Barnacle for Brains

Barnacle for Brains is a crew on the Cerulean Ocean. It is part of the flag Riot.

Public Statement
Ahoy! From which port do ye hail and how many years are upon ye?

Extended Public Statement
For those who be interested in knowing a bit more about our fine crew, here is some reading material for ye.

What are we all about ye ask? Well, here are a few quick tidbits of information:
 * 1) NO asking PTB. If ye ask permission to board, ye get planked! However, if you are on the dock and see a ship with one or two pirates on it, DO check to make sure that they are in fact running a pillage and not running commods / a solo PVP / a solo race / etc.
 * 2) The abbreviation j/k will no longer be acceptable language and is punishable with the PLANK! Yes, we are that arbitrary.
 * 3) Our battle cry is “ASL” – Learn it. Love it. Spam it all over vessel chat. :)
 * 4) Have fun! This is a game after all and we love to chat and have fun.

Interested in joining? We be a fun crew who is looking to expand! Mates interested in joining the crew should read this:
 * 1) This is a slowly-growing crew -- on purpose. We don't take lazy cabin boys and girls, and we don't even take the hard-working ones if they're too quiet. If ye ask to join and we say "nope!" -- ye should laugh. It helps. ;)
 * 2) It is required that you tell a joke to the crew to gain entry into the crew.
 * 3) When recruiting we don’t give a barnacle about stats. Stats will follow if ye are a fun person.
 * 4) We recruit actively – we just don’t necessarily recruit YOU! Just because you think you’re all that and a bag of potato chips doesn’t mean we do.
 * 5) Promotion to Pirate – Immediate once ye subscribe.
 * 6) Promotion to Officer – (1) Bold experience (solid, broad, and so on) in everything under piracy, other than battle navigation and your two least favourite puzzles (including swordfighting and rumble) (2) Battle Navigation – Apprentice (3) Be deemed awesome enough for a fancy new hat.
 * 7) Promotions to FO and SO – We promote people up to these positions when they have our trust and tell enough jokes. Jokes in which the punch line isn't "Arr! It's driving me nuts!". If you think you need to get promoted...it wouldn't hurt to ask. Although asking endlessly may get you demoted.

Our Senior Officers and Captain are trusted and should be able to answer any of your questions. Our Fleet officers are more than capable as well. Ask any of them if ye have any questions!

-- A note to OMs: All senior officers are allowed to use our Shanghai points. --

Distinctive Traits
They are small. They will remain small. It is doubtful that they will ever reach 40 members.

At the same time, They actively recruit. They just don't necessarily actively recruit YOU.

When recruiting, they don't give a barnacle about stats. Stats will follow if you are a fun person.

They plank people for fun, and when they get insulted for it, they publicize the insults so everyone can laugh at the plank-ee.

History
Formation

Chrisspy and Kiwhee first joined the land of YPP in summer of 2004, where they were Birds of Prey under their captain Sircourtney. They dabbled in leading their own crew as well, but eventually left the Midnight Ocean, not to return until March of 2006.

Chrisspy and Kiwhee joined the large crew led by Bluefinn and were welcomed by Piratepif and Captainexile, formerly of that crew. Eventually, they became dissatisfied with the atmosphere of a large crew, and set out to start again. A couple of their recruits, namely Captclete and Luxie, neither of which had yet received officer training, also left Lunar Eclipse to form the basis of the new crew on May 9, 2006. There were no hard feelings amongst their old crewmates -- the crew Barnacle for Brains rejoined their former flag Blue's Royals the following day, upon reaching the required level of fame.

Early recruits

Several key early recruits gave the crew a good start and ensured it would make it in the beginning. Luxie became Wench of the crew, while Captclete became Scapegoat and completed officer training. Kattykitty, recruited as a greenie, became the second trained officer of the crew. Kirasparrow, Basmati, and Noisivitca joined with no intention of reaching officerhood, but their activity level allowed them to help shape the style of the crew from the beginning. Kirasparrow would be known as the Bilge Rat of the crew, with Basmati being called the Muse, and Noisivitca jumping from title to title but often referred to as a Roustabout.

Fame and Fortune

With the crew growing, it hit eminent fame for the first time with 22 members, and at the same time continued work on its fleet and crew fund, buying a war frigate with money from 10 different members.

Ketchy Cubby

Notorious Fandango threw several blockades in Summer 2006 which included Ketchy Cubby events. Barnacle for Brains fielded a team at every one of these blockades, even the sinking ones, and played undefeated, winning Ketchy Cubby at Winter Solstice IV, Zeta VI, Cranberry VI, and Cleo V. The event became a centerpiece of BfB culture, and would nearly lead to joining Notorious Fandango.

Spying Missions

Barnacle for Brains wenches were often found entering large houses open to "Anyone," and hiding in the houses to listen in on conversations they had no interest in. These spying sessions led to most of the roommate matchups seen today.

Revenge with Captclete

When Captclete, a senior officer of the crew, became a manager of the crew ironworking stall, a "misunderstanding" led to him ordering swords without reimbursing the stall. He promised to pay back the sum, but patience wore thin and Captclete was eventually removed as manager and demoted to Officer. He left the crew to form his own crew -- "We are against barnacles." BfB reciprocated by vowing to PvP his pillages until the sum was recuperated. Unfortunately, Captclete dissolved his crew and left the game before the sum was recovered -- in fact, only a single small cannonball was ever recovered.

Captain Spooker

Spooker, long-time pirate of the crew who refused officerhood, was punished for poor sailing aboard a pillage with "Captain-for-the-weekend." Two of the three senior officers left town for the weekend, and as a result of Oligarchy, Spooker was unable to reverse his rank. The Spook ran a single pillage before realizing the loophole -- if he left the crew and returned, all would be well again.

Flag Formation

In frustration from dormancy of titled members, stagnancy of alliances, and focus on pillaging, Barnacle for Brains decided to part ways with Blue's Royals. Discussions with Notorious Fandango appeared to be fruitful, but when the (much larger) crew Don't ask to port began to voice similar concerns, the flag Don't ask for barnacle was formed. The two crews maintain even representation in flag royalty despite a five-fold difference in numbers.

Where did Kattykitty Go?

Kattykitty, senior officer of the crew, left with seemingly no warning to form her own crew, the Banana Banditos. Chrisspy, devastated, organized his flag's first event, the Kattykitty Memorial Fencing Tournament. As time went on, it became clear that a large percentage of the flag was in on the maneuver, which was actually a practical joke. Kattykitty's alt, Coconaut, had joined the crew the day before in preparation. Chrisspy openly maintained that he was sad and confused about the event until the tournament, during which "a hug from Kattykitty" was the final raffle prize! Coconaut eventually recovered the roles of Kattykitty, including Flag Events chair.

Third Parties in Blockades

Pennsuedo and Broadside Thrillride fielded a fully staffed third-party war brig at Eta V, allying with the "defenders" Silver Dawn after the Black Sheep Brigade won round 1. Barnacle for Brains provided half the crew of this war brig, to oppose the common practice of every ship being manned by a massive jobber pool instead of by the involved allied flags.

Ketchy Cubby at Meke

The mates of Barnacle for Brains raised the funds for prizes and provided the manpower for the ocean-wide event Ketchy Cubby at Meke to be held. To be fair, Marici paid the 25k warchest.

Another Flag!

The crew formed another new flag, Faminto por Cerebros just for two weeks to throw a blockade at Orca with a twist: if the attackers won the island, it would be raffled off to someone on the attacking side! The crew handled all the attacking operations, but with significant help from the allies who were all hoping to win a raffle! Allies for the blockade included Elysian Fields, Broadside Thrillride, Blighted, Barrel o' Pirates, and Selected Ones, but sadly, the blockade ended in defeat! Yar!

Underlings Again

The event/raffle/blockade over, the crew then joined Elysian Fields under Elizajean, one of the major supporters of the attack at Orca. The crew had a wonderful stay under their new flag, meeting lots of new friends and participating in various flag events. Many members would still likely recommend this flag to anyone.

A Brief Stint

The crew briefly joined the flag Cute as Puppies under the Sage-immigrant Rednut hoping to throw together a last-minute blockade to be simultaneous with the fourth-in-a-row blockade at Eta in November 2006. Unfortunately, due to the failure to generate enough fame, Cute as Puppies was unable to drop a warchest, and the crew returned to Elysian Fields.

Ostreum

Their flag, Elysian Fields, had been looking at a mid-January blockade date for Ostreum Island for some time, but the crew grew restless at what some saw as continuing delays in blockade scheduling. However, they excitedly stayed in the flag once Elizajean convinced the royalty to reschedule the Ostreum blockade for six weeks earlier. Unfortunately, due to scheduling problems and some strangely coincidental internet connectivity issues, the crew was largely unable to attend. Chrisspy, as the crew's representative to the royals, took full responsibility for the unfortunate fiasco and demoted himself to Fleet Officer, leaving the crew in the capable hands of a six-person oligarchy: Coconaut, Eradicat, Galasea, Kreme, Mullins, and Noisivitca. They decided to make no further changes, at least until the holidays were over.

New Flag

Coconaut and Mullins, unhappy with the six-person oligarchy's inaction, used Chrisspy's holiday absence to secretly create a crew of alts, Deathcab for Booty, and build enough fame to create the flag Incredible. On January 6, they used this alt flag to invite Barnacle for Brains to leave Elysian Fields. A senior officer meeting led to the measure almost passing --- and at that point the alt's identities were revealed. Chrisspy changed his vote at that point and the crew found itself again in charge of its own flag.

24-hour blockades part 2

The crew raised about 800,000 poe to enter into this ringer event blockade, the first public function for the flag Incredible, and provided several blockade navigators for the event. Galasea, Noisivitca, Mullins, Coconaut, Berylofun, and Chrisspy were among the crew's navigators.

Chrisspy Departs

Over the next few months, the captaincy was rotated between several senior officers, including Canibalpete, Chrisspy, Coconaut, and Galasea. This was done for a number of reasons, including the hectic real-life schedules of some of those involved in the crew. It was during this period of rotating captaincy that Chrisspy announced his intentions to step away from public leadership, and absented himself from the game for an extensive period of time. The crew continued to rotate the captaincy, though less frequently than previously done, as the desires and intentions of the crew came under discussion on the forums. Some crewmates, believing that Barnacle for Brains was moving in a direction they were not comfortable with, took this time to remove themselves from the crew.

Captain Saielna

Prompted by the urgings on the crew forums for someone to step up and take the captaincy position on a more permanent basis, Saielna, one of the officers of Barnacle for Brains, made a bid for the captaincy position, running under a platform that included serious and humorous reasons alike to vote for her. She was initially nominated by Shannal, and ran essentially unopposed. She was voted into office shortly thereafter.

Anothersneak & A New Flag

After internal workings, it was decided that Anothersneak would replace Saielna as captain. Shortly after this change, the purpose of Incredible came under close scrutiny. Barnacle for Brains, as a crew, decided to depart the fair shores that had welcomed it for so long, and after a brief period of looking, chose to place themselves under The Moonlight Marauders. While their time there was enjoyable, the crew recognized that they were not the best fit for the flag, and after a meeting of officers and higher, decided to part ways. After placing a 'seduction wanted' ad, the Barnacles sorted through the many great opportunites presented to them and, after a trial period, decided that Shake Ye Booty had in fact perfected the art of seduction. They were, for a time, the flag that Barnacle for Brains called home.

Pish Posh!

Shake Ye Booty, while full of delightful mates, seemed to be lacking that fervent, frenetic level of activity that the Barnacles enjoyed most of all. Combined with a great love of SO Eradicat's "shmexy" accent, and Mccannibal's inspired (if somewhat joking) flag name of "Pish Posh", the Barnacles left Shake Ye Booty, setting out on the seas alone, under a flag whose entire statement seems to be rather nonsensical. Perfectly fitting for the Barnacles.

Pandemonium

After flying solo for a while, the Barnacles teamed up with the crew Red Herring to form the flag Pandemonium.

The Spanish Inquisition

In June 2008, Barnacle for Brains became frustrated with the dormancy of the majority of Red Herring. The flag wasn't growing and the crew wasn't getting any assistance from Red Herring in doing so. They chose to leave the flag to look for better opportunities.

The Spanish Inquisition was formed as an interim flag while the crew took their time discussing and looking for a new flag.

Riot

After debating between several possible flags, the Barnacles decided to join Riot, their old allies.