InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Brian is gonna have a fit."

Bellum Anon (bellum_anon) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-05-18 10:00:00

Entry tags:

gretel, moriarty, plot: riddles, snow queen, vasilissa

Group M: Gretel, Moriarty, Vasilissa, Snow Queen

The plaque on the wall says:

A motley crew, if e'er I saw,
And not a one against the law,
Except for that one tiny thing,
But it was hardly worth the sting.
Babies, see, are very small,
And barely worth the fuss at all.

So this boat is in the clear,
From dock to dock and pier to pier.
Except, you see for smaller dings,
Like broken hearts and hateful things.
So for this boat to stay afloat,
Kindness, friends, was all she wrote.

And this hint I give you now,
What you want is near the bow.

The room is not a room at all, but rather a pirate boat, complete with a crew that is ready to wage war against another vessel that is coming ever closer. The vessel is missing two things, which becomes immediately apparent: a captain and a name.

1. Near the bow, there is a captain's hat, but there is no way to place a name on the bow of the boat.
2. The group must decide on a name that embodies all four of them - kindly.
3. They must engrave the bow of the boat somehow.
4. And they must agree on a captain.
5. When these two things happen, the neighboring vessel turns out to be friendly, and a lovely trade of goods occurs.
6. If there is any arguing during any of the activities, the boat sinks and they are returned to their previous locations after an uncomfortable dunking.

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lostintheforest
2010-05-18 06:33 pm UTC (link)

Evie had gone to the kitchen for a snack. School was almost over but playoffs were still going on, cutting into her time for homework and meaning that she was still studying in her uniform at midnight. Highschool, she decided, was bullshit. It would be all over in a couple weeks anyway and then she could spend the summer getting money for Nicky, whatever they decided to do next year.

One second she had grabbed the handle of the refrigerator and the next, her hand was empty and everything was bright. Then something rocked underneath her feet and she barely managed to keep from falling over.

Evie paused, turned, and blinked at the crew, the ship, the people and the plaque beside her. "What the fuck?"

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dierache
2010-05-18 06:46 pm UTC (link)

Jonathan was on a ship.

Which made no sense at all, really, since he had been in his apartment, bent over a case file that he'd been forced to work on into the night in order to make sure all the loose ends were neatly tied up. The sudden change in scenery could mean only one thing-he was dreaming.

That settled, he surveyed the other people on the ship, none of whom he recognized. His dreams liked to give him new faces every time, it seemed.

"Evening," he said, then looked up. "Or...afternoon." He raised an eyebrow.

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vasilissa
2010-05-18 06:55 pm UTC (link)

Ileana had thought she was going to be getting ready for bed, instead she found herself in her nightshirt and shorts on the deck of a boat. Did she really fall asleep that fast?

She looked around, noting she only knew Evie in the sense of being neighbors and seeing her in the hall. No one else was familiar.

"We're on a boat," Ileana sounded incredulous, "Are we dreaming?"

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snow_bees
2010-05-18 07:07 pm UTC (link)

Deirdre had still been fully dressed, lacking shoes but otherwise fairly well put together. One moment she was standing to get herself a glass of water, and the next she was looking out over a flat expanse of water, sun glinting, and the ground moving beneath her feet.

She turned when she heard the voices, frowning at the ship, crew, and people that she imagined were fellow residents in the building, even though she'd never seen them before.

"I highly doubt that we are dreaming. Especially given where we live." Her tone was cool but fairly polite for the moment, even though her thoughts were swiftly moving toward irritation.

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lostintheforest
2010-05-18 07:17 pm UTC (link)

Evie rolled her eyes. She recognized Ileana as the girl who lived next door, but the other two were unfamiliar and uninteresting. Ignoring all of them, she took a step away, surveying the ship. This was so much better than meeting Prince Charming in a stairwell. The crew were all busy, preparing guns and cannons, and Evie had seen enough action movies to know what that was about. "There's going to be a fight!" She turned back to the others, face shining.

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	dierache 2010-05-18 09:02 pm UTC (link)
	A fight? That wasn't good. "Considering that I don't think anyone here has naval experience, that could be a problem." Then he spotted the plaque, set into the ship's boards, and walked over to it. "Look at this. Directions, maybe?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	vasilissa 2010-05-18 09:08 pm UTC (link)
	"Fuck, this ain't good," Ileana said, watching the crew prep for battle. When the man walked over to the plaque, Ileana followed. "Directions?" Ileana starts to read the plaque, "It's a riddle." Oh good. What she wanted to do tonight was play the Riddler with the building and a bunch of people she didn't know. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

snow_bees
2010-05-18 09:19 pm UTC (link)

Deirdre sighed and crossed to where the others were reading the plaque. The poetry made her pause for a moment as she unraveled the wording, frowning deeply once she did. The last thing she wanted while trapped on a magical ship was to have to defend herself to these people, and the mention of her tale made her tense.

"We simply have to be nice to each other?" That seemed like an awfully ridiculous requirement for such an elaborate situation.

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lostintheforest
2010-05-18 09:44 pm UTC (link)

Evie skimmed the plaque. Babies, kindness, hint. As a competitor, the last part caught her attention the most and she glanced up sharply. "The bow is the front of the boat, isn't it?" She didn't have a clue what they might want besides a way off or maybe a machine gun to use on the other ship, but she was obviously excited for it. Deirdre's words didn't even register.

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	dierache 2010-05-18 10:12 pm UTC (link)
	"I think so," he said, and walked up past the rigging and the ship's wheel. Laying on the boards at the front of the boat was a captain's hat with a plume in it. "I'm going to guess," he said slowly, "That someone needs to be designated captain." He paused. "I'll take on the responsibility if no one else is interested." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	vasilissa 2010-05-19 01:51 am UTC (link)
	As she made her way to the bow, she sighed tiredly. So they had to play pirate. The building had to pull them from their apartments to play a weird game. Ileana folded her arms in front of her and shrugged placidly, "You can be captain. I don't want the job." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

snow_bees
2010-05-19 02:06 am UTC (link)

Deirdre studied the man, realizing that no one had exchanged names and so not knowing what to call him, even in her own thoughts. She bristled against the thought of taking orders from someone else, though she didn't much care for the thought of running the ship herself, either.

"You're certain that you are qualified for that?" It was a simple question, hopefully polite enough for whatever power was determining their kindness, because she didn't want to find out what would happen if it wasn't. She waved away her own question with a distracted hand. "I'm not interested in the position. I'm simply curious."

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lostintheforest
2010-05-19 02:15 am UTC (link)

Evie didn't want to take orders from anyone either, but she was not wearing that hat. Bellum could go to hell for all she cared. She was surprised it hadn't already.

Folding her arms, she looked critically at the man who had offered himself as captain. "For your information, your leadership skills totally suck already," she informed him in her typical blunt, unapologetic way. "We don't even know your name."

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	dierache 2010-05-19 02:18 am UTC (link)
	"Jonathan. Sorry for being lacking in introductions, I think finding myself on a ship threw my manners off." He was utterly unruffled either by Evie's bluntness or Deirdre's questions. "I don't know any of yours either, but I'd like to." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	vasilissa 2010-05-19 02:20 am UTC (link)
	"Well, I'm Ileana," she said, stepping forward toward the bow and stood closer to Jonathan. "Can we just make Jonathan here captain and move on? This doesn't have to be fuckin difficult." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	snow_bees 2010-05-19 02:27 am UTC (link)
	"My name is Deirdre." She felt her spine straightening as she drew herself up stubbornly, though kept her tone polite. "I am not trying to be difficult. I am simply wondering whether he--" She cut herself off, taking a breath. "Fine. He can be captain." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lostintheforest 2010-05-19 02:43 am UTC (link)
	"Evie," she told them. "And fine." There was no point in pitching a fit without a good reason. It didn't mean that she was going to go along with whatever he said though. "Do you know how to fight pirates?" She wanted to get to the good stuff. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	dierache 2010-05-19 02:46 am UTC (link)
	"I don't have personal experience, no," he said. "But I think the point of the plaque was being kind, not getting into a battle, wasn't it?" He picked up the captain's hat and settled it on his head. "Not exactly my style," he said, glancing up. "Well, nothing's happened so far. What else are we missing?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	vasilissa 2010-05-19 03:06 am UTC (link)
	Ileana looked around at the bow of the ship. She didn't know a lot about boats, but she knew enough that there was something missing. "There's no name," Ileana realized out loud, "The ship doesn't have a name." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	snow_bees 2010-05-19 03:11 am UTC (link)
	Deirdre rubbed at her temple, already annoyed by this escapade. "A name?" She turned to Jonathan. "Alright, Sir Captain. Name this thing so we can go home." Her voice tightened, ready to be done with these people. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lostintheforest
2010-05-19 03:29 am UTC (link)

Evie scowled, mainly at Deirdre. She didn't like any of the redheads in this building apparently. "Okay, first, don't call him that; it's stupid. He told us his name." They weren't eight year olds playing dress-up here; there was no reason for her to act like they were in the middle ages or some shit. "And second, nowhere in the rhyme did it say anything about a name. Only the thing in the bow. Which was the hat. A name is not going to help us not get blown into little bitty pieces." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew something had gone bad. Her stomach twisted up and her broken hand in her cast hurt and everything in her body seemed to be trying to warn her of something.

"Shit." What had she just done?

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	dierache 2010-05-19 04:08 am UTC (link)
	The boat began to sink. "Predictable. Can you all swim?" It seemed to be going down with strange rapidity. "Apparently the riddle wasn't kidding about playing nicely with one another." He looked between them. If anyone couldn't at least tread water, they were going to need help staying afloat. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	vasilissa 2010-05-19 04:26 am UTC (link)
	"Son of a bitch," Ileana groaned, covering her face with her palm. Ileana winced and watched the boat quickly sink. "We're going to nearly drown cause we can't play nice. What the fuck is our lives?" It seemed before they could even prepare or brace themselves, the ship had gone under. With it, so did the crew and the group getting pulled in to the cold water. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

snow_bees
2010-05-19 04:34 am UTC (link)

The water rose quickly around Dee, and before she could even respond to Jonathan's question, she was under water. It was cold and nearly stole her breath, and she tried to swim back upward, but the sinking of the ship pulled her down even farther. She was beginning to panic when the boat was suddenly back under her feet, air surrounding her again instead of water.

She coughed out the bit of water that had made it into her nose, dripping on the deck of the ship. She looked around angrily, finding the other three on the deck as well, and without thinking about it, yelled at Evie. "What was that? What happened to kindness, you foolish child?" The boat lurched again before she'd even finished speaking.

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lostintheforest
2010-05-19 04:54 am UTC (link)

Evie was scrambling back to her feet, fully prepared to launch herself at Deirdre because she wasn't a child and obviously kindness didn't rank too high on the redhead's list of virtues either. She barely had time to whip her head around though, sending the saltwater from her long hair straight into Deidre's face, before her stomach lurched again and the boat tilted and she tumbled. "Fuck." She swore in Dee's general direction as they started to sink again. "Wasn't me that time." This couldn't possibly be any good for her cast.