[Rose is practicing with her sword on deck when the bubbles start to come up. At first she just waves them away, but eventually she swipes at one with her sword and it pops. After the foam moves away, there is a child where Rose once stood. The girl looks to be around five years old and is dressed more for colder weather and carrying a wooden sword.

[Rose's journal is laying open on the floor so when the child starts talking it can be heard by everyone. At first she sounds a bit worried, perhaps a little scared.]

Where am I? Where's Papa? I want Papa!

[Then she gives an excited gasp and there is the sound of running feet as she shouts.]

Whoa! Is that the ocean!?

[Yeah, that she's not so scared anymore. Someone go grab the kid before she accidentally falls overboard.]

[Sting Eucliffe, Nineteen year old Mage, is doodling in his journal. Things like 'Natsu vs Sting; the rematch!' and 'What Would Natsu Do?' are written along with some drawings of dragons and cats. Under one of the dragons the word 'dad' is written. After a moment he holds it and speaks into it, feeling stupid]

Okay, so I can talk through this thing through people, right?

I need to get off this damn island so I can find that magical ruby. I'm not a sailor at all. I get motion sickness from slow moving chariots because of my magic. But I'm a damn good mage and fighter on land or on an animal's back. Help me out and I'll help you out.

[There is at first silence before a deep long sigh as she goes to sing a song. Never did she thought that she would sing that particular song. She pauses a moment after it i over before going to sing it again.... The first one being for Naesala and the second one was for her departed father figure, Zeff.]

For those who may know them.... Both Zeff and Naesala are anywhere to be seen.

It seems like this world likes to go back and forth between celebrations and some form of drama.

[She gives a tired sounding sigh]

It is starting to make me wary when a celebration comes around, especially since something strange usually happens during them as well. Needless to say I am not looking forward to this Valentine's festival that is coming up.

[Never mind that she wasn't too thrilled about the holiday when she heard what it was about, but that's beside the point.]

Anyway, I have not been here for a year yet and I have seen several celebrations that were unfamiliar to me. For those who have been here for a year or so, are there anymore festivals after this one?

[So that she can brace herself for them.

[For the Spades, Rose can be found on deck if anyone wants to talk to her face to face.]

[Rose was on the Moon, taking a break from all the centaur stuff and doing her chores, when she found one of the mechanical birds on board. She, of course, listened to its song, enjoying the tune until the end. What came after the song, caused her to go pale after hearing a voice she thought she would never hear again. It shook her up quite a bit.

[She tries to keep her voice even when she makes the post, despite what she is feeling.]

Since strange things have been appearing as of late, has anyone else found a mechanical bird? It sings quite nicely, but after listening to it, I am not sure if I want to throw it out or not. If you have found one and listened, you may know what I am talking about, but I suspect what it says will vary from person to person.

[Rose can be found on the deck of the Sun, leaning against the railing stilling holding the bird she found. Every now and then she will list to it sing again, and if someone is close enough, they can hear a man's voice come from it at the end of the song.]

[When Rose speaks she keeps her voice emotionless. The crew has a right to know about what she is going to say and thus she cannot afford to get emotional.]

Now that the sun has risen and those waking nightmares are gone, there is something I wish to clear up. Some of you may have noticed two spirits of armored warriors that were constantly attacking me since the whole thing began. And some of you have no doubt over heard what those spirits said.

[She gives a small sigh before continuing.]

Everything those spirits said was true. The history of my world knows me as the Black Monster. Every one hundred eight years a certain child, known as the Moon Child, is born. What I did was kill that child, while it was still a babe, and everyone around it. This means I have slaughtered everyone in towns, even small cities, when this child was born. Thus why I am known as a monster. Everyone who saw me during this time I made sure they did not survive to tell about it.

Before anyone asks, no I was not being controlled by some outside force. I killed all those people, men, women, and children alike, knowing full well of what I was doing.

I am telling you all of this because you have a right to know who your crew mate is. With that said, I understand if none of you want anything to do with me. If it is decided that none of you want me as part of the crew, then I will take my leave at the next island we stop at.

[Rose will most likely not reply to comments right away, but crew members are free to seek her out. She can be found in her room aboard the Moon.]

The gods know I seriously doubt this world will fall into a repetitive wheel regarding the shit it throws at us. But I suppose it doesn't hurt to be careful and given that I know some people work better with actual warnings than with calls for their common sense...

For all of those who weren't here last year, in case no one has told you. Around those days, last year, we encountered several "ghost ships" while sailing through a thick mist. If that were to happen again, beware of them, those ghosts couldn't be harmed in any way as far as I know, yet if they touched someone they could change them. Or even outright kill them.

Now that I think of it, other than a day in which everyone talked like bad pirate imitations, the ghost ships were the first really strange shit I saw in this world. Not counting islands, of course, those are a whole different category. [Speaking of which...] Anyone knows any other way to destroy an island that doesn't involve burning it? Or at least a way to destroy the plant life there.

[Not that he plans to return just yet, not even to get rid of the flowers. But it never hurts to know.]

I never want to set foot on that island again...

[Yeah, she doesn't sound happy about what happened on Isla de la Passion. And she's pretty sure that some of her fellow Spades feel the same.]

I need something to keep my mind off it, so here is a question I have been wondering about for quite some time now.

How many of you are from worlds where there are dragons? If so, what are they like? I had met one dragon since I arrived to this world, and he was very different from the dragons of Endiness.

[His voice is heavy and a bit hoarse but still easy to understand. He has yet to hit the bottle today, but it won't take him much longer to do so.]

Soon it will be September again. Hn, when people started to vanish I thought there would be only a few of us left to see a second autumn in this world.

[Of course, that refers only to those who were the first to arrive to this world. Unfortunately he never doubted that there would still be a lot of people trapped, just... Not the same people for so long.]

Have any of you changed since you arrived here? No matter how long you have been here... Ever wonder what your people would think of you if they saw you here?

How many people want to go back to their own worlds? Especially during things like this.

My world often had storms in the New World like this, so I can't say this makes me homesick.

Then again, anyone who knows me well knows I don't intend to ever go back.

I hate when people tell me this isn't my world. I mentioned that at the start of this summer too, and that my world has no use for monsters like us, so why not go where I please? Maybe that's a side effect of being a bird. I'll go wherever I want. But then whose world is it if not mine? People born here? Who decides that? Clearly Davy Jones thinks otherwise, whether we're puppets and pawns or not.

Everything is too familiar lately. I hate it.

[While unaffected by the strange magic swapping everyone's bodies, it would be extremely difficult for Mitsunari not to notice all that's going on, and he doesn't like the particular nature of this curse one bit.]

To be handed the opportunity to pretend to be someone else... given free rein to deceive all that you like...

I detest this.

[Was that the sound of the journal snapping shut? It sure was. Whether anyone's actually used this as a chance to assume another person's identity is irrelevant; it's the principle of the thing.]

[Just when Rose thought things in this world couldn't get any stranger, she wakes up in a place she's never seen before and sees a face in the mirror that is not her own. Needless to say she is not happy.

[Also there seems to be something off about the body she is currently borrowing, which is not making things any better. Sure it is physically younger from her own, but that isn't quite it. It felt like that it isn't quite human and she is craving something but she doesn't know what yet.

[Though the annoyed voice that is heard belongs to Alex, it is clear that it is not her.]

Would someone mind explaining to me what in Soa's name is going on here? Waking up as someone else on a ship I do not know is not exactly my idea of a good morning.

To clarify, this is Rose of the Spade crew. Unfortunately I do not know whose body I am in right now though I am assuming they may be in my own.

[Action for the Triton's Mistress]

[Rose can be found on deck, getting a general idea as to where she is.]

Let's see...says here,


Huh.  Well does anyone know how to play this game already?  I found it at the Port Chance festival and thought I'd give it a shot.  It sounds nothing like pai sho to me, but still I don't think I should have too much trouble learning.

[Besides being on the deck like she usually is, this time Asami is sitting on a chair in the dinning area of The Moon. A chess board box is opened and the parts are scattered on the table. She'll be looking over the rule book should anyone come across her]

[She’s been talking to a human girl for like, the last few hours! It was scary at first, but then she just started talking and rambling and everything was spilling out of the other girl which got Ariel talking and... and... it’s so cool! Talking to a real live human!]

[And then she was told she could talk to MORE. This little journal she found could do it. HOW EXCITING!.]

Hello? I was told that I could contact more humans through this thing. Just by talking! How amazing is that? Does it really work? She called it... a “Journal”. She told me everything! This isn’t home, which is more of an adventure then I’ve ever been on. I miss my friends though but I’m sure they’d be proud of me.

Oh, but she told me about Pirates, and that there is a race going on? [she gave a chipper giggle to that] Races are great! She said there was a prize and everything. It sounds like the yearly dolphin races back in our kingdom.

[there was another pause and the sound of someone holding a hand over her mouth to hide the giggles filtering from her mouth] It feels silly talking out loud to a journal. Can people really hear me?

-----

[For those of you at Port Chance still, this is open for Action too. She’s sitting on a rock, on the beach, tail half in the water, red hair bright and a small journal in her lap. She’s pawing through it, hearing what others have said and are saying. How curious!]

[She’s spoken to enough humans at this point that she isn’t jetting away. Far too curious to run, but if you startle her she can hit the water almost instantly!]

[there is absolutely no warning before a high-pitched, distressed, loud voice emerges from the journal.]

WHO. DID. THIS.

[well, she figured out the voice function... there is an aggressive sigh, then a groan that is dragged out as long as her lungs and throat permit.]

This is NOT Fiji! This is not Monaco, or Bermuda, or Dubai, or even TOKYO! I know well enough that WHATEVER THIS IS ISN'T HOME OR A VACATION SPOT AND WHOEVER BROUGHT ME HERE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION WILL BE SENT ON A HOUSHAKUJI SHIP TO ANTARCTICA AND LEFT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM THE SUN ENTERING THROUGH THE ENORMOUS HOLE IN THE OZONE LAYER AND RABID PENGUINS!!!!!!

[there's another groan, and you can practically hear her pulling out her hair. yelling isn't going to help her-- screaming into a book isn't the same as tearing into a real person.]

Though, whoever helps me get home will be handsomely rewarded with as much money as they can carry to wherever they want. And I'll be grateful too! Don't think that I'm some unappreciative wretch. The sooner I get back to my room in Japan, the sooner everyone will be happy. I don't like that I've been KIDNAPPED! It's all fine and well in fiction but HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO ME?!?! I'm ready to leave, no doubt about it! I saw a guy stab another guy. The first guy peed on him, so I mean it was a little deserved but I SHOULDN'T SEE ANYONE GET STABBED OR PEED ON OR SPIT LIKE FIFTEEN FEET!!! DOES NO ONE HERE KNOW MANNERS?!?!?!

[there's a soft sob, followed by squelch (possibly underfoot), then a shriek and rapid-fire swearing in japanese.]

Oh. My god. I do not know what I stepped in, but it was something AWFUL!!!! MY SHOE IS RUINED... This is terrible! Is this the commoner life? I can't handle this. Who has a private jet I can borrow? It's Renge Houshakuji. My family will pay yours back double, I promise!

WARNING:

I will no longer condone the continued harassment of local innocents nor the willful and callous destruction of their property.

The next one of you who throws a temper tantrum that causes harm to homes, stores, livelihoods, or scenery that do not belong to our enemies THE NAVY will find yourself tied up and punished in the same manner of your wanton destruction.

Davy Jones can bring you back from being murdered, but let's see what he can do with someone who is burned almost to death, shall we?

If you do not have respect for the sanctity of the lives of those around you, then I shall have no respect for you.

This is a promise.

Signed,
Elissa Cousland

[Elissa doesn't use her usual blue, ballpoint pen for this entry. While she may be overly enamoured of the wonders of plastic pen technology, a noble just doesn't make a formal proclamation with such an implement. Since she's long since rid of her old quill and ink, she has borrowed Haytham's to write out this decisive statement of warning. In it, she uses a formal, calligraphic font that is almost Celtic. It is signed with a bold, angry flourish.]

voice;

[The crackling, roaring sound of a raging fire greets the journal this day. In the background, the frazzled screams of shopkeepers, residents, and other people can be heard.]

Yes . . . now they understand. Why must it be only I who suffers?

Give me my happily ever after!

[Shouts of "you madwoman!" and "you're going to pay for this!" ring out in the crowd, but no one dares attack Kodachi because she's already put to sleep several of those who tried.]

When will I get married?!



action; open to the crews of the Katabami and the Million Merrily

[Kodachi's standing in the middle of a town square. Behind her, the precious gardens, temples, and shops of Eternal Bliss are burning in a blazing inferno.]

[She's still in her wedding gown, a black rose bouquet clutched in her hands.]



[ooc; after the fire's put out, about half of Eternal Bliss (or "marriage island") will have been burnt to a crisp. No one will be hurt, but the island certainly won't as pretty as it once was. If you want someone to blame, blame Ranma.]

[The voice that blares out from the journal's pages seems to be that of a young boy, but at this volume it's sort of hard to tell.]

LISTEN HERE, PISSANTS! I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU BRAINLESS LOSERS DON'T HAVE THAT GEM YET, BUT YOU BETTER PICK UP THE PACE OR I'M GONNA GET IT BEFORE ALL OF YOU AND --

[There's a short pause.]

And...

[Wait, what would he do with it? Sinbad's going to want it, of course, but that doesn't mean he's going to get it if Ja'far puts it together. Why shouldn't he keep it for himself? Sinbad has conquered two dungeons after all. It's time for someone else to get a turn.

Probably not the sort of thing a loyal underling should be planning, but screw that.

It's a way to get that life of leisure he was going to use the power of kings for. Except that would mean he can't use it to wish to go home. But just using it to wish to go home is pretty much the lamest thing ever.

So...]

AND SOMETHING, OKAY?! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO TELL YOU?