Penny Dreadfuls, the Perseverance Rover, and things that make you go Hmmm...

Saturday: Gold and Glory

Been doing more solo reaper 5 brig sessions.

Got sank 4 times today against 4 different player galleons.

Finished out the night as a solo brig reaper 5 vs an experienced solo athena.

At one point he had me locked down with tdm a couple of times and dumped all of my supplies. All I had was what was in my pockets and we had a naval shoot out.

As he sank he said "Wolfmanbush, solo on a brig with no supplies.."

A gentleman pirate he is.

It is likely that I will hit 10k Sunday during gold and glory battles.

I think I will continue on with solo reaper brigs for the challenge to finish up g&g and cross 10k.

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I also lost most of an ashen winds event to a duo sloop tdm crew.
I escaped with the skull and found a rowboat on kraken's fall and rowed it to ancient spire, then I came back and fought the sloop. Got some pressure on them and was able to board and kill them a few times but didn't get enough pressure to seal the deal.

Started last night out by forming the league of doom

The brigs decided they wanted to stack for FotD. We told them that in a few hours when our most aggressive member gets on, we would be hostile.
Later, we finished Legend of the Veil, and just as we were finishing up a FoF the brigs finally got FotD started.
Initially the plan was to steal the FotD from the brigs, but it took them so long that half of our crews were wanting to just log off.

So we sold everything, a few logged off, and the rest began our ultimate quest:

We loaded up our 2 rowboats, departed sanctuary outpost with them, and grabbed a third on the way.

We hid the rowboats tight to the bottom of the cliff on the opposite side of the fort as the brigs and waited for them to finish the boss wave.
Once that was done, one of our guys swam over with a keg, sunk one of the brigs, and the rest of us attacked by cue of the explosion.
Wasn't successful. We did steal an athena keg but the guy carrying it got exploded en route to the other brig. The initial plan was the snatch the most valuable loot, load the rowboats, and scatter into different directions, but we couldn't find where they stashed it and ended up dying off one at a time.

The brigs seemed confused as to why we didn't just help them sell, but we did it because it was funny and we weren't going to have an opportunity like that again any time soon.

To the adventurer:

It's alright to give up
in situations that tear down your adventurer's spirit
It's alright to move on
from situations that poison your optimism

you will lose, sometimes
fights, love, people

never give up on yourself
never move on from the belief that you can overcome
that you will overcome

never forget that you being here is no mistake
you are many things but broken is not one of them
as you are, is enough
an equal, nothing less

the best part of you is your potential to be kind and honest to yourself
so that you can be kind and fair to others
it's how we get through it
together

your existence is a gift
without obligation
I hope you treasure it
and share it with others

If you struggle to connect to these words
that's alright
I'm just glad you are here, that you exist, that you seek adventure

I wish you well, adventurer
carpe diem
with love and sincerity,
-Captain WolfManbush

I will sail my vessel

A friend of mine was sunk by a reaper 5 brig crew while she was adventuring on a veil voyage

I join in and by time we reach the ending of her veil location the reaper brig had switched to athena and was attempting to finish it for the loot

I am able to handle the situation and all of her loot was returned as they hadn't sold it yet.

We did a few veils and emissary quests because she is trying to increase her level and work on commendations. There are ships around but there is no more conflict while I am there.

Beginning the steps of finishing up the session

I shoot over to kraken's fall to finish off a part of the emissary quest

I see a sloop around the area of the vault

my assumption is accurate and they are inside the vault

I hear two people talking and apparently they weren't able to pull off the ancient chest riddle.

I say something to which one of them says

"ah man we got sank, gg"

I respond with "I didn't sink your ship, it is fine"

he was overjoyed and very appreciative
a wonderfully friendly couple

I talked to them for a while, they have only been playing a few weeks and are working on pirate legend

They asked a question that I hear from time to time during interactions like this "why are you so nice? this isn't how it usually goes"

They offered loot, I declined, they offered to help me, I declined.

No payment, this isn't a transaction, it's just something that feels right

The truth of it all is that there is no loot, no sink, no victory in battle that ever feels like an organic interaction where the people are kind and decent. It's different, more impactful, easier to remember and within that easier to carry with me.

I don't want it to be considered mercy, that's not why I am here. All I want, is for it to continue through them. This is their world, I'm just passing through. I appreciate their time and the good fortune of being there.

reaper turned athena brig clip

ghost of the veil clip

Sunday

For those that have followed this adventure
thank you

as you are aware stats were a large part of this journey
as something to stay focused on, a history of effort and drive
motivation for myself and with any fortune, inspiration for at least one other

things have changed
but that is life
things always change

well, most things

something that hasn't changed..
is how incredible it is that you exist
on the seas and in your community, in this community

Every day has been a privilege
that is something I have never forgotten

If you are enjoying your experience, you deserve it
if your experience is a struggle, you will get through it

What lies on the horizon is the unknown
just as always
the adventurer's spirit remains the same

The gifts

motivation has fallen
passion dwindling
drive diminishing

I am soloing a fleet without the spark I once had.
an xbox cosmetic sloop sails by me as I battle and parks at the sea post
I sail over to inspect
It is determined they aren't a significant threat
I board their ship
a solo

We stare at each other, no communication
no jumping
no music
no emotes
we just stare

I walk below
and that is when I see it

gifts everywhere, more than I have seen in a long time
humble and generous
on the floor
on the bed
all around

I don't even consider taking these even though I am a reaper

I often talk about things being a gift
this is a reminder

We go to reapers
no talking, no text
the sailor parks and we begin to unload the gifts

many gifts
no communication
yet there was an understanding

They sell all of their gifts
they go to their ship
I go to mine

they sail in the direction of cannon cove
I sail back to finish the fleet

it didn't change things, not yet
but it was a reminder
interactions like that are what I treasure
sailors like that are the characters that I am drawn to in adventure
the gifts within my story, within my experiences

Tomorrow is not only a new day
it's a new opportunity
to get through it
to find someone to appreciate
to approach adventure with patience and without resentment of change

I've vanquished 600 krakens

I often find myself flipping through the pop up book of my mind
wondering and remembering
perhaps just missing
like a page torn from the log
what became of pirates I once knew
what have they survived
do they remember me as I remember them

separate ways but not forgotten experiences
I don't carry much but I carry those
like a feather, like a flower
into darkness, into sunsets
but also sunrises

If there is anything to take from my adventures
anything at all
for your own
it is that above all
it is appreciation of existence that allows for what you value
experiences with others are life, breath for the spirit

I hope you find something in your day
that reminds you that you matter
that those that are supportive of you and kind to you matter

I appreciate your time, if any of it was spent here.

I was soloing a fleet. A sloop came towards me
I take the mast down and I board and send the solo pirate to the ferry
I see two reaper chests, I throw them out of the back of the sloop

The situation becomes clear that a newer pirate is turning in a reaper chest, in this case 2 reaper chests.

I return to my ship
the pirate swims over

I send them an invite to my sloop
they stand there a while
eventually they join

I grab the pirate's reaper chests and head to pick up the fleet loot
The pirate and I never spoke
We don't know anything about each other
probably never will
but we spent some time together
silently

I'll likely never see them again
just like the others
depending on the day, I process it differently

Earlier today a similar scenario happened nearly in the same spot
It was a tall taler, I gave them what I had and left.
He said he's never been helped by a reaper before.

I was once there
just trying to get by
I'm still there
right along with them, that's how I see it.

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@wolfmanbush said in Penny Dreadfuls, the Perseverance Rover, and things that make you go Hmmm...:

I was soloing a fleet. A sloop came towards me
I take the mast down and I board and send the solo pirate to the ferry
I see two reaper chests, I throw them out of the back of the sloop

The situation becomes clear that a newer pirate is turning in a reaper chest, in this case 2 reaper chests.

I return to my ship
the pirate swims over

I send them an invite to my sloop
they stand there a while
eventually they join

I grab the pirate's reaper chests and head to pick up the fleet loot
The pirate and I never spoke
We don't know anything about each other
probably never will
but we spent some time together
silently

I'll likely never see them again
just like the others
depending on the day, I process it differently

Earlier today a similar scenario happened nearly in the same spot
It was a tall taler, I gave them what I had and left.
He said he's never been helped by a reaper before.

I was once there
just trying to get by
I'm still there
right along with them, that's how I see it.

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Lean on Me

A reaper gentleman. Wish I had met more people like you.

Killing Moon: an introduction

It was dark on the bed in my sloop
I could see green and blue through the cracks in the wood as if a painter was using the sky for their canvas
It would appear as if I was sleeping but I was hunting
caught in between the time of my last kill and my next battle

Not a hunter of pirates
a hunter of...something else

I hear it, what I have heard many times before
the sounds of arms and legs in the sea
louder as the threat gets closer

This is not the fight that I was looking for
but it is the one I am going to have.

I rise from my wait
I back against the anchor of fortitude on my wall in the darkness
I hear the pirate creep up the ladder like a rodent

I wait for them to walk down those steps
as I know they will

1 enters
1 dies

It is a brigantine
a reaper 5

the two that are left begin to open fire with cannons
I defend with rounds shot through the open hatch
the 3rd returns from the ferry

My death approaches, I can feel the presence of the end
if I go I go with an empty gun and a satisfied mind

I hear it, the noise I have heard more times than my own name
Kraken

She rises, that mighty creature of rage and hunger

She wraps my enemies in her tight embrace

I notice objects in the crows nest
I take aim as my sloop rocks back and forth as if it has been sung a lullaby by the sea and as the brigantine is pushed around as if it has upset the balance that allows us to hunt.

I take aim and I pull the trigger
an explosion that could only be created by multiple mega kegs

I board and I kill everything that aims to kill me

The brigantine sinks to the bottom of the sea
the loot rises to the top

The only event not in the pile was an ashen winds
the sea was littered with loot from forts of different kinds, fleet loot, reaper chests, 5 emissary flags and 5 captain's logs like floating tombstones.

Killing Moon
a hunting vessel
with a captain onboard that will fight to survive
that will fight for the hunting ground

Merrick wrote that he lost many things to the sea over the years
Undoubtedly, we all have
an effect of loving while living that feels more like punishment than understandable outcome

Everything I have lost
once existed
once filled my day with hope
and for that I am thankful

I no longer sail alone
I carry with me this portrait
a man I admire
a hunter I respect
a symbol of everything I have lost but refuse to forget or regret

Sunday

The early mornings have cooled
before the sun rises
I sit and wonder in wonder
how incredible it is to have opportunity
how fortunate I have been to be around the existence of others
even if for moments rather than hours or days

a pursuit of patience and thoughtfulness
one where there are times that I do not succeed
an opportunity to improve
an obligation to self
a commitment to others

a new day on the horizon
with luck it will bring fortune to those I have known
and those I have yet to meet

I love the smell of poptarts in the morning

I'm soloing a fleet
I am attacked by a brigantine as I am gathering the loot
We battle until they disappear below the waves

As I am about to turn in there is a reaper 2 with a reaper chest coming at me

I've been in this situation many times

The best defense is to go on offense with an approaching potential threat
but I refrain

I tell the approaching sloop "If you're peaceful I will let you sell your chest in peace"

No communication but the sloop turns off a bit and keeps distance, in a position where they can run if need be.

This tells me they are hesitant for combat and likely to be a pver.

A few more times I communicate my offer

Finally an "aye"

Nobody needs to die today.

The pirate's name is Grey Wolf, they sold their loot while I stood guard.

Grey Wolf left and I pulled in to sell my loot.

a few minutes go by.

I hear a single cannon shot, that haunting sound of imminent piratical encounter.

I prepare for a fight that I have had countless times before, just with different faces.

I hear a voice declaring they are peaceful and have a few questions to ask. Young Pirates.

I oblige

They ask a few questions and then they inquire as to what kind of poptarts I like. The choices I was given included strawberry and cinnamon.

I accurately provided them with the answer of strawberry.

Apparently they ask the question to many pirates and strawberry is the clear winner thus far.

After a short back and forth on the topic of poptarts I told them a grand tale of the poptarts that don't have frosting on them.
They could not believe their ears...poptarts...without frosting?

I told them it was the tart without the pop.

They are surprised to learn that I solo fleets and most of what I do, I tell them that they are capable of things far beyond what I have done, far beyond even what they think possible for themselves.

I tell them I must depart. I have a meg to hunt.

They go their way and I go mine.

After about 18 minutes I find my meg.

I hear splashing and a voice in the water

One of the young pirates has swam over and wants to participate in the harvest of the meg.

I offer the young pirate the kill

They fire and eventually the meg succumbs

I tell them that whatever is on my boat is theirs and that the meg loot is as well.

I tell them that is was nice to meet them and I disappear.

How fortunate I am to have been able to see a glimpse of the bright future that awaits these seas.

Aquaman defends again clip

How I get supplies clip

Keg clip

I could smell 'em clip

Sorrow sink clip

Fleet boss as the sun sets clip

I recently hit 200k doubloons.
mostly from solo fleets
hundreds and hundreds of them
in all dangerous conditions imaginable

I've never viewed it as currency
they are like pebbles that I picked up along the way
as I lived, as I survived, as I fell, as I rose

I've been asked more than a few times, why?
why solo? why pve? why? why?

The reason has changed over time like the seasons
It was once to show myself what I was capable of
now it's to show others what they are capable of

I believe that there is a place for everyone
where they can grow and blossom
where they can express who they are
rather than conforming to expectations that they are not bound to.

Show the sea who you are
let her see for herself through your attempts
there is a place for you
somewhere
always search, adventurer
until the end

A sloop tour clip

I intend to be the first solo Captain to vanquish 100 krakens
Organic hunt, no cheesing, no help from others
Just experience, effort, and luck

Something I have not lost to the sea
the thrill of the hunt
studying the environment
compiling data from my experiences
understanding what I must do
to get where I want to be

An extreme privilege it has been to share the seas with these predators
Understanding and accepting that every hunt may be my last

Our connection within the food chain has always been honest
we do not lie, we do not deceive
we compete for the hunting ground

we don't live forever
but we live
in the moments where we fight for our lives
we aren't enemies
we are the same

Sunday

freedom
unwavering commitment to adventure
never guaranteed
but the opportunity existed for me

indescribable fortune
not only when the sun shines
especially when it doesn't

the journey entwined with difficulty
hardship and harshness
through it all still fortunate enough to speak
to navigate at my discretion

appreciation during struggle is not obligation
it is healing, it is strengthening the adventurer's spirit
appreciation does not require a smile formed from expectation or pressure
it is a path to get through it, the day
a day that will lead to something brighter

I hope you use your voice
to tell your story, all of your story
not the perception of how others want it told
but as it was experienced by you

I hope you exercise your freedom
to live your story
as you see it
as you feel it
as you are
as you hope to be

Typically when pirates sail over to me as I hunt they are looking to take something.

I fight the fights that are brought to me

yesterday I was hunting, sitting, thinking
a sloop sails over
a solo pirate
they say one thing and one thing only to me
a question
"Would you mind if I fish here?"
I said "it would be a privilege"
we never spoke again

for about an hour I hunted and the pirate fished
quietly

to question it would be to dilute the experience
so it just was what it was

I was right about something, it was a privilege

I'm competing with myself
only myself
push myself
test myself

it wears me down
but it prepares me
for anything
for everything

not to win
to persevere
to overcome
to go beyond survival
to live
connected to the environment

If you find this
embrace what you love
those you love
find adventure
go beyond surviving
live
you deserve it

I was born upon the tide
and with the sea I did abide

1 month, 100 krakens

I am living still

Sunday

The lone slooper, Ghost Cop, and the old hat

The lone slooper:

I'm sailing around Smuggler's Bay and I see a sloop hiding in the back, voyaging

the name reads "The Lone Slooper"

I shoot a white flare and alliance the lone slooper since they had the offer up.

I start to sail away when they shoot a white flare

That was our only communication, a handshake with white flares

For the next 4 hours while I sank every skelly ship I saw, killed every meg I encountered and fought and sank a brig I would occasionally see a couple of pieces of treasure being sold

marauders chests here, rare tea there
whatever the lone sloop found the lone slooper sold

it brought me comfort, a quiet peace
knowing the lone slooper was doing alright

a privilege it was, at some point the lone slooper left and so did I

Ghost Cop and the old hat:

Later in the day I encounter a galleon
there was a skelly galleon and a skelly sloop and it became a 4 ship engagement

Everything sinks except Killing Moon
she stays afloat
everything dies other than myself and Ghost Cop

Ghost Cop swims to my ladder
I prepare to be a lone survivor

Ghost Cop is not hostile so we take off sailing
at a few points I thought Ghost Cop was no longer with me but then I would see "ship sighted" from the crow's nest.
No communication other than "ship sighted"

A couple of hours Ghost Cop sails with me while I hunt
They caught an old hat, a true prized possession

I kill a meg and sink a few skelly ships while Ghost Cop does their own thing around the ship. Plays music, looks around, shoots tridents, we never talk

We are near Thieves Haven picking up skelly loot
when a strange occurrence happens
we are attacked by pirates in a rowboat while also being attacked by a duo sloop.

Ghost Cop is instantly double tapped by 2 cannonballs
I'll always remember the sound they made

Why we were suddenly surrounded by different crews in a random scenario like that I'll never know but they killed my friend
someone I'll never forget

I temporarily distracted myself from the pain by filling the ferry with pirates.

I sailed away and harvested another meg. I left the old hat in the loot pile under the moon and painted sky
and then I was gone

103/698

Stealing krakens from larger ships has always been a challenge
I need to react quickly,efficiently, and consistently from beginning to end or I will lose the opportunity and get frustrated with myself

After some hunting I was considered wrapping things up when a reaper brig in the distance got kraken'd

I instantly begin to sail there

I know I am very low on supplies and it's unlikely I will have enough to pull this off

but I must try, it's not in me to not try

I circle the black water
shooting what little I have left

the reaper brig is not there to hunt
they are trying to survive
I can sense it

I put all of my resources into the attack
the reaper brig eventually escapes the dark water and takes off full speed away from the kraken and I

I refuse to give up
I hear the water rising
the boards creaking
Killing Moon is in trouble
all I have left is gunfire
I shoot over and over
the moonlight shining on my targets

...in the end
I survive

103 krakens under captaincy
698 confirmed kraken kills total

kill clip

meg flip clip

Sing it Dobie

Sugar, we're goin' down swingin'

I get attacked by a solo reaper and we fight over and in between a fleet which goes outside of the fleet borders

we go back and forth in combat
then I hear the sound I dread in this scenario
a meg
it means I need to both try to kill the meg while fighting off the pvp

I have extremely low supplies
I use the cannonballs I have left on the meg instead of the pirate
No wood left
bucket bucket shoot
bucket bucket shoot
broken wheel
bucket bucket shoot
If I am going to lose this meg kill I am going to exhaust myself in the process

The pirate snaps my mast and I have nothing to repair it with
Killing Moon is going down
I jump in the shark infested waters
I kill sharks and use all of my bullets
I start hitting the meg with the sword as it goes by.

As Killing Moon slowly submerges
like when Rose let go of Jack
I politely request that the pirate help in killing the meg
no response
but I hear gunshots and the occasional cannonfire
I assume he has decided to help me.
he shoots and I slice as the meg goes 'round

The meg succumbs to the injuries

The pirate says gg as the meg sinks to the depths of the sea
I thank him and say gg and leave

Not only a skilled pirate but a gentleman pirate, a privilege encounter and I am thankful for it.

don't worry about Killing Moon, she will be fixed up and back in the hunt soon

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@danbeardluff said in Penny Dreadfuls, the Perseverance Rover, and things that make you go Hmmm...:

What is that glowy warpaint you've got on? Super cool.

Witch markings from the emporium

It's quiet in between the clanking and clashing of chaos found within combat
the silence is a curse to some and a gift to the solo

I kept to myself mostly
as I do
I was challenged a few times
as others do

I found and vanquished 8 ancient skeletons

The fortune was existing freely within the day
the numbers, the amounts
only possible and only relevant because another day of piratical freedom was the reality

Hopefully people found something today
something to hold on to
something to look forward to
something to remember

A fortunate series of unfortunate events

Clips
Part 1
Part 2

I was out there minding my own business swimming around and hanging out on an island playing music, doing as I do

On this island I had dug up a mega keg and put it in my crows, if it works out it works out and if it doesn't it doesn't, I don't worry about it much.

A reaper galleon sails their giant vessel right into my sloop as I am wading around.

They board and throw a firebomb which ends up setting the keg off while they are still close enough to take damage and the force of the explosion pushes them right to me.

We both sink.

A few moments that encapsulate what I have put in effort to build for myself as an adventurer. Something I hope others will build for themselves. This isn't about winning, it's not about skill, it's not about fighting against anything. It's about embracing the piratical mantra that expresses a simple belief, everything is going to be alright, with effort, with dedication.

I have sank more times than I can keep track of. It always lead me to somewhere that I appreciated being, always lead me to something or someone that made every struggle and every loss worth it.

Pirate life is complicated at times, complex, harsh, uncertain

Adventure is always there, a friend to all that are open to the offer. A friend that does not count losses or wins, a friend that does not care about skill, does not care about the past, doesn't focus on the future, a friend that is present.

I am thankful for adventure, I appreciate the galleon crew for being a part of something that brought randomness to my adventure.

Onward.

1000 confirmed skelly ship sinks as a solo slooper since Captaincy

Onward

The Jolly Roger and the case of mistaken identity

I'm soloing a fleet when duo sloop approaches

the name of the vessel is The Jolly Roger.

They shoot a couple of red flares and sail in for combat while I am doing the fleet.

I notice kegs and get the hit, I board and kill one pirate.

A skilled pirate boarded my ship as I boarded theirs.

I end up getting the sink but I also end up getting camped by the one pirate into oblivion. Very skilled, no issue with it

I return and see a sloop with the same flag waving.

I sink the ship.

I was not prepared for what floated up

Animals in animal cages and a few pieces of loot.

I had killed and sank an innocent adventurer, thinking it was the one I shared a sink with a short time earlier because of the same flag.

I instantly feel regret and disappointment in myself

I know that if I do not correct this it will bother me for days to come.

I immediately send an invite to the adventurer
they do not join

so I message them

Please join to sell your stuff, I have it for you

It turns out the pirate does not speak English they speak Spanish and after some back and forth the pirate is able to join me as I finish the fleet.

I have all of the pirate's loot already, we pick up the fleet loot and we pick up the loot and flags dropped by The Jolly Roger.

Mistakes happen, I make them all of the time
but within that is opportunity to form some sort of a connection and to build something from the loss of something, even if only for a short time.

I'm thankful for the existence of this pirate, for the encounter, for being sunk, one thing that lead to another.

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