#is san francisco even on the fucking dart board????????????????

[hollowedpeacher]

There was a delightful breeze that came through the air as the Mayor admired the crowd of people coming together to celebrate his birthday. Although he knew it was the barbecue that drew the crowd, it didn't stop him from feeling pride in his town as he hopped on the stage to make a speech. The Mayor tapped the microphone getting the attention of the townspeople with a smile on his face until suddenly a screech came ringing out the speakers.

Everyone in the square reached for the ears, covering them as the sound rang out for a minute and filling the air. It was like nails on a chalk board, causing shivers up spins for forcing. But instead of comforting silence, a distorted voice echoed out from speakers surrounding the stage. "Hello Peaches," the voice began smugly, as if they were smiling from behind the microphone.

“I bet you thought you were safe, nice and cozy in this oh-so-wonderful town. Did you think you could spend this weekend guzzling booze and cradling the karaoke mic with those cotton candy-coated sticky fingers without hearing from me? This weekend may be all about fun and games, but just because you try to ignore the problem, doesn't mean it goes away - isn't that right Angel Barbosa?"

The crowd turned their heads, all looking for the brunette among the sea of people who suddenly appeared to be thirsty blood sharks. While some appeared to be satisfied with the bubbling caldron of drama on the stage before them, many were hungry for more. The shuffling of everyone's feet, in conjunction with their murmurs, created a dull, chaotic roar amongst the crowd. "The Barbosa name is know to be strong, superior and loved. But how would people feel knowing that their matriarch isn't taking time off for a break like those who have the luxury of being ignorant for the weekend? If they knew little Barbosa came home to a place of abuse and to take care of mommy dearest, that'd certainly change the connotation of that powerful name. Such a cross to bare. I do hope chemo is treating your mother well." 

To believe that the Peacher's reign was over was a long shot. The townspeople knew that this entity always came for the throat, and in cases of utter desperation, the whole flock. And while the square quickly filled with hungry whispers, musing about the Barbosa family and where exactly Angel’s mother had been all this time, their thoughts were cut short as the voice carried out from the speaker once again, menacing and coming with a vengeance.

"While we're discussing health problems, why don't we take a look closer at someone with much less power? Perhaps you've heard of her - the quiet little field mouse, constantly turtling in the corner with a blunt in hand to ease that anxiety that will certainly make her heart stop one day. Sweet, dearest Clementine,” the voice continued, drawing out the blondes name painfully slowly, savoring each syllable. Eyes darted around the sea of people in search of their regular waitress at the Giant Peach as the voice began once again. "It's a shame you can't set off on a journey to Oz to find a new heart. I'll share a quote that you can empathize with from the wonderful wizard himself: hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable. The tin man was enthused to discover that the heart-shaped clock he was given ticked. But you know what it's like to be living on borrowed time. Shhhhh. If you listen close enough, folks, you can hear the sound of the irregular heartbeat speeding up, and up, and up, and up—”

By now the crowd was searching for where the voice was coming from with no success. They should've known by now that once the Peacher took the microphone - it was quite over for whoever they laid their mark on. And while there were many desperately searching for the source of the voice, following the trail of dozens of wires leading away from the stage, their efforts were futile and led them to dead ends. The Peacher was good at this. The Peacher had been doing this for years. Their empire wouldn’t come crashing down because of forgotten wires. Not a chance.

"Let's call it ladies night, shall we? How do you feel about that, Lennon? Or should I say Jazlyn?” The voice coo’d, letting Lennon’s real name roll off their tongue with ease. “What? Did I strike a chord? I'm surprised to see you out, Rapunzel. You're usually cooped up in the towers. How did you ever end up in a place like Peach Hollow? You may have traded San Francisco's streets for suburbia, but you never stoped looking over your shoulder. It's tough shaking off that kind of pain, isn't it? I do hope you have a good therapist or the number to a private investigator on speed dial. You never know whose creeping up behind and when they're going to strike."

With every name and every secret that spilled out from the speakers, the crowd in the square grew more restless. People began backing away from the stage in fear of being the next target while others continued their search for the victims, questions ready, prepared for attack. In a flash, friends turned to strangers, changing everything anyone knew about their friends, and opening their eyes to the truth that their small town in the middle of Georgia was not as picture-perfect as it was made to appear. The veil was being lifted, exposing the dark truth that lay hidden behind the climbing vines and looming trees that lined their streets. The truth was, finally, coming out. 

"Hot off the presses. Two of our Peach Hollow dames are with child! While one of our mamas has done a one-eighty from their past, it seems Scarlett has not changed her ways at all; the effervescent juggler of men. Have you settled on the one who helped create the thing in your womb? Can you say with certainty who is sharing your seed? Or is he just another faceless man you've had wrapped around your pale, perfectly manicured finger, much like your college professor? Do you love Dominic the way you loved the man before him? Wonder how many papers you would have failed if you weren't riding away on that stallion? And a married man too? Do you ever wonder if his wife found out? Guess she'll know now.”

The Peacher questions fired off like bullets from a gun, shooting off in every direction without even a second between to recover. They were sharp and to the point, the barrel aimed to kill. On stage, the Mayor shuffled nervously from one foot to the other, his sunken eyes scanning the faces of his residents, the residents he vowed to keep safe and protect, no matter the cost. And instead they were being attacked with accusatory words and hurtful questions. It seemed no-one was safe, and he could do nothing but pray it was the end.

"Why don't we end off this wonderful evening with the thorn in the Peach Hollow garden? Rose Harmon. Until death do us part is not meant to be taken literally, you know? Let's play a game of twenty questions in lesser words. Was the body still warm when you packed your bags? Did you know the batch was laced? How does one recover from something like that? What are you on now? Meth, Coke? Can you even say her name? Be careful, Rose, don't think Finley is with the guy upstairs if you know what I mean, and the reaper may be coming for you next."

A gasp filled the air as the bright, vivacious woman who’d worked nearly all booths that afternoon had her dirty laundry exposed for the world to see. At this point, a quiet hush had fallen over the crowd. People abandoned their desperate search for the source of the voice, and instead stood in silence. Whether they accepted the words was up for debate - but if there was one thing the residents of Peach Hollows knew, it was that The Peacher, despite how vile and violent they could be, was never wrong. They simply provided the information. And now, it was up to everyone else to pick up the pieces.

"Clearly Peach Hollow was bred on the foundation of honesty. Look around; all of you have your secrets. This isn't meant to stir up drama. What am I? A fucking gossip columnist? TMZ? No, I'm the person lurking in the shadows, the person sitting in the booth near the back, or waiting in line at the bathroom. I’m the person that ensures all wrongdoings are brought to light, that we pay for what we've done. Whether it's a business deal or illness or an abortion that you thought you could hide, I will know. Soon enough, the town will know. Peach Hollow is not a safe place to be, and it won't be as long as the chase is on. Oh, how could I forget? Happy birthday, mister Mayor. I hope you liked your gift. You should have seen the look on your face." 

And suddenly, everything was quiet. 

#plot drop #peaches:important #peaches:event #peaches:event004 #tw death #tw drugs #tw cancer #tw overdose #tw medical #tw stalking

[silver--storms]

San Francisco

As requested here is the continuation of Portland (X)  The series will be named after the cities they visit on tour.  Thank you as always to my Bae-ta @sparrowof-thedawn​ you know I love you to the moon. :)

Warnings: None, it’s fluff, build up and character development if you will. Next chapter will be smut territory.

WC: 2.9k

You found yourself leaning against the counter of a dive bar that Josh dragged you all out to after the show was done. 

He said it was the first show of the tour, there was no way you weren’t going out, regardless of how early you all had to leave for San Francisco in the morning. 

But out of all the places in Portland he suggests here? You thought to yourself. 

You were mesmerized. Trying not to stare at Sammy as he ordered you both shots of Jameson. Admiring his hair up in a messy bun and how good he looked in the dark blue flannel and leather jacket he had changed into. 

Sammy slid a shot glass down to you and narrowed his eyes “Think you can keep up with us, y/n?” 

You smirked at him “I don’t know. Let’s find out, shall we?” you quipped back at him. 

“Bottoms up!” he said as he winked at you, making your heart flutter, as you both threw back the shot. 

You and Sam spent most of the night hunkered down on a couch in the back of the bar, laughing and talking like you hadn’t just met a little over 24hrs ago. 

Sam was so easy to talk to, it was never awkward and he always had the most interesting opinions on any topic. You could listen to him talk for hours, especially about music and politics. Danny would come sit next to you periodically throughout the night and join in on the conversation, but the majority of his night was spent wrangling the increasingly drunk twins. Especially Josh, of course. 

Sam stood up from the couch, grabbing his jacket, “I’m going to go for a smoke, you coming?” he asked you. 

“I don’t really smoke.” you said coyly. 

“That’s fine, I’d just like the company if you don’t mind.” he smiled back. 

Standing up from the couch and following Sam outside, you felt weak in your knees, not knowing if it was the alcohol or the way Sam had been looking at you all night.

You followed Sam to the side of the bar and watched as he lit his cigarette. 

“You sure you don’t want one? I’m trying to quit, but whenever I drink it’s a necessity.”

You shake your head “No, I’m good thank you.” as you cradled your arms close to your chest and shivered. 

“Here, take my jacket, it’s chilly out here.” he said as he started to take it off.

“Oh, no, I’m okay. Don’t worry about it” you said, you were lying, it was freezing. 

“I insist” Sam said as he pulled you closer and wrapped his jacket across your shoulders.

“Thanks" you looked down at your feet so he couldn’t see you blush.

Sam put out his cigarette and ran his hands around the back of your neck, untucking your hair from under the collar of his jacket.

“There, perfect.” he said as the two of you locked eyes.

“Yeah?” you whispered. 

“Yeah.” he replied as he kept one hand on your neck, sliding it up to your chin and caressing your cheek with his calloused thumb. 

Before you knew what was happening his lips were on yours and your hands were draped around his neck, pulling him in closer to you so your chest was pushed flat against his.

You hummed against his lips and he smiled against yours. He pulled away slowly 

“See, like I said, perfect.” he said tenderly, you beamed at him as he linked his arm with yours and escorted you back into the bar. 

Walking back inside, Josh spotted you from across the bar “Hey, you two! Get in on this right the fuck now! We need your help!” 

Jake and Danny laughed as the three of them held up two shots each.

“Oh boy, it’s going to be a long night.” Sam said, raising his eyebrows at you. 

You both laughed as you headed towards them. Danny and Jake each handed you two one of their shots, Josh still holding two, you all clinked them together and the rest of the night was a blur.

You woke up the next morning to the sounds of people walking up and down the hallway, the sound of suitcases and footsteps nudging you awake. The moment you opened your eyes, you knew you were in for a rough day; everything hurt. 

The sunlight peeking through the curtain only increased the searing headache behind your eyes  as you moaned and pulled the blanket over your head. You were alerted by a sudden pounding on your door followed by an unfamiliar voice calling out to you “Thirty minutes!”. 

You whipped back the covers as your eyes darted to the clock, it read 6:00am “Shit, I overslept!” you said to yourself and let out an exasperated moan.

You quickly jumped out of bed and scurried around the room in a feverish pace, gathering all your clothes, shoving them into your bag. You threw on a very sloppy outfit, an oversized sweater and boyfriend jeans. It was the only other outfit you had aside from what you and Sam picked out your first night here. As you packed up your belongings, you found your shoes on opposite sides of the room and leftover pizza on the counter.

“What the hell happened last night?” you muttered to yourself, confused on how you even made it back to your room. 

You tried to replay the night in your head, but you could only remember chunks of it, that’s when it came to you, the memory of Sam and you kissing. 

You shook your head “No, there’s no way that actually happened.” You looked over at the chair in your room, Sam’s jacket was scrunched up on the armrest.

“Oh shit.” you froze, just staring at it. 

It was real. What happened between the two of you was real, you weren’t imagining it. The reality of the events of last night, at least what you could remember, hit you like a train.

“I kissed Sam Kiszka.”  You thought to yourself as you panicked, not knowing where this left the two of you, unable to remember anything past that point. 

Was this a huge mistake, were things going to be different or weird between the two of you now?

You scooped up your Guns N Roses t-shirt, as flash of last night ran through your mind. Sam playing with the fringe of your shirt, legs intertwined, practically sitting in his lap. Your face got hot and you started to sweat. 

“Focus, y/n, you don’t have time for this.” you said to yourself as you finished packing. 

You checked over the room one last time, glancing at the clock “6:25am” leaving you only five minutes to get checked out and load into the bus, you ran down the hall, whipping around the corner to the elevator, smacking into none other than Sam.

He let out a big puff of air as you collided “Ugh, y/n, we have got to stop greeting each other this way.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I overslept, I’m running late and I didn’t want to hold anyone u-”  

Sam interrupted you by grabbing your shoulders “Hey, relax. Haven’t you heard? We’re never on time. Josh isn’t even finished packing yet.” he forced a smile, pushing the button for the elevator. 

"Oh, okay. Sorry for running into you.” you said quietly. 

Sam was silent for a few moments as you waited for the elevator to reach your floor. 

“So” he said in a flat tone “How’re you holding up after last night?” 

“Ugh, I’m definitely feeling it today, my head is killing me." You put a hand up to your forehead, rubbing it as it throbbed. "Hey, how did we make it back to the hotel? I don’t really remember much after the five of us did that last round of shots?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.” Sam said without looking at you as the two of you entered the elevator. 

Sam was silent and cold towards you the whole ride down to the lobby. 

When the doors opened, he walked towards Danny and Jake who were waiting for him outside, without saying a word to you. 

Standing in line waiting to check out, you started to panic, deep down in your gut you knew something else happened between you and Sam that he wasn’t saying. 

You hesitantly joined Sam, Danny, and Jake on the bus. 

Danny was nice enough to show you around, mainly where the essentials were and the two of you sat next to each other on the couch while Jake strummed his acoustic across from you. Sam was reading a book towards the back of the bus with his headphones in. Danny and Jake were talking about different dreams they had last night, you tried to listen, but your mind was stuck on Sam. You felt his eyes on you from across the bus, but when you would look over at him, he’d return his focus to his book. 

Thirty minutes after you were supposed to leave, Josh finally boarded the bus, looking very disheveled. He was the most dressed down you had ever seen him, wearing a wrinkled basic white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He had sunglasses on and obviously still very hungover. He collapsed on the couch next to you and groaned. 

“Well, it’s nice of you to finally join us, Princess.” Jake teased, obnoxiously strumming his guitar loudly on purpose to irritate Josh  “Are you awake yet?!” 

Josh barely raised his arm up to properly flip off his twin and yelled “Oh fuck you, you bastard.” 

“Classy, very classy.” Jake retorted, the whole group laughing at the exchange between the twins.

The first half of the trip to San Francisco went well, as the four of you exchanged different stories about growing up in the midwest, the boys from Michigan and you from Chicago. You argued over who has better pizza and which side of Lake Michigan is superior. 

Sam eventually joined the group, and sat next to Jake, when a musical debate broke out between the twins. 

You and Sam locked eyes, his expression was sad and you still couldn’t figure out why. You hoped when you got to the hotel you’d be able to steal a few minutes alone with him. 

“So, how big is the next venue?” you asked the boys.

“Oh, it’s pretty big. We played it last year, it was sold out. Around five thousand people came out. “ Josh chuckled 

“Of course at that point we weren’t the headliners, so it’ll be nice to return and see how many people come out for us leading the show.” Jake added.

You gulped “That’s a lot of people.” 

“Don’t worry, sometimes the bigger the crowd, the easier it is. I feel more nervous when it’s a smaller crowd, people have less distractions and notice more when you fuck up.” Josh smiled.

You sighed, “Yeah I guess you’re right. Shit, that reminds me. I still need to pick up some stage clothes for the rest of the tour.” you said looking over at Sam, waiting for him to respond or at the very least get a reaction from him. 

Sam stood up and walked over to grab a beer, without looking at you he said “Yeah, that’s right. Josh, why don’t you take her out for a night on the town?” he said in a borderline passive-aggressive tone. Jake and Danny exchanging knowing looks, raising their eyebrows at each other.

Josh looked at his little brother, scrunching his brows, “Uh...yeah okay, Why don’t we go tonight when we get to the hotel?” 

You swallowed your disappointment that Sam volunteered Josh to take you. It was nothing against Josh. It was just weird how willing Sam was your first night with them to help you find stage wear and now it’s like he could care less. 

You forced a smile at Josh, “Yeah, sounds great.” still hoping to be able to talk to Sam before heading out with Josh. 

Stepping off the bus you were hit with the beautiful fresh smell of the ocean and the warm breeze brushing against your skin. You took a deep breath, savoring it while walking up to the hotel with your bag. You tried to pull Sam aside, but Josh quickly started making plans to meet you in thirty minutes to go shopping. You watched over his shoulder as Danny and Sam went to their room. 

Josh had called a cab for the two of you. He took you to the main shopping strip in San Francisco. You watched out your window as the trolley went by, admiring all the beautiful lights of the city. 

Josh made small talk with you, pointing out different places to eat that he’s been to. 

You started at a few thrift shops. You tried not to laugh at Josh as he brought you everything from feathered jackets to sequin leather pants and bedazzled boots. You were careful not to hurt his feelings but gently reminded him that you were nowhere near as eccentric as he was. You both agreed to have Josh stick to what he’s best at, the accessories. 

You found more than enough clothes to hold you over for the remainder of the tour. You were having a lot of fun with Josh, he was a blast to hang out with one on one. He never stopped talking and that was okay with you as he helped distract you from your thoughts of the night before. 

You and Josh stopped at a pizza place to get a quick bite before heading back to the hotel. Josh insisted on paying the bill, you bickered back and forth for a minute until Josh raised his hands at you “Enough! I’m paying, that’s the end of it. “ he chuckled “Plus, I sort of owe you for last night.” he looked away from you, his cheeks growing a shade of pink. 

“What do you mean?” you asked him hesitantly.

“You know, the kiss.” he said quietly, almost under his breath. 

“Wait, you saw that? How did you see that? You were all inside?” you said in a panicked tone.

“Wait, what? Who else did you kiss last night besides me?” he said throwing you a playful yet concerned look.

Your heart dropped, pounding out of your chest. You felt like the room started to spin “WHAT?! You and I kissed?!” you said in a raised voice

Josh shushed you “Jeez, say that louder so the people across town can hear you!” he laughed as he continued, “Yes, we kissed. Well, I kissed you and I’m sorry about that. I don’t even remember it. But I sure as hell heard about it from Sammy this morning.” he said looking down to sign the bill. 

“Oh shit, Sam saw us kiss?” 

Josh nodded without saying anything, still looking over the bill he stopped, slowly looking up at you with a perplexed expression and tilting his head “Wait, did something go down between you and Sammy last night? Was he the other person you kissed? Is that why he was so pissed off at me about it?”

Your face went pale, “Oh god, he’s going to think I’m just some groupie who happens to be your opening act, I’m such an idiot!”

“Kissing two Kiszka’s in one night, that’s sure to complicates things.” he teased you, “If it makes you feel any better...what Sammy didn’t see and I tried to tell him this morning, you pushed me away, after he stormed out of the room of course.” he winced “You called me stupid and laughed at me.” 

You snickered at him and tried to hold back your laughter

Josh crossed his arms and rolled his eyes “Yeah, just like that.”

You shoved him playfully as you walked out of the restaurant and got into the cab. 

“Look,” he turned to you “At the end of the day we were both drunk and had no idea what we were doing. Let alone that we would remember it.” he said sincerely. “Sammy will get over it...Eventually.”

You both were quiet most of the way back to the hotel. You were lost in your thoughts about how in the world you were going to fix this with Sam. Does he regret kissing you, does he even really care? Was he just as drunk as you were? These thoughts raced through your mind as you arrived at the hotel.

 Walking into the lobby you grabbed Josh’s arm to stop him before going up to your rooms for the night 

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Josh turning to face you. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“How do I fix this between Sam and I?” 

“That’s a question you should be asking him, not me.”

You let out a big sigh “Thanks Josh, I appreciate it. Sorry that this has caused issues between you and your brother.” You pulled him into a light, friendly hug.

Josh scoffed “Oh, please. He’ll get over it. Just talk to him, okay?” He pulled away, leaving one hand on your shoulder to give it a small reassuring pat. Then his hand slid down and squeezed your hand as he flashed you a sympathetic smile.

Josh said he’d see you in the morning, and walked away to the hotel bar where Jake and Danny had already been holding down a booth. 

You turned to go to your room for the night, freezing when you saw Sam standing there, just staring at you with a pained expression. Obviously having watched your interaction with Josh the whole time.

“Fuck” you said under your breath, immediately walking towards him.

Sam gave you a look that pierced right through you. He was hurt, that was clear.

Sam turned and got into the elevator, “Wait, Sam! I need to talk to you-” 

The elevator door shut and your heart sank to the floor.

A knot formed in your throat and tears built up, stinging your eyes.

“How did this get so fucked up so fast?” you thought to yourself, pressing the button for the elevator vigorously. You had to let him know how you felt before things got even more out of hand.

Let me know what you guys think, your feedback is always much appreciated! Let me know if you’re interested in a part three. 

#sammy kiszka #sammy kiszka fic #sammy gvf #greta van fleet #josh kiszka #danny wagner #jake kiszka #gvf #gvf fic #my writing #requests

[reallyautomaticvoid]

Calling It: Good Intentions: Chapter 7: It’s a Terrible Plan

Sorry for the late update! Work got crazy and then I went through a bout of writer's block (so much fun >.<).

But, hopefully, that’s all done now! And as an apology for the longer than expected wait, I made the chapter longer than originally planned.

And now I will be on more a regular writing schedule.

Hopefully.

Anyways, Enjoy!

                                                   *     *     *

With the help of the Titans, Tim spent the week constructing a list of excuses for the Bats.  

Tim’s favorites (at Con suggestion) is, “Why, no, Dick, Tim isn’t around ‘cause Ra’s is trying to sell him a timeshare at Nanda Parbat.  I think he might take it; it’s a pretty good deal.”  

Tim laughed so hard he knock over the stack of shipment logs he’d been going through.  Tim didn’t want all of the Bats in a hundred-mile radius to come raining down on him (or to know how close to true that is) it had gone in the funny but no pile.  

Drumming his thumbs on his desk, Tim watches BB through his monitor getting ready to call Dick to tell him the good news.  With most of the Titans gathered around him, Tim had hacked into the main feed so that they could see the conversation between Gar and Dick unfold.

Picking up a sock, Bart crinkles his nose.  “Dude, do you ever do your laundry?” 

Tim arches an eyebrow at him.  “You were there for my last annual pilgrimage to the laundromat.”

“That’s a horrifying sentence; from start to finish.”

Before Tim could respond, Gar’s voice crackles from the speakers. “Ready?”  

Tim presses the intercom button.  “Ready as we’ll ever be.”

“You sure you want to do this, Tim?”  BB eyes sparkle through the computer.

Tim ignores the question.  

They’d talked about this.  

And Tim’s fine with it.  

“Remember, we’ll be watching.”

Gar laughs.  “Shyeah, ‘cause that won’t be creepy.”

Tim nods because, point, before pressing the intercom off.  

Two rings later, Tim could hear Dick’s voice.  

“Gar, how’s it hanging, bro?”  

Tim pays no attention to the stab of jealousy threatening to overtake him at Dick’s friendly greeting.  

Moving forward, remember?  

Instead, he focused on what Dick was doing.  It looked like Dick had been in the middle of looking through old case files.

Gar leans back in his chair.  “Not bad, man.  How are you doing?”

“Fine.”  Dick shuffles some papers off the desk and into a folder with a vague smile.  

Tim sucks on his teeth.

Tim knows that move.  

Tim taught Dick that move.

What doesn’t Dick want BB to see?

“We’ve been working our way through some of Tim’s old files.”  

Well, shit.

That could be anything.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tim sees Conner shooting him a concerned look.  

Tim puts on his best Wayne Enterprises CEO blank face.  

Conner rolls his eyes in an I know what shit you’re trying to pull.  Knock it off asshole kinda way.

Tim grimaces.

Dick, however, keeps talking.

“But it’s hard.  Most of the files on the Batcomputer are months old at this point.  So, most of the info in it is outdated.”  Dick sighs, ruffling his hair.  It’s something Tim recognizes from his days of being Robin.  

Something Dick only does when he’s frustrated with a case.  

“Bab’s has been trying to trace his com unit, but she can’t find any.  I don’t have to tell you how pissed off that makes her.”  

Tilting his head, Tim squints at the screen.  

There’s almost a look of…pride? on Dick’s face while Dick was saying that?  

That couldn’t be right.  

Babs couldn’t find the GPS on the com because Tim disconnected it over a year ago.  

Why would Dick be proud of something Barbara’s failing at?  

“But you don’t need to hear about that shit; why’d you call?”

“Well, funny story, it’s actually about Tim.”  Dick’s body snaps to attention. Dick moves his chair so close to the computer’s camera, Tim couldn’t see the room anymore.

“Is he okay?”  The urgency in Dick’s voice makes Tim’s stomach drop.  

Okay, what the fuck is Dick doing?  Outside of tech support, I hadn’t been important to the Bats for fucking years .  What the actual fuck?

Tim feels a warm hand squeeze his shoulder.  Glancing up, Tim sees Conner giving him the: we can call this off if you want look.  Half smiling, Tim shakes his head.

“Tim’s fine,”  BB assures Dick, eyes darting up towards Tim’s room.  “At least, he was the last time I saw him.  No, I’m calling because the team and I had a vote.”

Dick stares at Gar blankly before comprehension dawns across his face.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” 

“How’d that go?”  Dick winces just like he always does right before he doesn’t dodge and gets hit in the face.

“Well, it was close but we did agree to give you occasional updates on Tim.  On a trial basis, of course.”  

Dick’s face looks like it was about to split into two from his smile.  

Tim’s eyebrows narrow.  

Okay, not the reaction Tim was expecting.  Sure, he wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he was expecting (disgust, disappointment) but…not that.

“You can call and somebody will give you an update but,”  Gar hesitates.  

Shit.  What went wrong?  

Gar had said what the team had agreed to tell Dick.  

Was he getting cold feet?  

Shit.

It's a big ask, to fuck with friends like this.  

Gar had agreed to do this though (even telling Tim in private he supported this plan one hundred percent). 

Still though…

“But, Dick, it was a close vote.  Not all of the Team is very happy about this…arrangement, man.  Not all of them agree that this is the right thing to do.  So, if someone doesn’t want to tell you anything, I wouldn’t push.”  

Dick stares for a long moment, calculating, before nodding.

“Okay.  I’ll try not to step on any toes.”  Dick slowly nodding before smiling.  “So, how’s Tim?”  

Tim feels his brow furrow.  The way Dick asked that question…what the fuck?  It’s like Dick had been waiting years to ask it but had been too afraid.  

Tim shakes his head.  

Why would Dick care how he was doing?

Gar shrugs.  “He’s fine.  He and Bart went to get some comics.  We didn’t want him to walk in while we were having this conversation.”  

Dick looks like there were another hundred question he wanted to ask.  

“So, is there anything new in his life I should know about?”

Gar takes a moment before answering.  “Well,” he starts slowly, “we were attacked by H.I.V.E.  the other week.  Red Robin was capturing for a few hours before we got him back.”  

“What?”  Dick jumps up like he’s about to hop a plane to San Francisco.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gar raises an eyebrow.  “Because it was before you called.”  Dick flinches.  “And besides, man, Red was fine.  I haven’t heard him screaming ‘cause of the nightmares in a few days now.”

If Dick looked ready to hop a plane a minute ago, it was nothing compared to now.  “He’s having nightmares?  I’m on my way right now to—”

“To do what?  Cuddle?  Dude, he’s not going to let you into the Tower, let alone his room to cuddle.  Don’t you know how to play it cool?  That’s how I got Rae, man.”

Tim glances over to Raven whose lips had become a fine line.

Dick rolls his eyes.  “Dude, you followed her around like a lost puppy for months before she gave you the time of day.”

“Not cool, man.  You’re supposed to agree with me.”

“Even if you’re telling an out and out lie?”

“Especially then.”  Both Dick and Gar laugh.  Gar sobered up first.  “Besides, I think he’s supposed to be back in Gotham at the end of the week.  Tam’s pissed at him for skipping out on some of his meeting from his last visit.  She made him promise that he’d be back sooner rather than later.”  

Shit, Tim’s not comfortable with the way Dick’s eye’s lit up at the mention of Tam.  It’s the same way they’d light up for Tim when Tim gave Dick an idea for pranking Bruce.  

BB, however, doesn’t seem to notice.  Instead, he keeps barreling on.  “So, if you play your cards right, you should be able to see him in just a few days.  Okay, dude?”

“Gotcha.”  Dick’s eyes are still dancing.  

There’s a delightful new gnawing sensation in Tim’s gut.

Fantastic.

                                                   *     *     *

“I have an idea,”  Dick announces as he enters the Batcave.  Bruce doesn’t look up from the project he’s working on at his workbench.  Jason doesn’t stop his before patrol warm-ups.  

Jason calls over to Bruce.  “Ya better call the papers, B.  Dick had an idea.  Ya know how rare they are.”

Dick rolls his eyes.  Brothers.  “Yes, yes, your hilarious, Jason.  No, I had an idea about getting Tim back.”

Bruce put down the piece of something he’s trying to resemble and stares at Dick.  

Bruce’s stare isn’t anything compared to Batman’s stare but it’s still nothing to sneeze at.  Dick knows that something had been bothering Bruce since he had talked to Selina.  The Bruce’s Brood (patent pending) is stronger than normal.  

Dick eyes Bruce for a second before continuing on.  “I called Gar last week to ask him for a favor.  Asked him if he could give me any info on Tim.”

Jason stops mid pushup to stare at Dick.  “Bet he fuckin’ loved that.”

“No, he was partially happy with that idea,”  No, Dick, we aren’t going to spy on our teammate for you flashes in Dick’s mind before he shoves it aside.  “But he did say he’d take it to the rest of the team for a vote.  That was about a week ago.  Well, I just got a call from Gar.  The Titans are on board.”  

Jason’s jaw drops before he hops up and grabs a water bottle.  Leaning against Bruce’s workbench, he says, “ya honestly think they’re gonna fuckin’ tell you what’s goin’ on?”

“Gar said they would,” Dick insists.  “And it’s a place to start.  But, we’re getting off track.  No, Gar said that Tim was going to be back in Gotham at the end of the week for WE stuff.  So I was thinking, we need a way to get Tim to believe us when we say that we want him back, right?  Well, he’s got to be here in order for us to do anything so—”

“What?  Ya wanna ambush ‘em at WE?  That’s a fuckin’ terrible idea.  Remember what happened the last time ya did that?”

I’m not your Brother Dick.  

Dick flinches at the memory before pushing it aside.  They were going to have plenty of time to…correct Tim’s thoughts of whether or not he is or is not Dick’s family.

“No, that’s not what I’m thinking.  If Tim Drake is at WE that means that Red Robin will be patrolling.  If we can have his back when he’s patrolling, he might start to trust us again.  And isn’t that the goal?”

Jason rolls his eyes.  “Ya think that if we hang out with ‘em for a couple of nights that he’ll want to kiss n’ make up?  You're dreaming.”

Dick counts to ten before exhale.  “It’s a place to start.”

“Agreed.”  Bruce’s voice finally cuts in.  Both Jason and Dick whip around to stare at him.  “Tim…Tim needs proof before he’ll believe.  Believe in us again.”  Bruce pauses before shaking his head.  “The only way to get him to come back into the family is if he believes in us again but if we put too much pressure on him, he’ll run.”

“Like he did ta ya last week?”  Dick elbows Jason who doesn’t notice.

Bruce grimaces.  “Yes, well, Batman may have come on a little strong last week.”

“Little?”  Jason smirks.

“Enough Todd.”  Damian emerges from the shower toweling off his hair.  “Father, Grayson, if you really want Drake back in line, which I’m still unclear as to why—” 

“He’s family,” Dick’s exasperated at this point.  Sometimes his family was clueless.  “He’s fucking family and we fucking let him fall.  We failed him.”  Dick glares at Bruce.  “Did you know that Tim was on life support?”  

Bruce’s stony face is answer enough.  Damian’s smirk falters while Jason clenches his fists.  

“Yeah, didn’t think so.  Gar and Rave apparently called me and I missed the fucking call.”  Dick runs his fingers through his hair.  “We need to get him back.  Tim isn’t going to come back to town for us,” Dick ignores the way his stomach clenches when he says this, “but he will come back for work.  Let’s use that.  Right now, he’s only in town a few days a month.  At most.”

“Yes.  I would say work would be the only thing that Drake would come back for.”  

Damian’s sneer was firmly back in place.  Dick didn’t miss that Damian’s hands were slightly shaking.  Maybe he cares a bit more then he’s been letting on. 

“So we’ll use that.  And when he’s here, we’ll try and get him to, I don’t know, catch a movie with us, go on patrol, get him to have a goddamn conversation with us, something.  Then, we’ll try and ease him back into the family.”

“Tt.  That’s a dreadful plan, Grayson.”

“Do you have a better one?” Dick snaps.  None of the other Bats move.  “Great.  Then this is the plan we’re going with.”

                                                   *     *     *

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Tim.”  Cassie flips through her magazine.  “Trying to trick Batman is a terrible idea.” 

Tim’s due to back in Gotham later this afternoon.  He had been having this argument for the last half an hour.  “I know, Cass, you’ve made it clear that you don’t like what I’m doing.  You don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”  Tim straightens his tie.  “Besides, Tam will kill me if I don’t go to Gotham today.  Seriously,” he answers Cassie’s skeptical look, “I don’t think that Con could stop her.”

“Oh, I’m not crossing Tam, even for you, man,” Con claps Tim on the shoulder.  “She scares the crap out of me.  And, she doesn’t even need Kryptonite to do it.”

Cass waves her magazine at Tim.  “You know Vicki Vale says your having a secret affair with Tam again, right?”  

Conner snorts, “are they engaged again?”

“Not yet,” Cass skims the article, “apparently Bruce doesn’t approve.”

Tim sighs as he swings his duffle bag onto his shoulders.  “Can’t wait to field those questions.  Time to go.”

Giving Tim a critical look, Cassie finally put down her magazine.  “You sound like your going to your death.”

Tim grimaces, “worse.  I’m going to a city full of Bats who know I’m coming.”  

“Don’t worry, man.  It’ll be fun,” Tim gives Conner a look who just shrugs. “Or it’ll be terrible, in which case, you call me and I’ll get you out of there.  Win, win.”

Open mouthed, Tim stares at Con while Cassie shakes her head.  “We need to work on your pep talks, Sweetie.”

A few hours later (thank you, repurposed Batplane), Tim’s punching his code to his apartment.  

After Batman visit, Tim took all the bugs that Batman had planted and sent them back with a note saying better luck next time.  

There hadn’t been a response.

Admittedly, the fruit basket mighta been too much.  

Of course, that didn’t mean while Tim was at the Tower that Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood or even Robin (though, probably not Robin because all of his belonging were still intact) coulda come through again and planted more.

Even though Tim’s confident his security system would have alerted him to an intruder, he still put on a little show because, well, Bats.

Sighing, Tim enters his apartment, dumping his briefcase and duffle onto the couch while scanning the room.

Nothing yet.

Turning towards the hallway, Tim traces the wall with the tips of his figures, scanning all the while.  There wasn’t anything in the bathroom (and thank Gods, that’s one conversation he was glad not to have), his bedroom, living room, guest room, kitchen, or really, any room he searched.

Shanking his head, Tim opens the fridge.  Fuck, sometimes, I’m just as fucking paranoid as Bruce.

From the table, Tim hears the sound of his phone vibrating.  Closing the fridge, Tim sees Babs’ smiling face flashing from the screen.  

Fuck.  

Leave it to Oracle to know when I’m back in Gotham.

Before he could lose his nerve, Tim presses the speakerphone button.

“Hey, Babs, what can I do for you?”

“Well,” her tone is light, teasing, “you could give me half the Drake fortune and become my personal Tech guru.”  

Tim rolls his eyes.  “Is that all?”

Barbara laughs.  “It is.  But more realistically, you could have dinner with me tonight.”

Tim stops mid-search.  “I don’t know, Babs.”

“How much food do you have in your fridge right now?  And remember, I know when you’re lying to me.”

Sure.  Tim gives the offending fridge a dark look.

“I have this new magical thing.  It’s called a credit card.  And I can buy things with it.  Like food.”

“Great,” Babs matches Tim’s sarcastic tone. “You can use this new mystical item to get me dinner too.  And I’m craving a sub from that deli down the street from you.”

Tim resists the urge to slam his head against a wall. “They deliver.”  

Babs clicks her tongue.  “It’s not the same, Tim.”

Tim sinks down into a chair next to the table.  “Babs, I just got to Gotham.  I haven't even unpacked yet.  Rain check?”

“Tim, we both know you’re not going to unpack.  Come on, just an hour.  If I hear Jason tell me you ‘hit it with a hammer and light it on fire’ one more time, I’m going to do that to him.”

Tim pinches the bridge of his nose.  All he wanted to do tonight was veg out.  

Especially since tomorrow is (probably) going to be shit.  

However, he knew losing battle when he saw one.

“Fine, give me an hour.  I’ll bring food over to the Clocktower.”

“You’re the best, Tim!”  With that, Barbara hung up.

Tim gets up to take a shower before going over to the Clocktower (ignoring the growing gnawing feeling in his gut).  

It’s been there since BB called Dick, it’s not going to magically go away just because you want it to.  Suck it up, Drake.

Tim shakes his head, changing into Tim Drake clothes.  He pulls on blue jeans, one of his favorite shirts with an empty coffee cup equals dead battery on it, a pair of converse that were practically falling apart, and an oversized hoodie which he pulls over his head.  

All and all, he felt more like himself then he had in a very long time.

Tim shoved the gnawing feeling in his gut out of his head again.  All he was going to do was go, have dinner with Barbara, go on patrol then bed.  A few hellish days at WE and he could escape back to the Tower.  

Smiling, Tim goes down to his garage that housed everything from Tim Drake’s skateboard to Tim Wayne’s shiny new Jag to Red Robin’s newest (to Gotham) bike.  Tim grabs the keys to one of his daytime civilian cars.  

Unlocked the Jetta, Tim slides inside.  The outside might look shit but the inside was still in good shape.  The car had been one of the first things that Tim had bought when he had first moved out of the Manner.  At the time, Tim had wanted a car to get from point A to point B without hassle.  

And here's the winner, all these years later, still chugging along, much to Tim’s surprise.

Jiggling the key in the ignition, Tim manages to get the car to whine to life.  Grinning, Tim pulls out of his garage and into traffic.

                                                   *     *     *

Thanks for reading!

#Calling it #chapter 7 #fanfiction #Tim Drake #garfield logan #conner kent #bart allen #dick grayson #raven (DCU) #cassie sandsmark #Jason Todd #bruce wayne #Damian Wayne #barbara gordon

[kur0kvmi]

The Menacing Mind of Felix Lombardi-Act 2

I peek through the door glass one more time, to make sure I’m not hallucinating. Yep. Ami Fujinami in the mother, fucking flesh. 

“Felix? I know you’re in there, open up” Ami said, in between repeatedly knocking

“Yea I’ll open it up in a minute” I said as I frantically searched for a clean pair of sweatpants to wear.

Ami and I have known each other for the entirety of the 2 years I’ve been living at this apartment. She and her Grandma have taken pretty good care of me seeing as I’m not exactly the best at it. 

“Hi Ami, what brings you here?” I asked, trying to push out the conversation with my brother from my mind

“Well, a strange man in a dark blue suit was here yesterday and he gave me 2 tickets to Mysticon” 

And then it call comes rushing back

“Wow that’s weird, well have fun” I said as I tried to close the door on her, only for her to stop the door from shutting.

“He said he was your brother, and that I should ask you to go with me” Ami said, slowly edging towards me like she was trying to get a good look at the reflection in my eyeballs.

“Well, I have no idea who you’re talking about. I don’t have a brothe-”

“Hello? Mr. Lombardi? He said exactly what you said he’d say. Mhmm That he doesn't have a brother. Should I hand him the phone? Ok. Ok. I’ll tell him.” 

Oh fuck.

“He says if you don’t go to Mysticon with me, I should tell Obaa-san to lock you out of the wifi for a month” Ami said, in the most perfunctory tone imaginable.

“First of all, you can’t do tha-”

“Yes. Yes I can. And to be honest, I don’t care if Mr. Lombardi is your real brother or not, I want to go to Mysticon, and I don’t care who with. So you’re going with me Felix.” Despite the fact that Ami was more or less extorting a date out of me, she did so with the gusto and demeanor of a middle schooler who just won a spelling bee. 

“Why couldn’t you just go by yourself?”

“The deal is, I take you, and I get a free ticket. Mr. Lombardi was very clear about this” 

“So I have no choice”

“None at all”

“Alright. Come knock on my door on saturday”

“It is Saturday, you bum”

“Why aren’t we using your car?” Ami moaned as we exited the building. 

“The train is faster” I said, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of my jacket.

“Mysticon is in Hells Kitchen right?” Ami asked, whilst reaching into her backpack

“Yup, and it’s...3pm, traffic will be annoying, and I don’t wanna worry about driving back if I buy weed.” I said, pulling out my lighter

“What have I told you about smoking when you’re next to me.” Ami said, pulling out a batton, then flicking it to extend it’s length. 

I put the cig back in the pack, whilst prompting her to sheathe her weapon. Throughout the journey my mind is racing. Ami and I hanging out again? It’s not that I like her or anything, it’s just that I kind of missed her. Hey I’m allowed to have feelings aren’t I? I’m sure you’re wondering “but Felix, if you missed hanging out with her, why did you stop talking to her?” Why yes fair reader, that’s a very adequate question, however the nature of our relationship isn’t that simple. Ami is kind of an all around nerd aficionado, she cosplays, she writes fanfics, she draws, she sings anime openings on youtube, it’s kind of scary how much she does all over the place. Recently she’s started to get really famous online, she’s started to devote a lot more time to it, and She started ghosting. Being distant... And you know me, I ain’t exactly a butterfly myself, so we just drifted apart. She should be making money on youtube, couldn’t she just get her own tickets?

“Obaa San wouldn’t let me” Ami said as we reached the station. “She’s against anime conventions on principle”. 

“Is this about a ‘Japan is more than anime’ thing?” I asked, shifting over to the right as I stepped on the escalator so I could walk down past the standers.

“No that’s more my parents. Baa san is a reeeeaaally old school Otaku.”

“Then what’s her beef with anime conventions?”

“She thinks they’re ‘commodified caricatures of otaku culture’ or something along those lines” Ami said as we hopped on the train.

Granny Fujinami isn’t wrong in the slightest.

“So she won’t be mad at you for going?” 

“She’s only letting me go because I’m going with you. It’s aaalways about you with her.”

“Not my fault i’m the grandson she never had” I said while making a mocking face at Ami.

“She only loves you cuz you’re a broken mess she can nurture. You’re like my dad. Ugh, you’re like all men really.”

Ouch.

“Ouch.” 

“Suck it up loser.” Ami said, shifting her direction away from me. 

“You’re so cute when you go all Tsun” I said, pulling out my phone.

“That would imply me having any ‘dere’ for you.” Ami snapped back.

So hot.

[At the Convention]

What’s going on what’s going on going on. Everyone’s looking at us. Well I guess I am walking next to Amura. Yes that’s Ami’s social media name, you try coming up with something better at 12. Mine’s [REDACTED]. This is not what I signed up for. Louis Othello Lombardi you fucking bastard. You knew this would happen. You did your homework on Ami and figured out she’d be a lightning rod for attention. Keep me around her, and I’m bound to be assaulted by nothing. But. Fucking. People.

“OH MY GOD IT’S AMURA!” Two young girls screamed. “But I heard you weren't coming? You said so on twitter :(.“ I swear to almighty Haruhi Suzumiya, if there was such a thing as a frowny face emoji in real life, whatever that girl did was damn close. 

“Well change of plans ^_^” Oh my god, Ami can speak emoji too!

“So what panels are you going to? I heard Gail has a panel about anime piracy” Said one of the fangirls, angling towards it on the con directory. 

“Gail from Crunchyroll?” 

“Sounds fun! Felix, ikimasu!” Whoever this version of Ami was, I wanted NO PARTS. 

“Sounds lame. I’m going to the arcade.” I was putting my foot down

“Ok cool. Hand me your pass then. You can pay on your own.” 

“You can’t do tha-”

“Yes. Yes I can. You want this pass?.” Ami pulled out the 3 day convention pass out of her purse and dangled it in front of me. Obviously I tried snatching at it, only for Ami to move it out of the way. Damn japanese reflexes.

“Gotta be quicker than that. We’re going to the panel. Follow me.” Ami said, tossing me the pass.

“If you sneak off, I’m calling Obaa chan.” she said, in that her perfunctory yet declaratory way.  

“...So what you end up having is an environment where it’s harder and harder for us to justify hosting servers for anime distribution, because they don’t wanna pa- *ahem* because piracy.” Or something to that effect I’m not really listening to this Gail lady.

Anime piracy is a dumb thing to have a panel about anyway, it’s not like anybody in this room even knows how to torrent off wonwons, let alone\ how find the right codec for shows with bad compression. These are a bunch of crunchycores. The kinds of anime fans so hopped up on seasonal hype that the mere thought of an anime older than 12 months makes their tongues run dry, and their eyes wire shut.

“Are there any questions?”

“You got anything to ask?” chuckled Ami. 

“Why are we here. We both know Kissanime is in your bookmarks” I jeered.

“Networking dummy. I talk to Gail after the panel, and smooth out something over at Crunchyroll” For some reason Ami’s eyes did the dollars signs when she said “crunchyroll”

“In San Francisco? You’d hate it there.”

“I’d make it there. That’s the important part. I’d really make it. I’d be in.” 

“In what?” I said with a look of befuddlement. 

“You wouldn’t understand. You’re basically guaranteed a job after graduation” 

“Hey, don’t make it like tha-”

“Don’t make it like what Felix?” Ami snapped, but less with anger, and more a tired expression.

The Panel was beginning to wind down, and folks were getting up to leave. Ami bounced out of her seat and darted towards the stage. 

“Gaaaaaiiiil! Hiii, I follow you on twitter!” Ami screamed, like a schoolgirl seeing a classmate

“Amura! I follow you too! I love your singing” Gail responded in a surprisingly similar manner.

“Thanks so much, ugh. That means alot l love you and Sailor Bee’s podcast ^_^” This whole display was just. The worst. 

I backed off from the discussion, but I knew I wasn’t gonna be able to make it far without incurring that good old Fujinami wrath. Jeez they’re taking forever. Is this a meet and greet? Or a job interview. 

“Felix? Oh shit, how you been bruh?” This voice, I recognized it. 

I turned around, and yup, it was Tyler. 

“Who let riff raff like  you in here?” I said as we shook hands

“Is that any way to treat your one black friend:” He responded dryly. 

“I have plenty of black friends. Unlike you, most of my friends are girls.” I shot back. 

“Yea right, if you ever left your yuppie ass play pad I’d believe you.”

“You’d be surprised how many of em recognize me from Ami’s streams.”

“The streams she stopped inviting you to?” 

“Low blow T.” 

Tyler is a friend from Highschool who runs in the same online circles that I do. We keep in touch through discord and trade merchandise on message boards. He’s been trying to break into the FGC since middle school and recently struck a deal with a team based out of Brooklyn, The Mash Masters. He’s pretty good, quick reflexes, consistent muscle memory, but he lacks patience, and his neutral game needs work. 

“Where you headed to after this? Tryna hit up the arcade?” Asked Tyler as he picked up his backpack getting ready to leave. 

“I’m here with Ami, I gotta check and see where she’s headed to” 

“Whooptish” Tyler said, while making a whipping motion. 

“You know it’s not like that bro.” I shot back

“For her it isn’t, for you it is.” he retorted. 

I told him to wait up for a sec as I went over to Ami & Gail. They were still chopping it up like they’d known each other since band camp. 

“Shoot me a DM on twitter whenever you get the chance, I’d love to get you acquainted with the rest of my team. Maybe even talk bringing you to some other cons around the east coast ;)” Naruhodo, it seems this Gail is also of the emoji Clan. 

“Sure thing! Don’t forget to tweet out the channel link with the picture, and tell Vicky I said hi!” Ami said gleefully. 

“I definitely will, but uhh, she hates being called Vicky. Victoria or Sailorbee are just fine.” Gail responded, with a tinge of trepidation.

“Yea, I made that mistake on twitter once, it wasn’t pretty” I said with a chuckle.

“Oh hello, and who might you be?” Asked Gail.

“This is my friend Felix I was telling you about.” Ami said. Wait, telling her about what?

“Ah yes, the animator. Ami showed me your fan animation of Diebuster. Very interesting to see a Gainax show done with heavy Yutapon vibes” This lady knows her stuff.

“This lady knows her stuff” I said to Ami. 

“Of course I do silly, I work in the anime industry” The smile Gail shot me as she said this wouldn’t be out of place in a Shaft anime.  

“You definitely have some real skills. We’re looking for someone to do a sakuga heavy promo for our new youtube ad. If you’re interested, Ami has my contact info. It was so very nice meeting the both of you, don’t forget to keep in touch.” Gail said in a warm, professional tone as she got up to leave. 

“Well she seems nice” I said to Ami. 

“You’re welcome Felix.” Said Ami, in her usual biting tone. 

“I didn’t ask you for that. If I wanted a job at Crunchyroll I’d have one already.”

“‘Thanks Ami, I really appreciate you showing my work to someone really influential who can open doors in my chosen profession, would you like headpats?’” Ami said, in a mocking imitation of my sultry ciciillian speech pattern. 

“First of all, fine, thank you, that was a very nice thing to do, and I was pleasantly surprised. Secondly, do you seriously want headpats?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, you weirdo” And there’s the Tsun again. 

“I ran into Tyler, he says he’s going to the Arcade, and I was looking to go with. You in?”

“Tyler’s here? Yea sure, let’s go” 

Ami & I leave the stage and head over to where Tyler is sitting when I get a text on my phone. 

[11:58. Text from Lou]: Having fun?

[11:58. You]: Yea

He’s just like mom. 

“Oh my god it’s Amura! Could you sign my Fightstick?” Tyler sniggered, his fightstick outstretched. He’s such an asshole I love it. 

“Knock it off, I’d actually sign it if I didn’t know you’d just flip it on Ebay” Ami sneered, arms folded and head angrily tossed to the side. 

“Aww don’t be like that, I really did want your autograph. You’d be surprised how many Blazblue players would pay good cash for one” Tyler said, packing his fightstick back in his backpack. 

“If anyone’s gonna make money off the Amura brand it’s gonna be ME!” Ami retorted viciously.

“Now that’s just anti-black business” I said, chuckling as Tyler dapped me up. 

Ami rolled her eyes as heavy as she could roll them and stomped out of the conference room, and we sheepishly trailed after her.

By this point in the day I’d grown used to Ami being a lightning rod for attention. My camera skills must have leveled up big time from all those pics I had to take, of her with fans. Just getting to the Arcade area of the convention was a whole 20 minutes of photo after photo with weeb after arrested developed weeb, and to be honest I was practicing some big time restraint to not just walk out of the center and catch an Uber home. But surely enough, through fire by force, we found ourselves at the-

Boy was this the kind of place I wanted to be. The whole area was what you’d expect from a high profile convention in a big city. What seemed to be at least 30 TVs all hooked up with consoles spanning an entire auditorium. This wasn’t an arcade, it felt more like a Bazaar crossed with a colosseum. You have your old reliables for the boomers like Street Fighter, MK, ok that’s neat, there’s Melee, 64, Ultimate, Smash 4, oh even Brawl, full house, that’s impressive. As we moved through, you could imagine that there were furrowed brows due to the smell, but in all honesty it wasn’t as bad as most invitationals I’ve been to. We couldn’t find the game we were here for though; Blazblue. Tyler directed us to the kiosk so we could get directions. 

“Nigga where the Blazblue at?” Tyler said to one of the convention attendees, 

All the way at the back, by the Under Night” The Attendee responded.

I was just about ready to dart over there when Tyler said: 

“Nah hol’ up real quick bro, I got a question I gotta ask you” uh oh, I hear the Brooklyn leaking out. 

“Yea? Is there something wrong?” the attendee said, with a befuddled expression.

“Y’all always hide the anime fighters, what's up with that?” Tyler said blankly, almost with no life at all. 

“It’s not my decision where the games are set up-”

“That’s not what I asked bro. I’ve done conventions fam, I sat where you sat. NYCC 2017, bigger con than this, and from what I know about my time there, y’all have a meeting to coordinate where the games are set up. Correct?” Oh my god, Tyler what are you doing. 

“Yes correct” The attendee responded. 

“So you were in the room when the decision was made, correct?” This is so wacky

“Yea, but like, I didn’t have a choi-”

“Nobody’s asking about a choice, I’m asking you, what was the reasoning behind the decision?” Should I stop this? Or?...

“They didn’t want the anime stuff turning folks away” Oh no, here we go

“There it is” Tyler said triumphantly as he began to walk off. 

“Hey, I think it’s bullshit too ma-” t

“Yet you said nothing. You and all your boys said nothing. Aight, I see you fam. Haruhi’s watching you” Tyler said, his back already turned and walking away.  “Let’s go guys”

“Did you have to make such a big hoopla you maniac?” Ami said laughing her ass off. 

“Because I have Principles Fujinami, you should try em some time” Tyler snapped back. 

“That was the FUNNIEST shit I’ve seen all day, I’m so happy I knew to record that” Ami said, still cackling. 

“Wait you recorded that?” Tyler said, shocked

“I uploaded it. Enjoy being a meme” Ami said blankly.

“Not again…” Tyler sighed.

We finally make it to the Blazblue section, and it’s about as serviceable as you’d expect. Two TVs both hooked up to PS4s playing Central Fiction. There wasn’t much of a crowd, about 5 or 6 people, all looked to be around college age, couple on the boomer side though. All guys. 

“This game is so hyperactive…” Ami said, in a tone betwixt judgement and bewilderment. 

“Not every game gotta be Street Fighter” Said Tyler. “Ey yo, who got next?” Tyler asked a portly asian fellow playing Taokaka. 

“Uhh, I dunno, anybody got next?” the Taokaka player asked. The crowd shook their heads. “I guess it’s on you bro after this.” 

Nobody else noticed, But Tyler’s killing intent began to spike. I get you’re excited kiddo, but you haven’t even chewed the scenery yet. 

The game was pretty hype. There it was Taokaka vs Valkenhayn. Both characters with adequate rushdown capabilities and heavy damage. The Valkenhayn was an even match, but the Tao was just catching clutch reversals at every corner. It felt like seeing a tiger beat a lion by leaving a bigger gash every time they left the scuffle. Tyler, ever the professional, was quiet as a mouse. A mouthy prick like him? Quiet? I know right? But he gets like this when it’s Blazblue. The data collection phase. See if Street Fighter is Chess, then Blazblue is Mahjong. The same level of depth, but a wider variety of dealing with situational disadvantages and advantages. Tyler sees what I’m seeing and he’s analyzing, putting his pieces together, he’s not here for fun. This is off the job training. 

“FINISH” 6 red letters on the television screen. Read em & Weep. 

“My turn now right?” Tyler asked the Taokaka player. 

“Yup. What’s your name?” said the Tao player

“Tyro, and you?” oh yea I forgot that was his FGC name, everywhere else he’s Tyrilla. He sucks at names yes I know.

“I’m Yiao, nice to meet you.” Yiao said, pushing his glasses up.

The character selection screen pops up and… Wait don’t tell me he…Oh boy, Tyler’s picking his middle school main. Hazama. Yiao on the other hand started mousing over Tao then over to Litchi. Come on pick a character already. After more mousing, his cursor finally landed on Mai... From rushdown to range spam. Just all around bloodthirst.

Both of them sat in silence as the loading screen started up, until Yiao broke that silence.

“I’ve heard of you, Mash Master Tyro. To be honest I was hoping we’d meet. I have this Mai prepared just for you.” said Yiao. Yawn. This happens all the time. Tyler’s probably got him scoped already too.

“Yiao, third runner up at Anifight Staten Island. Three. Years. Running.” Yup, knew it. Tyler lives for this shit.

“You wanna know why HowRite was able to beat you 3 to nothing last year?” Tyler said, deadpan staring at the screen.

“THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING” oh shit the round is starting.

“Cuz he knew if he lost, he’d never get to face my mentor in the finals”

“But wait. Ulysses isn’t on your team?” Yiao said confused, the backstory here is really weird, I’d be confused as well to be honest. 

“REBEL 1” 

“Ulysses is my stepdad.” 

“ACTION”

Told you. 

End of Act 2. 

#short story #lightnovel #light novel #anime #fgc #independent author

[parttimeslave]

Red on Travelling

He hates it.

Not the sights themselves, no no, he adores all that - the Goldengate, the Space Needle, the foreign city streets littered with nice food and strange locals, the whole shebang - that's pretty neat.

No. It's getting to those places that irks him. The cars, the busses, and especially the plane rides. God.

He was in the underground all his life, and then he's sprung up to the surface and he sees the beautiful sky - scattered with clouds and sun rays and beautiful colors and twilight and stars and - wait. Is that star moving?

Yes, sweetie, that's a plane.

What?

A huge hunk of metal that fuckin flies through the air, moving passengers to and from the massive continents on the surface.

Red blinks. Well, he can't fault the humans for making use of the atmosphere that they have access to, right? He shrugs it off as another odd human thing.

Until you suggest going on one.

You've already enticed him with the clam chowder of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Griffith's Observatory in LA (appealing to his nerd side, you sly dog, you), and, oh hoo hoo, the roaring night life that Las Vegas has to offer.

The glint in his eyelights is unmistakable, so you start planning a trip for two up the West Coast of the US.

You run up to him one day with a whole folder of ideas and travel guides and coupons for the most popular tourist attractions in a number of cities. He makes playful mockery of your organisation, and pulls you into his lap to look through the folder with you. He's already outlining his favorites (there's a whole section just on Las Vegas Strip clubs), when you get to the end of the folder and there are flight details and quotes where you've highlighted the cheapest options.

His permagrin falters a bit. He completely forgot he had to get on a plane to do this. He remembers his first time seeing one, streaking ungracefully across the night sky, and his socket twitches. But he looks down at your smiling face, no worry or fear whatsoever, only excitement. He knew you'd done this before, you flew a lot and nothing had happened, ever. And, like a scared child gaining reassurance from a parent, he shoves his doubt aside and tells you to go ahead and book it.

The day comes and you've taken it upon yourself to drag both of you out of bed at 3am to be ready for the airport shuttle to pick you up at 4am sharp. He groans like he's been woken from death, whereas in reality he's hardly slept at all. One part insomnia, one part excitement, and one hundred parts suppressed anxiety.

The nag sits with him where his stomach would be as he watches his bags go along the conveyor belt behind the lady in the nice uniform, as he listens to you explain that they go into the plane well before anyone boards. He goes through security and the anxiety grows when he has to separate from you to go through a special security check for monsters. He growls low at the guard who jokes about his teeth being dangerous weapons, not in the mood for humour for once. But, he heeds your advice to just comply with these guys and avoid trouble. He meets you after the check and slides an arm around you, reluctant to let you go again.

You lead him to the gate, nice and early, and sit him down while you go and get you two some food. He calms down somewhat as he bathes his sub-par airport fries in mustard and laughs when you shush his jokes about bombs and hijacking.

At your cue, because he's been tuning out the annoying voice over the intercom, you both line up to board. He's fine as he goes through the gate, over the skybridge and into the plane, distracted by analysing the engineering of everything. You almost think you'll have to stop him from touching the control panel for the skybridge, but he just lingers over it curiously as he waits for the passengers in front of him to board.

His huge frame only just fits through the rows of seats, and you would find it comical if you couldn't feel the annoyance radiating from him, the poor soul.

He pushes his way into a window seat, and you take the middle seat next to the stranger in the aisle. He complains to you at full volume, and your only response is that this is how it is unless you wanna pay for first class. He tries to just pull you into his lap again, but you have to tell him no because the flight attendant will tell you off, and that he needs to put his seat belt on. Rattling bones seem to scare the stranger in the row you share, so you try to calm him by taking his hand and intertwining your fingers with his. You point out the window at the wing of the plane, and, in an effort to distract him again, you tell him to watch it as you take off. You even ask him about how he thinks the plane flies, hoping to get him talking about physics (even though you usually don't understand a word of it), but he only mutters something about pressure and the fuck-off huge engines.

His breathing is short and strained. If anything, he can't stand the waiting - he just wants to go. Why are we standing at the gate for thirty minutes? Come on, glowy wand guy, wave the fuckin things so we can go. He scoffs at the shitty rave down on the tarmac.

He sits, rigid in his seat as the plane taxis to the runway. The flight attendants are doing their rehearsed safety demonstration, and because you've flown a lot before you're only half paying attention, but you notice Red is watching intently. His eyelights dart to the exits, and you have to grip his hand to try and ground him again. You're guessing that he wants out, and you're very right.

Red has never been more desperate to teleport in his life.

Really the only thing stopping him is you, that grip of your hand on his phalanges is what's keeping him here, attached to this godforsaken machine. He closes his sockets as the plane lines itself up, but they snap back open when he feels himself start rocketing forward. He's desperate not to lose face and scream, so he clenches his jaw and almost breaks the armrest with a death grip instead.  He looks over at you, expecting you to be as shocked as he was, but you're not. All you've done is plant your feet more firmly to the ground and leaned back in your seat. You lean over to him to hug his arm and take a look out the window. He follows your gaze just as the plane plane rises from the runway and he gasps unwittingly, feeling his bones resist the sudden lift. He watches the ground fly swiftly away, and his vision is filled with the sudden aerial view of the city. He falls silent, and his fear is replaced with a strange mix of awe and adrenaline(or the monster equivalent.) he'd never been 50 feet above sea level before, let alone soaring through the fuckin air. He watched as things became smaller and smaller, until he could no longer pick out specific streets or cars, and it just became landscape under him.

The plane speeds through the air, and you point to the wings again to remind him to watch them. As the pilot makes slight adjustments to the aircraft’s trajectory, the parts of the wings are shifting and whirring, moving the plane up or down. His eyelights gaze over the mechanisms curiously, trying to glimpse the machinery beyond the metal plates. He listens to you explain that the tail of the plane probably does the same thing, moving the plane side to side instead. You aren't exactly fluent in flight mechanics, in fact you find yourself wondering just how planes actually fly, so you only offer the basics. Which you realise are probably also wrong.

The rest of the flight is easy. He inhales his tiny plane meal and asks for seconds, downs the free booze, and, surprisingly, there's only minimal grumbling about not being able to smoke anywhere on the plane. He doesn't mind the long hours of being sedimentary, he does that at home every chance he gets anyway. You do notice, however, that he hardly ever takes his eyes off the plane window. Not even to watch his movie, or when you cuddle into his side for a nap.

When you ask him why, he responds semi-jokingly that he's checking the fuckin thing’s still flying. You chuckle and pat him reassuringly, but his eyelights go straight back to the carpet of clouds beyond.

You explain to him the landing procedure beforehand so he has some idea of it before it happens. There's gonna be a big thunk, maybe two, but it's okay it just the wheels hitting the tarmac. Then the guy's gonna pull the break so we can slow down as we come into the airport.

He nods, but he still grips the armrest like it owes him money as the plane glides back down to Earth. He shoves his way off the plane as soon as he's able, basically dragging you at his heels. You give the affronted passengers a few apologetic looks, but you know it's better for everyone as soon as he's in the terminal.

You feel his breathing even out as he exits the skybridge and finds solidarity again, nothing holding him up except the earth itself. He glances down at you when you give him a reassuring kiss, telling him that the hard part’s over and now the fun begins. He chuckles, and though you don't know it yet, but he's completely serious when he says he's upgrading all your future tickets to First Class.

#dswriting #? #i do some writing occasionally #i think he did pretty well considering flying is the scariest concept in the fuckin world #reader insert #uf!sans/reader #ufsansxreader #underfell #selfship #redsanitizer #headcannons #hc

[bibliophileiz]

Charmed Labor Day marathon 2k18: Season 1 Episode 1

Episode 1: "Something Wicca This Way Comes"

We open in a fancy apartment in San Francisco where a lady with 90s hair is feeding her cat and chanting at an altar. 

Outside in the rain, a figure dressed in dark clothes climbs the fire escape, presumably for nefarious purposes. The figure somehow gets into the apartment and creeps up behind the witch. She turns around and seems to recognize him, asking him what he's doing there. He immediately pulls out a knife and stabs her.

Note from crime reporter: Generally people don't commit crimes outside their own homes when it's raining (because who wants to go commit burglary in the rain?), but I guess that rule doesn't apply to warlocks.

The scene then switches to the Halliwell sisters. The first scene with Prue and Piper passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. The conversation -- which also serves as a pseudo-introduction to Phoebe in dialogue -- veers from conversations about scheduling and maintenance issues, which include a mention of Prue's busy job at a museum, to Piper's burgeoning chef career. There is a mention of Piper's boyfriend, but I think we should let it slide because the sister's agree he's a "nice boyfriend" for demonstrating support for Piper's career by picking up something she needed for a job interview and also because (spoilers!) he's the baddie of the episode and needs an early introduction.

"(Phoebe) has no vision, no sense of the future." A little on the nose, show.

Lame Netflix theme song is lame.

We switch back to the murder victim from the first scene's apartment where we meet our intrepid detectives. Inspector Andy Trudeau, wearing a tan trenchcoat I love, believes the serial killer who killed the woman is targeting witches. He's been at occult shops chasing his theory. His partner, Inspector Daryl Morris, is skeptical. He doesn't believe in witches and wants Andy to stop talking about them.

Outside the apartment building, reporters have gathered, including Piper's boyfriend, Jeremy. He asks Andy to comment. "A woman was stabbed, plain and simple," Andy says, quoting Morris.

Then we get a real introduction to Phoebe. She's come back from New York to move back in with her sisters -- she told Piper, but not Prue. Turns out, she and Prue are estranged. Prue tells Phoebe they're not selling Grams' house. It's been in their family for generations. Phoebe doesn't need a history lesson -- she grew up here too. But it appears Prue's also mad because she suspects Phoebe of hitting on "Roger." Phoebe says she never did that and calls Roger an "Armani-wearing, Chardonnay-slugging trust funder." I really love Phoebe.

Anyway, Piper can't get them to speak civilly to each other, and they each depart to their rooms. Later Piper brings up some food for Phoebe and tells her to go easy on Prue -- after all, Prue practically gave up her own childhood to help Grams raise the them after their mother died. But Phoebe says she doesn't need a mom anymore -- she needs a sister.

Once tempers have calmed down, they all dress in pajamas and go downstairs to play with their old spirit board. Random fun fact about 11-year-old Iz: Piper's line "I asked it if Prue would have sex with someone other than herself this year," was the first time I ever heard masturbation referenced in a TV show.

Suddenly, the spirit board starts working on its own! Prue and Piper accuse Phoebe of pushing the pointer. "You always used to push the pointer," they say. Phoebe insists it wasn't her. Piper sees it move too. It spells out 'attic.' Piper is spooked enough to go to Jeremy's house -- they've never been able to get the attic door open. Prue is hyper-rational. The pointer didn't move by itself, Jeremy's not home, it will not be cheap for Piper to sit in a cab waiting on him to get home, and they'll hire a handyman tomorrow morning to get the attic door open. But Phoebe doesn't want to wait. She's going to the attic.

When she gets there, the door opens at her touch. She finds a book of witchcraft on an altar and reads a spell out of it. According to the book, if she reads the incantation, she and her sisters will receive magical powers that have been passed down from their maternal ancestor, a witch named Melinda Warren. Prue and Piper walk in as she's reading. Prue is furious and Piper is panicked. Luckily nothing has happened, they all agree, not noticing a picture of the three of them on the mantle has changed so that they're all standing closer together in the frame.

Also, Phoebe is wearing socks with sandals. In her house. Oh, the 90s.

Side note: Prue is so fucking gorgeous I can't even handle it. (She's really sexy in the pajamas.)

The next day, Phoebe tells Piper she stayed up all night reading a prophesy about three sisters destined to become the most powerful witches of all time. They protect the innocent by battling evil witches called warlocks. They're known as the Charmed Ones. But Piper tells Phoebe they don't have magical powers and heads off to her job interview.

Meanwhile Prue is already at work at the museum job.

I HATE ROGER!!

Roger is Prue's boss and former fiance. He tells her that the board of directors has decided to go ahead with a museum exhibition she implemented. But, they wanted someone with more experience to take it over. Prue is furious -- even more so when she correctly guesses that Roger is the one who gets the project. He tells her he couldn't say no to the entire board of directors and after all what's good for him is good for her. Prue disagrees and as she stalks off, the pen in Roger's pocket mysteriously starts squirting ink everywhere.

Anyone who says this show isn't feminist should watch this episode. Roger is every Lawful Evil villain in the RPG called Life As a Woman in a Patriarchal Society. Then you have the explicit sexism with Chef Moore in the very next scene, when he scoffs at Piper's audition recipe because it came from a women's magazine.

Speaking of that scene, when Chef Moore starts to try some of Piper's dish without her having added the very last ingredient -- port -- she throws up her hands in protest and he freezes. She calls his name, waves her hand under his face, and he doesn't move. Deciding to take advantage of her newfound power to freeze time, she quickly adds a drop of port to the bite Chef Moore has on his spoon. Then the power wears off and Chef Moore, having not noticed anything, takes a bite and declares it "Magnifique!" 

Piper has the job! She runs outside to call Phoebe from a payphone. Phoebe doesn't answer. As Piper hangs up and leaves the phone booth, she runs into Jeremy. 

Back at the museum, Prue walks into Roger's office and announces she quits. Roger tells her if she leaves with no notice, she won't get references. She's not worried. She's sure Roger's intellect will make quick work of the mountains of files she left behind. She thought breaking up with him was the best thing she'd ever done, but this tops that. As she leaves, he yells after her that he hopes she doesn't have any office supplies in her purse. Scowling, she mimes choking him and suddenly his tie tightens around his throat. Prue doesn't notice though, because she's already out the door.

Meanwhile, Phoebe is having a good day, riding her bike around the neighborhood. All of the sudden, she has a black-and-white vision of a car hitting a man on roller skates. As soon as the vision's gone, she sees the roller skating man -- just as a car rounds the corner. Yelling a warning, she darts into the street on her bike and is hit by the car herself. 

Prue goes to the hospital to pick up Phoebe where she runs into Andy. Turns out, they are old high school sweethearts and he is recently back in San Francisco. He asks her if she's still seeing Roger -- turns out he's been checking up on her. He is boyishly bashful, although his checking up on her is slightly creepier in the era before Facebook, when that sort of thing takes more effort. Anyway, they go their separate ways and Phoebe, who is ok after her run-in with the car, goes with Prue to Quake. Phoebe excitedly tells Prue about her vision and her theory that they, along with Piper, are the Charmed Ones. Prue tells Phoebe they do not have magical powers. Now where is the cream? At that moment, it magically appears in her coffee.

They go to the pharmacy to pick up the medication the doctors prescribed Phoebe after the accident. By this time Prue is stressed and pissed off. She asks where the Asprin is while Phoebe tries to get her to open up to the idea of powers. After all, everyone inherits something from their family. Phoebe mentions Roger and several boxes of Advil fall off the shelf. Phoebe realizes Prue moves things with her mind when she's upset and begins pressing her buttons. She brings up Dad, and now the real issues between the two sisters come to light. According to Phoebe, Prue is mad that Dad left, mad that he's alive, mad that Phoebe went to New York to find him and mad that she came back. Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad. The entire aisle's worth of medicine shoots off the shelves and clatters to the floor. Prue feels better.

Meanwhile, Piper's still hanging out with Jeremy. They've had dinner at a Chinese restaurant and are now in a cab heading back to Jeremy's place. Piper asks him if anything unexplainable has ever happened to him. He says sure -- it's luck or fate or destiny. Why does she ask? She tells him to forget it -- even if she could explain it, he'd swear she was crazy. They flirt some and then he asks the cab driver to take a detour. He wants to show Piper something.

He takes her to a creepy abandoned building. They get on the elevator, even though Piper is reluctant. He promises her the view is amazing. He bets she tells Prue and Phoebe the moment she sees them. Piper is surprised -- she hadn't told Jeremy Phoebe was back in San Francisco. "Oops," he says and whirls on her, holding a knife. He's known they would receive their powers ever since Grams died. He's been waiting for Phoebe to come home so he could steal all their powers. In the meantime, he's been killing other witches for their powers.

Panicked, Piper throws up her hands and Jeremy freezes. She manages to escape the elevator and goes home where she tells Prue and Phoebe what happened. They run upstairs, find a spell in the Book of Shadows to make a former lover go away (useful spell, amirite?). They cast it and thorns burst out of Jeremy's flesh as he approaches the house. It hurts, but it doesn't stop him. Phoebe has a vision that he will be there and tells her sisters.

At that moment, Jeremy breaks into the house. Prue tells her sisters to go to the attic and stands in the stairway, blocking Jeremy from following them. "You were always the tough one, weren't you Prue?" he says mockingly. Prue turns and runs into the attic after her sisters. The barricade the door and grab hands. They begin chanting the spell out of the book. "The power of three will set us free." Jeremy ... explodes.

(image from imdb.com)

The next day, Andy shows up at the house while Prue is checking the mail. He asks her out, but she is hesitant. She tells him her life has gotten complicated. He promises to see her around. As he's leaving, Piper and Phoebe come outside. They discuss whether Prue can date -- Piper and Phoebe assure her she can because witches usually get the best guys -- and they all realize their lives are about to change. Prue says they are going to be careful, they're going to be wise and they're going to stick together. As they all get into the house, she turns around, smiles and closes the door with her mind.

If you do a meta reading of this episode, it's all about the power of women standing up against men trying to steal their power -- from Roger taking Prue's exhibit at the museum to Jeremy literally murdering women to steal their magical powers. The women prevail by embracing their strengths and abilities. Prue one-ups Roger by quitting, leaving him to do the labor she would have done had she been in charge of the exhibit and which he's not capable of doing. The Halliwells defeat Jeremy by combining their magical powers, strengthened by the bond as sisters, and killing Jeremy. Good, strong, feminist episode and a good start to the series. If I have a problem with this episode, it's that the sisters don't really do any mystery-solving -- Jeremy reveals himself to them, without them doing anything to seek him out. But since they're only just discovering their own powers, I think it's fine in this case.

This episode was the most important one to recap because it sets up the whole show. My other posts will have more episodes and shorter watch notes -- promise.

#charmed labor day marathon 2k18 #charmed #iz does meta feminist readings of things sometimes #i didn't intend for this to turn into an episode recap but here we are