#zed is short for ‘zeta’

[bones-and-whatnot]

Monster Prom Fantasy AU

Based on the costumes from the auditorium. most of them are written so you could imagine them to be humans or to still be a fantasy society of monsters— whatever floats your boat, I go back and forth myself.

THE PALACE

The Princess Miranda: The youngest of the king’s daughters. Adored by everyone in the kingdom (whether they like it or not). She is rarely ever seen, but people are always talking about her— what she’s wearing, what her favorite things are, who she will marry, what would be the best way to kidnap and/or kill her…

Count de Lioncourt: Another noble, who has only taken up residence in the palace very recently. He is supposedly related to the royal family, but it’s unclear how. He doesn’t want to be king— any fool can be king— but he definitely wouldn’t mind having a comfortable position by a monarch’s ear, safely away from the public eye. And the poor sheltered princess could certainly use someone to help her make… well-informed decisions.

Ser (Dame?) Schmidt: First name Victoria. The newest recruit to the knights of the kingdom; she is very, very eager to work her way up through the ranks. Above all else, she is loyal to the princess.

THE FOREST

The Sting in Yellow: A mysterious, quiet swordsman who travels the wood. They strike fear into the hearts of all who see them… although no one is really sure what exactly they do.

Bruyn the Green: Long ago, a terrible dragon dwelt in the forest. Every year, in mid-April, it would approach the kingdom and ask tribute of the people in form of their crops and livestock. At last, the dragon was slain, but the whereabouts of its body are unknown and legend says it merely slumbers beneath the earth, and will one day rise from the dead.

In the heart of the forest, there sits an enormous tree. It has no name, but according to myth, it dates back to a time before we walked the earth. There once was a curious wolf, who lived in a pack with his brothers. One day, despite their warning, he strayed too far from the rest of the group and became lost in the woods. The wolf spent many nights trying to find his way back to his home, not eating or sleeping until he eventually expired of exhaustion. Roots and wood grew over him that night, and he became a beautiful tree, home to birds and squirrels and insects of all types. At night, the spirit of the wolf leaves the tree to continue his search, but must return before daylight. It is said that the whistling of the wind through the leaves is his mournful howl, crying out for a family long since dead.

THE LANDS BEYOND

Amira, Mistress of the Flames: An evil sorceress in eternal conflict with both the Demon King and His Highness King Vanderbilt. From her tower in the outlands, she controls an army of flaming skeleton warriors and screaming fire spirits. It is rumored that she can scry through any flame anywhere in the world. So the next time you think about lighting up your fireplace, ask yourself: are you really that chilly?

The Demon King: Son of criminals exiled from the kingdom, the man now known as the Demon King grew up in a harsh, inhospitable region of the outlands. By the time he was six, he had killed the leaders of the three bandit groups who controlled the area and formed his own army of scoundrels and brutes. Today, the lands beyond the kingdom are in a constant power struggle between the Demon King’s hordes and the legions belonging to the Mistress of Flames. The leaders of the two factions hate each other with burning passion, but they hate the King Vanderbilt even more.

The Automated Man of Culeicester: The Automated Man is all that remains of Culeicester, an ancient city of wondrous scientific marvels located in what is now the distant badlands of the continent. The Automated Man still remains in the city’s ruins after untold years, continuing to fulfill the purpose for which he was constructed: To tend to the mythically beautiful Gardens of Culeicester. Of course, the land is now so arid that only the hardiest plants requiring the least water remain, but still the Automated Man works, untiring, as the lone bearer of all Culeicester’s lost knowledge. If you can find him (and convince him to step away from his plants), he is a powerful asset.

THE ROGUES

Vera Oberlin: The greatest assassin you’ve never heard of. Those who are unfortunate enough to know of her existence say that she was raised in the mountains by panthers who taught her the savage ways of their claws and teeth. They say she has a city of gold underneath the city streets made from the riches of those she has killed. They say no one has ever seen her face and lived to tell the tale. Whether these things are true, no one can say for sure, but the mysterious Vera seems to be on a meteoric rise through the kingdom’s underworld. The suspicion of most in the know is that she has her eye on the crown.

Doctor Geist: You can call her Polly. A physician and mixer of medicines who recently arrived to the kingdom. Her past is unknown, as she gives a different answer every time. She is quite cheerful, and despite the nature of her profession (or perhaps because of it), has a very carefree attitude towards death, usually only reacting to harm coming to her patients with mild surprise or disappointment. She tends to be rather… experimental with her procedures and concoctions, and self-tests liberally. There are rumors of a connection to the criminal underworld.

Zed, Scribe of the Zoites: An energetic young woman, the church Zed was raised in encouraged her to go on a pilgrimage and learn the ways of the world after she became a bit overzealous in her duties of cataloging information on the group’s members. Because of her close connection to her god, she possesses second sight and can see the alternate paths people’s lives may take, which she dutifully and eagerly inscribes (along with most things she sees) on the scrolls she carries with her. Being a prophet isn’t all fun and games, though— Zed is often tormented by visions of awful futures or dreadful pasts where her god enacts terrible punishment on the world. She is motivated by desire for knowledge and for new experiences of any kind; she wants to learn about and chronicle as much as she can and isn’t about to let silly things like “morality” or “boundaries” keep her from that goal.

[kantraels]

gender roundup

rite: the one and only cis man in this retinue. good relationship with gender, far more concerned with performing loyalty to the emperor. It’s genuine, but psykers can never be too careful. he/him. gray ace but also probably the best person to go to for relationship advice because he knows how to act normal. if you want his attention you better WORK for it. show some decorum follow protocol etc

kal: trans man. never bothered with any transition either chemical or surgical, just started calling himself a guy one day back on incron and everyone had bigger things to worry about. took a grenade to the chest and took the opportunity to get everything hacked off. cares so little about “passing” that he effortlessly wraps around to the other side and he passes flawlessly. he/him. honestly, probably bisexual, but nobody’s going to check and he spends too much time inebriated for it to be morally permissible.

zed: agender, it identifies primarily as a guardsman. it’s from krieg, what does anybody really expect. it/its-they/them, nonnegotiable. bisexual (Hallowette is reasonable, but why Rannick? this krieger needs help).

mak/kenna: nonbinary femme trapped in the body of a grungy anxiety crier. for what they’ve been through, holding up pretty well! they’re exhausted all the time and everybody hates them and they know they’re one misstep away from being purged but they’re doing fine. maybe they’d like nicer clothes but they can’t have everything. they/them. bisexual. but who wants that.

[crowns-of-violets-and-roses]

If you're only familiar with Isabel J. Kim through her Omelas story I'd highly recommend checking out more of her work. She's comfortably one of the best short story writers currently working in SFF.

Her debut story, Homecoming is Just Another Word for the Sublimation of the Self, is a fascinating exploration of a world where crossing a border causes you to split into two "instances". It does a great job of digging into the implications that would have.

Zeta-Epsilon starring Zed and the spaceship he is psychically connected to described by the author as a "Nonlinear spaceship heist" is brilliant.

Calf Cleaving in the Benthic Black, a story about scavenging generation ships, is unusually straightforward by her standards but the execution of the concept is great.

You Will Not Live to See M/M Horrors Beyond Your Comprehension, while I think it's one of her weaker stories it's still good, and I can't not recommend tumblr a story where one of the first few lines is "THE CHORUS: #mlm #5k #patrochilles #coffeeshopAU #meta #canon-compliant"

And if you have read all/some of these and want check out her website which links to everything she's written. She's only been writing a few years so it's easy to read through all or most of it and it's nearly all available for free online

[isabeljkim]

by popular request: my 2024 awards eligibility post (now on my blog)

so yeah i wrote a bunch of stuff this year but this is the stuff i think is The Best! So you should read these three short stories and if you go "this is great, isabel j. kim, this makes me feel real human emotions and experience joie de vivre or perhaps the opposite of joie de vivre in a good way" then please consider nominating or voting for me on Stuff.

note that the locus award is specifically Open To Everyone, wink.

anyway ok stories, descriptions and links under the cut, in no particular order

Zeta-Epsilon, in Clarkesworld's March 2023 issue Nonlinear spaceship heist. Here's an exerpt: Start at the cleave of it, not at Zed’s meat death or Ep’s centuries-long destruction, but at the moment that Zed halves his own mind and walks away. Or as was reported in the internal memorandum, the moment when Pilot-Commander Zeta San Tano killed himself at his infinite post on the M.K.S. Epsilon, leaving behind an empty airlock and a crippled starship unable to communicate, limping its way home after battle, carrying a full complement of soldiers.

The Big Glass Box and the Boys Inside, in Apex's January 2023 issue Fae, lawyers, and inadvisable queer romance with your officemate. Here's an exerpt: Their power is how they can turn you into one of them. That’s the trick of it, see. You can go in with your swords and sacrifice, you can go in with your red heart and good intentions, and they will grin with their white teeth and say, “Welcome to Grey & Tender, LLP. We’re so glad you’ve agreed to join our summer class. We’ll be sending you the paperwork shortly.”

Day Ten Thousand, in Clarkesworld's June 2023 issue This one is about..oh, just read it. (tw: sui). Here's an exerpt:

A man who will be given a second name in ten thousand years and a man whose name will be forgotten sit in a forest, or perhaps a grassy plain, or perhaps a cold tundra. It is a biome that will not exist in ten thousand years but whose footprint will be pressed into the earth and folded over.

The first man—Dave, let’s call him Dave—says, “Are you sure about this?”

The second man says, “Which one of us has epilepsy and can see the future, you or me?”

[phightingaus]

Hey i'm back with another au

I rewatched emesis blue today... Time to make an au ! ^u\\

Emesis blue x phighting

The name for the au thingy is "Failed Respawn" (I think its neat :3)

It revolves around the phighting respawn mechanic and the horrible #### that happens when it fails (that's kinda obvious isn't it)

ajtdbdkdvsn character time :P

(Watch me lose my mind trying to find a character that somewhat fits the character they're suppose to be! :D)

Medic (Dr. Fritz Ludwig) → Medkit (R.I.P medkit, he's gonna go through hell)

Scout (Jeremy E.) → Sword (he's gonna get tortured :3c)

Soldier ("Mr. Doe") → Shuriken (Shuri is the only sane one here :D)

Spy (Detective Jacques Morneau/The Smoker) → Katana (what am i even doing)

Demoman (Cyclops) → Slingshot (someone please kill me/j)

Pyro (The Butcher) → Scythe (kinda fits???)

Sniper (The Hunter) → Hyperlaser (they're both snipers... And also they both got harmed pretty badly so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

The Undertaker → Medkit (there's a theory that the undertaker is an evil alter ego of medic so... Yeah!)

Heavy (Stalingrad/The Russian) → Banhammer (couldn't think of anyone better...)

Engineer(s) (Zed and Maynard Conagher) → Zeta and Beta biografts (I KNOW THAT THEY DON'T REALLY FIT BUT ITS THE ONLY ONE I CAN THINK ABOUT RIGHT NOW)

The Creature → Sword (evil #### up version of sword. Yes)

The Corrupted Respawns → the failed respawns (self-explanatory)

The Surgeon → Subspace (yes. Also they have the same vibes to me)

Jules Archibald → Firebrand (i don't like it but i don't hate it...)

The Tenth Class → Coil (??? Eh... works i guess)

Dell Conagher (The Bartender) → Carnage (i don't even know what im doing anymore)

Tbh, im just throwing stuff on the wall and see what sticks so some of these might not make sense at all -_\\

ok so, swap good old fb for mx moneybags III and swap tana and ban (katana doesn't quip which stalin grad didn't either and ban would have a reason to investigate something), i need to lend you some ocs, the zeta and beta grafts are defected biografts, in short zetabuildergraft and betabuildergraft (builders club members turned bad, the builders club is from my chaos au)

[444namesplus]

A Aitch Aleph Algiz Alif Alpha Antisigma Ar Arr Ash Aspirated Ay Ayin Ayn B Baa Bee Beta Beth Bossy Buky C Canine Caudata Cee Che Chi Cue Cuh Curly D Daad Dalet Damma Dee Delta Descending Digamma Dotless Double Double-u Doubleyou Dubs Dzzhe E Ee Ef Eff El Elhaz Ell Em En Eng Enyay Episemon Epsilon Es Esh Ess Eszett Eta Eth Ethel Ex Eye Ezh F Fatha Final Fita G Gamma Gee Germanic Ghayn Gimel H Haglaz Haitch Hamza Hard He Heh Heta Heth I I-breve Intrusive Iota Izhitsa Izzard J Jay Jeem Jim Jy K Kaaf Kaf Kaph Kappa Kasra Kay Kew Khi Kicking Koph Koppa Kue Kuh L Laam Lam Lambda Lamed Lamedh Letter Linking Long Lunate M Maddah Magic Medial Meem Mem Mim Moon Mu Mute N Noon Nu Nun O Oh Okina Omega Omicron P Palochka Pe Pee Phi Pi Psi Q Qaaf Qoph Que R Resh Rho Rotunda S Saad Sad Samekh Sampi San Schwa See Seen Sha Shadda Sharp Shcha Sheen Shin Short Sigma Sign Silent Sin Soft Straight Sukun Sun T Taa Tau Tav Tee Terminal Teth Thaa Theta Thorn Tsade Tsadhe Tse U Upsilon V Vav Vee Visarga W Wau Waw Why Wy Wye Wynn X Xi Y Ya Yaa Yae Yat Ye Yery Yo Yodh Yogh You Yu Yus Z Zaa Zayin Zed Zee Zeta Zhe ʻokina

[filipmagnuswrites]

The Short Story Reader # 24 – Zeta-Epsilon by Isabel J. Kim

Previous | Previous by Isabel J. Kim | Next This is my second short story read by Isabel J. Kim and I couldn’t begin to compare it to the first, save to say they’re both excellent, meaningful reads. “Zeta-Epsilon” tells the story of Zed and Ep, a first-generation human-AI duo: Zed is 1.8 Imperial meters tall, with dark hair and dark eyes that turn to hazel in the sunlight. He has a chip on his…

[tanadrin]

So mad that the letter wuh is pronounced doubleu and not wuh or wh or whatever like this is so annoying

i mean in England and Canada they still call it "zed" instead of "zee," presumably as a short form of zeta. German calls J, Y, and Z "Yod," "Ypsilon," and "Zett" (or something along those lines), presumably from Greek iota, upsilon, zeta. The American English name for H doesn't even have an /h/ sound in it.

It would be nice for kids learning their alphabet and foreign language learners if a language could decide to make all their letter names phonetic or acrostic and then stick with that plan, but tbh "double U" is hardly the worst offender. It's a relatively late addition to the language, and it is at least based on the thing it was named after. Probably the only reason English uses W anyway is because our old letter for that sound, wynn Ƿ, looked too much like a thorn Þ or a P. Having three letters that look nearly identical if written too quickly (and strongly resemble various forms of other letters like B, D, Q, or Ð) must have been hell for early medieval dyslexics, so switching wynn out for W was, fittingly, a pretty solid W for English orthography.

[petrichormeraki]

Unconfirmed Hels!Hermits Because I'm Bored And Love Wordplay:

Grian: Gealach

Grian means Sun, and Gealach means Moon! Fits pretty well as far as opposites go. I'd imagine Gealach would be very chill, calm and downright unfun to be around. In fact he probably chastices others whenever they disobey rules, so harshly that one would never want to disobey again. He probably wears mainly blue.

Stressmonster: Calmhero

Calm is the opposite of stress, but it was surprisingly difficult to find an antonym for "monster". Anyhow, despite the name, I'd think Calm is actually very high strung and serious, a stark difference to the bubbly and colorful Stress. Calm probably would force her surroundings and peers to match her idea of orderly and perfect, while Stress finds beauty in everything without changing a single thing. I imagine Calm probably wears all white, a complete absence of color.

Zedaph: Aleph

Zedaph's name origin is something I couldn't find, so I went more surface level with my idea. Zedaph has "Zed" in it, aka the Greek letter Zeta, so I just went with the Greek letter for A, which is Alpha! Alpha's phoenician pronunciation is Aleph though, and that sounded cooler. Zed is very chaotic and inefficient with the way he does things, so I imagine Aleph is very productive and quick at whatever he tries to do. He probably only makes machines for convenience, and even then doesn't add anything fun; they're just machines, and they're one purpose is efficiency. No fun decor or backstory in the slightest. Aleph would probably wear a suit/other stuffy attire.

Mumbo Jumbo: Clear Sense

Clear is probably one of the few Hels!Hermits that doesn't seem like they're from Hels. Whereas Mumbo is very anxious but creative and fast paced, Clear probably is very simple-worded and takes it slow. Clear is probably also very full of himself and thinks he's the best at whatever he does (since Mumbo is critically self conscious), but never tries to do anything new. I also think it'd be very funny if Clear had a beard and wore the Pacifico tropical shirt getup all the time instead lmao

TangoTek: WaltzWorx

Waltz is most likely a lot less cartoony with his redstone and ideas compared to Tango. While Tango made fun games like the collection maze run Decked Out, Waltz probably would not make games at all. I also think he would barely do any redstone/building at all, since Tango has to work on a huge project or he'll die of inactivity. Much like their respective dances, Waltz would be slow, calculated, and graceful, while Tango is much more sporadic, snappy, and high energy. Waltz's color scheme is of course blue and purple instead of red and yellow.

ImpulseSV: RestrainND

Restrain is most likely good friends with Waltz and Clear, because holy shit he would be SO SLOW. He'd probably take days to make a decision because he had to be sure it was the right one, and he's probably very uptight and left-brained compared to the human puppy dog that is Impulse. He'd probably match Waltz well with the purple color scheme.

Iskall85: Eldig58

Iskall means "ice cold", so naturally the opposite would be "red hot". Eldig is probably the most Helslike besides Helsknight; he's mean, short tempered and unfriendly to any who would come close. Basically take Iskall's friendly insults and remove the friendly. That savageness without restraint would be Eldig. His prosthetic robot eye would probably be an eyepatch instead, and on his right instead of his left. He'd have a more barbaric clothing theme, I reckon. Plus the red color scheme because even though it's not the direct opposite to green, his name literally means "red hot", come on!

BDoubleO100: BooDoubleO100

(Directly stealing from @fluffy-papaya and @sweetest-honeybee so go follow them please and thanks) Boogeyman!! Boogeyman Bdubs!! A phantom that haunts the night, builds underground nests of creepy crawlies and heebie jeebies, Boodubs would be TERRIFYING. The only thing close to a sweet and friendly big smile would be his horrifying teeth, so big and sharp that the sight of them would give terrors for weeks. The nightmares are his home, and under the bed is where he resides. He's the shadow in the closet that is mistaken for a lump of clothes, the split second of movement you see right when you open your eyes from a dead sleep.

This is getting long so I'll end it here but I have many more ideas if y'all are interested!! :D

[kantraels]

my collection of rejects

Kal "Call on the Emperor" Immanentize - Fanatic Zealot

Anywhere from late twenties to early thirties, but really... who can tell. 5'5" and mad about it. One of those he/hims. Got impromptu top surgery due to a frag grenade... not mad about it. Gets caught up in his worship, frequently forgets to eat, drink, and sleep. Fortunately he has his strike team to dunk him under a tap when he gets too stinky.

Rite - Savant Psyker

Rite is anywhere from late thirties to early forties... trending to early forties. Not as short as Kal, but he's got that petite Psyker physique. A former Enforcer, he's... well he's... he's probably as nice as a reject can be, honestly, more idealistic than he deserves to be, and able to ignore most of the nastiness flung his way. Due to his... playstyle, he spends most of the time trying to fend off the Warp, anyway.

Zeta-198 "Zed" - Professional Veteran

It's a Krieger! Zed is... it is sixteen, and has been a soldier since fourteen. It's a Krieger. They do the child soldier thing. Zed is very proud of serving the Emperor as a juve, at least until it gets made fun of. Certified shrimp. 5'3'. Despite this, that's just tall enough to behead scabs with an axe, so who's the real winner here? After losing its entire squad, being transferred to a regiment of non-Kriegers, losing that squad too and finally breaking protocol to save the lives of its third squad, it got charged with dereliction of duty and sent straight to a penal unit... located on the Mourningstar courtesy of their Commissar, who happened to be a friend of Morrow. It/its user. Won't somebody throw it a birthday party?