Spooktober 2021

Tidbits, articles, and art created for SPOOKTOBER.
I suspect that most of my work will be like my #VSS365 (Twitter length very short stories).

1

In the light of the #moon, a thick red drop fell from my bruised and broken hand onto his bloody face. "Wh-what have I done?" I #stuttered. 'Just following orders' would never cover such an atrocity. I'd become what I feared. A monster.

— Hiro

#Spooktober2021

2

Slinking from #shadow to shadow behind the kitsune witch, I witnessed her #hunt for a sacrifice that would bind us further. I did not want this, but the powers I could learn from her? That was another matter.

— Ibaraki Douji

#Spooktober2021

3

#Blood drained from his face when we reached the #cemetery. Emptied urns littered the Hiragi clan plot. "I'm just glad they didn't get to Hiro's ashes. Any idea who it was or what they did with the remains of your yakuza brethren?"

— Satou

#Spooktober2021

4

The #mist lifted as a chill #wind blew into the valley. I'd only been in the area four days, and each was foggy. Everyone bragged about Okayama Prefecture's beauty. Maybe I'd finally get to see the landscape of my new home?

— Nakamura Hisako

#Spooktober2021

5

Last #autumn after I was released from prison, I was so damned #hollow inside. I couldn’t trust anyone, because I was sure they’d write me off. Just a few months later, just one person believing in me started a cascade of events.

— Umeji Tatsuya

#Spooktober2021

6

Their father's music's #glow spread like #dandelion seeds in the wind, enchanting the tiny seahorses. They followed, confident that where ever he led, would it be safe. It was his last gift to them. I did not see him again.

— Sekiguchi Yuu

#Spooktober2021

7

Why hadn't she been allowed to attend? She #staggered into the cemetery. When she reached his #grave she crumpled, but her hands moved of their own accord. She had to have part of him with her because, even in death, he had her heart. #Spooktober2021

8

Legends say, a three legged #blackbird led the emperor and his lost expedition out of the mountains. But they don’t recall the #stone he landed on. There, in a basin surrounded by vast mountain ranges, they established the first capital. #Spooktober2021

9

#Ice covered my whiskers in #silver tendrils. At least I'd grown in my winter coat. The fool had wrapped me in his jacket, thinking he was being chivalrous. Would we make it home before he froze?

— Nakamura Hisako

#Spooktober

10

The #rune was a single word from the language of dragons. He'd carved into the heartwood of a branch donated by the tallest tree in the sentient #woods. And he'd given it to her as a token of his trust. Would she use it to create or destroy? #Spooktober2021

11

#Heron swallowed a fish, #bones and all. Fish cried, “If don’t you eat me, I’ll give you the riches of my kingdom!” Heron asked, “And if I don't? Will you take me to see your kingdom?” The fish king fell silent. He couldn’t risk his people. #Spooktober2021

12

Among the twisted, #tangled and #rotting roots, beady, red, eyes shone in the black void of what should have been a face. Don't blink. It will steal yours. #Spooktober2021

13

#Fireflies flittered, rising from their day’s hiding spot in the grass tufts and shrubs. They joined a #wild dance in these last warm days, hoping to find a partner before the frosts came. Was that flashing friendly or a foe ready to devour? #Spooktober2021

14

He floated, carried by the #river to a new destination. His mangled, oozing form covered in muck and tangles of poisonous vines twitched with anticipation. Would he #ghast this community too? Oh he hoped so. The fear was the best of feasts. #Spooktober2021

15

The thrill of the chase didn't #ebb in her blood. It filled every muscle with the need to run. Through a fallen log, over a hill, across a stream, they zigged and zagged. She just had to push a little more to sink her #fangs into breakfast. #Spooktober2021

16

The surprise of his kiss surpassed the Harvest Festival #fun we had as we #danced to the beat of the drums under the full moon. He's cute, but I'm an employee and he was tipsy. The next day he confessed his feelings, so I took a risk.

— Mie

#Spooktober2021

17

In the silk kimono with #turtle shell hexagons edged in gold, I #shiver as the bearers carry my palanquin. But I am on display at the festival. No warm tea for any of us until we’ve finished the parade route. #Spooktober2021

18

This year’s #harvest is #stranger than last year. I swore the ears of corn a familiar face. But I don’t dare say a thing. The neighbors will think it looks like the girl who went missing. I buried her where the corn grew. #Spooktober2021

19

He draws his fingers through the #crimson tint on her lips. But when she doesn’t speak his language, he #hesitates. Was following a beautiful shape shifter fox a mistake? Bak Ai-Ri murmurs, “I may be Kumiho, but I’m not incapable of love.” #Spooktober2021

20

This Guardian stepping down, I don't #trust his #scent—faint blood and ammonia, fresh cedar, the reek of strong alcohol. It sends a shiver through me. My tails fluff and I back up a few steps. Has he been corrupted? —Nakamura Hisako

#Spooktober2021

21

#Dust caked the box that held the ornate tea set and plain kimono. Did it #signify that her time as a tea master had been forgotten along with so much else? Or had the memories been too precious to put on display? Her daughter wanted to ask. #Spooktober2021

22

#Flames in the fireplace at the #cafe sputtered, threatening to go out. The one light in the tiny room for the last customer of the night. He slurped his noodles without a care in the world. Why wasn't he afraid of the legends around here? #Spooktober2021

23

A little slime #spore in its #innocence slurped up all the energy around it. Full and content, it rolled into the hollow of an old log and slept off the gorging. A battle around it raged, it awoke the only survior. #Spooktober2021

24

A circle of #dark death, centered on her and her son's limp body, #radiated out, snatching energy from everything in its path. Was she cursed for taking life from others to spare one dear to her? Would stealing ki to save him even work? #Spooktober2021

25

Around the beach bonfire an #intimate gathering of theater friends was deeply engrossed in spooky stories. Their #hearts almost stopped when several ghosts snuck up behind them to listen and screamed in terror. A new acting troop formed. #Spooktober2021

26

It was no #accident he spotted the #silver fox as he left the shrine. She'd been watching him the whole time, waiting for him to slip up. She knew he would. Yakuza don't go straight, not that she'd seen. Then she'd be able to be rid of him. #Spooktober2021
(I changed the second 'shiver' prompt to 'silver'.)

27

#Betrayed, I shoved my #blade viciously through the assassin’s ribs. If I went down, so would he. His dying gurgle wasn’t satisfying, though & my leg wound was bleeding out. Would my family ever know I wasn’t the shame of their lives?

— Hiro

#Spooktober2021

28

The #treacherous killing spree #ruined the plush white carpet he loved to sink his toes into. Why did the idiots attack here in the room to be his office? Sirens and pounding at the door startled him. What!? This was to be a quiet job! #Spooktober2021

29

#Hurt? No. Agony! My #claws grasped the wrist as I ran. I’d retrieved my detached arm from the accursed samurai who severed it. But could it be re-attached? Or would I have to make a prosthesis? How would that affect my magic?

— Ibaraki Douji

#Spooktober2021

30

A #shadow smothered the light from above as a giant shikigami puppet sped toward us. Did the fox #flee? No, the stubborn idiot just stood there with his hand outstretched, the glow of ki ready for a spell. I #muttered obscenities and ran to help. #Spooktober2021

by World Anvil

Skull potion icon by: Freepik