[X] Mixing family and business can go too far. Buffy stands firm on the issue and tells her dad he'll have to make a profit some other way.

If/when this goes badly, I for one do not want it on Buffy's conscience that her dad decided to meddle with forces he doesn't understand. Not to mention, the "already gotten themselves dirty enough" slope is not one I want Buffy sliding down. That's the course to corruption and apathy (see: Angel S5) and it's a seductive enough influence for politicians when they aren't on top of a Hellmouth -- let's at least try to keep her above that. Her mental health, to no small extent, apparently relies on a certain level of moral/ethical righteousness, and I don't wanna roll the dice with that...certainly not over something as petty as Hank's business interests.
 
[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.
 
[X] Mixing family and business can go too far. Buffy stands firm on the issue and tells her dad he'll have to make a profit some other way.
 
[X] Mixing family and business can go too far. Buffy stands firm on the issue and tells her dad he'll have to make a profit some other way.
 
[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.
 
[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.

If her dad ends up becoming a big shot in demon advertising I will not be surprised. It seems like something that will happen or a possible subplot. Like how Faith seemed interested in Buffy in cannon.

But I think her dad taking a deal away from wolfram and hart would be great. A alternative to them would be helpful for Buffy and her plans for world domination. Actually just attacking wolf ram and hart financially does not count against her contract. She can not physically attack them or report thire crimes to the state. But she can take away money from them. And money is their biggest power on earth.
 
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[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.
 
Let's call it in 12 hours. Andrew needs some time to prepare if he's gonna do this.
 
[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.

Great story!
 
[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.

Just seems more fun. It'll have blow back for Buffy, but it is unlikely to be blow back against things I care about so much as amusing blow back.
 
It's demon summoning time!
Adhoc vote count started by DeAnno on May 3, 2020 at 1:33 PM, finished with 23 posts and 15 votes.
 
I am hoping Buffy's dad pulls one over on Sour. While sour is a demon Buffy dad works in advertising, those are some real cutthroat people. While demons are more physical dangerous humans can be even more ruthless than them.
 
S4.0E2: Coming Out IV
[X] She's already gotten herself dirty enough this summer that she doesn't really have a leg to stand on. Andrew should be able to summon Sour up and her dad can sell the demon soda on the game show if that's really what he wants to do.

The clean room at City Hall had changed since their first use of it months earlier; a pattern of elaborate runes covered the walls, floor, and ceiling, and aside from that, the standard issue door had been replaced with a heavier metal one, sealable from the outside. Unlike the Emerald City runes from Buffy's dream though, these ones didn't glow; the room was still lit by a couple fluorescent lights. Overall, it really looked the part of a secure location now, instead of just an emptied office space.

Buffy's dad was pretty impressed with it all. "I thought you kept everything dangerous in the basement at the Watch House. Is this a departmental thing?"

"All of that was down here first, but we moved the vault away from the clean room at the behest of our computer savvy coven leader," Andrew said. "Ever since I exposed Amy's foul treachery, she hasn't taken any chances with security."

"Wouldn't be great if some big nasty broke loose from a summon and a bunch of really dangerous toys were across the hall for the taking," Buffy explained.

"They can break loose?" her dad said. "I thought this was safe?"

"Buffy's here, so it's safe," Harmony said brightly. Her girlfriend wasn't exactly needed for any of this, but when she'd heard they'd be talking to Sour she'd wanted to tag along. She'd been a little annoyed with him while they were actually on the show, but repeated rewatchings of her own antics on video had apparently given her a much more positive opinion. Buffy wouldn't complain if that was how she wanted to spend her Sunday.

"It'd be safe anyway," Andrew said. "Pretty safe."

Kathy was inspecting the walls. "These are really nice binding runes. I recognize the style and seeing it here is like seeing fine wine at a Doublemeat. No offense or anything." Buffy had expected Anya to help with the negotiation herself instead, but given Kathy's new role it made sense. It might have also had something to do with it being short notice on a weekend.

"They're so cool right? My powerleveling knows no bounds." Andrew said. "I read about them in the Codex Nefaria Acrimonia."

Buffy had been leery about Andrew summoning various demons out of hell dimensions and chatting them up in the past, but considering the 'foul treachery' he'd been able to expose she'd given him some latitude. His government sponsored gossip hadn't borne much more fruit since then, but he claimed he'd been building a real intelligence network. Nobody else who worked for her had been able to gainsay it, so it might even be true.

"So what do we do exactly?" her dad asked. "Do we have to sacrifice something?"

"That's so sixteenth century," Andrew said dismissively. "I already set everything up with the targeting runes, so now we just need to join hands while I do the incantation."

Buffy was about to grab her father's hand for reassurance, but Kathy got between her and Andrew, and then Harmony was already on her left. He ended up between Harm and Andrew, looking more uncertain by the second. Well, it wasn't exactly too late to back out, but Buffy was hardly going to call it off now. Better he get a lesson in demons from Sour than some random one that might eat his face.

Andrew started before he decided to say anything, chanting in a humorously deeper version of his usual voice:

"Sour the show-host, to you I call,

Sour, the patron of prizes for all,

I bid thee for parlay, I open the way,

Anybody can win, they just have to play."

The electric lights flickered and buzzed, and there was a feeling of anticipation, but nothing else happened. "He's probably busy," Andrew said disappointedly. "Maybe if we wait a few hours and then-"

"Sour, I don't have all day, just get yourself up here," Buffy said. Her dad was so not getting out of this that easy. If they didn't talk to Sour now he'd probably get himself into trouble some other way, without her to look out for him.

The lights flickered again with blinding static, and then Sour was in the middle of the circle, brushing some dust off his shoulders. His blue suit still had some patches of it left, but none was sticking to his red skin. "I was a little busy getting things ready to film later today. But for you Buffy, I can make some time."

"Hi!" Harmony waved, letting go of her dad.

"Aren't we supposed to stay in the circle?" He asked fearfully, looking at his empty hand.

"The circle doesn't really do much of anything, it's just good manners," Kathy said. Everyone decoupled with varying degrees of awkwardness.

"This feels so much less dramatic now," Andrew said.

"Anyway, where are you shooting? Do you think the contestants are gonna win?" Harmony continued. "I'm always bugging Andrew to get the new episodes, but it takes way too long sometimes."

Sour chuckled lightly. "This one's a tribal princess in the Crazy Melty Place. It's kind of a hassle getting the equipment to work there, but the viewers just eat up exotic locations. And she might have a chance, if she can get one of her Chaos Demons to go along with her."

"There's more than one Chaos demon?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, if she brings both of them she's totally screwed," Sour said. "But enough spoilers. Why'd you fine folks ask me here? Someone looking to make a bet? I've got another time slot open in two weeks."

Buffy had wanted her dad to explain his idea himself, but he was still spooked, so there was an awkward pause. Kathy misinterpreted it as general indecision, so she started talking herself. "We've got more than just another contestant. We have a huge opportunity lined up for you to participate in one of today's most quickly emerging markets! Earth!" She gestured expansively outwards, presumably encompassing the whole planet instead of just the clean room.

She continued, "Hank Summers is a big shot caller at LA-AD, and with his connections to local enterprises you could market all kinds of exciting Earth-made products on your show! He's already got Kero Cola lined up, and it'd be perfect for the log roll event, wouldn't it?"

"Funny that a classy dame like you should be so enthusiastic about a rustic place like this," Sour said. "This is slumming it for a noble Mok'tagar, isn't it?" Kathy wasn't demoned out or anything; now that Buffy thought about it, she'd never even seen her demony. She looked impeccably human to Buffy, but Sour might be seeing on another wavelength or something.

"I'm happy to be here! Earth's culture is one of relentless innovation, and more demons need to learn about it!" Kathy proclaimed. "They don't have the same obsession with the old ways that pervades the so-called 'Civilized Cosmos'. They do new things, with attitude! The younger generation's totally into the bright lights and fresh breezes of Earth."

"Bright lights and fresh breezes, huh?" Sour said. "And maybe certain other fresh things too?" His smile showed human-looking teeth, but it was unsettling all the same.

"There's a lot to like," she replied.

"Confident. That's great. But it's not you I'm here to really deal with, is it?" He turned to face her dad. "So you're the father of Buffy Summers, everyone's favorite new celeb? Or unfavorite, I suppose, for those of a more evil persuasion."

"Yes," he said haltingly, trying to find his voice. "But the important thing isn't really who I am, it's what I can do for you. LA-AD's a big firm, we've got all kinds of connections. If you start working with us, soon you'll have more and better partners than you'll know what to do with."

"I will, will I?" Sour drawled. "Honestly, I already do. But maybe that's not too important. I can see that shaky look in your eye, you got thrown in the pool and you barely know how to swim yet. At the same time, you're begging favors of your daughter to drag you into the deep end. Only way it adds up is if things aren't going so well for you at work. Miss a few shots lately? Had a couple bad quarters in a row?"

If that was true, it was news to Buffy. "Dad, you're not going to get fired or anything, right?" He had missed her birthday last year because of something to do with a bad quarter, now that she thought about it.

"I didn't want to worry you or your mother on my account," he said. "And I can still turn it around."

"Absolutely you can," Sour said. "But if you really want this deal to go down, you've gotta be willing to put something of yours up."

"I'm not sure that's-"

"No soul bets today, Sour," Buffy interrupted with a voice that brooked no argument. Even if dad would lose his job otherwise, it absolutely wasn't worth it. He could get a new job easier than he could get a new soul.

"That's right!" Andrew agreed loudly. "This is officially a no-soul-dealing zone. Any demon negotiations in this room are one hundred percent above board."

"Ruin a guy's fun," Sour said. "Well, I guess it's no great shame. Would practically be a repeat with you and yours helping out again, and we should wait another season or two for that."

"Would you do the deal anyway then?" her dad asked hopefully.

"Well, not for nothing," Sour said. "But I guess it doesn't have to be anything dangerous. After all, we've got Ms. Danger and her busty sidekick right here already. The viewers love them."

"I'm really popular? Like, with everyone?" Harmony asked, not debating being a sidekick.

"They love you both," Sour confirmed. "And with you two here, together, it's a big opportunity." He was facing Buffy when he said that, so neither Andrew nor her dad saw him raising his eyebrows on the word together. Could he know? About her and Harmony? Who was she kidding, of course he did. He'd found out all kinds of random stuff for the show, and he clearly knew the dirt on her dad's job, it was probably some annoying power of his or something.

Buffy kept a poker face, but Harmony was too excited to notice the innuendo and asked, "An opportunity for what?"

"Well, he wants me to do product spots for him." Sour pointed at her dad. "Maybe you two could do one for me." And he swung his veiny hand back at Buffy and Harmony. "The Horae Watch presentation has gotten pretty tired in the last couple years, and I'm hocking some more of them today. You two are wearing yours; you could help me film something real special for the projector, we could really get the crowd back into it."

"That sounds so exciting!" Harmony said. "As long as you want to do it, that is."

"Is this idea kosher?" her dad wondered. "There's kind of a stigma against active politicians doing spots for goods and services."

"Not a problem for his audience," Kathy said. "Away from Earth the ruling class is more feudal than electoral, and as the Slayer Buffy is sort of like the Bogeyman crossed with the Dalai Lama already. It'd be like an endorsement from a popular African Warlord."

"Completely above board," Sour agreed. "Just like your little demon summoner over there said."

"So this would just be us saying what great watches these are right?" Buffy probed.

"It might be a little more than that," Sour said mischievously. "My viewers like things to go a certain way, if you know what I mean. You two would have to follow my script for it to count. But it wouldn't be anything you haven't done with each other before."

His wording was not reassuring in the least, but he was still dancing around the issue. Buffy tried to think of a way to clarify what was going on without outing her and Harmony to everyone there. "You wouldn't happen to have an example I could look at, would you?"

Sour snapped his fingers, and a scroll of parchment appeared in her hands. She opened it up to see red handwriting. "This isn't quite what you'd be doing, mind, this was a bit I had Thrashk'lok the Pummeler do with Trevarya Fleeara a few years ago. But it's close enough to get the point across, I think."

Buffy scanned through the content, and it was just as she feared. There was a kiss at the end.

Sour kept talking as Buffy stared at the words. "We would have to do it right now to have it ready for the show today. I could use the same cave as I did before for the set."

"You wouldn't take a rain check?" Buffy asked. If she could just have a little more time to break the news to everyone gently a sleazy commercial wouldn't be so bad.

"Time is money, darling. Decide now."

Vote:

[] Buffy does the watch commercial, possibly saving Hank's job. She'll have to deal with the consequences.
-[] She comes out to the group on the car ride over. It'll only be super awkward.
-[] She tries to pass off the kiss at the end as just a funny stunt for the script.

[] This would be a total disaster, Buffy can't make the big reveal under circumstances like this. She needs a good excuse to get out of it though, because it'll be pretty suspicious to everyone there (stunt it.)
 
Ohh, tough choice. @DeAnno, can we try and send the others away for the shoot? They don't need to be there and Harmony and Buffy could head to the cave by themselves for the shoot.
 
Ohh, tough choice. @DeAnno, can we try and send the others away for the shoot? They don't need to be there and Harmony and Buffy could head to the cave by themselves for the shoot.

You could try to do it, but there are serious obstacles to it happening smoothly. Kathy Newman and Hank Summers are both pretty involved in this project, plus Andrew would whine because he's a fan of the show. Additionally, Harmony hasn't even realized quite what's going on yet, and she still wants to be a center of attention.
 
So I think the big upside to getting to the end of this episode without outting Buffy and Harmony is that the gang learns about it mostly together, and it minimizes social strife. We keep getting showered with the chance to gain tangible benefits by coming out before then, and I doubt we would get something for nothing on that front. I don't really want to get to the end and dodge the social issues though, because it feels kind of like cockblocking DeAnno the way we did by killing all those assassins before WRH could even go through with a panicked assault.

Also, Sour is great fun and I like seeing him.

[X] Buffy does the watch commercial, possibly saving Hank's job. She'll have to deal with the consequences.
-[X] She comes out to the group on the car ride over. It'll only be super awkward.
 
[X] Buffy does the watch commercial, possibly saving Hank's job. She'll have to deal with the consequences.
-[X] She comes out to the group on the car ride over. It'll only be super awkward.
 
[X] Buffy does the watch commercial, possibly saving Hank's job. She'll have to deal with the consequences.
-[X] She comes out to the group on the car ride over. It'll only be super awkward.
 
[X] Buffy does the watch commercial, possibly saving Hank's job. She'll have to deal with the consequences.
-[X] She comes out to the group on the car ride over. It'll only be super awkward.
-[X] NOT: She tries to pass off the kiss at the end as just a funny stunt for the script.

I'm guessing there is some sort of curse on Buffy, making her come out.
 
[X] Buffy does the watch commercial, possibly saving Hank's job. She'll have to deal with the consequences.
-[X] She comes out to the group on the car ride over. It'll only be super awkward.

At some point it just starts coming of as if we are ashamed of our girlfriend. We should just come out already. From personal experiance there is no perfect time and smaller groups are easier to handle anyway.
 
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