Shousetsu Bang*Bang

This is the Shousetsu Bang*Bang story archive journal, where individual stories in each issue will be posted. Please visit/friend the bb_shousetsu community for announcements and issues of the magazine, which will appear on a bimonthly basis. You may also join the comm for members-only behind-the-scenes (editorial, design, writing, etc.) discussion, especially if you plan to submit a story.

volume 01, issue 01: La Rencontre
volume 01, issue 02: Tales of Magic and Mystery (Halloween 2005)
volume 01, issue 03: Friend or Foe? (Christmas 2005)
volume 02, issue 04: Sweets for the Sweet (Valentine 2006)
volume 02, issue 05: Second Chances and New Beginnings
volume 02, issue 06: Animal Kingdom
special issue 01: A Maiden's Confidence
volume 02, issue 07: Position of Power
volume 02, issue 08: An Officer and a Gentleman (Christmas 2006)
volume 03, issue 09: Asiaphilia
volume 03, issue 10: May-December
volume 03, issue 11: Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down
special issue 02: Amoris Ignis Perpetuus
volume 03, issue 12: 100 Tales of Horror (Halloween 2007)
volume 03, issue 13: Theme-Less Issue (Christmas 2007)
volume 04, issue 14: Short and Sweet
special issue 03: Time & Time Again
volume 04, issue 15: Pop! Goes My Heart
volume 04, issue 16: Faster Higher Stronger
special issue 04: Haunted (Halloween 2008)
volume 04, issue 17: Theme-Less Issue (New Year 2009)
volume 05, issue 18: A Web Of Intrigue
special issue 05: The Road
volume 05, issue 19: He Blinded Me With Science
volume 05, issue 20: Picture Perfect
volume 05, issue 21: Ninjas Versus Pirates (Halloween 2009)

December 29 - volume 5, issue 22: Theme-less Issue (deadline: December 18)
February TBD - volume 6, issue 23: Food
April TBD - volume 6, issue 24: Historical Romance
June TBD - volume 6, issue 25: Theme List
August TBD - volume 6, issue 26: Schoolboys
September TBD - Fifth Anniversary Special Issue
November TBD - volume 6, issue 27: Fairy Tales And Folklore

by frostfire



Reid hadn't been intending to go out that night; he'd planned to finish up his job, go home, shower off all the dust and bird crap and dirt and other planet-specific detritus (he missed living on a station so fucking bad, sometimes), and sleep the happy sleep of someone that-much-closer to being a shipowner.

But the job had actually--for once--gone really, really fucking well. In and out with no trouble, no guard animals, no guard bots, nothing but a particularly lame electronic alarm system between him and his score. He'd finished two hours early and stepped out of his shower still alert and twitchy, just as the clubs were getting into swing. So he got dressed again, and now he was here--some new place, would probably be gone again next time he walked by, but he liked the anonymity. And the music wasn't bad; he couldn't tell the songs apart, but he liked that in dance music; nothing too distracting.

( ... )
 

by Hana Chikai (羽名血海)
illustrated by tashigi



( Title Image )

"Weigh anchor!"

The familiar call rings out across the scuffed wood and billows the sails as they unfurl from the mast. Well-worn boot soles pound the deck as all hands are put to the myriad tasks involved in leaving port.

The captain stands, feet firm, by the wheel, calling out orders. "Wind's in our favour, boys, let's get her out there!" He's tall and pale compared to the slighter, darker figures about the ship; what really makes him stand out, however, is the pale blond of his hair. It's a marked contrast to the sun-streaked midnight of the others' heads.

( ... )
 

by Hinotori (火鳥)



The ninja was only a few feet away, watching Jason intently. The air between them crackled with tension.

The skintight fabric of the ninja's costume showed off all the lines of his body. In typical style, his face was covered except for a narrow slit for his eyes. It was hard to read his expression. Were those eyes giving him a similar examination, or looking for a way to escape?

It was time to end this stalemate.

Jason shuffled further along the couch and stroked his pirate beard thoughtfully. "Tell me," he said. "How would you feel if I kissed you now?"

( ... )
 

by B. B. Dox



"You've something on your mind, Koya," a voice said, muffled by the curtains that enclosed the palanquin.

"It is of no consequence, my lord," Koya said stiffly, keeping his voice low. The palanquin's bearers, panting in the humid summer air with every step, were too busy and too smart to give any indication that they had heard a word, but Koya knew that appearing oblivious was quite a different thing from being actually so. "I am sure my lord has much on his mind other than my petty troubles."

Hayaki darted a glance at him from her position on the other side of the palanquin. Koya pretended not to notice her.

( ... )
 

by B. B. Dox



PART ONE

( ... )
 

by Oneira



"Alright, move it!" Frank bellowed, his taskmaster's voice booming over the din of the busy set. "I want those lights in position! Tim! You working up there or just looking pretty? Get to work!"

Tim nodded in automatic agreement, eyes never leaving the confused tangle of cables at the back of the floodlight he was working on. "Nearly done!" he called back, glad of his height as he strained upwards on his ladder, probing deeper. A spark buzzed warningly under his fingertips and he adjusted his grip by slow, careful increments, not particularly keen on the idea of burning the place down on his first day on the job.

( ... )
 

by Kuruki (来木)
illustrated by Kin Nori



( Title Image )

1659, east of Barbados

I hear shouts coming from the deck. I can't understand the words. Why can none of these foreign devils enunciate? I acknowledge that I am foreign to this part of the world, but so many of these Englishmen can't speak their own language, let alone another.

Feet scramble above my head. Something must be happening. The captain walks by my cabin on the way to his, shouting orders that I can't understand. Something about hiding in the bilge. What and why?

( ... )
 

by Jestana
illustrated by unicorn-catcher



He couldn't quite stifle a groan as he regained consciousness. His head was pounding something fierce. "Careful, sir; you're still recovering."

"What--?" He opened his eyes to find himself in a bedroom onshore, sparsely but comfortably furnished. A cherubic-looking young man--more boy than man--in a simple homespun shirt, pale blue waistcoat, and dark blue breeches sat in the chair by the bed. Wide blue eyes gazed at him with concern. He tossed his head, moving restlessly in a vain attempt to get up. "My ship. Must find--"

( ... )
 

by Bara Akai (薔薇・赤い)
illustrated by llyse



"What was it like?" Michael turned on the bed to face Drew, his heavy eyes darkened to pits in the low lighting that filtered in from the hallway almost five feet away. He and Drew were two heavy bodies draped against the blue satin sheets on Michael's bed. Their limbs were lanky and weighted from too-long sleeps and the chill they shared at the heart. They settled themselves around each other, wrists and ankles like felled tree branches after a storm — tangled and too big, too full of rain water, to move. It was the beginning of fall but felt like the beginning of winter as the smell of snow crept down from the Appalachian Mountains and into the outskirts of their North Carolina college town.

( ... )
 

by Umeko Noa (梅子乃愛)



"We're not allowed to throw any parties, eat the trick-or-treat candy, scare the little kids, or eat the cake in the fridge," you say, ticking the list off your fingers. Your thumb's left and there was a fifth one, but that's all you remember so you wiggle your thumb, hoping to jar your memory.

Your friend pouts. "Fun-sucker. You're out to ruin my life, aren't you? I totally could be at a party right now, drinking and making out with a ninja."

There's really no response to that except for blinking, so you blink. Your thumb's still wiggling and you forget about it until Malcolm pushes your hand down. His skin is warm.

( ... )
 

by Tsubaki (鍔き)



It's with a smile and a tone of matter-of-fact fondness that friends say Emil and Ryan may as well have been made for each other.

The slightly cliché Golden Couple, completely adorable, eternally well-coordinated, thoughtful and romantic, involved with each other to a degree most people envy and are amazed by in turn… if not occasionally disgusted. Doesn't familiarity breed complacency? It appears not. They have a way of cohabiting it shouldn't have taken just a year to perfect.

( ... )
 

by Tsubaki (鍔き)



PART ONE

( ... )
 

by Delyth Penrose



Cast list and name pronunciations at the guide post.

"What a magnificent specimen," Livia Vitella said, looking at the naked barbarian as she might a particularly spirited horse.

Her husband liked to jest that such things came with marrying into a noted equestrian family. Aenfrith thought it simply further proof that for all their arrogant claims to civilization, the Imperium had far less decency than his own 'uncivilized' clansmen.

Still, gold was gold the world over, and the Imperium's gold spent better than the iron of their chains. He held his tongue, and tried not to think how fine a line it was that kept him from the naked barbarian's place.

( ... )
 

by Delyth Penrose



PART ONE

( ... )