For Lydia the Bard's "I Only Paint in Red Now," art by @lazyeule. There once lived a young girl named Alice, who found herself in a strange and mysterious place called Wonderland. The world she had entered was dark and beautiful, full of magic and mystery. At first, she was mesmerised by what she saw, but there was a darkness in the air, a quiet chaos in the very ground, almost as if the land was living, breathing. Alice’s wonder slowly turned to a growing unease. She began to find herself doing and saying things the past Alice wouldn’t have dreamed of, as whispers in her ear tempted her towards a new version of herself, scrambling her thoughts. It was almost as if Wonderland itself was infecting her with its madness. One moment, she was the curious and polite girl from her village, and the next, she was a twisted reflection of herself. Her laughter became a cackle, her smile a smirk, and her once-bright eyes glinted with a sinister light. Desperate to get back home and return to her normal self, Alice frantically searched for a way out. But each step forward seemed to pull her deeper into the clutches of Wonderland’s madness. In the depths of the woods, she met the Caterpillar, who eyed her with a knowing look. “Who are you?” he asked. “I... I don’t know anymore,” Alice replied, her voice a mixture of confusion and despair. “I need to find my way home.” Alice’s desperation grew as she felt herself almost split in two, watching this darker version of herself slowly take over. If she could just find her way home before the Wonderland version of herself took full control, then the nightmare would finally be over. But Alice couldn’t have possibly known just how deep Wonderland’s roots were inside her. Sure, she could leave Wonderland, but Wonderland was never going to truly leave her ever again.