Chapter 1

Detective Inspector Marilyn Houseman and Detective Sergeant George ‘Ginger’ Kidman walked into the murder team office, with the rest of the team stopping to look at them. Marilyn smiled and they all cheered.

“Terry Hanson got twenty-five years for each murder, consecutive, with the judge appalled at the brutality. That’s on top of the five that he got for smuggling and possession of illegal firearms. He’s unlikely to be out in our lifetime.”

Cover art by Erin Halfelven
©2026, SammyC

There are changes afoot but at least life looks to be settling down a bit for the Wunderkind. Or is it, things are hotting back up with BlauHase and at the Tanzklub but at least Mum is back home.

This is a story about a trans woman taking her first steps into the big bad world. ( not my usual sex stuff )

I looked out of the window of my small bedsit one last time as I steeled myself to face the world. I held my breath and nearly scrambled out of my front door and the main door. I forced myself not to run up the path. I had been watching to make sure my neighbours were not approaching or leaving. A few steps and I was on the street.

At the house that was apparently ours in the world we ended up in, we took the opportunity to wash our clothes, and we looked through papers to try to see how we lived on this world. It looked like we had a handyman business.

“Great car,” a voice called out as I opened the driver side door.

I turned to see Andy standing next to his car wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans. He hoisted his backpack up and walked over to me.

“My parents want me to invite your family over this weekend.”

“I reckon they’re going to be expecting a wedding proposal.”

“Don’t tempt me,” I replied.

Chapter 3

Tapper looked as if he’d been hit, and Marilyn watched him closely. He was silent, and they could see that his tear ducts still worked. He took a deep breath.

Chapter 2

They walked into the office to see most of the team already studying computer screens. Marilyn went into her own office and spent two hours working on administrative paperwork, to clear her mind. At around ten, she had a call on her mobile.

“DI Houseman.”

Ellen and I were both handy with tools, but only doing odd jobs. To take a chance at something better, we entered a do-it-yourselfer reality TV show. This type of thing wasn’t for everybody. We had to be able to spend weeks on location in Key West (because it was billed as an “island getaway” to draw in viewers), and even more time there if we won. So it was ideal for people like us with no steady work.

And now, as they say in the classics, for something completely different. This is a pair of stories triggered by watching a very realistic British crime series on TV. The term ‘flower’ further into this, is used in York, in a similar way that ‘pet’ is used in Tyneside.

Chapter 1

Sent By Sophia

Chapter 8: Processing the Reunion

A Transgender Coming of Age Adventure

A Story from THE ONE

Ariel Montine Strickland

*

Chapter 2

I waited as I was, as the other guy strode away. Drom stood for a few moments and then went to a stall selling coffee. They had some tables and chairs set out. I turned around and watched him get a drink, then he went to sit down.

I went over to the stall and got my own drink. I had been worried what Drom would say if he ever saw me in a skirt, but now that wasn’t what I wanted to talk to him about. I went over to his table.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Make yourself at home, Miss.”

Suggestion 1

I had just moved in to her place when Tracy spoke up. We were christening her bed. I won’t go into those kinds of details, but I will mention how compatible we were in the sack.

I love old euphemisms like “in the sack.” Being an English major drew me to words. But before you criticize me for a useless major, I am also getting a business major.

So, Tracy spoke up. “Robbie, can I make a suggestion?”

I was in that lull, thinking about closing my eyes, when her hand returned between my legs. Yes, dear readers, she had my attention. “Of course, you can. I am open to any suggestions you have.”

“You have an unpleasant odor about you.”

I panicked. “Really, what do you suggest?”

Chapter 1

They say that you can’t choose your parents, and I for one, can heartily agree with that. My own parents, Duke and Daisy Smithers, should have had a better upbringing if there had been any justice in the world. Their own two sets of parents were aging hippies, living in a commune and growing odd plants.

I’m not saying that they were bad people on the few times I had met them, merely spaced out for most of the time. I’m still not sure if my parents had actually married, but the five of us children all bore the surname of Smithers.

Rascal's First Halloween
By
Rebecca Anna Coleman

-3-
Rascal's Reflection

I thought mom was just joking when she said she'll allow me to dye my hair blue to match my cosplay. But on this lazy Thursday afternoon. I found myself sitting in a vinyl salon chair, with a heavy, salon cape draped over my shoulders and tied firmly at the back. This was my first time visiting a salon and I found the lingering chemical smell a bit weird. It was also very noisy.

There was a lot for the two girls to emotionally unpack when they arrived back at Bethany’s. While it had not been Maya’s intention to tell Bethany of the thoughts and feelings she had felt for Tyler at the party, she had found herself doing just that.