logsinthenight | That One With the Meeting [OPEN]

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That One With the Meeting [OPEN]

characters: Cao Pi and OPEN!!!
location: the town hall
date/time: appx moonrise Sept. 2, for a couple of hours
content: Cao Pi proposed a meeting for everyone to talk about what ideas they have for organizing, protecting the town, and safely exploring their confines. This is that meeting. Newcomers are welcome as well! Assume characters have heard about it through the grapevine, but especially on Sept. 1 as Cao Pi makes the rounds and tells people this is happening. He will have a moment to orate but after that the floor is open, threadjacking is encouraged, and whatever comes of this is a complete free-for-all!
warnings: probably some discussion of character death. lmk if I need to edit this.

Despite the fact that Will Ingram's messages providing further information were yet to come, Cao Pi had made a public promise and he would hold himself to it, carrying out his meeting as described. At moonrise on the 2nd, he is already present in the town hall, hoping to see not just those who told him they would be there, but also some of the unfortunate newcomers freshly thrown into this situation. He had done his best to prowl around the Invincible and the bonfire, mentioning that the meeting would happen, but he still had to rely on word of mouth to do its work.

When he decides there are enough people present to begin, the Lord of Wei steps up before the assembly, clearing his throat importantly. "For better or worse," he begins, "we are a community. A town, if we are not a country. The hints and cryptic comments from the Lighthouse Keeper have suggested that we have a job to do, but we're still waiting on information as to what it is and why - why us, why the dead stolen from their worlds or their respective afterlives. But the recent mission to connect the Keeper to the network our tablets can access has shown a number of weaknesses that may hamper our ability to do any job, let alone the one which will keep us all from being permanently obliterated." Is that harsh? Too bad. He doesn't care. "We know a few things for certain. One, that we must carry out the purpose which the Keeper understands and encourages. Two, if we fail in any way, she will kill us all by ordering the spirits to destroy us. Three, the spirits deep in the forest are not just her weapon against us, but they have their own will and may attack or destroy anyone who simply wanders out too far. Our explorations have uncovered a number of things but not everything, by far. If you are new or simply haven't kept up on the recent developments, the record is here." He holds out a hand to the logbooks kept there in the town hall.

"I've asked you here to discuss the issues facing us in Beacon, and to offer up any ideas for how to solve those issues. There are quite a few of them, some that even I, perhaps, haven't considered yet. Please be orderly and take your turns, but I should like to hear from everyone. Whether you have questions, or have an idea you wish to share, please. Speak up. We will all be better for the sharing of ideas and discussion of pros and cons, rather than just waiting and hoping that someone will take charge and give us orders."

With that, he steps aside, inviting anyone and everyone to come up and speak. Or simply rise from their seat and speak. The floor is open, Beacon, use it to say things that you might not want anyone connected to the network to overhear. Sass the Keeper, gush about the Postmaster, whatever you want. Hopefully by the end of it all, someone might have some plans that can be brought about. For his part, Cao Pi is not putting himself up as any sort of authority or the one actually in charge, he literally is only there as organizer and moderator and nothing else. At least, so his cool half-smirk and perfect manners would suggest...

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When he gets a turn, Cao Pi steps in front again to mention specifically who he is and what is stakes are in this meeting. "My name is Cao Pi, styled Zihuan, and my title at home is the King of Wei. I have experience in matters of rule and the military, but that by no means indicates anything here. I am, as you all are, dead.

"But what bothers me most is that we have a small population which could, and should work together toward our common goals. It pains me to hear how many have gotten themselves killed wandering off, trying to explore without a plan in mind, and so on. I don't fault the people who volunteered to assist Winters with the mission the lighthouse. The end result was important. But we lost so, so much in the process."

He pauses, as if to observe a moment of silence for the dead. The extra-dead, if you will. "I hate to see people suffer needlessly, whether experiencing a second or third death and being forcefully resurrected to go through it all again, or facing a more permanent form of death. We can do better. We should do better. Whether we care for one another or simply know the intellectual prudence of relying on each other, it doesn't matter - we can help each other. I would rather see us somewhat organized, like a town should be. People who can welcome newcomers. People who can protect in case of attack. People who can escort explorers and make sure they return alive. People who can provide additional services that would make life easier for us all. I know you're all out there. What I would like to do is determine who has what skills and who would be best in what role. If I must actually organize anyone, I will, though I'm aware that some have a problem with simply being given orders or direted by a leader. At present, we have no leader. Whether you want one or not, it is my assertion that we need one. But I will not presume to be him unless asked."

It may be clear by now but Cao Pi really likes to hear himself talk. He'll open the floor to questions and abuse, though. Bring it on.

Feeling kind of (justifiably) called out for the 'trying to explore without a plan in mind' aside-

Daylight raises a servo up to get (King? Zihuan? Sir??) Cao Pi's attention when the opening talk seems to have wrapped up. A kinda redundant action for him to do given his height and his build, he knows, but he doesn't want to speak over anyone who might also want to have a say on this.

When he's sure he's allowed to speak, he first clears his vocaliser of the white noise that's been building up. Then he asks, "Does it only have to be one person, though? The leader role, I mean." He pauses for a second, trying to gather his thoughts because he's just talking first, thinking second. "That's a lot to put on someone and, um, you're right that there might be disagreements with others. On someone calling the shots.

"Maybe... Maybe we could divide the responsibility and stuff like that. Break it down to smaller, manageable stuff. So there's more structure and... stuff." Yeah. Stuff.

Cao Pi has heard tell of this...metal person, how much help he's been, so part of him is pleased to finally make his acquaintance. Especially given the astute query. He smiles, cool and calm. "Of course not. In fact, I have had it proposed from others that a team or committee would do best, in order to share the work and make the most of everyone's skills. I quite agree. They could also keep each other accountable."

He lifts a hand in an encouraging gesture, palm up, almost inviting those present to agree or argue at will. "Disagreements will happen, no one is saying we all have to love one another. But even those who dislike one another may still find themselves agreeing on a plan of action."

Rosinante is glad - and not at all surprised - when someone else speaks up before him on the topic of leadership. He mostly wants to sit back and let the others talk, only weighing in when needed, but this feels like one of those moments.

"Thanks for bringing that up, Daylight. That's what I'd like to see, too - a committee, as Cao Pi says. We all have a lot of specialties and different types of knowledge. We should use that to our advantage."

As one topic seems to draw to some sort of close, Rosinante clears his throat.

"For those I haven't met yet, I'm Rosinante. I have military and seafaring experience and I'm happy to talk about either of those things here if anyone wants to. But first what I want to discuss is what we should do in case of an emergency, like the one we faced recently."

As he draws in a lungful of smoke from his cigarette, he also turns his tablet outward toward the group, with it open to the mapping app as a handy visual aid.

"During the last attack, people scattered. I tried to help bring people to The Invincible. It's an easy place to defend. Others were across the river, in the Village. I'm guessing others tried to take shelter where they could. I'd like to talk about establishing one or two main meeting points for people to go to, and also, to work out how we can keep track of who is accounted for. Any ideas?"

"Hi, I'm Mary!"

As most people know. She makes herself as tall as she can, and it helps that she's holding a sketchpad up over her head. It seems she's drawn a chart with three columns messily labeled in her childish scrawl (all with crayon, of course): name, project, want.

"I think we should have an idea board for making Beacon better for everybody! If you have an idea for something, you should write it down here, and if you agree with somebody else's, put a mark in this space saying that you want it, too! You can use your favorite color!"

She has provided her particularly large crayon supply for proper documentation.

"I put welcoming committee at the top, because I think we all think it's a good idea to have one already."

Kol may be fresh off the ferry, but it's not his first rodeo with being dead. Fortunately for him, it never seems to stick. This is the first time he's died and had a mission tasked to him before he's even had a chance to get a haircut.

Today, he's wearing a white shirt that at least fits. Arms crossed against his chest, he arches his brow as he regards them. (He's set aside being caught up in the fact one of them is a robot for now. Sorry, Daylight.) Look, it's not a bad idea, but as someone who has been on the outs of a "committee" despite his best efforts to be included, he's not for groups taking leadership over others. In fact, he's never liked authority at all.

"A committee?" By the tone of his voice, he's not quite agreeable to it, but he's not argumentative either. "Say we agree to a committee. How many people will be on this committee? How will the committee be created? What will govern this committee? Do we really need a leader when we should all have common sense?"

"Good idea, Mary," Riku chimes in. He had arrived on time to the meeting, dragging someone else along with him, potentially. But for the most part, he kept to the wall and to himself, observing until he saw an opportunity to contribute, not being a guy who's super comfortable in the spotlight.

"I was thinking... what if it was possible to put a message on these tablets for when we first use them? Something basic to get people started," he continues, "Then more information at a meeting, where the newcomers can ask questions."

As he speaks, Riku selects a darker crayon for visibility, printing under "welcoming committee": welcome message on tablets, then meeting?

Riku had been hanging back, but takes this moment to step forward, glancing over Kol as he speaks. He doesn't agree with the idea, and Riku can speculate on the reasons why, he can even relate, nodding.

"Except that's the problem, common sense doesn't mean universal. Not everybody needs a leader, but not everybody can thrive being completely independent."

It's a bit of a playing Devil's Advocate argument, Riku's comment is a lot like Kol's, intended to spark a conversation about aspects around and involving the topic, to broaden the debate. There are a lot of moving parts to consider.

"At the very least, we're gonna need things like this, where everyone can speak up. There's also the risk that if we can't agree and work together, we'll be reset."

The mention of the reset (and everything connected with it) has Daylight visibly flinching, his winglets pulling back to hide from imagined danger. He needs a few seconds to calm himself but he's ready to talk again. (Honestly, the lack of reaction to his presence is really helping Daylight speak up more-)

“I know… I know there won’t be one solution that will make everyone happy here. I think we can agree to that,” he starts off, trying not to fidget where he stands. Some won’t be happy with the idea of one individual calling the shots. Some won’t be comfortable with the idea of a group and its members overseeing them. Some won’t feel safe if everything is left up in the air. Daylight has seen the pros and cons of all these scenarios during his travels. “But… Um… The very least, we gotta agree to some… grounds, I guess? If we can't reach a conclusion on that aspect - since it's really big and stuff, I know - we should at least resolve other aspects then.

“Like- Who we can turn to for certain stuff like medical services or record-keeping or what to do for certain things and scenarios happen like... last time. Like what-" King? Zihuan? Sir?? "-Sir Cao Pi said. We gotta get organised. We gotta work with what we have and what we have right now is each other. Right?”

Daylight looks around to see the response to that, a little shy now but! Determined to try and be useful in this discussion.

[Pushed in to the corner of the room, as far away from the main party as possible Quentin has his tablet up and opened, jotting down notes and questions he needs answers to and there's just no way he's going to get up and talk to all of these people. The sort of duchy guy who wanted to lead people, which, sure he might have a point about it being a bad idea for who knows how many people, to just run around and do things without talking to each other.

Still, though.

He settles for frowning in to the tablet, only looking up through the bangs of his hair and biting his lips to stop himself from just blurting out something stupid. Like, sure a welcome committee, who should probably take names so there was a record? Someone should probably make a list with everyone's names, because that's how this always starts - lists, and more lists. An inventory of who was here now and who had been here before, to show a pattern or just a handy way to keep tabs on people. Someone was bringing them here - random or chosen?

He jots down a few more things, leg curled up on his chair as he tries to hide.]

( When it's his turn to speak, Javert cannot do so informally. He walks up to the front of the room, immaculately dressed in his uniform, buttons done up to the collar, arms folded over his chest. )

My name is Javert. For those of you who I don't know, I was a police officer back in France. There, I was known as an inspector. You may call me such if you wish.

( Even though that's not technically his title anymore, what with him being dead and all. But getting more to the point, )

There's been talk of committees and emergency plans, and that is all well and good. But we must also remember to better ourselves. Those of us who don't know how to fight must learn, and those of us who don't know how to heal must also. We cannot be reliant on others to do it for us.

( So says the man who never relies on anyone for anything. He paces over to one side of the room, stops and turns his attention back to the crowd. )

There is a gymnasium across the river. Before the lighthouse expedition, there had been talk of using it as a meeting place for classes. I believe this idea still has merit. We just need to find volunteers, people who are willing to teach. I, myself, am willing, so long as there are others who agree it is worth pursuing.

Having observed this little gathering from the fringes since the beginning, Clarke sees an opportunity for an entrance during a lull in the discussion, and particularly when medical services are mentioned.

"I'm a medic. I'm not a full-fledged physician, but I was trained by one — my mother — and I'm familiar with triage medicine. I can patch up wounds, set broken bones, things like that."

With that said, she turns to the group and addresses them at large. "It's true, it's better if we're more organized and therefore more efficient, in case we have a repeat of the event that just happened after the lighthouse. We don't know anything about whether these spirits will attack again, and if the lighthouse keeper somehow is or isn't involved, and whether she'll provoke them or not." She purses her lips, before going on: "But in my experience, a single leader isn't going to be able to do the job alone. It's already been suggested that a committee might work, and I agree with this — we informally appoint a group of leaders, a small faction who can delegate and run several different aspects of tasks we need. Like a council, if you will; we can appoint someone to strategize, someone to organize defense, someone to train, someone to heal.

I think having more than one person in charge, ensures that the burden of leadership doesn't fall on just one single person's shoulders. Because that can be overwhelming, when the chips are falling."

Edited 2019-09-04 22:19 (UTC)

[ she hasn't forgotten the man who'd helped her during the attack in bonfire square, and clarke smiles in appreciation that javert has stepped forward to speak up. ]

Training in the gymnasium is a good idea. We're going to need every available person who's willing to get others up to speed in basic defense techniques as we possibly can.

How long were you with the police, Inspector?

[ davina's also not participating, preferring to stand close to the walls and listen in on the conversation while she observes the group. the last time she was part of a group similar to this, she got excommunicated for acting on a threat so she's decided to keep more to herself. less way to die horrible deaths concocted by a group and all. plus kol is already there, giving his thoughts, so no need to add in.

she finds herself getting tired after some time, moving closer to some of the chairs around and to someone who's also decided to just remain on the sidelines. ] Is the seat taken? [ she gestures at the chair near him, offering a polite smile. ]

Sir is fine, Daylight, given the slight curl of a smile that evokes. But Cao Pi politely waits until Clarke offers her skills before summing up the general flow of opinions. His gaze sweeps toward Kol, first. "It would be wonderful if we were all intelligent, well-adjusted individuals who knew instinctively to employ common sense when acting and reacting to the unique dangers of this place. We are most certainly... none of that." It's wry, but just this side of actually turning judgmental, and he is quite deliberately including himself, not acting as if he's above flipping his shit in an emergency. "A committee or, as the lady says, council, offers the greatest balance. Balance of power, balance of opinions, and a balance between needing some kind of guidance without setting one lone person up as a dictator. Those who still feel as though they can live without leadership, well, they're welcome to do so, as long as their willful independence doesn't cost the rest of us our lives."

He gets up and strolls a little to nod at a few folks whose opinions have already aligned well with one another. "Master Riku brings up the most important point: the threat of reset. We're only just now beginning to understand what that means and what can cause it, and from what I've heard and read, it could be as simple as the population sitting around on their hands and not doing anything to explore or help. All of us running around on our own could cause the Lighthouse Keeper to look down at us, decide we're just making a mess, and reset us. That means calling in the spirits to kill us all. For the newcomers, know that this means a second and permanent death - possibly, depending on your views, a death with no afterlife. Nothing. Knowing that, it is imperative that we do everything in our power to avoid such a fate. If that means sucking up your pride and agreeing to work alongside the rest of the town, or at least not hampering the council in their efforts, consider it a small sacrifice to make in the interest of all of us continuing to live.

"The lady is right," he says in conclusion. "Defense, training, medical assistance, and so on. These all go much more swiftly, and with much less headache, if there is organization. Newcomers will learn about them and be able to find resources or volunteer their own much more quickly. I personally cannot see anything wrong with that, but I invite a counter argument if there is one."

I wanna learn how to fight!

[Not that it would really do her much good in the long run, but she's enthusiastic about it nonetheless.]

Emergency plans are definitely top on the list (and he'll make sure Mary makes note of that). "If there is a way to use the tablets for tracking or at least putting out a message, that would be one ida," Cao Pi suggests. "At the very least, having a single central location in each place designated as the emergency fallback is the easiest and plainest solution. People may still scatter to other locations - the church, for example - but the fewer who simply run off with no idea where to find shelter, the better. The Invincible and...the library, perhaps?"

"Yeah! I think that's perfect!" Maybe she's just enthusiastic because he told her she had a good idea? Also, it's Riku. Nonetheless, she agrees, and she's happy! "That way everybody gets a chance to speak, and won't feel left out."

As cute and a little ridiculous as she is, Mary's idea is absolutely perfect. Keeping records. Without mentioning it, Cao Pi takes a moment while others are talking and slips over to...well, not write himself, no one would be able to read it, but rather to whisper to Mary so she can write it down.

"Emergency gathering places. Training. A defense force." And then, with a smile, idea #4. "Building and restoration."

[Cao Pi lets others have their say before piping up to agree.]

An excellent idea. Yet, that brings up a related concern. Can Master Rastus procure additional weapons for us, or would we be on our own to somehow...craft them? I don't know enough about firearms to know how those are supplied, and I doubt there's a smith here, but arrows and clubs are easy enough to make.

[bullets and other ammo, totally not his forte. Someone else can handle that]

Edited (ugh I'm dumb) 2019-09-04 23:20 (UTC)

[Remi, for his part, even though he's cleaned himself up by now and gotten most of his initial overwhelmed shell-shock pushed firmly down into the pit of his stomach where he can ignore it to the best of his ability, isn't feeling particularly confident with speaking up or speaking out at this meeting. It shouldn't be so hard, really, but...while he's managed at least not to shuffle himself into one of the back corners, it takes him awhile to summon the confidence to speak.]

...I can build things.

[Okay so it's not a speech, but.

He sits back down abruptly.]

To achieve balance requires imbalance. There's no such thing as a perfect balance, and Kol knows it. But his goal in life has always been to try and find it, even despite knowing it'll never be attainable. Something close to it is.

The threat of a "reset" isn't new to Kol, given the amount of times he's been neutralised by Klaus. The idea of it being permanent... He isn't ready to die yet. By the looks of these people and the rhythm of heir heartbeats, neither are they.

"And who decides who sits on this council?"

His questions may appear antagonistic, but it's not his intention. He's not opposed to the idea... but he isn't the biggest fan of a select few being at the helm.

You aren't wrong.

I'd like to learn. I know a bit already, and I can wield a gun, but that isn't enough. I should think you'd have a fair few students.

Hey, it's a valid question.

"I suppose that depends on how many people volunteer to shoulder all that responsibility."

Cao Pi is clearly angling to be on said council, if only because he doesn't really have the skills to build or be friendly to newbies or...well, most of the other ideas floating around. He is super great at plans, though. His wry sarcasm implies that he doesn't expect there to be a fight about it. "In my experience, when it comes time to ask for help, a number of people who are eager to talk about it are less eager to actually do it. If we end up with too many volunteers, well, that would be a delightful problem to solve. A vote by the populace seems fair."

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That One With the Meeting [OPEN]

Cao Pi | open

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Rosinante | OTA

Mary | ota

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javert | ota

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Remington | OTA

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