Carcosa - Blog Posts
βΆ πΏππ πΆπππ π΄π ππππππ βΆ
Tentative en clin dβΕil Γ la saison 1 de True Detective, et Γ son monstre de spaghetti aux oreilles vertes :)
I just could your Dreamer stuff and I absolutely love it as a fan of the Carcosa mythos and SCP. My question is, what are some of the differences between Carcosa as and Allagada in this world, as one is very inspired by the other?
I am so happy you like it! I'll try to do my best to answer your question.
When I started the project I knew that I wanted to include both Alagadda and Carcosa, despite their strong similarities (I just had to paint them both, their aesthetic is just so perfect), so I ended up making some... bold choices in the matter of worldbuilding.
Carcosa exists as the lost city from the "King in Yellow". Once a thriving metropolis ruled by the sister-queens known as Cassilda and Camilla, now it's the place where Hastur lies dead-dreaming like the other Great Old Ones.
Alagadda has no direct ties to the Great Old Ones, nor with the Outer Gods, though it still is part of the Dream of Azathoth (or rather its equivalent in this story). It is an inversion of Carcosa in many ways, its mirror image. Alagadda was created (I think I borrowed the idea from Theology of a Snake, by Sunnyclockwork) when a man tried to reach apotheosis under the guidance of a mysterious entity, but was tricked and failed, becoming a negation of godhood, a "god-shaped hole". Everyone else paid the price, of course. Through this failure and from the binding of this Anti-god, Alagadda became what it is now, the city of Alchemists. Alagadda is to Carcosa something like what antimatter is to matter. The Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods cannot enter its dimension because it would mean mutual destruction.
One of the main themes of this project is the struggle between the overwhelming forces of the universe and the desire of mortals to become their own gods in order to free themselves. Carcosa and Alagadda in a way represent a worst case scenario for both sides.
Carcosa is now mainly uninhabited. Only the servants of the King in Yellow, and what remains of the fallen dreamers the King snatched from the Dreamlands remain (there is a reason why the Great Old Ones are kidnapping dreamers, I swear). It is visited still, by madmen and artists, that chase it in their dreams. Most of those who reach it never leave. Those who manage to return are broken. Mortals were never made for godhood.
Alagadda is as we see it in the SCP article by Metaphysician, but there are some changes that I had to make for the sake of the story, for example when the Dreamer first arrives at Alagadda, the Black Lord hasn't been banished yet. I and @amyma-ymamy also made up quite a lot of random lore to try and pull off some Alagaddan politics (because politics is fun).
I hope this makes some kind of sense, because the whole thing is still a work in progress.
(Also apologies for any spelling mistakes or weird syntax, English is not my first language.)
It has been a year an a half since I began painting digitally. Before I only worked with traditional media, mainly oil and watercolor, but between med school and moving to another city for studying, traditional painting became a little impractical. The first picture is my first finished digital painting (done on IbisPaint, on a stylus-less samsung tablet) and the second one is one of the paintings I am more proud of ( on infinite painter, on a samsung tablet with s-pen).
I do miss painting with traditional media but shifting to digital allowed me to grow a lot and keep painting in the scraps of time, which is GREAT. I also improved a lot beacuse I felt freer to experiment without the fear of ruining a piece forerver ( God bless the undo button, my saint and patron).
In case you are wondering, the first picture represents Sunspear, the seat of house Martell. I kinda love the concept and as soon as I have the time I wil probably paint in again. The second one, of course, is Carcosa from "The King in Yellow", reimagined for my "Tales of the Dreamer" project.
The empty shells of fallen Dreamers, those caught by the servants of the King in Yellow, tormented and used for horrible experiments still wander the lost city, always seeking for what they lost.
The Dreamer finds herself in Lost Carcosa, and is saved by a cat of Ulthar.
@amyma-ymamy
The true impossibile nature of Carcosa as glimpsed by the Dreamer in her visions, as she wanders the lost city.
Work in progress (these are just the backgrounds) for my project with @amyma-ymamy .
The Dreamer finds herself in Carcosa, and is saved by a Cat of Ulthar.
Work in progress that is taking me way too long, for my pet project with @amyma-ymamy.
Along the shore the cloud waves break,
The twin suns sink behind the lake,
The shadows lengthen
In Carcosa.
Strange is the night where black stars rise,
And strange moons circle through the skies,
But stranger still is
Lost Carcosa.
Songs that the Hyades shall sing,
Where flap the tatters of the King,
Must die unheard in
Dim Carcosa.
Song of my soul, my voice is dead,
Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed
Shall dry and die in
Lost Carcosa.
β"Cassilda's Song" inΒ The King in YellowΒ Act 1, Scene 2
It may be that I saw the Yellow Sign, but... this is the first of a series of paintings for a project I am working on with @amyma-ymamy. Hope you like it, it is the first city I paint.
As usual, I know nothing.