Devil May Cry: Hell Gate Anthologies, Volume 1

READ THIS FIRST

Brevity is not my strong point, never has and I suspect it never will be when it comes to writing. However, I have always been interested in short stories. I love reading them, breaking down what makes them great or not and I think that they truly are an art form of their own, one that is actually getting a bit lost over the years. People are more interested in writing that best-seller novel than they are in the artistic medium of the short story. It's harder to find good anthologies in bookstores-especially since most of the shelves these days are choking on bad vampire fiction. Ugh.

If you want an example of great storytelling in small packages neatly piled together, try Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories.

Thankfully (or not?) fanfiction seems to fare a little better in this department as people write about as much short stories and one-shots as they do 100-chapter epics... But I digress.

This started as a prompt list challenge that I originally found on LiveJournal once upon a time. Since I haven't been there in a dog's age, I've no idea what others did with it. I took it up with practice in mind, like keeping stories short and making them as fulfilling as longer ones. Over time I sort of abandoned the list thing and a lot of the themes to suit what I wanted to write. What I've wound up with is a batch of stories I will fit together into an anthology or two.

I started serious work on these back while I was struggling with writer's block with Crossfire. It was a bit frustrating to be unable to work on my project and yet I could jot out one-shots. Most of these ended up as short scenes rather than individual stories, but they were still fun. I have a theory that usually, if a story was fun to write, it'll also be fun to read, but don't quote me on that one.

On another level, these short stories are also experiments; they're perfect for testing out different ways of writing or trying out stylistic ideas that come to mind sometimes. On a few of them I'm just screwing around. And as I'll openly admit, others are just there to satisfy mine and my friends' fangirly/fanboyish whims. After all, we're entitled to some slightly sillier fun.

It's actually quite fun to think about how long it took me to write each one. Some took longer than others. I can think of two that were written in under a single afternoon and I can think of one that took six bloody months to get right.

For those interested in terms of continuity, these are in canon (so to speak) with my other fanfics, Frail Equilibrium and Crossfire. Some are set after, some before, some during... You can tell if you read them.

It might be fun for you to know that I've used a deck of tarot cards to determine the order they would appear in. I took the suit of Swords, assigned stories to each card and then dealt them randomly. It's an interesting result. I've also written short notes about each story at the bottom of them. You can choose to ignore them if you like, since they're just ramblings of my own, like my thoughts on each story, or interesting (in my opinion, at least) facts about what prompted the story in my mind and the like.

Before I forget, I'd like to thank Brett, Razzmatazzy and Alexx for their help with these stories. You guys are the best.

I'll leave you with that, dear readers, and I hope you enjoy this little anthology.

Contents

Title: Time Out
Characters: Dante
Word Count: 1.212
Summary: If a man's home is his fortress, then a devil hunter's office, no matter how neglected, is his home.
Warnings: Some mild language.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom.

Title: Helpless
Characters: Dante, Tess (OC), Roy (OC)
Word Count: 1.656
Summary: "This isn't about you being human!" Dante barked, stomping closer to her. "This is about you not thinking before jumping in to fight a demon you can't handle! I can afford to be reckless-but not you! I was right there! Why didn't you call me to help you?"
Warnings: Some mild language.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom. Original characters belong to me.

Title: Drifting
Characters: Vergil
Word Count: 1.437
Summary: Vergil contemplates what he'll do next.
Warnings: Set straight after the end of Crossfire.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom.

Title: The Memento
Characters: Dante, Patty
Word Count: 1.795
Summary: Patty discovers that Dante has some secrets that make him look oddly human.
Warnings: Treads into anime-verse. Set before Crossfire. Mild language.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom.

Title: Couch Devils
Characters: Dante, Tess (oc), Magda (oc)
Word Count: 1,396
Summary: Cold evenings and blankets have this amazing way of drawing people together.
Warnings: Mild language, disproportionate amounts of cute.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom. Original characters belong to me.

Title: Dust and Memories
Characters: Dante, Tess (OC).
Word Count: 2.896
Summary: Dante and Tess happen upon the scene of their very first meeting: The apartment building from their teenage years and spontaneously, some memories come up.
Warnings: Some mild language.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom. Original characters belong to me.

Title: Web of Lies
Characters: Sparda, Nevan
Word Count: 2.265
Summary: Nevan sees that the noble Dark Knight Sparda can be like all other deceitful demons, after all.
Warnings: Slight Sparda/Nevan if you believe they actually had something going on.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom.

Title: Turn Back the Clock
Characters: Vergil, Dante
Word Count: 2.672
Summary: Vergil recalls some better times of his life with Dante.
Warnings: Set before Crossfire. Contains frame narrative.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom. Original characters belong to me.

Title: Bad Calculations
Characters: Lady, Tess (OC).
Word Count: 2.646
Summary: Tess and Lady find points of connection between them on the job; two human women wading in a sea of demons can be friends and complain together...about slime.
Warnings: Warning for a few squeamish moments.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom. Original characters belong to me.

Title: Distance Will Not Betray
Characters: Dante, Tess (OC).
Word Count: 3.977
Summary: It's been a few years since their parting. Tess and Dante contemplate what this distance means for the two of them.
Warnings: Mild to strong language.
Disclaimer: Devil May Cry and all related characters belong to Capcom. Original characters belong to me.