Signups are now open for the June 24 issue; the text deadline for the issue is Tuesday, June 18, and the art deadline is Saturday, Saturday, June 22. Please comment here if you plan to submit a story or artwork for this issue.
As always, you don’t have to sign up to participate, and you’re not creating an unbreakable contract by signing up, but throwing your name into the hat is always a good way to get that creative impulse going! Signups for the beta reader pool will be in an upcoming post.
The theme for this issue is HEROES AND VILLAINS: Calling all caped crusaders and men of steel! Your city needs you now more than ever.
(via ladysisyphus)
From volume 9, issue 42
Omar had sighed the moment he unzipped the body bag and saw the young man’s pale, placid face. You became very inured to the realities of death and mortality very quickly in this job (or you did not keep this job for very long), but it always gave him a little twinge to lay a body on the slab that had been younger than him. Although, what was the line you heard from men in nasty mid-life crises? You got older, but the corpses stayed the same age. Something like that.
He thought things like that, but what he said into the recorder as he began the examination was, “Colin Stafford, white male, age twenty-seven, height sixty-nine inches, weight one hundred ninety-two pounds.” The name and the age had been retrieved from the driver licence that had been in the wallet that was now in a plastic bag in a locker waiting for whenever they found this poor kid’s next of kin. The driver’s license had also said he was 5’10, but Omar had proper measuring instruments. Sometimes bodies shifted a little in size immediately post-mortem, but Omar had seen enough to know that 5’9 was exactly the height where men put on a slightly taller pair of shoes and lied at the DMV. The shoes he’d taken off of the former Mr. Stafford’s feet and put into a locker had just enough of a heel to them.
“Police report indicates time of death at around 11:30 AM. Current time is 3:17 PM. Subject was found collapsed in a grocery store and was unable to be revived by paramedics. Concern that COD is infectious disease.” Everyone liked to get The Stand ideas in their heads every time a seemingly healthy young person keeled over, all thoughts that swine bird cat flu was coming to fell us all in the produce aisle. Omar had protective gear covering his face, as he always did, but he didn’t think he was dealing with patient zero, here. People died. Unexpectedly. Even young handsome ones.
This is my story this round! Death, life, mental illness, pharmaceuticals, dogs, love, friendship, and more! There was a lot more here that I wish I could have gotten in to, but I just didn’t have the time or space. I hope it makes the impression I want it to make. I like it, anyway! And the art is just fantastic.
Give it a go, eh? Let me know what you think, too!
We know that no medicine is for everyone. If you suffer from an aversion to pornographic depictions of same-sex relationships (known as homophobia), don’t take SHOUSETSU BANG*BANG. Experiencing these both at the same time could cause your blood pressure to rise to an unsafe level. Talk with your doctor first about how to be a better person. Make sure you are healthy enough to enjoy reading about sex. If you have chest pain, nausea, or other discomforts during reading about sex, seek medical help right away, or just sit in a different chair.
Although erections lasting for more than four hours may occur with all treatments in this literary class, it is important to seek immediate medical attention. Erections lasting more than six hours can result in long-term loss of potency.
The most common side effects of SHOUSETSU BANG*BANG are elevated heart rate, facial flushing, and quickness of breath. Less common are retweets or reblogs, a deep desire to leave comments, or vows to contribute next time. These may occur for a short time, or they may last all the way to upcoming issues.
SHOUSETSU BANG*BANG does not protect you from diseases that can be passed on through sex. Make sure to protect yourself and your partner(s).
If you take an alpha blocker drug for high blood pressure or prostate problems, talk to your doctor. You should not take more than 25 mg of SHOUSETSU BANG*BANG and an alpha blocker within 4 hours of each other. We don’t know why; it just seems like a bad idea.
Talk to your editors to ensure that SHOUSETSU BANG*BANG is right for you.
From Volume 9, Special Issue 8
When the water closed over Delphine’s head, she felt not fear, but anger. The sea was dark and swirling around her, and she was dazed from the impact of her body on the waves and could not right herself to find the surface again, no matter how hard she kicked her legs. She kept the air in her lungs despite wanting nothing more to let it out in a torrent of curses. Damn the storm, damn her crew, and damn herself the most for being tossed out over the prow.
My story! If you ever said to yourself, ‘Man, Ursula from The Little Mermaid is HOT!’ this is the story for you!!
From Volume 9, Special Issue 8
JULIA: It’s just a little— Oh, shit.
[quick cut]
JULIA: And then you want to— Shit. Balls. Hold on.
[quick cut]
JULIA: But always— [offscreen crash] Oh, sweet Jesus, fuck me sideways.
[quick cut]
JULIA: Well, either these will be the best petit fours I’ve ever made, or I’m just going to have to kill everyone in the building to cover the evidence.
[musical cue, title card: “BLESS YOUR HEART”]
This is a very special and very silly story that my partner in crime wrote that I must draw special attention to because: the cocktail recipes in it are mine! Created for something that ended up disastrous, so I’m glad they can have new life here.
The Staff and Participants of
Shousetsu Bang*Bang
request the pleasure of your company
at a High Tea Special Issue
Monday, the twenty-sixth of April
two thousand and thirteen
Sapphic delights will be served
Admission gratis
Donations of comments and sharing gladly accepted
R.S.V.P.
Hosted by Your Editors
(via shousetsubangbang)
Signups are now open for the April 29 issue; the text deadline for the issue is Tuesday, April 23, and the art deadline is Saturday, April 27. Please comment here if you plan to submit a story or artwork for this issue. As always, you don’t have to sign up to participate, and you’re not creating an unbreakable contract by signing up, but throwing your name into the hat is always a good way to get that creative impulse going!
The theme for this issue is PLAYING DOCTOR: Whether you’re suffering from a broken heart or a terminal case of handsomeness, the doctor is in.
from volume 9, issue 41
You couldn’t tell the latest generation of automata from human beings. That was common knowledge, so common in fact it was on the books as law in some countries. No disclosure required, and in any case, terribly rude to ask. You still found many of them working in the arts, hitting perfect-pitched notes and playing instruments with virtuosity, but the telltale markers of thirty or forty years ago were long gone. Your girlfriend with the perfect body and the strange light eyes was just as likely to have paid to have those features added to her flesh and blood body as she was to have had them built into her by equally mechanical hands. What was the point of trying to tell, anyway? It didn’t matter anymore.
Saif didn’t need to ask, though; he always knew. Even after all this time. He rested his forearms on the edge of the opera box and leaned forward, closing his eyes and tilting his head down over all the space between him and the orchestra below. The lead soprano, with her spirals of burnt honey hair and simply spectacular breasts, she was entirely human; the baritone singing opposite her, however, belting out profound notes from deep within his mighty beard, he was wires and circuits beneath his skin. Saif could keep himself occupied with this game for the entirety of the performance; he honestly found it a more interesting diversion than opera itself. But rituals were rituals and promises were promises. Even though his date was late, and more than just in his usual fashionable manner.
Here is my story! And I’m not saying you have to read Dead or Alive first. You could even read it after! But they are CONEEECCTTED.
from volume 9, issue 41
“You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
Saif’s voice came out muffled with the screwdriver in his teeth, and he pulled it out and flipped it into his other hand, instead. Key sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. His foot shifted an inch or two forward when he did, but though Saif frowned up at him, he didn’t seem to notice. “There is no need to exaggerate. The damage is not severe.”
“It looks bad enough from down here.” He plucked out the tiny screws from the panel in four twists, quick as a bird picking up seeds. The metal was dented so badly it had crumpled inward, and Key’s face and shoulders seemed to lose some tension at having it off. Saif caught his eyes lingering there, and forced them back down, to the tangle of wires and circuitry inside. “Doesn’t look like there was much damage on the inside, at least… Thick-skinned, you are.” Key snorted, and Saif grinned up at him in spite of himself, sniffing and arming stray hair off his sticky forehead. His gloves were covered in grease. “There’s one receptor terminal that’s barely hanging on, though. That’s probably what’s hurting you. I’ll have to replace it — brace yourself.”
Key blinked down at him, then scowled. “You have a very poor bedside manner.”
“Most of my patients don’t complain as much as you. Hold still, too.” Saif grabbed up the pliers and a pair of wire-cutters in one hand without looking, settling his spectacles back in place with the other. He only needed them for close work, but considering he practically had his nose buried in Key’s leg already — “I mean it, you know. You shouldn’t work for anyone who thinks of you as a doorstop.”my story, y’all!
:3 and Whit and I did a thing, stay tuned
we did do a thing indeed. tune it up
The Hookers and Blackjack issue is now live!
You there! Yes, you! Don’t be shy — come closer!
Is this your first time at the tables, or have you been here before? Come closer and have a seat! Have a drink on the house! Have a roll for free! This could be your lucky day!
We’ve got games aplenty: some old, some new, some familiar, some that haven’t even been invented yet, some that never will be. We’ve got games underwater, in the desert, in the city, and even all the way in space! We’ve got handsome dealers, dashing rogues, powerful businessmen, charming thieves, beautiful escorts, and more, all here, just waiting for you to draw a card. We’ve got danger, daring, excitement, adventure, high stakes, cheap thrills, blood, love, and a whole lot more — so put your chips all in! Every table tonight could be your lucky table, every draw has the chance to send you home a winner. One roll could change everything. And you know what they say: you can’t win if you don’t play.
So remember: have a good evening, don’t forget to tip your authors and artists, and if you find yourself lacking anything, just ring your bell and ask for us. We’re your Editors.