20
Dec

Wild

by shukyou (主教) See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. In the dream, she’s always running. Her bare feet hammer against the forest floor, its hard-packed surface overgrown with pine needles and moss. In the distance, the blast of a hunter’s horn rolls across the heavens like the world is ending. She has […]

20
Dec

Changing Careers

by CircleTime See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki.   The dim twilight slipped lazily through the wide, heavy boughs of the trees, casting long, deep shadows throughout the woods. The Shrouded Forest earned its name from this very phenomenon – the way that darkness fell early in the evening and blanketed the […]

20
Dec

The Professional Mary-Ann

by Renaissance Makoto J. (ルネサンス・真・J) See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. Scotty turned in a circle and gave an appreciative whistle. It echoed back down because the space was so large that sound played tricks. “Wow! Look at this place! What the heck did you do for this guy? This is some […]

20
Dec

Cathexis

by Togi Kayako (土宜草子) illustrated by The Winter Cynic See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. I slam my study door behind me with more force than necessary, cutting off Andy’s plaintive meows. My hands are clenched too hard on my phone, and they shake a little as I dial Will’s number. He […]

20
Dec

Pyroclastic Flow

written and illustrated by Iron Eater See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. The too-smooth spire of the tower sliced against the midmorning sky like the snapped-off trunk of a sapling, and even after all this time Riaag never liked fully turning his back to it. He hated that fucking thing. Sagas loved […]

20
Dec

Dream House

by Shirozubon Saruko (城図凡然る子) See this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. 1. By now, Kim’s brain seemed to have developed some weird sixth sense for the difference between “kid waking me up and it’s important” and “kid waking me up and it’s not important,” even before he’d really woken up at all. Sure, […]

20
Dec

Rue Amid the Roses

by Shiawasena Ryokō-sha Visiting aunt’s carriage fully seen off, Lord Dirk ran to the rose gardens, blind with six kinds of tension, so he could be alone. Only once his ears filled with the sound of birdsong and the crunch of pebbles underfoot did he let himself give in to the full-body trembling he’d fought […]

13
Dec

comeback kid

by Izzy Haunting When Josh got out of the shower in his new apartment for the first time, someone had written Hi Roomie! : ) in the steam on the bathroom mirror. Josh stood in the bathroom and looked at it for a long time, wondering what to do about it. In normal circumstances, he […]