#a note on the word dad:

[duckysprouts]

big brother part 7

[egophiliac]

I have SO many thoughts about everything and they are in no kind of order yet, so here's just some quick little bits in the meantime!

I am not normal about any of these characters!

[turtleblogatlast]

Here’s a thought-

When Splinter says Leo’s the leader at the end of Season 2…pretty sure he was joking.

After so many high stakes and high emotions, he (a bit cluelessly) makes a joke to add some levity, just to make things a bit easier for he and his sons to digest everything that happened. It was a lot that happened, so it makes sense that Splinter wants to make things that much softer for everyone.

But- making a joke like that, after everything they all just went through…I can definitely see how the events of the movie pave out in response.

For example, by joking about Leo in particular having the responsibility of a leader, that puts him directly in the sight of Raph’s building anxieties. Because after everything, it’s clear that Raph really started taking the hero name seriously to the point that he started undermining his own fun and childhood in the process. So in the eyes of a Raph who is so worried about what could happen if they’re not prepared again, Leo in particular kind of stands almost as a point of danger in that aspect.

And with the joke of Leo “leading” in any capacity ringing out over them, it’s easy to blame Leo and Leo alone whenever he goes and goofs off with Mikey and Donnie. I think as well that the concept of a leader being spoken after the Shredder just pushes more weight on Raph’s shoulders and makes him realize how much goofing off they did before when they should have been better heroes (despite them all just being kids...)

Raph knows his brothers are good, he knows and has pride in them and himself in turn, but it terrifies him to know that they won’t be ready for the next big threat, and Leo directly going against this caution even more than usual just pushes Raph to want to try more.

As for Leo- keep in mind what happened all throughout “Many Unhappy Returns.” Keep in mind what happened all throughout the series in general. In the former, Splinter more than once points out how he would rather have his other sons with him than Leo, especially because they “would take this seriously”…even though Leo was taking it seriously. (Not that Splinter should be expected to read what Leo was doing when Leo wasn’t making his plans clear, but that wording sticks with kids.) Even after Leo’s plan pulled through, Raph’s the one who spoke in trust of Leo, not Splinter.

As for what happens in the series in general…well, we see Leo mess up a lot, apologize a lot, get his brothers out of messes a lot, and even when he does well or is responsible it’s either glossed over or still seen as goofing off (no I will never be over that moment where Leo almost got Gus’s tags and got screwed over out of pure bad luck.)

So imagine hearing a joke like that as Leo, who for a good chunk of especially the start of the series has been a lowkey voice of reason. The idea that Leo being responsible for the team is nothing but a joke…? It’s understandable that it could feel like a blow, that it could push him to want to try less.

Especially after everything they just went through.

They’re heroes. | They’re kids.

Why shouldn’t they care? | Why should they care?

[amelikos]

Gibeon seems to take betrayal very personally. He even took a dig at Amethio's father, presumably, when he told Amethio "so you were the same, you would stray from the path too...". He seems to hold a lot of bitterness over what happened. Given how he talks about him, it's no wonder that Amethio started seeing his father in a negative light and would say that he is not like him in an attempt to distance himself from him.

I wonder if Amethio's father will show up soon. I still think Crave (Friede's former superior at Exceed) is the only candidate for it from the characters we've seen so far. He showed up in the same episode Gibeon was revealed to be Amethio's grandfather, he seems kind and caring (and apparently, Gibeon doesn't like that), and they made sure to show that he is a married man. So it's either him or a character we haven't met yet. But I think Amethio's father is alive, not only because of the way they talk about him, but also because I think Amethio will mend his relationship with him and he'll have a home to come back to in the end. If Liko, Roy and Dot's families are there for the trio to come back home to, then I think Amethio's situation will be similar (or at least, I hope so).

Going back to Gibeon, I wonder if he perceives whatever happened with Lucius as betrayal, and now casts people away at the slightest hint of what he views as betraying him (Amethio's father, and now Amethio himself...). Gibeon seems affected by "betrayal" and maybe "choosing something/someone over him" from his reactions in the episode... From what has been implied so far, Amethio's father didn't take up Gibeon's will and chose his own path and wants (family, career..). And Amethio's actions in this episode made it look like he "chose" the enemy (Liko) over Gibeon, from his grandfather's perspective.

All of this makes me curious because all the framing around Lucius so far makes it look like Gibeon is the one who did something to betray him, hence why Terapagos seems to have a strong negative reaction to Gibeon's name being mentioned. But now, it also looks like Gibeon is affected by betrayal, potentially for a reason that has roots to the past (and which has been amplified by Amethio's father straying from the path, etc).

Liko's line about hearing people out ("I can see that there is stuff you'll never know if you don't hear people out") might have been the most important line in this episode. She got to talk with Amethio and they both got to hear each other out and understand each other better. And she only had to ask to receive answers. Meanwhile, Gibeon refused to hear Amethio out and shut down the possibility for dialogue. Which means that there is stuff he will never know, because he wasn't willing to hear Amethio out. It makes me wonder if whatever happened between Lucius and Gibeon is a huge misunderstanding that could have been solved if Gibeon was willing to hear the other party out. Like, what if Gibeon is dragging everyone in his messy breakup with Lucius over something that could have been easily avoided and solved, and what if there are huge misconceptions and misunderstandings on his side.

[nightgarla]

i need to sleeb but i cantstop thinking about them

[nixie-deangel]

@weepinggoateesoul who asked for the following:

🍼 non navy bradley/fighter pilot jake as parents - hangster

“You sure you wanna do that?” Jake asks, again, but he needs to be sure. Needs to know this is what Bradley wants and not what he thinks Jake wants. The man just barely turns to grin at him before going back to folding Emmy’s never ending supply of clothes as he answers, “I’m sure. June is sure. Emmy is all of three years old, but if she really understood what it meant, I’m confident that she would also be sure about us moving to San Diego to be closer to you when you’re in Lemoore.”

🍷 Jake's family causes the hangster break up

Bradley waits till Nat runs interference with Javy before he attempts to approach Jake. “Hey, hey,” he calls awkwardly before clearing his throat. “Bradshaw,” Jake calls, cold and even as he turns attention back to the dart board.  “I, I wanted to apologize,” he says quietly as takes half a step closer. “About what I said about you leading people to their deaths.” He pauses and takes a breath and pushes on. “I didn’t mean it. Was just being an asshole. I know when things are truly on the line, you’ll do right by your team.”

💐 serial killer Jake - hangster

Bradley dreads making the call to the collector, once again saying he’d be a few days late on his payment but he knows he needs to. That he has too. Lifting his hands up, he rubs at his shoulders as he stares down, gaze hard, at his prepaid.

🥰 Kinktober - Virgin Bradley

“Honey,” Jake calls quietly as he reaches his hand out, gently grasping Bradley’s chin to make him look at him as he continues on, “We ain’t gotta do a thing you don’t wanna, darlin’,” he promises. “You wanna cuddle all night, fine be me. Want me to take you out like the lady you are and sweep you off your feet, then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll prove how much I want you. More than just sex, honey. I don’t mind pumpin’ the breaks till you’re comfortable.”

Make Nixie Write!

[fisherrprince]

alphinaud and alisaie are an example of siblings written by people who know siblings very well and choose to have them call each other brother and sister, proving that telling people not to write this quirk because it gives away that you’re an only child is just shorthand for how it’s a common warning indicator of thoughtless sibling writing and isn’t actually the problem itself

[baeshijima]

sometimes u just need to write self-indulgent fluff while eating smth sweet to feel better

[jjsanguine]

Karan: please will you allow me to take care of Achi?

Achi's mother: hmm, I understand that you're in love but,

Achi + Karan, internally: :(

Achi's mother: why my son? I feel like you could do better?

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

JoJo Siwa doesn’t deserve all the hate (and homophobia) she’s getting for her style and music; but she does deserve scrutiny for defending Colleen Ballinger and being both active and complicit in abuse that happened on her TV show. Like the girl has been under the public eye in unhealthy environments all her life; cut her some slack — not too much; she’s still a responsible adult — but if you’re going to dogpile her, then at least dogpile her for the right reasons. Jesus Fucking Christ.

[friendshapedhorrors]

Buddy needs to become a theatre guy or smth in season 2 bc it can’t just be glossed over that the only thing he ever earned himself and not his father just handing it to him was the lead in the play

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh i've been trying to find this interview again, which i remembered mainly for the parts about [interviewing the parents which is so Interviewing The Parents] but has many fun details

The first time Will Roland auditioned for “Be More Chill,” he didn’t get the part. “It’s the reality of our business,” says the actor, whose family moved from Manhattan to Locust Valley when he was 8. “On any given day . . . you may be the person who is going to get the job and you may not be.” But let’s not feel too bad for Roland, whose theatrical trajectory is the stuff most people only dream of. At the same time he was auditioning for “Chill,” the sci-fi musical that made it to Broadway after its cast album went viral (more on that later), he was also involved with a workshop for, as he puts it, “another little show called ‘Dear Evan Hansen’.” He got cast in that show, playing Evan’s friend, Jared, a character who brings comic relief to a work that has its devastating moments. Roland looks back on his four years with the show as “an absolutely incredible experience.” The writers worked “my sense of humor, and the sardonic way I observe things” into this classic theater role of the clown, “the one who comes out and observes the ridiculousness of the situation,” says Roland, sitting in the balcony of the Lyceum Theatre where he’s rehearsing his next big Broadway gig — the lead in “Be More Chill,” which opens March 10. Obviously, everything turned out just fine for Roland, and for “Be More Chill,” a pop-rock musical based on a 2004 young adult sci-fi novel by Ned Vizzini that appeared to be dead in the water until the cast album went viral on social media. After the show played at a small theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2015, “I thought it was going to be the next big thing,” says Joe Iconis, the Garden City native who wrote the music and lyrics. “There was so much momentum.” But after a review in The New York Times that “was not particularly helpful,” interest dwindled and Iconis and his partners moved on. Happily, some things are meant to be. The Red Bank theater had enough faith in the musical to order a cast album, and suddenly the fan base exploded, videos were all over YouTube and fan art appeared on Tumblr. That led to an Off-Broadway production last summer that sold out before performances started, and eventually to the Broadway run, with Roland, who is part of Iconis’ extended theatrical family, very much back in the picture.

Real people, real issues The young star was decidedly upbeat on Valentine’s Day, the afternoon following the first preview when he says those extremely vocal fans “brought some hard-core joy into this building.” Like everyone involved, he’s intrigued by the way the show took off, but really, he points out, it’s nothing more than word-of-mouth, which “just happens to be the internet right now.” On the other hand, he says, “I don’t know that word-of-mouth has ever put so much wind into the sails of a production.” When asked why the show resonates so strongly with fans, Roland says what they love about the show “is the same thing that I love about the show . . . that it is an honest depiction of real people dealing with real issues.” Roland plays Jeremy, a nerdy high schooler who never fits in until he swallows a SQUIP (a quantum computer in pill form) that has the power to turn him into one of the cool kids. There’s significant fantasy at play, says Roland, but “there is truth to every one of these characters . . . it doesn’t speak in broad, heart-rending poetry, it speaks in really human language.” Does he see himself in the character? “I think he sees himself in me a little bit,” jokes Roland, who talks about first getting involved with theater at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, which he attended from sixth grade through high school. “What they created for me, first and foremost, was a space where I found community and acceptance and belonging,” he says, which he notes, is why a lot of people start doing theater. Roland was serious about his goals “from the moment I met him,” says Tracey Foster, director of arts at Friends. “He knew what he wanted to do in life.” As the title character in “Oliver!” one of his first major roles at the school, Foster says that beyond his “big, booming, beautiful voice,” he was “touching, tender and scrappy.” (Roland’s recollection differs: “My voice was changing so it sounded really bad,” though he acknowledges that he’s “channeling a lot of those days in this performance.”) From the beginning, Foster says, Roland displayed “a wonderful combination of confidence and humility that . . . let him make mistakes and keep moving forward, pick himself up when he needed to.” Those qualities, she notes, suggest that “he’ll be able to survive the bumps in the industry.” Foster was in the audience for the first preview and naturally thought Roland was “spectacular.” But she also has raves for the production, which she first saw Off-Broadway. “They grew it up for Broadway,” she says, “in a way that was beautiful and fulfilling.”

Acting in his soul Roland’s family, of course, saw his raw talent early on. “Will sang before he spoke,” says his mom, Beth Roland, explaining that since she was a fan of “putting my child in front of a TV,” the first words out of his mouth were Big Bird’s alphabet song. Now, she says, “acting is just in him . . . it’s in his soul. I think he acts in his real life.” His dad, Bill Roland, who gets endearingly emotional when talking about watching his son onstage, has a simple response when asked about Will’s success. “Passion,” he says. For now, Roland, who turns 30 on Tuesday, is thinking less about the past than about opening night, managing the inevitable changes that Iconis and book writer Joe Tracz are throwing at the cast. He is getting married next year (check out Instagram for photos of his proposal at the ritzy but rustic Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown). After that, who knows? “Be More Chill” could run for years, and there’s a movie in the works. No one’s called yet, but Roland says, “I would very much like to be involved.” Wisely, Roland is not thinking too far ahead. “I love doing TV and film, new plays, new movies,” he says, “really getting to put my stink into a character.” He looks forward to the day he can call his own shots and thinks at some point directing might be an option. “My dream role,” he says, admitting that he’s borrowing the thought from others, “hasn’t been written yet.”

Behind the music and lyrics “When I wrote ‘Michael in the Bathroom,’ I was writing about myself,” says Joe Iconis, the Garden City native who wrote the music and lyrics for “Be More Chill.” If you don’t have a teenager in the house, note that the runaway hit from the show has all but broken the internet (it has its own Instagram account with, at last look, more than 12,000 posts). Iconis says when he wrote the song, about a guy who locks himself in a bathroom rather than face the other kids at a Halloween party run amok, he was writing about his adult self. But, he adds, “I hoped that young people would relate to it because it is a universal thing . . . someone else is going through this, not just the character in the show.” The success of the song and the show is part of a growing Iconis moment in New York theater right now. His musical “Broadway Bounty Hunter” will get its New York City debut this summer starring Annie Golden, and the cabaret group known as Joe Iconis & Family is set for a run in April and May at Feinstein’s / 54 Below. Sitting in a balcony lobby at the Lyceum Theatre, where “Be More Chill” is in previews, Iconis talks about getting the theater bug at 6, when his dad took him to see “Little Shop of Horrors” for his birthday. “I was immediately hooked,” he says, but as he grew older he realized performing was not for him. “I was terribly scared to be on stage.” With the support of his nontheatrical family (his dad is in information technology, his mom is superintendent of the Massapequa School District), the self-described “theater nerd” focused on music and says he knew by sixth grade that he wanted to be a Broadway composer. “I was definitely the only child who could say that. Ever.” As he works toward opening night on March 10, Iconis is focusing on fine-tuning the piece (“musical changes, script changes, things we want to tighten, numbers we want to reorder and rearrange”). It’s a huge enterprise, he says, but his faith in the show grows by the minute. He calls it “the little show that could.”

[chemicalarospec]

Wild to me that there are (allegedly) ppl who don't see what Light did wrong, because the series itself calls him out -- I'm pretty sure when Light plans to kill the FBI agents, Ryuk is like "Wow Light, what you're doing here doesn't even align with your nominal ideology." -Wait. post cancelled. New post:

Death Note where everything is the same except Ryuk talks like my dad. "There are some deep logical inconsistencies between your methodology and what you claim your motives are."

(being more confrontational than my dad and canon Ryuk combined): "Really, seeing the world in only black and white is very small-minded. Doing that is a sign that you actually aren't very smart -- and most people think that way because most people aren't very smart. It's indicative of a lack of imagination. Everything's more of a gradient with more shades of grey than people want to admit."

"Wow Light, you've been pretty belligerent with that Death Note, huh?"

"Well, it is demonstratively true that Kira has drastically reduced crime rates, so I guess I have to give you props for that."

"You're telling me to be less cavalier with my apple eating, Light, but you hold nothing over my head."

"Light, you've known a priori that I am contractually obliged to kill you."

[youremyonlyhope]

Me: God, I hate how over hyped the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie is. They cut so much stuff. They sped up so many things. And yet everyone treats it like it's God's gift.

Also me: Ok ok look at this scene. This is all one shot. Sweeping through the ball. Lydia and Kitty are drunk. Mrs. Bennet is being loud and boastful. Mary's embarrassing herself and Mr. Bennet's only making it worse. Mr. Collins won't stop stalking Darcy. This scene is incredible, they condensed an entire chapter of Bennet Family Nonsense into a single 2 minute shot. Amazing. Perfection.

Me: They cut out Mr. and Mrs. Hurst and they are vital to show how different Mr. Bingley is from his two sisters and that it's not just Caroline who thinks too highly of herself. The fact that Bingley somehow grew up normal when two of his five sisters behave this way is supposed to be surprising. Plus Mr. Hurst's laziness and tendency to nap and play cards contrasts with Darcy choosing to read silently just like Lizzie!

Also Me: The costume designer chose to set the story in the late 1790s when the book was written rather than the 1810s when it was published, so the costumes are in a transitory period between the very end of Georgian and the start of Regency styles. Look at Caroline, she's new money and full of herself, so look at her waistline. Fully empire waisted, almost too high, and totally up to date with the latest fashions, while only Lizzie and Jane's newest and best dresses are properly empire waisted and saved for the balls. Otherwise their waistlines are a little bit lower because their casual dresses are older and out of style. Just a quick glance at Caroline tells us everything we need to know about her compared to the Bennet sisters.

Me: I cannot stand the rain scene. The almost kiss makes NO. SENSE. That didn't happen. And it wouldn't have happened. Keeping the confession in the Collins' abode so Darcy barges in on an alone Lizzie in a manner that's totally improper would have been so much better. I don't like it. And don't even get me started on "most ardently" THAT'S NOT THE LINE IN THE BOOK.

Also Me: *Squeals at The Hand Scene*

[chesters-ocs]

idk. graveyards. yeah. mhm.

wc: 510

Adam is at Roman's grave. Date of death listed as from over two decades ago. His eyes without a hint of emotion. "You're a piece of shit even in death, I hope you remember that, pop." Even the mere idea of calling the corpse by that title leaves a bad taste in his mouth, Bad enough to… A box is drawn. Cigarette lit. Nicotine inhaled. There. Gone. He keeps the cigarette between his teeth. A quick glance around the fenced in property. He's alone in a sea of death. Good. A twitch in his fingers. An urge that should be stopped. He lets it overwhelm him. Sidearm equipped. Aimed directly where the skull should be. … He watches birds disperse. The sound scared them. He himself is used to it. Deaf to it. A bullet lodged in the soft ground. Nowhere near as deep as he wants it to be. He knew it would never reach the rotting wood. Despite it, he rolls his eyes. "You are lucky to be dead already." Adam considers destroying the headstone. A man like that deserves to be erased from history. One bullet at a time. However… The stone has long-since overgrown with moss and grass. Nature runs her course. A sick satisfaction blooms in him over. His family does not upkeep his grave. Their mother's is pristine. It's beautiful. Just like her. Flowers decorate it from his sister's last visit. The name Yekaterina DeAngelo engraved in a polished plate. Alongside that, a photograph. Even in death she smiles upon whoever is caught by her gaze. None of that privilege is given to the disgrace they ought to call father. Adam falls into contemplation. The smile returns. He won't do a damn fucking thing. He finds himself enjoying the idea of letting the man be forgotten. Not by force, but by inactivity. It will be a joyous day in their family when every last one of the siblings no longer remembers the name. When no one remembers the face. Then it will just be another ghost in the cemetery. As it fucking should be. He notices his cigarette has been used up. The butt of it is dropped without a care on wet soil. Adam doesn't even find himself bothered enough to stomp it out. There's nobody underneath that stone anyways. Nobody worth remembering, at least. He is silent during the trek back to the car. Mother has been visited. That's the only thing he needed to do. Spitting on a grave of a soon-to-be forgotten man is just a bonus. He almost wants to do it again. Considers turning around. Taking years of anger out. But he reconsiders it. He has other matters to attend to. Things more important than a long-since eaten corpse and a rotting skeleton. He gets in the drivers seat. Time to move on. His thoughts instead get clouded with the imagery of his mother. Her smile, her voice, her eyes. The grin on his face now is small. It's content. He's content. A day well spent, he thinks.

[thelingering]

oh how one day I wish to tell a story like those guys