Glass shattered in a dark marble hallway with the mysterious red glow of an oil lantern, swaying and creaking with movement as they stepped, their boots clacking on the stone, into the classroom, crunching on broken glass. The lights in the lecture hall flickered on to show multiple chalk boards that covered the walls of the entire hall. Thomas stepped forward, smoothing back sweaty light brown hair that had stuck to his forehead and the back of his neck. He pushed a board at…

     "Mr. Steelcastle please report to the bridge" The words had no sooner left my mouth into the speaking tube it seemed till standing before me was my First Mate and 2nd in command Miryiam Steelcastle. "Captain?" his island accent thick and deep, "If tis be aboot ta men making ta wagers on the last capture....."  "No, no " I cut him off  with a wave of my hand , in truth such wagers were frowned upon as potential trouble starters but since I myself had been on a winning streak lately I…

Everyone dies eventually.  When they do, they have one of three options: Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory.  The good go to Heaven, the bad to Hell, the redeemable to Purgatory.

If one goes to Heaven, they will live in their own personal paradise.  If they're an especially good person, they will be given the option to become an Angel, serving as a heavenly soldier.

If one is a particularly rotten specimen, however, they will find themselves in the clutches of Hell.  There, they are…

    Harvard square was bustling with students and the faint smell of cafe's swept into the strong essence of genius that made Ara sort of shift in place with a frown that wanted to creep out but remained in a blank stare. This was the first place she had come to after sneaking off the ship she had smuggled herself onto to get…here. Thomas had a friend attending the prestigious university of Harvard and Eudora had "bet the balls she didn't have" that he might be visiting with this…

    "If we come back during the night, it'll be a lot busier. You'll get along too well with Brielle." Ara twirled into the bar wearing a black harem trousers she stole in Israel, a brown tank top, and the cursed scarf, with her aviator goggles around her neck. Natalie followed in with a floral black, purple, and white dress trimmed in black lace. "Aren't you dying in that dress?" Asked Arabella. "It's crazy how you and Michelle manage to keep those fancy dresses on board. Not to…

    The crew sat in a circle around the Ouijia board. They had cleared the big room of anything that wasn't attached to the room, all except the board, the piece used to move around the board and spell things, and many lit candles that Charlotte had placed out of, and we quote, "fun". Fink sat in the centre with the board and looked around at everyone.

    "Are we ready?"He said in his light Australian accent. No one spoke, but nodded. The educated trio, (that would be…

     "Yes sir, every one of them." Eudora smiled with a the poise of a business woman caught in the gleam of her eye as the chief inspector stared with wonder at the wealthy woman who was currently offering to pay the bail of every crew member locked up. While Scotland Yard had most of the Silver Widow's crew (all except for Dominique and Mercurian who had been hiding in the secret passage ways of the Widow), Ara, Thomas, Ben, Marlow, and Charlotte Bennet stayed patiently at the…

    That morning, Charlotte had woken up with Marlow and Ben sleeping outside her cell with files in their hands that stretched through the bars. She took the files and then stood, stomping on Marlow's hand to wake him up. He awoke yelling in pain along with Ben who awoke only because Marlow was screaming in his ear. 

    "you don't have to be a dick about it." Ben groaned and stood with his partner. "Dominique is back at the ship with Fink and the others. We told her that we…

    A blast of cold and Ara's eyes snapped open with the rush of water that seemed to freeze her cells, knocking the wind right out of her. An officer stood above her, thick dark hair that shadowed over dark eyes and a wide, almost fanged smile. 

    "Who are you?" Ara asked shivering as she scooted as far away from him as she could. 

    "Your worst nightmare." He smiled and mashed his teeth at her a little before chuckling at himself. "See, you've been stupid." The…

(Scientist and Sanitarium singing 1st verse)

Welcome to this wonderland

everybody in their box

grab your seat and don't let go

stay strapped in your chair

welcome to the show

(madman within)

you've been waiting for the song

that will never be

you've been writing all along

trapped in your sanity

(sanitarium)

Darkness rooms, and fire, and fire

there's no way out

darkness rooms and fire, and…

Okay I have created two new characters for my story and so far have come up with the following for them....I'm not sure if I want to make them supernatural or advanced humans or what but I do know that the term "beast" works well for them.

****Twin Beasts*****

Sitting in the shop I watch my two new "friends" work quietly on cleaning up the mess they had just made.   It seems that Jester is the calmer of the two but Joker is more  of the two volatile.   A factor…

     "Captain, you should take the key in case of any emergency." Ara whispered as they sat next to each other, Thomas in the other corner. Charlotte's first mate slipped it under her bum and and then stood up as if she had been holding nothing, moving over to sit next to Thomas. Charlotte slipped the key in her trouser pocket. Marlow stopped by once or twice with Ben to check in. It wasn't until blinding, yellow afternoon sunbeams streamed throughout the window that something went…

     In her large pink hat with cream colored roses and grey lace ribbon, she sobbed into the chief inspector's handkerchief. A feather on the hat seemed to bounce as each tear dropped with the bobbing of her head and the bouncing of her voice as she retold her tale of horror to him. He stared all the while with an awkward look on his face. she was really working at it though. Every time Eudora looked up, she couldn't seem to take her puffy red eyes off that man's goddamn mustache.…

Yes I get that a lot my dear friend, not exactly sure your in the right shop but trust me my dear.   There is always a reason for dropping by my shop.

If you are a Knight, Monster Hunter or Vampire Hunter (Van Helsings for idetification purposes) you are probably here to stock up on the Ashwood (used to depower witches), Aconite (also known as Wolfsbane for werewolves), Vervain  or Juniper (Both used for vampires just do not mix up the species or you will suffer).   Oh and do…

So the more potions I make for the whole persona the more I think about what type of shop Lady Rayna owns.   So far it's turned out to be quite a little shop where you can get almost everything imaginable, in store or by special order.

*************************

The Black Rose Herbal and Occult Store.

Welcome one and all to my shop, please feel free to browse around and do not be afraid to ask questions.    There are two sections to the store.  On the…

Yesterday while researching how to do a project I was writing down what Victania, the city in which I live, would look like and my daughter thought it would be cool to share it would you guys just to see what others think of it.

Victania

Trapped between the realms the city sits.  Travel south you will find a wonderous land of magic and fun.  Travel north and find a forest of enchanted delights.  West, if you dare is where the pirates live and…

       Rain pattered outside, leaving a gloomy grey sort of light in the cells of Scotland Yard. But still, sweat dripped down the brow of Thomas Dunning as he sat against the side wall of his cell, staring into the eyes of Charlotte Bennet. Charlotte had woken up this morning with Thomas staring at her. 

        "We need a heart to heart," He had said but after that, not a single word had been said all morning. The only sound was the rain outside, and the leak inside that…

      A crisp, clean white shirt and a smooth, satin blue cravat that made Thomas lift his chin in the mirror of his father's home; his home. Mother sat downstairs in the living room with a cup of Earl Grey. All was well again. He had paid his own bounty and opened up a bank account for his mother. Books of aroma therapy sat on shelves collecting dust as the former sky captain smiled at books on forensic science. He would rejoin the justice system with a container of volcanic ash in…

The storm outside rages and churns.

The fire within crackles and burns.

Still with each snap and crash,

The answer eludes like the spreading rash.

My anger grows and writhes,

Each test taken by the Reaper's scythe.

This latest failure the greatest of blunders,

My mind crushed by the doubt it's under.

Soon I will find the answer to this riddle,

Then my doubts will seem such a…

As a newbie to the steampunk genre I had to learn how to do a lot on my own for budget reasons.  I found the following tutorials helped a lot with making parts of my costume and my daughter’s.

DIY Goggles:

http://kotakitty.buzznet.com/photos/diysteampunkgogglest/

DIY Belt (Ribbon/No Sew)…