#macabre realism

[manticore239]

The Yellowing Road

I wish I could say I was as calm as I looked, but I’m not. Beneath the skin-deep poise, a tremor ripples through me—uncontrollable, panicked shaking, the inevitable result of breaking the one rule: “Don’t look down.” But it’s too late. I’ve seen it, and no amount of willing blindness can undo that revelation.

Everyone complains about the irregularities of the road we walk on. Some stub their toes and curse. Others wrinkle their noses at the ever-present stench. People trip and fall, slicing themselves open on jagged edges, their wounds oozing and festering. “It is what it is,” they say. “Don’t complain about what you can’t fix.”

But the road isn’t merely flawed. It was built from desperation and innovation, from the remains of a past too grotesque to face. Its very foundation is a concrete mixture of human remains, ground and reconstituted into something we tread on daily without thought. Beneath my feet, brittle bones crunch like dry leaves. A kicked fragment skitters ahead—not a stray walnut but an amalgam of shattered teeth and plastered dental fillings, clicking off the hollowed skulls of expired strangers.

We all know the truth, deep down. That’s why no one looks. To look down is to risk annihilation of the soul. The road is a graveyard, a monument to everything we’ve consumed to survive. A single glance is enough to rob you of sleep, of sanity, of the will to keep moving. Look long enough, and you’ll crumble under the weight of it, become bedridden, unable to earn your place above the cement. You’ll fall, and soon enough, your body will join the next avenue’s unholy mix.

I see it in the eyes of others when they catch me staring downward, their gazes flickering with recognition and dread. My expression betrays the truth they’ve repressed, shattering their fragile denial. Their fear mirrors mine, though they hide it better—for now. But reality stinks worse than decay, a stench too foul for our senses to endure.

And yet, amid this nightmare, I notice something else. Tiny shoots of green—thin, fragile tendrils forcing their way through cracks in the pavement. They seem impossible, and yet they persist, defying the weight of the road above them. They draw their strength not from denial but from the very horror we refuse to face, reclaiming nourishment from the remnants of what once was.

The others don’t notice, their gazes locked firmly forward or cast to the ground in resignation. But I see them—the first flowers of a truth too powerful to suppress. They whisper to me, their petals trembling in the foul wind: Life endures. Beauty endures. Even here.

A choice lies before me. I can keep walking, pretending not to see, preserving the illusion of stability while cracks spider-web beneath my feet. Or I can kneel—risk breaking the unspoken rules—and nurture the green shoots rising from the ashes. To touch them is to risk everything. But perhaps, in the end, it is the only way to rebuild a road that doesn’t demand our bones.

[the-decay-of-an-angel]

A Witch (1896) by Edgar Bundy

[weirdlookindog]

Ernst Fuchs (1930-2015) - La mort cocue, 1974

[vydia-killa]

Epidermal Macabre

“Indelicate is he who loathes

The aspect of his fleshy clothes, —

The flying fabric stitched on bone,

The vesture of the skeleton,

The garment neither fur nor hair,

The cloak of evil and despair,

The veil long violated by

Caresses of the hand and eye.

Yet such is my unseemliness:

I hate my epidermal dress,

The savage blood's obscenity,

The rags of my anatomy,

And willingly would I dispense

With false accouterments of sense,

To sleep immodestly, a most

Incarnadine and carnal ghost.”

-Theodore Roethke

One of my all time favorite macabre pieces and my favorite poem

[blackstaff-blast]

sincerest apologies to everyone who got spooked by my url change and couldn't figure out who tf was that

anyway here's my header (for now) (it's a work in progress)

prints here

[bodymodificationnation]

By ninistattoos

[miasmapuddle]

nightstalker. wendigo for @notinnoxi 10/2024, original artwork

[onlycringepost]

[redmustd13]

i'm gonna kill you if you don't beat me to it

[xxqiao]

I have so many questions about the supply chain necessary to support this. What is being done with the rest of the body? Were the hands first given to the horses because there was an excess supply for some reason? Is this why we moved away from horse drawn vehicles?

Measuring Horses

[libraryofnika]

⋆˙⊹ Fantasy Spotlight⊹˙⋆

A Dance Macabre & A Deathless Empire Full Review ♥︎

I've been really slow this month because of Love and Deepspace game and, of course, Ao3 😆

Anyway, onto the most important things, a massive thank you for @good.girls.pr for my A Dance Macabre arc and to authors Naomi Loud and Kayla McGrath for the wonderful opportunity to read these captivating fantasy novel ♥︎

My full reviews might contain spoilers and errors or typos, so be warned 🙈

♥︎ A Dance of Macabre (magic realism, dark, enemies to lovers)

Release Date: July 30, 2024 Date Read and Reviewed: August 7, 2024 Ratings: 4⭐️ ౨ৎ THIS NOVEL IS EXACTLY WHAT AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS IS 🤚🏽 Reading this novel reminds me of Gilded Wicked Mirrors in terms of its intriguing notion and the pull it had towards me. The writing is wonderful. It was really captivating for me. I did enjoy how engaging it was, and at the same time, the vibes it gives. Other than that, the plot surrounding the Gods is also an intriguing part of this novel, I definitely hope to see more of them like more of a show than a telling of the Gods here. Despite that, it was still an intriguing read for me. I also enjoyed the corrupt kind of society in the setting. The writing fits it right as well. When the premise said that all characters are morally grey or just downright twisted, I AGREE. THEY WERE INDEED TWISTED. It was another wonderful aspect of reading this novel. The novel had pairs of intriguing characters that I couldn't wait to find out more about in the next book. The pairing, Mercy and Wolfie (for short), their chemistry, was 🤌🏽 IT WAS INDEED AN ENEMIES TO LOVERS. THEY WERE TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER. I definitely love their character dynamics so much. Even their spicy 🌶🌶🌶🌶 scenes were so good 🤌🏽. I don't know, I just enjoyed their characters. Overall, this was a good read. Although there are some parts that I'm 50/50, especially some parts and the execution of the plot, it was still an intriguing and a good read for me probably because I was greatly entertained. I'm definitely excited for the next one 🤚🏽 What to expect📍 ౨ৎ morally grey or twisted characters ౨ৎ intriguing magic system ౨ৎ gods ౨ৎ corrupt society/ setting like ౨ৎ prophecy ౨ৎ enemies to lovers ౨ৎ couple trying to kill each other ౨ৎ betrayals ౨ৎ spicy 🌶🌶🌶🌶(hate sex 🤣) ౨ৎ pet names (my ruin 🤧, your downfall 🤧) Thank you, author, for the e-arc opportunity via Good Girls Pr.

♥︎ A Deathless Empire (fantasy romance, dark)

Release Date: August 6, 2034 Date Read and Reviewed: August 10, 2024 Ratings: 4⭐️ ౨ৎ What to expect📍 ♥︎Assassin FMC ♥︎King MMC ♥︎Queer Characters ♥︎Character bondings ♥︎Interesting characters ♥︎Blades and Poisons ♥︎World-building and interesting magic system ♥︎Adventure, Mythical Creatures, Deities ♥︎Scheming, World Domination ♥︎ Teasing, Flirtation, Spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶 2nd novel from the author— The first one was a romance novel, and that was a good read as well. As for the one, I honestly believe the author's writing was captivating in a fantasy setting. It was just that immersive, and the introduction did really set a good tone for me. The plot was solid, and the whole liberating the world into a better version alongside the scheming, the adventure, and the bride choosing or the gala of the rulers was really interesting for me. The world-building, the mythological creatures thrown along the way, was fascinating as well. The magic system as well was so good that I really wanted to see more of it, especially the plot revolving around the Deities, the Sytgian, and the Patrons towards the end. I'm really excited about it. The characters were really amazing as well. They were written interestingly, and there is also complexity surrounding them, which made them even more intriguing. I also love the found family trope here, their character dynamics- Sarim, Alastair, Valine, Freyja, Malik - I just love them and definitely want to read more of them. There are also more interesting characters along the way, I'm excited about how they will play in the next one after that ending. Noting also the content regarding the same sex marriage, contraceptive medicines– I really appreciate this one. Did I also mention that some of the characters are queer? Because there were queer characters here as well 🫶 I'm still holding for the poly relationship of our main characters here 😆 Anyway, our main pairing, Malik and Queen Valine— it was so good. I couldn't ask for more tbh, of course, other than them liberating the world and becoming Emperor and Empress of this world. I'm not gonna forget about Freyja and Sarim, I wish there were more of them in the book. Also, for Alastair 🤚🏽 Overall, this was a solid first book. There might be some little parts I was 50/50 with, especially the first half of the last 30%. Either way, I really enjoyed this book. Thank you, author, for the e-arc opportunity 🫶.

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[the-decay-of-an-angel]

The Legend of the Monk King (1880) by José María Casado del Alisal

[weirdlookindog]

Ernst Fuchs (1930-2015) - In Erwartung der Auferstehung (Awaiting the Resurrection), 1952

[fixity0l0]

AHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAH

Restarted by playthrough of Oblivion because it’s been three years and I don’t remember wtf I was doing and mostly I just wanted to doodle Martin to practice how to draw his face

[gigivas]

1K GIGI Prompts Collections 'Fantasy Crowned Skull: Surrealist Masterpiece' 5807 Free 10 pages out of 1000 pages

Get Free 10 pages MTMEVE00552G_63_0001 – 1K GIGI Prompts Collections – Fantasy Crowned Skull, Surrealist Masterpiece 5807 10PagesDownload 1K GIGI Prompts Collections ‘Fantasy Crowned Skull: Surrealist Masterpiece’ 5807 series provides two documents, one document is 10 pages of prompts in 1000 pages, available for free download. One document is the complete 1000 pages of prompts, this is a paid…

[xyca]

the light rings,

breaking the silence,

the sun sings,

belting its beams.

while it brings,

only it’s presence,

we need not else