by shukyou (主教) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/342735.html) He had just fallen asleep when he heard the voice. He opened his eyes in the all-but-dark room, lit murky beige from the streetlight outside the curtained window. There was a figure standing in the corner, strange and familiar at once, and unmistakably human. It didn’t move in any direction, […]
Tag Archives: shukyou
27
Jul
The Defect
by shukyou (主教) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/337866.html) I stared down as the milk swirled little clouds into my tea. “I don’t do that for your people anymore,” I told him. David frowned at me from across the table; I didn’t have to look up to see the disappointment and frustration on his face. Boy, was he in […]
22
Jun
Layer Cake
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by Iron Eater (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/337059.html) “Not yet, boss,” Manda called from the next room. Steve looked at the car keys in his hand. He looked at the back door. He looked at the light switches he would hit and the alarm that he would set before going home for the day. […]
28
Apr
The Scene is Dead
by shukyou (主教) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/334420.html) It was the Queer as Folk that tipped him off. But for the four months leading up to it, Gautam just blamed his brother. Frankly, Mani was the more reasonable explanation. “You’ve got nothing to do here,” he sighed as he flopped down on Gautam’s couch, his socked feet dangling […]
28
Oct
Hunter
by shukyou (主教) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/321640.html) Maybe it was supposed to make everything look like night in movies, milky blue but still bright enough to cast shadows. Rian couldn’t think of another reason for the cobalt neon lights under the bar. They shone off the tops of his black shoes and made everything look somehow distant, […]
26
Aug
Night Begins the Day
by shukyou (主教) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/315497.html) Eventually, his parents had talked Lemuel down to only two Transformers figures, and those he would carry in his pockets instead of his hands. Asher had not been there for the negotiations, but Lemuel recounted them in great detail in the car, several times over. “My pockets, not my hands, […]
22
Jul
Suspension
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by serenity_winner (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/313996.html) “He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?” asked Jahi. “I’m sure she is,” I said without even looking, making sure I came through loud and clear over the thudding music. I had come out for the evening for a drink and some relaxation, not for Jahi’s half-assed attempts to […]
24
Jun
The Breathing Lessons
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by Tamago (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/309100.html) He showed up three months after the memorials had ended, which was three months of accepting fate after a little over a year of hope. But hope had been stupid from the beginning, because ships that got lost in the night didn’t have happy endings. Time and […]
22
Apr
The Exile’s Tale and Other Complete Wastes of Time
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by serenity_winner (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/304947.html) Everyone knew about Professor Thomas Oakley. He was a brilliant scholar and translator of Medieval and Renaissance European literature, respected by all in his field. He had a handsome, aquiline profile so regal and stern that even his rare smiles looked serious. He had a deep, rich […]
25
Mar
Timepiece
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by curanto (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/303134.html) Drunk laughter was the kind Felisha liked best: loose and loud and bubbly as the third word in the gin-and-tonics she’d been drinking all evening. It slipped out of her as she leaned against the door to her condo, rummaging through her purse for her keys. At […]
25
Feb
Boys Keep Fucking Up My Car
“Hey, I know a thing or two about cars.”
Gabriel kept his expression pleasant, neutral. “Do you,” he said, keeping his voice as noncommittal as he could while at the same time yelling over a shitty club backbeat. When he’d started sneaking into clubs at seventeen, using his older cousin’s ID, no one had told him the real crime would be that he’d become sick to death of it all by the time he could do it legally.
25
Dec
Our Lives in These Empty Spaces Aside
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by Tamago (卵) (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/294307.html) My name is Rainer, and I’m an alcoholic. It’s how stories start, if you’re one of us. Hell, if you’re one of us, there’s no other way a story can start. My name is Mary, and I’m an alcoholic, and here’s the time I got fired […]
22
Oct
The Siren of Titan
by shukyou (主教) illustrated by The Winter Cynic (mirrors http://s2b2.livejournal.com/291336.html) The light off the Kraken Mare shone warm and inviting, but Andreas knew that even if he’d been close enough to feel its reflection on his face, it wouldn’t have been like the mornings of his childhood, standing at the edge of the Aegean Sea […]
27
Aug
Watch
“Perhaps they’ve forgotten about us.”
“Don’t be silly,” said Jian, whittling at a knot he’d cut off the firewood. Bai had observed that Jian seemed to have no skill at whittling, and Jian had pointed out that he had nothing but time in which to improve. “They’ll probably send our relief tomorrow.”
Bai didn’t even bother turning from the sunset-painted landscape to fix him with a withering glare. “This is the seventh day in a row you’ve said that.”
“And the seventh day in a row you’ve said the opposite, and won’t you feel silly when dawn comes and we see them trudging up the path?”
Bai didn’t have to look to see Jian’s idiot grin. Jian was an optimist. Bai hated optimists.
“Won’t I,” was all Bai said in reply. He kept his eye trained at a single spot in the growing dark, spine straight, waiting for light.
23
Jul
In the Bush
“Only four crates, correct?”
Eryn nodded, then held up the small duffel he had clutched tight in his hands. “And this.”
The customs agent nodded and made a note of it. He had a severe face with bushy brown beard and eyebrows, both of which sprouted several small, downy blue feathers at intervals. Eryn had considered that kind of combination, which would have been both sufficient to the Reserve’s criteria and cheaper, but in the end, he’d decided that he couldn’t have been happy with that kind of halfway. The post-transition therapist had said it was a good sign that he was adjusting to a lack of body hair so quickly. Eryn didn’t miss so much as a follicle of it.
