16523/Ice Cream & Social

Ice Cream & Social
Date of Scene:	09 December 2023
Location:	One Fell Scoop - Gotham City
Synopsis:	Billy Batson has a pre-interview with Phoebe Wayne about what to expect when you're interviewing. There is ice cream
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Billy Batson

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    ONE FELL SCOOP, a weirdly Scottish Play themed ice cream bar, where you could order MacDeath by Chocolate, Lady MacDeath by Chocolate (which had cherry sauce that *WILL* stain your hands and make it difficult to wash off), their Banana Split dish was called the Weird Sisters due to the three different flavor scoops and three different sauces, and of course they have all the normal flavors and doings of a home-made ice cream shop.

    Phoebe had suggested it to Billy to meet up because the booths were tall and deep, and since it's an ice cream place it's probably not going to be too busy in December.

    She was right. She was the only person in the dining area to start, nursing a large waffle gone of peppermint stick ice cream and a cup of coffee. She's just in jeans and a heavier jacket, her hair wrapped in a pale orange piece of cloth to keep everything nice and neat.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson is preoccupied. Sivana, Ibac showing up so close together, then disappearing worries him. The Wizard returning worries him. Mary being depowered worries him. A fruitless evening of searching turned up nothing more than that Pixie staging a toy give away at Rockefeller Center. For once turning back to Billy was a relief.

Why did this stuff happen around Christmas? Not that his Christmases were particularly good for the first seventeen years of his life. But things seemed to be falling into place with his show, Irie, money for presents for the family. Billy tries very hard to push all this aside. He's actually pretty good at compartmentalizing. Ok. He kissed Irie as Shazam that ONE time. But it was super fast.

Billy sees Phoebe behind her waffle cone and waves. Then stands at her table, not sure if she wants a hug or whatever. "Hey, thanks for meeting. This place looks great. I ordered a Lady MacBeth on my way in."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Ooh, good choice, just be careful because they purposefully drizzle the cherry sauce so it'll get on your hands. You'll want extra napkins." she gives a small smile, motioning to the napkin dispenser on the table, and then to the seat across from her.

    "C'mon, have a seat. They usually bring out the order if they know you're sitting with me." she gives a smile, settling against the back of the booth. It appears Phoebe is not one for the hugging.

    "How's your day been?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson sighs. "Long, speaking honestly. I've been all over town hunting down people... interviewing. I still didn't do my Christmas shopping. My little sister is obsessed with Tokidoki merchandise. My little brothers want the same video game everyone else wants. I believe I mentioned I'm dating a Flash, good luck catching her for a date. But... you were probably just asking to be nice and I'm supposed to be doing the interviewing!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I never ask just to be nice. One of the benefits of being a Wayne is sometimes, I get to track down people who need a hand and suddenly -- boom." she makes an explosion noise and explodes her hands outwards "Some smaller issue is resolved, because I may not be able to solve everything, but I can solve some things." she gives a conspirital smile to Billy, and she steeples her fingers.

    "Tokidoki huh?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson gives an enigmatic smile, "Covered. There was very little traffic going to Japan but my arms are a little tired, I'll sort my stuff out. I always do. If... you have any pointers to get a Flash to hold still, I'll think you're six kinds of wizard."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Offer them enough cookies to feed six people. You'll get at least thirty seconds if they don't need the carbs." Phoebe replies thoughtfully. "Or the other way is to lower their body temperature close to Absolute Zero, that's what Snart does, but uh... I wouldn't recommend that for Irie." Phoebe replies, and she purses her lips. "That might be relationship-ending."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "Shazam fought off the Trickster in a giant robot which he likes trashing. Irie was taking her driver's test. After holding off Shazam, Irie finishes her test and just phases him out of the robot. I mean there isn't a lot of her but she's very good at moving her molecules around. Snart might have his work cut out for him and... I'll bust Snart right in his snout."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Snart's a genius, most of the time. If he goes after anyone, it'd be because he's calculated a lot of risks. Cold intelegence." Phoebe states quietly, and she takes a bite of her ice cream.

    "So... ah... do you have a list of questions for the interview? I'd like to take a look at them, just to see if there's stuff I shouldn't answer. Wayne PR would get on my ass." she gives a small smile.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson pulls a slip of paper out of his jacket. "Ok, so the way I do it is I ask the questions, you can /not/ answer. But I respect triggers and avoid law suits so this is good. If you have any areas of interest, let me know. I'll do some research to sound intelligent."

"... please do not buy that Tokidoki stuff for my sister. I have it covered. I'm going to enjoy spending a lot of my money on my family. And gift cards, No idea what the parents want."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You said you had it under control. I respect that. I don't do what people don't want me to do, which can be frustraiting, but I respect it. I don't have to agree." she states with a sad smile, and she looks at the slip of paper

    "... I do have a couple of triggers. Like physical touch." she admits, "I don't like being caught off guard."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson pulls out a pen and jots a few notes down after grabbing a generous mouthful of dessert. "No touching. I will keep this in mind. My sister Darla is a hugger. She may want to attend. I think she wants to marry a Wayne." Wry grin at that.

"As for off guard, I'm not going to try to surprise you. Mostly life as a Wayne, what are your thoughts on Gotham's current status, are you pro vigilante, like that. If you GIVE me your areas of interests, personal causes and such I will be glad to work them in. I understand you had lost people and such. If that subject is closed, tell me now. Oh, I can let you hear some completed podcasts. I did a killer interview with Spider-Man he was so nice, and Lightspeed. They're short though. "

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I've heard some of the completed podcasts. That's one of the reasons I decided if I was going to give anyone an interview, it's you." Phoebe gives a bright smile. "And if she wants to marry a Wayne, she should figure out which one of us she's looking at. We're coming off the market fast," she jokes. And she gives a nod. "Ah, I do a lot with trying to get low-level offenders opportunities to interact with their families outside of Blackgate Prison. Dismantling anti-homeless archetecture. I do a lot of hiring for my administrative office either off the street or from low-level offenders working their way back into society. There's no one quite as vulnerable as someone just out of prison, you know?" she considers, and she bites the inside of her cheek.

    "I can talk in generalities, but I'd rather not speak in specifics about my familial and friend losses. Some of it is still very fresh." she replies quietly, "But if we run into anything that I don't feel comfortable talking about, we can change the subject."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson nods and says, "I have to disagree with you about offenders out of prison being the most vulnerable. I've been through the foster system, along with my siblings and man, we can tell you stories. I may bring up CPS and the foster system but I guarantee you it's firsthand. My other cause is bullying. I try to stop that wherever I can. I managed to beat up a couple. But... no apologies, they were abusing my brother Freddy, You might know him. Freddy has a bad leg and... I saw red. I hit the two of them... from behind, as hard as I knew how and led them away. This was in my younger days. I'm sure if I met them today... I'd probably try to get each one alone." He shuts his eyes and winces at the unexpected candor he fell into.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You have a number of young adults aging out of the juvinile justice system in Gotham City with no where to go, no resources and no life except jouvie. They encounter a city with a growing anti-homeless archetecture system rapidly going in place ranging from artistic boulders in the coves created by buildings to get out of the rian, bars across benches to stop them from laying down and spikes under bridges and overpasses to stop them from sheltering in weather. Combined with the drying resources for treating mental health -- arguable one of Gotham City's more famous issues -- and providing food and shelter, you have higher amounts of repeat offenders returning to prison rather than joining in society. That's not even covering the hesitance to hire even low-level nonviolent offenders." Phoebe folds her hands together. It's a carefully rehearsed answer, it seems to be one she's given a lot.

    "... and I was kicked out of Catholic middle school for fighting and before my expulsion from the Gotham Public school system I'd broken a shoulder, a forearm, two wrists and destroyed someone's sixteenth birthday rhinoplasty. I'm not a huge fan of bullies either."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson sends an virtual fist bump towards Phoebe, as in, he doesn't expect or wait for a reply. Then he says, "We should trade war stories sometime. Kicked out of 14 foster homes for fighting, with the kids, the adults. Bullies. Whoever said bullies are more scared of you was full of it. They are stupid in the sense that they think they can't be touched. We... I'd like to work with you on the juvie angle. I also done a number of interviews from Mutant Town. They need help too. I think we could really do some nice programming and help people out. I mean I'll be honest I make my living on streaming. Up to now it was mostly about young people and superhumans. People our age with powers, some of them are one meal away or one bully from going full on villain."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... like we say in Gotham, it really takes only /one/ bad day for a lifetime to turn around." Phoebe states quietly, and she folds her fingers as she considers her next words.

    "I do some charity working in New York City. Clinton was my second home for a while." That'd be the actual name of the borough Hell's Kitchen is in.

    "And yeah, when I was a kid I was a biter. Someone pulled my hair in kindergarten and I smashed his face into a wall, so my adopted dad enrolled us both in martial arts lessons so we'd always have a sparring partner. We became very good friends, I'm looking forward to seeing him for the first time in a couple of years come Christmas."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson nods. "No martial arts, public school in Philly and sharing a bathroom with three boys and two girls. I'm really not violent at all though. Violence is never the long term solution. So if you want some superheroes to stump for you, I am really lose to Kid Flash as I said and... Shazam, and his crew. But I'll help you wherever you want to take this. Heck, Nick Drago is doing a charity drive for the holidays. Maybe we c an get him involved? I do video the show at his studios."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I know Nick would help out if I asked him. I was considering inquiring to do a celeb Who's Line-type game. Seeing if maybe some Titans or other heroes wanted in. Gotham City heroes tend to be --"

    Cut to Phoebe's imagination. Red Robin is looking on aghast as Red Hood and Rook wrestle in the middle of the floor because Red Hood has said some Bad Things about Batman. Oriole (who is Phoebe herself), is miming eating popcorn. Nick just has his head down in his palms.

    "... Gotham City heroes tend to be a little dour, don't they?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says deadpan, "Gotham Heroes are dour enough to drain the water out of Six Flags and turn an orgy into a learning experience." He grabs a few more spoons of cherries. "Ah there is one... at least I think she's one of your crowd, doesn't speak much, thinks junk food is poison, does ballet? She's very scary sweet. I saw her punch a rock and kill it. I played my flute and she just showed up and started dancing. She could tell I was having a really bad day."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe pauses, and she gives a small smile at the first description, because hilariously yeah. For many reasons.

    Phoebe's mom was a Health and History teacher. She knows where the finger puppets are hidden.

    But the description of the second her, Phoebe's cheeks darken a little and she purses her lips, looking to Billy before she has to say "I'm afraid I don't know any of the Gotham Superheroes by name. Except Batman. But he's a special case because he is Batman."

    She definitely isn't going to relate her own stories with Cassandra Cain.

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson says, "I never had the pleasure. I've heard people say he's a mutant, an android, six guys,and... he's a hero of old. He's from the same stock as Achilles or Ulysses. People stare at screens all day. They forget what they are capable of, forget magic, forget their heroes, their gods..."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "He is definitely a mutant, android, one of six. Both a Hero of Old and New, heroic and kind-hearted to kids -- but built to strike fear into those who would take advantage of the innocent." PHoebe ponders. "... and then there's Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Rook, Batgirl, Oracle, Delphi, Oriole and Osprey. At least from the Bat Burger Bat Mite meals." she gives a grin. "We're still trying to track down a Robin toy, my brother Tim and I."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson makes a note of 'Robin toy'. Through Freddy he knows all those boards. "Yeah no one is rushing to license Shazam. He'd turn everything over to foster care for sure. He doesn't need a lot. It was probably because of that Franklin Bridge collapse back in Philly but hey, he got everyone off and the damn bridge was collapsing when he got there. He was a lot less experienced back then... herding the other kids was getting cats to march in step. I mean... he kept the Brooklyn Bridge from collapsing okay fire did some spot welding to help him out. He... he's really always trying to help."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Same with the Bats. Though they get a lot of guff too. No one licenses the new guys." Phoebe comments, and she gives a small grin as she draws up.

    "I've gotta get going, I've got a couple of people I've gotta see today... it's good meeting with you again Billy. Let's make a time to do that interview. I'll even bring my dogs. They're super friendly." she smiles, and giving a nod to Billy as she goes to leave a couple of large denomination bills on the counter (because it's the most fun thing to do as a Wayne), Phoebe makes her exit out into a Gotham City afternoon.