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New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Ukrainian Anti-War Songs
I've been meaning to compile this list for a long time. With a four-year marking point of the war approaching in February 2026 and the anti-war songs in Ukrainian music ever expanding, I wanted to present an essential list of the songs I listen to frequently.
By Lana V Lynx2 months ago in Beat
Unchained. Honorable Mention in The Forgotten Room Challenge.
It was time. For thirty years, the events of the past and the room where they took place hung over my head like the dreaded pendulum in Poe’s classic tale, The Pit and the Pendulum. I always thought that the further away I got from the evil room, both in distance and time, the horrifying events which happened there would fade away into oblivion. My choices were I could continue lying to myself the way I had been for most of my adult life, or I could take a stand and repair my broken life forever. I was being ridiculous. There was only one choice: face my fears and move ahead with my life.
By Mark Gagnon2 months ago in Fiction
Mid-Life Crisis?
Happy birthday. Your life is half over. What now? On November 2, I woke up to find I had turned 45. I'm not quite sure how that happened; I swear yesterday I was still in my thirties. But I did the math, and I am in fact 45. By quickly reviewing my family history, I confirmed my fears. My father, grandmother, and two great-grandparents only lived to their mid-sixties, two great-grandparents hit their late seventies, my other grandma and both grandpas died in their mid-eighties, two Great-Grandparents got to 88, another to 89, and one made it all the way to 90. Based on those statistics, it's a safe, and sobering, assumption that my sojourn here on earth is half over, and that's being optimistic. So as one often does at this stage of life, I felt the day called for a little self-reflection. What have I done with my first 45 years and what do I plan to do with the next?
By A. J. Schoenfeld2 months ago in Humans
a small bit of twine. Runner-Up in Maps of the Self Challenge.
~ A small bit of twine twisted around my wrist, embedding in my skin. I think the year was 1982. I didn't notice it at first until I felt the first tug pulling my small body in a direction I didn't want to go.
By Heather Hubler2 months ago in Humans
FPS: The Sound of First Frost Challenge Winners
For The Sound of First Frost, we asked you to tune into the subtle shift where autumn fades and winter begins. That in-between time when the air turns sharper, the light leans paler, and everything, from sound, to scent, to texture, feels just a little different.
By Vocal Curation Team2 months ago in Resources
The Miss Gloria Hour with Guest: Ziggy
The Board Meeting “I have one last comment before this meeting adjourns,” Jason Pooper said. “Gloria, the glamorous makeup without your glasses received very low ratings. Put your glasses back on. People want your classic look.”
By Rick Henry Christopher 2 months ago in Humor
The Path from Destruction
So I'm "here," parked in Joe Pye Weed Field on a warm October night, with Kenny, Nate, and Mark, three friends I've known since childhood. We're all in our early twenties. It's 1988. There's plenty of Budweiser and cheap vodka going around.
By John R. Godwin2 months ago in Humans
The Duelist
The rays of a dying red sun flashed against the onrushing blade. The grey beards say the key to dueling lies in size, speed, reach, righteous fury, whatever the person in front of them pays them to say. Matteo knew better than any it was none of these and had an undefeated record on these sands to prove it.
By Matthew J. Fromm2 months ago in Fiction










