Collaborative Storytelling - Tumblr Posts
I love reading all the stories here; I’ve been up and down the notes and I have several versions saved to my drafts, one of which I’ve begun writing out my own Fae story on. However, this post has actually had an influence on how I interpret the play I’m currently in, so it seems only appropriate to reblog a version of it on the eve of our play opening as well.
The play is called Almost, Maine, and it’s a subtly surrealist series of small town romances. The blurb on the back of the script describes it as “a midwinter night’s dream”. Basically, weird, seemingly mystical things are happening in the lives of people in this town as they fall in and out of love, and at the end of the night, everyone sees the northern lights. You could read it just abstractly as ‘the northern lights make weird (or should I say wyrd) things happen’, or you could even rationalize most of the things away, but I’ve decided that it makes sense that Almost (that’s the name of the town) just has a very heavy Fae presence and the Fae--likely excited by the northern lights--are meddling in everyone’s affairs--much like in Midsummer Night’s Dream.
I even decided that one of the characters I play, Ginette, actually is a Fae who left the Fae realm because she’s in love with a human, Pete. That explains, for me, how she *SPOILERS* walks all the way around the Earth in about 10 minutes for him--it’s done with the Fae magic she has, but in my interpretation, she has literally travelled all that distance for him. Then, when the northern lights appear at the end, it’s even deeper for me, because I’ve decided that for Ginette that’s a sign that the Fae have finally approved of her romance with Pete.
Pete would be incredibly overwhelmed by all this. He freaks out when she says “I love you” for the first time. It’s best he doesn’t know all this.
Anyways, I know this is a digression from the main subject matter of this post, but I just wanted to share how considering the Fae has been useful to me in deepening my acting and my character backstories. Thanks for all the great stories!
Irish people; The faeries aren’t real
Irish people; No fucking way will I go in that faerie ring
The extraction was mostly a success. Cass and Damian made quick work of anyone who had gotten back up after their initial infiltration, Dick and Tim made sure to zip-tie them all together in groups of three or four. Though, in their rush to get out, they might've missed a few.
No further problems were encountered until they all got off the property. Then, the headlights to the Batmobile turned on, freezing them all like deer in headlights. Even behind the cowl, Batman looked extremely unimpressed. "Put him in the car."
It was a simple order, one that none of them were going to disobey. Red Hood sat in the front seat with the kid on his lap, Batman took the driver's side and the two drove off to the Batcave.
Nightwing mounted his bike with Robin at his back, Orphan took Red Hood's bike, and Red Robin started up his own. No one said a thing over the comms until they passed the clocktower. "I told you that telling Father was adviasable.
***
Danny was not having a good time. He hadn't been having a good time for a while, but this was somehow both worse and better than before. On one hand, he was right about his current company being better than his previous company. On the other hand, he was in a shit ton of pain and nothing to distract from it.
He was in a car, he could tell, and he was being held like a child, curled up on someone's lap. His head was leaning against the person's shoulder, he feet were on the door, and he was basically cured in the fetal position. Not the best pose to be in after being held open, restuffed, and barely sewn back together with glorified fishing line, but at least his organs were in the right places. Mostly. He'd need to adjust his stomach and small intestine a little bit, but the rest seemed to be in place.
He turned his head slightly, groaning at the effort. It shouldn't be nearly this taxing to move a little bit. "'ornin' sun'ine." he pushed out.
The person holding him chuckled a little in disbelief more so than humor. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty."
"Still dead," He would know, he checked. "'nd Sleepin' Beau'y didn't die...or wa'e up."
There was a deeper, more gruffer, and possibly also modulated voice from beside Danny. Probably to driver. "We're almost to the cave."
"Great," the man holding Danny said before addressing him, "We're gonna get you some medical assistance, okay?"
This caused Danny's fight or flight to kick in. "No!" he screamed, starting to struggle as much as he could given his injuries, "No hospitals! No doctors! No-!" The man holding him covered his mouth with his hand.
"Hey," he said with no tact, "We're not taking you to a hospital. We might have to get a doctor-!" Danny licked the hand over his mouth. "I've got gloves on, idiot."
"Red Hood." the dirver growled in warning.
If licking was going to work, fine. He opened his mouth, turned his head a bit, and bit down on the side of the hand.
"Mother fuck-!"
The driver slammed on the brakes, jostling both Danny and the man holding him. Then, he got out and opened the passenger side. "My name is Batman," he looked Danny in the eye as he spoke, "We want to help you, but you have to let us."
Holy, shit. He's with Batman?! And, and Batman had said called the other guy Red Hood. Red Hood was holding him?! He bit Red Hood! Just half kill him now. Just finish the job.
Batman picked Danny up, Red Hood climbing out of the car after them. Finally, Danny's mind returned to him and he began to struggle again, the small amount of adrenaline from his initial squirming on Red Hood's lap leaving his system quickly with the revelation of who his company now is. He hurt, but that wasn't going to make him docile. "No-no hospitals1"
"And no doctors." Batman finished.
"No sedatives, neither."
The black clad vigilante looked down at him before relenting. "Alright,"
Danny allowed himself to relax in Batman's arms. This guy was known to be the most violent of the Justice League, but he's also the one most kids seem to be comfortable around, considering the Robins. And, yeah, Danny had to agree. He's never experienced proper Dad Vibes (TM), but Batman definitely gives them off. Would he get in trouble for telling Batman that he feels like a dad? Thoughts for later.
DPxDC Prompt:
The vigilante meant well, taking the kid to the hospital to treat his injuries. The kid mumbled the entire time, barely conscious. "No hospital, please," he said more than once.
Poor kid, the vigilante thought. He must have a phobia of needles or something.
...
They never could have anticipated the danger they put that kid in, placing him in the care of that hospital.
On a Moonless Night
[English first, poi in italiano]
A nice and tight game, perfect for no-prep one-shots. The players take the role of early 20th Century detectives armed with the light of reason, who, brought together by an event in their lives, happen upon a mystery that reeks of the supernatural, and stake their reputation on getting to the bottom of it, and reveal it for what it really is: a completely mundane situation, camouflaged by the trappings of myth and superstition. The Terror they're about to witness, though, might not agree with them. The game runs on a well defined structure, that guides the Investigators and their Host through a nerve-wracking delve into the Lair, determined to get to the bottom of it at any cost. The dice pool system is as simple as it is evocative, and the game's phases are neatly defined to highlight the moment. I was afraid the Climax phase would be difficult to run, but it flowed smoothly and dynamically, the only change I felt the need to make, though, was giving the Investigators a Clue when they let the Terror consume them on a failed Reaction.
Un gioco ben congegnato e perfetto per singole sessioni senza prep. I giocatori assumono il ruolo di investigatori di inizio ventesimo secolo armati con la luce della razionalità i quali, riuniti da un evento passato, incappano in un mistero che puzza di sovrannaturale e scommettono la loro reputazione sullo svelare cosa sia in realtà: una situazione assolutamente normale oscurata dai veli della superstizione e dei miti. Il Terrore che stanno per affrontare, tuttavia, potrebbe aver qualcosa da ridire al riguardo. Il gioco gode di una struttura ben definita, che guida gli Investigatori, determinati ad arrivare in fondo ad ogni costo, e il loro Ospite nella inquietante esplorazione della Tana. Il sistema basato su una scorta di dadi è tanto semplice quanto evocativo e le varie fasi della sessione sono ben definite per portare in primo piano la narrativa del momento. Temevo inizialmente che la fase del Climax sarebbe stata complessa da gestire, ma è sempre scorsa fluidamente e dinamicamente. L'unica variazione che mi sento di consigliare, tuttavia, è di consegnare un Indizio agli Investigatori che si lasciano consumare dal Terrore a seguito di una Reazione fallita.
On a Moonless Night.