26
Feb

What happens next may surprise you

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) 1 It’s another Saturday night and you’re tired of lying on the couch crying. Wallowing is officially over, you decide. You grab your headset and jack into the club. You’re standing in a corridor lit purple by the strips of glowing pink and blue that run at ankle level. Straight […]

18
Dec

Always will I ever

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三 ) Beside the bed, on the old steamer trunk Jacob used as a table, Peter’s phone buzzed. Peter noticed it and immediately forgot about it again. He had other things on his mind. “Never have I ever worn lingerie,” said Jacob. His breath was warm on Peter’s lips. “Oh, yeah? […]

30
Oct

Run For Your Life

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) Reed hovered in the darkened doorway and wondered why he’d thought it would be a fun idea to spend his day off pissing himself with fear on national TV. The two candles on the mantelpiece cast just enough juddering light that he could see the darker gloom of the bed, […]

21
Aug

Off-site team-building

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) illustrated by Keshi “I want a ridiculously large soft-serve ice cream cone with sprinkles on it,” Russell said, ticking the list off on his fingers. “I want a button with an ironic pop culture reference that I’ll lose before I get home. I want meat on a stick, and I […]

24
Jul

Unlocked

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) Jai let his overnight bag bounce on the bed with a careless jingle of souvenir charms as he darted across the room to the wall of windows. “Will you just look at that. Isn’t it spectacular?” Alyxi closed and locked the door and waved a hand over the light holo. […]

20
Jun

The undersampling of success

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) i. Make empathy great again. Girls just wanna have fundamental rights. The number of people massed on this oval of urban grass and the roads that encircled it must have been larger than the entire population of the town Henry’d grown up in, the signs as varied and colourful as […]

20
Jun

Try to keep it all the year

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) Half-frozen rain ticked against the windowpanes, trailing watery smears and blurring the colours of the traffic lights and gas station neon outside. Inside, everything was dark leather and maroon damask. A real wood fire burned in a real fireplace; candle flames drew sparks of gilt from wine glasses and silverware […]

19
Jun

Constantine’s red letter day

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三)   After eight hours, the highlights of which were a bag of half-full spice bottles, a batch of Mladenka’s handmade soap, and an extended argument over whether nostalgia value equalled actual value (no), Constantine locked the back room behind the counter and closed the door of Stores behind him. He […]

23
Mar

The uninvited visitors

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/354313.html) “There’s no flipping way,” one of the girls said, voice low but carrying, “that she’s the chosen one.” Bent in half, hands on thighs, lungs heaving, Alice couldn’t help but think the girl had a point. She watched a bead of sweat drop through her field of focus […]

22
Feb

The new kitchen boy

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/352383.html) “Those close to the court get honour; those close to the kitchen get food.” –Chinese proverb It wasn’t as though the new kitchen boy, or stablehand, or tailor’s apprentice ever actually fooled anyone. “We are expected to treat him as we would each other,” the First Cook said, […]

3
Nov

Logging in Old Algonquin

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/342896.html) Duncan loved Algonquin Park at this time of year. The summer campers and the mosquitos had cleared out, and it was quiet during the week; the nights were cool and the days were golden. He’d scored a campsite at the secluded end of the radio-free zone looking out […]

29
Sep

Silver Anniversary

illustrated by Tab Kimpton written by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/340502.html) Read this piece’s entry on the Shousetsu Bang*Bang wiki. Love0

27
Jul

3,693 miles of stitches

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/339475.html) When Sophie waved her new husband off to war she was wearing her favourite cotton day dress, pale blue with garlands of white and pink posies printed on it. All the other women were in their Sunday finest, but Sophie knew Frank liked her best like this, maybe […]

22
Jun

Employee engagement

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/336741.html) Another Tuesday, another staff meeting. Russell sipped from his travel mug, which did not contain even remotely enough caffeine for this, and listened to Wright drone on about Q2 web stats. “That said, why don’t we touch base with the App Subcommittee,” Wright said. “Katrina, Ardash, do we […]

28
Apr

Figgy duff and spotted dick

by Hyakunichisou 13 (百日草 十三) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/335333.html) Bryan set the coffee cup down on the narrow shelf that served as a desk in the corridor between the storage room and the kitchen. “Whatcha doing? I thought you were going to take a break.” “Mm. I think I figured out how we can do a daily […]