#1 : Prosperity
Published September 9th, 2025.
Foreword
I've been wanting to do something like this for a while now. To support artists in the fandom, have a way to catalog the old and new discoveries in terms of lore/interviews/etc, and carve out a space to express myself, a tiny publication that would be less mundane than a Tumblr post or a tweet. Adjacent to other projects I'm currently running that are writing heavy, I am now embarking on this new adventure aiming to list and comment the exciting things happening in the fandom. So welcome to PARADISE 18, hope you'll enjoy your stay !
- LesReptiles.
"I still love you very much, Xavier."
To start it off with a bang, a new podcast interview from late May 2025 was recently dug up, an episode of Q with Tom Power titled "Justice’s best advice for artists: revel in your mistakes".
This interview, although generalist at first glance, takes a left turn towards the end to focus on Xavier and Gaspard's relationship, what it means to them and how they'd describe it, after decades of knowing each other. I personally find it really sweet, and it tells a lot that was until now fairly obvious, but this time thoroughly explained and explored by X & G.
Seems Xavier now finds it incorrect to qualify his and Gaspard's relationship as a 'mere' friendship...
You can find the most interesting bits of the interview on this Tumblr post by extremelyjust. You can also listen to it in full on Apple Podcasts, or by downloading it from this Google Drive link.
Gossip central : Matching penis shaped vases
Recent discovery by the fandom, Alice Moitié offering both X & G matching... Dick vases ?
Pascal Teixeira, 2021. Unused picture for the Escapades X Rockyrama Zine. Picture taken in Gaspard's apartment.
Mix With The Masters, "Neverender", 2025. In Xavier's house.
What a lovely gift to offer to both of your friends ! Surely this does not have any deeper meaning...
You can read a bit more about this infamous "Shiva vase" by Ettore Sottsass over here ;)
A nice initiative !
As Justice's world tour soon is coming to an end, some artists have decided to step up from photocards and stickers in terms of fanmade merch, and went straight into making tour t-shirts !
We have Skeg and Celsius with a beautiful t-shirt flocked front and back in eye-catching orange that you can see the designs of on their respective links ! Unfortunately, preorders closed yesterday :(
Though more recently, Jas joined the club with a pretty all yellow design of their live installation ! And preorders are still up until September 16th on her shop :)
A lot of other people have announced they're planning on making goodies for the Brooklyn gigs too, so don't forget to bring a small bag to carry all this awesome merch you'll probably find in the line !
And a camera to film all the jaoi there will be at the end of concerts ;)
Fanfiction recommendations
Lots of new works were published on the AO3 tag this month. Here's a tiny selection of my favorites :
Entombed by Anonymous
Lovely multi-chapter work from one of the most promising authors of the tag. Taking place in the 19th century, the story follows Gaspard Augé, a miner worked to the bone who seemingly always ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And the little bird on my shoulder tells me there might soon be more to come in the same universe ! Really well written and researched, this fic will please all lovers of GasXav as soulmates almost fated to meet.
Eau Claire by Anonymous
Erol Alkan, in endless anguish, sees himself growing older as Xavier continues to drift away from him. Having sex with him one last time won't change anything, but it'll probably help voice out frustrations... Or will it ?
This ship or dynamics aren't my usual jam but the feeling of longing that seeps in every crevice of this fic truly caught me and left me wanting more ! Great job.
The Book of the Duchess: A slashtice retelling by xMissTitrax
More on the symbolical side, this fic really captured my attention through the fact it mostly takes place in the world of dreams. Tackling the themes of hurt, stagnation and unlearning harmful defense mechanisms, Gaspard rejoins with the one he loves most in a strange place... Certainly a fic to read more than once ! Loved it.
Selection of fanarts
After fanfictions, here are some beautiful fanarts that were posted this month on Tumblr and Twitter :
@iscoppie - Tumblr
@bbidulgii - Twitter
@celsiusbydesign - Twitter
@bbbntyy - Twitter
@ravenpaws222 - Tumblr
Some new work
To wrap up this little newsletter, have some art that was previously unpublished publicly, by yours truly :)
"Shopping for something new"
"Who's the animal ?"
Conclusion
Thanks to everyone that took the time to read this first post from my little newsletter, I hope you found it entertaining ! It was a true pleasure to make, and I already have plans for what I want to write next.
By the way, if there's anything you'd like to see added in future posts, or if you have any questions about this initiative, never hesitate to contact me on my Tumblr @lesreptiles ! I'll get back to you as soon as possible <3
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PARADISE 18 est souvent décrite comme une planète de rêve et d'indulgence, insituable et inqualifiable. L'une des rares choses que nous savons, c'est que ses habitants vivent noyés dans une vraie utopie, loin des complexes et des angoisses. L'Atlantide d'un monde infini, un espace minuscule vaillamment gardé par la féroce drama police...