00:16 <VoxPVoxD> It's pretty late, by normal standards, but the Hedge keeps its own time and so do the visitors and residents of the Wherehouse. Stewart and Lauren are currently showing Nels a movie called Battle Angel Alita. 00:17 <trenchfoot> She's requested they keep it on a low volume, but the effects are threatening to pop her eyes out of their sockets. HOW do you DO that. 00:18 <Crion> Well, Alita: Battle Angel, unless they're watching the anime release from 1993. 00:18 <trenchfoot> Also, they put this out? Nobody goes to jail for things like this? 00:18 <VoxPVoxD> They aren't. 00:18 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart doesn't really know from anime. 00:18 <VoxPVoxD> Does Lauren...? 00:19 <Crion> He might not even know From Software...Demon Souls would be about when he was taken, wouldn't it? 00:19 <VoxPVoxD> Yeah. Stewart missed a lot of good games. 00:19 <VoxPVoxD> Definitely the worst part about being kidnapped by a True Fae. 00:20 <Crion> Lauren liked the anime, though the 1993 film was kind of abbreviated, and thought the recent live action movie was fun but unremarkable. 00:20 <trenchfoot> No, wait, go back, hang on, they just let women be the protagonists of things and be stronger and cooler than any of the men? A hundred years is a long time. 00:21 <trenchfoot> Nels, whose most prominent role would have been "maid," is entranced. 00:22 <VoxPVoxD> Wow... can't believe Stewart's dating a nerd. "Yeah there's been a big push for more movie leads who aren't white guys recently. Like it was sort of slowly getting better over time but since I got back it seems like they figured out how to make it marketable or something so they're doing it on purpose." 00:22 <Crion> Lauren whispers to Stewart at some point that if Nels loves this, they should show her Kill Bill before the spell of female protagonism is completely broken. 00:22 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods quietly. 00:26 <trenchfoot> Nels: "There's - so much happening, but - do you know one of the last movies I saw before was Birth of a Nation? And I come back to find out everyone thinks it's awful now." 00:26 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Prooooobably not everyone." 00:26 <trenchfoot> "They're right, but nobody said it before!" 00:27 <VoxPVoxD> "But yeah a lot of early 20th century forms of entertainment have depreciated, unless you're an overt fascist or the Prime Minister of Canada." 00:27 <Crion> Lauren sort of makes a face...has Stewart seen the Alonzo Mourning meme? He's online a lot more now. 00:28 <VoxPVoxD> He's probably seen it, but he definitely doesn't know who Alonzo Mourning is. 00:29 <Crion> She goes from dazed confusion to understanding very quickly, then, is all he needs to know. https://media2.giphy.com/media/mGjv5hUEOlCPm/giphy.gif 00:29 <trenchfoot> Nels: "What's a fascist?" 00:30 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Did you ever look up what a Nazi was?" 00:30 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Not yet. We've been busy." 00:30 <trenchfoot> "...also I got the impression I wouldn't like what I saw." 00:31 <Crion> Lauren: "You won't." 00:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Where did you leave off in your GED history stuff?" 00:33 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I had to go back through what they considered important, so I'm right around the aftermath of the Civil War. 1870 or something?" 00:36 <trenchfoot> "Also, they are very confused about Columbus. Like, depending on who you ask." 00:37 <Crion> Lauren muffles a giggle. 00:37 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yyyyyeah." 00:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Okay, so, skip to when you got taken. In the early 1920s a political party took over Italy called the National Fascist Party. Their thing was basically Italian ethnic nationalism and militarism. Marches, trumpets, cool uniforms, invading Ethiopia." 00:40 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Getting the sense this takes a turn." 00:40 <trenchfoot> "I mean, beyond the nationalism and the invading Ethiopia things." 00:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Named after like, a bundle of sticks, or something. Anyway 'fascism' sort of became a catch-all word for ethnic nationalism and militarism that popped up all over the place after the first World War - or, uh, the Great War, as you probably remember it - and the Great Depression, which started in 29 and lasted through the 30s in most places." 00:42 <VoxPVoxD> "One place it got real big was Germany. Germany got its back broken by the treaties that ended the Great War, huge extractive war reparations, cause the war fucking sucked and they lost and deal with it, I guess." 00:42 <Crion> Lauren, darkly: "They dealt with it." 00:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods. "In Germany the political party was called the National Socialist Workers' Party, or 'Nazis' for short. Not... not actual socialists, don't worry. They hated Communists, like in the Soviet Union that'd just formed in Russia." 00:45 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I remember them! People were kind of mad but also they were really concerned about the whole. Great War thing, that I've since learned wasn't the only one." 00:45 <VoxPVoxD> "They took power through a combination of winning elections in a shitty system and overt political violence, and were totally in control by the early 30s. They campaigned on restoring German cultural identity and national power by asserting themselves militarily and purging the influence of undesirable people." 00:46 <VoxPVoxD> "Undesirable meaning anyone who wasn't a blonde, blue-eyed ethnic German." 00:47 <VoxPVoxD> "They particularly hated Jewish people. Like, people in Europe have hated Jewish people for a thousand years, but the Nazis made it into a science, literally." 00:48 <VoxPVoxD> "It started with, Jewish people can't go out after dark. Jewish people can't own businesses. Jewish people have to move into these special 'ghettoes' all in one part of the city, where they'd get filthy and sick and be attacked daily by police." 00:48 <trenchfoot> Nels, haltingly: "So... I picked a good time to miss. Is what I'm hearing. Because that sounds awful." 00:49 <VoxPVoxD> "Around this time, Germany had started invading Europe again. It'd built its army back up, so it was time to push. They started with Poland, in 1939." 00:50 <trenchfoot> Check how the other Nels reacted. Anything less than complete horror and possibly calls for war to stop this are unacceptable to her good name. "No, I get it, you can - you can stop. I'll get there eventually. Um." 00:51 <Crion> Lauren sort of exhales to herself, the way you do when you weren't aware you were holding your breath. 00:51 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It gets a lot worse. Heads up." 00:51 <VoxPVoxD> He looks relieved not to have to keep going. 00:53 <trenchfoot> Nels: "...worse?" Small, pitched up. "Oh, Lord." 00:53 <Crion> Lauren: "Let's...talk about something else!" 00:53 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "How's the still coming?" 00:55 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Got the setup, still need the materials and also I'm not even sure what we're going for. Probably whiskey, just 'cause that's what I know best, but we could make... pretty much anything." 00:56 <trenchfoot> "Also, gob fruit could be an addition, but I gotta talk to Maggie about that. Or Tony. Or both." 00:57 <trenchfoot> She's as relieved to switch subjects as they are. 00:57 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You were around for the 18th amendment getting ratified, right?" 00:57 <Crion> Lauren blinks at that. 00:58 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Yeah. Missed the fallout, and they still sell liquor, so I guess it didn't work out." 00:59 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It sooort of did. Liquor consumption rates are way down from where they were before Prohibition. They just figured out that making it legal but licensed and taxed did more to reduce the rate of consumption than banning it outright did." 00:59 <VoxPVoxD> "But, yeah." 00:59 <Crion> Lauren: "Ohh. Right. That." 01:01 <trenchfoot> Nels: "For the best, I guess." Battle Angel Alita is probably still playing, as they chat. Or it's over, and they'll have to find something new for the background. 01:01 <Crion> Could always put on a Wick. 01:02 <trenchfoot> Why would we want to watch a candle burning? 01:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart fishes around for a change of subject that isn't history. "How was your Halloween, anyway? I didn't really catch up with you between when you, uh, went to the kitchen and when we went home." 01:02 <Crion> So much to learn. 01:02 <VoxPVoxD> He takes the remote and starts clicking around. "What do you want me to put on?" Open question for Nels and Lauren. 01:03 <trenchfoot> Nels brightens. "Oh! I mean, after the kitchen, I started talking with a couple vampires - I don't think I got their names. Um. There was a girl and a guy, and I think only the girl was a vampire..." 01:03 <Crion> Lauren: "There should be a Spotify or something with some music if we just wanna talk." 01:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart can put some music on. He has no idea what playlist the Wherehouse has, so whatever music is playing is up to Nels. 01:04 <Crion> She spins on the couch next to Stewart, sort of leaning behind and over him to look at Nels. "Old guy? Hot?" 01:05 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart looks sideways at Lauren. 01:05 <Crion> She shrugs. "It's true." 01:05 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart shrugs. Can't really argue. 01:06 <VoxPVoxD> "That was probably the Mainer and the Sheriff." 01:06 <VoxPVoxD> "The Mainer is the ambassador for Baltimore's vampire court to our freehold. He's a courtless Changeling." 01:06 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Yes, unless this is a way to make fun of me, in which case no." 01:07 <VoxPVoxD> "The Sheriff is the vampire court's enforcer of vampire law. When I met her she twisted a couple of cops' heads off and then picked me up and carried me back to my car." 01:07 <VoxPVoxD> She's also hot, but Stewart's not gonna SAY it. 01:07 <Crion> Lauren: "She does that." 01:07 <Crion> "She's also hot, by the way." 01:07 <Crion> "Fair's fair." 01:08 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh, wow. For me she just. Implied I was, um, not of this time." 01:08 <trenchfoot> "And. Yes." 01:08 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah she's pretty old. Vampires can live forever, I think, as long as they don't get killed." 01:08 <trenchfoot> "I hid behind her when the scrum broke out. Figured it was safest." 01:08 <Crion> Lauren: "Well, neither are vampires, really. Have you met Lister?" 01:09 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Lister was the kid who got up at the end of the party and sang Kill All Your Friends." 01:09 <VoxPVoxD> "Vampire Prince of Baltimore. Dates back to the court of Louis XIV." 01:09 <trenchfoot> Nels: "That's it, then. He... made a choice." 01:09 <trenchfoot> "To- okay." 01:09 <trenchfoot> "I can't exactly go around complaining that people are older than me." 01:10 <VoxPVoxD> "He's cool. He and Lauren are friends. We play games sometimes." 01:10 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You ever been 'ok boomer'ed by someone who's, conservatively, 350 years old?" 01:10 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I don't know what that means." 01:11 <Crion> Lauren: "But yeah, Mainer's like. Half the Girl's age? Something like that." 01:11 <Crion> "Sorrrrrrta like you and the Kitchen." 01:11 <trenchfoot> Nels, primly: "I do not know what you are referring to." 01:12 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart presses his lips together. 01:13 <trenchfoot> Then she laughs. "I know exactly what you're talking about. Fun once, going to make getting food weird for a while." 01:14 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I can take your orders up for a while, it's fine. You guys are like... cool, though, right?" 01:14 <Crion> Lauren: "Eh, he won't be a jerk. The Kitchen's good people." 01:14 <trenchfoot> Nels: "As far as I know. Um. Not that we spoke much. After." 01:15 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "He's a champ, then. Honestly, that would've messed me up." 01:15 <trenchfoot> Breezily: "Hey, though, about the Mainer and the Sheriff." 01:15 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "What about them?" 01:15 <trenchfoot> "Are they just, around? I don't think I'd seen them before the party..." 01:16 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "They're in the city. The Mainer's got an office in the Autumn King's firm. He's not around much. I assume he mostly spends his time with vampires." 01:17 <trenchfoot> Nels: "And the Sheriff? I guess we don't have much reason for social calls..." 01:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, with a glance at Lauren. "I've got his number..." 01:18 <Crion> Lauren shrugs. "Everytime I run into them, they honestly seem kinda bored." 01:18 <Crion> "You're not breaching protocol or anything if you do." 01:18 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "They should play more video games." 01:19 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I barely know what those are." 01:19 <Crion> Lauren: "Yeah that's why they like Nels more, I think." 01:19 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Also Nels never tried to harrass a grieving widow for a research project." 01:19 <VoxPVoxD> "Probably a factor." 01:20 <VoxPVoxD> "Anyway!" Stewart will step out to make the call. 01:20 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Wait, what?" 01:20 <VoxPVoxD> "Can't explain on the phone byeeee" The elevator door closes. 01:20 <trenchfoot> She turns to Lauren. 01:20 <Crion> Lauren: "Sup?" 01:21 <trenchfoot> Nels: "The thing Stewart just said. What?" 01:21 <Crion> She grins. "Well, he was saying he couldn't explain, because he was on the phone." 01:21 <Crion> "As for the widow, she was a cop." 01:22 <trenchfoot> Nels, slightly distressed: "Research project??" 01:22 <trenchfoot> "Grieving? Harass?????" 01:23 <Crion> "Some cops got dead because they beat the shit out of a woman who carried things for us, and stole one of the things she was carrying for us." 01:23 <Crion> "She's still in the hospital. Physical therapy starts next week? They were gonna kill her but fucked up." 01:24 <Crion> "Anyway those guys worked for the vampires, so the vampires...helped us take care of it. Permanently." 01:24 <Crion> She sighs. "Mainer and the Girl were going out there to congenially sew that wound shut, but Stewart and Maggie ah, got there first." 01:24 <VoxPVoxD> Man the worst thing the Mainer can do is yell at him but getting yelled at by the Mainer fucking sucks. Still, he's probably more chill about not work stuff. Stewart makes the call. 01:24 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh, golly, that's awful, and I'm not even sure who it's awful for. Other than the people who died." 01:25 <Crion> Mainer answers just before the third ring. "I'm here." 01:25 <Crion> Lauren: "Probably the cop left alive. I mean, she sucks too. I'm sure. But." 01:25 <trenchfoot> Nodding. "Cops." 01:26 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Hey! This is Stewart, from Autumn. Purely a social call. I've got Nels Foulke here, she says you and her and the Sheriff hung out at Halloween and was wondering if you'd like to hang out." 01:26 <Crion> "Anyway, then fucking Cider Stitch got run up by some other cops the PREVIOUS dead cops have been working with, because Cider Stitch is an idiot, and that's what Stewart meant when he talked about the Girl popping off some heads." 01:27 <trenchfoot> Nels: "She... didn't seem the type, when we talked," she says, cautiously. 01:27 <trenchfoot> "Are you sure it was her? And also... heads?" 01:28 <Crion> The Mainer: "Mmmmmmmm. You know, this is generally a business--oof. Damn, darling. Watch the ribs. ...Uh huh. Bet you would. Sorry, Stewart, was just fucking with you. Yeah, we have some business for the next hour or two, but around midnight we'll have a space for the old jaw-jacking." 01:30 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "........cool! We're at Lexington Market, the elevator right off the main concourse." 01:32 <Crion> The Mainer: "Be by in a bit." 01:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart comes back inside. "He'll be by around midnight." 01:32 <Crion> Lauren: "That sounds like them." 01:33 <trenchfoot> Nels exhales. "Mostly she just seemed kinda loopy but supportive of the Mainer." 01:33 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Who, the Sheriff?" 01:34 <Crion> Lauren, chipper: "Oh yeah, she's a stone-cold killer." 01:34 <trenchfoot> Nels: "...wow." 01:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods. "Just an absolute murderer." 01:34 <VoxPVoxD> "Straight up." 01:34 <trenchfoot> "Wow." 01:34 <trenchfoot> "I... do you have whiskey?" 01:34 <VoxPVoxD> "I've only seen her kill crooked cops that were beating the shit out of one of us, though." 01:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, I've got some." 01:35 <Crion> Lauren: "Should a bottle of Jack somewhere back here, unless Stewart sprung for the good stuff." 01:35 <Crion> "Midnight..." 01:35 <Crion> "Just enough time to watch the first John Wick movie!" 01:36 <Crion> Time passes... 01:36 <Crion> Lauren, as the credits roll: "..." 01:36 <Crion> "...You know, in the uh." 01:36 <Crion> "Theatrical version of the movie." 01:36 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart keeps a bottle of Booker's Kentucky bourbon in his room in the Wherehouse. It's unopened. Lauren and Nels didn't know it was there. 01:36 <Crion> "The bulldog doesn't say 'Hell yeah' at the end." 01:36 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "That's their loss." 01:37 <trenchfoot> Nels looks vaguely queasy. "Do all movies involve that much violence these days?" 01:37 <VoxPVoxD> "Next time we watch this, it'll be Jimothy Wick." 01:37 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "No, John Wick is at the upper bound." 01:37 <Crion> Lauren: "Nah. I just like watching Gerald: The Movie." 01:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Does Gerald have a dog??" 01:38 <Crion> "I mean there's other action stars that look more like Gerald. But he basically acts like that guy." 01:38 <Crion> Lauren: "He's a cat man." 01:38 <Crion> "Weird!" 01:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Nice." 01:38 <Crion> Stewart's phone buzzes. 01:38 <Crion> It's the Mainer. 01:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart is also a cat man. Well, cat guy. Feels weird thinking of himself as man. 01:39 <VoxPVoxD> He stands up and heads for the elevator as he checks his phone. 01:39 <trenchfoot> C-c-c-c-cat man do. 01:39 <Crion> <We are outside. Guessin I'm not supposed to kick down this door. Any motion detectors before the elevator or whatnot?> 01:39 <VoxPVoxD> <Nah it's fine. omw out> 01:40 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart probably arrives before the text does. 01:41 <Crion> Mainer is checking his phone as the door to the Market opens. The Mainer is in a black-on-black-on-black three-piece suit with a white bolo tie, and the Girl is in her usual cloak and hijab. 01:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Mainer. Sheriff. Come on in." 01:42 <Crion> The Girl: "Mmmmm. You know that's not technically necessary to say." 01:42 <Crion> The Mainer: "Much obliged." 01:43 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I remember the first time Lauren visited my apartment, she was like, I'm not a vampire when I invited her in." 01:43 <VoxPVoxD> "Even though she was clearly waiting for me to do that." 01:43 <VoxPVoxD> Lauren can hear this, they're walking in now. 01:44 <Crion> Lauren: "IT WAS A JOKE!" 01:44 <trenchfoot> Nels files that away. Apparently you don't need to invite vampires in. 01:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It didn't sound like a joke! We weren't really on joking terms." 01:44 <VoxPVoxD> "I didn't even have a crush on you yet until like ten, fifteen minutes in." 01:44 <Crion> Lauren: "NERD!" 01:45 <VoxPVoxD> "Takes one to know one~" 01:45 <Crion> She pivots immediately though: "Hi, Sheriff! Hey, Mainer." 01:45 <Crion> The Girl: "Hello, Lauren. Hello, Nels." 01:45 <Crion> Mainer, to Lauren: "Miss." 01:45 <Crion> Mainer, to Nels: "Ma'am." 01:46 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "We've got some bourbon if you want a drink." 01:46 <Crion> Mainer: "I think I might." 01:46 <Crion> The Girl's cheeks flush. "I think I will as well." 01:46 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Hello! Glad to see you again under, ah, better circumstances." 01:47 <Crion> "I'm not supposed to drink alcohol," she says, "but then, I'm not supposed to drink pig's blood. And I've had my fill of that. So what's the harm now." 01:48 <trenchfoot> Whispering to Lauren: "what is the harm in that" 01:48 <Crion> Lauren, also whispering: "vampires can hear you whisper" 01:49 <Crion> The Girl smirks. 01:49 <Crion> Is there a recliner free in this room? Where are they in the Wherehouse, anyway? 01:49 <Crion> How cozy has this place gotten? 01:50 <trenchfoot> She glances at the Girl, then back to Lauren. "shoot" 01:51 <VoxPVoxD> This is the main downstairs chamber, which has enough couches and recliners for the whole motley plus a couple of guests. There's a strong sense of being in construction - Mainer might be surprised to notice it looks like the motley's trying to put up a second floor by hand, with wooden frames and joists. 01:53 <Crion> He is, in fact, evaluating the carpentry with a skilled eye. "Looking good around here, Stewart. Glad to see it." He'll splay out on an unclaimed loveseat, and the Girl will half-pounce, half...apprehend herself atop him, reclining but still seeming coiled and ready to move. 01:53 <Crion> Both have their whiskey neat. 01:53 <trenchfoot> Nels will need to brew something if there's a next time. 01:53 <VoxPVoxD> So does Stewart. Mixers are for when you just need to get the poison in you as fast as possible. Social drinking is for slow sipping. 01:55 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Thanks. Most of this is Maggie and Tony - they're the real handy ones. Though Nels is no slouch either. She's building a still." 01:55 <Crion> Mainer nods. "Distillation. A good and honest craft." 01:56 <Crion> The Sheriff of Baltimore chuckles. "You always should have been a brewer." 01:56 <trenchfoot> Nels, sipping on a mixed drink, for which she shan't be shamed by her friends: "It's built, courtesy of the hobs. Just got to figure out what we're making first." 01:56 <Crion> He shrugs, but smiles. 01:56 <Crion> The Girl: "Ah, yes. So: what are hobs?" 01:57 <Crion> The Mainer very pointedly doesn't roll his eyes. 01:57 <trenchfoot> Is Steve around? 01:57 <Crion> The Girl: "They have been explained to me before but I seek further clarity." 01:57 <VoxPVoxD> It's awfully late to be honking... 01:57 <Crion> Nah, Steve's out and about. 01:57 <Crion> Last time you saw him he was wearing a tricorn...? 01:58 <trenchfoot> How did he even get that. No, don't answer that. Nels: "The ones I've encountered have been either rude honking jerks or in immediate need of laying to rest. It's been a trying time." 01:59 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Hobs, or hobgoblins, are the native fauna of the Hedge, which we're technically in right now." 01:59 <trenchfoot> "More accurate!" 01:59 <trenchfoot> She sips her drink. Ahh. Lemon. 02:00 <Crion> The Girl waves an irritated hand. "Yes, they are animals of a sort, but -- okay. The honking. Why?" 02:00 <VoxPVoxD> "They come in all shapes and sizes. Tony's in with the hobs, he's got a friend who comes around sometimes we call 'Steve'. Looks like a goose. Loves to drink our beer. He's pretty chill." 02:00 <VoxPVoxD> "He's the honker." 02:00 <trenchfoot> Nels nods, as though it explains everything: "Steve." 02:01 <Crion> She leans forward, arms on the loveseat's armrest. "Can you eat them." 02:01 <Crion> The Mainer: "Darlin'..." 02:01 <VoxPVoxD> "Then there's the big anthropomorphic pigs in cop uniforms. They mostly hassle the other hobs. We had an infestation in our neighborhood we had to clear out recently." 02:01 <Crion> Her eyes light up at that. 02:01 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Haven't tried. Though... the pig cops..." 02:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I wouldn't recommend eating them." 02:02 <VoxPVoxD> "Not very nutritious, probably very toxic." 02:03 <Crion> The Girl, declaratively: "Eventually, I will eat a hobgoblin." 02:03 <VoxPVoxD> "We saw some that were like, little snitch watermelon people." 02:03 <trenchfoot> Nels: "They're pigs. And cops. It might be the most moral type of ham." 02:03 <Crion> The Mainer looks very long-suffering. 02:03 <VoxPVoxD> "Steve ate those." 02:03 <Crion> The Girl: "!!!" 02:03 <Crion> "Steve...the goose." 02:03 <VoxPVoxD> "Yes." 02:03 <Crion> "Do geese normally eat watermelon?" 02:03 <VoxPVoxD> "Well, he presents as a goose. There aren't actually any geese out here." 02:03 <Crion> The Mainer: "I do not believe so." 02:04 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I don't know what geese do or don't, because Steve is singular." 02:04 <VoxPVoxD> "Geese eat like, berries and bugs. Shoots and grass. Stuff like that." 02:04 <VoxPVoxD> "I guess watermelon's not out of the question..." 02:06 <Crion> The Girl looks speculative. "I would try to eat Steve...but I sense you like him. So, I won't." 02:06 <Crion> "Pigs, however..." 02:06 <Crion> The Mainer coughs. "We're not going out in the Hedge." 02:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Especially a bad idea after dark." 02:07 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Are you sure? It could get them to leave us alone..." 02:07 <VoxPVoxD> To Nels: "They're our guests, you asked me to invite them over!" 02:07 <trenchfoot> "No, the pig-cops!" 02:07 <VoxPVoxD> "They've already mostly cleared out, thanks to us and the Walking Man." 02:08 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Mostly, but not completely. I'm just saying it's an option." 02:08 <Crion> The Girl sinks back into the cushions, easily convinced because she perhaps wasn't all that serious about it anyway. "If you say so. Still...Hedge pig..." 02:09 <trenchfoot> Nels wasn't saying so, but she's also not about to badger their guests into doing her work for them. "It's been strange to get used to." 02:09 <Crion> The Mainer, deadpan: "Stick to long pig, darlin'." 02:10 <Crion> She cackles at that. 02:10 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart takes a drink to hide his discomfort. 02:12 <VoxPVoxD> Then: "So how's the Court?" 02:12 <trenchfoot> That's clearly a reference to something. Should probably check her encyclopedias later. 02:12 <Crion> The Mainer shrugs. "Prince is more active than he's been in awhile. That's good and bad." 02:13 <Crion> The Girl: "What my lover means to say is that Prince Lister has taken a more active interest in the community as of late." 02:13 <Crion> "And we welcome it." 02:13 <trenchfoot> Nels: "...is that bad?" 02:13 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods. "Kind of a lull between patches." 02:13 <Crion> The Mainer, to Nels: "And good." 02:14 <Crion> The Girl sort of slaps his chest lightly. 02:14 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Can I help?" 02:14 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart snorts. 02:15 <Crion> Then she says: "Our Prince goes through phases. Sometimes he's engaged, sometimes he leaves things up to the Count. This is an engaged period. The reasons him being engaged is bad have nothing to do with him." 02:15 <Crion> The Mainer: "Him being engaged means other vampires get engaged." 02:15 <Crion> "So things get a lot more fun downtown." 02:15 <Crion> The Girl: "Where we technically are." 02:16 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Like who?" 02:16 <Crion> The Mainer: "Technically, darlin', we're in the Hedge." 02:16 <Crion> Stewart's question gets a sigh from the Mainer, and from the Girl: "The Doctor of Sciences, for one." 02:16 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart grimaces. 02:16 <VoxPVoxD> "Yikes." 02:16 <trenchfoot> That good, huh. 02:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "We haven't, uh." 02:17 <VoxPVoxD> "We haven't explained Nazis to Nels yet." 02:17 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I gather that they are bad." 02:17 <Crion> The Mainer: "We make jokes, we all have fun here, we goof off about the long pig, but no one in the Court is tearing co-eds limb from limb except that motherfucker." 02:18 <trenchfoot> Nels: "...okay, I think I just got what long pig is, but he - and everyone just - ???" The last part is just a confused noise. 02:18 <Crion> The Girl, to Nels: "They killed over 11 million Jews, Muslims, communists, Roma, gays, lesbians, and people who were just in the wrong place in the wrong time. In industrial slaughterhouses." 02:19 <Crion> "That's what Nazis are." 02:19 <trenchfoot> She slumps in her seat. 02:19 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Also did horrific scientific experiments on the people they were killing." 02:19 <VoxPVoxD> "Which is, uh. Relevant here." 02:19 <Crion> The Mainer: "That it is." 02:19 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "He's kept in check by a series of agreements, as I understand it." 02:19 <VoxPVoxD> "But like... in check. Not under control." 02:20 <Crion> The Girl: "Correct." 02:20 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I need another drink." 02:20 <Crion> Casually: "We speak of this freely, of course, because we loathe him." 02:20 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart hands her the bottle, which he'd just poured himself another drink out of. 02:20 <VoxPVoxD> He huddles closer to Lauren. 02:20 <Crion> She's there for the huddling. 02:23 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "So I gather he's too powerful to just... get rid of." 02:24 <Crion> The Girl: "He has been a useful counterbalance against the vampires of Washington, D.C. And also the Kindred of Washington, D.C." 02:24 <VoxPVoxD> 'Kindred' is a cool word. 02:25 <trenchfoot> Nels, sipping a whiskey straight: "I'm really not inclined to hear about them, given what I just heard about him." 02:25 <Crion> The Mainer: "We're also not quite sure how a death match between him and Lister would play out. Lister would probably win -- he's got the Doctor beat in raw power -- but..." 02:26 <Crion> The Girl: "And the consequences of losing that fight are...dire." 02:27 <Crion> "Of course, there have been...irregularities...around his hunting grounds recently." She looks over at Stewart. "You know about this." 02:27 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, although that was an out-of-towner." 02:27 <Crion> The Girl, flatly: "Was it?" 02:28 <Crion> The Mainer coughs again. "Let's not get out over our skis." 02:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Well, it was someone who wasn't recognized by the court. Father Jesse made it sound like that doesn't happen." 02:28 <VoxPVoxD> "I guess... I don't know vampires, uh, reproduce, but I guess the Doctor could have made him...?" 02:29 <Crion> The Mainer: "If he did, he didn't do it the normal way. And since there's no proof or even no theory of crime here, probably best not to speculate." 02:29 <Crion> The Girl: "Gabriel doesn't just miss something like this in her territory."{ 02:29 <Crion> The Mainer nods. "I agree." 02:30 <Crion> "I just think until we've done more forensics...any further statement might be premature." 02:31 <Crion> The Girl makes a noise in her throat. "You're no fun." 02:31 <Crion> The Mainer, charmingly: "Sure I am." 02:31 <Crion> Then he sips his whiskey again. 02:31 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Should he go missing, forever. Who takes his place?" 02:31 <trenchfoot> She sips her whiskey. 02:31 <Crion> The Mainer: "Worst case scenario?" 02:31 <Crion> "He does." 02:31 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart glances at Nels. 02:32 <Crion> The Girl: "The Doctor of Sciences has been working on things that perhaps he shouldn't be working on. He is trying to outwit Final Death." 02:32 <trenchfoot> She's not exactly in a position to do it. 02:33 <trenchfoot> She could assist, though. And. Someone who has been compared to a Nazi, which she has just learned of... 02:34 <Crion> The Mainer, grimly: "That means more disappearances, but fewer bodies." 02:34 <Crion> "The Court's estimation, that's easier to keep a lid on." 02:34 <Crion> "Not that it's preferred." 02:34 <Crion> "The Prince and the Count take a...catch and release view on feeding." 02:35 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I hate everything about what I've learned tonight." 02:35 <VoxPVoxD> To Nels: "The Count of St. Sebastian is the guy who runs the city when the Prince doesn't want to. His title is Regent. Looks like an older guy, English accent, dresses like he's going to the opera in 1840. Turns into a cloud of bats." 02:36 <Crion> Mock hurt from the Girl: "You hate that we like whiskey?" 02:36 <trenchfoot> Nels, apologetically: "Almost everything." 02:37 <Crion> The Mainer: "The Count is a character. But he's good people." 02:37 <Crion> The Girl: "He's adorable. In his tuxedo. And his cape!" 02:37 <VoxPVoxD> "You gotta be a character to sincerely go by 'the Count' in the age of Sesame Street." 02:38 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I don't know what that is either." 02:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It's an educational puppet show for kids. It's been on TV for like 50 years. One of the puppets is a vampire who teaches kids their numbers. Goes by 'the Count'." 02:39 <Crion> The Mainer, straight-faced: "He pretends it's a compliment." 02:39 <VoxPVoxD> "Vun, two, three bats! Three! Ah ah ah ah!" 02:39 <trenchfoot> Nels: "They show that to children?" 02:39 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Vampires aren't scary. Pop culture vampires aren't scary," he hastily clarifies. 02:39 <VoxPVoxD> "They're totally monetized." 02:40 <Crion> "Got some neonate in up from College Park, down at the University of Maryland. Grad student. She made the Count crack. He spent the next fifteen minutes talking about how it was good representation for their people." 02:40 <Crion> "Didn't break character." 02:40 <Crion> The Girl: "Most neonates don't 'get' the Count for, oh, five or six years." 02:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I respect that. We don't get a lot of us calling each other 'fairies'." 02:41 <VoxPVoxD> Ah shit now he's thinking about Dad again. Another drink! 02:42 <Crion> The Mainer: "That one has thankfully gone out of style, for the most part." 02:42 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I, um. UMBC? That University of Maryland?" 02:43 <VoxPVoxD> "University of Maryland Baltimore County. Melanie goes to grad school there." 02:43 <VoxPVoxD> "I'm out that way once a week or so." 02:43 <Crion> The Mainer: "Nah. One down south. University of Maryland College Park." 02:43 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I have a great grandkid there." 02:43 <trenchfoot> "The Baltimore County one. Not College Park." 02:43 <Crion> The Mainer, measured: "Lotta woods around there." 02:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's already finished that drink he just poured. 02:44 <Crion> Lauren will slip away and return with waters for both of them. 02:44 <VoxPVoxD> Sets his glass down firmly. Does not pick it back up. 02:44 <VoxPVoxD> She gets a kiss on the cheek for her trouble. 02:47 <trenchfoot> Nels shrinks back in her seat, clutching her glass. "Sorry. Didn't mean to make it weird." 02:47 <Crion> The Mainer: "It's fine. It wasn't me I was worried about. Keep an eye on that kid, if you can." 02:47 <Crion> The Girl: "Bad shit happening in the woods." 02:48 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "The Lodge of the Hook Hand." 02:48 <trenchfoot> Sip. 02:48 <Crion> Mainer cocks an eyebrow while the Girl grins. "Rightly so," he says. 02:49 <Crion> He finishes his whiskey. "If there's one thing I trust the Rangers on, it's this kind of hunt. So I'd just stay out of their way." 02:49 <Crion> He leans forward towards the bottle and looks to Stewart. "Mind?" 02:49 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart shakes his head. All his. 02:49 <VoxPVoxD> In the sense of 'all yours', not 'all mine'. 02:50 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah. My-- I've got a friend out in the county, up in Thistle. It got real nasty one night when I was up visiting but then we heard the Park Service and their fuckin, anti-materiel rifles. No more howling after that." 02:50 <Crion> The Mainer nods and pours half his last offering. 02:51 <Crion> He just grimaces at Stewart's story though. The Girl, still smiling: "They'll be back." 02:51 <Crion> The Mainer: "I'm just glad they're not doing it during summer." 02:51 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I guess you gotta expect that from people who identify themselves as slasher villains explicitly." 02:51 <Crion> "They'll have the flamethrowers out by the end of this." 02:53 <trenchfoot> About to respond, but then: Sip. 02:54 <Crion> The Girl: "One of the many things I prefer about cities: no werewolves." She pauses. "Or merely silly werewolves." 02:54 <Crion> The Mainer opens his mouth, but then his phone buzzes again. He checks it. "Shit." 02:54 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Small miracles." 02:54 <Crion> Finishes his drink in one gulp. 02:54 <Crion> The Girl: "Work?" 02:55 <trenchfoot> It's hard to tell if she's being sarcastic or just very upset and dead inside. 02:55 <Crion> The Mainer: "Body dropped on the UB campus. Not consistent with the Doctor." 02:55 <Crion> The Girl: "Shit!" 02:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart winces. 02:56 <trenchfoot> Sip. 02:56 <VoxPVoxD> "Well, it was nice to see you guys." 02:56 <Crion> The Mainer stands, and the Girl stands with him. "Thank you for your hospitality, Stewart and Nels. Lauren, darlin', good to see you again." 02:56 <VoxPVoxD> He'll untangle from Lauren and stand up - whoaaaa he's more drunk than he thought. "Don't be strangers." He offers his hand. 02:57 <Crion> The Girl: "We can see ourselves out." They're already moving, after Mainer shakes his hand. The Girl just smirks at him as she disappears out of the room. 02:57 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart slumps back down. 02:57 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Yeah. Um. Good to see you. If I can help, I --" She checks her phone that the Court made her get. "You can find me." 02:58 <VoxPVoxD> When they're gone: "Cool people." 02:58 <Crion> The Girl nods to Nels too before she's gone. 02:58 <trenchfoot> Once they're gone, to Stewart and Lauren: "I just learned some things I wish I didn't know. Do you have something relaxing?" 02:59 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart throws on Detective Pikachu. Nels can ask alllll the Pokemon questions she wants. 03:00 <Crion> --Fin.