Queer Fantasy and Weird Tales for the People
“I had to cross the whole world again,” I said. “I thought you might not have waited.”
Chapter LXVIII: The New Phyreios
This is it! The last chapter of the serial version of Journey to the Water. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon.
Hozier, “Work Song”
Good morning! Bit of a throwback today. A moderate throwback.
I am experimenting with scheduling content this week. I normally post everything by hand, if that’s the correct term, which you have probably noticed, because chapters are sometimes a few hours late. I try to post them at noon on the appointed days. The first time I tried to use a third-party scheduling app for Instagram, it tanked my already abysmal engagement, so I haven’t really messed with it since. However, I’ve been told that scheduling content is the way to save me time and energy, and I want to keep a consistent posting schedule while I’m spending all my time on rewrites, so here we are. Don’t worry, I still get notifications for comments and things, so I won’t be absent from the blog.
On that note, I’ll have the LAST CHAPTER of Journey to the Water on Patreon tomorrow, and the second-to-last chapter will be here on Wednesday for free reading. If they post at 12PM Central on the dot, you’ll know I succeeded with the scheduling.
Not too many petitions this week, but here’s what I have:
Via USCPR: Call Congress–stop arming Israel
Via MoveOn: Call on Congress to skip PM Netanyahu’s speech
I think that’s all for today. I love you, stay hydrated, and have an excellent week.
“Flesh,” the sharp-toothed one repeated, a keening whine that made the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Hush, Kelast,” the one who looked like Khalim said, soft and placating. “You’ll be all right.”
He sounded like Khalim. I searched his face, looking for some flaw that might give away a shapeshifter, or a detail that would prove that my eyes did not deceive me. There were his dark eyes, untainted by the deceiver’s gold, exactly as I remembered them. There was his smile, warm and guileless.
Khalim had left the citadel where the god Torr had confined him—that I knew. I also knew that he would seek out the lost and wounded, and how else could one describe these strange people gathered around the fire? They showed no visible injuries on the hands and faces that emerged from their robes, but their eyes—the eyes of deer and frogs as well as of men—were hollow and hungry.
But I had been deceived before. I was spared, then, by having witnessed the serpent-god of the desert reach into my memories and put on the image of Khalim. This vision might have been more of the same.
I reached out, and the image of Khalim did the same, but my hand passed through his. I drew it back, startled.
“You really are made of flesh,” he said, awe and wonder on his face.
The sharp-toothed man, Kelast, made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.
Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter LXVI: The Crumbling World”“You look like you’ve been to the deepest hells and crawled your way back,” he said with a shrug.
“You’re more correct than you could possibly know,” I said.
Chapter LXVII: The Long Way Back
It’s the penultimate chapter of Journey to the Water! You can read it right now on Patreon.
Joshua Burnside, “And You Evade Him/Born in the Blood”
Good morning!
I had a great time at the Kenosha Comic Con yesterday! Thank you to everyone who escaped the oppressive heat by stopping in our tent and saying hello.
Journey to the Water rewrites are still under way, and I’ll have a new chapter for you on Patreon tomorrow and last week’s chapter here on Wednesday. I will still be working on rewrites when the serial version finishes in a couple of weeks, but I’ve got some other stuff in the works for you, so stay tuned.
A couple of petitions today:
Via ADC: Khan Younis Massacre Kills Hundreds, U.S. Must Stop Selling, Transferring Weapons to Israel
Via Save the Children: Tell Congress to protect Food for Peace
I’m not here for political commentary, and I’d assume neither are you, so I’ll just say that no matter what happens, our job remains the same: take care of people, take care of ourselves, vote and petition where we can, and believe that a better world is possible.
I appreciate you. Take care and stay hydrated this week.
This Sunday, July 14, I’ll be at the Kenosha Comic Con! The event runs from 10 until 3 and includes comic creators, writers, artists, and food trucks. You can find it outside of Studio Moonfall, 5031 7th Avenue, Kenosha, WI. Here’s the facebook event and here’s the website.
Also, I’m very excited to show you all five bookmark designs for Journey to the Water! You can pick up one (or more!) of your very own at the Comic Con! Also for more of Brooke’s art, go here.
Fearghus waited, ginger brows raised in an unspoken question. He’d always called me impatient, and said that his fiery hair belied which of us was the more hotheaded. I had missed him so—even in the long years when I had thought of nothing and no one but Khalim, I carried Fearghus with me. I dared not reach out to touch him for fear that he would vanish into the salt-heavy air.
“What are you doing here?” I said, finding my voice at last. “You should be upon the summer plains, hunting with the gods of our people. Please, tell me that you haven’t been banished to this desolate place.”
The gray sea broke against the shore in a whisper, lifting my boat and pushing it further into the rocks. I’d have to pull it farther ashore if I ever planned to return to it, but for now, I could not tear my eyes from Fearghus’s face.
Continue reading “Journey to the Water Chapter LXV: The Long Walk”He took my hand and stepped forward. I had no choice but to follow. I would have followed even if I’d had a choice.
Chapter LXVI: The Crumbling World
Eske ventures through the world beyond the world to arrive, at last, at his destination–but there is danger even here at the end. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon.
First Aid Kit, “The Lion’s Roar”
Good morning!
It’s Monday again. I’ll have a new chapter of Journey to the Water up on Patreon tomorrow, and last week’s chapter will be up here on Wednesday. In the meantime, I’m working on rewrites.
On Sunday, July 14, I’ll be at the Kenosha Comic Con from noon until 5! This takes place outside Studio Moonfall, 5107 7th St, Kenosha, WI. There will be some cool local and local-ish indie writers, artists, and comic creators, plus at least one food truck. Here’s a link to the Facebook event, if that’s easier for you. I hope to see you there!
I’ve only got a couple of petitions this week, so here we are:
Via World Beyond War: Urge Governments to Use UN General Assembly Res 377 “Uniting For Peace” for Peace in Palestine
Via Justice Democrats: Oppose the amendment to censor Palestinian casualties
Thanks for being here. Have an excellent week.
Khalim’s fist struck the vast marble door and made no sound. The wall of the white city loomed above him, high as the red twilight sky, its perfect flat surface marred only with its faint, gray veins. The seam between the doors let none of the perpetual low sunlight escape. The city was exactly as Khalim had left it: flawless, impenetrable, and silent.
Khalim did not belong here, and he never had. His hand was dark against the great door, the tattered threads of his clothing brighter than even the sky. He had left the dust of the road and the wet earth of the forest behind, but he felt as though he would leave a mark on the marble just by touching it.
He knocked again, scraping his knuckles against the stone but leaving neither dirt nor blood on the surface. The marble only appeared smooth.
“I know you’re there,” Khalim said to the door. “I was in your presence for fifteen years. I could find you again even in this place.”
Continue reading “Journey to the Water Interlude Six: The White City”
Space Whales Press 