Yes, it’s true.

Yes, it’s true. My name is Mary Sue. Mary Sue Volandu. Because my parents are freaking sadists. And that up there? Is what kids used to yell at me in elementary school. I am eighteen years old, and I am a Svart Alfar, a Dark Elf. That doesn’t mean I’m evil. It just means I … find beauty in things that other people might not. Yeah. We’ll go with that. I live in the completely boring town of White Owl, which is on White Owl Island, which you’ve probably heard of, because it is a Haven. That means I don’t have to glamour my skin and hide my ears when I go out in public, because everybody else on White Owl Island is just as weird as I am. Some are even weirder.

Nothing interesting ever happens on White Owl. And there are no interesting places to go, because I’ve been to them all before.

This is the Park.

This is the Park. We only have one, so it’s just called The Park. Stupid gargoyle fountain. Stupid apple trees. And that house you can see outside the park belongs to Arahalon, who’s like a million years old and founded the town after he came here and, I don’t know, fell in love with the rainforest or something. Or maybe it was ley lines. We had it in school, but who cares. Across the Sound is Seattle, and I’m not allowed to go there, though mum and dad go there sometimes. The only reason I ever go through the park is — can you see that gazebo through the trees? Yeah. The only reason I ever go through the park is to get to what’s behind that gazebo.

Maybe you can see it better here.

Maybe you can see it better here. Yeah: there it is, right behind me, beyond the sickeningly picturesque wishing well. There’s only one wishing well in town, so it’s just called The Wishing Well. Because we are the most creative island ever in the history of islands.

Do you like my shirt? I got it from this travelling merchant who said he’d picked up at a place called Fable. I like it because it’s got a guy turning in to a wolf on it. And because it’s purple. Well, pinky-purple. And it matches my shoes. Anyway.

Blah, blah, blah, gazebo

Blah, blah, blah, gazebo, blah, blah, blah, how romantic, blah, blah, blah every couple should come here, blah, blah, blah, whatevs. It’s the only gazebo in town, so (say it with me now), it’s just called The Gazebo. Anyway, can you see where I’m going now? Yeah. There’s an easy path up to that building you can see behind the gazebo just here. No, there aren’t any steps. Yes, it’s a little tricky to get to: that’s what makes it cool.

Yep, here we go. Now, there are steps. You wait here for a minute; I have to get ready, because I am the oldest kid (right!) in the village: everyone else has fled. That makes me the leader here. So I have to get my hat.

Let me just tuck this ponytail up. There.

Let me just tuck this ponytail up. There. Hats look stupid if you’ve got a ponytail, so I just bunch it all up and stuff it into the pointy bit.

Right! Welcome to the club! It’s the only clubhouse in the village for kids, so we just call it The Clubhouse.

Oh! You want to know about the hat?

Oh! You want to know about the hat? This hat is a super special hat. I would tell you it’s been handed down from generation to generation of children on White Owl, but that would be a freaking lie, so I won’t do it. I actually won it playing a game of chance at a place called the Fantasy Gacha Carnival. My parents actually took me to another realm last week, and I won it, and it’s my favourite thing ever, so I keep it here at the clubhouse, because it’s special, and it gives me powers when I wear it. It gives me the power of being the leader of the clubhouse. It has special crystals that can turn different colour if you know the right magic to glamour them.

No, you can’t try it on. It’s mine.

Before I show you the rest of the clubhouse, I have to do something.

Before I show you the rest of the clubhouse, I have to do something. I have to cast the evil spirits out of the clubhouse by standing on the bridge and saying a spell. With my hat on. It doesn’t work unless I’ve got my hat on. I won’t teach you the spell: you’ll learn it when you’re older. Believe it or not, there are two bridges in town. So this one is called the ropey bridge. The other one is called the beach bridge, but you’d never know you were on it if you crossed it, and if you crossed it, you’d be at the Faerie Queen’s house, and she is a Lios Alfar, a Light Elf, so I think she’s meant to hate my guts, but she also runs the bookstore, which isn’t just called The Bookstore; it’s called Codex, which means something old and ancient, and anyway, she is super nice and I think she is much nicer than my mum and dad and one day she is going to take me to a big city and let me buy high heeled shoes. I’m sure she told me that once.

So anyway, I have to stand on the ropey bridge and repeat the spell three times — no, you stay back there; you can’t hear this — and then it will be safe for you to go inside the clubhouse or cross the bridge or whatever.

Of course there are evil spirits here. Look: you can see the haunted lighthouse from here, and if you turn around and squint you can see the great forest, and that place is full of scary stuff and you should never go there without an adult; do you hear me? Never. Well, of course I could go there by myself if I wanted: you just take a rowboat and you row across and then there’s a dock and you go into the forest and then you get lost and probably eaten by dragons. Of course I’ve been there. Shut up and let me concentrate.

I always feel a little dizzy after I do magic; don’t you?

I always feel a little dizzy after I do magic; don’t you? Oh. Well, you will, when you start doing real magic. It’s not hard, but it will give you a headache when you first try it, but then when you get it right, it feels wonderful. I swear.

I love looking down, too! Because that makes me feel even dizzier!

I love looking down, too! Because that makes me feel even dizzier! Sure, you can come on to the bridge now. No; you shouldn’t spin. Because then if you fall off the bridge, your mum and dad will roast me over an open fire and eat me for dinner. Yep. I read it somewhere.

One day soon, I’ll get off this island.

One day soon, I’ll get off this island. And then I’ll find out what everybody here is running from. Everybody here is running from something, my dad says. They all have some kind of demon in their pasts. No, not like Charlie at the grocery store. He’s a nice demon. Of course there are nice demons. I mean, they’re not like Faery Queen Nice. But they’re not going to chop you up and use you for dark magic: they have to live here same as everybody else.

What? Oh, yeah. Come on in and I’ll show you the rest of the clubhouse.

Welcome to the island, kid.

Style Card:
Body: Maitreya
Hands: SLink Elegant
Head: LAQ, Trinity
Ears: Soul Uni Ears, High Elf
Eyes: Soul, Flock Eyes (berries) (Coming soon to Enchantment!)
Skin: Soul, Emma, Generation 2, SE Midnight (Coming soon to Enchantment!)
Hair: Pr!tty, Taylor (available at Hairology. Hairology is NOW OPEN!)
Hat: Soul, Mystic Hat (Ultrarare) (Available at the Fantasy Gacha Carnival!)
Top: Vindiktive, Wolf Tank (Available at Fable!)
Shorts: Gee, High Waisted Shorts (Available at Pretty Things Showroom Event!)
Sandals: Reign, Sophia Sandals
Poses: Photos 1-4: Nantra, High Society (Available at Collabor88!)
Photos 5-9, !bang, from the Good and Evil sets; 10, !bang, from the Intuition set
Setting: White Owl Island (almost ready!)

Thanks and credit are due to Moxy Macbeth and Dyisi Oppewall, who have been busily building White Owl over the past few months.

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never create characters out of whole cloth because of blue skins and amazing hats (Thank you, Charlie!) without it!