SSBB #57: Things That Go Bump in the Night
I went entirely out of my way to read these all by Tuesday, because I knew I wouldn’t have time to review them after that…and then I didn’t get a chance to post anything until today anyway. Woops.
This was a popular issue in that there were eleven stories! All of them thematically appropriate, I believe. But most of them short. Only the last story was two-parts. So it’s still a good Halloween-evening read; gay porn to appreciate between doorbell rings!
The shadow in the classroom, by Hyakunichisou 13: This was a sequel to a previous story, which I am, as always, too lazy to look up. It’s about a teacher who’s been having mysterious troubles in his classroom, and calls a supernatural investigator to investigate. It’s a well-told story, though the smut does not come from the source you would expect.
Ectoplasmic Manifestation, by Aosora Hikaru: A young man, who is a horribly easy mark is invited to a haunted house by his boyfriend. The trip to the house itself is sadly brushed over, but otherwise this is a hilarious and fun little high-schooler romp.
The Whims of the Dark One, by Yin Twig: This probably took the cake for crazy shit. In a good way, mostly, though the smut goes right into blood play and pain, which I’m not so big on. But that’s why I’ve learned to skim things. And the twist at the end..actually the whole plot… I can’t say it’s wonderful, but I can say it kept me in a state of contented confusion until the very end, and beyond.
Hunter, by shukyou: A young man plays bait for a creep, or possibly he doesn’t, with plenty of supernatural elements. A solid read.
A mon seul désir, by Reddoraion no ōjo: I didn’t finish this one, but here’s a list of the tags I would give it, if that were my job: knights, age gap, slow burn (well, slow building), disability, PTSD, present tense.
The Red Hood and the Bad Wolf, by Ryoko21: This was a take on Little Red Riding Hood, but it was unique as far as those go, and I believe it had the hottest of the smut. Werewolves were involved, obviously.
What Found Me in the Undercroft, by SeishinNoUwagi: A creepy steampunky tale of a haunted castle, the man who lives there, the man who’s cataloging it, the creepy occurrences, and a terrifying back hallway. Among other things. Had a neat little twist at the end.
Castillo de Cruzito, by Riba: Another with a twist! This one not so much “neat” as “I saw it coming, yet am still horrified.” The sex was very, very much blood-play and violence and the SM part of BDSM, and I got squicked right out of that, but around it was an intriguing and moderately unusual ghost story.
The Bridegroom, by Oishi Maki: There’s an author’s warning about disturbing content on this one, but I wasn’t particularly disturbed. I guess it has lots of adultery/cheating of various flavors, and one character is strongly encouraged to *ahem* force another, but it doesn’t seem to actually happen (in story), and maybe I’ve just been inured from reading crap on the internet? I did think the whole story was very confusing, though, so perhaps something more than I gathered was implied and I missed it? It was okay, beyond the confusing part.
What Friends Are For, by Matao Torakka: One friend helps another home, and then helps him in other ways.
Narcissus, by Iron Eater: Two parts. This one is fun. It starts like it might be a ghost story, then just… let’s say the creepiness builds until you realize what’s going on, and what’s been going on, and the world no longer looks like it ever did before, and I think they’re going to kill you. Better run. Oh no wait, it’s too late for that…
