Cruise Ship Ski Lodge

Chatterbox: Pudding's Place

Cruise Ship Ski Lodge

Cruise Ship Ski Lodge

You were watching Titanic when it arrived.

You glanced up from your hot cocoa mug to the window, where you were flabbergasted to see a real-life albatross sitting on the outside windowsill. You paused the movie and stood up, shaking off the piles of blankets as you went.

You opened the window, letting cold air into the room, and the albatross hopped right in with the look of someone who can go wherever she wants and knows it. You stared curiously at the bird, wondering how it got there. As far as you knew, no albatrosses lived in your area. You also wondered if it was dangerous.

However, the albatross behaved with surprising decorum. It fluttered onto the top of the television screen and opened its beak. Something dropped onto the floor. When you looked closer, you saw that it was a letter.

You picked it up gingerly and saw that it was sealed with genuine wax, imprinted with an old-fashioned sailing ship. Loathe to rip such a pretty seal, you ran to get a pair of scissors and cut the letter open. You unfolded the letter and saw that it was written in beautiful calligraphy.

Greetings, friend!

I trust that this letter has found you in good health, and in a moment when a vacation would not come unwelcomed! It is with much happiness that I, Captain Phillipa, give you an invitation to come on a trip upon my ship, the Cosmic Pioneer.

The Cosmic Pioneer is the largest cruise ship ever to grace Earth's waters, and not lacking in entertainments, I can assure you. Not only is she home to the Best Water Slides Ever, but she also sports a wave pool, a bouncy castle, and a planetarium. You, along with a chosen group, will embark upon this ship to see the sights of the world!

Please fill out the form below, and I shall look forward to seeing you soon.

With all cordiality,

Captain Phillipa.*

Name:

Age:

Gender:

Appearence:

Luggage: (Ensure that you bring swim things! NO PETS.)

Weaponry: (optional, but perhaps advisable)

(At this point in the form, a companions section would usually be included. However, since this should be a fun and relaxing vacation, no AEs or CAPTCHAs will be admitted. Apologies for any inconvenience.)

*Note: Although I and my crew have the best good will in the world, accidents may happen upon any trip. I, Captain Phillipa, and any other birds or crew members, am not to blame for any injuries, accidents, losses, or mishaps, fatal or nonfatal, that may or may not occur upon this trip.

You filled out the form and folded it up, then handed it back to the albatross, who flew out of the window. The movie suddenly seemed boring, and you turned it off.

What did one bring on a cruise ship? You started packing at once. 

submitted by Captain Phillipa, The Cosmic Pioneer
(August 12, 2020 - 2:20 pm)

No, I am not Chickadee.

submitted by Captain Phillipa, The Cosmic Pioneer
(August 16, 2020 - 4:04 pm)

Name: Agent Winter

Age: 13

Gender: Female

Appearence: I have short, wavy blue hair with a side undercut, tan skin, blue eyes, and white freckles. I'm wearing a BLACKPINK t-shirt, torn acid-washed jeans, and black combat boots. 

Luggage: A black two-piece swimsuit with a galaxy pattern on it, a giant inflatable avocado-shaped raft (the avocado pit comes out and can be used as a beach ball), my phone, headphones, my iPad, a skateboard, and a ukulele. 

Weaponry: Two katanas and a dagger. Also, if this is a ski lodge that allows superpowers, I can control snow and ice. 

submitted by Agent Winter, age Classified, Mars
(August 18, 2020 - 11:49 am)

The last day for Character sheets/forms is tomorrow, August 19! No character sheets will be accepted after tomorrow.

 

submitted by Captain Phillipa, The Cosmic Pioneer
(August 18, 2020 - 12:51 pm)

Ok I realized that it's a little too complicated to have my CBer name be one thing but my name on the form be another, so scratch that.  Everyone can just call me Queen (short for QueenofWolves).

submitted by QueenofWolves
(August 19, 2020 - 4:51 pm)

Part one.

The Cosmic Pioneer was huge. Jubillee, Luna, Darkling, Barnswallow, Raining Rainbows, aqua, Queen, Heroes, Strawberri, IvoryPint, Quill, Luminescence, Emekitty, Kitten, Summer, and Agent Winter gaped up at it, taking in the gigantic hull with Cosmic Pioneer written in gold letters, the rows and rows and rows of windows, the balconies, the huge solid strip of glass, and finally the very top, adorned with three towers and a tangle of waterslides.

Heroes whistled under her breath. "That is definately the largest cruise ship ever."

Emekitty swallowed. Jubillee whistled, impressed.

"Are we really going on that?" Kitten asked.

Before anyone could answer, a door opened onto one of the balconies, and a figure stepped out onto it. The figure leaned over a control panel and pressed a few buttons, and a gangplank extended over the water towards the dock. When it had settled, the figure walked quickly down the gangplank with the agility of long practice. When the figure got closer, the little group on the dock saw that she was a tall, slim young woman. She wore a blue coat with gold trimmings, a pair of tall black boots, and a tri-pointed sailor's hat. Her bright red hair was pulled back into a tight bun. When she got to the end of the gangplank, the figure stepped down onto the dock and bowed.

"Good day to you all! I am Captain Phillipa of the Cosmic Pioneer." She had a crisp British accent. "I hope your trip here was enjoyable." It wasn't a question, but Luna nodded. "Good." The captain swept her gaze over all of them, then nodded. "I see that you are all here. Please come aboard at once. I am sorry to say that you shall have to manage your own luggage, as I do not have a crew member at hand to assist you." She turned on her heel and led the way up the gangplank. The Chatterboxers followed right behind her, talking and laughing.

All except for one.

This one person stayed at the back of the group, and neither talked nor laughed nor smiled. This person had just had a marvelous idea, inspired by the note at the end of the invitation. This person was tired of being just one of the crowd. This person waned to be famous, and she thought she knew just how to go about it. Now this person did smile, for she had decided on a plan. After this cruise, Chatterboxers everywhere would know and fear her name! Then the person put on a carefully neutral expression. It was best, for now at least, to blend into the crowd.

Everyone made it up the gangplank without incident, although Strawberri came close to losing a suitcase to the harbor, and only a timely intervention from Barnswallow saved it. Captain Phillipa held the door from the balcony, and the Chatterboxers streamed past her into a room that seemed a mix of waiting area and lounge. Comfy chairs lined the walls and sat in randomely placed clumps along with beanbags. The Chatterboxers quickly took their seats, all except for aqua and Agent Winter, who got into a fight over the purple and green striped beanbag chair. After they had resolved their quarrel, the captain cleared her throat.

"Before we start, I am obliged to give you some safety information. First off, although it is impossible to get lost aboard the Cosmic Pioneer, for your own safety, do not wander into unfamiliar areas. If you go on the waterslides, be sure to take a penguin for supervision. Use common sense and caution at all times. You may not disembark the ship without permission for any time, and never eat more than one slice of chocolate mousse cake. Is that understood?"

The Chatterboxers nodded. "Take a penguin?" Quill muttered. Queen frowned. "Chocolate mousse?" she asked. Captain Phillipa didn't seem to notice the outbursts.

"Very well then." She said. "I'll radio the pilot." She walked across the room to a small intercom outlet and pressed a button. "Eric, we are ready to disembark."

"All right, captain, one moment." The voice from the intercom was a bit distorted by static.

"Feel free to watch from the windows." Captain Phillipa told the Chatterboxers.

The Chatterboxers crowded to the windows and watched as the gangplank retracted and the ropes binding the ship to the dock untied themselves as if by magic. Then, the motor of the Cosmic Pioneer turned on, and the ship moved forward with surprising speed. After half an hour, there was no land to be seen anywhere. The Chatterboxers sighed happily, gazing at the blank horizon. IvoryPint pressed her face against the glass, staring down at the bright waves. Captain Phillipa coughed to get their attention.

"Now, it's time to go to your bunk room. I'll just--" 

She was interruped by Raining Rainbows screaming. 

Captain Phillipa ignored the outburst. "I should have mentioned in my rules that you are not allowed to interrupt--"

Raining Rainbows screamed again, and this time Luminescence and Summer joined her.

"What on earth just happ--" Captain Phillipa asked.

"Captain!" Darkling shouted. "aqua!"

aqua lay on the floor, a dazed expression on her face. While the rest of the Chatterboxers were watching the land disappear, she had been quietly smothered with the green and purple beanbag chair.

The person had now become The Murderer. 

~~~

RIP aqua. We'll miss you!

Death toll: 1. aqua, smothered by a beanbag chair.

@QueenOfWolves: Thank you for changing the name, it's much less confusing now!
@Agent Winter: Welcome aboard! Since no one else has superpowers, I'm going to say no superpowers on this Ski Lodge. 
@aqua: sorry to lose you so soon! I hope you'll keep reading to see if you are avenged. (We can hope it will be.)

Describe your personality in three or four words. 

 

submitted by Captain Phillipa, age Part 1!, The Cosmic Pioneer
(August 20, 2020 - 1:55 pm)

Eeeeee! That was great! You're a really good writer.

My personality in four words is: A grumpy, loyal, indecisive bookworm. Does 'A' count as a word?

submitted by Darkling, The Upside-Down
(August 20, 2020 - 5:11 pm)

Hrm. Well, at first my logic was, "if aqua was smothered by a beanbag chair then the murderer probably doesn't have any other weapons with which to kill her" but then I looked at the forms and everyone brought weapons. So. I have no idea.

Great writing, though! 

submitted by Summer, age tau, Nowhere at all
(August 20, 2020 - 6:48 pm)

Four words: creative, nerdy, cheerful, cautious.

submitted by Summer, age tau, Nowhere at all
(August 22, 2020 - 9:55 pm)

Ooh, this is excellent already!

My personality: Somewhat sensitive leader & dreamer.

I wonder if Agent Winter fighting with aqua over the beanbag means anything, or if it was just there to explain the presence of the beanbag. It does seem a bit obvious, but I think it puts a slight bit of suspicion on AW. There's also a slight bit of non-suspicion on IvoryPint, being the one person who's mentioned as watching the land disappear, but of course it's not enough to completely remove her from suspicion.

submitted by Kitten, Daydreaming
(August 20, 2020 - 8:20 pm)

wonderful! this is very intruiging and PENGUINS! hehe

 

My personality in four words: (a) shy, antisocial author (&) artist.  that was four words, right? shy antisocial author artist. yep, four. :P

submitted by HeroesOfOlympus, age eternal, somewhere-everywhere
(August 21, 2020 - 12:11 pm)

Great writing! And wow, this murderer really is quite creative. My personality in four words... that will be hard. Let's try it:

Optimistic (I try, anyways)

Introverted

Confident (usually)

Loyal (explanation: I'll always stick up for my friends and etc.)

Let's pretend the words in parentheses aren't there XD 

submitted by Luminescence, age XI, California
(August 22, 2020 - 12:56 pm)

Haha, weekends, amirite? Nothing to do soo . . . ghosting it is! And I simply could not miss this sooo . . . great chapter! :D :D

Idiotic and genius, o p t i m i s m 

submitted by Rainbow Riot
(August 22, 2020 - 9:48 pm)

This is great! My personality in four words would be: awkward creative adventurous dreamer.

submitted by Quill
(August 23, 2020 - 1:55 pm)

Ooh, this is great! My personality in four words: energetic, witty, short temper

submitted by Agent Winter, age Classified, powered by fangirling
(August 22, 2020 - 8:53 am)

This murderer is obviously creative.  Who would kill someone with a beanbag chair?  Hmm.  Anyway, my personality in four words- Adventurous, clever, creative, ambitious.

submitted by QueenofWolves
(August 22, 2020 - 10:42 am)