12:10 <VoxPVoxD> What is Aaron up to while Mari's spirited Samantha away for a chat? Where does Willie find him? 12:12 <Crion> Sipping on something that looks suspiciously like neat brown liquor, probably 18 year scotch if you've had any exposure to performative masculine Americans of Aster's age -- and Willie surely has -- while watching Samantha's drink. He has a fundamental lack of trust for party-centric Changelings. 12:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie seems to float towards him, mainly by dint of the effect the glamour has on her dress. She's not as blissed-out as she was earlier, though she's far from in a bad mood. "Want some company?" 12:16 <Crion> Aster opts for, "I wouldn't object," rather than 'No.' 12:18 <VoxPVoxD> Willie sits beside him. "Thank you for sparing my feelings." She's got a tall glass of something clear and bubbly on ice with a lime wedge in it. "I have never seen a rug so savagely cut." 12:18 <Crion> Aster: "Excuse me?" 12:18 <Crion> "Is that an expression, or...?" 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do they not say that in America? 'Cutting a rug'?" 12:19 <Crion> "Not in Philadelphia, at least." 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> "Interesting. Well, I meant to compliment your dancing. You could do Strictly. With a heretofore unknown degree of strictness." 12:21 <Crion> Aster sips his Macallan, or whatever they've stocked as top-shelf at what surely isn't a completely open bar. "I at least know that one is a British television show." 12:23 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles. "We'll make an Englishman of you yet." 12:23 <VoxPVoxD> "That is a credible threat." 12:24 <Crion> He sighs. "Samantha is threatening to apply for naturalization. I could tell she said it with an 's.' Defecting to the enemy." 12:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Really? I love that for her. A smart, no-nonsense magic detective solving crimes in a big city... it'd do numbers on BBC2." 12:26 <VoxPVoxD> "Speaking of credible threats..." 12:26 <VoxPVoxD> "Did you know there was a Councillor here?" 12:27 <Crion> Aster: "What, a city councillor?" 12:27 <VoxPVoxD> "A night-city Councillor. Ms. Barrowsmith." 12:28 <Crion> "Ah. Her." 12:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "She waylaid Sergio a bit ago." 12:28 <Crion> "The woman insufficient to the task of scaring teenagers." 12:29 <VoxPVoxD> "I think she could have done, if she were willing to conjure carpets of phantasmal maggots like she did to frighten me and my boyfriend." 12:30 <Crion> Aster: "Sounds very carny." 12:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "No, no meat. Just maggots." 12:31 <Crion> He shakes his head. 12:32 <VoxPVoxD> "Sergio came to me afterward and told me she had some pointed questions about our allegiances. Whether we're working for Vie, whether we're instigating a coup, and so on." 12:32 <Crion> Aster: "They are legitimate questions." 12:32 <Crion> "Whose answers, legally speaking, I should know as little about as possible." 12:34 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yeah, I don't think she was out of bounds. Luckily, I think she is satisfied. I believe our collective position - and yours in particular - is secure." 12:34 <VoxPVoxD> "I may have some work to do on my end. But that's a 'me' problem." 12:35 <VoxPVoxD> "I've begun drafting arguments for why the destruction of the Gardeners was not just necessary but desirable for all involved stakeholders." 12:36 <Crion> Aster: "Excellent. That'll simplify things. Thankfully those arguments will have the advantage of being true, even on...some of the stakeholders'...own terms." 12:38 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes! Very much so. One of the boys from Gorton is here tonight. Grandson of wolves, I think. Maybe a great-grandson." 12:38 <Crion> Aster frowns. "They let a child in here?" 12:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Apparently he was the only one available to fulfill the rite. He takes it quite seriously." 12:40 <VoxPVoxD> "A lot of people have put work into this hill. A lot has happened under the Tatterdam." She gestures at the great tree spreading over the party. 12:40 <Crion> Aster: "'Rite?' They're not about to sacrifice him, surely." 12:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I believe he's here for the same reason Zeno's superior, and Letitia's sire are. That there is some multilateral pact in the bones of the night-country, and that many delegates have a ceremonial part to play, anchored by the Seelie King." 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> "Perhaps the closing ceremony of the night, before Bob's secret Winter Soldier adventure." 12:42 <Crion> Aster: "That's unsettling. If all these supernatural monsters became friends, it might go poorly for us mere workaday monsters." 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> "I do hope he's sobered up by midnight..." 12:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins. "There is always a less natural monster." 12:44 <VoxPVoxD> "I had a couple of the hill people convinced I was begging them to eat my soul or something, but they just took a little nibble instead." 12:44 <Crion> Aster: "How drunk is he? He seems like the sort who might be less prone to reflexive cowering when he's had a few." 12:45 <Crion> To the latter, Aster nods: "Reaving. Or reapering. I don't know which term they prefer." 12:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Drunk enough to rant at Sergio earlier, but sober enough to dance without stepping on my feet after that. The trajectory is good." 12:45 <Crion> "Excellent." 12:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "And I think, if the Hill has access to the kind of money to pay us, they will be a ready source of work." 12:50 <VoxPVoxD> "They are far more protective of their members than the magicians or the Kindred." 12:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie likes the proper noun, so she's resolved to use it more. 12:50 <Quaker> Badawi: “Depends on the magicians.” 12:50 <VoxPVoxD> "Ah! Agostina." 12:50 <Crion> Aster: "Perhaps so. They're certainly less dangerous in their resting state than the casual violence of the vampires, but-- Hello Badawi." 12:51 <Quaker> She’s wandered over from the firepit. 12:51 <VoxPVoxD> "I love your dress," Willie says again. 12:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Janissary offered us a job through Rolf. Did you hear?" 12:53 <Quaker> “Thank you. It’s nice to discover that I still fit in it. It turns out that a year of sitting on my ass went by without incident, fashion-wise.” 12:53 <Crion> Aster: "Through Rolf?" 12:53 <Crion> "Inauspicious." 12:53 <Quaker> Badawi sips her Presbyterian. “What was it?” 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Something about breaking into or disrupting a leyline complex." 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> "If he was willing to let it go to Rolf I assume your colleagues already know, but, couldn't hurt." 12:54 <Quaker> Badawi: “Janissary is a high-ranking Seer of the Throne.” 12:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yeah. Did you see his TrackCheck? Dreadful." 12:55 <Crion> Aster grunts. "Money's good, then, but the job is likely to be unattractively political." 12:56 <banana> Aster hasn't drunk much. He's been watching all these people, even though or perhaps especially because they are people. Up at the high table, a bronze-masked man in a pointed helm just turned round to look directly at you. 12:56 <Quaker> Badawi: “I think it’s a good policy to consider that detail automatically disqualifying, now and in the future.” 12:56 <banana> He's making apologies, then... walking this way. 12:56 <banana> Badawi picks up the approach a moment later. Figures. 12:56 <Quaker> “There’s working for Kindred tyrant rebels, and then there’s working for the actual enemy of all human beings.” 12:56 <VoxPVoxD> Willie had two drinks like two hours ago and then she got blessed with vitality. "You'll hear no argument from me." 12:57 <Crion> Aster: "Bronze man on approach from our 11 o'clock." 12:57 <Quaker> “Believe it or not, I do have a limit.” 12:57 <banana> The alleged enemy of all human beings is coming straight for you. 12:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie doesn't see any of this, so Aster's got her to look up. 12:57 <VoxPVoxD> Oh, that's why he's called that. 12:57 <Quaker> Badawi waves at the approaching figure. “Hello, masked man.” 12:58 <VoxPVoxD> "Good evening, sir. Enjoying the party?" 12:59 <banana> The soldier raises a mailed hand, palm open in greeting. His voice is deep and calm. "Hello, and hello. It seems I'm being referred-to, for a second time tonight." 13:00 <Quaker> Badawi: “Do you have a Google alert set up?” 13:00 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Is this what it means to master meaning?" 13:00 <Quaker> Yeah, that’s right. Agostina feels like being a HUGE BITCH to at least somebody tonight. 13:01 <VoxPVoxD> Solidarity. 13:01 <banana> Janissary: "No alert... but I answer search queries. May I help you with anything?" He's probably smiling behind the mask. Sounds like a smile. 13:01 <Crion> The annoying thing about this specific type of magic is he can't even make a joke about history classes being annoying, because he's aware that their bullshit can tell the difference between 'Janissary' and 'janissary.' 13:01 <Quaker> Badawi: “Are you allowed to take the armor off when you clock out?” 13:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Is it true that you are handmaiden to the architects of all human misery?" 13:02 <Crion> Impolite, and also impolitic. But men like this love flattery. 13:03 <banana> To Badawi: "Certainly." To Willie: "In the fevered visions of cultists." 13:04 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods amiably. "Am I right to guess that you are here tonight in an official capacity?" 13:04 <Crion> Aster just sips his scotch and considers the man. 13:04 <VoxPVoxD> Willie feels like this man has to have a sense of humor. You wouldn't get a parody song if you couldn't take a joke. Not even a Blurred Lines parody. 13:05 <banana> He bows with a little rattling noise. "I am also a civil servant. The main ceremony's in about ninety minutes, and I recommend staying if you're up to it - the affair is brief but impressively solemn." 13:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'm very much looking forward to it." 13:06 <Quaker> Badawi: “Wow. So are you, like, in charge of a bunch of people?” 13:07 <banana> Janissary: "Yes. You don't need to sound quite so unimpressed." 13:07 <Quaker> Badawi: “I’m not unimpressed. That’s just my voice.” 13:07 <Quaker> “Do you have an official title?” 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> That's how she's always sounded when Willie was around, 13:09 <banana> "It's a party, Mrs. Badawi. If your 'Nameless House' takes up some sort of contract, we'll do titles and business cards." 13:09 <banana> He looks around a little, theatrically, like- any further questions? 13:10 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you believe in God?" 13:10 <banana> This guy's fierce mien and ironical air somehow convey exactly what he's trying to get across. 13:11 <Crion> Aster would ask why he even bothered coming over here, but it's incredibly clear why he bothered coming over here. Seer or otherwise, they just so love to preen. 13:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie appreciates a preener. 13:11 <banana> Janissary: "I believe in the necessity of God." 13:12 <Quaker> Badawi: “So if you and the Night-Mayor had to fight, who do you think would win?” 13:12 <Crion> As the college students say, Willie, believe people when they tell you who they are. 13:12 <VoxPVoxD> That's why it's ever so important to give them the set-ups they desire! 13:13 <VoxPVoxD> The double act is one of England's most refined artforms. 13:14 <Crion> Benighted country. 13:14 <banana> "It doesn't look like you need my help after all," the masked man tells Agostina. "I'll let you enjoy the dance." 13:14 <Quaker> “So the Night Mayor?” 13:15 <VoxPVoxD> Morecambe and Wise, Reeves and Mortimer, Fry and Laurie, Lee and Herring, Mitchell and Webb... quite a long list. Even America's most classic double act was half-English! 13:16 <Quaker> Abbott and Costello were both American… 13:16 <banana> Janissary doesn't attempt one last quip or anything. If nobody stops him, he just ambles off - although the armour makes it hard to move any other way than by striding. 13:16 <Crion> Aster has no opinion on this particular disagreement. He doesn't strike you as a man who watches comedy, broadly speaking. 13:16 <Quaker> Badawi follows him. 13:17 <Quaker> “So the Night Mayor?” 13:17 <Crion> Aster: "And she's off." 13:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I love when she gets like this." 13:17 <banana> After a moment, Janissary: "You're following me, girl. Is this question important to you?" 13:18 <VoxPVoxD> "Ohhh, man, you know who would hate him?" 13:18 <VoxPVoxD> "Ultim Vados." 13:18 <Quaker> Badawi: “I’m just walking here. Why?” 13:18 <Crion> Aster: "I suspect men like him, if not he himself, are part of the reason he lives in a ritually-warded underground cave-bunker, yes." 13:20 <banana> Seer: "Because if it's important, I'll answer it. Otherwise, if you're only attempting to push boundaries, I'll set one. 13:20 <Quaker> “Also, ‘girl?’ How old are you?” 13:20 <Crion> "Eventually she's going to do this to someone without a sense of humor and with a lot of free space on their schedule and it will end unfortunately. But I suppose that's the same for all of us." 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You can't go through life worrying about omnipotent sadists." 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> "I don't know how the magicians do it." 13:21 <Quaker> “I’m just walking with you. Do you often make weird threats at women at parties when they walk towards you instead of you walking towards them?” 13:21 <Quaker> “Is the suit of armor like a metaphor?” 13:21 <Crion> Aster: "Mostly irresponsibly, with unfettered access to dangerous sources of power." 13:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, expansively: "Oh, yeah." 13:23 <VoxPVoxD> "Do you know anything about home security?" 13:23 <VoxPVoxD> "I just bought a house." 13:24 <VoxPVoxD> Home security seems like an appropriately middle-aged thing for Aster to randomly be an expert on. 13:24 <Crion> Aster: "Absolutely." 13:25 <Crion> "Are you talking about a centrally-monitored alarm system with a company, or something that actually works?" 13:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins. "Brilliant. I'm not worried about burglars, but, you know..." 13:26 <VoxPVoxD> "Bob was giving the vampire we interviewed unprompted security tips about her spooky lair when we went to interview her." 13:26 <Crion> Aster: "What the hell is wrong with that man?" 13:27 <VoxPVoxD> "He might be too heterosexual to live." 13:28 <banana> Janissary mutters something to himself - not trying to get the last word, just invoking a mnemonic. He sets a Boundary. 13:28 <Crion> Aster: "Anyway. Are we talking about security for a location you like, respect, want to live in socially and want to show off to others? Or are we talking about a safe house?" 13:28 <VoxPVoxD> "I was looking for perhaps a less ACME perspective than he might offer. I adore Bob, but... he is a bit, you know." 13:28 <VoxPVoxD> "Bob." 13:28 <banana> The man Badawi's walking beside... simply isn't important to her. He's no more significant than any random partygoer; less, in fact. There's no reason she'd want to interact with him in particular. 13:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "How much more work is a safe house than a house that's safe?" 13:30 <Quaker> Ugh. Magic- 13:30 <Quaker> She walks back to Willie and Aster. “Who 13:30 <Quaker> She walks back to Willie and Aster. “Who’s in charge of the party again?” 13:31 <Crion> Aster: "Less. Much less. All the hard work of a safe house -- as opposed to a residence you want to live in -- is encapsulated in choosing its location and its profile within that location." 13:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "King Plape holds the crown until midnight, at which point it passes to Mr. Starling." 13:31 <Crion> Aster: "One of the changelings, surely. Yes, them." 13:31 <Quaker> Badawi: “Okay. I’m going to go lodge a complaint.” 13:32 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Did he not answer you?" 13:32 <Quaker> Badawi: “He hit me with a spell, unprovoked.” 13:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That does seem like a breach of decorum, yeah." 13:33 <Quaker> “Nothing too bad, I don’t think, but…you know. It’s the principle.” 13:33 <Crion> Aster: "Entirely unprovoked?" 13:33 <Quaker> “Anyway, I’d love to get him in trouble.” 13:33 <VoxPVoxD> Maybe she should try to get Barrowsmith in trouble for doing that vile Evil Dead shtick. 13:33 <VoxPVoxD> That's a bit bitchy, though. 13:35 <Quaker> “Don’t let these ones get away with anything. They love to power trip, pretend like there’s no rules. Don’t tolerate it even for a second. We’re not prey, they’re not predators. Just people. Most with extremely anti-social tendencies that they love to indulge.” 13:35 <Quaker> “Plus I brought the, uh, Winter King a present. So I bet he’ll be inclined to listen to me.” 13:36 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You might run into Rolf at the high table." 13:36 <Crion> Aster: "Well then. Good luck." 13:37 <Quaker> “Rolf is a lot of things, but you can bet that he’d be with me on that.” 13:37 <Quaker> Badawi: “Want to see what the present is?” 13:38 <VoxPVoxD> "Absolutely." 13:41 <Crion> Aster finishes his scotch, but nods. 13:41 <Quaker> Agostina reaches into her satchel and pulls out a cylinder. 13:41 <Crion> How much does it look like a pipebomb, on a scale of 1 to 5. 13:43 <Quaker> It’s a kaleidoscope, made of brightly polished glass. On one end is an eyepiece, and on the other are four large multi-colored discs and a series of smaller triangle, each made of spirals and whorls of colored glass. On the middle section of the cylinder is a thin plate of polished black metal, etched with gold designs of snowflakes and spiderwebs. There’s lettering on the plate, also in gold. 13:44 <Quaker> I, who have felt the horror of mirrors /Not only in front of the impenetrable crystal /Where there ends and begins, uninhabitable/ An impossible space of reflections 13:44 <Quaker> But of gazing even on water that mimics /The other blue in its depth of sky /That at times gleams back the illusory flight/ Of the inverted bird, or that ripples 13:44 <Quaker> And in front of the silent surface/ Of subtle ebony whose polish shows/ Like a repeating dream the white/ Of something marble or something rose 13:45 <Quaker> Today at the tip of so many and perplexing/ Wandering ears under the varying moon/ I ask myself what whim of fate/ Made me so fearful of a glancing mirror 13:45 <Quaker> Mirrors in metal, and the masked/ Mirror of mahogany that in its mist/ Of a red twilight hazes/ The face that is gazed on as it gazes 13:45 <Quaker> I see them as infinite, elemental/ Executors of an ancient pact/ To multiply the world like the act/ Of begetting. Sleepless. Bringing doom. 13:46 <Quaker> They prolong this hollow, unstable world/ In their dizzying spider’s-web/ Sometimes in the afternoon they are blurred/ By the breath of a man who is not dead. 13:46 <Quaker> “My friend gave it to me. Pretty cool, I think.” 13:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That's beautiful. Is that Borges?" 13:48 <Quaker> Badawi: “Mhm.” 13:48 <Crion> Aster: "Hrm. Very impressive. An excellent regift." 13:49 <Quaker> Badawi: “Well, not really a re-gift. More like he suggested I give it as a gift, to a changeling. Old friend, he’s got plenty of experience with these sorts of social things.” 13:50 <Crion> His eyes narrow. "Indeed?" 13:53 <Quaker> Badawi: “They are ‘clocked-in’ to the whole…” She waves an arm at the Magic. “You know.” 13:54 <VoxPVoxD> It's probably not cursed. 13:54 <Crion> Aster: "Well, as long as it's not some kind of secret trap for them." 13:54 <VoxPVoxD> Willie would be pretty surprised if it were cursed. 13:55 <VoxPVoxD> Reasonably surprised. 13:56 <Crion> Aster: "Unshockingly, devices of mysterious provenance urged to be given as gifts that require the recipient to use them and are engraved with Meaningful Poetry trend towards the top of the lists in that regard." 13:56 <Quaker> “Well…” She looks at it. “Nah. I don’t think so.” 13:56 <Quaker> “But you think the poem is alright? Not too…upsetting?” 13:56 <Quaker> “I don’t want them to cry.” 13:56 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'm not qualified to sensitivity read on behalf of the fae." 13:57 <Quaker> “Well, tears of appreciation would be great. Not the other kind.” 13:57 <Crion> Aster: "This is the Winter Court. I think making them cry is the point." 13:57 <Crion> "Hmm. Actually, are you giving this to Plape or the new regent?" 13:57 <Quaker> “The Winter One.” 13:58 <Crion> "Then yes, crying is broadly their thing." 13:58 <Quaker> “Excellent.” 13:59 <Quaker> She holds the brass toy out. “Want to give it a try? It should work just as well in moonlight.” 13:59 <Crion> Aster: "Have you already tried it?" 14:01 <Quaker> Badawi holds it up and points it at the moon. 14:01 <Quaker> Very nice. 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "May I?" 14:03 <Quaker> She appreciates the shifting panels and softly sliding constellations. The trick is in accepting and appreciating the beauty of any given moment in a constant process of change. 14:03 <Quaker> Badawi hands it over. 14:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie points it at the moon, which is not bloodshot, against a sky which is not burgundy. "It's so delicate..." 14:06 <Quaker> “You should definitely file a complaint with someone if that vampire did something.” 14:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "She didn't, really. Maybe she did to Sergio. But he's far too masculine to complain." 14:08 <Quaker> “I mean, shouldn’t those be our ground rules for when we’re dealing with these critters? One, don’t fuck with us. Two, pay us in full and on time.” 14:09 <Crion> Aster: "I would reverse those two, personally." 14:09 <Quaker> “They’re always going to break Two if they think they can get away with breaking One.” 14:10 <Quaker> “Did you ever find out why all these elders couldn’t just drive off some teens on their own?” 14:11 <Crion> Aster: "They considered it beneath them, which is a more evolved form of laziness." 14:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "The Wolf-Mourners were outrageously reckless, and they still paid us." 14:11 <VoxPVoxD> "D'you think that was Seer money?" 14:12 <Quaker> Badawi: “They probably have private donors. Like a magic WWF. Non-profit kind of thing.” 14:12 <Crion> "I think the only thing mages on either side have to worry about in terms of money are the macroeconomic effects of putting too much directly into circulation at once." 14:14 <Quaker> “Somehow the mages have been less condescending than the vampires.” 14:15 <Quaker> “Well. The ones we worth with.” 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Vampires seem to spend an inordinate amount of time either bored or terrified." 14:16 <VoxPVoxD> "It doesn't breed civility." 14:16 <Crion> Aster: "The vampires over here have been exceptionally condescending. But they have yet to rival mages who worked for Barack Obama's Department of Homeland Security." 14:18 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What were they like?" 14:20 <Crion> Aster: "Imagine Janissary but more neurotic about letting you know he knew you were talking about him and entirely conversant in The West Wing." 14:20 <VoxPVoxD> Willie wrinkles her nose. 14:20 <Crion> Aster resists the urge to look over at wherever the bronzed jackass might be. 14:21 <VoxPVoxD> The very idea of noncomedic show about politics... disgusting. 14:22 <Quaker> The reference is lost on Badawi. 14:22 <Quaker> “You know, there has been something I wanted to ask you two…” 14:23 <Quaker> “Bob and Rolf would probably be a little bored by it.” 14:23 <VoxPVoxD> "Mm?" 14:23 <Crion> He watched some of it with Samantha when she decided it was time for a rewatch for her. They stopped after the season one finale, but only because she wasn't about to admit that she was done with it around episode 10 or so. 14:23 <Quaker> “Aster, you can access CCTV cameras, yes?” 14:23 <Crion> Aster: "Certainly." 14:24 <Quaker> “And we could use more surveillance across the city, right?” 14:25 <Crion> Aster: "We could. It is a contingent and taxing process, however. Not a resting state I can trivially access." 14:27 <Quaker> Badawi: “Even if you’re not accessing them in the moment, we could keep the tapes. Mobile cameras placed wherever we want would be useful. Some mobile storage facilities could also be useful. All with a plausible cover.” 14:28 <Quaker> “So, hear me out…” 14:28 <Quaker> “What if we start buying some food carts? Hot dog stands. We can put cameras on them. Man them with local teenagers. Place them wherever we need to.” 14:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What, like a front?" 14:29 <Quaker> “Well, they’d also be real hot dog stands. It’d be a nice side business at the same time.” 14:30 <Crion> Aster: "I have no ethical objection to blackmail -- perhaps some dignity-based ones -- but I would note if we want tapes, we will need tapes. I don't do recording, sadly." 14:30 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Passive income. Very sigma." 14:30 <Quaker> “Get to employ local youth, get to make money, get to have cameras wherever we want. Win-win-win.” 14:30 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'm into it." 14:31 <VoxPVoxD> "I'll set aside some of our vampire cheque for seed money. Or bequeath it to you if they Get Me." 14:31 <Quaker> Badawi: “Do the English even eat hot dogs?” 14:31 <VoxPVoxD> "Of course! We love ethnic food." 14:32 <Crion> Aster: "Fuck's sake." 14:32 <VoxPVoxD> That one always knocked 'em dead in New York. 14:33 <Quaker> Badawi: “Chicago dogs are actually really good.” 14:34 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That's the one with eleven different kinds of pickle on?" 14:35 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. And they kill you if you ask for ketchup, if you listen to them talk." 14:36 <Crion> "Not that I have much room to criticize a city for being psychotic about their mascot food, coming from Philadelphia." 14:36 <Quaker> Badawi: “Yes. Pickle, peppers, tomatoes. Steamed poppy seed bun.” 14:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That does sound good." 14:38 <Quaker> “I’ve got some contacts with wholesalers. We can get the carts pretty quick. Then it’s just a matter of fixing them up in the shop before they go out on the street. And we can hire a business manager, have them file for incorporation in their own name, all that.” 14:39 <Quaker> “We just have to decide what kind of hot dogs we want…” 14:39 <Quaker> “I wonder what the best hot dog is…” 14:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I will point out that if we're going to be opening multiple legal businesses, it'll behoove us to stay on good terms with the WASC." 14:39 <Quaker> “Do you two want to go to the food table? I could eat.” 14:40 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I just had an enchanted sausage roll." 14:40 <Quaker> “Enchanted…to taste good?” 14:41 <Crion> Aster sighs. "I can put us in touch with Henry. You've met Henry. Henry the First. He'll have to countersign all the forms." 14:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It had some springtime magic in it. I felt like I hadn't just been dancing for 3 hours. Then I let a pretty girl in a porcelain mask nibble at my emotions a bit to even back out." 14:41 <Crion> For the hot dog business. 14:42 <Crion> Aster: "Ah, so the food is drugged. Good to know. I'll stick to hard liquor." 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> "No, he did the magic in front of me. I asked." 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> "The food's just food." 14:42 <Quaker> Badawi: “Wow. Does he work in a restaurant?” 14:43 <VoxPVoxD> To Badawi: "I'm not sure!" 14:43 <Crion> Aster: "So you didn't feel the emotional uppers before you asked?" 14:43 <VoxPVoxD> "Correct." 14:43 <VoxPVoxD> "He was very explicit that accepting the food would enchant me." 14:43 <Crion> Aster: "Hmm. Well, maybe if there's something low-calorie and no sugar." 14:43 <Quaker> Badawi: “Speaking about enchantment, does Bob….belong to the changelings now? I’m not sure what’s been happening lately with him.” 14:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "He's becoming something like a made man, I think." 14:44 <Quaker> “I know he passed that test, but is he a…full-time member of their thing, now?” 14:44 <Crion> "He is playing with their toys and is well on his way to being bent to wield their sword." 14:44 <Quaker> “Huh.” 14:44 <Quaker> “Is that good?” 14:44 <VoxPVoxD> "I think if you told Bob there was a sword he would beg to wield it." 14:44 <Crion> "I'm not especially concerned. Yet." 14:45 <Crion> "This is a higher level of complication than any of the rest of us have embarked upon, however." 14:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "And not for lack of trying." 14:46 <Quaker> “So you can just ask to join?” 14:46 <Quaker> “I thought you had to be nabbed the Elves.” 14:46 <Quaker> by the* 14:46 <VoxPVoxD> "He's not becoming seelie." 14:46 <VoxPVoxD> "He's just being sworn into their organisation." 14:46 <VoxPVoxD> "Don't you hold some nominal rank among the magicians?" 14:47 <Crion> Aster: "My impression is they're granting him some sort of magic. That is a threshold to be crossed." 14:47 <Quaker> “In Manchester? Strictly unofficial, on an ad-hoc basis. More like a recognition of merit than a formal title.” 14:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods. "It's a great boon. But it's qualitatively different than becoming a fae." 14:49 <Quaker> Badawi: “Hm.” 14:49 <VoxPVoxD> "Sergio volunteered to feed me some of his blood. Well he started to volunteer, and then got embarrassed and gave up mid-sentence." 14:50 <Quaker> “Aren’t ghouls…brainwashed? Enslaved? Magically?” 14:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes, vampire blood is enthralling." 14:51 <VoxPVoxD> "But they've got him bound, so he had to convince himself it's not that big a deal." 14:52 <Quaker> “Is there some kind of third option for vampires around here?” 14:52 <Quaker> “The two we’ve seen so far don’t seem very exciting.” 14:53 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes and no. There are organisations outside the political structure of the Council and Vie... but they aren't political organisations. You have to put up with the WASC to do business in the night-city. They are In Charge." 14:54 <VoxPVoxD> "Insofar as you mean faultlines in an ideological and political feud, like between the Diamond and the Pyramid, I think we've seen our duopoly." 14:55 <Quaker> Badawi: “Is it possible for Sergio to leave his current masters?” 14:55 <Crion> Aster makes a sound in his throat at this positively rosy description of an 'offer' of blood enslavement. 14:55 <Quaker> Behind her mask, she looks a bit embarrassed. “Sorry if that’s a sore subject. Nevermind.” 14:56 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, coolly: "I couldn't possibly comment." 14:57 <Quaker> “Maybe we should join the changeling clubs, if they’re letting ordinary people in to learn their tricks.” 14:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Well, Bob did them a great service and earned their trust." 14:58 <Quaker> “Bit refreshing compared to every other kind of critter we’ve encountered.” 14:58 <VoxPVoxD> "But yeah. I quite like these seelie folk." 14:58 <VoxPVoxD> "They're... normal." 14:58 <VoxPVoxD> "Well they're odd, but in a normal way." 14:58 <Quaker> “They do seem less insane.” 14:59 <Quaker> “The Winter ones seem a bit depressive, though. Are they all like that?” 14:59 <Quaker> “The seasons, I mean.” 15:00 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I think the seasons have particular emotional resonances for them." 15:01 <VoxPVoxD> "I doubt it's like a mood ring." 15:01 <Crion> Aster: "They have...narrative conceits? Let's say narrative conceits." 15:01 <VoxPVoxD> "Dreams and stories." 15:02 <Quaker> “Like archetypes in a theater troupe.” 15:02 <Crion> "I believe the way it works is that these Winter Courtiers can feed on or get off on or, I think the term they prefer is 'harvest,' the emotions of happy and/or fulfilled people, but sad sacks are more nourishing." 15:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie makes a face. 15:03 <Crion> "Bob must have been a particular treat for that spider-girl because he's somehow both a world historical depressive and a hyperactive at the same time." 15:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It's not like that." 15:03 <Quaker> “Wow. They must be raking it in hand over first in England.” 15:03 <VoxPVoxD> "No, it can't be. It's— have you ever been fed on?" 15:03 <Crion> Aster: "It is my business not to be." 15:04 <VoxPVoxD> "Well it's enervating. If they were using Bob as giant can of Monster Energy he would be completely zonked. But as I've known him he's only gotten more energetic." 15:04 <Crion> To Badawi: "There's a lot of joy here in England. Brexit night must have been the happiest on the island since the Blitz, to hear the weird lumps tell it." 15:05 <VoxPVoxD> "Weird lumps whose closest contact with the war was watching Dad's Army as children." 15:05 <Quaker> “What are the other Courts about, then?” 15:05 <Crion> "After all, it's nowhere in the rules that you have to be happy about things it's smart to be happy about." 15:06 <Crion> "Autumn is fear, for obvious cultural reasons. I think Summer is anger. Or wroth. Or wrath." 15:06 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'm not sure. I know that the Autumn Court has an affinity for enchantment, that the Summer Court keeps a sort of vigil within the Hill, and that the Spring Court are caretakers and hospitality-givers." 15:07 <VoxPVoxD> "Fear would make sense. The woman who fed off me claimed I was afraid." 15:07 <VoxPVoxD> Primly: "That was not my experience of my own emotions." 15:07 <Quaker> “Starting to suspect that relatively few of these occult compacts were founded by well-adjusted sorts.” 15:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Adjustment is always relative to the mean. We are on the long tail of probability out here." 15:09 <VoxPVoxD> "But... yes. The seelie folk have as a common experience... intense violation. A truly traumatic common bond to forge a community out of." 15:09 <VoxPVoxD> "But they manage. They manage well, it seems." 15:10 <Quaker> “Well, this is all pretty carefully stage-managed. I’m sure they’re a bit less appealing on any given Sunday.” 15:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I've met them socially a few times. They're not this Much but they are still lovely people." 15:11 <VoxPVoxD> "Bob's girlfriend is very charming. Sumiya, who invited us, is a delight." 15:12 <Crion> Aster: "They have a man running around named Cult with a v with ridiculous hair and akimbo pistols." 15:12 <Quaker> “Spring sounds nice. I’m not sure about the others yet.” 15:12 <Crion> "But the fact that he's the most ridiculous member of their lot that I've met so far -- Bob excluded -- reinforces Willie's point." 15:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I want to meet some Summer People. I haven't yet." 15:15 <Quaker> “I believe Rolf’s tenant’s twin is Summer. Liam, the bartender. I paid off his ‘debt’, too, so he should be feeling grateful. At least, he better be.” 15:17 <Crion> Aster: "In Philadelphia, at least, summer was when we had our biggest problems with the changelings. Not all the time. We went multiple years without incident, multiple times. But...well. There are many things to be angry about." 15:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yeah it's a lot harder to inveigh against the breadth of human emotion than, like, 'I want to drink all your blood' or 'I want to drink all your blood in a Che shirt'." 15:18 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, I suppose they would wear that fucking thing." 15:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you think they appreciate the irony of subsisting entirely on violence while idolising Britain's most famous pacifist?" 15:21 <Crion> Aster: "Probably not, but I prefer the current state of affairs to them trying to turn him." 15:23 <Quaker> Badawi does not bring up politics. 15:24 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Honestly, good on the WASC, though. Every single thing I've heard about Vie - including from them - has been abominable." 15:24 <VoxPVoxD> "It sounds like it was a real improvement in circumstances, for vampires." 15:24 <VoxPVoxD> "Manchester sounds like a much nicer city to be a vampire in than it was in the 70s." 15:25 <Quaker> “I’m going to get something to eat. Would you both like to go with me when I give the King-to-Be his inaugural gift, and also lodge a complaint over the outrageous and unprovoked magical attack on my person?” 15:25 <Crion> Aster: "Certainly." 15:25 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I've got your back." 15:25 <Quaker> “Hopefully they have some Wigan kebab…”