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Altair
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Someone once told Tam that there was nothing sadder in the world than a celibate incubus. He can't remember who said it, or when. He can't remember much at all, now. All he has are flashes: he bought a ticket to Vancouver, he was on the plane, he checked into a hotel… and then what? It doesn't matter.
He might be dying.
http://www.shousetsubangbang.com/mirr... or
http://s2b2.livejournal.com/191375.html
Someone once told Tam that there was nothing sadder in the world than a celibate incubus. He can't remember who said it, or when. He can't remember much at all, now. All he has are flashes: he bought a ticket to Vancouver, he was on the plane, he checked into a hotel… and then what? It doesn't matter.
He might be dying.
Free Online Fiction
First published October 24, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 28, 2023
Re-Read: May 2023
Original Read: Jan 2021
This is one of my favorite MM romances! It's available on AO3.
Please ignore the summary - it doesn't do this cute little novella (52 pages) any justice. This a story about a popular guy and a nerdy guy who end up becoming roommates and falling in love, except they're both unusual supernatural creatures. Also - this fic takes place in Canada!!
We have Tam, who is an incubus and thus, he needs to regularly have sex in order to survive. He got tired of casual sex years ago and following the break up of a 2 year relationship, Tam finds himself depressed and deciding to leave Toronto for Vancouver. When he's in Vancouver, he's still depressed and hating his incubus biology so he refuses to have sex and nearly dies on a random downtown street. Thankfully, he's saved by Altair, who literally drags him to his apartment, has one of his friends save Tam's life and happily lets Tam stay as long as he wants.
Altair is a sweetheart from top to bottom and we would all be lucky if we had somebody like Altair in our lives. He's kind, selfless, one of his jobs involves catching bugs , he has a pet toad named Wadi, he loves watching old movies (with Wadi sitting on his shoulder) and his favorite thing in the world is to spend time with his friends. He's also a virgin who has been saving himself for Prince Charming but he's slowly losing hope that he'll ever find Prince Charming. Why? Because Altair is and the author doesn't shy away from the reality of what this means.
Pairing up somebody like Altair with somebody like Tam is brilliant because they represent the extreme examples of the old 'jock-nerd' dynamic. Tam is an incubus so he's designed to be even more gorgeous than normal while Altair's appearance puts him firmly in the ugliest category for supernatural creatures.
I also love that the author explores lore in the story. The contrast between the two races' lifestyles and family dynamics were really interesting and added to the point the author was making with the entire story. Tam might be incredibly gorgeous but incubus are hatched from random supernatural-infused eggs so they have no family. In contrast, Altair was raised in a .
I love this story so much! It's so heart warming and the friendship that develops between Tam and Altair is incredibly sweet. I was so connected to them that (like Tam) I nearly cried when Altair debates . But the author had done such a great job making me fall in love with Altair that I felt just as panicked as Tam did and I really did believe that Tam would follow Altair wherever he went because losing Altair is the worse option no matter what choices he's given.
If you have a spare few hours, do yourself a favor and read this little gem! It's adorable, it's a beautiful romance and the fantasy elements are unique and incredibly well done.
Original Read: Jan 2021
This is one of my favorite MM romances! It's available on AO3.
Please ignore the summary - it doesn't do this cute little novella (52 pages) any justice. This a story about a popular guy and a nerdy guy who end up becoming roommates and falling in love, except they're both unusual supernatural creatures. Also - this fic takes place in Canada!!
We have Tam, who is an incubus and thus, he needs to regularly have sex in order to survive. He got tired of casual sex years ago and following the break up of a 2 year relationship, Tam finds himself depressed and deciding to leave Toronto for Vancouver. When he's in Vancouver, he's still depressed and hating his incubus biology so he refuses to have sex and nearly dies on a random downtown street. Thankfully, he's saved by Altair, who literally drags him to his apartment, has one of his friends save Tam's life and happily lets Tam stay as long as he wants.
Altair is a sweetheart from top to bottom and we would all be lucky if we had somebody like Altair in our lives. He's kind, selfless, one of his jobs involves catching bugs , he has a pet toad named Wadi, he loves watching old movies (with Wadi sitting on his shoulder) and his favorite thing in the world is to spend time with his friends. He's also a virgin who has been saving himself for Prince Charming but he's slowly losing hope that he'll ever find Prince Charming. Why? Because Altair is and the author doesn't shy away from the reality of what this means.
Pairing up somebody like Altair with somebody like Tam is brilliant because they represent the extreme examples of the old 'jock-nerd' dynamic. Tam is an incubus so he's designed to be even more gorgeous than normal while Altair's appearance puts him firmly in the ugliest category for supernatural creatures.
I also love that the author explores lore in the story. The contrast between the two races' lifestyles and family dynamics were really interesting and added to the point the author was making with the entire story. Tam might be incredibly gorgeous but incubus are hatched from random supernatural-infused eggs so they have no family. In contrast, Altair was raised in a .
I love this story so much! It's so heart warming and the friendship that develops between Tam and Altair is incredibly sweet. I was so connected to them that (like Tam) I nearly cried when Altair debates . But the author had done such a great job making me fall in love with Altair that I felt just as panicked as Tam did and I really did believe that Tam would follow Altair wherever he went because losing Altair is the worse option no matter what choices he's given.
If you have a spare few hours, do yourself a favor and read this little gem! It's adorable, it's a beautiful romance and the fantasy elements are unique and incredibly well done.
January 3, 2016
re-read
Fascinating story. Brilliantly executed.
So nice to have main characters other than the ideal, far from the ideal. In fact Alt comes with squick factor, but by the end all Tam can see the beauty of him and there's something wonderful about that.
And here's Wadi their pet toad :D
Fascinating story. Brilliantly executed.
So nice to have main characters other than the ideal, far from the ideal. In fact Alt comes with squick factor, but by the end all Tam can see the beauty of him and there's something wonderful about that.
And here's Wadi their pet toad :D
September 10, 2014
4.5 stars Absolutely brilliant!
This makes me think back to a discussion some of us had about M/M romance and romance in general, and common tropes that you see. While some of us tried to argue that there are great books with characters who have disabilities or are average looking or in other words, not perfect sex Gods, the response was, "yeah but those stories are in the minority, and on the whole there's never a MC who's balding or has a beer gut or is really ugly."
It's so great to see how while Tam was always kind to Alt, he was aware initially of Alt's appearance and had to consciously make an effort not to react. Then as he falls in love with him, Alt truly becomes beautiful to him. **sigh** I liked the building of friendship first, and watching Tam's feelings develop. I do wish it had continued on a little so we could see them together, and see Jade's great "I knew it!" moment. I would have liked for Tam to explain in more detail his relationship with Alex, and tell Alt what makes him nervous carrying forward. I know they'll have that conversation, I just want to see it.
But just lovely.
September 2014 group read in Shousetsu Bang*Bang
This makes me think back to a discussion some of us had about M/M romance and romance in general, and common tropes that you see. While some of us tried to argue that there are great books with characters who have disabilities or are average looking or in other words, not perfect sex Gods, the response was, "yeah but those stories are in the minority, and on the whole there's never a MC who's balding or has a beer gut or is really ugly."
It's so great to see how while Tam was always kind to Alt, he was aware initially of Alt's appearance and had to consciously make an effort not to react. Then as he falls in love with him, Alt truly becomes beautiful to him. **sigh** I liked the building of friendship first, and watching Tam's feelings develop. I do wish it had continued on a little so we could see them together, and see Jade's great "I knew it!" moment. I would have liked for Tam to explain in more detail his relationship with Alex, and tell Alt what makes him nervous carrying forward. I know they'll have that conversation, I just want to see it.
But just lovely.
September 2014 group read in Shousetsu Bang*Bang
September 9, 2014
~~~
3.5. Stars
Back with thoughts soon.
3.5. Stars
Back with thoughts soon.
September 11, 2014
This was amazing! My heart hurt the whole time, but it was beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews