21:06 <Crion> The party this Halloween is just getting started. 21:07 <Crion> Before we get too deeper into our drinks, however: What, precisely, have all of you told your courts about what went down with the Loyalists? Stewart submitted his report, of course, and Melanie's about to make hers in person -- but do the Winter and Spring Courts know that one of the gentry was personally involved? 21:13 <VoxPVoxD> Well, Stewart already made his report, so he can start drinking. And he has, with a double rye and a basket of french fries covered in Old Bay. 21:14 <CBN> Tony called Spring from his apartment's landline until she answered, then matter-of-factly told her everything, down to "And I voted to kill K.I.L.L. and no on else did and then the True Fae swore not to use contracts the next time it saw us and then left" because: better to not have to answer questions by just saying it all up front, at once. 21:16 <Crion> Well, that certainly makes things simpler. And it explains why at least one Winter courtier has been pretty much glued to Peter Montgomery all night. Perhaps the poor boy -- sporting a new Spring mantle -- actually thinks it's because he's that interesting, but more likely he knows something is up. 21:16 <trenchfoot> If Nels knows who to tell about it, she would have. Probably David Smitten? He's been the nicest so far, and has been helping her get acclimated, so. 21:17 <Crion> Then he definitely knows, or should know, but unlike Lauren he seems completely unafraid. If anything, slightly embarrassed by the attention? 21:17 <VoxPVoxD> Has anyone actually explained what the Gentry are to him yet? 21:18 <VoxPVoxD> Or does he still think he just got out of a bad relationship with a weird rich lady. 21:18 <Crion> One presumes so. It was basically the main subject of your first big meeting with the Freehold. 21:21 <banana> Melanie Lucas is possessed by a ghost. She climbs the stairs to the bar's upper level slowly, one hand on a wooden rail that welcomes the touch (grain runs the right way, and it feels like a promise fulfilled). 21:22 <banana> There was another Melanie, lifetimes ago, who was at home in this mess of acquaintanceship and karaoke and alcohol. That's another thing she'd forgotten. Alcohol! Thank Tony later. She knew all about it intellectually but that's not the same as experiencing dropped inhibitions - die anwesenheit, die anwesen anwesende. Inhibitions serve to protect. 21:22 <Crion> Anyway, just about everyone who is anyone in the Freehold has shown up, though apparently some of the shyer or more anti-social changelings don't make the trek out to these events often. Things are just about falling into a groove when the mages and vampires arrive., 21:22 <dammitwho> Did the Spring Court give her some specific contact other than Smitten? Otherwise, she'll have called him to check in, but probably later than Nels did. 21:24 <Crion> The mages first: Jesuit, flanked by Everafter and Pardon; no new faces there. Sommolier was mentioned earlier in the evening by Fireman, but neither he nor any other new mage has shown. Jesuit is greeted warmly by Kingsley, who seems to melt out of the crowd, and the lot of them retreat to a private booth across from the Street's. 21:24 <banana> Now she's let the ghost out, the face she sees in dreams; Stewart makes sense of things and no sense at all. It's like watching herself through - metaphor fails her. This possession's tricks are painfully familiar - ignorance as social advantage. Naivety as forgiveness. Substance abuse is an easier way to be interesting than knowing fucking anything at all. 21:25 <Crion> Melanie will find Langford List sitting alone at the upstairs bar, nursing a whiskey on the rocks. 21:26 <Crion> When she's ready. 21:26 <banana> That could be a long time! She'd better go now instead. 21:27 <Crion> Did she bring her drink up with her? 21:28 <dammitwho> Where's the Gardener and the Vigilant? 21:29 <Crion> The Vigilant is at a booth being feted by his courtiers and enteraining the werewolves; the Gardener is helping tend the bar. 21:29 <VoxPVoxD> What's Lauren drinking? Is Lauren drinking? "Do you want to wait for Lister?" 21:30 <Crion> Lauren is having a White Claw. Apparently it's on tap? What a bizarre concept. 21:30 <Crion> Lauren: "Yeah, but he should--" 21:30 <Crion> Right on cue, the vampires stride in. 21:30 <VoxPVoxD> !! 21:30 <Crion> Well, the vampires...and one changeling. 21:30 <VoxPVoxD> ... 21:32 <Crion> The Girl, the Mainer, Father Jesse, the prince, Lister, and a Hispanic woman with short-cropped black hair in a grey suit that Stewart hasn't seen before. 21:32 <Crion> No sign of the Count of St. Sebastian. 21:32 <CBN> Tony's shitty at parties nowadays. Having your last memory of a big party being the last thing that happened before your Durance will do that. So he sticks to the biggest, most crowded room he can, plasters his back to a wall, and keeps his hands full. With beers. 21:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart guesses that's Gabriel Menendez, the Nice Vampire Father Jesse mentioned. 21:33 <Crion> That would make a certain degree of sense; the two seem to be conversing. 21:33 <banana> Melanie finished her latest drink. Not necessary to be the way she is with the Summer Court (what is this chameleonic bullcrap? the Talewright didn't teach her that, there's no script, it's just what you do when you don't have anyone better to be). 21:33 <banana> "Hello again, Mr. List." 21:33 <trenchfoot> An only slightly disheveled Nels is calmly sipping her drink at the bar, carefully watching the new arrivals. I don't believe she's met, well. Any of them. 21:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart wonders if the supernatural effect of Hedge-Busker's Tip extends to vampires and their... blood. Does their blood get thicker? Do they get more blood? 21:34 <Crion> The vampires head towards the rear of the establishment with purpose, except the Girl pulls the Mainer off onto the dance floor before they clear it, and then while Father Jesse and the woman, Menendez, head to Kingsley's table -- the Father actually embraces (lower-case e) Jesuit before sitting down -- Lister spies Lauren and Stewart and heads over in your direction. 21:35 <Crion> Gabriel Menendez -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_2gHmpZmzU [Gris, Part 1] 21:36 <Crion> Lister, Prince of Baltimore -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPlK5HwFxcw [Hymn of the Cherubim] 21:37 <Crion> List gestures at the bar. "Ms. Lucas. Would you like something to drink?" He takes a longer look at her. "Water?" 21:38 <VoxPVoxD> What does Lister actually look like? 21:38 <dammitwho> In that case, Maggie will wind her way up to the bar first... well, second. After heading over to the Kitchen to get some sausage rolls. Once she reaches the bar: "Evening, ma'am! Got any Lake Dredge?" Lake Dredge, an imperial stout from the eponymous microbrewery. 21:39 <Crion> Like a dead angel. Thin, slightly-chubby cheeked, golden-haired, dead-eyed. He looks dressed for church, though it's possible this is just the formality with which he's dressed for...the past 300 years or so, only changing his style with the times. 21:39 <banana> Melanie: "One water on the rocks, please." 21:39 <banana> "I should tell you right now, things didn't go to plan and we've got new problems. That's, um, I read a bit about military strategy and it seems normal?" 21:40 <Crion> The Mainer has been dragged up on stage. 21:40 <Crion> He takes some prodding from The Girl, but finally sings something that fits his vocal range: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aol6RMtEB8Y 21:41 <Crion> List reaches over and pours her a highball glass of icewater, then pushes it over. "Indeed it is." 21:41 <Crion> "You said Proctor was dead, however." 21:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's face doesn't falter as he welcomes the dead child to his booth. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Stewart." 21:42 <banana> Melanie: "They're all dead or gone. I'll start at the end: we got into Proctor's sanctum and a Keeper was putting him down." 21:42 <Crion> At the bar, Amelia frowns and says, "I don't believe we do. Is that local?" 21:43 <Crion> List doesn't cough or sputter, but he does close his eyes and take a longer pull of the whiskey. "Killing him, you mean." 21:43 <Crion> "Just trying to wrap my head around this." 21:43 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Rats. Yeah, one of them tiny places around here. Pull me a Guinness, then." 21:44 <Crion> The Gardener grins. "That I can do." Her pour is perfect. "I can see about getting Lake Dredge in, if I can find it." 21:44 <banana> Melanie: "Right.. I don't think it thought about it that way, though. Let me go back a few steps and summarise?" 21:45 <Crion> Lister smiles. Yep, those are fangs. "Ah! Stewart! It is a pleasure to meet you, in the flesh." He lets that hang threateningly for a half-second--but before he can get a reaction Lauren grouses, "Don't tease him, Lister." 21:46 <Crion> The prince of Baltimore chuckles -- it's more of a giggle, really. "Sorry, sorry. I cannot help it." The French accent is more subdued than one might have expected, but then, it has been awhile. 21:46 <Crion> Langford List: "Please do." 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "That's a nice suit." Stewart actually just bought a suit. He was going to wear it tonight, but, kind of a weird look when Lauren's under bar arrest in case a Terminator shows up. 21:48 <Crion> "Thank you!" 21:48 <Crion> More seriously: "How are the two of you doing?" 21:48 <Crion> "I heard about the...incident." 21:48 <dammitwho> Maggie: "So, the other reason I came up here is, I wanted to run something by you for the next party. The Prom, I guess we call it?" 21:48 <VoxPVoxD> He'll let Lauren answer first. There's rye to get through. 21:49 <Crion> Lauren: "Fine. But tired. Looking forward to going home. This is the longest I've spent not in front of a computer in years." 21:49 <Crion> Amelia: "Yup." 21:50 <banana> Melanie counts off the points of the motley's tale, telling the ghost farewell. She's in a new world now and needs to be present. "We tracked the loyalists to their rathole, guarded by pigs. We killed some when they tried to ambush us, tricked the rest away and set up a cordon. All of this took a couple of weeks." 21:50 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You know what would probably wake you up? A nice round of karaoke." 21:50 <Crion> Langford List nods. 21:51 <Crion> Lauren makes a face. Lister, however: "Ooh! I like the idea." 21:51 <banana> Melanie: "The idea was to get them coming out with the help of some stuff we found at Notgnixel. Things went wrong when Loser was the first one out the door and turned out to be an Autumn Court spy." 21:52 <Crion> Langford List straightens up. "A fucking what now?" 21:52 <VoxPVoxD> He really wants her to sing... but he also doesn't want to push her too hard. This has been a rough couple of days. "We could go up together. Or I could go up first." 21:53 <banana> Melanie: "I know, right? They didn't even tell Stewart, but he knew enough to verify her. She swore oaths too, but she wasn't in great mental shape. Way too long undercover and she had like.. hatred and attachment to some of them." 21:53 <Crion> Lauren: "...Together would be good. Aaaafter you go up first." 21:53 <dammitwho> She takes a long drink, then puts her glass down on the bar emphatically. "Contests of skill! The clever and the strong demonstrating their prowess in friendly competition! To the winners, a prize of a laurel crown, the admiration of all the bright young things, bragging rights for the next year, and a celebratory bowl of the beverage of their choice!" She adds: "May have to rethink that 21:53 <dammitwho> last one for the vampires. Still noodling it." 21:54 <Crion> Langford, mostly to himself: "How the fuck does he expect us to run an operation when he's running a SIDE OPERATION that--" He waves a hand. "Sorry. Yes. This Loser. What happened to her?" 21:54 <banana> "I can't give you anything more on that because events moved too fast. We got rushed inside by the arrival of this thing , the one called the Mistress of the High House." 21:55 <Crion> Amelia chuckles. "Not even a year in to your residency and you're already proposing games of skill. ...Still, I like the idea." 21:55 <banana> Melanie: "By the time we got to the bunk room, Proctor and Kid Kid Kid and Cambridge Son were dying, she turned them into - she put them on - she'd killed them pretty easily." 21:55 <Crion> Langford List has pulled out a notebook and a pen. "Confirm that for me: 'Mistress of the High House?'" 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Hmm... I don't know what to sing. Let me think about it." He goes to get another drink, sees Maggie at the bar. "Hey!" he says, giving her a side-hug. 21:56 <Crion> Amelia: "What kind of competitions are you thinking about, Maggie? We don't have the most space in here." 21:56 <banana> Melanie: "That's the name Loser used; it's known in Philadelphia." 21:56 <Crion> The Gardener will nod to Stewart. Meanwhile, Lister has slid into the booth and is attempting to cheer Lauren up by talking about some Destiny-related nonsense. 21:57 <banana> Melanie: "So the six of us try to run away or yell, I don't think anyone thought of taking out a weapon, but all of that was, you know. Irrelevant anyway. It made us stand there and watch in stupefaction." 21:57 <Crion> "Keeper is Mistress of the High House; Loser is out of Philadelphia. Of course she is. You said Keeper, not just gentry -- did this thing say whose Keeper it was?" 21:58 <Crion> "Was it Loser's?" 21:58 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Heya, Stewart!" She will IMMEDIATELY look around for Lauren. 21:58 <banana> Melanie: "No, let me skip ahead, it's Peter Montgomery's captor. It wanted us to give him a message, made threats to anyone around him." 21:59 <banana> "That's why it went after the loyalists. It wants him back alive and what it thinks is voluntary." 21:59 <VoxPVoxD> Lauren's visible over Stewart's shoulder, engaged in conversation with what looks like a 13 year old boy dressed for church by his mother, a boarding school headmistress. 22:00 <Crion> List pauses. "So there's no indication that it's coming here." 22:00 <Crion> "The last thing we need is a Huntsman AND a Keeper crashing this party." 22:00 <banana> Melanie: "It claimed it was not. Obviously we're not idiots, so- huntsman?" 22:01 <Crion> What're Nels and Tony up to? Still wallflowering? 22:01 <trenchfoot> Yeah. Sipping drinks, not looking at the Kitchen, trying to figure out what and when to sing. 22:01 <Crion> Should be an opening coming up soon. 22:02 <CBN> Tony needs another pair of beers, which takes him back to the bar. And that's how he comes to politely elbow around Maggie and co. "Hey, hey." Multi-tasking light socializing with heavy getting-more-beers over here. 22:05 <Crion> List waves a hand. "The Autumn girl. The one your little nerd motley-mate is attached to at the hip. There's a Huntsman coming for her." 22:05 <banana> List might not care about the game it tried to play, though he needs to know K.I.L.L.'s fate. But Melanie's interrupting herself to ask.. she has a sick feeling. Surely not vodka. 22:06 <banana> She doesn't know what her face does instead of go pale anymore; there are cracking noises. "Lauren? And she knows, she must?" 22:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, who's having a couple quick ones at the bar before going back, giving Lister and Lauren some time to catch up and Stewart somewhere to be that isn't eight inches from a 350 year old 13 year old: "Hey, Tony! This party's kind of a lot, huh?" 22:07 <Crion> List nods. "That's why she's here. If it wants to get her -- and it sent the Herald last night, so it's close -- it's going to have to get through the Freehold and all our friends. We're quietly getting the mortals out of here early; by the time its late and it's tactically appropriate to strike, well." 22:08 <Crion> "Hopefully it's one of the stupider ones, and just walks in the front door." 22:08 <CBN> Tony turns, grabs a pair of fresh beers, and looks over his shoulder reflexively before leaning against the bar and nodding at Stewart. "Everybody's celebrating like they did something. Halloween wasn't this big a deal back in my day, or with my old crowd." 22:09 <dammitwho> Must be one of them vampyres. Eternally youthful with ancient souls, things of that nature. Damnedest thing. To Amelia: "Well, now. That depends on what everyone here is good at, isn't it? And since we're such an eclectic bunch-" She's not nearly drunk enough to say 'motley crew' and think it funny, "Maybe we should do it by boasts? Somebody stands up and says 'I can jump the furthest, 22:09 <dammitwho> I can clear these three tables at a bound, not one of you here can jump farther than me', someone else says 'the hell you can', and we're off!" 22:09 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Honestly I think the day's just an excuse. Autumn's got ties to all the different, uh, communities, and I guess events like this are a way to build cross-community... community. There's one in the Spring too, called Prom. Which, honestly, concerns me more." 22:10 <Crion> Amelia smiles wryly. "Do that around Summer and that's gonna lead to some fistfights." 22:11 <VoxPVoxD> "Like... imagine doing Prom again?" Imagine actually going to Prom? 22:11 <CBN> Tony: "Jesus Christ. Well here's to a long winter and a short spring, huh?" 22:11 <VoxPVoxD> "I'll drink to that." And he does. 22:11 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Might be okay, as long as nobody gets really hurt? ...I guess that could go wrong pretty quickly, huh. That's why I ruled out wrestling." 22:12 <VoxPVoxD> "Okay, I gotta go see my girlfriend and the vampire Prince of Baltimore. Don't be a stranger, Tony." 22:13 <banana> Melanie stands abruptly and then... remains in place at the bar, clutching her glass. "Okay, I guess this must be pretty safe... as safe as we can get really. Time-limited. Ah, that's awful." 22:13 <CBN> Tony: "Well those're two new things. Have fun." Tip of the beer, drink of the beer. 22:14 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart slides back into the booth beside Lauren with a (fifth?) rye and a glass of water, alongside another "White Claw" for Lauren. 22:14 <Crion> Stewart is quite immediately replaced by Spring, the Winter courtier. "Hey Tone. Tony. The Tonester. Gardener, a vodka cranberry, please." 22:14 <Crion> Lauren takes the White Claw gladly, and though she seems a bit skeptical of quite how much Stewart is drinking and how quickly, she doesn't say anything. 22:14 <Crion> "So," Lister says to Stewart, "you sing?" 22:15 <Crion> Amelia purses her lips but serves one up perfectly. 22:15 <CBN> Tony narrows his eyes at Spring-of-Winter's whole, everything. "You doin' okay?" 22:15 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I mean... I've sang." 22:15 <VoxPVoxD> "I wouldn't call myself a singer." 22:15 <Crion> Spring: "Haven't had to shoot anyone in a week or two, so I'm doing allllright." 22:16 <VoxPVoxD> "I actually played a couple of sets as a lounge act once. Like, Michael Buble stuff." 22:16 <VoxPVoxD> Long sip of water. "An evil god thought it'd be funny." 22:17 <VoxPVoxD> "You know what? It kind of was." 22:17 <Crion> Langford List: "Wouldn't call it a good time myself. But Huntsmen usually hunt alone, and they're usually pretty direct. At least the first few times." 22:17 <trenchfoot> Finally decided, Nels checks the stage. Free at the moment? She could run for a bit, or just play one and scamper off, depending on how eager the crowd looks to get up there. 22:18 <Crion> Harlan Jape makes eye contact and nods. The stage is Nels's if she wants it. 22:18 <CBN> Tony: "Here's to doing allllright. So what...is all this?" He gestures around with the emptier of his beers. No slosh shall escape. "Like all the...those, and these over there." 22:18 <banana> She had such a brave face on, or brave.. lights.. having a good time rather than let them win. Melanie didn't know. But she can't just go down there and say that? It would be like unexpected condolences at a funeral, like an attempt to excuse herself. 22:19 <VoxPVoxD> The fourth drink settles over him like a blanket as he ponders the fifth, unattended. Maybe a little too fast there. 22:19 <VoxPVoxD> *untouched 22:19 <banana> First few... "So they start from scratch, but they learn?" 22:19 <Crion> Spring turns to lean back against the bar. "You mean the vampires? And the mages? And the werewolves?" 22:19 <Crion> "Yeah, that's fucked up." 22:20 <Crion> "Like half of them are preppies?" 22:20 <Crion> She sort of frowns in Peter Montgomery's general direction. "So are some of ours." 22:20 <trenchfoot> Let's go, then. She flounces up - flouncing, that's new too, alongside the sashaying - and checks the mic. Then: a song she didn't write, but Stewart showed her YouTube and this one stuck. 22:21 <trenchfoot> "Birds flying high, you know how I feel," she sings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5Y11hwjMNs 22:21 <CBN> Tony: "Yeah, all of those. Why do there need to be so many? Aren't we all fucked up enough in our own ways without other, etynom, taxo...anyway other kinds, of whatever, around? Half of them look like some real boat-shoes motherfuckers." 22:22 <Crion> Spring shrugs. "We only gotta see them twice a year. And they're not allowed to start shit while they're here. But yeah, the boss isn't big on them either." 22:22 <CBN> Tony: "What's the other time, so I can be sick?" 22:22 <Crion> The crowd starts a bit uncertain about Nels's song -- they were expecting something with a bit more of a beat, maybe -- but once the backing instruments kick in, they really start grooving to it. 22:23 <Crion> Spring: "Prom." 22:23 <trenchfoot> She's good, but she's done better. Feels wrong singing without a guitar in her hands. If they want more of a beat, though... hmm. 22:23 <CBN> Tony: "Haven't been around for that one but is it as fuck-this as I'm thinking it'll be?" 22:23 <Crion> "They sorta concentrate all our gotta-be-neighborly bullshit into two nights, and we just gotta suck it up and smile through it. Guess that's what extended family is for." 22:24 <Crion> Spring shrugs. "I mean usually there's more sex, because it's a Spring court shindig, but apparently some chick was fucking the Kitchen in the kitchen earlier." 22:24 <Crion> "So approximately on that level, yeah." 22:24 <trenchfoot> Anyone looking eager to hop on stage? Or can she just roll right into song 2? Not actually Song 2, that song sucks, but-- 22:24 <Crion> Nels has the stage. 22:25 <VoxPVoxD> Nels gets a big, uncomplicated smile from Stewart down the way. 22:25 <Crion> Langford nods to Melanie. "They do. And they keep coming until they're dealt with for good. Which is all its own bullshit." 22:25 <VoxPVoxD> Did the booth go quiet? 22:25 <banana> Nels' voice is so nice. Melanie's totally distracted at this point; she's lost any thread there was to her report. Things that happened a long time ago in the Hedge - if List wants anything else on that, he's going to have to ask for it. 22:25 <CBN> Tony: "Gonna pass pretty hard on that one. So you got any thoughts about what I told you about earlier? There was a lot of you-still-there? and not a lot else on the phone." 22:25 <Crion> "There is no other sort, really," Lister says in reply to the comment about evil gods. 22:26 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "So I've come to understand." 22:26 <banana> Melanie: "What a thing to just live with." 22:26 <Crion> Spring: "Yeah I was writing it all down. People who needed to die, died, and that's what counts. The rest is...whew. Boss was NOT pleased to hear about that Loser chick being a spy. Spying's supposed to be our game." 22:27 <banana> To List: "Have they sent one after you before?" 22:27 <dammitwho> Maggie: "So... what do you think? Good idea, bad idea, old idea everyone's tried before?" 22:27 <Crion> Langford, to Melanie: "Yes. We took care of it fairly quickly. Only two or three intervals." 22:27 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "So, Lister, do you like single player games at all or is it mostly all social stuff?" 22:27 <trenchfoot> She beams at the crowd. "We come into this world unknown," she starts. They want a beat, this'll give them one. "But know that we are not alone." A few more lines, and there we go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AV8lxGjdZ0 22:27 <Crion> "Once you put it down, the Huntsman doesn't come back immediately. You have about a month to regroup. Plan. Prepare." 22:28 <trenchfoot> Whoever made the Internet out of magic and dreams is a genius. Whoever put the entire contents of every music library on there even more so. 22:28 <Crion> Lister: "Oh, I mostly appreciate the online. Single-player games...not so replayable. And I have so much time. I do appreciate a good...what are they called? Open-world? I do appreciate those, so long as they're well done and not just endless busywork." 22:29 <banana> Melanie: "Okay. I'll think of it like an accident, a sudden hurt or setback that needs hard work to protect yourself and recover." 22:29 <trenchfoot> Here she is, a hundred years in the future, singing something that wasn't even written until after "she" died, and... there's a lot to unpack there, but honestly? This is good. 22:29 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I clocked like, a thousand hours in Morrowind." 22:29 <banana> "What do we -" she gestures at herself and Langford, with heat burning around both of them "do now?" 22:29 <Crion> Amelia to Maggie: "I think it's a fantastic idea. We'll just need to set some baseline rules to make sure it doesn't burn the place down, but I'm definitely intrigued. When we set up the planning committees for Prom, I'll let you know." 22:30 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "This song rules, holy shit." 22:30 <VoxPVoxD> To Lauren: "Do you dance?" 22:30 <Crion> Langford: "Well, we finish our drinks and go downstairs. I don't tell the Street what you just told me until we get back to Swordhome tonight, because it won't help anything if he decides to cause a scene now. You should go enjoy yourself. Job well done." 22:31 <Crion> "And we keep our eyes open for...some kind of killer robot." 22:31 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Beauty! Now I, need to see a wizard, about that mysterious weed that's been corrupting the morals of all of our children." She's finished her drink. Is Union about? 22:31 <CBN> Tony: "Speaking of, I got a weird question." And he just plows through with it. "Who can I ask, can I ask you? To look into something for me? It's sorta Hedge-y shit but if I'm over there, I've got geese and fish and shit all over my ass asking for stuff." 22:32 <banana> Melanie visibly wants to finish this and go downstairs. There's still a party and- she forgot something. "The only important thing I didn't get to is Kayeye Ellelle." 22:32 <Crion> Lauren: "...After a couple drinks, maybe..." She's finishing drink three. 22:32 <Crion> Langford frowns. "Oh, right. Did she escape?" 22:33 <Crion> "We can tolerate one in the wind, since the ringleader's dead." 22:33 <trenchfoot> Once Nels finishes the song, she slides offstage with a slight bow. She can perform again later, if there's another gap. And she can figure out some more enjoyable songs to sing. She had a list, but some of them... not appopriate for company. 22:33 <Crion> Spring: "Yeah, what's up?" 22:33 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Okay, so the order of operations will be: I sing, then we sing, then we dance." 22:33 <Crion> Union spent Nels's last song grinding really hard on Jordan Kit, who returned the attention. 22:34 <banana> Melanie: "She's alive. Loser took her away, claiming her oaths to the faeries were broken. I.. accepted it, because the Mistress had done some very demoralising things. My friends didn't want a needless fight." 22:34 <Crion> The mage snickered something in the younger man's ear, then wandered towards the back door to vape. 22:34 <Crion> Lauren nods firmly. "Then I will get another drink." 22:35 <CBN> Tony: "Okay---He pauses and hollers at the stage as Nels steps down "HELL YEAH NELS" Clears his throat. "Anyway yeah. Okay, so. Those Loyalists, where'd they come from, how'd they hang out over there just doing their shit for awhile? They seemed to have a space of their own all carved out. And related to that, what's going to happen to that space, once the, uh, the fucked up death trees are gone?" 22:35 <banana> She's choosing her words to List quite carefully there, but without the intent or really the capability to deceive per se. 22:35 <Crion> Langford seems to barely restrain himself from slamming the empty tumbler down. "FUCKING Kingsley!" 22:35 <VoxPVoxD> That leaves Stewart alone in the booth with Lister. 22:36 <Crion> He composes himself. "You made the right call. The team was more important than...and like I said, you're not a kill squad. We don't want you to be." 22:36 <banana> Melanie: "It's quite a thing that having someone unexpected our 'side' threw more of a wrench in things than the presence of an actual.. you know." 22:36 <Crion> "But I don't like that two of the Baltimore Hedge's Loyalists ended up in Kingsley's pocket." 22:36 <banana> *on our 'side' 22:36 <trenchfoot> She smiles over to Tony, then looks around. Her friends are all otherwise occupied - maybe she should speak to one of those vampires? They're certainly in a similar place to her, in some ways... what are The Girl and The Mainer up to? They looked interesting, and besides, one of them sang. 22:37 <Crion> Lister to Stewart, more seriously: "Requests for assistance from the Freehold to my Court, by rule, must go through the office of the Mainer, and be delivered by either Kingsley or Santander." 22:37 <Crion> "That said." 22:38 <Crion> "Lauren has my phone number." 22:38 <Crion> "If it is necessary." 22:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods slowly, as if the physical effort required to process Lister's words made his head heavier. "We appreciate that. I'm glad you're her friend. She's great, isn't she?" 22:41 <Crion> Lister beams. "She's marvellous." The smile lessens somewhat. "I don't...keep friends very long. Not by my reckoning, that is. Everyone grows up, and I stay the same age. I will not permit the time that I have left in her friendship to be interrupted by some James Cameron vehicle." 22:42 <dammitwho> Hmm. She wouldn't want to interfere with a young man shooting his shot... that's probably a sin against Spring or something. 22:42 <Crion> Oh, he left Kit on the dance floor. That young man is incorrigible. 22:42 <Crion> He should be out back by himself. 22:43 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "By my reckoning, we'll have to kill it hard some time in the next couple of nights, and then we'll have about a month to make preparations to put it down for good. Even by mortal reckoning, that's fast work." 22:43 <Crion> The Mainer and the Girl were slow-dancing before, but are now leaning against a wall off to the side. Mainer nods at Nels as she comes down off the stage. 22:43 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's realizing that he repeats words a lot more the more he drinks. 22:44 <banana> Melanie tells Langford she's looking forward to the next round of this bullshit and walks to the stairs. She pauses by the edge of the mezzanine, looking out over the club - less normal humans now, more weird monsters. All allied, somehow, against the worse and wyrder things out there. She looks for friends, for poeople she'd like to be friends, for killer robots. 22:44 <Crion> Spring, to Tony: "To answer your questions last in first out, the Hedge is gonna reclaim that Hollow unless someone goes in to stop it. Not sure why you'd want to, since it's ah, been compromised by one of Them, but if you did, you could put down alternate roots there. As for how the Loyalists were operating in the Hedge -- now that's interesting. 22:45 <Crion> "See, usually those mopes get by, by having patrons. You know, gentry fucks that they serve, and are bound to by agreements. Silvery leashes, gilded cages. We thought that was what was happening here." 22:45 <banana> Probably works to just start at the bar again. 22:45 <Crion> "But you said some bad bitch Keeper came in and annihilated them?" 22:45 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, sitting with a pale, befanged Fancy Lad, smiles at Melanie as she shuffles by. 22:46 <CBN> Tony:"About the shape of what we saw, it was about three-quarters done when we got there." 22:46 <Crion> Lister nods. "It is, but I have you're up to it. You are already consulting with the willworkers, no?" 22:46 <dammitwho> Goodness. Well, then. She'll take her *next* drink, nod to Amelia, and make her way downstairs. It's a big more difficult to keep people from bumping her and spilling her beer at this time of night, but she manages. "Hey there! 're you Union?" 22:46 <banana> A vampire?! Melanie: "Hellooo." 22:46 <Crion> "These alliances can be tedious, but they can bear sweet fruit." 22:47 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Oooh, that's a cool word. I'd never heard 'willworker' before. Yeah, they're helping us out. Keeping something of mine safe in the Belvedere." 22:47 <Crion> Union: "Yo. Oh, hey! You're uhhhh. You're with Stewart, right?" 22:47 <VoxPVoxD> To Melanie: "Hey! Melanie, this is Lister. Lister, this is Melanie." 22:48 <VoxPVoxD> "Melanie's a friend of mine. Lister is mostly a friend of Lauren's." 22:48 <trenchfoot> Nels is still smiling as she approaches, hand out to shake. "Hi there, don't think we've met before. Nels," she introduces herself. Almost gave her last name too, but that's still something that's weird and uncomfortable to think about. 22:48 <Crion> Lister looks up at the 'hello,' blinks, and giggle-chuckles again. "Hello, Melanie!" 22:48 <banana> "It is." A teen vampire?! "Oh, I was- just talking to, you know, my secret boss in the secret war thing.. he told me about Lauren. Sorry." This last isn't an apology to Stewart, it's to the teen vampire, for briefly ignoring him. 22:49 <Crion> Spring: "So that Keeper was either the one hold their leashes and it got pissed, orrr...it decided YOLO and fuck you, I'm gonna do what I want. And it killed some Loyalists under the protection of another Keeper." 22:49 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods. "This is the safest place in the city tonight. She's gonna be okay." 22:49 <banana> Fascinating that they exist and kind of horrible that they have kids? But this was more important. 22:49 <banana> Very firmly: "Yes." 22:50 <VoxPVoxD> "How did he take the, uh, Loser situation?" 22:50 <CBN> Tony: "That's win-win though, right? I guess we could just ask the two that walked away for more color, or someone else could. I'm not planning on it." 22:50 <Crion> Spring: "Which generally wouldn't be a problem -- in fact it's kind of brilliantly lucky. In fact, it still isn't a problem, except for one thing. You all swore an oath with it. Small one, trivial one, helpful to you, yeah -- but that means you're oathbound to a Keeper. Doesn't make you a traitor or nothing, but it IS something the other Keepers might be able to sniff out." 22:50 <Crion> "So, might wanna keep your heads down for a bit." 22:51 <Crion> "Cause I really don't know how that stuff works." 22:51 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Maggie! Pleased to meetcha! Now, Stewart's gal tells me you're the connection for the dreaded marihuana leaf, is that right?" 22:51 <VoxPVoxD> Heh heh. "Stewart's gal". Stewart has a gal. Hee. 22:51 <Crion> Union sort of frown-smiles and glances about, like he's looking for a candid camera, or a cop. "Why ma'am, whatever could you yes." 22:51 <banana> It doesn't even occur to Melanie to think of Stewart as an agent of the Autumn Court, here. "Little bit wall-punchingly. He saw it as a coup, right, two of the five guys now in some way in the autumn king's pocket..." she shrugs. 22:51 <CBN> Tony: "Oh, well fuck. Cool. Fuck." Tony's back to alternating between staring at his beer and drinking it. 22:52 <Crion> The Mainer: "Evening, darling." 22:52 <banana> "Sorry about the shop talk, Lister! I know it's a party, we just don't all get together often enough due to, like, it involves going outside." 22:52 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods, kind of puffing his cheeks in a 'well what can you do' gesture. "I get the sense stuff like that happens a lot." 22:52 <Crion> The Girl: "Hello. Beautiful song. Beautiful voice." 22:52 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods, kind of puffing his cheeks in a 'well what can you do' gesture. "I get the sense stuff like that happens a lot." 22:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Or at least, you know, relative to other kinds of discord." 22:53 <VoxPVoxD> To Lister: "The other kind of discord." 22:53 <Crion> Spring: "It's better than the alternative, which is that you KNOW a Keeper is looking for you." 22:53 <Crion> Lister archly: "I do understand the context." 22:53 <CBN> Tony: "Fair enough." 22:53 <Crion> Lauren's returned with her drink. "Hi Melanie," she says, sliding back in next to Stewart. 22:53 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I'm gonna go up and sing in a minute." 22:54 <Crion> Spring: "Anyway, I can have the boss do some digging." She grins. "So you're fuckin around with hobs?" 22:54 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Thanks! I've had practice." She nods to the Mainer: "You weren't half bad yourself." 22:54 <banana> Melanie: "I think it's petty but if it doesn't change any outcomes, who cares?" To Lister: "Do you guys get the same thing where you're.. suddenly plunged into a world of intrigue, tradecraft and maneuvering even if that was totally not your thing?" 22:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Probably want to do something party friendly, kinda upbeat..." 22:54 <Crion> The rangy, bushy man scoffs. "Aw, hell. That's all on old Harlan." 22:55 <Crion> Lister's face clouds a bit. "Yes and no. For us it comes along with the terror and the violence and the abuse. It doesn't spring forth after an escape." 22:55 <CBN> Tony: "They're little mascots for sports teams I never wanna meet. And other than the pigs, and those little watermelon shitters, they seem okay." 22:55 <Crion> He shrugs. "I suppose there are upsides and downsides to it all." 22:55 <dammitwho> "I've got a business proposition for you." She visibly holds back a smile like, what, is this guy really worried about getting arrested here? She's about to continue, asking him whether he'd like to get a booth in case one of the vampires or other wizards notices something strange going on and phones the police, but that might be too rude for a first meeting. Who knows what makes wizards 22:55 <dammitwho> antsy. 22:56 <trenchfoot> "D'you sing?" she asks the Girl. Though I don't actually believe she knows either of their names, such as they are. 22:56 <banana> Whether it was really not Melanie's thing she prefers not to examine. She smiles weakly at Lauren, incredibly obviously glancing around for threats to her and suddenly terrified of saying the wrong thing and so on. 22:56 <Crion> Spring grins. "Watermelon shitters? So are they watermelons that shit or do they shit watermelons or--" 22:57 <Crion> Lauren releases what's happening but if anything she's slightly grateful. It has after all been almost 24 hours of this. 22:57 <banana> Melanie: "I'm interested in the similarities and differences between these experiences. Earlier I was talking to a weed wizard who had another perspective, similar ends by different means. The.. weird magic differences, who cares, but isn't it fascinating that we all end up in kind of the same place?" 22:57 <Crion> Union quirks an eyebrow. "Shoot. Uh, rhetorically." 22:57 <banana> "Due perhaps to being in the same literal place. Material conditions!" 22:57 <CBN> Tony: "They were little shitheads who tried to fuck us over, that were watermelons. Now they're a thin paste. Again, the Hedge: okay sometimes." 22:57 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart wonders what Stu, reluctantly supernatural, would make of a party like this. 22:58 <Crion> Spring: "Niiiiiiice." 22:59 <Crion> Lister smiles. "It's one hell of an afterlife." 22:59 <CBN> Tony: "But yeah. Should I not be talking to them? Probably. But it never hurts to be a good neighbor when you're new in town." 22:59 <Crion> The Girl chuckles. "No, I don't think so. I make him do it." She nudges the Mainer. 23:00 <dammitwho> Maggie: "You ever tried coralscalp? Or coupnettle?" 23:01 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart kisses Lauren on the cheek and says, "Okay, wish me luck." Is the stage empty? 23:02 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Ha." How's he feel about that? she doesn't ask, but she does check him for a reaction. 23:02 <banana> Afterlife, lol. Is that really how they think of it, or is the kid just leaning in? "So like.. we're all othered, right? There's things out there that are different to us in here, meaning the Sidereal, and maybe the thing that allows for solidarity is.. perilous estrangement? Being made into something, parens perhaps by yourself end parens, which is threatened by the norm." 23:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart flinches as he looks up at Harlan, but luckily that last drink is there to steel his nerves. 23:03 <Crion> It is; Cider Stitch -- you know, the Winter Court kid Mainer and Girl and Stewart murdered some more cops to help -- just finished: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQaC3o4Tmm8 23:03 <VoxPVoxD> Hell yes. 23:03 <banana> Melanie expects that the vampire is probably not really thirteen years old. It- he must have another unique perspective on this stuff. 23:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart hops up onto the stage with surprising nimbleness and murmurs something to Harlan no one else'll be able to hear. 23:04 <Crion> Lister nods. "Likely so. There are, of course, vampires and wizards and wolves and things that go bump in the dark which are not welcome here, however -- even changelings! -- so even if such a thing is necessary, it is hardly sufficient." 23:05 <Crion> Harlan sort of shakes his head, but then he nods. 23:07 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart looks around, making eye contact with Lauren and drawing in another deep breath. The song announces itself with a clash of cymbals - once, twice. Then the guitar. Then: "I'm coming out of my cage, and I've been doing just fine..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGdGFtwCNBE 23:08 <banana> Melanie: "Yes. Even consciousness of your shared interests aren't going to make a bunch of.. humans cooperate all the time. My question is - I don't wanna interrogate you, let me know if this is boring, but what I'd like to know is whether the metaexperience we share acts by the same mechanism on what must be extraordinarily varied psyches. Whether the presence-of-self is altered 23:08 <banana> materially, by the darker world we now live in, or whether that being-in-world gives rise to experiential compatibilities..." 23:10 <Crion> Lister, quietly: "It's not boring, but it is profoundly upsetting." 23:10 <VoxPVoxD> Mr. Brightside's still as corny as it ever was, but people remember it, and between Stewart's big-voiced ingenue-ity and the urgent energy he brings to the mic the song plays. 23:10 <banana> D: 23:10 <Crion> Lauren has gone to watch Stewart, and is singing along by the first refrain. 23:11 <VoxPVoxD> "But it's just the price I pay! Destiny is calling me! Open up my eager eyes..." 23:11 <Crion> Lister: "It's not your fault. I've -- we, vampires -- tend to have a very long time to think about this, in very...practical terms." 23:11 <Crion> "We have to hurt people to stay alive, you see." 23:11 <Crion> "'Alive.'" 23:12 <Crion> "This is something we don't precisely share with the rest of you. Werewolves seem to enjoy hurting people, but I do not think they have to. Mages and changelings, even less so." 23:12 <VoxPVoxD> When the song is done, Stewart spares no thought for the crowd's reaction. He's reaching his hand out to Lauren. 23:13 <banana> Melanie: "I'm sorry, Lister. This attempt to understand isn't.. nice, just necessary. I can totally leave you alone or we could like, get shots and think of something to sing." 23:13 <Crion> "So the metaexperience, as you call it, isn't quite shared. Not quite all the same data coming in for all participants, mmm?" 23:13 <banana> "Do you want to know something though? Something that might not be obvious." 23:13 <Crion> Lister looks up. His eyes are a bit sunken. A hand half-raises but lands on the table; there's nothing to wipe. Vampires don't cry anymore, do they? Not when they're dead. "Yes?" 23:14 <Crion> The Mainer seems to be taking this all in stride. He seems used to good natured ribbing. 23:15 <Crion> Union, to Maggie: "I...have no idea what those are." 23:15 <Crion> The Girl, to Nels: "You don't seem to be from around here." She tilts her head. "Or from around now." 23:15 <Crion> "There is something...very much like us, in you." 23:17 <trenchfoot> Nels: "...you could say that. Thanks for not yelling at me about the value of a dollar like the last person to notice," she jokes. "Nels Foulke. Same-but-not-the-same as the one you might've listened to." 23:17 <Crion> The Girl arches an eyebrow. "Ahhhhhhhhh." 23:17 <Crion> The Mainer frowns. "Wait--" 23:17 <Crion> Then he shakes his head. "You meet the damnedest folks, in this job." 23:17 <banana> "We're kind of.. changelings are made into people who really, really have to stick together. Self-defence. At the same time we're mostly so fucked up that this proximity tends to have us tormenting each other. Our psychologies are shaped like weapons. It's not the same thing - there are these built-in enemies, fetches that we get an incentive to kill, that's closer. Um.. I don't want to 23:17 <banana> make any unearned comparisons, I just want to say that I get that surviving has a cost , outsourced, and that you do it anyway. We survive, or we wouldn't be the ones talking about it." 23:20 <Crion> Lister nods. "I think I understand. Thank you, Melanie." He leans back and says quietly to himself: "Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink." 23:20 <trenchfoot> Nels: "It's been something," she agrees. "Still haven't listened to her records, but I bet she's worse." 23:20 <dammitwho> Maggie grins: "Faerie drugs. 'Goblin fruits', the technical name. Coralscalp is a very fine, thin sort of seaweed. You smoke it, and for a little bit, maybe an hour or so you notice things you might've overlooked, you're more mentally grounded, more aware of yourself, you know? And then you start to hallucinate when you come down, but even that's not so bad." 23:20 <Crion> The Mainer: "She don't have your spark, but maybe they had some of that movie magic. But for, ah, radio." 23:21 <Crion> Union has gone from sort of archly amused at the very idea of this upper midwestern woman accosting him about drugs to very, very interested. "You don't fuckin say. How's it keep over on this side? You gotta grow it in your Hedge, right?" 23:21 <banana> Melanie does understand having too freaking long to think about it. Would she trade a need to drink blood for human skin and hair? No. Not quite. 23:22 <Crion> Lauren takes Stewart's hand, and climbs up on stage. Moving close to him: "Okay so what are we singing" 23:22 <trenchfoot> A grimace, quickly smoothed out. "So what brings you to Baltimore? You from around here, or just find a place to settle down?" 23:22 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Coupnettle is this shrub with little bitter leaves that people usually make into a tea. Drink it, and it's like a good night's sleep... at least the first cup. Drink another in the same day, and it's like one of them... I dunno, those eight-hour energy things they advertise on the TV made out of discontinued Air Force drugs. Gotta be careful with it, I'd wager." 23:23 <Crion> Anyone Tony particular want to talk to? If not, there's a bar upstairs that is completely empty, and stocked. If he wants some peace and quiet. As long as that lasts. 23:23 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "...shit, I didn't think that far ahead. Uh, duets, I want something we both sing, not something one of us sings and one of us-- do you know Under Pressure?" 23:24 <dammitwho> Maggie nods. "S'right. Hard to find. But! If you've got a place in the Hedge, you can grow a few plants... and the markets sell seeds. Trouble is, from what I gather it's hard to carry them out of the Hedge whole." 23:24 <CBN> That sounds like the exact place Tony needs to be. 23:24 <CBN> Tony, to Spring: "Anyway, be in touch about that other stuff. I'm usually home." 23:25 <dammitwho> "But... a small operation could process a select reserve on-site. If you follow." 23:25 <Crion> Spring nods and gives a mock salute. "Go on with your bad self." She sort of laughs to herself like she's made a joke only she understands. 23:25 <dammitwho> "And maybe, if we do it right, *that* stuff could be taken anywhere." 23:26 <Crion> Union scratches his chin and nods. "I do...how bad does bringing equipment from over here, over there, fuck it up?" 23:26 <Crion> "Like my big concern is if I put some of our magical bullshit on something, and we introduce it to YOUR magical bullshit, we might end up with bad, unintentional magical bullshit." 23:26 <CBN> Tony goes, and does. It's not drinking alone if the building's occupied. 23:28 <banana> Melanie drinks with, or at least next to, the sad baby vampire. She could get back into the swing of the party, honestly; the ghost of Melanie past isn't buried very far down at all. ..wasn't that something from a story? Maybe one of the Talewright's derivative plays. She doesn't quite remember. 23:30 <banana> She watches Stewart and Lauren sing instead. Not as nice as Nels, or even the winter changeling who went before, but they've got the courage to stand up there and sing. She's glad. 23:30 <VoxPVoxD> Then comes the moment where Stewart and Lauren work out the most important thing about any couple: which one of them is the Bowie and which one of them is the Mercury. Once they decide, a look to Harlan and that bass line gets everyone's attention. "Pressure! Pushing down on me..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTMzHcs4mK0 23:30 <Crion> Lauren was visibly startled by the choice at first, but she got over it quickly. And...she already seemed to know all the words...? 23:31 <Crion> To both parts...? 23:31 <VoxPVoxD> That makes sense. It's a really good song. 23:31 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Aw, poo. I was hoping you fellas and the Autumn folks had already worked together enough that you could tell me 'this is the worst idea' or 'this is fine, full steam ahead'. I can tell you for free that even ordinary machines get a lil' temperamental." 23:32 <Crion> Union scoffs. "Oh, sure. The Mysterium has worked with Autumn." 23:32 <dammitwho> "The whom?" 23:32 <Crion> Union waves his vape. "Wizard librarians. Nerds." 23:33 <trenchfoot> Oh, wow, they are really good. She's gonna have to see if either of them would play with her if she records again. And also if either of them know how to record music nowadays. Well. That's new. Healing, right? 23:33 <Crion> "Anyway, they guard secrets pretty jealously over there. Especially from those who they think don't deserve it. So fuck it, we'll do this live." 23:33 <dammitwho> "Aren't all wizards more or less--" Pull up pull up! "--librarians? Magic tomes and such?" 23:34 <Crion> Union: "Maggie...darling...dearest...do I look like I read over the tenth grade level?" 23:34 <Crion> He does not. 23:34 <trenchfoot> Way to brag. 23:34 <VoxPVoxD> By the time the song winds up, they're singing in unison, and Stewart turns her to face him so they're looking in each other's eyes for the last few lines. "Cause love's such an old-fashioned word..." 23:35 <VoxPVoxD> When the song ends, he kisses her right there on stage. 23:35 <banana> :3 23:35 <Crion> She almost beats him to it. 23:35 <trenchfoot> Nels whoops from near the Girl and the Mainer. 23:35 <Crion> The Mainer: "You know, I wouldn't've expected that boy had it in him." 23:35 <banana> Is Lister or anyone else still at the bar? "Protect at all costs, imo." 23:36 <trenchfoot> Nels: "People have a way of surprising you." 23:36 <Crion> Lister is, but he's standing up. "I agree." 23:36 <Crion> "I think it's time to take my turn. Thank you for coming by, Melanie." 23:38 <banana> "Oh, good luck! No, wait- knock em dead." 23:38 <Crion> He grins, showing full fang. "Thank you." 23:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart leads Lauren down past Lister as he gets up on stage, and they settle back in at their booth. 23:38 <dammitwho> Sunnily: "Aw, there's nothing about working people that makes fancy book learning any harder, and anyway I'd hate to judge." 23:38 <banana> That would honestly be pretty scary if Melanie had veins. 23:39 <Crion> When Stewart and Lauren are offstage, they almost run into Lister, whose eyes look a little red-rimmed, but not puffy. "It was beautiful," he says to both of them. 23:39 <Crion> Then he steps up on stage -- to a couple "ahh fucks" and smattered, but good-natured, boos. 23:39 <VoxPVoxD> "Thank you." Stewart looks concerned at the sight of Lister. A questioning glance at Lauren after they've settled back down. 23:40 <Crion> Lister raises his hands in mock protest. "I know! Usually I roll out the piano. I'm told that kills the mood." 23:40 <Crion> "So tonight I decided to sing something more...modern." 23:40 <Crion> He walks back to Harlan Jape and confers for a moment...then takes Harlan's electric guitar, as the man himself slides behind the drums. 23:41 <Crion> "I believe this is a band boys my age are supposed to have liked, at one point in time. One, two, one two three--" 23:42 <Crion> Kill All Your Friends -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQndQV9E8C8 23:43 <Crion> In the end, some wished he'd stayed with the piano. 23:43 <VoxPVoxD> Ahahahahahahaha. 23:43 <banana> Another one? What is with this city. 23:43 <trenchfoot> This is... well performed. It is an excellent performance of. That. 23:44 <Crion> It is perhaps incredibly odd to hear a 13 year old French boy bellow-scream "It's been ten fucking years since you've been showing your face -- round -- here" 23:45 <VoxPVoxD> This so song is so good, Stewart doesn't even care about the psychological implications. He was one of those 13 year old boys, god damn it! 23:45 <Crion> Union nods...then frowns. "What the fuck was that?" 23:45 <trenchfoot> Frankly, Nels' life has been incredibly odd for months now. Well. Almost a hundred years. That's never going to get any easier to refer to. 23:47 <banana> 'Do what it takes to survive cause I'm still here'. Sure. The probably-ancient kid knows. 23:47 <VoxPVoxD> For instance, Stewart doesn't reflect on 'I was killing before killing was cool' at all. 23:48 <banana> Melanie hums a bit despite herself. She's pretty sure her new thesis topic is going to work out at last. Maybe it's time to rejoin the party. There are some cool looking guys and girls.. what happened to Gemma earlier, she wonders? Did anyone tell Nels about protection? 23:51 <trenchfoot> Do you want to have that conversation and find out? 23:52 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Dunno. Never heard the song before. Do you think it's an original?" 'I was killing before killing was cool' sounds like a vampire thing to sing...? 23:53 <Crion> Union: "No, down the street, I thought I saw--" 23:53 <Crion> There's a crash from the front of the venue. 23:53 <Crion> A bouncer has just gone through the front door. 23:53 <Crion> The hard way. 23:53 <banana> Melanie's drawn to Nels, yeah. "Nelsss. That was q-" 23:53 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's on his feet immediately. 23:54 <trenchfoot> Oh, shit. She didn't bring her gun. 23:55 <Crion> There's a perfect frozen moment as the six and a half foot tall man built like a walking tank, wearing all black leathers and darkened aviator shades, carrying a shotgun steps through the door, just scanning the crowd. The second bouncer tackles him and is grabbed out of the air and carelessly tossed away. The bouncers are not the priority. The priority is-- 23:55 <Crion> He sees Lauren and racks the shotgun, and now everyone is moving. 23:58 <banana> So they really are that stupid. Wrath boils from the crowd; a glamour harvest later? Things could go wrong here, but the odds are massively in their favour. Melanie moves to become part of those odds. 23:58 <CBN> Tony hears the crash and doesn't drop his beer, but he DOES drop the solo-moping long enough to haul downstairs. 00:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's loose as hell, in exactly the right frame of mind and state of inebriation to be really stupid. He's hopping from well-heeled foot to well-heeled foot like a prizefighter, blocking the machine's line of sight with his body but standing far enough away from the booth that Lauren could either crawl away or be ushered out. 00:11 <Crion> The balustrade and table where the Summer Court was holding forth bursts into splinters, and a great writhing MONSTER howls as everyone runs for cover. It hits the Huntsman full-on and shreds an arm and most of the thing's ribcage -- revealing not flesh and blood but gleaming, perfect machine. 00:12 <Crion> That might have once been Cuth? 00:12 <VoxPVoxD> Rip him up rip him up-- 00:13 <trenchfoot> Nels flinches back, patting her side where she knows her gun isn't and she's never leaving without it again, God, who even knows if that would help, but she can't panic. Who knows what she can do, but panicking is off the table. Just, get ready to dodge if it looks at her. 00:14 <trenchfoot> Also, what the fuck. How is this her life. She didn't sign up for any of this. 00:18 <banana> What the fuck Stewart. Melanie scrambles, dropping her old face on the ground as she goes. 00:23 <banana> By the time she gets to the stage the visage of a young college student is gone, replaced with a crumbling gleaming-white tree-woman who scatters seeds all along the dais' edge; nothing happens yet, the Wyrd resisting her cajolings despite the offering. A promise broken. 00:28 <Crion> "GET DOWN!" from the stairwell. Everyone does but Cuth, who roars, holding the thing in place. 00:29 <Crion> Gerald and the Liaison of Winter advance on it, firing their FAL and combat shotgun respectively, until it stops moving. Then 'Colin' walks up to and empties the rest of the drum into the the thing's chest and head. 00:29 <Crion> The red lights in its eyes quietly blink out. 00:29 <trenchfoot> Holy shit. 00:29 <Crion> Gerald: "Clear." 00:29 <dammitwho> Oh. Well. 00:30 <Crion> There's now a naked, buff man lying in the middle of the floor next to the metal skeleton. "Whew." 00:31 <banana> Does that always happen to werewolves? Do they carry a change of pants? It's fine if they don't. 00:32 <banana> Melanie's shaking a bit near the others, shedding leaves, but.. as promised, it's safe. This is probably the safest place in the city, tonight. 00:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart just kind of stands there, transfixed, until his heart rate settles down. How's Lauren doing? 00:32 <banana> For some kinds of people. With shared experiences. 00:32 <trenchfoot> Nels shakes her head from somewhere behind the Girl. How on earth is this real. 00:32 <Crion> Someone throws a jacket over him soon enough. 00:32 <Crion> Laurens sort of huddled in the corner, staring warily at the corpse, which Kingsley is now prodding with his foot. 00:33 <CBN> Tony mutters to himself on the stairs and finishes his beer. "The fuck is this party." 00:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart helps Lauren to a standing position and hugs her. Firmly: "We just bought ourselves a month to beat this thing." 00:35 <Crion> The party's breaking up; no one's much in the mood to go any further now. The cops will need to be shooed off and someone's gonna have to clear the dance floor. 00:36 <trenchfoot> Not it. 00:37 <Crion> The Autumn Court is already quite interestedly hauling it away. 00:40 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart will help with the cleanup until he's cleared to take Lauren home. 00:40 <Crion> That clearance comes pretty quickly. 00:40 <banana> Melanie will help on the dancefloor, insofar as it involves picking up bits of herself. She'd like to inspect just what the hell that thing was. Lauren's.. former captor.. did everything as machines? Or everyone? She wonders what the Huntsman used to be. 00:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's in no shape to drive, but he can still call a cab. It's chilly out, this late. He keeps Lauren close. 00:42 <Crion> She'll go home with him. No one interferes with Melanie if she attempts to poke and prod the remains; they'll be taken to the back while transport arrives. 00:44 <banana> She'll follow the Autumn people, then. "It was fast. Is that a matter of mechanical augmentation? Can it be disrupted?" 00:45 <Crion> Kingsley, mulling things over as Gerald and Jameson lug the body: "Aesthetically, yes. And generally speaking function follows form with these things. It's not a machine, but it conceives of itself as a machine, so usually it will behave as a machine." 00:45 <VoxPVoxD> "Nobody got hurt," says Stewart after they're inside. It's stuffy in here; he cracks a window for Lauren. 00:45 <Crion> He glances over. "You're Lucas, from Summer." 00:45 <Crion> "Good job back there." 00:46 <trenchfoot> Nels is out as soon as she can find an escort home. She is... extremely undefended right now, has nothing to add about the investigation, and also really wants to go home. 00:47 <banana> "Cuthbert the werewolf had the speed to match it. We can't rely on them, though I'm very grateful they were here." 00:47 <banana> "Um, maybe we could replicate what he did though, getting right up close to it.. it moved like an athlete, not a martial artist." 00:47 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart can get a cab for Nels, or hell, just bring her in his. They live in the same building. 00:47 <Crion> "No, we can't," he murmurs. "Huntsmen learn when they're killed. And something based off a machine...likely iterative." 00:48 <Crion> Kingsley nods at that. 00:49 <CBN> Tony wanders down and over to Melanie, since at least she seems to be talking a lot. "Hey and what the fuck was that." 00:50 <trenchfoot> They do. Up to him if he wants to invite her along with himself and Lauren; she can wait, if he's concerned about getting Lauren home fast. 00:51 <Crion> Kingsley will nod to Tony as he walks up, but it still mostly lost in his own thoughts. 00:52 <banana> "Tony..." 00:52 <banana> Melanie: "Let's sit down." Her face hasn't grown back yet. 00:53 <banana> "You know Lauren right?" 00:54 <CBN> Tony: "Is that Stewart's girlfriend? Didn't introduce me but I gotta assume." 00:55 <banana> "Yeah, the hot shy one with laser eyes." 00:55 <banana> "Apparently she recently got a Herald, which is faery-speak for when they announce they're going to Get you." 00:56 <banana> "So everyone was on high alert tonight - I heard about it an hour ago from Langford List. The lone ranger idiot machine was the first try to Get." 00:58 <VoxPVoxD> She's not *shy*, she's selective. Stewart makes some tea - just Sleepytime, with the cozy bear on the box, nothing fancy. "So far things are still going about as well as possible." 00:59 <CBN> Tony: "Oh. That's fucked up." 01:00 <banana> "Worse: it isn't really dead. This is sort of remote-controlled by its.. heart? In the Hedge." 01:00 <banana> "Basically Lauren gets a quest out of nowhere, and the stakes are the worst possible thing that could possibly happen. The reward is she gets to go back to her life. We have to help her." Melanie is vehement, but.. so's everyone on this. 01:00 <CBN> Tony: "Well, even better. But it's safe for the rest of us to fuck off now for the night if we want, right?" He looks for a place to set down his last empty. 01:01 <CBN> Tony: "And obviously, of course we help. But, not tonight." 01:02 <banana> Melanie: "It can't come back for a long time. Weeks." 01:03 <Crion> Lauren is stretched out in either Stewart's bed or on his couch, depending on whether he permits liquids in the bedroom. It's good to be somewhere familiar again. 01:03 <banana> "That's the rule. I don't know why the fuck the faeries play by rules, but they do." 01:03 <Crion> She smiles slightly. "Is that what you call it?" 01:05 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart usually has a glass of water in his room somewhere. What is hard to come by in his bedroom are electronics. Even his alarm clock is analog. He sits down at Lauren's feet. "Those bouncers are the only ones who got hurt, and they're gonna be okay. Property damage is property damage. Everyone's fine. You're still safe." 01:05 <CBN> Tony: "Because they are stupid." He states this definitively. "And I am going home. Take care of yourself out there." And Tony sets out for his apartment, ready to sleep off the weird bullshit with some nice normal old Chinese food. 01:06 <Crion> Lauren: "...It's still out there." 01:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "We were never going to deal with it permanently the first time it came at us. We just didn't have enough time to prepare." 01:06 <VoxPVoxD> "Next time -- if it even gets that far -- we'll be ready." 01:07 <banana> They are stupid. It's weird, but convenient. We can beat them, once we've learned enough. 01:07 <Crion> She sips her tea, then puts it down. "You know what? I believe you." 01:07 <Crion> "Now c'mere." 01:07 <Crion> And we can probably shut the door here, and leave them to it.