CHAPTER 49
It was indeed a learning process, which sounds redundant when talking about being a student, but there are far more things involved in learning than tick-box exams for tightly-defined subjects. It wasn’t just Tref’s porridge milk; both he and Lee needed a little housebreaking, initially in the concept of washing up and then the revelation that homes didn’t come with such things as a Magic Toilet Roll Replenishment Fairy. I will not mention toilet seats.

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.

I could apologise for this. It reads a little bit like I’m channelling a grumpy old Brit who feels that the wrong side won in 1783 but, truth be told, as with most wars, I think the wrong side would have won regardless of who surrendered first.

I should say I’ve never been within a hundred miles of route sixty six and all the descriptions come courtesy of my mate Google, so you can blame any inaccuracies on him. I hope you enjoy.

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

In a world without women, the trans woman is Queen. Taken from the old saying "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

No one knew who started it, but the Americans accused the Chinese and the Russians. Both of those countries accused each other. The Gynax virus had effectively wiped out 98% of women.

It was thought that it came from a mutated virus that was meant to mimic the beneficial effects of female hormones on the immune system. During the covid outbreak, more women recovered than men, and fewer were hospitalized.

Orpheus Ascending
By Ellie Dauber
Copyright 2000

Author’s Note: Except for the TG element near the end, this is a straightforward retelling of the Greek myth.

* * * * *

Now would I tell the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, a sad tale of death and longing and of a fate most strange and yet most fitting.

“Wake up! It’s Christmas morning! You just missed Santa Claus!” Mrs. Ramsey called out from the hallway.

Have you ever asked yourself the following question? What causes a place to become haunted? Or to become infested with demons? That is the million dollar question that is often debated among theologians and paranormal scholars alike. I'm not here to answer that question. I'm here to tell you a story of a building that is haunted. Haunted by the lost soul of a wayward teenage girl who tragically took her own life in a fit of religious fever and my personal encounter with her. But first a brief history lesson.

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.

Family home

I tore the wrapping paper off. Inside was the bear. It was soft. I hugged him and buried my face in his artificial fur. And it felt soooo good…

Luke grunted as his phone’s alarm woke him from a deep sleep. His mouth was dry and his head throbbed, but what concerned him most was that he didn't recognise his surroundings, particularly the feel of his bed- the mattress was much stiffer than his usual one, the pillow and the sheets thinner than what he was accustomed to. As his eyes started to focus, he was able to take in his surroundings.

Mischief Night Magic
Sequel to
Cemetery Shenanigans
Part Four: Basic Supplies

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.

Fathers
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I found a canoe. I had taken a job for a few days cleaning out an old shed behind a house on the shore bought by somebody in the city. The realtor said that I could stay in the basement under the house for a few days and earn some cash for emptying the contents of the shed into a dumpster, sweeping the floors and wiping the place down.

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.