#npceo

Our Flag Means Death

sapo castilliensis (rated T, 1,291 words)

or, The Correct Use of Soap and Other Simple Botanical Preparations, Essences, Oils, and Floral Waters, for the Restoration and Maintenance of Good Health and Well-Being for the Discerning Gentleman

To make Pan-puddings. (rated T, 2,543 words)

They eat well, and are a very pretty diſh;

or,

Stede finds a very special old recipe, and decides to do something special for Ed.

Lika tyst varenda dag (rated G, 564 words)

Obviously, he had a name. It was a good name. He loved his name, even.

... in which the Swede sings, and remembers.

My Neighbour Umibōzu (rated E, 13,660 words)

The sea was unsettled that night.

Before sundown, the air had been calm, the skies clear; granted, Stede was not as seasoned a seafarer as Ed was, but a literal expanse of uninterrupted blue as far as the eye could see in every direction was usually not a harbinger of storms. Nevertheless, there they were.

... in which Stede and Ed find themselves in a mysterious Japanese fishing village, and there may be something a little enchanted afoot.

Flowering (rated E, 1363 words)

Stede was attending to his small collection of potted herbs when Ed found him that afternoon, carefully tidying their leaves, giving sips of water to the ones that seemed thirsty, whispering little affirmations to them that Ed couldn't quite hear.

"Hm? Oh, hello Ed," he said softly, alerted to Ed's presence by the clicking shut of the bedroom door, his expression breaking into a smile so genuine and so fond that it was all Ed could do not to weep with joy at the sight of it.

A Way to Make Chocolate, for the Experienced Housekeeper (rated G, 1562 words)

He had known that Stede had two kids from his first marriage, of course, but tacit knowledge of this, and being confronted with the suddenly very real likelihood that he would meet and interact with these kids and that these kids would form an opinion about him that their esteem probably mattered to Stede and definitely mattered to Ed, were two very different things.

... in which Ed finds himself on stepdad duty for the first time.

A Comprehensive User's Guide to the Bike, its Mechanisms and Peculiarities, for Leisure and Practicality. (rated M, 6638 words)

... in which Stede and Ed encounter an anachronistic bit of engineering, and hijinks, shenanigans, and perhaps even a little bit of tomfoolery ensue.

Helianthus (rated T, 504 words)

Hidden among the ferns and fungus and shade-loving undergrowth was a single, solitary little sunflower. Not the tallest of varieties, but distinct in its cheerful hue.

"Fuck off," said the bee, with incredulous delight: the deep, dark forest was no place for such a sunflower, with its ostentatious, frilly foliage and radiant golden petals, yet here he was anyway.

What We Do In The Shadows

It's in the Trees! It's Coming! (rated M, 9131 words)

“Hi,” he said, with a little wave.

“Hallo!” Viago waved in reply, smiling. It was nice to see Anton. Anton was nice.

In which a vampire and a werewolf fall in love. That's it, that's the story.

Take My Shoes Off, and Throw Them in the Lake (rated M, 2805 words)

“Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick,” Viago began, uncertain as to whether or not it was even worth asking the question, “how do you think the others would say if they heard of a vampire and a werewolf, you know, having a courtship?”

A couple of standalone deleted scenes from It's in the Trees! It's Coming!

Come To My Window (rated M, 7672 words)

"... so I told Dion he's not allowed to take his dog into that area of the park, and you know what he said to me? He said, 'but you work here!' Can you believe that? Dickhead."

Anton sighed, leaning into Viago's side, the warmth that radiated from him having suffused Viago's being, like falling asleep in a beam of sunlight, but in the comforting way that lived in his deepest memories, and not the dangerous way that had been his lived experience for the last three hundred some-odd years.

... a selection of moments from the courtship of a silly little vampire and a silly little werewolf.

Proficiency Bonus (rated T, 1781 words)

It had, of course, been Viago's idea to run a Dungeons and Dragons session for some of their friends, as soon as he learned that Anton used to be part of a little campaign when he was a student.

Which was entirely Anton's fault for doing something foolish like loving Viago very much and wanting to share details about himself with his partner.

Antwan and Nigel

Flightless Birds of Parc national du Mont-Tremblant (rated E, 46584 words)

Sometimes, when all seems lost, and mistakes were made, and it feels as though life has descended into a pit of endless frowny face blue screens of death, what is needed is a hard restart.