SHIP'S LOG:

The Mephitis

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Captain Pirate 2/8/2018 8:08pm


Arrrrrrr! And Aye! Eye? The Mephitis is hearby taking applications for positions various and numerous, to aid in the efficient function and silent runnin' of The Mephitis. Could this be you? Come work for us! Generous benefit package for successful applicants. Apply directly, this address.

Captain Pirate
Onboard The Mephitis
Ganymede Docks






choco loni 2/10/2018 8:23pm


i am submitting my resume for a position on the mephitis. i am a crack shot, and can shoot the worm out of a robin's beak at 500 yards, hanging upside down below the gondola of an airship in an ice storm in the dark. i supply my own rifle, pistols, and ammunition. here's a picture of me in my bandolier.

references available upon request.






Doctor Argosa 2/14/2018 10:34pm


Just as marine scientists and inventors use ingenious methods to remove plastic from our oceans, I am perfecting a system to remove evil and rottenness from the world--with blimps! My research has shown that through suspending various nets and talismans from behind airships and then flying around, we can remove a lot of bad stuff. To complete my research, I need access to an airship, and a captain willing to help me realize this possible and probable future for all of us. Looking for a Science Officer? I'm the one!






Captain Pirate 2/20/2018 8:29pm


For our first mission, I pulled a rabbit out of a hat.






choco loni 3/3/2018 7:38pm


captain pirate appears to be acting erratically. he called the newly assembled crew down to the galley, then stood on a table and did magic tricks. and he did them very poorly. none of them worked. he spilled his cards and coins fell out of his sleeve and when he asked for volunteers for the indian basket trick nobody stepped forward. because those are real swords. then he told us we were all a great audience and to return to our posts.

i have no idea who would trust this man with his cargo, so i don't see how he'll be paying the crew. unless he's one of those trust fund captains. we'll wait and see what happens at the next port.






Doctor Argosa 3/19/2018 11:00pm


Doctor's Log: The ship continues to experience significant bouts of dissociation. Occasionally, we'll find ourselves in a well developed universe, for instance [fig. 1] delivering bushels of tender coconut to an island of shipwrecked children on a beautiful sunny day, or [fig. 2] being fitted for new high performance stabilizers, bearing the emblem that was to become so notorious during the The Confusion, or [fig. 3] cutting its way through the thunderheads at Chichen Itza. However, those moments of lucidity are few and far between. For the most part we appear to be a largely unfocused and half-hearted attempt at a narrative, uncongealed by a vision or even a direction. The Captain is so underwritten as to be non-existent, and only Choco Loni's weapons prowess gives her character any features whatsoever. I will continue my experiments in my laboratory as our coalescence allows, but fear that our story is easy prey to the entropy that is the enemy of all such ships.






Captain Pirate 4/5/2018 10:05pm


The update has been grinding on my machine for like 45 minutes. On paper (who says that anymore?) it's supposed to be so smooth. You slide into you new shoes like you've lived there all your life. Which essentially you have, since it's an all new install. It's not some cheap demonic possession trick, where you're shacking up with some poor bloat, likely crack its mind with the dissociative identity disorder (I DID not!) and then nobody's happy I can tell you first hand. But now we know better and why not leverage all the material from a target universe and then just rewrite the part from scratch? No big changes in the plot, just a full clean take over of the body in question.

But without the plot changes, what's the point? Why not just set it to run on autopilot, if a stand-in is all you need? Is this script missing pages? They think I've got better motivation if I have to figure it all out for myself? Is this really the only kind of distraction it takes to keep us from going insane with boredom?






choco loni 4/18/2018 9:06pm


of all my special weapons, the blimp gun is my favorite. her name is recursia.

the act of aiming is the most important part of using the blimp gun effectively. you've got to fix a space in your mind. a special kind of target space, unique to the instrument. i stand on the open deck of the mephitis, nothing but big puffy clouds all around, take aim into the distance, and fire.

when done correctly, what emerges from the gun is another blimp. in this case, it's another instance of the mephitis. it starts out small, of course, having emerged from the barrel of a rifle, but its relative size soon becomes immaterial. because the projectile is, in fact, this blimp. with an open deck. and on that deck is where i am standing, slowly lowering the rifle, trying to pick out that tiny blimp in the distance.






Doctor Argosa 5/4/2018 7:22pm


Doctor's Log: The Captain's ramblings have resulted in a continued flurry of sharply imagined yet incomplete universes, and the crew is beginning to lose their minds. Antarctic stations, built into the foot of the Vinson Massif; jungle caves large enough to fit a small fleet of airships, all bearing the black & white flag of The Mephitis; gold and bronze cities filled with ornate skyscrapers and mooring posts. It was at one such skyscraper where the ship docked, dropping our gangway directly onto the balcony deck of the suites which serve as the business offices for The Mephitis in this reality. This visit has been especially prolonged, as the Captain has been preoccupied with a fidget spinner, allowing this manifestation of existence to continue. It's like a soap bubble that could burst at the slightest whim of the Captain, but as long as he doesn't *think* about it, it remains. I've arranged a wide array of back-up fidget spinners for the Captain, and will hopefully be able to interest him in one of them should his spinner of choice lose its flavor. We're taking the time to allow the crew some well deserved shorleave while the Captain remains entranced.






Captain Pirate 5/22/2018 9:01pm


Thunderheads over Chichen Itza, I can see the postcard in my hand. The observatory is in the foreground, and the Mephitis is looking for a place to batten down for the storm. No way we're going to get sucked up in those roiling black clouds, so if I can just find space open enough to land and stake her down we'll minimize the damage at least...

but the tourists are all screaming and the rain starts pouring down and the field becomes a puddle all the corndogs on the ground and when the lighting starts a flashing and the wind begins to howl that's when I drive her up into the cyclone and we meet the great big owl






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