Well, it's over, but if you stick around through the credits, you see the hand of the presumed-dead villain begin to twitch, then ball up into a fist. That's why you always do a double-tap.
It's been fun, fellow forumites, and we finally have three winners!
Congratulations to Mr. Flyspeck by R.k.Kombrinck, The Violin Family by James Douglas, and Whispers From The Trench by Robert McKinney!
Another congratulations to all of our finalists, semifinalists, and first round stories as well! This was a wonderful contest, and I had a blast reading each and every one of the stories, and rooting for my favorites.
It was a bit of a bumpy road, as well, and I thank you all for sticking it out with me. I certainly learned a lot about hosting a contest, and hopefully won't be making the same mistakes again.
All in all, it was a blast, and I hope you all had as much fun as I did. I also hope you enjoyed my little intros as much as I enjoyed writing them! They were all plucked straight from the top of my head as I was posting the polls, often sparked by a line or two from something my girlfriend and I were watching on Netflix at the time (anything from Weeds to Charmed).
I will be contacting Shawn with the information about the winners, and I will also urge him to take a look at the stories. Who knows, maybe he'll pluck a few more from the pile! Do let me know if you wish your story to be taken out of consideration, be it for other publishing opportunities or otherwise. Remember, stories in this contest are not considered published, but even so, if you are the author and request your story to be taken down, I will do so. The thread will remain, but the story will be erased. To do this, you can PM me here on the forums, email me at bdoomed@gmail.com, or send a message to eaflash@gmail.com. The best way is probably through my personal email address, but I'll see it one way or another.
Thank you all again for participating and reading and voting and commenting! The Pod Castle contest should be starting up in July or so, so get those fantasy stories ready!
And remember, have fun!