[WORLD ONE] SPEED DATING EXTRAVAGANZA

[spellbindmods]

Who: Participating coven members
Where: The Palai marketplace
When: Day 49
Open/Closed: OTA

[ Any and all who are in the marketplace will find that there is suddenly a mysterious barrier around the marketplace (that may be eerily familiar to some) -- specifically one large portion of the marketplace with a large number of tables and chairs, perhaps purposefully set out for nefarious reasons.

A few Palai are ushering coven members to chairs, and everything seems about normal. As normal as the Palai can be when they're putting on a show anyway. It's not until a sizable portion of the coven members are seated (and also supplied with breadsticks and small shrimp), that things get a bit more bizarre.

Thanks to the power of the Eltos, a small band of energy keeps coven members stuck to the chair (magic can interfere, of course), but that's not the end of it. On each table, next to those delicious smelling breadsticks and shrimp, is a bowl of scraps of papers. Every five minutes, a strip of paper will pop out from the bowl.

If you ask the Palai, they'll be inclined to explain speed dating to you. Asking questions, getting to know a person, then being shimmied off to the next potential mate -- this is made possible by Elto magic yet again, through flying chairs that transport their holder to a new table at standard intervals.

The Palai are extremely invested in this exercise? Will you let them down? ]

[ OOC: In the spirit of speed dating, each character will have a top level. All who want to respond to this top level can with questions from this post, but the threads have to end at 10 comments from each character. After this last tag, the characters can be assumed to have been whisked to a different potential match. You're free to have characters make up their own questions, interact with Palai serving food, etc. ]

Comments

[splinten]

So a revolutionary inside the royal guard. [Dirk doesn't disapprove. In fact, he respects it. But he's also very cynical, and the kind of kid who can't resist prying into things and discovering how that works.] What's your MO on that? Like, leading by example is cool and all, but it isn't exactly the most traditionally successful method for destroying an essentially corrupt system where powerful forces have strong incentives to maintain the status quo.

[thatdamnknight]

I understand the difficulty but I intend to keep trying regardless. Change takes time and perseverance. Even if it takes my whole life and no matter whether I succeed or fail, I still intend to try. [he smiles.] After all, with how far I've come, I can't give up now.

[going from a nobody to the face (even if temporary face) of the knights means he can't stop trying now. and he won't.]

[splinten]

I can respect that [and he does, determination is truly admirable to him] but I still don't know how you're trying to get this done. Is it lead by example or are you enacting reforms? Training new recruits, or what?

[thatdamnknight]

[flynn hums.]

Well, all of that. [he pauses and briefly mulls over how he would go about things.] Hypothetically speaking, if I were to officially be given the role of Commandant, my first course of action would be recruiting good men and women to fill the ranks, especially those of the Royal Guard and the Captains directly under me. Then I would work in tandem with both His Highness and the Council to push forward some reforms. That would be met with opposition, I'm sure of that much, but small changes and one at time ought to be doable.

[again, it'd take time but that's fine. no matter how long it takes, what matters is the end result.]

All the while I would behave as the ideal knight myself in order to truly lead by example. I cannot ask my knights to strive to be the best they can if I don't do so first.

[regardless of if that means working himself to death, he WILL become the ideal for his men to look up to.]

And even if I fail to change as much as I'd like, there is one change that will become a reality immediately upon my arrival back home: ensuring the prime objective of the knights becomes protecting the people. It won't remain a half-assed truth but a reality wherein the poor can finally count on having someone come to their aid in their times of need.

[splinten]

[Dirk is genuinely listening, and he can follow the logic of slow and thorough change. It's hard to believe in it, but he does understand it.

But then he has to ask:]

How are you going to make that last one real?

[thatdamnknight]

By having my men dispatched in locations they rarely were otherwise. Even a few men spared can make a world of difference. In addition, a knightly presence and interaction with that presence can lessen hostilities.

[not everyone hates knights, of course not. that said, some people harbor deep distrust. the knights also sometimes look down upon the common person instead of viewing them as an equal. he wants that much to change and that much he can do regardless of rank.]

It's a smaller change than everything else, but also one I believe needs to occur prior to any larger changes.

[splinten]

[Dirk actually appreciates that. While 'fuck the police' could have been his Bro's motto, it was more specifically 'fuck the clown police.' Dirk knows that if there's good will, more contact between police and marginalized communities can be beneficial.

There's a key 'if' there, but it'd be a start.]

Do you think you've got knights upright enough for the job?

[Dirk will be yoinked away shortly. But he can't stop querying even in his final question.]

[thatdamnknight]

[a good final question. flynn pauses momentarily. his knights... they stood by his side when the odds were entirely against them and battled valiantly. they obey his orders regardless of his lack of nobility. they've chatted with him and enjoyed his company despite any differences between them.

recalling that makes him sound certain as he replies.]

Yes. I can't speak for all of them, but I know most of my knights are good people. I believe in them and their ability to bring this change to fruition.