singillppl | Town Meeting: The Quencies

Town Meeting

Town Meeting

Following the events of June, in which the Interloper saw the Darkwalker’s influence slowly push them to the brink — until Enola put a stop to things — Interlopers must try to wrangle with the consequences left in their wake. For some, these consequences are far more harder than others. Several Interlopers now lie dead, which cannot be ignored.

A town meeting is called to address this, and once more the Interlopers gather in the Community Hall. Even Methuselah joins them, and sits quietly to the side to watch the proceedings.

The accused are asked to stand, to give a short testimony where they either acknowledge or deny their actions. Interlopers may offer witness testimonies had they been there during the incident.

Their fellow Interlopers must cast a vote: are they guilty of their actions? Or not? One might argue that their actions were not their own. Others may argue that the influence over Interlopers should not excuse their actions. Some may even use this as a way of dealing out punishment to those they believe have had it coming for sometime. Maybe sometimes there are crimes just too dark to forgive.

What will you choose, Interlopers? What side of the coin will land?

— — —

Character Name: Kieren Walker.
Crime: The murder and cannibalism of Simone Vitucci.
Character Comments:

[ Kieren's a trembling mess, his hands held into tightly curled fists as his sides. He can't look up, he can't look at anyone — just stares off into the mid-distance. ]

... I did it. I— I'm not going to stand here and say I didn't do something when I did. I killed her, and— I did that to her. And I know I wasn't thinking properly but it's not an excuse, I don't think it should be. I'm... I'm not normal, like most of you are. I'm— I'm different. And that's not an excuse either, I never thought it should be. [ He's not brave enough to full out himself, but he settles with. ] I've hurt people before here. I didn't want it to happen again, but it did.

So.. so I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking I should be— um, to be honest, I wouldn't blame anyone for shooting me for that. For what I did to her. And I know that sounds horrible, but it's true. I wouldn't. Blame any of you.

I wish I could take it back, and I— I know I can't. If it means anything, I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt anyone.

— — —

Character Name: Levi Jořdán
Crime: Murder of Max Ramirez
Character Comments:

"...I'm sorry. I-I didn't want to, but they just came at me and....and I moved on my own. I should have stopped it but I didn't. I don't have a defense. I'll take any punishment you feel fit."

— — —

Character Name: Scratch "Alan Wake"
Crime: Murder of Alan Lawrence, mutilation of a corpse.
Character Comments:

"None of us were in our right mind. It was self-defence, kill or be killed. I never wanted to hurt anyone, let alone kill them, but ... Can any one of you really believe you wouldn't have done the same thing with everything that was happening to us?

And for the ... Well. The other thing. I don't know, it was like a frenzy, I can't remember it. All I could think about was this story I heard once about The Wick Effect, about the flammable nature of the human body. Resources are so low.

I don't know. I think I panicked. It all made so much sense at the time."

— — —

Character Name: Levi Ackerman (I don't think anyone knows his last name though)
Crime: Murder (and a lil bit of corpse destruction) of John Rusnak
Character Comments:

[ He just stands there with his arms folded, frowning, until someone prompts him to speak. ]

What do you want to hear? It's not how I normally handle things. I hate pointless casualties. [ He doesn't seem at all surprised by his capacity to kill, though. Despite his words being somewhat harsh, it seems genuine. ] ...We've lost people. I am sorry for that.

[ Everyone should be aware of the creature in everyone's heads by now, so he sees no point to bring it up. Under the influence or not -- which is terrifying, actually, he'd never had his mind forcibly overtaken like this before -- it was ultimately still him who managed to carry it out. He shifts his weight a little; there's an air of tension around him, like he's a coiled spring ready to fire. He's probably less calm about it on the inside... or maybe it's an intimidation tactic. ]

I don't intend to let you execute me, if that's what you're planning. But if I'm unwelcome here, I will comply.

— — —

Character Name: Wynonna Earp
Crime: Murder of Elias Toufexis
Character Comments:

He was trying to kill Louis.

[ Who was maybe trying to kill him, first. ]

I tried to break it up. He came after Louis again.

[ Her jaw is tight; so are the arms she has folded across her chest. Her expression is flatly blank. ]

End of story.

— — —

Character Name: Cornelius Hickey
Crime: murder and cannibalism of Patrick Carlson
Character Comments:

[ Hickey's choosing his words carefully. There's a carefully controlled neutralness in his tone, keeping it conversational but not too emotional. ]

Some of you all are like me, yeah? We're changed. I can go longer, I can climb up and down ravines that I'd have trouble navigating before, but I get...hungry. And what with the game missing and that thing in my head—that thing in all of our heads, there's no point in pretending like everybody here wasn't in their right mind because of the Darkwalker. Anyway. What mattered most at the time was satiating the hunger and staying alive.

Obviously I'd do things different if we didn't have the Darkwalker raining bloody terror down on us. We'd all have done things differently.

As for the murder? [ Hickey gives a little shrug. ] Man came at me first. I simply decided to defend myself, as so many others here would—as so many others here already have. After all, it's not like these past few weeks are the first time one of us has tried to come for our own.

— — —

Character Name: Edward Little.
Crime: The Murder of Mikel Shane Prather.
Character Comments:

[ When he stands, Edward looks... strange, haunted — eyes wide and tearful and distant. It all feels like it's happening to someone else. He has to be told when to stand and when to sit down again, more than once.

He doesn't say what he maybe should. That the young man was going to kill Kate Marsh, that he had her on the ground — that Mikel's hands were around her neck. That all he could think to do was shoot, and quickly. There's no excuse for it; he could have made other choices, he could have — and he doesn't want to risk any ounce of backlash against Kate, either. So Edward just stands there, hands trembling, thumbs pressing tightly into his palms and rubbing, some futile attempt to self-soothe. ]

Mr. Prather was not.... himself. He was under the influence of darkness and can not be blamed. However, my... my mind was not afflicted. I was acutely aware of everything and in control of my faculties.

[ That's important. He wasn't anyone but himself when he killed a human being for the first time. ]

I will not resist the punishment that I deserve. I accept full culpability.

[ A pause, a shuddering breath. The usual clear, rich tone of his voice is hoarse now, hollowed out. Mikel became violent, like so many others did. It wasn't his fault.

He was very young. ]

I am so deeply sorry for what I've done.

— — —

A poll has been opened, in which you can ICly vote on the accused. Players will have 72 hours to cast their votes. After those 72 hours, results will be posted. For any character who is found guilty, their player will be asked to pick a punishment for their character.

This could be something like hard labour of some sort (rebuilding, town fortifications, digging appropriate graves for the dead into the ground) reduced food rations, or perhaps some kind of temporary exile from the safety of Milton, or guard duty.

Death is off the table. I mean, unless you really wanted to?

Players who have their character found Not Guilty may still choose to have their characters punish themselves if they wish to.

CAST YOUR VOTES HERE

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ When Billy steps up, he definitely has a certain atmosphere hanging around him. Most people will likely read it as something shy or demure, especially with the way he doesn't seem to be looking at anyone directly at he speaks, but those who know him better might instead realise it's more the air of someone who truly Does Not Want To Be Here Right Now. ]

I agree with what most of the others have said. Judging others by their actions from a month during which we were all driven mad seems ineffective. I know all of us have felt the pull, and I personally know that some of these people would never have done so under regular circumstances, like Kieren and Mr. Little.

.. and Cornelius Hickey. Since some seem to think that an exception should be made for him, I felt it prudent to step forward, since I am uniquely qualified to speak on the matter as the victim of one of the matters Mr. Crozier described from back home, and as his-- his husband. [ He slowly - nervously - twists a ring on his finger with his other hand. ] I have.. forgiven him for what happened. What Mr. Crozier left out of his description were the dire circumstances we found ourselves in. I believe that we all deserve a second chance here, and that we should be judged on our actions in this place instead.

Which are-- He has shared a house with me here. He has shared his food. I know he has shared with others among you. Yes, I am aware that he can be quite annoying, but I hardly believe that is a matter to judge a man this harshly over. Other than perhaps slightly bothering some people, he has not caused any harm in this place. All we have been trying to do is the same as anyone in this place-- trying to build a life here. Especially when we would not have had one together where we come from.

And yet this has been complicated. I have not publicly spoken about this matter, since I was afraid that his past may be used against him as it is now if I had, but a few months back we were attacked in our own home here by someone who also lives here in town without any provocation to merit it. Multiple people have made attempts on Cornelius' life in this town, including Mr. Crozier himself, yet they are all still alive now. If he truly is the person he is being described as, then why would he only now have killed someone here, when the influence of the Darkwalker was at its strongest? Why would he have left those people alone, even now?

[ He stops fiddling with the ring, exhaling a deep breath. ]

I have spoken to many of you here. I hope you can believe me when I say I can vouch for him, and that we want nothing more than to live out our married life here without the sort of judgement we would have received back home. There are no-- no grand evil plans, or however he is made to seem here. There is just us. [ ... ] Thank you for your consideration.

[ Even when he steps down, he won't look at anyone else on the way back to his seat. ]

[Unless otherwise strong-armed to keep seated, Crozier stands back up to shout:]

And what desperate situation caused him to kill Cornelius Hickey? Ask him, Mr Gibson! Ask him!

[He doesn’t expect a response, so he sits. He just hopes Hickey’s squirming.]

[Chloe grips Billy’s arm like she expects him to leap up and start arguing.]

You don't have to say anything. No one’s on trial for stuff that happened before we got here and everyone better remember that.

[ Billy is not leaping up, but he definitely looks startled at Crozier's sudden energy. When he stares wide-eyed at Crozier, it's the first time he's directly looked at anyone during the entire town meeting.

Chloe's hand is on his arm before he can say anything though, and as he gives her a quick yet nervous sideways glance, Billy doesn't say anything, instead just turning his head to look down. Indeed no response - he just hopes Chloe's words are enough for the others to hear. The less of a scene he causes here, the better it likely is. ]

[ Irving.exe has stopped working, ]

Town Meeting: The Quencies

cornelius hickey (with a slight bonus kieren walker and edward little)

-1 (lol)

Peepaw no!!!!’

how could peepaw possibly disagree!!!

no subject