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

A new year on the horizon
I wish you safe celebration
fulfilling appreciation
opportunity
togetherness
love
full bellies and hunger for adventure

Puddle: The Hunter

I headed over to a fleet
as I was working on the fleet a couple of sloops sailed over
they formed an alliance with one another
one was a solo and one was a duo

the solo ends up sinking and the duo takes off
I see the solo swimming around with a captain's chest

I send an invite to a pirate
the pirate quickly joins

so began a journey to finish the fleet, sink many skelly galleons, vanquish a kraken and a meg, complete a sea fort, cook and sell meat, selling loot along the way.

Puddle has been a part of the piratical community for 2 weeks, he is a hunter, an adventurer. He likes to fish and cook, he enjoys fighting skelly ships and megs, he wishes there was a chef title (or something related to cooking) which is a great idea I think, it was a privilege to meet and sail with him.

Killing Moon
Captain's log entry

It was a calm night
beautiful and calm
I was floating in the sea
I looked up
I saw something...some...thing

As the sun rises I will be sailing to new golden sands

The Thing

---

600 krakens
300+ hungering ones under Captaincy

♫ It's a new day
one more chance to step in the light

let's just get through the day ♫

I have unlocked all the cherished trinkets for pve emergent spawns and am a day or so away from 4000 confirmed meg spawns.

To the adventurer:

My numbers are irrelevant to your story
what is relevant is that you too can achieve your goals
one day at a time, one step forward at a time
consistency is all you need, never perfection
you are not bound to comparison or competition
create your own adventures, find your passions, believe in your goals
find a way to believe in yourself
as long as you fight against doubt, you fight for your potential
with this you never fail, you only gain experience
experience that becomes your story, your legacy
I believe in what you are capable of
wonderful adventures, unforgettable stories, incredible accomplishments
I believe in you

If you ever feel defeated, lost at sea
somewhere out there on the seas we share
I'll be playing the banjo under that bright moon and painted sky
rooting for your successful navigation through temporary struggle
You'll get through it, no doubt about it

You are worthy of pineapple

many of us have been there
a look in the food barrel
there sits a pineapple
maybe a couple
maybe a few

we create reasons to leave it
perhaps for others
perhaps just to rot
"not skilled enough"
"not enough" in some way

I'm not here to tell you to take a pineapple
I am here to tell you
you are worthy of pineapple
there are plenty of pineapples in the world
you will find more
there will be others
it's not only there for others
it's there for you too

♫ I put a banjo up into the sky
It keeps us moving, it keeps us moving♫

As the years move along
like adventure filled pages being brushed aside from the breeze over the sea
when I reach out
it's for sword or banjo
the company I keep

When I see adventurers beginning their journey
It's like the emptiness of night turning to candlelight
their enthusiasm for the environment I cherish
they don't even realize how important they are
it's possible because of them, their seeker's spirit

Back to the sea
between the stained sword and worn banjo
wherever the waves take me
it's only worth going because of those that are filling pages with their stories around me
the encounters that gifted me stories of my own

I saw a sloop spending time at a shipwreck
I kept distance but stayed close enough to observe
at some point it became clear they were fishing

for a few hours I did large circles around the sloop and their fishing wreck
every once in a while they would shoot off fireworks
I just sailed
running off a pirate or two that got curious and a little too close

Somewhere along the line they cut off and started to head to a seapost
I followed in the distance because I knew a meg was likely to arise
she did, a crested queen

I went my own direction
they went theirs
like so many encounters
we did not have a conversation
we just existed
fisher and hunter
on this day I found what I was looking for
hopefully they did as well

Sunday

Adventurer,

I wish you optimism
for the night, for tomorrow, for the future

I wish you strength
of conscience, of compass, of compassion

I wish you kindness
as a recipient, as a giver of hope, as a friend of the unknown

I wish you forgiveness
as one that is worthy, as one that has felt pain, as one that faces a bright horizon

I wish you appreciation
for your journey, for those you encounter, as one that is appreciated

Adventurer:

If you find this
I'm thankful that you are here
sharing the sea
existing, experiencing adventure
deserving of the smiles you find
and the words of warmth around you

I hope you find what you aren't looking for
I hope it brings you what you don't know exists
unpredictable and fulfilling adventure

I wish upon you undying curiosity
a passion for exploration
of land, sea, and imagination

♫Maybe time running out is a gift♫

Adventurer

A change of the season is once again upon us
years we have been wandering, searching, adventuring
within that we have collected what we now carry
remnants of the experiences that become our memories

The fortune of having today
of the journey that lead us here
the hope for a tomorrow

I hope you cherish the connections you found along the way
the ones you are soon to find
the life found within surviving
purpose, inspiration, togetherness

I remain hopeful for this environment
for you and your sentimental prosperity
I'm thankful that you are here

Adventurer:

I wish you well as you begin and journey through the season
I hope your random encounters turn into friendships
I hope your friendships become lifelong
In life I hope you endlessly yearn for adventure
I hope you turn imagination into creation
your dreams into reality
I hope you find peace in the kindness you share with others

like growth in the spring
on the horizon, green sails in the sun
new pirates, as refreshing for weathered eyes as colors racing through the rain
for hours I sailed near these 2 pirates
we didn't talk, we didn't share grog or music, we didn't share a vessel
I existed and they experienced the enviornment for their first time

They searched island after island while I watched for threats
like an old good boy guardin' home
there is a piece of peace found within these encounters
a calmness to the storm in my spirit
an unintended gift that blossoms purpose

They waved and they dove
the story doesn't end
it only is the beginning for them
the future of the environment surrounds them with opportunity
as for me
I return to passing through
thankful for the time
hopeful

The Voyager

I am hunting a meg
a sloop is parked at devil's ridge, a voyager
another sloop summoned a spire from the depths, lore adventurers

I choose my hunting ground
enough distance to not cause concern but close enough to provide support if there is an attack

an hour passes
the spire is gone, the voyager is still at devil's ridge
the duo lore adventurers approach me and offer supplies
I accept, a kind gift

The duo leaves and the voyager leaves devil's ridge and offers an alliance.
I accept
The voyager parks at thieves haven

Time passes as I keep an eye on the horizon
a brig spawns at plunder outpost
I can sense their intent

They begin to sail directly at the parked sloop
I sail between them
I don't how long I'll last in the fight
I just hope it's long enough for the voyager to move along when they hear combat

The voyager didn't leave

In the end I don't know if they made it out
I did
the fog embraced us
the brig was gone
the sloop was gone

just what's left of me and the sound of the sea
a peculiar pair
a familiar yet haunting outcome

Community

I was away from my vessel
walking with my K-9 companion
I hear chainshots and cannons
I know I will return to a sunken vessel but companions surpass all other priorities.

I start tracking nearby activity to find the scurvy dogs
I track a sloop down
a gentlemanly exchange occurs
They appear to not be the one I am looking for so I continue on

I see a sloop in the distance so I sail over
it is a pair of fishers so I continue on a bit
they offer an alliance and I accept

I abandon my search for the vessel that sank Killing Moon and I get back to meg hunting

The fisher pair start following me around and continue to do so for quite some time.

There are many things that I enjoy about encounters like these. They live in the moment and I have the privilege of observing it happen. It's not about combat, stealing, grinding for wealth or status, grand perceived accomplishment, it's just about living in and enjoying the moment around others. A treasure nearly as invaluable as time.

I leave them treasure around to pick up and eventually they bring it back one by one and stack it on my boat. I don't need or want the treasure but it is their gift to me and I would be robbing them of their thoughtfulness to not accept.

Eventually one leaves and the other brings a stool to my ship and sits near the wheel when I am on helm. Their cat "chocolate" joins our adventures.

The one that remains begins to fish and they catch a trophy muddy wildsplash. It put a smile on this old worn down face just to see it happen.

We adventure on, never talking, just adventuring together without communication. A few skelly ships and megs later... they disappear. As their abandoned ship sinks the kraken's tentacles arise. Poetic piracy.

I've acquired more gold than I'll ever need, more cosmetics than I'll ever use or keep track of, trivial stats that motivate me but never feed my spirit. These random encounters with people living in the moment, pirates focused on just enjoying their time with others, they are all of the significance in these stories, every bit of it. I'm thankful for that, every day.

The no betrayal, no kill, no sink, fortune chest steal

I live by a code on these seas
a personal code
one that I don't believe others are bound to

I don't have business in sinking or sending pirates to the ferry unless they are hostile

I don't have business in stealing more than I need. I don't need much, but sometimes I steal. I don't take pleasure in it, but I do it, and for that I am a thief. A thief but not a liar, which is why betrayal is unacceptable in my personal piratical code of conduct.

These piratical parameters tend to lead me to just looking the other way when I see opportunity to steal. It's often messy and I'm not much into clutter in my conscious.

For a while, I have business in chests of fortune.

I sail by a fort of fortune as 2 duo sloops are in an alliance and working the fort.

Without communication I shoot over. No alliance, no communication, I start fighting the Ashen Lord in the moonlight. I kill the Ashen Lord and grab the key and unlock the vault. I swim the chest out and return with Killing Moon, she had respawned in the roar.

The chest is there when I return and I accept the offer for an alliance after securing the chest. I sell the chest of fortune and I return to offer support to the sloops while they load the rest of the loot including the chest and legends and they peacefully sell it.

I continue to commit to the server and offer support by watching the horizon as they continue on while voyaging together.

I understand and respect their contributions to the environment too much to find satisfaction in it. Doesn't sit right with me but I did it, for that I am accountable.

The reaper chest

I'm out there hunting megs
I see a reaper chest and decide to take it over to the hideout

There is a storm and thick fog

I shoot over to check for pirates before I deliver the chest

I hear combat
shots
cannons

2 brigs are fighting till the end

I let them send each other to the ferry and I wait
One kegs the other
the explosion puts the reaper ship in range for the stationary cannon
I open fire

♫all our times have come
here but now they're gone
seasons don't fear the reaper
nor do the wind, the sun or the rain
we can be like they are♫

I am working a fleet

there are 2 sloops lurking around and a galleon, waiting for me to complete the fight

I know it's unlikely I make it out but I continue on with what I started

They all start slowly getting closer as the fleet progresses

A sloop goes to park at the hideout, another sloop approaches, the galleon circles like a blood thirsty shark in the distance

The sloop that approaches, sounds to be young pirates, communicating after I put a few holes in their vessel.

I don't know their story or their intent but it doesn't matter because it's a violation of my code to fight under these conditions. I communicate that they can have the loot.

The fleet is completed and they make their intent a bit more clear but it hasn't progressed enough to justify a fight.

The galleon approaches and the fight begins.
I have no interest in prolonging this battle as I already forfeited interest in the loot
I keep the fight close and commit to not resetting
I eventually sink.

Win or lose it doesn't dictate the value of my adventures
I don't know what tomorrow will bring
that's the gift within the opportunity
of life, of piracy

What in the name of the Pirate Lord is this?! I had to bookmark and upvote this because of the shear comedy of it, I was literally laughing when I saw this for like 5 minutes straight. I have actually seen a glitch from a YouTube video where a megalodon was literally speed boosting a ship for a while, but I believe this was from an earlier season, so I don't think it can be done, but I want that to happen to me.

Hey Hey, My My
My My, Hey Hey

Sunday

A sloop approaches
a duo
they speak of peace but they attack me
I sink their vessel

It's a duo of young pirates
One asks to be friends
an offer I cannot refuse
we pick up the other and set sail

a reaper brig sinks their sloop while they are on my ship
they eventually sail towards us for a fight

The young pirates put up a helluva fight
It was a privilege to adventure and battle with the future of piracy on these seas.

Adventurer

I hope you lose expectations as you find adventure
ones you carry, ones you impose
the strongest version of you exists within your individuality
as it is for others

Flaws are found in cruelty
not preferences and expression within approach to your experiences
what others do is irrelevant to what you are capable of
by being true to yourself, to the consideration of those around you

You are never less because another has more or has done more
your worth is not determined by another's accomplishments or expectations
adventure is discovery not hierarchy

There is no surplus of time
that makes today necessary
I hope you are well
if not within this moment, soon