#The only difference between me and Wil is. a lot but the biggest one is that I'm not fuckign murderous

[euclydya]

ok another day another *just starts screaming*

[thornlock-obey-me]

Tales Through the Rose's Eyes: Her Garden

Word Count: 1548

Warning(s): None I think…

   My giggles ring through the warm air as I run between the garden beds. Basket of vegetables in hand— or more on my head. It surely gives away my position as I hear the laughter of the butler at my antics. He finds me amusing, more so when I’m enjoying myself; even if my enjoyment comes from stealing his harvest basket.

   “Ah-! Milady! There is no need for you to be carrying the basket—!” A groan escapes my mouth at the maid’s chastising. I’m sure she prefers I not be in the garden at all.

   “Nonsense, she wishes to aid me in the garden and have a bit of fun with it,” Vincent, the butler, argues back and I see the maid shake her head, but leave for the manor. A cheeky grin blossoms on my face as I run back to the butler. “Ah, and here I thought I’d need to carry the rest of the vegetables in my hands.”

   I laugh at his jest and carefully set the basket down so he may put the harvestables in it. “How do you know what’s ready to be harvested, Vincent?” I ask with genuine curiosity. Usually the maids usher me inside by now, so I’ve never had the chance to ask. Well, ask and actually have time to listen.

   “Depends on the plant. The herbs you look to the size of most of the leaves and the plant. It takes a lot of energy to grow if they have too many leaves, so you take the biggest as needed,” Vincent explains as he harvests various herbs from his kneeling position. He groups the same herbs together in his hand and pulls some string from his gardening apron. “Care to help me tie this bunch together?”

   I smile brightly and sit down in the grass, taking the string into my smaller hands. Wrapping it around the stems a few times, I tie off the herbs with a cute, but lopsided bow. They are put into the basket with a light laugh from the butler. “What about the vegetables? Oh– and the berries!?”

   “Size and colour, young lady. Once they are big enough and begin to change colour, or completely change colour, they are usually ready to harvest. Roots can be a bit hard to tell since you can’t see them until you dig them out, but the leaves are often the telltale sign.” He moves towards the tomatoes, many now big and red. With garden clippers, he cuts the stems to pull off the red vegetable. Each one he hands to me to put in the basket.

   “I rather like the garden,” I mutter as I look at the large tomato in my hands. I like playing outside while the butler tends the garden, I like when he hands me one of the water cans to help water the plants, I like the smell of the rich dirt, I like when my dress gets messy and the maids shake their heads when I come back into the manor. I may be the young lady of the house, but I want to help with the garden.

   “It is your garden, milady,” Vincent says with a chuckle. My garden? Surely he is jesting again, the maids dislike me in the garden. So why would it be mine?

   “How so? The maids rather I stay out of the garden, only you let me help.” I could list more reasons; a thousand more on why the ‘prim and proper’ young lady should leave the garden work to the servants.

   “Your father planted many of these for your benefit. He wishes you to eat the freshest foods and for you to learn the skills of maintaining the life of the plants. A valuable skill for anyone, milady.”

   “Then why do the maids keep me away?”

   “Your mother rather you improve different skills. Things that keep the mud off your dresses,” it’s a light chastise that makes me smile as there is already dirt on this dress too.

   “I don’t dirty my nicest dresses.”

   “Well, your mother thinks it is unbefitting for a young lady to be dirty at all.” He doesn’t need to tell me that for me to know. Mother prefers things be clean, neat.

   “Is it not also unbefitting that a young lady not take care of her garden then?”   “Oh yes, very unbefitting,” Vincent jest with me. “So long as you love this garden and express your interest in it and its care, I will always let you aid me in tending your garden.” His sincerity surprises me for a moment… but I understand and nod. I want to care for this garden, my garden. The garden being mine soothes something in my mind.

   After we finished harvesting, and talking more about gardening, the butler let me carry the full basket. He opens the wooden gate and walks behind me as I walk across the gravel and stone pathway to the manor. The basket is huge and heavy with all the harvest, but I take pride in carrying it through the front door. My dress is messy, my hair has leaves in my curls, and my garden is beautiful.

   “Mammon, did you water the garden yesterday?!” Satan yells as he walks into the living room. Something tells me he already knows the answer, but my mind is quickly occupied by the new knowledge that the House of Lamentation has a garden.

   “Shit– I forgot!” Mammon rushes up from his previous place on the couch trying to avoid the brunt of Satan’s wrath.

   “Wait-” I run after the greed demon, giving no explanation to the other for my sudden departure. Luckily Mammon’s quick footsteps are loud and easy to follow even when I lose sight of him. He’s out the door just as fast, “Mammon, wait up!”

   “GAAHH—” His shout of distress gives me pause. Did he trip— oh… right, the pact. He’s frozen mid sprint and the sight is quite funny— “Oi! Don’t laugh ya human! And what was this for?!”

   I can’t stifle my laughter as I wave off the pact command, only for Mammon to fall face first into the ground. “I haha– apologise, I didn’t hehe– mean for that to happen—”

   “You damn right should be sorry!” He huffs as he gets up from the dirt and begins to walk towards the back of the house. My mouth opens to tell him to wait again, but I quickly stop myself by putting my hand over it.

   Jogging to catch up, I finally ask my question, “The House of Lamentation has a garden?”

   “What–? Oh yeah, it’s nothin’ like the Demon King’s garden. Kinda small, but we all grow a few things and take turns tending to the whole garden,” Mammon explains as we both walk. “Why are ya smiling like that?”

   I didn’t even notice I am smiling, but I can’t stop. “Oh– umm… I used to have a garden back in the human world,” Years ago… but I leave that part out, either way that seems to satisfy the demon’s question. He opens a gate under a hedge arch and I follow him into the garden area. I’ve only been in Devildom for a little over a week; many of the plants I don’t recognize but the sight alone makes me grin wildly. It’s beautiful and each bed is full of varios and full plants…. Except one? One garden bed is completely empty. “Why is this one empty?”

   Mammon looks up from where he is turning on the hose to see me standing next to the barren bed. I think he frowns, but he shakes his head quickly. “Just cus’... seven of us, seems unfair for one person to get two beds, right?” He sounds hesitant as he pulls the hose to start watering the thirsty plant; some which noticeably perk up at the raining drops of water.

   As I look at the empty garden bed, I feel a wave of sadness. It has been left empty for a reason, maybe a symbolism. I pull my eyes away and look over to where Mammon’s back is to me. “Which bed is yours?” I ask and walk over with my hands behind my back. The empty bed can be a later question, a much later question.

   The explanation of why Mammon grows the plants he does is long, but I listen to all of his reasons. Even if most of them have something to do with money. It also turns out the water in Devildom flows faster, so when he asks me to hold the hose for a minute… I can’t at all keep control. His clothes are soaked, my clothes are soaked and I think we watered each other more than the plants as we have a careless water fight. With each other and with the wild hose.

   My clothes are messy… Mammon laughs at the leaves and grass in my hair… and the garden looks beautiful with each and every plant having water droplets on all their leaves. And for a moment, I feel like I’m seven years old again, walking inside my home messy and full of joy. But it’s not my home and the joy is short lived once I’m alone in my room.

[goldenpinof]

Gonna tinhat in your asks just because

I feel like it really WAS supposed to be a hiatus. They stepped away from the gaming channel and joint content bc Dan had a lot of projects he wanted to work on (the more serious content like big, the YouTube show, maybe even the solo tour) just to stretch his creative limbs and bc they needed to sort out the house/move, and uploading through all of that would be stressful. They were probably thinking 2-3 years tops. And then the world blew up and half of Dan's plans blew up with it

I feel like this return is GENUINE, like they've wanted to do it and just haven't been able to yet because Dan wasn't done with his stuff

i see that you have good points. it was very convenient to not have a gaming channel when they ended up living in a filming apartment with 0 space. but Dan constantly saying (through Phil sometimes) that he doesn't want to make that type of content anymore and doesn't want the gaming channel to return... it was very telling. only Phil was saying "maybe" because he was the only one actually wanting and needing it. that "maybe" was saved in case everything else went down. like a safety blanket that they always could pull out. which they did.

i understand Dan wanting a hiatus of sorts. he was burnt out. 2018 was a crazy year! it's just.. the vibes we started getting right after were very final. "Dan doesn't want it" was a final statement. and maybe he didn't want it because of other projects. he basically killed DanandPhil brand at some point, it was very apparent that he wanted to get out of that label. that he wanted a name outside a very successful duo they built throughout almost a decade. and it was fucking hard for him, you know. i understand that. the 1st project was ruined by youtube and covid. the company that he gave 10 years of his life let him down. it's a rough fucking start for a name building.

i'm simplifying a lot here, bear with me :))

i think the wad tour opened Dan's eyes a little bit. and i will take it as a win in the end of the day. it was starting very well and promising. the concept and 1st promo materials were well done. but then everything started wobbling and neither Dan nor his team was ready to deal with problems fast enough. and in contrary to how fuckups didn't really make a difference during ii NOW they made a difference. Dan couldn't make a name between 2019 and 2022, so he started going back and forth with his content. sometimes it wasn't clear who was the main target for videos, announcements and promos. i still don't know who initially was the target audience for his book. it can't be us! we know everything he wrote there. but marketing was so non-existent, it's scary how it could flop if he didn't have an audience based on DanandPhil™. his tour had somewhat of an audience also only because of the branding he was so determined to escape. although, there was a moment when he tried to advertise it for a wider audience, wasn't it? especially in the UK, where they had actual posters in the cities outside the venues. i remember having questions about why marketing shifted throughout the tour (while the script stayed the same! loser). i can't say that dystopia daily even had a target audience in mind rfbhfjekeeo

what i'm trying to say is, something changed in Dan's mind. there was a series of events that made him realise that coming back to dnpgames wasn't actually a bad idea. the European leg of his tour was the biggest mess i've ever seen. the fact that Dan explicitly threw shade on people he worked with only confirmed how bad things were. the search for a new management team, constant postponing of wad dvd, Phil's recycling content, and god knows what else – maybe it made him realise that a familiar content on a channel that everyone loves so much and will give views (and money) is what's best right now. new projects are always a risk. dnpgames isn't. and he still can work on something alongside. especially if he finally has new managers who will fight for his interests and property communicate with people they happened to work with. (allegedly. we don't know if he actually got new representatives).

if he actually had a 2-3 years plan (even 5 years plan, idc), the communicative language should have been different. but the only vibe i was getting from him right till yesterday was "i don't what to do what y'all are suggesting. period." and then he is talking about hope on twitter?! bro, as if it wasn't in your hands all this time 😭 i love him and i wish him all the best, and i'm rooting for his career more than for my own. but damn, does he not make it easy 😂

P.S. if turns out i'm wrong, forget i ever said anything. Thanos your memory out <3

[renatogpadilla]

FFVI as a D&D Campaign:

OK, so I've been watching "Critical Role" (Campaign 1, Episode 31, no spoilers!) a LOT lately and it got me thinking how FFVI (arguably the BEST "Final Fantasy" game out there) is essentialy that. The biggest moments could be atributted to CRAZY rolls! I can see each of the characters being played by one of the people at the table! * Marisha as Terra Branford: Would be phenomenal. Her mentality is kinda in-line with Keyleth's. The "Kill Their Own Emotions" moment in the boat shakes the table as a whole. And when it's time to run an orphanage and protect her kids from Humbaba, the emotion in her voice destroys everyone in the Party. The "Mama?" moment becomes the most fan-arted moment for her character until the final fight. Her Trance ability is agreed to be the coolest looking skill at the table. To say nothing of the way she'd react to the whole Slave Crown bussiness!

Matt: "She killed 50 imperial soldiers in a few minutes." Marisha, and the whole table: *S H A K I N G*

* Taliesin as Locke Cole: "Treasure Hunter!" every single time somebody calls him a thief or a rogue. The "Rachel" story would be absolutely heartbreaking with Taliesin's expressions. The solo-sneak through the town while meeting Celes would be one of the highlights of the Campaign... That and his frienship with Terra would only be accentuated by Taliesin's and Marisha's irl friendship. Not to mention him puking on the ship would serve as some comedic timing straight out of "Critical Role"! Also, "That bow looks good on you" LAUNCHES the ship to heights undreamt of.

* Sam as Edgar Figaro: I mean, COME ON! IT WRITES ITSELF! Besides, it would be enjoyable to see him use his -Artificer- Machinist abilities as creatively as he does! Can you IMAGINE him rolling high enough one day and then he just creates the Noiseblaster? And with that he pulls out the microphone every time he uses it and proceeds to shout some thing Scanlan would be proud of... Not to mention his friendship with Sabin would be amazing if played by Sam! "The little shrimp has become a mighty Lobster!" You can HEAR Sam Riegel's voice come out of that! And the two headed coin? Now THAT's a Scanlan! This without mentioning the violations of the Geneva Convention that the Bioblaster would certainly entail...

* Laura as Celes Chere: I mean, OBVIOUSLY. Meeting Locke in the dungeon? The apparent betrayal? THE OPERA HOUSE?! "I'm a former General, not some... Opera floozy!" TELL ME you don't hear Laura Bailey saying that! And then she rolls a Natural 20 on performance and EVERYONE looses their shit! Her Runic ability is the target of MANY close saves. Also, the way Locke and Celes' interactions happen, she'd be perfect opposite Taliesin. The chat on the bridge in Albrook? HEARTSTOPPING. The attempted suicide? You KNOW Matt would call the sesion there!

* Travis as Sabin Figaro: This one was obvious. Monk/Barb that gets mistaken for a bear, and acts like an absolute teddy bear around Terra? Yes. Gods above, YES. "You think a tiny thing like the end of the world was going to be enough to keep me down?" You heard Grog too, right? The moments would be worth MILLIONS. The Opera house and Travis going "Why is everyone singing?" and then getting more and more into it! Him holding up the house for Celes! "MISTER THOU"... But best of all, and probably the single most famous Sabin moment EVER, The Phantom Train:

Matt: The train tracks suddenly lurch to the side. Even after this long and hard-fought battle it seems *chukles* it seems this train isn't letting you get away with your lives. That brings us to you, Travis! Travis, on his 5000 IQ shit: I grapple the train.

Entire Table: ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?!?!

Matt: No way in hell are you gonna- You know what? Roll for it. *Picks up dice for the Train* Taliesin: He's dead. He's so fucking dea-

Travis: NATURAL 20.

Entire Table: *Silent disbelief, everyone looks at Matt*.

Matt: *Also in disbelief* ...Rolled a 1.

Entire Table: *Inintelligeble gasping and hyperventilating*

Travis: I'm going to use my last Blitz as Meteor Strike and suplex the Train!

Matt: *Looking at the sheet, knowing damn well what's about to happen* Go ahead and roll for damage...

Travis: *Rolls for damage*

Matt: *Braces for impact* How do you wanna do this?

Entire Table and the Internet: *EXPLODES*

The Fanart keeps coming, even YEARS after the Campaign is done...

* Liam as Setzer Gabbiani: Since he's LITERALY "Mister Steal Your Girl", I think Liam would be PERFECT. Just imagine him getting set up as this suave and smooth rougue who wanted to kidnap a beautiful singer and then gets Laura instead! (Which isn't entirely wrong...) IMAGINE his expresions and his dissapearing under the table laughing as the others barely climb aboard The Blackjack. THE ENTIRE PARTY giving him shit for a low roll on a Wisdom Check (the double-headed coin) and him segwaying that into joining the party, only to find out that he actually knew all along... Priceless. The total and undistilled heartbreak as his ship falls apart, him trying to reach out for Terra and everyone falling on different places. And then meeting Celes a year later and doing the whole Daryll story... Liam would be the one to steal the audience every time he takes the spotlight! Though he would be a little like Percy in the sense that he doesn't get much to do until his arc happens.

"Money, Money, Money!" every time he throws coins to attack, the loaded dice (in character, not at the table?) and the card throws would make him so stylish in a D&D setting I'll be surprised if somebody hasn't done it already.

* Ashley as Relm Arrowny: She takes forever to join because of her constantly being away for filming, but once she's here? HOO BOY, does the fun keep coming! Her paintings coming alive and helping them fight? Her giving Sam shit for Edgar's love life? "Fuddy-Duddy!" becoming A Thing? All of those moments would be hilarious... But probably her most notorious moment comes when they find her a year later, serving a posessed brush, telling her to paint, paint, paint under the Magic House... "Keep painting until I'm complete..." The party snaps her out of it before she finishes the greatest painting she's ever done, her Magnum Opus, and then the painting coming alive prematurely in order to force her to finish... To give her form. And then the Lakshmi boss fight happens... Matt: And with the last of her strength gone, the banshee-like apparition dissipates into mist, and before any of you can react, Relm's magic brush begins to glow, like it had when you first came in here. The glow slowly creeps off the hairs and darts! Off towards the mistified form of it's mistress, enveloping itself into a thicc layer on top of the mist, swirling around... and around and around.

Ashley: Oh god, now what?

Matt: The colors dissipate, and Lakshmi unleashes a terrible wail! *DM monster noises* As it is now joined with this colorful cloud... And it compresses, smaller and smaller... And more solid until it's not mist anymore.

Marisha: *Gets it* ¡WAIT A MINUTE!

Travis: *Exited* ¡OH SHIT, HOLD ON!

Matt: The fog dissipates... And the calm returns to Relm's senses. Ashley you are now holding an innert, ordinary paint brush. However! Floating in the air, you see a crystal with a small glowing core, the particular essence of Life embeded in the middle, Terra you *points at Marisha* feel this and recognize it instantly, as it falls to the ground, and bounces a couple times... A brand new shard of Magicite.

Party: *FERAL LOOTING*

"Lakshmi" becomes the most PAINFUL fanart to make, and it's ALWAYS the one that's valued the most among the fandom.

The rest of the Party (Strago, Umaro, Mog, Cyan, Gau and GoGo) can be the guests that come over every once in a while (I particualrly see Wil Wheaton as Strago Magus, Mary McGlynn as GoGo and Will Friedle as Clyde "Shadow" Arrowny) with Shadow coming and going with the excuse that "His contract is up" (and let's face it, after surviving/witnessing the Phantom Train? My contract would be up too...) and coming back whenever his schedule/the plot allows. Eventually, everyone comes together for one last session and the battle with God Kefka. Setting their affairs in order, the reveal of who Shadow really is during a lone chat with Strago shakes the Critters to their core. Everything makes sense! Why Interceptor went straight to Relm when they met... Why his nightmares kept showing a village of magic users, yet they never mention Shadow in Thamasa! The group is RATTLED and wether or not he survives at the end becomes a HEATED argument between everyone at the table. Only Strago knows the truth...

The sendoff on The Falcon with everyone saying goodbye and seeing what the World will bring next is regarded as one of the most emotional scenes in "Critical Role" history... But the most completely DESTRUCTIVE force in this entire cast is Matt Mercer as Kefka Palazzo:

The personality... the narrative... The absolute slime in his voice when he poisons Doma. When he kills Leo and brings forth the Light of Judgement. Matt definitely has his moments playing Ultros. He's fun! And Emperor Ghestal was more of a political "Darth Sidious" villain. But Kefka? OH, LORD. NOBODY was ready for Kefka. "Enjoy the barbicue!" gets memed to no end, while also sending a horrible shiver down people's spine whenever somebody brings it up. Truly, the villain to end all villains. I can see it happen so vividly... If anybody wants to talk about this more, PLEASE hit me up! This just feels too good! Until off course the party moves on to their next Campaign in the setting for "Final Fantasy 5" but that's a whole OTHER can of worms!

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S4 Watchthrough Episodes 6-9

Legacy: We have ended up on the home planet of Tasha Yar… and wow it’s not a nice place. We also find out that she has a sister, welp. So… it was alright. Ishara is very similar to Tasha in demeanor, but also very different. I tilt my head at the crew being so willing to trust and accept Ishara into their midst when they know nothing about this woman. I could see the ‘she’s using them’ plot a mile away. But to be fair, the episode addresses it. They wanted to see Tasha. They wanted to see the brave, loyal, strong-willed Security Chief that they lost so callously in her sister… and in the end, that took over. While I can see why Ishara acted as she did, she didn’t know these people and hasn’t seen Tasha in years so she’s under no obligation to care about them, it really has to hurt that she used them and almost committed mass murder and make them take the lame. Her world is a hellhole so her actions make sense, but that doens’t change the betrayal. Especially for Data. Riker sums it up well, with trust comes betrayal… but without trust, there is no friendship. That’s just the cruel truth. Anyways, it was a fine episode. I like that we have a pot-mortem for Tasha even if late… but it just makes me wish that tasha herself didn’t get killed sos he could have had her own plot and feeligns focused on. It still pisse sme off and is just a reminder of so much wasted potential. But ah well, for what they had to work with, they did it welll. 3/5.

Reunion: K’Ehleyr is back… and with a child. Worf’s child, to be exact. Huh. have been waiting very patiently for a follow-up to Sins of the Father and this was an excellent one! Back in K’Ehleyr’s first episode, she was unwilling to take the Oath and Worf wanted to so much and follow the Klingon traditions. Here? K’Ehleyr is ready and doens’t care that he was discommendated… but now Worf can’t. he’s been dishonored and even if it means nothing to K’Ehleyr, it means a great deal to him. He can’t let her or his son bear that shame. It’s so hard to watch him here. How anguished he feels, the way the other Klingons treat him despite it being their damn fault that he accepted it, to begin with, just knowing that he did nothing wrong… but for the greater good, he has to bear it. He doesn’t even want Alexander to be known as his son not because he’s unwilling to accept parental responsibility but to spare him of the dishonor. Just… freakin’ ouch. I was so happy to see K’Ehleyr back and her character is just so freakin’ good and her wanting to allow Alexander to find his life path? Excellent parenting. So… needless to say, her being killed off pisses me off. They at least allowed her character to shine, but… it feels like they only did it to make Worf suffer more. It was well-executed, I was about ready to tear up and Worf being driven to kill Duras for all the suffering that he put him through and now killing the woman he loved (which btw the romantic chemistry was MUCH better here than last time)? I can’t blame him at all. I get why he got reprimanded since Duras was a political figure and this can cause a whole host of problems and clearly Picard was sympathetic… but I just felt so bad for Worf. At least he admitted that he was Aexander’s father and hopefully the poor kid will have a good life with Worf’s parents, bu… yeah. K’Ehleyr’s death stops me form giving this a perfect score, very least I wish we had gotten to see her fight instead of goign to commerical and them walking in on her bloody corpse… but at least they got the tone down. I just hope that one day, Worf and his brother can truly expose the conspiracy because Worf deserves a Hell of a lot better. 4.5/5.

Future Imperfect: Let’s perform a thought experiment, shall we? Imagine going on assignment on your birthday, business as usual… then some kind of mishap happens. You wake up… and discover that you have lost sixteen years' worth of your memory. You can’t remember significant life changes, special moments for yourself and your loved ones, or even your spouse and child. Then just as you begin getting used to things and accepting this new life… you find out that it was all a lie and you were in an illusion all along. You were captured and tricked… and then you find out that was also a lie and it was all due to a lonely alien child left on a barren planet/within a highly advanced Holodeck system that can give him anything that he wants, everyone he knew had died and he did all of this just to have a friend. Congratulations folks, you have now experienced what Riker went through this episode! Yeah, this episode was crazy. I feel bad for the poor kid, while he shouldn’t have done what he did we’re talking about a lonely child essentially forced to live in a Holodeck and just wanted to interact with someone real. Also, I loved how Riker got clued in on how the future word was fake, excellent call-back to Season One! Not much else to say, but good episode! It was wild, that’s for sure~ 3.5/5.

Final Mission: Well folks, this is the curtain call for Wesley Crusher. I know that he pops back up once or twice, but this will be his final episode as a main character as he finally enters the Academy. We’ll get to my final thoughts on Wesley here in a bit, but l focus on the episode itself first. And… it was fine. We have Picard, Wesley, and some third guy crash land on a desert planet, the Enterprise unaware of if they’re alive or not. Thus the three struggle to survive which not only is the third guy essentially a paranoid asshole… but a cave-in seriosuly injures Picard. Thus Wesley is more or less on his own and has to keep Picard alive. Thankfully we avoid killing him off, and thus they make sure to give Wesley a proper send-off. They let him showcase his strengths with his intellegence, fast thinking, and compared to in the beginning he’s much more mature and capable of handling an Away Mission. This convinced me that yes, Wesley is ready for the Academy and that he will be a great Starfleet Officer someday. Meanwhile the Enterprise are dealing with their own issues because of course they are. Nothing can ever just go easy for these people. can it? It’s fine. The Enterprise plot didn’t have me invested aside form worrying about Dr. Crusher. The poor woman just burris herself in her work to deal with her worry about Wesley and evades Troi when she tries to assure her Otherwise the plot is there sot hat it can be a solo Picard and Wesley adventure without hem interfering. Which while I havn’t been the biggest fan of their dynamic, it’s clear how much Welsey admires Picard such as recounting their Samaritan Snare adventure, and Picard admititng that he brought him along because he was going to miss the kid. It’s a nice moment between the characters and allows Wesley to truly open up… though I wish it focused more on him and his mother since that’s been seriously lacking, but ah well. It was still a good send-off episode for Wesley and that’s how you want to treat your characters, whether they stay ont he show or not. 3/5.

As for Wesley himself… it’s been a bumpy road. Do I agree with the consensus that Wesley is an annoying child character that even his actor agrees with (albeit I think jokingly but still)? No. Wesley isn't a bad character. He’s a smart young kid, tries his best, makes mistakes but tries to do his best, and he grew. He’s a perfectly likable kid and this episode especially shows the best of him. Do I agree that the character's role and execution were annoying and contributed to his reputation? Yes. That is ultimately what it boils down to decent character, poor execution. In S1 Wesley was elevated far more than he needed to be. He was given privileges that no other character his age would have been granted no matter the competency level that borders on blatant favoritism. Whenever he made a serious error, he got praise for fixing it, never scolded for his actions with The Naked Now being the worst example. He still had good episodes like Coming of Age, but alas. I think having a kid character who aspires to be in Starfleet, has a parent who is a prominent crew member, and being able to use his skills to help was a perfectly fine idea… but there were just issues with how they did it. S2 and 3 were. While I disliked him at the end of The Dauphin and he still got showed some blatant favoritism, it was better balanced. I didn't feel he earned to be an Ensign until this episode… y’know, the one that shipped him off to The Academy. Crusher being written out in S2 and then brought back in S3 also really killed any and all potential that their dynamic could have truly brought which also hurt. It really feels like by S3 they just didn’t know what to do with the character anymore, limiting him to mainly Helmsman duty. He wasn't being elevated anymore… but he wasn't adding anything anymore either. Maybe promoting him was to help give him something… but Wil Wheaton decided to go, and that ended that. I can’t say I’m sad to see Wesley go because his potential just got squandered to the point that keeping him just felt pointless, and having him go to the Academy feels like the best natural end-point for him, so might as well be now. Nevertheless, Wesley was still part of the crew and for all that I criticized, he certainly didn’t deserve the hate that he got. If people like or even relate to the character, that’s great! He just didn’t work for me unfortunateley. Wil Wheaton obviously moved on to bigger, better things and is well-liked in the fandom, so that’s good cause he certainly did the best that he could. He just wasn’t given a lot of good material. Hopefully Welsey’s later guest appearances will give him somethingg ood and heck maybe they’ll convince Wheaton to come back in Picard one day, but for now… farewell Wesley. Can’t say I’ll miss you, but it wasn’t the worst ride either.

[innittowinit]

Abandoned amusement parks are the best place for young children (chapter 14)

Fic summary: 

Techno, Tommy, Wilbur and Phil have been hanging out at the abandoned amusement park in the woods since they moved in. Techno likes knowing he's definitely alone with his brothers Tommy likes climbing on the old rides Wilbur likes having a place to play his music Phil likes spending time with his younger brothers

That is, until a group of brothers calling themselves the 'dream team' move in down the road. Will the sleepy boys give in and share the park or will they succeed in scaring the new kids off?

Chapter summary:  

 Wilbur goes AAAAAAAAAA George calms him down

Chapter word count: 2228

AO3

It felt like there was bile rising in his throat, everything hurt. 

He wanted to search for Techno, to find his brother and cling on for dear life but no matter how much he tried to get moving, he found himself immobilised by fear. 

“Uhh.. They’re probably just off doing something, Dream wanders off all the time”

George interjected, his voice dropping back down to a confused statement after all that yelling. He didn't understand. 

Wilbur was used to people not understanding, what he and Techno had was special, it was unique, he didn’t believe that anyone else had been through life like they had. Unlike most people his age, he did need his brother and he had never grown out of the childish clinginess most kids felt towards their mother or the fear that took over them when said mother left. Growing up, Techno was the only consistent person he had. 

Phil tried but he had school and homework, their parents were always working, the babysitters also tried but there was a new one every day and he was never able to form any emotional bond with them. 

How could he not have got attached to his twin? 

The only person who’s life was the same as his own. 

“You don’t get it. You don’t get it.” Was all Wilbur managed to mutter out before he went back to yelling for Techno, the name feeling like it was ripped from his throat. 

He could feel his judgement getting looser, the amount of adrenaline coursing through his blood was probably unhealthy, he felt like he might faint if he made any quick movements. Plus, his face felt hot, hot with frustration, fear and panic. There was sweat glazing his forehead and his breathing felt heavy. 

He wasn’t having a panic attack at least, he had helped Techno with those before and they sucked so bad he was incredibly lucky that he wasn’t as susceptible to them, that being said, he was definitely panicking. He wasn’t sure what the line was that turned it from freaking out to a full blown attack anyway, he thought maybe it had something to do with having an anxiety disorder, that maybe it was chemically different to normal panic. Right now he didn’t care though. 

The thought had been fleeting, it had lasted less than a second in his head and yet he could probably write an essay on everything he thought of in that moment. He didn’t even realise how fast his mind was going until he felt small arms wrap around him. 

Tommy. 

He was the big brother. He was supposed to be the one comforting Tommy and making sure he was okay, not the other way around. Still though, he appreciated it, the boy was sweet and caring and always wanted to help people. 

“Wilbur doesn’t like it when Tech’ goes away” The boy had explained, twisting his head to have Sapnap and George in his line of sight. 

He remembered Phil talking to him about this, they’d gone over it in case he ever needed to get help for one of them when Phil wasn’t around, but right now Tommy couldn’t really remember the name of what Wilbur had. It was two long words, that’s all he knew. 

“It makes him scared. Tech’ makes him feel safe” 

Everyone seemed to nod a bit at that, they couldn’t really argue with that. 

If Techno made him feel safe, Techno made him feel safe. 

There was a crashing noise heard from the old ticket booth that presumably sold tickets for the ride Tommy liked climbing on, with newfound speed, Wilbur sprinted over to the closed door, his body moving before even his mind could catch up. 

With his hands balled into fists, he hit at the door, slamming it over and over as he begged for his brother. Usually he was okay being in another room. Usually as long as he knew where Techno was it would be okay, but today he’d been so frustrated and angry, all he had wanted was for Techno to hold his hand so he could calm down but he had found his brother wasn’t even there. 

It hurt.

What if Techno was hurt?

“It’s me and Techno!” Dream had called from inside the little booth, “I think the door’s stuck” 

The grimace had been evident in his voice as he spoke, causing Wilbur to grab onto the door knob and pull with all of his strength. It wasn’t budging.

Why had he let this happen? 

He should have stepped back when Techno said he was getting overwhelmed. 

He’d wanted to protect his brothers so bad that one of them got hurt in the process. 

“Techno?” His voice was wobbly now, a small shake that was barely audible through the door.

“One knock yes, Two knocks no..Are you mad at me?”

Two knocks. Thank God.

“Did I piss you off?”

One knock. Understandable. 

“I’m sorry.”

By now, Wilbur was slouched against the door, his breathing hitching every now and then as he silently sobbed into his knees. He wanted his brother back. He was on the other side of the wall but that wasn’t enough.

Nobody was really sure what to do, Tommy was being incredibly sweet giving his brother lots of hugs but Wilbur would rather not have him see him like this and George ‘n’ Sapnap were standing around without an inkling of an idea on how to make this situation less painful. It’s not like anyone could blame them though, neither of them had any experience with stuff like this. The closest thing they’d witnessed was the last time Dream had broken his mask.

That wasn’t a fun day. 

George was the first of them to move, going down to sit by Wil silently, putting an arm around him in his best attempt to comfort the boy. Even though they were the same age, Wilbur was physically a lot bigger than him which made it a little awkward trying to get into a good position. 

Sapnap was the next to move, going over to Tommy and tapping his shoulder. Being the youngest of his own family, he knew how people could be, nobody wanted to show weakness in front of the youngest, everyone wanted to be seen as superman. Not only that but it would probably help relieve  some of the stress if Wilbur didn’t feel like he had to make sure Tommy was okay. 

“Hey Tommy can you show me that game you were playing earlier? Wil’s gonna be okay” 

Tommy’s head had shot up and he glanced between his brother and Sapnap over and over until Wilbur nodded at him. Maybe Sapnap had caught on to how protective Wil could be as he ended up taking Tommy to a bench that was conveniently out of ear shot but could be easily seen if Wilbur wanted to see his brother. 

Wil was grateful. He’d spent the past half hour yelling about how he hated these boys and here they were, helping him. 

Maybe they weren’t terrible people after all. 

“Dream’s smart. Techno’s smart. They won’t be in there forever, they’ll find a way out. I know that probably isn’t what you want to hear right now though. You want him now right?”

All Wilbur could muster as a response was to pathetically nod his head. He wanted his brother. Everything he was feeling right now was so intense, he was sure if he tried to communicate any of it, he’d fail. 

“Bad told us what was going on yesterday. We feel really guilty, we shouldn’t have done half the things that we did. We’re all really sorry”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for hitting you with a rock and for saying everything I said. I don’t hate you”

Although he was still curled in on himself and he still had hot tear tracks staining his cheeks, the talking was making him feel a bit better, it was keeping his mind off of the current situation at least. 

“Why isn’t Phil here today?”

“He’s at work right now”

“We could call him. He’s the biggest out of all of us, he might be able to get the door open, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind coming down after work if you explain to him”

Wilbur nodded and fumbled for his phone, sliding it out of his pocket, it was clear that he only really had it for emergencies. It wasn’t touch screen and there was a grand total of two games built into it. Wil didn’t care though, he’d never been super interested in technology anyway.

He clicked on Phil’s contact and listened to the phone buzz as it called him, feeling tears welling up all over again as he imagined all the possible outcomes. 

What if Phil got super angry that they called him while he was working?

What if he couldn’t answer because he was too busy?

What if his boss saw him on his phone and fired him?

What if even Phil couldn’t get them out and they were trapped forever?

When Phil finally answered, Wil was far too lost in his own head to fully articulate what was happening so George reached over and gently turned the phone on speaker mode. 

Immediately Phil knew something was wrong, the fact that Wil was crying, that he couldn’t hear the others playing in the background, the fact that he had been called in the first place.

Something was wrong. 

“Hey uh..It’s George, Wil’s a bit upset so I guess I’ll explain what happened. We came down here to try and apologise because Bad said you guys weren’t seeing it as a game -sorry by the way- and I think Wil was just a bit fed up with us and we ended up yelling and um Techno went off and Dream followed him into this old ticket booth. Basically the door’s stuck and Wil’s panicking, Sapnap is playing with Tommy so he doesn’t end up freaking out too or anything.” 

Phil nodded and then realised they couldn’t see him so he made a little ‘uh-huh’ noise. 

“Thanks for calling me, You guys are good kids, thanks for helping them. Wil? Can you listen to me bud?” 

Wil responded with a little sniffle as he tried to dry his eyes 

“Techno’s gonna be fine, Dream’s gonna be fine. I’m coming down as soon as my shift ends, okay? Take a deep breath for me”

Wil did as he was told

“That’s it, you’re doing so well. I know it’s scary, you’ll be okay. You wanna chat to George for a bit? Maybe you can tell him about some songs you’re working on”

“I’d love to hear about your songs!” George had propped himself up on his knees, he had read somewhere that if you act very happy people around you feel happy too, he hoped that was real. 

After wrapping up the call, Phil promising to come down as soon as he could, Wil leant his head back and died his eyes off one last time. He was feeling a little better after talking to Phil, he always knew what to say. 

“Right now I’m working on this song about a guy who’s in love with a girl but she doesn’t love him back. It sounds sad but it’s kinda funny I think”

Wilbur was speaking more clearly now, that was good at least, George had been so worried that he’d have to deal with him crying the entire time and no offence to Wilbur but he really did not know how to deal with people crying. 

“Yeah and he’s all mad about her not loving him back. Have you heard about the whole nice guy, incel stuff? I find it really funny to write songs as if I’m one of those guys, I think the way they just rationalise stuff is funny”

“Yeah yeah, and they’re always calling girls bitches and stuff when they don’t like them? Yeah they’re funny”

Wil was smiling now. Thank God for that. 

“You play the guitar right? When did you learn that?”

“I think I started when I was like eight, our parents really wanted me and Techno to get better social skills so they signed us up for a bunch of extracurricular activities. They copped on very quickly that we don’t like being separated though, the first guitar lesson I had I was just like this, probably worse honestly since I was like eight, And Techno had Violin lessons, he actually really liked his teacher but she found it difficult teaching him because he wouldn’t talk so eventually our parents ended up just letting us stay together since he calms me down and for the longest time I was the only one that can read his body language.”

George was nodding along, their lives were actually really interesting. They had been fighting for so long but it’s not like either of them actually wanted that. The more Wilbur spoke about their habits and hobbies, the more he wanted to learn about them. 

They just had such a different life to him, he never even realised people could be happy being silent before he met them. 

Maybe this could be the start of something better, something healthier than a one sided friendship. George hoped so anyways.

[twiceblackvelvet]

Tipsy

pt. i. pt. ii. pt. iii.

April 2nd, 2022. 22:31 PM. Seoul.

Apart from being aesthetically pleasing for photography, high-rise balconies with nothing but the night sky and light breeze for the company have always been a place of peace for Yeri. Somewhere to gather all of her thoughts and contemplate her next move, whatever that may be. Several times throughout her career, she’s stood atop a balcony, looked out over the landscape surrounding her, and tried to put everything around her into perspective. The view alone is a big part of why she bought this apartment for herself after it became clear she couldn’t stay with her parents any longer. That and it’s close to the studio where most of her time is spent nowadays.

The wine glass placed on the table beside her has been empty for the past hour, not that it matters. The bitter taste still lingers heavily on her lips as if she’d only just gulped it down. An empty bottle sits discarded on the kitchen counter of her apartment. As of late, those bottles have been piling up more and more to where her mother has grown concerned with the amount of alcohol she’s been consuming whenever she calls over to check on her. However, if it helps with getting a good night’s rest and blocks out the lingering thoughts of self-doubt that threaten to turn her into an insomniac, that’s all that matters.

Falling asleep as the sun rises used to be perfectly fine when there were several managers around and people to make sure she was on-time to different events no matter what. But, she no longer has that luxury with just one manager who barely even checks in with her anymore. A lot has changed in the last few months since the split of Red Velvet, and yet, Yeri still feels like compared to her other former members, she has achieved nothing at all. 

Joohyun has turned herself into a Mother Teresa type for plants the last she heard and is enjoying the simple life. Joy is acting again and appearing on billboards throughout the city for some cosmetic brand that is likely paying her way too much. Wendy has begun the process of kick-starting her career in America, which will no doubt end up being a success. Seulgi, well, she’s probably the only one of the group who truly understands how lost Yeri feels, but even she is preparing to debut solo. 

Whilst everyone moves forward, she can’t help but feel stuck in place. Despite the leap outside of her comfort zone after leaving SM, the creative freedom she so desperately was seeking for years is not the kind she assumed she’d have once becoming a producer and songwriter for an exciting independent label. 

“The artists don’t believe a former girl-group member with such little experience can give them the hit song their career desperately needs.” The words float through her mind once more. A constant alarm within her that triggers a deep sense of hopelessness whenever they appear in her thoughts.

A harsher breeze blows her flowing hair across her face, blocking her from pondering on the darkness inside of her head for too long. Probably for the best. It never ends well when she lets her insecurities get the better of her. The cold air sends a shiver down her spine and threatens to infiltrate her body with the flu if she doesn’t step back into the warmth of her home soon, which she does immediately. 

Like usual, her hands drift back to the empty wine bottle, sullen to find the contents missing but mentally refusing to believe that she is the one who has consumed it entirely. Light background noise stemming from the television is the only sound audible once the doors to the balcony are closed. A re-run of a drama that Yeri has tried to binge-watch three times now, every time her intoxicated brain has prevented her from picking up on the storyline. 

Her back pocket on her jeans holding her phone which is vibrating through the material. Someone is calling. Twisting her arm to grab it, her fingers almost lose their grip and drop the device which would no doubt have smashed it against the hard flooring. However, she catches it before disaster strikes and answers the call all in one motion.

Had she gotten the chance to check who it was that was on the other end of the line, she may not have wished to speak to them. But no, she has no choice. She heaves a deep sigh before putting the phone to her ear, immediately regretting how close she pressed it against her head.

“Hey! Yeri! Hello? Are you there?”

“Wendy. I’m here. You don’t need to shout, you know?”

A short laugh can be barely heard before Wendy once again bursts Yeri’s eardrums.

“I’m not shouting! There’s just an echo in my bedroom. Anyway, that’s not important, I have something to tell you!”

“If this is about the place that sells muffins that are also doughnuts again, I don’t want to hear it. I know they’re the best thing you’ve ever had but if I can’t taste them then what’s the point in telling me about it?” Yeri fires back. In Wendy’s words “heavenly food mash-ups that get the Seungwan approval,” is frankly wearing her patience thin.

“No, silly! I just woke up, I haven’t eaten yet, but I got some good news. Are you ready for it?”

“I’m practically on the edge of my seat.” 

That’s the first honest thing Yeri has said to Wendy in weeks during these phone calls that have become a bit of a habit. Her tipsy state has made sitting like a normal human being relatively difficult, it seems. 

“Well, prepare to be blown off it. The label finally got back to me about including the song you wrote for me on my album, they want it to be a bonus track, isn’t that amazing?” 

It takes Yeri a moment to recall what Wendy is talking about. The closest her hands have gotten to completing a full song lately was a poem she wrote on a napkin whilst out for breakfast with a mean hangover. However, it suddenly clicks when Wendy hums the melody, and Yeri realizes she has made a big, huge, major error. 

“Wait, Wendy. You can’t use that song! I don’t want it on your album!” She practically screeches and this time it’s Wendy’s turn to feel a sharp pain in her ears.

“Why? You were so proud of it and you know I love it too, I’ve already recorded and submitted it, I’m not sure they’ll let me take it back now.”

A throbbing sensation settles itself dead center in Yeri’s forehead. There’s absolutely no way of getting out of this one alive. Either Wendy will kill her, or… even worse…

“It’s fine, ignore me. It’s your song Wendy, I’m sure the album will be amazing but I really need to go.” 

Without waiting for Wendy to tell her goodbye, Yeri has already hung up on her and is quickly scrambling to find the right contact hoping to be able to stop what could be a disaster waiting to blow up. The phone rings for several moments before finally a robotic voice reads the age-old script of “this number is unavailable, please try again later.”

For the next thirty minutes, Yeri calls and calls, desperately hoping that on at least one of these occasions she’ll finally hear anything other than a dead end. Pacing the floor of her apartment, she deeply regrets drinking all of her wine earlier. A nice glug would go down well right now to stop her entire body from shaking. 

Just as she’s about to give up and try to sleep this awful situation away, her phone finally rings and there in bold letters lies the person she’s been aiming to speak to. Seulgi.

“Hey, Yeri. I have a bunch of missed calls, what’s going on? Are you okay?” 

The sincere, worried tone to Seulgi’s voice only makes Yeri feel even worse about what she’s about to request of the person she’s been relying on heavily these last few months to help her through the slump she’s fallen into.

“Hey, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, about all the calls I just really need a favor from you.” 

“You called me 216 times for a favor?”

Yeri pulls her phone away to check the number for herself, shocked that it’s even possible to call someone that amount of times in such a short period. But there it is, clear as day. 

“Um… Yeah. It’s kind of important, you see.” 

It isn’t. It’s just a stupid mistake that’s all her fault that she now needs to hope Seulgi will bail her out of without her finding out the real reason behind her request.

“Okay, what’s up? You’re worrying me, kid.” 

“Well, you know Beautiful Love Lost.” 

“Oh, yeah, I was just listening to the final version, funnily enough. The company loves it I even heard some people talking about how they regret letting you go.” 

Things could not get any worse, Yeri thinks.

“Well, I need you to delete it, please.” 

Silence is all that follows her words for a few seconds until finally Seulgi releases a deep exhale. 

“Look, Yeri. I know you’ve been kind of down lately with things not working out at the label. But once this gets released, they’ll see that you’re the most talented person they have there. I promise you, you don’t need to doubt yourself.”

Things did get worse. 

“It’s not that, I just think it’s too personal, I don’t want you to release it.” A lie, the biggest lie she’s ever told to Seulgi.

“I don’t understand… You were happy for me to have this and now… you’re not?”

“Yes, exactly. Now I’m not. I don’t want people to read too much into it and think they know me.” 

She doesn’t speak, but Yeri can tell that Seulgi is taking in everything she’s saying to her and trying her best to digest it all. Even to her own ears, the words don’t quite make sense, nor do they feel truthful. Seulgi has always had a way of reading between the lines and Yeri knows she’s doing exactly that now, she knows that Seulgi knows this isn’t the real reason she doesn’t want her to release the song. However, she surprisingly doesn’t question it.

“Fine, I won’t use it. But you owe me another song and fast. The album is due out on the 16th but I have four more days to resubmit anything I’m not happy with.” 

“Yes. You know you’re my favorite person, right Seul?”

“Sure kid,” The doubt clear in her tone. “But I mean it. Four days or I can’t do anything for you. I’ll have to use one of the SM producer’s songs.”

“I will, I promise.” 

They say their goodbyes to one another with Yeri breathing a deep sigh of relief she had been holding during the entire call. However, the anxiety rises in her chest once more with the realization that Seulgi, despite her stubbornness on the subject of Wendy, will probably listen to her solo project even if it’s just to be overly and falsely critical. 

Her mind goes into overdrive with worry about just how Seulgi will react. Will she bring her death slowly? Or will she simply ignore her existence as she has done with the rest of their former members? 

Before the fear consumes her completely, however, several messages from Wendy appear in the notification bar of her phone. 

00:13 AM  [Wendy]

It’s fine Yeri, I won’t use the song if you don’t want me to. I know this is personal for you.

I hope you release it one day instead. I miss hearing you sing. 

Don’t forget though, the album is out on the 15th. You better listen to it!

The only feeling Yeri is capable of at this moment is relief, however, had she took the chance to pay attention to what Wendy had said, she’d realize that another disaster was still steaming ahead on two different tracks ready to collide on the same day as each other for her two friends.

pt.v

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #450

Top Ten Characters with the Best Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes

As I’m writing this, it’s officially Star Trek: Discovery day; the first episode of the new season is up on Netflix and ready to watch. Given how little time I manage to find for watching anything that I want to watch, I’m cautiously optimistic that I can get to see it this weekend, but we’ll see; my lovely wife might want to finally catch up with Star Trek: Picard first, which for some reason she never finished. Regardless, I’m excited, and I wanted to write about Star Trek again.

The new Star Trek series have been a bit of a roller coaster, because whilst they’ve both generally been very good, they’ve certainly had their odder and more controversial moments, and neither of them has consistently felt like classic Trek. If I had to be critical, I’d argue that there are plenty of darker adult-tinged sci-fi shows at the moment, including ones set in space, but not that many that follow the day-to-day travails of a starship crew, which as always been Trek’s raison d'être. However, both shows have succeeded in giving us some compelling stories and – especially in the case of Discovery – a fantastic cast of new characters to celebrate. Great characterisation has been the cornerstone of Trek since the beginning, and no doubt one of the reasons why it still resonates to this day, from the “Holy Trinity” of Kirk, McCoy, and Spock, through to the wonderful and insanely empathetic Saru in Discovery and Captain Sexpot Rios in Picard. The fact that we’re now in a new time period, with no established history to try to tie the narrative to, means Discovery 3 is in a great place to give us some great new stories.

Anyway, to celebrate all of this – the new season of Discovery and my overall love of Star Trek characters – I’ve decided to go back to the Next Generation well and talk about just that: characters. TNG famously hit its stride when it started focusing each story through the lens of the different characters on the show, so that we tended to get a “Worf episode” or a “Riker episode”; even the best eps, the biggest and most epic, really had a tendency to hone in on one or two characters specifically, such as the all-time classic “The Best of Both Worlds” really being about Picard and Riker, or “Yesterday’s Enterprise” being a much-belated Tasha Yar episode.

But which characters have the best episodes? That is, if you know an episode is focused on a particular character, how likely is it that it’s going to be a belter? Can you reasonably say one character was better served than another in terms of the quality of “their” episodes? Well, yes. Yes you can. That’s this list. That’s the whole thing.

So this list is basically which characters have the best episodes, or are more likely to. It’s not a list of my favourite characters, or even really a list of the best episodes overall; it’s just, well, who got to chew scenery the most on the bridge, basically. Now, I really feel like I should end this blurb with an appropriate Star Trek quote, but I must have used “Make it so” and “Engage” before, so I’m not sure what else to say.

May the Force be with you, I guess.

Picard: Yes, of course; he’s the star, he’s the stand-out actor of the bunch, he gets the best episodes. If it focuses on the captain, you can rest assured you’re in for a treat. Whether it’s an epic mythology-enhancing saga or – even better – a slower, sadder meditation on life, Picard’s episodes are engaging. Chortle. Also if there’s room for a classic Picard Monologue, all the better; I don’t know if you’ve noticed this about Patrick Stewart, but the guy can chew scenery. Key episodes: The Best of Both Worlds, The Drumhead, The Hidden Light

Worf: Worf’s complex backstory offers a lot of opportunities for great stories, with the caveat that pretty much all of them focus on Klingon history or the contrast between his heritage and his place in Starfleet. Issues of familial loyalty rub up against quasi-Shakespearean dynastic dramas, often with high adventure. You can assume a Worf ep is a good one, despite the fact that quite a few of them are also about Alexander. Key episodes: Sins of the Fathers, Redemption, Birthright

Data: everyone’s second-favourite emotionless nerd on Star Trek, Data’s eps are almost uniformly great, and often poke at what it means to be alive. There may be a bit of ground retrod as we examine the notion of humanity, or sentience, or emotion, but his episodes are always interesting, and often very funny, and Brent Spiner is a continuing delight. Key episodes: The Measure of a Man, The Offspring, Brothers

Q: is it cheating to include a recurring guest star? Maybe, but I don’t care. John de Lancy is just phenomenal as Q, one of the best Trek characters, and so good he became a My Little Pony. He’s arch, he’s hilarious, he can take the show into new directions; he raises questions of fate, or of the concept of divinity; and underneath it all there’s a malevolent streak, a genuine sense of danger exemplified in his first appearance. Pairs very well with Picard, naturally. I didn’t like the Robin Hood episode, though. Key episodes: Deja Q, Encounter at Farpoint, Q Who

Riker: he’s a Kirk-esque horn-dog ragamuffin with a heart of gold and a fist of steel, so there’s always a lot to love when William T. takes the helm (see what I did there?). Often issues of loyalty, or duty versus personal wishes, arise; he’s frequently putting his life on the Enterprise above his career. But he’s also a very moralistic character, so quite often he’ll be trying to do the right thing in tough circumstances. Key episodes: The Pegasus, Future Imperfect, Frame of Mind

Crusher: always a stand-out supporting character, Crusher has some great episodes focused on her too; usually quite a self-righteous sort who puts the immediate moral obligation above her own safety or duty to Starfleet, which raises lots of interesting, thorny questions. She’s a smart cookie, exemplified in the astounding Remember Me; her relationships with her son and with Picard are good to explore too. She also shagged a ghost, but let’s try to forget about that. Key episodes: Remember Me, Attached, Suspicions

Wesley: pigeonholed somewhat unfairly due to a few ropey first-season episodes, Wesley Crusher is actually an interesting character whose stand-out storylines offer a good deal of nuance and intrigue, as well as exciting hi-jinks, insights into the Federation, and – should you go that far – weird magic Jedi stuff. He gets a nice romance with Ashley Judd, we unpeel his relationship with Picard over multiple episodes, and the bloom comes off the rose in spectacular fashion when he gets to Starfleet Academy. Wil Wheaton was a good young actor and was sadly underserved by the show, but at least we get these eps. Key episodes: The Game, Final Mission, The First Duty

Pulaski: say whaaat? Yes, she’s only in the show for five minutes, but Doctor Pulaski gets a few crackers under her belt in that time. A bit like Crusher would later, she often excels when standing up to authority and presenting herself as a moral arbiter. Interestingly, she’s not always right, and it’s a fun dance to watch. She’s also been round the block a bit, adding facets to her relationships with other characters, particularly Riker. And, of course, she flirts with a bunch of polygons when Geordi and Data cock up the Holodeck. Key episodes: Elementary, Dear Data, Unnatural Selection, The Icarus Factor

Troi: sadly suffering in the face of a bunch of soppy romances and storylines involving her mother that are, shall we say, an acquired taste, Troi still gets some good stuff, mostly later in the series’ run. Taking her out of her comfort zone, making her a spy or an investigator, or giving her some proper dramatic meat, works wonders. Also once she was a cake. Key episodes: Face of the Enemy, Eye of the Beholder, Dark Page

LaForge: oh, Geordi. I love Georgi, but he kinda got done dirty a little bit. Always an interesting and dependable secondary character, unfortunately the bulk of his episodes as a primary character tend to revolve around him being a bit of a jerk or a bit of a creep. Obviously the most heinous sin is making a computer program based on a real person and then, well, trying to shag it, but he also has a tendency to be a dick to anyone new in Engineering. He’s even a bit of a dick to Scotty! I sometimes think the writers never quite had a handle on Geordi’s character; is he a young tech genius with poor social skills? Is he supposed to be arrogant? A wannabe lothario who’s just really unlucky? Anyway, like I say, I still love the guy to bits, and LeVar Burton is fantastic, but of all the main ensemble, his are the flakiest solo episodes. That said, the three listed here are all belters. Key episodes: The Next Phase, The Enemy, Relics

Anyway. There we are. I’ve still, as of going “to press”, not watched Discovery season 3, and my wife’s still not watched the end of season 1 of Picard. Any day now…!

[veronicamarsbars]

Trust Me For Once 

Pairing: Xander Harris/Reader

Word count: 2600

ahhh I couldn’t help myself, I had to write one also, this is HEAVILY inspired by the only other Xander Harris/Reader fic by @writing-fics-instead-of-homework called ‘A Little Bit Scared’

Prompt: you and the gang go to a “Haunted House” where your friendship with Xander is tested, feelings are admitted. I went with just a lot of fluff and humor because I’m really feeling the innocent high school loves right now, you know? 

***

           “This is what we’re doing on our night off?” Xander complained, staring up at the decked-out haunted-house that a few local college kids put together for Halloween. Willow had organised the group for tonight, apparently Oz knew the guys, and Buffy was just happy to be hanging out with her friends. You were excited, always up for something fun with the gang and haunted houses would be a new and fun experience for you.

           “Why can’t we just rent a movie and stay at home, stuffing our faces with popcorn, like we usually do?”

           You rolled your eyes, “Because, maybe we want to do something different, Xan.”

           He raised his eyebrows at you pointedly, “Different!?” he shook his head, angrily gesturing up at the house before them, “we do this kind of crap every day, Y/N.”

           You frowned over at him as the others led the way up the steps to the entrance. There would be at least a ten-minute wait so the groups wouldn’t clash inside. “This is fun, Xander, not fighting for our lives. It’s different.”

           He scoffed as you climbed the steps after your friends, and he followed closely behind, muttering to himself. He didn’t enjoy the jumpscare aspect of it, heck, he could hardly watch horror movies with his friends. But he knew he was worried for other reasons. He just refused to acknowledge it.

           “So, uh…” Willow started, turning to the gang, “apparently, they only allow up to three people in at a time, so we’re going to have to split up.”

           “Uh, no,” Xander argued, shaking his head, “that’s exactly how horror movies start.”

           “We’re at a horror house, Xander,” you calmly reminded him, trying your best to refrain from rolling your eyes at him again.

           He ignored you and said, “We get Buffy, then.”

           Buffy frowned at him, “I’m not some weapon you can call dibs on.”

           “Why not?” he said, laughing nervously.

           “Buffy can go with whoever she wants,” Willow stated, matter of fact. But from where you stood, you could tell that she was disappointed that she might have to be split from the rest of you. Willow had stressfully organised this night for you all, so you felt you owed it to her to at least let her have one of her friends with her.

           “Uh…” Buffy started, not really wanting to choose between Oz and Willow and you and Xander.

           “Go with Oz and Wil, Xander here needs to grow a pair,” you interrupted, before she was forced to decide for herself. She looked at you gratefully.

           But Xander looked at you as if you were crazy, “Me? Grow a pair? I have a pair, and they’re perfectly capable, thank you very much,” and then he hastily added, “why would you give our only protection to the witch and the werewolf? We’re only human, we’re practically useless!”

           “It’s just a haunted house!” you stressed, eying him with a warning look. He pouted.

           Buffy nodded her head as she noticed Wil’s happiness at your suggestion and agreed to join them instead. They went inside first and you and Xander waited outside together. He was looking at you, probably annoyed, but you wouldn’t pay him any attention.

           You stood in front of the entrance waiting patiently, your hands shoved into your denim jacket pockets. You could hear the creepy music from inside and every now and then, an occasional shout or yelp of surprise. Xander stood awkwardly beside you, suddenly silent.

           Finally, the college kid who manned the entrance opened up the curtain for you both. He checked your tickets briefly and tossed them into the bin beside him, and you were relieved to finally enter the haunted house instead of sitting in awkward silence. You guessed the guy probably felt it, too.

           “If we die in here, I’m blaming you,” Xander said, as he walked slightly behind you.

           “Oh please,” you muttered, stopping before the next corridor, staring up at the boy. His hair was a little dishevelled and his eyes were wide at your sudden confrontation, “we both know that the reason you wanted Buffy in our group wasn’t just so she would protect us.”

           He opened his mouth momentarily, frowning a little, but you turned away from him before he could respond. You walked on ahead and after a few seconds, Xander was right behind you again just like before. Silent.

           Your heart was racing a little, but you weren’t sure why. It wasn’t particularly scary so far, just creepy. The hallway you walked down was suddenly way darker than the others, and you had to resort to feeling the wall beside you so you would feel safe walking through it.

           Your hand steadied yourself against the wall as you walked.

           “Y/N, you still here?”

           “Yes.”

           “Good, I can’t see anything in front of me.”

           You succumbed to a smile, “Probably because you’re so close behind me that all you’re seeing is the back of my head.”

           “Oh,” he laughed, nervously. A few seconds passed. “What did you mean, before?”

           “Before?” you questioned, too focused on the task at hand than to bother remembering what you had said earlier.

           “You know, about Buffy.”

           You frowned and shook your head, “Nothing.” He didn’t bother pushing you, for once.

           You kept on walking, albeit at a slow pace, but you were sure you would trip over if you didn’t. Every now and then, you felt Xander’s fingers touch yours against the wall as he sped up to keep up with you, and flushes of excitement passed through you. He didn’t say anything about it and neither did you.

           Suddenly, you stopped as your foot kicked an object in front of you. Xander didn’t stop in time and walked into the back of you. You were glad that it was dark so he wouldn’t see the blush that had crept up onto your cheeks.

           “Ow,” he said, “sorry.”

           “It’s fine,” you grumbled. You instinctively reached out to the object and felt that it was a door.

           “Why are we stopped?”

           “Trying to find the doorknob…” you said quietly, feeling for the handle.

           But a voice broke the silence and you stopped what you were doing. The voice was obviously pre-recorded and was playing from a hidden speaker somewhere near the door. “Welcome, strangers. You have passed through the entrance successfully. Through this door, your nightmares will become real. Are you prepared to face the horror of your dreams?”

           “No,” Xander said loudly, masking his terror.

           You laughed at him and he smiled, you could barely see him in the dark still, but you caught the toothy grin he flashed at you as you glanced behind.

           You found the doorknob and twisted it, opening the door. It was a bright room, which threw your vision off immediately. Music started playing, like out of a circus. You glanced at Xander who suddenly looked horrified. “No way in hell am I going in there.”

           “Xander, we’ve got to. Or we’ll just be standing here like idiots.”

           He looked at you with fear in his eyes. You knew clowns were his worst nightmare, so you sympathised with him, but you couldn’t just wait around for another group to pass you by. Or back-track out of the front of the house, that would be embarrassing. Besides, you really were excited about going through the rest of it.

           “This really is my biggest nightmare…” he said, quietly.

           You glanced at the circus room and then back at Xander, who by now, was visibly shaking his head. You grabbed his hand with yours, and Xander looked down at your hands clasped together, then at you. You swallowed, “If you close your eyes, I’ll walk you through it. It’ll be over in no—”

           He shook his head, “There’s no—”

           “Xander,” you said sternly. “Close your eyes. And trust me for once.”

           His dark eyes searched yours and he swallowed firmly. He glanced at the room before him, one last time, and nodded. He closed his eyes.

           You walked into the room, flashes of colour danced over the bare walls and balloons and confetti littered the floor. Xander slowly walked with you as you led him through the room. It was a small room, and you were soon at the door to the next one when a clown jumped out from behind the curtain. You yelped out of shock but clung to Xander’s hand; he screamed a funny, high pitched noise. But he kept his eyes shut tight.

           “Hiya!” the clown said, an obvious college frat boy dressed up in a clown suit with clown-face on. He smiled at you, overjoyed, and stared at Xander with amusement.

           “Is that a clown!?” Xander asked, verging onto panic.

           “No,” you said dumbly, pulling him close behind you as you reached for the doorknob, watching the clown very carefully. He stood still and watched you.

           “It’s a freakin’ clown, Y/N, you’re lying to me!” his palms started to sweat, you could tell by the slipperiness of his hand.

           “I’m not!’ you argued, finally clasping the doorknob with your other hand.

           “I can smell the cotton candy and all the kids he’s eaten, on him,” Xander said, his grip growing firmer on your hand.

           “I don’t just eat kids, but high-schoolers too,” the clown added, obviously enjoying Xander’s discomfort.

           “Y/N, get me the hell outta here!” Xander urged, desperately.

           “I’d be a bit faster if you would stop shouting in my ear!” you yelled, feeling the suspense. You twisted the doorknob and practically jumped through the now open door, pulling Xander quickly behind you. You stumbled through and shut the door with a loud bang behind you, your heart racing. You leaned on the door with your hands. Xander was standing behind you, his eyes open.

           “See?” you said, nervously, as you turned to face him, “that wasn’t so bad,” you were out of breath from adrenaline.

           He nodded, “Yeah,” he stared at the door behind you and didn’t seem convinced.

           “We better hurry up or the others are going to wonder if we really did die in here,” you said, and moved past him. A new kind of music was playing, and you could hear shouts in the distant. Xander hurried up behind you again as you led the way.

           “So,” he started, still breathless from before, “are you going to tell me what you meant about Buffy?”

           “No.”

           “Why not?”

           “Because you already know what I meant,” you said, giving him a look.

           He raised his eyebrows and stopped in the middle of the corridor, ignoring the creepy music and shouts from another room. “You think I still like her?”

           Now it was your turn to raise your eyebrows at him, “Well, don’t you?”

           “No?” he said, frowning. “Not anymore, we’re just friends—”

           “Sure.”

           “Hey, I’m not lying, okay? I wouldn’t lie to you.”

           You glanced at him, not sure if he was telling the truth or not.

           He could tell you were still trying to figure it out, so he bit the bullet and started, “I only wanted Buffy with us because—”

But then a man covered in fake blood and guts jumped from a fake closet, and you screamed and grabbed onto Xander. The guy laughed and disappeared around the corner.

           Breathless, you didn’t let go of Xander and instead tried to calm yourself down.

           “Thought you weren’t scared,” he said quietly, his arms still around you.

           “Shut up,” you grumbled, and pushed him away. You went to lead again but you were still a little traumatised for falling into the trap of the bloodied guy, so instead you hastily grabbed Xander’s hand. He lagged behind you a bit still but at least you had the comfort of holding his hand, it didn’t feel like you were going in alone like before as much.

           After a few more scares and themed rooms, one being a mock Pet Semetary, you both finally made it to the end. But as you exited, you didn’t let go of Xander’s hand, you didn’t even think about it, it felt so comfortable in your own.

           “Finally!” Buffy said, exasperated, “I thought I was going to have to come in there and get you both out.”

           “We had a few issues, but we’re alive,” you said, laughing nervously.

           Willow glanced down at your interlocked fingers and you suddenly felt embarrassed, “Did you get scared?”

           You both let go of each other’s hand at the same time after feeling Willow’s curious stare, and mumbled, “No…”

           “Yeah,” Buffy said, looking between her friends, “wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be,” she turned to Willow, “Ice cream?”

           Willow smiled, holding Oz’s hand, “Ice cream!” she repeated happily, and all of you proceeded down the footpath towards the ice cream parlour.

           You walked behind the rest of them while Xander talked animatedly with Buffy about the haunted house. They shared their experiences and Willow shared their biggest scare, all the while Xander claimed how “not scary” it was and adding in his usual funny quips.

           After a few minutes, he fell back in step with you behind the other three. He tilted his head to look at you as you both walked but you didn’t say anything. You were still embarrassed about before and you felt as though you might have expressed your likeness towards Xander too much. It was a secret you were willing to keep until the end of your days.

           “You okay?” he asked, his arm brushed against yours.

           “Fine,” you responded.

           “I meant to tell you, before that freaky guy jumped out at us, that I only wanted Buffy with us because I was scared it would be awkward.”

           You frowned, “Awkward how?” you finally looked up at him.

           “Because, you know me, I babble when I like a girl. And you would see me all scared and not so tough. Buffy would… act like a buffer, if you know what I mean, pardon the pun. I thought having her there would make it less awkward.”

           Your eyes hardened as you caught onto what he meant but you couldn’t say anything, it had caught you by surprise, so much so, that for once, you were left speechless.

           “But I’m glad she didn’t come with us because then I wouldn’t know that you wouldn’t care if I wasn’t acting so tough, I wouldn’t know that you wouldn’t have laughed at me when I couldn’t walk through the clown-themed room in a haunted house, that instead, you would have held my hand and led me through it.”

           You looked over at him again and he was smiling nervously, his grin a little crooked. You smiled back and confidently slipped your hand back into his. You walked together like that all the way to the ice cream parlour, hand-in-hand, smiling like a couple of idiots.

           “Xan?” you said, as you stood beside him, both of you waiting for your ice cream cones. The others had gone to find a seat with their ice cream already in hand.

           “Yeah?” he replied, turning to look at you.

           You stood on your tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, it was quick because you were a little embarrassed at doing it, but you wanted to, nonetheless.

           He watched you, briefly, and then followed up your kiss with his own kiss on your lips; soft and lasting a little longer than your quick peck. But you both broke apart when an awkward cough sounded from the guy who was serving you your ice cream, and you both flushed red and quickly grabbed your ice creams before meeting up with the others, hands clasped and grinning stupidly.

[glycerineclown]

dear river phoenix,

it’s that time of year again, bud. leaves are turning, it’s getting dark too early, hope they’ve got vegan sweets up in heaven, blah blah blah. usually it’s around your birthday when i reach out, but you’ve been on the brain, and i’ve been writing this letter to you in my head for weeks.

halloween was always kind of a disappointment when i was growing up. i never had a particularly good costume, and i always had to throw a big coat on over it because it pours rain here. i don’t even really like candy.

later, it was disappointing in a different way. an injustice, that you were too good to go. by the time i went to college, i’d space out carving pumpkins because you’d cropped up in my brain like a memory of an old friend.

i was always happy to see you.

i watched stand by me for the first time during the summer between eighth and ninth grade—prime time for falling in love at first sight, tbh—and god, did i fall hard. benny “the jet” rodriguez, who? chris chambers is where it’s at. i must have rented stand by me on a netflix by-mail dvd, because i watched the special features immediately afterward. wil and corey and jerry were all grown up, talking about the film, and i kept thinking… where’s the guy who plays chris?

and. well. then i learned. you’re dead.

my devastation was so real. it was a fucking mourning period, over several months, in true, embarrassing, 14-year-old girl fashion.

it was that summer that i discovered that i loved to write. my mother would come into my room at 5pm and i’d still be in pajama bottoms and a bra typing away. my angsty marysue stand by me fanfic was 30k of absolute drivel. it’s still on fanfiction.net.

through myspace groups, i made friends on the internet for the first time.

i watched every movie of yours i could get my hands on, and with netflix by-mail dvds, it wasn’t that hard (although i never got around to silent tongue, or the early tv roles—sorry). at the time, my mom wouldn’t “allow me” to watch my own private idaho, which made me very angry because it was set here in seattle and i’d had a crush on keanu since fifth grade.

you talked about the world in a way that i had never really heard before. i wanted to be someone with the kind of personal integrity that you had. in freshman english we read herman hesse’s siddhartha, and i was overjoyed to be assigned a book with your namesake.

it was around that time that the kids i wanted to be like at school, the not-quite-scene-kids, not-yet-stoners, were listening to ac/dc a lot, and the only way for me to get my hands on music like that was at my big sister’s house. she’d spent her 20s in the 1990s and her husband was in rock bands so it was the best cd collection i could possibly borrow from.

and sitting in a box was the debut album of none other than john frusciante. i picked it up, and then put it down very carefully, because. you know. he was there when you died. you did drugs together. my goddamn username is from that album, the same username i’ve had since 2007. you’re singing nonsense on his second record, backwards—while tripping balls, no doubt. 

john’s music was a whole other cultural rabbit hole i went down. but one hot minute, black sheep of the discography for sure, was actually my first red hot chili peppers cd. i bought it for transcending, that song they wrote about you. after that i marinated myself in their music, and the music of everyone they were fans of. i learned to play guitar. music was my identity for years.

it got kind of boring to be a big fan of a dead guy. 

sometimes if i thought about it too hard—flea was in the ambulance with you—it would put a bad taste in my mouth.

i made more friends on the internet. I wrote about other things.

all this stuff—movies, all the music i loved—was so centered around los angeles. i was always incredibly risk-averse, but i was fascinated with the whole dirty culture of it. i read a lot about drug addiction back then. later, when my sister decided she had to quit drinking, i was the one educating our parents.

i was in community college, april of 2011, the first time i ever spent any time in los angeles. we drove down sunset boulevard and i recognized everything i looked out the window at. every club or hotel or coffee shop had a story from a book i’d read, or was mentioned in liner notes from an album i loved. we didn’t have time to go to amoeba but i took my picture at the elliott smith figure 8 memorial, even though it was covered in graffiti. another dead artist whose work i’ve always loved, and whose work will live on in gus van sant films.

by that time, i had seen my own private idaho many, many times, and my family’s trip to la just happened to coincide with james franco and gus van sant’s “my own private river” installation at a hoity-toity gallery right off rodeo drive.

my mother went window shopping and i spent a couple hours sitting by myself on a squashy couch. they sure dressed the place down, put up a big curtain—like the stark white gallery itself was wearing a costume. i wasn’t sure, going in, how seeing the film would make me feel. but i sat there watching you in footage i had never seen before and, god. it was like you were still alive. having fun. goofing off. getting your heart broken. getting groceries. 

i left the gallery feeling so uplifted, so happy to have seen your face. it was truly surreal for me. the sky was clear and the sun was out. i was in los angeles and you were kissing keanu in italy. it was a good time.

it took a while to find the highway afterward. we got back on sunset and stopped at a red light. i was distracted, looking up directions or something. i glanced up and to the right, out the passenger window—and there was the viper room. 

it all came rushing back in the worst full circle. i hadn’t been looking for it, had kind of forgotten this might happen. charcoal grey in the sunshine, neon sign dark. black gum on the sidewalk, in the place where you died. burned in my brain like that awful 911 call i had to turn off after about two seconds.

that’s right. you’re dead. i’m so sorry.

this halloween, it’ll be 26 years. rain’s putting out her first solo album, full of songs about you. it’ll be so wonderful to hear her voice again—i listened to her band a lot, years and years ago, and aleka’s attic of course—and so nice to spend time with your memory again.

you’ve always been my favorite, the sweetest one with the biggest heart.

i’m 28 years old now, older than you ever got to be, and i still wish you were here. i see you through a different lens now, and i usually have different things to worry about. but once in a while i turn on one of your movies and your cadence, your gentle way of speaking is immediately familiar. sometimes i just close my eyes and listen, and it feels right, like the best decision i could have made that day is spending time with you. i should really make a habit of it.

this halloween, though, i’ll be hanging out with your sister. but you’ll be there too. maybe it’ll be like you never left. 

always and forever,

maggie

[squirrelestanon]

The Garden Part: 1

Au idea and The Family characters belongs to: @lansketchbook & @murder-schmurder

Warnings: mentioning death and a lot of mistakes, because I already had the full story in my mind, when Brody family's story came in and English isn't my first language

(My OC's description soonly come.)

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, did you hear the news?"

"Of what John?"

"About the new mafia, what just came into the town a few days ago."

"Yeah I've heard about them. The rumors say that they come from San Francisco. But, why would anyone like them want to come here, when everyone knows that's the best place for the mafia?"

"I don't know, maybe they want something from The Family?"

"You're right! Maybe, something what happened with the two bosses in the past. I can't wait to see what will happen. Did you catch their name?"

"Yeah, I think something like..."

🌱🌱🌱

"The Garden?" Chase asked, after Jameson reported to him what he heard in the bar.

"| Yes, boss. They said every member has a tattoo of a black rose with blood red leaves somewhere on their body. |" he signed "| Do You know who they could be? |"

The father hummed, but didn't say anything, just hoped he's wrong and she didn't come back... Before the bartender could ask again, a loud swearing came from outside of the office. Both Chase and Jameson ran out, to see what's happening.

"Get the fuck away from my stuff!" Anti yelled, typing on his computer it was a surprise it didn't catch on fire.

"Anti, what's the problem?" Chase asked, walking closer to him

"Someone somehow get over my firewall and I can't do shit with it. I've tried to delete the whole thing with every code, each one of them at least 3 times. But this fucker doesn't even let me turn off the computer.

"Did it show any sign of what or who is it?"

"Not really, or not yet. Idk Boss." Anti said typing, still trying hardly

Suddenly, the monitor went black and a white rose appeared on the screen, with the words 'Good too see you again, Chase.' under it. Before anyone could make a comment, Jackie ran into the room, panting heavily.

"Jackie, you're one of my dearest friend, so please tell me you didn't come because of that." Chase said his eyes showing... fear

"I'm sorry, but she's back" he said sadly and afraid

"Who Boss?" everyone else in the room asked

🌿🌿🌿

"Hey Chase, pass me the shotgun."

"You know Sophie, you don't have to feel bad, because I'm better than you." he said, giving her the asked gun

"Haha, fuck you." she said and aimed the gun "I bet in 20 that I can do it."

"Fifty and my favourite knife." he said chuckling

"Okay." she concentrated on the target and shoot, perfectly hitting it.

"How the hell did you do it?!" he asked, wide eyed and staring at the hanging tin can with the hole in it.

"I'm visiting Angus every weekend" she said with a chuckle

"Okay, that's cheating and if you guys still spend This much time together, I'm gonna think you guys are dating." he chuckled again, taking the gun away from her and placing it back to it's place.

"Sounds like someone is jealous" she winked at him and giggled.

"No, I'm not. But, here's my knife. It was supposed to be your gift at first after all. Happy 18th birthday."

🍀🍀🍀

"She was my dearest friend. Our fathers were good friends, so we stuck together. We grew up together and when my father died, we decided to run The Family together. But... I had to screw up everything..."

🌺🌺🌺

She couldn't believe it herself, but finally after 21 years, she felt something different. The problem was it wasn't anyone, but him, Mark. He was the informer of one of the biggest enemies of The Family. She didn't know it, only that how his eyes sparkled everytime he looked at her. She should know it, but Stacy didn't give her any chance to read the name and just dragged her into the the bar. And the the first thing she saw was a handsome man, with a beautiful body, Dancing on a pole. But, not the shape of his head, or his muscular body stole her heart. Just his sparkling eyes and charming smile. When he looked at her, he almost fell from the pole, but could save himself. She giggled when he quickly finished his performance, so no one wil see how embrased he is. But she managed to catch him hiding his blush. Stacy was already somewhere far away and when her friend tried to found her and Sophie accidently bumped into a chest.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's nothing..." she giggled and looked up at the guy from earlier "Hi."

"Hi."

🌻🌻🌻

"They were so in love. But they didn't know how bad their love is, until I met with him. Me and Jackie was invited to a dinner at them and Jackie knew the members of that mafia, because we were not really in a good relationship. So when he saw her boyfriend, he immediately jumped between me and him, holding his gun at him. Before he could say anything, Sophie cocked her gun and pointed it at her friend."

🌹🌹🌹

"S-Sophie? What are you doing?" Jackie asked, not believing of what he sees.

"I'm protecting my boyfriend, who I truly love. What are YOU doing?" she asked, already tearing up, because she knew there's only one reason why he is doing it.

"He's the enemy, Sophie. He doesn't want anything, just all of us dead. He's just using you!"

"No!" Mark suddenly said "I love her and I would never do that, even if I had know. I'm willing to do everything to make her happy!" he shouted, looking angrily into Jackie's eyes, but sometimes glancing into Chase's.

"Then, put your gun down." the girl whispered, looking at her love with pure sadness in her eyes.

🌷🌷🌷

"When she asked, he immediately threw his gun away and then Sophie asked us to leave. The bad thing was that I couldn't trust, or accept him. And when the other maffia's boss send me a message... I wanted or not, I had to do something what I regret now."

🌼🌼🌼

Chase was ready for her, so when she bursted into his office, he just looked down his fedora covering his eyes, while she tried to get closer to him, but two people held her back.

"You killed him! You didn't even try to trust in him, you just killed him!" she easily get out of their arms and lifted Chase up by his collar, to make him look into her eyes. "He engaged me, he was my fiancé. You killed the person who wanted to live life long time With Me!" she shouted, tears streaming down on her cheeks, her eyes killing with anger, her grip tightening almost ripping his shirt apart. But the head of The Family didn't care about it. He knew he deserve every pain after what he's done.

"What was his last words?" Chase was silent for a few moments, before he sighed, looking down, shame covering his face.

"He wants you to know he loves you." he whispered and sat back down into his chair after she let go of him and leaned close to his face to whisper to him.

"Listen here Brody. I will revenge him. I'll come back and destroy everything you love."

🌸🌸🌸

"The last words I've heard from her."

"The Garden is one of the biggest and most feared mafia in the world." Jackie said "She has people around the world, I've even heard that one of us is working for her as well."

Chase sighed. He knew that this day will come, but hoped his Family will not be affected. And now one of his people is working for the person who wants to kill him... or worse.

💐💐💐

"The car is here, boss."

Alex glanced at her ring, silently thinking for a moment, before sending down the last drops of her whiskey. She stood up and adjusted her suit.

"Then, let's go." she said, leaving the room after she put on her hat "Make some trouble."

[heathcliffitsmecathy]

Thank you for tagging me @1nsaankahanhai-bkr

 Are there any literary parallels between your favourite character and some other character? Yes, actually I think that so many characters have parallels in the  history. Sansa (who is my favorite character) has parallels with Cersei, both dreamed marry a prince when were younger, both had their dreams took away, but Sansa still think is better being loved on the other hand Cersei prefer to be dread. I also like the parallel between Willas (besides he never appeared in the books I like him and I think we can expect a lot from him and Garlan) and Tyrion. Both are smart, and doens’t fit in maculine stadards expected in Westeros, they can’t be knights. But while Twyin is ashamed about his son and doens’t want that Tyrion be the heir, the Tyrells talk proudly about Willas and he still is the heir.

What’s one thing you wished grrm explorer more? The reach, I really wish that we will finally see highgarden in the next book.

Is there a character that fandom loves but you despise(apart from elia’s husband) I don’t like Tyrion, I think the away he treats women is terrible.

Fave non canon pair? Jon and Satin

If you could change one in- verse subplot what would it be? I would leave Quentin alive

What’s the one thing about your character that you can’t stand or find irritating? I wish that Sansa had more confidence in her instintcts, but I believe this is going to happen in the next books

Is there anything that would make you defend your least favourite character?( eg- ragger was not madly in love. He was just mad) Just if Rhaegar was obligated to do what he did, someone very powerful obligated him and he didn’t had choice. But I can’t see this happening in the books.

Favourite Jon ship? (Although he is dead) do you think he will come back? Again Jon and Satin. Yes I think this part is canon in the books too, but I think it’s going to have some differences. I don’t believe that Jon wil come back the same person like in the show, probably he wil be a dark Jon.

Your worst experience with fandom racists? Everything that comes with “She/He is dornish so...” 

What do you think of Quentyn/young griff? I like Quentyn, people don’t care so much about him because they think he was stupied and hes not handsome, but I think he is very brave and was only trying to do everything that he could to help his father’s plan, even if wasn’t so smart. About young griff, I don’t know exactly what to think about him. I love his plot and I think is so much better than “Jon Aegon Targaryen” (form me is obvious that they gave this name to Jon in the show only to mix his plot with young Griff even if young Griff isn’t the real Aegon) it makes more sense to see Dany confroting someone who was prepared all the life to be king (what is one of the biggest Dany’s flawers, nodody taught her) and is going to be a great challenge to her. But I still don’t know if I like or not Young Griff I will need to read the next book to have an opinion.

My questions are:

1- We know that the show has a lot of issues, but there is something in the show that you think is better than the books?

2- Which pre-asoiaf history do you like the most?

3- If the show has a reboot what would be your fancast? (you can’t choose the actors that already are in the show)

4- Did you have any bad experience with fandom misoginy?

5- Have you ever read a fanfic that you thought it was better than the canon? If yes, how was the plot?

6- If you could change a character gender what character could be and why?

7- If you could choose one character to win a book solo only about his/her story what character would you choose and why?

8- If you were the Queen/King which character would you choose to be your hand? Your motivations are friendship or strategy?

9- Besides Sansa, Catelyn and Elia which other character do you think it is unfairly hated or despised?

10- If you could change only one thing in the books what could be and why?

I tag @makaria13 @riana-one @windinyoursnail @athena-penrose

[madamhatter]

🚼 //I had to

send me a 🚼 and a ship I’ll use a doll-maker to design what I think a child between our two muses would look like / accpt / @crystalburdened

Gwylan Hatter | She/her | 9

A short blonde with a low tolerance for chilly weather and a knack for speaking out of term at the strangest times. Gwylan reaches no higher than her father’s chest, usually tapping his elbows (or slapping his back) for his attention. The sun-bleached hair comes from her father buti’s tamed and more wavy look was inherited from her mother. Her hair reaches down the middle of her back but, she always keeps them up in loops with red bows. As mentioned before, she doesn’t do well in low climates and is usually found hidden behind a turtle neck and scarf, with only the trail of freckles visible.

Abrasive and critical to most everything, she isn’t one who undertands what being “shy” is, nor does she find it excusable if someone doesn’t speak her mind. Gwylan is unexpectingly unable to understand her emotions and she doesn’t want to frustrate herself because of it. She understands the difference between right or wrong and wil lrather talk about that versus herself. Her own reasoning stems from the numerous laws and teachings from her parents, meaning it’s rare for her to reason her own defense because “she thinks so” since she’ll give examples. 

By no means does she do this because she’s mean-spirited. If anything, this is an accumulation of her parents being intolerant to bad behavior and they may not know how to control their mouths. However, it is hard for her to restrict herself. She already has issues with being touchy, being far too awkward nad hesitates if she wants to hug her family members. She does soften up and doesn’t get mad if people hug her though, she just stands idle and slightly confused.

 Can she get emotional? Of course! It usually happens because of how easily guilty she feels if she physically hurts someone (never intentional, always accidental). Gwylan, however, is more attached to her mother and more outright blunt about her father and the things that he doesn’t do “right” or don’t look right (like his fashion sense, lmaoo).

-Climbs all over her father and uses him as a tower when she cannot see anything. Adores being high in the air and usually settles on her father’s shoulders. She will actively reach out for Layle and reject Sophie because “you’re too short, ma.” 

-Can mimic the whistles of many birds when her teeth aren’t chattering. She does it occassionally when she’s doing something or when it’s too quiet. She doesn’t do this purposely and it’s more of a tick. 

Soren Hatter | They/them and he/him | 12

The first born and the biggest surprise for his parents, Soren was exposed to the high-times of Layle and Sophie’s trip while he was a newborn. They were found usually on his father’s back, carried by a back wrap, while fussing around and pulling on his hair. Noticably, passerby would comment on how big and precious his blue eyes were, leading to stares…which led to Soren crying. Which, frankly, he did a lot as he was a very fussy baby (but he is still quick to cry to this day). Any tricks or big heights the baby saw usually resulted in a very upset Soren; the same reaction would happen if Layle using his gravitational powers and made the baby float.

Thanks to their mother’s genetics, Soren stands at 5′6″ and would grow comfortably into 5′9″ once they hit puberty, which’ll result in them being taller than both parents. In the same vein, they inherited their mother’s brown locks and strangely have some sets of gray hairs on one side of his calp. The hairs are greatly concentrated there and Soren would braid it. Though, from the curly-ends and styling of their hair, it’s safe to say that they gotten that from their father (minus eye shape and color). 

Much like his parents, he is more than eager…to not get into any trouble! Unlike the nonchalance or persistency his parents exhibit for action, he is one to be quick on his feet to not do something too dangerous. He rationalizes greatly and effeciently, keeping himself grounded, especially as he likes staying on the ground. However, Soren is a sweetheart and doesn’t criticize/undermine the fun his father has from being a vagrant or how stubborn and work-bound his mother is (but is usually siding with his parents if Gwylan is being too blunt again). 

Soren is remarkably clumsy and is used to getting scrapes and cuts. Why he has a scar over the bridge of his nose isn’t due to that, though. Gwylan swung open the cabinet door when he was 8 and she left a mark. He actually didn’t cry (it was his little sister, that time around) since he tends to tear up over emotional distress. They, however, did inherit their mother’s anxiety.

-Always talks with their hands and has exagerrated body langauge, making it quite obvious when he doesn’t like something/in disagreement (even if he won’t say anything).

-Acclimates fairly easy to new locations, finding his beat and role faster than most. He tends to be more responsible for anything involving math and record-keeping (and even building/making things like tents and campfires).

[praiseofwhatpersists]

how to be successful?

1. Compound yourself

Compounding is magic. Look for it everywhere.

You also want to be an exponential curve yourself—you should aim for your life to follow an ever-increasing up-and-to-the-right trajectory. It’s important to move towards a career that has a compounding effect—most careers progress fairly linearly.

You don't want to be in a career where people who have been doing it for two years can be as effective as people who have been doing it for twenty—your rate of learning should always be high. 

As your career progresses, each unit of work you do should generate more and more results. There are many ways to get this leverage, such as capital, technology, brand, network effects, and managing people.

It’s useful to focus on adding another zero to whatever you define as your success metric—money, status, impact on the world, or whatever. I am willing to take as much time as needed between projects to find my next thing. But I always want it to be a project that, if successful, will make the rest of my career look like a footnote.

Most people get bogged down in linear opportunities. Be willing to let small opportunities go to focus on potential step changes.

2. Have almost too much self-belief

Cultivate this early. As you get more data points that your judgment is good and you can consistently deliver results, trust yourself more.

If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s hard to let yourself have contrarian ideas about the future. But this is where most value gets created.

Managing your own morale—and your team’s morale—is one of the greatest challenges of most endeavors. It’s almost impossible without a lot of self-belief. And unfortunately, the more ambitious you are, the more the world will try to tear you down.  

I used to hate criticism of any sort and actively avoided it. Now I try to always listen to it with the assumption that it’s true, and then decide if I want to act on it or not. Truth-seeking is hard and often painful, but it is what separates self-belief from self-delusion.

3. Learn to think independently

Grit comes from learning you can get back up after you get knocked down.

4. Get good at “sales”

All great careers, to some degree, become sales jobs. You have to evangelize your plans to customers, prospective employees, the press, investors, etc. This requires an inspiring vision, strong communication skills, some degree of charisma, and evidence of execution ability.

The best way to be good at sales is to genuinely believe in what you’re selling. Selling what you truly believe in feels great, and trying to sell snake oil feels awful.

5. Make it easy to take risks

Most people overestimate risk and underestimate reward. Taking risks is important because it’s impossible to be right all the time—you have to try many things and adapt quickly as you learn more.

Look for small bets you can make where you lose 1x if you’re wrong but make 100x if it works. Then make a bigger bet in that direction.

6. Focus

Focus is a force multiplier on work.

Almost everyone I’ve ever met would be well-served by spending more time thinking about what to focus on. 

It is much more important to work on the right thing than it is to work many hours. Most people waste most of their time on stuff that doesn’t matter.

Once you have figured out what to do, be unstoppable about getting your small handful of priorities accomplished quickly. I have yet to meet a slow-moving person who is very successful.

7. Work hard

You can get to about the 90th percentile in your field by working either smart or hard, which is still a great accomplishment. But getting to the 99th percentile requires both—you will be competing with other very talented people who will have great ideas and be willing to work a lot.

Extreme people get extreme results. 

Working a lot comes with huge life trade-offs, and it’s perfectly rational to decide not to do it. But it has a lot of advantages. 

As in most cases, momentum compounds, and success begets success.

And it’s often really fun. 

One of the great joys in life is finding your purpose, excelling at it, and discovering that your impact matters to something larger than yourself. 

You have to figure out how to work hard without burning out. People find their own strategies for this, but one that almost always works is to find work you like doing with people you enjoy spending a lot of time with.

I think people who pretend you can be super successful professionally without working most of the time (for some period of your life) are doing a disservice. In fact, work stamina seems to be one of the biggest predictors of long-term success.

One more thought about working hard: do it at the beginning of your career. Hard work compounds like interest, and the earlier you do it, the more time you have for the benefits to pay off. It’s also easier to work hard when you have fewer other responsibilities, which is frequently but not always the case when you’re young.

8. Be bold

People want to be part of something exciting and feel that their work matters.

If you are making progress on an important problem, you will have a constant tailwind of people wanting to help you. Let yourself grow more ambitious, and don’t be afraid to work on what you really want to work on.

Follow your curiosity. Things that seem exciting to you will often seem exciting to other people too.

9. Be wilful

A big secret is that you can bend the world to your will a surprising percentage of the time—most people don’t even try, and just accept that things are the way that they are.

People have an enormous capacity to make things happen.

A combination of self-doubt, giving up too early, and not pushing hard enough prevents most people from ever reaching anywhere near their potential.

Ask for what you want. You usually won’t get it, and often the rejection will be painful. But when this works, it works surprisingly well.

Almost always, the people who say “I am going to keep going until this works, and no matter what the challenges are I’m going to figure them out”, and mean it, go on to succeed. 

They are persistent long enough to give themselves a chance for luck to go their way.

To be willful, you have to be optimistic—hopefully this is a personality trait that can be improved with practice. I have never met a very successful pessimistic person.

10. Be hard to compete with

If what you do can be done by someone else, it eventually will be, and for less money.

The best way to become difficult to compete with is to build up leverage. 

For example, you can do it with personal relationships, by building a strong personal brand, or by getting good at the intersection of multiple different fields. 

There are many other strategies, but you have to figure out some way to do it.

Most people do whatever most people they hang out with do. This mimetic behavior is usually a mistake—if you’re doing the same thing everyone else is doing, you will not be hard to compete with.

11. Build a network

Great work requires teams. 

Developing a network of talented people to work with—sometimes closely, sometimes loosely—is an essential part of a great career. The size of the network of really talented people you know often becomes the limiter for what you can accomplish.

An effective way to build a network is to help people as much as you can. 

Doing this, over a long period of time, is what lead to most of my best career opportunities and three of my four best investments. 

I’m continually surprised how often something good happens to me because of something I did to help a founder ten years ago.

One of the best ways to build a network is to develop a reputation for really taking care of the people who work with you. 

Be overly generous with sharing the upside; it will come back to you 10x. 

Also, learn how to evaluate what people are great at, and put them in those roles. (This is the most important thing I have learned about management, and I haven’t read much about it.) 

You want to have a reputation for pushing people hard enough that they accomplish more than they thought they could, but not so hard they burn out.

Everyone is better at some things than others. 

Define yourself by your strengths, not your weaknesses. Acknowledge your weaknesses and figure out how to work around them, but don’t let them stop you from doing what you want to do.

A particularly valuable part of building a network is to get good at discovering undiscovered talent. 

Quickly spotting intelligence, drive, and creativity gets much easier with practice. The easiest way to learn is just to meet a lot of people, and keep track of who goes on to impress you and who doesn’t.

Remember that you are mostly looking for rate of improvement, and don’t overvalue experience or current accomplishment.

I try to always ask myself when I meet someone new “is this person a force of nature?” It’s a pretty good heuristic for finding people who are likely to accomplish great things.

A special case of developing a network is finding someone eminent to take a bet on you, ideally early in your career. The best way to do this, no surprise, is to go out of your way to be helpful. (And remember that you have to pay this forward at some point later!)

Finally, remember to spend your time with positive people who support your ambitions.

12. You get rich by owning things

You get truly rich by owning things that increase rapidly in value.

This can be a piece of a business, real estate, natural resource, intellectual property, or other similar things. But somehow or other, you need to own equity in something, instead of just selling your time. Time only scales linearly.

The best way to make things that increase rapidly in value is by making things people want at scale.

13. Be internally driven

Most people are primarily externally driven; they do what they do because they want to impress other people. This is bad for many reasons, but here are two important ones.

First, you will work on consensus ideas and on consensus career tracks.  You will care a lot—much more than you realize—if other people think you’re doing the right thing. This will probably prevent you from doing truly interesting work, and even if you do, someone else would have done it anyway.

Second, you will usually get risk calculations wrong. You’ll be very focused on keeping up with other people and not falling behind in competitive games, even in the short term.

Smart people seem to be especially at risk of such externally-driven behavior. Being aware of it helps, but only a little—you will likely have to work super-hard to not fall in the mimetic trap.

The most successful people I know are primarily internally driven; they do what they do to impress themselves and because they feel compelled to make something happen in the world. 

After you’ve made enough money to buy whatever you want and gotten enough social status that it stops being fun to get more, this is the only force I know of that will continue to drive you to higher levels of performance.

This is why the question of a person’s motivation is so important. It’s the first thing I try to understand about someone. The right motivations are hard to define a set of rules for, but you know it when you see it.

Eventually, you will define your success by performing excellent work in areas that are important to you. The sooner you can start off in that direction, the further you will be able to go. It is hard to be wildly successful at anything you aren’t obsessed with.

source: samaltman

[writsgrimmyblog]

Together with my Tomlinshaw: 50 Reasons series, which I will continue to update regularly, I’m starting another Tomlinshaw project - Little Lion Man - combining two of my favourite things. Tomlinshaw and Harry Potter. The first chapter will be posting over the coming weeks on Archive of Our Own. In the meantime, here’s a teaser blurb and extract from the first chapter beneath the ‘read more’ cut. 

It’s his final year at Hogwarts, and Louis can’t wait to leave for good. He hates being in Gryffindor and he can’t even enjoy a smoke with the Slytherins now his best mate Zayn’s fucked off to Durmstrang. Ditched from his Saturday gig singing with the Weird Sisters in favour of a part-Veela from Beauxbatons with a penchant for floral shirts, caught in the middle of a sexuality crisis and on track for at least a couple of Trolls, Louis’ life is a mess and it’s barely even started.

Louis would be completely miserable if it wasn’t for WWN and Nick Grimshaw. The same Nick Grimshaw Louis has been listening to for years, ever since Nick’s early days on Potterwatch when he made Hufflepuff sound like the coolest house at Hogwarts and Louis was definitely too young for pirate radio. Even if Nick’s a bit of a smug twat sometimes, putting on the radio is like listening to an old friend. That is until Louis bumps into none other than Nick himself on a possibly-not-Hogwarts-authorised night out, lies about his age, throws up Firewhisky on Nick’s fancy dragon-hide boots and finally shares his most closely guarded secret.

As Louis tries to negotiate coming of age, sexuality, first times and his growing feelings for Nick, a new evil emerges which threatens to destroy the wizarding world. Peace can only last for so long and Louis is about to learn exactly how brave he can be as he finds himself fighting for his life and everything he’s ever loved.

Note: Louis is 17 at the start of this fic but he turns 18 over the Christmas holidays and will be 18 for the majority of the story. Come and talk to me about Louis and Nick in the HP universe! All asks welcome. Massive thanks to @gingertodgers​ for the initial brainstorming.

Little Lion Man - Excerpt

“I can’t do it.” Louis chucks his quill on the desk and sucks his thumb where an irregular spot of blue ink blooms on his skin. “I don’t need to know about Wolfsbane, it’s not even relevant.”

“I beg to differ, Mr Tomlinson.” Snape looks at Louis from his frame, his lip curling into a sneer. “If you wish to pass your exams – and at this rate you will fail miserably – you should know every ingredient, the precise angle of every slice and if you miss so much as one anti-clockwise stir I will have no choice but to give you a T.” Snape sounds delighted at the prospect. There should be some law against letting arsehole portraits oversee detention and set exam papers. Snape gets far too much pleasure out of making life miserable for everyone.

“What’s the point?” A deep sense of frustration curls in Louis’ stomach and he packs his quill and books into his battered satchel. Not for the first time he wonders how different his life might have been if his Hogwarts letter had never arrived. He could have been Louis Tomlinson, a regular lad from Donny. They’d let him play footie in Donny. No one would make him try to fly a bloody broom. He could have been anyone. Sometimes Louis just wishes he was normal. “I can’t wait to leave this place.”

“You remind me of someone I used to teach.” Snape taps one long finger against his lips as he watches Louis with dark eyes. “He too was wilful, disobedient-”

There’s no doubt who Snape’s talking about. He’s compared Louis to Harry Potter before, which is laughable. The only thing Louis has in common with Harry Potter is that he’s a Gryffindor and he doesn’t even like Gryffindors. Harry was Gryffindor Seeker. A proper legend. He saved the world when he was seventeen, when Louis is a few months away from his eighteenth birthday and he can’t even get through the day without being given a detention. Louis’ biggest accomplishment is a six-month singing stint with the Weird Sisters before they replaced him with some twat from Beauxbatons with Veela heritage. Bloody Harry Styles. He’s already had two Witch Weekly covers and Honeydukes named a line of strawberry shortbread gobstoppers after him. Nobody named any gobstoppers after Louis. He got hit with a Jelly-Legs Jinx on his first night performing and the barman wouldn’t serve him any mead. It’s rubbish, being Louis.

“Won a war though, didn’t he?” Louis interrupts, before Snape can finish his list of Harry Potter’s negative attributes.

“Not without a great deal of assistance.” Snape sniffs and brushes the shoulder of his robes.

“He comes to see you sometimes, doesn’t he?” Louis slings his bag over his shoulder and leans against the desk, watching Snape.

“Another unhappy cross to bear.” Snape’s lips twitch into an almost smile. It’s a bit much, thinking about Snape smiling.

“What do you talk about?” Louis can’t help but wonder what on earth would bring the Head Auror to a musty old classroom to chat to a portrait, but Harry’s at Hogwarts more than ever this term. He’s usually surrounded by people asking for his autograph and flanked by Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley or an irritated Draco Malfoy who permanently looks as though he’s got his wand shoved up his arse.

“His affairs and mine are none of your business.” Snape scowls at Louis. “I suggest you focus on your studies and keep your nose out of places it doesn’t belong.”

“You’re a fine one to talk about noses,” Louis mutters.

“Ten points from Gryffindor.”

“Fuck off.” Louis gives Snape the finger and it earns him a sneer. “You can’t take house points. You’re a portrait.”

“I can do whatever I please. Twenty points from Gryffindor for your appalling grasp of the English language. I have no doubt you’ll be back, Mr Tomlinson.” Snape flounces out of his portrait with a billow of his robes and Louis stares at the empty frame. He edges closer and takes in the tidy desk and the rolls of parchment and open books. Even the oil smells musty. Like the Restricted Section in the library or one of those enormous books they have to read for History of Magic about the Goblin Rebellions. He touches the painting and swallows back a peculiar wave of sadness which threatens to overwhelm him. He looks around for Professor Lupin’s portrait, but it’s empty. There’s just a dark, shadowy field and the glimmering light of a crescent moon which touches the grass and makes every blade shine a ghostly silver. Louis shivers.

He pockets his wand and makes his way to his room. Credence Parkinson asks if he wants to go for a smoke, but Louis declines. He’s desperate for a fag, but hanging out with Slytherins doesn’t feel right now Zayn’s gone. The rest of them are posh twats and Louis can’t help but feel increasingly more self-conscious about his obvious Northern twang, Muggle background and distinct lack of any kind of trust fund. He nods at Niall who gives him a friendly wave hello when he finally gets up to the Tower, but he doesn’t bother sticking around to talk to anyone. The Gryffindors are nice, but they’re all into Quidditch and winning the House Cup. Louis couldn’t give a kneazle’s whisker about the House Cup. He just wants to keep his head down and make it through the year as quickly as possible. Then he can do…something. Something better. Something Muggle, even. Go somewhere no one gives two hoots about N.E.W.T.s and potions.

With a sigh, Louis pulls out the small magical wireless his mum got him last Christmas and settles on the bed. He fiddles with the knobs and pulls the curtains around him until he hears the familiar voice that never fails to make his day better.

“What do we think of that, Fifi? The new single from The Gringotts Goblins.”

“It’s…interesting.”

Fiona sounds like she’s trying not to laugh and a small smile tugs at Louis’ lips.

“Don’t be rude about the goblins, Fifi.”

“Get on with it, Grim.” Louis loves Fiona. She always sounds like she’s caught between laughing her head off and throttling Nick. Louis can relate. There’s something about Nick Grimshaw that gets under his skin. The smug self-confidence and ease with which he goes through life, writing poncy columns about wizarding fashion and swaggering about in dragon hide. He’s always in the Prophet with his crup, Pig and his new pet Stinky which looks a bit like a highly illegal baby dragon, even though Nick keeps insisting it’s just a rare form of kneazle.

Louis knows a lot about Nick Grimshaw. He’s been listening to him since he first discovered Potterwatch and Nick’s late night Post-War Party Playlist. Nick’s less mad now he’s on WWN, but he still pushes new music onto the airwaves and never fails to give a shout out to all the new Hufflepuffs at the start of term. Puff Pride! he says, off the back of a laugh. Louis brushes his fingers over the radio. He wanted to be in Hufflepuff so badly. Nick made it sound cool and fun and even when he’s rolling his eyes at some of the things Nick says, he reminds Louis of home and roast dinners at his mum’s house with all the family around. Nick’s whole family are Muggles too, just like Louis’. He’s always banging on about Muggle things like the telly and how everyone’s obsessed with the footie, Coronation Street and people called the Kardashians.

“Anyway, enough of the goblins.” Nick’s voice is warm and comforting and it does peculiar things to Louis’ insides as he settles down onto the bed to listen to the next song. “Here’s something a lot better – I mean…” Nick bursts out laughing. “Not better. Just different. LOVE this song. The new single from The Luna Lovegoods. Bit Sleater Kinney this. Not that anyone knows what I’m on about. It’s Muggle, look it up.” With another laugh, Nick lets the single play.

Louis closes his eyes and turns up the volume, drifting off to sleep with Nick’s story about a mad night out infiltrating his dreams.

[junker-town]

The 8 dumbest mistakes from NFL Week 14, ranked

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Kyler Murray is still making rookie mistakes, but he’s a rookie. Derek Carr is still making rookie mistakes, but he is not a rookie.

With three weeks to go in the regular season, we have a good idea of the teams that won’t be playing January. More than a third of the league — 12 teams, to be exact — has been eliminated from playoff contention. Six of those teams were knocked out of the race on Sunday.

For anyone hoping for a little clarity on who will be in the postseason, you’ll have to wait a little longer. So far, only three teams are in (Saints, Ravens, Chiefs), with the last two joining the party this week.

That leaves 17 teams vying for just nine playoff spots. And for some, there’s little margin for error. The difference between making the postseason and packing up your locker room on Dec. 30 can sometimes come down to the little things.

With that in mind, let’s get to this week’s dumbest mistakes. Well, most of them anyway. Honestly, this whole list could’ve been devoted to the officiating in the Patriots-Chiefs game, but they gave us enough material to work with that we decided to keep it separate.

So below, we’re going to concentrate on the biggest other blunders in Week 14, many of which either came courtesy of rookies or players who reverted back to their rookie form.

8. David Blough blew it on a big third down for the Lions

Blough wasn’t supposed to be starting games for the Lions this season. But after injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel, the undrafted free agent got his second start Sunday against the Vikings.

His inexperience was most notable late in the second quarter with the Lions facing a third-and-2 from Minnesota’s 15-yard line. Not only did Blough take a costly sack for a loss of 12 yards, but he also didn’t see that Marvin Jones was wiiiiide open:

On the critical 3rd-and-short sack, Blough missed a wide-open Marvin Jones for an easy first down. 10-point swing. pic.twitter.com/XYOIftCU1k

— Pride of Detroit (@PrideOfDetroit) December 8, 2019

The Lions were only down 10-0 at that point, so this could have given Detroit some much-needed momentum early in the game. Instead of scoring a touchdown on this drive, or even getting to attempt an easier field goal, the Lions missed a 45-yard kick. The Vikings countered with a touchdown drive to make it 17-0 at halftime and Detroit ended up losing 20-7. It’s safe to say Blough would want this one back.

7. A referee had to tell the Rams cheerleaders to get off the field

It’s our first appearance by a cheerleading squad in 2019! Los Angeles jumped out to a 21-3 lead over the Seahawks in the first half on Sunday Night Football, but the third touchdown of the half was slightly delayed because the Rams’ cheerleaders, as well as the mascot, were dancing in the opposite end zone.

they had to call timeout on the field to throw the cheerleaders out of the end zone pic.twitter.com/Ma4y8Gttg2

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 9, 2019

If we were to guess, they probably won’t be bothered at all by making this list. Look how carefree and happy they were immediately after the referee told them to get off the field.

NBC

Even the mascot Rampage looks like he’s smiling. Don’t mind us, Rams cheerleaders. Keep living your best life.

6. The Steelers picked a terrible time to try a fake punt

Pittsburgh escaped Arizona with a 23-17 win over the Cardinals. But the game was much closer than it needed to be, especially after the Steelers ran a disastrous fake punt from their own side of the field on a fourth-and-6.

Up 20-10 with just over eight minutes to go, Pittsburgh elected to go with a fake punt from its 40-yard line, and it was the ugliest fake you’ll find.

Our fake punt > Their fake punt pic.twitter.com/yY0gxkFGHN

— Arizona Cardinals ⋈ (@AZCardinals) December 8, 2019

First, it was a bad snap. Then, the Steelers decided to run it directly into three free Cardinals players. A pass would have made a lot more sense. Instead, it was a fumble, the Cardinals got the ball, and three plays later, scored a touchdown to make it a three-point game.

Afterward, head coach Mike Tomlin took the blame, though punter Jordan Berry explained that there was miscommunication:

P Jordan Berry: “The guys up front called it off and nobody told me. I just tried to make a run for it and I ran straight into some guys. I was planning on getting ready to run up there and they all shot off to go cover and I was like, Aw (expletive).”

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) December 9, 2019

No matter what, it was the kind of miscue that could have cost Pittsburgh a spot in the playoffs — just like a bad fake punt did a year ago. This time, the Steelers were lucky.

5. The refs flagged Earl Thomas for getting pushed by his own teammate

Buffalo struggled to establish any kind of offensive consistency against the Ravens. The Bills finished their 24-17 loss to the AFC’s top team with just 209 yards of total offense and an inefficient 3.1 yards per play.

That meant any gain was a big deal for Buffalo — even if it was completely unearned. Like when Earl Thomas received a 15-yard penalty for standing too close to the strip sack he created:

Earl Thomas got a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty because his teammate shoved him over Josh Allen's back pic.twitter.com/SU2Sjc0xiE

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 8, 2019

Thomas got dinged for unnecessary roughness just for being the third man in a chain reaction. While he had no malicious intent in the play whatsoever, the officials’ ruling wiped out what should have been an 8-yard loss yard and turned it into a free first down for the Bills. That helped lead to a field goal that made the score 17-9 six plays later.

4. Kyler Murray threw a pick instead of running for a first down (or more)

Murray is having a pretty decent rookie season, despite the lack of help around him in Arizona. He could even end up as Offensive Rookie of the Year, even if it’s a little bit by default.

He’s still prone to rookie mistakes, however. Never was that more apparent Sunday than early in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals were knocking on the Steelers’ door on fourth-and-2 from Pittsburgh’s 6-yard line. A touchdown would have cut the Cardinals’ deficit to three points, but they also could’ve just picked up a first down and gotten four more chances to punch the ball in.

Murray had room to run for the first down — and maybe even get into the end zone, Rather than take the yards, though, Murray threw the ball directly into the hands of T.J. Watt:

.@_TJWatt with the end zone INT! #HereWeGo #PITvsAZ : CBS : NFL app // Yahoo Sports app Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/D5AfU98qAh pic.twitter.com/1ArYDsaw5f

— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2019

The Cardinals lost 23-17 to the Steelers, their sixth loss in a row. Had Murray not thrown this interception, there’s a chance Arizona could have pulled off an upset. Just another lesson Murray is learning during his rookie season.

3. Dawson Knox’s olé block gave the Ravens their best field position

Knox has been a solid contributor to the Bills’ ascendant passing game. The former Ole Miss star has 26 catches and a pair of touchdowns through his first 13 games as a pro. His ability to stretch the field vertically from the tight end position has helped open passing lanes through which other Buffalo targets could thrive.

His blocking, however, could use some work.

Dawson Knox, your edge blocking, woof pic.twitter.com/uTQ8tCKCei

— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 8, 2019

Knox’s complete inability to contain Matthew Judon led to an inevitable strip sack that handed Baltimore possession at the Buffalo 24-yard line. That turnover led to a Ravens touchdown five plays later in a game Baltimore went on to win by seven points.

2. The Saints didn’t even really try to score before halftime

New Orleans didn’t have much time to score after the 49ers got a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the first half. But hey, the Saints already had four first-half touchdowns in a shootout. It at least seemed like enough time to set up a field goal.

Instead, the Saints looked confused and out of sorts in the final seconds of the second quarter.

After setting up in shotgun on their own 28-yard line, here’s what the Saints did:

Alvin Kamara run for 6 yards

Ater 20 seconds ticked off the clock, a screen play with 13 seconds left to Latavius Murray that lost 5 yards

Then, with six seconds left in the half, the Saints used their final timeout

The Saints handed the ball to Murray one more time

New Orleans would’ve needed about 30 yards to give Wil Lutz a chance at a field goal. That was very doable, but the Saints let that opportunity slip through their fingers and trailed 28-27 at halftime. Three more points would’ve been useful in a game they lost by two.

1. Derek Carr threw the ball away on fourth down ... again

The Raiders were already just about toast in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Even if Oakland’s nine-play drive in the fourth quarter ended with a touchdown, the team still would’ve needed two more touchdowns in less than four minutes to catch up to the Titans.

So while it wasn’t exactly devastating when Derek Carr’s pass on fourth down sailed out of bounds, he still should’ve given his receivers a chance to come down it it:

Derek Carr throws the ball away... on 4th down. #TENvsOAK pic.twitter.com/wkfbAHHTJo

— Titans Film Room (@titansfilmroom) December 9, 2019

An interception wouldn’t have mattered — the Titans were getting the ball back either way.

It ended up being Oakland’s last offensive play too. Tennessee picked up two first downs and milked the remaining time off the clock.

What makes the throwaway from Carr more of a head scratcher is that he’s done this before. He intentionally dumped a pass at his running back’s feet on fourth down late in a loss to the Chargers during the 2018 season. Raiders coach Jon Gruden defended him then, and defended him again for his wasted play Sunday:

#Raiders coach Jon Gruden, when asked about QB Derek Carr throwing the ball away on 4th and goal from the two, trailing by 21. "He exhausted that play for what it was. I'm not going to be one to stand here and say that a turning point in the game...(more)"

— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) December 9, 2019

Gruden’s right that it wasn’t even close to a turning point. The problem is that Carr’s in his sixth year starting in the league, and he still keeps making the same mistakes over and over.