crescentview | Town Hall Meeting The Second

WHO: Everyone willing
WHAT: van Zieks trying to catherd, again, in order to Establish Law & Order.
WHEN: Sometime in the Summer between the various events.
WHERE: the forest, outside van Zieks' farm.
WARNINGS: chaos mostly, more will be added if needed.

[A week or so after the chaos of Hot or Not, each farm will recieve another missive from Barry Z himself, chief buzzkill, who clearly learned nothing from how things went last time. It reads as such;]

To All Parties Brought to the Island by the Harvest Goddess,

Tomorrow at 11AM sharp, please arrive at the location indicated on the map shown of the reverse of this document. The topic of discussion on the table is the potential establishment of some form of social contract and body of law. As before, I cannot force attendance, however, I would again hope everyone sees the benefit in being involved in this discussion.

Sincerely,
Lord Barok van Zieks, Esquire

[And again as before, there's a map on the back. This time leading one to van Zieks' residence, an orderly forest farm with a nice stable currently housing the horse van Zieks rode in on to make himself the boss of things, apparently.

At the time of the meeting, there are two tables that were clearly brought out from inside. There are... snacks? Van Zieks is not a chef, you will have these strawberries and fried mushrooms and you'll like it, I guess. There was an attempt. Van Zieks himself is still dressing in his less fancy- but still absurd for this weather- three piece suit.]

Than you all for coming. I understand that the topic I have put on the table may seem... needlessly dire to some, however, in the case that something does happen, it would be far better for us to already have a system in place. I do not think we currently require any sort of active police force, but rather that we should have some sort of agreed set of behavior in place, and then elected individuals to adjudicate any potential disagreements.

As far as a social contract, on Mr. Trahearne's advisement, it would follow thusly; [He pulls out another paper to read from.]
- Do not cause unsolicited physical harm to one other.
- Do not harm or otherwise disrupt another person's farm.
- Do not damage, destroy, or unlawfully take possession of another person's property.
- Do not vandalize or otherwise disrupt communal spaces for us or the townspeople.
- Do not behave in such a manner that would elicit broad reprisal against the group as a whole from the townspeople or the goddess.

If anyone has any other thoughts, feel free to share them. I feel that this is basic enough that even those of you more prone to... rebellion can agree to it.

The second matter is to discuss how to handle if someone does break these rules. While I have made clear before my prior experience with the law, I understand that a system like this can only function if there is trust in those enforcing it. Thus I think that the authority should be given to whoever the group as a whole feels most comfortable entrusting it to. So I open the floor to nominations for that responsibility.

Finally, I'd like to make clear why this is necessary. I have spoken to the goddess, and as long as it does not directly interfere with her and her means, she has no intent of intervening if something were to happen to one of us. We are not her "people," the residents of the town are. Therefore, it is imperative that we work together to protect ourselves.

[And now he will step back and hope that some productive discussion happens.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

...You make it sound like you're a kitchen utensil that gets put away until the time comes to use it again.

[ ... ]

...That's not the worst way to think about it, actually.

[ she hates how spot-on the analogy is. ]

The really fancy steak knife, that only comes out for very special occasions? That's me.

I'll be blunt with you. That's really messed up.

Wait, is it? It's...just the part I was meant to play, really...and if that knife came out for every meal, it'd cause problems, wouldn't it?

Well, it's like...I don't doubt the important role you have to play, but you're a person too, ain't ya? Not an object.

Back home, I'm what's called a "Blade." And a... pretty special one, admittedly. Most of us don't get put away like that, but I'm considered strong enough that it was probably important to do it. If nothing else, I agreed to do it all on my own.

...

[Yeah, no, he still thinks this is really messed up.]

Why was it necessary for you to be put away?

The short explanation is...I have a bit of a reputation for my strength, back home. As far as Blades go, I'm among the strongest of them. Think, like...a steak knife that's super-heated, so it cuts through the beef like butter.

[ she's still on this? ]

I...helped take care of a pretty big problem, before I was sealed. But if a problem like that ever came back...they wanted to be able to count on my strength again.

Okay?

[This explanation does nothing for him.]

You're a cool super strong lady who solves problems. But why does that mean you need to sleep? Did they just think that the next problem would only happen in a few hundred years?

Well, if something happened to me before the problem came up, wouldn't that be bad?

[EXTREMELY. BLUNTLY.]

You just told me you're the most powerful steak knife in existence, and you're worried about "something happening to me".

[ he's......not incorrect....... ]

Well, something happening to me, or...something happening to the plate, and the table, and the foot of the person holding me...

A lot of things can kill me that may not even do a thing to you. A lightning bolt, a car crash, a bullet to the chest. Does that mean I should lock away myself in my house forever because those all might happen?

No, I...guess not. And you're right. I don't know what a car is, but those...wouldn't even scratch me, probably.

But because you're so fragile, and I'm not...I would like to make sure that I do everything that I can to protect that. There's a chance that my being around will cause more issues than it would solve, though. So, that's why I agreed...

...

[He looks down at his drink, a little pensive.]

...Sorry. [He is a little drunk, after all, and it feels like he's wading into his own personal territory here.] I just...I like seeing when people get to be people. It bothers me when they're just...used. Especially an all-powerful lady like yourself. It isn't right.

You don't have to apologize. I appreciate you getting upset on my behalf, really. You're not...coming from a bad place.

[ her eyes are earnest and bright, even with the subject matter. that headstrong defense of her, even though he hardly knows her...it's more inspiring than it is offensive, even if she doesn't feel she deserves a bit of it. ]

And I admit...it is very different. Being here, I mean. Not...being the Aegis, at least for a little while. I haven't decided whether I like it or not, yet. But it's different.

It is different, isn't it.

[Even if he's not some all powerful sword, he at least knows the weird feeling of being in a place like this.]

Nobody needs you to be something. [That is a bit of a personal statement there, he knows that. The alcohol makes it easy to slip out.] ......Anyways. I'm sorry for my manners. The name's Steinbeck. Please don't make me call you Steak Knife.