XXI. Mourning and Mothering

Marla looked at the photo again. It wasn’t her grandmother; she knew that right away. Yet the pain and loss she sensed in her Grandfather’s expression were foreign to her understanding of him. Softly, she asked, “Who is she?”

After flubbing a powerful incantation, meant to give newly coronated Demon Queens the wisdom of their ancestors, Devilla Satanne awakens to memories of her past life as Jacob Divington, a human from Earth. Having gained a new perspective on life, she quickly comes to a rather horrifying conclusion: she's been a complete and utter brat! No wonder everyone hates her!

And then there's the fact that she's apparently been reincarnated as the villainess of Tower Conquest, a lesbian porn game with a surprisingly intricate plot. One in which the Heroine conquers Dimona Tower, turning Devilla's people against her in the process. In victory, the Heroine brings about a glorious age of peace between demons and humans for the first time in millennia. ...Which actually sounds pretty good for her people, come to think of it. Devilla knows her terrible behavior is beyond forgiveness, but maybe she can still make up for her past mistakes? She just needs to make sure the events of the game unfold correctly. Though there is one little detail she'd like to change - the part where Devilla herself is killed or enslaved!

The series cover was commissioned from https://twitter.com/HaizeUqei

"You wouldn't even have to play, you could just sit there, look pretty and cheer us on"

I could tell he was smiling. I sighed audibly. I'd only gotten rid of the girl jokes which had been a major part of my life all through adolescence. I've always looked like a girl. Still do. In fact, when Mikey first met me, he thought I was one.
 

CHAPTER 66
The tears followed once again, of course, but this time they weren’t entirely driven by grief. I switched sides on the bench seat so that I could hug her, and she could use my shirt to soak up her tears.

“Ey, you all right, love?”

It was one of those women Maz had described, who came down to walk laps of the park for their daily exercise, so many thousand steps app-based thing. Maz waved a hand at her.

rld and are forced to work together to survive and find out how to escape.

The truth is revealed?

Chapter 23 recap

I glance at Lorien again, his steady breathing filling the quiet room, and I feel a pang of guilt. He deserves to know. About Shade. About everything.

First thing in the morning, I tell myself firmly. I’ll tell him everything. I’ll tell him I want to be with him… and I’ll tell him about Shade.

Not being at work first thing on Monday morning felt like a step down a path I did not want to take. Abuela’s path. “You must take care of this,” she’d told me. “Of him.”

Well, screw that.

XIX. Blackreach and Blacker Hearts

The moth’s carcass smouldered, wings fused to a cigarette butt like a failed origami angel. Evelyn traced the curve of Georgia’s hip, her touch tender as a grease fire. For three breaths, the room held still—the kind of quiet that lives between a trigger pull and the bullet’s verdict.

Persuaded
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Lord Brett Sinclair drove his Aston Martin up to the front portico of the Hotel Barrière Le Majestic in Cannes and threw the keys to the valet, Maurice.

“Welcome back, Lord Sinclair,” said Maurice, opening the door for the British peer, a regular visitor in the past

This world features a blue sky, and an atmosphere I eventually learned is similar to Earth’s. And there are people who look... not quite human. I was reminded of the term “uncanny valley.”

After flubbing a powerful incantation, meant to give newly coronated Demon Queens the wisdom of their ancestors, Devilla Satanne awakens to memories of her past life as Jacob Divington, a human from Earth. Having gained a new perspective on life, she quickly comes to a rather horrifying conclusion: she's been a complete and utter brat! No wonder everyone hates her!

And then there's the fact that she's apparently been reincarnated as the villainess of Tower Conquest, a lesbian porn game with a surprisingly intricate plot. One in which the Heroine conquers Dimona Tower, turning Devilla's people against her in the process. In victory, the Heroine brings about a glorious age of peace between demons and humans for the first time in millennia. ...Which actually sounds pretty good for her people, come to think of it. Devilla knows her terrible behavior is beyond forgiveness, but maybe she can still make up for her past mistakes? She just needs to make sure the events of the game unfold correctly. Though there is one little detail she'd like to change - the part where Devilla herself is killed or enslaved!

The series cover was commissioned from https://twitter.com/HaizeUqei