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

Wait, you didn't tell me you were a vampire.

[Drinks.]

( laughssss )

Ah, my phrasing was misleading... No, no, I am cursed in other ways, but not vampirically.

Oh.

Wouldn't be too surprising if you were. You have that vibe. But I think you said that vampires in your world are jerks, so its more the aesthetic than anything.

Edited 2023-01-18 20:31 (UTC)

( HE WAS GONNA ASK IF HE HAS THAT JERK VIBE!!! like, he is, but u know, )

Heh. Now, say I were a vampire... Would you let me drink your blood?

( does it taste like GRAPES... not that he'd know this but )

[He doesn't even bat an eye, though he seems amused.]

I might poison you, but if that's your roll, you can give it a go.

( piku )

Oh? I haven't been poisoned since I was a little kid. What's the matter with your body, now?

Did I say something was wrong with my body?

[:3]

I don't kiss and tell.

( kyaaaa )

If I die to poison of all things, I'd most certainly deserve it. You're welcome to try.

You deserve it? Your self esteem isn't the best, is it...

[A little laugh.]

But if you're keen on experimentation, who knows? You might find out some stuff.

[Excuse me, Mr. "who would ever want to date me"?]

[TAUNTING A MESSED UP GUY ISN'T THE SAME AS DATING WOW!!! LET HIM LIVE]

Oh? Perhaps I'll have to take you up on that.

( He grins. )

But, you know, I don't think so little of myself - much? ( MAYBE? Ok maybe a bit. Anyway, ) Poison, really, oughtn't take root in me at all. If it works, then it's a failure on my part, yes?

( skill issue, in short, )

So you're saying you're immune? Wow. Wonder how that works.

[A light, easy smile.]

But surely there must be something you're vulnerable to. We all have our weak spots.

Edited 2023-01-18 21:43 (UTC)

Consume enough poison and perhaps you, too, and gain the gifts of utter immunity - until whisked away by a Goddess ( question mark ), that is.

( As for his second question... Mishka is normally pretty good at keeping his lips shut on this, but he's like 9 shots in so like, his glance toward Pyra actively radiating heat is visible. )

Well, it wouldn't be very good to share one's weakness, certainly? I've one who already terrorizes me with it, and I cannot say it's my favorite pastime.

I'll keep that in mind.

[He also looks over at Pyra, raising an eyebrow.]

Terrorizes you with it? That's no good. Someone needs to treat you right.

Oh, no one treats poor Mishka right. Not unless they need a job from me, some information...

( Boohoo, )

Well, the people here are kinder on average, so it's not truly the worst.

Oh, poor you. But I feel ya. I don't like working, either.

[Heh.]

Yeah, people are nice, huh? Its a good change of pace.

Are your people cruel to you, at home? Modest farmer that you are?

( imagine being mean to a Regular Farmer )

Of course. They want to make me do things I don't wanna do.

[capitalism SUCKS]

Its nice to be your own man, for once.

( Not entirely unrelatable, he supposes, but he lost the will to dislike it a long time ago. )

Your own man, hm... Then how do you spend your days here, that you couldn't before? Farming and relaxing?

Yeah, pretty much. Back home, I was on the road a lot. Days for relaxing were pretty rare.

Kind of made them special, but in general, I didn't have enough time off like this.

Well! Then I am pleased for you, and I hope your vacation remains pleasant. I myself wonder how long these days might last, so I intend to treasure them dearly while they do.

Hm! I hope so too.

What are you really looking forward to doing while you're here?

( That seems to make him pause, and some moments pass before he manages a reply, his gaze, for a moment, drifting into the crowd before it returns. )

... Mm. Swim? I don't think I've ever needed to, before. And the ocean here is terribly clear.

Well, I will want someone to spot me, lest I mess the whole thing up. ( He laughs. ) And yourself?

[..........]

[He sees that look out into the crowd, and he lets out a low laugh.]

Oh. So its someone you want to do. [Just saying it, casually.] Me? I don't really know. This isn't too different from home. Maybe just enjoying some fishing, actually.

(no subject)

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