McClane, this was never about revenge. My father barely said two words to me my entire childhood. You did me a favor by killing him. This is about money, McClane. The money which you will now get for me.
— Piet Gruber, Die Hard: Vendetta
Okay, this Willoughby story is odd, right? But it's not all bad. At least they ate every family meal together. And by "they" I mean these two. They just forgot to share with their kids.
— Narrator, The Willoughbys
"When Mom was alive, we lived halfway normal.
Now it's just me and my dad, we're less formal.
I learned to cook pasta, I learned to pay rent,
Learned the world doesn't owe you a cent."
Now it's just me and my dad, we're less formal.
I learned to cook pasta, I learned to pay rent,
Learned the world doesn't owe you a cent."
— JD, Heathers
Chandler: That's Parents Day, first grade. That's me with the janitor, Martin.
Monica: Where are your parents?
Chandler: Oh, they didn't want to come.
Monica: Where are your parents?
Chandler: Oh, they didn't want to come.
— Friends, "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry"
Everyone's looking for someone to blame. Society. Culture. Hollywood. Predators. Looking everywhere but the right place. Children are very simple, Mr. Jerusalem. Very easy devices to break, or assemble wrong. You want to know who did this to these kids? Only their parents. That's the thing no one wants to hear. Every time you stop thinking about how you're treating your kid, you make one of these. It really is as simple as that. It's got nothing to do with the failure of the society or any of that. It's got everything to do with the responsibility of making a human. Why are your kids selling themselves on the streets? Because you fucked up the job of raising them. That's what no one wants to hear. That we can't blame anything outside our houses.
— Bill Rose, Transmetropolitan #40 "Business"
"The school will tell Sarah, and Sarah will tell Mom, and Mom will tell Dad, AND DAD WILL JUST SIT THERE AND WATCH TV!"
— Ed, Ed, Edd n Eddy
With Dave she has reinvented herself—a young woman caught up in a passionate romance. She dresses like a teenager, spends all her money on clothes and beauty treatments, lies about her age, and drinks, drinks, drinks—to forget that youth and beauty are behind her, to forget that Dave has no intention of marrying her, to forget that at the end of the day she is just a forty-five-year-old divorcée in a dead-end job with five unwanted children.
— Lochan Whitely about his mother Lily, Forbidden
"Listen kid, I'm not the kind of dad who, you know, does things, or says stuff, or looks at you. But the love is there!"
— Krusty the Clown, The Simpsons "Insane Clown Poppy"
If you really imagine the stakes of him, in his youth, having all these special powers and having your parents kinda be absent during that process on their own agendas, equally as selfish. He's lost in the world he's raised in, and feels that he... was kinda abandoned by the people he's closest with. He's angry because of that, I think, and he has a huge grudge on his shoulders.
Lloyd: You ruined my life!
Garmadon: Pfft, that's not true. I haven't even been a part of your life, how could I ruin it? I wasn't even there.
Garmadon: Pfft, that's not true. I haven't even been a part of your life, how could I ruin it? I wasn't even there.
My father never said "good night" to me. "Have a good day." "Good job." "I love you." He never said any of those.
— Kaguya, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War
[loud thumping noise]
Danny: [looks up from newspaper] The hell was that?!
Person Offscreen: Danny, your son just fell down the stairs!
Danny: Well, QUIT IT! [resumes reading newspaper]
Danny: [looks up from newspaper] The hell was that?!
Person Offscreen: Danny, your son just fell down the stairs!
Danny: Well, QUIT IT! [resumes reading newspaper]
— The Tourettes Guynote
Piccolo: Have you ever, in your life, actually asked [Gohan] what he likes?
Goku: Umm... but... he went in that chamber with me for that whole year.
Piccolo: Because he wanted to spend time with you! His FATHER! The man who spends half his time training, and the other half DEAD! SOMETIMES BOTH!!
Goku: Umm... but... he went in that chamber with me for that whole year.
Piccolo: Because he wanted to spend time with you! His FATHER! The man who spends half his time training, and the other half DEAD! SOMETIMES BOTH!!
Cell Jr: Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!
Mother: So my son resented me because I never made time for him unless he asked.
Alucard: Yep. Because if he really mattered... you would've put yourself out there.
Mother: ... Damn... *fwoosh*
Alucard: Next!!
Alucard: Yep. Because if he really mattered... you would've put yourself out there.
Mother: ... Damn... *fwoosh*
Alucard: Next!!
Occasionally one comes across parents who take the opposite line, who show no interest at all in their children, and these of course are far worse than the doting ones... Mr and Mrs Wormwood were both so gormless and so wrapped up in their own silly little lives that they failed to notice anything unusual about their daughter. To tell the truth, I doubt they would have noticed had she crawled into the house with a broken leg.
— Matilda
"Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children. Do you understand? Morphine is bad for you. Your daughter is out there on the streets waiting for you."
— Eric Draven, The Crow (1994)
Henry Jones Sr.: Actually, I was a wonderful father.
Indiana Jones: (incredulous) When?
Henry Sr.: Did I ever tell you to eat up, go to bed, wash your ears, do your homework? No. I respected your privacy, and I taught you self-reliance!
Indy: What you taught me was that I was less important to you than people who'd been dead for five-hundred years in another country. And I learned it so well, that we've hardly spoken for twenty years.
Indiana Jones: (incredulous) When?
Henry Sr.: Did I ever tell you to eat up, go to bed, wash your ears, do your homework? No. I respected your privacy, and I taught you self-reliance!
Indy: What you taught me was that I was less important to you than people who'd been dead for five-hundred years in another country. And I learned it so well, that we've hardly spoken for twenty years.
"Since she's been gone, you've seen less and less of Pa over the years. Guess he had greener pastures to move onto. Or bluer beauties."
— Joey Claire on her father Jake Harley, Hiveswap
Jane Burnham: Are you scared?
Ricky Fitts: I don't get scared.
Jane: My parents will try to find me.
Ricky: Mine won't.
Ricky Fitts: I don't get scared.
Jane: My parents will try to find me.
Ricky: Mine won't.
"It's unfortunate Luthor's father, a traveling salesman, is rarely home. His son needs a father's guidance..."
"I was realizing for the first time what a small part of my parents' world I was. They were everything to me, but I wasn't everything to them."
— Janet, The Magician's Land
"My son doesn't have any friends, you see, and he liked the little clown boy. It's his birthday, he's so sad and I don't want to deal with him."
— Paimon, Helluva Boss, "The Circus"
Libby: Uh, yeah. So, umm, now that you're done with your book, we can finally spend some real time together. What are we gonna do first? There's a sled with your name on it.
Matias: Oh, kiddo. You know I'd love to, but the publisher is super excited about the book. We are thinking it's gonna be a trilogy! So, I'm gonna be busy for a while. You know, we have to work on developing a direction for the series, and then I have to travel for research again, and I have to worry about tours, and signings, and maybe some spin-offs...
Libby: (absolutely crushed) Oh...
