Welcome to Rumors: The Prompt Secrets Game, a single-chain prompt challenge where every image begins as something someone supposedly heard.
This is a visual telephone game, but instead of only passing an image from person to person, we are passing a prompt rumor.
I will start the chain with the first rumor, prompt, and image.
The next person must continue from the last valid entry in the chain by saying something like:
“No, what I heard was…”
Then they create a new prompt and image that keeps a clear connection to the previous entry while changing, twisting, exaggerating, misremembering, or reinterpreting it.
The goal is not to make a random new image.
The goal is to mishear the last prompt beautifully.
By the end, the original idea may be almost unrecognizable, but the trail should still make sense when we look back through the chain.
The rumor can evolve.
The rumor can get weird.
The rumor can grow antlers, discover opera, and open a candle shop on the moon.
But the chain must remain traceable. 🕯️🌙
How It Works
This bounty follows one single chain.
The last valid entry is always where the next person starts.
Not the starter image.
Not your favorite older entry.
Not a random entry from halfway through the bounty.
The newest valid rumor is the current end of the chain, and every new participant must continue from that point.
Each person adds the next rumor by creating a new prompt and image based on the previous official entry.
You may change the subject gradually, shift the mood, alter the style, change the genre, exaggerate details, reinterpret the scene, or transform one element into something new.
But you must keep a tangible connection to the previous entry.
Example Chain
Starter Rumor
Somebody told me:
A porcelain fox sleeping inside a glass lantern in a snowy forest, soft moonlight, magical realism.
Image is posted.
Next Entry
No, what I heard was:
A white fox spirit trapped inside a cracked glass lantern, surrounded by blue fireflies in a winter forest.
Image is posted.
Next Entry
That’s not what I heard. I heard:
A cracked lantern hanging from a frozen tree, releasing a ghostly fox made of blue fireflies.
Image is posted.
That is the spirit of the bounty.
The rumor changes, but it does not snap.
Entry Format
Every entry should include the following:
1. Rumor Line
Start with a rumor-style phrase.
Examples:
No, what I heard was…
That’s not what I heard. I heard…
Somebody told me it was actually…
Wait, the version I heard was…
No, no, the rumor changed. Now it’s…
You do not have to use the exact same wording every time, but your entry should feel like it is continuing a rumor.
2. Prompt Used
Include the prompt you used to create your image.
This is a prompt secrets game, so the prompt must be visible.
3. Connection Note (optional)
Include one short sentence explaining how your entry connects to the previous official entry.
Examples:
Connection: I kept the lighthouse, storm, and glowing lantern, but changed the scene into a ghost story.
Connection: I carried forward the red cloak and forest setting, but turned the character into a statue.
Connection: I kept the dragon silhouette and ruined castle, but shifted the mood from heroic fantasy to horror.
4. Image
Post the image created from your prompt.
Official Rules
1. This Is a Single-Chain Bounty
There is only one official rumor chain.
The latest valid entry becomes the current end of the chain.
Every new entrant must continue from the last valid entry.
2. The Last Valid Entry Is Always the Starting Point
You must build from the newest official entry in the chain.
Older entries are part of the history, but they are not the current starting point unless they are still the most recent valid entry.
The rule is simple:
Follow the last rumor. Twist it, don’t restart it.
3. Tangible Connection Required
Your entry must clearly connect to the previous official entry.
You may carry forward:
A character
A creature
An object
A setting
A color palette
A pose
A mood
A genre
A symbol
A visual motif
A composition idea
A story element
A lighting style
A magical or surreal detail
You do not need to keep everything.
You only need to keep enough that people can understand how the rumor changed.
4. No Total Topic Resets
Completely unrelated entries will not count as valid links in the chain.
For example:
Previous entry:
A knight carrying a candle through a flooded cathedral.
Valid continuation:
A drowned cathedral where ghostly knights carry candles underwater.
Invalid continuation:
A cyberpunk woman eating noodles in Tokyo.
Unless you somehow make a clear connection, that topic is invalid.
Twist the rumor.
Do not restart the rumor.
5. The Rumor Must Evolve
Do not simply copy the previous prompt.
Your entry should change something meaningful.
You can change the mood, setting, subject, style, era, scale, symbolism, composition, or story direction.
The best entries will feel connected, but not identical.
6. Include Your Prompt
Entries without a visible prompt will not be eligible.
This bounty is about prompt mutation, so the prompt is part of the artwork.
7. Include a Connection Note (optional)
A short connection note is optional.
This helps everyone understand how your entry continues the chain and helps keep the bounty from turning into random image soup.
8. Timing and Chain Chaos
Because this is a live single-chain game, some chaos is expected.
The last valid entry in the chain is always the starting point for the next person.
If multiple people post around the same time and there is confusion about which entry is the current official link, Use the last valid image posted.
Once the next official link is established, future entries must continue from that newest valid entry.
If an entry or entries clearly breaks the rules, it may be skipped, and the chain will continue from the last valid entry before it.
9. User Tagging / Friendly Rumor Rule
You may tag other users in your rumor line, using phrases like “@username told me…”, “@username said…”, or “@username wrote me…”.
Keep it friendly and fun. Don’t be a dick.
If you think it would offend the person you are tagging, don’t do it.
Rumor lines should play with the image and prompt, not attack the user.
10. Follow Civitai TOS
All entries must follow Civitai’s Terms of Service.
11. Rating Cap
Maximum rating: R/X - Artistic nudity
No XXX-rated entries.
What Makes a Good Entry?
A strong entry should do three things:
1. Keep the Thread Visible
The previous entry should still be recognizable in some way.
Maybe the castle becomes a cathedral.
Maybe the fox becomes a spirit.
Maybe the broken sword becomes a shrine.
Maybe the red dress becomes a red flag in the background.
It can change, but it should not vanish completely.
2. Add a Fresh Twist
The best entries will move the rumor forward.
Do not just repeat the same image with tiny changes.
Add a new interpretation.
Make the rumor stranger, funnier, darker, more beautiful, more dramatic, more surreal, more cinematic, or more emotionally loaded.
3. Give the Next Person Something to Work With
A great entry does not end the chain.
It adds a juicy detail that the next person can steal, distort, or build on.
A strange object.
A strong silhouette.
A mysterious character.
A symbolic color.
A weird setting.
A clear emotional hook.
Leave a door open for the next rumor . 🗝️
Judging
Winners will be chosen based on my personal preference.
I will be looking for entries that:
Clearly continue from the last valid rumor in the chain
Keep a tangible connection to the previous entry
Mutate the idea in a creative or memorable way
Produce a strong final image
Use an interesting prompt
Add something fun, strange, beautiful, dramatic, or surprising to the chain
This is a creative bounty, so final judging will come down to which entries I personally feel best capture the spirit of the game.
The strongest entries will not simply make a pretty image.
They will help keep the rumor alive.
Prizes
1st Place: 5,000 Buzz
2nd Place: 2,500 Buzz
3rd Place: 1,000 Buzz
Total Prize Pool: 8,500 Buzz
I may give other prizes (no promises).
Allowed Models and Tools
Any and all methods allowed.
The important thing is not the tool.
The important thing is that the rumor continues.
Important Reminder
This is not a normal prompt contest.
This is a chain.
The last rumor matters.
Your job is to take the current rumor, mishear it, bend it, dress it in fog, teach it a questionable accent, and pass it to the next person.
Keep the connection clear.
Keep the image interesting.
Keep the rumor alive.