26
Aug

Ever a Surprise

by 織工 (Okō) See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. Stephanie pulled at the strap of her borrowed black velvet halter-top, then pulled the waist of it back down to meet her skirt’s waistband and looked around the courtyard, trying not to bite her lip so she wouldn’t smear her lipstick. Her long […]

29
Apr

A Fine Distraction

by Okō See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. Dieter watched the crowd flow around him in the largest ballroom in the German Embassy.  There were too few exits, too many people, and too many potentially un-vetted catering staff. But after nearly a decade spent among the ambassadorial elites in London, none of […]

27
Aug

A Wild Call and a Clear Call

by Okō   Hiram Kalloway joined the Royal Navy at the late age of thirteen, his mother having insisted on his remaining home until that age in order to gain some additional polish. His father, Samuel Kalloway, had gone to sea at the age of nine, moving up in the captain’s list year by year […]

25
Jun

To Sing of Contests

by 織工 (Okō) The fall of 2013 seems to absolutely fly by. One moment there’s a hastily-staged intervention where what feels like half of Nick’s teammates are in his kitchen telling Nick they know about him and Kolya, the next it’s December and New York is even more slammed with tourists than usual. Isabelle flies […]

26
Mar

To Join This Song

by Okō (織工) illustrated by beili Isabelle’s sophomore year at Julliard starts off well enough at first. Music theory is going to be a challenge this year, since she’s gotten beyond anything they covered in AP at Shattuck, but her teacher seems pretty good. The Operatic History and Practice class looks interesting, even if it […]

26
Feb

The Secret Between His Teeth

by 織工 (Okō) illustrated by beili The fall of 2013 dawns unseasonably warm, and September in New York City opens with a few 30-degree-Celsius days during which Nikolai Mikhailovich Kudryavtsev cranks up his window air conditioners and tries not to feel guilty about his mounting electric bill. It’s not like he can get the superintendent […]

30
Oct

A Voice Once Swallowed

by 織工 (Okō) Kolya’s mother invites Nick to join them for a family dinner in early February, when he and Kolya have been together for about three months. It’s really more of a demand than an invitation, since there’s no way for Nick to turn it down politely even if he wanted to. “All move […]

21
Aug

Higher Than Hay Bales

by Okō (織工 )   It turns out 2013 isn’t the New York Rangers’ year for the Stanley Cup either. They make it to the playoffs as a wildcard, and lose the first round of the playoffs in six games. Kolya is exhausted, and bone-weary, and his ankles and knee are killing him, and some […]

24
Jul

Picked Up Along the Way

by Okō ( 織工) Morgan’s present caught up with him one afternoon while he sat in the local park and watched a pair of old men play chess, studiously ignoring the hipster moms and their screaming children on the tiny jungle gym to his left. The neighborhood was gentrifying slowly enough that Morgan could still […]

20
Jun

One May Hide Another

by Okō 織工 Nikolai Mikhailovich Kudryavtsev is drafted to the NHL in 2004 and signed to the New York Rangers. His mama cries, because New York is an enormous city, so much larger than Chelyabinsk, and it’s halfway around the world, but she looks relieved, too, because her baby will be safer there, and they […]