>>3031412
Rosemary wants another think, and you're the host.

"I'm afraid you're going to need to tell me a fairytale," you say, "before you get another drink. I do have the stuff you wanted, though."

"Once upon a time," she says, "a bunch of men swarmed through my moor on their bellies. I killed them. Their friends couldn't even identify the bodies," and she gives a smile far beyond anything you'd ever want to see on a face like hers.

"Not the kind of faerytale you wanted?" she asks, entirely ignoring the magical girls around her in the kitchen, "so, once upon a fuckin' time I flipped off Titania & Oberon. They didn't give a shit even about the idiots who still left milk on their doorsteps. So fuck 'em."

>Let me rattle up Shakespeare, Spencer, and - just all those guys in general
>Is that 'fuck the faery royalty', or 'fuck the milk-givers'?
>Pretty sure your boyfriend's not in earshot, so are you saying you're an IRA faery?
>Well, ain't you the 'Star of the County Down'
>WRITE IN

>>3031413
>>Let me rattle up Shakespeare, Spencer, and - just all those guys in general

>>3031413
>Is that 'fuck the faery royalty', or 'fuck the milk-givers'?

>>3031413
>Is that 'fuck the faery royalty', or 'fuck the milk-givers'?
>Pretty sure your boyfriend's not in earshot, so are you saying you're an IRA faery?

>>3031413
>Is that 'fuck the faery royalty', or 'fuck the milk-givers'?
>Pretty sure your boyfriend's not in earshot, so are you saying you're an IRA faery?

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>>3031413
"Is that," you aks, "fuck the faerie royalty, or-"

'Rosemary' doesn't let you get farther, "YESSSS!" she hisses, and judging by the reactions of the other folks around her, she's putting out a substantial amount of pressure.

It barely fazes you - you're a dad.

But what you see in the split-seconds she's angry -

The oh dear god what - ohshitohshitohshitoh - thing you got a glimpse and feeling of for a moment there was terrifying - in a certain way. NOW it makes sense why Liska is friendly with her.

And you're damn glad 'Rosemary' is with your assistant, and not you. She's something that eats mortal men for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you'd run into something like her instead of Liska back then at that bar - you would be dead by now. The universe itself is impressing that fact upon your mind. The universe is, in general, only moderately truthful.

"- not 'fuck the milk-givers'?" you finish, standing tall.

"Hell no!" she says, as you let yourself look at her again, and see her as a tattooed woman with red hair again, "THEY are who matters! The fucking court-" she manages to get through, her voice rising in volume, before she's interrupted.

"What," 'Slice' asks, while leaning back against the oven, recovering from the earlier flood of pressure, "do you happen to know about subatomic particles?"

"I know they're a lot easier to read than a faery court," 'Rosemary' says, her earlier demeanor dripping off her like boiling mercury, then condensing, "you get to observe either where the are or -" she says, a bit savagely, then looks at 'Slice' for a very long few tense seconds.

"So we're not doing this," Slice finally say, staring the faery full in the face.

"No," Rosemary says, "but now I have the option on you tonight."

>You're both my guests - remember that
>Pretty sure your boyfriend was in earshot for that one
>Good god, were you with the IRA or something?
>And The Angel Of Death has an 'option' on you too
>WRITE IN

>>3031570

>You're both my guests - remember that
>alright lets get the drink out, You albeit fucking told a shitty story but one none the less

>>3031570
>>Pretty sure your boyfriend was in earshot for that one

>>3031570
>Good god, were you with the IRA or something?
Asking the real questions here.

>>3031570
> Hey Slice, do you know about subatomic particles?

Then whatever he says interrupt him

> I don't care what you think you know, but I'll bust your ass into a cloud of them if you're starting shit randomly because you're bored.

>>3031570
>You're both my guests - remember that
>Pretty sure your boyfriend was in earshot for that one
>And The Angel Of Death has an 'option' on you too

>>3031623
Supporting

>>3031570
>>You're both my guests - remember that

>>3031570
>>3031623
+1

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>>3031570
The other girls are picking themselves up, leaning on kitchen appliances and counters. Apparently that was a good bit of supernatural pressure.

"You're both my guests," you say, "please remember that. I don't like guests killing each other under my roof. And the Angel of Death also has an option."

"I thought she was gearing up to kill us all," Slice says to you out of the side of her mouth, still looking at Rosemary, then continues at the fae, "usually what happens after a flare like that. What do you mean 'an option', Rosemary?"

Maybe that kind of pressure affects different people different ways? It was less powerful than the usual.

Granted, your 'usual' is a girl who appears to have become a goddess, a dragon who's supposed to end the world, a fertility goddess who can cause floods with an unstable emotion, and a god of wine and madness, but Rosemary's little flareup was nothing compared to them. Even if it was a bit disturbing.

...and anyone in the house might have felt it, you realize.

"Faery stuff," she replies, leaning back against the refrigerator, "and all those stories were completely true. Anyway, thanks for giving me a threat without going off instantly. I was just mad about - remembering things that don't involve anyone here tonight," she finishes, grimacing.

"I'm pretty sure your boyfriend was in earshot for all that," you say, "and everyone probably felt it."

"Fuck," Rosemary says, looking past you.

You turn your head and see a row of heads peeping into the kitchen. Seems like that 'flare' drew an audience. Liska's tails are slowly waving behind them all, but Bernie's front-and-center, holding a ragdoll'd Reynold. Superfly has a hand on a wall to support himself. Ellie looks like she really needs a bag of popcorn in her hand.

Apparently the wizards were too busy arguing to notice anything. You can still barely hear them jabbering on.

"Is this yours?" Bernie asks, with an utterly draconic smile, managing to hold Reynold up with two hands.

What you feel is more of an implosion of pressure than a wave of it going outward, but confusion and terror may as well be written across Rosemary's face with a marker.

"He's alive," Bernie tells her, "just -" and he glances at you for a fraction of a second, "had the normal human response to that - display."

Reynold's eyelashes flicker, and you can see the relief spread over Rosemary's face.

"Didn't think I'd had THAT much to drink," Reynold says, rather groggily, "why am I in the kitchen?"

>Don't dump the truth on him
>Dump the truth on him yourself
>"Because that's where the sink is"
>Allow others to dump the truth on him
>WRIT IN

>>3033281
>>Allow others to dump the truth on him
They need to sort it out among themselves, but he did kinda try to screw us with that wire.

>>3033281
>>Allow others to dump the truth on him

>>3033281
>Laugh
>Allow others to dump the truth on him

>>3033281
>>Don't dump the truth on him
The Fey REALLY REALLY value their privacy and secrecy. I mean REALLY value it. One woman had an illusion cast on her so she thought she was helping a noblewoman give birth, in reality she was helping a Fey woman give birth and when she was applying ointment to the baby she got some ointment in one of her eyes. That allowed her to see reality and thusly realize it was a Fey she had just helped. She kept it a secret until one day she was selling pottery in town and a Fey walked by and looked like he was about to tip over some pottery and she told him to stop it.

He asked "You can see me?"
"Yes!"
"Which eye can you see me with?"
"My left eye!"
He then proceeded to rip it out on the spot.

Don't give away a Fairy's secrets without their consent is the moral of the story. She might not do anything but she will hold a grudge. It would be like telling your significant other you are an alien who steals babies and drains the life-force from people. Along with all the possible rejection and heart break that comes with that. She is probably deathly afraid of Reynolds finding out, not knowing how he will respond.

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>>3031603
>Asking the real questions here.
I think at this point, it's fairly clear that 'Rosemary' met Kelly in the IRA, and she's got a significant problem with the faery court not intervening on behalf of the mortals that cared about them during that fight. So more exposition isn't truly necessary, although it would probably be a very interesting story.
An actual spoiler: Part of the reason the faeries decided not to involve themselves was due to the varying loyalties of even the people who did respect the fae during that conflict. Rosemary is a very unusual faerie for defying them and going all-in on a side (the one she thought was most aligned with a love of the land itself), knowing she'd be punished and never allowed back into fairyland. So after that war was utterly lost (and with it, her reason for getting herself exiled), she started drifting around as a mercenary/assassin - because that's what she was good at.

>>3033281
>>"Because that's where the sink is"

>>3033281
>"Because that's where the sink is"
>Allow others to dump the truth on him

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>>3033281
"Because I wanted to be in the kitchen," Bernie says, suddenly sounding VERY drunk, "and you just happened to pass out on me right before that. Actually, why am I even holding you?"

"Because you're my boss' boss and all that?" Reynold asks.

"Probably," Bernie says, "would someone else like to hold this guy? I'm not sure he can stand by himself."

You barely manage to catch the look from that slit eye at Rosemary, but it's obvious he wants her to take your hapless assistant off his hands.

"Reynold," she says, walking over toward him and the dragon, "I think it's time to go home."

Superfly is extremely tense. Even you can tell - and it was always hard for you to read him at a poker table. But he's playing a different game right now, even if you're not sure what it is.

Or he just recently got flattened by supernatural pressure after hanging out in a house of very eccentric and powerful folks.

"Hey," Reynold says as she takes him from Bernie, "I swear to drunk I'm not as god as you think I am, even if you slammed me flat."

Rosemary falters, and now Superfly looks like you saw him look under live fire. And Liska is grinning as if she wants the sides of her smile to hit her ears. Fuck, was Reynold pretending to be that screwed by the 'flare' earlier and actually did hear the whole thing?

There are too many people playing too many different games here, dammit!

"You're really slammed," she says, "it was the beer, not me."

Reynold staggers forward into Rosemary's defensive arms. They're crossed over her chest before he manages to wrap his own around her.

"I felt you through the wall," Reynold says, "I - I - I - always knew. Sorry I didn't say anything."

There is probably only one time in any man's life he gets to see a fairy shocked completely out of her mind, a dragon smiling benevolently, and - well there are a lot of other expressions, but including them feels like cheating.

...And then someone trips and they're both on the floor, as you feel a bit of a spike in pressure from - a lot of people.

"I will fucking kill you," Rosemary hisses, "you are a dead man walking if you -"

And the moron shuts her up with a kiss.

>Let's...clear the room
>He's also a guest, don't kill him - here
>Confront Superfly about this honeypot operation he's been running
>You only live once anyway
>Pull the idiot off of the fairy
>WRITE IN

>>3033362
>>He's also a guest, don't kill him - here

>>3033362
>>He's also a guest, don't kill him - here
>Let's...clear the room
too many subplots. Let's let some of the minor ones resolve themselves.

>>3033362
>He's also a guest, don't kill him - here
>Let's...clear the room

>>3033362
>Pull the idiot off of the fairy

Fuck it. They got homes to go to, they can work the rest out there.

Then

> Confront Supafly about the honeypot.

>>3033362
>"Oh no you don't, we don't have enough guest rooms for this shit. Fuck him to death somewhere else."
>He's also a guest, don't kill him - here
>Let's...clear the room

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>>3033362
"He's also a guest," you say, as the fairy pushes Reynold's head up, her hand around his throat, "don't kill him - here."

She's completely ignoring you.

"You are going to fucking die, Reynold," Rosemary says, almost shaking, "if you keep -"

"I'm a human," he says, far more seriously than you've heard him speak before, staring down into her eyes, "I'm going to die someday. I'd rather - And it's not like I'll die tonight, right?" he finishes in a bit of a lighter tone.

"Let's," you say, sweeping your eyes around the kitchen, "give them a bit of privacy. Clear the room."

The girls who'd been listening to 'fairytales' are quite willing to decamp, and you're out in the hallway yourself soon enough.

...You really can't take listening to a man say he'd rather die young with his lover at his side than live out his life with her as just a fond memory. Nobody in this house is sane.

Although if he knew what she was before he went in for it, that's... another level of insanity.

At the end of the day, it's all their problem. Not yours.

But it ties into a few you've had. Bernie seemed to know the situation when he dragged the world's worst spy into the room, and Superfly was on the other end of the wire Reynold was wearing. It's beginning to feel like you've stumbled into a game played on stacked chessboards, with dominoes, cards, and checkers somehow involved as well.

And now you're a player.

So what's the next move?

>Superfly, did you set those two up? Uncle Sam's Lonely Hearts Club?
>As soon as our wizards are done arguing about the talmud, I need you all to leave
>Bernie, Superfly - I feel like I need to know what understanding you two have
>We're launching an expedition into the 'spheres' tonight
>Bernie, are you a matchmaker now?
>Liska, do I sound like that much of an idiot?
>WRITE IN

>>3033448
>Bernie, Superfly - I feel like I need to know what understanding you two have.

>Liska, do I sound like that much of an idiot? Because I agree 100% with him.

>>3033448
>Liska, do I sound like that much of an idiot?
Whatever option wins, I think this one deserves a mention

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Afraid I'm punching out.

Twitter for next runtime: https://twitter.com/HaikuDeluge
Archive for attempting to understand what's going on: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Shotgun

>>3033400
>they can work the rest out
Nice dubs!
>>3033375
>too many subplots. Let's let some of the minor ones resolve themselves.
This is one of the huge problems I'm running into writing this quest - there's a lot of stuff going on that the MC can't exactly step in to solve (although he does give a big push here and there), and isn't really deeply involved with, but it's happening around him and he's, well, the MC - so he has to see a lot of it as the viewpoint character, or it doesn't exist. At this point, I'm beginning to feel that a second-person narrator isn't a great fit for the story that's happening and the number of characters who have their own subplots the MC only gets glimpses of - and when the updates are a couple posts every few days, 'glimpses' feel like a lifetime.

>>3033448
>>We're launching an expedition into the 'spheres' tonight
Let's get barbeque #6 or whatever wrapped up


>do I sound like that much of an idiot?
This is a rhetorical question. We know the answer to this. Not a vote for it, by the way, just an observation.

>>3033448

>As soon as our wizards are done arguing about the talmud, I need you all to leave

>We're launching an expedition into the 'spheres' tonight

Let's get to some action.

>>3033448
>Bernie, Superfly - I feel like I need to know what understanding you two have
>Liska, do I sound like that much of an idiot?

>>3033448
>Superfly, did you set those two up? Uncle Sam's Lonely Hearts Club?

>>3033448
>Liska, do I sound like that much of an idiot?

>Bernie, Superfly - I feel like I need to know what understanding you two have

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>>3033448
In the general scramble in the hallway, you somehow washed up against Liska like an iron filing against a magnet.

"Do I sound like that much of an idiot?" you whisper into a fluffy ear.

"No," Liska whispers back, "just kissing her will kill him - eventually. More damage for other things. That's why he's always initiating, and she never will, even when she desperately wants it. She feels guilty about what it'll do to him. That guy's dead in a few years. He's a fucking moron."

Now that Liska mentions it - hasn't it always been Reynold pushing Rosemary down? Well, the times you've seen them, at least.

"You sound just as corny, though." Liska whispers, with her mouth right against your ear, "I've been stupid too - wish I'd left your earlobe there to bite it gently."

"I wish you had too," you mutter, "but we have a lot of fish to fry here. Surprised Bernie hasn't made an awful joke about my ear yet."

At least Liska manages to not laugh straight into your ear, although she has a very guilty look on her face.

Attractive, but guilty.

"Fry the fish," she whispers to you, "then FUCK me. And I'll fry those fish with you."

...foxfire is supposed to be a kitsune thing, isn't it?

"Not sure if I'm proud or disappointed to see my little brother as such a lovebird," Ellie cuts in, and you glare at her, "all that whispering - you should have a harem instead."

Liska growls at her, but Ellie probably gives you enough muscle to ask certain folks in the hallway a very awkward question. And that growl sounded oddly playful.

Suddenly it makes sense why Liska was so set against having a dog.

"Bernie, Superfly," you say in a louder tone, "I need to knows what sort of understanding you two have. Because I'm not quite dim enough to think Reynold being on my staff was blind coincidence."

"I have to cut some deals with Uncle Sam," Bernie says, barely missing a beat while leaning against the opposite side of the hallway, "sometimes that means government agents implanted in my business."

And he gave one of them to you? Fantastic.

Superfly looks like he's about to have apoplexy.

"And before you tell me," Bernie says, looking at Superfly, "part of the deal is that I don't give the game away - I'm pretty sure the game is in the open now. And whose dumbass idea was it to set up one of your guys with a Leannan Sidhe? That kid's dead. Did you give that order?"

"No," Superfly says, "she was Reynold's girlfriend before he was transferred to my team."

"Know if that was an assignment from his previous position?" the dragon asks, staring into Superfly's eyes.

"I don't have that information," Superfly says, gritting his teeth.

[1/2]

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>>3034861
"I know what your unit is," Bernie says, "and anyone transferring him to you as a dumping ground after chucking him onto a Leannan Sidhe wanted him to die. He probably knew something. Gentlemen," he says, grinning with far too many sharp teeth, "and ladies," he continues with a twitch of his head at Ellie and Liska, "do you want to pour gasoline on the chessboards and light a match?"

What?

"Hold it," you say, "I'm the only one who gets to make inflammatory speeches around here. The hell did you mean by that? And what did he mean by 'what your unit is'', Superfly?"

"I meant exactly what you've been talking about," Bernie says, a manic smile across his features, "assaulting the spheres. Creating a goddess. Destroying the rats. Threatening gods. Changing the MG contracts. I!" he says and grabs you by the shoulders, as Liska growls at him, "bankrolled popes. I bankrolled kings. I bankrolled scientific maniacs, and I bankrolled - anyone I thought could disrupt the world. It's a boring, grinding world most of the time - needs huge villains and unspeakable evils before it gets up off its haunches to tear their throats out. But it CAN! And you are about to pour gasoline over the stacked chessboards demons and gods and other fuckers have been playing on for thousands of years - and you're already lit the match. You are the match."

What? This makes less and less sense as he tries to explain it.

"Not sure Deuce is any kind of messiah," Superfly says, "good guy though," and he sighs, "I can be executed for saying this - summarily, no court-martial: We're SCALPEL - set up by those few in the government that knew about things, but weren't allied with the dark tentacles impaling our government, like one of those really low-budget tapes," he says, cracking a smile in your direction.

By this point, you'll be lucky if James Bond doesn't pop in after this this organization.

"Burn their chessboards with me," Bernie says, "or just burn them with him. Or make it a threesome. I don't think you can restrain your pet angel from it. And I really don't care who you do it with."

>Superfly, you don't think I'm a messiah?
>Well then, who's up to hit the spheres?
>Bernie, do I look like I'm doing this for your entertainment?
>If we're lighting the whole 'table' on fire - do we have anywhere near enough firepower to keep it aflame?
>Ellie, what do you think about these 'stacked chessboards?' And the games demons play on them? Butler might be helpful too.
>All of this is stuff people need to sleep on
>WRITE IN
I'm having a hell of a time coming up with good options etc. out of this one, or even stuff leading into good options.

>>3035033
>All of this is stuff people need to sleep on

I love the characters but this day needs to end. A good night's sleep can get everyone ready for sphere hopping.

>>3035033
>>Bernie, do I look like I'm doing this for your entertainment?
Dang it Bernie. Every time I think you're sort of ok you go and show how much of a dick you are.

The way he's talking, hitting up the spheres is a bad idea. We want to find and maybe retrieve Mary, not cause some sort of horrible cascade that kills loads of people.

I'm thinking we take as few people as possible to try and find Mary. Only people with direct yarnball connections, so we don't lose each other up there, and only people that aren't going to do more harm than good.

>>3035033
>>Superfly, you don't think I'm a messiah?

>>3034861
> "No," Liska whispers back, "just kissing her will kill him - eventually. More damage for other things. That's why he's always initiating, and she never will, even when she desperately wants it. She feels guilty about what it'll do to him. That guy's dead in a few years. He's a fucking moron."

Adding this problem to the backburner.

But hey.

Maybe it's fixable? What if we make Ray-Ray a champion of some Goddess so he gets her protection or something.

>>3035160
He knew what he was getting into from the start, and it is his choice to make, stupid as it was.

Let's leave this one be.

>>3035033
> Hey Bernie. Remember the deal we had? I still work for you during the day, but at night "we'll see"? The promotion and dealing with Dio was fine, but you put a fucking spy on me. Regardless of how it turned out, that was dragging the Night stuff into my day job. I'd like an apology. Also damages. You made him my responsibility, so look into if anything can be done for him like what you and Heinrich have. So sue me, I'm a romantic.

I feel like Heiny will swoon for this a little. Knights are weak to True Love, especially when it's tragic.

>Bernie, do I look like I'm doing this for your entertainment? You want to live forever, and end the world. I want to save my daughter. And her friends. And my brothers.
> I'm probably going to burn and break things doing so, but if you want in then it's time to shit or get off the pot.

> Want to join me for a drink? Otherwise this is verging into Night shift, and while you've been invited as a concerned party, you're only my boss at work.

>>3035186
See >>3035189

And he still has years left. It's not urgent.

On a practical level, it might also be good to find out why peeps might be trying to kill him.

But really, can the MC leave anything like this alone? This totes hits all his buttons, if Reynold was a 15yo girl he'd already be living in our house. Besides he pissed into the Gods cereal with us.

But you'll note that I delegated it to Bernie to deal with as a retaliation for making him our responsibility in the first place.

>>3035205
Practically, we have too much on our place already, as has been stated numerous times. We don't have time to deal with our existing issues, nevermind adding more. We don't have any idea where to even start in resolving that particular issue, and they both were fully aware of what was going to happen. And if there was any solution within reasonable reach, the Fae themselves would be aware of it.

Also he irritated me with the wire; after everything we'd done for him at that point, he was trying to snoop on us, trying to get us in serious trouble with the law.

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>>3035033
"'Ace' isn't a pet," Superfly tells Bernie in a dangerous voice, "we ain't dancin' to a dragon's tune either - guess that fact's out now, too?"

Bernie laughs.

If Superfly thought that was some grand revelation, he's completely out of luck.

"Bernie," you say, "do I look like I'm doing this for your entertainment?"

"No," the dragon says, "and that's exactly why it entertains me," then he hums a bar of something you may have fallen asleep to in a concert hall once, "I'm trying to negotiate a three-way alliance here."

"And you're doing a shit job," Heinrich says, stepping into the hall from a door still spewing wizardly disagreements, almost incandescent with rage, "you just HAVE to use that burning metaphor every time! Even if you're just saying sort of the same thing as everyone else. Is anyone here not opposed to demons and rats and gods and faerie courts and angels playing their games across the cosmos? Toying with our lives like we're chess pieces?" he asks.

You're not sure the knight exactly has the hang of the 'negotiating' thing either.

Because that does include a wide swath of the guests here. Although most of them don't seem to be playing those games.

"Cool," Heinrich says after a few seconds of silence.

"I'm afraid we're not entirely 'cool' here," you say, "Bernie, we had a deal that I work for you in the 'day', but the 'night' - well, Dio was pushing it, but siccing a spy on me -"

"I had to call a lot of favors in to sweep those satellites under the rug," Bernie says, grinding his all-too-sharp teeth, "some of those favors had costs."

"So it was your group," Superfly says, looking over at you.

You're not even sure if Bernie made that slip intentionally.

>You can all leave as friends, you can leave as neutral parties, or you can leave in the dumpster. Trash pickup is 5AM tomorrow
>How about we consider the proposal - as Heinrich stated it?
>That was an accident
>What satellites?
>WRITE IN

>>3035293
>>Like I said no weapon I have could down those satellites. I made that abundantly clear Superfly, I expected you to be able to read subtext.
>And said costs just caused you too break not just one, but now two agreements. Great job.
>Now to paraphrase the angry knight and angry dragon, are we going to agree to kick the shit in of the "higher powers" who fucked with our lives or no?

>>3035293
>>How about we consider the proposal - as Heinrich stated it?

>>3035293
>>What satellites?

>>3035241
> if there was any solution within reasonable reach, the Fae themselves would be aware of it.

A MAJOR narrative theme here is that magic people don't talk to each other, so DOUBT (X).

Just be honest about not liking him instead of trying to backseat QM things just so you can say no to ideas.

>>3035293
> What satellites?

> Siccing a spy on me *without telling me*. I'm doing the courtesy of trying to include you, and yes I'm willing to admit when I've made mistakes. But you did this intentionally. Was it a little trouble thrown my way, or a knife in the dark? Did you even know yourself?

> DID YOU SET THE FUCKING SPOOKS ON ME TO GET THEM TO TAKE ME OUT, BERNIE?

>>3035293
>>>Like I said no weapon I have could down those satellites. I made that abundantly clear Superfly, I expected you to be able to read subtext.

Actually this instead of "What Satellites"?

>>3035363
support-tan

>>3035293
>>Like I said no weapon I have could down those satellites. I made that abundantly clear Superfly, I expected you to be able to read subtext.

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Punching out.

Twitter for next runtime: https://twitter.com/HaikuDeluge

Desperately wish I could get into a couple of these conversations and argue points without bearing the weight of "the QM said" on my shoulders about even my opinions.

>>3035363
>Actually this instead of "What Satellites"?
That's a much better way to get across the same concept I was going for with that option. And it ties in with Superfly's recent 'not a pet' line, and his attitude toward the kids he's running.

>>3035293
>Like I said no weapon I have could down those satellites. I made that abundantly clear Superfly, I expected you to be able to read subtext.
> And Bernie, it's one thing to send a spy to me. It's another to do so without telling me. That crossed the line, and you know it. I've gone out of my way to include you, and I already handled my agreed upon portion of the cost for the satellite. Hell I even provided Supes with evidence that I don't have anti-sattelite equipment.
> You *owe* me for this. Or you can get the fuck out now and you better hope we won't be seeing each other on Monday. Better an enemy in front of me than an enemy behind me.

>>3035549
Just samefag.

But also, let's include Heinrichs "Toying with our lives" bit, it's rather ironic that he's saying that considering what Bernie is doing.

We aren't going to just change the players on the board, we're going to smash it, and Bernie better consider what that might mean for a Dragon who thinks he's above it all.

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>>3035293
"Like I said, Superfly," you tell him, as Bernie backs off, "and you verified - I have no weapons," and you dart your eyes at Slice and Mach to drive the point home, then stare at Superfly again, "and no pets that could kill satellites."

Superfly twitches his head at Mach, and you see that wreath of sparks around her bangs again.

Well, he wants this off everyone's books.

"I get it," Superfly says, "you haven't changed at all, Deuce."

"I've only gotten better," you say, "and I expected you to get the implication the first time. and you-"

"I needed to make sure," he says, "this side of the world runs on trust. Trust, but verify."

That's... wow. And he sicc'd a spy on you?

"Speaking of which, Bernie," you say, "I think you happen to have - 'given away' a lot of games tonight. Trust?"

"We can't negotiate if it's not all on the table," the dragon says, "when we're burning the chessboard."

"I happened to notice dragons were absent in your litany," you say, looking at Heinrich, "of things 'toying with our lives'. And..." you trail off, looking back at Bernie, letting the statement hang in the air for a few seconds.

There's no way in Hell or out of it that he'll assault you in this hallway. Ellie, Liska, most of the magical girls in earshot, too many wizards, and possibly even Superfly's folks would take him. You're guessing Angus would be out, and that heretic priest - he'd stand back and watch, or come in wherever he could cause the most chaos.

Yeah, it'd wreck your house.

Small price to pay for slaying a dragon, if you remember your fairytales right, you think, as you see W and Kelly dart into the hall closet out of the corner of your eye. There appears to be some mutual manhandling involved.

"Bernie," you say, very quietly, staring into those reptilian eyes, "you dumped a spy on me - maybe bounded by a prior agreement, but that crossed a line we agreed on. So when are you going to put your cards on the table? I went out of my way to include you in this."

"You know my cards," the dragon says, and you feel some supernatural pressure, "also, there's a clause in your employee contract at the firm where I can insert a 'government auditor' into your department, without saying anything. Look - let's not fight about this. If someone crashes the spheres, we're all going to die. I'm tied to Malkuth. So are you."

That's probably something only a wizard could make sense of. And the fine print is - you always hated lawyers.

But this may be the only time you've seen Bernie look scared.

>I'll let you know when I need backup going into the spheres - you volunteered two guys
>The roots of Yggdrasil, huh?
>You're not a bad boss, but you're an awful equal
>Did anyone else see that?
>You're not coming out on top of the ashes of the chessboards
>WRITE IN

>>3045062
>The roots of Yggdrasil, huh?
>I'll let you know when I need backup going into the spheres - you volunteered two guys

Fucking dragons.

>>3045062
>My bad for not reading the smallest lines, then.
>The roots of Yggdrasil, huh?

>>3045062
>>You're not a bad boss, but you're an awful equal

>>3045118
Supporting

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>>3045062
"Well," you say, "my bad for not reading between the smallest lines, then. But - did we make that bargain in the day or the 'night'? Because I hear trust is all that matters in the 'night', Bernie. Unless the contract is magical."

You can barely feel the dragon's pressure now.

Judging by Superfly's clenched jaw, and some other reactions, that isn't because he's slacked off.

Shit, you're doing it again, you realize. But wasn't the power you can flare supposed to be mostly Mary's overflow? Or something?

Well, you've added a number of people, and nobody really knows how this works.

All you know is - it's not like the first time he threatened you in an elevator.

"And I trust you as far as I can throw you, right now," you say.

Fucking dragons.

"I believe," Bernie says, "I gave the information to you two as soon as I could," he says, slicing his eyes between you and Superfly as the pressure lessens, "by various terms of agreement, and in hopes of creating some sort of alliance. In good faith."

The playing field is slightly more level after that disclosure, but...

"And you're loaning me two guys in good faith?" you ask.

"Best Gnostic hermeticist heretic in a thousand miles," Bernie says, "a minotaur, and whoever he wants to take with him. That's a pretty good show of faith."

It would be, if you thought he cared about them coming back.

"So why aren't you coming?" you ask, "you don't want anyone else ending the world."

"I told you why," Bernie says.

You're no wizard, but you have done some research into myths, once you heard they might be true. And there are two 'trees' people claim as the universe. Malkuth is the base of the Sephirot, but Bernie's - Jormungandr's from...

"Entwined in the Roots of Yggdrasil, huh?" you ask.

Alright, the expression on his face means you either hit the nail on the head, or the hammer slipped and hit his toe.

"That's my hand," Bernie says, then smirks, "decent job guessing the last card. Oh, and Johnson," he says, looking at Superfly, "if you didn't already know, that one needs to go no farther than it has."

"That's half the reason we're dealing with you," Superfly tells him, "and why-" he gestures subtly at the sparks around Mach's head.

"Thank god for that," Heinrich sighs, "Bernie, you need something like that at the office."

>Bernie, I'm pretty sure you have more cards I should see if we're going all in
>Bernie, is this the 'boon' fairytale dragons give?
>Well, I need you two to deal with the town, and the government, while I'm away
>Mach, you'd better not destroys the lights in here too
>You guys have fun - I have wizards in the closet
>WRITE IN

>>3045389
>>Well, I need you two to deal with the town, and the government, while I'm away
>>Mach, you'd better not destroys the lights in here too
Replacing the lights will be annoying, but scattering glass in the middle of a party is just asking for a bad time.

>>3045389
>Well, I need you two to deal with the town, and the government, while I'm away
>Mach, you'd better not destroys the lights in here too

>>3045409
Supporting

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>>3045389
"Might give a few clients some peace of mind," you say, looking at the knight, the dragon, and your old battle buddy in turn.

What goes unsaid is that if Reynold was wearing a wire in the firm, during confidential consultations with clients, everyone involved has probably broken several laws. While they might all have different reasons for scoffing at those, and could get away with it, it's still on the table.

"Not a bad idea," Bernie says, "I like knowing only the people I can see are listening, myself. Good asset," he finishes, nodding at Superfly, then smiles kindly at the girl. Well, as kindly as a dragon can smile.

"Speaking of things we need," you say, "I need you two to deal with the town, and the government, while I'm away."

"We'll be sticking around under federal authority to investigate anyone operating an ASAT," Superfly says, with a wink in your direction, "and co-operatin' with the local law enforcement and any upstanding local businessmen," and you can almost hear the edge in his voice as he looks at Bernie, "who assist us in our investigations."

"Tell our dear chief of police," Bernie says, as a muffled scream rings out from the hall closet, "that I'll be happy to work with him in a friendlier capacity - if he's willing to do the same. Also, W's been keeping order in his part of the city, but he's probably going with you."

You nod, then ask your wife, "Liska, can you keep these guys in line?"

"I've been bullying my brothers for years," she says, with a positively evil grin.

"Well," you ask Superfly and the dragon, "shake on it?"

'Peace in our time' is accomplished in a series of handshakes. You're not entirely sure how much you trust either of them, but they do have some vested interest in keeping things here from going too far south, and you'll be leaving a lot of your folks behind...

Ellie grimaces, as the screams from the closet intensify.

"Hey, Mach," you say, looking at the magical girl, "good work - but you'd better not kill the lights again."

Superfly nods at her, and the sparks disappear. Once they're gone, you can see sweat on her forehead, "thanks, I guess," she says, "thought you guys would never finish dickwaving."

Then Kelly bursts out of the hall closet, blood dripping from one hand, yelling "it won't come off, you drunk idiot!" into the closet, and addresses the crowd: "bandages. Disinfectant? I'll take vodka, too."

You point him down the hall and thank the stars that Melon's somehow still asleep through all this.

W stumbles out of the closet a second later.

>I need some sort of explanation for that, W
>Ellie, you ok?
>W, we're talking city defense - who covers for you when you're gone?
>Let's get back to partying. Not even in the top three oddest things tonight. [talk to WRITE IN]
>WRITE IN

>>3045721
>W, we're talking city defense - who covers for you when you're gone?

>>3045721
>>W, we're talking city defense - who covers for you when you're gone?
The Wizards will tell us if that was important. Maybe.

>>3045780
Sure I guess. Supporting.

>>3045721
>>W, we're talking city defense - who covers for you when you're gone?

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>>3045721
Well, if it's important, they'll tell you about it later. And if they had to do it in the closet, it means they wanted to keep it a secret from the other guests. Probably could have just used your bedroom, though.

"W," you say to the slightly unsteady wizard, blatantly ignoring whatever just happened, "we're talking city defense during the expedition - who covers for you when you're gone?"

Alright, that wineglass definitely wasn't in his hand a second ago. W takes a sip, seemingly to steady his nerves a bit.

"Shirley," he says slowly, "she is my heir, after all. She knows the ropes. Wait," he says, "does that mean I'm going?"

"Haven't quite decided yet," you say, although he's probably the safest option, "but I wanted to be sure you had someone. She'd have backup, of course. And be working with these gentlemen as well," you finish, gesturing at Bernie and Superfly, while giving W a look indicating you think that might be some trouble.

He gives you the slightest of nods, and takes another sip, "alright. I think she's still arguing with," and he waves his glass in the general direction of the dining room, which is emanating sounds of a discussion in several languages.

Then his gaze drifts to Ellie, and you realize your sister's giving him a rather intense stare. No pressure, yet.

"Then if that's settled," W says, swishing his wine with his usual composure, "I think I need to top off my glass," and he shoves his way through the crowded hall, presumably toward the ersatz bar in the living room.

"Mind the faery in the kitchen," Bernie tells him, smirking as the wizard passes him, "so," he says, bringing his gaze back to you, "now that we appear to have settled things, I think I'll be withdrawing. I can leave my loaners here - if you're in any condition to launch tonight."

>No, but I think we need to discuss [WRITE IN]
>It's been a pleasure having you - some of my parties are worse
>That was next on the agenda
>I think you'll find Angus sleeping on the recliner
>WRITE IN

>>3045944
>>It's been a pleasure having you - some of my parties are worse

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I'm fading out for the night, I think.

Next runtime on twitter: https://twitter.com/HaikuDeluge
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Shotgun
Character/Notes Sheet (mostly updated): https://pastebin.com/1PQhyGrZ

>>3045409
>>3045586
>>3045597
Fun facts: 'Mach' is possibly the most valuable member of Superfly's team, which is why she gets away with all the insults and such. A walking radio jammer / white noise generator is a godsend for the sort of 'would really prefer no third parties are listening in' stuff they do routinely. Wizards, magical girls, and other supernatural things with great combat stats aren't awfully hard to find (if one knows where to look), but her specific 'utility' abilities are a bit rarer.
Of course, this means she hears a lot of conversations she probably shouldn't, which also increases her value as an intel asset for anyone who doesn't like Superfly. Another reason he keeps her close.

>>3045944
>>It's been a pleasure having you - some of my parties are worse
>>That was next on the agenda
Mary was not looking great ast we saw her. Let's finally get this rescue mission moving.

Thanks for running.

>>3045944
>It's been a pleasure having you - some of my parties are worse
>That was next on the agenda

>>3045952
Thanks for runnin'

>>3045960
Agreed. We really should get on to finding mary asap.

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>>3045944
"Oh," you say, "it's been a pleasure having you. Some of my parties are - worse."

"Do drop by again," Liska says, in the tones of a devastatingly polite hostess from a prior age.

"I've had a lovely evening," Bernie tells you, slit eyes slithering in his skull, "and thank you for your hospitality - the food was quite amazing," then he looks at Heinrich and says, "grab the heretic. We're out."

It doesn't take too long to see Bernie and his small group out of the house. The 'priest' may know something about the spheres, but you just don't like the guy. He'd probably spook Mary, too. Luckily, Karen didn't go off when Bernie threw a sleeping Angus out of your recliner onto the floor - that was one hell of a wakeup call for the minotaur.

Hopefully your floor will be ok, too.

"So-" you say, standing in the foyer, listening to a luxurious engine depart your driveway.

"I fucking hate dealing with dragons," Superfly says, interrupting you.

Well, that's one more thing the two of you have in common.

"I heard you'd been dealing with that one for a while," you say.

"Look, Deuce," Superfly says, "nothing's happening here. We had a party - glad to to see you again, man. Guess we'll get going, too."

"The," Ace says, a fell light in his eyes, standing carefully out of Superfly's reach, and he looks at Mach and twitches his hand. Sparks circle her head again, "hell we will - if they're going in/up, I am too."

"Screw you for calling that favor in right now," you can almost hear Mach whisper.

"Superfly," Ace says, staring the man down, "I am going with them. You want to pull everyone else out? Fine."

"They're going 'in' after someone they lost," Superfly says, very levelly, "Ace - you actually going AWOL on this? They probably don't even want you tagging along."

The tension in the air rises a bit, and you glance around. Liska's standing with you. Ellie's vanished somewhere. Sue, and a few other magical girls, are looking in from the living room. None of your wizards are in sight.

Well, you could all probably take a half-angel.

Your house probably can't.

>Pretty sure Mary just wants to see her nearest and dearest right now
>Ace, we are not your free ticket out of Malkuth. If you come, you're WITH us
>Ace, they ever teach about 'insubordination'?
>Superfly, I'm glad you came tonight (and I'm glad you're all leaving)
>Maybe next time, but this one's... personal, not an assault
>WRITE IN

>>3047520
>>Maybe next time, but this one's... personal, not an assault
>Pretty sure Mary just wants to see her nearest and dearest right now
>Superfly, I'm glad you came tonight (and I'm glad you're all leaving)
Ace is the half-angel, right? Is there a subtext I'm missing with him wanting to go with us to the spheres? This seems like an odd sticking point for a guy we've known for a few hours at most.

>>3047527
He seems to think that someone is destroying God’s work by crashing the spheres into each other. Combined with the heretic saying God is dead, Death losing his sting to a mortal, Ellie dragging most of the Dukes of Hell, The rats forcibly reincarnating agents for thier will, and the Rats apparently hoarding energy? Either God is working in some damn mysterious ways or all is not well in Heaven.


>>3047520
>Pretty sure Mary just wants to see her nearest and dearest right now
>Maybe next time, but this one's... personal, not an assault
>This is an in and out, maybe we’ll get some actionable intel but we are nowhere near ready for an Assault yet.

>>3047520
>Pretty sure Mary just wants to see her nearest and dearest right now and if you end up destroying my house there's even less of a chance I'd take you with me. Didn't Supafly teach you some manners? You've not bothered to even ASK any of us if we'd let you tag along in the first place.
>There's probably going to be a second trip to ambush the rats and/or maybe relieve them of whatever they've been hoarding. HEIST!Why don't you use the time until then to actually give Supafly some reasons why he'd let you go on that mission without resorting to threats or violence?
>Do you actually know any good advice about people that recently became gods?
>>3047541
That actually makes even more reason we need to be quick about this now that I think of it. If he ascended anywhere near regular heaven then she's spawning right into the middle of a clusterfuck.

>>3047520
>Ace, we are not your free ticket out of Malkuth. If you come, you're WITH us
>Pretty sure Mary just wants to see her nearest and dearest right now
>However when we go in with a second wave, I'll make sure to give SuperFly a call.

>>3047527
>Ace is the half-angel, right?
Yeah, it's that guy. Same dude who got his throat punched in by Superfly (and apparently just regen'd it after a bit) when he started floating and referring to himself as 'we' earlier.

>>3047566
...which was triggered by the 'priest' saking Ace a particular phrase in Hebrew, which Bernie slapped the 'priest' down for.

Dear god, that's been a month or more in real time.

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>>3047520
"Maybe next time," you tell Ace, staring down his albino eyes, "but this one's... it's a personal visit, not an assault. And Mary probably wants to only see only her nearest and dearest right now."

"Doesn't matter if it's an assault," Ace says, "the wizards don't know about flying between spheres - well, I probably gave them enough pointers. And Superfly, I'm not losing it."

"We're not your other half's free ride out of Malkuth," you say.

"Hey," Ace says, "Mach, Superfly," then yells, "KICKER! Yeah, you! JIM! Doubter! Slice! Fuck me up if I go nuts here!"

"Fuck," Superfly breathes, "Ace-"

"I'm not losing it again," the boy says, "but it's good insurance. And I trust you guys to do it."

Then he looks at you, as the various members of Superfly's team converge into the foyer behind you. You can almost feel his eyes vacillate. It's a different kind of dualism than Rob's, but you dunked on a nerve earlier. He's trying to make sure it doesn't go too far south - or at least that his group's responsible if it does. That's pretty respectable.

And then he looks over your shoulder.

"Jim," he says, "thanks for everything, and I hope you took good notes tonight. They should help."

"And I'm sorry for everything," James says from behind you, "except what you're thanking me for. And probably most of that, too."

"Don't apologize, man," Ace says, putting up a strong front, "we - already had this conversation. And don't go too far 'up'. You'll just die out somewhere death isn't a reality."

Wait, what?

"Thanks, Mach," Ace says, and you hear the silence in the wake of the sparks, and then he looks back to you, "and thanks for dinner."

Ok, you really don't envy Superfly for his team.

"You're welcome, kid," you say, "know anything about people who recently 'went up'? Or became gods?"

A very odd look passes over his face, and he says, "how long do you think my other part's been 'down'?" and turns away toward the door.

Superfly looks you in the eye and twitches his head, just a bit.

>Glad you folks could come over tonight
>There's probably going to be a second trip we could use some firepower on...
>Well, they say we're all struggling with our demons, but you're struggling with an angel
>At least there was no massive property damage this time
>WRITE IN

After midnight, guess I'm bailing. I have got to start earlier in the day, and I think I went through several drafts on that one post.

God, it's getting cold where I am.

Next runtime on twitter: https://twitter.com/HaikuDeluge

>>3047565
>Ace, we are not your free ticket out of Malkuth
That was a great line. It triggered a reaction, but it was a great line nonetheless (so I had to include it).

>>3047619
>>Glad you folks could come over tonight
>At least there was no massive property damage this time

>>3047629
Supporting

>>3047619
>Glad you folks could come over tonight
>There's probably going to be a second trip we could use some firepower on...

>>3047626
we're so far out of the fields of study I know.

>>3045944
>It's been a pleasure having you - some of my parties are worse
>That was next on the agenda
Been Having a series of early Christmases, not enough time to catch up and join most threads.

>>3048892
Forgot to hit update, AGAIN.
>>3047619
>Glad you folks could come over tonight
>There's probably going to be a second trip we could use some firepower on...