Play It Straight

Saiph | romance | Complete

An action-packed zombie western lesbian romance, with some minor game-based mechanics. Yee-haw! Time to strap in cowboys and cowgirls! Things are about to get messy! How does this involve mirrors not eating people? Well I guess you'll just have to read to find out. This is the story of Casey and Dodge. A troubled girl meets a girl who loves trouble. A town harassed by the dead. Their only saviors: two priests and a band of well-armed outlaws. The Gods get together for their Saturday gaming session and Aphrodite's not playing by the rules. One thing is for sure, heads will roll. But just whose heads will they be? [Written for the Royal Road Magazine] NOW COMPLETE! Warning: despite the comedy tag this story does involve the exploration of some heavy subject matter. Reader discretion advised. Ye have been warned!

18.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:49

Convicted

RyderZavianBailey | romance | Complete

Sentenced to the sea for a crime he didn't commit... Wrongly convicted of killing his lover, Li is sent off to serve his sentence in the privateer fleet of Mahlon, where he finds himself somewhere between a sailor and a pirate. He supposes it is a better way to die than wasting away in a prison cell for a crime he didn't commit. If it isn't the sea or sailing necromancers that threaten his life, perhaps it is his assigned partner, an unfriendly man named Ardlac who seems to want nothing to do with a stranger sharing his space. Li doesn't know that his unfriendly exterior masks a wounded soul suffering from a loss Li can understand far too well. But that is only one of the many secrets lurking around him and one of the many threats to uncover. CONVICTED is a low-stakes story about healing, recovery, and comfort. Originally posted on Tapas, I am now cross-posting this story on Royal Road, Wattpad, and Neovel.

27.86 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 14:57

Servants of War

Yuanmi Latte | drama | Complete

Just when they thought their relationship couldn't get any worse... Under mysterious circumstances, Yuzuru and his sister Sara find their lives uprooted as they are brought into Arcadia - a fantasy game world unlike any they can imagine. Separated and lost, they must each come to terms with their new reality and fight to survive. But as the race to save the world and themselves begin, they come to realize there are gods at work here, and they are but pawns.

58.58 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 15:46

Heroes of The Collective Volume Two : Regret

EnhancedBeing | drama | Complete

Enhanced Beings. Humans with the ability to do something astonishing. Some learn to use it for good. Others for bad. But most are content with the 9-5 and walks with the dog.But use it for bad, you'll answer to& The Enhanced Beings Collective! USA's taskforce in the fight against Enhanceds who threaten America's national and global interests.They say it's better to regret things you've done than what you haven't done. But for our heroes, the feeling is the same and cuts just as deep whatever the reason. Volume Two: Regret, explores the aftermath of Volume One's finale and how the team moves on with their own sources of regret.With some new additions to the team and a roster of new villains as well as some familiar, our heroes are busy travelling beyond the galaxies to more Earths, making bad judgements, uncovering secrets and fighting& for& survival!Woodland Warriors Vol 2 - Kimona aka Agw� joins the team temporarily as they reel from the attack on The Lodge. There's travel to colder climates, a flashback to Tobias getting his enhancements and the team changes again! It's not straightforward keeping things balanced within the heart of America... It's forests. The Rodeos Vol 2 - Effie and Reuben find themselves learning more about their past and what it has to do with defeating Outlaw and the curse upon him. There's a hostage situation at a dog food factory, a spider bite and an clash of two different worlds as our western duo saddle up once again!

73.50 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-25 17:01

Sacrifice (Give and Take Part 3)

lightpurplelilies | tragedy | Complete

**this is part 3 of a 3-part story. parts 1, fear-driven, and 2, renegades, are up and available on my profile** sacrifice synopsis: back home, on the beach, and all to find aber's sister again. well, they've found her, and it's not quite what they've expected. the world is upside down and backwards and the only way to make sense of it is to find the people who make sense of you. a reminder of the characters (plus a few updates): ABER -- he has spent all this time trying to get away from his wife and back to his sister. but now that they are here and he has to choose, the choice is harder than he thought. AVA -- she's a miracle. she's a brat. she's the most important person in the world. she has no idea what she's doing. she's losing her mind. she is going to save them all or die trying. again. NUA -- he got away. he went back. he must be out of his mind. ABIGALA -- what has she been doing for the past year? isn't that the million-dollar question. PENNY -- family reunions are never fun, per se. especially not this one. BAYAN -- everything happens the way it was meant to happen. but why was this meant to happen? and LILLY -- everything comes down to her.

33.18 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 11:03

The Queen's Necromancer

ECWrites | action | Complete

Idris lost his name when he was twelve years old. His title, his ancestral home and his freedoms were stripped from him in a freak accident that changed everything. Since then, he has worked tirelessly at the side of his best friend, Queen Cressida Naga, to become a worthy courtier for her kingdom - except the title of Court Necromancer has always brought stares and whispers. After a brutal war breaks down the barriers of the kingdom, Idris finds himself entangled in a spate of break-ins and thefts that he would rather do without. But a trip to the kingdom's edge proves to him that nothing happening in Veridia is accidental - and someone else might be harbouring similar powers to his. With his attendant Lila, Idris has to cross the country to clear his name and find out the truth behind the dark magic that threatens his home, before he becomes powerless to stop it.

49.54 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 14:47

Life's Allegory

Philip Read | action | Complete

Explore the Barbarian Tundra, the Hito Mountain Villages and unknown lands of wonder and horror across Gaia and the worlds around her. See through the eyes of a few, experience the harsh realities of sword and sorcery and how Sachihiro, a young man who takes a path never before tread by another carves a place from the chaos of the world or dies trying. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Part I: The Followers of the Way Part II: The Fall of the Tribes Interlude Part III: The Lost Part IV: The Lost: Death and Birth of Legends Part V: The Fall of Worlds ______________________________________________________________________________ Cover Photo Not Original.

554.11 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 11:28

Magic College

Damaged | adventure | Complete

Kazuma Wilson was a young man who'd grown up knowing only his father. Sequestered away from his deceased mother's family, he became practical and capable of making do with a less than opulent life. When it came time for him to graduate from high school and enter the wider world, however, his Aunt came to visit and offer him a place at a collegepaid in full. Despite his father telling him little of his mother's family, Kaz took the opportunity his father couldn't afford to give him. The college, however, is far different than anything he could have imagined. This is a fantasy story set in a modern world. A vampire organizes social events, a fey creature runs the local watering hole, and if you go fishing you might run into a garappa trying to catch his dinner. Kazuma is plunged into the deeper world he never knew existed, and though the tide might be fighting him, he learns to swim. Blending elements of magic and spiritualism from many pantheons (that all exist in this world), I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing it. This story will be published on a bi-monthly basis. Much is already written, but I intend to maintain a healthy buffer so there won't be any interruptions. Coverart created with permission from all sources, none requiring attribution.

111.91 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:24

Chimera Aberration - Volume 01

Matt Redskye | comedy | Complete

Enteico Mamorou is a struggling merchant running a failing business with his best friend, Keith. But when a terrible incident forces Keith to face the demons of his past, they begin to realize that paying rent is the least of their worries, alongside deranged customers, crazy adventurers and alcoholic horses. But all of these problems pale in comparison to our protagonist's ultimate enemy- responsibility. Will Keith sober up and finally confront reality head-on? Or will his path lead him down the bottom of his final bottle?

77.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-26 18:32

Feet Off The Ground

JDTHEGREATANIMAL | psychological | Complete

An ordinary man who drifts through life and encounters something that links to his dream.

0.86 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 10:45

The New Magnolia: Red Fungus, White Spore

Hokage of Literature | psychological | Complete

The art for this cover was drawn by StarsColdNight whose account you can find on DeviantArt and BookCoversRealm for some great and splendid artwork at fair prices. Rillia flees from the Red Mountain Ant Colony and her country of Wassergras, hoping to find and explore the Primeval World, a legendary and untamed world she has only read about. However, after a surprise storm nearly drowns her, she is saved by Jason, a shrunken human with little memory of his past life. He is the first in a series of new allies she meets along with Melsil, the mushroom swordsman and Vesha the crawfish. A storm is brewing in Wassergras of political intrigue, prejudice and schemes within schemes that threaten to tear apart their world. Rillia must put her traveling plans on hold as she and her newly made friends work to defeat this threatone that has been waging since the dawn of the world between the forces that created it.

50.93 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 10:40

Stop Winceim Barbey

Nelsoa the Storyteller | tragedy | Complete

To stop the four-dimensional monster Winceim Barbey from granting the whole world Immortality, the spell caster, operator, and fighter had to destroy the dragon's heart before Winceim Barbey. It was the only way for the three agents to save the world. Most of the magical items were shattered and there was no time to wait for aid.

11.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 11:56

Parasite

panda___god | romance | Complete

A short story about what could have been. Author's Note: Each chapter is supposed to be read as a diary entry. An indeterminate amount of time passes in between each day, but the day numbers provide a rough frame of reference. All of the chapters can be read in a few minutes, but each day has its own chapter.

1.10 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 13:33

Digital Transfer

DrpyCatty | tragedy | Complete

After receiving a strange package, J anxiously calls for their friend Vix to come and help them figure out what it is.

1.93 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 13:52

Beauty of Ares

Stephanie Van Orman | drama | Complete

Welcome to the world of Sleeping Beauty Inc. Each novel can be read as a solo or as part of the series. If you're reading in series order, it goes as follows: Book One: Rose Red - You can't buy a girl! But in the year 2214, you can. She can whip you into shape, design your diet, be your personal stylist, and turn you from geek to chic in just one year. What will happen if your model isn't what they promised? Book Two: Sleeping Prince - Gage is a solarship pilot who transports Sleeping Beauty Inc. models between the moons of Jupiter. His favorite is a model named Iona. She has a contract for him. Dare he refuse? Book Three: Beauty of Ares - Tired of hiring temporary models? Why not try an arranged marriage through Sleeping Beauty Inc.'s Gold Edition catalog? Look no further than Lisbet. She's the daughter of an 'old money' diamond merchant. She'll dazzle your contact list with her wave of black hair and her violet eyes. She'll even travel to Mars, a place infamous for its cruelty toward purchased models. After her father sells her to Vantz Bloomburg, she'll do anything.

46.19 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 14:40

A pair of twins

collegewriter | psychological | On going

In the afternoon - at the very last rows of an asphalt staircase - I met them. Twins, everchanging between a perverse grin and a gorgeous smile.Then, a week later, I couldn't ever live without them.

4.52 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:10

First Contact

Ralts Bloodthorne | action | Complete

Eight Thousand Years after the Glassing of Earth, Terran Descent Humanity has largely become a post-scarcity society based on consent and enjoying life. With the discovery of another ancient race beyond the "Great Gulf", events and history collide to draw the Terran Confederacy into war against a hundred million year old empire that has always won and believes it always will. With allies and enemies of multiple species, the Orion Galactic Arm Spur will be wracked by warfare the likes of which have not been seen. Cracked, harried, wounded, and damaged, Terran Descent Humanity willfully throws itself against the universe itself. "The universe hates you and will take away everything you love, laughing while it does so." - Terran belief. A wiki is available (although under construction) at: https://fcgestalt.fandom.com/wiki/First_Contact_Gestalt_Archive_Wiki Told largely from the viewpoint of other species, the story is currently ongoing. It involves graphic depictions of violence, war, adult language and situations, drug use, and other mature topics. The story will be updated on weekdays, so keep an eye on this page for more chapters. The story is 700+ chapters, and repeating characters do not start appearing until the Vuxten chapters. If you're in a hurry for repeating characters then this story will not be enjoyable to you. The interwoven plot is not based on a single person but the entire war, with its effects upon multiple people. [participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge for April 2022]

1,734.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-21 10:24

Lewy Body: The Demon in the Mirror [RRCM Winner June 2023]

Aest Belequa | contemporary | Complete

Some men have demons inside them. Lou's stays in the mirror, stalking his wife. It's at the doctor's office. It's in the bathroom at their assisted living apartment. It even chases the car when they go shopping. It keeps getting closer. And as it does, he's having a harder and harder time remembering. Lou doesn't want to find out what'll happen if if reaches Abigail. He has to stop the demon. Content Warning: This story is about dementia. I'm trying not to pull punches. Edit: I'm incredibly honored to have won the June 2023 Community Magazine Contest. Thank you all for reading!

4.65 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-13 10:51

Sixguns and Spellfire

Fresh_Pursuit | contemporary | Complete

Completed Story. Texas Lawman Cash Renshaw gets pulled into a world of magic and mysticism that he never knew existed but finds himself uniquely suited to handle. Alhambra Sheriff's Office Detective Cash Renshaw is about to wake up. He learns that there is another world out there where all the creatures of nightmare and magic are real. Not only that but he finds that he is a special type of person called an "Archetype" that derives powers from the collective power of human imagination. Now he will join his new partner in the Agency for Metanatural Investigation to investigate a strange new type of Runic Tattooing that allows normal humans to tap into magic powers, at the cost of their lives. Cash will learn that his new reality is as deadly as it is mysterious, and his first case might be his last.

51.07 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-20 14:16

King of the Mountain

tenqui | contemporary | Complete

Normal over 30 science teacher is "abducted" and tested by the GREAT GAME as a beta trial inductee. The GREAT GAME will eventually be implemented and remake the world. Our protagonist however is the only one that actually passes the beta test, which was not designed to be survivable, through sheer dumb luck and thus has an extreme head start on all other citizens of Earth. Follow the journey of our hero as he tries to walk a thin line between preparing to save as much of his family and friends as possible while also trying to make sure that he will have enough power to make other people do most of the work while remaining safe and sound. Poor guy is just a proto-hermit who wants to be left alone but also realizes the importance of others and family. The new reality just complicates things.

96.47 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-27 15:38