10:01 <Crion> When Peter Montgomery and the looming presence behind him are gone: "I thought that went rather well," says the Thin White Duke with the voice of a regent not looking for a second opinion. "Nobody broke my rules." 10:03 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart'll drink to that. 10:06 <Crion> Peter Montgomery has left without incident...so far. Where is Melanie, in relation to the spooky, desaturated Margaritaville whose upper floors have been converted into semi-Globe Theater, with notes of Dracula's Castle? 10:06 <Crion> Cinquer Sailor and Solder Psy are lounging around the downstairs bar at the moment, and Peter will have stopped to talk to them. The conversation looks civil and sober. 10:13 <VoxPVoxD> Contemplating the bottom of his glass, Stewart says, "How far out does Elysium extend?" 10:13 <VoxPVoxD> Melanie's still out there. 10:14 <Crion> The Duke: "To the street itself. To the curb." His eyes seem to be elsewhere; perhaps he's monitoring that situation as well. 10:15 <Crion> The Duke: "To the street itself. To the curb." His eyes seem to be elsewhere; perhaps he's monitoring that situation as well. 10:16 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart glances in Maggie's direction. "Should we go get her, or..." 10:17 <dammitwho> Maggie shrugs uneasily. "Guess so." 10:19 <Crion> The Duke doesn't respond. His mouth does open slightly, though not for breath -- the Duke does not breathe, which either is or isn't odd depending on how you view that against the fact that the Mistress of the High House did breathe, or pretended to while in the Hedge. 10:19 <Crion> You can see the fangs. 10:20 <VoxPVoxD> Pretty strong commitment to pretending to be a vampire. 10:20 <banana> Melanie’s waiting just outside the cordon around the ersatz Duke’s domain wherein its bizarre guardians demanded they agree to his rules. If Peter Montgomery leaves the building alone all of a sudden, she’s going to be delighted by the opportunity... but is he alone? 10:23 <Crion> Well, everyone's alone, the Duke would say. But Peter is alone in the company of two Orlando Hold Spring courtiers, who are keeping a wide berth from the great half-boombox man, half-shade Title lingering behind Peter's every step. They all stop when they see Melanie. Cinquer Sailor and Solder Psy look tense; Peter looks stony-faced and tired. 10:25 <trenchfoot> Nels is mostly off to the side, not drawing attention to herself. She hasn't said anything here. 10:25 <banana> Melanie: “Hello, fuckface. Hello, and thanks again for your help.” The second line is to the Orlando Hold changelings. 10:25 <banana> Melanie: “Hello, fuckface. Hello, and thanks again for your help.” The second line is to the Orlando Hold changelings. 10:26 <CBN> Tony, awkwardly attempting to make conversation in the general direction of the Duke: "So do you...like Florida? So far?" 10:26 <banana> “...how far do the bounds of, um, Elysium extend?” 10:28 <Crion> The Duke, eyes still vacant, to Tony: "That is quite the multi-faceted question, Mr. Bowen. The Florida night has not particularly treated me well, I would say. And yet I prefer it to other things." 10:29 <Crion> Solder and Cinquer share a glance. "You know, the Duke's still in there with your motley, I don't know if--" starts Solder, but Peter interjects, almost too softly for Solder to hear him and cut himself off, "The curb." 10:30 <CBN> Tony, politely: "Well it not being other things is...good. But the humidity gets me, it's like, it always feels like it just rained but didn't help the temperature any, right? But also you don't get winter really, which means you don't have to shovel a driveway. Seems smart." 10:30 <Crion> Peter and the Title are about ten feet from it. 10:32 <banana> Melanie: ”Okay. I know this sounds, like, weirdly medieval, but we’re all caught up in this thing.. there’s a duke in there, castles everywhere, and I don’t think either you or I feel... well-treated. So it’s not that I think you’ll actually go for this but, if you will- shall we duel to the death?” 10:32 <Crion> The Duke's voice sounds like he's smiling, though the creature's body is oddly frozen. "The humidity only bothers my shirts. But it is a consideration. Miami was an interesting city...so many new people. So many new tastes." 10:33 <dammitwho> Maggie coughs and looks at Tony as at someone throwing a lifeline to a drowning woman. "You think the Dolphins will go all the way?" 10:33 <Crion> Peter's expression cracks into incredulity: "What? No!" 10:33 <dammitwho> Someone who *has* thrown, excuse me. Tony being the rescuer here. 10:34 <CBN> Tony: "I like what they do with the lighting everywhere, it's what I've heard the 80s were like." Tony looks to Maggie: "With that secondary? Not a bet I'm taking." 10:34 <Crion> Peter: "I have no interest in killing you and HE'S not going to let you kill me!" 10:34 <banana> Melanie: “What is this thing anyway.” Maybe Sailor and Psy know? 10:35 <Crion> Stereo Vengeant makes a low humming noise, like angry bees or a broken accordian. 10:35 <Crion> Cinquer: "It's. Uh. It's one of them. It's, you know. Them." 10:36 <Crion> Solder: "Please don't poke it, lady." 10:36 <banana> Melanie: ”Uuuuughh. I don’t want to keep you guys around that thing, yeah. Feel free to head out if you’ve done your, um, duty.” 10:37 <Crion> The two lovers look at each other. Cinquer: "And what're you gonna do?" 10:37 <Crion> Peter crosses his arms and shakes his head. 10:38 <Crion> The Duke: "The 'Dolphins.' Ah. Football. Have they ever been good? I cannot make up nor down of that sport, the chaos, the planning, but it never seemed so." 10:39 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "They haven't won a title since before you did." 10:39 <trenchfoot> Nels, helpfully: "I don't get it either, if that helps." 10:39 <dammitwho> Maggie nods. "No, they've never been good. I like that whats-his-face, though. Holland. There're people say 'act like you've been here before', and I don't wanna be rude but the people saying it are mostly getting up there in years. Seems to me a football player should look like he's having a good time, give a little razz to the other team or their fans now and again." 10:40 <banana> ”What I would like to do is see whether this thing can be persuaded, like... “ She’ll try to look directly at the entity, although this goes beyond even Court policy on confrontations. “You realise Peter is a permanent fuckup, right? He’ll never meet the High House’s performance targets. Any promises he’s given you he’s already broken in his mind. I could end this waste 10:40 <banana> of your time, right now.” 10:40 <dammitwho> She adds: "I like it when they dance in the end zone! Who made it a rule that they can't?!" 10:40 <trenchfoot> Nels: "That's a rule?" 10:40 <CBN> Tony, to Maggie: "They what?" 10:41 <Crion> Stewart's line gets a single, barked laugh from the Duke, and his eyes flash back into the room for a moment to consider him. The irises are white-red. 10:41 <dammitwho> "Excessive celebration! It's a fifteen yard penalty!" 10:42 <CBN> Tony, half to Maggie, half to the air: "If you can't celebrate a win then how do you know you ever won something? Man." 10:42 <Crion> Squeals and clicks from Stereo Vengeant's...speakers? Something comes in over the feed. A single, barked laugh in Melanie's direction. 10:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart looks back. "How we looking down there, Your Grace?" 10:42 <banana> That really doesn’t sound like ‘finally, a way to get rid of this idiot’. 10:43 <Crion> The Duke: "Your fifth wheel is testing the bounds of my legalism." 10:43 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Is Peter and his plus-one still down there?" 10:43 <Crion> "Oh, quite. And she hasn't broken any laws, not a one." 10:43 <Crion> The Duke: "But it is a rather silly situation." 10:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a fair assessment." 10:44 <VoxPVoxD> "I'm gonna... go get her." 10:44 <VoxPVoxD> To his credit he's very steady on his feet after three penicillins and not enough food. "Mel?" he's calling down the stairs as he descends. "We're up here." 10:44 <banana> Melanie tells the boombox monster, ”I acknowledge that I can’t fight you.” And she’ll cross the curb, so that the same is true in the other direction, in case she’s pissed it off. 10:45 <VoxPVoxD> Is she outside? "Melanie!" 10:45 <VoxPVoxD> "Nothin' doing here. This is Margaritaville. Every hour is happy hour." 10:46 <banana> A friendly voice is too tempting to ignore at this point. The Summer changeling nods apologetically to Sailor and Psy and goes inside without saying a word to anyone else. 10:47 <Crion> The Duke is suddenly standing on the curb. He's still in the bar, but now he's also, here, standing on the curb. "Excellent! Cool heads and wet tongues prevailed." To Peter: "You will remember what you've agreed to." Then to the Spring courtiers: "Why don't you two, oh, see him to the front gate. Act the mouser for a moment." 10:47 <Crion> He is still inside Elysium, but barely. 10:48 <Crion> Cinquer and Psy nod. To Melanie: "We'll still be around if you need us." 10:48 <Crion> "Just...gotta do this." 10:48 <banana> Oh shit. Sorry, Stewart. 10:49 <Crion> The Duke, pleasantly: "Orders are orders!" But he's already disappeared from the curb. 10:49 <banana> “Yeah, we all get that I think.” Now she’ll go inside. 10:49 <banana> And say sorry out loud. 10:50 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart kinda shrugs like, what are you gonna do? 10:51 <banana> Well, he can have a fist bump. When they return to the bar, Melanie looks gloomy rather than chastened, and she’ll try not to go near the Thin White Duke or touch his things. 10:52 <Crion> The Duke, his attention now fully on holding court upstairs: "It's incredible, really. You've never seen anything like it in all your nights. An Arcadian following around its own subject like some sort of mook." 10:52 <Crion> "Reduced to the status and bearing of a veritable linebacker!" 10:55 <banana> What, do they think they’re all quarterbacks? Why are we talking about football? Hopefully everyone’s okay up here (for a moment, Melanie will watch her friends rather than the monster, checking for tears and traumas). 10:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart starts feeling it more acutely once he sits back down. Ahhh, shit. 10:56 <Crion> Something in the register of his voice changes, though he's superficially just as chatty and pleasant in tone: "But perhaps we should talk about your pleadings before this court, now that the fellow countryman you so loathe has departed." 11:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Well, Your Grace, we've got one primary goal and then one subsidiary goal. The primary goal is to return the skull of Mere Jacoby, which is an object of ritual significance to our Freehold, to its rightful place. The other is, we're the US Army's last excuse not to send the tanks into the Hedge." 11:03 <CBN> Tony: "And Stewart, I can't remember, did they threaten nukes too or just imply it really hard at us?" 11:03 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I think that was the subtext." 11:04 <VoxPVoxD> "But it kind of always is with this guys, right?" 11:04 <VoxPVoxD> *those guys 11:04 <Crion> The Duke: "That sounds unpleasant. On both counts. Though, a skull...quite tasteful, aesthetically. I mean, not with this decor. Would need bloody chalices, altars, humanskin-bound tomes, so on. But I just finished putting this place together. And I have no use for tanks." 11:04 <trenchfoot> Nels: "That was the impression I got, too." 11:05 <banana> Melanie: ”Your aid or your blessing could help us to keep them out.” 11:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Put it to you like this: if this was your quest, how would you solve it?" 11:06 <Crion> "Anyhow. To point the first: The implicit claim here, of course, is that the rightful place of the skull is in your Freehold...wherever it is. Let us say Baltimore. The claim of the doomed fool who was just in here was, explicitly, that it's proper place is in the use of great heroic magics to free some lady love. Now: how am I to evaluate these claims, to rule on them? And, furthermore: do 11:06 <Crion> I have jurisdiction?" 11:07 <Crion> He seems to be brightening at this. 11:08 <CBN> Tony: "Uh, answering a question with a question here but, if you don't, who does have jurisdiction over that? Seems like a you thing, right?" 11:09 <Crion> The Duke: "Appello ad terram! I approve, Mr. Bowen. Hereby, this matter IS in my jurisdiction." 11:09 <VoxPVoxD> That's right. The law is just the story power tells itself. 11:10 <Crion> The Duke: "To the second subpoint of point the first: what makes the five of you more worthy than Peter Montgomery?" 11:11 <trenchfoot> Nels is entirely silent. 11:11 <CBN> Tony is not saying 'you've met the guy' but he is thinking it so very hard right now. 11:12 <CBN> So he looks to Stewart and Melanie, they've got lawyer brains. 11:12 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I guess that depends on who you ask. Some might say that you keep what you kill. We were sent to retrieve the skull by the woman who claimed it in the first place. And that our action is an extension of that right." 11:13 <VoxPVoxD> "But maybe a thief has equal rights to a killer. That's a question for the law in a particular jurisdiction." 11:14 <CBN> Tony, to Stewart but the rest of the group as well: "The rest of the body, that's probably back up Baltimore-wise, isn't it?" 11:14 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I have never asked." 11:14 <VoxPVoxD> Because I have never wanted to know. 11:14 <banana> Melanie: ”His quest was neither blurbed nor edited. It was not registered with the proper authorities.” 11:15 <CBN> Tony: "Because if it isn't, well. Rude to ensure a body and its parts can't be buried together like that, having it down here. Some places, I think they even have a cool crime name for it, mayhem or something." 11:18 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Also, like... we can do his quest too, if we have to. We can do it better than he can. I think we could make that argument easily if we had to. So insofar as you take a consequentialist view, giving us the skull is strictly better as well. The Lost can eat their cake, and the found can have it." 11:20 <VoxPVoxD> "Peter's claim is, what, the divine right of protagonism? His ability to convincingly come off like the Orpheus to a gift shop Eurydice? Romantic, from a certain point of view... but it's so small. It concedes defeat on the principal grounds, the only thing any court can rule on: who gets to tell the story here?" 11:22 <dammitwho> Maggie's drinking nervously. She's no kind of lawyer, no kind a'tall. 11:22 <trenchfoot> Nels touches Melanie's arm and stands by her. "They're both right. And -- he's a thief, besides, if that even matters anymore." 11:23 <Crion> The Duke's eyes turn to Nels. "Ah, expert testimony." 11:23 <Crion> Then back to Stewart. 11:23 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "None of us would be here if we did exactly what we were supposed to do, if we let the hand of Fate push us around. And it wants to claim the right of way now? It wants to push this kid around to do it? Well, maybe it can. But it doesn't have jurisdiction." 11:24 <VoxPVoxD> "Whose destiny commands respect here? The choice is, here, yours." 11:25 <banana> Melanie smiles at Nels, who made sure Peter was only half the thief he could be. 11:26 <Crion> The Duke...grins. It's unpleasant, and full of fangs. He might have too many teeth. "A point finely and comprehensively argued. You know, I would have accepted 'there are five of us and one of him,' the moral majority as it were, but this...you are correct. He aspires to protagonism. The doomed hero. The little boy lost. You...you all are writers." 11:26 <Crion> "Oh, but this is a special thing. Yes, Stewart Reader, yes, Wherehouse, I think I will help you." 11:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart exhales, for what feels like the first time in his entire life. 11:28 <Crion> "Let us table the notion of military action for now. That seems as if it will take care of itself. You asked me, sought advice from me, on what I would do in your position. But I Embrace your argument, Stewart Reader! The question, I claim, is not what you should do, but what story you should tell with the useless, trifling yearning of Peter Montgomery." 11:30 <banana> Melanie: ”A tragedy. If I could, I’d save the ones he’s abandoned or sought, and leave him out of the epilogue.” 11:31 <Crion> The room darkens slightly, and the Duke's eyes shine. "He needs a crown, so give him one. It's no special thing he needs, really. A circlet atop the head, of sufficient narrative power. It doesn't need to be mine. It doesn't need to be your Freehold's. But it needs to be sufficiently potent, far beyond the potency he could summon on his own. That's why he had to make all those deals, I wager. 11:31 <Crion> That's why the Vengeant holds his leash as much as he holds its." 11:31 <Crion> "Forge your own token-crown, and bend his knee to wear it." 11:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You don't have to be a hero to get a happy ending. It's easier, in fact, if you don't. What if he learns something, not about the transcendent power of love, but how much more love there is in the world if you can swallow your pride and step out of the spotlight?" 11:32 <VoxPVoxD> "What does he want, exactly? Does he want to be happy? Or does he want to win?" 11:33 <Crion> The Duke: "Yes. Yes." 11:37 <Crion> To the question before the court: "Why should you care what he wants? He has demonstrated his lack time and again. He has lost his vote in a senate of equals. He is no longer a stakeholder." 11:39 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "All else being equal, I think that what he wants is the right thing to have happen. If we can achieve that. It's just... not right because he wants it. But that cuts both ways; it's not wrong because he wants it either." 11:40 <banana> Melanie’s missing some context, she thinks. That’s what being unable to control your emotions gets you :) 11:49 <Crion> The floor is open for discussion among the motley. The Duke could leave the room...but it's not as if that would stop him from hearing you. 11:51 <CBN> Tony, to the motley: "Well. I think making a crown would be neat." His hand drifts up to his hat and he pats it, not really thinking about it. 11:51 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Is that... a good idea?" 11:51 <VoxPVoxD> Once it's clear the Duke isn't commanding everyone's attention, Stewart can explain to Melanie. "Basically what you missed is Peter telling us that Gemma's Keeper got her back because the Prom heist failed, and that the entity we know as the Keeper 'The Mistress of the High House' is actually a powerful changeling who was born Avery Lovelace. She's currently a prisoner or guest of the 11:51 <VoxPVoxD> Mouse. Peter wants the skull as part of some kind of unclear Prince Charming deal to get her back, and then we can have it." 11:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Now, he didn't tell us his plan, or give us any evidence for any of the things he said... but it fits, and we have to cross his path again no matter how we finish this, so why don't we come to the table with the chance to sync this up with a plan to roll back the Magic Kingdom?" 11:52 <banana> “God. I have absolutely no way to evaluate whether that’s t- Gemma’s gone back?” 11:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Well, 'gone'." 11:53 <VoxPVoxD> "She was taken back, is what Peter said." 11:53 <VoxPVoxD> "And yes, these are super unfalsifiable claims." 11:53 <banana> Melanie: ”Yeah, taken, but due to her own actions... why did she do it.” She makes a noise like, arghn. 11:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You miss a lot when you don't have a single positive interaction with someone for the six months you know of their existence, I guess." 11:54 <banana> “I think she loved him but, again, why.” 11:55 <VoxPVoxD> "Maybe she'll tell us if we can free her. Maybe not. But it doesn't matter. Stupid people don't deserve Hell. Nobody deserves Hell." 11:55 <Crion> The Duke chuckles. "Oh, that's the simple part. Who but the Queen could Prince Charming have eyes for? Who but Prince Charming could the scullery maid adore? Yes, the Queen was a maid once herself, but when the Prince and the scullery maid get in trouble together...well." 11:55 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Is he going to try and kill me if we see eachother?" 11:55 <banana> Melanie: ”Last bit doesn’t rhyme, your grace.” 11:56 <Crion> The Duke grins. "Rhyming demons are the next magic kingdom over." 11:57 <banana> That actually sounds kind of cool. 12:01 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Actually, no, he probably won't. He's still going to be angry at me, though." 12:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Well, I'm not gonna say that's justified, cause it's like getting mad at the security guard who stumbles on your jewel heist. But you do kind of have to expect it." 12:03 <banana> Melanie: ”For what it’s worth, he didn’t seem very murderous outside. He doesn’t actually think he’s anyone’s enemy.” 12:03 <Crion> The Duke: "Oh, that's not true." 12:03 <banana> “It’s just... that requires so much thoughtlessness about consequences, right? Look at everything that’s happened to this city. Look at the ears in the sky and the coming tanks.” 12:03 <Crion> "But I don't rate his chances very highly against the Mouse." 12:04 <banana> Melanie: ”He doesn’t think that conflict is in any way his fault.” 12:04 <banana> “Which, like you say- doesn’t affect the outcome.” 12:04 <Crion> The Duke makes a face. "That's because it's not." 12:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Have you met the Mouse?" 12:05 <VoxPVoxD> "Or just his emissaries?" 12:05 <Crion> "Did you-- do you actually think-- him??" The Duke bursts out laughing. It echoes strangely. 12:05 <trenchfoot> Hey, that's alarming. 12:05 <banana> Melanie: ”I think he chose to come down here with artifacts of power and insane purposes, trailing lies and betrayals.” 12:06 <banana> “You don’t think that assigns you a particular role in a story, even if it was already running?” 12:06 <banana> Fuck, what manner of thing is she arguing with here? 12:06 <Crion> "Peter Montgomery didn't bring the Mouse crawling out of the castle attic. His Queen? His loveless? Maybe she shares some blame. But no, the Mouse, the Mouse has had this in motion oh since the old millennium died at least. That was powerful magic, that summit, that fall." 12:07 <Crion> The Duke recovers: "Oh, you mean simply about your little skull and crown. Well yes, certainly. All on him! Poorly played and rightly so." 12:08 <banana> There’s nothing to be gained by trying to make our enemy the duke’s enemy. No reason he’d see the world we do. 12:08 <banana> “Do you think we can strike a blow agains the Mouse by following your alteration to the plan? Is that what you’d like of us?” 12:09 <banana> *against 12:10 <Crion> The Duke: "Oh, I simply want what's interesting. I want a good story. And a beautiful creature with a slim neck to share it with. And I'd also prefer it if the Mouse didn't bulldoze my duchy." 12:11 <dammitwho> Maggie mutters: "It's its nature to bulldoze everything." 12:11 <banana> Melanie sits up very suddenly. ”Do you want his girl? Where would this mooted crown leave her?” 12:13 <Crion> The Duke twirls a finger, and a silver crown appears behind his head, floating vertical on its side, a halo. "I, of course, have my own crown. And my own princess who has sworn to it. And my own responsibilities, which compound in interesting ways." 12:14 <banana> “I see, I thought- if it’s really true that this woman can be uh ‘turned human’ we can’t do that and then turn her over... no offence.” 12:15 <Crion> The Duke, almost sympathetically: "That is, sadly, beyond the scope of my jurisdiction." 12:17 <banana> “Perhaps limits give it meaning.” Melanie finds that she hates and fears this creature a lot less than she expected. 12:18 <VoxPVoxD> They're both trying as hard as they can not to be faeries. 12:19 <Crion> The presence of the crown is interesting to Stewart and Tony, the former due to his ongoing metaphysical inquiries and the latter perhaps due to his personal experience in Arcadia. To create a domain such as this -- an outpost of such incredible, pure narrative will-- the Title 'The Thin White Duke' would need to make a bargain with his Regalia, and in fact require an extension of that 12:19 <Crion> Regalia on hand in order to exert such complete control over his land such that he himself is natural law. 12:19 <Crion> It is a safe bet that the Regalia that the Thin White Duke represents, then, is Crown. 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> You might say that is the fairest conclusion. 12:21 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "So if this works... we'll have to face the Mouse." 12:21 <VoxPVoxD> "What can you tell us about them?" 12:22 <Crion> The Duke: "Plausible. Let's say: supported by the evidence and themes." 12:24 <Crion> The Duke: "It is younger than I am, I think. It's difficult to say. It was not born in an animation studio, however. You will not render it profaned and hissing by speaking it's true name 'Walt,' nor will you find that it has much interest in playing anything more than the broadest of roles such as you'd recognize. No oddly-identical wife. No children." 12:26 <Crion> "It doesn't like to go outside much. I sympathize. I never step off the front curb myself. That might draw it out. When you do gain the Mouse's attention, here in the near-half-Hedge, you will feel it. Like a pressure." 12:26 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yep." 12:28 <Crion> "It is interested in delegation. Quarterly growth. Safe moves. Creative control. And so the princesses and the jackboots and the silly spider-brain with mouse ears. He has his core workgroup. His executive team. They were leaving as you arrived. They manage the day to day. I find it all quite disturbing, really. His style is not my thing." 12:29 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "He's corporate. You're bespoke." 12:29 <CBN> Tony: "And his thing seems so boring." 12:29 <trenchfoot> That is... terrifying? Yes, that's the right word. 12:30 <Crion> To Stewart: "In the court of the lords, flattery is usually welcome, and always noted. But you are correct." 12:31 <VoxPVoxD> Well, whether bespoke is actually better than corporate is subjective. 12:31 <VoxPVoxD> They are very clearly different, however. 12:32 <dammitwho> Those who displease the lords can find themselves discorporate, for instance. 12:33 <Crion> "Now, whether you want to deal with the Mouse by crippling his princesses -- one was just here earlier as well, the little snipe -- or by plowing straight through to the castle itself with Peter lashed to your crown or if you simply want to go up to Sun Glasses Man and request an audience: that's none of my business." 12:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Have you met the Mouse?" 12:35 <Crion> The smile fades from the Duke's face. "We've talked." 12:35 <Crion> "At a remove." 12:35 <Crion> "The conversation was definitive." 12:35 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart winces. "Right." 12:38 <Crion> "As for Peter, tonight he will attempt to best me in a contest of his choosing. It is not to the death, nor is it to the service; I will not be in a position to simply hand you the skull, and even if I were, where's the fun in that? Where's the story? No, much better this way. But if you want him broken, desperate, and seeking any solution, even one that binds him unspeakably to your will..." 12:38 <Crion> The smile broadens again. "That seems a likely outcome." 12:40 <banana> Look, there are very limited circumstances in which we’d cheer for a Keeper to beat one of the Lost in a fate-determining contest of skill. 12:40 <banana> Maybe. Maayyybe. 12:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart looks around at the motley. "What do you guys think? We can fashion a crown to offer Peter in lieu of conquest, or after conquest's failure. Or we can try to end-run him, crunch some glass slippers, and hope it doesn't turn O. Henry at the castle steps." 12:41 <banana> “It’s not like his goal is wrong, just his strategy and his ethics and his face.” 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "His face is very symmetrical, I think." 12:42 <dammitwho> Maggie: "I don't know if it's the right thing to do to make a new crown, but I won't say I'm not itching to give 'er a try." 12:43 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Melanie's right. About his everything and also his face." 12:44 <banana> “Guy with a face like that should’ve been called Perry. Or Chasten.” 12:44 <CBN> Tony: "Agreed with Maggie on all that. Plus, of the two people we've done any talking to here, kinda feel like Peter's the one I'd wanna root against in this situation anyway?" Tony shrugs. 12:45 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Alright. Let's take the clown car to Crown Town." 12:46 <Crion> The Duke steps back behind the bar. "Then court is in recess, hopefully not to be in recission. I do look forward to our next meeting, Wherehouse. I do indeed." 12:48 <CBN> Tony: "Yeah hey, we appreciate the time and chat. I'd say good luck to you in your competition with Peter, but you don't need luck, when you've got being-not-Peter, right?" 12:48 <banana> Melanie: “We’ll do the players. You do the game.” 12:48 <banana> Melanie: “We’ll do the players. You do the game.” 12:48 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Thank you for your time and hospitality, Your Grace." 12:49 <VoxPVoxD> No one's downstairs now, right? What time is it? How long do we have until Peter gets back? 12:51 <Crion> No one else is around; the Duke is his own doorman. It's about 10 in the morning; Peter should be heading back here for a near-midnight appointment. 12:55 <banana> Back out into the happiest place on earth. It sounds like we’re doing this thing, so Melanie talks details: ”Peter won’t trust us. He shouldn’t- I would have tried to murder him if he wasn’t being followed by... some sort of suspiciously urban object. Anyway. I guess our pitch is, you’ve just lost, again, here we are, the only free agents left in the situation - if you’ll 12:55 <banana> fit what you want around what we need, you might have one last chance to get it.” 12:55 <banana> Back out into the happiest place on earth. It sounds like we’re doing this thing, so Melanie talks details: ”Peter won’t trust us. He shouldn’t- I would have tried to murder him if he wasn’t being followed by... some sort of suspiciously urban object. Anyway. I guess our pitch is, you’ve just lost, again, here we are, the only free agents left in the situation - if you’ll 12:55 <banana> fit what you want around what we need, you might have one last chance to get it.” 12:57 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I think in the interests of negotiation we should make the offer before he goes in. He's probably gonna say no, but, I think a pitch when he's beaten will go down easier if it doesn't seem like we deliberately waited to see him get his ass beat." 13:00 <banana> “Ehhhhh.” 13:01 <banana> Melanie: ”I think it would be plausible that we’d do that.” 13:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It would. Which I think makes the fact that we aren't more meaningful." 13:04 <VoxPVoxD> "At least, it would be for me." 13:04 <VoxPVoxD> "Like, if we could get him to say yes without getting crunched by the Duke, would you refuse? Would you want to?" 13:04 <CBN> Tony: "I don't wanna get too conspiracy-thinky with it, but if we only talk to him after he gets beaned, after the last time he saw us we were about to talk to the...guy? doing the beaning, he'll probably think we're in cahoots." Maggie taught him 'cahoots.' 13:05 <CBN> Tony: "So it couldn't hurt to approach him before and say hey, how's about, this? And stuff." 13:05 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Yeah, let's be pleasant about it." 13:10 <VoxPVoxD> After they've stepped off the curb Stewart whirls around like he thinks someone's sneaking up on him. The sword comes out so fast it's not clear how. "...fuck! FUCK!" 13:10 <VoxPVoxD> The tip of the blade drags across the very edge of the curb. 13:11 <VoxPVoxD> "God... I hate this place so much." 13:12 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I never liked Florida." 13:15 <CBN> Tony gives a low, rumbling "fuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUCK. It sucks so bad man." 13:16 <CBN> Tony: "And we just, and we just. In there, and now we gotta, and. Man god damn it." 13:16 <trenchfoot> She stills, then: "Yeah. It really does." 13:16 <banana> Melanie: ”I don’t know how to plan this out. We’ve- we’re following a Keeper’s plan. Maybe it was the right thing to do but... we’ve lost control.” 13:16 <CBN> Tony: "You know whose fault this is, is Peter. God damn I wanna kick that guy so hard in the dick he grows a horn." 13:16 <banana> “The details are murky because it’s a story now.” 13:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It's Faerie. It was always a story. We walked in and we walked out. We're gonna do it again." 13:17 <VoxPVoxD> "At least twice." 13:18 <CBN> Tony: "And you know what the thing of it is, is? We probably still are gonna end up in a room with the big-eared king shit of this stupid fuck mountain swamp hole, too." 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I really want to tip Mickey Mouse." 13:22 <CBN> Tony: "If Peter pulls off his big dumb stunt and we're around, I really want to hit on his girl in front of him." Revenge: Ice-cold. 13:23 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Let's... put a pin in that." 13:23 <CBN> Tony: "And then I want to get blackout drunk on our boat and hopefully forget half of this trip even happened. Maybe more." 13:23 <VoxPVoxD> "That sounds great." 13:23 <banana> “She’s the one who stuck us all to that tree on which the Loyalists were dying.” 13:24 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I just wanted to go swimming..." 13:24 <banana> Melanie: ”Nobody’s hot enough to overcome that. Think of the hat, Tony.” 13:24 <VoxPVoxD> Honestly, though, now that Stewart's stepped outside... he feels... better? He's burnt out, and he wants to go home, but like... there didn't seem to be an obvious path forward before, and for a minute there it seemed like the road had closed up entirely. But we've got a plan now, however hellspun it is. 13:25 <VoxPVoxD> There's just one problem: we haven't written it yet. 13:26 <banana> It’s a deal with the devil. This thing started by making one - Nels’ own devil - and now we’re another step down that path. So the Thin White Duke is oddly sympathetic - so what? That makes it worse, what they’re doing to themselves. It’s the same kind of thought that set Peter off. Melanie can’t say any of this, bring people down, voice misgivings she doesn’t even trust. 13:26 <banana> It’s not reason but animal (vegetable) fear. 13:27 <CBN> Tony: "Well if Peter's whole stupid idea is right, she's not really the same person who did that, was she? And besides...think of how mad he would be though." Tony's just grumpy-spiraling, this is just, it's so much. He didn't even have to engage with the Duke in a way that was anything like his Durance and yet, and yet it just hurts being around all that stupid impossible power. 13:27 <CBN> And well: Gotta blame someone. Can't blame yourself. 13:27 <banana> Maybe you can’t.