Chapter 3: “Whispers of Conspiracy”

A Minor Job, a Major Gut Feeling

Chapter 1: “Dockside Ghosts”

Arrival at the Dock

The shuttle's recycled air tasted of protein slurry and something metallic—burnt capacitors, perhaps. A soft, low hum from the engines shook the shuttle. With every breath, Lena’s perfume—a bittersweet lavender ghost—clung to the air, triggering a phantom ache in my chest. I reached beneath my shirt, fingers brushing the outline of the Star of David pendant. My mother’s gift. A small, silent comfort in the rising tide of unease.

The End of the Cold
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

She knew what it was. The drug had that effect. One minute you are walking down the street and the next minute a sharp pain in the neck, you feel woozy, and then blackness. And then the recovery is like this was – just fuzzy images and slight dizziness and then you can focus.

It was the living room of the apartment she had rented right in the middle of the small French town. But she had been brought here – up from the street perhaps.

The Recoverer (3).
by
Angharad.

Back At The Vineyard:
“How are our finances looking, Henry?” Elizabeth looks across Henry’s desk as he taps away on his computer.

“The vineyard itself is doing fine. However, the trauma center is incurring a significant amount of expenses. You’ll need to make some changes to bring down the cost.” Henry looks towards Elizabeth, who is the trauma center director.

“What type of cost are you talking about, Henry?” Elizabeth needs to know exactly where they need to cut costs.

Olivia Jean-Pierre's apartment felt like a carefully curated museum exhibit - "Modern College Student, Circa 2025." The small studio held all the expected trappings: a desk with a high-end laptop, a small kitchen area, tasteful decor that spoke of someone who'd read too many minimalist lifestyle blogs. Everything perfectly normal, perfectly planned.

The dinner was far better than Melissa had envisaged. It was made even better by Jack’s Father, Henry, who proved to be quite a raconteur.

CHANGES IN ATTITUDES

By Kathi Jo Daniels

Chapter One: The Surprise

Thursday, November 4, 2004

My girlfriend, Megan, was in her mid-forties, with shoulder-length brown hair, and very beautiful even on a bad day. We had worked at the same data center for about four years before I changed jobs and got a divorce. Megan and I have been together for about 2 years. She was well known for her tendency to display generous amounts of cleavage.

Author's notes: As always: (1) I don't care what the devs say, Alisaie is absolutely not 16. By 6.0, she'd be about 23. (2) In a world where no one is explicitly gay or trans, that means anyone can be. Therefore, Alisaie and G'raha are T4T.

- - -

7.0 - SHARLYAN

G'raha was losing his mind.

Both because he badly missed his partners, Savvel and Alisaie, who had set sail for Tulliyolal two weeks and five days ago (the longest they'd been apart since making their arrangement 'official'), and because it was the longest he'd been celibate in... well...

[Sunday evening, Washington DC]

“Thank you for not being angry with me over all this,” said Jeff as he poured some wine.

Seems Too Good Top

Seems Too Good by Sofia Hammerstein

Doctor Nick Benning has worked hard to become a phenomenal surgeon. Ads for traveling to a new dimension have begun to pop up everywhere; including a billboard asking 'Life got you down? Debt sky-high? Health problems? Just needing new scenery? Visit Portal Relocations on the web to learn of your chance for a new life!' Circumstances in life change for him and the journey begins to sound intriguing despite the stories he's heard... (A Tale from the Diaper Dimension)

Author's note: My WoL is a non-binary viera.

----

3.0 - AFTER THE VAULT

Count Edmont retired with his sons to mourn privately, but there was no escape to be found from his grief, or mine, within these walls - I couldn't stop hearing the clatter of Count Edmont's cane as it fell to the floor, and him with it.

The next day my alarm went off at 6AM. I took a long soak in the bath. I was half looking forward and half dreading today. I won't lie the thought of dressing as a traditional maid was appealing. The dress I wore before was more of a costume. The dress today was the real thing.

Dawn and Diana – Our New Life – Part 5

By Kathi Jo Daniels

Chapter Eleven: Wine Tasting

Monday, November 29, 2004

We repeated our morning ritual of enthusiastic lovemaking. After showering together, I dressed as Dan, in a long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and sneakers.