Seriously Geeky Sundays – Father Figures

Hello dear readers and welcome to another Seriously Geeky Sunday. As today is Father’s Day, the topic for today’s questions is fathers and father figures. There are SO many to choose from across geeky fandoms so let’s go on and have a look at who I’ve picked.

First though, the real stuff. I would like to take this opportunity to wish my own father a very happy Father’s Day. You were the person who got me into video games and introduced me to sci fi and I’ll always remember the fun times we had playing video games together when I was little (particularly the ones that were a wee bit above my age range 😂). So thank you, and I’m looking forward to seeing you again when all this pandemic madness is over!

I’d also like to thank Heather from Just Geeking By as always for coming up with this awesome event and these cool prompts. Make sure you go and check out her site and find out how to take part in Seriously Geeky Sundays.

Right! Let’s get on with today’s questions. For this week’s I want to issue a *spoiler warning* for my answers, please stop reading if you see a fandom mentioned that you don’t want spoiled!

Who is your favourite fictional dad?

Sebastian Castellanos, The Evil Within series

I’ve chosen Sebastian Castellanos here because his whole story in The Evil Within revolves around his role as a father and his extremely traumatic experiences of fatherhood. It is hard to say much without giving away major spoilers, but much of the story revolves around how his life fell apart after the death of his daughter Lily and the disappearance of his wife, and then changes to something different when it is suggested that Lily’s death may have been faked. I particularly like him because really he is quite a normal guy. He has various flaws and personal issues but is thrown into a devastating situation by a very unfair series of events, and at the end of the day it is his role as Lily’s dad that keeps him going and brings the best out of him.

Who is your favourite evil dad?

Gul Dukat, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Cardassian leader Gul Dukat is a seriously nasty piece of work. He is self obsessed, driven by hatred and horribly manipulative. He is also very intelligent, which all combined make him thoroughly unpleasant. He has a number of children, but we only really see his softer side when he is dealing with his daughter Ziyal. There are many genuinely touching scenes between the two, however given that Ziyal was born out of wedlock and her mother was Bajoran (a race who had previously been invaded and subjugated by the Cardassians), this peace couldn’t last and he ends up showing his true colours. He really is a classic bad guy – evil to the core but absolutely, totally compelling to the last.

Who is your favourite father figure/mentor?

Sojiro Sakura, Persona 5

This guy is completely awesome. Tough on the outside but really a big softy, he adopts Futaba after the death of her mother and does everything he can to care for her, even though he feels incapable of giving her everything she needs. He is very protective of Futaba and fights with everything he has to make sure she can stay under his guardianship. His role as a father figure doesn’t only extend to Futaba though as he is also the guardian of the game’s protagonist and offers him a lot of support and guidance throughout the game, including the important life skill that is making good coffee. In fact, he seems to genuinely care about the lives of all of the main characters, and helps them out whilst staying in the background and not interfering too much. He is just a totally awesome guy, and if his cafe, Le Blanc’s, was a real place then I’d be a regular for sure!

Who is your favourite unconventional father/father figure?

Dunban, Xenoblade Chronicles

Dunban is a soldier and a hero to his people. He has the confidence and arrogance that many hero characters have, but beyond being the people’s hero he has an added responsibility – being a father figure for his little sister Fiora and by default becoming a mentor to her friends Shulk and Reyn. It is implied in the game that he has been her sole parental figure since she was very young, meaning that he essentially grew up as a single parent as well as forging his career in the army. By the time the game starts proper, Dunban and Fiora’s positions have been effectively reversed, with Fiora acting as a carer for her brother who was badly injured defending the colony from a Mechon attack. As the game unfolds both characters go through a great deal, but despite the difficult situations he is faced with Dunban remains a dedicated father figure who will stop at nothing to support and protect his sister and the other youngsters in the party.

What is your favourite child/father scene?

All Might tells Midoriya that he can become a hero, My Hero Academia

This example is a scene between a mentor and a child rather than a father and child, but it is so powerful that it will always stick with me. My Hero Academia is a world where ‘Hero’ is a job title, rather than just a description, and All Might is the Number One Hero. As such he is adored by many children who dream of being a Hero themselves. His biggest fan is Izuku Midoriya, a young boy with a heart of gold and all the determination in the world, but who lacks the necessary skills to become a hero because he does not have a ‘quirk’ (i.e. a special ability that allows you to do something that normal humans can’t). After an unlikely series of events, the pair meet and it becomes clear that All Might’s powers are waning and he reveals that he has to pass his quirk on to another, as it is not possible for one person to use it forever. Clearly impressed by Midoriya’s enthusiasm and determination, All Might has a massively emotional talk with him to tell him that he can in fact realise his dream of being a Hero, as All Might can pass his quirk on to him. It is properly tearful and beautiful and is a wonderful example of a mentor giving both their trust and support in order to inspire greatness in a kid who thought his dreams were over.

What is your favourite quote from a fandom about fathers/by a father?

“Your just supposed to… sit here?” – Worf, Star Trek: The Next Generation

I will admit that this is a very silly quote. It comes at the end of an episode where Worf ends up on the holodeck having a mudbath with his son Alexander, Counselor Troi and the Counselor’s mischievous mother Lwaxana. Worf isn’t really the mudbath type, and doesn’t really understand the concept of relaxing for relaxation’s sake, but he finally agrees to it after a whole episode of fighting with Alexander about the importance of work vs fun. They manage to iron out their conflict, with both learning important lessons, and part of Worf’s side of the compromise is to accompany his son to the holodeck to ‘relax’. Seeing the big guy’s grumpy face uttering those words whilst sitting in a mudbath surrounded by people laughing and having fun is just so funny that it has become one of my favourite quotes from anything ever, it is a true Worfism!

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So there we are! Those are some of my favourite fictional fathers and father figures. But who would you have chosen? Maybe there are some fictional fathers that have had a big impact on your life? Let’s chat below in comments.

Thanks for reading,

Pix1001 x