A Fictional Story, And Request For Opinions

[Captain Goddammit]

Once upon a time, a burner noticed another burner lived right in his home town. He contacted them, asking to get together, see each other's projects, pictures etc. But got no reply.
Later, as it was time to head to BRC, the elusive home town homie put the burner on the spot, needing their gear hauled to BRC. Our hero, not even knowing this stranger, couldn't really say no, even though his load was already far greater than most.
Return of said goods to the common home town wasn't supposed to be included… but the fictional character dropped stuff off to be hauled home on the last day anyway.
Fast forward to present time. Our fictional person never made any attempt to retrieve their property, apparently assuming that indefinite storage was an acceptable imposition.

If this were in fact an actual event, would it be proper to throw the fucking leech's shit in the trash?

[FIGJAM]

Yes!

All the signs were there from the beginning.

[GreyCoyote]

It's been abandoned, and it's yours. Sell it, toss it, gift it... whatever makes sense to you.

Speaking here hypothetically, of course.

[Elorrum]

I'd say hypothetically that as a fictional device, to heighten suspense, and reader investment, of course, a deadline could be used, and counting down to that time, would draw your readers in. Imagine parallel action lines: one, the storer, getting the trash ready to take to the curb, two the owner, racing home by car or shank's mare, to get there before the trashman. something like that? If conditions were never mentioned as to dates, and what to do with the belongings within a week of the burn, and nobody is contacting the other, then both fictional characters have dropped the ball. I would tend to side with the character, the hero, I'd guess, who made the sacrifice to help someone else out, and got stuck holding the duffel bag, feeling abused, and not being appreciated much as heroes should be.

[Captain Goddammit]

I almost forgot… I was going to make the plot of the fictional story a little thicker by adding that the load-bearing burner was even hit up for money to help buy the fictional character's ticket. But to no avail.

[Eric]

What Ellorum said. Have said fictional character attempt contact with the asswipe with a deadline via phone & email (a written form is great, it gives ... said character ... legal cover), once deadline has passed, Craigslist it or trash it. The "hero" fictional character went above & beyond, and if they belong to a regional email list, they might want to let others on the list know there is available gear that was abandoned at their house by an irresponsible character.

[Sham]

The hero has much more patience than I would. From experience, I know for sure that the abuser will throw some very real guilt into the mix within a very short time. The villain will make themselves a victim. This fictional story is not new by any means. It happens to good guys everyday---in real life!

Hypothetically speaking, I would donate all that shit to someone in need.

[tamarakay]

I agree sham, this sounds eerily familiar! But in the story I read the villain goes on the attack, slinging falsehoods and hatred, attempting to tarnish the heroine, errr um hero.

I also agree it would be a nice turn to see other hard working but struggling future burners get some needed gear.

[theCryptofishist]

And, for some dramatic tension, a minor character tips off the person in question and suggests that he contact the central figures.

[ygmir]

I think this is a re-run......seems I've heard it before.

but yeah, if hero calls said despot, and gets no instruction or reply, leaving a message in 30 days it's all to be gone, or storage will be charged, can at times help.

[AntiM]

Deja-vu all over again.

We are not alone.

[Elliot]

Reminds me of the hexayurt I hauled for a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend in 2012.

The stuff is abandoned. The End.

[Kinetik V]

The Karma Gods have left you a pile of stuff that hopefully has some value so that you can recover some of your costs. Consider it abandoned and move on.

I would also offer to privately share such a hypothetical story with anyone who might be snookered into providing similar services in the future if you were to hear of such a thing happening.After all some stories should not be allowed to have a sequel.

[Simon of the Playa]

BURN IT.

[mgb327]

BURN IT.

Yes, by all means....

[ygmir]

don't burn him unless he weighs more than a duck.

*did I say him out loud?*

[lucky420]

Bump

Because I love a good story

[Captain Goddammit]

In the story I was writing, the goods left for storage would be pretty small, the return load only being a part of the original cargo. The moral of the story has mostly to do with the principal of the matter.

[maryanimal]

...no good deeds go unpunished...I feel for the hero of this hypothetical situation. It's been abandoned, gift what ever you can to a deserving person.

[Elliot]

BURN IT.

Oh Simon, Simon, Simon. Ye had to go an spoil the whole charm of the thread, didn'tcha. Now we all have to stop thinking "Burn it!" while giggling in our beards. Where's yer sense of subtlety, mahn?

[Elliot]

... The moral of the story has mostly to do with the principal of the matter.

MEMO

From: Editor

To: Writer

Say... would the principal of the matter wish to explore the principle of the matter?



(CAUTION, thread drift in progress. But you asked for opinions!)

[Lonesomebri]

This is why there needs to be a fictional burn the day after the Temple goes down.

[Captain Goddammit]

BURN IT.

On the great author Simon's excellent suggestion I think the next part of the story will be the author burning the mystery package, without even bothering to ever open it.
In this tale, it's unimaginable that it could contain anything of value. Nor could the author give a shit.

[mdmf007]

The shits yours to do with what you wish in my mind.

[mgb327]

Or, if you feel so inclined, I can give you some things that go "BOOM" and you can *blow shit up*. I would, myself, blow the shit up....then burn it.

[Jackass]

Didn't Rainbow Brown author a book on this very subject?...simon?

[Captain Goddammit]

Or, if you feel so inclined, I can give you some things that go "BOOM" and you can *blow shit up*. I would, myself, blow the shit up....then burn it.

The ONLY thing wrong with that idea is having to clean up the mess.

[Box Burner]

Are you sure that the vice principle can't handle this?

[BBadger]

So did the author of this story ever indicate whether said hippie antagonist actually requested the protagonist take the stuff home for him? I'm thinking that maybe the motive was that the antagonist was just dumping off his shit under the mistaken impression that he was doing his "good deed" by not just abandoning the shit on the playa. The parasite "gifts" the junk, maybe even thinking it as "repayment," to his host and considers the transaction square.

Maybe the protagonist will come to this conclusion as well, possibly because he can't remember the details of the drop-off. For comic relief, the moment the junk is summarily tossed, the oxygen-wasting, parasite antagonist will come back claiming his garbage. Though I'm not going to read the end to find out, it's possible that the host plays the sucker again and agrees to pay back the mooch for his nominally shitty lost property to get the asshole out of his hair. It's like that your-life-as-a-self-perpetuating-welcome-mat character theme in many shows and stories.

The alternative is that the protagonist did meet the mooch face-to-face during this return-transportation transaction and agreed, again, to serve as this dude's bitch. The protagonist may win some points for rationalizing that the antagonist would simply leave the mess if he couldn't find a proper host for his parasitic habits; however, it's still that self-perpetuating cycle of "victimhood" by a person who just can't tell a hippie to move along.

My actual hope is that the protagonist runs into the antagonist after having tossed the shit, and the antagonist gets angry that his shit was tossed. Them, rather than apologizing, the protagonist blows up at the antagonist that he though the junk was abandoned, and that the hippie needs to get a clue. If that's how the story ends, please post that chapter.

[Elliot]

Are you sure that the vice principle can't handle this?

The principle of vice is certainly well established in our society. Even accepted, at least in one half of our double standard. Now, where are we going with this?