19:37 <banana> Apart from the chairs in the studio or the bed in his bedroom, Sergio’s only indoor sitting furniture is a fairly nice sofa in the parlour. He has a TV in there, but it’s all unplugged and doesn’t look like it’s been used; the room has paintings and bookcases instead, for Contemplation. 19:38 <banana> Mr. Blimp hangs around. Occasionally he races out of the room and then shortly back in, displaying a surprising turn of speed; he seems to think that this might reset the cooldown on the lone single treat Sergio’s given him. 19:38 <VoxPVoxD> Doesn't it? 19:38 <VoxPVoxD> That's more or less been Willie's strategy with him. Or vice-versa. 19:39 <banana> Not so far- Sergio’s distracted. There’s a woman on his sofa and he doesn’t know who she really is. 19:39 <VoxPVoxD> How warm is it in here? When Willie asks for a blanket does he look askance? 19:40 <banana> There’s effective central heating, which was set a little colder than Willie prefers it. The vampire doesn’t mind turning it up - or bringing her a blanket. But he’s still got questions. 19:40 <banana> Most of the questions are about what questions Willie is going to have. 19:41 <VoxPVoxD> She takes the blanket. Gives her something to knead with her hands that isn't the little leather notepad with three coloured tabs sticking out - green, yellow, red - once it becomes apparent that the moment of truths is upon them. 19:43 <banana> Sergio notes the pad and smiles a little. “We’ve got plenty of time to talk. I hope you’re not too sleepy.” 19:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Not at all. I've had a night coffee." She's warm, thermodynamically and in demeanour, but there is a focus and energy about her that's more recognisable to her colleagues than her lovers. He might remember it from Inchcape. 19:45 <VoxPVoxD> "I don't really know where to begin. I was hoping you would have an idea." 19:48 <banana> Bonasera: “Well... they told me you have a history as some sort of monster hunter. And, though in the circumstances this is entirely without prejudice, cursed blood.” 19:49 <banana> “I don’t know where we can go from here, Willie, but I do want to find out. I don’t think either of us was entirely under a spell for the last two weeks.” 19:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's eyebrows go up a bit. She's surprised they were that vague. But then, is she? That seems to be the prerogative of elders of ancient occult societies all over. "Right. Have you ever heard of the Lucifuge?" 19:50 <banana> Sergio: “I have not. Evocative name.” 19:51 <banana> He’s neither warm nor cold under the blanket. Room temperature. 19:56 <VoxPVoxD> Well, her body heat will take care of that. The fact that she's next to him means she hasn't actually opened the notepad yet. "I was thirteen when it started. Omens, dreams of temptation and fire, great torrents of emotion, suffering nature recoiling in my presence... some of that was puberty, obviously. The world began to smell of sulphur." 19:57 <banana> Sergio’s eyebrows raise slowly. “And then... animals fearing you?” 19:59 <VoxPVoxD> "I was thrown from a horse on my thirteenth birthday. That was the closest any of them'd consent to get to me." But not the closest they got. She swallows the lump in her throat. Charlie. "The dogs would howl if they could smell me. We moved the kennel at Strathfield Saye upwind of the house. I was scarcely allowed outside anymore." 19:59 <VoxPVoxD> "But it wasn't until university that someone approached me. Two someones. They told me that I had a duty to my blood. To humanity. That Satan walked among us, and seeded himself throughout humanity, all over the world. That his blood lay dormant, but every seven generations it would surge forward..." 20:00 <VoxPVoxD> "And test the souls of those born to that fate." 20:00 <banana> “My God. What does it mean to pass the test?” 20:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Opinions differ. How do you measure victory as adversario adversariorum? A life lived in the service of the meek and the mundane? In sinners tempted back from the brink? In reconciliation between the Wicked and the Divine? Some of us -- the Lucifuge, the name of both our organisation and its leader -- hold loftier dreams. Eschatological ones. Reversing the Fall. Absolving humanity 20:03 <VoxPVoxD> of its original sin." 20:03 <VoxPVoxD> "All very grandiose." 20:04 <VoxPVoxD> "Candidly... I have no idea. I don't think I'm passing the test." 20:05 <banana> Sergio: “It’s shocking, but it makes a kind of sense. From what I’m told, that’s where we come from. God’s curse, one way or another. The idea of having... opponents is in line with doctrine.” 20:06 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles wanly. "We are hunters, yes. But I don't have the CV my colleagues do, in Milan or in Manchester. The work I did in London... we ran a blog, basically. Coaxed the media in the direction of exposing various supernatural threats, or getting close enough to them that they had to withdraw or tighten up their operations. Got a couple of D-Notices." 20:07 <VoxPVoxD> "I've never killed anyone born of man or woman, if you're wondering." 20:07 <banana> Sergio: “A side hustle for souls.” 20:07 <banana> “Nor have I.” 20:09 <banana> His phone beeps a couple of times. 20:09 <VoxPVoxD> Willie gives her lover a long look. 20:09 <banana> “Ha. I’m sorry for the interruption, I always forget how this thing works.” 20:09 <banana> He pulls it out to silence it, does a brief double-take- “Oh, very funny.” 20:09 <VoxPVoxD> She tilts her head. 20:10 <banana> Sergio will show her the screen, which has two messages from ‘Salmon Man’. 20:10 <VoxPVoxD> "A friend of Mr. Blimp's?" 20:10 <banana> https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/sb.jpg 20:10 <banana> https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/sb-meme.jpg 20:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins. Vampires sharing corny memes... it's humanising. 20:11 <banana> “Drew Salmon. He’s one of the few really modern types among us who gets, you know, the Internet.” 20:11 <banana> Sergio: “He uses those powers for evil.” 20:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "...how evil?" 20:12 <banana> Sergio: “He can’t possibly have come up with ‘Scungio’, but he added the twist.” 20:16 <banana> “Do you want the five-minute life story? Like yours, but starting at death instead of puberty?” 20:16 <VoxPVoxD> Willie didn't realise her shoulders had tensed enough to relax visibly. "I am eager to hear anything you wish to tell me." 20:17 <banana> Sergio: “Right. This is meant to be concise rather than evasive.” It feels like he should take a deep breath here, but he doesn’t. 20:18 <VoxPVoxD> It doesn't unnerve her so much as make her feel comparatively immature. Look at Sergio, he's so chill about this he doesn't even need to breathe. 20:18 <banana> Sergio does close his eyes a little to bring things to mind. “My parents came here from Sicily during the Second World War. They were well-off, which the Fascists didn’t like, but they got out.” 20:19 <banana> “Manchester was one huge factory. Bombed to hell but still rolling out war materiel; we made a major contribution back in the day. Refugees with Swiss bank accounts and some degree of portable wealth were welcome, as long as they were willing to buy bonds.” 20:20 <banana> “They settled. Had a son. Thirty years later, I was diagnosed with bone cancer.” 20:22 <banana> He’s watching Willie for reactions, but this sounds clinical - old, settled history. 20:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie reaches out to put a hand on one of Sergio's. Her face is calm. 20:22 <banana> A thumb rubs her palm. 20:23 <banana> “My efforts to break into cartooning were going ok, but I hadn’t really ‘made it’, so it didn’t matter that I had to take time off. And if those were modern nights... perhaps it would be treatable. The world has got so much better for so many kinds of people, you have no idea-” 20:24 <banana> He stops himself. 20:25 <VoxPVoxD> "What is it?" 20:26 <banana> Sergio: “It’s fashionable to talk about ‘hell world’, how capital-n Normal things are now. There’s a sense that the excesses of capitalism have doomed everyone by climate change or just greed, and that we’re near the end of some kind of downslope.” 20:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Or at least, at the end of the sunny uplands for a while." 20:27 <banana> Sergio: “Right. The thing is, there are also computers the size of a pocket instead of a room. Freedom of information is considered normal in administration and governments get sued when they, admittedly, still don’t do it. Gay people and black people can get married without a serious risk of stabbing. It’s normal for women to become lawyers.” 20:28 <banana> “Do you think I’ve got ahead of myself? A little?” 20:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I don't begrudge people who've abandoned hope. But I agree that I think the world is rather larger and richer than they might like to think." 20:29 <banana> Sergio: “I’m just saying, let’s not give up quite yet.” 20:29 <banana> “However. Back to nineteen seventy-nine.” 20:29 <VoxPVoxD> He sounds like Olly. Like a really achingly sexy Olly. 20:30 <banana> Sergio: “I didn’t have access to treatment that would make a difference, but I had some money, a little local notoriety... it was enough to get me a referral to a specialist.” 20:30 <VoxPVoxD> We're just going to let him lying about his age slide for now. At least he didn't lie about his height. 20:31 <banana> “Which is to say, a vampire. The living dead. Immortal and undying. I didn’t believe a word of it, but why not? I’d rather try something, an interesting fantasy, than just wait.” 20:32 <banana> “So they told me: your rotting blood will sustain us another night, another week. You will awaken in a new world, months or years from now, with a debt to pay. You will have a new life and great resources to pay it.” 20:33 <banana> Sergio: “...Simpson was very convincing. And some sort of VIP, even among the living.” 20:33 <VoxPVoxD> "You were scouted." 20:33 <banana> “I like to think I was a draft pick.” 20:34 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "How did you square it with your family? Friends? Were you married?" 20:35 <banana> Sergio grips her hand. “Everyone was told I died. I did die.” 20:35 <banana> “But no, I’ve never been married.” 20:35 <banana> He’s coming to the end of his story. “It all became more believable when the fangs came out, so I was happy to wake up at all.” 20:36 <banana> “Waking with a hunger for, you know, human blood... learning there was a global pandemic.. and just how much had changed.. it was a shock. But I did want to wake up.” 20:36 <VoxPVoxD> Willie flinches a bit. 20:37 <banana> “A few hundred nights hence, that basic desire to live is still in me. And I bet it raises questions.” 20:37 <banana> Sergio Bonasera looks: kind of sad. 20:40 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I have a few." She raises her notepad, which is flipped to the green tab. "I'd like to start with two rather naive ones, if you don't mind. I've had some training, but... from quite an adversarial perspective." 20:40 <VoxPVoxD> "There are two things I've always wanted to know about - do you prefer the word vampire? - there are three things I've always wanted to know about your night-to-night experiences and outlooks." 20:41 <VoxPVoxD> "The second is: do you see yourself, having died, as a dead man?" 20:41 <VoxPVoxD> "The third is: is it like being hungry or being thirsty?" 20:41 <banana> Sergio leans back deliberately, seemingly steeling himself. Then he begins to answer. 20:42 <banana> “The word I’ve been taught is ‘kindred’. It makes some sense - you can feel that others are like you, and there’s a whole organised system. The All Night Society. However ‘vampire’ is obviously the standard term for this particular mythical curse!” 20:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'm less concerned with norms than feelings. What's more comfortable?" 20:43 <banana> Sergio: “Let’s go with vampire. It’s realistic.” 20:43 <VoxPVoxD> Comparatively, anyway. 20:43 <banana> “I died, but am I dead? No. It’s.. I don’t want to say a Christ-like experience, although priests will tell you it’s a precise inversion of that. Hmm. I suppose the way I think of it is that I died and found that what lay on the other side is much like life.” 20:44 <banana> Any followups from Willie? 20:45 <VoxPVoxD> Not in response to that. Still waiting on question 3. 20:45 <banana> But.. he didn’t want to answer that one! 20:45 <banana> Sergio: “Is it like being hungry, or being thirsty? No. Not in the slightest.” 20:45 <VoxPVoxD> She can't force him. 20:45 <VoxPVoxD> It's not like she has mind control. 20:46 <banana> That makes one of them. 20:48 <banana> The cat is back. He’s not afraid of Willie anymore; apparently it truly was a one-time thing to convince him otherwise. But it’s Sergio he seems drawn to, haunting his ankles as he shifts on the sofa. Creatures of the night. 20:49 <VoxPVoxD> They make quite a pair. 20:49 <VoxPVoxD> Just having the cat casually around makes her feel so... Christ, she's going to cry again. No, no, stiff upper lip. "Thank you. I imagine you have more questions for me as well." 20:49 <VoxPVoxD> "But if not, I can keep going." 20:51 <banana> Sergio: “I don’t know, I guess I should have questions. Things about when you knew, what you want, means versus ends.. I’m just indulging in a spot of cowardice. Answering your questions spooks me less.” 20:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Luckily, I feel the same way about asking them." 20:52 <VoxPVoxD> "So allow me to indulge you." 20:52 <banana> “You’re too kind, Miss Wellesley.” 20:52 <VoxPVoxD> Reflexively: "Do call me Willie." 20:52 <VoxPVoxD> Then she grins. 20:53 <VoxPVoxD> ...then she sighs. 20:53 <banana> Sergio: “I thought I was being clever avoiding ‘lady’. Shades of the VI4.” 20:54 <VoxPVoxD> "One thing I know about vampires is that they cannot live in 1:1 symbiosis. They need more blood than a single person can sustainably produce. And I also know that, after that first night, you have been very judicious. Gentle, even, with me." 20:55 <VoxPVoxD> "How do you make ends' meat?" 20:55 <banana> Oh, this one’s spicy. Not like he didn’t expect it, so it is kind of fun despite the obvious consequences of any answer whatsoever. 20:56 <banana> Sergio will remove the part of the blanket currently covering his own lap and pass it to Willie to hold for a moment. 20:56 <VoxPVoxD> She takes it. 20:56 <VoxPVoxD> It feels strangely colder without him. 20:59 <banana> “Recently, the main thing I do is this: I find either an animal or a human being alone at night. In the latter case, anyone who looks healthy but vulnerable. I approach them. This curse of vampirism makes us mesmerising - difficult to resist.” 20:59 <banana> Sergio goes on remorselessly. “The person or the animal will then follow me to some point where we can’t be seen.” 21:00 <banana> “I-” he chokes a little here. 21:00 <VoxPVoxD> Now it's Willie's turn to be clinical: "You bite them, a sensation they find quite pleasurable." 21:02 <banana> Sergio: “I drink some of their blood. It does seem be pleasurable, and it has a lulling effect; they don’t remember anything’s happened at all. If necessary, I make sure they’re in a safe position for a few minutes of grogginess, and then I leave. Powers and principalities conspire to ensure that I’m never noticed. I had some formal training.” 21:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "But these hunts are anonymous." 21:05 <banana> Sergio: “Right, no vampire can make a living off Bumble. With you...” He shrugs. “I was hoping for a date.” 21:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles. "Me too." 21:05 <VoxPVoxD> "I didn't know until the morning after. I thought I had the worst hangover." 21:06 <banana> Sergio: “Oh! I thought I’d given myself away.. photographs just don’t come out properly. One of the principalities.” 21:07 <banana> “So you weren’t hunting... in that sense.” 21:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You are far from the only man on a dating app whose photos leave a lot to the imagination." 21:07 <VoxPVoxD> "No, far from it. In fact I was eager to meet someone not connected to work at all. Day job or night." 21:08 <VoxPVoxD> "I've relaxed on this a bit. Some members of the night-city are very good company, I'm finding." 21:08 <banana> Sergio: “I’ve really got to apologise for that hangover. VI4 say it’s an interaction of damned bloods. Yours is, actually, I’m realising it might be rude to comment on a woman’s blood.” 21:08 <banana> He points lazily at the notebook. “Or not. Do you want details?” 21:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Oh no, I want to hear all about this. How do I taste?" 21:09 <VoxPVoxD> "Do people have terroir?" 21:10 <banana> Sergio: “Wonderful, at least to me. Entirely congenial and... life-giving. However, my judgement was thrown off. ‘Taste’ aside, it’s difficult for vampires to get much sustenance from you, which one could consider beneficial.” 21:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Quite a dangerous combination, though, isn't it? If it's delicious and not very filling. Easy to go overboard. Like crisps or marzipan." 21:12 <VoxPVoxD> "Hence the hangover." 21:12 <banana> Seriously: “Yes. It is dangerous.” 21:12 <VoxPVoxD> "Even my blood tempts people into sin." 21:13 <banana> Sergio: “To be fair, so does mine.” 21:13 <VoxPVoxD> "I've never had the pleasure. But I understand yours is quite literally enthralling." 21:13 <banana> “Seriously, I could offer you some of my blood, if you wanted. It would make you strong, give you access to some of the curse’s powers. But it would be.. there are multiple catches. It would be something we’d have to talk to death.” 21:14 <banana> “Actually, there are some real dealbreakers involved.” 21:14 <banana> Sergio: “Please forget I mentioned it?” 21:14 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'll forget you offered." 21:14 <banana> He’s got the impulsiveness to tempt people into sin, but apparently not the follow-through. 21:15 <VoxPVoxD> "But while we're on the subject of enthralling..." 21:15 <banana> Sergio: “Yes?” 21:15 <VoxPVoxD> She flips to the red tab. 21:15 <VoxPVoxD> "Why did you hypnotise me?" 21:15 <VoxPVoxD> Still clinical. 21:19 <banana> This one matters, doesn’t it? That means there’s no point trying to spin. What they can be, to what degree they can be, will require understanding. And he’s really relieved to find out Willie wasn’t hunting from the first date. 21:19 <banana> So Sergio says: “At 63 Degrees? Habit.” 21:19 <banana> “Once you’re used to the sense of other peoples’ minds being pliable, as a nightly tool for staying alive - it becomes routine.” 21:20 <VoxPVoxD> "Normalised." 21:20 <banana> Sergio: “Earlier I said this is ‘much like life’ - that’s one of the points of real difference. Different families of vampire affect living minds in different ways, but we pretty much all do it.” 21:21 <banana> To himself: “I’m not sure about the Gangrel.” 21:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What were you hoping to accomplish?" 21:22 <VoxPVoxD> "Was it just to make for a pleasant evening? Was it to make sure I was available for feeding at the end of the night? Was it for sex?" 21:26 <banana> Sergio looks like he wants to escape, to run. Willie’s notebook is pinning him to the sofa in the empty room. 21:26 <banana> Instead, he answers the question: “The second. To ensure I could feed.” 21:26 <banana> “That’s... the routine in question.” 21:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I suppose in a sense we were splitting the check. Since it hungers you to feign the ability to eat mortal food. To simulate... biology." 21:27 <VoxPVoxD> "What about Goreman?" 21:27 <banana> “You’ve learned that? That’s my least favourite consequence of the- who?” 21:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Bob." 21:28 <banana> For a moment, Sergio is actually drawing a blank. 21:29 <banana> He may have been more shaken up by this attempt at sincerity than Willie had initially thought. “Your colleague. The other hunter, I guess, or former hunter.” 21:29 <VoxPVoxD> "My friend." 21:29 <banana> “Right - I told him to protect you. That’s a step beyond hypnotism - a wilful command.” 21:30 <banana> “I’m guessing it was unnecessary.” 21:30 <banana> Sergio runs a hand over his face, wiping away some emotion. 21:30 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes. And I suspect he does not find it as wounding as I do." 21:31 <VoxPVoxD> "Which is to both our benefit. He has killed people. He has a great facility for it." 21:31 <banana> “Well. Please pass on my apologies.” 21:31 <VoxPVoxD> "I'll pass on your assurance it won't happen again." 21:32 <VoxPVoxD> "To either of us. Or any of my colleagues." 21:32 <VoxPVoxD> "Have you ever been controlled in that way?" 21:37 <banana> Sergio: “That’s not what I said, but it’s true.” 21:37 <banana> “I have. There are odd politics involved.” 21:38 <VoxPVoxD> "Go on." 21:38 <banana> “Have you ever learned something dangerous - firearms training, for example?” 21:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles a bit. "I have. Bob built me a shotgun. Taught me how to shoot it. On Blackley's land up in Crumpsall." 21:39 <banana> Sergio: “...and of course you have this Lucifuge thing. But neither of those is bureaucratic.” 21:39 <banana> “I was being trained - taught these powers, demonstrations of how to use ‘em. The covenant elders had to fill in a form.” 21:40 <banana> “The body that governs the night is called the Wise and Solemn Court. It has rules. And the discipline of Domination is ‘reportable’.” 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Huh!" 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> "That's very interesting. I didn't know Vie and the WASC cross-pollinated. The WASC gives the impression that your organisation is proscribed." 21:41 <banana> “Vie.. VI? As in VI4?” 21:41 <VoxPVoxD> "Yes." 21:42 <VoxPVoxD> "Whence the 4? Is it in reference to your elders?" 21:42 <banana> “Technically, that’s not the whole covenant. The four vampire aristocrats you met - they are, on formal occasions, Victus Indomitus.” 21:42 <banana> Sergio: “I’m just some filmmaker... and late night blood-drinker.” 21:43 <VoxPVoxD> "Ah. Less a covenant than a..." she gestures around like she can just pluck a word from the atmosphere. "A coterie." 21:43 <banana> “Right, the term ‘covenant’ refers to... followers? People who live in Salford, who attend Inchcape.” 21:44 <banana> Sergio muses. “It’s where most of us woke up.” 21:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "But you are a citizen in good standing of the WASC and its Carthian Council." 21:45 <banana> Sergio: “We’re actually running up against things I’ve been asked to obfuscate. How important is the topic to you?” 21:46 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "At the moment, only insofar as I'm exposing you to further danger by, e.g., taking work from both sides of the river, or inviting you over to my place a couple hundred metres from the Free Trade Hall." 21:46 <VoxPVoxD> "I don't need details, but reassurance would be lovely." 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> "You mentioned doing work for the Night Mayor's office." 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> "I remember that much from our first date." 21:47 <banana> Sergio: “Well, I’d rather not break Emily’s rules if it isn’t a big deal. I can tell you that I would also rather not break Court laws, and neither she nor I do so.” 21:47 <VoxPVoxD> "If you can tolerate whatever risk that eventuates, then so can I." 21:48 <VoxPVoxD> "If this becomes a more durable thing that might change. But that's a question for future nights." 21:48 <banana> “Phew.” He rolls his shoulders. “It’s almost worth sweating in order to wipe it away.” 21:48 <banana> “That really really is the question.” 21:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Were you hoping to turn me?" 21:48 <VoxPVoxD> "Or, no, let me back up." 21:49 <banana> Anything Sergio’s going was say is preempted by that. 21:49 <VoxPVoxD> "You seemed quite disappointed at Inchcape." 21:49 <VoxPVoxD> "What were you hoping would be the result of my debut?" 21:49 <banana> “Yyyes. A hope, a faint hope. What dead-blooded man wouldn’t consider it?” 21:50 <banana> “Alternatively, vampiric lesbians. My point is.. I wasn’t sure what might happen. But I’d thought it would be fairly amazing.” 21:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie seems amused to the point of reassurance by just how heterosexual Sergio is. 21:51 <banana> Interview with the Vampire this is not. 21:51 <VoxPVoxD> He really is more or less just a man. 21:51 <VoxPVoxD> "How did you feel the night of?" 21:53 <banana> Sergio: “Oh damn, I was pretty confused. Worry turned to very different worry - this deal happened and I felt I might have been duped, and then I spent the next few hours being sort of.. it alternated between reading me the Riot Act and Lord Fortunato’s giggling praises. What a catch, et cetera.” 21:54 <VoxPVoxD> "Did I get you in trouble?" 21:54 <banana> Sergio: “The covenant is really sensitive to the idea of someone bringing in a vampire hunter to meet them because she’s pretty and smart.” 21:54 <banana> “In fact, being smart makes it worse. Except it didn’t. They offered you a job.” 21:54 <VoxPVoxD> "Would it help to know the reverse also happened? My entire team thinks I'm a moron now. Or a slut of at-best-average intelligence." 21:55 <banana> “What!” 21:55 <banana> Sergio: “You got two of your team into Inchcape and out again and that’s... stupid?” 21:55 <VoxPVoxD> "Professional hunters: not very trusting of vampires. Who knew." 21:56 <banana> “Sure, I can’t fault the sentiment.” 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I suppose I was stupid for agreeing to go at all. For continuing to see you. I contemplated pleading helplessness. Hypnotism. Supernatural seduction." 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> "But that would have been a lie. An insult to you and me both." 21:57 <VoxPVoxD> "I have not regretted one moment of our time together," she repeats. 21:57 <banana> Sergio: “I experienced a moment of regret when you began speaking Norman French to someone who grew up on it.” 21:57 <banana> “I’m over it.” 21:58 <banana> “There are so many barriers to this thing, you know? To us. But they don’t seem insurmountable.” 21:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I thought you bore it quite gracefully. A lot of men I've known would've been much slower to reconnect. Or much more upset when they did." 21:58 <VoxPVoxD> Fiercely: "I agree." 21:58 <banana> Sergio: “Even if it can’t be forever.” 21:58 <VoxPVoxD> "..." 21:59 <VoxPVoxD> "May I show you something?" 21:59 <banana> Sergio reorients himself on the sofa. Mr. Blimp has left for the night- presumably to return to his actual home. 22:00 <VoxPVoxD> She closes the notepad and takes out her phone. "We have some very interesting tools in our arsenal. One of them is a sort of divination device. Communes with some delphic director. Offers judgment and prognostication set to music." 22:01 <VoxPVoxD> First she shows Sergio his entry in the TrackCheck. "As a courtesy, this is what I got from you." 22:01 <banana> “Horatio’s seen some shit by now. In Heaven and Earth.” 22:01 <banana> “Scuse me.” This is either for the profanity or for fumbling with her phone - he really isn’t good at it. Does the lack of blood in the fingertips pose a problem? 22:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I have a similar issue with biometrics. Not as categorical as yours, I think, but I've walked face-first into some automatic doors in my time." 22:02 <banana> Sergio: “I think I’ve heard this before.” 22:03 <VoxPVoxD> "I didn't, before. He's very... my New York friends would call it 'uptown'. Puts one in mind of steaming sewer grates, a smoky jazz bar, et cetera. I find it very appropriate." 22:04 <VoxPVoxD> "Anyway, that was you." She takes an incredibly good selfie, on his couch, with him just out of frame. "This is mine." 22:05 <banana> “Very American, but I like it.” The TrackCheck’s judgement doesn’t faze Sergio; she’s reminded of his creator(?) saying: I know who I am. He does pay some attention to the words. before listening to Willie’s track. 22:08 <banana> MISS WILLIE WELLESLEY 22:08 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQq8jzROdEk 22:08 <banana> “Keep the beat a little longer — keep the heat up in the pan — lives entwined can be divided.” 22:08 <VoxPVoxD> She blinks back tears. "It's changed." 22:09 <VoxPVoxD> "Not the song. But the malediction." 22:09 <banana> Sergio: “Soul music. I don’t get whether it’s meant to be a summary or a prediction.” 22:09 <VoxPVoxD> "It used to say: 'Make sure the beat never stops — she hasn't actually left the frying pan — one lifetime isn't enough to make a difference.'" 22:09 <VoxPVoxD> "As you say. Summary... or prediction." 22:10 <banana> “Right, I know this is hypocritical. However. That’s kind of spooky!” 22:10 <VoxPVoxD> Quietly: "Isn't it just." 22:10 <banana> “It’s like a stanza missing one line.” 22:11 <VoxPVoxD> "I say this to say: forever may not be on the cards we've drawn. But there's a lot of game yet to play. However hopeful these times may or may not be, no one can dispute they are most uncertain." 22:12 <banana> Now that they’re facing each other, Sergio can lean forward to press his forehead to Willie’s. 22:12 <VoxPVoxD> She meets it eagerly. "Forever can be forever's problem. Or at least tomorrow night's. But for now... if you feel the same... I'd very much like to continue seeing you." 22:12 <banana> Sergio: “I love your cooking. But I can’t have it every night.” 22:12 <banana> “Do you want to think of it as a dietary restriction? For now?” 22:13 <VoxPVoxD> Quietly: "Yes. I don't want to hurt you. I don't ever want to hurt you. We should be able to spend time like this. Just ourselves. Without blush or pretence." 22:14 <VoxPVoxD> Even more quietly: "Please don't hurt me." 22:15 <banana> Sergio makes a face like: :C. It’s brief. 22:15 <banana> “Come to bed. I’ll give you a key that you can use to leave in the morning.” 22:16 <banana> “Or whenever.” 22:16 <VoxPVoxD> "Gladly, darling."