#the wesley family in general

[callmesel]

Not sure if you wanted to play or not

if you don't feel free to delete

but got any thoughts you want to share on Percy?

any unpopular opinions?

Any ships you'd like to see more of?

I have some thoughts but they are all so random that there is no way to categorize it so it is going to be just me yapping

Percy is a theatre kid. I have a headcanon that Hogwarts has a theatre club somewhere and he has being going there since first year. It was just for extra credit and then he found that he actually enjoys it and he is really good at it. That poker face had to came from somewhere. But he stop after the become prefect but there are some times that he had directed the plays because prefect duties and he is really happy to help. Bill was one of the prefects who help him when he was part of the cast so he feels nostalgic whenever is his turn.

Kind of realated to the last one, he knows how to play the piano and the violin. Tbh, any of the strings suits him in my mind. I want to think that aunt Muriel made all the Weasley kids go in a full manners and etiquette course and playing the violin because the piano is too easy and your kids need something to make them stand out from the rest was part of it. But the only one that took it seriusly was Percy, I think Ron is also able to play is but he was lazy and bored by it as a child, buit he is pretty good at it. Not saying that he is good at it, he is mediocre at best but he knows how to play. What he can paly really well is the piano. He has long fingers and a delicate hands so I think he would be great playing soff symphonies or ones that required to move you hand around the keys. Having long fingers is really useful if you don't have a really big hand so I think it would be easier for him to reach the keys in the cornerrs.

I want to think that he was a bug and insects kid, but not like the ones that goes around looking for them, no, that is Charlie. He just watches them. Like, Charlie gets the bugs and he just puts them in a jar and Percy is just there watching over them. They do that with every animal Charlie finds, half of the time is both of them watching over the animal, the other half is Percy taking it as his and only his so now is Bill thing to make sure that they don't have and infestation of ants in a week. That is how they got Scrables.

He likes laying over Oliver's thighs sometimes. It's just in some special ocations and when he is feeling really tired or they are alone in their room he does it but then he is kind of embarassed because of the position. Oliver has told him multiples times that he is okay with it and that there is no issue, and Oliver himself has done the same with Percy but he is just kind of ashame. This might be a bit of projecting but when I'm aware of how I'm actually position or how I look in set position I become really selfaware and it's really unconfortable and I feel that Percy would have the same problem. He is aware of everything that his body is doing and when he isn't he then questions himself. It isn't always negative but most of the time it is.

He does journaling. He owns like a hundred notebooks from all the years he has being journaling. It's more of a common place book if you know what I mean, but it's really organised and colour coded. He has a colour scheme depending of the topic, the feeling and how is expressed. Even though it's really organised, you can't really understand his thought process because it jumps from a topic to another. And the colours and notes, because he sometimes goes back on what he has written to comment on it an reflect on it, are kind of distracting you from the actual reading.

He has a library somewhere in his house. I don't think his collection is small but if its, it doesn't matter because it's also categorise in the following way: muggle author or magical author, genre of the book,with a tier list, top shelf is a 5 star book and the lowest shelfs are the one stars, and arranged in an alphabetical order according to their title and not author. He doesn't really care about the author except if he really likes them. If he does, he has a special shelf for them and their books.

He doesn't really like bubble tea that much but he drinks it when Penny buys him some because he is not going to make her feel that she has waisted her money and she looks so happy to gave the new flavour that she discovered in a near shop that he can't just say no. And sometimes he actually likes it and tells Penny, which makes her happier.

He had a crush on one of Charlie teammates who was really friendly with him once and when Charlie found out he went crazy and told his teammate to back off and let his little brother alone. It was just onesided and like a puppy love than anything else but Charlie is Charlie and didn't think before saying dumb shit. Now he jokes about it and Bill is like "bro". But Bill is not better, when he found out the also went crazy and was like "TEN FEET APART PEOPLE". They just didn't know how to deal with their little bother having a crush because in their mind he was still a baby like all the other siblings. It's more of the age gab they have, because Bill and Charlie are like just one or two years and with Percy is like 4 and 7 so it's a big distance, specially in their teenage years.

He likes having his head stroked, it reminds him when his mother use to do that to calm him down during the war and it just calming in general. It's better because when he is cuddling with Penny or Oliver, they just do that without thinking and he really likes it. Has he told anyone about it? No. Would he tell anyone? No. But he is happy with them.

There is a spot in his back that is you press it he will bend. It's a reflex he has but doesn't really know why. Fred and George has used it to mess with him and they always get screamed after but its worth it. Ginny has done it too, specially when he isn't listening to her and she thinks it's really urgent so she press his back and he just flips. She doesn't get screamed because she is Ginny.

He has two favourite siblings, Ginny and Charlie. I don't think I have to elaborate.

He has read fanfiction about polititians before, and his hogwarts teacher. Penny writes them and sometimes Percy will asked Penny for an expecific trope from some characters of a book because he can't write it himself. Penny is thrilled whenever this happens and sometimes things excalated and they end up planing a full novela about how Lockhart is in love with Snape but Snape is rejecting him because he is in a toxic relationship with Mcgonagall, where she was cheating on him with Pomfrey . There was this one ocation that Flitwick heard them and ask Mcgonagall if she had anything to tell him something and Mcgonagall was like "wot?"

And also about the ships, I shipped him with Snape back in 2021 but it was because of this one fic that it was super good for my standars. I cried a lot. Like it had destroyed me when I read it but I re read it a few months back and it was a bit disturbing, and more if I was reading it when I was 13. It's called Tacenda and it was really good depicting their relationship and how fucked up it was, specially because it started when Percy was still and student and he was like 15/16 but you still wanted to root for them. Or at least that is how I remember it. I really liked fucked up dynamics that can easily end up as an abused relationship. Now I can read anything that isn't fluff because it makes me anxious. I also remember that it has just been finished but it took me a month to finish it.

Sometimes I wish to be able to read stuff like that without a care in the world but with that bitter after taste.

I think that is all for now, i can't really think properly lately so if there is a lot of typos or incoherence, i'm sorry

Thanks for asking because I would have never really posted anything similar :D

[adamofingolstadt]

So I'm working on a Wesley & Data bonding Oneshot...

“So... the assassination came before the war?”

“There were already many factors in place which caused the war, but most texts cite the assassination as the primary catalyst used to justify the war.”

Today Data was assisting Wesley Crusher with fact-checking the details of a written essay, as was now part of his duties.

Wesley tapped away at his PADD, then teen slouched, sighed, and pushed his fringe back.

“Data, have you ever cut someone’s hair?”

The question seemed apropos of nothing. “No.”

“It’s just, my mom always did it.” he said. “Geordi says he doesn’t have enough experience with straight hair, and I’m not letting Worf scalp me, I was just wondering...”

Data leaned forward. “Wesley, are you asking me to cut your hair?”

“I figured if anyone would be precise, you would.”

Data recognized the flattery, and he was never one to turn down being included in human cultural events.

Soon Wesley had draped a towel over his shoulders and equipped Data with a pair of razor-sharp scissors.

“Where do I begin?”

“Just take half an inch off,” The teen shrugged. “You don’t have to change anything.” Data, accepting these instructions, separated of one hair and began to cut. “What are you doing?!” Wesley laughed, turning around.

“I am cutting your hair.”

“You don’t cut it one hair at a time, sir! That’ll take forever!” Wesley stood, removing the towel from his neck.

“Wesley? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to ask Counsellor Troi if she’s free,”

“Have I done something wrong?”

“Technically no,” He turned back into the room, reaching up to put a hand on the android’s shoulder. “Look, I trust you with my life, not my hair.”

[idol--hands]

STAR TREK #23: Pleroma PART 4 [pt. 2/2]

🚀 Link to [pt. 1/2] - https://www.tumblr.com/idol--hands/780760538704658432/star-trek-23-pleroma-part-4-pt12?source=share 🙋🏿 QUERY: Trek comics I post on Tumblr don’t get much traction — is there something that could be done better or is it lack of interest?

Lore: “Benjamin, can we talk, you and I? Let’s just act for a moment like the ‘deities’ eavesdropping don’t matter. Because frankly, they don’t.” Lore: “How tired are you of being their cats-paw? Of these blessed few pulling and twisting the fates of the universe to their own capricious ends? Tell me this child is deserving of his power?” Trelene: “You’re a child. I’m as old as the cosmos.” Lore: “Or this legendary relic?” Guardian of Forever: “Guilty as charged.”

Borg-enhanced crew: “The head is right sir.”

Sisko: “Damn you!” Lore: “Oh, we’re resorting to curses now? How disappointingly human.” Sisko: “Not you. YOU.” *points to his mother*

IDOL ⭐️ HANDS: I don’t usually get engagement, but I’ll offer my thoughts, and the Tumblr replies should be open if you care to. So, it’s exciting to have Lore back, but the way this is all playing out feels pretty wonky. As hardcore fans, I think the peak moment for us was the two Soong android brothers interacting with one another (especially fighting together). Then, they have a falling out. Data has major thoughts on that and breaks his brain trying to figure it out — as well as gaining steps towards his own humanity. We have a tremendous and long awaited build-up to him finding the “older” android only to watch Data mostly freeze-up — offer none of his insight or attempt to reach out to Lore. As a head, Data continues to be rather a sissy and that goes on. No clever tactics. No insights. NO attempts to subvert or align with Lore, who frankly has a rather easy time taking over the universe…or *almost* the whole universe. I’m finding it puzzlingly anticlimactic overall. And emotionally unsatisfying. It stays in these themes too. However, the character development for Sisko and Kahless is fantastic; the plot-line works beautifully there — long-neglected story arcs and I’m in favor of explaining “The Sisko” as well as redeeming “The Klingon Jesus” = Kahless — the plots dovetail surprisingly well. Although, the overall themes of agnostic/atheism are heavy-handed and repetitive in modern fandom, considering they recently played out repeatedly in the Marvel Universe (Thanos from The Avengers, Gorr “The Godkiller” from Thor). Worse, where we were at some kind of burgeoning understanding with the android character of Lore…forgiveness is impossible at this point; this version of Lore — discontent with pissing off an entire starship (ep: Datalore), nor all of the Federation (ep: Descent), moves on to destroying & controlling the very fabric of reality — should never be “reactivated” by Trek morality. Our least redeemed character, in a universe toying intently with amorality and enlightenment. I’m not convinced that is worth the trade and can mostly only envision an inevitably bleak outcome for our new God. Which is sad and predictable, what are we continuing to read for? Additionally, the dystopian Trek universe is reticent of the Mirrorverse and Picard series...we’ve seen this kind of thing TWICE without Lore. Please surprise me writers. I like to be proven wrong. Give us something new. Beyond warp drives impossibilities. Pls.

[jalicecookie]

Cat Food

When Data has to work longer on an important Project, he asks Reginald the shy Engineer to step in as babysitter. And Reginald quickly learns, that Cats and Toddlers are not that different - because both can cause a lot of Chaos - or try to eat the Cat food together.

Some things in life are simple. Like how to do good friends a favor - or write an entry in your personal log after a successful day at work.

Other things, however, are incredibly difficult and complicated. Like how to build emotional bonds when feeling emotions was limited or impossible. Or take on the upbringing and responsibility for a child and also have a job.

Not to let the gap between family life and work get too big seems impossible to many and even on the Enterprise there are moments when more exhausted family mothers and fathers visit Deanna Troi and ask for advice.

There are many crew members who get along well with the children who live on the ship and then there are some residents of the Enterprise who prefer to keep a large distance from the younger Members. One of those people is Captain Picard. It's no big secret that he doesn't get along well with children and that there is an unwritten rule that he will not tolerate children on the bridge. And yet the families who lived on the ship were one of the strengths - because there is nothing better than observing this bond. And the Captain couldn't find a bad word against this statement either.

But it wasn't always easy for Parents to go to work and have family Time. That hit Commander Data that early evening. The Android recently took in a little girl and a little boy as adoptive Children in order to be able to explore another facet of Humanity and to give the two orphans a new family.

It had been an battle, and Data was still getting very strong criticism for not being able to parent two young children with as an Android . But he showed everyone that it was chaotic, devastating and complicated every day - but the two children absolutely loved Data - even if Data himself would never be able to reciprocate this love. Because an Android like him was not able to feel emotions.

"I am very grateful Reginald . I would otherwise have left them two in Geordi's care. But my best friend is part of the project...so we both need to work this Evening" - Data was in an ssressed position and he had to take part in an important Project. He needed a babysitter for the Toddlers, and since the shy engineer gets on so well with Spot, Data has no concerns about hiring him as a babysitter for the evening. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but now Reginald was here in Data's quarters and looked around nervously.

"N... No problem. I just hope I'm not doing anything wrong ... I've never been a babysitter before ... well, except for Spot. Is there anything I have to consider with the two of them?", Barclay stuttered nervously and watched, how Spot came running up to Data and started running around the android's legs, rubbing her head against his pant leg, purring.

"The project lasts 2 hours and it would be appropriate,  if the children are ready for bed when I return. We had dinner together half an hour ago - Castor and Despina probably want to play with Spot later. Oh and you should make sure,  that they don't go to the bathroom alone - last time they managed to fill the bathroom with soap bubbles ", Data nodded briefly to Reginald and then left the quarters.

Reginald was nervous and he didn't know if he would be a good babysitter. Even if it should only be for a few hours - Data was the main reference person for the two toddlers and Barclay doubted being able to do justice to the pressure. But what didn't you do for friends?

***

"Desy give back. Mine!" - a small, dark-haired boy ran after his sister and tried to snatch the toy from her, which actually belonged to him. His sister took it very unfairly and now he wanted to play with it. She should look for something else.

"No Cas - Desy Toy", said the blond-haired little girl and she ran with the toy in her hands into the entrance area of the quarter, where she almost collided with Reginald's legs and was able to stop just in time.

"Desy my toy. Give back," Castor turned directly to Reginald. "Where Daddy? Gone?", Despina asked shyly and let the toy fall directly on the floor, to look from Reginald to the door. Castor took this chance and took the toy with a big grin.

"Daddy gone work - Regy babysitter";  Castor explained and his little sister looked up from her brother to Barclay questioningly. "That right kids - I'll babysit you as long as Data has to work. D ... Do you want to go to your Room? You have more toys there, yes?", Reginald spoke nervously and while Castor ran forward enthusiastically, his little sister looked away sadly the door to Reginald.

"Daddy coming back?", asked the toddler fearfully. "Of course - he'll be back ... y ... you don't have to worry, okay?", Reginald replied and for the moment the words seemed to calm the little blonde and she ran in the direction of the nursery as well.

***

Reginald watched Minutes later, how the two Toddlers were playing with their toys and were completely immersed in another world. It was amazing that in the three months that they lived with Data they had settled on the Enterprise.

The two are not biological siblings. Castor comes from an abandoned research station on the edge of the Alpha Quadrant and has survived an attack by a hostile species by hiding in an empty box and Despina ran into Data on an outside mission and never wanted to let go of his leg. The inhabitants of the planet on which the mission took place have told the Enterprise crew that the little blonde showed up with her parents a while ago, but that her parents had been killed by one of the dangerous predators in the wild.

Data had taken both children in and every single day was a challenge for the Android. It later emerged that both Castor and Despina still had relatives on earth - but it was clear that they wanted to stay with their new Guardian- they wanted to stay with Data. And Reginald finds the bond that the emotionless Android has built to the two toddlers in these three months impressive.

When it was time for the two children to get ready for bed, they had already passed their bedtime. Reginald hadn't kept an eye on the time and at some point he had sat down with the children and they had started building a small town out of Lego.

When the shy man looked at his watch, he was shocked to see that Data would be back in five minutes. So he went to the bathroom with the Toddlers and helped them brush their teeth - but the engineer was distracted when there was a loud clank from the kitchen and the meowing of Data's cat Spot.

The adult went to the kitchen, followed by Castor and Despina, and found the cat sitting on the counter. Spot had managed to toss a glass from the counter and now proudly meowed over it.

"Oh no - you two are staying here - I'll take the broken pieces away. Not that Spot or you are still stepping in, yes?" - said Reginald and got a broom to sweep up the broken glass from the floor. He was busy with this task for maybe two minutes and when he turned around again Reginald saw that neither Spot nor the two toddlers were standing behind him.

"Castor? Despina? Spot?"

Reginald put the broom aside and began searching Data's quarters for the two Children and the Cat. He found the trio a few moments later at Spots Food Bowl.

The two siblings sat next to the Cat and had some of the cat food in their little hands and before Reginald could have prevented anything, the two toddlers ate the cat food together with Spot.

And exactly at that moment Data came back and while Reginald nervously from the trio that enjoyed the ´dinner´, looked over at the android - the engineer tried to find a suitable answer to any questions.

".... the project was a complete success. Geordi and I achieved some interesting results. Is everything all right Reginald? You seem ... more nervous than usual?"

"I'm more nervous than usual ... it just comes across ... why should I be more nervous and ... okay I think the children started eating the cat food at a careless moment ..." Reginald stuttered nervous and Data looked from the babysitter over to the corner where Spot had her food bowl.

"The two show this behavior often. I have already tried to teach them to stop from doing it. But so far, my attempts at raising Children in this field have been unsuccessful. Castor? Despina? You shouldn't eat Spot her cat food away  - come to me please? ", Data explained and it took a moment until the two Toddlers listened to his calls and came running to Data with an innocent smile on their face.

"Were you good and behaved while Reginald took care of you?", Data asked the two siblings, while he gently removed the remains of the cat food they were holding in their hands.

"Yes Daddy - Regy come back again? Cas and Desy brushed teeth," said Castor and Despina nodded in agreement.

"Hm - I think we have to brush your teeth again - cat food is not something you should eat. Say goodbye to Reginald and then go to the bathroom. I'll be right there," said Data in a neutral tone and Reginald watchend how the children waved him goodbye,  before they ran to the bathroom.

Reginald then said goodbye to Data, who thanked the shy man again for helping out as a babysitter. When Reginald was on the way to his Quarters, he had to realize that cats and toddlers weren't that different after all and that he might be suitable as a babysitter.

Only next time Reginald should place Spot's food bowl outside of the toddlers reach. 

THE END

[divinemissem13]

The Watcher

Whumptober, No. 20: “People don’t change people, time does.” | Found Family Fandom: Star Trek (TNG, PIC) Ship: Beverly Crusher & Wesley Crusher AO3 link

The being who used to be Wesley Crusher could see every moment at once. It had taken him years of training to be able to do this, and then even more years to be able to focus on only the moment he wanted or needed to see. 

He missed a lot of Wesley Crusher’s life, during these years of training and retraining. Of course, he could go back and visit those moments. But he had missed his chance to be an active participant. 

He wasn’t supposed to be an active participant in Wesley’s life anyway, and all of those years lost to confusion and overstimulation of his senses had certainly helped him stay away. 

But the key to finding one moment, as it turned out, had been his mother’s voice, calling him back from the abyss. 

Wesley Crusher hadn’t seen Beverly in years - not since attending Will and Deanna’s wedding. He had seen the lingering looks and the furtive touches between Beverly and his former captain at that wedding, and for the first time he had suddenly been able to see multiple moments at once. 

He was at the wedding, watching his mother and Picard dance, and he was in the captain’s quarters, watching them clad only in bathrobes and sharing silly contented smiles over coffee and croissants. And he was at Starfleet Medical, watching an older Beverly as she held an infant boy to her chest and stared at him in wonder as tears streamed silently down her cheeks. 

He knew, then, that she would be ok without him - happy, even - and he had returned to his mentor and proclaimed himself ready for the next step in his training. 

That had been years ago. Or a minute ago, depending on your perspective. 

Wesley Crusher finally emerged from the time stream, ten years after he had entered it, because she needed him. 

The Watcher, as he was now called, could visit any moment in time that he chose, but he could not participate. Wesley could participate, but he was tied to linear time and was not able to choose his moments. 

Beverly called, as she had many times over the years, but for the first time in years, he was able to respond. And so Wesley found himself pulled into that moment in Starfleet Medical, the one he had foreseen a decade ago, to realize that he had badly misjudged the situation. 

Beverly cradled the infant to her breast as she looked down and cried. But those were not tears of wonder. Her voice wavered as she spoke aloud in the otherwise empty room. “Oh Wesley, how I wish you could see him. That we could be a family again.” She smiled ruefully and continued. “I’m a lot older than I was the first time I did this, you know. I don’t know if I can do it alone, again.”

Alone? Why would she be doing this alone? Where was Picard anyway? This was his son, wasn’t it? Had he died? Or just left? 

Wesley asked the questions but it was the Watcher who knew the answers. Beverly was the one who had left. It was her own choice, one that she made to protect her younger son from the complications of being Jean-Luc Picard’s child. But just because it was her choice, didn’t mean it hurt any less. 

Even as Wesley Crusher he wasn’t really supposed to interfere, and he still had so much to learn about time and space… but the Watcher reminded him that the thing about the infinite nature of time and space was that there would always be plenty of both. 

So Wesley stepped out of the shadows and declared “You’re not alone.” 

Beverly gasped and blinked away her tears, startled by the sudden appearance of this strange man in her hospital room. But as her vision cleared, she could see, past the scraggly facial hair, past the dark circles, she knew those eyes. 

“Wesley?” she breathed softly.

The tall, lanky man (and when did he get so tall?) gave her a sheepish smile as he approached the bed. “Hi, Mom.”

[sshbpodcast]

Episode 93: Sibling Rivalries

TNG: "Family" and "Brothers"

It's a big week for siblings on SSHB. and they really can be a pain. First up, Picard goes home to the most British village in France to visit his Luddite brother in "Family". Then it's a Soong family reunion as Data and Lore drop in to meet their maker in "Brothers".

Also this week: Caitlin gives us her thoughts on "Best of Both Worlds", varying name pronunciation, and password security.

Timestamps: synopses: 0:37; catching Caitlin up: 5:00; Family: 11:42; Brothers: 39:24; Caitlin's present from Mr. Mobile: 1:12:19

[wilwheaton]

When I was a kid, and I was 14, 15, 16 years old, my home life was terrible. I was really sad and abused and having a terrible time at home, and the only place I was happy and felt safe was at work. I went to work and I loved my Star Trek family, and they loved me and I loved being there. And then the work we did, people were mean to me about it. People who didn't know me, who I didn't know, got on what was Usenet at the time, and they were awful. They wrote angry letters to Starlog, and they were really mean to me. They were cruel to this child at conventions and stuff in ways that would never fly today. I think that a narrative took hold — “Nobody likes Wesley.” That is empirically false. That is completely unsupported by decades of data. The truth is the kids who Wesley was meant to bring into Star Trek loved him! A lot of them grew up to work on Star Trek, right? [Laughs] What happened is, at that time, the kids who loved it weren't writing letters, they were not using Usenet. They didn't even have modems! They were just loving the show. It took me 30 fucking years to hear them and meet them and know, “Hey, buddy, you're not the person your dad said you were. You're not the person that those fans made you believe you were. You're that guy, and he is you, and there's a bunch of you together. You inspired a generation of kids.” I am so relieved and happy for my younger self. I wish I could just, like, pop through time real quick and just whisper in my ear, “Buddy, I know how much it hurts right now, but I promise you there's a day coming where it's really okay. You're not even gonna remember this.”

Wil Wheaton Reacts to the Positive Reception of Wesley Crusher's Star Trek Return: "It’s 35 Years Overdue"

[hawkepockets]

actually. 🫷😀🫸 THOUGHTS ON AVELINE

i think aveline is a CORE da2 character, and her relationship with hawke is super super interesting. she’s hawke’s oldest friend in the game & by act 3, maybe the only enduring connection to their homeland & childhood besides the mabari. her voice, her bearing, her stated values are all very noble & movingly fereldan—but her actions both as guard captain & as a party member should be so profoundly disappointing to hawke almost no matter how you play them, which generates a powerful tension. imo it’s really poignant and adds a lot to the game’s central tragedy.

because how can hawke cut her off! but look at how she behaves: ignoring the serial killing & sexual assault of isolated older women and elf girls, baiting the arishok, slut shaming isabela, condescending to merrill. but how can they cut her off? the question is a privilege and a torment!

in this way i think she strikingly complements gamlen. like no matter what gamlen does and says to you, your love interest, leandra, the surviving hawke twin—he’s family and the only way into kirkwall. hawke is not permitted to sever those ties. and no matter what aveline does and says to you and all the women in your party, she remains your oldest friend and the only way back to ferelden, emotionally.

both aveline & gamlen will maintain a warm relationship with hawke as long as hawke tolerates their picking on those in proximity to hawke—but if hawke pushes back with aggressive dialogue options, both will tone match and became sour and hostile. aveline can be really quite awful to a red hawke, and will throw them to the ground and beat them at 100% rivalry. so there’s kind of an underlying challenge in both of these characters: how much will hawke, as gang leader & player character, put up with when it’s not directed at them?

of course, for all the nostalgia that seems to occlude av’s wrongdoings in kirkwall, she’s not really a childhood friend of hawke’s. she was a grown woman when they met, lothering was lost, and the moment was pretty heated thanks to aveline’s hostile templar husband.

and yet hawke is no more reliable & objective in their treatment of the past than varric is. and aveline is what they have! she’s standing in for all of ferelden, all of the past before the blight!

and likewise hawke for her! hawke is the only one left in act 3 who remembers wesley! aveline is the only one who remembers the dead hawke twin!

and as reprehensible as some of her decisions are, aveline’s grief for wesley and her enmity toward the old corrupt guard captain are sympathetic and her voice is sexy and husky and beautiful enough that. well im sorry i just lost the plot for a minute. uh

there’s also the act 3 subplot of the templars trying to take over the city guard, which sets up aveline as the only thing standing between kirkwall’s mages & absolute templar authority in the city. it’s literally her or cullen at his most brainwashed & violent. (to cullen’s credit he also thought it was a bad idea. but i won’t give him so much credit that i believe he’d turn down the position if aveline was removed.) between a knight-commander and a hard place, a pro-mage hawke has to choose the hard place.

so both of my playthroughs i’ve felt like hawke’s friendship with her is at the very least strained, if not completely ruptured, but they have to back her. how much that feels like fucking sandpaper may vary from hawke to hawke.

ultimately i just think she brings a lot to the table. i don’t necessarily understand why she’d be anyone’s all time #1 favorite companion, but you know.

[felassan]

New today on DA:TV from Game Informer:

"How Romance And Relationships Work In Dragon Age: The Veilguard by Wesley LeBlanc on Jul 08, 2024 at 02:00 PM Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a BioWare RPG, which means a lot of things, including the fact that the game will feature romance. Based on what I learned during a recent trip to BioWare's Edmonton office for the current Game Informer cover story, Veilguard will be the team's most romantic game yet. Relationship Level"

"Every companion in the game has a Relationship Level related to Rook, and the choices you make (and not even specifically about the companion, but in the world in general), what you say to companions, how you help or don't help them, and more all play into it. Every time you rank up a companion's Relationship Level, you unlock a skill point to spend specifically on that companion. Though companion skill trees pale in comparison to Rook's expansive tree, which features passive abilities, combat abilities, and more, as well as paths to three unique class specializations, there's still some customization here.  Each companion has access to five abilities, but you can only take three into combat. Thus, it's important to strategize which abilities to spend a skill point on and how those abilities can synergize with your current build on the battlefield. Though I couldn't confirm, Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes hints that companion issues, problems, and personal quests will play into this Relationship Level and how a companion interacts with Rook.  "[Bellara Lutara, for example] has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you're on," Rhodes tells me while I watch game director Corinne Busche play through a linear, story-driven mission in Arlathan Forest where Rook is searching for Bellara. Busche adds that "relationships are key, not only romance but friendships. We wanted to lean into not just the relationships the characters have with you but the relationships they have with each other. It's a found family, and at the end of the day, they need to trust they all have each other's back." Romance"

"However, fret not, BioWare fans – romance is a key part of relationships in the game, Busche says, noting some of the romances will get quite spicy. However, not all of them will, as "each romance has a very different flavor," according to Busche. Some characters are straight to the point, while others are more awkward, having never been in a relationship before. "You learn who these characters are in how their romances unfold," she says. She likens romantic and platonic relationships to another way to "level up" your companions. It's not just experience and skill points that determine Rook's standing with companions, but diegetic conversations, too.  BioWare has already revealed that every companion in Veilguard is pansexual, notably different from the community-dubbed "playersexual" approach in some games, which sees NPCs adjust romantic and sexual interests based on the player rather than their own sense of sexuality. As pansexual companions, they are attracted to people of any gender (or regardless of gender). That's a critical distinction because, in Veilguard, your companions aren't just going to vie for your affection – they might take attraction to other companions in the titular Veilguard.  Giving one companion the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm shoulder of someone else on the team. Busche says companions can form romances with each other, although I'm unable to confirm if that means locking Rook out of forming a romance with them.  I saw nothing resembling romance in my very early hours with the game. However, I did see the romantically inclined "emotional" response in Rook's dialogue choices at times, which led to my Rook flirting with ice mage and private detective companion Neve Gallus. Busche says this is the option to flirt and push platonic relationships into romantic territory, though Rook's flirtatious efforts aren't always reciprocated. But that's not to say you should ignore the other options – I saw dialogue choices resembling friendly, snarky, and direct, too, and I can see how these different flavors of dialogue likely mix and mingle into Rook's relationships with companions. It's still a mostly mysterious system to me, but as Veilguard is due out this fall, I don't have to wait too long to learn more and neither do you. For more about the game, including exclusive details, interviews, video features, and more, click the Dragon Age: The Veilguard hub button below."

[source]

[phoenixyfriend]

Movies I've been meaning to see for ages and now, on the plane, I finally have:

Lisa Frankenstein

Birds of Prey

Scott Pilgrim

Disenchanted

V for Vendetta

Blade

I have opinions on all of them. (Yes this was all the same flight. Thirteen hours.)

(I've slept a total of maybe 4 hours in the past uhhhh 46? Gonna pass out as soon as I can lol.)

Lisa Frankenstein is a high-budget Wattpad fic and I mean that in the best way possible. The main characters are generally ludicrous overall and it actually works! The "slutty cheerleader" stepsister is actually the sweetest character in the movie and I adore her. Also, Cole Sprouse is clearly having SO much fun.

Birds of Prey: I was spoiled for a LOT of this movie. I didn't realize how late in the game they came together, though, and while people had talked about Ewan really selling Sionis as this blatantly queer villain trope, I still was not spoiled for That Much. Like. It didn't come across as a homophobic stereotype (to me) but I'm BAFFLED as to how.

Most likely, it's because we see three former relationships or signs of attraction, and all three are at BEST messy (f/f, Montoya and Ellen Yee), but generally just really bad, in the abusive f/m (Joker/Harley) or toxic m/m (see everything about Sionis, but also idk what he and Zsasz were up to).

Scott Pilgrim: The diegesis! I expected this to be something in the vein of Walter Mitty, where the superhero segments are all just extended daydreams that are 100% not actually happening. I thought the space-time weirdness was just the new show. But no! People have comic book and video game logic! And they're aware of it! People literally die and leave behind coins! Insane!

Also, wow, you(?) all really weren't joking when you said that 22yo Scott dating a 17yo is more Pathetic and Doormat than predatory creep.

Also I did not expect the mind control.

And I knew there'd be some big names but I was still blindsided by Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick in the opening credits.

Disenchanted: love the plot concept! I adore some enforced tropes and family bonding! However, some of the "heavy" lines fell flat due to the writing, and the songs overall just felt worse, both in execution (Amy and Idina both sound strained when reaching for their upper registers) and just in general writing quality.

V for Vendetta: Really cool overall, great plot and messaging, but I occasionally had trouble keeping track of the Various White Men. V's accent seemed to slip to American a few times? I kept trying to figure out what year it supposedly was, and also which characters I saw being claimed as "V before he transitioned" on Tumblr.

Blade: I love the way Wesley Snipes talks in this. IDK why.

Pleasantly surprised that there was like... way less sexism than I'd expect from a 90s action flick. However, I was blindsided by the vaguely incestuous energy that was brought in every time Blade talks to his vampire mom.

[adamofingolstadt]

Already Working on my Picard and Wesley bonding Oneshot...

“Come!”

The doors whizzed open and Wesley Crusher stepped into the ready room. He walked with his hands behind his back; as far as Picard could tell he never used to do that before being made ensign, at which point he’d started conspicuously copying the captain’s mannerisms. He’d never addressed it with the boy, it seemed harmless.

“Wesley,” He addressed. “What brings you here?”

“Sir, captain, could you possibly move my shift time tomorrow?”

“Why?”

The boy stalled, caught off guard. “...I decided I’d rather do my schoolwork when I wake up tomorrow, and then work afterwards.”

“I don’t see why that should be an issue, we’re two days form arrival. I’ll see if I can have it arranged.”

Wesley beamed with relief, then quickly composed himself.

He looked so much like him.

Jean-Luc wondered if he knew that. He wondered if Wesley remembered his father’s face enough to even see the resemblance.

“Thank you.” The boy turned to exit, bumping chest-to-stomach with Riker. “Oh, excuse me commander.” He hurried back to his station.

“Always somewhere to be.” Will joked with that thousand-watt grin.

“Indeed.” Jean-Luc agreed. “Sit?”

“I won’t be here that long, I was just looking at the ships’ social diary...” He paused, reading the expression on Picard’s face. He elaborated: “The youth dinner, sir.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” He said, sucking in a pained breath. It was another morale-boosting attempt for the young people of the Enterprise aboard with their families. Deanna had been reporting great restlessness from the children and teenagers of the ship and, though there weren’t many of them, had been making attempts at raising the spirits of their crew mates’ children.

“You’ll be expected to make one of your rousing speeches.”

“Rousing speeches are all well and good when the audience is captive, but adolescents lack both the filter of adults and the wonder of infants.”

“I’m sure you can pull through.”

“Number one, did you or did you not make me a promise when you joined this ship?”

“You agreed to speak at it yourself, sir.”

“Why the devil would I do that?” Picard racked his brain for when the idea had first been proposed.

“It was at Dr. Crusher’s farewell dinner, sir.” Riker replied. “She said it was an excellent idea and you agreed.”

“Yes... well,” he cleared his throat. “I suppose I can scrap something together. What time does it start?”

“I believe it begins at 1500 hours tomorrow.”

“I see...” He mused over this information. So that’s what it was all about. “Picard to bridge, send ensign Crusher in.”

In a few seconds Wesley was back. “Yes sir?”

Perhaps it was petty, perhaps it was unfitting of a Starfleet captain, but if he had to attend the youth dinner, he wasn’t getting the boy get away that easy.

“Wesley, your request for hour changes has been denied.”

“What?”

“I’m given to understand you have other arrangements tomorrow evening,” Picard said. “Perhaps in hosting room 3, at 1500 hours?”

The boy groaned, resting his eyes closed. “Do I have to? Those are for kids!”

“And what are you?”

“Acting ensign.”

He almost respected the boy’s gall. He was really committed to the ‘thinking he was a qualified adult’ routine.

“You’re in the age demographic,” he replied. “And I’m sure Counsellor Troi wants you to attend, if only to set an example for the others.”

The boy looked to Will, as if expecting his help. “It could be fun, Wes.”

“...Yes, sir.”

“Of course, if we have reason to believe you’re going to try and skip it, the rest of us could always volunteer as chaperones,” his commander added cheekily.

“That will not be necessary, sir,” Wesley assured quickly, clearly unsure if it was a joke or a threat. “I’ll go.”

[downfall0fman]

Took a little bit of time, connected thoughts, here are some evaluations on the first two episodes of Daredevil Born Again, spoilers ahead (I apologize for the yap)

~☻~

When I first watched the scene with Wilson Fisk and the commissioner at the end of episode two, I thought Fisk was threatening physical violence on Gallos family. It wasn’t until I was reading someones TikTok comment that I got corrected. Fisk says after Gallo leaves “he thought he could keep that child a secret” to Buck Cashman (new Wesley). Fisk wasn’t physically threatening Commissioner Gallos family, he was blackmailing him over an affair. This detail I feel is very important

This directly ties into something @giveamadeuschohisownmovie says here (go read and like their post, amazing analysis there) Matt and Fisk are so desperately trying to not give into their violent tendencies but its failing terribly. Theyre going through the literal opposite of the original show. Whereas before, them being Daredevil and Kingpin was something people around them disliked (For Matt- Foggy and Karen. And for Fisk- Matt and the general public) And then theres now, the people want Daredevil back, sometimes begging. Venessa is becoming distant with Fisk as she is now engrossed in the criminal world, thriving in it, but Wilson is trying to keep his act straight

They are trying so hard not to take up those mantles again, those personas again (thank you Heather, cant wait for the new book) but as we see its not fully working. You cant will yourself out of such a large part of yourself, not when you don’t truly want it. Fisk has bloodied knuckles at the beginning of episode 2. From what? We don’t know quite yet, but it appears he’s not being a true and pure pacifist as he said he was, he is reverting to Kingpin tactics

Then theres Matt. At the end of episode two, Matt says nothing as dirty cops beat on him. He keeps completely silent. Its only when they talk about shooting him lethally that he pleads with them to stop, begs them not to escalate. He cant just let them shoot him in the head he has to stop them, he has to protect himself, so he does

There are two very important things to note about that fight scene

1- Matt is ruthless, maybe its because the fight has darker/more brutal effects but Matt doesn’t seem to care anymore. He is throwing them to the ground head first. He not only broke that mans arm but then repeatedly pulled on it in different angles continuously snapping it. Of course we have seen him do gnarly shit, but for someone trying not to fall back into that world he sure is fighting hard

2- This is a point I think is more relevant, there is a moment where Matt could’ve stopped fighting. Near the end of the fight when Matt throws Powell (the officer he was stalking) into the refrigerator, both cops are down. They’re not on him anymore, they’re not attacking.

And Matt stands back

Theres only a brief second before goes right back in. He could’ve ended the fight there, and someone who doesn’t miss being Daredevil would’ve. Yet he continues to beat him, slam his head into the fridge repeatedly then throws him to the ground, cracking his neck (or at least a bone cracking sound effect plays, the subtitles dont acknowledges it). The scream at the end was visceral, painful

He let the devil out

Takeaway being: Matt and Fisk are currently on parallel paths, trying to force themselves out of their true nature, and I am excited to see all of this play out (and which path they choose to take to get Foggybear back, are we going protective custody route or Matt storms into literal Hell route)

Tl;dr-

Matt and Fisk are on parallel paths. They both are trying to leave their personas behind, but they are learning the hard way that that is who they are. Its not just a mask you put on or a title you wear, it is fundamentally in the end you. Your actions and reactions. Your way of responding. Its not something you decide to be done with

[dcdreamblog]

Simialr to the previous question, but less heavy; how often did people in general, and other superheroes in particular, give Stripesy agita over being an adult who sidekicked to a child?

No, if only because the term "sidekick" hadn't been invented and that's not how either Pemberton or Dugan saw their relationship.

See, the term "sidekick" wasn't used in contemporary records and it's never recorded as being in use by the heroes themselves to their younger partners.

(A war bond image of The Sandman and Sandy the Golden Boy. You can tell it's a war bond model because that is NOT what Wesley Dodds looked like! Circa 1943)

These superheroes tended to refer to their sidekicks as "wards" if referring to their age specifically, placing themselves in the legal caregiver role and responsibility. Most often though they simply called them their "partners" or even their "young partners" if they wanted to be specific. The sidekicks were trusted comrades to the heroes they palled around with, if they weren't they certainly wouldn't have been trusted to go up against nazis, criminals and supervillains.

Any attempt to undermine or overrule superhero sidekicks in official channels or ESPECIALLY in the heat of battle were pushed back on HARD by the heroes themselves.

To use Sandy as an example, there's a famous anecdote of an OSS agent speaking over Sandy during a JSA meeting and being interrupted right back by Hawkman slamming his mace on the table before every hero present turns to Sandy and asks him to continue his thought.

Afterwards the agent was given a warning by Hawkman: "Sandy is one of us, we trust him."

With the implication being clear as to their opinion of the agent.

Stripesy was a special case but not an absurd one.

(A signed promotional shot of the pair, signed and given out to a young fan. circa 1942)

Now don't get me wrong everyone knew which of the pair was "in charge", just look at how they're billed. And SOME heroes did give Stripesy some pain for following the Kid's directions so flawlessly. Wildcat specifically was known to be particularly adept and willing to press that button. But Wildcat was a gadfly on his best day and it was some good natured ribbing among friends.

Any attempt by the public, ESPECIALLY media or government to talk down to Stripesy would have and was met with direct, warning hostility from any other heroes present. Especially the Kid himself.

The most demonstrative story is one where the Kid was invited to take a meeting with a state's governor to discuss a raft of sabotage afflicting coastal manufacturing. When the governor's security attempted to disallow Stripesy entry to the meeting, the Kid turned, kicked both of the guards' knees out of from under them and chilled any response from the governor with a glance.

Pemberton and Dugan saw themselves as partners, no matter what. Especially due to Pemberton's...distant and difficult family life, Dugan was the closest thing to family Pemberton ever saw himself as having to the point that Dugan was/is the sole inheritor of Pemberton's will and trust. (Save some deep legal chicanery from one Lex Luthor that has since been corrected)

[cringearenachamp]

Traces Cover Semiotics Part 2: Here in the darkness she dances alone

"There is goodness in blue skies and flowers, but another force - a wild pain and decay - also accompanies everything." - David Lynch

The initial album cover for Perry's Traces is a super bright daytime scene that juxtaposes vibrant beauty with suggestions of something darker: for one easy example, the border of the cover is surrounded by hydrangeas, orchids, and lilies, but tucked away in one corner are a pair of vultures eating some... thing's... carcass.

*wesley willis voice* THE VULTURES, ATE MY DEAD ASS UP

Near-neon-green meadows are split in two by rivers of lava, beautiful trees are being set on fire, a crack of lightning is going right through the undifferentiated mass of writhing naked women (and oh-so-kindly covers their titties, too! how thoughtful). It's like a representation of mania: extreme good and extreme bad, all jumbled together in a mess of impulses and chaotically firing neurons; something grandiose and thrilling in the moment, then shameful and panic-inducing in the aftermath as you pick up the pieces. Nothing's ever settled, nothing's ever fully calm; you can never relax and expect peace for long.

Perhaps narratives are also helpful when your brain forces fractures upon you; when you do things in the moment you can't explain later, when you make decisions that seem perfectly sound one day and seem bizarre and disastrous the next, when you get into relationships you need to explain to yourself once you come down again. Steve's most successful song, Oh Sherrie, even suggests a kind of fracturing in the lines "I must've been someone else" and "You'd be better off alone/If I'm not who you thought I'd be".

(Betty and Rita in Mulholland Drive)

The sorts of dichotomies already present within the original album cover take on an entirely new angle with the introduction of the alternate release album cover: something already fractured, fractured even further. What was originally a daytime scene is now either a nighttime one or otherwise dark and stormy: and while Perry's lyrics are often ambiguous, sometimes unfortunately to the point of near-banality (what can you say if you're preoccupied with what everyone will think about what you say and you're worried about how much of a profit your words will make?), mentions of "darkness" or dark rooms are common enough and used in similar ways enough (and the usage is common enough elsewhere, in other writing from other writers) that I'm confident saying that it represents what's intentionally hidden, what's "protected"; it's the deepest core of his self and the parts that he's either the most ashamed of OR the parts he believes will be rejected by others (hence the "protection"). It's a safe place, but also a fearful one ('No More Crying', a song on Traces, actually gets into this a bit); it's safe because it's familiar.

(ugghgghgh i did NOT save the artist for this, like an asshole. i will add it once i find it or someone tells me <3)

Keeping yourself in the darkness to protect yourself from others is heartbreaking in a lot of ways, though it's something traumatized people generally would be familiar with, and traumatized queer people would know VERY well. Queerness is often the part of our Self that is rejected the earliest, and those rejections can be literally violent, but even if it's not violent, it's still heart-rending when its someone you love, when it's someone who's supposed to care for and protect you, when it's family. Even if you never tell anyone, if you can't "'pass" well, if you just give off inexplicable "vibes", you're still going to be treated differently and that fear of rejection might just hang over you. You'll still be made to feel "wrong", even if no one tells you to your face that you are, and even if you don't understand yourself as queer yet. The homophobes in your life often see you before you do, and that can cause SO much damage, because *you see yourself through their eyes* first before you ever see yourself through loving, compassionate ones.

When others around you see you before you do and do so in negative ways, you *internalize* their disgust of you until you're disgusted with yourself; you internalize those feelings of wrongness and disgust and fear until no one needs to point at you and call you a freak or a monster in order for you to feel like one. You do it to yourself. And if you never get out from under feeling like a freak or a monster, that obviously negatively impacts your ability to make healthy connections with others or have a healthy relationship with your own sexuality. It's unacceptable, so it gets shoved down as far as possible until it's bursting at the seams. You act on it in that moment, you feel controlled by your own desires and impulses in a way that's scary, and that just further enforces that queerness is bad and scary and "addictive", like the alcohol you might use in order to comfortably experience queer encounters to begin with. (A bottle of wine is present on the cover of Traces: a rattlesnake is coiled around it. Venomous? Yes, but also a very common phallic symbol, as is the wine bottle, and the snake coiling around the neck of the bottle is just very ummm. I'll just say. It's suggestive. Lol)

Anyway, what's so different about the darkness of the second album cover? The most immediate, to me, is that nearly *all the women disappear*. Even Sherrie's eye is replaced by a burning microphone (with doves around it-- symbols for peace, as Neal Schon pointed out himself). The darkness represents his deepest inner core of his Self, the parts he's ashamed by or afraid of or afraid *for*, and there's no women there beyond a very faint picture of Kellie and his own mother (and his biological father-- also one of the only men that shows up on EITHER cover, a safe man to represent as a man).

So the women that show up that aren't in a weird mass of heaven-women are... a pin-up model, a pin-up nun, Kellie, and his Mom. The men that show up as men are... Steve himself, his biological father, and some other singer. Steve's father, of course, was absent for most of his life: a loss he might have tried to fill in various ways (this isn't to say he's gay because his dad left him lol, that's the bad kind of vulgar freudianism-- but some of the men he was drawn to/the dynamics he was attracted to might have been affected by that, for better or worse or both). Steve's mother on the other hand was QUITE present, and Steve himself never seemed to feel present enough for her. He had a drive to find Daddy that society, his peers, and maybe even his own mother would have rejected: as an adult man he's supposed to want to be the Daddy. He also had an equally compulsive drive to find Mommy that he could make happy (he was also drawn to and I would argue *emulated* diva-type women: Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer, for example--but of course, and sadly, that would be more punished by society and family/peers than anything else. It's sad because I think it would've been the healthiest path to follow of the three!), and that drive is far more easily rewarded by society. But was it fulfilling for him, personally? Did it make him a better person? 🙃

(it's Mommy and Daddy issues all the way down folks. If you're a nerd like me you might have already spotted the Oedipal Complex in all this)

There are other symbols and signs that show up in some form in both of the covers: Perry's name is wreathed in thorns in both, for example. Thorns are protective: a defense against external interference, something he's always hypervigilant about despite being aware of the drawbacks of it (as No More Crying suggests). His flaming microphone (flaming... 'flaming homosexual'... ha. I don't think that was intentional on his part-- likely is a reference to his burn-out-- but his voice IS flaming and it's beautiful for it <3) is also not the only thing associated with doves: Sherrie's eyeball (sorry its just so funny... Sherrie's eyeball...) and Neal Schon's guitar are, as well. All things he's trying to make peace with and leave behind: but has he (again, No More Crying seems to suggest this is a lot more complicated than he'd want)? There's also broken keys along the dirt road in the original cover-- he hasn't had the best relationships with keyboard players. The full piano in the alternate cover doesn't even get a dove! No peace for Jon or Gregg! Even in the alternate cover, then-- or the differences between the two-- you get little moments of pettiness underneath the grand narrative of "coming clean, finding peace, moving on".

Nothing's as easy as that, isn't it? Steve, though, like always, wants to have it both ways here. He wants to *acknowledge* the dichotomies, acknowledge some parts of his failures, acknowledge some of the darker parts of his past, and use Kellie as a way of tying those acknowledgements together. The promotion for FTLOSM was similar, in a way, but more honest in that he didn't use the image and story of any woman (or anyone else) to try and paint himself as a new, perfectly sympathetic, introspective, thoughtful (spiritual in FTLOSM's case) man ready to repent and start anew (he had a "girlfriend"-- Robin-- who was very young and seemed to only show up when he "needed" a girlfriend-- even the length of time they were together is ambiguous and changes in various interviews; he says he's single in 1994 and then in an interview in '99 he says he's been with Robin for 9 years-- but she was completely removed from the promotion of the album and was rarely seen elsewhere).

Acknowledging you fucked up is just step one, though. Breaking out of the trauma cycle takes time, patience, interpersonal support, and a huge amount of effort. It's also not a linear process, and setbacks can prove difficult to overcome in some cases. People often never fully make it out from under it: Dale Cooper is never the same Dale Cooper after the events of the Season 2 Finale. We want him to be, we hope he'll show up, we're excited whenever we see flashes of him in The Return: but those flashes are just that. Dale Cooper wanted to save Laura Palmer partially to save himself. He can't accept that what happened has already happened, that there's no going back. He's still a partially fragmented man, and instead of doing the work to actually integrate himself and move forward, he tries to take a magical shortcut.

Fame and wealth are themselves magical shortcuts: as I suggested earlier, Perry was able to craft this narrative as successfully as he was because he's rich and famous and connected. Was Kellie's family happy with how her story was subsumed into Steve's? We'll never know, we'll likely never find out, and Perry has far more power than they do in order to keep it that way, if need be. Was his rewriting of his Self and his story a more successful one than other Lynchian characters, then?

Well, is he a happy guy?

[iconuk01]

From about ST:TNG Season 4-ish: After an spacial anomaly leads to the disappearance of the Enterprise shuttle Einstein, it is believed that it has cost the lives of several crew members: Commander Riker: Lt Commander Worf, Ensign Wesley Crusher, Dr Selar and a few other minor characters.

After spending a suitably long time searching for any sign of them, the decision is made to call off the search and, along with some nice little moments like seeing how Riker's Dad, Selar's mother and Dr Kate Pulaski react to the news of the loss of their family/friends, we see the memorial service held for them on the Enterprise, and we have some rather nice eulogies. (For some reason I really like Geordi's tribute to Wes, it paints a good mental image) Star Trek: The Next Generation #21

Writer: Michael Jan Friedman Pencils: Peter Krause

(Of course, spoilers: they are eventually found)

[fantasyfantasygames]

The Fall of the House of Crusher

The Fall of the House of Crusher, Wild World Entertainment, 2018

No connection to Wesley or Beverly.

I have been very happy in the past decade to see more and more games that get outside the traditional RPG box. I like fantasy adventures and sci-fi merchant ventures and maybe some modern fantasy, but we have a lot of that. So when other kinds of games come along, even if I wouldn't play them myself, I'm always intrigued.

The Fall of the House of Crusher (FoHoC, pronounced like faux-hawk) is a drama that follows a pro wrestler and his family as events unfold and unravel in their lives. The eponymous Crusher has been a heel for years, both in the ring and out. His wife is cheating on him with his best friend and he knows but hasn't called them on it yet. His daughter, "Generation", also a wrestler, is infatuated with a new wrestler who's a face in the ring, but Crusher knows he's an asshole outside it. You pick up the pre-gens and make a few tweaks (including gender options). Then play what is assumed to be a three-part game, whether that's three acts in one day or across multiple sessions.

One of my favorite bits is that all of your moves (this is a PbtA-type game) are both wrestling moves and emotional moves. It's not that you have to choose which version you're using - every move does both things at the same time. So the DDT dazes someone, which switches their stance to "unready", which means your next move is more likely to land. Then you can hit them with a Giant Swing, which forces them to Reset, losing any momentum they had. That can be physical, with the slam and the spin, and at the same time it can be emotional, where you stun someone with a revelation and then turn the tables on them to force them out of the argument they've been building.

Another cool piece is how you switch from playing your character to playing the crowd. When you're in the limelight, it's assumed that you have an audience. It might be a wrestling match, an argument at an outdoor restaurant, an argument at an outdoor restaurant that devolves into a wrestling match, a date at a movie theater where the other moviegoers are heckling you and it becomes a wrestling match, etc. There's a lot of assumed wrestling is what I'm saying. The mechanics only cover wrestling.

The game definitely has a good ending and a bad ending, and several mixed ones. They give short suggestions for other ways things might go, but honestly I think "the wedding" and "the divorce" cover a lot of ground.

In the end this might make a better LARP than tabletop game. The story could be condensed, the mechanics could be adjusted, you could keep the PC/audience switching for major events... I could see this running at Intercon very nicely. You just need a strict reminder that no actual wrestling moves are to be performed.