Karan was a typical college student at Zenith College in Aurangabad—spirited, easygoing, and known for his unusually long hair that fell below his chest. Having maintained it for years, he was proud of his thick, dark locks. Often, when strolling through the Aurangabad East area or riding his bike past Skylark Towers, he would tie his hair up in a low ponytail or simply let it flow behind him. His friends—Neha, Anjali, and Sanya—had teased him about his hair many times, but their playful jabs were never anything he took seriously. Until one day, their teasing took a sudden turn.

“Okay Dina, ya’s up!” Lil says, making me giggle as I approach the table, straightening my casual tank top and short denim skirt before brushing my long hair out of my face. With a determined look, I pick up the ball and the paddle with my immaculately manicured fingers and make my serve, giggling at the noise the hollow plastic sphere makes as it bounces back and forth between myself and Martha.

It’s been two days since Ginny became the first candidate to leave the ‘Angel Mansion’ and, in that time, I’ve made a real effort to get to know the rest of the candidates better.

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

A Tense Departure: Raj’s First Day

Raj couldn’t stop fidgeting with the collar of his crisp new uniform as he stepped onto the aircraft. It was his first day as a flight attendant—a day he’d dreamed about since childhood—and yet a knot of tension coiled tightly in his stomach. The weight of the cabin crew badge on his lapel felt heavier than he’d imagined, and he sensed the other flight attendants watching him the moment he boarded.

Arjun had always been proud of his hair. It was thick, dark, and fell in smooth waves well below his back—far longer than most other boys in college. He often left it open, allowing it to flow behind him when he walked. Whenever anyone commented, he would dismiss them with a smirk and continue on his way. He believed that nobody should dictate how he looked.

The first three knew better than to play for money when Zora had a cue stick in her hand, and they’d been kind enough to warn Biggo off before he learned the hard way. Which is to say, the expensive way.

Double
A Short Story (or a Pocket Novel for holiday reading?)
By Maryanne Peters

Chapter 1

“I understand that you may have known Ivan Sergeivich Molonovsky,” said the man they simply knew as Grozny – the man in charge of deployments.

“We were not close, but I remember him,” said Kiril. It was a lie. He had known Ivan well. They trained together because the two of them were the smallest in the whole intake. But the rumor was that Ivan had betrayed the Soviet Union, and it was best to deny any association.

A group of people wake up in a video game world and are forced to work together to survive and find out how to escape.

The group follows the map searching for answers and things only get worse…

This is the last full chapter I had written before I started posting this, so future chapters will likely take a bit longer. However not too long as I have everything lined out already just not the in between moments.

Chapter 12