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Team Challenge: UNO 2025 > Captains' Log

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message 1: by Melindam (last edited May 02, 2025 06:28AM) (new)

Melindam | 4427 comments Captain’s Debrief – Final Transmission Incoming 📡🌌

Attention, brave Booknaut Teams! The challenge is complete, the engines are cooling, and your crew’s emotional support AI is gently sobbing into a cup of space-tea. Now comes the final step: it’s time to share your Captain’s Log.

Did you survive the interdimensional detour through enchanted woodlands? Accidentally recruit a space raccoon as your mechanic? Fall in love with a sentient spreadsheet? We want to hear everything. (Well, almost everything.)

So—how many galaxies were you banned from? 😏
What questionable decisions led to your final destination?
And most importantly… would you do it all over again?

Post your log. Relive the glory. Don't spare the drama and make us stare into the void wistfully. 🪐✨


message 2: by Melindam (last edited May 02, 2025 12:05AM) (new)

Melindam | 4427 comments



description

Team Stargate - Captains' Log

🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship

Construction of our vessel is complete—powered by Rogue Protocol, reinforced with Exit Strategy, and equipped with a sarcasm engine courtesy of An Elderly Lady Who Must Not Be Crossed. The control deck was designed with Throne of Power in mind (all ergonomic cushions and questionable authority), while The Blue Sisters wired our emotional circuits—bad idea, now the AI cries at every goodbye scene. We ran into a few design disagreements during The Siege, but after consulting The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky, morale became high again. Bossman handled the budget efficiently and true to his name. Ellie Black vanished halfway through construction, but returned later to confirm Proof of Life: this ship is alive and not only technically.
We are ready for launch.

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew

Well, the recruitment process was a challenge, and no mistake. Creation Lake was the obvious place to start. Gringos brought intergalactic charm and plenty of spice, plus we ended up with a cook who’s a little too fond of chocolate—so our medic will need to be on standby at all times (talk about The 24th Hour, indeed!). We were introduced to our Head of Security through a Murder by Cheesecake (just don’t ask for recipes or baking tips), and we seem to have acquired a creepy maternal AI who acts Just Like Mother. We’re... cautious around it.

Our Communications Officer came straight from The Savoy: stylish in a velvet dinner jacket, brandishing a cigar, and demanding cocktails at all hours. We also seem to have a stowaway philosopher with unsettling thoughts about The Bones Beneath Their Skin. A romantic subplot we didn’t see coming has sparked, and for some mysterious reason, there’s a time-traveling popstar who sings Baby, One More Time… constantly. We didn’t ask for her, but honestly? She’s growing on us.
Morale is sugar-high. And we all agree—we definitely deserve each other.

🌌 Off You Go

We’ve officially launched. The journey started, as all good ones do, with the Story of My Life, which turned out to be less autobiography, more chaotic space memoir. Things got dicey after we were Saved by a Barbarian (long story, very few clothes, lots of ….. whatever), only to find ourselves Close to Death shortly.
Our navigator, Emily, swears by her Map of the Otherlands, but it mostly led us in circles and possibly into a pocket dimension full of sarcastic fairies. We intercepted a Top Secret transmission we probably weren’t meant to read (but absolutely did), and someone on board keeps referring to this trip as the Voyage of the Damned, which isn’t helpful.
We’ve had identity mix-ups, an accidental mutiny led by a faction of the crew calling themselves the Reservoir Bitches, and a very dramatic philosophical debate over Wide Sargasso Sea. Most recently, we may or may not be heading to Baghdad. Why? They Came to Baghdad, and apparently now... so are we.
Morale is high-ish. Reality is unstable. We press on.

🌠 End of the Universe

And so, we’ve reached the edge of the universe, of reason, and of our UNO Challenge (cue dramatic scene where we all stare into space while tears roll down our faces).
We’ve arrived in a galaxy shaped like a Snowglobe. It was here we hosted a Highland Wedding on board—where, unfortunately, not only kilts turned up, but also some species calling themselves The Eternal Ones. Talk about The Guest. Things went postal after that. The happily-ever-after was questionable at best, but salvation came in the form of England’s Perfect Hero, who, as it turns out, is also our janitor (and who we now suspect might be a time lord).
If that wasn’t enough, The War of the Poor broke out right in the middle of our Snowglobe Galaxy.
We tried to escape by Crossing Arizona through the Norwegian Wood, but—surprise, surprise—there was a cock-up (when isn’t there?). The Wood opened up a new dimension, and now… it’s unclear whether we ended the mission—or simply became part of the next one.
One thing’s for sure: we’re not the same crew that launched. We’re weirder. Wiser. And probably banned from at least three galaxies. But we hope to get out of the Wood and turn up for UNO 2026 in time.


message 3: by Diane (last edited May 02, 2025 05:00AM) (new)

Diane | 957 comments Team Independence Day's Captain's Log:


🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship
The work has been slow due to deception, lies and artifice. All Evelyn's seven husbands showed up, including my nemesis, who carried a hidden blade. It felt like a roll of the dice for a while, but the women of the group came up with a strategy, and the ship is ready. We have named it Mystery.

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew
Crewing the ship has been utter chaos. The doctor is a man of good energy, but my scientist went rogue and ran off with Beau, the PR person. Fortunately security seems to keep the rest in line, and I am positive we will soon be en route to our destination among the stars.

🌌 Off You Go
We are a few days into our journey to Water Moon. We have seen ships from the Dragon Republic and Canaryville. The former seemed familiar, and we realised it was the ship of a famous rock star. It was anarchy for a while, as we tried to keep pace with the singer, but in the night we lost him and all is again order aboard the Mystery.

🌠 End of the Universe
We have arrived at our destination and anchored safely on the surface. The first day we encountered creatures with horns bearing the devil’s mark. I was worried, but the devil’s in the details; these horned ones are less frightening than they look, and one of them turned out to be boyfriend material. “Always you and me,” it said to our navigator, and as if placed under a hex, the navigator fell in love. What can I do but accept? We seem to have found faith here on this strange planet. You can do magic, if you dare.


message 4: by Jenny (new)

Jenny | 2346 comments Team Star Trek

🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship -
Captain’s log: Stardate 2025.4/26.

Lights! Camera! Mayhem! This whole thing feels like a bad reality show. Building a spaceship from alien parts that may not work together makes me want to sing a song to drown rivers. Or maybe just wax poetic. This ship, called For We Are Many, designed to find The Two Lost Mountains where The Complete Robot purportedly lies, is the first of her kind. Powered by the Spark of the Everlasting Flame, with the Stardust Grail navigation system, and the built-in AI that we all call The Quiet Tenant. Quiet my arse. It won’t shut up. Ever.
I’m not sure why the powers that be, or The Face of Greed, as the officers call our corporate overlords want that robot so badly, but I imagine someone on the crew will have an idea.

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew -
Captain’s log: Stardate 2025.4/27

First officer Carrie is making me a bit crazy. Trying to get over her break-up with corporate officer Amina Al-Sifari, she is regaling the rest of the crew with stories of her Meet Cute encounter that started it all. Then last night she held a Homicide and Halo-Halo party to celebrate their ending in Hawaii. Seriously! I told her that Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. Unfortunately, she took that to heart. She grabbed second officer Darwin’s Radio, and started singing over the comms. That band The Hawthorne Legacy, you know, the one our AI seems to be obsessed with, and plays over and over when it is solving an engineering problem? Yeah, that one. Carrie kept singing the songs Broken Country and The Inheritance games, and I am pretty sure that The Quiet Tenant was singing along, as Carrie cannot sing the melody and harmonies at the same time. Or, she got an implant from one of the crew, and now she can. Anyway, I am getting to the point where I want to send some of the crew, Carrie and The Quiet Tenant and a few others to The Gone World, or as it is officially known, the prison planet of no return. I need a drink.

🌌 Off You Go -
Captain’s Log: Stardate 2025.4/28

Our ship is voyage-ready. Our crew is assembled. We have been joined by Achilles, the pilot, and Susan, our weapons expert. And we are off to find a mountainous region on a planet somewhere. Where? Yeah, that is the issue. If might be contained in the historical records that our nav officer Emily has compiled. She has a bunch of documents that she calls Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands. Of course, she has named some of her other files Lost Roses and The Rose Garden, so either she has a strange affinity for the Tudors, or she just likes flowers. Not sure why she's a nav geek instead of a botany geek, but whatever.
We have other clues to the location of this planet, but they are all a bit obscure, including a poem that the makers of The Complete Robot wrote, called The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain.
"The Kingdom of Copper
Is Where the Dead Wait
A Drop of Corruption
Will mar the dark plate.
Titanium Noir
The bright will be dark,
Two mountains tall and far
Hold the robot's mark."

🌠 End of the Universe -
Captain’s Log: Stardate 2025.4/29

So. Our corporate overlords have let us in on the plot, why this ship was made, and what we are trying to do. It is nothing less than our Last Chance to Save the World.
Honestly, I didn't know that the world was on the brink like that.
On my last night on Earth before this voyage, I attended a Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey, on the Wild Dark Shore on the coast of Wales. Before that, I spent Six Days in Bombay, at the Dragon Day convention, which, if you haven't been, and we save the world, is worth going to. It is better than a Sunrise on the Reaping. Sorry, I meant better than a tequila sunrise or a bottle of riesling. I may have partaken of both of those last night at the masquerade. My bad.
Anyway, to me, the world seemed just fine, but apparently, there is a big bad that the Complete Robot will be able to vanquish, and nothing else will. The very people that made the robot also made the big bad. And I thought humans were complex and destructive. All This and More was revealed to the officers when we were gathered in one of The Hollow Places on the ship. Really, it was the galley, but the other title sounded more ominous.
There is something called The Book of Doors which holds another clue to where the planet is that contains the two mountains. Seriously, this is sounding more and more like an adventure book instead of a voyage of discovery, but we will endure, and hopefully, save the world. After the briefing, when We Do Not Part ways, and instead decide to go to the bar on the holodeck, we start on many drinks, and many discussions of the voyage ahead.


message 5: by Insiyah (new)

Insiyah (insiyahxo) | 503 comments Team Foundation - Captain's Log

🚀Build Your Own Spaceship

Construction of the ship is progressing very well indeed. It finally no longer looks like an actual ship instead of parts simply strewn around a shipyard. Chief Engineer Shafak has been holed up in the Engine Room ensuring that every system from navigation, defense, communications, life support to medical and even the AI system, all have been installed up to her very, very high standards. The outer hull has been brought to spacedock and will be installed soon, and then the ship will finally be given her name! And then, off we go!


🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew

Increasingly, it seems to me that Chief Engineer Shafak is the only senior crewperson I've been able to personally select. Chief Medical Officer Christie came as a recommendation from Captain Nelson who I trust never to guide me astray. Science Officer Wyndham and Pilot Chambers both came as a pair; Communications Officer Shehadeh and Chief Security Officer Doyle also seem to have recommended each other and somehow managed to both get approvals to join the crew. I at least got to bring in Officer Lee and Officer Janet; that said, all members of the crew seem like consummate professionals, and I detected no concerns during the first crew meeting at Spacedock Five.


🌌 Off You Go

It's been two months since the Foundation left spacedock on her maiden voyage. So far, we've encountered new civilizations. We've solved murders (and solved faked murders). We've been ambushed thrice by potential allies. We've encountered dead bodies on exploratory missions. We've been offered bribes (and upon denial, been attacked). We've lost our own crew to death, illness, transfers and resignation. We've met people who others call monsters and discover their kindness, and met kind people who turned out to be the worst sort of monsters. In short, we've been in space. To say the least, it's been an experience.


🌠 End of the Universe

The Foundation had a two-years long exploratory mission, occasionally interpersed with diplomatic missions and simple milk runs (which could both be a relief and not). After two years in space with only occasionally setting foot planetside, it will be a relief to return to earth. It will specifically be a relief for Chief Engineer Shafak, who has thrice ambushed me with a large amount of data that essentially boils down to one thing: the ship is being held together by duct tape. I disagree - there have to be a few bolts involved. That said, I do agree that the ship is in desperate need of heavy repairs; the outer hull looks like it has been chewed up by a rambunctious and untrained puppy. Of course, space has wilder things than puppies, including the occasional phaser that the hull has been struck with. No wonder the Foundation will require an overhaul. The crew has plans to take on temporary missions while the ship undergoes repairs. As for me, I have a task ahead of me - to get the Foundation back for her next long term voyage.


message 6: by Eldarwen (new)

Eldarwen | 5004 comments Team Roswell's Captain's Log


🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship

Captain’s Log - April 27, 2025

The crew has worked Into the Night to prepare the Heartwood for its maiden voyage. Cupid, the engine, is a Cat and purring to take off. The Blood Brothers are Always on My Mind as they continue to care for the Wounded Assistant to the Villain. If He Had Been with Me none of this would have happened, though none of us quite know what exactly happened. Hopefully, We’ll Prescribe Him a Cat and all will be well. An auspicious beginning, but we are still on track to reach Word Night on Union Station before Cupid runs out of kibble.

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew

Captain’s Log - April 28, 2025

More or Less Maddy we have made our start to assemble a crew and they are all a tad... well, see for yourself. The Twisted Women’s Book Club (not sure I want to know why they are called this but their chili is something to be feared) has us well fed and Whiskey is working hard to keep spirits high. Cupid is humming along nicely, although the ship steadily approaches Dire Straits and Entwined Fates. For You to See the Stars, The Almost Bride has begun a Night Call on the observation deck. For those on third shift the Starter Villain course “House to Keep House While Drowning” has been quite popular. The crew continues to work steadily to our destination. Innocent in Death we strive to the next chapter. Or so we tell ourselves, or so at least I tell myself. What an odd crew indeed.

🌌 Off You Go

Captain's Log - April 29, 2025

Here, There Be Dragons! Wherever "here" actually is. Our navigator is all Tangled Up in You(..I didn't catch the rest of the name) and the cooking crew is trying to Fix Her Up so there are No More Tears on board. Frankly, the ladies should not be renamed to The Serpent and The Wolf as they are fierce but not at all inclined to murder anyway - except maybe my stomach lining. The Shattered Gates are looming on the horizon and Whiskey has set himself up as the Last Guard on the graveyard shift to make sure all goes well with Cupid, who seems to be having trouble with a furball, while the rest of the crew is participating in the latest course called "Ink Blood Sister Scribe". Tomorrow, there will apparently be an Audition held for a play they want to take part in called "The Story She Left Behind". Maybe after that we can finally start on our mission as we should have been doing for a while now. Again, I have no idea how this all came to be. In the meantime, I'm just along for the ride and I'm a tad scared about having to audition, too. Yes, yes, I let myself get roped into it..

🌠 End of the Universe

Captain's Log - April 30, 2025

The audition went as well as expected. I was sitting In the Back Row With You(... still didn't catch that name!), who made an appearance as a Last Strand to convince my navigator to go to The Cabin at the End of the World with him. It is clear that this is No Ordinary Love and that my navigator likes to Seduce the Darkness but with the help of the rest of the crew, we help up The Mirror in front of her and we are now all Back in the Saddle, that is to say, back to the audition. Turned out the play was called "Cleopatra and Frankenstein", or maybe we ended up in the wrong place. I would not even be surprised. There had been some distraction just before getting here with some drinks, a lot of laughter and suddenly Fighting for Infinity against several other ships, but by then Cupid was purring like the cat he was again, and we managed. Before we left the audition, the navigator shouted that she would Meet You(..?!?) at the End of the World. And that's where we are now headed. Wherever THAT may now be. But we are at least n a new adventure and everyone is going to be just fine.


message 7: by Deanna (last edited May 02, 2025 07:52AM) (new)

Deanna | 646 comments Team The Martian

🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship - The Captain provides thoughts on how the work progresses

I was originally skeptical about using chaos magic as a power source despite the assurances of Set's descendant (Descendant of Sin), but it power and versatility in testing have exceeded my expectations even if it caused a series of negotiations with the other immortal factions. Now the cockpit has 9 stations (Phantasma) to mollify the Norse and navigation has been updated by the Mercury with a map of all the known portal entrances and exits (The Red Masques Volume 1). The hull might now look like much with its matte black finish, but the observation window with adjacent seating area reminds me of sitting on the front porch (Nora Goes Off Script) at home. Comfort notwithstanding, the regular armor defenses and the magical armor (The Hunter's Code Book 6) that can be generated to layer over the top give us a good chance to hold our own if needed in battle or to survive The Fury of the Storm if we find ourselves in extreme conditions. Honestly, I'm most worried about the translation section of the communication system even though Hermes gave it his approval. The Mistake of miscommunication or the inability to communicate due to lack of knowledge could be a real issue as we meet previously unknown races. At least the AI is straight forward and capable (Apocalypse Rising). Last check on fuel, all the lights are on. Must be one of the fae that decided the lights on the gauge needed to look like a holiday tree (Festive in Death), and we're ready for our first (The Serpent and the Wings of Night) mission.

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew - The Captain wonders where all these people are coming from
Recruitment efforts seem to have gone well. I of course believe a dragon (Hope of the Other) to be the best choice of captain and am looking forward to starting new with this command. Our pilot Ru is a portal master from the fae kingdom, although I'm not familiar with his specific house, The House of Hidden Meanings. Given our engineer's performance surviving the apocalypse (Apocalypse Redux Book 6) on his world, I'm quite confident in his problem solving abilities. We actually managed to recruit one of the top healers on Earth probably because he had enough of dealing with The Earl of Arundel. Still he left without killing the man, so that puts him near sainthood in my book. The scientist is a last minute compromise between Thoth, Athena, and Odin. We'll actually be getting a trio of sisters: Mara, Hannah, and Sadie (Stuck with You). Our two chefs are nicknamed The Chicken Sisters, hopefully they can cook some delicious steak as well. Our security officer is a former police lieutenant (Concealed in Death). Finally we have a communications officer from Tehrangeles, the alien from The Wedding People, and a morale booster who managed to write a whole book called My Life as a Potato.

🌌 Off You Go - The Captain is slightly afraid of what they have all gotten themselves into
The whole crew met up at The House on an Irish Hillside for a premission brief. I pulled up a map (Gold) of Vuldranni (Darktown Funk). We have entry permission from a deity calling himself Adam (Always You and Me). Hopefully our divergent crew will work as well together as my team when I was Conquering New Earth. A quick shifting of people and supplies to the ship, and we are off, heading through the portal (The Hunter's Code Book 6). Everything was going well. We hashed out our objectives over lattes (Legends & Lattes) and made contingincy plans. Several of the crew were watching A Summer to Remember, and I had begun reading The Complete Poems of William Blake to pass the time when we were attacked by The Shadow Hunter, thrown off course, and crashed.

🌠 End of the Universe - The Captain writes a narrative on how on earth (or not) this could have come about

I awoke several hours later to see A Pale View of Hills outside and sent a quick mental thanks for the Grace Note to whichever deity kept me alive. Not everyone in the crew was so lucky, so after treating the wounded, we held quick services to wish each of the departed A Separate Peace. Next we began working on The List provided by the engineer to repair the ship although most days it feels like we are Stuck in Neutral since most of the repairs require the expertise of the engineer to actually complete. I spent my downtime rereading Of Mice and Men while wishing to be Elsewhere. Finally, the ship was repaired sufficiently to be space worthy, but we still hadn't solved the problem of how to take off without destroying the world we were currently on with the chaos magic required for liftoff. Suddenly a salage vessel named The Red Masques appeared in the sky; and after a brief negotiation, they agreed to pull our ship away from the planet. Once more among the stars (Murder in the Dressing Room), we returned to Earth for repairs. After the debrief, I joined some of my former military brothers at a Table for Five to catch up on the events of Earth while I was away. Once repairs are complete and a new light based weapon is added to counter another shadow hunter, we'll be heading out for Vuldranni again.


message 8: by Keely (last edited May 02, 2025 10:46AM) (new)

Keely (kiwifruit192) | 569 comments Team Avatar's Captain's Log

🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship

Our ship may be a bit of a fixer upper buy life's too short to worry about it's imperfections. It may not be as fancy as Northanger Abbey, but it will be forever mine. Hopefully. We'll cross that hill when we come to it. Anyway. We will journey to Union Station before aiding those aliens in what is being call "The Poppy War". It's a real family affair apparently, but they will have to deal with the dragon that is our spaceship's power!

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew

What a crew we have gathered, it's almost comical. We have the usual suspects of university graduates including a lady with a Math PhD and a MIT mentor. Bee and Levi help ensure our suits are intact. We have a police officer and a investigative reporter, although we're not quite sure what crimes they expect to investigate on a spacship. There is Guy the famous chef who helps make meals more interesting given the limited supply. Melvian is our healer which is necessary incase of any injuries or sickness. Some of the crew were from a travelling circus which helps keeps us entertained if nothing else. And then there is Alice. We don't really know much about Alice.

🌌 Off You Go

I have a confession. Promise you won't tell? We broke a mirror. And by we I mean one of our crew that attempted to sing like a well know pop singer on Earth, but somehow cracked the mirror. She said she wanted to "feel like the woman in me". I'm not sure what that means but it's been a real hell house here. Don't worry. We mended the mirror, but I fear the damage is done. Apparently the superstition that you get 7 years bad luck is real. James says his lucky cleat broke. He's had it since he was 10 years old or something and has given him so much luck in life including every summer's big football match. I can't talk about that anymore. Let's focus on the mission. As we climb the invisible hill in space to our destination, we have learnt a bit more about the task at hand. This whole war started over some soulmate equation going wrong. When we think soulmate's we think it is destiny to bring two people together and it's supposed to be all cute and lovely. But not where we are going. Declaring a soulmate is basically declaring war. I don't get it either, but what it that view changes everything?

🌠 End of the Universe

Instead of being called "The Poppy War" that should have been called "World War Z" as in the final war. I still don't really understand the details, but there was something about the Witch King caught the Duke with a priest and didn't want his Navy SEAL's E-mail order bride. I fear some things were lost in translation, but that was my understanding of what happened. The spirit bared it's teeth as there was a storm of swords on the battlefield. We watched safely from our spaceship. They didn't actually want us to get involved, just to witness their conviction. This whole mission has been so confusing. Now we will journey back to Earth and I for one cannot wait for a nice sweet lamb dinner.


message 9: by Sara (last edited May 02, 2025 11:03AM) (new)

Sara Hollingsworth | 643 comments Team Pacific Rim's Captain's Log

🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship

So far so good on construction. While the impending apocalypse can put a fire under pretty much anyone's ass, this particular ship got built in record time. Guess the last hope for humanity is as good a reason as any to hop to it. A ragtag bunch of former soldiers, desperate scientists, and hopeful colonists from as far flung places as New York, and Georgia, cobbled together the bits and bobs of our Hail Mary ship. With all the major cities falling to pieces, not just from the wasting that was consuming our land but the disease taking our people, locking them in their bodies. Well, let's just say very few hold outs of civilization remain, so it's impressive we managed to pull together the right kind of people in this lab here. And in barely a few months, we were taking off from the barren wasteland of our home to head out to the stars in search for something new.

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew

Look, as Captain to the last hope for civilization, I knew the crew was going to be a little wacky. But, I'm not sure how we ended up with such an... imposing woman as our chef. And that therapist is probably not an actual medical doctor. The engineer is not actually trained in engineering, but is probably the brightest mind on this doomed ship of ours. And at least we managed to get a few scientists with actual knowledge in terraforming and biology on this thing, or we probably would have been doomed from the start. This colony mission isn't going to be much of a success without a few people who actually know what they're doing.

🌌 Off You Go

I realize we didn't exactly have much choice in the matter of our leaving. The planet was dying, we're the last few left from a war torn planet, consuming itself in a desperate bid to scrape together the last meager resources of the planet. That said, we may have not entirely realized what kind of mess we'd find ourselves in. Planets out there with things we never even dreamed were real. Vampires. Apparently vampires are a thing on some far away speck of a planet, or at least an alien species that functionally acts and behaves like bloody vampires. We stumbled upon this new species while hoping to colonize a potential planet the scientists had picked out on a star map in their lab. Yea, it's kind of already inhabited. And now we've got ourselves our own resident vamp on our ship, our poor pilot got a bit infected. Not much we can do but keep puttering along though, checking the next potential planet in hopes of finding our new home. Our engineer has money down on us finding werewolves next, the chef is betting on mermaids.

🌠 End of the Universe

It may not be the end of the universe. But it sure does feel like it. We left our home planet... Earth, we left Earth because it was dying. Consuming itself in a desperate bid for the few resources remaining. Now, as we travel from planet to planet in search of a new home. We're finding it's not just our home that's dying. It's everywhere. Like a wasting sickness that's spreading across all of space, drying up and consuming every habitable planet out there. We keep traveling against the clock, hoping against hope to find one planet left among the stars that isn't dead or dying. But, it's not looking pretty. Maybe this desperate Hail Mary mission was just that... A Hail Mary. What hope that remains is maybe in accepting that this is it. We're the last people in a vast and cold universe. And we'll just have to make the most of what time we have remaining together at the end of time and space.


message 10: by ✿~Danielle~✿ (new)

✿~Danielle~✿ (dmh1) | 1759 comments Team Doctor Who


🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship
Building our piratical left-handed spaceship, who we have named James, has returned our lost love of adventure! When the day comes that we feel the double tap of a new mission - a dark descent into the wicked, ugly, and bad, aka the furthest corners of the known universe - we shall dub ourselves ready, in spite of the oddities the wild robot felt were absolutely necessary to include. But the tea-making facilities are exceptional.


🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew
What luck The Rock, our captain, had a prior career as a SWAT team captain. He will ensure we can storm any place, hitting Centre Mass each time like the pros we are. Ryuki the sailor will map our journey, and Ned will keep us alive with his problem-solving. Our medics will keep us over the line of good health with their Five Quarters of an Orange, and our scientist will do the science and not run away. Promise. Though they refuse to teach the medics about maths - that would be a Project Hail Mary!

Maid Marion will record our travels for posterity, and if the Sheriff of Nottingham (who stowed away with Maid Marion) gets any ideas then Inspector Rebus will take care of him. All this is left is for Erin Solstice to teach us all chess and some Deacon called Sportcoat will make us laugh. So we are clearly the perfect crew of this Wandering Inn to play Hide and Seek in the stars


🌌 Off You Go
As we sent off on this Odyssey, with only Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, there were many emotions dominating our thoughts such as excitement, anticipation, fear, and Hope. The days were long and difficult, but our captain, The Rock, encouraged the team to keep going, even as a Vintage Murder, about the Death of a Valentine came to light, and we discovered that there was Fugitive from the Grave in our midst.
But the captain invoked the Hand of Oberon, weighing the fate of our team in the balance. It came down to the weight of Sugar against the Thing With Feathers, but we all united as a team and were on our way to explore the unknown galaxy!


🌠 End of the Universe
Disaster has struck! like a Cassandra in Reverse we try to work out what happened. It started with the Sirens blaring, and then we felt the Crash, like a massive Hammer, bashing the spaceship around. One of the Perks of Being a Wallflower is that I was sober and able to respond, discovering that we were caught up in a Rage in Harlem system. I put Life to my Flight engines, redlined the way out until we landed, somewhere...
And so, here we are, sitting on a Wild Dark Shore, drinking a Soda and hoping for A Better Tomorrow




message 11: by Teddie (last edited May 02, 2025 01:11PM) (new)

Teddie (teddieg) | 1011 comments The universe is calling, and Team 65 will answer.

BUILD YOUR OWN SPACESHIP
In order to prepare for our adventure into the vast beyond, we must build a spaceship that will fire up the night with its eager energy. We will not fall, but will fly like angels gliding through a midnight sky. Our communication grid is set to talk with kids and loved ones back on earth - a system powerful enough that only when we leave the Milky Way and hit the Draco II galaxy will we make what will be our last call. Today or tomorrow, we will blast into the stars. Chances of failure? Below zero, for we are not alone - we are many.

SELECT YOUR CREW
Our ship will accommodate just 8 crew members, so we need to be strategic in selecting each member for this mission. Choosing a strong leader is, of course, essential. And we’ll need a Science Officer and a Doctor. And the best crews are the ones with diverse personalities. We’ll look for someone who loves adventure, perhaps someone who is good at repairing equipment or inventing, someone with protective qualities, and someone who can make us all laugh. We’ve been asked to include a journalist, and will do so. And most importantly, a chef! After all, an army marches on its stomach. And now our crew is ready for our first adventure!

OFF YOU GO
With our ship and crew assembled, we fly through clouds of stardust towards adventure. After months of travel, we decide to follow a trail that appears to be left by another species - exciting! We come across what looks like an ocean of shimmering blobs, almost like a gigantic flock of sheep - beautiful from afar, but odder and more disturbing in flesh as we approach. These sheep quickly turn to wolves as we are inexorably entangled in an invisible web that pulls us down to a small moon the color of honey.

With red alarms flashing throughout the ship, we hit the surface hard.

END OF THE UNIVERSE

But that wasn’t the end.

Feeling battered and lost, several crew members embrace, wondering who will even be alive this time tomorrow. Our chef Kai, having died in the crash, will actually be alive tomorrow, as we discover the moon is a place out of time, a time loop trap to snare unwary travelers. Miles, nay, lightyears away from home, all hope seems lost until, against all probability, a mechanical horse magically appears. The equinial creature imparts to us the secrets of life, the universe, and everything, instructing us to give up all our possessions if we want safe passage. Thus, with only the clothes on our backs, we are shown the way out of the time loop, but then the grapes again turn sour as the horse abandons us, still stranded in a strange land. This time the landscape is easier to handle, but the society is extremely violent and xenophobic. We did remember to bring our towels though and manage to hitchhike with Ella Minnowpea, a non corporeal being with a strangely dead voice. “She” conveys us safely to her cloud island community where the ghosts of those killed by the brutal regime have gathered. Everyone is welcome here, even some extraterrestrials from the faraway planet Earth.


message 12: by Ashley (new)

Ashley Basile (smashreads) | 916 comments Team Guardian of the Galaxy


🚀 Build Your Own Spaceship
("I am Groot." 🌱 Translation: "This ship violates the Geneva Convention. But in space, no one can hear you scream... regulations.")

Our glorious disaster of a ship runs on ice-powered thrusters (because someone thought frostbite was motivational). The helm's powered by mama-bear energy - brace for unsolicited life advice during light speed jumps. Navigation's handled by a trauma-fueled GPS that recalculates via emotional damage, while our Beskar-grade ego plating deflects lasers but crumbles under therapy questions.

Life support runs on... creative recycling ("The manual said 'sustainable resources' - Drax approved"). We've got hostage negotiation protocols (Rocket's already annoyed), a sass core that clones its existential dread, and an engineering system held together by stolen hopes and duct tape.

Rocket's Addendum: "This ship violates at least 37 safety codes. I want a raise."

🧑‍🚀 Select Your Crew
Our ragtag team of cosmic misfits is assembled! Leading the charge is a werewolf alpha who runs this pack like a CEO running a Fortune 500 company (decisions are final, and no, you can’t call in sick on a full moon). At the helm? Death himself—turns out delivering presents and piloting a spaceship aren’t so different when you’re already an eternal cosmic force.

Need something fixed? Our high-school problem-solver has duct tape and teenage drama solutions in equal measure. Feeling under the weather? Our healer will patch you up—just ignore the existential dread she’s also nursing. And when the equations get tough, our mad scientist is here to remind you that ethics are technically optional.

Keeping us fed is a chef who’s one kitchen fire away from a mutiny, while our communications officer is busy dismantling the patriarchy between radio transmissions. Security? Handled by a detective who’s probably seen weirder than whatever’s lurking in our cargo hold. Rounding out the crew: an outsider who may or may not be an eldritch horror in disguise, and a bumbling bounty hunter whose idea of “stealth” is tripping into the enemy’s arms.

Groot’s Assessment: "I am Groot." (Translation: "We’re doomed. But we’ll be laughing the whole way down.")

🌌 Off You Go
[static crackle... kazoo squeak]

Mission Log: "Well, that happened."

Our "packing light" attempt somehow included sentient luggage that now judges our life choices. The "scenic route" through dragon-filled political drama seemed smart until the local wildlife started giving us performance reviews.

Navigation failed spectacularly when we followed "Danger: But Fun" signs straight into a detour of accidental crime - turns out bowling alley rebellions have shockingly strict extradition policies.

Highlights included:
Bonding with fellow travelers over shared trauma (and stolen snacks)
That one beautiful zero-gravity moment before the sentient ocean planet started side-eyeing us
Rocket's 37 new felonies (a personal best!)

Current Status:
Ship: 78% duct tape
Crew: 120% done
Legal Standing: [REDACTED]

[log ends with espresso machine sounds and existential sighing]

P.S. - No, we're not explaining the kazoo. Some mysteries remain.

🌠 End of the Universe
("I am Groot." 🌱 Translation: "We crashed. But we made art out of the wreckage.")

Our final mission began with a demon-summoning heatwave, which honestly explained so much about this crew. Then came the apocalypse buffet ("Tonight’s special: moral dilemmas with a side of existential horror").

Time went weird, then weirder, because apparently trees can have midlife crises. We ugly-cried through the tragic farewells, then debated the meaning of existence ("Is love stronger than the crushing void? Jury’s out.").

Somehow, between gothic nightmares and international intrigue, we even rebuilt something (mostly our sanity, piece by piece). And yes, we finally read that one book, proving growth is possible (if horrifying).

Rocket’s Epilogue: "Worst. Mission. Ever. When’s the next one?"


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