Mingle - Emergency Potluck

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WELCOME POTLUCK

Greetings, residents! Those more observant sorts among you may have noticed a large influx of very crowded ferries. In order to welcome our new residents en masse, Town Hall is holding a potluck in Town Square. Please bring a dish if you are able and make a new friend!

All of our newest arrivals need only bring themselves. We look forward to welcoming you all into our community, and may your lanterns always be lit.

This event is open to all! In light of our new influx of prospective players following the Great Sail Migration, we've decided to offer a small public event to tide everyone over until the TDM this weekend.

Comments

[sistermagnetic]

Of course she doesn't immediately assume that someone would show up to the event but not eat. The last few weeks have been rough on all of them, and not just food-wise, so offering some extra is reflexive. But she looks at Keziah awkwardly holding her plate, and connects two dots. She wouldn't take the plate away of course, figuring that it might be handed off to someone else later if it was just that she didn't actually want or like the offered meal.

Covering the awkward moment, she simply smiles and gives a small bow in return.

"These are my people, I've got to take care of them," she replies. "Welcome to the village."

[umm_shafaqat]

(Indeed, eventually this plate will end up next to Hawkeye Pierce....)

"Understood, my lady," Keziah says -- though she doesn't quite get it right, assuming Magne for someone both important and local -- "As best I can manage it, none of yours will come to harm by my hand."

[sistermagnetic]

She's going to take that at face value and trust that Keziah is being truthful with her. She seems perfectly pleasant after all, even with her reticence over the food.

"If you need anything at all, I'm sure any number of them will happily volunteer their time. Pretty thing like you, you're certainly going to be popular." It's a gentle tease; Keziah is quite attractive, she could see any number of people being smitten.

[umm_shafaqat]

Keziah laughs. "Too much attention can be its own problem, but we'll see how it all shakes out."

She does step to one side, so she's not blocking anyone else's access to the food.

"You wouldn't happen to know if there are certain jobs that need more people, do you? I'd hate to choose one role and find out there's another I could fill that could use me more."

[sistermagnetic]

As long as other people can enjoy the food even if she can't, Magne is happy to continue chatting with her.

"I think that all depends on your skill set versus what you prefer. Like my job at the Oak & Iron is both bouncer and server, because those both fall into the purview of what I'm best at."

[umm_shafaqat]

"That doesn't seem relevant to my question." Just like calling out Keziah's physical appearance as attractive. Keziah shakes her head. "It's fine if you don't know, but is there someone particular that I should speak to?"

Keziah's question was meant to gauge whether there are, say, a lot of farmers and not enough fishermen -- or a lot of artisans and not enough laborers. Which, fair enough, may not be something that Magne knows; that's why Keziah is moving to 'can you point me to someone else'.

[sistermagnetic]

Magne's hand plants on her hip as she regards Keziah, trying to gauge if she was being argumentative, or just practical. Erring toward the latter for now, she gestures out toward the farms vaguely.

"It is practical to stick to your strengths at least at first, so that you aren't keeping others from their own duties just for the sake of training you into something outside of your purview. We need fighters, but if you're not a competent fighter I wouldn't say to go do that. If you've never farmed in your life and have no adjacent skills, I won't tell you to go and pick up a shovel and start digging out plots. If you want to know where you're needed most, the bulletin board exists for others to ask for help but you asked for my input, and my input is to try and play to your strengths until things aren't quite so dire."

[umm_shafaqat]

She absorbs Magne's words, expression placid, and nods in acknowledgement before speaking.

"Until things aren't so dire..." Keziah repeats. "What constitutes 'dire' in this case?"

Keziah sees no need to address those examples or defend her capabilities. The explanation is what it is, and should not be argued against. She files away that comment about the bulletin board as a lead for a 'just the facts' type of answer. Besides, she wants input from people who live here, and this is a form of input.

[sistermagnetic]

Some people need examples, rather than just taking things completely as they are, to be able to frame them in a way that makes sense to them personally. Magne has been around more of those types that need that type of metaphorical framework to motivate them. It's nothing to do with what little she's gleaned of Keziah and everything to do with her own interpersonal experience.

As for the question, Magne sighs, clarifying, "This potluck wouldn't have been possible on this scale only a couple of weeks ago. We fell on hard times, and it's just the latest in a long line of problems. I haven't even been here for long myself and I've seen the symptoms of it. The weather's finally gotten mild enough that we can step outside without it being more frigid than the average winter." Just...skirting around the whole, the blizzards being partially her fault..... "Times have been hard and monsters have been plentiful."

[umm_shafaqat]

"I have some experience in dealing with monsters," Keziah replies. "There are all sorts who chafe against the secrecy that keeps the peace in my world."

[sistermagnetic]

She thinks a moment. "You might offer your services to one of the people running the guard or the militia, then. I work with Agent Jean when they need a spare hand on the battlefield."