Miranda Sparks

In Between

"I’d never been with a man before, let alone two. Truth be told, I was just afraid of them as I was turned on. Maybe, ‘til that point, I’d known the wrong kind of man, and for that reason never let myself desire them..."

Emily + Drew = BFWBF

At first I thought he was another handsome customer. You know the kind - a cocktail of rugged and kempt in skinny jeans and a loose knit sweater. His eyes twinkled, and he smiled a shy smile. A girl could fall hard if she wasn’t careful.

“Emily, right?”

Realisation landed with a proverbial slap. I knew him. More than that, he was a remnant of a life gone by. Different names, different faces, among other things.

“Drew?”

Of all the coffee shops, on all the west coast, he stepped into mine.

A Beautiful Dream

This is a true story. It doesn't matter if you believe me.

When I was small I met an angel.

I was standing in a field with tall grass, sunflowers and dandelions. I don’t know how I got there, and didn’t care. The sun warmed my chubby arms, and a gentle breeze blew the grass so that it tickled under my dress.

There’s another thing that was strange but wasn’t; I was wearing a dress - canary yellow, with thin straps over the shoulder. Not the kind of thing I could wear at home; not the kind of thing I was allowed.

Young Justice - Making the Most of the Situation (Superboy/Supergrrrl+Robin III)

The hole punched through space with a mighty boom. Large rings undulated around the corridor with mysterious, alien function. They opened into a great rock cavern supported by pylons. It lead to a polished floor adorned with trophies of battles past. These were the first steps into a secret home of superheroes, tucked away under Mount Justice.

An early Halloween short

Thirteen is an awkward age, stranded somewhere between ‘just a kid’ and ‘old enough to know better’. At thirteen Halloween costumes are the peak of uncool; trick or treating is something for babies, and high school parties are a long way away. But that wouldn’t stop Grayson from making the most of the holiday.

Touch

He thinks I don’t notice. It’s in his eyes and the stillness of his breath, hidden behind ravenous sex so meek that anyone else might fail to notice. After three years of marriage, and another two of dating on top of that, there’s very little I can’t see.

Glimmer Girl: Secret Origins - All That Glimmers #9

I woke with my arms shackled over my head to a large steel conductor. The weight of my body wrenched them down, and ached with every movement. Whatever Dr. Vortex had planned was going to be worse than the BDSM nightmare I found myself.

Through the uneven panels of corrugated iron I could make the slivers of his coat as he moved between workstations. He moved in slow motion as though trudging through a swamp; or maybe it was the haze looming from above.

A Second Chance at Love - Chapter 1

My Mum never used to cry, but now she does it all the time. She cries for the big things, and the little things. She cries during movies and TV shows, including the commercials, and even cries when she can’t open a jar of pickles. Personally, I blame the hormones. They’re a shock to the system, and she’s still new to puberty.

This morning I found her in the kitchen, literally crying over spilled milk. I bent down with a handful of paper towel, and helped her to soak it up. She looked up, chuckled, and gave me a knowing smile.

Glimmer Girl: Secret Origins - All That Glimmers #4

It was the best truck stop sandwich I’d ever eaten. The bread was stale, the lettuce wilted, and gods only knew the deal with the egg salad, but it was solid enough to keep me from shaking to pieces.

I sat in the corner of the Sheriff's office and pulled the blanket they’d given tight. The events leading up to that point circled in my head; one moment I was being held at gunpoint, and the next I was in a ditch, screaming my lungs out. Between them were several hours and twenty miles into the next county no-one could explain.

Hellbound Dolls - Chapter 2

It must have been a demon who dreamed up a life regarded with male presumption. From the prescribed stoicism placed on a first born son, to the stifling collar of the school uniform, every moment was one of irritation. Yet I followed the path of least resistance, for no other reason than to lessen the blow. To conform was to evade conflict until such time as it was necessary.

Glimmer Girl: Secret Origins - All That Glimmers #3

Imagine being on vacation, except there’s nobody around, and you’re stuck in a single room. Such was life on the sofa, nursing the aftermath of the accident. There were only so many chat shows and soap operas I could endure before going insane, and after three days I was at my limit.

Robin: The Girl Wonder

Robin, Alfred Pennyworth, and Batman are the property of DC Comics.

* * * *

Her knuckles balled white around the hem of her skirt and pulled it over her knees, which in turn bounced in time with the ticking of the clock. Three-fifteen was the cue for dismissal, save for one who had been removed from class early and was seated in the main foyer.

Hellbound Dolls - Akane's Story

AUTHOR'S NOTE: A while ago I set about to write an action/horror magical girl story with some Tokyo trans sukeban (read: girl gang) called "The Hellbound Dolls." This vignette follows one of the Dolls, Akane, whose ultimate struggle is to realize she's worthy of love. This installment does not have a happy ending, so read at your own peril.

* * * *

The Gingerbread House

It wasn’t that Natalie hated Christmas; she could never be that cynical. In the face of blinking lights, baubles, and ornate decoration she stared ahead, and traced the steps between her flat and the office. As far as she was concerned it was a day like any other.

Her hands balled in the pockets of her coat - one pressed against the phone, the other grabbing lint - while she pressed through the carols in the air. She smiled tightly, threw a dollar into a charity bucket without a thought for who they collected, and marched on. How could she begrudge them for trying to spread joy?

Wounded Child

“Mama…”

She doesn’t say the words, but you still hear them: “not now, sweetie. Mama’s busy.”

You know better than to reach out for her. Your hands are already stinging. Better to keep them by your side where they can’t annoy anybody.

Still, the need aches at you.

“I told you, I’m busy,” she doesn’t say.

You try to be a good girl and pull away, but your heart doesn’t listen; it still reaches out despite knowing it’s not allowed.

The yelling gets louder. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I was busy. Stop being a bother.”

Something In The Way

A/N: This isn't a story that goes anywhere. It's a semi-autobiographical snapshot that I needed to put outside of myself, but read and enjoy if you're into something dark.

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Amber wasn’t an orphan, but she didn’t imagine it being much different to her own life. ‘Family’ was something other people had, while she kept to her own company.

Her father and brother were there, at least in body, with eyes glued to the tee-vee set. Truth be told they cared more about wrestling than they did the eldest daughter, and told her so whenever they deemed her worthy of notice.

The Devil Within

A college age man of questionable integrity makes a deal with a demon spirit, but not all goes to plan.

* * * *

Virginity is a cruel, cruel mistress, and it only gets worse as time goes by. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be twenty-one years old when you’ve never had sex? In a world where a man’s worth is measured by his virility I can think of nothing worse.

Campbelltown Resident Claims Transgender Vaccine Link

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Earlier today I read a clickbait piece in which a mother claimed that a flu vaccine turned her son gay. Though I am firmly pro-vaxx (vaccinate your kids, folks) the idea of a child turning gay or trans as a vaccine side effect tickled me. Maybe I'll expand on this more in a future story, but this fake news article touches on it. Enjoy!

* * * *

4 October, 2016

New World Epidemic - Chapter Six

I woke to a bitter taste and aching in my shoulders. Shaking my head was like moving through pea soup while pinballs rattled in my skull.

My hands were strapped behind me, as were my ankles to the feet of a chair.

“Hello?”

No answer.

The fog lifted and I found myself in a room with grey, cinder block walls, a concrete ceiling dripping with condensation, florescent lights blinking in and out, and a dirty mirror to veil my reflection with handprints and dust. Knowing my luck there were agents on the other side waiting to begin an interrogation.

At The End of Everything

For a while things were looking up; I was on my way to college, had the love of a great guy, and thanks to the help of my folks had GRS scheduled for Spring of the following year.

Then the end of the world happened.

Nobody knows how it started. Some say it’s a curse, others say it’s a virus that came from terrorists, or bad dog food, or something. Nobody knows, and nobody cares. All that matters is that a bunch of corpses jumped out of the ground and started biting people.

Circle of life, or death, or undeath, whatever.

New World Epidemic - Chapter Five

“They took Katie!”

My Mom blinked in horror, just like she had the last five times.

“Who?” she asked.

“The men in the suits!”

She shook herself. “When?”

I was ready to tear my hair out. “While you and Dad were fucking each other stupid!”

Language like that would have me grounded on an ordinary day, but my Mom wasn’t all there. Every few moments she closed her eyes, bit her lip, and held one hand down to keep from touching herself, just like every other horny fool in town.

“Mom!”

She jumped upright. “Yes?”

New World Epidemic - Chapter Four

It was around one before Katie passed out; the rest of us couldn’t sleep.

Mom, Dad and I sat around the living room in silence. I was sat between them, lest they jump each other’s bones. Gross, I know.

There was moaning coming from the neighbor’s house, which was impressive given their age. They were the sort of couple who always bickered and fought. Who knows? Maybe sexual armageddon was the kick their marriage needed.

My Dad huffed and threw himself back into the chair. “There’s got to be something we can do.”

Hush

The bed lay half filled. Evie cocooned herself in blankets and skirted the edge, allowing room for another; her ex-husband, a new lover, who knows? Yet her dream wrapped smile betrayed no sense of absence.

It was a fact she might not have been aware of until the mattress depressed and gravity tugged her to the centre. She opened her eyes, shaped the numbers 2:53 out of the fog, and rolled toward the mass laying against her back.

She croaked through the film that dried in the back of her throat. “Madelyne?”

New World Epidemic - Chapter Three

When I woke the next day Angela was gone. I was sprawled alone in her bed, face down, drinking the smell of her from the sheets.

What a night it had been.

I found my clothes, dressed myself, and wandered into the living room where Nick, Sasha, Gabe and David were curled up, naked. By the looks of them they’d had the same kind of fun. Figuring they needed the rest I stepped over them and made as quiet an exit as I could.

First Day

On Tuesday morning I was sweating bullets.

“It’s only natural,” my Mom told me. After all, it was the first day of senior year, and many of us had gone through some big changes over Summer vacation, and I mean Big, capital B, changes; for some more than others.

The horn beeped, but I still hadn’t decided. Was a skirt too much, or should I have gone with jeans? Maybe shorts and leggings would be best; if I wore a dress would people think I had something to prove?

New World Epidemic - Chapter Two

That night I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I could smell her, like she was there setting fire to my veins.

I did everything I could to quench my desire, including… you know, that thing that guys do when they’ve got a girl on the brain.

Except that a couple of days ago Angela wasn’t a girl.

How did it happen? People don’t change overnight, at least not like that. Hours on the internet delivered information on intersex rights, transgender resources, and a lot of porn, but nothing like Angela’s transformation.

New World Epidemic - Chapter One

I can’t remember a time when Adam and I weren’t friends.

Our mothers met in hospital shortly after giving birth. They swapped numbers and babysat for each other; because of them Adam and I shared the same milestones, whether it was swimming lessons, birthdays, or joining the scouts. We spent so much time together that growing close was inevitable.

From pre-k to high school we were joined at the hip, and always watching each other’s back. Even when Adam started getting in trouble, smoking weed and getting into fights, we were there for each other.

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