I want you to imagine that after a long and particularly brutal battle with Armada ships, your pirate has been washed up onto the beaches of a beautiful, yet exotically dangerous, desolate island. Your pirate's first thoughts are of (in no particular order):

• survival
• building a suitable shelter
• how to get rid of jellyfish stings
• finding food
• salvaging supplies/gear
• what could possibly remove that horrible, fishy smell so newly acquired
• building a fire to keep warm
• why didn't I listen to my mother and become a librarian instead
• securing a weapon
• And where's the toilet paper

After those 6 1/2 seconds pass, your pirate comes to the horrible realization that only one member of the crew managed to wash up on shore too (hey, hey, easy now- the others are all safe- this is not a horror story mind you).

So my questions for all of you are as follows:

What would the island be like and what dangers would await your pirate? (We already know about the lack of toilet paper- so no need to include that)

If you had to choose only one companion to be stranded on the island with your pirate, who would it be and why. (Catbeard would probably make a great feline fisherman, Barnabus sure could chop a tree down and that Inoshishi Necromancer could more than likely whip up a good stew- so choose wisely)

What would that one companion bring to the table in terms of survival, resourcefulness and just plain old pleasant company? (El toro is great with the whip but does he ever stop talking about himself or could you take staring at that smile for months or perhaps years?)

Would your pirate and companion try to safely escape the island and return to the pirate's life or start their own vacation resort? (There's good gold in that market after all)

I would be delighted to hear your answers and will be adding my own as well- I hadn't thought far enough ahead to answer my own questions.

Chrissy Th'Blesser on Dec 31, 2013 wrote:

I would want Gracie because she could take palm leaves, sea weed & cave troll droppings and manufacture a steam engine that runs on salt water that she would attach to our ship she rebuilt from the wreckage and paddle boats us gently home.

Now that is oh so clever and not at all an answer that I would have expected to hear. You have a wonderful imagination and attention to detail, Chrissy. Gracie is definitely a top candidate for me as well due to her supreme intellect and knowledge of how things work- I am still working on my answers though.....so this could take some time.

Kai Alcott on Jan 4, 2014 wrote:

I would choose... hm... I would choose Iago. He could hunt to sustain our lives, and be an awesome unicorn, and I could find shelter and make fire and boil sea water to make drinking water. We could then call in the unicorn assassins of Valencia, and they would relocate to the island, and we would build a hotel.

Excellent choice in Iago, Kai! He absolutely has that pirate-y, treasure island look about him. And you are wise to concentrate on a clean, viable source of water, shelter and fire. A hotel huh- not a bad idea. You could have all of your close pirate friends and companions (and not to mention the unicorn assassins) all in one convenient location and make a little coin in the process. I like it- I like it a lot! Thanks for the input.

ValkoorTheVictorio... on Jan 8, 2014 wrote:

Ok so here is my answer to the 1st question.

What would the island be like and what dangers would await your pirate?

The perils that would await my pirate would be unlike any dangers that are so often thought of in regards to finding one's self on a stranded, thought to be desolate island- no creatures or monsters so to speak (at least none occurring naturally), no volcanoes or violent forces of nature, no inhospitable indigenous tribes and no plundering raiders trying to claim the island as their own. The true threats facing my pirate's very existence would in fact come from the island's alluring and deceptive beauty, that it so proudly flaunts. For what appears heavenly and appealing to the senses would in truth be wicked and menacing in nature. While what seems grotesque and unsightly at first appearance could in fact be the very thing that lends itself to my pirate's survival.

Now one would think that the remedy to this dilemma is quite simple- avoid the beautiful, embrace the unpleasant. This is where the island's devious and treacherous nature would lend to causing you to believe otherwise. For what one day was alluring yet perilous would on the next be captivating yet beneficial to survival. What was one day hideous yet valuable would on the very next day be repulsive yet detrimental to my pirate's very existence. The island would be ever evolving, able to twist and manipulate the very fabric of what my pirate's perceptions of reality are and would prey on his innermost thoughts, using his trepidations to manifest his fears before him.

How would my pirate deal with such an unpredictable and unscrupulous foe. How do you fight what you have no knowledge of? How can you defend what you can not see or even feel attacking? How do you plan a strategy against an enemy that changes randomly and at will from day to day? And more importantly, how will he survive............

Wow, that is amazing and totally thought provoking. I can see why it took you a bit to compile this. Nothing is as simple as it seems and things are always changing. You have captured life in it's fullest. You have quite the knack for writing. This chapter for sure must be read aloud by the guy that voices all the movie previews. So powerful. I can just imagine the wonderful stories that can continue after this amazing intro.
*Pops popcorn and waits.*

ValkoorTheVictorio... on Dec 30, 2013 wrote:

I want you to imagine that after a long and particularly brutal battle with Armada ships, your pirate has been washed up onto the beaches of a beautiful, yet exotically dangerous, desolate island. Your pirate's first thoughts are of (in no particular order):

• survival
• building a suitable shelter
• how to get rid of jellyfish stings
• finding food
• salvaging supplies/gear
• what could possibly remove that horrible, fishy smell so newly acquired
• building a fire to keep warm
• why didn't I listen to my mother and become a librarian instead
• securing a weapon
• And where's the toilet paper

After those 6 1/2 seconds pass, your pirate comes to the horrible realization that only one member of the crew managed to wash up on shore too (hey, hey, easy now- the others are all safe- this is not a horror story mind you).

So my questions for all of you are as follows:

What would the island be like and what dangers would await your pirate? (We already know about the lack of toilet paper- so no need to include that)

If you had to choose only one companion to be stranded on the island with your pirate, who would it be and why. (Catbeard would probably make a great feline fisherman, Barnabus sure could chop a tree down and that Inoshishi Necromancer could more than likely whip up a good stew- so choose wisely)

What would that one companion bring to the table in terms of survival, resourcefulness and just plain old pleasant company? (El toro is great with the whip but does he ever stop talking about himself or could you take staring at that smile for months or perhaps years?)

Would your pirate and companion try to safely escape the island and return to the pirate's life or start their own vacation resort? (There's good gold in that market after all)

I would be delighted to hear your answers and will be adding my own as well- I hadn't thought far enough ahead to answer my own questions.

Island and Dangers:
The island would be dark. The sun and stars never shines, only a red moon haunts the sky with black, thunderous crowd. The dangers... Well... That sea monster that ate my eagle galleon in one bite is at least one of them...

The companion:
Kurgha Tiger. Wanna know why? Go watch Life of Pi

Means of escape:
Simple, Porting back to skull island.

Let me see if I have this situation right, no phones, no pets, no motor cars? Not a single luxury? Like Robinson Crusoe, it's primitive as can be?

Oh well, join us here next week my friends, you're sure to get a smile, on Sam Underhill's Isle!!

My fantasy island would be filled with readily available food, pleasant weather, no dangers whatsoever, free wi-fi, a complete library, and a different Shakespeare production every Saturday night held by the local tribes. Mary Ann would drop by to cook and clean every afternoon...

On waking up however, the one and only choice - Bonnie Anne - would pester me to get up and do some work around here for a change. Excuse me, but isn't that the first mate's job? She could obtain dinner, cook it, clean up after, build some lodging, light a signal fire, keep lookout, etc. - while I do the important stuff like... telling her she put the fire in the wrong place, or my pillow doesn't have enough stuffing, or 'I don't like fish!'

On waking up after that, I wince upon putting an ice pack on the bump on the back of my head before asking dear, sweet, forgiving Bonnie Anne what she like me to do to help.

Sam Underhill on Jan 16, 2014 wrote:

Let me see if I have this situation right, no phones, no pets, no motor cars? Not a single luxury? Like Robinson Crusoe, it's primitive as can be?

Oh well, join us here next week my friends, you're sure to get a smile, on Sam Underhill's Isle!!

My fantasy island would be filled with readily available food, pleasant weather, no dangers whatsoever, free wi-fi, a complete library, and a different Shakespeare production every Saturday night held by the local tribes. Mary Ann would drop by to cook and clean every afternoon...

On waking up however, the one and only choice - Bonnie Anne - would pester me to get up and do some work around here for a change. Excuse me, but isn't that the first mate's job? She could obtain dinner, cook it, clean up after, build some lodging, light a signal fire, keep lookout, etc. - while I do the important stuff like... telling her she put the fire in the wrong place, or my pillow doesn't have enough stuffing, or 'I don't like fish!'

On waking up after that, I wince upon putting an ice pack on the bump on the back of my head before asking dear, sweet, forgiving Bonnie Anne what she like me to do to help.

Lol Priceless as usual. Sounds just like the Bonnie Anne I know too.