A House and a Prayer

The wedding was lovely. It was good to see friends happy. What else was life for, but that? But then there was a house. A gift from an adoring spouse and Peg knew she couldn’t go in. She made it far enough to leave the flower baskets on the porch. The i...

Bruised eyes. Broken bones. Faces acting like they do not care. [i]It's a performance.[/i] Blood and cuts. Gaping wounds. Faces acting like they do not care. [i]It's for Sareena, you can't look away.[/i] Lashes. Scars. Faces acting like they d...

Searing pain. Tearing flesh. Claws and teeth. Her arm being ripped from the rest of her body. Gnashing teeth. Slashing claws. Flesh being pulled from bone. Muscle shredded. Searing pain. Sharp teeth. Wolves. Lions with too many eyes and too many legs. ...

“I might if you could handle both.” She tried. She tried to handle it all. The voices, the anger, the expectations, school, society, people, darkness. Every moment of her life a tenuous walk on the tightrope between what she wanted to and what she...

"Some things are worth touching with care." The gentle voice, the soft touch. She couldn’t imagine him touching anything in anger. But her anger raged and boiled and bubbled, threatening to spill out at any moment and wreak havoc on the world. He tol...

CW: self-harm --You can fill it with your grim things if you like. When it is dry, you can burn it, and all the grim things along with it. Maybe it will help, until you can talk about them instead.-- She read the note over. And over. And over. Fill...

https://youtu.be/ciS5GikZ5Jo "People become what they pretend to be." Do you suppose that's how it really works? Could pretending ever bring anything but hurt? [i]Pretend you're happy when you're blue It isn't very hard to do And you'll find ha...

Peg looked at the ice rink, watching unnoticed from a distance, a figure in a cloak. She watched parents with their children, friends, and lovers skate by, the joy evident on their faces. The holidays had a certain magic for people who were close to peopl...

***Joint writing project with Todd, fleshing out some of Vera and Peg's early experiences together.*** Vera stands up on a wooden crate along one side of the student quad. It is midmorning, and second classes have let out, giving the students a longer...

***Joint writing project with Todd. Peg and Vera near the beginning of their time together at the AC.*** Margarete had only been at the school a few weeks. It was all so new and she was still getting her bearings. Sitting in class wasn’t her favorite...

“I didn’t say that, m’lady.” “Was there something I could help you with Lady Jaeger?” “I got to go check on the kids.” "I suppose you will run off to tell Lady Blackthorne?" Uncomfortable shifting, pained expressions, silent stares...

[CW: self-harm] She runs back to the dorm, her heart pounding in her chest, the blood rushing in her ears. Another student walks in front of her; she doesn't notice and runs into them. She tries to apologize. She's not sure any sound comes out. S...

She comes back eventually. She doesn't particularly want to and yet it was where she was expected. And some part of her doesn't want her parents to worry. It was late when she returns, much later than she should have been there. And she is…well, she...

She returned to her room, cold, wet. Perhaps Veronika had the right of it after all--walking was overrated. Could she have avoided it? Stayed away from the rain? Stayed away from others. The dark isolation of her room felt comfortable...safe. She looked a...

CW: Self-harm, emotional trauma Back in the quiet dark of her room, Peg sat on the edge of her bed. She didn't bother with the light, she could see well enough in the dark and this way Veronika and Miranda wouldn't worry. She looked across to the shelf...

URL https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqb8fa3vsGp-wpdEdgMypSR4fdplMHnmh I'm a Bitch I'm a Lover--Meredith Brooks I Am What I Am--from La Cage aux Folles Q.U.E.E.N.--Janelle Monae, ft. Erykah Badu I Believe in Me--Devorah Schwartz Let it Go--from...