Gooday everyone,
Welcome to the Deacon Corner. If you’re new here, this space dives into the inspirations behind the images you’ll find throughout the books on these pages. What began as a place to share commission breakdowns has grown into something more. In addition to detailing how each piece came to life, you’ll now find expanded chapter notes, lore entries, and my own black-and-white concept illustrations which are raw glimpses into the ideas that shaped this world before they fully took form.
Before we begin, it’s important to say that none of the beautiful stylized images found in the hard and soft copies of these books would exist without the incredible talent of Sickjoe who is quite literally the heart and soul of this visual world. If you appreciate his work as much as I do, I highly encourage you to visit his gallery and explore more of his creations.
Now, without further ado, let’s take a look at the featured image and learn a bit more about the lore hidden in this chapter.
I need one for the blushing bride and her obsession with aisles, white dresses, and rings.
Decima: We will work with adult Decima here as she prepares for another pseudo-wedding. She is dressed in an elaborate white gown with a very long skirt… And when I say long, I mean really long. The dress completely covers the room, draped over the light fixtures, chairs, down the stairs, and out the door. I’m taking a page straight from the Demon Souls old monk playbook.
Decima is a very nervous bride. Even though she’s been through several hundred ceremonies, she still plucks the petals of a red rose, reciting her usual ‘he loves me… he loves me not’ ritual, unable to sit still. Her hair is done up in twists and curls with a black ribbon to complement her natural white, and her lips and nails are painted a vibrant red.
Similar to the kitchen commission, the Gnatu crowd around her like a parade of sentient silverware from a Disney classic. Teapots, wall clocks, dinner china, iron kettles, skillets, pots, and pans help tie the back of her bodice, smooth the wrinkles from her gown, wrestle with the wedding train, and collect the naked stems and petals from the brutally murdered flowers she leaves in her wake. Each of them has a ring, eagerly awaiting their opportunity to court her, hopelessly entrapped by her influence.
With her feet hidden, Decima tries to play the part of an ordinary woman, but the spider-like digits along her feet, ankles, and calves poke out from beneath the skirt lining and through the fabric. Furthermore, the dress she wears takes on a life of its own. From the moment the satin touched her breast, her appetite bled into the corded lace and floral embroidery. The wedding train chases the Gnatu, beaded embellishments and faux floral pearls snapping at their heels. The corded lace and bodice strings along the middle of her back whip like the tentacles of a famished squid, slapping at the Gnatu trying to secure the strings. The pearls have pupils, the lace and lining have teeth, and the floral decorations close up like the maw of predatory fly traps. However, despite the haunting nature of her gown, Decima is beautiful with a rich promise of reward for any man brave enough to take her hand in marriage.
Put simply, I always imagined bridal Decima to be a princess from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.
Background: We're back in the stairwell of that luxury liner from the previous Nona commission. However, this time, Decima’s wedding gown covers everything, including stairs, railings, statues, and light fixtures.