the ghost of you keeps me awake [editor's choice 2021 | poetry] [cover by @qixing]

Callista Genovese never wanted to be part of the family business. She enjoyed the anonymity of being a teacher in a land where she was not the killer queen. But like always, family tends to ruin everything. Callista was dragged back to New York with a mission to ruin the wedding of the year. As if that wasn't enough, she was caught up in a war between the two mafia kings. With scandals and secrets trailing at her feet, can she get what she truly desires? ============== "You ever think about marriage, Callista?" "Not really." "You can marry me." "That was the shittiest proposal I have ever heard." "Should I kneel?" ======== "I was afraid, not because I thought she wasn't the one. I was terrified because I knew she was." ======== { EXTENDED SUMMARY INSIDE } | LOVE-HATE | LOVE TRIANGLE | | ROMANCE | ACTION | MYSTERY | MAFIA | ANGST | WINNER Bridge to Fantasy Awards #1 on ELITE 4/27/20 #1 on MINDGAMES 7/21/20 #1 on ACTION-ROMANCE 10/12/20 [first draft] [cover image from unsplash/daniel rykhev]

On a journey to seek justice Seven residents of planet Drenorvax were sent to earth. Their goal being to eliminate the ones who had torn their Empires apart and destroyed the harmony of their once peaceful homeland. Humankind came in contact and they weren't given a very warm welcome. They were seen as criminals and vigilantes but they didn't have time to explain nor were they aware ... of what the enemy had done on earth which caused such a horrible distrust. They did not have time to earn humankind's trust. Ergo they went mission after mission without an explanation. Time was running out....endangering not just themselves but the earth as well.... Will these extraterrestrial vigilantes liberate earth? Or will another hero rise amidst _________________________________________ 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝▪︎𝟗 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬▪︎𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 [TRIGGER WARNING] VIOLENCE AND STRONG LANGUAGE ☆Won 1st place in science fiction [7/9/20]☆

'ɪ ᴍᴀʏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ᴠɪᴘᴇʀ, ʙᴜᴛ ꜱᴀᴍꜱᴏɴ ɪꜱ ᴀ ꜱɴᴀᴋᴇ.' Many eyed, venomous- House Viper are animosi, silver animal scryers, and controllers. They have their sigil and names for a reason. When Daliah Viper returns to her family after an unfortunate series of bad luck, she doesn't know yet things have significantly changed in her absence. Recovering from blows and trying to reconnect and find her footing again, she'll have to make peace with another kind of association all together in the form of her fiance, all while learning the footing and set of rules on court again. In a political climate as hot and a court full of liars though, both of them have to make due with what they were given. Sometimes you have to pick your poison. ᴿᵉᵈ Qᵘᵉᵉⁿ ᶠᵃⁿᶠⁱᶜᵗⁱᵒⁿ// ᶜᵃⁿᵒⁿ ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡⁱᵃⁿᵗ //ᴾᵃʳᵗ ᴵ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ' ᴴᵃˡᶠʷᵃʸ ᴸⁱᵉ, ᴴᵃˡᶠʷᵃʸ ᵀʳᵘᵗʰ' ˢᵉʳⁱᵉˢ #1 Red queen 08/2019 Second Place 'Persephone Award' for fanfic category in the Acheron Awards 2019 Third Place for fanfic category in the Rosie Award 2020 Second Place fanfic category in the Admiration Awards 2020 First Place for fanfiction in the Bridge to Fantasy awards 2020

In this universe, Lucy is the Celestial Spirit Princess. She can summon spirits using keys and transform into star dresses that grant her with similar spirit powers. Dreaming about adventure and making friends, she gets her own key that she can use to travel between the celestial world and Earth. Prince Leo stays besides her throughout her journey as she meets a guild called Fairy Tail. Lucy, the Zodiac spirits, and Fairy Tail have to find a way to stop the dark celestial spirits (the black keys) from taking over the celestial world. Creds to the Hiro Mashima for creating the Fairy Tail anime and to the person who drew the fanart of the cover First place winner of Bridge to Fantasy 2020, category fanfiction Third place winner for Black and Gold Flames Awards 2020, category fanfiction Third place winner for The Millennial Awards, category fanfiction Part of the 100 days 100 ways challenge #100days100ways

*His silver gaze, so reflective and transparent, was opaque and blocked off in disgust as he looked down at me with the first emotion I had ever seen on his emotionless face: a sneer so packed with hatred that I almost recoiled back in horror. "Just remember, you did this to yourself, princess," he murmured, his lips so close to mine that I could almost taste the hard bite to his words, his harshness and his hostility.* - They're the kings of the rival school, East Bridge. All powerful. All untouchable. All hot. And unfortunately, as the town policy dictates, I'm their number one enemy, their biggest threat and the catalyst for their destruction, rendering me their target when I'm forced to transfer. But unlike everyone else, I don't engage in town politics, I don't take sides and I definitely do not follow commands. I am Darcy Ravencourt and I bow down to no one, no matter how much they want to put me in my place. I'm here for one thing and one thing only: to graduate so I can leave this godforsaken town and all its problems. And no one will be able to stop me, not even them. Especially not them. - Copyright © 2020 signedlayla