About the Gargoyle

(Answers to "Pearl", "Night", "Pearlnight", "Pearlknight", Sanguine, the 'Goyle, and anything related to intimate relations with the undead...)

I am Pearlnight, but you can call me Pearl. I'm an autistic queer and webcomic author since the winter of 2021. My primary work is the webcomic Dancing with the Dead, it's a 1970's period piece and my love-letter to the vampire genre.

Besides drawing the comic I dwell in the quieter crevices of the web, play obscure computer games and dust off old sites with the company of my fellow creatures. My art is derived from my love of darkness, my experiences with mental illness and my own repressed feelings. I invite you to interpret me through my pieces; and make of me as you will.

Oh, and that creature there...

That's Sanguine, they're a glittery Gargoyle and my author avatar. I created them in late 2020, and their design's not changed since. Well, if you ignore the previous colour scheme, which was a sunset-inspired red-to-purple. Sanguine is gendervoid like I am, and uses the same pronouns I do. They also have a personality like mine, albeit exaggerated to comedic effect. My friends know me as a conscientious, albeit obsessive individual. I come from a history of perfectionism and unease about my existence. Sanguine is this tenfold, even in their very design. The colour blue often symbolises sadness. Their horns are not a proud crown of bone and keratin, but instead they point downwards. They don't have claws, but big, plushlike paws. Even their eye markings give them a somewhat morose expression. Sanguine is a performance of self-awareness as much as they're an idealised form.

I named them Sanguine after a line in our favourite childhood video game; the Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. In Oblivion the player can initiate into an assassins’ guild, but before they can enter, they have to speak to a door. It gives them a riddle, “What is the colour of night?”. To which, the player must respond “Sanguine, my brother”. Sanguine in that context is a reference to blood, but in the context of naming this Sanguine, it comes with a double meaning. Sanguine’s skin is a mix of the colours Pearl Night blue and Pearl Gentian. So alongside the prior allusion to blood, this Sanguine is also the colour of night.

I made them a Gargoyle because I have a long history of liking chimeras, hybrids and other such creatures. I find more conventional species too limiting for my sort of personality. I also picked a gargoyle as I'm a huge fan of gothic art and I felt this was the best way to encapsulate that. I don't envision myself as a vampiric entity, but more of an onlooker, a prop to the vampire set. Vampires are too much for me to see myself as one. They're big, bombastic creatures with planet-sized egos and centuries' worth of mental baggage. Instead, I'm more akin to a Castlevania enemy or a creature you'd see in a line of 70's monster toys. I'm side dressing, I'm an observer rather than the main feature. It's modest, and my friends would say overly so, but it feels right for me. It's what suits me the most as a goth.

Also, for all of my morbid aesthetics, I know the grotesque was designed to repel evil. The irony of this after my previous paragraph is not lost on me. It is much like the grotesque itself, bizarre. To return to the topic and prevent a 400-paragraph long detour, I like the idea of that. Like you, I am capable of unkindness and Sanguine is not a costume I wear to fool people with. But this added knowledge pleases me, and on especially dour evenings, it comforts me. Even if it’s immersed to its neck in the pool of medieval church lore. These misshapen creatures, as absurd and unwelcome as they look, frighten things that are far more frightful than external “ugliness”. I designed Sanguine, beneath the sensory and aesthetic appeal, to protect myself from the riptides of dissociation and self-doubt. Evil spirits, in their own way.

But what would this page be without reference material? This section is mainly for any artists I commission, but it can be a fun trivia bit as well. Drawing Sanguine should explain itself. They’re an ethereal entity, psychically projected from the dreams of their corresponding (and identical) statue. Physical flesh, blood and other such attributes are absent. It explains all the sparkling, too. Like many grotesques (and after some wondering) they are toothless. The tongue is about as long and whippy as a grotesque’s as well, if you want to draw them with that classic gargoyle “bleh!” expression. Sanguine can wear clothes, but would most like the company of oversized jumpers and ghost-themed pyjamas. Sanguine can nurse a glass of warm milk, a vial of pond water or apple juice served in the skull of an enemy. Sanguine likes to haunt crypts, chapels, cathedrals, woodlands and anything else of that sort. Sanguine is too nervous to speak but can compromise by scrawling on chalk boards. All Sanguine asks is that you do your best.

You may notice a distinct absence of the words "fursona", "furry" or even "funny animal" as I speak. I'd describe myself, and Sanguine here, as furry-adjacent at most. The answer for that's simple, back when I was a furry, I couldn't relate to other furries. I felt like something else. But then...depicting myself as a human, or even with much of a grounded form is too unbearable for me. It's not who I am, to present as anything less than fantastical.

  About this Lair

This site is my personal haunt, library, and link collection. It wishes to be familiar, the same way as a beaten, wood-panelled interwar house with the servant bells still intact. It wishes to be a place of both rest and intrigue. A place of progressive thinking and sentiment, awareness amongst the pining. As I've said prior, the lair updates at pure random and thus, doesn't expect you to check it often. Come and go as much as you please; I don't owe you anything, but you don't owe me anything either. We can exist on the same level and take our time together. Above all, and despite the cobwebs, I want this lair to feel homely. There's a lot going on outside of this place, so I hope this humble darkness can soothe your weary bones. If we wish to observe eachother, and you want to see beneath my veil, you can. Do be gentle though, I am shy you know.

For the best browsing experience

•  Dim the lights, then turn them off entirely.
•  Put on some candles, real or electric. If they're electric, make sure they're those flickering ones.
•  Turn on some Bach (I personally like the renditions by Hans-Andre-Stamm) or a video of the Windows 98 "Mystery" screensaver.
•  If you haven't already, get a big glass of milk because that's what I like to have.
•  Begin.

  Frequently Asked Questions

Do you do commissions?
I don't do commissions of any kind. However, I buy plenty from my friend [Lutzbug]. They're a stunningly good artist with good rates, good turn-around times and a firm respect for you as a client.

How can I contact you?
The current method of contacting me is by finding me on SheezyArt. I try to check it as much as I can, but if I'm late, assume Dancing with the Dead is to blame. I'm on that thing constantly. The Dancing with the Dead Itch.io pages also allow comments.

I have a question about your webcomic!
Comment something on its Itch.io pages or find me on SheezyArt.

What does your name mean?
It's a word I use to describe Blue Hour, which I find emotionally significant to me

What happened to some of your other projects?
Dancing with the Dead gobbled up my originally-planned Vampire Review blog. I also made a webring at one point, but then I transferred ownership to one of its members and went away to do some other things. I doubt any current readers will recall them, but this bit's been on my FAQ section for years and I feel it's polite of me to keep it here.

What made you create this site?
"I created this website as a personal refuge from modern living." was my initial answer. Now I'm more neutral on the modern internet and nostalgia, as seductive as it is, should only serve as a guideline for one's desires. "I also find this to be a stronghold when I am reminded of the persecution that people like me continue to experience" remains true, though. I also hope it feels comforting for you too, dear reader.

What software do you use?
For general web-browsing I use Waterfox (or Pale Moon when I'm feeling impish), Ublock Origin and ProtonVPN. For my art I use Medibang Paint Pro with a Wacom tablet. Finally, for video game stuff I have GOG Galaxy.

Where else can I find you?
I join (and subsequently leave) a lot of sites. Here's the current roster of haunts as of April 2025:

• [Itch.io]