Storytelling Game 7 (6 words)-Competitive

[Collin]

Storytelling Game 7 - Speed Round.

Remember, only the first eight stories submitted will be voted on. This round will last until at least eight stories are written or four days have passed. Good luck and write fast!

And the words chosen by last games winners Tricia and Jenn are:

surly
quandary
breath
heart
rancid
crying

The theme is: Pirates

[Derek]

well, its not a story, i hope thats okay..

DS1

Up and down
The vessel a personification of my mind
Down a swell, up a swell
Over the white caps
To the calm wind rippled glass
The storms that threaten our plundering
The storms that release valve after valve off rain
Flooding the ships deck
As I lay in bed crying
Flooding the deck of my mind
A thunder crack for every time my heart is broken
The storm ever rages on
Love found in way of piracy
Beauty found in a meadow of weeds
Delicious fruit amongst rancid meat
A surly old man in the presence of this intense beauty
What right do I have to find love
When all I do is steal it
How would I even know what it is to be in love
All I know is lust
Lust for golden trinkets
Has my materialist life hidden my inner desire for all these years
All this time I’ve only wanted to feel her gentle breath on my neck
But I’ve ignored it with the breath of gold.
My life style and this love
My life is ever in quandary
Doubting my feelings, doubting my disbelief
Yet, unlike my love for gold, I can not obtain this love
I cannot steal it, I cannot keep it
I’ll never feel the touch of this gold.

[barrie]

If by limiting this to only 8 entries you guys were trying to get rid of me you're SOL 'cause I didn't have a thing in the world to do tonight <g>

My entry, which is also a bit non-traditional:

I had the strangest dream last night. I once played Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. We had to wear these awful hoop skirt things. The sort of thing that should make you feel all pretty but they wound up just being hot and itchy and just generally awful. I should have felt important because she is the female lead but since I wasn’t particularly popular or anything, I just felt stupid. So, I was wearing the awful, itchy dress with the hoop skirt and instead of Pirates of Penzance it was Pirates of the Caribbean which should have been an awesome dream since who doesn’t love Johnny Depp, right? Only instead of being a kick ass sex dream it was one of those horrible anxiety dreams.

My anxiety dreams aren’t ever about anything normal like showing up somewhere naked or forgetting to study for a test. My anxiety dreams are always about me freaking out about something that doesn’t make sense to anyone else and everyone is looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

Johnny Depp was an asshole. In the dream. He was, I dunno, surly? I guess that’s the right word. I guess pirates are allowed to be surly but his character in the movie wasn’t. Just once I would like to be able to control my dreams. If I could, Johnny would have been sweet and sexy and definitely not surly.

I must not have much of a memory of the rest of the movie because my mind filled in the characters with people from "21 Jumpstreet". That big guy who played Johnny’s partner actually makes a pretty good pirate.

The whole thing started out okay with the pirates doing the swashbuckling sort of stuff one would assume pirates do but then I thought I had a cue to do Mabel’s big solo and the pirates wouldn’t stop swashing or buckling and I was getting really mad and Johnny wasn’t being sweet or sexy and he wouldn’t listen to me when I kept telling him it wasn’t time for Fredrick’s song yet. I was having a major crisis. It was a total quandary to try to figure out how to get them to quit cavorting and pay attention so I could sing.

Then when they all finally shut up I couldn’t remember the words to “Ah Leave Me Not” and I certainly couldn’t get the notes right and they all started yelling at me because I couldn’t get it right and I had made them quit what they were doing to pay attention to me and Johnny was right in my face screaming at me and his breath was just rancid and he wouldn’t stop yelling at me and I started crying and the big guy who used to be on "21 Jumpstreet" kept poking me.

I jerked awake in the way that you do from those dreams, heart racing like you’ve been mainlining caffeine. The stupid dog was licking my face and pawing at me trying to get me up to let her outside.

[jenn]

Ashley had tucked herself behind the crates in the lower deck of the ship, she was sure she would go unnoticed until they docked. She had been crammed in that dark, damp little corner for 2 days and no one had ventured down to discover her secret hiding place. She wished her father had paid attention to her threats of running away, and changed his mind about the marriage. She refused to marry a man that did not love her, or one whom she did not love in return, especially one as old as Lord Weston. He had children older than she was now, and becoming their stepmother did not appeal to her. Her thoughts turned back to her current surrounding as she heard the commotion on the decks above.

Ashley longed to go up to the open air and see what was causing such a QUANDARY, there seemed to be a lot of running around she judged from the pounding feet above her. She heard the cannons fire and her wonder turned to fear as she sunk lower in her little space, thinking it may not have been such a good idea to stow away on this ship after all. The cannon fire stopped as suddenly as it had started.

Ashley could not hear anything, but footsteps, from the bowels of the huge vessel; she had become accustom to the darkness enough to inch her way across the slimy wet floor. She edged closer to the dark stairs, searching for any sounds. As she reached the stairs, a light surrounded her, and she heard SURLY voices bounding towards her.

“Yey, thars bounty to be ‘ad.” The harsh voice said.
“And it’s jus right fer the taken.” Another man replied.

Ashley leaped up and ran for the security of her hiding spot, hoping they had not seen her. Terror ran through her veins, as she remembered the stories of pirates her uncle had told her as a child. She was sure these men were pirates, what other kind of heathens would board a vessel of the queen. She watched the light moving closer, she was frozen, barely able to breathe. The men laughed and carried on as they tore open crate after crate, until they reached the stack that concealed her. Ashley shielded her eyes for the lantern as the pirates discovered the shaking frame.

“Wha ‘ave we ‘ere? The cap’n will be pleased fer sure.” One of the men grabbed her arm and yanked her from her nook. He held her close to his face studying her. His BREATH was RANCID, and she gagged as she struggled to free herself.

“Be still we don’t plan ta ‘urt ya none, lest not til cap’n ‘as ‘is way wif ya.” The men hauled her to the upper decks of the ship. She had a hard time adjusting to the light of the sun, and it appeared as if she was CRYING as the salty seawater and wind stun eyes. The men threw her at the boots of another man.

Ashley looked up, her eyes adjusting to the sudden light, and saw the most handsome man. He had long black hair pulled back under his hat. He looked nothing like a pirate, and her HEART beat faster at the sight of him.

“Cap’n Weston lookie what we found blow.” One of the men said gleefully.

[Tricia]

TW1

The giant vessel moved slowly towards the harbor. She was as silent as the grave and as dark as the depths she passed through.

High up in his tower the night watch caught a glimpse of something moving in the water. He rubbed his eyes and glared at the spot where he thought he had seen movement. His heart began to beat faster in his chest.

He was in a quandary. He had seen other watchmen ridiculed by the people of the town for calling a false alarm.

He had seen terror in the eyes of the women who ran through the streets, their hands clamped tight over the mouths of crying children, towards the center of town. The men, shocked from sleep by the wailing of the foghorn, would grab whatever weapons they owned and head towards the tower to gather and wait for the pirate ship to emerge out of the fog and mist. The cannons on the ramparts were readied to cut a path through the night and rip through the belly of the vessel… sending it, and the rancid human cargo it carried, down to a watery grave.

He knew if he set off the alarm to warn the town and he was wrong, he would have hell to pay. The mob of frightened people would not be forgiving of his misjudgment, no matter how well intentioned it was.

He watched the dark rolling waves, his head full of the images that he carried from his childhood. Memories from the last time their village had come under the hands of a pirate captain and his bloodthirsty crew.

The memory of his mother as she tried to fight her way out of the circle of men who had surrounded her in the middle of town. He had been grabbed by the arm and dragged towards the trapdoor that led to the tunnels underneath their small town. He didn’t make a sound as he was pulled from his screaming mother and led through the darkness to the hidden steps.

Once underground he had seen the women of his town, their eyes wild with fear, the shine of the knives that they held in their tightly clinched hands. It wasn’t until he was older that he learned the truth.

The knives the women held in their shaking fists were not to protect the children from the pirates… Oh no, they were there to guarantee that no child would fall into the hands of the surly crew of murderers. Every woman knew that if the time came, she would do her duty. A final loving act of mercy to spare the children the torture that they would have endured as the pirates worked their ever-increasing bloodlust into a heathenish frenzy.

The watchman had these thoughts in his mind as he stared hard into the murky waters of the harbor.
He took a deep breath to steady himself. A fog was beginning to roll in and on a moonless night like this, his eyes tended to play tricks on him. He turned his attention away from the water and chastised himself once again for letting his old fears get the best of him.

He made his way to the single wooden chair in the middle of the room and sat down. What an old fool he was turning into. He began to chuckle under his breath at his own absurdity.

He was starting to relax again. He reached into his sack and pulled out the meat and bread his wife had packed for him.

The dark vessel and her depraved, ravenous crew drifted slowly into the heart of the peaceful harbor.

[Heather]

"Mommy, tell me a bedtime story? Pleeeaaase?" Norah looked up at her
mother with such pleading blue eyes that she couldn't say no.

"Fine. Get in bed & I'll tell you all about the Dread Pirate Geoffrey."

"Yay!!" Norah clapped her hands as she crawled beneath her Powerpuff Girl
blankets. The little girl grabbed her stuffed penguin and clutched it tightly
against her Barbie-nightgowned chest and proclaimed herself ready. Her mother
sat on the edge of the bed and started the story.

"Once upon a time, there was a man who ruled the seas with an iron fist and a
quick sword. His name was Geoffrey Mayne but he was known to everyone else as
the Dread Pirate Geoffrey. He captianed a ship named The Mona Lisa and it was
said that he had stolen the original Da Vinci masterpiece and kept her hanging
in his cabin. In stealing the painting, he killed five guards mercilessly.
One guard he left alive to tell the story but he tortured him terribly.

"For years, the Dread Pirate Geoffrey ruled the seas, taking whatever booty
caught his eye (he only had one eye; the other was lost during a duel with Stan
the Mouth.), whether the booty be treasure, ale or women. Many a woman pitched
herself off of the side of The Mona Lisa rather than share a cabin with
Geoffrey. He was not a pretty man was known to have a surly attitude after consuming a few pints of ale and he smelled rather rancid."

"What's rancid mean, Mommy," Norah asked from behind her penguin.

"It's like how Grandma's breath smells when she comes home from a Bingo," her mother
explained. Norah wrinkled her nose in complete understanding. "Anyway, one
night during a huge thunderstorm, The Mona Lisa came upon a floundering ship.
Instead of taking pity on the doomed passengers and crew, they invaded, killed
the men and stole the money, jewels and women, loading them all onto The Mona
Lisa amid the brilliant flashes of lightning and crashing thunder.

"Now it was Captain Mayne's order that he get the first pick of the captured
women, him being the captain and all. He surveyed the row of trembling, weeping
girls and was disgusted by their cowardice. There was one, however, who stood
out among the others; she wasn't crying, she wasn't shaking or pleading for her
life or reputation. No, she stood tall and proud and looked Geoffrey in his
eye when he passed as if the quandry she were in was an everyday affair of the heart. She was of medium height but her perfect posture made her
seem as tall as his 6'2". She had a perfect figure, big emerald green eyes
shaped like a cat's, pouty lips and long flowing red hair.

"'What's your name, wench,' Captian Mayne asked, leering at her with his one
eye.

"'Rowan.' Her voice was strong and carried over the thunder. The captain was
pleased and stroked her chin with his dirty fingers, nodding to himself. He had
found his prize. 'May I warn you, Captain, that I would not be a wise choice
for you to claim as yours.' The pirate king laughed heartily. This wench
telling him what to do? It was inconceivable! But at the same time it was
captivating. No one had ever dared speak to him in such a manner before.

"'Pray tell, why not?'

"'I am not what I appear to be,' she answered simply. Geoffrey laughed again
and the lightning & thunder chorused right alongside him.

"'I shall have you as mine tonight, make no mistake about that!' The captain
moved forward and grasped her wrist in his hand. At the same time, the
lightning flashed and struck the deck in between Rowan & Geoffrey. Electricty
flowed up from the boards and surrounded the couple in a bright blaze. A rope
of light twisted around their wrists, causing Geoffrey to scream in pain and
surprise. Rowan smiled, her hair floating up and crackling with electricity.

"'I warned you, Captain Mayne,' she said, her voice suddenly deep and menacing.
She smiled wider, causing her face to split apart, revealing a weathered old
man underneath. The crimson silk gown ripped open and showed the body of a man
with leathery skin and cloven feet. Geoffrey screamed again and tried to tug
away from the bond that held them together but the thing that had been Rowan
laighed again. 'For the terrible crimes you have committed against the
innocent on the sea, I have claimed you for my own.'

"One more flash of lightning, one more clap of thunder and the pair was gone.
No one ever saw the Dread Pirate Geoffrey again but sailors say that on stormy
nights you can hear his screams floating up from the depths of his eternal
prison. The end." She looked at her daughter and saw she was fast asleep.
Shaking her head at Norah's love of the supernatural, she got up, turned off
the light and softly shut the door behind her.

[Collin]

Round 7 of the storytelling contest is over. Yikes. I hope this one was just horrible timing. I know that Derek went out of town and Wendy was also on vacation. I've been busy both at work and at home. The few occasions when I wasn't busy I either wasn't near a computer or I couldn't squeeze a story from my bloated noggin.

I also have a feeling that with everything going on I'm getting a *teensy* bit burned out. The board has fallen into disuse. My blog is gathering dust. So, I'm taken applications for additional game ops. Game ops will have the power to start new threads in the various forums. I can't promise that it will be a permanent elevation in status. We'll see how long my crisis of imagination lasts. Just send me an IM if you are interested.

Now on to the voting stage. Pick your 2 favorites. Anyone can vote, not just the authors. We'll have two days for voting.

My thanks to you fantastic five who played this round.

[Heather]

Okay, time for my big fat votes!!

1st to Jenn
2nd to Barrie for mentioning Johnny Depp! Mmmm!!

[jenn]

Oh I hate the voting especially when everyone is just so talented! Can't we vote for 4 this time Collin?

Derek S. did a really cool story. I really liked it, and knowing it came from a 16 year old mind amazed me. Derek so glad you came to the forum, please keep writing here.

Barries story was really cute with the dream thing.

I have to vote for Heather, I loved the way she did her story this time.

My 2nd vote is for Tricia, she did a good job on that story.

[Derek]

hmm well im a sucker for twist endings.. so Jenn...

hmm 2nd ones a toughy... i thought barries was pretty good.. but i liked tricias a bit more...

so yeah i guess jenn and tricia

heather, yours was great too.

[barrie]

Okay, my vote isn't going to be as fair as it should be.

First goes to Derek because I love his poem and I respect the fact that he took things in a different direction

This is the 'not fair' part. I liked Tricia's story but I find myself stacking it up against some of the other stuff she's written and I just didn't like it as much. It was still a wonderful story and even I don' t think it is fair to compare it to her other stories but...

I am, as always torn. I loved Heather's and Jenn's. This one is kinda not fair too but as much as I loved Heather's I didn't like the idea of telling that bedtime story to a kid. It almost seemed like two different stories to me and I liked where both of them were going but I'm gonna have to vote for Jenn

Oh and Collin, I'd be happy to deal with some administration duties. I really enjoy the game!

[Tricia]

Since we hardly had any entries this time, I feel I should say
"Damn we're good" ;D

Loved the stories.

Have to hand my first vote to Derek. Dude you used the words in a POEM... and it was good! Very Cool!

And Barrie... her royal weirdness! That was just a cool way to write! And you had more sentences than usual!
LOL

[Collin]

Yep. This is the part that is never easy. There wasn't a single story here that I didn't like. Damn. Okay.

Derek, you did a fantastic job with the poem. Please keep writing here.

Barrie, your dream story was quite good. I have dreams like that far too often and you described it very well.

Tricia, what can I say? Your stories are ALWAYS good. Sheesh.

So at the end of it all (voting's over after this post) my votes are going to be for Jenn & Heather. I enjoyed the tension and description in Jenn's and the humor and details in Heather's.

Well done everyone. I'll figure out the results tomorrow.

[Collin]

Results for game 7:

JS1: 15
DS1: 13
Barrie: 13
TW1: 13
HB1: 13

So Jenn won and there was a 4-way tie for 2nd. check back in either here, my blog or Jenn's blog for the next round.

[Tricia]

You'd better send me an email too.
So I can put it up on my site.

You know people are ignoring you.
You, person with a life, you!

Freak!