Gakkou no Kaiden:
Beware of the Water Demon!

The mountain village of Satoyama is surrounded by thousands of small rice paddies that are fed by countless streams that flow down from the snow capped mountains that surround the village. In the hot, humid summer months the children of the village often play in the cool streams. Be it swimming, fishing or just lounging in the shadow of a tree that has grown by the waters edge. These nameless streams are often a popular escape from the heat of summer.

I opened the year with an end-of-the world story, and this continues the subject of earth-shattering occurrences . Like the previous story, this one was started early last year, and had to wait until the end of the year, when my muse came back from where-ever it had disappeared to.
Marianne.

Part 1

“Say cheese!” Those two words summed up a lot of my young days. My father, Allan, was an avid photographer, while my mother, Wanda, had been a model. They told me that when they met, it was a marriage made in heaven.

Life seems to throw changes at Jane, in changes to her body, her career, and family relationships.

Once they'd all gotten out of the Genetics Engineering compound, the companions all piled into their separate cars. Lanie, Conner, and Rachel got into Conner's car while Saige, Olivia, Zack, and Miles all got into Saige's car. Conner followed Saige as she drove off into the night.

Inside Saige's car, Olivia had broken down crying again. Seeing Bailey die right before her eyes had broken something inside of her. She hadn't felt this way since Christina dumped her. "She died," Olivia sobbed. "We came all this way...for nothing."

November 20th,, 2022
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Note from Lajien.

I began this story last year, but I never completed it. I am posting it here, hoping you will read this story and leave me comments and suggestions on how or if I should proceed. All comments will be appreciated.

A New Year, a new genre; my first foray into forced femme. Happy 2023 to all at BC!

THE AGENCY

In the midst of darkness, light persists.
Mahatma Gandhi

1

“Everyone it's now time to test your shield spell,” Mage Malacoda said.

We'd spent most of magic class learning the finer details of shielding, which according to our instructor was one of the most important spells we could know. Something I wholeheartedly agreed with. I'd written down everything he'd said, double checked it with Calci and Garth, asked questions to make sure I knew all the little details, and watched Calci and Garth cast their own shields.

November 15, 2022
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One hand in front of the other. Each movement upwards is like a step, one at a time.

Ben made sure to keep his breathing stable and consistent. A mandatory technique for exercises such as this, and one that he had long since mastered.

The rope was thick, and long, sixty feet in fact. This specific exercise was straight out of “American Ninja Warrior”, one had to climb the rope to the top, attached to a belay. The rope may have been fifteen feet short, but the extra length was made up for by a short ladder at the end.

“Good morning, everyone,” Allan- my university lecturer- says as I (and no doubt all of the other students on my course) get my notepad out. “I’ll let you all have a couple of minutes to get set up, then we’ll begin.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” I say, mirroring the sad smile of the long-haired girl on my phone screen.

“Yeah,” Leanne sighs sadly. “I should be getting to work too in the next couple of minutes. Well, not technically ‘getting to’, but you know what I mean, right?”

Part Ten

"What is this?" said Vic, angrily. "What is causing it? I mean, it can't be coincidence!"

A large part of her anger was due to Michelle being among those taken. The doctor replied while Vic, realizing she was on the verge of losing control, took a series of slow, deep breaths.

November 13, 2022
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Keir sat on his horse, grateful for the green cloak that covered him. There'd been a nasty cold snap the day before, there wasn't any snow yet, but it would be coming soon.