by shukyou (主教) illustrated by 2013 “What in Hell’s name happened to you?” Ram asked, or tried to ask, because his mouth had several orange slices in it. It was not the right time of year for oranges, and they were still slightly green and sour, but to Ram’s way of thinking, out-of-season oranges were […]
Tag Archives: shukyou
Reverse Cowgirl (Not Gay as in Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, Queer as in Dude Ranch)
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by the Winter Cynic “Mona, I think they’re … they’re all lesbians!” This was not precisely the conversation Pearl wanted to be a part of while standing in the sun, shooing flies from her face, waiting for a horse so they could start their scheduled trail ride. Truth be told, […]
Head
by shukyou (主教) He stared into the mirror in horror as his hideous visage stared back at him. His breath stank in his own nostrils, coming back to him with a smell so hideous, it seemed only the underworld could have produced it. The eyes that met his gaze were familiar, but everything else was […]
It’s Hard to Say “I Do” When You Don’t
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by melanofly “Of course, you should never pop the cork. If you do it right, the sound should be” –and there it was, that gentle exhale– “as soft as a lover’s sigh.” Two tables over, Avery was trying not to shred his cocktail napkin into too many small pieces. It wasn’t […]
All That Rises
by shukyou (主教) 100 days before the Fire Lizzy was in the kitchen, chopping onions, when Nina walked in the front door to their apartment. “I’m in here,” she called, as though the rhythmic sound of her knife might not be enough to give her location away. Dinner would be simple tonight; Lizzy […]
The Long Dark
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by 2013 I scowled at them like I could shoot lasers from my eyes — which I didn’t have the mods for, but they didn’t know that. “Both of you, shut the fuck up.” To their credit, they did. He kept glaring daggers at me, like he was promising that the […]
Good Chemistry
written by shukyou (主教) illustrated by 2013 “Finally,” said Principal Hulme, saying the best word that could be spoken at a teacher inservice day, “our new eleventh-grade Language Arts teacher, Mr. Zachary Hayda.” Zachary stood and gave a shy little wave, then walked over to stand beside the three other new members of the Cooper […]
Unseemly
by shukyou (主教) “Aunt Linda, did…” Paul had no idea how to word this question. “Did Mom and Dad … sell me?” He wanted to hear her laugh at that, amused by what seemed to her a rare show of whimsy from her straitlaced nephew. He wanted to hear her express utter confusion, wondering why […]
All This Damn Gravity
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by 2013 The date had been marked on Zoey’s calendar for … well, it’d been a while, actually; orbits were predictable like that. But for the last seventeen trips around the moon, she’d been counting down with bated breath, going to bed every night with the quiet excitement of knowing that […]
Additional Tags: RPF, First Time, Bandmates to Lovers, OTP
by shukyou illustrated by TOFU+BEAST, Someone Else, The Winter Cynic, Riso, 2013, melanofly you up? No. lol Go to sleep. you first You’re the one who texted me. im bored Then go to sleep. You’ll be less bored if you go to sleep. what if i have boring dreams?? what if im a dentist […]
soulmates are stupid i love you on purpose
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by melanofly The feeling of recognition was immediate: cold and bitter, like breaking open a bottle of perfume last worn by a loved one now many years dead. Bailey — because that’s what his name was this time around, which made it as good of a name as any — […]
Who’s Afraid
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by Shrimp King The bouncer on the sorority house’s front porch folded his arms across his chest and scowled down the stairs at Dagmar. “Buzz off.” Under nearly any other circumstances, Dagmar would have buzzed right off, and gladly. But Jessy had been talking about this for a full month […]
Walkies
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by 2013 Simon was sure it was the right apartment. It had the right number. His key worked. Tiny was sprawled on his orthopedic bed in the middle of the living room floor. But the man in the blazer and boxers was new. Of course, from the look on his face, […]
Halfway
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by Tofu Intellectually, he knew the sky he saw outside the prison was the same one he’d seen while in it. But it felt different somehow, viewed without the frame of walls five times higher than he was. He wanted it to be bright blue, picturesque, the Platonic ideal of freedom; […]
Rule 63
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by Tamago (卵) Like any good scientific endeavor, the Parallel Universes Research Laboratory ran on rules, and we all had our favorites. It was hard not to — they were all absolutely necessary, and yet so weirdly specific that you sort of couldn’t not get attached. Maggie latched onto the […]