Child of Mine - Debate and Voting

[thelostmods]

Characters have reached the point in the narrative of Child of Mine where they have a decision to make. There is no particular mystery to solve in this world hop, no villains to fight, there is only a choice.

Will they support the Crone, the embodiment of Chaos, or the Boy, the embodiment of Order? Or will they have a third option to convince others with?

Story So Far

• Timeless is a small sliver of a larger world that was hidden and created to be a place of perfect order without time.
  
  
• The Boy created Timeless to rescue children away from the war-torn nations of Winternesse and Dorwynne.
  
  
• The Boy fears chaos and change and all the strife it has brought upon the inhabitants of the wider world. He thinks the only way to stop all that is to create his haven for only children, stopping them from aging to adults who bring war.
  
  
• The Crone is the Boy's twin sister. She holds no malice, only wishes to bring the natural chaos of the world to Timeless. She is unhappy her brother hid this place from her and believes it will stagnate without change.
  
  
• Most of the children in Timeless are content. The main NPCs Vixy, Drake, Colt, and Buck are all happy with the nature of Timeless as it is. They all faced various hardships in their lives.
  • Vixy suffered abuse and neglect within the factory she has lived for almost all her life.
    
  • Colt and Buck were in the same factory that Vixy was.
    
  • Drake was once a part of a child gang, forced to kill and scrap just to survive.
• The Wormies are a separate faction led by Katz who are tired of the lack of change and the timeless nature of this part of the world. Even with Katz suffering her own hardships--her parents were killed in bombings--she still craves something different, a return to time.

Voting for what the PCs want to do in this situation will end at 11:59 PM PST, 7/21/18 (EDIT) 7/23/18.

There is no Right answer to this question. The only limit on alternatives that characters can come up with is having children who want to leave Timeless come with them to the Meadous. Sorry! They will all have their own reasons for ICly wanting to stay in their own world and this is not feasible on an OOC-level. The discussions with the Crone and Boy remain ongoing! Feel free to tag-in if you have not, yet.

1. Questions
2. Debate
3. Voting

Comments

QUESTIONS

[thelostmods]

DEBATE

[thelostmods]

This is a place for you to discuss your characters' IC arguments for going with one option or another.

Suggested Options (Please do NOT respond to this thread)

[thelostmods]

Present options raised:

1. Support the Crone and allow time to return to Timeless. NPCs will not be harmed or removed from the island, they'll simply begin aging naturally.
   
   
2. Support the Boy and keep time out of Timeless. This will return the status quo of Timeless as many of the NPCs prefer.
   
   
3. Zangetsu's proposal. Timeless will return to the status quo, but NPCs will be allowed to leave if they choose to do so and return to a world of time.
   
   
4. Royce's proposal. A new section of Timeless will be added where time progresses and children can go to experience it without having to go back to war.
   
   
5. Ienzo's proposal/Renart's proposal/Gabe's proposal. Allow children to leave Timeless, if they want. And combine this with Royce's proposal of sectioning off Timeless with an area where time progresses as an option. Leaving Timeless and whether or not to start aging are separate choices available to the children.
   
   
6. Stephen's proposal. This combines all of Option 5, but includes a provision that children must be at a minimum age before they're allowed to make the decision to leave Timeless.

[bywolves]

Royce is going to suggest that first, before they do anything, they actually ask the children what they want. All of them. What they'd like to see happen.

And then past that, he'd maybe suggest that the kids who want to experience time get their own section of the island. Take all the time progression and section it off to one part of the island, so that the kids can grow up if they want to, away from war and horror.

He doesn't like any of this, honestly - the idea that they're just fixing a symptom and not the problem at large, which is "kids are being forced to work in factories and have to join child gangs" doesn't sit well with him (considering his own experiences and desire for these kids to not have to live like he did), so most of the options at the moment aren't going to be enough for him.

[thelostmods]

Due to time constraints, I'll go ahead and answer the first question OOCly. The children have a much more black and white view of the situation than adults might.

Buck & Colt - Support the Boy and return Timeless to the place he designed it to be.
Drake & Vixy - Support the Boy, but have the Wormies allowed to come and live at the mansion again.
Katz - Support the Crone and return time to Timeless so that all of them will be aging. After her conversation with Renart, Katz doesn't want anyone to have to live forever.

[aigue]

Renart hates all of this, too. She agrees with Royce in that they shouldn't be the ones making this decision for all of the kids, that the kids should each decide individually, and that none of them should have to go back to a world of war.

She'd add that the kids who choose not to age should be allowed to (and leave, if they really want to) down the road, if they decide they've changed their mind.

[ignes_fatui]

Ienzo will argue that this is too life-altering a decision to be making on anyone else's behalf, and that people should be free to make their own choices - and mistakes, if need be. That said, he wants to know; if Zan's third option is chosen, will the way out of Timeless remain open (or perhaps open again at a later time), for anyone who wants to stay ? Or will everyone be forced to decide immediately and live with the consequences forever?

He understands that there can't be any coming back once you leave, but he thinks it would be best if there was adequate time to for each person to consider before making that final decision for themselves, be that days, months, or years, and it would be deeply unfortunate for anyone to miss their window of opportunity out of indecisiveness.

If the answer is no, he'll still support this option as the one that allows the most freedom, but he won't be pleased about it.

Edit: If Royce's suggestion to split Timeless into an aging-half and a non-aging half is feasible, he'd also want to support that to give the children another option - but he does think returning to their original world should be on the table as well.

[termineur]

Once he hears about Zangetsu's proposal, Gabriel is going to push hard for that. He will argue that time and change is absolutely necessary for evolution and becoming a better, happier person. If anyone argues that, he will give (probably graphic and disturbing) examples from his own life.

But he will also say these kids have been through a lot, so if they need a 'break' for awhile, they should be allowed to have that. That would also give the Boy what he wanted- a way to protect these children from the worst parts of chaos that have been inflicted on them.

Gabriel wants the children to be able to decide individually for themselves if they want to want to grow up, and to be able to make that decision later if they want. If the Boy and the Crone don't agree to that, he will continue to argue for it- or at least a day every so often where the kids decide if they want to grow up or not. But he will grudgingly accept them all having to make the decision now, if that's the only option.

Edited to add: Gabriel would also argue that the choice to grow older and the choice to leave the island should be separate allowed decisions. Maybe Royce's idea of having a section of the island where time moves normally would work well with that?

[thewarningafter]

Stephen has presumably heard John's and UT's concerns about the children's ability to make long-term decisions while they're still children, and suggests that they do Gabriel's suggestion, but perhaps there should be a minimum age for the kids to age up to before they can decide that they want to go back out into the world as young adults.

[aibolition]

Zan would like to preface that he thinks this is stupid and that this isn't like drinking or getting a tattoo or something, but their lives, their world, and their time, and there's a reason they don't have adults making decisions for them. If they could know they wanted to leave before then they can understand the risks of going back.

That said, if they've really got to add this, then he's going campaign that the age shouldn't be too high. He is pretty sure that some of their group includes teenagers afterall and they're perfectly fine making lasting decisions with consequences. Maybe just not five year olds or something.

[termineur]

Gabriel agrees that the age shouldn't be too high. He'd argue somewhere around 14-ish, but hell if he knows. They shouldn't have to be full adults before they head back (especially if they decide they want to infiltrate those factories). He just wants them to have a couple years of 'aging experience' before they head back, personally.

[bywolves]

Royce is plus one-ing the "I think the age minimum is stupid" thing - he's pretty against it, not because he doesn't care about the kids (because he does) but because he thinks it's an unnecessary rule that takes away the kids' agency. If they want to go back, they should be able to make that decision whether it's a bad one or not - it's none of the Meadous-ers business.

He's concerned they're wrecking balling into this world and making permanent decisions for a bunch of kids they'll never see again, and then ollying out after interfering a whole bunch. If they really want to add the age thing then he'd be agreeable with it being a minimum of like, 13, but he's not a fan of that stipulation being added and would probably argue along the lines of just like "no, it isn't your decision to make, it's theirs"

VOTING

[thelostmods]

You are allowed one vote per character. Votes should be made with IC considerations. Please consult the

<b>Character Name</b>: [What's your name?] <b>Vote</b>: [Which option are they supporting? You can type in the nature of the vote or identify the number from the Suggested Options thread.]

[aibolition]

Character Name: Zangetsu
Vote: I guess Zan's voting for his own suggestion, having a choice (with Gabriel's note that this should be a choice to be had at any time). As far as staying on the island or leaving goes, he'd say that ought to be a choice too, but he really has no intense feelings on that particular note. Pretty status quo "whatever gets this wrapped up".

EDIT: just saw the updated options and since there's the lean on "his choice but with more choices", hey, more is more! Option 5 then.

[umslay]

Character Name: Ales Mansay
Vote: 4 (Royce's proposal). Ales can see why some people would want to remain children, though plenty of others do not (including Ales), so having an option to age sounds good in order to make people happy and prevent chaos.

[termineur]

Character Name: Gabriel Gray
Vote: He supports Option #5, not surprising anyone!

After hearing Stephen's proposal, he's fully behind that. Let the kids have a better handle on decisions (hopefully) before they leave. He's voting for Option #6!

[aigue]

Character Name: Renart
Vote: Renart votes for option 6! The most freedom and safety for the kids.

[marywatson]

Character Name: Mary
Vote: 4. While Mary understands why people would want to give as many options as possible, Mary doesn't want the children to get stuck in a place they may not like when they're grown. She believes it's best to ensure they still have their proper home.

[bywolves]

Character Name: Royce Melborn
Vote: A combo of 4 and 5. He wants the kids to be able to pick what they want to do and have all the options available to them at all times. He doesn't really care about the rest of the worlds. He just wants the kids to be happy.

[wesa]

Character Name: Daryl Dixon
Vote: Daryl would vote for 5 because it allows the children the most freedom and safety and he firmly believes they should choose for themselves. Their lives, their choices. If he were in that situation, he'd want the same freedom.

[exequies]

Character Name: Undertaker
Vote: He's going to go with option 4, because 5 seems a little too broad and children aren't the best at making long term decisions for themselves.

[ignes_fatui]

Character Name: Ienzo
Vote: 5. The option to go back to the "real world" and its troubles is important but it's important to keep it separate from the option to just. Get to grow up in a world of peace. This is probably going to be the hardest option to pull off but suck it up, you're gods.

[jumpthegun]

Character Name: John Watson
Vote: Option 6. This offers the most safety for the children while also giving them the latitude to leave when they're adults and can make that decision with a clear head.

Character Name: Bertie Wooster
Vote: Option 2. Bertie thinks that sounds like the overall safest option for everyone.

Character Name: Monty Navarro
Vote: Option 5. Monty believes that freedom of choice is important and that the children should get to choose.

[thewarningafter]

Character Name: Stephen Strange
Vote: Option 6. All the freedom all of the time...once you're old enough to make a mature decision about whether to leave Timeless.



Character Name: Peter Vincent
Vote: Option 2. Screw fixing the rest of the world, screw exposing these kids to the bullshit that is adulthood and war; let this place be fucking Neverland forever.

[telecosmetic]

Character Name: Eliza Owens
Vote: Option 4. They can consider switching to options 5 and 6 once they fix this war somehow.

[taiyounoyou]

Character Name: Masaki Kurosaki
Vote: Ultimately, option 5. Masaki would initially be for option 1; then Zan's compromise would win her over to option 3, and Gabe's addition to that afterwards swaying her to option 5. She'd specifically *not* want option 6, though, and she'd argue against the idea that children can't decide for themselves what they want.

Re: VOTING

[ceasetoexist]

Character Name: Pokey Minch
Vote: While Pokey will always be suspicious of immortality among humans, he also knows that it isn’t really his right to decide how others live. Pokey would initially be swayed by Zan’s option, ultimately settling on option 5 since it gives the most choices to the children to how they want to live. He’d be dissuaded From option 6 because he’s think the provision of a specific age to be unnecessary.

VOTING CLOSED

[thelostmods]

FINAL TALLY

[thelostmods]

1. 0 votes
   
2. 2 votes
   
3. 0 votes
   
4. 4 votes
   
5. 7 votes
   
6. 4 votes

WINNER

Option 5