But is Greedhog wearing a red shirt?!

While we are waiting for Bêthberry's post, we can plan ahead; the only thing it will change is Earnur's presence with the ShapeShip. If no one has any further business or adventure in the Havens, let's get them boarding the ship, or at least packing. Does anyone volunteer for the next post, or will I have to assign volunteers?! ;)

So far, only two members of the ship's crew are named - whoever posts next can name others, or if you have a good idea, please post it here.

It's Diamond's birthday today! Here's a lovely poem for you, m'dear, worthy of the Half-Elf: :cool:

Happy Birthday to you!
Vogonwë is so blue;
Pimpi's flirting with Soregum,
Happy Birthday to you!

By all rights, your nick should now be Diamond20, you know... ;)

ahem...*cough*

aaahhhhhh-CHHOOOOO!!!!

Threads seem to be collecting dust.

*Esty hands Kuru a duster - the name printed on it is next post...

None of you need wait for Earnur's Last Hurrah, as it won't impact on the trip to Valleyum.

I am delayed by the need to count the number of times that most of you forgot Lord Etceteron's stay at the Houses of Bettifordeth. Mith has given me a great opportunity here, as it appears our Last Manly Man has not fallen off the wagon but hitched his wagon to a ....

Somewhere along the way I tripped and fell through the looking glass.

I left the events going on outside unremarked upon since I'm not entirely sure who is coming with us or whether what will happen to Earnur will be...dramatic.

Whoa whoa whoa, what's this? I have been checking this forum for new posts on REB every day and alluva sudden I notice there are posts from four days ago I haven't seen. Hmmmmm.....

Thanks, Esty, for the birthday poem. :) What do you think, should I bug B-W about getting my name changed? :D (I like Diamond18, though, just because it's famaliar.)

*runs off to read the shiny new post*

What a hilarious post, Kuru! You took up the duster with a vengeance! I enjoyed reading every line of it and decided to continue the theme of last preparations for the journey with my post for Merisu. Now I'd like to ask as many of you as possible to add to that storyline. Lush, I need at least a short Leninia post to show that you're still with us. Orogarn Two is staying on as a NPC (non-player character, for those who are unfamiliar with RPG jargon), so anyone who wants to write him writing a letter to his father to go with that package is welcome to do so.

Apologies to the Middle Earth - Unstuck in Time thread's authors, but the idea of Denethor incongruously carrying an umbrella was too good to pass up!

Oh, and there's an additional ending in the works for my post - I'll edit later to include it...

Well, the post I wanted to make hinged on knowing just what happens to Earnur (seeing as Vogonwë is going to recite his eulogy) but I would have liked to do that right after Earnur's deportation.

That can be arranged...

Bb can hopscotch her save to place it after the most recent posts, Diamond. Then you can put up a save to follow...

Good-bye cruel world
 

It is done. And if it was good enough for Dickens, it must be good enough for Etceteron. I hope Squatter somewhere in cyberspace gets a good laugh.

With all due respect to the Game Founder, I have left my post where it was and simply filled in my save. The post works best coming before Kuruharan's tangent (and even MeriSue's shopping bout) and I wanted it close to Mithadan's.

I assume that Mithadan's post here concerned his magic wand, which he can wave to add Diamond's post of Vogonwe's lament to the end of mine.

Once again, I retire to the sidelines.

Bethberry, for
Cameos R Us

Edit: The title for my post, "Who Mourns for Adonaialion?" comes from the title of episode #33, season two, for Star Trek: The Original Series, "Who Mourns for Adonais?" Plot summaries for episodes of ST: TOS can be found here.

Thanks once again to our favorite and most faithful cameo writer for a great post! Bb, that was very amusing! The Star Trek references cracked me up, and the song references were fun too. All this, and mathoms too! You gave Etceteron a fitting farewell; I'm sure Squatter will be pleased when he reads it someday. (*Esty walks away, still chuckling over the 'SmellyOnion'... )

edit: Just saw Bb's edit - thanks for that very useful link!

I've added some additional material to the end of my post - a brief reference to Etc.'s leaving, and an Elvish song which might seem vaguely familiar...

Is there a plan for the post where the Itship actually boards the ship? My own plans for posting have something to do with the early departure from the harbor, and I thought it might be easier to write a post in which I cover last minute preparations of the grusome twosome, words for Earnur (though he still yet lives, should a thing like that stop Vogy???), and boarding the ship (with ensuing good time being had by all) all in one fell swoop?

*pant, wheeze*

Basically I do not have enough ideas to make individual, well rounded posts for each event. If you have plans already for just how the boarding should go or who should write it, I will wait till the Boardingship has boarded the ship to display my paltry wit... such as it is.... :p

Diamond, since it looks like no one else is rushing to post, go ahead and write the boarding of the ship into your post - that's fine with me! You and Lush are the only remaining members of our writing team who haven't posted on the last page of the RPG - i.e. within the past two months. Lush announced her intent to carry on, so you can include her if you wish, but if she doesn't post very soon, we may have to write her out of the story - I don't know if she's still keeping up with us. The list of our writers grows thin...

Okay. I won't put up a save in case Lush wants to get in a post before I get mine written, but I will try to get to that soon....

Just a reminder, Grrralph will not be waking up anytime soon, notwithstanding Bethberry's mention that he achieved semi-consciousness. Drag him around as you all see fit, but he should not be walking or talking.

I have filled in my save and Grrralph has dreamed his dream. Grrralph will not awaken until the Itship has passed over the Dundering Seas at the earliest.

I have not forgotten...
 

...I've just been composing abortive attempts at humor. BUT, having now come upon a satisfactory opening paragraph, I may finish within the millennia....

Wonderful posts, Mith and Diamond! Mith, you managed to post though your character is sleeping - that definitely is worth extra points! It's always fun to read your hints of what's happening to Grrralph; makes me look forward to more... Diamond, your opening paragraph is great fun! Vogy writes haikus?! "Isn't it delicious!" "Most astonishing wonderful!" (comment for two voices, both supplied by me) You did a good job getting everyone on board; now, the floor is open for the other writers to post.

There is no definite time plan for the ship's journey; the name of the ship should give some good parody ideas. I know there has been some interest in using favorite Star Trek episodes; the way posts are moving with snail-in-molasses speed, there will be no reservations. First come, first served!

Oh, and just wondering, Mith - will Grrralph be waking up any time soon? :p

I've had midterms...Actually, I still have midterms. SO IF MY PAPER ON ROSA LUXEMBOURG SUCKS IT'S THE FAULT OF THIS FORUM!!!!!

:D

So yeah, this is just to say I ate the plums...er, posted my post. If something doesn't make sense with it, let me know.

Love you all.

Good luck on your remaining mid-terms, Lush! Thanks for posting despite the claims of real life! I enjoyed reading your post and am quite relieved that you're still with us - I feared you'd disappeared into Life-After-The-Internet and we'd have to pull a Tasha Yar on your character - and I so hate needless deaths! ;)

Who's next?

(Oh, and the only thing I know about Rosa Luxemburg is her famous quote: "Freiheit ist auch die Freiheit des Andersdenkenden" or something reasonably close to that... )

So, have we actually cast off?

Does our gilded vessel have a name?

Yes, we have embarked; the ship's name (established in RPG post #211 and repeated in #212) is "Ent's Surprise", sailing under the capable leadership of Captain Dimwi T. ("Dim") Cirkdan. The ship's healer is a parrot named Dr. Macaw. Other crew names have not yet been established, so anyone continuing may add to the roster. They can be multi-racial, of course, but the first mate must be an Elf, as the parrot tends to point out the shape of his ears. (Pun intended, though not of Rimbaudian quality...)

Some planning for this part of the journey:

Time - depends on the frequency of posting. (That means, at our present rate we should reach Valleyum sometime next June! ;) ) I'd like to allow enough time to develop the many possibilities of this ship trip.

Number of posts - I'm thinking that each writer should post once at the very least, but if we take advantage of the many ideas possible, it can be more. When we have the feeling that it's no longer interesting, the 'Ent's Surprise'-Ship will reach Valleyum.

Ideas for posts - Here are a few to get us started:
Middle-earth variations:
Ossë and Uinen have a marital spat, whipping up a storm that endangers the ship and its passengers.
Pirates (Corsairs?) attack the ship

Star Trek variations:
The ship lands on the island of the week. Cirkdan is later found pulling on his boots after a "cultural exchange" with the native leader, who, though of a different race, happens to be a "fully compatible" female.
Another island of the week - its primitive people are controlled by one of Melkor's evil machines. Cirkdan talks it into self-destruction.
Adorable, cuddly creatures (perhaps some kind of Zerl?) infest the ship.

Other sources:
Lewis' 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'
'Titanic'
many more - even 'Gilligan's Island', if you can pull it off...

These ideas are up for grabs, free to all, first come, first served.

Kuru has mentioned having the talking Narnia mouse as a stowaway, so unless someone asks him for permission, that's his.

Request: I'd like to avoid saves for this part of the story. After all, the posts can be very episodic; true to the nature of TV series, nothing is different at the end of the episode. Use a save only in exceptions, perhaps when you are almost finished with a post into which you have invested a lot of effort, so that someone else does not beat you to it. In the exceptional case that a save is up, the others may post as if nothing changes, so please do not wait. I'd like to have the story moving along again!

We may want to avoid Zerls. They are going to turn out to be in cahoots with somebody very, very bad (I'm not thinking of Mogul, but rather a character unrevealed as yet, although the Zerls could be in cahoots with Mogul too for all I know.) Then again, that could be all the more reason for including them. :p

{EDIT}

Post done.

The Sea agrees with Merisuwyniel.

Unfortunately, the rest don't agree about anything.

What a wonderful post, Kuru! Sorry I haven't commented on it here earlier, but these last few days have been rather busy in real life. I really enjoyed reading it, both the first time and following times. You established the character of Reaperneep as being on board, so the next posts should include him. The elven first officer is now named, Mister Neemoi, as is the engineer, Tottie (anyone is welcome to make a real name of that).

Is anyone planning to post soon? If so, please PM me; I am working on an idea, since no one else seems to be doing so at the moment, and it would be a shame to have unnecessary duplicates.

I posted one episode of the adventures of the Seaship 'Ent's Surprise', finishing it off in best series tradition - nothing has changed at the end, except that the ship is now sailing westwards after landing on the island. Since my post was quite long enough already, I was not able to develop the alternate universe more. Should any of you want to do something with those possibilities, I can edit to remove the ending. If not, you are welcome to write any episode that takes your fancy. I'm hoping for some new posts this week!

How come the guys in the red shirts made it back alive? ;)

Must have been Merisu's benevolent presence protecting them... :p

As if I have not already been busy (and remiss in posting) due to work and Red Sox (fan since 1967) I will be unavailable through Monday due to business travel. I hope to be more active when I return.

Well, Mith, you'll just have to get in line and wait for your turn when you get back - what with everyone wanting to post all at once!! :p

A fabulous haircut blows in the breeze, on a nearby hilltop...

Keep it coming chap(esse)s!

Funny how the ideas milling around in your head come out different on the screen. I never thought that there might be such things as Kraken-wives until I started typing ... ;)

Really just an excuse to include another gratuitous song parody.

Oh well, here's to Valleyfornia Dreamin' ... :D

Well, I think a lotion to rid oneself of unsightly blemishes would be the perfect thing to use to attract oversized female squids across the ocean wide. The advertising representatives said so. I imagine that being perpetually immersed in salt water would be bad for the completion.

Unless, of course, unsightly blemishes are considered attractive in kraken society... ;)

Therein lies the unfortunate truth of the matter. :D

(Coincidentally, I edited out those very words before posting. On consideration, I think that they are best reinstated.)

Saucy, what a fantastic post! Combining the Watcher and the Ents is an idea truly worthy of the creative process that is parody! I find myself reading your contribution and wanting to summarize it like a CbC discussion: "We have two poems in this chapter, one looking ahead to the country that is the Itship's goal, the other recounting a tale of the past that is gone forever, or at least until one of us decides to revive the Kraken-wives." And of course the honoured Star Trek philosophy of saving alien lives, as long as their interests do not conflict with ours...

Thanks for putting in those late hours - I hope the next writers are encouraged to follow suit!

Sorry...
 

I asked The Boss Telcontar for a cameo...and here he is, for as long as he lasts. Bio tomorrow.

Huzzah!!! Rimbaud reappears!!!

Ayn Chunt nearly killed me and Halfemption finished the job.