The Discord notification pinged as David finished his math homework, the sound a welcome interruption from polynomial equations. He clicked over to find his gaming group already deep in discussion about the recent string of disappearances in Millridge.

"I'm telling you, something weird is going on," Tony's message declared. "Three people vanishing in two weeks? That's not normal."

Chapter 14: School Clothes
The mall was alive with the buzz of summer shoppers, its cool, air-conditioned halls offering relief from the sweltering heat outside. Yuqi walked confidently alongside her mom and Kelly, her purse slung across her shoulder. The air of excitement around her was undeniable—this was no ordinary shopping trip.

Chapter 17
I leveled my gaze at Hannah and Brian, my patience wearing thin. “You know, I don’t care what you think about my life before,” I said, my voice steady and cold. “But I’ll be damned if I let you say anything bad about my wife.”

The room fell into a tense silence. Brian shifted uneasily under my glare, and Hannah’s fake smile finally cracked.

Max never truly believed that his dream of becoming a magical girl could become a reality - but he never even imagined that becoming the villainess of the magical girls was a possibility! 

***

Ever since the first Magical Girls appeared, to fight against the Violet Ooze threat, Max has dreamed of joining their ranks. Not that he’s particularly interested in the girl part - no way! - but the magical bit? The being a hero bit? That’s everything he’s ever wanted in life! So when a Magical Crystal offers him an out from the mundanity of college life, he agrees without a second thought! 

Unfortunately, the Magical Crystal gets attacked by Violet Ooze during the formation of their contract! Instead of a purehearted magical girl, ready to face the forces of evil, Max ends up as the Violet Queen - the new leader of those very same monsters!

Of course, the problems don’t end there! She's got magical girls aiming for her head, powers that are fueled by people lusting after her, and - worst of all - a ‘corrupted’ crystal that insists the true threat to the world is actually the (unwitting) magical girls themselves!

Cover by my lovely friend Lulla.

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.

Alone.

Chapter 26 recap

Panic grips me, sharper than the cold ever was. My heart races as I snap my head around, searching the shadows.

And then I see him.

Standing over me.

His massive sword is in his hand, its edge glinting faintly in the firelight.

 
XXVII: Back at the damn ball

Bulbs flashed everywhere like tasteless arc welders fucking epileptic fireflies. “Countess Devaris!” A tabloid wraith blocked her path. “Does Lady Elaine’s absence signal fractures in Phoenix Rising’s founding triad?”

Chapter 2

We hugged and air kissed, then went through to the dining room. We had a table in full view of everybody and got a lot of looks when we were seated. Monica gave me a potted history of the shoots that she had been in since I last saw her, and I gave her a potted history of my own recent past. We were into the main course when she said something that changed the situation.

“Do you know any places I can live in London? Someone called Yvonne from an agency there has bought out my contract with the agency here.”

Eriana finds that the Visund is overloaded and their departure from Bibek is cautious. Their passage is not helped when they are threatened by a Pakmal galley. In Faralan they visit Count Darkwin and receive an offer of assistance.

The Voyage of the Visund

A tale of Anmar by Penny Lane

98 - Return to Faralan

The nameplate on Ms. Thurnglad's door gleamed in the fluorescent hallway lights: "Student Guidance Counselor." Remi stood before it, his hand hovering over the handle as the morning bell rang in the distance. Through the frosted glass window, he could make out a vague shape moving within—probably Ms. Thurnglad arranging her ever-present collection of motivational posters and self-help books into their precise positions.

She opened the refrigerator and pulled out a couple Buds, handing me one without asking. “She sort of blamed me for making you trans. They all did, for a while.”

“Blamed you.” My family is SO fucked up!

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.

“I should’ve gone back home when I had the chance.”

Chapter 25 recap

Suddenly, a tendril shoots out faster than I can react, wrapping around my waist and yanking me off the sled. The ground slams into me hard, knocking the wind out of my lungs as the world spins violently.

Medical:
Beverly looks at her wife’s x-rays to see how bad the damage was. She couldn’t believe the damage to the body armor when she saw it. Whoever squeezed her wife’s leg, had some strength to them.

Wendy watches her wife as she looks at the x-ray of her leg. The nurse had given her a shot for the pain.

“Well, how bad is it?”

“I’m going to need to rebuild your femur, sweetie. Whoever you fought, broke your upper leg and the pieces are digging into the muscles and tendons.” Beverly puts the X-ray down and looks at her wife.