[Open Log] Don't you Worry 'bout a thing

[backwordscompatible]

Characters: Members of the Foreigners' Guild
Date: Beginning of May
Location: Welcome Center
Situation: Trying to figure out just how this thing is going to work
Warnings/Rating: none to start; will update if needed

Today, the Center is...not quite closed, because it was never closed, but the sign out front was a little more specific than usual: indicating that those who had chosen to align themselves with the Foreigners' Guild to stop by at their convenience for a group discussion. Word of mouth was the primary means of getting the information out, but just in case, Zatanna was nearby with a checklist making sure to get names of not only who showed up, but of any known members who did not. So that they could be contacted at a later time and kept in the loop.

For her part, the 19-year-old was sitting casually in her favorite armchair by the fireplace (though currently lit, was emitting very little heat, indicating a more magical nature. For ambiance, mainly) and not-quite-facilitating the entire process. Her body language gave little indication of wanting to step forward as official leader, although she was ready with answers for any who may have had relevant questions.



[[ooc: Characters are encouraged to make their own top levels for open-ended discussion of the state of the Guild; if any of them want to talk to Zatanna specifically, indicate in the subject level and she'll come around.]]

Comments

[justno]

"Good. Then why are we having this dumb meeting anyway?" It seemed pretty obvious how not to ruin the city. Namely, have the foreigners continue helping the local populations and stop isolating so much. He was pretty sure everyone was aware of that, even if they weren't entirely supporting it for their own reasons.

[commandandcontrol]

"First and foremost, because the Kedan want us to. They gave us a guild and completely ignoring it is insulting. I mean-" She shrugged. "I guess they probably can't get that upset about us not using it considering we weren't involved in the guild discussions at all, but..."

[justno]

"Mad you didn't get invited to the planning stages?" Penny asked lightly, a little amused by her seemingly passive anger. It was refreshing to see Sonja more confident than she had been with the festival and other questions. He wondered if it was her form of campaigning for leadership or if she was angry at the foreigners' being distracted by other things.

"Could have given us more time to figure shit out, sure. So are you writing a manifesto, picking a leader, or what? I don't need to be here for a declaration of independence."

[commandandcontrol]

She felt more confident when talking to Penny for some reason. Like she didn't have to prove anything to him.

"I don't think whatever foreigners are staying in the Foreigner's Guild actually want a leader. So mostly we're just here to do the bare minimum and pick a representative for the meeting in a few days in the Courtyard of Public Opinion.

"I did originally have a 'manifesto' but it rests sadly neglected at the bottom of a well of my self-pity. But I have other things in the works, so it's not a total loss."

[justno]

"The bare minimum? Sounds like a raging success." Sarcasm. It made sense for now, with everyone's attentions elsewhere, but Sonja hadn't struck him as a person to go for the bare minimum. He wondered if that's where the anger came from, or the self pity that she mentioned.

"I'm impressed your self pity made a whole well," he teased. "You need me to find a bucket to fetch out the lost causes?"

[commandandcontrol]

"What can I say, no one crashes and burns as well as I do. But don't worry about it. Like I said, I have other things in the works. Things that fit better into the... structure of how things run around here. I didn't use the right angle, is all."

She pulled a loose strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "So what about you, what are you up to?"

[justno]

"I'm more interested in what you're up to. What do you have in the works?" Her repetition and ambiguity had piqued his curiosity. Penny didn't know Sonja well, for all he liked her, and felt that there were sides of her that he might be oblivious to. Even though he could read minds, he didn't go about it casually, not really at all unless there was a threat of danger or it was unintentional.

[commandandcontrol]

"Are you sure? It's boring and it has to do with leadership and things above and beyond not ruining the city for everyone else."

Mostly it was just a business venture, but her Temp Agency had originally been part of her suggested charter for the Foreigner's Guild. She just repurposed and focused it, and separated it from the Guild Structure because it wouldn't have been workable that way.

[justno]

"I care about the city, not the New Kids on the Block Guild. If what you're doing is something other than making the girl scouts fit to be king of the sandbox, then I'm interested."

Penny very deliberately considered himself separate from the majority of the Guild members. Not that he knew who most of them were, and actually liked a couple of those he did know were a part of it. It was more the concept of joining that he'd never much enjoyed. He could be an incredibly valuable member of a group when appropriate, but it wasn't like him to volunteer to join a team.

[commandandcontrol]

"I actually completely lost your metaphor there. Who are the girl scouts and is the sandbox the guild? Do you actually know what Girl Scouts do?"

Sonja was really glad to have him in the Foreigner's Guild, no matter how reluctantly he insisted it was.

"Alright, so. I warned you, it's boring. I'm starting a Temp Agency. It's a lot of managerial stuff, canvassing businesses for open jobs, and trying to match it with a pool of employees. I think it'll help newly arriving foreigners get settled in faster, and just generally be a good organization that will benefit the city.

"I'm still getting all my ducks in a row. I might make some investment pitches to maybe look at getting an office and a small staff."

[justno]

Penny ignored her request for clarification on his mixed metaphors, since the end goal was to confirm his interest in her news and Sonja had gone ahead with the details anyway. Besides, the company she was detailing was more interesting that he'd expected after her disclaimer.

"Sounds like a good idea," he admitted freely. Penny could have used something like that when he first arrived. Now he was working a mismatched myriad of jobs to take care of everything he needed, which he had found as much through luck as actual opportunity. "How close are you to actually doing it?"

[commandandcontrol]

She took a second before speaking. She'd asked Rosyn to fund the business, but instead she'd been prompted to create an investor proposal. But if all she wanted was startup capital, a business loan would be a little more in her interest than soliciting equity.

"I think all I really need to get started is an assistant, mostly someone whose job it is to run around a lot to canvas for business and make contacts."

[justno]

"You found someone yet? I might know a couple people who'd be good for it." Penny sure as hell isn't going to volunteer for anything that requires being nice to people and networking, but he's genuinely interested in trying to move the business forward if he can. In between working this three other jobs, regular dream walking sessions, and occasional babysitting of his roommate; Sherlock, not Conan.