The Beast stirs at first light, as he has done every morning for the past three thousand years. His chamber is grey – apart from a single golden beam, spilling through a gap in the curtains he cannot move.

There is still some redness in the sky – sunrise is rapidly giving way to a solid blue, but splotches of scarlet and gold linger on the horizon. I’m out of breath, but not incapacitated, as I hurry up

It’s been eight years since we last saw each other. In the early days, immediately after our break-up, I used to look at his name on my phone screen – never sending him a message, never giving him any

Two and a half years after quietly allowing my Hive presence to lapse (for a variety of reasons, none of which had anything to do with Hive) I have recently returned as a way to help myself get back into

‘Mom, we’ve driven past four times now,’ I plead. ‘Please, let’s just go home – what if Dad sees us? Or Mary?’ Mom lets out a bitter laugh at the mention of Dad’s new fiancée. We’ve reached the bottom

There has never been any physical violence – this is what she clings to, sometimes, as a reason to stay. That, and the happiness they enjoyed in the very beginning: their moments of tenderness, before

When one sees a fantastic cat, the only appropriate response is to pay tribute to them! This is my most recent piece of digital art (proudly home-spun and AI free) — inspired by a gloriously fluffy fellow.

It didn't take as long to pack up as I thought it would. After all the fights, the headaches, the endless back and forth over who was right or wrong... it's proven surprisingly easy to pack up a life.

‘Emma?’ Sarah appears around the side of the fruit and vegetable aisle. ‘Hm?’ ‘Are we ever going to talk about the fact that Derek Fitzmaurice keeps coming in here looking for you?’ Emma glances towards

What to say really. Sinead is an icon. A true warrior, who was never afraid to speak her mind. She didn't care who she upset, she just had to share her truth. She was hugely passionate, about using her

I hoped, when the message first came through on my phone, that it wasn’t true. Surely it would turn out to have been a wild rumour – some bizarre notion that had taken hold in some obscure corner of the

A response to the freewrite prompt standing naked in the arena, and a continuation of my Ballroom Project! The zenith of the full moon is here at last. Everyone will be expecting her to step out of the

The heart is a multi-layered thing: forever resilient, inherently vulnerable; alight with hope, weighed down by the shadows of the world – this reflection came to mind as I sketched out the artwork above.

A new round of the Writing Contest has started! 📆Main dates of the contest: The previous round summary and a new round announcement will be done on the same day every Saturday. The post-submission deadline

this stillness is deafening

Another instalment of The Ballroom Project!

Hello my loving Hiveans, How are you, As usual, I wish everyone a good night dear friends. It is believed that you will spend today happily and successfully. I hope tomorrow will be the same. So guys,

A continuation of The Ballroom Project, a story I’ve been working on for a while. Folastar is the third protagonist of the tale, his story beginning after Guenneth’s and Alilah’s. Folastar smiles as he

Mark beamed drunkenly at his wife Sarah. He had, a few moments previously, flourished a hotel voucher in front of her and declared that he had won a bet. “So! We’ll go to Galway this weekend. Be nice to

Next Luxury Friday afternoon: best time of the week. Dex smiled to himself as he reached for another beam – part of a pile he'd be using for a supporting wall on Monday. Two more to go, then he’d clock