Sara
@spauffwrites.bsky.social
Writer, planner, and storyteller
Writing novels and weird short fiction #VSS365 ✍️
Hanging upside down 💪
🤫I’m reading
Writing novels and weird short fiction #VSS365 ✍️
Hanging upside down 💪
🤫I’m reading
The marshmallow bubbles and chars over the wood stove's #lambent flames. She pops the candy into her mouth. Sweet and bitter.
Three hours in a modern oven; she planned for six. She's not a child anymore and old demons take time to burn.
Gretel eats another marshmallow. It tastes of blood. #vss365
Three hours in a modern oven; she planned for six. She's not a child anymore and old demons take time to burn.
Gretel eats another marshmallow. It tastes of blood. #vss365
February 6, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Reposted by Sara
The #ghost ghostwriter has been dead these several years. In life, he wrote extensively for others, neglecting his own #writing material.
Death has silenced him—though none recalled his voice. His writing suffers still, since holding a quill requires being something slightly more material.
#vss365
Death has silenced him—though none recalled his voice. His writing suffers still, since holding a quill requires being something slightly more material.
#vss365
February 5, 2026 at 1:38 AM
"We haven't gone out in months. You never kiss me—you barely touch me. And we don't talk like we used to. It's like you don't see me anymore."
He orders a whiskey neat, wipes away a tear. Can't believe it's been a year.
"You know I hate whiskey," her #ghost says, drifting out of the bar. #vss365
He orders a whiskey neat, wipes away a tear. Can't believe it's been a year.
"You know I hate whiskey," her #ghost says, drifting out of the bar. #vss365
February 4, 2026 at 9:06 PM
"Since my first raid, I've got this feeling." He taps his knuckles on his chest; the knock echoes. "Hear that?"
I send him to cardio, his chart marked urgent, but I know what the surgeons will find. Nothing.
Vanishing heart syndrome. The curse of politics, the plague of a world in #pain. #vss365
I send him to cardio, his chart marked urgent, but I know what the surgeons will find. Nothing.
Vanishing heart syndrome. The curse of politics, the plague of a world in #pain. #vss365
February 3, 2026 at 5:17 PM
The blessed fly straight to heaven, the wicked to hell. The rest end up in the in-between for a while. Not quite good, not quite bad. Lost, in need of direction.
I bundle the little #soul up warm for the journey back to the dark world, kiss its cheek for luck. "Take two. Don't mess it up." #vss365
I bundle the little #soul up warm for the journey back to the dark world, kiss its cheek for luck. "Take two. Don't mess it up." #vss365
February 3, 2026 at 2:18 AM
"I lost my #Shadow! Have you seen it?"
He never looks properly. Usually, the dark thing is tangled in his dirty clothes or shoved under the bed, crumpled with candy wrappers and dusty Legos.
But today, I cannot find his Shadow anywhere. He's grown, I realize, and soon the boy will follow. #vss365
He never looks properly. Usually, the dark thing is tangled in his dirty clothes or shoved under the bed, crumpled with candy wrappers and dusty Legos.
But today, I cannot find his Shadow anywhere. He's grown, I realize, and soon the boy will follow. #vss365
February 2, 2026 at 1:12 AM
They're awake.
She's heard the legend. Every 13 years, they choose a girl to lead their undead army and live forever. But she never truly believed until—
She enters the woods, drawn by the #thrum. They alight on her body, an emerald cape, an onyx crown. The cicada queen rules the summer. #vss365
She's heard the legend. Every 13 years, they choose a girl to lead their undead army and live forever. But she never truly believed until—
She enters the woods, drawn by the #thrum. They alight on her body, an emerald cape, an onyx crown. The cicada queen rules the summer. #vss365
January 30, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Primroses, pale and dirt-streaked as her pinched face. Her lower lip #quivers. "Buy a flower, sir?"
Few can resist her tears, but they #obsfuscate her true aim. As a gentleman hands her a penny, her fae partner steals gold from his pockets. Fairies and flower girls become lords and ladies. #vss365
Few can resist her tears, but they #obsfuscate her true aim. As a gentleman hands her a penny, her fae partner steals gold from his pockets. Fairies and flower girls become lords and ladies. #vss365
January 29, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Primroses, pale and dirt-streaked as her pinched face. Her lower lip #quivers. "Buy a flower, sir?"
Few can resist her tears, but they #obsfuscate her true aim. As a gentleman hands her a penny, her fae partner steals gold from his pockets. Fairies and flower girls become lords and ladies. #vss365
Few can resist her tears, but they #obsfuscate her true aim. As a gentleman hands her a penny, her fae partner steals gold from his pockets. Fairies and flower girls become lords and ladies. #vss365
Reposted by Sara
On the #cusp of dawn, she climbs down from the sky and returns home to scrub the clay from her skin. Above, her work #wanes gibbous. She never gets it exactly right, but every month, she tries again. Sleeping children need a light in the darkness, a satellite to pull the tides of dreams. #vss365
January 27, 2026 at 3:33 PM
"I thought you drowned."
I flash my shining scales. "Mermaids can't drown."
But he stays on the sand, skeptical. "You said you loved me. Was that also a #ruse?"
I open my arms, beckon him to the sea. "Of course not."
Drowning is like falling in love, and he only struggles a little. #vss365
I flash my shining scales. "Mermaids can't drown."
But he stays on the sand, skeptical. "You said you loved me. Was that also a #ruse?"
I open my arms, beckon him to the sea. "Of course not."
Drowning is like falling in love, and he only struggles a little. #vss365
January 25, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Once the family is asleep, we drift down from the attic. There's a brief scuffle over who gets the baby, but I win rock paper scissors and #slip into the crib, into the new skin and throw the soul out. They can have the house. It's our turn to use these bodies. I've always wanted to travel. #vss365
January 24, 2026 at 6:26 PM
She boils sugar and water, one ear on the weather radio's constant patter. Another storm warning. This wet August will be the death of her. All she can do is #drizzle cooled syrup on her scars, mending what the rain melted, and buy a better umbrella. Like summer, she's too sweet to last. #vss365
January 24, 2026 at 5:54 PM
At sunset, we head to the pool and drift in chlorine dream, #unmoored from time, groggy from too much sun and stolen beer.
Next week, we'll travel to new lives on separate planets. College. Internships. Jobs.
Our last summer ever. We don't say goodbye until it's too late, until it's gone. #vss365
Next week, we'll travel to new lives on separate planets. College. Internships. Jobs.
Our last summer ever. We don't say goodbye until it's too late, until it's gone. #vss365
January 24, 2026 at 4:55 PM
"H-hap b-birthday to- to you. Ha-" I sing, voice hoarse. Cake sticks in my throat; my rotten teeth ache with every buttercream bite.
But Mom insisted I come. "You're only ten once."
She didn't know the birthday girl could #bend time like a spoon. Ten forever, Mom gone, and I'm still singing. #vss365
But Mom insisted I come. "You're only ten once."
She didn't know the birthday girl could #bend time like a spoon. Ten forever, Mom gone, and I'm still singing. #vss365
January 24, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Five inches, then ten, then twenty, the forecast says. We eye the #looming clouds and pray: Please, no more snow.
The first days were bliss — no school! no work! — but now, on Snow Day 50, supplies are low. We tire of the cold, of darkness, of lives iced over, waiting for the spring thaw. #vss365
The first days were bliss — no school! no work! — but now, on Snow Day 50, supplies are low. We tire of the cold, of darkness, of lives iced over, waiting for the spring thaw. #vss365
January 22, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Sara
We're not anti-tech, we're anti-theft. If the future of “innovation” depends on stealing creators’ work without asking or paying, that’s not progress - it's stealing, and we shouldn’t accept it. #StealingIsntInnovation www.stealingisntinnovation.com/
January 22, 2026 at 11:36 AM
We're not anti-tech, we're anti-theft. If the future of “innovation” depends on stealing creators’ work without asking or paying, that’s not progress - it's stealing, and we shouldn’t accept it. #StealingIsntInnovation www.stealingisntinnovation.com/
Blame the wind. In our search for spring, a stormy squall turned us upside down. We #veered off course, south instead of north, and landed on an ice floe. Too tired to fly, we learned to swim and slide, raise our chicks among the glacial pebbles, and enjoy our seafood dinners, black-tie. #vss365
January 20, 2026 at 1:30 AM
A #murmur on the wind; she tosses aside the carrion. The bees had returned! Soon, there would be spring honey. She follows the buzzing. So many bees, they shake the ground; trees fall. The woods vanish, revealing rows of shining teeth, whirring, killing. No more bees. Spring but no honey. #vss365
January 20, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Wear sunscreen. Also a hat, long sleeves, pants and gloves, no matter the weather. Sleep cocooned, slathered in unctions and serums, wrapped in linen. Never leave the house.
Others pass her window, #dappled with freckles, wrinkled by life. Her skin shines cold as a diamond, untouched, alone. #vss365
Others pass her window, #dappled with freckles, wrinkled by life. Her skin shines cold as a diamond, untouched, alone. #vss365
January 17, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Put a pan on high heat, add butter, garlic. Season your meat on both sides with salt and pepper.
"Achoo!"
Add your meat to the pan and hold it down so it doesn't escape. You want a good #sear.
"No! Help!"
Wear headphones until you get used to the screaming. Serve rare with fondant potatoes. #vss365
"Achoo!"
Add your meat to the pan and hold it down so it doesn't escape. You want a good #sear.
"No! Help!"
Wear headphones until you get used to the screaming. Serve rare with fondant potatoes. #vss365
January 17, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Sara
The bleeding heart was presented on a clean plate with a sprig of green garnish. Fork & knife held aloft, she contemplated how to tackle the dish. She thought back to the young man who offered it to her, all #heartfelt words & delicious earnestness. She savored a bite of pericardium &smiled. #vss365
January 15, 2026 at 8:52 PM
The bleeding heart was presented on a clean plate with a sprig of green garnish. Fork & knife held aloft, she contemplated how to tackle the dish. She thought back to the young man who offered it to her, all #heartfelt words & delicious earnestness. She savored a bite of pericardium &smiled. #vss365
Reposted by Sara
It's called sapiosexual
but what’s a brain
without a heart
and what’s a heart
without a brain
just aspects of attraction
then there’s that whole other
indescribable tapestry thing
luminescent prism-bending light
in magnetic souls
the most #heartfelt
features of desire
are mysteries
#vss365
but what’s a brain
without a heart
and what’s a heart
without a brain
just aspects of attraction
then there’s that whole other
indescribable tapestry thing
luminescent prism-bending light
in magnetic souls
the most #heartfelt
features of desire
are mysteries
#vss365
January 15, 2026 at 10:18 PM
It's called sapiosexual
but what’s a brain
without a heart
and what’s a heart
without a brain
just aspects of attraction
then there’s that whole other
indescribable tapestry thing
luminescent prism-bending light
in magnetic souls
the most #heartfelt
features of desire
are mysteries
#vss365
but what’s a brain
without a heart
and what’s a heart
without a brain
just aspects of attraction
then there’s that whole other
indescribable tapestry thing
luminescent prism-bending light
in magnetic souls
the most #heartfelt
features of desire
are mysteries
#vss365
She's flattered when the first bouquet arrives. Pink roses. A secret admirer? A spray of lilies, a wreath of mums, an armful of gladiolus follows. The foyer looks like a florist's showroom as she reads the cards. Our #heartfelt condolences. Sorry for your loss.
"Who died?"
No one hears her. #vss365
"Who died?"
No one hears her. #vss365
January 16, 2026 at 1:13 AM
She's flattered when the first bouquet arrives. Pink roses. A secret admirer? A spray of lilies, a wreath of mums, an armful of gladiolus follows. The foyer looks like a florist's showroom as she reads the cards. Our #heartfelt condolences. Sorry for your loss.
"Who died?"
No one hears her. #vss365
"Who died?"
No one hears her. #vss365