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

“I’ve got Rob, and you, and Maggie. And Al and Javi, for a couple more weeks. And Fiona and Henry, Liz . . . . Marta’s got nobody. Nobody at all.”

Xdress Xmas
A Vignette
By Maryanne Peters

Our family are always doing silly things at Christmas. It is just our thing. Maybe is started with funny hats and then funny sweaters, and then we went on to more advanced costumes and themes. Who could forgt the “Jungle Christmas” of 2020? I mean we were in and out of lockdown and we needed to do something crazy. But what could be more crazy that 2021 – the cross dress Christmas?

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.

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.

I felt at a bit of a loss the next morning now that Sylvie was going back to her duties with the FBI. She had arranged for my stay to be extended by one more day and as one or other of the FBI or DOJ were picking up the bill. The only upside I could see was that I was under no pressure to check out by 11 am.

A Lady and a Gentleman
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

He had watched her all night. He had danced with another lady, but his eyes had been on her, or rather her ears and her throat. He did not need to get in close to see that they were real diamonds. He knew that the quality of the settings was enough. You do not apply that much workmanship to protect stones of no value. He could see it from the clips behind the ears, and the clasp of the necklace below the nape of her neck exposed by the upswept hairdo. Quality work means quality stones.

“So... Petra, will you be keeping the new body?” Clarice asked, looking a tad envious.

Slumped in my seat, I was busy stuffing food into my face. Being killed and resurrected over twenty times had made me work up an appetite. The new proportions probably didn't help matters either. It felt like I was sitting on balloons, and I missed being able to see my feet.

After a long discussion with General Ajani, Keir had been feeling quite happy with the day. It had been productive, a little terrifying at the thought of facing hundreds of thousands of demons, but there was reason to hope they'd survive and even push back the monsters in the coming year. And now his good mood was rapidly being ruined by stupidity, arrogance, and shortsightedness. 

Messenger 14

We spent the next two nights at a fairly anonymous hotel to the south of the city while decisions were made by the powers that be, about what to do with me.

I have been asked to finish this story on several sites. This story contains sex and violence

My life continued to get worse. Paul was sent away and I never had him to comfort me. I had no idea when he was coming back. I asked Frankie where he was. All I got was.

"Why are you sweet on him you little slut? Just fucking remember, your my wife now, not his."

Eriana and Ursula surface from their unexpected activity and then have to deal with the consequences. The following day Ursula visits the market on her way to see Count Darkwin and introduces a new device to Anmar - sun-glasses! At the mansion of the two Counts, further difficult questions have to be answered.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

69 - Awkward Questions

Part 1 can be found HERE.

Doyle, Whateley
Early Evening
November 10th, 2007

I was only a little late getting to Potions class, but it was humiliating having everyone stare at me and my new body as I handed over the note and went to sit beside Calci. I'd gone from being a fairly normal boy, on the smaller side, to a small girl, and now I was a bouncy, buxom girl. If I saw a girl looking like me, I wouldn't have been able to take my eyes off of her.

Being attracted to my own reflection wasn't something I was used to.

General Ajani didn't look quite so tense as he had the first time Keir had met him. The tall man looked like he hadn't had a good nights sleep in ages, but he didn't look like a man facing execution anymore. He did look rather curious about the four Lleial soldiers and the two ghostly soldiers who were standing ramrod straight beside the door, yet he didn't say anything.

Night of Broken Glass
By Sabrina G. Langton

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Author's note: Hi, another quick story about my new favorite couples, learning to live with memories, new and old. Just slightly darker than my usual stories, just another song we all know by heart. I hope YOU like it.

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I watched the airplane fly overhead. Sometimes they drown out the music, sometimes they drown out Linda.

"Sabrina do you want one of those drinks with a straw?" I couldn't really hear her, there was an airplane overhead, I had on music, we were by the pool listening to Billy.

I shook my head, barely moving, not looking directly at her. “It’ll be fun,” she said.

I knew I was in deep trouble when mom mentioned she wanted to have a 'private discussion' with me. I knew that was mom talking for me going across her lap while she applied the hairbrush to my bare bottom. I breathed a silent prayer under my breath as I was marched from the kitchen to my bedroom. Mom followed behind me, her arms folded across her chest and a crossed look graced her face as she walked a few steps behind me. A few minutes later we reached my room.

After a great lunch where Sylvie refused yet again to sample Grits and instead, settled for a Pork Sandwich with all the trimmings. I had the chicken version of the same Sandwich while Jared settled on some Meat Loaf that, to be honest, looked and smelt fantastic.