Lucas Vargas vehemently denies being gay, but finds he can't deny Charlie Grayson what he wants whenever he comes over. The problem with their arrangement is that it doesn't feel like two friends using one another to get off; it feels suspiciously like love. As Lucas gets to know Charlie in more intimate ways, he feels his emotions spiral out of control. There's something different about eclectic Charlie, something that Lucas is undeniably attracted to. Below the surface of their arrangement a darker secret lurks, one not visible to the naked eye and long forgotten. In an attempt to reconcile his confusing sexuality, his loneliness, and his growing love, Lucas tries to find ways to keep Charlie close by. In a small town where rumors run rampant, the boys keep their intense intimacy a secret. When the girl next door threatens to upheave everything him and Charlie have built together, his old friends's backlash against his friendship with Charlie becomes more severe, and the frequent bruises on Charlie's body begin to paint a picture too horrible and disturbing to imagine, Lucas is faced with a difficult choice. TW: contains depictions of violence and explicit/disturbing content

Felix Swift is a teenager with a big problem; He just can't stay awake. And falling asleep at the wrong moment has already caused him more trouble in the past year than most people will ever experience. Relocating to the countryside with his family brings with it a whole new set of problems. Missing persons, freak storms, crop circles, all-night raves, the local gang, not to mention the challenge of baby-sitting his annoying little brother. His time in the 'arse-end of nowhere' is proving to be every bit as wild as his years growing up in South London. But as Felix soon discovers, village life also holds the keys and the clues to the adventure of a lifetime, and an opportunity to nurture the seeds of friendships that will last forever. ***************************************************************************** Dear Readers, If you are enjoying The Brightlings, please don't forget to vote for each chapter, and feel free to comment (provided you don't post spoilers). Receiving the tiny little stars and additional interaction really spurs me on, and certainly helps to point more people towards my story. I'd love to hear from you, if you like what you are reading, but I'm afraid that I can't promise an instant reply as I'm pretty flat out these days. Finally, it really shouldn't need to be written here, but just a quick note with regards to intellectual copyright and my use of this platform to write/publish The Brightlings; All rights reserved. This work is all of my own creation, and I retain the right to publish it elsewhere, or to remove it from this platform at any time in the future should I choose to do so. ---- I will not accept any excuses from those that copy or intend to pass this work off as their own, or republish it elsewhere without my permission. ---- Ok.... so now that is out of the way, there's nothing left to say, except "buckle up, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride!" Cheers, Ric #1 Environment #1 Tunnel

𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗬𝗦 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 · EDITOR'S PICKS · AMBYS 2022 WINNER · A quirky Asian high school story fused with sci-fi, romance and mystery | A lonely, small-town gamer girl dreams big when she enters Komoreby High in a glamorous eco-city. When the first day hits rock bottom and a science anomaly zips her to a parallel universe, she must reforge life and love while solving the mystery to find her way home. *** Komoreby is the metropolis of the future--an eco-city brimming with stylish urban life, where dreams are forged into reality. It's everything Evanna Zeller's quiet, old town was not. Nerdy in mind and whimsical at heart, Evanna is a lonely girl with dreams far bigger than herself. She's darkly inclined with sunshiny kawaii, and she's herbivorous with a taste for video game blood. Evanna's adventure of a lifetime is her move to Komoreby, where she reunites with her childhood bestie at the city's most prestigious high school. When she expects a brilliant new start, pranks and betrayals sink the very first day to rock bottom. As if that isn't bad enough, a school tour of the city's high energy physics lab, home to a gargantuan particle collider, takes a bizarre turn. Now she's trapped in a parallel universe of draconian rules and warped versions of everyone. As she spins down a rabbit hole of mind-boggling quantum physics, can she find her way home through the murk of the unknown? All the while weaving through a social web of potential friends, foes and a mysterious rocker guy she's relentlessly drawn to. © 2021 Su Vida | Exclusively on Wattpad *** FEATURED @Anime @ScienceFiction + 25 more BOOK 1 of the Komoreby series WC: 108,000 This tale is loosely a sci-fi Alice in Wonderland. The strict school is based on real Asian schools (chap 4+). The ban on romance, classroom raids and shadow education are real. Expect shoujo/kdrama vibes, slowburn ship, gaming, rock music, real science and veganism!

[AMBYS WINNER 2024] Mutilated, dejected and stained by the blood of his loved ones, Lucius Cromwell, a precocious and naïve child of high society, strikes a deal with an unhallowed Scourge of 'The Waste' in order to get his life back, blissfully ignorant that he'll consequently find his humanity on the line. *** A disturbing voice has been tormenting Lucius' mind for the longest time. Disregarding its sinister way of suggesting revenge on people who hurt him as mere thoughts he goes about his day, doing his best to live up to his superficial parents' standards and following the ideals of his Archon of worship. Life is lacklustre, but hardly worth causing a scene over. When a life altering event renders Lucius struggling not to die on the streets however things turn grim very fast, and in an act of desperation Lucius casts his beliefs aside, promising his soul to be devoured by The Waste at the time of his death with the promise of power in return. It doesn't take long for Lucius to realize that even the smallest of favors promised to him come with a catch, and being forced to do the Scourge of The Waste's wicked bidding while watching loved one after loved one disappear from his life Lucius has to wonder if a lifetime of power was really worth an eternity of suffering. This is the first installment of the "The Meaning Of Eternity" series. [Word count: 108 000]

BOOKS NEVER DISAPPOINT. That's why Ava has preferred losing herself in a delightful story to the company of real people for most of her life. Despite feeling lonely ever since her childhood, she seems unable to form real connections. Apparently, there is something odd about her that drives people away. And so it's just her and the stories she likes to read. Until one day a whole new destiny steps into the bookshop she works in. ********************************** Weariness and pain are the only feelings Trygve has known for several centuries now. He has long given up hope that any of his missions will lead to freedom. Yet, he is bound to complete each one, even though failure is imminent, much to the enjoyment of his cruel master. But just as he wonders, if it will ever end, one way or the other, something extraordinary tickles his nose. ********************************** Raban shouldn't even exist any longer. Neither he nor the rest of the world is aware that he is still there, locked away and long forgotten. However, when the seal that keeps his existence a secret is broken he is in for some mind-altering surprises.

READ BEFORE "Affinity Witch" * GOLDEN BOOK AWARD WINNER The Seasonal Contests Summer 2021 * * FIRST PLACE WINNER ACTION/ADVENTURE GENRE The Seasonal Contests Summer 2021 * Katja Verrun is a witch, but she's never felt like a real member of her Hexen coven. Between being an orphan and having unexplainable scars from childhood, she's ostracized and alone, with only her metalworking affinity to keep her company...until she discovers a necklace that introduces her to a shapeshifting wolf. As she learns difficult truths about her new friend, as well as her own past, Katja is forced to make life-changing decisions that ultimately lead her to the one place she's forbidden form entering - the Schwarzwald, a magical, yet deadly, forest. WITCH, WOLF, WOODS is a refashioned fairy tale of courage, learning to love yourself, and creating the family of your choosing. - COVER ART by Jeanne Ee Wei Yen -