so if this blog feels different it's because I am writing it with pencil and paper at the same time things are happening
I've spent 45 minutes speed walking from my house to the fair (arrived 5 mins late), only to be told that I am one of the first ones to arrive, they cannot sign me in yet because "the system isn't working", and they have not finished setting up
I just checked the post. it says the activity would begin at 10. this is just how things run in this country
if I am late, but the organizers are later, I think htat means that I am early...
10:20. I'm gonna try my darnest to not look at my phone today
that's the whole reason I bought this notebook in the first place. instead of asking people for a picture, I will ask them for a drawing, and I'll pull this out and draw them. it should be fun!
I should've brought a pencil sharpener though
hey maybe this chunk of concrete does the trick
I also planned to use the sun as a clock to keep track of time somewhat, but it is way too cloudy and the event lasts until 22. the sun goes down at 18, so it wouldn't be that useful after that time either
I don't see any lampposts in this park... I wonder how they'll light it up after sunset
10:30. I'm gonna go around and ask if I can do something...
11:00. more of the same, they told me I couldn't help with anything, but I did meet a young man called Gabriel
conversation is going, slow and awkward but it's going. awkwardness seems to be a common denominator about everyone here
12:00. all the people who haven't signed in yet are signing up still. I'm a bit angry at them, but not that much really
we've sat down to talk. yes, we're still atlking. we still have uncomfortable silences in our conversation
I don't think we're gonna get over them. maybe once we get in character...
someone waiting in line dresssed as a fairy was holding a phone embedded into a book. pretty creative honestly
12:25. well, it's really starting now. I'm getting into character... AAAUUGHH-
[powerpuff girls transformation noises] some time later. it was a mistake to come alone. even if my character is an extroverted teen, I see that everyone is in a group and I don't have the courage to walk up to any of them
I guess I'l wander about and wait for a group to adopt me, or for an activity to begin
later. I've walked up to an establishment (tent) and asked what they offer
an admittedly handsome man responded "my body, and my services" in a sultry voice
and I replied "...oh, so slavery is still legal in these lands?"
a workmate of his said "no, he does this because he wants to"
the establishment turned out to be a prostibule.
oh boy, a bench that I can actually sit on! don't mind if I do
another prostitute walked up to me, what on earth
this is a ren fair, out of character I know damn well I'm not getting laid in here, but dang, why are there so many?
if I say to go out with them, best case scenario I'm getting robbed but only in character
worst case, robbed OUT of character. which I doubt, but...
oh god, they're taking pictures of me. I'm acting like I'm writing. please don't put the notebook too much in focus...
I looked around a bit, as if I'm looking for inspiration to write about
I think that satisfied them, because they walked away. phew...
the fact that this is a public park means that regular people are walking around it, and it breaks the immersion in a pretty funny way
imagine being surrounded by medieval characters and then someone in a tracksuit is walking their dog
it's now 13:00 by the way
I don't think this is really meant for me. it demands too much social interaction...
I can see people kite surfing in the distance. that's cool. I'm not drawing all that though...
I do find it weird though, kite surfing at this time of year, and with such a cloudy day
they're gonna auction a rainbow painted wooden dildo. I've seen everything
there's this character called SarmentÃ, who's "the best painter in the land!"
he's hilarious, huge props to the person behind it
14:25. I just helped carry around a tent along with like ten other people
it was rather fun, since the owners of the tent were yelling at us constantly, telling us where to move around and all. I got a copper coin for my work
I was also interrogated about my religion! I talked about the cre-creators, it was nice to get that lore out there and see a bunch of people pay attention to what I was saying
one of them even sat me down and took notes of what I was talking about!
unfortunately I made a mistake. I mixed up the name of a colour ONCE, and I decided to keep making that mistake
the worst part of this whole mix up thing though was remembering which colour I mixed up with which
coincidentally, these people were guards, so I had the chance of asking them what the prostitute thing was about
and it turns out that, if you took the prostitute job, you'd be paid DOUBLE than if you took the guard job
so yeah, uh, many people took the prostitute job
15:00. I've sat down to rest my legs and check my phone
much later. I walk up to the person who's running the tavern
"hey man, listen. I can give you something that nobody else will give you today"
he rose an eyebrow at me, and after some back and forthing, I ended up convincing him
so I slid something under my shield over to him, and then I lifted my shield and walked away
I have handed him a bunch of dirt. I can't stop giggling
later. I ended up joining a group. we're gonna go beat someone. yippee!
16:30. gymkana has begun. we have to find five tiny potions across this entire place. oh boy
17:30. I gave a lady my pencil so that she could write something down, and she sharpened it. nice
I didn't find any of the potions though, but I don't think the winner got anything huge
remember the tent that I moved around? aside from the copper coin, the lady (owner of the tent but also the same lady I gave my pencil to) gave out bowls of "soup" (which were actually dried nuts)
it turns out that, in character, the soup was contaminated, and it made everyone who ate it crazy
crazy? I was crazy once. they locked me in a room. a rubber room full of rats. and rats make me crazy it's a good thing I didn't eat the soup, even the lady complimented me for it. I know damn well I shouldn't eat strangers' food, and it looks like it paid off
almost 18:00. apparently a talent show is bound to start here where I'm sitting, which is where an in character wedding took place earlier. my legs hurt sooo much...
18:00. it's begun. the first performance is a cover of "the man who sold the world", played by a bard in green and gray garments. I like them honestly
oops, he's messed up the lyrics. and the rhythm too. he's not playing that well, but I mean, he's clearly trying though...
the second contestant, a young woman with blue hair, crop top and long green skirt, has just stood up
"gracias y desgracias del ojo del culo". oh boy. she said she's gonna read a bunch of the book as her talent
I guess her talent is keeping a straight face while reading the book out loud
I was also able to contain my laughter. well, for the most part
they asked if anyone else wanted to participate cause there were only those two performances, so I stood up and sang "exit music for a film"
even if I don't win, I'm happy I got to sing it, especially since it needed me to sing loud and I SCREAMED that part from the bottom of my lungs
now, we are one, in ever lasting peace... I got a gold coin for participating. cool! the bard got a diploma as well as his own gold coin, so I didn't miss out on much
19:00. I was told by the lady (yes, the SAME lady from before) to protect a fairy summoning circle, but all of a sudden, one of the candles of the circle died out
the lady said that I was cursed, and I had to leave. so I left, rather disappointed
fortunately though, she later on gave me a silver coin to keep to myself the secret that her dead mother was actually her daughter
20:00. I got tired of playing my character and my legs still hurt very badly, so I started preparations to leave
I went to the tavern, and inside of it was the boy who exchanged my real money for game money. I should've mentioned that at the start, oops
at the start (12:00) I gave him 5€ and he said "these coins are your own money, nobody can steal them from you"
he then gave me a pouch. "put in here coins that you earn while larping. people CAN steal this from you"
this led me to think that I would later be able to exchange the coins I hadn't spent to have my real money back
but when I asked the tavern boy, I discovered that wasn't the case. feeling sad for me, he gave me some chips, the last slice of omelette and a fanta for just one silver coin
before leaving though, I did say goodbye to the lady's daughter. I told her that I really enjoyed my time there, and I thanked them very much
and after that, I left the place, with a new follower on instagram, six copper coins in my pouch, and a pretty cool experience to look back to
will I come back to one of these? nahhh, I don't think so. or at least not alone
the part where I got the chance to spill out all the cre-creator lore was very nice, but the rest of the time, I was following groups of people around, which were surprisingly fine with me just watching or even blatantly joining them
but yeah, coming alone to this was, I think, my biggest mistake. if I had someone close to talk with during the whole thing, I think I would've enjoyed it more, rather than standing around... awkwardly, as I've already said
I did get to fight someone though, with my sword and shield!
I didn't trust myself, I didn't want to hit him too hard though
and I also forgot that I had a shield, lmao, so that did make things worse for me.
I just realized... I could've imagined Yorch being here
...nah, that would've been rather lame. besides, the fact that I only realized that now that I'm sitting on the bus stop to go home shows that I don't need him anymore
he's still nice to talk to when he comes around though
