ElectricDawgy

Challenge accepted in today's Creature Week prompt from DeviantArt. Here we go. Poem is by https://www.deviantart.com/youinventedme.

Brothers and sisters, let me set the scene for a nightmarish creature so foul & obscene

that penning this poem makes me want to scream, but the timing is perfect — for it's Halloween. So, if we must, let's just start at the top of his oversized skull with his unruly mop of so-called hair the no-color of dust on a fissured scalp peeling & leaking out pus. His locks wind 'round horns, they're teeming with germs, and look more like the husks of a million dead worms. You've heard of bats in the belfry? Well, it's not just a phrase; small ones nest in his curls to hide from the sun's rays. One more word on his noggin, for this must be said: it's ten times the girth of a normal-sized head. And if I haven't yet made the case for distaste, let's move to the horror this thing calls a face.

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Skin's the color of pumpkins dying a slow death or a failing sun breathing its very last breath. Brows like hairy slugs perched on orangey dough crown flat yellow eyes peeking out just below. Those beady orbs nestled in pouches and folds of flesh home to all sorts of fungus and molds. I suppose that's a nose next up on the list, but it's rotting & roaches peer out through the slits. Lips: scaly twin creatures all coated in muck, like two lizards who crawled in some mud and got stuck. Yes, his mouth is a marvel of nature's mistakes. He has not one tongue — he has twelve made of snakes. Oh, that slithering nest-hole just can't resist striking at themselves as they writhe and they hiss. And it's best if we speak even less of his teeth, but they're green as the serpents who sleep underneath. Now, we've seen enough here, so we shall begin to speak of the mess under his bulbous chin.

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And what appears next is not what you'd expect, but two giant flaps like his neck... ate his neck. His dermis is saggy, his guts are all stored in a carcass that's shaped like some mutated gourd. Yet he wears tailored suits, expensive and fine that cling to limbs clunky and elephantine. At the end of each arm is a claw like a crab. The horrid appendages pinch and they grab. He keeps them well sharpened and shined to a sheen, but they are so small they can hardly be seen. This would be almost a humorous twist, if only this beast didn't really exist. His mountainous legs suffer from the same flaws, capped off in feet as tiny as his claws. His whole frame reeks of sulfur. He's covered in grime. He leaves a lingering trail of malodorous slime. This journey, I know's been an unpleasant one. Dear reader, hang in there. We are almost done.

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He lives in the depths of an ill-smelling bog, shrouded at all times in a venomous fog. Lit by giant mushrooms with an unearthly glow, a sick, swampy kingdom where twisted things grow. A pestilent monarch, he squats on his throne; sips gallons of blood from a goblet of bone. His subjects are legion, they flock to his side; all manner of ghouls that the heart can't abide. There's a pale hateful zombie, who's bedecked in flies, and humanoid shape that has fanged mouths for eyes. There's a three-headed harpy who screams at the sun and a man-eating frog that weighs nearly a ton. One could spend forever trying to describe the monsters that make up his hideous tribe. But our time draws to a close, my stalwart friends. Lock your doors, say your prayers —for this is THE END.

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Being away from the stress of the daily grind for a little while has rejuvenated my artistic side over the last few weeks. I've enjoyed leisurely pursuits as much as possible during these chaotic times we have found ourselves in. One of them being art.

I want to thank all of you who have given favorites, comments and praise to my newest art pieces, the Scooby-Doo and Courage the Cowardly Dog crossovers and the Rashid and Viewtiful Joe piece that I just uploaded this afternoon.

I am proud of my fanart collection as well as my original creations and sketches. I'm in awe sometimes that I did all of these. I know I have, because these pieces have been born from my hand, and I feel so lucky to be able to create art when I can. I hope I'm not sounding pretentious, but I just can't believe how blessed I have been to be able to share my creations with you for all of these years. I've been on DeviantArt for over a decade now. In 2023, it will be 20 years! Wow! I've recently had the opportunity to also organize my subfolders and gallery a little bit and it makes me so happy to see how far I've come in my style and also how much kind words and favorites have been given to me regarding my works.

I'm extremely grateful that I've been able to create during this time. I've also just been full of gratitude for my good health, that my loved ones are healthy and doing well, and the fact that despite all of the evil that seems to be taking over the world, I have heard about and reading about the kindness and solidarity people are showing not just in the USA, but the world over.

I thank God every day for the little joys that make life worth living. I hope you all are doing the same. I wish you all so much love and good graces. God Bless you all and I wish you a happy week ahead. If you find yourself down, I hope you can find something that makes you happy and know that you are cared for and loved, in different ways that you may not even know exist.

Though I have never served in the armed forces, I have been drawn to the plight and to the honor of our fallen heroes who have sacrificed so much for our freedoms, our liberties and our safety. Words aren't enough for what these men and women have done for us over the course of many decades of service.

Today I went with my folks to the National Cemetery in Santa Fe to honor our three relatives interred there. It was a privilege to visit them and let them know they are not forgotten. I hope if any one of you who has had someone serve in the armed forces and they have long since passed, that you would please visit them and remember them.

I just watched Saving Private Ryan for the third time in my life this afternoon, and it truly is a gem of a film. I have also made donations to two armed forces charities, the USO and the Gary Sinise Foundation on this day.

I wish you all well and hope you and yours are in good health and doing well during this coronavirus era that we are living in right now.