We changed the subject by unspoken but mutual agreement, and concentrated on planning for the barbie, Maz being very, very clear that it mustn’t be overloaded with our friends.

I woke early. At this time of the year it is getting bright around 4:30 and I had not slept well. What had started out as a good day two days ago had developed into a bit of a nightmare all due to an impulsive act involving me in something that wasn’t really my business. On top of that, I had possibly endangered Janet, and maybe my family. I hadn’t called home yet and was a little surprised that they hadn’t made contact with me. I would do it later; first things first.

Torn from his own world and stuffed into the body of a villainess, facing the end of a doomed route he himself wrote, "Amelia" must navigate a world she really should know - too bad she was never great at worldbuilding.

Stuck in a world she (maybe) created, Amelia quickly finds that reality has filled in the details she failed to describe. The characters who were so flat when she wrote them now have nuance, and motives. The kingdom she wrote into existence is experiencing internal strife she never even thought about. And let's not even get into the complexities of the magic system, or the demon that forced her into this situation to begin with...

Oh, and then there's the fact that she's about to be arrested and executed... but surely she can come up with a way to write herself out of that, right?

...Right?

“Pete,” he said softly, holding his arms open.

Pete's Vagina
87. Spikes
by Erin Halfelven

Split Victory

© 2026 Zoë Taylor

“Hyperextended in the AAA finals,” Jade sighed, balancing her weight. “They had to carry me off like a sack of flour. Totally embarrassing. But hey, now I’m a scout. I didn't see your name on the NAMASA roster, T-Bird.”

“Late entry. Jen thought I needed to ‘expand my horizon’ beyond the TKD bubble.” Tiffani glanced at the gold ‘NAMASA #1’ pin on Jade’s jacket. It caught the fluorescent light with a mocking glint. “The 2028 Olympics are the goal,” Tiffani said softly, her eyes drifting to the crowd. “But the noise, the drama about trans girls on the mat. NAMASA is already rattling the cage, Jade. I don't know if I can hold the mask for four more years.”

Things are getting grimmer at the striptease club where Sheila Coffin works undercover as a cocktail waitress. The pressure is so intense that the detectives and their client will have to run and hide until the police show up. If they show up...

Rain was pouring down as Vienna and Diana dashed out of their rented house and into the waiting car. The overcast skies and the approaching dusk hid their activities very well.

“Get in the back,” said the driver, who had identified himself as Bob Harrington.

A retelling of Pinocchio's most infamous detour, for the 2026 Summer Island Getaway Challenge. When Pinocchio runs away with a friend to Pleasant Island instead of coming home to become a real boy, he discovers the island has a very particular transformation in store for its visitors. And not everyone who escapes the island gets away clean.