#the chosen zee

[heatherslovelythoughts]

Matthew: Why is everyone so obsessed with top or bottom? Honestly, I’d just be excited to have a bunk bed. Simon: Simon: I'm gonna tell them. Gaius: Don't you dare.

Matthew: Caffeine no longer keeps me awake while I work, so instead I have Mary periodically send me texts saying ‘we need to talk.’ Matthew: It gives me the right amount of adrenaline and fear I need to keep going.

Jesus: We can bake these cookies at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or 4,000 degrees for 1 minute. Matthew: No, that's not how you make cookies. Zee: FLOOR IT!! Jesus: How about 4,000,000 degrees for 1 second?!? Matthew: yOU'RE GONNA BURN THE HOUSE DOWN- Jesus: I'M GONNA HARNESS THE POWER OF THE FREAKING SUN TO MAKE COOKIES! Simon: DO IT! Matthew: NO-

Police: You’re under arrest for trying to carry three people on a single motorcycle. Matthew, with Simon and Jesus behind them: Wait, what do you mean THREE?! Police: Yes…three. Matthew: Oh, my God— What the HECK?!??! Police: Wha- Matthew: Zee FELL OFF!

Matthew, gesturing to Jesus: Simon, look what you did! You made Mom upset! Zee: Mom, please don’t cry, we’re sorry! Simon: I’m sorry Mom… :( Jesus, near tears: I DON’T REMEMBER GIVING BIRTH TO ANY OF YOU!

[monprecieuxx]

See the thing is, to me, Twins at the heart of it has become about loneliness. Regardless of how much they’re explored or present on screen, every character is so painfully alone. By choice, by circumstances, by accident, just so crippingly lonely.

Sprite is alone by circumstance. He’s alone because no one prefers him, alone because Zee is a better bearer of their mother’s expectations. He’s the older twin and overlooked and he still tries, my goodness he tries so hard that it makes me wonder how anyone in his life can see that and not adore him to pieces. He’s so lonely he thinks his brother’s known nemesis is his closest confidant. In this team full of people who hate the one who wears his face he would rather tackle trying to befriend First, that it is the best choice. Idk if it’s naïveté or just unchallenged confidence he built up as a way to survival but it’s so audacious, it’s kind of brilliant.

And it works, it wears First down, he manages to get these people to like him but at the end of the day, it’s not him they like. This timed repose of belonging but only when he is standing in for someone else. Holding onto Zee’s life while his falls to pieces and for what? No credit, no appreciation, not even a hint of understanding from his mother, his father, even Salmon or Tan.

First is similar in the sense of never getting afforded the favouritism Zee enjoys from his father and his sister being a Zee stan just adds salt to the wound. The only people who prefer him are the team and even then they are so factioned he’s part of the in-group and still stands alone.

Zee, see Zee is so interesting to me cause his loneliness is self-inflicted. Maybe it started when the twins were split, maybe when he became part of the team we don’t know. We’ve only seen the worst parts of him until now and he seems to be content functioning in that window too. He’s thrust into this life w/o any input, seems to be doing it right and he’s still miserable. He has the recognition, he allegedly has the skill, he (undeservedly, in a way) has the girl and he still vows to take over Sprite’s life? And do what? Wreak havoc as him? Permanently replace him? Just hang around to fuck w/Sprite?

Idk where im going w/this, just ruminating about characters from this silly twin swap show.

[japhan2024]

[the-chosen-side-blog]

Adding this to my “Matthew Gettin Love” collection

[gillianthecat]

jumping on the bandwagon...

10 11 12 BL Boys That I Want Carnally

... or have lusted after at some point in my watching career. (My actor crushes wax and wane over time.)

It looks like everyone else is doing characters, not actors, but I was inspired by @lurkingshan's post which only had gifs no names, so I drew my own conclusions. And I'm rarely attracted to the character—they belong with their partner! or are just someone I wouldn't get along with—so listing actors feels more accurate.

(It was originally 10 because I thought I needed to choose only one of the Guardian boys, but then I decided why not both. But I didn't wanna delete anyone else. So now it's 11. And then I remembered War so now it's 12.)

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Lin Zi Hong (Sam Lin) of We Best Love

Jo Hyuk Joon of Blueming

Zhu Yilong of Guardian (can I count it as a BL for the purposes of this list?)

Bai Yu of Guardian (can I count it as a BL for the purposes of this list?)

Man Trisanu Soranun of Step By Step (but only in character) (which is not the same as being attracted to the character)

Meguro Ren of Kieta Hatsukoi

Ji Sung of The Devil Judge (can I count it as BL for the purposes of this list?)

Jung Taek Woon (Leo) second lead of Happy Ending Romance

Shin Myung Sung (side character/second lead) of Happy Merry Ending

Zee Pruk Panich of Why R U? and Cutie Pie

Izuka Kenta of the Pornographer series and Candy Color Paradox

War Wanarat Ratsameerat of Love Mechanics

Because I have to over explain every list I make... These are not necessary the actors I find most beautiful, and there are some actors I think are absolutely insanely gorgeous (e.g. First Kanaphan, PP Krit, and Matsuoka Koudai) that I'm just not attracted to, sometimes because they seem too young, sometimes just because.

[the-chosen-fanfiction]

Simon the Zealot | Carry You Home | Platonic

Requested: Yes

Your legs can’t carry you any further, but Simon can. It does, however, mean a dent in his tough-guy image.

Every step feels heavier than the previous one as you plod your way through the plains of Judea, your shins feeling like they are on fire ever since passing Jericho. Trailing behind far enough as is, you sigh in defeat as you let your eyes go to the horizon again, where Philip and Jesus are waiting for you. 

“Sorry that I’m keeping you behind,” Little James says next to you upon hearing the sound leaving your lungs, and it genuinely causes you to pull a face. 

“What? No!” you quip back, reassuring him, “You’re not a burden at all. My feet feel like they’re falling off. That sigh was not directed towards you.” 

James lets out a relieved noise and smiles a bit. “Well, at least I’m not lonely now.” You chuckle and look at him from the corner of your eye. 

“I wouldn't have left you alone regardless of my own feet, James.”

A pleasant silence befalls you two as you continue walking towards Jesus and Philip, who wear patient smiles on their faces. “Apologies for holding up the group.” you say, but the two men shake their heads. 

“Neither of you is doing such a thing,” Jesus tells you, smiling. “We cannot just leave you behind here, though. The others will go ahead and set up camp, so we can join them later.”

Feeling immediately a tad guilty for having the others do the heavy lifting, you open your mouth to protest: “But Teacher, we cannot let the rest do our hard manual labour for us! I’d feel so burdened if someone had to set up my tent all by himself!”

Putting a hand on your shoulder, Jesus gently squeezes it. “Stop worrying so much, (Y/n). I love you, but don’t talk yourself down about matters you cannot do anything about. It has been a long day and those who set up camp know very well that you’re exhausted, so don’t mention it, okay? And we both know you’d do the same for them if the roles had been reversed.”

You dutifully nod, knowing better than to question Jesus’ judgement, and lean on the long stick you had found on the side of the road earlier, which supports you on your walk. Still, your feet feel like they might fall off soon.

For a moment, you wonder if it would be strange to ask Jesus to alleviate your hurt, but when you look at Little James walking beside you, you realise that you would feel ashamed to complain about your temporary pain, whereas your friend has been in this discomfort all his life and never so much as complained. 

On the horizon, someone runs your way – it is your good friend Simon, who seems to be in a bit of a hurry. “Master,” he gasps, slightly out of breath upon arriving in front of the four of you, his sandals leaving a trail of dust in their wake. “The boys in the front are bickering again, they’re having trouble picking a place to sleep and they have all agreed that they will only let You pick a spot to camp now.”

Jesus lets out a chuckle and rolls His eyes playfully. “Oh, why am I not surprised? Very well,” He quips with humour in His voice, “Simon, can you stay with Little James and (Y/n)? Philip, you come with Me to settle this little argument in the front. We will see you later, okay? Take your time, don't worry about us setting up your places to sleep or not having food, we will make sure that things are alright.”

“Can’t Philip stay with them, Master?” Simon suggests, gesturing at you and James, “Of course they are my friends, but I was hoping to get in some exercise before sundown, and…” 

The rest of his words trail off when he sees Jesus smile knowingly at him. “You will get your exercise Simon, trust Me. If I didn’t want you to stay with them, I wouldn’t have asked. And then, you’re always running around, doing heavy labour. Sometimes it is better to slow down for a bit, too.”

The bunch of you nod in agreement, but Simon seems less keen to stay behind. When Jesus and Philip are a fair bit away, the former Zealot sighs next to you with a slight pout over his features.

“What, not happy with babysitting duty?” you jest, and Simon snorts a laugh. 

“That’s not it,” he says, “It’s just not in my nature to walk so slowly.”

You chuckle lightly. “We know, Si.”

James pipes up: “At least now we’ve got someone very strong at our side in case something happens to us. If we happened to be robbed right now, we wouldn’t have to hand over our bags.”

“Not that there is a lot in there in the first place.” you murmur, earning an amused hum from him.

Simon folds his hands on his back as he walks next to the two of you in silence, eyes focused upon the distance. “Where do you think we’ll sleep tonight? Do you reckon we’ll have to walk for much longer?” 

You shrug. “I don’t know, it entirely depends on what Jesus– Gah!” 

The sudden dent in the road goes unnoticed by you and you strangely twist through your ankle, feeling it shift to the side. A wave of nausea hits you in the gut as you fall to the ground, a searing pain shunting through your form. 

“(Y/n)!” James cries out, “Are you okay?”

“Are you hurt?” Simon crouches down next to you and reaches for your elbow, his gaze focused on your ankle that is throbbing with white hot pain. Inhaling sharply, you nearly choke on your own tongue as you try to gather the air to speak, throwing back your head in discomfort, your teeth grinding together as you grip at your foot, letting out a strained sound. 

“Oh, Hades!” you manage to hiss, having picked up the term from Philip, “That hurts!” Tears spring into your eyes at the sensation.

Little James puts a concerned hand on your arm. “Can you walk?”

You exhale deeply through your nose as you try to move around your ankle, pain ripping through your heel and shunting up all through your calf. “I–I don’t know!” you stutter, your heart beating loudly against your chest. “Simon, can you help me up?”

The former Zealot shakes his head, and you frown in confusion, until he clarifies: 

“Properly sit down for a second, okay? I need to investigate it first.”

You shift yourself to sit on the road, Simon gently taking hold of your leg to stretch it out in front of you, taking your foot into his lap as he kneels down. “I’m going to remove your sandal, is that okay?” You nod, pursing your lips as he undoes the straps and carefully takes it off, holding your foot at the heel, unfazed by the sand between your toes. 

“It feels warm already,” he says, concerned. “It should be compressed for a bit, at least until we reach camp, just to keep it from swelling too much.”

Simon reaches into the bag on his hip and takes out a knife, your eyes widening at the sight. When he sees James’ and your responses at the fact that he carries a weapon on him, he smiles a bit. “It’s meant to cut fruits, don’t worry about it.”

Sighing in relief, you watch how he takes a few scraps of fabric from his bag, selects one and stuffs the others back in. Simon slices a strip clean off, and another, and another, before positioning your foot into his lap properly. You whimper in pain and he mutters a soft apology as he begins binding your ankle.

James holds out his hand for you to squeeze into and you gladly take it, smiling gratefully at him. With practised ease, Simon wraps the strips of fabric around your ankle, your heel, tightly strapping it into a certain position so that you have no choice but to keep it in a straight angle. “Just tell me if it is too tight,” Simon says upon a pained sound that leaves you, but you shake your head. 

“I’ll be fine. Thank you.” 

“Any time,” Simon tells you, putting away his items before helping you put your sandal back on, securing it. “Let’s see if you can walk. Luckily, you have a stick on you already.”

Upon standing, Simon helps you to your feet. However, the moment you slowly set it down, you lift your leg immediately to not put any pressure on the ankle. James hands you the walking stick and you lean into it, hoping for it to take away some of the agony. 

“I feel so silly for spraining my ankle now,” you sigh, “Sorry to keep you guys back even more.”

“You can’t help it, (Y/n), so no need to apologise.” James says. 

Simon supports your elbow as you attempt to make a step forward, but in spite of the assistance you’re receiving, tears blur your vision. “Oh, that is awful!” you whimper, distressed. “I don’t think I can walk.”

The three of you fall silent, your gaze going to the horizon, your heart sinking inside your chest. “Who knows how far we might be away from camp, still? For all we know, it’s miles away.”

“Pessimism will get us nowhere.” Simon reminds you, and you sigh, knowing that you’d indeed spend that time better by thinking of a solution. 

James suddenly pipes up. “Simon, can’t you carry her?”

The former Zealot frowns. “What?”

“Carry her on your back.”

He lets out a small noise and almost flusters at the suggestion. “As (Y/n) just said, camp could be miles away. Can’t we look for another solution?”

“Well, what do you suggest?” 

Brief silence as Simon overthinks it, visibly pondering for a few seconds before admitting to it. “Fine,” he sighs, “I can carry you. But don’t tell the others, otherwise people will request me to carry them just because they don’t feel like walking.” 

You chuckle at the mental image of Big James asking Simon for such a thing and wonder if this would mean a scratch onto his pride, but then, Jesus Himself had said he would get his exercise today. 

“Thank you, Simon.” you earnestly say, smiling kindly. “That means a lot, actually.”

He hums, reluctantly lowering himself so that you can put your arms around his shoulders and wrap your bad leg around his waist so that you can kick yourself off the ground with the other, and he grabs a hold of the back of your knees, lifting you up with a slight grunt. 

“See, that’s not too bad, is it?” James says with amusement in his voice, “If I ever trail back again or feel tired, I know just who to turn to, now.”

Simon lets out a sound and rolls his eyes, but cannot fight the smile. “See, there’s the kind of trouble I was fearing. Are you comfortable, (Y/n)?”

You tighten your grip around his shoulders and shift a little against his back before humming in agreement. “I am now,” you say, “As much as the pain allows me to be.”

When Simon starts to walk, you tightly grab onto him, sudden pain shunting through your ankle at the shocks that go through your body at every step. You rest your head against Simon’s back, grunting in pain. “Sorry,” you squeak, “Every movement just hurts.”

“Jesus will fix it,” Simon tells you, “And if not, it will only hurt for a few days.”

You manage to relax, trying to not focus too much on the pain. “Hm, would you carry me for several days, then?”

Simon clicks his tongue. “In your dreams, (Y/n). I’d drag you through the sand at a certain point.”

Both you and James laugh and you feel yourself becoming drowsy at the feeling of the lowering sun warming your back, the even pad of Simon’s feet lulling you into a state of content. 

“Falling asleep back there, (Y/n)?” James muses upon seeing your closed eyes, and you smile sleepily. 

“Maybe…” you hum, and Simon grabs a firmer hold on you as your body begins to slightly slouch forward against him. “Is it too heavy, Si?”

He shakes his head. “It’s okay,” he mutters, “Just close your eyes and try to rest while you can. After all, we don’t know how far off it is, and the more you sleep, the more energy you’ll have for your ankle to heal, and it means that your pain isn’t too bad at this very moment.”

You hum. “That’s right,” you say. “Thank you again for doing this.”

“Hey, don’t mention it.” Simon says, “Seriously thought, don’t mention it.” 

Laughing lightly, you pat his shoulder. “You grump.”

Simon’s eyebrows shoot up and he looks at you over his shoulder, giving you a challenging look. “I could drop you right here and now, you know?”

“You could, but you wouldn’t.”

The three of you travel onwards slowly albeit surely, hoping to find the rest of the followers somewhere soon. “Wake me up when you see camp,” you muse, closing your eyes again. 

Simon ignores the amused laughter of James.

“What a sight, though. Who knew that you were such a soft and caring person under all that tough-guy stuff?” Little James comments. You sleepily giggle.

In spite of his request, the former Zealot realises that he might not hear the end of this any time soon.

[imnotkosmic]

I looked up "is James the Less (aka Little James) and Judas Thaddeus brothers?" for this fic I'm writing, and here was Google's answer:

and my very first thought was, "oh my gosh, so they (The Chosen writers) weren't making it up that he sang. nice detail"

[dragongguk]

zee and his strong grip on matthew

[krustybob]

ultimate ship dynamic will always be whatever the fuck wile e coyote & the roadrunner have going on

[summerof336bc]

GOT TO SEE THE CHOSEN IN THE THEATER. IM OFFICIALLY INSANE

[id: a post banner that reads "i'm not christian (just mentally ill)". the background is Leonardo Di Vinci's "The Last Supper". end id]

[normal-with-adhd-is-a-joke]

I want to change my legal name to Zephora/Zipporah but 1) I need to decide on a spelling and 2) I was also dead set on changing my name when I went by Jay and that didn't end up sticking so now I'm thinking maybe I'm just going to swap to a new name every 10 years and I shouldn't try to make any of them official.

[heatherslovelythoughts]

Jesus: Why are you two always out during rainstorms? Zee: It’s so peaceful and refreshing. I love the smell of rain. Simon: Matthew bet me I couldn’t get struck by lighting, but they’re WRONG

Zee: I reserve the right to judge a movie based on when it was made, thank you very much. Jesus: You consider anything made before 2000 old and bad. Zee: And I reserve that right! After all…. Zee: I bet you wouldn’t like the average movie made in 1879! Jesus: There were no movies made in 1879. Zee: slams table WRONG! There was ONE movie made in 1879! The first movie! A zoopraxioscope of a horse galloping! Simon: Oooh! Let’s go ask Matthew if he saw it in theatres!

Simon: LOWERCASE LETTERS ARE FOR THE LOWER CLA--! Matthew: And here we have a capitalist. Jesus: Did you just- Zee: Let us all take a moment to appreciate that all of human history, human language, and the universe itself aligned to make this joke possible.

Zee: Blue M&Ms are the best. Simon: whAT IS THIS SLANDER? Zee: What about it? They are. Simon: I WILL NOT ALLOW SUCH LIES ON MY CHRISTIAN MINECRAFT SERVER! Simon: THE RED ONES ARE THE BEST! Zee: YEAH? WELL YOUR MOM'S A-! Jesus: They're all chocolate inside, the colors don't mean anything. Matthew: I like the yellow ones. Zee and Simon: SHUT YOUR MOUTH!

Jesus: What’s your biggest fear? Simon: That I’ll never be good enough for anyone. Matthew: Everyone hates me and talks about me behind my back. Zee: Zombies. Simon: … Matthew: … Zee: BUT they can open doors.

Jesus: My stomach growled super loud in French. Jesus: I would like to clarify, my stomach did not speak in French. It growled during French cla--. Simon: Bonjour. Zee: Le growl. Matthew: Hon hon hon, feed me a baguette.

Simon: Why do you act like we’re three year olds? Jesus, exasperated: WHY?!? Jesus points at Zee: YOU TRIED TO HYJACK A CAR! Jesus points at Matthew: YOU NEARLY JUMPED 20 FEET OFF A CARPARK! Jesus points at Simon: AND YOU ATE MULTIPLE DRIED LEAVES AND ROCKS OFF THE GROUND! Jesus: AND YOU ASK ME WHY????

Jesus: I have a question. Zee: Shoot. Jesus: Is the S or C in scent silent? Simon: Now I’m going to be thinking about this all day. Zee: Okay well, cent is pronounced the same way as scent so I’m gonna say the S is silent. Jesus: Okay, but sent is also spelled the same way. Simon: Google says that the C was added in the late seventeenth century, so I guess the S is silent. Matthew: Plot twist, both the S and the C are silent and the E actually makes the sss sound. Simon: Matthew is not allowed to talk anymore.

Simon: Zee, keep an eye on Matthew today. He's going to say something to the wrong person and get punched. Zee: Sure, I'd love to see Matthew getting punched. Jesus: Try again. Zee, sighing: I will try to stop Matthew from getting punched.

Zee, Simon & Matthew: screaming Jesus: runs into the room What's wrong, Matthew?! Zee: Wait, why are you asking Matthew that when Simon and I are also here? Jesus: Because Matthew wouldn't scream unless it's an emergency. You two scream whenever you have the chance.

Simon: So, everyone, what does a story NEED? Matthew: A character! Jesus: A setting! Zee, a gleam in their eyes, in a near-whisper: REVENGE.

[failbettergames]

You dream of rain. You dream that the ink that is your flesh is running off the page, smeared into dark rivulets on the vellum. When you wake, you can still feel a stiffness in your back; as if your spine is being held tautly by yarn.

In the dark of the cabin, your mind enumerates sensations as your eyes adjust: The sway of the gondola. The vibration from the engine in the starboard nacelle above you, rattling slightly – still no replacement for the broken fuel intake.

The noise of water rapping against a porthole window.

Hello, delicious friends. It appears that time, very disrespectfully, has chosen to march on until it is very nearly April. The time has come to talk about our major future plans for Fallen London.

A new major storyline

Firmament is Fallen London’s next major expansion, a main story arc that adds on to the game’s ongoing progression. Acquire an airship – permanently, this time. Fly to the Roof. Explore the stalactite fields ruled by the Starved Men, the carved paths of the Moon-MIsers, the inverted jungles of the Antipelago, and more.

This expansion focuses on the Roof. Just like the unterzee gets stranger and darker as you zail away from familiar shores, so do the upper airs of the Neath contain more than what you know about. As these castles on the ceiling open to you, you will learn more.

Firmament will launch over the course of April, with a prologue becoming available on April 11th, and the full first chapter on April 18th.

While Firmament is in some ways a follow-up to the Railway storyline, we are aware of how long it takes to get to the very end of the game’s (current) highest-level story. When Firmament launches, you will be able to start it as long as you have already begun the Railway storyline and reached Ealing. While you will need to advance your railway further to access the latter parts of Firmament, there should be ample time to catch up on the Railway in between Firmament chapters.

New mechanics

The Railway arc added new advanced skills. During the Zeefarer cycle we added revamped Zee travel and the new Boon/Burden mechanic. This set of updates comes with its own mechanical expansions to the game.

New item slots

Airships make their return as full-fledged items. Much like zeefaring ships, they serve you mostly in air travel – Aerial Prowess and Aerial Armament also make their return. But we’re also adding a few other item slots, while we’re at it.

Adornment includes all manner of jewellery and accessories – rings, necklaces, earrings, neckties, brooches, and more. Previously, items in this vein would appear in slots like Gloves or Clothing, leading to the somewhat odd mental image of wearing your Pendant of Helicon Amber and nothing else. With this update, these items gain their own space, enabling more player expression and empowering players to reach slightly higher stats.

Several existing items will be shifted to the Adornment slot, slightly buffing them by allowing them to stack with other existing items. Adornment is intended to be a part of the game from relatively early on – around the later parts of Making Your Name. A new Bazaar store, selling Adornments, will be added in a future update.

Crew is a complement to both ships and airships. We’ve long wanted to give ship crews (distinct from the vessels themselves) a bit more personality. Are they experienced or green? Are they Admiralty men through and through, or a band of privateers and villains? These kinds of concepts never really fit the Companion or Affiliation slots, so we are creating a purposeful slot for them.

Crews will be made available in a future update, initially accessible to players who have a ship.

Luggage may seem like a slightly odd addition, but so much of Fallen London, and Victorian fiction in general, is about travel and the mystique of travel. A battered steamer trunk that’s been everywhere. A briefcase full of secrets. Phileas Fogg’s carpetbag. Luggage is intended as a midgame slot. In a future update, you will be able to assemble some initial Luggage items in the Bazaar Side-Streets.

New Skills

We are conscious of not adding too much complexity to the game, especially not all at once. Firmament doesn’t add a full suite of new skills, like the Railway. It adds one new skill, and two new qualities of a somewhat skill-like nature.

Chthonosophy, the study of the root of things, has already been teased – but you’ve not really been able to obtain it, thus far. It is the major new skill for Firmament, playing a role similar to the role Zeefaring had in Evolution.

Inerrant and Insubstantial join Neathproofed as its two other counterparts. Like Neathproofed, these will appear more as additive benefits; they help your checks with other skills, more so than being checked in themselves. They exist to add a little extra, to help differentiate otherwise-similar items, and to act as an occasional bonus. As part of Firmament, we are pushing to make more use of Neathproofed, and carve out that space for its new counterparts, also.

Roof Travel

I won’t go into too many details about Roof travel, other than to set expectations. Yes, there is a new map. No, Roof travel is not quite a fully-fledged activity like zailing is.

We aimed it at a sort of middle ground between Railway travel (which is convenient and fairly predictable) and Zee travel (which is a whole venture unto itself.) Traveling from point to point on the Roof mostly takes one action; very occasionally, two. But it is drastically more variable than rail travel. There’s a broad variety of different things you can encounter in the upper airs of the Neath. And as you progress this storyline, you will encounter stranger things as you travel through the air.

And other delights…

Of course, we have other things planned for the rest of 2024. Our usual festivals will run as usual. A new Estival. Monthly Exceptional Stories. Various other surprises, including a series of more grounded new stories set in London. But we’ll talk about these things in detail sometime after Whitsun, which should take place, as usual, in May.

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted: The Startosphere 🌙🌠🌌

Since Star will be coming in chapter 3, I thought it'd be a good time to talk about Star's home, which is The Startosphere!

In this special space, its located in a cosmic space between the the mesosphere and thermosphere. In this space, millions of stars travel across the galaxy as nomads. They go around seeing different nebula formations, constellations and other wonders of the galaxy! All of the star people have cosmic power, but its never been used to the extent of actually changing their own form, let alone turning into animals or a human.

They don't have solid forms, and since there's no gravity, the star people sort of glide across space. Their outer appearance look like human people, but they're outlined like constellations with a blue, white or yellow tint. (See this Helluva Boss GIF below as an example.) Like when a person draws an animation test for a character's movements.

It can however, be a lonely life. Especially for our Star(boy). See, Star has a family. A big one in fact, but he hasn't seen them in years. And because stars are nomadic, its hard for him to make friends. He could be pals with one, but the next day he won't find them again. So he just wanders by himself, even though there are plenty stars around.

Many of the star people can see Earth from afar, but none of them have ever visited the planet itself. The stars just admire it from afar and go on about their business. Star however, was fascinated by Earth from the start and dreamed of going down there and meet the humans who all looked fun to him. He could spend hours watching them below, go away somewhere else, but always come back to Earth as if something there pulled him in like some kind of wind.

When stars reach 18 years of age, and they can pick their own names to go by. Sometimes they get them from the humans, and other times they create their own. Our Star hasn't chosen a name for himself yet, so Asha nicknames him "Star" to make things easier. Though after the adventure is over, he just might have an idea of what to call himself...

Normally, stars can't grant wishes, that's a human belief. However, Star creates his own way to do it: Going right down to Earth and helping Asha however he can. Lastly, there are a few star nomads who heard rumors of a star with more power than any other in the galaxy. One so powerful, they could grant wishes to not only humans, but other stars. But none of them have actually seen this so called "Wishing Star".

Star nomads can hear humans, but only when they pay attention to Earth. Most of the time they're too busy looking for the next exciting thing, so Earth just doesn't hold their attention like it does for our Star. However, there is one human that ends up catching his attention the most, through beautiful singing...

In the Wishverse, Star is excited to meet other Starboys because not only have their been others who've been to Earth, but now he can make Star friends and he knows he can see them again, no matter how long it's been. Not only does he gain Earth friends, now he has star friends too. He couldn't be happier. 😁⭐ (Plus he loves to hang with Suñeo and Cielo the most, surprisingly)

Hope you enjoyed this little worldbuilding here. Like I said, this is my first fantasy story. I mostly write and watch media that are sci-fi, superhero, and action. I do like fantasy, but there usually has to be a twist on it to get me invested, and Wish's concept was one of them! So I took the sci-fi part I know and used it to create this system for the star nomads. More will be revealed as the story goes on, so I hope you continue to read Wish Granted as it unfolds!

Stay awesome! 😉

@uva124 @oh-shtars @signed-sapphire @chillwildwave @tumblingdownthefoxden

@annymation @spectator-zee @lazytitans-world @kenihewa

@mythartist21 @gracebeth3604 @flicklikesstuff @emptyblog7

[gmalaart]

Still Waters (Run Deep)

The water parts around you, swirling and shifting as you pick apart the threads of memory you have chosen to comb through today. Something pulls the edges of your attention, lifting you out of your self imposed work. You huff and the air leaving your lungs propels you further up, away from the smell of your childhood home and the sound of your brother’s attempts at playing the piano. As the bubbles cloud your vision and the pressure of the zee and of time fades, the melody changes. It becomes louder. It sways from a piano to a violin. It is just as familiar as the memory of your brother, and you breathe fully for the first time in weeks. 

You lay on the surface of the water, staring at the cosmogone sky as a girl casts her shadow across your face. She plays her song, impressions of your past meetings with her washing over you in waves. Nowadays you don’t have much to talk about. She came to you often, at the beginning, when she first sensed your presence. You brought news of her father and she made you write promises into the cresting water all around you. You could see them still, if you waved your hand just so in the water. But you have said all that needs to be said, and so has she. The company is comforting either way.

Minutes, hours, perhaps days later, you feel a string pull at the centre of your chest. Your hand reaches under your own shirt, brushing against the set of stones encased in the necklace that sits snugly against your neck. They beat a warm rhythm into your skin, like they did only once before, here in the Is-Not, and the water stills around you. It creates a perfectly clear mirror to the sky above for just a moment, before the perfect immobility is broken by skipping words across the cosmogone hue. 

Your throat feels tighter, with each new sentence. Lenore stands with you in the whirlpool of memories that are whipped up by the words, the eye of a storm of your own making. 

Shared touches brush across your skin-

 A wave of worry flows up the length of your chest-

The lights of the bridge when he chased after you like no one ever had-

Closed curtains as he finds your arms after his hands had crafted a new order for the world-

His embrace, the first thing you felt after your body breathed anew-

The incredible privilege to see his mind at work-

I love you.

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

“I think this is where we part ways, my dear,” you say an epoch later, when the storm has died down and the words have long been blown away by the wind. 

“Yes, I think so too,” she answers. Her music plays on but it is fainter now as she holds her suitcase and gazes out towards where it feels like land is. “A ship should come by, but I don’t think you’re going to wait.”

“Absolutely not. It’s about time that I stretch my legs, I think. A walk would be nice.”

The zee ripples as she laughs, looking up at your face as you stand just out of reach. 

“You’re going back then?”

“I am.”

“That’s good.” She is quiet for a long while, both of you lingering and putting off the inevitable. “Take care of dad for me. One last promise.”

You turn to face her, tracing the features you have come to know so well. She looks like him. You think that you might have enjoyed meeting her when she was more than a memory.

“Of course. My skills are at his disposal, he knows this,” you say and watch her tilt her head, dipping into images of the times you offered something much more meaningful than skills to her father. “Alright, alright. I promise.”

A gust of wind carries your words away but you know now that they will remain. Someone will remember, somehow. As you gaze upon her one last time, the echo of your steps already moving across the surface of the zee, homeward bound, you hum the last notes of her endless melody.

All is quiet, here at the end.

“Be well, Emon.”

“And you rest easy, Lenore.”

A sort of response, sort of follow-up to @zeebreezin's last piece of writing, aka Shaw's letters as he set off to finish his Ambition. it absolutely knocked me on my feet and I needed to try to match the energy. and I suppose this means that Emon is on their way out of Parabola now!

[the-modern-typewriter]

Are you planning to publish any more books in the future? other than the God Key, already finished that :D

Yes :)

Though I don't have a complete first draft of either of the next ones yet. I have a lot of projects up in the air which means that it can be slow going on any one project.

Contenders for up next, depending on what I finish first, are:

Totally WIP/not really posted anywhere...

Moonlight Drowning - girl trying to rescue her sister from a fairy king (probs king, dithering on changing to a queen), appetite, desire, I'm thinking dark romance fantasy vibes.

Say Yes - my initial idea was a fluffy contemporary ace YA romance. But honestly, I'm not a fluffy person, and I might veer adult instead. We'll see what happens.

Then there is all the Patreon stuff. These are probably the closest to actual novels at this stage.

Adrian and Demarion - gay pirates, so help me god I want it done at this stage. It's been lingering on my to do list for far too long and it's driving my nuts!

For Kingdom, Come - dark fantasy gay royal romance??? Magnus and Leo. Idk. Good prince gets captured by evil prince. Shenanigans. Currently sitting at 48,000 words. Nearing the end. It's definitely in the last act now.

The Forbidden Section - weirdly fluffy/angst/ust romance about a Dark Lord (Eiran) and the scholar the dark-magic obsessed scholar (Akira) who he blackmailed into being his apprentice. It's primarily a romance with a sprinkle of magical school/chosen one plot. Currently sitting at 52,000 words. Over halfway through. Maybe beginning of third act?

The Birthday Gift - a novella about a villain's nonbinary sidekick (Absolute Zero/Zee) who gets giving the hero (Evolution/Jason) as a birthday gift. Story spins out from there. Currently sitting at 25,000 words. Nearing the end.

Cheating Death - human (Sebastian) walks in on his human lover (Kristian) cheating on with a vampire (Ansel). He finds out that he's secretly been their mission to protect all along, because he has magical blood that can cure vampirism. Plot shenanigans and polyamory to follow. Currently sitting at 37,000 words.

And that's not getting into the WIPs that are currently sitting on my abandoned/needs serious re-work pile.

Double Exposure - f/f serial killer thriller. The first few drafts are finished, but I'm not 100% happy with it. Needs a lot of work still.

The Forever Girl - a middle grade novel about a girl (Maeve) who becomes best friends with Time after her dad dies. I think I need to spend more time with children if I'm ever going to finish that one. It's outlined and the first draft is 75% written haha.