ONC 2020 Grand Winner ~ ~ "When the halls run red with the poison of your life, I will rest. Until then, consider your ruin a promise of mine." ~ ~ Four years ago, Yin Ruwei sold her blood to the northern god Xuanwu in return for revenge. Now, after years of perfectly orchestrated deaths at hands that are not her own, she snaps and puts red in her ledger, killing a man personally. Mu'en is more brutal, more cunning . . . and less heartless than he'd wish the world to know. Someone has been killing off his men with all the fury of a hurricane. Tearstained anger blankets every death and he almost feels sorry for the murderer - until they kill the man he loves. Ruwei and Mu'en find themselves on two sides of the same coin, counting fate like they do the stars in the sky, hoping for a better day, a happier life, a brighter world in the shadows they call home. Sometimes you must seek what you've lost to retrieve it again. Sometimes that which you've lost can no longer be retrieved. And sometimes, just sometimes, those broken pieces find their way back to you. ~ ~ ONC 2020. Prompt 4. Written: 29.02.2020 - 05.05.2020. ~ ~ A paranormal revenge story with roots in Chinese mythology. ~ ~ Please do not use or translate my work without my permission. If you would like to use something, please ask me. ~ ~ Warning: Contains violence, death, etc. Alludes to: abuse, assault, trauma. Contains: Chinese culture, Chinese mythology, LGBT+ relationships, disability.

This is the completely rewritten second edition of Unbecoming Humans. It's bigger, it's gayer, it's everything the first edition deserved to be. Please note that this rewrite is currently in progress. The end of the current rewritten chapters will be marked. With civilization on the brink of collapse, Aria's parents built Eden to be the cradle of the next evolution of humanity, but survival at Eden is far from guaranteed. Aria has been little more than a puppet in her parents' games of genetic experimentation and control over the next iteration of humanity for almost as long as she can remember. When Aria meets Nima, the latest in a long line of victims lured to Eden by the promise of safety, a spark rekindles her cold heart. Aria can't sit idly by while Nima becomes her parents' next prey. The two must find a way to survive Eden's deadly experiments, or risk the greatest love they've ever known.

EDITORS' PICK (November 2019) || COMPLETE Nick Buckingham is three things if nothing else: salty, antisocial, and the quintessential gay theatre nerd. He's content to drift through the rest of senior year throwing himself into productions to avoid his peers - until it arrives. As an anonymous classmate begins courting Nick via text, he's suddenly desperate to figure out just who this dashing secret admirer is--even if it means actually socialising. He'll be fine--so long as he keeps his wits about him and doesn't fall for this probably-catfisher. Can't be too hard, right?

Alex and Liam have been best friends their whole lives until a drunken kiss leads them down separate paths. As time passes, they must face truths they never expected. ***** Alex Camejo and Liam Santos have been thick as thieves since they met at age seven. As the years passed, Liam protected Alex from bullies while Alex denied what those bullies were saying. He's not gay no matter how "girly" he seems... or how much he longs to hold Liam's hand. But a drunken kiss tears everything down. The inseparable Liam Santos and Alex Camejo can no longer be friends. Without each other's support, they must overcome the struggles of adolescence, coming out, new lovers, self-doubt and lingering emotions. One hopes he will forget his best friend and find happiness. The other hopes they will reunite and be happy. In the end, whose dreams will come true? [[Watty's Award Winner]]