I doubt I’ll have time to go back through every holiday I missed, but this recent one got a mention so I figured what the heck, lets see what y’all did! Starting with the first story:
Interregnum by InvidiaRed
A Fucking Creepy Statue? Jesus, those things get everywhere! I’d be scared if someone tried to turn me into a statue. In fact, I’d be petrified. First thought seeing that was if it was a crossover with InBrightestDay’s multipart epic, but I guess they’re unrelated. Definitely made me look twice tho’
Ok, so, a couple of the transitions threw me slightly – suddenly back in the park, then back in the mall, and earlier the way there was suddenly a wall behind in the service corridor – but otherwise I had a pretty solid idea what happened throughout, and why, and I thought there were some pretty goddamn badass moments.
Didn’t quite get the deal with Mars – was it something similar to the original Doom plot where Hell started pouring through up there, and then you basically find yourself on the shores of Hell? Those were the days…
Rex best boy! It was a Halloween horror and I was starting to worry something bad might happen to him in a “Dogs aren’t the only ones that can lick” type way, but it was cool! Rex the instrument of vengeance too! I liked how that was foreshadowed too, with how the previous officer had received Jenna’s vengeance for sending the men to their deaths.
You Were Warned by George Glass
Oh, man, now this here is a love letter to horror movies. I definitelymanaged to name a few of those referenced, although I guess some of them couldbe multiple horrors (Who hasn’t built on an burial ground at this point? I usedto live atop a plague pit. That wasn’t in the estate agent’s guide)
I really loved the Stanza
How did you conclude that it would be wise
To look for the source of that bestial roar?
Did you not see the warnings? Have you no eyes?
I suppose if you did, you don’t anymore.
Like, holy shit, man, that’s so damn good! The weary sortof, well, you got your eyes taken, idiot, of it all.
And it’s such a thing how people in horror movies have sorarely seen horror movies - or used to have,anyway, they’ve been getting more meta since, what Scream? Probably older.
Properly good poem, though, reads great out loud!
Leaffall by BronxWench
Wow, reading a BronxWench story… it’s just like the olddays!
I felt bad for Darri, honestly, poor simple guy trying to dothe right thing. Trying to do the right thing for this woman he cares for, and asa result ending up separated. Also, absolutely not believing Angaine saying it’sdaft to say she cared for him. I mean, I get it could just be that he was herbest shot as the one looking out for her, but it still sounds from his POVrecollections that she was above and beyond nicer to him! Her too, fretting andworrying away over him. I guess it’s happy for her that she gets to go home,but sad that she can’t go with him, because even if he goes back on the landfor a wander, she’s off under the mountains.
Ah well, he’s gotta be happier under the sea at the end. I mean,it sounds like his soul’s still down there. Just sort of spread about a bitamongst the sea fae, but in the general vicinity.
After reading the bit about the state of the little ones, eventhe one that got a bit bitey, you can see why they went full Tsunami againstthe human settlement at the end there. Folks kinda had it coming, even withoutkeeping Angaine chained up and exploited.
But Darri though! That guy was just too pure. Even the ol’sea hag is like double-taking “Such innocence” Ah well, all the fish he can eatin the sea, and none of that gruel either! Proper simple not even thinkingabout sex or any of that type innocence. Did half wonder if he might end upromantic with Wavesinger, but, no, his only feelings were for Angaine and eventhen there was nothing mucky. Ah, well, a fine story! Was good to see it in thelittle anthology.
"Surreal" might be the best word to describe this one. There were definitely a few times I thought I knew what the rough outline of the story was, and then it turned out to be sort of a red herring.
At first, this feels like a relatively mundane story about an officer getting called to an abandoned building, albeit with hints that this takes place in a dystopian future (the walls around the city, the fact that certain spaces are measured in tank widths, etc.). Given that my only experience with the abbreviation comes from the Gundam franchise, I thought FCS meant Fire Control System, like on a warship.
Then I learned what it meant here and thought this might be a reverse WitS (that was rather flattering, I have to add). However, then things went a different direction again. I do have to admit I'm not sure what the significance of the FCS being broken was. The walls around the city and whatnot do ultimately make sense when the exact nature of the setting is revealed, but I'm not sure about the statue.
The final reveal is pretty cool. It's unclear if anything happened to the Earth, but I got the impression that this city is no longer on Earth, and periodically in order to maintain its status, someone needs to be...assigned, I guess, to be the ruler of the Hellspore, presumably until someone else kills them and takes their position. I could also have misinterpreted that, so apologies if I did.
I am admittedly somewhat confused about the presence of Hachishakusama in the story. She's something of a modern yokai, a being out of Japanese urban legend, so I'm not sure what she's doing in what feels like part of Hell. Then again, the Hellspore may not be region-specific, so it's possible any and all supernatural beings could show up here.
Of course, I do have to mention my appreciation for a gorgeous tall lady as your protagonist. Jenna must have a specially made seat in her cruiser given her height!
This was a fun little piece of poetry! I'm not sure if it was entirely meant to do this, but I guess due to reader expectation, there was a shift in how I perceived the poem's focus. At first, I legitimately thought it was very specific, gradually illuminating one specific story. It was only by the beginning of the third verse that I realized what was going on, and that this was the poem secretly written in the hearts of everyone following along with a...certain kind of horror movie protagonist.
I have often wondered if it would go like that in real life. Especially for certain things, I can't help but think we're all so secure in our intelligence due to sitting in a theater or on a couch watching the film, but if we were there, would we make the same mistakes?
Of course, as the poem's very title states, we do have something of a cultural grounding in certain tropes by now, so at least some of us should be able to employ the lessons in the appropriate situations.
One would hope, anyway.
Interregnum
I will admit, I tend to find malls creepy even when they're not abandoned, or derelict. BUT, if I were to have to wander around an abandoned, derelict, entirely creepy mall, I would be much happier in the company of a Belgian Malinois. Rex is a Very Good Boy!
Nice and creepy! Thank you!
You Were Warned
Oh, touché and well done!
My younger brother and I were addicted to the Friday night horror movies on television when we were young. It was a nonstop parade of (mostly) B-films from Hammer, and we'd curl up in the living room with all the lights off, a plate of leftover fried chicken, and we would watch movies from 8pm until 4am, or whenever the channel would sign off. (Yes, I'm that old.) This poem is an ode to everything we ever yelled at the television as we indulged ourselves, and I can't tell you how much fun it was. (Wait, is it supposed to be fun? It's Halloween, I know, but still...)
Thank you!
Leaffall, Ah BronxWench its always a pleasure.
“Don’t make idle wishes, not at Leaffall. It’s not only the gods who are listening.”
Gave me chills. What a wonderful addition. The town did have it coming for awhile now.