Duke Crocker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
betterthanaplan) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2019-10-30 12:17 am
betterthanaplan) wrote in fandomhigh2019-10-30 12:17 am
Entry tags:
So You Want to Be a Pirate!, Wednesday, period two
Duke had planned out this class well before he knew what the island had in store for them all in the run up to Halloween — and certainly before he knew he'd be attacked by clowns just trying to get up to the school to teach today.
So while the spooky set up of the ship at sea on a moonless night, lit only by a brazier in the center of the deck, full of quietly lapping water and creaking timbers was totally intentional. The fact that their teacher/captain was leading class while splattered with orange clown blood and holding an axe . . . not so much.
But hey, you worked with what you had.
"The sea is a spooky place," Duke said, once the students all seemed to be gathered, and had had a chance to avail themselves of the proferred marshmallows and hot dogs available for roasting. "Especially on a becalmed night like what we're pretending this is. It's only you and your crew and a vast, empty-seeming expanse for miles around in every direction. Anything could happen while at sea, and it might take hours, days, even weeks for anyone to know about it, much less come to your aid. This is true even now, with our radios and satellites for communication; it was even more true in the golden age of piracy. In that era, when you were at sea, you answered to no one but the captain, and were at the mercy of whatever god you believed in and the ocean herself.
"All over Earth, and I suspect in most any other region where ships have to sail — or fly — across vast and deadly regions, there are stories of the people who just — never come back. Of boats that drift into port weeks or even years late, their entire crews dead or missing. The Mary Celeste is a particularly well-known example; she was a tall ship much like this one, found adrift in 1872, intact and fully stocked — and completely empty of passengers or crew. The Octavius is another, a schooner found in 1775, apparently 13 years after her crew had all frozen solid attempting to sail through the Arctic. Legend says the captain was found sitting up at his table, pen still in hand to update his logbook, perfectly preserved by the icy cold. If you go looking on the internet for 'ghost ships', you'll find many more examples of these, most of which we'll simply never know the truth about.
"But there are real ghost ships out there as well. The most famous, at least where I'm from, is probably the Flying Dutchman. The Dutchman is a mysterious ship, said to have been part of the Dutch East India Company, a private trading firm from the 17th century. For the last four hundred years, it's been doomed to sail the oceans, never able to return to port. It appears to sailors as an omen of doom — the sort of weather usually that could sink a ship like this one before the crew even has a chance to batten down the hatches. It appears to sail several feet above the surface, lit an eerie red. And then there's the Caleuche, an ancient ship from Chiloé Island in Chile, said to be both a ship and a sentient being in and of itself. It sails the waters around the island, ushering the souls of dead sailors to the afterlife — or perhaps claiming them as its slaves. Either way, I wouldn't be in a rush to find out."
Duke looked around the class. "Of course, it wouldn't be a proper pirate class without some talk about pirate ghosts, would it? Some of my favorites come from Newfoundland, on the eastern coast of Canada, not too far from where I grew up. There's said to be quite a bit of pirate treasure buried out there, all of it guarded by angry pirate ghosts and ships. One story tells of a haunted cabin, where the ghost of a pirate killed in a kidnapping is said to still stalk at night, looking for more women to steal away." He tilted his head. "I was planning to finish this off with a spooky 'and maybe Fandom has its own pirate ghosts' or something, but honestly, it's kind of hard to top the freaking killer attack clowns today. Anyway. It's the day before Halloween, and whatever freaking out you might do in here you can probably safely take out on a clown out there, if you're the violent sort. What sorts of ghosts do you have where you're from? Share a story. Or just sit and enjoy the fire and some snacks, in a place that seems to be blessedly devoid of clowns."
So while the spooky set up of the ship at sea on a moonless night, lit only by a brazier in the center of the deck, full of quietly lapping water and creaking timbers was totally intentional. The fact that their teacher/captain was leading class while splattered with orange clown blood and holding an axe . . . not so much.
But hey, you worked with what you had.
"The sea is a spooky place," Duke said, once the students all seemed to be gathered, and had had a chance to avail themselves of the proferred marshmallows and hot dogs available for roasting. "Especially on a becalmed night like what we're pretending this is. It's only you and your crew and a vast, empty-seeming expanse for miles around in every direction. Anything could happen while at sea, and it might take hours, days, even weeks for anyone to know about it, much less come to your aid. This is true even now, with our radios and satellites for communication; it was even more true in the golden age of piracy. In that era, when you were at sea, you answered to no one but the captain, and were at the mercy of whatever god you believed in and the ocean herself.
"All over Earth, and I suspect in most any other region where ships have to sail — or fly — across vast and deadly regions, there are stories of the people who just — never come back. Of boats that drift into port weeks or even years late, their entire crews dead or missing. The Mary Celeste is a particularly well-known example; she was a tall ship much like this one, found adrift in 1872, intact and fully stocked — and completely empty of passengers or crew. The Octavius is another, a schooner found in 1775, apparently 13 years after her crew had all frozen solid attempting to sail through the Arctic. Legend says the captain was found sitting up at his table, pen still in hand to update his logbook, perfectly preserved by the icy cold. If you go looking on the internet for 'ghost ships', you'll find many more examples of these, most of which we'll simply never know the truth about.
"But there are real ghost ships out there as well. The most famous, at least where I'm from, is probably the Flying Dutchman. The Dutchman is a mysterious ship, said to have been part of the Dutch East India Company, a private trading firm from the 17th century. For the last four hundred years, it's been doomed to sail the oceans, never able to return to port. It appears to sailors as an omen of doom — the sort of weather usually that could sink a ship like this one before the crew even has a chance to batten down the hatches. It appears to sail several feet above the surface, lit an eerie red. And then there's the Caleuche, an ancient ship from Chiloé Island in Chile, said to be both a ship and a sentient being in and of itself. It sails the waters around the island, ushering the souls of dead sailors to the afterlife — or perhaps claiming them as its slaves. Either way, I wouldn't be in a rush to find out."
Duke looked around the class. "Of course, it wouldn't be a proper pirate class without some talk about pirate ghosts, would it? Some of my favorites come from Newfoundland, on the eastern coast of Canada, not too far from where I grew up. There's said to be quite a bit of pirate treasure buried out there, all of it guarded by angry pirate ghosts and ships. One story tells of a haunted cabin, where the ghost of a pirate killed in a kidnapping is said to still stalk at night, looking for more women to steal away." He tilted his head. "I was planning to finish this off with a spooky 'and maybe Fandom has its own pirate ghosts' or something, but honestly, it's kind of hard to top the freaking killer attack clowns today. Anyway. It's the day before Halloween, and whatever freaking out you might do in here you can probably safely take out on a clown out there, if you're the violent sort. What sorts of ghosts do you have where you're from? Share a story. Or just sit and enjoy the fire and some snacks, in a place that seems to be blessedly devoid of clowns."
Sign in
Re: Sign in
Re: Sign in
Re: Sign in
Listen to the lecture
Re: Listen to the lecture
Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
"The place where I come from," he offered, "is a land rich with tales and turmoil, tragedy and tenacity, and there is no doubt in my mind that the spirits of the dead linger there still, even though most cannot see them. You can feel them there, though, around every turn, in the breath of the wild
I'M SORRY, the whisper of theh wind, the ruins of the world that once was even long before the Calamity swept in and tried to destroy it all. Long before even the ancient Zora first set forth to chisle the mountains and swim the flowing waters, there were great goddesses who ruled the world, and three great dragons. Some say, if you look to the sky when you feel a great gust of wind out of no where, you might see them, streaking the skies of Hyrule, radiating with power. And then there's the forest spirits, those you might have to look a bit harder to find, especially since they're said to be mischeivious and playful and like to hide from most, revealing themselves only to those who are considered the most worth. The Satori Mountain is said to be home of a great spirit said to belong to a wise sage that died on that very mountain; he is said to be the lord and protector of all the creatures, spiritual or otherwise, but especially the mysterious and elusive blupees, which are said to dispense treasure to any who manages to strike on with an arrow!"He pumped his fist with restrained excitement, grinning a little at the rest of the class, before concluding on a much more somber note.
"Most of our spirits tend to be comforting, as the reality of the darkness that constantly threatens the land is grim enough already, I should imagine."
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
She looked at Duke. "Not sure iffen I believe 'em or not, but I certainly like the government to stay out of my business. Though I wouldn't complain much if they destroyed the church."
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
He was doing his best not to do so, but it took effort.
Re: Share your spooky story!
It was just her life. Or had been.
Re: Share your spooky story!
Re: Share your spooky story!
"S'okay. I don't talk about it much, so don't worry."
Poor dear.
Talk to Duke
OOC