2025 Anthology - Creature Feature - Discussion Only

[Valkyrie]

This thread is for discussion related to our annual anthology - Creature Feature.  Guidelines can be found here: 

 

[Lee Wilson]

Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question, but I am a little confused. I know, I'm a lot confused, but only a little about this. The guidelines indicate the stories should be PM'd to @Valkyrie, but there's also a links page, so can we make the submission either way, or is the Links page only for the completed works after the proof team does their stuff?

Thanks, Lee

[Valkyrie]

28 minutes ago, Lee Wilson said:

Forgive me if I'm asking a stupid question, but I am a little confused. I know, I'm a lot confused, but only a little about this. The guidelines indicate the stories should be PM'd to @Valkyrie, but there's also a links page, so can we make the submission either way, or is the Links page only for the completed works after the proof team does their stuff?

Thanks, Lee

The links page is for stories once they have gone through the proof team.  So PM the story to me first, I will assign a proof team member to proofread the story, then the author makes the changes and uploads the story per the instructions above and posts the link in the links thread.  

 

[Lee Wilson]

43 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

The links page is for stories once they have gone through the proof team.  So PM the story to me first, I will assign a proof team member to proofread the story, then the author makes the changes and uploads the story per the instructions above and posts the link in the links thread.  

 

Got it, thanks.

[Valkyrie]

2 hours ago, Lee Wilson said:

Got it, thanks.

Are you going to be the first to post for this anthology too?  😁

[chris191070]

My Anthology entry is almost ready.

[Valkyrie]

2 minutes ago, chris191070 said:

My Anthology entry is almost ready.

It's officially a race!  Who will be first to post?  Chris or @Lee Wilson?  

[Lee Wilson]

20 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

Are you going to be the first to post for this anthology too?  😁

Maybe. Got my edits back.

[Lee Wilson]

20 hours ago, Valkyrie said:

Are you going to be the first to post for this anthology too?  😁

It's been sent. I may be first, but Chris is six hours ahead of me, so even so, 7 1/2 months early is, well, OCD? anal?

[chris191070]

11 minutes ago, Lee Wilson said:

It's been sent. I may be first, but Chris is six hours ahead of me, so even so, 7 1/2 months early is, well, OCD? anal?

Mine won't be ready till next week.

[chris191070]

My entry has been sent.

Edited February 15, 2025 by chris191070

[chris191070]

My story for the Anthology has been uploaded.

[Valkyrie]

There are a bunch of people waiting to be paired with a Proof Team member, and I thank you all for your patience!  I have created threads in the Proof Team Club to request volunteers, so both myself and the assigned Proof Team member should be reaching out within the next few days.  There's still plenty of time before the deadline to submit stories, so we will git 'er done!  Also, please keep the stories coming!  Let's get at least as much as the SA contest had

[Inkognito]

The Monsters We See

 

I walked through the valley beneath skies torn asunder,
Past the Attack of the Hellbenders, all fire and thunder.
Their breath reeked of judgment, their eyes full of war,
As they hissed ancient warnings on Waterwall’s shore.

The Wandering Kodama stepped onto my track,
Bowed its head low and said, “No turning back.
The Journey to Salvation cuts deeper than bone,
And the path that you take, you must walk it alone.”

From the shadows came two with one soul split in skins,
The Dark and Mystical Twins, bound by their sins.
They spoke of a curse with a cost overdue,
“The Bond Between Us has been broken in two.”

Then came chaos and glitter in a feverish shout,
Sparklehoof and the Great Fluffing prancing on out.
They spoke of True Treasure that hides in despair,
Then vanished like smoke in the thick evening air.

Farley & Wolf came with hearts full of ash,
Two souls bound by silence and bitter backlash.
They spoke of old sins and the cost of lost trust,
And the curse of Eternal Love buried deep under dust.

Then stumbled out Cow-man, with sorrowful snout,
His half-steak expression all twisted with doubt.
He cried for Lovesquatch: A Culinary Cryptid Romcom,
A dinner of hearts that he’d long since forgone.

I caught a lingering scent, half poison, half bloom,
Persistent Pheromones had thickened the gloom.
It burned like forgiveness, like lips, like regret,
The kind of perfume you try to forget.

A roadside dive burned with neon and sin,
Where The Funky Chicken was dancing again.
Feathers askew and bourbon on breath,
He clucked out a hymn to forgiveness and death.

The mirror behind him confessed what nobody could,
Etched with the words, “Only a Monster Would…”
I caught my own eyes as I started to see,
The monsters I’m chasing are reflections of me.

“I Am a Creature,” I said to the night,
No longer pretending that wrong could be right.
A soul shaped by loss and the courage to care,
In Otter Words, I wasn't too broken inside to repair.

Laughter erupted, shrill, sudden, and free,
As in twirled the sprites named Zipi and Skee.
They juggled my guilt and rewrote my name,
Then vanished in glitter as quick as they came.

But left in their place under darkness of night
Sparx for Nyx, with burning bright light.
It hummed with a dream that refused to abate.
Like ghosts from The Summer of 1968.

The fairies came quiet, like dust in midair,
Took hold of the dream and slipped out of there.
Away with the Fairies, the dream drifted like breath,
And nothing remained but the hush of its death.

The road curled in twilight, The Car Ride Home near,
Where whispers of memory rang close in my ear.
Each creature behind me, each lesson, each scar,
Reflected like starlight on the hood of my car.

The headlights grew dim as the forest revived,
Calling me onward to a Deeper Dive.
Not into water, but truth’s murky stream,
Where monsters and men share the same waking dream.

[chris191070]

6 minutes ago, Inkognito said:

The Monsters We See

 

I walked through the valley beneath skies torn asunder,
Past the Attack of the Hellbenders, all fire and thunder.
Their breath reeked of judgment, their eyes full of war,
As they hissed ancient warnings on Waterwall’s shore.

The Wandering Kodama stepped onto my track,
Bowed its head low and said, “No turning back.
The Journey to Salvation cuts deeper than bone,
And the path that you take, you must walk it alone.”

From the shadows came two with one soul split in skins,
The Dark and Mystical Twins, bound by their sins.
They spoke of a curse with a cost overdue,
“The Bond Between Us has been broken in two.”

Then came chaos and glitter in a feverish shout,
Sparklehoof and the Great Fluffing prancing on out.
They spoke of True Treasure that hides in despair,
Then vanished like smoke in the thick evening air.

Farley & Wolf came with hearts full of ash,
Two souls bound by silence and bitter backlash.
They spoke of old sins and the cost of lost trust,
And the curse of Eternal Love buried deep under dust.

Then stumbled out Cow-man, with sorrowful snout,
His half-steak expression all twisted with doubt.
He cried for Lovesquatch: A Culinary Cryptid Romcom,
A dinner of hearts that he’d long since forgone.

I caught a lingering scent, half poison, half bloom,
Persistent Pheromones had thickened the gloom.
It burned like forgiveness, like lips, like regret,
The kind of perfume you try to forget.

A roadside dive burned with neon and sin,
Where The Funky Chicken was dancing again.
Feathers askew and bourbon on breath,
He clucked out a hymn to forgiveness and death.

The mirror behind him confessed what nobody could,
Etched with the words, “Only a Monster Would…”
I caught my own eyes as I started to see,
The monsters I’m chasing are reflections of me.

“I Am a Creature,” I said to the night,
No longer pretending that wrong could be right.
A soul shaped by loss and the courage to care,
In Otter Words, I wasn't too broken inside to repair.

Laughter erupted, shrill, sudden, and free,
As in twirled the sprites named Zipi and Skee.
They juggled my guilt and rewrote my name,
Then vanished in glitter as quick as they came.

But left in their place under darkness of night
Sparx for Nyx, with burning bright light.
It hummed with a dream that refused to abate.
Like ghosts from The Summer of 1968.

The fairies came quiet, like dust in midair,
Took hold of the dream and slipped out of there.
Away with the Fairies, the dream drifted like breath,
And nothing remained but the hush of its death.

The road curled in twilight, The Car Ride Home near,
Where whispers of memory rang close in my ear.
Each creature behind me, each lesson, each scar,
Reflected like starlight on the hood of my car.

The headlights grew dim as the forest revived,
Calling me onward to a Deeper Dive.
Not into water, but truth’s murky stream,
Where monsters and men share the same waking dream.

That is awesome 👌 

[Lee Wilson]

5 hours ago, Inkognito said:

The Monsters We See

Awesome indeed.

[Mike Carss]

[Gary L]

Truly awesome.  Well done!  Such talent!   I’m in awe.  

[Lee Wilson]

Prompt number 3,692. Use these 23 phrases in a poem!