Two fics for my 30_lies Psych claim and a sort of review for Vanished
Title: Lucky
Author: papersoflight
Rating: PG
Pairing: Henry/Juliet
Characters: Henry, Juliet
Summary: Shawn set up a poker game.
Warnings: Het, one minor cuss
Table found here.
Lucky
"You're bluffing," Henry declared and tossed another five poker chips into the pot. Across the table, Juliet O'Hara gave him a cool look and met his bet.
"Call." She laid her cards down to reveal a full house. She'd only come to the poker game at Shawn's insistence and then he and Gus had left on a taco run like an hour ago.
"Damn it. How do you keep doing that?" Henry asked, gathering up the cards again. He'd only hosted this game at his house because Shawn had begged and promised Karen Vick, who Henry hadn't seen in a while, would be there. Karen had begged off on account of swollen ankles, so they had only four for poker. Now it was just the two of them.
"Lucky in cards, unlucky in love," the blonde replied with a shrug. "Another hand?"
"Why not?" Henry agreed and dealt the cards. He was pretty sure that this was meant to be some kind of set up the way he and Gus had hightailed just after Juliet had arrived, but he couldn't decide if it was just a joke or if maybe Shawn was trying to get him a girlfriend. Either way, it didn't matter: Henry was too old to be anything other than a fool for Juliet and Henry Spencer was no fool. Even if she was smart and perky and knew her police procedure inside and out.
They looked at their cards. "I'll open with two." Juliet placed her chips in the pot and glanced up at Henry again. She had had a small crush on Shawn from day one, but Henry was something different, Henry she could really go for. Maybe it was how she'd always been younger than her peers, maybe it was the quiet confidence that younger men lacked, she always went for them older.
"All right, I'll see your two. How many cards?" He had two kings.
"Um, three." She had a pair of threes. Maybe she could bluff.
"Dealer takes two." Another king and a jack.
Juliet considered her cards and put four red chips into the pot.
"Too rich for my blood," Henry said as he put him cards face down on the table. "You win again." And he might be out a couple of bucks, but it didn't matter, it was worth it to see that sly little smile slip across Juliet's face as she reached over and picked up her chips. So maybe he was a little bit of a fool, after all.
Title: Smoke
Author: papersoflight
Rating: PG
Pairing: Implied Shawn/Gus
Characters: Henry, Shawn, Gus
Summary: An attempt at a family barbeque at the Spencers.
Warnings: One minor cuss and general disharmony. Implied slash (homosexual relationship).
Table found here.
Smoke
"Want a beer?" Henry Spencer held one out to his son with one hand while balancing the steaks with the other.
"Nah," Shawn shook his head as he talked, "I hardly ever drink. Gotta keep sharp." He tapped his temple and picked up the fruit salad and the foil-wrapped veggies to head out to the grill.
Henry put the beer back in the fridge, kicked the door closed, picked up his own half empty bottle from the counter and followed Shawn out of the kitchen. "Hey Shawn, what the hell was that?"
"Uh, what was what?" Shawn asked, turning back to face Henry and stopping whatever weird, flirting thing he was doing with Gus. Henry had long ago worked out what those two were to each other, come to terms with it, and begun ignoring when they flirted. Sometimes he wondered if they had figured out what they were to each other.
"You hardly ever drink? Tell me another one." Henry set the steaks and his beer next to the grill to test the coals. He didn't cook with propane, because what was the point? If you were gonna take the time to grill, you should do it right, driftwood and mesquite made for the best smoke, the best taste.
"What? I don't drink much," Shawn defended.
"Actually, Shawn, you do," Gus sided with Henry. "Not in a let's have an intervention before he kills someone, type of way, but more than the phrase hardly ever implies."
"Et tu, Burton? I don't drink too much," he responded and tried to look innocent.
"No, but you do lie too much, Shawn. You lie all the time," Henry scolded, "to the police- my brother's in arms." He punctuated his accusation with the sizzle of the first steak hitting the grill, smoke rising off it.
"Yeah, well- I had no choice. The whole psychic thing was forced on me. It was either come up with something Lassiter would believe or make some really close, personal, new friends in the lock-up."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to say yes when Karen offered you a case." Henry put the other stakes and the veggies on the grill and closed it so they'd smoke a while. "And you sure as hell didn't have to open a detective agency and keep taking cases."
"You know what, Dad, you're right. I didn't." Shawn stepped up closer, so they were in each other's space. "But I'm good at solving crimes and this is how I have to do it."
"Another lie, you don't have to do it that way. You could go to the academy and work your way up to detective. That's two, two lies in five minutes, Shawn."
"My lies have purpose, okay. I only lie to get things done."
"To suit your purpose, you mean? Or is that just another lie- number three?"
"Uh- Shawn," Gus said, trying to get his attention and maybe stop the train wreck that was coming. "Maybe we should go."
"You know what, I think your right. We should go." Shawn was shaking almost imperceptibly, he was so angry. Then he just turned and stalked off.
Henry just sipped his beer and called, "Oh great! That's good, Shawn, retreat always solves your problems!" at his son's back.
Henry watched them leave, listened to them get into the car, bickering but together, and drive off. He stood there a while, sipping his beer and kicking himself until he smelled the steaks burning and had to go put the damn grill out.
Vanished Review-ish
The camera work was distracting and the plotting was kinda predictable.
The lead investigator is somewhat interesting, but the senator and his family are mostly annoying so far.
The reporter chick is terribly unsympathetic- bossy in bed and belittling in the field- her cameraman/boyfriend must have some serious self esteem issues.
But at least the pace is fast. Oh wait, that's not always good, is it?
The daughter is stupid. Oh man is she stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Still, it's good to see Ming Na- she's my pretend girlfriend. Such shiny hair, such pretty, dark eyes. Yum. Mmmm-Miiiing Naaaaa. *drools*
Oh yeah, and the end was anticlimactic- where was the punch that was meant to bring us back next week? The son wanting to see his mother? That's the cliffy? No, that's just not enough.
In short, I'm tuning in for the next episode (mostly just to watch the shiny black hair bounce), but it better hook me more in that hour because it didn't get it done. Because there is actually a certain portion of the viewing audience that doesn't actually get hard for any action-packed thing anymore. Plot, characterization, something different than every other thriller, something not formulaic- these are things that make a good show and Vanished didn't deliver.
Author: papersoflight
Rating: PG
Pairing: Henry/Juliet
Characters: Henry, Juliet
Summary: Shawn set up a poker game.
Warnings: Het, one minor cuss
Table found here.
Lucky
"You're bluffing," Henry declared and tossed another five poker chips into the pot. Across the table, Juliet O'Hara gave him a cool look and met his bet.
"Call." She laid her cards down to reveal a full house. She'd only come to the poker game at Shawn's insistence and then he and Gus had left on a taco run like an hour ago.
"Damn it. How do you keep doing that?" Henry asked, gathering up the cards again. He'd only hosted this game at his house because Shawn had begged and promised Karen Vick, who Henry hadn't seen in a while, would be there. Karen had begged off on account of swollen ankles, so they had only four for poker. Now it was just the two of them.
"Lucky in cards, unlucky in love," the blonde replied with a shrug. "Another hand?"
"Why not?" Henry agreed and dealt the cards. He was pretty sure that this was meant to be some kind of set up the way he and Gus had hightailed just after Juliet had arrived, but he couldn't decide if it was just a joke or if maybe Shawn was trying to get him a girlfriend. Either way, it didn't matter: Henry was too old to be anything other than a fool for Juliet and Henry Spencer was no fool. Even if she was smart and perky and knew her police procedure inside and out.
They looked at their cards. "I'll open with two." Juliet placed her chips in the pot and glanced up at Henry again. She had had a small crush on Shawn from day one, but Henry was something different, Henry she could really go for. Maybe it was how she'd always been younger than her peers, maybe it was the quiet confidence that younger men lacked, she always went for them older.
"All right, I'll see your two. How many cards?" He had two kings.
"Um, three." She had a pair of threes. Maybe she could bluff.
"Dealer takes two." Another king and a jack.
Juliet considered her cards and put four red chips into the pot.
"Too rich for my blood," Henry said as he put him cards face down on the table. "You win again." And he might be out a couple of bucks, but it didn't matter, it was worth it to see that sly little smile slip across Juliet's face as she reached over and picked up her chips. So maybe he was a little bit of a fool, after all.
Title: Smoke
Author: papersoflight
Rating: PG
Pairing: Implied Shawn/Gus
Characters: Henry, Shawn, Gus
Summary: An attempt at a family barbeque at the Spencers.
Warnings: One minor cuss and general disharmony. Implied slash (homosexual relationship).
Table found here.
Smoke
"Want a beer?" Henry Spencer held one out to his son with one hand while balancing the steaks with the other.
"Nah," Shawn shook his head as he talked, "I hardly ever drink. Gotta keep sharp." He tapped his temple and picked up the fruit salad and the foil-wrapped veggies to head out to the grill.
Henry put the beer back in the fridge, kicked the door closed, picked up his own half empty bottle from the counter and followed Shawn out of the kitchen. "Hey Shawn, what the hell was that?"
"Uh, what was what?" Shawn asked, turning back to face Henry and stopping whatever weird, flirting thing he was doing with Gus. Henry had long ago worked out what those two were to each other, come to terms with it, and begun ignoring when they flirted. Sometimes he wondered if they had figured out what they were to each other.
"You hardly ever drink? Tell me another one." Henry set the steaks and his beer next to the grill to test the coals. He didn't cook with propane, because what was the point? If you were gonna take the time to grill, you should do it right, driftwood and mesquite made for the best smoke, the best taste.
"What? I don't drink much," Shawn defended.
"Actually, Shawn, you do," Gus sided with Henry. "Not in a let's have an intervention before he kills someone, type of way, but more than the phrase hardly ever implies."
"Et tu, Burton? I don't drink too much," he responded and tried to look innocent.
"No, but you do lie too much, Shawn. You lie all the time," Henry scolded, "to the police- my brother's in arms." He punctuated his accusation with the sizzle of the first steak hitting the grill, smoke rising off it.
"Yeah, well- I had no choice. The whole psychic thing was forced on me. It was either come up with something Lassiter would believe or make some really close, personal, new friends in the lock-up."
"Yeah, but you didn't have to say yes when Karen offered you a case." Henry put the other stakes and the veggies on the grill and closed it so they'd smoke a while. "And you sure as hell didn't have to open a detective agency and keep taking cases."
"You know what, Dad, you're right. I didn't." Shawn stepped up closer, so they were in each other's space. "But I'm good at solving crimes and this is how I have to do it."
"Another lie, you don't have to do it that way. You could go to the academy and work your way up to detective. That's two, two lies in five minutes, Shawn."
"My lies have purpose, okay. I only lie to get things done."
"To suit your purpose, you mean? Or is that just another lie- number three?"
"Uh- Shawn," Gus said, trying to get his attention and maybe stop the train wreck that was coming. "Maybe we should go."
"You know what, I think your right. We should go." Shawn was shaking almost imperceptibly, he was so angry. Then he just turned and stalked off.
Henry just sipped his beer and called, "Oh great! That's good, Shawn, retreat always solves your problems!" at his son's back.
Henry watched them leave, listened to them get into the car, bickering but together, and drive off. He stood there a while, sipping his beer and kicking himself until he smelled the steaks burning and had to go put the damn grill out.
Vanished Review-ish
The camera work was distracting and the plotting was kinda predictable.
The lead investigator is somewhat interesting, but the senator and his family are mostly annoying so far.
The reporter chick is terribly unsympathetic- bossy in bed and belittling in the field- her cameraman/boyfriend must have some serious self esteem issues.
But at least the pace is fast. Oh wait, that's not always good, is it?
The daughter is stupid. Oh man is she stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Still, it's good to see Ming Na- she's my pretend girlfriend. Such shiny hair, such pretty, dark eyes. Yum. Mmmm-Miiiing Naaaaa. *drools*
Oh yeah, and the end was anticlimactic- where was the punch that was meant to bring us back next week? The son wanting to see his mother? That's the cliffy? No, that's just not enough.
In short, I'm tuning in for the next episode (mostly just to watch the shiny black hair bounce), but it better hook me more in that hour because it didn't get it done. Because there is actually a certain portion of the viewing audience that doesn't actually get hard for any action-packed thing anymore. Plot, characterization, something different than every other thriller, something not formulaic- these are things that make a good show and Vanished didn't deliver.