Due to her busy schedule, the growing number of students showing up after rumors of free food start spreading around the highschool, and how unprepared the local librarian happened to be…
Well, Jessica just invited Xander and any of his friends to show up at Doe's Park later in the week.
This solved several problems: She could escape the crowds by distracting everyone with even more cookies before leaving; Xander was more than happy to collect the sign up sheet when everyone was done and bring it with him to the rescheduled meeting with the local 'librarian' (Yeah, right.); And SHE would not miss her upcoming meeting with the mayor's office.
After all the hassle getting this stupid mess organized in the first place, she did not want to have to reschedule it all at the last minute after all!
As she got in the car, she drafted a note for John that she might be delayed getting back today. After she got all the paperwork out of the way, she planned to try and get some businesses to move over to the park and help get the Fleeless Market off the ground.
After all, their goal was to have lots of stalls and something like a garage sale mixed with a bunch of random offerings… But it needed to start somewhere, right?
Besides, the meeting with the mayor shouldn't take that long anyway. There would be PLENTY of time to go around and find some people willing to move their stores!
Assuming everything went well, of course. Hopefully it wouldn't be TOO difficult to organize the mess of documents, forms, licenses and certifications required within the next month.
~~~Pocket System~~~
Another pile of files was shifted to one side. "As for the adjusted bus routes, that will be handled by this upcoming Monday… In fact, I don't doubt all these will be completed by then!"
Jessica blinked. How was that possible!? "Are you sure?"
The mayor chuckled. "Young lady, the fact you are actually following procedures and not just breaking down walls and throwing up extensions is astonishing enough to begin with! But purchasing the actual properties, filing the needed inspection requests and certification appointments, finding the correct forms and filling them out as needed?"
Mr. Wilkins leaned back in an almost too clean chair at his impeccable desk. "Well honestly it was a refreshing change of pace. Anything I can do to encourage other new property owners and budding business tycoons to follow your example would only turn into an investment in future headache reduction."
Oh. "Well, I'm sure that my brother will be very grateful to you and your people for being so helpful about all this."
The man gave a wry grin. "Most of those properties are abandoned. The City has to maintain them, to a degree at least, and it actually costs more to destroy them than to leave them be in the first place and just accept the various fees and taxes related to that."
He folded his hands. "So having someone not only purchase them, low cost or not, but proceed to renovate or make something useful out of this mess? This is good for that neighborhood, the people in the area, and m̡̦̯̬̥ͅy̗͖͉͢ town."
Jessica blinked at the… Slightly odd way his voice shifted when saying that. "Well, I know the extra space will give John room for a second parking garage, but a good portion of the rest might just end up being parks. He's got a theme going on or something."
Apparently her brother wanted Sunnydale to have a 'Dale' (Or valley) that was Sunny, and she'd only managed to argue him into establishing a big town park 'meadow' rather than restructuring the surrounding landscape entirely to make the pun properly happen.
The mayor hummed. "Some sort of nature focus? Hmm… Druid? Though you don't seem to be druish, if I could be honest, I wouldn't judge. After all, very few beings or magic users focus on construction as it is, and to have someone willing to actually file the documentation tends to make me very easy going. As long as certain guidelines are followed, of course."
Um. "That won't be a problem, will it? That we aren't using local contractors or whatever?" Was there magical construction fees? "If it helps, I don't think John's work technically counts as magic? More like… Very complicated sleight of hand."
The look he gave her made her wince. "No, it will not be a problem. Not the methods used, anyway… Magic, dimensionally empowered will manifestation, bribery, religious rituals? No matter HOW it is done, proper procedure needs to be followed and paperwork filed."
The man gestured at the very thick pile of paperwork. "Which you have done." Then he paused… "Would your brother be interested in BECOMING a contractor? High quality and rapid construction is always a welcome change of pace in my opinion."
Instincts from years of working on the edge of life and death in MiB flickered signals.
She didn't flinch or even shift expression. "Perhaps at some point in the future, but my brother and I simply wish to sell baked goods." Get out get out get out. "You mentioned some required guidelines?"
He blinked and somehow seemed to fold back into himself, once more a cheerful man eager to help his constituency. "Ah yes! Bit of a formality, of course, but such things must be considered."
Get out get out get out. "Of course."
Mayor Wilkins relaxed back into his chair. "First of all, while a certain amount of property falling into individual hands can be considered negligible, especially considering the state of said property and the location thereof, we do limit the sales of such to a certain extent."
He gestured at the paperwork. "You have not yet hit said cap, some of the towns' wealthier families own a tad more than even your large yet unbuilt estate to be honest, but to avoid any issues please continue filing requests and so forth for expansion through my office from now on."
Something shifted, not visible nor detectable by anyone in the room, and Jessica didn't flinch. "Oh? I guess the real estate agency forgot to mention that…"
The mayor chuckled. "Yes, I will be having someone give them a firm talking too, don't you worry about that."
Get out get out get out. "Anything else?"
A nod. "A priority of my political agenda, and that of my father and HIS father, is stability. Sunnydale may have some rough spots here and there, but we've spent many years to ensure this entire town will remain despite these many challenges that may come our way… If you find some threat to said stability, you will of course report such. Yes?"
Get out get out get out. "Of course! In fact my brother and I have established an entire security setup with magical automatons. If nothing else, Doe's Park will ensure a state of neutrality and peacefulness for employees and visitors. No Hostile intentions allowed! It's just good business, after all."
The thing behind the desk blinked at that… And smiled! "Indeed! You'd think more people of this good town would consider the financial implications of their actions and policies more often, but far too many young people today are so short sighted and far too eager to run after the slow fleeing fruit…"
He leaned forward. "Young lady, you have impressed me. Do you intend to run for office, or get a political position? Or even something as simple as working for one of my departments? There's always a job for competent people in my town, and quality is always valued. Your brother is a bit young to consider the future of course, but even an internship might really help him start building a resume."
Get out get out get out. "No, I'm afraid the bakery is our dream for now. All our focus will likely be tied up in that for the near future." Yes, the focus flickered when she mentioned the bakery again. "Would you like to try some samples? I brought some to share with the high school earlier when I was looking for employees."
And Mayor Wilkins looked intrigued and she might actually escape this and he smiled. "Oh? I don't suppose you offer muffins?"
Do this fast. "Perhaps in the future, though if you wish for something sweet?"
And a plate of cookies was on the desk.
And the mayor blinked. "Are those freshly made Inda gug gu-la!? I haven't found anyone making those in forever!" Seeing her projected confusion (Get out get out get out), he chuckled. "The closest translation would be 'Sweet Cakes', I suppose."
Fast. "Technically yes and no. This is sort of a non-magical, non-normal food that my brother and I are offering. The bread or cookie or what have you will just happen to be the most perfect example of the desired snack for the person attempting to eat them. Served at the best temperature, with enough variance between samples to not become repetitive, all beyond nutritionally healthy."
The mayor's eyebrow raised. "Really?" And then the cookies on the table didn't shift but were always now blood splattered, then seemed to be made out of coal, then… Some sort of glowing crystal. "Oh my… How fascinating!"
Get out get out get out. "Here, I have a few dozen. They won't spoil or become stale or get soggy or cool off, so you can feel free to save some for later or share them around the office."
Glancing at the paperwork, outwardly calm, she hummed. "So this is it? For paperwork I mean? I best be heading back to keep an eye on my brother or he might just start building random things all over the place."
The creature's attention was fully caught by the cookies. "Hmm? Ah, I suppose so, yes… Though remember to let my people know if you need more small details handled! I'll be sending by someone to acquire more lovely baked goods as soon as you're open for business, I have no doubt."
Get out get out get out. "Then I'll be off! Have a wonderful day, Mayor Wilkins."
A smile and a nod and get out get out GET OUT!
~~~Pocket System~~~
John blinked at the note from his sister. "Don't become an intern?" Or a politician, or a lawyer, or a judge, or a… Basically, avoid the legal system and the political system while they were living in a Realm ruled by Beliefs.
Which, for the record: Duh.
In a place like this, any stereotypes were a bazillion times more likely to be true. Evil lawyers, corrupt leaders, the whole nine yards.
But still… Why the heck would he become an intern?
For one thing, an intern position was basically unpaid labor or jobs without benefits, either handed out to people who can't get something better or lavishly granted to blessed individuals as a free paycheck with no actual responsibilities, depending on the levels of nepotism involved.
Considering he himself had near unlimited funds, materials, and lifespan? Not really that appealing.
Whatever. Where was he? Right, winding the underground 'nature' hiking trail path around to visit Safe Harbor's lower 'ocean' levels so people could enjoy an ocean side stroll without having to build more fake oceans.
It was a bit tricky to do, considering that he wanted each trail segment to shift seasons based on which segment of the underground park they were passing through. Safe Harbor was tropical, Fleeless Market was spring, the area around Doe's Dough was set to fall, and all the way back at Restful Retreat there was a nice quiet winter theme going on.
This setup would have a total of three trail types too: Casual walking, with lots of easy picnic spots and seating and stuff; Adventure hiking, a much harsher journey through mountains and deep valleys and whatever; And Impossible wandering, which had underwater clear tunnels and 'outer space' and underground caverns, fun scenes like that.
The Impossible trail was more similar to a theme park, really, with fun secrets and stuff hidden about for observant people… It should be fun!
…Although apparently it was a good thing he hadn't extended the paths as far as he had planned. There was some sort of limit to how much of the town they could buy? Lame.
Meh, whatever. He could just shift his construction plans to lower levels.
John had found a fun trick using Doors from Steve's world, where you could connect the two when crafting them if you empowered them with a bit of command block work and some magical torches for power: Bound Doors!
Basically? Portals.
Now a visitor could simply open a door upstairs in the Relaxing Retreat area to show up way down HERE in the hiking facilities. A few more were added to the parking garage levels and here and there to act as shortcuts and replacements for elevators.
No reason to bother with stairs and ramps and elevators and stuff when every floor was just a door away, right?
…Although he still ADDED those, of course. It was always a good idea to have some non-Magical, non-Belief, non-Essential backup options.
Was it a bit too much? Maybe.
But it didn't exactly cost anything to implement the plan, so whatever. NOW, theoretically, every room and every floor had at least three non-mystical ways to access them! Or at least escape them, if there was an emergency.
John grinned as he returned from working on the most recent additions to the Impossible trail… And blinked. "Uh… Hello?"
Where had all the golems gone? Oh wait, there's one. "Hey! Where are all the others?"
Then the muscled demonic iron man… Began moving his fingers rapidly.
In sign language.
…Which they could apparently do now. Huh.
The guy helpfully explained that most of the girls were exploring the other two trails that he had completed earlier, with a rotating guard schedule keeping watch on the top floors and the park above to keep an eye on things.
Huh. "Do you have enough defenders to handle shifts like that?"
The demon winced, signing that it was unlikely to be possible when visitors and employees began arriving… But that they could manage for now.
Well… That doesn't seem fair. "If you guys are smart enough to want to do things for fun or organize like this, then you deserve enough backup to take days off and vacation time like anyone else working for my family. How many more golems do we need?"
…Oh.
That was a big number.
Meh, he had enough pumpkins. "Right, I can do that… You guys got a leadership structure set up already?"
A nod.
Good. "Get them to start designing some sort of rest area just for you guys and I'll build it after I'm done reinforcing your numbers. Alright?"
An iron grin full of metal fangs showed satisfaction as the demon gave a thumbs up!
Awesome! "Right, let's add a few more iron golems then… Maybe most of them will have full outfits too this time!"
You know, for variety's sake!
~~~Pocket System~~~
Damn it. "No, it's not your fault… But uh, my sister's policy says you need to join the other supermodels in the Adult Swimming area."
Good thing he had expanded that spot last round, or it would be running out of space by this point.
The iron woman with angelic wings smirked as she sauntered her way from the room, nude and proud of it. Which was fair.
Right. "At least SOME of these new golems are capable of doing shift work without giving my park a triple X rating."
Still, this was more frustrating than he had expected it to be.
Whatever: Progress was progress! "Let's give it another good ol college try! Hopefully with less sexy sorority and more drunken frat energy, but whatever."
He'd have enough golems for shift work eventually!
Iron framework, carved Torch lit pumpkin, and… "Oh."
The new iron nun waved. Much jiggling ensued.
…Technically she was clothed? If you squinted and looked at her sideways?
Fuck it. "You pass, please report to Security."
She smiled, bowing a bit too much in thanks, and twirled to walk out… Oh.
Well, her FRONT was clothed, and that would have to be good enough.
Sigh. Let's try again. He could probably finish this up before his sister came back.