Fang first arrived in Holly Heights, he learned that no only was his girlfriend (and perhaps more importantly, Flock leader) Max there, but also that Max had settled in fairly well, was comfortable in the situation, and had formed bonds with people in that world. Max didn't bother to talk to him about or present him to most of these people, thus the only person he had to count as part of Max's comfort with the world was her "father" Robert.

Fang and Max-fathers have a bad history. Since Max's actual biological father (and the man who at one point played a parental role for the whole Flock) was Jeb, one of the scientists who was involved in the experimentation that created the birdkids in the first place. After the birdkids had escaped from the School where they were kept and experimented on, Jeb promised to take care of them, only to eventually disappear, leaving them on their own. They thought that it was a matter of him having been caught, but it turned out that the whole move from inside the School to outside it was merely another experiment for him, and that leaving them on their own was more of the same. When they met up with him again was after the youngest of their number had been captured AGAIN and experimented on AGAIN, and when he came back into their lives, it was under much protest from all of the Flock.

The first time Fang arrived in Holly Heights, it was mere seconds after Jeb had ordered his death, supposedly for his own good. He knew that Jeb had betrayed them repeatedly, had betrayed him specifically in that moment, and had done other horrible things relating to experimentation.

Knowing all these things, seeing Max declare someone her "father" and say that she liked - and more importantly trusted - him threw Fang for a major loop. That started the obsession.

What continued it, however, was that Robert started to fill other roles for Fang.

Fang and Max were the two oldest members of the Flock, and though Max was officially the leader, Fang was always the right-hand man. Though things changed between them (and the entire group) repeatedly throughout their lives, even Iggy who was only a few months younger was seen as "one of the kids" to be taken care of. As such, Fang never really saw himself in anything but an adult role with anyone, despite using the term "birdkid" to refer to himself.

When adults did come into his life - such as the environmental scientists the group worked with - they left quickly or treated him as different and special and strange. He was courted for scientific or promotional purposes by adults as well. So when Robert showed concern for Fang or treated him like he might need some kind of guidance, he was filling a need Fang hadn't realized he had.

Then as they grew closer, Robert started taking on more roles. He isn't actually that much older, and he let Fang do things like roll around on him while drunk and goof off with him in ways that he didn't usually do with other kids. When he didn't correct Fang for crossing personal boundaries or teasing him about his theoretical love life, he added "friend" to the list of roles he was filling. This again, was something Fang wasn't used to having. There was never anyone he was close in age with - and close to - who didn't in some way depend on him too much to be simply "a friend". Even when he assembled his own gang after leaving the Flock, the group had specific goals and was in a dangerous situation, so while they had their moments of "being dumb kids", they were still under Fang's care, from his perspective.

THIS IS ALL VERY CONFUSING.

It's a mix of very different roles, and because Fang hasn't put anyone ELSE in Holly Heights into these roles, Robert's taking the full brunt of his teenage emotional fervor. Fang occasionally talks to people on the network or even hangs out with them, but it's rare enough for each individual that he doesn't view anyone as "close" to him, and while he's mentioned being a "birdkid" to a few people, he hasn't actually given anyone that much detail about what his life before was like. Many of the few people he has opened up to have left, and there are some people he'd really like to be friends with but doesn't do a good job of approaching. (Tieria is a good example of that.)

Even though Fang both left and showed up again since then, and Max did the same, Robert has been there the whole time, and Fang walked back into that already intense (for him) bond right after finding out his world ended, with being apped back in from the end of the series. That added on top of what he'd already felt left him almost desperately clinging to Robert being there as a crutch, a way to continue moving despite loss of his wings, loss of his world, and at the time, loss of Max.

The layer of attachment added there tipped the balance from a somewhat complicated close friendship/family relationship to what is probably a rather unhealthy - and creepy - obsession, but Fang himself isn't able to realize any of these things at his current maturity level or understanding of what relationships are or how they work. He doesn't really think of it as romantic or sexual, but he does treat it a lot more sensually than anything , as he's constantly touching Robert in some way or other. Considering he (still, for silly reasons) thinks of Robert as gay, there's something that he feels should be awkward about that but isn't.

tl;dr Fang is a frequently abused/abandoned kid who has had to be an adult way too long and has decided that having a "parent" means he can stop, and is clinging to that parent with all the tenacity of a toddler who won't let go of his mommy's apron. Except with added teenage hormones that sometimes make the whole thing very inappropriate.