milliways_bar | EP: Kate Barlow | Main Bar, Library (age spell plot)

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EP: Kate Barlow | Main Bar, Library (age spell plot)

It had been a quiet day for Kate when the loud BWA-BOOOOOOOM shook the bar. She'd just settled down after her nightly chores in the stables, easing the tension out of her back in an armchair by the fire, sipping on a hot tea with bourbon in.

(It's getting close to All Hallows' Eve, and that's making her anxious.)

However, she didn't have all that long to think about the approaching holiday before she was seeing the room from an even lower vantage point, face scrunched in distaste at the liquor on her tongue. She blinked at the teacup and quickly set it down, jumped to her feet, and looked around the strange room.

" ... Daddy?"

Kate Barlow, aged twelve, was off in search of her father.

What she found instead were the libraries.

Now, far calmer, a young Kate sits amid a pile of books, occasionally sweeping cautious glances around the room. She's finding the words of Jules Verne to be a comfort at present. Clearly she slipped and bumped her head during chores, or stumbled onto a glorious vessel somewhere in deep space. She isn't quite sure what to make of it right now, but anywhere with an endless supply of science fiction can't be all that bad.

[ooc: open forever! you may find Kate in the library or the main bar. if your character wants to be in on a heist, they can take this opportunity to meet Kate. the actual heist will happen in a later post, so it's not required you tag this one (I'll update all interested parties once it's all in place). if you'd like me to send Kate round to one of your posts, just let me know!

tiny!tag: age spell plot]

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And he gives her hand a firm shake once, twice, then lets go. There! That wasn't so bad. He quickly sticks his hand back into his pocket.

He chuckles.

"You even sound like the cowgirls I seen on on TV."

Oh. Well, she wasn't expecting that.

She blinks once, twice, and withdraws her hand. She very subtly rubs her palm against the folds of her skirt.

"What are 'TV shows and comic books'?"

Humorous plays?

"Oh, uh--"

He scratches the back of his head.

"TV shows are like short movies that you watch at home. On a-- TV. A television set. It's a-- a box with a screen-- uh. I could prob'ly show you better, I think I saw a TV out by the bar. But comic books are like-- stories with pictures, but they ain't like regular picture books 'cause the the characters talk with speech bubbles and-- well, hey, we're in a library, I bet we can find some comic books here so you can see what I mean. Wanna come look?"

It'd be a helluva crappy library at the end of the universe if it didn't have comic books.

She scrunches up her nose at the first part of his explanation. He don't make no sense.

"What's a moo-vee?"

However, the second part of his explanation, though no less confusing, sounds interesting. Kate loves books with pretty pictures. Especially the ones here with all those fine colors.

"All right. Show me one'a these comic books, but then you've gotta ride a pony. It just ain't right, boy your age."

"A movie's a--"

He huffs a sigh, scratching his head again.

"Don't worry 'bout it, I can explain it later when I show you the TV."

And they head off to explore the rest of the library, Tommy in search of the periodicals stacks.

"I'd rather you show me how to shoot, if it's all the same to you."

"I didn't bring my gun."

It's her daddy's gun, to be fair. But it was a stupid assumption all the same.

Why is she following after him again?

"How do I know you wouldn't shoot your eye out?"

He rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, that's what my folks told me when I asked 'em to buy me a lever-action Winchester like the one Chuck Connors had on The Rifleman-- not a real one, just an air rifle. But I bet we could borrow one from the bar..."

Suddenly stopping short, he breathes out a

"Whoa, cooool."

They've just found the comic books section, where every slim volume is kept in a plastic sleeve, arranged in alphabetical order by subject.

Craning his neck, Tommy's sure that the Batman comics are way up by the ceiling. But there's lots that are familiar to him and well within reach, so he immediately takes off for the section marked "L." And as he pulls out an issue and slips it out of its cover, a grin spreads across his face.

"The Lone Ranger's like a cowboy hero. I used to read these all the time!"

"What do you mean an 'air rif—oof!'"

Kate bumps into his side when he stops, and were she not so embarrassed she might bicker at him about warning a lady about doing that, and what's the matter with you anyway, Thomas Gavin? Lucky for him, she's straightening out her dress and rubbing the color from her cheeks when he moves off down the aisle.

Following at a more respectable distance, she comes up beside him just as he's taking the comic out of its odd wrappings.

"Why, I've never heard of him before. How come he wears a mask? Is he a bandit?"

He flips through the pages, showing her the illustrated panels full of Wild West action: men racing along on horseback, fistfights with outlaws, the Lone Ranger drawing his pistols.

"He's a Texas Ranger-- well, he was, until he and his group of Rangers were ambushed and left for dead by a gang they were tryin'a catch. He was the only surviving one, and an Indian named Tonto saved his life. They became friends and vowed to fight injustices together throughout the West, helping people an' stuff, and he wears a mask to hide his identity 'cause he's a-- a whatchamacallit-- a renegade. Outlaws fear him and lawmen wanna know who he is, but he prefers to work alone. Well, with Tonto, that is. And Silver, his horse. It was a great TV show and I used to buy the comics, but I started buyin' other kinds of comics instead. I still like the Lone Ranger, though. He's cool."

Kate's eyes get bigger and bigger as she looks at each page.

"Shucks, that sounds awful excitin'. How does he go up against all them people all on his own?"

It's not unheard of, and so she's not really expecting an answer. Only the best and bravest men, be them lawmen or outlaws, can take on all the odds and come out on top. Kate's enamored already.

"It's so colorful, too! I ain't never seen so many bright pictures in one book before."

"Welp, he's a hero, and that's what heroes do best."

He gives her the comic book. If this library works the same way as all libraries do, then she should be able to borrow it.

"All of these comic books have pictures like this." A notion strikes him. "D'you know what cartoons are? Like, imagine seeing all these little pictures moving, and hearing all the characters talking-- that's a cartoon. You can watch 'em on TV. TV shows and movies are like that, too-- moving pictures, except they usually got real people and actors in 'em 'stead of drawings."

Information overload?

She's about to answer 'yes' to his question about cartoons when he goes on and on. For the nth time today, her eyes widen and her grip on the comic book gets a little tighter.

"I've seen cartoons before, but they're jus' in the newspaper. So a tee-vee is for movin' pictures? How–how do you get real people in them? Is it like photography?"

Which she knows a little about.

Tommy scratches his head again.

"Um-- yeah, it's kinda like photography, 'cause they use cameras and film, but a different kind that records motion. And to get a show on TV, they broadcast it over the airwaves with antennas, and--"

He's got to be honest with himself: he really can't explain the whole of it.

"C'mon, how 'bout I show you?"

And he holds out a hand. He's not exactly sure why he did that, as he's certain that she can follow him just fine, but it was almost an instinctual gesture.

Film. Broadcast. Antennas. Airwaves.

Hmm.

"All right."

She slips her hand into his, though it's far from instinctual. There's the barest hint of a line between her brows, wary and a little afraid she's doing something terribly improper.

"Oh! But, um. Which one of these is your favorite?"

She holds up the comic.

It's weird. Like a vague sense of déjà vu when she puts her hand in his.

He shakes off the feeling when she asks her question.

"Mmm, I dunno, a lot of 'em were good. I liked the ones with train robberies, those're always exciting. Oh and I liked the ones where Silver would save someone's life."

Kate's eyes light up. Silver, the horse, could also save people's lives?

"That one! I'd like t'read that one. I reckon, since y'don't remember which one it is, though, I'll hafta come back for it."

She eyes the comic in her hands for a long moment, chewing on her bottom lip. Eventually, she decides it's okay to start from the beginning.

"All right, let's go."

"Oh, Silver had his own special comic books, too, and so did Tonto! They should be easy to find right here in the Lone Ranger section."

He can't help the grin that tugs at the corners of his mouth. It's kinda cool to know a girl who likes cowboy stuff.

And with that, they make their way through the expansive library hand-in-hand, and eventually out into the main bar. Tommy could've sworn he saw a TV set behind the counter.

He's almost right-- it's not a TV set, but a flat screen that's sleek and black, not boxy like the thing he has at home in his living room. Also, where are the rabbit ears? And the knobs?

He stares at it.

"Whoa. I think this TV's like, from the future! Wonder how you turn it on--"

A remote control with a complicated multitude of buttons appears on the bartop.

So many comic books! Kate's practically dizzy with all the potential. She can't imagine a whole series based on a horse — actually, she can, and it's wonderful.

"I think I'll read them all!"

Why not?

His awe is a little lost on her at the sight of the TV. It's strange and ordinary when it's turned off. Just a dull black box. The remote control is far more intriguing.

"What's that?"

Tommy lets go of her hand and picks up the device.

"It's a remote control for the TV, but-- the one I got at home only has, like, ten buttons or something. Mm, well. Here's the power button. Let's see..."

He aims the remote at the black screen and presses the button, and the screen flickers on, in the middle of-- what else?-- a black-and-white episode of The Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger and Tonto are on horseback, racing alongside each other as they attempt to catch up to a locomotive that's been ambushed by a gang of robbers.

It's like the bar is reading Tommy's mind. O_o

Kate bounces on the balls of her feet, too overcome with excitement to mind her manners.

"Lord Above, would y'look at that? Look! S'a real live train job! Heavens to Betsy, how excitin'!"

Tommy has to giggle at her reaction.

"Well, it's sort of a real live train job. They're all actors, and this was filmed a long time ago-- at least, a long time ago from my time. But it's still exciting to watch, that's for sure."

But it looks so real.

"An' you have one of these tee-vees in your house? So you can watch this anytime y'like? What extravagance!"

"Yeah, but it ain't as-- uh, futuristic. It's a big heavy box with knobs on it and antennas sticking out on top of it, and the picture ain't nearly as clear as this. Sometimes you can't get a good picture at all, and that's when you gotta move the antennas around, or sometimes my dad just hits the side of it and cusses."

He adds the last bit with a chuckle. It may give Kate a hint as to where he picked up that language.

"It all sounds pretty futuristic t'me. We don't even got a phonograph, an' no electric lights."

Just oil lamps and fireplaces, and books to keep them entertained. Sometimes her daddy plays his violin, and Katie sings. Sometimes he talks her into doing needlepoint.

"What other things do they make movin' pictures for?"

"Wow... No electricity?" His eyebrows shoot up. It's hard to imagine real life without it, but here she is, flesh and blood, straight out of a time where his own modern conveniences just don't exist.

He figures out which buttons on the remote to press and starts flipping through the channels, curious as to what else he might find (and if the bar is still reading his mind).

"You can watch the news, and sports, and shows called soap operas, which my mom watches, but it ain't got nothin' to do with soap or operas, it's just sappy love stories and sh- stuff like that. Ooh, and cartoons!"

He's come upon a Bugs Bunny cartoon featuring his nemesis Yosemite Sam. The bar is obviously sticking to a theme today.

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