21:08 <Crion> With the unpleasantness in the cul-de-sac passed, things lighten up in the Wherehouse's local Hedge. Once or twice a pouting Inspector Detector will hide in some thorns hoping you can't see him, but as soon as he notices that YOU'VE noticed that he's spying on you, he'll cartoonishly yip and skeedadle away (occasionally with foley work). Other than that, the ecosystem seems to be returning 21:08 <Crion> to normal, which is: an incredibly confusing lattice of streets and side-streets with dangerous walls, the colors of the season turning brambles brown and razorwire rusted. More normal, benign hobs begin to show themselves again, and even Steve has for the most part fucked off to honk elsewhere for a time. 21:11 <dammitwho> Does Maggie have phone contacts for the Spring Court? 21:11 <Crion> David Smitten, Samaritan, and probably the office phone for the Sidereal. 21:12 <Crion> That last one is basically Amelia Banthem's office number. She keeps her cell private. 21:13 <dammitwho> Followup: Is it likely that she would have heard of Icons? 21:19 <Crion> Not likely, no...but she has anyway. 21:20 <Crion> Samaritan, of all people, made a crack about them at the Sidereal a week or two back to The Kitchen. The old goat didn't seem amused. Something about how he just needed the perfect cast iron skillet to complete him. 21:21 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's spent very little time at the Wherehouse since his night out with Maggie, and very little time out in the city since his night with Father Jesse. Even with Lauren he's been a bit unresponsive. He's fine, he insists to himself. He just needs some time to himself. Sitting alone in his room, listlessly unable to play games for recreation, flicking compulsively between dozens and 21:21 <VoxPVoxD> dozens of tabs until the hours spend themselves. 21:23 <dammitwho> Hmm. She's gotten settled in at the Wherehouse as much she really can be, she should let some people know that she's still around, maybe learn a few things as well. Ah! She can practice 'texting'! 21:24 <dammitwho> Maggie: <Hello Samaritan! [smiley face] [thumbs up emoji]> 21:24 <CBN> Tony's made a lot of progress on turning his little bachelor hovel portion of the Wherehouse into a nice bachelor home-pad. Someone with a better grasp of their inner life would probably recognize this as avoidant behavior stemming from not wanting to deal with the weight of the badge and the consequences of further Hedge hob interactions, but Tony? He likes a clean and organized space. 21:25 <VoxPVoxD> Brother. 21:25 <Crion> Samaritan: <haayyyyy :) watup> 21:27 <dammitwho> Maggie: <I wanted to see how you were doing! And also to ask about what icons are, in case you didngt want to talk about how you were doing!> Sometimes people need to stew a mite, and its good to give them outs that still involve social contact. She learned this from her young friend, Stewart. 21:27 <dammitwho> <not the computer thing the chan,geling thign [thinking emoji]> 21:27 <banana> Did several somebodies say avoidant behaviour? 21:28 <Crion> Usually they don't get service here on this side of the Hedge, but it turns out you can run outgoing calls through a custom Google Phone mask, then output them back through the original number using dongles with clones of their SIM cards. Highly illegal. Lauren came up with it. 21:28 <banana> Melanie knows they should be doing something about the loyalist nest; she should be pushing for that. It's just.. whenever the group is actively trying to Get those guys, she's into it. No problem. Way too into it. It feels compulsive, like satisfying a hunger, and it's not helping any of them connect with the world again. 21:28 <dammitwho> Maggie loves her crime phone. 21:29 <Crion> Samaritan: <lamo> 21:29 <Crion> <that's lame + lmao :P> 21:30 <trenchfoot> Nels is slowly accumulating more things for her portion of the Wherehouse - it's even got some artwork now, just little things but still. A home away from home. She's also got emergency supplies, just in case they end up stuck here, alongside some clothing, a few books, and another guitar. Practically move-in ready. (She won't, but she could, and that feels important.) 21:30 <trenchfoot> ...is it a bad idea to keep mirrors around here? It could come in handy if she ever wants to look somewhere else. 21:31 <Crion> Samaritan: <im no wizlord but i can answer sum stufff> 21:33 <Crion> <kinda serious stuff tho!!!> 21:41 <banana> Melanie's Around the place all the time, occasionally making little noises like 'we should go shopping' or 'is fox sports working today'. She's writing a lot, none of which is usable thesis material, and waiting for club night. She wishes she knew more than just List. 21:41 <dammitwho> Maggie: <???> 21:43 <trenchfoot> A window to the outside will do them well, then. So, she'll just have to bring a big wall mirror into her place, and then cover it up. Can't be too careful. 21:43 <Crion> Samaritan: <so do ya know what an ''icon'' is baiscally??> 21:44 <dammitwho> Maggie: <somethng about the kitchen needing 1 to complete him?> 21:44 <dammitwho> Maggie: <somethng about the kitchen needing 1 to complete him?> 21:47 <Crion> Samaritan: <oh lol that> 21:47 <Crion> <ya> 21:47 <Crion> <so> 21:47 <Crion> <rmmbr when you ran outta the Hedge when u escaped?> 21:47 <Crion> <well> 21:48 <Crion> <maybe u don't> 21:48 <Crion> <sry> 21:48 <Crion> <not lots do> 21:50 <Crion> Samaritan: <i wuz told the reason u don't is bcuz the thorns rip off pieces of you> 21:50 <Crion> <turn you into one of us.> 21:50 <Crion> <lost> 21:50 <dammitwho> Maggie: <!!!> 21:50 <Crion> <so.....you find one of those pieces................> 21:51 <Crion> <cuz they gotta still be out there right???> 21:51 <Crion> <and idk. good things happen??> 21:55 <banana> "Hey Tony. Have you found any good shows for keeping up with NBA and NFL fixtures?" 21:55 <banana> Melanie: "I used to basically get this stuff by osmosis, from the team environment and.. family maybe. Now I'm not sure whether ESPN has the good stuff or if everyone reads websites. The websites themselves say nobody does.." 21:57 <dammitwho> Maggie: <wow! they must be pretty hard to find then> 22:00 <Crion> Samaritan: <yeah........they're always somewher in the hedge, thorns, and if a hob knows where, or can find it> 22:00 <Crion> <they know itsa captive market> 22:01 <CBN> Tony: "Nothing I could recommend, I asked Stewart once what there was on the online and he said there were the Sports Websites (clearly pronounced as though Tony believes this to be a proper name/place) but so far, I'm just seeing what's on if I'm adjusting the antenna at home." 22:02 <trenchfoot> Nels steps out of her room, satisfied with the mirror placement and that it's adequately covered. "If it's anything like the papers used to be, none of it is good. Just different kinds of less bad." 22:02 <banana> Melanie: "Maybe just flipping channels looking for good games is fine then. Wait, antenna?" 22:05 <CBN> Tony: "Yeah, you know, the rabbit ears? Guy sold me some he said was digital, because I guess that matters now, but the important thing is they do, so maybe he was right?" 22:05 <banana> Melanie: "Rabbit??" To Nels: "Is this a history thing?" 22:05 <trenchfoot> Nels: "What do rabbits have to do with anything?" 22:05 <Crion> Samaritan: <.........................you wanan find urs don't you> 22:05 <dammitwho> Maggie: <Thank oyu!!! [smiley face] [emoji in party hat blowing noisemaker] I am going to find a market to buy goblin seeds from to grow fruits + make hob liquor 4 (for) parties in Spring> 22:05 <Crion> Very difficult to figure out how Samaritan abbreviates. 22:06 <Crion> <im sagely noddin> 22:06 <dammitwho> Maggie: <Yes, but also someone else's would be good too. Helping the community [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [100]> 22:08 <Crion> <im sagely noddin agin> 22:09 <Crion> <ur looking for a ghoblin market!!!> 22:09 <banana> Melanie: "Digital is like.. computers. It means electrical signals, all the video is represented in an abstract way instead of using.. whatever they did before." 22:09 <Crion> <jackie knows where it s but theyre always busy> 22:12 <Crion> <ive been there b4 n could come...but u ight want to ask dstewart> 22:12 <Crion> <fall boy> 22:12 <banana> Melanie: "Oh, but you can get HD that way!" 22:13 <trenchfoot> Nels: "What's HD?" 22:14 <banana> Melanie: "Culturally, it's a semiotic marker of being upgraded or re-released. They used to use '2000' in the same way, when the year 2000 was this big impressive approaching milestone." 22:14 <banana> "So you get like.. Spiderman, Spiderman HD, Spiderman 2019 is the new version.." 22:14 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I see." She doesn't. 22:15 <banana> "For sports the HD version is better.. picture quality, I guess would be the term. I'll just show you.." Melanie finds the TV remote, unless Steve has hidden it, and hopefully demonstrates the difference between an HD and an SD channel. The cable works most of the time now, though when it's down you do get shows that are a little off. 22:16 <CBN> Tony: "...aren't those just for reading? The Spidermans I mean." Tony definitely pronounces it with the emphasis early in the word, as though it's a last name, a la Oldman. Spiderman. 22:16 <dammitwho> Maggie: <Yes! He is part of my 'motley' now> 22:16 <dammitwho> "Hey!" Maggie calls out from her comfortable chair to the rest of the Wherehouse. "Does anyone want to go shopping?" 22:17 <Crion> <nice. hes cute for a weird nerd> 22:17 <Crion> <neway he'll be able to ask someone where it is> 22:17 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Um, sure. What for?" 22:17 <Crion> <unless you want me to come> 22:18 <banana> Melanie: "I mean I could be misremembering. But there's a new spiderman origin movie every few years, like there was one just before I left and then an ad for the remake was like, the first thing I saw back.." 22:18 <banana> Firmly: "I want to go shopping." 22:19 <dammitwho> Maggie: <You're are welcome to come if you want! No presre however> 22:19 <dammitwho> <pressure> 22:19 <Crion> <heeee> 22:19 <Crion> <lmk where/when> 22:20 <dammitwho> Maggie: "I wanna find a goblin market to buy fruit seeds for our little garden. Also, Nels, we should talk about building a brewery and a still for making booze out of 'em. Anyway, it would be handy to know where the nearest market is." 22:21 <banana> Melanie mutes the TV. "A goblin market?" 22:21 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh! This'd be the perfect space for that. Hmm..." She's mentally mapping out where to place it already. Now there's something she can work on... 22:22 <banana> "What would they sell, beak hats and pig accessories? 22:22 <banana> " 22:23 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Nah, it's more like one of them storybook things. Trade the memory of your first kiss for an ale cup that never empties, sell your shadow for the name of the greatest enemy you haven't made yet, that kinda thing." 22:23 <dammitwho> "I'm just hoping to get some magic beans, heh heh heh." 22:24 <dammitwho> Maggie, to Samaritan: <Ok! [that thing where balloons and streamers fall down the screen]> 22:24 <Crion> <lolllll hmu> 22:24 <CBN> Tony: "You want me to come too? Hobs seem to like me a lot He looks around to confirm no Steve lurking in the shadows for some reason, I guess." 22:25 <Crion> Steve has been very good at not being around recently. 22:25 <banana> "Ohhh." Magic beans.. it's been a while. "You should come, we should do something that isn't mutual generational incomprehension!" 22:25 <dammitwho> Maggie, to Stewart: <Hello Stewart! You should come to the hollow if you aren't busy! We are going on an adventure (safe)> 22:26 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Sure! I'm sending Stewart a text message with my phone, and there's a gal named Samaritan from the Spring Court I've invited along. Better in numbers, right?" 22:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's face has almost slid all the way off the hand propping it up when he gets Maggie's text. <should i bring anything?> 22:29 <banana> Melanie: "Don't bug Stewart too much if he isn't into shopping, though. You know guys." 22:29 <dammitwho> Maggie: <If you want to sell anything! We are going to a goblin market.> 22:29 <banana> It's unclear whether this means Tony isn't 'guys'. 22:30 <dammitwho> To Samaritan: <Do you know how to get to the Wherehouse? Our hollow By The Way> 22:31 <Crion> <nah wheres it at> 22:31 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: <finally time to plant that beanstalk> 22:35 <VoxPVoxD> <be there in ~45> 22:35 <VoxPVoxD> Ughhhhh. Stewart doesn't feel like driving. Luckily the 94 bus will take him basically straight to Lexington Market, after a shower to wake up. 22:38 <banana> Melanie's excited, relatively speaking. She's moving faster than her near-immobility earlier in the week - to her rooms. "I'll get changed! Should we bring our own bags? Do they take US dollars?" 22:38 <dammitwho> Maggie, to Samaritan: <Head to Lexington Market, service elevator, floor 2R. We can 'buzz you in'> 22:38 <Crion> <...............................................> 22:38 <Crion> <ahjahahahahahahhahahahahajhaahjsafk> 22:38 <Crion> <ya ok> 22:39 <dammitwho> "They probably don't. I've never been to one but I'm guessing it's more along the line of 'jar of fingernails'." 22:39 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Actually, it would be pretty lucky if a hob wanted to sell things for fingernail clippings. Not a lot of use for those usually." 22:41 <banana> Melanie: "I'll bring a bunch of weird garbage!" 22:41 <banana> Not a commodity in short supply on the wherehouse grounds. 22:43 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Hmm." ...should she bring her guitar? Maybe they'll let something go for a song. 22:43 <dammitwho> Maybe, but she'd have to carefully word it or else she'll end up not having that song anymore. 22:46 <Crion> That's true even in the mortal world; probably even more fraught on this side. 22:46 <Crion> Samaritan will be over in about an hour. 22:46 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart arrives about the same time - the bus was delayed. 22:48 <Crion> Then he'll see the Darkling Nightsinger from the Spring Court in painted-on jeans, boots, and a pure white hoodie leaning against the wall outside the elevator with her tongue sticking out of her mouth, texting. She'll glance up and see her at almost the same time, and grin. 22:48 <CBN> Tony's already in moderate hock to Steve for various things, so he tags along because hey: if your friends are going to the weird place where people sell memories and buy dreams, you go with. It's called being supportive. Also he has a (shitty) car. 22:49 <banana> Wait, can we drive in the Hedge 22:49 <Crion> I wouldn't recommend it. 22:49 <VoxPVoxD> She looks vaguely familiar. Stewart must've seen here somewhere. 22:50 <CBN> Well, his car's not in the Hedge, but if they need to go out for pizza after, and for not-Hedge-pizza, the option will be there. 22:50 <Crion> Samaritan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53GIADHxVzM She is gone, but she used to be mine. 22:52 <VoxPVoxD> For some reason that song is making Stewart really sad right now. She gets a smile back that fades quickly. "Are you coming in?" he asks her. 22:53 <Crion> She doesn't seem to notice, as she's quickly glancing back to her screen then back up to him. "You're Stewart! I think." 22:54 <Crion> "So: yes!" 22:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "That's me. What's your name?" He'll summon the elevator and then the door into the Wherehouse. 22:54 <Crion> Maggie hasn't gotten any texts from her since <be there in 10> fifteen minutes ago. 22:54 <Crion> She takes down her hood. "Samaritan. Good to meet ya." 22:55 <VoxPVoxD> "Likewise." 22:55 <VoxPVoxD> Once they're inside: "Hey! Whadda ya buying? Whadda ya selling?" 22:56 <Crion> Samaritan is visibly startled at that, especially if he's doing the accent. 22:56 <VoxPVoxD> He is, of course. 22:57 <Crion> "Wait, you've been to the market?" 22:57 <VoxPVoxD> He's speaking to all assembled and not her directly, if it helps. "Sorry?" 22:57 <Crion> She blinks. "Sometimes there's a hob who says that at the market." 22:57 <Crion> "Like that." 22:57 <Crion> "You know, weird." 22:57 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "They got it from a video game. Or vice-versa, maybe." 22:58 <Crion> "Huh. He wear a big coat?" 22:59 <banana> Melanie's all dressed-up, wearing the one blouse she has which hangs ok on a trunk and carrying a handbag full of (as promised) weird garbage. The Mien/Mask distinction's a little less jarring than usual. "Hello. You must be Samaritan.. was it Verge?" 22:59 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "And a bandanna over his mouth." 22:59 <trenchfoot> Nels resolves to look this up later. Asking "what's that" to everything is starting to get tiring. 23:00 <dammitwho> "Heya, the gang's all here!" 23:00 <Crion> Smiling politely: "It's just Samaritan." 23:01 <Crion> That's not necessarily a no. 23:01 <Crion> She looks around the digs as she walks in. What's Samaritan seeing? 23:01 <banana> "Right, sorry!" :) There are a lot of weird names throughout the freehold! But memory stuff isn't going to ruin today. 23:04 <VoxPVoxD> The only weird garbage Stewart brought was himself. His area is quite far from the front door and he hasn't really been in it much since the last time he had Lauren over. He's got long orange curtains for a door instead of Tony's beads. 23:09 <CBN> Tony didn't bring anything except a healthy sense of personal boundaries when it comes to interacting with Hedge denizens, after the last time got him whatever this badge situation is. Which he is absolutely not going to be showing to anyone anytime soon. 23:10 <dammitwho> The central area, first visible when entering from the real-world side, is sort of a lounge/hangout zone with a bunch of comfy chairs and couches around a big entertainment system, atop a toe-curlingly deep carpet (concrete is cold and unpleasant to walk on!). 23:12 <Crion> Samaritan: "This is nice! Since you haven't been here very long. It's very college!" 23:12 <dammitwho> Cables are strung across the floor, carefully tucked into those rubber holder things, leading to the Wherehouse's IT setup. Makeshift walls have been put up to give the residents individual living space, with each 'living cubby' clearly representing its occupant's taste. 23:13 <trenchfoot> Nels: "It's a work in progress, but it's - well. Yeah," she fails to elaborate. 23:14 <banana> Through another of the bead curtains there's a densely packed library visible, unfortunately with a bunch of dirt tracked in and out. "We've managed to weave things a bit but it's, like, everything has its own opinions." 23:14 <banana> Melanie clarifies: "The Hedge here is basically okay with anything it can classify as 'industrial loft'? Like it seems to be going by socioeconomic aesthetic rather than function." 23:15 <CBN> The only part of the main-ish area that will, without exception, remain bereft of dirt and garbage is the kitchenette in the corner, because that is a colonized Tony Space and he cares. 23:17 <Crion> Samaritan nods firmly. "Everyone says it's better to let the space come to you." Pause. "I mean I wouldn't know, that's just what everyone says." 23:17 <Crion> "...So, you want to hear something funny?" 23:19 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods, looking attentive. 23:19 <dammitwho> "Yes!" 23:20 <banana> Having someone new come to visit like this is nice. Familiar; Samaritan's right about the college atmosphere, it reminds Melanie of living in a.. quad? Did she? And one roommate would have someone over, and they become everyone's friend.. she's lost in recollection for a moment. 23:20 <Crion> "Baltimore's goblin market is like, two hundred steps away." 23:21 <trenchfoot> Nels: "...huh?" 23:21 <VoxPVoxD> "Lexington Market." 23:21 <VoxPVoxD> "Nice." 23:21 <banana> "That makes sense!" 23:21 <VoxPVoxD> "Makes carrying stuff home easy." 23:22 <Crion> "Yep. Gotta take the stairs, not the elevator." 23:23 <Crion> She looks around, beaming, which is weird from a Darkling. "We ready?" 23:23 <CBN> Tony: "Is THAT why there's so many of them all over the place outside? That makes too much sense really." 23:24 <Crion> "Yup." 23:24 <dammitwho> "Hrrrrraarruuh." Maggie levers herself up from her armchair. "Ready to go!" 23:24 <banana> Melanie's a little worried. "It's a little worrying. We thought we were following back-alley trails.. did a bunch of racketeering monsters have the same idea?" 23:24 <banana> But yeah let's go! Melanie is of course already standing. 23:25 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's all set. 23:25 <Crion> Samaritan giggles. "You need to understand -- just because two portals in our world are right next to each other, their destinations aren't. Markets are big deals! They cast a wide net. It's more a neighborhood thing." 23:26 <Crion> She sort of bounces on her feet. "But let's gooo!" 23:27 <Crion> As they head back to the elevator: "You're gonna need a coin of the realm for entry, or one of you's gonna have to go into debt." 23:27 <Crion> "You know. Goblin debt." 23:27 <Crion> "Don't worry. Well. I mean, worry. But it buys you a season pass -- for everyone you're with." 23:27 <CBN> Tony tenses up twice, for two different, related reasons. 23:28 <VoxPVoxD> "Coin of the realm?" 23:28 <dammitwho> Maggie: "A coin of the what now?" 23:28 <banana> Melanie: "And whose realm?" 23:29 <Crion> Samaritan nods. "So, our money doesn't work in the Notgnixel Market. You need some kinda...'medium of exchange,' I think the wizlords call it. It's on the 'oath standard?' Instead of gold? I dunno. Basically they're minted promises." 23:30 <Crion> "Obviously, you can barter." 23:30 <Crion> "With the merchants." 23:30 <Crion> "But not with the door." 23:30 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods. That makes sense. 23:31 <banana> Melanie: "It sounds like something you get from the market. If we're going to live around here.. we'd better start out on good terms with them." 23:32 <banana> "I could make a promise. I haven't got any risk at the moment" and it's better than letting someone else do it. 23:32 <Crion> Once they're out of the elevator, Samaritan leads them hard left through the market to the stairwell on the other side along the same wall. There's a big door there, but mass-manufactured. She taps on it once and it clicks open. 23:32 <CBN> Tony siiiiiiiiiiiighs. "If no one's got coin, which I assume no one does, I guess I'll take the debt, since I already do anyway for every time we deal with the hobs, and we just worked some off dealing with the Watermelon Boys." 23:32 <Crion> Samaritan holds it wide for you. 23:33 <banana> Thanks! "Tony.. we can't let you build up, like, a tab from Hell." 23:34 <CBN> Tony: "This isn't Hell, but the whole thing runs on tabs, doesn't it? I can take the hit." 23:34 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Don't be silly. Melanie or I will take it, you just relax." 23:35 <banana> Melanie: "We know you're going to want to adopt another cute asshole monster." 23:35 <Crion> They head down the stairs. They hit an...iron...grate? No, it's worked steel. It opens easily. 23:36 <Crion> Down again. And finally they reach...well, it looks like metal. It also looks massively out of place, larger and wider than a factory door should be. 23:36 <banana> Melanie's on board with Maggie's point there. Obviously they have to protect Nels and Stewart, that just makes emotional sense- 23:37 <CBN> Tony: "Yeah I guess, there's Mean Pearl and Krills Bill and Steve and...fair enough." 23:37 <Crion> Samaritan steps aside. "Someone's gonna wanna knock." 23:38 <Crion> "You'll be uh." 23:38 <Crion> "Buying the season pass." 23:38 <dammitwho> Maggie will give Melanie a window to move first, out of respect for her lack of hastiness, before going to knock herself if she doesn't. 23:39 <trenchfoot> Nels hovers behind, quietly. 23:40 <banana> Melanie does take a moment to psych herself up, but- she should be doing this sort of thing, if she's not going to actually go after those loyalists yet.. someone's got to stand in the way of the dangers which are their collective existence. That's the summer credo, right? 23:40 <banana> Admittedly Maggie is a good candidate for standing in front of things, since she's made of heated metal. 23:41 <banana> She raps on the surely-not-iron door with ersatz knuckles. Knock on wood. 23:41 <Crion> It echoes oddly. Then, suddenly, violently, the sliding peephole-thing opens up. Three blearly eyes look through. 23:42 <Crion> "Hrrrrrm. Huuuuuuuurrrm. Haaaaah." 23:42 <Crion> "Coin or tab?" 23:42 <banana> That's too many eyes! "I'd like a line of credit, please." 23:43 <Crion> "State your recognized name, and the Market will extend it. This name will be your recognized name for all business done on Market grounds until your tab is clear. This name cannot be bought or sold in such a way that it voids Market terms. Do not use your real name." 23:44 <Crion> The sentinel sounds bored. 23:45 <banana> "Paperbark." Bored is good. Routine is good. 23:45 <Crion> "Paperbark, you are indebted. Your group is marked. Your pass lasts until December 22nd at 12:01 AM." 23:46 <Crion> There's a rumble. "Welcome to Notgnixel Market." The peephole slams shut, and the door descends into the floor, clearly now a great stone contraption with a thin veneer of metal. 23:46 <Crion> On the other side is a great statue of what looks like a bodybuilder with three eyestalks coming out of his neck instead of a head. 23:47 <Crion> But he's just a statue... 23:48 <banana> Without an Enemy, Melanie's confidence fades again. She drops steps in line with the rest of the group and looks to Samaritan. 23:48 <Crion> She hums a little bit and waves them in. Beyond the statue, there's life...activity... 23:49 <Crion> Notgnixel Market looks a lot like the market above (???) except some four to five times larger, and much more aesthetically diverse. 23:49 <Crion> There are, however, still stalls selling crabcake sandwiches. 23:49 <Crion> Probably goblin fruit? 23:50 <dammitwho> Is there some kind of order to the layout? A mall directory? 23:51 <Crion> There is! 23:52 <Crion> There's a big map, actually, separating it into four quadrants: GOODS | SERVICES | WEAL | WOE 23:52 <Crion> ...Difficult maybe to tell what the breakdown is, there. 23:53 <banana> "If we split up a bit.. we can find more deals." 23:53 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Hmm. Might as well start looking for gardening supplies in the 'Goods' section..." 23:53 <dammitwho> "Deals are so important." 23:53 <banana> Melanie: "I mean in the sense of bargains, not.. pacts." 23:53 <dammitwho> "Me too." 23:54 <banana> "And by bargains I mean low prices!" 23:54 <banana> But it's probably all the same thing around here. 23:54 <Crion> As you walk into the main area, Paperbark's cry is met by joyous ones in return from the shopping and selling hobs: "Low prices!" "Low prices!" "Low prices, stranger!" 23:54 <Crion> Seems like some sort of greeting, almost. 23:55 <trenchfoot> Nels: "They seem... enthusiastic." 23:55 <Crion> Samaritan: "You can always say that about them." 23:55 <trenchfoot> She draws closer to Maggie. They're headed for the same things, after all, and... noise. 23:55 <Crion> "Here's something cool," she says. "No Keepers here." 23:56 <Crion> "Notgnixel Market has the juice to ban them." 23:57 <Crion> "Which makes your season pass...probably kind of a lot cooler." 23:58 <CBN> Tony: "That is cool." 23:58 <banana> Melanie: "I didn't even think. I guess these are kind.. free trade hobgoblins? The kind who don't take well to regulation." 23:58 <banana> *kind of 00:00 <Crion> Samaritan: "In the end, everything's about regulation, yeah? Just depends who's doing it." 00:01 <dammitwho> What looks good at the nearby stalls? 00:02 <Crion> Nearby stalls in GOODS cover everything from every stage of hedge agriculture to like, weird sleep aids? Like hobgoblin ways to keep your head propped up when you sleep? Is this an issue for them? 00:07 <banana> It could be something to use against them, if they're vulnerable to it. Melanie: "Do you have have anti-sleep postures for use on others?" 00:07 <dammitwho> That's excellent news. Not for the hobs, poor things, but Maggie's got plans for the future. 00:08 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart wanders around looking for booksellers. 00:08 <Crion> The hob in question is sort of floating on a very, very tiny bed -- but in reality, you can sort of see more than two dozen silvery threads holding the...palinquin?...up. "You wanna hit em with the VyQuil, dear?" 00:09 <CBN> As the current resident cook, Tony tags along with Maggie looking for Hob-Ag goods. 00:11 <banana> What is the demo bed suspended from? Have they got ceiling hooks..? "Good sleep is fine, but I'd like to hoard it... it'd be great if my enemies were fatigued and irritable." 00:11 <Crion> Oh, they're coming up from the ground. Like little pseudopods. 00:12 <Crion> Stewart, meanwhile, finds...a lot of booksellers. 00:12 <Crion> Like, A LOT of booksellers. 00:12 <VoxPVoxD> He supposes that was to be expected. 00:13 <Crion> Maggie, meanwhile, finds her wants extensively catered to. Maybe too much? Lexington Market is enthusiastically a food market, both wholesale and retail, so it makes sense that Notgnixel Market deals very heavily with goblin fruits. 00:13 <Crion> She should put together a shopping list, and also a list of what she's willing to barter or oath-swear. 00:14 <Crion> But yeah there's a huge throughway here just called The Farmer's Market. 00:14 <banana> Melanie is fascinated by the more weird and useless hob-products, and she's going to quiz vendors until they get sick of window shopping. 00:14 <Crion> To Melanie, the reclining hob says: "You want a poison or a device?" 00:14 <Crion> "Poisons, they're usually over in WOE." 00:15 <Crion> "Devices, well." The hob grins. "We sell 'em." 00:15 <trenchfoot> Are there any alcoholic beverages? Nels hasn't really - used goblin fruits for anything, and she's not exactly sure what's possible, let alone possible for her. 00:15 <Crion> Are there! Package goods are in, well, GOODS, but if you're just looking for a bar, that's in WEAL. 00:16 <Crion> Tony doesn't see anything especially interesting while keeping an eye out...but there's that one stall called LOOT CLEARANCE. 00:18 <banana> Melanie: "Something you could place outside another person's home would be great.." 00:18 <Crion> The hob frowns at Melanie. "Honey...where it is that you think people sleep?" 00:19 <banana> Melanie: "I think it varies a lot." 00:20 <CBN> Tony heads over to LOOT CLEARANCE. 00:21 <trenchfoot> Gotta start with the packaged goods. Though some sort of still might be good to find around here... 00:21 <Crion> The hob sighs. "I can sell you a bad pillow, or an evil mattress, or a white noise machine with a real bad attitude once you get into REM. But I don't got a sleep trap." 00:21 <Crion> Stills are probably in GOODS, alongside all the homebrews. 00:23 <banana> Melanie: "That's cool. Sleep itself is a trap set by biology to steal away a third of our lives." 00:23 <Crion> The hob nods indulgently: "For sure, babe." 00:24 <VoxPVoxD> Any of these book stalls look modern but not in that soulless sterile Apple Store way? 00:24 <Crion> LOOT CLEARANCE is a weird...carnival booth? There's a shitty little hob in a shitty little suit grinning out in front of it and doing promo. "STEP RIGHT UP and BUY YOUR TICKET for a CHANCE at SOMETHING NO ONE ELSE WANTED TO BUY at ANYWHERE NEAR FULL PRICE!" 00:24 <banana> "I'll hit you up if I need to wake from a dream." Let's go check out WOE, as recommended... 00:25 <Crion> In fact, Stewart, there's something that looks suspiciously like an Electronic Boutique. Well, an EB Games. It's called HOB GAMES. 00:26 <VoxPVoxD> Oh hell yes. 00:26 <Crion> The hob at the counter is tall, goateed, and bored. 00:27 <VoxPVoxD> "Sup?" says Stewart. Does this look like actual video games or... 00:31 <Crion> "Hey man," says the hob. Turns out his glasses are like, part of his face? 00:31 <Crion> He glances up. "You're looking for something." 00:32 <Crion> It's kind of hard to tell what the software is. There doesn't seem to be much hardware, though... 00:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah. Do you have anything in the way of lore?" 00:32 <Crion> What kind of setup is Nels looking for? 00:33 <CBN> Tony sizes up LOOT CLEARANCE and spends probably longer than's healthy thinking about how self-sabotaging he's feeling tonight. 00:34 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Let's see here." She glances down at a small scrap of paper she's scribbled a list on for herself. "Anything in the Blushberry, Dream-a-Drupe, Ertwen, or Murmurleaf family... Chu Chu Culm, Cocorange, Coralscalp, Coupnettle... and maybe some Amaranthine." She doesn't expect to find any Amaranthine, though. That stuff's valuable. 00:35 <banana> Messing with sleep is not a serious plan; Melanie's mostly enjoying herself browsing all this weird shit, finding a part of Faerie that's at once more familiar than the rest and weirder-in-a-safe-way. But she's going to spend a bit of time looking around what they sell in WOE in the hope of finding something that will give the motley an advantage over, say, nearby loyalists who don't know 00:35 <banana> that their hideout has been discovered... 00:40 <CBN> Tony shrugs and gestures for the attention of the shitty little hob in the shitty little suit. "I'll play." 00:41 <Crion> Maggie surveys a number of retailers: Amaranthine is available, but at a -- Samaritan giggles here -- high price. You'll need to purchase separately, not in bulk, and it will incur specific debt. You can get Blushberries, Ertwn, or Murmurleaf from most of those dealers much more easily, though. Coralscalp's being sold alongside some other (sea) weed variants, which probably all do basically 00:41 <Crion> the same thing; Coupnettle's in with the more usual groceries; Cocorange, Chu Chu Colm, and Dream-a-Droupe are over near where Nels is making inquiries. 00:42 <trenchfoot> She'll be looking for a pot still they can use for the Wherehouse, alongside... hmm, probably need something that can handle goblin fruits for mash, maybe a general guide to brewing new and unfamiliar things... 00:43 <Crion> The hob in the shitty suit hops up, snaps his finger and pulls three coins of uncertain provenance out from behind Tony's ear. That's his wager. Then he bows and gestures Tony forward into the room behind him, and slams the curtains shut...on a chintzy-looking treasure chest. 00:43 <Crion> Sadly, when Tony opens it, there are just those three same coins in there... 00:45 <dammitwho> Hmm. Let's see how much the Chu Chu Culm and Dream-a-Drupe are going for. Plus, she'll be able to hang out with Nels. 00:45 <dammitwho> "Howdy, Nels! Find anything?" 00:45 <CBN> Tony shrugs. "Well, at least they'll get to dance with the one what brung 'em." And he pockets the coins. 00:47 <Crion> One of those looks a bit different from the others. A bit less like a cheap trick. Tony has a coin of the realm. 00:47 <CBN> He smiles to himself as he walks away and rejoins Maggie. Not worse than today started, not yet at least. 00:49 <Crion> Meanwhile, over at HOB GAMES, the bored guy behind the counter says. "What kinda lore you looking for?" 00:52 <Crion> Looking like Maggie can get three Chu Chu Culms or Dream-a-Drupes for a point on her tab apiece, or some seeds for a plot each for the same. 00:54 <Crion> WOE is interesting, for Melanie, if she likes seedy dudes with crude tudes. Lots of like five foot two guys advertising their services as hitmen, intimating you should come into the backroom and See What They've Got In Stock -- WOE has to be like 40% back rooms by volume -- or selling fucked up, weird offbrand Juul pods. 00:55 <Crion> There's also just a booth labeled: Seven Devils. 00:55 <banana> That's.. not something she specifically likes. Are the devils less seedy? 00:55 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh, hello Maggie. Yes, actually --" she gestures to the brewmaster's setup she's been eyeing. "Should have everything I need to get started, so long as I can get a little help with the fruits... or, I guess, more mundane ingredients." 00:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Well, all of it." 00:57 <Crion> A hob appears to be meditating in the lotus position in front of it. It is a cat person, naked from the waist up, with seven figureheads behind it. Everything here looks vaguely Egyptian. 00:57 <Crion> The hob opens a lazy eye and stares at Melanie. 00:59 <banana> Melanie bows from the waist (which is the only way she can bow. it creaks). "Hi, good afternoon." 00:59 <dammitwho> Hmm. Pretty spendy, but she expected that. Still, it should be thought of as an investment in the future. Maggie will buy seeds for the Clums and the Drupes at two points on her tab, under the name "Aunt Mags". 00:59 <banana> Her parents had cats once. 01:00 <dammitwho> Do they get fun little nametags or anything like that? 01:00 <Crion> In HOB GAMES, the guy nods boredly...but then leans forward, and his glasses both go opaque and flash...? Stewart will recognize this if he's seen the anime Evangelion, along with the grin that appears on the hob's face. "BTSW...Changeling edition. I've got it right--" 01:01 <Crion> The hob places a hand on the counter, finger pointing down, and there's an unmarked CD in the display case below it. "Here." 01:01 <Crion> The Egyptian cat hob: "If it were you would not be here." 01:02 <Crion> No nametags, Maggie, but you do get receipts with your Market Name on them. 01:02 <dammitwho> Aw. 01:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart looks down: "BTSW?" 01:02 <dammitwho> Maggie, to Nels: "What market name did you choose?" 01:03 <banana> Melanie: "Well, I need to make sure it's a bad afternoon for the right people." 01:03 <Crion> The gamer hob pushes his glasses up his nose. "It's an abbreviation." He realizes how obvious this is seconds later. "They made the Book of Things Strange and Wondrous digital. You've probably never heard of it. It was an..." 01:04 <Crion> "...import." 01:04 <Crion> The Egyptian cat hob: "The wrong people are dead." 01:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's eyes light up, though he's not wearing glasses. "That's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. Is it a program, a database?" 01:07 <Crion> The gamer hob sighs and leans forward, steepling his fingers. His glasses are still doing that thing. "They're trying to turn it into an app. If you can imagine. BUT!!" 01:07 <banana> That's how we're doing this, is it? "Wrong isn't a populous enough race." 01:07 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Went for Traveller. I figured - what with the long way I've come, and all." 01:08 <Crion> "This version is an encyclopedia build in WyrdSQL with a front-end. It installs on any modern system. Do not attempt to access it via command line...make no queries there." 01:10 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "What does it cover?" 01:11 <Crion> The cat hob grins. "The gods rarely have agreed. But then, it is fated to be so. And only Ra and Osiris will remain." 01:11 <dammitwho> "Nice name, there! I'm 'Aunt Mags', for future hobgobly dealings. I may not be Frederick H. Coca-Cola," She adds smugly, "but I think I know a thing or two about building a brand." 01:12 <Crion> The cat hob: "Which I suppose means, then, that I could help you kill just about anyone except for Ra and Osiris, mmm?" 01:12 <Crion> The gamer hob leans back. "Whatever the updates cover. Where do the updates come from? I can't tell you that. But you don't need wifi, man." 01:13 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart whistles. "What's the curse? What's the catch?" 01:14 <banana> Melanie: "I have no quarrel with the day or the night." 01:14 <banana> "There's someone I'm going to kill. I have help; we'll succeed; however, I want it to be... safe. I don't want my allies hurt or sacrificed." 01:19 <Crion> The cat hob: "That is not what I do." 01:21 <Crion> The cat hob: "But if you're willing to let them burn, well..." 01:21 <Crion> His smile is wide. "The sun also rises." 01:22 <Crion> The gamer hob: "The catch is they have to have you beat already. The curse is they know exactly what it is you wanted to know." 01:22 <banana> Melanie: "Which 'them', please?" 01:22 <Crion> The cat hob, pleasantly: "Your friends." 01:23 <Crion> "Not you, of course...Paperbark." 01:23 <Crion> The gamer hob pushes up his glasses. "Can't erase your search history. So don't get hacked." 01:26 <VoxPVoxD> That's intense. "Oh wow." But compelling. "What's it cost?" 01:26 <banana> Melanie: "No. I'm willing to pay to hurt people who need it; I can offer an original idea, or a childhood pet, or a doorway opened. Sole survivor is not a deal I'll make." 01:36 <Crion> The cat hob: "I didn't say sole survivor. But I also didn't offer to change my terms." 01:36 <Crion> He closes his open eye, but keeps speaking. "So perhaps you're talking to yourself." 01:36 <Crion> The gamer hob: "We've got a payment plan. Unless you have something to trade in...?" 01:39 <banana> Melanie: "You've got compelling branding, but a consumer-unfriendly funnel. It's ethically irresponsible to bargain on the basis of unclear terms, so I'll move on. Perhaps we'll meet later!" 01:40 <Crion> Without opening his eyes, the cat hob grins. "We always do, in the end." 01:40 <Crion> Beyond being obviously smug, however, he makes no further attempt at a deal. 01:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart doesn't think he has anything he'd barter away that this guy would want. "I'll pay." 01:42 <Crion> "!!!" The gamer hob straightens, reaches behind his back, and slams a three-page contract down in front of Stewart. "Sign here, and here, and here..." The contract's language is clear. He's going into debt, but he's not actually being suborned into being required to DO things. That would be swearing an oath, which is quite different. 01:43 <VoxPVoxD> This all seems to be in order. There's that floaty feeling again. 01:44 <Crion> Almost reverently, the gamer hob puts the CD -- now enclosed in a protective jewel case -- in a plastic bag and hands it to Stewart. "Thank you, for your purchase." It's almost a mantra. 01:44 <Crion> Then he immediately snaps back to looking bored. 01:45 <VoxPVoxD> "Seeya," says Stewart, heading out to try and connect back up with the others. 01:46 <Crion> Samaritan will be helping Maggie with her stuff. Nels and Tony seem to already have headed back. 01:48 <banana> Melanie turns up empty-handed, but looking vaguely pleased. "It's a hustle out there." 01:49 <dammitwho> Maggie: "I guess Melanie came away with intellectual enlightenment for free, which is a pretty good deal?" 01:51 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I paid for mine." 01:52 <banana> Melanie: "I learned that some things aren't for sale! These guys aren't really ever going to help us, but you can't blame them." 01:53 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Them not helping us is fine as long as we're not helping them. Every relationship with a hob is transactional." 01:54 <banana> "Right, but there's another layer to it - those transactions are never the kind which would shift the balance of power. Neutrality is a political stance in favour of the status quo, you know?" 01:54 <banana> "I still like the.. the atmosphere. It feels like all these little guys are doing their evil best!" 01:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I don't know if they've got enough volition to be evil. Bargaining might be a kind of atavism for hobs." 01:57 <Crion> Samaritan: "In the Market, definitely." 01:58 <banana> Melanie: "Ah! Again we fall back on 'intent'. There's a consistent metaethical discourse there, but I don't know if you wanna accept its implications for the Court system.." 01:58 <Crion> "And Mels, you DID go down into the WOE alley." 01:58 <banana> "Are the guys in Weal nicer, or do they just look nicer?" 01:59 <banana> 'Mels'? Maybe Samaritan's got the two of them mixed up, but it'd be funny that way. No objection. 01:59 <Crion> Samaritan: "Well, they're not less easier on you. But most of them don't ask you to cut off a pinkie or whatever for the transaction, and then refuse to tell ya why." 01:59 <Crion> *not any 02:00 <banana> Melanie: "Ahh.. the lack of an explanation did bug me. Like, it feels like someone refusing to show you the fine print? Like a deal which might be fair but you can't actually know." 02:01 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "What were you looking for?" 02:01 <banana> "Have you got much out of this place?" 02:01 <Crion> Samaritan shrugs around the seed packages. "Yeah, lies of omission sorta aren't counted like lies, a lot of the time." 02:01 <banana> Aside, to Stewart: "Weapons." 02:01 <Crion> Forthrightly: "I stick to GOODS, and I stick to what I know." 02:01 <VoxPVoxD> Instead of looking leery or uncomfortable, Stewart nods soberly. 02:04 <Crion> To Maggie as much as anyone: "Wanna head back?" 02:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, I'm ready to go." 02:05 <banana> So she's on the right track, or Stewart's already a dead canary.. well, the die is cast. 02:05 <dammitwho> Cheerfully: "I'm done!" 02:05 <banana> "Yeah, I'll come and look around some more later but we can totally go now. Thank you for introducing us!" 02:06 <Crion> The door will slide open as they're walking out, and as they leave, they'll hear the great statue bellow behind them: "Hrrrrrm. Huuuuuuuurrrm. Haaaaah." 02:06 <Crion> Samaritan giggles: "Not a problem! It was fun!" 02:10 <banana> Melanie: "It's really nice to see a product of this world that isn't.. actually bad. That wasn't just a simulacrum, right? Hob commerce. It implies a functioning civilisation that's not merely a superfice of dream thorns, not just an *excuse*." 02:12 <Crion> Samaritan: "Yup. Think so, anyway. It happens when we're not there to see it, at least." 02:12 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart says his goodbyes and heads home first. Riding the bus home after going out and buying exactly one video game is powerfully nostalgic. He remmebers getting the PC version of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic this way. 02:12 <Crion> Samaritan will exit quickly too; there's a hot band at the Sidereal tonight. 02:14 <dammitwho> Maggie's happy to continue chatting with Melanie back at the Wherehouse, if she's of a mind - though Hercule Poirot will be busily solving mysteries in the background. The seeds will keep. 02:14 <Crion> Has Maggie seen this show before? 02:15 <Crion> I mean, it would be odd if she had, but one is required to ask. 02:15 <Crion> Perhaps she marathoned through it already. 02:17 <banana> Melanie hadn't, and she's been enjoying the series - though she often interrupts with questions about the mundane details of Poirot's strange world. Just how much of this stuff is fake and how much is British? 02:17 <VoxPVoxD> Inside, mail on the table, keys in the bowl, rum and lemonade... Stewart's set up at his rig in ninety seconds. Time to install this book and give it a try. Is Lauren online? 02:17 <banana> There are so many rural mansions, top-down drives through cramped countrysides, genteel manservants.. it tests her sense of amnesia vs fiction. 02:17 <Crion> dolor_sit_amet is indeed online. Is he putting it on his gaming PC or the hex box? 02:24 <VoxPVoxD> The hex box is Stewart's first choice, but he wants to run it by Lauren first. <hey two questions. 1. self-updating hob software from notgnixel market: should i install it on the hex box or the muggle rig 2. how good is the prince of baltimore at video games> 02:24 <Crion> The dot dot dot of typing appears, disappears, and reappears. Then: <lmao i'm coming over> 02:25 <Crion> <how much space you got for a third box> 02:26 <dammitwho> Maggie hasn't seen all of them, or even most, but she got hooked on Christie pretty early. "Y'know, I'm not too sure myself. I think all of that Baron this and Major that is real. Not the murders, obviously. There's a whole separate section for 'true crime'." 02:26 <VoxPVoxD> There's a slight delay in Stewart's response as he spins around in his chair in delight. <i can make it work> 02:27 <Crion> Then she probably finds it perfectly normal that there's a calico cat in the background of every scene in Poirot's house or office, grooming itself. Never seems to be acknowledged, though. 02:27 <dammitwho> "And the war they don't talk about was real, I know that in my gut. Plus the Wikipedia." 02:27 <Crion> Lauren: <k. grabbing a clean box from the office, be over in like, 35> 02:28 <Crion> <set up cabling for something wired to your router but NOT behind the autumn firewall> 02:28 <banana> Melanie: "Oh yeah, that happened. But I don't think 'Belgium' can be a real place.. there's no actual consistent cutural difference Hercule has, he's just slightly foreign." 02:28 <dammitwho> A man with moustaches that elegantly groomed probably doesn't want to get hair on his suit through cuddling a kitty. But he still has a cat, because that's just sensible. 02:28 <Crion> <ttys> 02:29 <dammitwho> Maggie: "You got your phone on you? I always put mine on the charger dealie when I come home... pretty easy to get to the bottom of this." 02:30 <Crion> Lauren will buzz Stewart's door some thirty minutes later. 02:31 <banana> Melanie: "Works outside, I couldn't figure out how to get it on the wireless network, but Stewart set up my laptop for that." She wanders a few metres away and back, bringing Maggie an Internet-connected device: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gkKH3lfRZzUgrWVIxwIGPv3QHsbmXP4Wm-gFmkBgFTJfWa0t3aATy6tcr9VaHBooYp-cz_X3tG9nY1gBqHPgR0WbWnp0k8taMlOIjA=s2048 02:31 <banana> "Do you go online a lot?" 02:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart works quickly, and then cleans the apartment up a bit, then has another drink. Lauren's buzzed in immediately. 02:33 <dammitwho> Maggie will simply type into the Google website: IS BELGIUM REAL 02:33 <Crion> Two minutes later, someone kicks Stewart's door. 02:33 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's at the open door. "Hey. Let me help you with that." 02:34 <Crion> When he checks the peephole, Lauren's outside with a rig under one arm and a cardboard box in the other containing--"Ah, yeah." 02:35 <Crion> Containing odds and ends and tools. Lauren's in her usual work overalls...but she's put on makeup. On her Mask, at least. Maybe she didn't think this all the way through? 02:36 <banana> Melanie's got some tabs open - "Adobe PDF: Hegel-Dottore Concordances in th..."; "Debate & Discussion"; "Cmail"; "umbc-submissions". Nothing autocompletes in her google search history, though; she's not totally computer illiterate. 02:37 <banana> She peers over Maggie's shoulder; easy when one of you is standing beside the sofa. "But he never tells Hastings he's from Flanders or, um, Wallonia. Maybe it didn't used to be such a big deal?" 02:39 <Crion> Lauren: "You keep this place pretty clean." 02:39 <Crion> "Nerd." 02:39 <Crion> It's a pretty affectionate 'nerd,' though. 02:40 <VoxPVoxD> It kind of works, frankly. "Hey! You look great. I had some time after getting back from the market to tidy up. You're out there rubbing shoulders with vampire lords now. I gotta keep up." 02:41 <Crion> Her eyes flash at that first bit. 02:41 <Crion> "Oh, right. Well, you should play Destiny 2." 02:41 <Crion> She pauses. "I guess you really can't. I don't think Lister would like to be on stream." 02:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, for sure not. Even if he didn't mind one of the other Primates would probably want to twist my head off." 02:42 <VoxPVoxD> "Lister's his tag?" 02:42 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Maybe he didn't think the English would know Flanders was in Belgium, so then he'd have to answer 'Where's that?'." 02:43 <Crion> "Don't ever go on a raid with a city's Prince, though. He's got blackout curtains and doesn't understand bed-times." 02:43 <Crion> She snort-laughs at 'Primates.' 02:43 <dammitwho> Belgium is confirmed real, right? 02:44 <banana> Melanie: "Yeah, I'd have said it was in Springfield." 02:45 <VoxPVoxD> "Did you beat the raid at least?" 02:45 <Crion> "His tag is BaltAcadémieFrançaise. With all the little squiggles. I think he had to have someone register it for him over in Europe?" 02:45 <banana> "Um, this isn't a memory thing, I just never used to know about anywhere outside America in the first place. The world seems.. larger now, with everything further apart and thorns interspersed." 02:46 <Crion> She nods. "Oh yes, he's quite good. It was the other guys in the team who kept fucking up." She sighs. "Werewolves are so unreliable." 02:46 <Crion> "Anyway!" 02:48 <Crion> She heads for the office where the other PCs are. "You have a place for this?" 02:50 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, I have it here." He shows her a short, sturdy end-table with a broad heavy shelf. It's on wheels which are currently locked. "This was in the apartment when I moved in, I had it in the kitchen for a while." Lack of counter space is the one flaw with Stewart's apartment, in his opinion. 02:51 <dammitwho> Maggie: "That's not so bad. It feels good to learn things." She thinks for a second. "Usually." She thinks a bit more. "Most of the things I've learned so far have been neat to learn." 02:51 <Crion> "Nice." She sets the box down and motions for him to put the tool-box down next to her. He's going to have a third isolated system; a third keyboard and mouse. 02:51 <VoxPVoxD> "So wait. Is this like a - are you in a magic Destiny 2 clan?" 02:51 <banana> Melanie, heatedly: "It's essential. If you aren't learning you don't exist, you're just a- a fact." 02:52 <Crion> Oh, she had a monitor with her when she came up, too. Of course. 02:52 <Crion> As she gets stuff plugged in: "I mean. The clan itself isn't magic." 02:53 <Crion> "But it's what they want to play." 02:53 <VoxPVoxD> Nice. The room is starting to resemble Lain's, a visual cue Stewart doesn't know. "Yeah I bet Steam would still come down on that really hard somehow." 02:56 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Well, I don't know if I'd go that far, but it's good to have enthusiasm." 02:57 <dammitwho> After a pause: "So what're you working on these days, Melanie?" 02:57 <Crion> Conversationally: "Yeah no one fucks with Steam. No one." 02:57 <Crion> "Okay..." 02:58 <Crion> "What I've got for you here is a fresh install of Windows 10 that's on your network but in front of the Autumn firewall. Should let it update, and keep it isolated." 02:58 <Crion> She pats the tower. "It's got an optical disc drive, too. So put that bad boy in and let's see what happens." 02:59 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart opens the jewel case and ejects the drive. "This is apparently a digitized version of something called the Book of Things Strange and Wondrous." 02:59 <banana> Melanie: "Argh." 03:00 <banana> "I'm trying to reconcile- do you know what a dissertation is?" 03:00 <Crion> Lauren blinks. "Well." 03:00 <Crion> "Okay, before we do this--" 03:00 <Crion> "You paid for it, right?" 03:00 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah." 03:00 <Crion> She glances at the disc. "Doesn't matter what you paid, but it matters that it's not pirated." 03:00 <Crion> "Okay." 03:01 <Crion> Lauren gestures at the tower. "Put it in and let's see what autoruns." 03:01 <dammitwho> Maggie: "A book professors write." 03:01 <VoxPVoxD> He does. The drive tray slides in with a tiny whir. 03:02 <banana> Melanie: "Not exactly a book, though they're almost as wrong. It's an academic artefact, a piece of original research and writing. You set out a thesis and back it up with evidence and logic." 03:03 <banana> "A graduate thesis is how they examine you for an advanced qualification, basically, a graduate degree.." 03:03 <banana> "The thing is, I need a workable thesis topic. I have to pick something to write about, something new in philosophy which will consume.. several years of my life maybe. If I can do it at all." 03:03 <Crion> A screen immediately pops up taking up the center of the desktop. It reads: WOULDST THOU LIKE TO KNOW THE FRONT AND BACK OF THINE PAGE? 03:03 <Crion> Two buttons: AYE in green, NAY in red. 03:03 <Crion> And immediately begins playing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk3tXQzCeJA 03:04 <VoxPVoxD> Oh hell yes. AYE 03:05 <Crion> A progress bar runs across the bottom of the box...then replicates, and replicates, and--has Stewart ever seen what happens when you win a game of Solitaire for a version of Windows from like 20 years ago? 03:05 <VoxPVoxD> The cards spray all over, leaving after-images. 03:05 <Crion> Yeah, it's doing that with progress bars. 03:06 <Crion> Lauren: "So this is why I wanted a fresh box." 03:06 <banana> *almost as long 03:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "That was very wise." 03:06 <Crion> She grins and her eyes pulse. "Been doing this for awhile." 03:07 <Crion> When the screen has been completely filled with progress bars, it goes black -- like the graphics driver crashed, the backing light goes out too -- and then refreshes to a clean desktop with a new icon. 03:07 <Crion> It's of a book. 03:07 <Crion> The label is "THE BOOK" 03:07 <Crion> It's in the Start Menu too, if you prefer. 03:08 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart double-clicks the desktop icon. "I was warned not to try and run it from the command line." 03:08 <Crion> Lauren grimaces. "Yes and no. Was the guy who sold it to you a nard?" 03:09 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I don't want to be judgmental--" 03:10 <Crion> She nods. "He was a nard. So, he assumed you didn't know how to use flags." 03:10 <Crion> "You can definitely boot THE BOOK from the command line. You definitely don't want to fuck around with flags." 03:11 <Crion> "Honestly, he was being kind. But, he also thought you were stupid. So." 03:13 <VoxPVoxD> How long does this take to boot up...? 03:14 <Crion> A double-click, then a launcher with an update check. You've got...6.½GB of patches to download! 03:14 <Crion> Yes, a decimal and a fraction. 03:15 <Crion> The updater updates immediately. 03:16 <dammitwho> Maggie: "And you've been trying things out, finding they don't work, and dumping 'em in the shredder?" 03:16 <Crion> It looks like... 03:16 <Crion> ... 03:17 <Crion> Did Stewart ever use Microsoft Encarta? 03:17 <VoxPVoxD> Shit yes he did. Oh man does this have the trivia maze? If so Stewart will NEVER open it are you INSANE-- 03:18 <Crion> Then he will recognize this layout, except instead of MICROSOFT ENCARTA across the top, it has BOOK OF THINGS STRANGE AND WONDROUS. 03:18 <Crion> Lauren: "Hooooooo." 03:19 <Crion> The option for the 'MindMaze' looks, uh, corrupted. 03:20 <Crion> So probably a good idea. 03:21 <VoxPVoxD> So how is this laid out? Is it topical, is it just the search engine? What are his options? 03:22 <Crion> There are topic breakdowns, but they all appear to be normal, mundane topics. The search engine, however, is limned in a strange green-gold effect. The quick search bar doesn't actually let you type anything into it, and the SEARCH button takes you to an advanced search screen. 03:23 <Crion> Transactional, for your protection. 03:24 <dammitwho> She clucks her tongue. "And it's not like you can use all this wizardly nonsense as a topic... or can't you? Are you planning to show this to regular people, or is this just for your own benefit?" 03:24 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "What should I search for first?" 03:25 <banana> Melanie: "Yeah. I have so many ideas, but most of them have been done before.. or my advisor doesn't like them.. or they're just wrong. I get distracted by concrete problems when the question is reasoning, or lost in abstraction when the problem has an exemplar. 03:25 <banana> "Oh, but including magic isn't a problem. Nobody reads this stuff expecting it to make sense." 03:26 <Crion> Lauren: "Boy, it's your Glamour." 03:26 <Crion> "I dunno. Let's think about this." 03:27 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Hoorm. Huuuarum. I bet you could get away with writing about vampires, since those are in books anyhow. Oh! Did I tell you Stewart and I met one?" 03:28 <Crion> After a minute: "You know anything about werewolves?" 03:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart shakes his head. 03:29 <Crion> Lauren shrugs. "Seems as good as anything else." 03:29 <VoxPVoxD> Alright, what kind of search parameters can Stewart work with here? 03:30 <Crion> The engine doesn't seem to be very forthcoming, but clicking through the mundane topics he's looking at general vs proper nouns. So for instance, 'werewolves' might return different, much more generalized results than 'Werewolves of Baltimore' 03:31 <Crion> ...If that's what they call themselves. 03:31 <Crion> It looks like he's on the hook for a Glamour per search... 03:32 <banana> Melanie: "Wow! Was it, um." 03:32 <VoxPVoxD> Thsi gives him another idea... let's see how the <Werewolves of Maryland> search goes first. 03:33 <banana> "What kind of vampires are the real ones..?" 03:34 <banana> Are we talking monster vampires or sexy vampires. 03:34 <dammitwho> Maggie isn't really aware of the literary distinction. "How do you mean?" 03:36 <banana> Melanie: "Are they like... dark brooding men in opera jackets who sneak into womens' bedrooms, as a metaphor." 03:37 <banana> "I don't know if they're some wyrd-created manifestation of narrative, but the other kind of vampire is just.. dangerous monsters who drink human blood. Less wow." 03:40 <Crion> The search returns a page on Maryland, and a page on werewolves -- mostly folklore? mainly? hard to tell? -- but also a MERGED ARTICLES section. 03:40 <Crion> And that MERGED ARTICLES section...hoo. 03:42 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Well now... I suppose one of 'em could be a dark brooding man in an opera jacket. The one we - Stewart and me - met was a girl in a hoodie. Pretty enough, I guess. Okay to chat with. She still had a bit of the 'dangerous monster' column though, on account of when we left she was busy turning a policeman's head all the way around backwards." 03:42 <dammitwho> "Not fun to have that image in the old noodle, I'll tell you that for free." 03:42 <Crion> Did you know about the Lodge of the Hook Hand? And that they've been slaughtering teenagers, ritually, sawing their...saws...up and down the Appalachian, ever since Dwight Eisenhower was president? Did you know they think this is a wise and venerable practice? And did you know that someone(s) calling themselves "Iron Masters" in Baltimore aren't particularly pleased about it? Well, if you 03:42 <Crion> didn't, you do now. There's hyperlinks to click, on names and locations...they don't go anywhere. But they do stick in your mind. Just in case they come up again. 03:43 <banana> Melanie: "I also would leave. Unless I guess the cop needed to be- but it sounds like the vampire didn't need help. How the heck did you come across them?" 03:44 <VoxPVoxD> "'Iron Masters.' Do you think they're hedge-walkers?" 03:45 <Crion> Lauren shakes her head. "Werewolves don't care about the Hedge, let alone the Iron Masters. Not from what I've seen." 03:45 <Crion> "Like, assuming that the werewolves I've...met...are those guys." 03:46 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "These are the mugs in your Destiny 2 clan? What are they like?" 03:47 <Crion> She grimaces. "How horrific can the term 'party animal' get in your mind?" 03:48 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Stewart needed to learn about 'em, homework assignment for the Autumn Court I think. I guess he knew about some cops that got killed by vampires already, and we went to track down another cop, lady who was a dead one's fiancee or some such." 03:50 <dammitwho> "Didn't get but a few words out before the heavy hand of authority came down on our shoulders, in this case being the actual ambassador for the Baltimore Vampire Court to the Baltimore Freehold. Another changeling, even! Courtless fella, calls himself The Mainer. And," She adds, "a real horse's patoot. Though that's just my opinion." 03:50 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart is about to relate this to the serial killer vampire he saw executed in Charles Village, but at the last second decides this is maybe too dark. "Oh no." 03:51 <dammitwho> "Anyhoo, he was with the vampire gal I told you about. The Sheriff of the Court." 03:52 <Crion> Lauren: "The ones this thing calls the Iron Masters, I think that's Kolsch Cameron and Cuth. The other ones, well. They sound even worse." 03:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Are they just annoying or are they like... I dunno. They're not Nazi werewolves, right?" 03:54 <Crion> She laughs. "No, they're not Nazi werewolves." 03:54 <Crion> "...Though I think those exist." 03:55 <Crion> "Anyway there are like three of these dudes in Baltimore and one's a kid." 03:55 <Crion> "I'm kind of more worried about this like...formalized cult of Michaels Myer?" 03:56 <Crion> She grimaces. "Guess I'm not ever going out to the county." 03:58 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Could be anything from Michael Myers to Texas Chainsaw Massacre to The Hills Have Eyes. As long as it's not a Rob Zombie thing." 03:58 <VoxPVoxD> "But you get the impression those harmless guys are like, the city's line of defense against the slasher cult." 03:59 <Crion> Lauren: "God, I hope not. I've met them. Over voice-chat, at least." 03:59 <Crion> "Like...maybe they're real badasses." 04:01 <VoxPVoxD> "How did this clan come together, anyhow?" 04:02 <Crion> She sighs and leans back against one of the desks. "Prom." 04:02 <VoxPVoxD> "Sorry?" 04:04 <Crion> She laughs and her eyes flash with it. "Sorry. At the height of spring, every year, we hold Prom. Usually we'll rent out a neutral space down in the harbor. Everyone comes in for a huge party. All the courts, and our allied vampires, mages, werewolves...some other randos. It's even been attacked by hunters before, in the past. They stopped because they realized that everyone together at the 04:04 <Crion> same time means like forty boss fights at once if you go in straight-up, and someone's always going to find that bomb you planted." 04:05 <Crion> "But yeah we all got drunk or otherwise fucked up and exchanged Steam names." 04:07 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Is it weird that I find the idea that, if vampires and werewolves exist, at least they game comforting?" 04:08 <Crion> "Don't think so," Lauren says. "They're people too." 04:09 <VoxPVoxD> "Yeah, exactly. So what does Prince Lister sound like?" 04:10 <Crion> Lauren: "Like a 13-year-old rich boy from Paris. English with a snooty accent, lapses into French a lot." 04:10 <Crion> "...But he knows the lingo? Like, it's weird hearing him yell 'owned?'" 04:13 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "That makes me wonder. Vampires get really old, right? There was Father Jesse who said he was over 100, and the Sheriff made a joke about some thing that happened in the 1940s." 04:14 <VoxPVoxD> "So is there..." He types, <Lister french prince vampire> 04:14 <Crion> Has Stewart filed his report on Father Jesse yet? 04:14 <VoxPVoxD> Yeah, he did that immediately after waking up the next afternoon. 04:15 <Crion> "Haha. I saw that you met him." Lauren shakes her head. "I think vampires go to sleep for awhile, sometimes? But Father Jesse's a weird one." 04:16 <banana> Melanie: "One of the things that's kind of nice about this whole-" she gestures at the both of them- "is what it does for feminism." 04:17 <banana> "Like- the 'sheriff' you mention, various Queens, it's- it's like if everyone was born with a gun." 04:17 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Hoom?" 04:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It's funny, cause the night before Maggie had asked me what I thought vampire religion was like. And I figured it would be basically the same as religion already was. But I didn't think about how weird you could get with it if you wanted to." 04:17 <VoxPVoxD> "Father Jesse gets pretty weird with it." 04:17 <banana> "It's not great that we're in a millieu full of powerful, violent man-monsters? But nobody cares about atavistic stuff like upper body muscle mass." 04:17 <Crion> Lauren: "He started yelling at God, huh?" 04:18 <dammitwho> She nods agreeably. "Sure, level playing field. Or at least one all tilted the same way." 04:19 <banana> Glumly: "Down." 04:19 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "While vaping and melting a guy." 04:19 <Crion> The Book dutifully returns an entry. It's perhaps less decisive than you'd like. 04:20 <banana> Melanie: "Are there a bunch of nice myths that have secretly always been true? What about the space aliens from antarctica who're going to save us from nuclear war.. or brilliant detectives using little grey cells to destroy all crime." 04:22 <dammitwho> Maggie: "I expect that depends on how the myths decide to act, innit? I'm referring to us, if that wasn't clear." 04:22 <dammitwho> "Though I guess we haven't had a nuclear war, so the space aliens must be doing a pretty good job." She chuckles to herself. 04:24 <banana> Melanie: "Okay, I guess so. Each of these new things just adds paint to a grim picture though? Like can people really be their best selves when they're under constant pressure from the unavoidable reality of Faerie and also, like, marauding vampires. Not to mention the stuff all the normal humans are doing." 04:26 <Crion> Lister was the son of a noble in the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. It's hinted once or twice that he was actually Louis’s bastard son, which would have given him a claim -- however tenuous -- to the French crown. Usually, however, he claims to have been the child of one of the immortels of L'Académie Française, which Louis XIV brought under his patronage after taking the throne. He 04:26 <Crion> was embraced as a child, obviously, but it's unclear under what circumstances. In fact, there is basically no information about the time between then and when Lister showed up in Baltimore in 1985 and carved a bloody crest through the city's vampire scene, establishing independence from the Court of Washington, breaking ties with the Court of Philadelphia, and systematically murdering everyone 04:26 <Crion> sent Baltimore's way until they gave up their claims. 04:27 <Crion> Then, five years later, the Super NES was released. And he was bored. 04:27 <Crion> And the rest, as they say, is history. 04:28 <banana> Melanie: "I'm sorry about being worried all the time." 04:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "...huh." 04:28 <Crion> Lauren: "I mean all things considered I think we'd rather he be gaming." 04:29 <VoxPVoxD> "That's even more true than it usually is." 04:30 <Crion> Twirling a finger through her hair. "So. This seems like it's set up." 04:30 <Crion> "You want to get some food?" 04:30 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Aw, don't worry about that. It's good to be worried about being a good person! Doesn't save you from being a bad one all on its own, but it at least points you in the right direction, huh?" 04:30 <dammitwho> "We live in a worrisome world." 04:32 <banana> Melanie's worried about being a person, period. "There's good stuff." 04:35 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Yeah! Quite a bit, I'd say. But still." 04:36 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's about to dive back in but the twirl catches the corner of his eye and he just looks at Lauren for a moment. "...yeah. There's pubs every which way and a Nepalese place down the street." 04:37 <Crion> "Nepalese sounds good!" 04:38 <Crion> Random question: has Lauren seen Stewart's bedroom yet? 04:38 <VoxPVoxD> The door's open but he hasn't given her a tour or anything. 04:38 <banana> Melanie: "I feel safe and comfortable here. Staying sane is higher up Maslow's hierarchy." 04:39 <Crion> Well, maybe he will soon. Anyhow, he can lead the way...and we can leave them to it, for tonight. 04:39 <banana> And to keep the wherehouse safe.. Proctor has to die. 04:40 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Mmm. Is that why you're going to school? To stay sane?" 04:43 <banana> Melanie: "Three hundred years of incompetent musing, you know? I need to integrate it or be.. kept apart by the gap. Like my life and hers are north poles of a magnet. Progress is enough." But it's like a high that fades, and it gets harder to keep making progress. 04:49 <dammitwho> "Hoom. I don't know much about all that, but I'm glad you feel like you can tell me about 'er." 04:54 <banana> "I do feel a bit like a nerd at a party. You know, eyes lighting up pathetically when you ask them about their subject, only mine is like.. the world, or thoughts, or something." 04:54 <banana> "You're a bit of a chameleon Maggie." 04:56 <banana> "Taking an interest in everyone's interests. I want to see when you find what you want..." 05:04 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Here now! There's nothing pathetic about it!" She grumbles. "Anyhow, I figured talking on it might be useful to you. Did Stewart ever tell you about those video games he showed me?" 05:11 <banana> Melanie: "No, I think he wrote me off when I asked if his stream game really needed all the clicking. What were they like?" 05:17 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Puzzles. Noodling out how some ancient civilization worked in order to fix a makeshift elevator, or getting a mess of pipes to all flow the right way in order to turn on some machine... You might like 'em. Anyhow, whenever I got stuck I found what made it easier was just talking about it, describing whatever had got me stymied out loud, you know? Of course it was just me in my 05:17 <dammitwho> apartment, so I talked to ol' Topper over there and it seemed to work just as well." 05:18 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Anyway! My point being that I figured it might work just as well for you - describing your problems out loud instead of just in your head - so I asked you about 'em." 12:18 <banana> From: paperbark@summer.ctl 12:18 <banana> To: <alias-wherehouse> 12:18 <banana> Subject: 12:18 <banana> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EHabcUdU8AAoTR1?format=jpg&name=large