21:09 <Crion> Time goes on. Thanksgiving comes, and you enjoy it together or apart as you wish. Thanksgiving goes. December arrives. On the 21st, Autumn hands the regency over to Winter. 21:09 <Crion> Meanwhile, the Wherehouse...prepares? 21:10 <Crion> Only two weeks between when we last saw them and when Something Worse returns. 21:16 <trenchfoot> Preparing is certainly a word for 'fretting over what's going to happen and what's been happening', yes. Nels has been spending her time throwing herself into her studies, alongside some extremely ineffectual searches online when she's back at her apartment. 21:17 <gulbanana> Learning to bing is an important part of modern life. Just make sure your search history doesn't get shown to any movie buffs who are also conspiracy theorists. 21:17 <VoxPVoxD> Hey-- 21:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's got a lot on his mind, but he's getting pretty good at finding new things to distract himself with as old ones fall away and persistent ones distressingly fail to resolve. For instance, as Maggie's Icon has settled, the question now comes what to make of this black feather. Stewart takes it in his hands one day and studies it. 21:18 <dammitwho> Maggie's sitting in her customary chair, scowling at the wall, grunting occasionally. 21:19 <trenchfoot> What's bing? Stewart only showed Nels something called "duckduckgo." It seems okay? 21:21 <Crion> Stewart sees, in this vision of the black pinion, a swimmer and a paper girl too tall and with shoulders too big to really fit in. She excels underwater; she isn't so great above it. Her delivery route is an excellent escape on weekend mornings from...everything going on at home. Eventually she gets a call too late at night on Saturday from her boss, asking her to do a special delivery. His 21:21 <Crion> voice sounds weird, but she'll earn more than she would in two months. She's naive enough to bike out to Baltimore County, really not that far, to the last house on the last street...and then outside the streetlights beyond... 21:22 <VoxPVoxD> Does he recognize her? 21:23 <Crion> The frame is different -- more fluted, more birdlike -- but the eyes and jaw are precisely the same as the Mask of Cormorant, of the Autumn Court. 21:24 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, abruptly: "I know whose this is." He's plainly holding the feather. 21:25 <gulbanana> Melanie's been hanging around trying to figure out how and whether to try and learn what Maggie found out. Is that the right thing to do, as a friend, or is it just her curiosity? She does a lot of lurking normally so it isn't necessarily suspicious behaviour, but she's generally About, reading or writing, and specifically not asking questions. When Stewart comes over one day, it's a 21:25 <gulbanana> great segue! 21:26 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Hot damn! Anyone, y'know, close at hand?" 21:26 <trenchfoot> Nels looks up from her English homework, expectantly. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is slow going anyway. 21:26 <gulbanana> Melanie: "You went into a trance. So Icon visions are a real thing..." 21:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah! This belongs to Cormorant, from Autumn. She's the Messenger, so she's out of town a lot. I can see if she's around." 21:28 <VoxPVoxD> "We've got to give it back to her." 21:28 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Oofah. For sure." 21:29 <VoxPVoxD> Somewhat skeptically, to Maggie: "It's good, right? Like we're not going to be fucking her up against her will if we offer her this back." 21:31 <dammitwho> "It's hers, and it was stolen from her." Maggie points out. "Once you give it back, she can decide whether she wants to eat it or fix it into her wings or what have you." She sticks her tongue out. "Hope she doesn't have to eat it, that was gross." 21:31 <dammitwho> "Either way, it's her decision, doncha think?" 21:32 <dammitwho> She adds: "Jury's still out, but I think getting mine was for the best." 21:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Sure, yeah. Alright. I'll step out and make a call." 21:32 <VoxPVoxD> That's a lie; he steps out and texts Lauren. <hey do you have a number or smth for cormorant> 21:33 <Crion> <yeah. why> 21:33 <Crion> A second later: <she'll want to know> 21:33 <gulbanana> Who wouldn't want a missing piece of themself? Don't answer that. 21:33 <VoxPVoxD> <we an icon that belongs to her> 21:34 <VoxPVoxD> <we found***> 21:34 <Crion> <fuck. yeah one sec> 21:34 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Is the jury.. split?" 21:34 <Crion> <you're sure right> 21:34 <VoxPVoxD> <yeah. i had to look in it but yeah> 21:34 <Crion> <be nice about what you tell her> 21:35 <gulbanana> "Like are you okay. With the new stuff. Or old stuff, you know what I mean." 21:35 <Crion> <sending her number> 21:35 <Crion> Lauren does. 21:35 <VoxPVoxD> Be nice...? Is Stewart not-- he guesses not. Huh. Well... now Stewart makes a call. 21:35 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Well, you know. It's hard to take an inventory of your own insides. Like going into a dark room in your house after you've just rearranged all the furniture." 21:36 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Yes. It takes time." 21:36 <gulbanana> "And maybe you bump into things." 21:36 <dammitwho> "I tell you, though - learning I never had kids? It was like a knot in my neck loosened that I didn't know was tight." 21:36 <Crion> Answer on the third ring. Stewart knows the voice from that meeting at Lauren's desk in the law office: brusque and distant. "Hey." 21:37 <dammitwho> Maggie: "I worried about that, sometimes. I know They would have left behind a fetch, but..." 21:37 <gulbanana> Melanie tries not to glance at Nels but of course she fails. 21:38 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Hey, this is Stewart. Uh, Stewart Reader. My friends and I were working in the Hedge recently and we found a feather. I'm pretty sure it's an Icon of yours." 21:38 <trenchfoot> Nels: "It's not the same. I mean." She ignores the look. "You'd want to be there. Not just something that looks like you. If you could." 21:38 <Crion> Fully eight seconds of silence. "Is this an op? Who's on this line?'[ 21:39 <gulbanana> "So," she hurries on; "There's nobody you have to get in touch with? At least not urgently?" 21:39 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "No! It's not an op. I got your number from Lauren. We really-- like I just held it in my hands. It's yours." 21:39 <Crion> This time it's immediate: "Then I will come to you." And the line goes dead. 21:39 <VoxPVoxD> ... 21:40 <VoxPVoxD> Well, if she knows where she's going already... 21:40 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart comes back inside. "Cormorant's on her way." 21:40 <Crion> About 45 seconds later Stewart's phone buzzes. Gerald. 21:40 <VoxPVoxD> "Whoops sorry another call." 21:40 <VoxPVoxD> Back outside. "Yeah." 21:40 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Great, it's nice to get a double-header out of this stuff." 21:40 <gulbanana> "-oh" 21:41 <Crion> Gerald: "Hey kid. Just got off the phone with Cormorant. Is it for real?" 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah." 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> "We were looking for one of Maggie's and I guess there was another one in the same, uh, box." 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> "Maggie's was legit, it looks like." 21:41 <Crion> "Alright. She wants me coming in with the whole getup just in case, so I will, because she's earned that. Buzz us in and don't flip." 21:42 <VoxPVoxD> "Sure." 21:42 <Crion> "Seeya then. Good work." 21:42 <Crion> Gerald hangs up. 21:42 <VoxPVoxD> Back inside again: "Okay, so, Cormorant's on her way, and she's bringing Tactical Gerald in case this is a setup and we're secret Loyalists." 21:42 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Nnno, probably not. My time was before the war. I think." 21:42 <VoxPVoxD> "So, try not to take it personally if someone comes in armed." 21:43 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Why would we...? Oh. Paranoia, right." 21:43 <dammitwho> She sits up suddenly. "Oh! Uh, tell Cormorant to bring like a paper clip or some old pencils or something." 21:43 <Crion> Steve honks, honks again, and waddles out his goose door. 21:43 <Crion> Oh yeah Steve was robbing the fridge. 21:43 <Crion> As he does. 21:43 <gulbanana> Melanie looks around. Sofas which were pretty nice before flowers started growing out of them; a kitchen annex much-used; overflowing bookshelves, the tv, two guitar racks.. and that thing. 21:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "We've got that stuff here if she needs it. Does it need to be hers?" 21:44 <trenchfoot> To Maggie: "Um. Which war?" 21:44 <gulbanana> "We should be pretty reassuring to anyone who isn't a neat-freak." 21:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, who has been called a neat-freak 30 or 40 times in his life, doesn't acknowledge that. 21:44 <trenchfoot> You live through one war that everyone called The Great War and find out it got renamed one time, 21:45 <dammitwho> To Nels: "The second one. I think I was out late enough that we're not, you know, contemporary." She chuckles a little. "Wouldn't that be a heck of a thing, though?" 21:45 <dammitwho> To Stewart: "Yeah, just something she doesn't mind giving away." 21:45 <trenchfoot> Nels snorts. It's very undignified. 21:46 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart blinks, but then he gets it. "Ah yeah, okay." 21:47 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Oh, wow." 21:47 <Crion> It'll be maybe twenty minutes before Gerald calls Stewart again. Anything else to take care of before then? 21:48 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart will spend that time tidying up. 21:48 <gulbanana> Do you mean apart from interrogating Maggie but in a friendly, no-pressure way? 21:48 <dammitwho> Maggie: "'Mary' was not my real name, but I was part of the steelworkers' union - whazzat, Melanie?" She has to restrain herself from calling her 'Mels', now. Odd. 21:49 <gulbanana> "That! That's wow, it's a long time ago. But it's so great that you've got a place." Or had. Argh 21:51 <dammitwho> She nods. "It is nice not to be flapping in the breeze of a whole dang century." 21:52 <VoxPVoxD> But then he says, "They're here." and goes to let them in. 21:52 <gulbanana> "No wonder so much is new. Why is the whole thing so arbitrary?" 21:52 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I kind of like it, actually--" 21:57 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Sorry, I meant 'knowing which part of the last hundred years I'm from'." 21:58 <dammitwho> She doesn't mention that, as she was saying that, she remembered hearing a Nels Foulke song on the radio. Tactless. 21:59 <trenchfoot> Nels still hasn't actually listened to any of 'her' music. Maybe she should, eventually. 21:59 <gulbanana> Melanie: "It's fascinating, like someone arranged a case study in how much that stuff actually matters. Pluck people from almost-evenly separated eras. Are universal themes real? It's like something they'd-" 21:59 <Crion> Cormorant and Gerald leave the elevator with the enforcer in front, some kind of rifle slung across his body on a sling, wearing a vest. Cormorant hides in his wake, her eyes narrowed. Gerald is grimacing. 21:59 <Crion> "Hey there." 21:59 <Crion> Cormorant: "What am I expected to surrender?" 22:00 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Do you have like, a pen or something?" 22:00 <VoxPVoxD> "Just, whatever's in your pocket." 22:00 <Crion> Her eyes narrow. "Why." 22:00 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Hi Gerald. It's nice to meet you Cormorant, this is Nels.. Maggie.. you know Stewart right?" 22:01 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Because the Wyrd sets its own obligations! Oh, but first, hi Cormorant." 22:01 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You know, it's like... symbolic transaction. Like buying your family's estate back for a dollar or something." 22:01 <trenchfoot> Nels waves upon being introduced. "Hello! Welcome to the Wherehouse." 22:02 <Crion> Cormorant: "Wyrd would want it to be symbolically important. Not a pen." She pulls a cheap bronze metal out of her pocket, running her fingers over it. "I've met Stewart and Melanie. You must be Maggie. Hi." 22:03 <Crion> At this point Gerald steps away and leans against the wall, rifle laying over his chest. "You guys got anything to eat? She's starving." 22:03 <Crion> Cormorant: "I'm not--" 22:03 <Crion> Gerald looks over at her and crosses his arms. 22:03 <Crion> "Fine." 22:04 <Crion> Gerald: "I could use something too." 22:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart would've given the feather to Maggie when he went out to make the call, so it's up to her where it is now. "There's plenty of stuff in the fridge. Leftovers, uh, sandwich stuff, some fruit..." 22:04 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Oh, sorry. I was- I don't remember much from the early days." She should have remembered; Cormorant looks familiar in a pre-literal way, like a former athlete. 22:05 <Crion> Gerald looks almost hurt. "Well. I'm not going to go poking around in the group fridge." 22:06 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It's fine! Our home is your home." 22:06 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Aw, cripes, I'm sure I can make something." 22:06 <gulbanana> "It's fine, it's fine. Half of us don't eat. Tony usually cooks, but he's out!" 22:06 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I mean, if we don't go through it who knows what'll happen to it. Uh, literally." 22:06 <dammitwho> "You guys want sandwiches?" 22:07 <Crion> Cormorant looks at Gerald; Gerald looks across all of them, ending on Stewart. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Thank you." 22:10 <dammitwho> Maggie will whistle over to the fridge and start the oven. She's not making anything fancy, just some baked ham and cheese plus lettuce and tomato... "Hey! Either of y'all have any of those, uh, dietary requirements?" 22:10 <Crion> Gerald, smiling: "Nah." 22:11 <Crion> Cormorant: "I ran earlier, so I can eat whatever..." 22:14 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Hey, the pen or coin or whatever- whatever you thing is something important to you and the Wyrd, that's fine, because we're not trying it on here. We're just.. naive and secure and by total chance we came across this thing, and it's the right thing to give it back. That's really it." 22:19 <trenchfoot> Nels: "We don't bite. Um, some of our friends do, I guess, but not - you know how it is, right?" 22:19 <Crion> Cormorant, clipped: "Yeah. I know how it is." 22:20 <Crion> When Gerald sits down on the empty love seat, Cormorant will sit down next to him. Very close. 22:20 <trenchfoot> Well. Usually that joke goes over better. 22:21 <dammitwho> Maggie's working on the food, which will hopefully make a pleasant atmosphere while Stewart negotiates the Icon return. 22:21 <gulbanana> A telepathy contract would be nice here. Melanie wants to tell Stewart, put the thing on the table, hand it over while they eat rather than making the woman wait.. but if she could read minds, it would cause as many problems as it would solve. 22:21 <VoxPVoxD> Where did Maggie leave the feather when Stewart gave it to her? 22:25 <dammitwho> On a little coffee table or ottoman or something in the common area. 22:26 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "So, uh... here it is," he says, gesturing to it as he sits down across from Cormorant and Gerald. 22:26 <Crion> She stares at it and sighs. Then she places the medal beside it. 22:27 <Crion> Cormorant: "Do you accept this--" 22:27 <Crion> "Jesus fuck." 22:27 <Crion> "Let's wait for the food I guess." 22:27 <gulbanana> Melanie's going to retreat to a corner for now. 22:30 <trenchfoot> Nels sort of wants to fetch her guitar to break up the awkwardness. People love it when someone starts singing, right? 22:31 <trenchfoot> Wait, no, she saw a clip when she was looking for music on the YouTube. They specifically don't like that. 22:34 <trenchfoot> Her fingers twitch anyway. 22:35 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's just about to say 'yes' and complete the transaction when Cormorant demurs, so now he's just sitting there with his hands on his knees, face like :I 22:36 <Crion> Gerald: "...So how are things, Stewart?" He gently nudges the rifle aside to slide even closer to Cormorant. 22:36 <gulbanana> "Hey, so. Did anyone else see the Bulls against Portland last week?" 22:36 <Crion> She sort of fades into him. 22:37 <Crion> Gerald: "I mean...I'm not watching the Bulls in 2019." 22:37 <gulbanana> Melanie: "They couldn't quite get there, I feel like Anthony isn't getting the support he needs." 22:37 <Crion> "Jim Boylen needs to get his ass fired last year." 22:38 <VoxPVoxD> oh no, sports 22:38 <gulbanana> Melanie's pleasantly surprised. Maybe she shouldn't be. "Yeah I hate to jump to 'fire the coach' but it really does come down to the placement decisions in this case. He's executed, like, the anti-turnaround." 22:39 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I'm -- I'm really sorry. This is a sports thing, right? There weren't just bulls rampaging throughout the streets of Portland?" 22:39 <Crion> Gerald: "He's one of those weird old school assholes whose old school never existed." 22:39 <dammitwho> Maggie works a lil' bit of tuna into Cormorant's sandwich. They're fisher birds, right? Just a little bit of fish, as a treat. 22:39 <gulbanana> "Hahaha. It's the Chicago men's team Nels - basketball - on paper they have everything going for them but Jesus, the on-court decisions are as bad as the trades Boylen's been pushing for." 22:40 <dammitwho> But she's done soon enough! "All right, come get 'em! Cormorant, Gerald, here's yours..." She carries two plates over. "You guys want some beers?" 22:40 <Crion> "The East is kind of shit this year anyway, you're looking at Giannis on the Bucks and a Sixers team that isn't even--oh!" 22:41 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh, okay! That's... better? I think I've only watched a few basketball games. Colleges, I think." 22:42 <gulbanana> "Yeah, I wouldn't have watched the game but it was on after the Storm and like, it's nice to have close games but you want that to be because both sides are contenders.." Aha. Thanks, Maggie! 22:42 <Crion> Cormorant's eyes go wide and she takes the plate from Maggie gladly. She hovers over it a moment. 22:43 <Crion> Gerald digs into his sandwich. After swallowing: "Oh yeah, definitely. They're doing a good job promoting the woman's game but they have to do better. The league makes enough, and the WNBA is popular. Beyond the sexism, what they're scared of is the offseason, and competing with the D-League. Which isn't even supposed to be competitive!" 22:44 <trenchfoot> Nels nods like she knows what he's talking about. 22:44 <gulbanana> Sadly, that's something familiar to Melanie. Training all the time but not wanting to eat.. could be several things but the worst would be ana. She's going to keep an eye on Cormorant, thankfully not an unpleasant task. 22:44 <Crion> Cormorant has eaten half her sandwich already. 22:46 <Crion> Gerald: "I'll take a beer." 22:46 <Crion> Cormorant: "...Same." 22:47 <gulbanana> You know what though, it rules that an attempt to cover the silence has turned into something interesting. Gerald knows from things. "Do you think they really care about competition for revenue from the lower leagues? There are so many preseason games that most of them don't even get writeups." 22:47 <gulbanana> "Obviously the owners aren't in this for the love of the game but I always thought it was like, a far-sighted maintenance of cultural dominance. Stop the whole thing going the way of baseball." 22:49 <trenchfoot> That's still bizarre to Nels - baseball was everywhere. And then they put it on the radio! How did it get less popular? A question for another time. 22:52 <dammitwho> Maggie'll bring beers for everyone, then. 22:52 <Crion> Gerald shrugs. "The thing about the NBA is that it's really beholden to the players. There's a lot fewer of them, right? That means they have more influence. And though Lebron toes the line on China, he'll still fuck you up if you decide to say women can't coach, or the developmental league should be underfunded. Now, the D-League is organizing -- they might join the NBPA. And if they get 22:52 <Crion> into the player's association, the women's teams, which are actually more valuable on revenue terms because they're also playing in NBA cities on NBA courts but just in the offseason, could easily get in on that too." 22:53 <Crion> To Maggie: "Thank you." 22:53 <Crion> Cormorant, more mutedly: "Thanks." 22:53 <Crion> She chugs more than half the beer. 22:54 <VoxPVoxD> Hoo boy. 22:55 <gulbanana> Melanie appreciates the perspective on this stuff from someone who doesn't have.. insider-nostalgia-tinted glasses. "It's always been great that half the team actually get to play, and you get real.. bonding. I love football but the trade culture is just a fucking tragedy, guys who don't even know each other don't care that they're moving all over the country." 22:55 <trenchfoot> She doesn't comment on Cormorant's desire for fish. Seems rude. Her head is still spinning from all of this basketball talk, anyway. "They have unions and they still agree to - get shipped wherever?" 22:55 <gulbanana> "Keeping women from getting actual influence on how things run is of course par for the course." 22:56 <Crion> Gerald nods to Melanie. To Nels: "The important thing is that no matter where they get shipped, their pay and working conditions are guaranteed." 22:56 <Crion> Cormorant slams the bottle down on the table. 22:56 <gulbanana> To Nels: "And being traded is generally good for your actual salary. The unions exist to make sure the players get enough of the take, which is pretty enormous." 22:56 <Crion> Gerald: "Oh." 22:57 <Crion> Cormorant, to Maggie: "So you have my Icon. I've just got to...trust that." 22:57 <Crion> "Because if I touch it, I take it. And then I'm in your debt. Whatever you want." 22:57 <Crion> "We have to make the deal before." 22:58 <trenchfoot> Nels ponders being wealthy enough to go anywhere in the country and not caring where you end up. Good for the players, one assumes, but... this is really, really weird. 22:59 <VoxPVoxD> What if you end up somewhere awful, like Wisconsin? 22:59 <trenchfoot> Terrible. 22:59 <gulbanana> Melanie smiles at Gerald and mimes setting the conversation aside. Just place that invisible thing between your hands to one side of the plate. 22:59 <Crion> She pushes the medal forward. "I got this from the Baltimore Running Festival. Placed third in the 5K. I'll ante in on this." 23:01 <dammitwho> Maggie nods. 23:01 <Crion> Cormorant reaches for the feather...she looks to Maggie. It almost looks likes she's hoping someone will stop her. 23:02 <gulbanana> "We can find a place for it." In fact, shouldn't they have a trophy wall? 23:02 <Crion> Gerald glares at Melanie. 23:02 <gulbanana> What? 23:03 <dammitwho> Maggie: "On behalf of the Wherehouse, I accept in good faith this third place medal from the Baltimore Running Festival, in exchange for a black feather believed by us to be the Thorns-stolen Icon of Cormorant." 23:03 <VoxPVoxD> :I 23:05 <Crion> When Cormorant clasps the feather it ripples, then burns into her palm. She stands, straightens, and heaves; her eyes unfocus and she stumbles away. She heaves again and again...almost like she's drowning. Then, against the far wall she pushes up and leans, opening her hands. No more feather. It's gone inside her. "I was a swimmer," she says. 23:05 <Crion> "Fish. Swimmer. Of course." 23:06 <Crion> She sags a bit, but looks to Maggie; right in the eye. "Thank you." 23:07 <trenchfoot> Closure? Or just one piece of a larger puzzle? 23:09 <gulbanana> Good. 23:09 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart exhales, dizzy from holding his breath so long. 23:09 <Crion> Then she slumps down next to Gerald, unless Maggie has something to do. 23:12 <dammitwho> Maggie will give her a thumbs up in return. "Cheers." 23:12 <Crion> She'll smile slightly more than slightly in return. 23:15 <gulbanana> This doesn't seem like the right moment to forcibly start up the conversation again. Let's try drinking beer in a vaguely benevolent manner. 23:16 <trenchfoot> If there's enough beers for everyone, Nels will sip hers while not thinking about reclaiming lost parts of onesself. There's still family members - not thinking about it. 23:16 <Crion> Cormorant will defer the rest of her beer to Gerald, which is a bit of a problem because he has to drive. He'll finish his and then stop drinking. 23:17 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart finishes his sandwich quickly but doesn't touch his beer. He'll put it back in the fridge when he gets up to clear plates. 23:18 <Crion> Soon after, the both of them will excuse themselves. Gerald will be generous in his thanks; Cormorant will be shy, except towards Maggie, who she'll hug. 23:18 <Crion> Then they'll withdraw. 23:21 <gulbanana> Melanie relaxes, probably visibly. "Sometimes you get lucky. That was really nice.: 23:21 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Whew." 23:21 <Crion> honk 23:21 <Crion> Steve's back. 23:21 <VoxPVoxD> To Maggie: "So how did you know where to start looking?" 23:22 <trenchfoot> Nels: "That was - hey, Steve - weird. Good, but still..." 23:22 <Crion> He's...brought his own six pack? Examine that immediately. 23:23 <gulbanana> "Honk all you like, you can't invalidate this." :) 23:23 <Crion> honk! 23:23 <Crion> He sets it down and wanders off. 23:23 <trenchfoot> It's. Actual beer, right? And it's a real brand and not some sort of weird Hedge brew? 23:23 <trenchfoot> We haven't even gotten the still really up and running yet!! 23:23 <Crion> No, it's definitely not a real brand. 23:26 <gulbanana> Melanie: "..that's new. What's the saying about looking a gift goose in the mouth?" 23:26 <trenchfoot> Nels: "It's 'don't touch it just yet.'" 23:27 <gulbanana> "I thought it was something about greeks, but yeah." 23:28 <gulbanana> Melanie's up and circling slowly around the goblin beer like it might blow up. Which it might. 23:29 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh my goodness. He - I didn't even know you could brew -- Vines of Bacchus!" 23:30 <Crion> honk 23:30 <Crion> That's from near the stove, where Steve has nested. It's warm there. 23:31 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Thanks, Steve." 23:31 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Honk yourself, you little blessed weirdo. I'll write you something, Christmas is coming." 23:31 <Crion> Steve dips his head in acknowledgment to the Wherehouse, then immediately falls asleep. 23:33 <dammitwho> Maggie: "That was Tony, really. He knew those little mushroom fellas, who knew the lay of the land..." 23:34 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Just a few weeks away. Was Christmas basically a religious thing a hundred years ago, or is that more like five hundred?" 23:34 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart folds his arms and hmms. "Hmm." 23:34 <trenchfoot> Nels: "So, we have six prophetic beers and also if you drink one and they taste awful we know that you're intent on doing harm to people nearby. I don't know how he got these." 23:35 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Maybe they just sell them at Hedge corner stores." 23:35 <VoxPVoxD> "Eleven-Over-Seven." 23:36 <gulbanana> "Or seven-foot-eleven. They're all run by that big stone cop and the death cat." 23:37 <trenchfoot> "Christmas was pretty much the same. When I was a kid it was just a religious thing but, well, capitalism knows a way to sell things when it spots one." 23:37 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Stone Cop and the Death Cat would be a pretty good name for a band." 23:37 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: 'He's more of a vengeance cat..." 23:38 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Stone Cop and the Cat's Revenge" 23:39 <VoxPVoxD> "The stone cop was pretty handsome... what about Death Cat For Cuties?" 23:39 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Wasn't Vengeance Cat one of those Japanese cartoons?" 23:40 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I don't know. I don't know a lot about those." 23:41 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Maybe we should watch some? I like modern movies a lot more than the old ones..." 23:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "You'd... really want someone who knows about them to give you recommendations." 23:42 <VoxPVoxD> "Which, again, is not me." 23:42 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Well, that's what online is for. You see people with anime pictures all the time, mostly conservatives but it's clearly a 'thing'." 23:43 <gulbanana> "Let's look some stuff up, it might be relaxing to see a foreign film. I can't keep up with the pace of most of our stuff." 23:45 <trenchfoot> Nels almost asks him for advice, but he clearly doesn't want to talk about it. So. "Wait, why would conservatives - aren't they racist? Why would they like Japanese cartoons?" 23:45 <trenchfoot> "I agree, let's watch some, but -- this is. Augh." 23:46 <gulbanana> Melanie: "I mean, they don't think they're racist." 23:46 <Crion> Some of them probably do. 23:46 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Wait, so Melanie, do you know enough about them to give us recommendations?" 23:46 <dammitwho> "You and Stewart are the youngest..." 23:46 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Nope. But like.. as I understand it Japan had a huge economic and cultural boom a couple of generations ago and they're still, like, important globally. Not on par with America or Europe but there's a big subculture that's into japanese stuff/" 23:47 <gulbanana> "When I was at college there were clubs for watching anime, though we.. didn't hang out." 23:47 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart snorts. 23:48 <gulbanana> "Yes, it's a stereotype. But we've all dealt with stereotypes." 23:48 <VoxPVoxD> Typical jock. 23:49 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Wait, what's the stereotype? I haven't - the last cartoon I saw in theaters was Felix the Cat. And that was pretty much for everybody." 23:49 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Um." 23:49 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Anime is for friendless losers who don't go outside or play sports." 23:50 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Oh! Oh." 23:51 <trenchfoot> "...is it because it's from Japan, or...?" 23:51 <gulbanana> Melanie: "That's what people used to say, but I don't remember why. There might not have been any real reason. Things 'everyone knew' were largely shit." 23:52 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It's a stereotype that you find with a lot of niche hobbies, particularly ones that don't require you to be, you know, athletic or good-looking or sociable." 23:52 <VoxPVoxD> He looks around the room and doesn't say, 'choose any two I guess'. 23:53 <Crion> Steve honks in his sleep, then rolls over and returns to long breaths. 23:54 <trenchfoot> Now that she can recognize. "Oh. So. Um. - bless you - We can still watch some, right?" 23:55 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, sure. That movie we watched a while ago, Alita, was based on an anime." 23:55 <VoxPVoxD> "I don't know what to recommend, though..." 23:55 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Is that why her eyes were sort of weird?" 23:56 <trenchfoot> "'Cause she was a cartoon?" 23:56 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, it was a deliberate reference to the style those shows and comics are drawn in." 23:57 <VoxPVoxD> "Lauren was talking about the differences between the movie and the cartoon-- actually maybe I should just call her." 23:58 <gulbanana> Melanie mumbles: "There's so much social pressure. Supposedly we have liberalism now and everyone celebrates individuality but then there are like, material forces, which are actually real, and you have to be normal if you can. 'Nerd' is just a new kind of normal, it means you go to silicon valley and you're a stereotype on top instead of in a locker or whatever, but it's still.. it's 23:58 <gulbanana> even worse if you're in, like, china. I don't know." 23:59 <VoxPVoxD> Outside: <cormorant came over and got the thing. now people are talking about watching anime. you wanna come help curate> 00:00 <Crion> Lauren: <omw> 00:00 <dammitwho> Maggie looks at Nels like 'Silicon Valley'? 00:00 <Crion> <is cormorant ok?> 00:00 <VoxPVoxD> He loves her so much. <yeah. it was real heavy obviously but she got through it> 00:00 <trenchfoot> Nels doesn't even know what Silicon is. She's as lost as Maggie. 00:00 <Crion> <yayy> 00:00 <Crion> <should I bring an external HDD or> 00:00 <VoxPVoxD> <good idea> 00:01 <Crion> <see u soon :*> 00:01 <VoxPVoxD> < <3 > 00:01 <VoxPVoxD> Back inside: "Lauren's coming over, she's gonna bring some stuff to watch." 00:01 <VoxPVoxD> He sees Nels and Maggie's confused looks. "What's up?" 00:02 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Sorry." She'll start collecting the plates and so on. Can't have the place messy when Lauren's coming over. 00:03 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Um. Melanie said something about silicon valley? I don't think either of us know what that is." 00:03 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Oh. Ohhhh okay." 00:03 <trenchfoot> "Or what silicon is, in my case." 00:03 <VoxPVoxD> "So like. You guys remember how back in the day there were like, railroad barons, oil tycoons, Andrew Carnegie, stuff like that?" 00:04 <trenchfoot> "Regrettably, yes." 00:04 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Now they're silicon dukes. It's a place, another stereotype, an alchemy. Where you spin nerds into gold." 00:04 <trenchfoot> Alarmed: "We have to stop them. This is accepted?" 00:04 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Nowadays those guys all wear hoodies and have phones attached to their ears and figure out new ways to use computers to charge rent for things and underpay people." 00:05 <trenchfoot> Nels: "People into gold-- we have to go there!" 00:05 <VoxPVoxD> To Nels: "Figurative spinning. Not a Rumplestiltskin thing." 00:05 <VoxPVoxD> Did Nels ever read-- whatever. 00:06 <trenchfoot> She deflates. "Oh. That's. Better. It's still awful but for different reasons." 00:06 <VoxPVoxD> "But yeah 'Silicon Valley' is an area near San Francisco Bay where a lot of the major tech companies are headquartered. Silicon because that's what computer chips are made of." 00:06 <trenchfoot> "I always knew that place was cursed." 00:07 <VoxPVoxD> "So it's become a metonym not just for the tech industry but for tech-inflected stuff generally." 00:07 <gulbanana> Melanie: "Silicon Valley, metonymically, is seven percent of the economy, but it's more like a quarter of the salaried workforce. America's only remaining competitive advantage." 00:07 <trenchfoot> Not-quite-joking: "That earthquake was trying to right a wrong." 00:08 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Guess the average rent in San Francisco." 00:08 <VoxPVoxD> "Actually, don't, you'll freak out." 00:08 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Um, well, with inflation, ummmm.... $500?" 00:09 <VoxPVoxD> "Thirty-five hundred." 00:09 <VoxPVoxD> "It's just, not fit for human life." 00:09 <gulbanana> "They're not all bad people but it's a case of.. the stereotype shifts social status sans shedding stigma." Melanie giggles briefly at her alliteration. 00:09 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I need to sit down." She is already sitting down. 00:09 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's phone buzzes. "Oh, that's Lauren." 00:10 <VoxPVoxD> He goes to let her in, kissing her in the doorway. 00:10 <gulbanana> "So 'nerd' these days is like.. a semi-positive thing but there's a right way to be a nerd. A rich way. Still a box to put people in." 00:12 <Crion> She doesn't just lean to the kiss, she sort of pushes him. When she pulls back she's grinning. "So icon's down and you guys just all want to watch some anime?" 00:12 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, a little flushed: "That's the plan." 00:13 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I haven't watched any, and, Maggie made a reference? But I don't know if she's seen any either." 00:14 <Crion> She'll accompany him as close as he wants. "What're you looking for, then?" 00:14 <Crion> "When it comes to anime." 00:15 <gulbanana> Melanie's putting a towel over the rack of dirty dishes. "I've never seen one but I'd like to. Is there stuff that's slow-paced? Reflective?" 00:15 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Music if possible? But I don't know what these things are like." 00:18 <dammitwho> Maggie: "Yeah, I dunno what the deal is with it." 00:19 <Crion> Lauren: "It's just like normal movies and TV. What do you wanna see? Musicals exist." 00:21 <trenchfoot> Nels: "Um, I'm good with whatever. There weren't - the most popular movie when I disappeared was Birth of a Nation. You literally cannot do worse." 00:21 <VoxPVoxD> Quickly: "Not that Nels is throwing down the gauntlet or anything." 00:21 <trenchfoot> She blanches. "Apparently you can do worse?" 00:24 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "The point is it's not a competition." 00:25 <Crion> Lauren: "But I do not actually have anything worse than Birth of the actual fucking Nation on this HDD. Just to be clear." 00:25 <gulbanana> Melanie: "We're also not judging anything though. Like there's no need to present the perfect anime, it's just a friendwhim." 00:26 <trenchfoot> She relaxes, slightly. "Still, though. Nothing on that level, please?" 00:27 <Crion> Lauren: "It's kind of fucked up that 'no Nazi shit' is an actual genuine concern here instead of something you just laugh off...but yeah, Nels." 00:28 <trenchfoot> Nels: "I'm kind of glad I missed them but it makes reading their chapters in the books worse." 00:28 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "What do you have that's like, weird, but not nightmarish?" 00:43 <Crion> Lauren: "...The Evangelion...movies." 00:44 <Crion> "1.11 You Are (Not) Alone and 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance." 00:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart doesn't know Evangelion, but he knows of Evangelion. His eyes widen slightly. 00:45 <VoxPVoxD> "Sounds good to me." 00:45 <Crion> She glances over at Stewart. "They're more refined than the show." 00:45 <Crion> Lauren nods gratefully. 00:45 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart nods. He doesn't fully understand what that means, but he trusts Lauren. 00:46 <trenchfoot> Nels begins plucking away at the guitar she's kept by her side. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS_yNsDsbaQ 00:46 <trenchfoot> Something about it is just familiar. 00:52 <VoxPVoxD> This tune is catchy. He wonders if Nels wrote it. 00:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Is there anything people are going to need to know in advance to make sense of this?" 01:02 <Crion> Lauren: "The world ended badly, angels are evil, and you should hate your father?" 01:02 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "So just obvious stuff then, cool." 01:03 <Crion> She grins. 01:04 <Crion> "Then I'll get it set up for when you're ready." 01:07 <Crion> The notes in Stewart's room: I A M is a structure. Many things have been built upon it. This makes it dangerous; it has redundancies -- multiple Titles. Maybe they're Iam, I Am, and I'm. Maybe they're something else. But whatever they are, they serve and adore a greater structural purpose. Where is I A M located? Many places; everywhere. Not the biggest in Arcadia, thought not the smallest 01:07 <Crion> -- but it extends like bedbugs and malware into the real world. It's vicious mojo. It's poor practice. It's binary violence. 01:08 <Crion> If there's good news, it's this: you can stop seeing it coming by turning off your monitor.