Privilege Stories

Laylah has always known what it means to survive. From the crowded compound in Kaduna to the long, exhausting days of studying law, her life has been built on sacrifice, quiet strength, and the hope that one day, everything will be different. Sadeeq lives in a different world entirely. Controlled. Powerful. Untouchable. As a DSS officer, he moves through life with silence and authority, carrying secrets that were never meant to be shared. Their worlds were never meant to cross... until one unexpected moment brings them face to face. What begins as a simple encounter slowly unfolds into something deeper, something neither of them planned for. But love is never simple.Not when power, secrets, and two completely different lives stand in the way.And not when choosing each other might mean losing everything else.

She got into her dream university. What she didn't know was that it ran on unwritten rules. Ragging isn't chaos here. It's tradition. It's hierarchy. It's survival. Everyone adapts. Everyone stays quiet.

In the ivory towers of her father's tech dynasty, Sage Bridgewyn was taught that every problem had a code. But in the rain-slicked industrial heart of Brackwell, she meets a glitch she can't fix. Chase Thorne is a mechanical prodigy with grease under his nails and a permanent scowl, a youth-at-risk who views Sage's Bridge Initiative as just another brand of "privileged charity." She was sent to discover his talent but she wasn't prepared for him to discover her soul. They have no business falling in love but in the passenger seat of a midnight drive, the rules of the elite no longer apply.

At the masque as Henri learns the truth, Danielle is not given the chance to run away. Instead, King Francis charges her with impersonating nobility, sentences her to prison and possibly death. Can Henri overlook class to save her? A shocking discovery alters Henri's betrothal to Gabriella, but a deal may force Henri to go against his heart. Can Henri and Danielle still live happily ever after? An alternate ending saga to the movie Ever After starring Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott.

Behind the perfectly curated Instagram posts and enviable popularity at Westbrook High lies a truth that seventeen-year-old Alexa Martinez has spent years carefully burying. Abandoned by her father at a young age, she was forced to grow up faster than any child should, navigating the darkest corners of her past with nothing but raw determination and an unshakeable will to survive. Those who see her now - the confident teenage girl with the infectious laugh and fierce loyalty to her friends - would never guess at the shadows she's overcome. She's masterfully rebuilt herself from the broken pieces of her childhood, transforming into someone so strong and seemingly unshakeable that the whispers of her past have faded to barely audible echoes. But fate has a cruel sense of timing. Just as Alexa finds herself falling for Brandon, the charismatic bad boy from old money who seems to set every girl's heart racing , the carefully constructed walls around her secrets begin to crumble. What starts as a whirlwind romance with the kind of boy her mother warned her about quickly spirals into something darker, as long-buried truths claw their way to the surface. Yet even as her past threatens to eclipse her present, Alexa discovers that the revelations about her history are only the beginning. Some secrets, she's about to learn, have teeth - and the ones emerging from the shadows are sharp enough to tear apart everything she's worked so hard to build. In a world where appearances are everything and trust is a currency few can afford, Alexa must decide whether protecting her heart means sacrificing her chance at real love, and if the strength she found in surviving her past is enough to face the storms gathering on her horizon.

FIRST YEAR. I had landed in a 'one-bookshop town'. The lone academic book retailer in Durham City was bizarrely named 'SPCK', aka the 'Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge' founded in 1698 by English clergyman Thomas Bray. Naturally, it was packed with books about religion. If you desired a tome documenting the life of Saint Cuthbert on the island of Lindisfarne, then Bob was definitely your uncle. However, if you wanted books to study more mundane contemporary subjects, you were dispatched to considerably shorter shelves at the rear of the premises or up on the first floor.

In the nation's sprawling Capital City, where power is a currency and corruption paves the streets in gold, Lorenzo 'Enzo' Velasco lives a prince's life. As the son of a notoriously corrupt congressman, his future is set, his comfort guaranteed by money stolen from the very people his father swore to serve. But the gilded cage shatters when a preventable tragedy, a landslide born from his father's greed, claims the one person he truly loves: his idealistic sister, Sofia. Haunted by guilt and shattered by the truth, Enzo does the unthinkable. He turns his back on the Velasco empire, sheds his name like a borrowed coat, and vanishes. With only the cash in his pocket and a new identity, he journeys to the forgotten, mud scarred mountains of a remote province, the very community his family destroyed. There, among the victims of his family's crimes, he seeks a punishing penance, not in prayer, but in sweat, callouses, and the back breaking work of rebuilding what was lost. But in a town where the name 'Velasco' is a curse, anonymity is a fragile shield. As he fights to earn the trust of the resilient locals, he must confront the ghosts of his past and the escalating threat of his powerful father, who will stop at nothing to silence the truth. Can a son truly wash his hands of his father's sins? And in trying to save a community, can he redeem the one thing he has left, a borrowed name?

Catherine Davis soon finds herself facing the ultimate metamorphosis of her life as things start to change when her husband, Wilson Davis leaves for his military service. living on the edge of the room with her scars, will she be able to overcome her darkside and the horrors of womanhood? Witness her journey from the eyes of Gabriel a secret admirer, as he may name it, who writes about the live of his life which he failed to attain.

Getting triggered by moonlight, getting triggered by daylight, always picking fights, she is the one... SAILOR TRIGGERED!

"Pretty Privilege is Real" explores the raw realities of societal biases surrounding beauty and privilege through the eyes of Lana, a bright yet overlooked girl navigating school, family, and friendships. The story unfolds through a series of poignant incidents that reveal how beauty often overshadows merit, leading to inequity in academic and social scenarios. Lana confronts systemic favoritism, from unfair treatment in school to dismissive judgments in her family, each incident building a stark contrast between her achievements and the unwarranted adulation her peers receive solely for their looks. Amidst these challenges, Lana's journey delves into unreciprocated crushes, unkind comparisons, and the painful awareness of being reduced to a "side character" in her own life. The narrative reflects her struggle with internalized insecurities and the pursuit of self-worth in a world dominated by superficial standards. Thought-provoking and emotionally resonant, this story sheds light on the pervasive effects of "pretty privilege" and its profound impact on young minds.

A young lass bears witness to the complexity of the unique ways humans live through pain and are changed by them, including her own.

It's so easy to place us into districts, drawing lines of where we should be placed when the lines never affected you. There is us and then there is you. Those who we are comfortable around because the similar cards we were dealt with and the ones we do not feel comfortable with because of the opposite cards we were dealt. Today is that day of the year, the privilege games. The privilege games are where they take everyone who is twenty-one and this one event determines who you are and what will you do in life. If you step out of line, you will be punished for not sticking with your district. Even though I have said district a few times we all do not live together but whatever factions you end up with you all dress alike. You may be a part of the best factions and get so many privileges but let say you have feelings for the same sex or even if you're a woman or a child. You are not as privileged as a straight white male. If you speak out you are DEAD. Just play your role and you might just live. Are you ready to play the privilege game?

Within the venerable halls of a renowned Sydney university, Professor Daniel Hart was renowned for his fervent fascination with history and faithful focus on his pupils. Nevertheless, when he came upon Emily Adams, a striking and intelligent 27-year-old scholar with a wealthy lineage, his carefully curated career commenced to unravel. What started as harmless admiration before long escalated into a forbidden fondness that risked destroying everything they cherished. As their covert connection deepened, the risks grew higher. Whispers and rumors began to spread around campus, and both Daniel and Emily found themselves trapped between longing and the likely consequences of their actions. With Emily's influential parents observing closely and the college administration beginning to suspect, the lovers had to navigate a treacherous track, cognizant that one misstep could ruin them both.

An exaggeration of the stereotypes that drive who incorrectly call themselves "Social Justice Warriors", while actually trying to hate on some people.

"In a world where ashes fall, two flames found each other and sparked a love that's destined to burn forever." Nashriele Agnievazka Cuevas, an orphan, possesses beauty and intelligence, yet her demeanour turns people away. Rejected, left behind, and painted as wicked, she stands alone. Unseen beneath the facade, there's a child's hope, looking for the arrival of someone who will embrace her, offering the love of a parent she has never known. In an unforeseen twist of fate, she will cross paths with a young boy who, like her, shares similar longings. Ashtrev Zakiel Gomez-Buenavides comes from a wealthy lineage, yet his compassion knows no bounds, reaching out to those people in need. A kind and gentle soul, beloved by all and radiating love in return. However, behind these characteristics, he carries an unfulfilled longing - the absence of a father's love. "Amidst life's journey, they once embraced each other tightly, until fate intervened. A decade later, can the heart still hold onto and feel the story of their youthful love, even if the mind has let go of its grasp on those memories? In the end, could their love endure like ashes to ashes?"

Yet as the new year spread through them all, his lips came down on hers, and she didn't have the chance to push him away. Fear gripped her sides. All of a sudden, she knew what she felt. She felt scared. As though something bad was about to happen. It was then that the room behind him exploded. To the outside world, she led a perfect life. Perfect, caring parents. A perfect, loving boyfriend. A perfect, carefree life. To the outside world, that perfection was shattered, as her boyfriend, her family, and her life, was destroyed in a devastating explosion on New Years night. Except the truth is, Brooke Keller's life was never really perfect at all. -cover made by bxlicia-

"How is it that jobs just seem to fall into the laps of posh people?" my daughter asked the other day. A rhetorical question? A truism? Both? Those of us who work in industries populated largely by posh people whom we do not resemble may have observed two phenomena. Posh people are often appointed to posts for which they appear to have no relevant experience; and posh people are regularly promoted effortlessly without apparent need to demonstrate above-average talent or previous successes. Obviously not ALL posh people, but enough for such occurrences to be more than random chance.

Alexandria Nash has everything anyone could ever wants. She has created the perfectly curated life to fool everyone around her. But her past is catching up to her and she is tired of running. This is the story of Alexis trying one last time to escape before she gives up and surrenders to her past.

Lyra is the daughter of the brutal tyrant ruling the Second Kingdom. As her father's right hand and first General, she has tortured, killed and committed heinous acts against innocents. In the darkness of the night, she silences those opposing King Acheron, upholding his merciless rule. Arlen is descended from the vanished House of Ertha. He is driven by two certainties. The first is that he must protect the innocent in the Quarter from the bloodthirsty Corps. The second is that this can only be accomplished by wiping out the Acheron line. Working among a centuries old resistance, he knows he must face King Acheron - the man ready to burn every kingdom to the ground with his power lust, the man who slaughtered his parents. With the drums of war sounding closer than ever, a stratagem to wield the Artifact, a royal relic capable of massacring thousands, emerges and thrusts Lyra into Arlen's world. In a dance against time, betrayal and her very own nature, Lyra must decide where she stands - with the comforting darkness that consumes her and the kingdom, or the fiery passion of strangers in the Quarter, holding the potential to spark light in an era of darkness.

As political commentator, Andrew Sullivan, once grimly declared, 'we all live on campus now.' The Woke Manifesto is a poem on the pending obliteration of Western civilisation. Speak up now or forever hold your peace. Inspired by Douglas Murray's excellent book, 'The Madness of Crowds.'