YEAR TEN

OCTOBER 2022 TO OCTOBER 2023

Every year’s short stories (mostly) follow a theme. For Year Ten, every month’s stories share a genre or theme, some anchor point that the reader can rely on. But within that, there are strange concoctions brewing. The genre’s merge, archetypes collide, mythologies mash…welcome to the Year of Fusion..

Welcome to the tenth year of Storyfeather.

Below are the titles, primary genres, and taglines for each story in the order it was originally posted.

READ button opens story post where you can read the story.
TITLE button opens story’s Explore page where you can watch a trailer, learn some behind-the-scenes info, find links to available merch, etc. (button is activated within a week of the story being posted)
GO TO THE END button jumps you to the bottom of the page. It’s a long way down, and depending on your device, important navigational links may be below the page or in the sidebar.

Digital drawing. Two girls with fangs wearing letterman jackets and sitting on a bench. The words "Girls With Fang Club" are visible on the left side of one girl’s jacket. The words are partially obscured on the other girl’s jacket. The girl at right has a pale purple complexion and two incisor fangs protruding from her closed smiling mouth. She's sitting with her wrists resting on her knees, and she looks to the left at the other girl. The girl at left has a pale green complexion and a mouth full of small pointy fangs visible in her open-mouthed smile. She has her hands in her pockets. Her head rests on the other girl's shoulder. She looks up at the other girl. Behind them, the colors of the sky indicate that the sun is just setting.

THREE GIRLS WITH FANGS

When students in their school mysteriously drop into comas, three members of an academic and service club investigate a potential supernatural cause.

GENRE: MYSTERY

Two people, facing forward and floating. At left a human woman with short hair, left arm held out and right hand poised to grip or brace against the ceiling above. At right, a humanoid man with three sets are arms, a lavender tongue, tapered ears, and thick wavy hair. His left arms are braced against the ceiling and wall. In one hand he holds a small device. They are both wearing the same drably colored clothes, though the woman has a bright shirt just visible below her collar. Bright orange lights glow above them and reflect down on them. A bright light appears behind them, dimming at the margins. Both people hold their mouths open and their eyes slightly wide.

COSMIC CHEESECAKE DUST

When an accident leaves two colleagues stranded in their vessel in an unfamiliar region of space, they call for help, but find they must rely on each other in the end…whatever end that might be.

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION

Digital drawing. Within a translucent dome, there stand four towers. Three are clustered at center and one stands apart at left. Pipes or conduits branch off into the ground from the base of each tower, just visible below the uneven ground. At bottom right in the distance are structures under the dome that glow under hazy light from a comet that streaks by, its head at left, and its tail grazing the dome.

RAIN OF THE BACTERIOPHAGE

Disaster strikes a mining asteroid, where workers use and study a unique bacteria that helps produce a valuable ore needed for interstellar travel.

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION

Digital drawing. Six figures gathered around a large pot at bottom center. From left to right, a young man with a dark beard, long hair, and one arm, holding a wand directed at the pot, and smiling to his left; a small humanoid figure floating in a space suit with gauzy butterfly wings, pouring a shaker of salt down into the pot; a humanoid figure with tapered ears, one bearing three rings, gaping down at the pot; a small blue ball with three long limbs visible, and large round eyes, holding a chunk of food over the pot; a dragon with a toad-like face, half the height of the tallest figures, with one clawed hand on the tabletop in front of some mushrooms; and another dragon, as tall as the tallest figures, seen from the left side, holding a package in the left arm. The young man is a wizard and the humanoid man is an elf. They both wear chef’s hats in different colors. The elf wears an apron. On the tabletop is a canister, a polygonal box, a bag spilling some beans, some spiral-shaped objects and mushrooms. The young man and the tall dragon are smiling. Blue foam drips over the edge of the pot in two places. A wispy sparkly cloud streams out of the wand and around the pot.

FIVE FRIENDS OF THE FEAST COOK

Hounded by a saboteur, one humble cook struggles to ensure that his dish is not used to ruin a new and delicate peace being celebrated at a grand feast.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

A GIFT FROM THE GAS GIANT

Two sisters traverse oceans of plasma and vapor on a nearby gas giant, seeking treasure, so they can get the perfect solstice gift for their dad.

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION

Digital drawing. At center, a girl facing forward with a book open in front of her so that her face is only visible from eyes up. Her arms rest on a surface, hands gripping the bottom of the book. The book’s cover bears several stickers: a coiled snake, a couple of frogs, stars, lightning bolts, a fairy, a cat, a rainbow between clouds, puddles of slime, and circular emotion faces. A few of the stickers appear empty, with the subject missing, and only the white backing remaining. Close to these empty stickers are the missing subjects. A puddle of slime lying behind the book at the girl’s left hand. A small tyrannosaur standing on her left arm, and spider-like legs gripping the top corner of the book.

THE STICKERS ARE LEGION

A little girl brings her stickers to life with a magic word, but when mayhem follows, her aunt and brother must help her find a way to reverse the magic.

GENRE: FANTASY

Digital drawing. A left hand, at bottom, holding five cards of a tarot deck, fanned out. The card at right is mostly visibly with the thumb covering the bottom left corner. That card bears an image of a young man from waist up, facing left, three-quarters view, with his hands in his pockets. Behind him at his shoulders is the symbolic depiction of an eye with straight rays of banded color emanating from above it and curved rays below. The word “fool” is visible at the card’s bottom. From right to left, the next card is half visible, half of a long-haired person from waist-up with right hand held loosely clawed, palm facing right. Next, a bird perched on a gloved hand. Then a partial view of a crown on a head of bright wavy hair. The last card, half visible depicts a stone tower covered in vines, studded with flowers, with bunches of flowers at the base of the tower. Letters, but no complete words, are partly visible at the bottoms of the other cards.

THE FOOL WITH THE CLEVER EYES

Freddie’s ability to solve complex puzzles by seeing what other people don’t see attracts the attention of a puzzle-maker at a powerful company.

GENRE: FANTASY

Digital drawing. Top center, a face seen from nose to chin with mouth wide open. Two small rocks tumble from the bottom lip. Larger rocks and stones hang below the chin, scattering out. Amid the rocks float feathers of different colors. Three wasps hover among the stones and feathers.

THE DAY THAT WORDS TRANSFORMED

A man discovers that all his words are turning to stones that choke or rocks that rip his throat, and his only hope for rescue is a timid boy.

GENRE: FANTASY

Digital painting. Perched on a branch that extends horizontally at the bottom is an earthworm in front of a gecko in front of a crow. The worm has raised the upper half of the body, rearing like a snake. The leaf-tailed gecko, seen from left side, has coloring and pattern that matches the tree branch. The crow’s head is turned to the right. Behind them is a wall of stone. Bright mist lays beneath the branch.

VAULT OF THE FORTUNATE HEIR

A prosperous beast dies, leaving behind a vast fortune locked behind a stone vault that can only be opened by a magical utterance.

GENRE: FABLE

Digital painting. An island in the shape of a crab facing forward, legs dangling below the surface of tropical waters. The body appears to be made of rock. A canopy of trees appears on top of the crab’s head (or the island’s surface). At upper left are dark gray clouds. At right are white clouds and rays of light shining down into the water. On the crab’s underside is a sparkling red-orange glow. At right on the water’s surface is the silhouette of a boat.

ISLE OF THE IMMORTAL CRAB

Treasure hunters seeking a legendary jewel on a forbidding isle take along a girl who has visions and a man who escaped the isle and swore never to return.

GENRE: MYTHOLOGY

Digital drawing. A bull facing forward and seen from an angle on the left side. The bull has a black pelt, red eyes, glowing blue horns, and a slightly parted mouth. Shaggy hair falls down the bull’s ears and forehead. The bull stands on fog-covered grassy ground. Behind is the surface of a body of water. Above is a night sky glowing with moonlight from upper right.

GLORMADARCK

A strange calf with a strange power is born to an ordinary cow, and is cared for by a keeper who envisions an ordinary use for that power.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

THE TEN TERRIBLE HEADS OF SHI XIN NIAO

Ten terrified youths are abducted by a bird with ten terrible heads, who plans for them a doom worse than death.

GENRE: MYTHOLOGY

Digital drawing. A cat seen from right side at an angle, sitting upon a rock in the midst of waters. The cat appears like a cougar, but with green thorny ridges along the back and tail. The tail is long, and loops of it emerge from and descend into the water. The cat’s glowing green eyes look forward. Clouds hang in the overcast sky above.

THE lake of the nightmare cat

Three brave rats embark on a voyage across a vast lake that is rumored to be haunted by a monstrous cat..

GENRE: FABLE

Digital drawing. A creature who appears to be half human and half wolf with dark fur and red eyes crouches upon the foggy ground, right leg bent behind and left leg propped in front, facing forward, mouth open, arms resting upon legs.

THE WOLF AND HIS CIRCLE OF SISTERS

When a child is born cursed, his family tries every remedy they can find, but one of his siblings believes the answer lies within the curse itself.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

Digital drawing. A sprite, a humanoid person with butterfly wings and pointed ears, seen from waist up with arms crossed, turned to the left, wings partly extended to the right, facing forward, and smirking. Swirling above the sprite’s head are the faint glowing forms of five pairs of butterfly wings.

THE SWINDLER AND THE SPRITES

When a young man stumbles upon five tiny people scrambling over the body of an old man wearing an ugly sweater, his mind begins to spin a scheme.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

Digital drawing. At center, a pomegranate fruit, sliced open to reveal clusters of seeds within, large clusters of bright red seeds and smaller clusters of dark red seeds. The pomegranate is being held up by a hand emerging from the bottom. The hand’s colors match the seeds. In the background aligning with the portion of arm and wrist and expanding up and to the sides are bright branching shapes and leafy shapes, all shaded green. Scattered among the branches are the faint shapes of whole pomegranate fruits.

THE BLACK POMEGRANATE SEEDS

An inventor finds a way for a human to spawn a multitude of progeny at once, and soon realizes that she must stop her own monstrous invention.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

Digital drawing. A split screen image of a man sitting behind a plain tabletop looking down at a plate of food. His forearms lie on the table with hands resting beside the plate. On the left side, the man’s mouth is open with teeth clenched. One brow is raised, the other pinched. His eyes are narrowed. On the plate are cauliflower florets. On the right side, the man’s mouth is open in a wide smile. His brows are raised and eyes more open. On the plate is a lava cake with chocolate “lava” spilling from an open side. Peeking behind the cake is a scoop of coffee-colored ice cream.

THE CAULIFLOWER CAKE FAKER

An inventor creates a device intended to help people with a sweet tooth eat their vegetables, but the prototype has an unintended effect.

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION

Digital drawing. A woman looking down at three mugs in foreground sitting on a surface. From left to right, a cup-shaped mug with the image of a winged teddy bear waving an arm, a skull-and-crossbones on a tall mug with a handle made of bones, and a typical mug with cartoon question marks all over. The woman is see from chest up, face in three-quarters view with left brow drawn in, right brow arched up, and right hand perched up above the mugs.

MYSTERY OF THE MURDEROUS MUG

When a woman meets her fiancé’s family, she plays a board game to get acquainted, but things get serious when the family’s lawyer drops dead.

GENRE: MYSTERY

Digital drawing. Three women with identical features seen from waist up looking forward. From left to right. A woman with arms crossed, smiling and with her hair in a high pony tail. A woman with shoulder-length hair styled in waves, wearing a pinstripe suit. A woman with loose shoulder-length hair with her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker. Behind them, tilted is a the hazy outline of their image with the faces of the two women at right and middle blurred out.

the case of the absent triplet

One triplet is drawn into a mystery involving her sisters after one of them almost kills a man and one of them seems to go missing.

GENRE: MYSTERY

Digital drawing. A woman with blue hair, blue shirt and vest, and blue boots, crouches down with her hands braced on the ground. She looks down at the hazy translucent human figure lying on the floor in front of her. Radiant lines emanate up from the figure on the floor in the same hue as the floor and the wall.

the STRANGE RADIANT DEATH

A psychic with a specialty for reading auras and energies meets with a once-skeptical client who just wants answers about her husband’s recent death.

GENRE: MYSTERY

Digital drawing. A stone statue of a snake curled around a succulent plant. The plant appears a slightly different color. The snake’s eyes seem made of blue glass. Along the edge of one leaf at top right are tiny buds interspersed with thorns or spines. The statue sites on an open notebook. At bottom right, writing is visible, partly covered by the statue. At top and partly obscured by the statue are typewritten words. Visible whole words read: “Base of statue: Scratches may suggest a pattern. Pattern of…Main…See Valdez…reference…Local.”

the SERPENT AND THE SUCCULENT

An eager young student of mythology and archaeology makes a significant discovery about a minor artifact.

GENRE: MYSTERIOUS MYTH

Digital drawing. An archway at center with rough toothy edges, leading to a dirt road flanked by a barren landscape with gray clouds hanging in the sky. On either side of the archway are tall shelving units partly visible, containing various items, including handbags, boxes, high-heeled shoes, and a case. At bottom left the top of a stool on which lies a cell phone.

the RED PATH TO THE GRAY CABIN

A woman helping her anxious friend through a work-related crisis, discovers something unexpected in the big boss’s closet…a doorway to a deserted dirt road.

GENRE: FANTASTIC MYSTERY

NIKOLA AND THE TWO CROWS

A young man walking through a wood meets a captivating bird then a captivating woman, but neither are what they appear to be.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

Image description: Digital drawing. A figure at center in a long cloak stands in an open field with a dark wood behind. The image is bordered with leaves in various shades of green. The figure looks off to the right of image, with left arm across and right arm just visible holding one edge of the cloak. A braid hangs from her right shoulder. A crown sits on her head. She has blade-like wings extending from her back. Her face is human, but her ears are wolf-like, and a cat’s tail emerges from one side of the cloak. At right, within a glowing spot, a smiling face is visible. At bottom, a butterfly sits on one leaf, and a lizard clings to another. Both are green and blend in with the leaves.

THE TRANSMUTING TAPESTRY

When a woman brings home a small tattered tapestry from a flea market and treats it with care, the tapestry begins to respond.

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

Digital drawing. A humanoid figure covered in short fur with large eyes, long tapering ears, and butterfly-like wings lies in a crawling position atop a control panel. Printed along the top corner of the panel is “M.A.C.S. 47.” A dial and a few switches are visible at the front of the panel.

THE MAXIMAL PIXIE

When a series of escalating pranks on a remote space station results in someone getting hurt, the acting administrator investigates and hopes the culprit is not a pixie.

GENRE: SPACE FAIRY TALE

Digital drawing. Top half of three humanoid figures. The middle figure is an ogre woman. She has pointed ears and two bottom canine-like teeth protruding past her lips. Her arms are crossed, body facing right, face forward. Flanking her are identical guards wearing sashes and holding a scabbard in their left hands. Their forms appear to be dissipating at the margins of the image.

THE PARASITIC FAIRY WORM

Two neighboring towns. One human. One fairy. Living peaceably with each other. But something had gone wrong. And it started with a papercut…

GENRE: MEDICAL FAIRY TALE

Digital painting. A glowing ghostly humanoid figure hovers at right above and in front of green hills covered in flowers. His cloak is flared and wings spread. His head is facing left, but he is looking forward with glittering eyes. Above the hills is a blue sky with scattered clouds.

THE GHOST OF THE FAIRY PRINCE

If fairies don’t have souls, then what happens to them when they die?

GENRE: FAIRY TALE

NO KINGS AMONG RATS

A rat named Hatcher has hatched a plan that might save his king and colony, and might doom his own life.

GENRE: MYTH & FABLE

Digital drawing. A man seen from waist up, facing forward, with hands on hips, a crooked smile, and eyes closed. He wears a pigeon costume. The pigeon head lies over his head, with his full face showing. His arms look like pigeon legs, with the feet forming cuffs around his wrists. At his waist is a band of overlapping feathers, and on his back are two large folded wings.

THE PLENTIFUL POWERS OF PIGEONS

The origin of a conventioneer’s costume is a myth that reveals the many skills and talents of the humble pigeon.

GENRE: MYTHOLOGY

Digital drawing. A bird-like creature perched on a tree branch. The body faces left, the head is turned to look forward. The bird has two large rodent-like ears, rodent-like legs, two antennae emerging from the head above the eyes, a large wide beak like that of a shoebill stork, and segments of fur along the chest. Large feathers drape over the bird’s back. Part of the tree is visible at right with one branch arcing over the bird.

THE STORK THAT DRANK THE STARS

A girl puts together an event that everyone thinks is a stunt to break a record, even though she told them it’s a ritual to summon a vast mythic creature.

GENRE: MYTHOLOGY

Digital drawing. The top part of a table in a tavern set before a window. An empty chair sits at left. Portions of the stone wall are visible. At left, a sword is hung up on the wall, the blade partly obscured by the chair. A mask of tragedy is hung before the pommel. The mask has a single tear falling from the left eye. A thorny vine is wrapped around the blade. On the table from left to right sit a plate holding a bowl with a spoon beside a bread roll, a tankard, a lit candle in a holder, and a stein with steam rising from the top. Dark clouds are visible through the diagonal grids of the window.

THORN, SWORD, AND TEARDROP

A stranger in a quiet corner of a tavern is asked to share a story, and tells a tale of a thorn that kills, a sword that heals, and a teardrop that never fell.

GENRE: MYTHOLOGY

Digital drawing. Several figures arrayed in a rocky and cratered environment. Seven of the figures are humanoids with legs and a round head with round dark eyes, but no arms. One of these figures sits on a throne-like chair at center, and has crown-like markings on the head. Flanking the chair are a tall red robot and a creature that looks like a carrot with a feather on the top of the head, metallic barrels for the body, and human legs. Four screens display images. Two hang from above. Two below. Clockwise from top left, they display: a portion of Earth’s moon with the words “People of Earth…” written above; a one-eye worm floating in space; a smiling girl tipping her cowboy hat; and a smiling boy holding up a small canister.

ATTACK OF THE PANTALOONS FROM THE MOON

The drama kids at Readerson Middle School put on a play about a cosmic outlaw, a land-dwelling lawman, and a potential threat looming above the Earth.

GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION

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