Lane Carter was a cargo bay drone pilot scraping by and spending all his...rather her time in the Virtual Reality game created by the Zenith Company. He was a playtester on their first serious fantasy setting on the neural link head set and now steps into playtesting their new full body pods and Vala their account became something more and more.

“How are the sales today?” Hayley asked as she returned to her flat to find Sophie sat on the sofa, checking her laptop.

“Still good,” Sophie replied with a smile. “I mean, yes, they’re tapering off, but that’s to be expected after this length of time, so- yeah. Publishers are still VERY happy though.”

“I still can’t believe I know a famous author!” Hayley teased, giggling as her friend rolled her eyes and blushed.

This story is both an entry into the April 2023 “take your daughter to work day” challenge and a personal homage to a classic shared world from the archives of BCTS.

I could see the plume of smoke rising over the cornfields from several miles away. Not the thick, rolling smoke of a hungry blaze, but the puffs and wisps of a fire nearly burned out. Despite it being over a decade since I last fought a major fire, I still felt the same pulse of adrenaline and the bitter taste of fear and anticipation. As I approached the site along the narrow country road, I pulled over to let the coroner and a police cruiser pass in the other direction. If anything, that made the anticipation worse.

Bakersville is the ideal little small town with picturesque buildings and happy townsfolk.
But local carpenter Hamish knows better.
A fashion witch has settled here and isn't above bending minds and bodies to her whim.
All to create her ideal and perfect vision.
Now, Hamish suspects he will be her next victim.
Can he fight her? Change his fate? Or has he to accept what the witch has in store for him?

Playing Marbles for the Big Blue

11 Learning to Mother

By Jo Dora Webster

Will Amaza escape slavery at the hands of the Alvians?

It seems that some schools have strict rules and give detention for numerous infractions, including tardiness and uniform specifications. Naturally, I couldn’t help but imagine what might happen if a student arrived for his first day, at just such a school, in a whirlwind of chaos, fateful decisions, and shenanigans.

Freya's Heir

DISCLAIMER: I am not a canon author. I have added Mercy as the teacher of the flight class as a favor to a fellow author who helped me get started.

Chapter 12
The first thing they did was unpack. Jennifer said, "I see you got your stuff from Rogers Boutique. My folks considered it but decided it was a bit too pricey so I got some stuff from Under Armour's hero collection and the rest is normal clothes."

"Well I hope you don't mind having a roommate with a little more money?" Fred said. "I'm not any different than you."

I thought I was dreaming of being in the Matrix... until I heard my Mom scream, and I was still looking at Matrix gibberish.

Dunwich, New Hampshire

A Guide to Paradise Cove
The directions were simple: "second star to the right, and straight on till morning."

Thinking back Donna fondly recalled that it was The Stranger's smile that had first caught her attention; or was it the shaggy haired 'naughty boy' arrogance that exuded from his firm but pale body? This guy was 'good trouble' looking for a place to happen. The fact that he was a Brit on vacation was an extra bonus. Donna’s boy-bump reflexively came to life at her recollections of that fateful day.

The Beginning

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

*Unless otherwise noted, all speaking is in French.
This is also a Christmas prequel story for Mille, who can be found here.

Paris, France
Early morning
December 24th, 1988

“Hi!” I say with an excited squeak as I open the door and am greeted by the grinning, dark-skinned face of my bandmate. “Virtual hugs and kisses!”

“Virtual hugs and kisses!” Adeola giggles as we both hold our hands up and wiggle our fingers at each other- our latest attempt at a covid-safe greeting. “Is Becca already here?”

“Not yet, I think she’s still getting used to there actually being traffic on the roads of London!” I chuckle, before grinning as Adeola’s fiancé enters our flat carrying an expensive-looking bottle of wine. “Hi Marco! Virtual hugs!”

This is another one I started last year then lost direction. When I picked it up a couple of days ago, the way ahead opened up quite quickly and this is the result.

Please visit my Amazon store. The UK author page is here
and the Amazon US author page is here
Or just search for Maeryn Lamonte on Amazon

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.

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.

By

Gwen Brown

This Short Story has been laying in one of my SSDs, neglected and unfinished for years. It seems that my protagonist is deeply confused about their gender. That’s not the half of it. What can we do to fix that? This is a story of secrets, deception, abuse, and war.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 39 Iroko, Ermine and Critters

“You’re seriously telling us that you’re doing all that learning just to cook chicken chow mien, Jeremy‽ Just get a book written in English, Lad. My missus would lend you one if you’re strapped for the cash.” Pat’s words caused gales of laughter. All knew that was not the issue, but they were up for the laugh anyway.

“ENOUGH!”

It was supposed to be a dull day for Robert.
Attending a convention for accountants always is.
But the surprise guest speaker turns out to be a fashion witch and she has other plans.
For Robert and other attendees that means being involved in a rather devious get-rich-quick scheme.
Hard days lay ahead of Robert. But it might turn out okay.
He just needs a hug or two.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 38 Bearthwaite Invests Even More in Itself

“Nay, Lad that was fine. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in telling of the lives of ordinary working blokes, and those lads that died fighting that fire and in the explosion deserve to be remembered, and doubtless they were our kind of folk just trying to get by in a hostile world. We may not know their names, but there’s many a man here who tragically lost a mate under different but similar circumstances at work and will feel for them and their families and mates. It one of the reasons we meet here. Even Sasha tells the truth occasionally, though I’m not sure about Dave.” At Vincent’s final words there were hoots of laughter including from Dave.

A Grumpy Old Man’s Tale 37 Alf’s Philosophies and Youtube

“It’s not all bad getting old you know, John. The good thing about being an old bugger is youngsters just assume you know nowt, which in the case of stuff you don’t give a toss about is probably true, well it is for me any road, but for stuff that really matters, they know nowt and I do. I love dealing with ’em because I won’t play their games and they have to play mine. I haven’t figured out what an app is yet never mind a bloody widget, and don’t bother telling me because I won’t listen because I don’t care. Tell you lads dealing with youngsters is easy money.”

“How do you mean, Alf?”

“Well, while they’re busy doing a thousand quids’ [$1117] worth of damage to a car to rip out a hundred pound [$112] radio to sell on a car boot [yard sale] for a tenner [$11], I’m busy making a legit living out of them. They can’t rip me off because I only deal in cash and direct bank transfers, after I’ve rung the bank to make sure I’ve got the money of course. I only deal in owt that guarantees I get paid up front, cash or goods it doesn’t matter as long as I can tell it’s actually worth what they say it is. If there’s any doubt I won’t accept the deal. I don’t do credit unless it’s someone that lives here. I don’t have owt to do with anything that comes over a mobile phone or a computer, and I don’t give a monkeys how smart it’s reckoned to be. I don’t trust credit card transfers and I’ve never accepted cheques. Result is I’ve never had any bad debts.

March 12th, 3040

From the experience of the trans people he’d been talking to, at the support group and online, he didn’t think the dysphoria would get much better. Most of the improvement had come in the first few days after he got over the shock of the sudden new body, or in the first few days after he started wearing men’s clothes again.