A Christmas tale of magic, hope, and family. Be careful of what you wish for under a December’s night sky under the Northern Lights. You might get it.

Part Five

At the Detroit Metro Airport the next day there was still one surprise for Michelle, though it was a minor one.

"'Victoria'?" said Michelle, looking over Vic's shoulder as her wife checked their luggage. "Oh, right; you changed it when we got married. I'm so used to everyone just calling you 'Vic' I forgot."

"Yielding as gracefully as I can to the inevitable," said Vic, a bit pompously.

Leaving magic class, I was grateful that none of my classmates followed me to subterfuge. Having to face anyone who'd seen me naked so soon after it happened, would have been unbearable. There was one teeny tiny problem however, I had to walk the hallways by myself, and who knew what Micheal or his friend Victor would do.

According to the Book of Genesis, the first recorded murder in human history was committed  by Cain who murdered his brother Abel. Setting the stage for men to murder each other for years to come. A foreshadowing to man's own bloody history of conflict with his fellow man. Now, the next story was told to me, by my cousin, Daisy. Who claims the story is true. And there was something in the manner of his speech, something the way he seemed to look over his shoulder, something in the way he held himself as he recounted this story that filled me with a sense of dread.

When you make a wish on Christmas Eve. Even if it is a wish that you have been hiding from everyone your whole life.

It started in the fifth grade.

Part Three

A small hatch opened in the large, heavy door. Someone barely seen peered out.

"Are you one of Chuck's Children?" asked the low, gravelly voice.

"Rock and roll never forgets," proclaimed Vic, boldly.

"Enter," said the voice, as the door slowly opened with an ominous creak.

Mischief Night Magic
Sequel to
Cemetery Shenanigans
Part Six: A Serious Conversation

Mischief Night Magic
Sequel to 
Cemetery Shenanigans
Part Five: Costume Shopping 

It was around twilight when we left the parking lot of Dollar General. As we drove through the narrow streets of Benton, toward our next stop. Gwendoline seemed a little lost for words. She seemed lost in thought, she kept looking over me, and every time she would look at me she would smile. I returned the smile with one of my own. 

“I can’t believe it but I did it. I helped my team come together and we took out a Royal! He was terrifying, his name was Fluorescon, and his ability scared me. He could upgrade his Luminescent generals giving them the ability to fire bolts of light. I thought we were all going to be purified, then I took a deep breath like Fluffy told me to do, and focused. Once I did I was able to take command. I had Dragon lead in the front to take the brunt of the hits with his Brute trait.

Due to a long history of oppression and harassment, most supers in the Masks world have a separate, costumed identity for using their powers. Vic, unfortunately, does not have that option.

Masks XXVI: Lost and Found

by

Rodford Edmiston

Part One

Kim To Kimberly is the serialized story of an effeminate young man trapped into a reluctant transition by his older sister and her alpha male ex-boyfriend. Chapter 3: Years after the blind date at the drive-in where he was forced to give a BJ to an older male, Kim is now grown-up but out of work, so moves in with his sister Karen. To cheer him up, she suggests he dress as Kimberly again and go out in public. She's amazed at how quickly and deeply he gets into being Kimberly with each outing and pushes him farther - finally taking him to clubs to meet men.

It was a cold winters night, the week before Christmas. The sky was dark and mysterious with only the moon peeking through the snow-clouds. All the stores were closed and shuttered, all the streets were empty dark and bare. Nobody in the right mind was out and about on such a bitter unwelcoming night, the only sparks of life were the homeless shivering in shop doorways, wrapped in cardboard, paper, or whatever other items for warmth and protection that they could salvage.

I was just about to escape into sleep when I heard someone approach me. In the short time I had been sleeping rough I had come to learn it usually meant either Police who were normally ok as long as you moved on until they had left, Security guards who were a lot more intolerant brusque and even violent, or other rough-sleepers who were looking to steal the few possessions or scraps of food that I had.

However this one was different, it was a young woman, well wrapped up in warm winter clothes with her long-blonde hair peeking out from under her woolen hat and wearing a pleasant welcoming smile.

The next morning, I was once again forced to sit still as my friends taught me how to put on makeup. “Why do I need to do this again? I don't look that bad,” I said.

I really did look good. I'd gotten a good nights sleep, and I was learning how to comb my hair so it wasn't tangled, or looked like I'd slept in it. And with my new, unwanted, assets, most people wouldn't be looking at my face.

Morning came all too quickly.

James Kirkpatrick was not quite fourteen, small, and trans. Of a timid disposition she was constantly bullied by both girls and boys alike at school and in the neighbourhood where she lived with Keely her nineteen year old sister.

On a late Wednesday afternoon, the police arrested my brother because he was an idiot who got caught doing something stupid: he tried to buy a car with stolen money.

After the near-disaster of the previous day, senior guildsmen arrive to investigate the steam engine and to rebuild it if possible. They are naturally surprised by Milsy's abilities as she and Senidet demonstrate what they can do.

What Milsy Did

by Penny Lane

34 - The Missing Link

Mischief Night Magic
Sequel to 
Cemetery Shenanigans
Part Two: Making Plans

The English language is full of idioms. One of the simpler ones is “Time flies when you're having fun.” I'm not sure how true that is, but it seemed I soon lost myself in my work. The simple act of bending down, picking up a weather worn trinket and tossing it into the trashcan before moving on to the next one was like a simple form of meditation to me.