To be seen is the greatest need of all Like a tree in the forest that was always doomed to fall It cuts sharper than pain, like a calf being bled To know and be known, even once we are dead When the depths breathe our name, we must answer the call Without you as my witness, was I ever there at all? Starts off seemingly lighthearted and fluff-filled, like any typical high school romance, detailing the lives of a pair of queer teens (Laine Vuong and Mira Iturbide) in a small, overly devout town. As they begin to chafe at the suffocating cage of obscurity they've been taking refuge in, they weigh the merits of continuing to stay hidden vs. letting themselves be seen. Gets much darker as the story progresses (18+ rating).

When the clock strikes midnight, the stories come alive. Welcome to The Midnight Ink Awards - a celebration of unforgettable stories, brilliant writers, and the worlds created through ink and imagination. From secrets waiting to be uncovered to heart-pounding thrills, from forbidden love and unforgettable romance to terrifying nightmares and worlds touched by darkness and magic, these awards celebrate the stories that keep us turning pages long after midnight. Whether your story hides a final clue, races toward a heart-stopping truth, explores a forbidden love, captures an unforgettable happily ever after, awakens our deepest nightmares, or transports us into a world of curses and dark magic, there is a place for your story beneath the midnight sky. Mystery. Thriller. Dark Romance. Romance. Horror. Dark Fantasy. Six genres. One unforgettable celebration. Step into the darkness, open the pages, and let your story leave its mark. Welcome to The Midnight Ink Awards. Where stories shine brightest after dark.

ASHES OF KYOTO - 京都の灰 Kyoto. An era where samurai rule the streets, ninja clans operate from the shadows, and ancient secrets refuse to stay buried. Kaze Sōne escaped the life chosen for her. Born into the Sōne clan, she was raised to become a weapon. Instead, she chose another life-a life as a geiko, far away from bloodshed, missions, and the clan that raised her. With her husband, Kenji Taketsuna, she finally believes she has found peace. Then the dreams begin. A stranger's voice. A dying man. A mark beneath her skin that she cannot explain. And somewhere beneath Kyoto, an ancient Scroll begins to awaken. The Scroll has chosen Kaze. And with that choice comes a decision that has destroyed lives for generations: Revenge. Or Balance. One could turn Kyoto against itself. The other will take her soul. As the Sōne clan closes in and the line between memory and reality begins to disappear, Kaze must uncover the truth behind the Scroll-and the forgotten souls trapped within it. Because the most dangerous thing about the past... is that it remembers you.

History remembers the women who endure. Siya intends to be remembered for choosing herself. At seventeen, the world taught Siya how quickly a rumour turned a girl into a cautionary tale. Years later, she's rebuilt her life into an assistant professor of particle physics that she always aspired to be, with facts not love. Until the career she's spent a lifetime chasing demands the one thing she never expected: Marriage To Atharv The man she once trusted her future with. To everyone else, they're friends turned newlyweds. To themselves, they're strangers sharing a campus apartment, pretending a signature can erase years of heartbreak. But somewhere between late-night research, shared memories, and a home that begins to feel dangerously real, the lines between obligation and love start to blur. Once, Siya let the world decide who she was. This time, she'll decide whether love deserves to be part of the story she writes next. Updates every Friday!