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wildestlogs2021-10-01 09:11 pm
wildestmods) wrote in wildestlogs2021-10-01 09:11 pm
TEST DRIVE ※ 1
TEST DRIVE #1
These woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but being lost in them is pretty alarming to most people. Perhaps it's lucky you're hearing what sounds like... a party?
If you follow the sounds through thinning trees, a brick-paved road rises from the ground ahead. Keep going, and you'll find yourself approaching a bustling festival. Small, jaunty, colorful buildings line a way bedecked with flags, banners, and (of course) ever-present vendors.
Good morrow! Dost thou carest for a turkey leg? Some funnel cake? Modestly priced costume jewelry? Come right this way, dear visitor! The faire is here!
First, however, the faeries would like a moment of your time. At one of the entry gates, a spritely, brightly-dressed faerie tells you, "Tickets are long-since sold out, but joy is one currency we accept. So as long as you plan to enjoy yourselves, you may enter with a day pass. However, please read the sign. By entering, it means you agree to the terms."
The faerie points to a large wooden sign with words painted on it. The sign says something to the effect that the summer faeries are not responsible for anything that happens at the faire, and by entering you're agreeing to exempt them from indemnifying you for not offering the same magical protections they offer proper ticket holders in the unlikely event of surprise and disaster, etc etc.
Fortunately, it's actually not that different from a standard legal agreement for some kind of dangerous activity like go-cart racing. Of course faeries would be careful about any legal disclaimers for events.
USEFUL LINKS
A FAIRE SHAKE
A renaissance faire is in full swing in the woods today, or so it would seem. But no one here is just playing a part: these outsize personalities, bright costumes, and pseudo-Elizabethan voices are perfectly real.
It's the only place you can go for food and appropriate clothing. Also there's magic at your feet, drawing you towards others bound by the Quest magic, making it so all paths seem to lead to the Faire. Even if you don't want to enter, it feels like you have to, like there's something important to find.
a) The Faerie Toll
Some of the faeries are lighthearted and cheerful, with round and heart shaped faces and brightly colored clothes. These summer faeries are willing to part with some faerie coin in exchange for certain actions. Anyone that watches others take them up on their deals can see that the actions are indeed harmless, and there is no catch. Apparently happiness and frivolity really can be exchanged with the faeries here. Ways to earn a small bit of coin: physical comedy, agreeing to a round in the dunk tank (yes they have one), telling the faeries a good joke (but it really has to be a good one, by faerie standards), letting oneself getting pied in the face, and pieing someone you're with in the face, among other things. Silly dances are also in high demand, especially ones with actual rules vs. ones that are made up on the spot, with a clear preference for moves like tiktok dances, the macarena, or the Hustle.
Some of the faeries are lighthearted and cheerful, with round and heart shaped faces and brightly colored clothes. These summer faeries are willing to part with some faerie coin in exchange for certain actions. Anyone that watches others take them up on their deals can see that the actions are indeed harmless, and there is no catch. Apparently happiness and frivolity really can be exchanged with the faeries here. Ways to earn a small bit of coin: physical comedy, agreeing to a round in the dunk tank (yes they have one), telling the faeries a good joke (but it really has to be a good one, by faerie standards), letting oneself getting pied in the face, and pieing someone you're with in the face, among other things. Silly dances are also in high demand, especially ones with actual rules vs. ones that are made up on the spot, with a clear preference for moves like tiktok dances, the macarena, or the Hustle.
b) New and In Stock
You tried to steal from the faeries instead of paying their toll, or have otherwise misbehaved. The faeries like your moxie, though. They'll let you keep what you took (if you took something), but first you're gonna have to do some time in the stocks.
Will anyone take mercy on you and bust you loose? Does anyone have a tomato? Perhaps you meet someone else while they're suffering a similar punishment in the other stocks across from you. If you didn't actually steal, maybe you got framed. Or you're in the stocks with your "partner in crime" who you were falsely accused of being affiliated.
Fortunately, you won't be in there overly long. Even if you can't escape and no one busts you out, the faeries aren't particularly cruel and the absolute worst you'll get thrown your way by the crowd is a fruit.
If you push, the faeries might also let you out if someone else agrees to be responsible for your good behavior. This could, naturally, lead to both of you doing more time together.
You tried to steal from the faeries instead of paying their toll, or have otherwise misbehaved. The faeries like your moxie, though. They'll let you keep what you took (if you took something), but first you're gonna have to do some time in the stocks.
Will anyone take mercy on you and bust you loose? Does anyone have a tomato? Perhaps you meet someone else while they're suffering a similar punishment in the other stocks across from you. If you didn't actually steal, maybe you got framed. Or you're in the stocks with your "partner in crime" who you were falsely accused of being affiliated.
Fortunately, you won't be in there overly long. Even if you can't escape and no one busts you out, the faeries aren't particularly cruel and the absolute worst you'll get thrown your way by the crowd is a fruit.
If you push, the faeries might also let you out if someone else agrees to be responsible for your good behavior. This could, naturally, lead to both of you doing more time together.
c) I'm Just Here For the Turkey Leg
Wandering lost in the woods is hungry work. Maybe you know better than to eat food offered by faeries, but the humans of the faire should be safe enough, right? Where else are you going to find a whole turkey leg, a funnel cake, or a cold beer around here? The lines can get pretty long though, and sometimes orders get mixed up, or someone swipes what was yours! Maybe they bump into you and spill food down your front. Or perhaps you see someone with no money and decide to offer to share.
Some of the food seems out of this world or is clearly made for a more alien palate (not always in an appetizing way). Most of the food has big enough portions if you're not the only one eating
Wandering lost in the woods is hungry work. Maybe you know better than to eat food offered by faeries, but the humans of the faire should be safe enough, right? Where else are you going to find a whole turkey leg, a funnel cake, or a cold beer around here? The lines can get pretty long though, and sometimes orders get mixed up, or someone swipes what was yours! Maybe they bump into you and spill food down your front. Or perhaps you see someone with no money and decide to offer to share.
Some of the food seems out of this world or is clearly made for a more alien palate (not always in an appetizing way). Most of the food has big enough portions if you're not the only one eating
d) Surely, You Joust
Whether you're just watching, betting on the outcome, or have convinced someone to armor you up and put you on a horse, the jousting tournament is a major event! Will anyone be able to unseat the intimidating Black Knight? Have you started a rivalry with a competitor you just met in a line twenty minutes ago? Are you helping another member of the squad by pumping them up for their match? Or are you just over here to see how many horses you can pet without anyone noticing?
Even those not interested in the competition might want to give it a whirl. There are different rewards for unseating certain levels of competitors like food supplies, flasks of boozeahol, small bags of silver or gold, and weapons of moderate quality, like swords, knives, or bows.
For those that don't own their own armor and lances, some light armor and lances are on loan but the armor is all dinged up and the lances are easily broken, putting someone using them at a disadvantage.
Whether you're just watching, betting on the outcome, or have convinced someone to armor you up and put you on a horse, the jousting tournament is a major event! Will anyone be able to unseat the intimidating Black Knight? Have you started a rivalry with a competitor you just met in a line twenty minutes ago? Are you helping another member of the squad by pumping them up for their match? Or are you just over here to see how many horses you can pet without anyone noticing?
Even those not interested in the competition might want to give it a whirl. There are different rewards for unseating certain levels of competitors like food supplies, flasks of boozeahol, small bags of silver or gold, and weapons of moderate quality, like swords, knives, or bows.
For those that don't own their own armor and lances, some light armor and lances are on loan but the armor is all dinged up and the lances are easily broken, putting someone using them at a disadvantage.
e) Everyone's a Comedian
You (and maybe your threadmate) are being teased by a pair of funnymen doing a bit, be they jesters, Punch and Judy style puppets, or a pair of washing well wenches. The audience is delighted, but are you? What are you both going to do?
You (and maybe your threadmate) are being teased by a pair of funnymen doing a bit, be they jesters, Punch and Judy style puppets, or a pair of washing well wenches. The audience is delighted, but are you? What are you both going to do?
f) Wares, If You Have Coin
You're here! You have some gold! Time to get yourself some "period appropriate" (for varying values of both words) gear. Have you found a shopping buddy? What if you resell some goods you just picked up at a slight markup? Are you suspicious of the quality of a vendor's goods? Maybe this item over here is the last of its kind, and you and this stranger want it!
You're here! You have some gold! Time to get yourself some "period appropriate" (for varying values of both words) gear. Have you found a shopping buddy? What if you resell some goods you just picked up at a slight markup? Are you suspicious of the quality of a vendor's goods? Maybe this item over here is the last of its kind, and you and this stranger want it!
g) Stop! Thief!
Someone picked your pocket or snatched something out of your hands! It might even be your thread partner. Do you give chase? If your threadmate isn't the thief, are they helping you chase the thief down or getting in your way?
Someone picked your pocket or snatched something out of your hands! It might even be your thread partner. Do you give chase? If your threadmate isn't the thief, are they helping you chase the thief down or getting in your way?
h) Archery Range
Are you taking the chance to start learning a new skill on the practice targets? If it's any incentive, several fair maidens and handsome young fellows are hanging about, flirting with the best shots. If you're already good, you might be competing in the archery competition for a prize! The targets are close enough you can make conversation with the person one target over.
Are you taking the chance to start learning a new skill on the practice targets? If it's any incentive, several fair maidens and handsome young fellows are hanging about, flirting with the best shots. If you're already good, you might be competing in the archery competition for a prize! The targets are close enough you can make conversation with the person one target over.
i) Fortune Told
A stubborn young blonde woman in a long purple robe with a pointed hat - one that looks more than a little bit witchy - is determined to read your fortune for you. Loudly. Whether you like it or not. She has to demonstrate her skills to drum up business, you see! Now please hold your hand still, she just needs to get a good look at your fate line...
(Note: Players will have to npc the fortuneteller says in their thread and can go absolutely wildly wrong. However, sometimes the fortuneteller suddenly gets more intense and guesses a few things closer to the truth...)
A stubborn young blonde woman in a long purple robe with a pointed hat - one that looks more than a little bit witchy - is determined to read your fortune for you. Loudly. Whether you like it or not. She has to demonstrate her skills to drum up business, you see! Now please hold your hand still, she just needs to get a good look at your fate line...
(Note: Players will have to npc the fortuneteller says in their thread and can go absolutely wildly wrong. However, sometimes the fortuneteller suddenly gets more intense and guesses a few things closer to the truth...)
j) Out of Water
You draw attention to yourself with your behavior, or by how strange your manner of dress is (according to the faire folk, anyway.) Perhaps you have a still-functioning small electronic like a smartphone that's unlike anything they've ever seen. People are starting to give you the stink eye or ask you invasive questions. Will your threadmate help you out?
You draw attention to yourself with your behavior, or by how strange your manner of dress is (according to the faire folk, anyway.) Perhaps you have a still-functioning small electronic like a smartphone that's unlike anything they've ever seen. People are starting to give you the stink eye or ask you invasive questions. Will your threadmate help you out?
k) Bargaining With the Fae
There are some faeries here that are different from the sunny, cheerful summer faeries running the fair. These are the winter faeries, more ethereal and elegant, more immaculately dressed in finery that's a little too fancy for the event. Despite their beauty - or maybe because of it - these faeries are...colder. Many of them are busying themselves with maintaining magical lanterns around the edges of the faire. If asked, they tell your character they're handling security and to bug off.
But some of them maintain stands in shadier-looking areas of the faire. They're willing to offer more in exchange for greater payment. Warm, durable clothing to cut through the slight chill that comes at evening and night time. Swords made of much stronger metals than can be found elsewhere, of better make, with edges that take forever to dull. Bows with strings that rarely ever break.
Their deals are definitely backhanded though. For payment, they might say something like "we could really use your view on something, just a half hour of your time" and instead of having you participate in conversation where your insight is welcome, you lose your ability to see for a half hour.
These effects are unpleasant but usually temporary, lasting no longer than a half hour or so - but it's not like they'll tell you that. And if you try to go back to the stall afterwards to confront them, they'll have mysteriously disappeared. You'll at least get to keep whatever your bought and it will be of good quality, but the joke is definitely on you.
There are some faeries here that are different from the sunny, cheerful summer faeries running the fair. These are the winter faeries, more ethereal and elegant, more immaculately dressed in finery that's a little too fancy for the event. Despite their beauty - or maybe because of it - these faeries are...colder. Many of them are busying themselves with maintaining magical lanterns around the edges of the faire. If asked, they tell your character they're handling security and to bug off.
But some of them maintain stands in shadier-looking areas of the faire. They're willing to offer more in exchange for greater payment. Warm, durable clothing to cut through the slight chill that comes at evening and night time. Swords made of much stronger metals than can be found elsewhere, of better make, with edges that take forever to dull. Bows with strings that rarely ever break.
Their deals are definitely backhanded though. For payment, they might say something like "we could really use your view on something, just a half hour of your time" and instead of having you participate in conversation where your insight is welcome, you lose your ability to see for a half hour.
These effects are unpleasant but usually temporary, lasting no longer than a half hour or so - but it's not like they'll tell you that. And if you try to go back to the stall afterwards to confront them, they'll have mysteriously disappeared. You'll at least get to keep whatever your bought and it will be of good quality, but the joke is definitely on you.
l) Wild Card!
You can make up anything your character might reasonably see at a normal Renaissance Faire, or place an encounter in the woods nearby! Go wild!
You can make up anything your character might reasonably see at a normal Renaissance Faire, or place an encounter in the woods nearby! Go wild!
❧ This counts as a plot and is part of game canon! This means that new players aren't the only ones that can make top-levels. Current characters can be thrown in like it's any other plot or event. The default for threads is that they're game canon if all characters involved are apped in or already in game, but prospective players may opt out and consider a thread non-canon if they're not happy with it.
❧ Feel free to play around with powers. If your character has powers from canon you want to play around with, go for it. If you'd like to test out possibilities for game powers, also go for it. Feel free to change it up from thread to thread if you need to. If you want to keep a thread as canon this can be handwaved as the magic making characters' powers shift a few times before settling.
❧ Potential players may use test drive threads as their log samples. However, at least one post in their thread must fit the requirements for apps, and in quality and length (200 words). If you do plan on using a thread as a sample, please make sure the writing throughout your threads is a good example of your writing skills and has some solid examples of the character's voice.
❧ Players can count TDMs towards AC, with the same AC rules as any other threads.
❧ The game is invite-only. Players without invites are allowed to tdm since some of them may know someone in game to ask for one, and since some people enjoy TDMs just for fun in games they don't plan to app into. But an invite is required during the apping process.
❧ The game is at a starting cap at 30 players. Right now the current number of invitees is likely to not exceed the game's 30 slots, but if we go a few over they will still be allowed to app during this first round. Future apps will be rolling apps and will have a wait queue if the cap has been exceeded.
❧ Invites at game start are limited to current and former players of the mods' previous game Piper90 (
piper90), former players of the first incarnation of Wilderlands (wilderlands, and people friended to the main mod's plurk. If any of those individuals want to invite someone outside those pools in the first app round, they can request it when the mods make a headcount of potential appers. If the game will be under (or only slightly over) 30 players to start, some extra players may also be invited, but the mods want to limit it to exceed the player cap too much. ❧ The first game round will be apps only, no reserves. Apps open: 10/15/21. Game start: 11/01/21
no subject
[Or targeted.]
[No no nooo he does not like that thought, that after all this time, it's coming back to bite them in the ass.]
[But there's no telling how bad the situation is yet or if Apokolips is really involved.]
This way, I think. Krypto and I just woke up in this random clearing.
[He whistles and Krypto runs over to his side.]
Buddy, think you can take us back the way we came?
[Krypto barks once in agreement and starts to lead the way.]
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It’s all conjecture at this point; Tim doesn’t want to give a false impression. They’ve got this because they’re here. They can’t opt out of dealing with whatever this is. There’s a growing sense of guilt about his initial relief to not be here alone. Kon does not need this on his plate. He squeezes Kon’s shoulder lightly and lets it drop.
Krypto, at least, has no hesitation. ]
Wait!
[ Tim scrambles to repeat his marker routine, wedging another stick straight into the ground, and then chases after the dog. ]
We have to keep track of where we were. I don’t have a compass.
[ Or any of the three communicators that he was carrying, or a cartographer’s knowledge of Gotham. Even using the sun for for cardinal directions won’t help until they’ve been here long enough to determine which way it’s moving (and that would still assume that it’s really Sol, not a modified VR version. ]
no subject
[Krypto stops, watches what Tim's doing, figures out the purpose of it, and then goes over to a nearby tree. He jumps up on it and scratch scratch scratches the bark with his little doggie nails until there are visible claw marks.]
[Then he looks back at the two in expectation of praise. Kon grins and bends over to gives him some scritchies.]
Good boy! If you can do that every so often it'd help a lot. Nice thinking.
[Krypto barks once and then starts leading them back in the direction he and Kon came from, sniffing around to make sure it's the right way.]
He is crazy smart sometimes. If he could talk, I'd probably ask him to do my homework for me.
[Every so often, Krypto jumps up and scrabbles his claws against some bark to leave a mark.]
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He does not expect the dog to parse the meaning behind sticking a branch in the ground in a particular way and finding an equivalent that he can easily accomplish. The surprise shows behind the mask. ]
Good boy.
[ The dog had to be smarter in the Unternet because of Kon’s perception of the dog’s intelligence, right? Right?
No one ever tells Batman exactly how smart the Kryptonian dog is. ]
Would it be any worse than having Bart do your homework at superspeed?
no subject
Probably better. Bart sometimes writes so fast the paper singes from friction burns.
If Krypto could talk, I could just set him up with some kind of voice-to-text.
[Krypto leads them to a perfectly mundane-looking clearing.]
[There's nothing unusual there. No sign of a VR spawn point, no bubbling fountain of magic. It's just a clearing in the woods.]
It was right here. One second we were in Smallville, the next we were falling through this tunnel and neither of us could fly out.
And there were these voices, saying something...about the Green? That's a thing, right? I remember Poison Ivy mentioning it once, when she showed up in Smallville that one time.
no subject
They make paper out of rocks now.
[ He’d much rather focus on that than on mystical environmental forces not fully understood by science. Tim can spot where some of the grass was bent, near Krypto, and he crouches down to look, but… it really is just a clearing. He gives the dog an idle pet. ]
It’s… a Thing.
[ The capital is audible. Tim hates admitting when he’s uninformed so he offers a comparative example. ]
The Speed Force is also a Thing that someone else is better qualified to explain, but I don’t think anything of Poison Ivy’s causes group hallucinations. More like simultaneous independent hallucinations.
no subject
[Kon puts his hands on his hips and looks around.]
Maybe this is the Unternet and Krypto and I - or just me, but I'm rolling with thinking he's not an npc because villains would hook Superman's dog up to VR - got sucked in without remembering we got jumped and had tech forced on us. The Green possibly got mentioned because the Unternet's bad guy central, so Poison Ivy or some villain who knows what it is maybe has been in there - or here, I guess - at some point.
Or.
[He sighs.]
It's a bunch of hyper-timey magic junk tied to a nature spirit force or something that grabbed us from two random places that just liked your Unternet avatar's fashion sense. Magic is stupid like that.
[He tugs at Tim's cape.]
And it is a nice costume, way better than your other duds. [A smirk tugs his lips.] Your head looks less like it's shaped like a Q-tip.
[He lets go of the cape and holds his hands in a round shape.]
In your other costume, it's like a perfect little matchstick. Maybe the magic just hated your aesthetic.
[He grins, fully aware of the unmitigated gall of someone doing costume critique when their superhero costume is jeans and a t-shirt.]
no subject
[ He’s reasonably certain that Kon isn’t his subconscious, and if Tim was going to will two things into the Unternet, the other would probably be Cassie or Bart (no offence to Krypto). ]
There’s nothing wrong with the Red Robin costume. At least it’s mine.
[ From what he’s seen of himself, the created costume is almost entirely not his, even if it sprang from his head. The colours are Kon’s, the stripes are Dick’s, the logo is Dick’s with a nod to Cassie. Even the double buckles on his gloves are Bart’s.
The nice thing about the Red Robin costume is that it doesn’t come with such a high bar of expectations to live up to. This one feels entirely too personal to walk around in, which makes Tim doubly defensive. ]
You do know, for the rest of us, costumes only have three purposes and looking cool isn’t one of them? Body armour, secret identity protection, and recognition as someone to be trusted or feared. Cowls are better for hiding identities, and there’s nothing wrong with the shape of my head.
[ Dammit he is neither a qtip nor Charlie Brown. ]
I’m ruling out aesthetic hating magic because you’re still wearing an iron-on decal.
no subject
You're just mad you Bats have to spend enough money to buy a car to replace a wrecked costume [all that kevlar and synthetics] and I just have to print out some decals, grab a value pack of Hanes, and fork out $7 for jeans at the Dollar General.
[He holds up a hand.]
Admit it, you're jealous of my country thriftiness and newfound horse sense.
no subject
But still, some tit for tat is called for. ]
Your country thriftiness and horse sense.
[ Almost deadpan, but for the faintest incredulity and slight uptick in pitch. Tim doesn’t physically raise his eyebrow, and he doesn’t point out that Kon’s just admitted Bart does his math homework or that he’s from Honolulu or San Francisco, both world reknowned folksy rural bastions, surely.
He just stands back and lets the statement hang heavy in air, practically begging for further exposition. Tim looks expectantly at Kon. And waits. Tell him more about your country thriftiness and horse sense. He’ll wait. Forever. ]
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[
Little chum.][He puts his hands on his hips.]
What? Look, with how much I do around the farm I'm technically a farmer now.
[He takes one hand off his hip and gestures with a dramatic sweep, as if conveying a vision of the waves of amber grain.]
I'm one of the people of the land now, the salt of the earth.
That means I have country wisdom and sensibility.
no subject
[ As individual parts of an argument, there’s not much to refute.
Kon does have a lot of farm-related chores. Tim knows that there are laws about how much work kids can do on a family farm, but it would be hard to say that Conner Kent wasn’t a farmer. Maybe a farmhand, but a win on semantics is cheap.
Salt of the earth, by any definition. Man of the land… really grasping at a straws. He could rightfully call the conclusion empirical, but enh. Like Kon has ever cared about empirical or circular logic. ]
Sounds like you’re ready to spend your weekends hanging out in the parking lot of the only DQ for a hundred miles, blasting forbidden rock and/or roll from the transistor radio you keep hidden on the back of the old pickup truck. Do you want me to let the Titans know you’re embracing the American Gothic lifestyle, or will you splurge for the telegram?
[ He only half succeeds at keeping the grin off his face. ]
no subject
[He grins and looks around.]
Alright. So what do we do now? No clues, no way of being 100% sure of what the situation is yet.
And... can you feel that? Like, I don't know, a sense we're supposed to go somewhere?
[He tilts his head.]
Also I can hear people. I don't have superhearing anymore but my hearing's still pretty sharp. Sounds like some kind of social gathering. Think we should check it out?
no subject
[ The humor is fleeting on Tim's face. ]
I’m trying to ignore that feeling.
[ Inexplicable calling tugging at him to go this way, you should be going this way, isn’t this way nice? As far as Tim can tell, this way is exactly the same as every other direction, and it doesn’t even have the wind or sun’s position in its favor.
But he knew even before Kon tilted his head which way they were talking about. Knew it in his gut. ]
But... yes. Do I have to tell you to expect the unexpected?
no subject
[That'd be a no.]
[He turns to Krypto.]
C'mon, boy. Stay on your guard, okay?