"So, would you like to put your mother's name on the card?" I stood there in the florist shop, completely stunned. I couldn't speak for a moment. My mind was both a total blank and fast-forward video, my whole life racing before my eyes. "Uh, no . . . no thank you," I finally stammered. "Well, they are beautiful roses," the woman said. "I know she'll appr...
by PapaWereBear and UrsusMajr (This is the final, author-approved version of this story. It contains a few additions and minor corrections to spelling and punctuation. The authors hope you enjoy it.) Copyright, 2010. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced by any means, electronic or otherwise, without express permission of the authors...
The year is 92 PT (Post Tezuka) the Anime World is large and varied with diverse environments and civilizations, and the people who live in this world are equally diverse: people of all different races, genders, species and sexualities call the Anime World home. Speaking of sexualities, one of the many problems the Anime World faces is a large number of gay...
Joseph had to concentrate hard to keep his teeth from chattering. It wasn't that it was cold, but, rather, it was because of where Joseph was and what he was doing. Six weeks previously he had been in New York, at Colombia University, studying microbiology. Tonight, he was out on a rocky hillside, facing Israel's volatile border with Lebanon, standing sentry...
In another time, another place ... You are the third son of King Phillip. The Kingdom of Eros operates differently than other countries -- famously so. While other realms choose rulers based on inheritance, power or money, Eros follows one unique system: the sex sport. Since the dawn of man, sex has been an economy of its own; it is a measure of power and tr...
I have always managed to keep my bi world in check and separate from my public straight world by always putting my wife and children first and by committing only to them—that is, possibly, with one notable exception. I had an atypical long-term relationship with an Australian colleague that seemed innocuous at least at the beginning but that has grown strong...
Peach bitten sweetly in the spring ripens to full cut-sleeve perfection in the summer. P'ai had heard the sweet song of Wang-t'ao, the handsome stranger from Wuhan his father had met at the Yangtze ferry stand, many times before in the brief time Wang-t'ao had been in the village, but now it was bringing tears to his eyes. He could not be sure why, but he w...
Thomas and Niko in the City of Trees - Chapter 20 — A cross stands watch over this town. It actually looks kind of majestic up there on that flat rock if you don't think too much about the undertones. A lot of people have tried to have it taken down over the years. I get it. Better to represent none than only one, and all that. But here's the thing: You ge...
"Hello, you must be Shayne. I'm Mr. Caldwell's boy, Jerome. Come on in. I'll take your bag to your room. He's out beyond the great room, in the pool. Go on back." With that welcome, I entered the world of Ted Caldwell, retired supposed master spy, the man I'd been sent to the New Jersey shore to interview over the weekend for Spy magazine. I hadn't been loo...
The music made Pai smile. He had heard the sweet song of Wangtao, the handsome stranger from Danyang his father had met at the Dan River ferry stand, many times before in the brief time Wangtao had been in the village, but now it was bringing tears to his eyes. He could not be sure why, but he was trembling, knowing that something momentous was happening. Or...