Pink or Black? Which do you like?

I know it wouldn't make a lot of sense, but I'm curious. How would you interpret a hypothetical crossover between Alice in Wonderland and Sherlock Holmes?

Oooh interesting!

Ok so, if Alice in Wonderland takes place in 1865 and Alice is 7, she'd be born in 1858, making her 4 years younger than Holmes, born in 1854.

(Conceding that the Alice in the story is a separate entity, then Alice Liddell, her real world inspiration, and so could have a different birth date)

So they're very much contemporaries, so a crossover is definitely possible without even much work.

Now, for the purposes of plot, when is the most interesting point for when could this crossover be taking place?

When they're both adults? So when he's already a consulting detective, and perhaps some sort of weirdness is going down around the old grounds of Alice's home where these portals to Wonderland and the Chesslands seem to be. Perhaps she disapeers back into them as an adult and he's hired by her family to try and figure out what's happened?

Or, maybe they knew eachother as children somehow? Alice Liddell was the daughter of a college dean, her counterpart could well be the same (given that the layouts of their homes are supposed to be described similarly one could make a case for a parallel)

So perhaps he crossed her path well at school and had some sort of strange childhood adventure that he later tried to rationalize, but still haunts him to this day?

I think whatever I'd do I'd like to leave the conclusion open as to wether the Dreamworlds of Alice are just that, dreams--or something greater going on. Let Holmes give a rationalish explanation if he can, but leave enough room for, "yes, but what if..."

To start of 2024 I made a new Portrait of my OC Sasha! I changed her Design a bit and made her look a bit more sinister...since she is actually kind of a bitch. xD If you have any questions about her, feel free to ask! ^^

🩸Beta Reader Call for A Chant For Blood🩸

Would appreciate a boost if you can 👉👈 Huzzah!!! I have finally finished editing A Chant For Blood(for now). I am now officially looking for beta readers. I don't mind if you don't have any experience, just looking for readers and writers who enjoy fantasy and gothic horror ^^ all I ask is that you're 18+ and to read the content warnings.

Some info about the story:

🫀Title of Story: A Chant for Blood (The Helminth Mother Book 1)

🖤Word Count: 116k(will probably not send it all at once, as I know 116k can be overwhelming to some.)

🫀Genre: High Victorian Fantasy, Gothic Horror

🖤CW: Blood, violence, gore, mentions of fantasy racism, worms, body horror, disembodied voices, brief mentions of sexual content, manipulative characters, decaying corpses, mild profanity.

🫀This story also contains: Queer characters, eldritch beings, religious motives, a victorian-fantasy world, knight-lady character, blood-drinking character, magic, non-human characters, main character with mysterious heritage, ancient haunted temples, otherworldly portals, and many, many, worms 🪱

🖤Synopsis: Karliah Helisende doesn’t know how to feel about her current status in life. The highest ranking soldier in the country of Ostrein, and she can’t command a single army. On a particular rainy morning, her superiors give her a strange task; find the man who is killing citizens and leaving their bodies on the streets. She eventually finds the elusive creature, whose name she learns is Yorick Gwynplaine, but at the same time learns that he is just one of many people and monsters that spawned from mysterious portals that have been appearing all over the world. They both decide to work as a team; Karliah will find a way to take him back to his own world, and Yorick will keep his blood-thirsty hunger under control.

Karliah had assumed these tasks would be easy, if not for the Sanctum haunting her every step. An ancient temple resting in the Bauknan Mountains, she has known of it’s foreboding presence ever since she arrived to the gas-lit streets of Isarnan. It whispers indecipherable and enigmatic secrets in her ear, and only grows by the day. It’s sickness infects her very being and soon, affects her decisions. The people around notice her growing darkness, but fail to stop her as she digs her own grave. As the Sanctum’s incoherent whispers become intelligent mutterings, she pushes herself to finish the task that was set before her from the very beginning, no matter how many people she has to push away.

🫀Feedback I'm looking for: Anything about the story! I've only ever shown this to a few people before, so I want to know what parts are weak and what parts are strong. If there are any major grammar problems, I would like to know, although I think I have gotten most of them by now. I would like to know how the character's relationships work, and how certain plot points left you feeling. Also, how obvious some of the plot twists are because I feel like some are sort of..in your face. I will be setting up feedback questionnaires soon, so they will be ready for when you finish!

Check the #a chant for blood tag for excerpts and info if you want to see more before signing up!

Here is the google form to fill out. Your email will not be collected, and if you have any questions or need clarifcation don't be afraid to dm me or leave a comment ^^ Google Form link

My favorite diseased people. They grew so MUCH since i first created them and they are my comfort characters(tail to tail with my favorite couple Lake and Paul<3 i miss yall).

I first created Gallahad(the bowl cut twink) in may of last year in the character creator of ds3, bcs i loved Micolash(from BB) so much i wanted my own sick evil litle man to bully. So I threw him in Lotric with la Décharge(another oc of mine) and it was very funny.

In september i made a weird dream I drew here , where I meet Gallahad near my art school and we were both like " :emoji eye: :emoji eye: I created you..." so we started a chase in the streets at night and we did weird things. And so I loved the idea of Gallahad meeting his creator/creation as an actual piece of his story. So in september I finally create a design for Bediveré(named as such by the great JAVAR, Suczalka on instagram) and now hell begins. AHAHAHAHAHAH

With the help of friends, shitposts, dreams, songs and some book I've consumed I crafted their story and it still keeps biggering everyday. Their story is a tragedy, a dramatic one, ridiculous but also a dive into the human condition, the industrialisation, art and death. Id lie if I say there is no message I want to convey through them, but the message is so very linked with an unique biased vision that it can not be taken as a verité. So there is no message for you, only for me to enjoy and fangirl over.

(art by Bug )

Oh and, because it breaks my brain that I randomly found these; face claims idk whatever but OUGH them in real life(yes i WILL redraw the scenes from Dream in the witch house from Guillermo del Toro with bev I WILL(bcs i telling you, this movie is insane, everything is so Bev, EVEN THE COLOR CHOICE, when I first saw it i and Swampzik shat our pants on how ACCURATE EVERYTHING WAS))

Sorry for the gigantic post but it feels good to write a LOT about them without text restriction

<3

I wrote a thing.

 Holofernes Hollow

Prologue

The embers looked like fireflies, pouring out of the skeleton of the horticultural shop.

With his glasses crushed to dust somewhere inside and the new, aching black gulf on the right side of his vision, he could almost pretend that he was watching a theatrical lightshow. Any moment now, dancers would leap out with their faces made ethereal by golden masks and start leading the Midwinter Prayer.

But the stink of smoke digging into his skin and the heat of the flames baking the blood onto his cheek made the desire impossible to keep hold of. The roaring of the inferno echoed in his ears, drowning out the gathering crowd and ringing bells of the fire guild’s carriage.

At that moment, his knees buckled and the roof fell in.

He landed heavily, painfully, on the cobblestones, sparks showering his clothes. Distantly, he could feel them start to smolder through the thin cloth but lifting even a finger to stop it was unthinkable. Gravity had sunk its claws in and he couldn’t move, couldn’t remember how his aching muscles worked.

It was shockingly cold.

How could it be cold? He was burning. This close, he could see the tiny fires.

And suddenly he was on his feet, voices cracking by his head, hands slapping at his body. He cried out, just once, as somebody tightened a blanket around him. It itched and smelt so strongly of horses and burnt hair that he gagged on it.

No, the sheet smelt of horses. He smelt of burning.

Arms wrapped about his waist, around his chest, fingers bruising in his armpits, turning him firmly away from the blaze devouring the building. He sagged, but he wasn’t allowed to fall again, being half-carried and half-dragged further into the cold.

“Someone get a doctor!”

“We’re gonna need an apothecary too. The burns –“

“Are you an idiot? He is the apothecary!”

Nausea battered his guts, shivers wracking his body.

“Has anyone seen his old man? Is he still inside?”

The world spun around him, the sky and ground trapped in a bewildering dance. Da. Had he been there? He couldn’t remember. He couldn’t remember.

“His eye, oh my Lady, look at his eye!”

“Flastaff’s Night! How in the world –“

“Make way, make way, please. I need something to stop the bleeding…”

With almost polite disinterest, he watched as the tendrils of blackness stole across his vision, robbing the voices of the crowd and the bellow of the flames.

But even over the ringing of his ears, in those last seconds of consciousness, he was sure he could still hear Arland’s terrible, mocking laughter.

BM

random list of food ideas for Runner Owen

Because my priorities are in order.

Warm dark cocoa, spicy and sweet. The drink glitters under the lights.

Potatoes boiled in their jackets with some kind of dark meat - a luxury mixed with the most basic of cheap foods.

A long simmering stew, with white streaked pumpkins and deep purple carrots and chunks of apples in a golden tinted broth

A basic broth of vegetable stock and barley bread

A loaf of homemade bread with a crude sword design on top - a rough imitation of fancier foods served on a special holiday

Sweet white frosting on a fruit-stuffed, deep red sweetling bread roll

Sharp fresh saltwater kale, quickly boiled and drowned in a melted butter sauce

Slices of a potato and ground almond baked pudding, pan fried and served with sweet-sharp lemon

Open face sandwich with sliced sweet Nonesuch apples and melted yellow cheese, drizzled with honey

Baked apple dumplings and candied flower petals with cream

Sweet cream soup with brandy soaked dried fruit and toothsome barley

Double fried sandwiches with soft meat filling

Eliza will look at her twin brother who deeply dislikes her and knows enough of her secrets to get her sent to prison for a very long time and think 'here is a man I want to drive to the edge of sanity, for fun'

Doodles of Jonathan 🖤🩷🥰

Poppy, Rose, and Jam for the world building ask game? 👀

Thank you so much for the Ask, @dreaminggoblin!!! I'll answer this one for my WIP Enchanted Illusions (my Victorian-inspired dark fantasy).

(The Ask Game)

POPPY - What historical event does every student learn about?

I guess that in Ansburke (the main fictional capital city where most of the conflict in Enchanted Illusions takes place) the most important historical event that still haunts the inhabitants of the city (and which caused scars that still affect their society, whether they like it or not) is the centuries-old war between humans and Myths (non-human people, such as vampires, gorgons, faeries, etc), which came to a stop only a 100 years or so before the main book, with a peace treaty that gave start to the "peaceful" coexistence between humans and Myths in the main cities, an event often referred to as The Dawn - even though the truth is much darker, and some humans haven't accepted peace and want the war to start again from the inside out of the city, this being the main conflict of the book the protagonists need to prevent.

ROSE - What is the most known myth?

There are many legends and stories from both sides - both humans and myths - many of which tell the tale of the time before there was peace between humans and creatures. One of the most well-known myths is the tale of a forbidden romance between a human prince and a Myth commoner at the height of the war, centuries ago, and the tragic fate that their love ended in - though slightly hopeful, with their half-human, half-myth child being often seen as the proof humans and creatures could create a brighter future together. To some, that is a cautionary tale of what their society can do to innocent people, to others, a story about finding hope even in the darkest times.

There are also many different versions of how the current peace treaty came to be - some believe one version, others another. Most people have a hopeful or neutral interpretation of that story. However, some of the most belligerent humans say that the peace treaty is a farse, justification for their prejudice.

JAM - Share your favorite piece of worldbuilding information!

Hum... That's a tough one! I like a lot of things about the little world I created for Enchanted Illusions, from the aesthetics, the masquerades, and the different nooks and crannies of a city so full of secrets, lies, and intrigue. From the workings of the cruel Hemlock Society to the grim cobblestone streets of the lower alleys and the social web of the city's inhabitants, there's a lot to discover in this WIPs world. I also like giving my own spin to common mythological creatures, which are the basis for the Myth people in this book!

However, I guess one of my favorite details of this world is the Sorcerer Council, which is the "magical elite" of Ansburke. It's my favorite for a couple of reasons: I love writing political intrigue, especially if it involves the hypocrisies and secrets often associated with high society. The Sorcerer High Council, often known simply as High Council or just the Council, mixes all of that political intrigue and secrecy with the workings of magical hierarchy and spell-casting orders of the city, giving it a whole other layer. It has very strict rules, and its members are expected to be exemplary individuals worthy of representing the magical order they hail from. While, in theory, the Council exists to ensure the safety and common good of the people of Ansburke, some of its members - those with friends in even higher places and a lot of dangerous influence in the city's underworld - have grown complacent and often care more about money than the lives they're supposed to use their talents to protect. A once fair system - when it came to choosing the most talented apprentice from each magical domain/academy - has given way to a cutthroat competition where candidates are often chosen out of nepotism or convenience, rather than raw talent. It parallels some of the core issues with the very city of Ansburke and heavily represents some of the themes this story discusses/criticizes.

Not all of the members of the Council are bad, there are some really good people there who genuinely want to help the city thrive - but they are vastly outnumbered by the others who are more powerful and who are there only to deal with politics/gain money. Those who try to stand in the way of that corrupted side of the Council usually become either expelled from it, "eliminated" (let's just say some Council members made others conveniently disappear), or silenced in some other way. That's why Damien Daemitya chose a silent approach to his dealing with the other Council members - he wants to make a change but realized that if he doesn't pretend to play along with their game, he'll just become another casualty, and that would do no good to the city he wants to protect (that and the fact he wants to shelter his daughter from all of this mess).

I guess I just love writing complicated, often "not what it seems" organizations with dark secrets hidden beneath a gilded facade. It is also the origin of some of the subplots and other main conflicts in the story, so I have a lot of fun developing this aspect of Ansburke! (:

Another OC of mine. ^^ He is quite the stoic dude, my tentacle man. xD Why he has no shirt in any of these?...Idk, you tell me. >U< He has some older Versions as well, but I thought posting the newest and shiniest one would be best. Some short info on him:

Naomh is 36 years old, a widower and part of a criminal organisation.

His wife died 8 years ago.

The tenatcles growing on his neck are a mutation.

As for his scars...long story short, he basically showed up to a knive fight with his bare hands.

He smokes cigarillos, his wifes favorite brand.

If you would like to know more about him, feel free to ask. ^^

Half a Soul ✂️♥️ by Olivia Atwater

Moodboards for the MCs of A Chant for Blood(Victorian fantasy/adventure)

Karliah Johanna Helisende

Grand Marshal of The Ostreinen Army, Virago of Carnikau, Beaudurine of the Compeer's Tourney, and Champion of Proeldore. A pious woman, she is both ambitious in her career as a soldier and her religion as a follower of Incarna. In her 20 years as a soldier, she has collected many ranks and titles and gained the respect of her fellow comrades. Ever since she was a young child, she has been haunted by the ancient temple that sits upon the Bauknan Mountains, it's red eye whispering dark, incomprehensible things to her. Despite this, it did not stop her from achieving her dreams and goals of helping to defend her country. After becoming the Grand Marshal, she thought she reached the highest point in her life, that she could achieve anything greater than what she already has, until strange unknown portals start spawning dangerous creatures in her beloved city, and a blood-drinking man strikes a risky bargain with her...

She is queer, in some way. Just haven't decided, and I might never decide, lol.

Yorick Gwynplaine

A strange, elusive mystery even among the humans that raised him on his own world, a future earth that has been reduced to a desolate wasteland. Some believe he comes from another world completely unlike this one, others believe he was a lab experiment made by some freak scientists somewhere out west. He has gone by many names in his life, included but not limited to Ratfink, Labrat, and lounge lizard. He takes it all in stride, living off the attention he received from his strange appearance. Bright blue bovine eyes, a metallic tail, and sharp yellow teeth. He has taken many jobs in his life, including a bar tender, cabaret dancer, body guard, and a mercenary, the latter being most necessary to survive with his...diet. The blood of humans(among other things) is the only thing that sustains his ever-present hunger, and it has also earned him a certain reputation among the criminals and delinquents of the human underworld. Just when he thinks his life is going nowhere, he flees through a strange portal and enters a world unlike his own, and meets an alluring woman he can't turn away from...

Yorick is bisexual! Also, you get a gold star if you can guess where his last name is from.

Will probably make moodboards for other characters in the future. Lemme know if you have any questions <3

No moon and worm meat.

Steampunk

A small steampunk collection from a couple of years ago. Created with photographed bits and bobs and then composed and edited in photoshop.