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Animal Crossing: Crippling Debt (KalTammy x Lord DreamCrusher)

"Yes that was a surprise wasn't it? Storms like that aren't very common in this region but they do happen. I can't really recall anything more severe than that during my time working here, but weather can be unpredictable so I don't want to say it's impossible either. Still, regardless of everything else, Mr. Nook's craftsmanship is always impeccable and I feel confident that nothing more than minor damages should be at risk for any buildings." That wasn't to say that other improvements might be at more risk, the flowers, the benches, and so on, but Violet probably shouldn't worry much about her house falling over or such.
 
"Well that's some reassurance, still best to have a bit of a safety net." Granted that plan would rather fall apart once Tom started raising prices again, and hard to maintain as the island became more populated and demanded more of her attention. But as Violet knew Tom was just here to maintain a profitable business and was benefiting on the side, utterly unaware of what his actual goal was with this island in particular.

"Thank you Isabelle for your support, hopefully this is just a one time incident for us all. Do keep me informed of anything new, for now I'm going to focus on getting Bells ready for the next payment before I start another project." Should only take a week or two at most, and then she'd have the rest of the month to make progress. She could do this, she could find a balance with enough time.
 
Around the time Violet was finishing her gathering of funds to secure her next payment, some of the other residents would be having their payments come due. While generally nothing really changed, not that the mayor was privy to all the fine details of every resident, a harsh knocking on her door one afternoon with one very angry canine seeking to converse. "Violet! I need to talk with you!" Followed by a few more heavy slams of a fist on the wooden door.
 
Violet had just got back home from a day of fishing, her main moneymaker at this point. She worried a little that it'd become unsustainable once everybody started doing it to keep up with their debts but she had no good ideas to combat it yet. She hadn't exactly gotten opportunities to create new jobs for everybody yet. Such worries though were pushed out of her head at the hard knocks at her door, startling the woman a little. Nobody had come to her home like this so far, but she had told all the residents where to find her if they needed her.

"Cherry?" The girl came up to the door and opened up, peering out at her first resident. "What's the matter?" She had a bad feeling that it might involve Tom Nook, but she'd been a little on edge about him ever since that last incident.
 
Cherry pushed past Violet once the door was opened, not so much to be rude but she was flustered and clearly didn't want to have this discussion out in the open. She waited just long enough for Violet to close the door behind them before launching into her tirade. "I had to come to you first. That bastard, Tom, is pulling some shady shit here and you deserve to know about it. He stuck some crap into the lending clause about taking alternate payments if we miss one? I was five bells short and he wanted to see my ass? Like hell I'm doing that!"
 
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It was exactly what Violet feared. With a sigh she leaned back against the closed door, facing Cherry as the canine began ranting about Tom, as he pulled a stunt very similar to her own. 'Only five bells? Not even keeping it proportional, are you old man?' This did leave the awkward fact that Violet hadn't warned the rest of the townsfolk about all this and she felt bad about it, but she had no idea how to even broach the topic.

"Unfortunately, he's already pulled the stunt on me. Wanted to see my breasts after being short, told me I was forbidden to talk about it with outsiders. Been a little in shock ever since." Violet shook her head. "You didn't do it right? I can take five bells and clear it up with him, maybe try again to convince him to drop this ridiculous idea of his."
 
"Pfft, of course not!" Cherry responded to the question of whether or not she went through with the demand. "But you are the mayor, he can't get away with crap like this. Wait... what do you mean he did this to you? You run the island." There was clear confusion there as her mind caught up with and processed the fact that Violet was admitting to have been swindled in a similar fashion, though not outright admitting that she actually complied. "I'm no lawyer but this can't be legal. You have to put a stop to this before other people get caught up in it as well. They might actually do what he demands if they lack the spine."
 
"I'm the mayor, yes, but Tom owns everything. The island is his, every building his, I help and decide where to put things, but he's got the power to kick us out." She'd known this when he hired her, that he was the boss but it hadn't bothered her till recently. "I've gone over the contracts with Isabelle. As far as we can see it's all just about legal. He can demand other payments or evict us. He has the only contact with the outside world and I have no idea who would even have jurisdiction over this island. For all we know he's got this place set up as a micro nation."

Hardly the most comforting thought that the law might be what Nook said it was. But this was hardly what Cherry wanted to hear so Violet offered a small smile. "I'll take care of things and try to confront Tom again. For now I want any of you who are behind on payments to come to me first." This would dampen her plan to keep a buffer for herself, but she didn't want anyone else to get exploited.
 
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Cherry was clearly shocked at the arrangement and shook her head a bit in disbelief. "That's... crazy. All the other islands are run by their mayors directly, no other interference. At least that's how I saw it." At the mention of the legality though, well, she didn't bite her tongue on that one. "All the islands here are under the same jurisdiction. They just decided it would be better for the area to give out places for people to build up rather than leave the islands empty. Course, I don't know laws too well but that's crazy if you are telling me that Isabelle or all people thinks this is allowed. What the fuck."

The canine's gaze shifted away as she pondered the situation more deeply than her gut reaction, though she was clearly still paying attention as Violet brought up the idea of all the residents coming to her for aid as her head snapped back up to look at the young woman. "No, that's bullshit." She proclaimed a bit more harshly than she intended, wincing a little in apology. "If this isn't something that can be dealt with so easily then we are all in this together. No taking on the world alone. We should have a residents meeting, build a support group or such I guess, but hell if I'm going to take this lying down. There has to be something we can do to put a stop to this, even if it might take some time to figure out."
 
Violet blinked as the suggestion hit her, the girl having spent this time fretting over the issue yet she hadn't once actually thought about such a joint approach. "Cherry... you're a genius." Or Violet was a little dumb for not having the idea sooner, probably closer to that one. "Nothing in the contract saying we can't discuss this among ourselves, just can't tell potential residents. We can have a general meeting with the rest of the town and figure out a collective approach. It'll be harder for Tom to bully us if we take a collective stance against him!" It might take time to get anywhere like Cherry said, but this seemed a good next step.

"I'll go talk with Isabelle and make an announcement, we can probably use the Museum as a meeting place for everyone. Even outside this issue, having a 'town hall' meeting like this would be good for the island in general I think."
 
Cherry didn't seem to think her idea was exactly 'genius' but was at least thankful to have some direction agreed upon between them. "Yeah I don't know what he's gonna try since I didn't do what he wanted but surely we can all come together and stand up against him." With little more to discuss in the moment things advanced quickly as Violet contacted Isabelle to schedule a meeting of residents. There was no need to get Longclaw involved to use the museum, the town hall wasn't the largest space but it was suitable for the number of current residents at least; though wouldn't work as the island continued to grow in population.

Everyone had shown up as requested, some more on time than others, but that still left Violet at the head of Beau, Cherry, Reneigh, Julian, and Diana as they awaited her to kick things off. Cherry obviously knew what the meeting was about but she didn't want to steal the mayor's thunder so it would seem.
 
Though of course Violet had met with each of the villagers individually, this would be the first time she'd gathered them all together. Like she told Cherry, it felt appropriate to actually set this up and though this was a rather sensitive and troubling subject, Violet hoped that this might be a healthy thing to do regularly. Perhaps once a month? She'd need to discuss it with everyone.

"Good afternoon everybody, I hope you are settling in well. Unfortunately, we have a bit of a tough issue in front of us to tackle." She wasn't sure how to soften the blow, so best to be on with it. "On your seats I had Isabelle print out a copy of a paragraph. While your specific contracts are private between you and Tom Nook, I am quite certain that same clause is in all of them. It seems if anyone is late on full payments, Tom can compel an alternative, and while the language doesn't spell it out, I've already seen what he plans to do... It appears he wishes to pressure sexual favors out of anyone who doesn't pay."
 
Everyone glanced at the printouts to read over the section and the reactions to the writing and the words of the mayor were rather varied. Beau seemed almost to blush, or he would if he was physically capable, while Julian had a more exaggerated reaction as befitting his... energy. Reneigh had about a similar reaction to Cherry during their initial meeting, angry and hurt but perhaps with fewer curses and a bit more restraint comparatively. Most curiously was Diana who was certainly shocked but seemed almost... approving of Tom's wit. "My my, how devilish. Completely horrid of course yet... one can't deny the intellect." Though even as she claimed it was 'horrid' there remained a certain hint of respect to suggest she wasn't speaking entirely truthfully, though in reality she was conflicted and far from having her mind made up so immediately.

Julian was the second to speak up as he focused on the problem. "Well I'm used to being the star of the show but I don't hand out such affection so easily. I suppose there's nothing to it but to pack up and leave if that's the case. Assuming you can't do anything about these shady deals, mayor." Cherry chimed in to further explain and lessen Violet's workload in trying to catch everyone else up with everything. "Oh I'm sure we can figure something out but it's not that easy. Tom owns the damn island; even Violet is a subordinate to him, what what. How would any of us even leave when he has the contract with the airline?" That idea was preposterous to Reneigh who butted in. "He can't hold us hostage here! With my fans, all it takes is one quick video and I could have enough uproar to bring the law down against this shady practice, ayup yup."
 
Violet watched the various reactions, eyes flicking between residents. The outrage was there of course, but unfortunately so was the prediction from Tom, Violet's eyes lingering on Diana with a hint of dismay. Tom Nook had researched his residents well and she had a sinking feeling that somehow he would get exactly what he wanted in the long run. She tried to put those predictions of doom aside and focus on keeping that from coming to pass.

"Unfortunately our contracts make it quite clear that we are not allowed to discuss this with anyone who isn't an island resident. How that would hold up legally is dubious, but Isabelle thinks Tom has the advantage there. So for the time being, until we can think up a solid plan to handle Tom, we need to keep this between ourselves, as well as anyone else who unwittingly traps themselves on this island." Part of Violet did still want to call Tom's bluff, imagining he couldn't possibly get away with this without trouble. But she'd need to hold back on that impulse.

"For the moment, until we can come up with a plan, I want you all to come to me before you make any payments to Tom. First step should be in denying him opportunities to exploit us, and so I'll be willing to help cover any shortages for the time being." She hoped others in the community would also volunteer to help. Surely this wouldn't backfire on her, right?
 
Reneigh sighed. "If Isabelle thinks it's unwise to make a scene right now then I guess I respect her opinion. She's never led anyone astray." Of course, the equine still deflated at the thought of having to be stuck under this lingering threat but at least a lot of the initial outrage was flowing away; and not just from her either. That said, Diana was her prickly self and wasn't exactly so enthralled with the idea of cooperation. "Well it's not quite my fault if you lot aren't able to manage your money. I suppose not all of us are blessed with wealth and intellect, no doy."

While Cherry balled her fists and looked ready to start throwing punches, Julian chimed in to cut through the middle of things. "Seems to me like most of us would be happy to help one another out in these times, mayor. Doesn't seem right to put all the burden upon yourself, glitter. If we are to be stuck here for the time being, well, best to make it as fabulous a time as it can be no?" Beau, on the other hand, was notably quiet through all of this even now; lost in thought perhaps but certainly continued to seem very embarrassed.
 
A response like Diana's wasn't too surprising unfortunately, but Julian chimed in before the mayor herself needed to. Flashing the unicorn a thankful smile, the mayor glanced over everyone else, noting Beau's embarrassment but not going to call him out. "Thank you, I'll see if Isabelle can help set up some sort of fund we can pool into. Nobody should feel pressured to donate, or feel like they have to rely on it, but it will be there should anyone need it." For her part Violet would not be taking from the fund. It felt wrong as mayor to take from her residents like that.

"Ultimately this will just be about buying time until we can find a solution to Tom. Given his record for setting up new islands and villages periodically I think at worst we'll just have to wait him out until he moves on." Violet was utterly unaware that Tom seemed to have a bit more of a long term interest here.
 
The group agreed upon the communal fund idea, well except for Diana who continued to have no real interest in such things, but otherwise the idea was considered sound by the residents. Of course, none of them save for Cherry had actually been forced to make a payment just yet so any true details on how desperate the financial situation would be remained scarce. Isabelle would be the logical center point to handle the fund, she was near always available in the Town Hall and could both receive donations and give them out depending on how freely Violet wanted access to the money to be.

For now the plan was patience, to mitigate the worst of the problem until a more clear solution could be found. Long term risk was present, that they might be stuck to these deals until Tom Nook left the island for greener pastures, but hope remained that they would find some way out of these shady deals before then. Meanwhile life on the island would go on and the mayor would be expected to continue courting potential new residents whenever they'd arrive. How easy would it be for her to keep all this a secret? To effectively be playing a part in trapping them under similar circumstances? Well, perhaps it would be easier to trick one individual more than others.

Over the next few weeks most of the other residents would have their payments due. For now they didn't need much help, having been made aware of how serious the consequences could be for failure, but a few hundred bells here or there still took a slight chunk out of Violet's pocket. One thought loomed over her mind though, she was close to having all the minimum 'requirements' as laid down by the snooty cat Ankha and maybe, just maybe, working to get her stuck on this island wouldn't be something to feel so guilty about considering how poorly she'd treated the mayor during her last visit...
 
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