RMS Humbug and

Chatterbox: Inkwell

RMS Humbug and

RMS Humbug and RMS Tiny Invite You To Their Maiden Voyages!

On September 22, a day that looks, smells, and tastes like any other day – which, for that matter, it probably is – an “ordinary” person much like yourself (maybe even yourself?) finds in the back of their cupboard a five-year-old mayonnaise jar. The nutrition facts label reads as follows:

Vitamin B12 – 2%

Vitamin Z564 – 26%

You, random but lucky person, are invited to the maiden voyages of the RMS Tiny and the RMS Humbug, two cruise ships belonging to the Ridiculous Management of Seagoers (RMS) Company! Isn't that awesome? It starts on October 10, so you have lots of time to pack! Isn't that even awesomer! And it's completely FREE*! Please RSVP by October 5. Anyone who wishes to join after October 5th but before October 10 has a lot less chance of making it onto the ship on time. Anyone attempting to board the ship after October 10 will find that the ship has already left, and I am afraid that under no circumstances can we pick up latecomers.

Cheesiness – 41%

Corniness - 22%

Good Old Random Humour – 5555555555%

Logic - (-111%)

Vitamin A+ - 4.67%

The person squints to read the fine print (the finest print they've ever seen) at the bottom of the label:

*This may or may not include certain expenses, including but not limited to: food, accommodation, extreme trauma counselors, staff, my new billion-dollar fridge, etc. NOTE: Some of these expenses may seem entirely unrelated to the subject at hand, but let me assure you that, when viewed from a holistic point of view, they are all completely necessary.

-Your Future Captain,

The Ominous

ANOTHER NOTE: Any complaints, questions, forwarded expenses, or wishes to sue may all be sent to John F.Q. and CaptainRead of the Cricket Chatterbox!

ANOTHER NOTE: We here at RMS Co. believe that there are two possible reasons why the Titanic sank. One is that it had such a huge, grand name that the sea serpents got angry and told the iceburgers to “let 'em have it broadside!”. Of course, as you all know, iceburgers don't have very good aim, so instead of “having it broadside”, the Titanic was rammed from the front, causing the deaths of millions. The other is that everyone thought it was unsinkable, and so we all jinxed it and of course it just had to sink after that. This is why we have built the RMS Tiny and the RMS Humbug. The former ship will be completely unsinkable because of its unassuming name, and the latter will be a test to see if we were right. The RMS Humbug has been equipped with all the sorts of things that superstitious sailors think contribute to the angering of sea serpents and the sinking of ships, and it will probably be sunk almost immediately.

AND ANOTHER NOTE: When everyone has boarded the RMS Tiny (no one will want to go on the RMS Humbug, we are certain), their names will inexplicably appear in Pandora's Fedora, owned by your captain, The Ominous (that's me!). A “murderer” will be drawn out of it, and the game will begin! From then on, those whose names are drawn out of Pandora's Fedora will “disappear”, unfortunate “victims” to the will of the hat.

YET ANOTHER TEDIOUS NOTE: This was inspired by T.O.N.'s Ski Lodge Murder Mysteries(TM), and we here at RMS Co. sincerely hope that it is different enough to avoid any copyright issues. To be sure of this, there is a rather severe plot twist that we can't tell you a single thing about. We will not use the Ski Lodge, nor any of the characters from it, and we will attempt to use our own style of writing, no matter how much we may be unconsciously influenced into doing otherwise because of the sheer awesomeness of the Ski Lodge. "Days" will be written whenever possible during the busy schedule of The Ominous, and you can hope to expect from one to three of them per week. Everyone who signs up may post their view of the "day," but please wait until you've read whatever The Ominous has written before doing so, and because of the severe yet unknowable plot twist, your memories will be wiped once you die, so there are unfortunately no ghosts. If you really want to, dreams or hallucinations are allowed. 

The person snorts dismissively. “Some silly, outdated advertisement or conspiracy meant to get more people to eat mayonnaise! Well, it certainly didn't work very well...” They think, staring at the uneaten mayonnaise jar for a few seconds, and then throwing it over their shoulder into a garbage can and inadvertently causing a snowstorm in Italy.

 

 

DINGALING! DINGALING! The phone rings. You pick it up, wrenching your gaze from the scattered tea leaves in front of you that had just produced the story above. “Hello?”

“Good evening. This is Super Mayonnaise Incorporated, business partner with RMS Co. We have been looking through our records, and it has come to our inattention that the five-year-old mayonnaise jar you just now allegedly threw over your shoulder was never sold, stolen, or even brought into existence in the first place. It does not exist, and neither does your house, no matter how real it may appear. Furthermore, you do not exist. We deny everything, and have lawsuits in place to make sure you do not claim otherwise. In fact, I am talking to thin air right now, because you do not exist. Neither does your telephone. Goodbye, thin air, and thank you for your co-operation.”

Before you can speak, the line goes dead. Now thoroughly mystified, you decide to thwart reason and pack your bags to wherever it was that the ships were supposed to leave from. Not that there had been a location mentioned anywhere in the story your tea leaves just told you, but you still think you have an idea of where to go. You hope.

submitted by The Ominous, age unknown, mysterious
(September 22, 2014 - 7:25 pm)

I don't have time to read it all right now since I've been really busy lately, but so far I really love it! Don't change the style--it's great! :)

submitted by Madeline
(October 13, 2014 - 5:39 pm)

I love how you write, and I wouldn't trade my room for a million dictionaries (and that's saying something). A portal to Hogwarts? How did you know? I've always wanted to magically morph into Hermoine...*sigh*. And my dream is to have the dining hall at Hogwarts, that shows the sky.

You need to become an author someday! Either that, or a magical interior designer.

submitted by Book Wizard
(October 14, 2014 - 6:16 pm)

Squeak: *runs swiftly to Winter* You better watch out, she's mad at you caus-

Danie: IS SNUGGLES NOT REAL? I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO GET A FLUFFY MAN EATING PET AND HE WASN'T EVEN NOTCIED! AND WINTER-MINTER-LINTER'S PETS ARE REAL. WONDERFUL.

Squeak:... That's what I mean by. Now now, Danie! You pet totally-

Danie: *sends snuggles on Squeak* BE QUIET, YOU! OR ELSE ON THE SPINNING WHEEL YOU GO!

Winter: Er... Not my fault!

Danie: *puffs and muffs* You're right... IT'S SQUEAK'S FAULT!

Squeak: Wha-?

And that's how Squeak ended up on the spinning wheel and was blamed for everything. 

 

submitted by Danie, and Squeak
(October 13, 2014 - 7:41 pm)

Winter: *cries* I-I-I-I-I'm sorry! I had them already, and you- well I didn't know that I could bring my babies! Wasaaaaaaaaaaa: s-s-sorry....

Can we still be f-f-f-friends? Please?

*cries in the coroner* wahhhaaaaaaaaa! 

submitted by Winter Firefly
(October 14, 2014 - 8:16 am)

Daniel: Of course! Remember I said it was Squeak's fault?

Winter: Oh yeah, hahahahhahah. Heh.

Danie: I can see you're still sad. I know! Let's get Piester, and throw pies at Squeak!

Winter: Yay! Okay, I have no objections!

Ze end of ze el problemo! 

Fluffy says: oatv! Oh a tv! You have a tv Fluffy?

submitted by Winter, Winter Firefly
(October 14, 2014 - 12:13 pm)

Here. [hands The Ominous a crazy-looking gadget with three buttons] It's a Ghost-o-tron. I made it myself. The first red button here will make a huge spherical invisible energy field just big enough to cover the RMS Tiny. Anyone who dies within the field will have no choice but to come back as a ghost, and any ghost within the field can't leave it. This second blue button will let the bearer of the Ghost-o-tron see and hear all ghosts in the vicinity. And this third green button...well, I made three buttons but could only think of two functions for the thing. So this button just serves Mountain Dew. Use it as you see fit to spread chaos.

Also, can the Captchas stow away? 

submitted by "Curio", age 13, New Hampshire
(October 14, 2014 - 2:58 pm)

TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP

submitted by TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP , age TOP TOP TO, TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP
(October 16, 2014 - 6:36 am)

Top to you to, I suppose.

submitted by Top Impersonator
(October 16, 2014 - 4:35 pm)

Why thank you! I applaud your mechanical genius! However, I'm afraid that due to the ever-mysterious nature of my ships, your gadget is unlikely to work on them. In fact, it has been scientifically proven that it doesn't... *stands on RMS Tiny and pushes red button*  *Ghost-o-tron explodes* I have conducted this experiment with multiple clones of your ingenious device, and the only button that does not induce the gadget into exploding %100 of the time is the Mountain Dew button. That button only works about %20 of the time. Thank you anyways, though, because the Mountain Dew button will be useful for spreading chaos. Not that it needs much spreading... *grins evilly*

submitted by The Ominous, age unknown, mysterious
(October 17, 2014 - 10:45 am)

P.S. The rule of no ghosts still stands, it's very important, no matter how strange you think it may be. If you have died and you still want to post something about the day, please write it as if it were a dream. Ghosts can have dreams you know, and very realistic ones at that... 

P.P.S. Captcha may stow away, but be sure to feed it daily! I don't want any evidence of it around, people might think I'm becoming lenient.  

submitted by The Ominous, age unknown, mysterious
(October 17, 2014 - 1:17 pm)

Hay, can I have a PINK tinted room with PINKbirds? and also along bookshelf filled with books I love and a hammoc hanging from the celing? PLEASE!!!!!?? And why was a pie smashed in my face? Of all the things that couldh ave hit my face, why a CHERRY PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I do like the mysterious trmpliens, though.)

submitted by Amy Leather, age 10, my dorm
(October 16, 2014 - 10:46 pm)

You may decorate your room any way you like, although I would be careful about being blinded by too much pink, if I were you. Hmm, this reminds of a certain electric monk who believed (only briefly, mind you) that the whole world was pink, despite much evidence to the contrary. Would you like me to find him for you?

A pie was smashed in your face because the Masked Piester threw it at random into the room you were standing in, and you happened to be in the way. If it's any consolation at all, cherry pies are pink, you know. 

I'm glad you like the mysterious trampolines. If you didn't like them, the mysterious trampolines would have had something to say to you about that, and I don't think they would have been very nice about it, either... Always humour the mysterious trampolines, that's what I always say!

submitted by The Ominous, age unknown, mysterious
(October 17, 2014 - 10:57 am)

Attention passengers! This will be your first day on board the RMS Tiny, so be ready for excitement, adventure, and flamingoes! The following transcript is an excerpt from the ship's log, narrated by the ship of course, and transcribed by the yellow typewriter in the room beside the room that contains all those lovely flamingoes I was talking about. Rms Tiny's editor is the Eiffel Tower. Those two go back a long way, you know... Unfortunately for you, both of the rooms I just described are off-limits to all except staff, and anyone who attempts to enter them will be EXTERMINATED! Good day, and please enjoy your cruise – I mean, MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

-The Ominous

 

 

Day 1, Ship's Log:

2 am - In my kitchen, there was an argument going on. “The fact of it is, Aldo, is that one of the passengers is going to be a murderer, so we may as well give them the sharp knives. We need to give them the best possible resources, you know!”

“No, Glennis, no! I tell you again, that just won't do. You don't use sharp knives with eggs and mashed potatoes, it just isn't done! And besides, the sharp knives are just too sharp, someone might cut through one of the antique plates!”

“Who cares about the antique plates anyways? We have hundreds of them on the ship!” Glennis crossed her arms and glared at Aldo across my table.

“I do! And so does the Captain!”

“How do you know? And be quiet, you don't know who might be listening, and you shouldn't bring the Captain into this!”

“I...I...”

At that moment, my captain, The Ominous, walked ominously into the room, wearing a large black hoodie. He set a carton of eggs onto the table, and then stared hard at the maid and the cook. “Aldo, put the knives in the fruit bowls. Glennis, go find some hand grenades and attach them to the ceiling. I want our guests looked after properly. Now get to it!” He left, slamming the door behind him ominously.

They got to it, although Glennis couldn't find any hand grenades so she made do with buckets of icecream instead.

 

8 am – The weather sure was strange that day, it started snowing maple leaves a few minutes before the new passengers all trooped onto my deck, chatting crazily and staring at their new surroundings. The butler from the hotel showed them into my lounge, and then left, coolly slamming and locking the door behind him. Amy sighed in relief. “The way that butler woke us up this morning, I was afraid he was going to dump a bucket of freezing water on us!”

As if summoned by some invisible cue, a bucket labelled Don't Forget Who Might Be Listening dropped from the ceiling and splashed Amy.

Someone laughed, and suddenly I dropped a horde of buckets from the ceiling, all labelled Don't Laugh At Other People's Misery which splashed all the other Cbers.

With my moral lesson done for the day, I unlocked the lobby door and let a very distressed Glennis into the room. Nearly hyperventilating, the maid quickly mopped up the water and then scurried back through the door, barely acknowledging the existence of the CBers.

 

 

My my, you certainly are a good influence on Glennis! I think I already told you how she had never looked at a broom until she heard you were coming aboard, and now this! I always knew she needed a hobby...

-The Ominous

 

 

Curious, Forrest peered through the door into the dark, red-carpeted hallway. It was lined with mysterious-looking portraits of mysterious-looking people (and frogs), and there were mysterious torches burning in sconces on the walls. Squeak jumped through the doorway. “Which way should we explore first?”

Air shrugged. “I don't know. How about...to the right?”

Danie jumped up and down. “I know, I know!” She flung out her arm in front of her, spun around in a circle with her eyes closed, and then screeched to a stop. Her arm pointed to the right. “I guess that's the right way to go, then!”

Maplesyrup led the way down the corridor until they reached a turn. Around one corner was a huge stone statue of Julius Caesar's head, with a plaque on the bottom that said “Julius the Geezer, born now, died the future.” Around the other corner was what looked like a huge stone statue of a medieval knight without any armour. Suddenly, the knight moved. “BOO!” Bookbug screamed. The knight laughed kindly. “I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm George, the handyman.” He proffered a large hand and shook hands with everyone. George was wearing a large, dark-coloured hoodie and a mysterious toolbelt with strange, friendly-looking tools stuck into it. “Follow me this way, and I'll give you a quick tour before I introduce you to the staff and the captain of the RMS Tiny.”

The CBers willingly followed George down my many winding corridors, past locked doors and frog-statues and windows that shouldn't be there. The first door that George stopped at had a white, shimmering plaque hanging from the doorknob which said Beware Dog. Opening the door, George turned to the CBers and said, “This room is the Neversphere, the most interesting, and at the same time boring, room on this ship. Don't bother trying to find out where the voice is coming from, no one really knows anything about it, and it's probably better not to know.”

“Um, what voice?” Magic Dragon (who shall now be called Magic) asked.

At that moment, a thin, wispy voice that could have been male, female, pig, chicken, or dog, wafted through the doorway to the Neversphere room. “Welcome to the Neversphere, where nothing much happens and we all stare at the ceiling waiting for banana cream pies to appear."

Everyone crowded around the door, wondering what sort of room could possibly hold such a strange voice. The room turned out to be filled with glowing white mist, a secretary's desk (complete with stacks of lawyer's notes ready to be organized), and the occasional glimpse of a pineapple, banana cream pie, or other random object floating through the mist. George quickly shut the door and ushered the CBers further along the corridor, saying, “We don't have much time, hurry along now."

The next door that George stopped at had the words Rec Room carved into it, but someone had written a W (in permanent ink) before the first R, so it now spelled out WReck Room. George nodded jovially at the sign. “Whoever did that was right, this room is for chaos and games and more chaos! You probably don't want to go in there, you all look to well behaved to make any messes or chaos, right?”

The CBers nodded, trying to hold back mischievous grins.

As George led the CBers towards their next destination, the corridors they travelled through became darker and less well lit. Finally, George stopped at a large, imposing set of double doors. Pushing them open, he announced, “This is the Library!”

BookWizard gasped, and then promptly fainted. The Library was filled with mountains upon mountains of books, and had several levels to it. It almost looked too big to fit inside a ship the same size as me, but I'm a special ship, so everything works out. George didn't seem to notice that the CBers had forgotten about him and were running around in excitement at the sight of so many books, he just pointed at a few other doors and said, “Behind that one is the Conservatory, behind that other one is the Billiards room, and that door leads to the Ballroom. No knives, ropes, candlesticks, or other weapons are allowed in these rooms. Oh, and I just remembered that you should probably know my nickname: the rest of the staff call me Colonel Mustard."

No one paid the slightest bit of attention to George. Masked Piester found a cookbook for frog-flavoured pies, and Everinne ran straight to the Fantasy section and found the full annotated edition of Lord of The Rings. Maplesyrup found a book about maple trees and pancakes, and John F.Q. Found a book of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry. His raven promptly tore out the page that had The Raven printed on it and shrieked, “NEVERMORE!”.

Finally, George realized that no one had heard a single word of what he'd said, and he pushed a bright red button. A melodic buzzing rang in everyone's ears, and they stopped what they were doing. “You can bring exactly one book with you, but we must hurry, The Captain doesn't like to wait.”

Noon – The CBers followed George through darkening corridors, down rickety, badly-lit staircases, and through the occasional interesting room, and finally ended up in the darkest room yet. There was no light at all, and George told everyone to stay at the entrance of the room while he ventured into the darkness. The CBers heard him groping along the edge of the room, and suddenly they heard a snap and a yell. They shook with terror. The sounds of chopping, and a strange bubbling noise reached the ears of the CBers, and they gave George up for doomed. A ghostly glow shone from the far end of the room, and footsteps sounded, coming closer to them.

Suddenly, George yelled, “Aha! There's that lightswitch!” The lights came on to reveal a huge, homey-looking kitchen. The bubbling noise came from a simmering stew, and a small man dressed in plum colours with a very familiar nose ran to shut the refrigerator door. That's where the glowing light had been coming from. The man bowed to the children, tossed them each a cookie, and ran quickly back to chopping carrots.

George hobbled into view, holding a mousetrap and wiggling his toes. “I really don't like mousetraps, they hurt my toes far too much! Everyone, this is Aldo, the cook. He's genius at it, but don't ask him to make spaghetti and meatballs.”

Aldo answered in a thick Italian accent, “We have not enough tomatoes aboard to cook a proper Italian spaghetti sauce! It is an abomination, but there is nothing to be done about it...” he sighed.

George nodded, and then said, “Let's have a proper introduction, now!” He clapped his hands.

Glennis ran into the room, wearing a scarlet ballgown that was almost entirely covered by a spotless white apron tied incredibly tightly around her waist. She stood along one wall, as stiff as a broom. Aldo hurried around the room to stand beside her, looking even shorter and plumper than he was beside the tall, skinny maid. George stood to attention just out of view of the CBers, and suddenly a large figure wearing a big black cloak with a hood that covered his face darted into place between Aldo and a table that sat against the same wall.

George walked in front of the other staff, introducing each one. “This is Glennis Decke, the maid.” Glennis saluted. “This is Aldo Brandino, the cook.” Aldo curled his moustache and bowed elegantly. “You already know me, I'm George The Handyman.” George tipped his hat to the CBers. “And this,” George gestured at the spot where the cloaked figure had been just a few moments before, “is your captain, The Ominous.” On the table there sat a white envelope that didn't look like it was a captain of anything. It certainly hadn't been there when the hooded figure had rushed to stand beside the table.

Suddenly, the letter slipped out of the envelope, hung in midair and folded itself into an intricate origami face that was mostly obscured by the intricate origami hood that covered it. The intricate origami figure spoke. “I had previous engagements, so I couldn't come in person. Welcome aboard my ship, and stay safe. Any murderers among you, have fun! Au revoir."

The origami shredded itself into tiny pieces, and George escorted the CBers to their rooms, which looked remarkably like the rooms they had been given in the hotel. In fact, the only differences between the hotel rooms and the rooms on board were the things that the CBers had added themselves...

End Of Day 1, Ship's Log.

 

 

 

MWAHAHAHA!

-The Ominous

submitted by The Ominous, age unknown, mysterious
(October 17, 2014 - 5:00 pm)

Och, Why wasn't I in this one? I get no stage time, my alter ego gets all of it.......

Brookeira (name update!) grumbled and caused a mild thunderstorm. 

submitted by Brookeira
(October 18, 2014 - 7:34 am)

My head was spinning with the satisfaction of a crime well done. I had not taken not one book, not two books, but 13 books from the ship's magnificent library! I nestled onto my bed and began with a curious-looking book called Do Not Read This Or A Bucket Of Water Will Fall On Your Head, Too. Once I got to the first page, a bucket of water promptly fell on my head. Well, I suppose I had been forewarned.

Aaaah, how I loved to travel. 

submitted by Book Wizard
(October 18, 2014 - 1:42 pm)