#other ideas include c sharp as a piper

[tu-es-gegg]

i feel so fuckin clever for the java barista programmer concept

[dunderhead99]

♥!!!!!Operation: Child Support (Part 7)!!!!!♥ 

(( ♥!!!!WARNING: NOSE BLEED/WOLF ATTACK!!!!♥ ))

(( Carol Belongs to @reanimatedbrainmeat and Angelo belongs to @fluffy--mafia and I know their parts were kinda short in this one but imma try and make up for that next chapter. I got so many ideas and I hate that I can't fit em all iiiiin TwT))

🔥 C- Carefully 

🔥 H- Handle

🔥 I- Ill

🔥 L- Lost

🔥 D- Daughter 

❄ S- Supervise  

❄ U- Uplift

❄ P- Provide

❄ P- Protect

❄ O- Observe 

❄ R- Rehabilitate 

❄ T- Treatment 

/////////////

“Everyone smile for the camera!” Angelo called as he set the camera's timer before joining with the rest of the family that stood in front of the garden's pond to set the scenery.

Carol and Angelo stood side by side with Father who stood over the Delightful Children, including Bailey. 

Bailey had been centered with the Delightful Children, who seemed to be putting on forced smiles except for David, who wore a more cold neutral expression most of the time. 

It was hard to tell what any of them were thinking. 

Carol had been holding onto goat baby Piper, who seemed to be growing fussy from the cold nippy air. 

They would whine and kick in the bundled constraints of a soft blue blanket Carol wrapped them in to conserve a little warmth. 

“Oh, Piper, hang in there just a moment longer, darling.” Carol hushed gently. 

As the camera counted down the last few seconds, there would be a slight drop of melted snow that slid off the branch of a blossom tree that landed right on Piper's forehead.

The snow caused Piper to fuss louder, and unexpectedly, tendrils would be lurking from underneath the bundling blanket, flailing around in an angry manner. 

Piper wanted to go inside, and Bailey looked like she was about to run, but Father sensed her fear, and decided to put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from freezing up. 

“Slow your roll, Piper isn't gonna eat you… probably- They ate, right?” Father asks Carol, which Bailey laughed off nervously as a twisted joke of his.

“Uh- M-Miss Carol? Is the baby alright? They seem a bit upset-” Bailey gasps as she has to dodge a tentacle from whacking her glasses off. 

“Believe it or not, that's normal.” Angelo says nonchalantly. In other words, same shit, different day. 

“Oh, they're just a bit cold, but we'll warm up inside soon. Say cheese everyone!” Carol chirped, seeming very calm as she casually held the demon spawn in her arms that wailed, wriggled and screamed very unhappily.  

In the end, the family photo turned out as well as it could have with little Piper being in the middle of their small tantrum with the cold elements. 

Angelo had a smile that could kill, Father held a sharp gaze, Carol stood prideful, and as pleasant as Bailey was, the fear in her eyes was evident through that tense smile she held as the camera flashed to take the photo. 

“Absolutely beautiful, Dew Drop! This family is truly complete now.” Carol smiles before hanging the freshly framed family picture on the wall.

Carol gently pet Bailey's hair, finding how easy it was to be a motherly figure to the girl.

Although Carol could never replace Bailey's mother, she wanted to be the positive female role model she could be for her. 

Of course, that wasn't hard to accomplish, considering how well Bailey had been taken care of.

The Delightful Children all roll their eyes as they listen to Carol coddle who they considered to be a stain of the family. 

Standing out in the hallway of the living room, they end up pushing Lenny inside toward Carol and Bailey so that they can enact their personal mission, Operation: Bleach Out. 

The first trial of the plan was for Lenny to lead Bailey toward the outskirts of town to abandon her in the woods. 

“Wait- I'm starting to have some second thoughts about this-” 

Before Lenny could utter more, Carol noticed the red helmet boy before calling him along. 

“Lenny, dear, don't be shy. Why don't you spend some quality time with your sister?” Carol bubbled. 

“Oh- That's really okay. I'm sure he would rather-

… Oh…” Bailey's soft tone of voice hadn't caught Carol's attention as she began to walk away on her CEO level heels. 

“If anyone needs me, I'm going to be working on a few special things in my workshop…. And to ensure that Piper doesn't burn the house down. They were pretty fussy this morning.” The sound of Carol's heels would softly fade as she walked out of sight, which left Bailey with lil Lenny. 

Lenny felt a little stand-offish and awkward, but he had his part of the plan to complete, and then they would be rid of the stain forever. 

“... So! Heh… It was a nice morning, aside from the chill. I know that was my fault.” Bailey began, trying to be light and positive.  

“I'll try not to make it a habit, but if you ever want a snow day, you know who to come to. Ahah- just kidding. That would be kinda irresponsible.” Bailey chuckles, but at this point, it felt like she was desperately trying to fill in for the uncomfortable silence. 

Lenny was silent and stared at her blankly for a moment, wondering how this operation would progress and move itself along.

He had to begin with the first phase of getting Bailey out of the house and showing her around the neighborhood.  

“Um… So… What would you like to do, Lenny? … Actually, where's everyone else? I've never seen you without them until now.” Bailey noted curiously over the absence of the other Delightful Children. 

“They're around. I just wanted to spend quality time with my sister.” Lenny lied. 

“I was actually thinking we could go for a little stroll.” He suggested. 

“I don't mind that. I'll try not to freeze the neighborhood again.” Bailey smiles, thinking that Lenny meant well enough.  

“uh- maybe grab a jacket just in case. I don't want to give you a cold.” She added. 

Grabbing his jacket, Lenny was ready to stroll with Bailey down the neighborhood sidewalk.

As they walk along, he notices the trail of frosty steps she leaves behind, and how chilly it was to stand near Bailey, something he also felt during picture time as well. 

“Why are you always so cold?” Lenny shivered slightly. 

“Huh? Oh, I'm sorry… Here.” Bailey took off her scarf to wrap around lil Lenny. 

“Hey what are you-!?” Lenny tensed, and it took a moment to realize Bailey had given lil Lenny her scarf to warm up in her presence. 

“... Your scarf? Aren't you cold?” Lenny asks as he pointed out the slight blue skin frosting on Bailey's neck area. 

“... It'll keep you warmer than me. I'll be alright.” Bailey ensured. 

It was one of those nice kind hearted acts that Lenny wasn't sure how to react to. 

Why was she so nice? All it did was make things more frustrating for him, and he couldn't help but scoff to himself. 

“Yeah, that's what you said last night. Then you froze the entire house, and caused a snow day in the middle of April.” Lenny replied flatly.

“Well… That's a bit different. I just have trouble sleeping.” Bailey began, drawing her hands into her sweater sleeves. 

“I don't know why. Isn't it more comfortable in our home than out on the streets?” Lenny inquired, perhaps with insensitivity.

“Of course. …. It's not that I'm ungrateful. I know very well that Papa could have turned me away.” Bailey says more softly. 

“Then why are you always so gloomy? You hardly eat, you freeze at any given moment, and you hardly even make eye contact when someone's speaking to you. Carol obviously wants to be a mother figure to you, and you haven't even called her by Mother yet.” Lenny was quick to point out. 

Most teens wouldn't have the patience, but Bailey drew in a deep breath, looking down at lil Lenny as the frost crunched beneath her steps. 

“I appreciate everything Miss Carol is doing to welcome me. There's only so much she can do.” Bailey says.  

“Only so much? What else do you need?” Lenny asks rhetorically. 

“My Mama” Bailey answered simply, which left a bit of a silent momentary gap between them. 

“But- she's not coming back, so… I have to accept that eventually. I mean… I have, and I haven't.” Bailey says, looking forward along their walk. 

Lenny wasn't really sure what to say, feeling a strange sense of foot-in-mouth syndrome. 

Perhaps he never thought of Bailey as someone with a past, only having seen her as a stain that made the family weaker as a unit. 

“.... Why did she leave you?” Lenny asks. 

“.... I'm not really sure.” Bailey answered in a bittersweet kind of tone. 

As they walked, a small cloud formed over Bailey's head, and it began to rain slightly, so Lenny would have to make a distance between them to refrain from getting drenched by Bailey's rain cloud. 

“Is she always this gloomy?” He muttered to himself, and Bailey could tell how annoyed he was already.

“Sorry… Do you just want to turn around?” Bailey figured that her emotions were getting the best of her, which was affecting her powers, but the tears were easy to blend in under the rain.

They couldn't turn around just yet, Lenny still had to lead Bailey and ditch her all the way into the outskirts. 

“No- let's keep going. There's a pathway that's nice to stroll through this time of day. We should go.” Lenny insisted. 

“Alright. It is a pretty nice day for a small hiking trail.”

“I know the path like the back of my hand. Then, we'll return home.” Lenny insisted confidently. 

Lil Lenny guides Bailey through the old wooden gate that divides the neighborhood from the woods.

There would be a small path that resided by an old abandoned window mill near the bottom of the hill. 

“Do you come here often? I never would've thought you were the venturing type. Especially all the way out here.” Bailey says, taking in the natural atmosphere of the forest. 

“There's lots of things you don't know about me. Or our family.” Lenny says rather harshly. 

Bailey was a bit stuck between a rock and hard place because no matter how she tried to converse, Lenny didn't seem to want to uphold any conversation. 

He seemed to want to speak with her as little as possible, probably because he knows what he's about to do.

“..... Lenny… Can we just talk? Like- is there anything you need to get off your chest?” Bailey knew from the moment the Delightful Children started messing with her that something was wrong, and the tension only seemed to be growing like weeds in a garden since then. 

“Like what, exactly?” Lenny tried to play it off, but perhaps there was frustration growing within him, the deeper they ventured into the darker part of the woods.

“... I think I know what it is, but you gotta meet me halfway, Lenny. I don't know what to do other than try to understand. That's all…” Bailey sighs. 

“Okay, fine. You wanna know what the problem is?” Lenny shot a glare towards her through the darkness of his helmet, his blue eyes piercing like hateful daggers. 

“It's me.” 

“It's You! …. Wait-” Lenny didn't expect Bailey to answer so clearly for him. 

“I know it's me, Lenny. My issues have nothing to do with you, and I know it probably feels really messed up and unfair that I'm in your space. I realize that.” Bailey says softly.

“.... So- then- why do you put up with it? Huh? You seem to let everything roll off your back. Why don't you just stand up for yourself already?? Why do you have to be so soft??” Lenny snapped, perhaps letting a bit of anger get the best of him. 

Bailey didn't have any answers for him though, and she was unable to utter an answer he would understand. 

“... Tch… It doesn't matter. You make us weaker as a unit. You're no Wigglestein, you'll never be cut out for this life. You should get out while you still can.” Lenny says. 

Although it did come off harsh, there was a little bit of warning in his undertone. 

“.... You're probably right, Lenny. But I've been running for so long at this point. I don't know where else I'd run off to.” Bailey says truthfully.

She wasn't hurt, or angry, or devastated.

Bailey seemed to speak from a place of exhaustion, as the raincloud kept pouring over her.

Lenny saw how pathetic and pitiful the scene was, and he had to force himself to turn his back to her.

“Don't make this harder than it has to be.” Lenny says shortly. 

At that point, Bailey caught onto the real purpose of this walk, but she still wasn't angry at him.

She understood his frustration, and the last thing she wanted was to cause any issues. 

For one thing, she didn't have the energy to fight.

Without saying much, Bailey turned and made an opposite direction into the woods, leaving Lenny to return home once she made a decent distance between them. 

As he hears her footsteps fade away, he walks along the path, only to hear a dreadful crunch of a twig nearby. 

With a groan, Lenny turns around, presumably to tell Bailey off again. 

“Didn't I tell you to go away??” Lenny practically shouted, but he quickly silenced once he heard low growls coming from the shadows, paired with hungry yellow eyes that glow through the brushes of leaves and tall grass.  

His throat went dry as he found himself backing up against a tree, his body tensing, as if preparing for what would come next. 

The grey wolf stepped into the sliver of sunlight that broke through the tree's, having a hungry predatory glare at the small helmet boy. 

“N-Nice wolfy-” Lenny trembles in his spot, having limited options and nowhere to run.

Even if he did run, the wolf would've been much, much faster. 

Before Lenny even gets the chance to act, the Grey Wolf lets out a loud howl that echoes through the forest, before going to pounce on his meal.

Lenny let out a natural fearful scream as he shields himself for the worst to come. 

Surprisingly though, Lenny is saved when the wolf is tackled to the ground by an unknown force. 

He looked up to see that it was Bailey. 

She had managed to come back as soon as she heard the wolf's howl. 

Bailey struggled and fought the wolf with an energy that Lenny didn't know she even had. 

It was like watching a whole other person as Bailey clung onto the wolf's back, her arms coiled around its neck as she struggled to fight him off away from Lenny. 

“RUN LENNY!!” Bailey shouted as the wolf snapped and snarled at her angrily. 

She kept yelling at Lenny to run, but he had actually stood there frozen, perhaps in shock at what he was seeing. 

The wolf ends up getting the upper hand as he easily throws Bailey off its back, making her fly hard with her back against the tree. 

The wind had been knocked out of her, and the wolf stood over her with malice. 

“Run Lenny! RUN!” Bailey kept shouting as she then had to fight the snapping jaw of the gray beast.

Lenny knew he should have run, but instead, he does something that the other Delightful Children would've considered a stupid move. 

He bravely takes a large rock and throws it hard over the wolf's tail, causing it to howl and whine in pain. 

“BAILEY!” Lenny shouted for her to get up while she had the chance. 

Bailey gets up and takes Lenny by the arm, sprinting with him as fast as she can because the wolf would not be too far behind. 

Time was essential and limited, so Bailey ends up pulling Lenny over her back so they can both make it to safety. 

Although it was the last thing Lenny wanted to do, he clung onto Bailey with dear life. 

He didn't even care that Bailey's rain cloud was still pouring down over their heads, although it wasn't raining anymore, it was more like pelts of icy hail that the wolf would occasionally slip on, which did buy them a little time to stay ahead. 

“Run faster!!” Lenny shouted anxiously, hearing the thumping of the wolf gaining onto them, as well as his heart pounding against his chest. 

Unfortunately, they didn't make it to the old abandoned windmill by the hill, like they originally entered, which meant they were a little lost. 

“Lenny, how do we get back home?” 

“I… Uh… I don't know-” Lenny began. 

“What do you mean you don't know??”

“Look! A lot is happening right now! I can hardly concentrate!” Lenny snapped, right before a dreadful howl could be heard not too far behind. 

“Lenny- Just… Just go. Go find your way home, I'll be fine.” Bailey set Lenny down.  

“What?? You're insane! You'll get eaten!” Lenny argued. 

“Then that'll make me more or less your problem, won't it?” Bailey took a breath before staring down the wolf that locked his hungry eyes on them as he approached. 

Lenny stood a little behind Bailey, unsure of what he should do. 

The wolf was slowly inching closer, and Bailey still stood her ground, frost forming around her feet, this time with a greater purpose. 

Her mission was to keep Lenny safe, which meant she was going to have to fight whether she wanted to or not. 

“Lenny, look away.” Bailey warned. 

Lenny in fact, did not look away, as Bailey started approaching the wolf herself.

She was a lot less timid, as she used her icy magic to make ice form around her arm before the wolf could get a chunk off with his teeth. 

In the end, biting down on the icy gauntlet ends up with him losing a tooth or two. 

With the other icy gauntlet, Bailey reached an arm back to land a hard punch to crunch the wolf's sensitive nose. 

It probably stung worse than anything, and the wolf whines grow louder with a sound of defeat, especially when Bailey began forming what looked to be a scythe weapon made entirely out of ice. 

The wolf would whimper before running back into the shadows of the woods, and once they were finally safe, Bailey fell to her knees with a newfound exhaustion. 

It had been forever since she used her powers to fight like that, as that use of energy is very draining in her condition. 

She used all she had in order to protect Lenny, and blood could be seen draining from her nose from the strain. 

Her eyes had turned red during that sequence as well, which were now dulled into a more purple haze as opposed to their more natural ocean blue color. 

“Lenny…. Are you okay?” Bailey turns back to Lenny before the dizziness ends up taking her into a blackout, and she falls onto the dried leaves below that cushion her unconscious fall. 

[douxreviews]

Charmed - Season Two Review

"Our job is to protect the innocent, not punish the guilty."

In a lot of respects, Charmed's second season is stronger that the first. With no real "sophomore slump" to speak of, the series quickly settles into a fantastic run of episodes that make great use of the groundwork laid by the debut season. Spoilers and Gordon bashing ahead!

Season opener 'Witch Trial' is brimming with confidence. There's such an ease to how this season uses each sister, and how they interact has never felt more organic and fun than it does here. Following the previous season's finale, Andy's death is still causing ricochets through the Halliwells' lives, and Prue's struggle to get back on the “witch's saddle” is played really well. There's a heartbreaking monologue in the premiere in which Prue voices her struggles with her ability to do good, when she feels like she's responsible for her first love's death. Shannen was always one of the strongest cast members, and that scene always springs to mind when I think of how great she was in this role. The way Piper and Phoebe comfort Prue in this moment feels so right, too. I love these three gals.

The best of episode of the season (and a series highlight) is 'Morality Bites', an even more affecting hour than the premiere. It features the show's third major brush with time travel – this time to the future – where a decision to punish a guilty man leads to Phoebe literally burning at the stake. Though it relies on some simple ideas, there's a powerful lesson to be learned, with the sisters facing the hard truth behind why they can only use their powers to protect, not punish. That one line always hits me where it hurts: "The wrong thing done for the right reason is still the wrong thing.". 'Morality Bites' is also Alyssa Milano's best work; you can really feel Phoebe's pain throughout. There's a further brush with time travel later on in the season as well and although it doesn't resonate quite as much as 'Morality Bites', there's still a lot of fun to be had. 'Pardon My Past' toys with the theory of past lives and how souls can grow and evolve over time. The hour neatly ties into that recurring theme of Phoebe's latent dark side, a concept that was explored to great effect in last season's 'Woogy' episode. And who can resist an opportunity to dress up the cast in 20's garb?

Season Two also picks up where episodes like 'That '70s Episode' left off, delving further into the intriguing Halliwell family history, notably in 'P3H2O', a powerful chapter that reveals the girls' mother's affair with her former Whitelighter Sam (a twist that becomes quite significant – and very useful for the producers – come Season Four). The episode itself features some beautiful and heart-breaking moments for each sister: Piper falling into her mother's footsteps with Leo and eventually realising that she has to let him go; Phoebe being forced into reliving her mother's final moments in order to stop the demon who killed her; and Prue confronting her fear head on and eventually avenging Patty's death. There are some lighter episodes that make great use of the dynamic performances of the core cast, too. Despite some questionable examples of this ('She's a Man, Baby, a Man'), episodes like 'Astral Monkey' and 'Chick Flick' are a lot of fun, with the latter standing out as one of the best examples of how inventive and sharp the writing team could be when they really wanted to.

What lets the second year down is the introduction of the series' first truly sucky characters: Dan and Jenny Gordon. The latter's brief run of episodes seems to serve very little purpose other than to throw in a younger person's perspective into the series and force Dan into the Halliwells' lives. Her barely explained disappearance after just a handful of episodes seems to indicate some sort of an awareness of how grating a character she ended up becoming. As dull as he is, Dan isn't necessarily as problematic as the storyline he represents; the show's worst love triangle. He's a total bore, but I feel like he's more of a victim of circumstance than anything else, primarily serving as a c*ck-block between Piper and the then well-established Leo, who were clearly the end-game couple of the series. His hasty exit at the close of the season is probably the only reprieve where his arc is concerned, allowing Piper and Leo to properly pursue their love affair, which leads to more threatening, and subsequently more interesting roadblocks in Season Three. I do feel obliged to point out how awful Leo is for a significant portion of this arc. He's unfair, judgmental and forces Piper into some very uncomfortable situations just to prove a point. Give a girl some room! Leo's struggles with his temporary transition back to human form are mildly interesting, though they don't last very long and are drowned out by the melodramatic hoopla of the love triangle.

An unfortunate amount of this season’s run time is spent on Piper's conflicting feelings for Dan and Leo, but we do get some great character work elsewhere. Piper's professional life sees a major overhaul following her decision to quit her job at Quake last season, as she transitions from restaurant manager to club owner. Said establishment, P3, is a fun hub of activity for the girls, and a handy way for the network to parade a multitude of musical guests onto the show. It also feels like the right move for a character who's starting to really come into her own and take control of her life. Prue's deconstruction from the uptight matriarch of the family continues this season, with episodes like 'Ms Hellfire' playing with her wild side. In that regard, her decision to leave her by-the-numbers job at Buckland's to pursue her actual dream of becoming a photographer makes total sense, though it still baffles me how an inexperienced photographer like her managed to worm her way into a job at an established magazine. Phoebe's arc weirdly feels like it's bringing both Prue and her back to some kind of middle ground; just as the eldest sibling starts to let go of her inhibitions, Phoebe makes the decision to start becoming more responsible and actively pursues her unfinished college degree. Gone are the days of the hotel lobby psychic! Like Prue and Piper's arcs, Phoebe's also feels natural and right for her character, and is satisfying for those who have been following her journey since the first episode.

Potions and Notions

Darryl is brought in on the magical secret in 'Ms Hellfire', which thankfully curbs the risk of any repeat of the antagonism the girls faced from a frustrated Andy last season.

Prue is the first sister to develop a whole new power this season; Astral Projection. It's actually a fairly cool advancement and it's used really well.

The Source, the leader of the underworld, is mentioned for the first time in ‘Give Me a Sign’.

Spells and Chants

Phoebe: "The wrong thing done for the right reason is still the wrong thing."

Prue: "I know someone who can see anything." Phoebe: "Oh, no. Wait a minute. You tiptoe around the subject of Mom, you deny looking like her, you can't even go to the end of that dock because you're afraid to walk in her footsteps and now you want me to relive her last moments? How is that fair?" Prue: "It's not. None of this is. Mom's death, Sam's guilt. But I'm asking you to help me end it."

Piper: "Wait, Phoebe, you enrolled? This is huge!" Phoebe: "Hugest thing I've done since I came back home. I mean, aside from vanquishing demons and saving the world from evil, of course."

Billy: “Don’t you just hate exposition?” Phoebe: “Tell me about it…”

Best Episode: Morality Bites.

Honorable Mentions: Witch Trial, P3H2O, Ms Hellfire, Pardon my Past, Murphy's Luck, Chick Flick, Astral Monkey.

Worst Episode: They're Everywhere!

The show's second year is permeated by some drab and drawn out love-life drama, but it's largely a solid follow-up to the show's charming opening season, one that ups the ante and includes several episodes that are among the series' best.

8 out of 10 magic monkeys.

Panda