pcarreo

You Must Reimagine the Known

What if I told you there is a house, a beautiful house, a luxury penthouse somewhere in this city, not too far away? It is unoccupied as we speak. Maybe held in escrow or just some billionaire’s forgotten purchase — it doesn’t matter why. It will remain completely vacant for many decades to come andContinue reading “You Must Reimagine the Known”

Trial of the Fool

Imagine a test of strength and wit unlike you’ve ever faced. Every challenge you’ve learned to overcome has only prepared you for this. It comes in waves, one attack, one puzzle, one challenge at a time. The first waves are manageable, familiar even. You’ve done this before. As you clear each wave though, it getsContinue reading “Trial of the Fool”

a seal to reorient

You’ve set your timer on the meditation app, rolled out your mat along the riverview window. You haven’t meditated in months, and when you’ve tried, you can’t stay present more than a minute. Bell pings keep your eyes darting back to your desk, and you’re reminded to pause all notifications. You hate you’re still holdingContinue reading ” a seal to reorient”

Winter 2026 – PC Studios Newsletter

Waiting

Off the beaten trail from The French Quarter. A tiny gutted craftsman bungalow, one story, an open porch. Enough space for eight tables, like we always dreamed. Two on the porch, two in the windows. The others in the middle of that slanted Creole living room we called our restaurant. You insisted we had moreContinue reading “Waiting”

Whitechapel Cat Calls

When he’s gone this long, he usually leaves the terrace window open. Forgotten, or delayed. Either way, the food’s running thin, and the city’s seductions are calling. The strays in heat are yowling and leisurely carriages are clip-clopping outside my brickhouse lair. I pounce up the stairs to my landlord’s study, three flights above theContinue reading “Whitechapel Cat Calls”

Hello, I am Ego

Hello Ego, good to meet you. Again. We’ve met before haven’t we? I’m sure of it. You’ve always been there, so often in fact, that I mistake you for a friend. So often I mistake you for me. You do a clever impression of me, by the way. Your voice, your accent, the expressions andContinue reading “Hello, I am Ego”

Netflix is a paradox

Can we talk about Netflix stock? It’s April and they just hit their all-time high, up a whopping +24% YTD against a very bearish market. That’s right, all the big tech stocks are down about -19% this year, and – are all down 19% this year, and Netflix is silently cruuuushing it!! The ‘Magnificent 7’Continue reading “Netflix is a paradox”

Relegated Vessels

[a redraft from the story, A Relegated Ship, Run Aground, included in Strangely Fierce Fables] She is a rusted merchant ship, the oldest remaining in Ireland, moored to rest along the banks of the Grand Canal. She’s named the Naomh Éanna. Completed in Dublin’s Liffey Dockyard in 1958, sailing in her prime as an AranContinue reading “Relegated Vessels”

A seal for disquietude

I can see my seal again. The air in my flat crawls a shiver up the sleeves of my nightshirt. The floorboards are patchy warm on my soft morning toes. I am waiting for the final gurgle of my coffee machine to spew its steamy starting airhorn. I want to sit at my desk butContinue reading “A seal for disquietude”