Tall Tales of Bilgewater - Winners! [fan fic contest results]
#Congratulations to our two winners: CaptainMårvelous and MythicTwister!# The results are in - after listening to many a tale of how Captain Gangplank came back from the dead we have our two winning stories. These tall tales range from the fantastic to the deadly serious, from oranges to angels, from Noxians to Starchildren, from the devil himself to the Serpent Mother. There were over 80 entries over the course of just 2 days, and judging them was unreasonably difficult. :)
CaptainMårvelous and MythicTwister - very well done! You should have your prizes by tomorrow midday.
So pull up a barstool, take a swig of whatever grog the barkeep is pouring, and sit back and listen to our storytellers give you the truth* about how Captain Gangplank survived the Deadpool Disaster of the Burning Tides...
http://imgur.com/nZkjZYC (Open in a new tab for some appropriate sounds: http://youtubedoubler.com/g8P7 )
##Players-Choice Winner: CaptainMårvelous (NA)##
At the bottom of the bay, Gangplank lay against the seabed. Everything ached, blood was rising upward and the only his cutlass lay at his side. Gangplank couldn’t breath, the ocean having filled his lungs. He probably only had half a minute before the lack of air finished him.
From the darkness, two golden eyes peered at him. “Well well, if it ain’t the mighty Gangplank. Boy, your arm looks mighty rough,” spoke the voice, melodic and deep. “Seems like you’re gonna die down here. Course, I could help you out…”
Gangplank, however, had no time for this. Despite the agony he was in, despite his lack of oxygen, he began to push himself up from the seabed. The razorfins swarmed overhead, drinking in the corpses. He’d have to move fast, least they turn their attention to a warm meal. If there was one thing Gangplank didn’t do, it was die.
“Now I could- HEY! Get back here! You know damn well you can’t get past that, I’m your only chance here, son!” the voice spoke. Despite the ocean’s depth, it sounded like the voice was in his mind.”Come back and let’s make a deal, you know you won’t make it…”
As he swam upwards, Gangplank began to choke on sea water. His lungs felt heavy but the surface was so close!
“You know you won’t make it…”
His right arm still working fine, Gangplank held his sword close. A razorfin noticed him swimming upward, baring it’s teeth. Gangplank grimaced, impaling the beast as it sunk it’s teeth into his shoulder
“YOU KNOW YOU WON’T MAKE IT…”
His legs were like iron. His vision was getting blurry. The sky and the burning wreckage were so close. Gangplank kicked with all his might, clutching his sword in his metal teeth as his hand reached for a floating piece of wreckage.
“YOUWON’TMAKEITYOUWON’TMAKEITYOUWON’TMAKEITYOUWON’-”
Silence.
Gangplank burst from the water, clutching a destroyed piece of ship. He spit his sword from his mouth, puking up disgusting sea water as he clutched the raft. Everything hurt and he would need medical attention but, somehow, he had survived. A lone orange floated past, likely from his personal store. Resting his chest on the wood, he reached for it and pulled it to his mouth. He bit down on the orange, chewing it peel and all.
“The captain doesn’t make deals with the devil,” Gangplank rumbled.
##Judges-Choice Winner: MythicTwister (NA)##
Meaty digits strike a match that sets the storyteller's gnarled face aglow with the faint light of his smoking pipe. His pint of ale gone and meal finished, the deal is done.
"It were more than a bomb in the powder magazine that tried to claim the life o' Captain Gangplank. There was a trap fer sure, but there's more to be said of that fire an' nothing to do with a red haired girl. A touch... of the supernatural. It started with 'is father.
Vincent the Shadow, 'is heart black as coal and 'is eyes red as blood, killed any man disobey'd 'im and some what did'nt, but instead o' giving their bodies back to the sea, he let the poor sods rot in 'is ship's bilge.
Vincent weren't a man, but a demon what craved death and killed at whim. His son grew faster than normal men, but it were the hardened crew taught him to be a man, not the captain. They raised 'im up while 'is father beat 'em all down and filled the bilge with blood.
Gangplank knew 'twas folly to serve 'is father, knew the Bearded Lady would curse the ship for keeping the dead hostage. So, he stabbed 'is father in the back and took captain, orderin' the blood an bones of the dead be given back to the sea.
The Deadpool paid triple tithe to the Mother Serpent then on for her crimes, but there were another curse on her Captain's head.
Vincent the shadow, sent to hell by his son, had been waiting for a chance at vengeance. When the sabateurs trap was triggered, the demon found 'is chance an stepped through the flames to our world. Formed from hellfire and weilding a bright red sword, father fought son. Gangplank survived the blaze on account of his blood, but it was the Mother Serpent what claimed Vincent and swallowed him whole. Gangplank lost his hand... because it was at The Shadow's throat when she took 'im.
You see, it weren't the black powder. Only a demon can fight a demon. After all thought him dead, Gangplank was carried safe from the razorfins and sharks, an shown mercy by the Mother Serpent herself for the amens he made.
Now he's returned to rule again.
They say he ruled with an iron fist.
Now it's made o' steel."
(Dis)Honorable Mentions (I.e. stories that made it exceptionally hard to choose a winner):
- FROSTBLITZ's tale of the Captain facing down a monstrous sea serpent!
- Noski7's completely true story from the totally legitimate pirate "Skruffy".
- Sincarnation's tale of challenging Death to a fair fight (and how he made it fair).
- JacctheInsomniac's storyteller tells a fine story, but someone in the audience thinks it lacked a good ending.
And so many many more! (Link to the whole thread here.)
*Not actually true. Then again, who's to say? It's not like Gangplank is going around giving an honest account of his survival, after all.
