Writing Samples
From current & active stories
Table of Contents *click to travel
Modern Fantasy//Supernatural//Superheroes//Supernatural//Action//Romance
Reply length: 817 words
Current rp time line: 7 months
​
Fantasy//Supernatural//Superpowers//Mythology//Heavy Worldbuilding//Romance
Reply length: 845 words
Current rp time line: 5 months
​
Fantasy//Heavy Worldbuilding//Doubling//Magic Use//Romance//Adventure
Reply length: 1431 words
Current rp time line: 1 year 10 months
​
Superheroes//Slice of Life-ish//Mental Health//Romance
Reply length: 818 words
Current rp time line: 3 months
Juliet peeled into the driveway of the house as quickly as she could, slamming on the breaks inches before the bumper of her car touched the garage. The ignition was killed while she simultaneously leaped out. She grabbed the clothes she had been wearing before from the backseat and rushed into the house. The door shut quietly behind her as her eyes drifted over a large….hole in the wall? Her brows furrowed at it.
“Juliet! I don’t think any bookstores are open this late,” Sparky was moving toward her, “where have you- ah!” The robot let out an exclamation at her appearance, then, in a hushed tone, “What happened to you!? What did you do!?”
Juliet’s eyes didn’t leave the broken wall. “What in the ever loving fuck is this?” She looked toward Sparky. Upstairs, she could hear the shower running. She hadn’t beaten Jakob home but he didn’t seem to notice that, despite it being nearly 11pm, Juliet had been nowhere to be found. She was still in the clear. Did he come home in haste? If that was the case…
Sparky spoke up. “Things didn’t go well with the rest of the group today…”
“Of course, it didn’t.” Juliet let out a huff and walked past Sparky further into the house. “In fact, I think I’d be blown away if things went great.” She turned back around, “What are we now? A hormonal teenage boy?” She gestured at the hole in the wall, “Hitting walls?” It gave her a yucky feeling along with a feeling of frustration. Her arm hurt with the movement. Her body was sore and tired from her own solo and unexpected fight.
“He got home pretty angry-“
“What's new? You’d think he’d settle into the emotion by now.” Juliet paced a circle in the living room, then moved into the kitchen. She grabbed a dishtowel, ran it under water, and began wiping at her face while she grumbled to herself. “I fucking trusted him to do this right. If he couldn’t do it, he shouldn’t have told me he could. All of them, actually. They all told me it would be fine.” She wiped at her makeup, then the blood on her face before pausing to listen for the shower again.
When it was confirmed to still be running, she pulled her clothes off her in the kitchen. She hissed at a large bruise forming on her ribs. “I knew I should’ve just gone myself. This break is never going to work.” She gave her face one last wipe before tossing the bloody towel toward Sparky. “Red Dagger is going to kill someone else while they’re busy fighting.” Her last sentence was spoken with a certain acid to it.
But….how valuable was the research she had done? The plastic disc she had hastily grabbed on her way out clattered to the floor with her clothes. She would have to continue staying out of the action if she wanted to do anything more. And, if she was lucky, the phone number and the plastic piece would mean something. Juliet pulled her normal clothes back on, tied her hair up into a ponytail, and scooped up the piece. She had checked the news on her way home – the man in the apartment was in critical condition and not expected to ever wake up again from the force of her hit to the back of his head. Another clue that whoever had hit him was superpowered.
It was in self-defense. He was attacking me. This isn’t the same as Absolute Zero.
Except that you tied him up like a fun little gift before you left.
He was a bad person.
Juliet swallowed and found herself going through the same thoughts she did with Absolute Zero. She dug the napkin out of her pocket, folded it up, then picked up the black clothes. Her gaze fell towards Sparky again. “As far as Jakob knows, I was home all day. Do what you have to do to make that happen.” Her words were hushed as she moved past him toward the door again, “You know just as well as I do what electricity does to computer parts.”
She quietly ducked outside, put the clothes in her trunk, retrieved her bag from the backseat, and shoved the number and plastic piece into it. After closing the door behind her and depositing her bag on the counter, Juliet head upstairs. She lightly knocked on the bedroom door and when there wasn’t a response combined with the sound of the shower, she cracked the door and peeked her head in. When the room was confirmed to be empty, she approached the closed bathroom door.
For a few seconds, Juliet closed her eyes and let out a slow, quiet breath. Then, she knocked lightly and spoke from the other side of the door. “Hey….Jakob…is everything-…are you okay…? Things don’t seem…yeah.”
Calypso wasn’t going to mention the silly way he was dancing when she stopped to stand in the entrance to the doorway. Or the way his red curls, which practically shimmered in the sunlight, bounced lightly. He looked freshly showered, dressed, and like he had been up for quite a bit of time before her. Cyprus was clearly a creature of the morning – he was lighter, almost, practically shimmering, and happy to up. Cal, on the other hand, felt like she didn’t gain her own sparkly iridescence until she had the proper amount of time to digest a cup of coffee. At the moment, everything was a little too loud and awake.
She raised her eyebrows a little when he regarded her with such brightness. She followed his gaze to the clock above a large window. It was later than she usually slept, yet her body was still reeling from being awake and moving for so long the night before. Before she could properly respond to the late time, Cyprus was moving quickly around the kitchen, chattering about breakfast and asking if she wanted coffee. She blinked as he poured two cups of coffee into intricate floral mugs and prepared two plates of breakfast in a whirlwind of what felt like controlled chaos.
“Oh. Uh…” Cal looked down at the two steaming mugs left in front of her on the counter, “Yeah. I can do that,” she mumbled. She hooked her fingers around each mug’s handle and began following Cyprus through the second archway. She paused when she spotted something pushed up against the wall under one of the cabinets: a crystal looking candy jar with an assortment of wrapped candy in it. Cal carefully rearranged the mugs so that one was pinned between her arm and her chest then reached out to take the lid off the jar. Her hand dug into the jar, grabbed a handful, then continued into the dining nook.
She set the mug in her hand down in front of Cyprus, carefully deposited her handful of candy next to her plate, then finally her own mug of coffee. She sat down at the wooden table, tucked her legs underneath her, took her mug into both hands, and looked out the large French doors that were over Cyprus’s shoulder. Outside was the garden and greenhouse she had stumbled through the night before. In the light, it was impressive. Even from her vantage point, she could see how many different kinds of plants formed a carefully planned yet wild garden. The sight of the greenhouse and the discarded lamp on the floor next to the doors reminded her of the cut on her leg. That was what ached, she realized. Would Fekla have anything for that in her shop? It would sure make rehearsal difficult later that night.
While lost in thought, Calypso carefully lifted the mug to her lips and took a sip. A quiet sigh escaped her body at the taste. As far as she was concerned, a fluffy bed, comfortable clothes, breakfast, coffee, and a good view was paradise someone had the audacity to hide all the way out in the vineyard fields.
You look pretty this morning.
Cal’s eyes focused from the outdoors over his shoulder and onto Cyprus. Something about the comment made her practically turn to mush inside. It wasn’t expected, especially when she was grumpy, quiet, and still in the clothes she slept in. After he had presented her with coffee and breakfast right after she got out of bed? Calypso took a few seconds to study his face. There was no indication that he wanted something from her. Was he just like this? Naturally the kind of person people wrote poems and stories about? Aphrodite would be so proud.
He’s such a Cupid. How in the name of the Gods is he single?
The Temer’s cheeks flushed a deeper pink and she brought the mug up to her lips, mumbling a thank you into her coffee. She hoped to disguise the flushed effect as something caused by the hot liquid. Aphrodite would be proud, though Himeros would shake his head at one of his Temer being so easily charmed. An English muffin, a cup of coffee, and a compliment, for fuck’s sake.
She put the mug down and picked up the English muffin. “Really good once I pulled all the blankets and pillows out of the closet.” She smirked a little and took a bite of the English muffin, then some eggs. They chatted quietly over breakfast, until Cal, who was now caffeinated, stood up and grabbed Cyprus’s plate with hers to bring back into the kitchen.
“I need to stop by the shop before going home. I assume you’re also heading in that direction…?” That was her awful attempt at asking Cyprus if he wanted to come with her. “I think I’m going to shower first…if that’s alright?” Cal turned to look at him. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome in his house, especially after having a visitor wasn’t exactly his plan.
In the distance, Evnerth could hear the scrambling of the horses where they had left them, indicating that their pursuers had come upon them. They squealed and caused quite the disruption to the quiet of the forest around them. The redhead swallowed a hard knot in her throat, leaned the back of her head against the rough bark, and closed her eyes. Despite being very good at hiding her fear, Ev was terrified. Her mouth had gone dry and it took nearly everything she had to keep herself from trembling.
The three of them were being hunted, at least that’s what it felt like, and the longer she stood there, her fingers hooked around the end of a steadily burning arrow, the worse it felt. The last thing Ev had wanted to do was face the wizard’s soldiers without Dreq. The thought tightened her stomach and she bit the inside of her cheek. This was not the time for emotions to take over. That could come later if she even made it. She had to make it. There were so many reasons why they had to get away. And if there was one thing she and Dreq had in common, it was their viciousness in battle.
She opened her eyes when there was a sound closer to them now. She had to be ruthless with or without her dragon there to encourage her. Ev glanced towards the brush, making sure the two she had with her were effectively hidden. Best case scenario, she could drive their pursuers away without bringing Myrna and Idross into this. The young duo wasn’t nearly ready for something this real and she was painfully aware of this. She let a slow breath out through a small opening in her lips, staying as quiet as her pounding heart would allow.
Idross also opened his eyes and tried to get a better look through the small spaces in the brush without moving. Ev only said to move if they found us…Did this count as being found? As far as he was concerned, not yet. The dark form hadn’t shown any signs of acknowledging their hiding spot. They haven’t found us yet. They won’t find us. We’re going to be ok. Evnerth will be ok. Idross spoke these statements almost like they were mantra he was trying to get himself to believe. As brave as he was ready to be, Idross didn’t feel nearly ready for something like this. How could they be? Their training wasn’t done, it wasn’t close to being done. He sucked in a quiet breath that, despite how hard he tried, shuttered. He held it, hoping whoever was searching for them hadn’t heard it. Everything he did, every blink, every breath, felt far too loud.
The breathing of the dragon felt hot through the brush and Idross swallowed. How long would he hide, waiting for them to leave? He felt like a sitting duck and that, even worse than the scratchy branches, was a terrible feeling for a dragon to feel. He glanced at Myrna, noting the fear on her face. He would be a sitting duck as long as it kept her safe.
There was definitely something right outside their hiding spot now. Ev went through, in her mind, several defensive and offensive spells she would be able to cast on just her energy alone. She had to be creative with it – there were many different ways to skin a cat. She whispered another spell to her burning arrow, causing it to flicker a bit. When it hit its target, it would burst into an inferno rather than sputtering out. The spell would be more draining than just creating a flame, but she would be able to manage a few of them before it became too dangerous to cast that spell again.
Hopefully, by that point, they would either be scared away or Idross would be able to get away from Myrna to shift. He was bigger than most dragons, so hopefully, if it came to that, he would be enough to scare them off. There was more movement and the heavy breathing of a dragon that, even from her hiding spot, felt warm. The flame on her weapon was big now. It was, indeed, now or never.
Everything she did at that moment felt like slow motion when she would look back on it later. Evnerth pushed herself off the trunk of the tree and the rough bark scraped a layer of skin off the back of her arms. As she spun on the balls of her feet and around the tree, she pulled the bowstring taught and the creaking of both the wood and the string filled her ears. The tail of the arrow tickled her cheek just the slightest bit. The second she was vulnerable, two things happened, one moment after the other.
First, she let go of the arrow. The weapon sent it soaring with a thwap sound. Second, she made eye contact with Dreq. When Evnerth imagined first finding him, she imagined she would feel a lot of emotions. Sheer panic was not one of those. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth opened as if she was going to yell something, but couldn’t get the words out in time.
The panic came from the arrow. Although it was not aimed at a body, it still twisted forward, just barely missing one of the forms on his back, buried itself in a tree not 10 feet away with a dull sound. The moment it hit, the flame she had enchanted exploded into an inferno about the size of a person, moving up the tree. The heat of the flame hit Evnerth’s face and the energy the magic drew from her body caused her to suck in a sharp breath and flash of white came across her eyes.
In hiding, Idross heard movement from beside them. It was quick and based on what he could see of the figure, it was Evnerth. The snap of the bow was quickly followed by the whooshing sound of a fireball. The heat it gave off was intense and Idross decided that their mentor, while careful and kind with them, was not going to be the same way with their opponents. He made a split-second decision, only conveying this decision to Myrna with images before he was scrambling out of their hiding spot.
Evnerth tore her eyes away from Dreq as the brush began moving and she started yelling. “Idross! Idross no, Id-“ The large sapphire dragon was already erupting from the thin body of the man hiding in the brush. Trees snapped against his body, though he was able to keep that to a minimum. A low, bubbling growl came from his belly as he regarded the dark dragon in front of him. Evnerth was still yelling at him, and while he could hear her words, Idross still watched the other dragon with suspicion and a tense stature, clearly still in the mindset of protecting both Myrna and Ev.
It was apparent Idross wasn’t going to attack unless he was provoked, finally understanding Ev’s words but not quite believing them. Myr. Myrna, we weren’t being followed by soldiers. He looked at Dreq for a few seconds longer before letting out a puff of breath and snaking his head down towards where he had left Myrna just seconds before, still not taking his eyes off the newcomers as if he still didn’t trust them not to hurt her.
Evnerth let out a shuttering breath, out of exhaustion, relief, and disbelief at what was happening. Her body ached from the effort of the escape and the tense waiting game they played. She felt exhausted from the entire year previous. Finally, she released the block on her mind and, instead of feeling nothing, Dreq’s consciousness flooded her own as it had been for her entire life. The emotions from earlier rushed back and forced their way out in the form of big, rolling tears. Dreq! Dreq…did I hurt you?! Are you ok?! What are you doing here?!
She finally found the will to move her body, dropped the bow to the forest floor, and propelled herself towards her dragon. She wanted to explain what had happened, that they had believed they were being followed by soldiers. Evnerth had gone through multiple explanations for someone following them through the forest, but it being Dreq hadn’t been one of them. But she couldn’t seem to form many more words past her emotions except,
I missed you so much…
Danielle had been blindsided many times over the years. Usually, it was a hit that knocked the breath from her lungs or left her with a big bruise to deal with later and teasing from Victoria or Daniel. It was something they laughed at afterward. How could she be so silly, looking right when she should’ve looked left? But this…this was a whole new kind of blindsiding that wasn’t as easy to recover from as cursing and getting up off the ground.
She was killed, and no one cared.
Pushed until her body broke.
The industry just dropped her when it was convenient for them.
She was a hero.
She called herself Aloe.
They called her a failure.
Each sentence sat heavier and heavier on her chest until it felt like the air was squeezed out of her and each breath in fought against the weight. The wound was far too painful and open for this. Her head was swimming, the room was spinning, she was fucking suffocating…
Am I allergic to one of these plants? Maybe that’s it.
Danny fought to keep a faraway look from creeping into her gaze. So many thoughts were racing through her mind that she couldn’t possibly stop and look at each one to give them the attention they deserved. Just when she could acknowledge one, another shoved its way through. Of course, she knew Aloe. They had met when she and Violet were just 19 years old and fresh-faced in the hero industry. They wanted to put good into the world, wanted to use their powers for something worthwhile and Aloe had guided them to another hero who she thought they would work well with: Triumph. And of course, she remembered the day Aloe’s crumpled body appeared on their TV screens. It was terrifying, heartbreaking, filled them with guilt. They told themselves they should’ve been there instead, that maybe they could have handled it better and a hero wouldn’t have died.
Aloe, no…Juniper. Danielle wouldn’t allow herself to forget her name. It would be carefully placed right next to Violet. Juniper pushed until her body broke. It wasn’t fair that she felt she had to do that.
The pressure wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t fair that Danny pushed herself until her mind broke.
It wasn’t fair that Solstice was still hailed as a great, legendary hero and was given a grand, public vigil all because she was popular. Yet, no one questioned what had happened to her or why she completely snapped like that. It didn’t matter to them.
It wasn’t fair that they blamed Aloe and called her a failure.
It wasn’t fair that they didn’t call Violet anything. They didn’t speak her name for more than a couple of days before moving on. A missing hero was a boring hero as far as they were concerned.
Danielle wanted to bring her hands up into her hair, lean forward, and scream and scream until her throat wouldn’t let her scream anymore. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how many empty feeling affirmations she said to herself, no matter how many stupid breathing exercises or fucking therapy sessions she did, she couldn’t seem to escape the hidden horrors from that side of her life.
She blinked, struggled to swallow because her mouth had gone dry, and looked up from their hands to Del. It wasn’t fair that he got caught in it all. Then she spoke quietly. “I’m so sorry, Del. It isn’t fair.” And Danny continued talking quietly with him. She wanted to tell Del that he wasn’t alone by any means, that the industry was bullshit, that Aloe, Juniper, was far more than just a masked face, that memories of her still lived on in not just him but in friendships and found family. But she felt incapable of giving him the emotional empathy she felt he deserved. She was a bit robotic, perhaps a little too much so, but it was all she could do: Remove herself from her body, go through the motions, figure it out when she was alone in her own apartment. She managed to get him up, wipe the dry, sticky tears from his face, and get him into bed with the promise that she would answer the phone that night if he needed her, no matter the time.
Finally, when it was time for her to leave, she wandered out into the hall like a zombie, and back into her own apartment. Danielle shuffled into the bathroom, turned on the bathtub faucet, and, once the tub was full, couldn’t be bothered to strip her clothes off herself.
She laid back until the water filled her ears and she could only hear her own breathing and heartbeat, stared at the ceiling of her bathroom, and wondered if those who died as heroes were the lucky ones to be spared the pain of…well…
This.