RaffertysRules

The first time I saw my friends was right after we moved into our new house. I didn’t like the house my parents bought. It was old and dirty, with grime on the windows and doors that creaked and redbacks under the stairs. The yard was practically a jungle with overgrown gardens and grass up to my knees. I just knew I would be stuck cleaning that mess up even though there was bound to be mice and snakes and who knows what else living there. The kitchen was old. It had one of those orange laminate bench-tops that were popular when my mum was a kid. The wallpaper was faded and peeling and there was only one sink. There was a little square

The first time I disappeared, I was six. One moment, I was sitting at the table eating spaghetti with my family, the next moment I was gone. Just like that; now you see me, now you don’t. At first, my family thought I was pulling some kind of prank. They searched the house from top to bottom, ready to ground me for interrupting dinner with my shenanigans. By the time they realised I really was missing, they were frantic. They were just about to call the cops when I showed back up in my seat, with no knowledge of where I’d been or even of having been gone at all. The second time I disappeared, I was ten. I was sitting in the libr

“Hello?” Sandra said into the phone. “G’day. I’m calling to speak to Mike.” Said the voice on the other end. “Sorry, mate. Wrong number. There’s no Mike here.”  She answered before hanging up the phone. Thirty seconds later, the phone rang again. It was the same bloke, still looking for Mike. “Look, I already told you, there isn’t anybody here by that name. He obviously gave you the wrong number.” She hung up again. Almost as soon she replaced the receiver, it was ringing again. “Look mate,” she snapped. “I already told you, I don’t know this

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE, MENTIONS OF PAST RAPE AND ABUSE “AVADA KEDAVRA!” he shouted, and watched as the other fell. “Voldemort is dead.” He announced wearily, and cheers erupted in every corner of the castle, a hastily cast sonorous ensuring his quiet statement was heard by everyone present. And then his world collapsed. “No” he whispered, as the blond beside him crumpled to the ground. “No” he stated, as the Dark Lady called out something about ‘a lover for a lover’ before her fading cackle announced her departure. “NO” he screamed, as he knelt and cradled the bl

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE I never knew snow had a sound. Oh, I knew about the crunch it makes as you walk over it and the irritating nails on chalkboard sound of skis passing over the top. I have even heard the dull thud of snowballs hitting my brother once when we visited Charlotte Pass. Nothing in my life, though, prepared me for the near silent whisper of snowflakes floating gently to the ground, a sound so quiet it is almost felt rather than heard. I used to love snow, used to ask Santa for a white Christmas. The movies, cards and carols always made it seem so magical; all snowmen and Yule logs and sleigh rides. Not the sweat and dust an

Snow. It means so many things to so many different people. It speaks of magic and Christmas and the sound of children’s laughter; it speaks of cold and darkness and death. People forget about that part of it. They sip cocoa by their nice warm fire as snowflakes gently fall outside their window, or skate with their lover on the frozen-over lake or laugh as their children struggle to roll a snowball big enough to create frosty the snowman. They forget that snow also kills; that while they sit, warm and safe, by their fireside, some homeless guy is freezing to death outside; that, as they glide gaily over the ice, some child is drowning

Due to deviantArt's content policies, I cannot post the full story here, but here is a little preview of one of my WIPs. You can read Selfless Love on FFN and AO3, though do remember that it is a WIP and I only have a couple of chapters up so far. Lizzy could not tell you exactly when her heart broke. There was no single moment she could pinpoint. It was, rather, a slow process – a little piece here, a little piece there, as she gradually became aware that her beloved Ciel did not return her feelings. He used to care for her. She was sure of it. Maybe still did. Just not in the way she wished so much that he would. It was that damn bu

Karen woke to the sound of whispering. Rolling over and glancing at the window, she groaned as she saw it was still dark out. “It’s too damned early,” she grumbled to herself. Hoping to get some more rest, she closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, ignoring the sounds of feet racing up and down the hallway and the quiet rustling of toys being removed from stockings. She sighed as her body gradually relaxed. She was just about to drift into slumber, when the loud flush of the toilet jerked her back into wakefulness. Giving it up as a bad job, Karen climbed out of bed and staggered groggily towards the bathroom. Afte

‘’Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’ I wish.  It sure as hell isn’t that quiet in our house, let me tell you. There’s no popping off to bed early, dreaming of sugar plums (whatever the hell they are) and waiting for good old St Nick here. No, here it’s all noise and bickering and chaos. To start with, today is the day our in-laws all decide to pop in for a quick visit and every. Single. One just has to give the kids candy canes and biscuits and lollies. So now we have a house full of kids all hopped up on sugar, bouncing off the wall

Armin knocked quietly on the door to Levi’s office. “Enter,” came the flat voice from within, and Armin promptly obeyed, greeting the Corporal with a salute. “You asked for me, Sir?” he said, politely. The Corporal searched Armin’s face impassively for a few moments before responding. “Armin,” he said softly. “As you know, [YOUR NAME] was killed in today’s Titan encounter. A letter was found amongst her personal effects. That letter was addressed to you.” He handed a small envelope to Armin and waved him out the door. Armin made his way outside and settled with his back ag