#unranked list

[she-who-the-river-could-not-hold]

hi yes movies are my life and I also want to be a trend follower

[kithj]

Announcing the second Queer Vampire IF Jam!

This is a month-long game jam that will run from January 10 - February 20th, 2025. The goal of this jam is to create more interactive fiction games about queer vampires, focusing both on queer relationships and queer experiences as told through a vampiric narrative.

Check out the entries from last year here!

JAM RULES:

Your project must focus on queer characters and vampires. Queer relationships, romantic or platonic, as well as other queer experiences, whether gay, lesbian, bisexual, ace, aro, trans and nonbinary - this is an inclusive jam. 

You can write from a human or vampire perspective (or both!)

This jam will accept any medium, so long as the work is an Interactive Fiction.

This jam will accept adult content as well as games covering heavy & uncomfortable topics, but please be sure to properly list trigger warnings either in-game or on the game page.

Entries that promote any kind of bigotry will not be accepted.

Games should not include any AI generated content.

You can submit as many entries as you'd like.

There is no language requirement; we will accept games in any language.

You are allowed to start working on your project early! That's why I'm announcing it now. This jam is unranked and it's not a contest, this is just for fun.

Submissions open midnight, January 10th EST. They'll close February 20th at 11:59pm EST.

Join the jam here!

hosted by me and @nyehilismwriting

Additional questions we got asked frequently last year, for clarification:

Do Visual Novels count?

Yes!

What is Interactive Fiction?

Personally, I find interactive fiction hard to define, and I’m not interested in policing it, so as long as it’s recognizably interactive fiction - ie, the game has a narrative focus primarily with text, and the player can interact (whether that be with direct choices, clicking through links, or allowing the player to choose how to move around and interact with the world/the game like in bitsy) then it counts. Parsers, visual novels, choose-your-own-adventures are some of the popular examples of IF, but there are plenty that don’t fall within any category. Check out the IF tag on itch.io and you can see just how varied it is.

Does it have to be horror?

No, any genre is accepted!

[mabermaple]

Unlike others, I judge a book by it's cover.

By far, the best fanfictions I can recommend! My reading list is semi-unranked :) Those you see in the screenshots are my top favorites.

OVERTIME features clark, martin, bueckers, fudd, jackie young, and more..

I'm a picky reader, so you can trust me on these!!

[neointeractives]

Smoochie Jam!

A Valentine's Interactive Fiction Jam

For this Valentine's month, you can help make romance happen with a smooch!

The Smoochie Jam is a month-long unranked jam all about kisses, real or imagined, love and romance.  The name and concept of this jam were inspired the original SmoochieComp in 2001, hosted by Emily Short.

Games should be about romance, kissing, or the deliberate subversion thereof. Here is an optional list of story ideas and concepts:

♡ first kiss, last kiss ♡ kissing in the rain ♡ kiss of life (or kiss of death) ♡ sealed with a kiss ♡ kiss with a fist ♡ spaghetti kiss

Constraints and Rules:

Your Entry should relate to romance, love, kisses, or the deliberate subversion thereof.

The Jam is open to any program/medium, as long as the piece can be considered Interactive Fiction (i.e. the game is interactive, and its focus is on the text).

The Jam is open to any language.

You can submit up to 3 entries!

You should aim for a 15-30min maximum gameplay.

Entries can have NSFW content, as long as you indicate it in your submission.

Games should not include any generated AI content (incl. Cover Image/Game Page). Entries using AI/LLM will be removed.

Assets used must be properly credited.

Spam or hateful content will not be accepted.

Join the Jam!

We will track entries on Tumblr with the #smoochiejam, but you can also tag @neointeractives!

Join the Neo-Interactive Discord

[diorsluv]

feather , part 14

“ i feel so much lighter, like a feather ”

series m. list previous chapter next chapter

( socialmedia!au )

yourusername

liked by _quinnhughes, rutgermcgroarty, jamie.drysdale, and 58,100 others

yourusername so i went to the mall w eddy and mackie and NO ONE TOLD ME THERES TARGET IN MALLS NOW???

tagged: mackie.samo

view all comments

username87 sweetie there’s always been targets in malls

→ yourusername SINCE WHEN TF

_alexturcotte yooo did you buy the teddy bear??

→ yourusername no ethan said there would be no room for it in the car when we drive home 😔

→ _alexturcotte ah damn i was gonna steal it from you

username35 omg they went into one of the expensive clothes stores

username28 if they wore that and tried to break into my house honestly i’d let them

→ username7 FRRRR

edwards.73 you were skipping through the aisles as soon as we walked into target

→ mackie.samo fr we had to pretend like we didn’t know you

→ yourusername i hate you both

jamie.drysdale you know i can see your credit card history right

→ yourusername UHHHHH MOM SAID NO ONE COULD SEE IT BUT ME

→ jamie.drysdale she lied to you

→ trevorzegras whats she been buying 👀

→ jamie.drysdale a 50 pack of takis, 4 squishmallows and way too many kids toys

→ yourusername I BOUGHT ONE CONTAINER OF SLIME. ONE. jamie.drysdale

lhughes_06 should’ve brought me, i would’ve paid for u

→ yourusername oh it’s okay i’d feel bad 😭

→ colecaufield you are insanely dense lil drizzy

username94 it’s so endearing how they’re having so much fun together

jackhughes maybe i should’ve gone with you

→ yourusername no i would’ve had 10x less fun if you came with

→ jackhughes ok buddy 😐😐

bookerburke_ i’ll take you to every mall with a target in it as soon as you get back

liked by yourusername

yourusername

liked by jackhughes, luca.fantilli, trevorzegras, and 99,837 others

yourusername i’m never playing val with these idiots ever again oh my god like THE LACK OF ASSISTS WAS UNBELIEVABLE

view all comments

markestapa the only reason u could even play valorant was bc i let u use my pc so be quiet

→ yourusername yeah and i got you to gold 3

→ markestapa I WAS AT PLAT 2

→ yourusername YOU MADE ME PLAY ON UR UNRANKED ACCOUNT DUMMY

→ markestapa oh um well IT’S NOT RADIANT SOOOO

rutgermcgroarty such a gamer girl

→ yourusername never say that again i’m begging you

username80 i don’t understand anything but yessss!!

→ username47 fr at this point im jus faking it all

dylanduke25 okay well the rest of us were playing on our laptops

→ yourusername marks pc was laggier than ur laptops 🙄🙄

→ markestapa MY LAG WAS SKYROCKETING

trevorzegras play val with me rn i dare you

→ yourusername okay mr “i dropped from gold to bronze”

→ trevorzegras hey don’t expose me like that 😕

username37 what is this gold, bronze, plat speak i don’t get it

_quinnhughes oh so thats what all that yelling was

→ jackhughes i heard her from down the street

→ _quinnhughes “MOVE MOVE MOVE YOU DUMBASSES”

→ yourusername 🙍‍♂️🙍‍♂️🔫🙃

bookerburke_ i’ve never played this game before, only cod and overwatch so i dont get the lingo 😭

→ yourusername oh it’s okay i’ll explain it to you 🤗🤗

→ username82 the “lingo” 😭😭

edwards.73 i didn’t do THAT bad

→ mackie.samo liar i was looking at your screen the whole time

→ lhughes_06 dude you were dead weight

→ yourusername my kda was 5/0/0 and urs was 0/5/0 we are NOT the same ❌

next chapter notes ) i actually have a grudge against all val players and they all frustrate me to no end (I NEVER GET FUCKING ASSISTS) anywayyy i hope u enjoyed this and im getting back on the grind i promise 🤍🤍

tags: @aliaology @hockeyboysarehot @absolutelyhugh3s

[manonamora-if]

Interactive Fiction Showcase 2024

Showcase your Game!

The Interactive Fiction Showcase is a year-long "jam" meant to collect and showcase Interactive Fiction games completed in 2024, and show how diverse the Interactive Fiction scene is! And maybe: build more bridges between the community, help people finding their new favourite game/author...

Whether it is long or short, an easy adventure or a complicated puzzle, a strange experiment, a quick creation, or a years-in-the-making game, come show off what you've made!

Are you more of a player? Then, come check this page regularly for new submissions! Maybe leave a rating or a comment too :)

This is an unranked event.

Rules:

The Showcase is open to IF games in all of its forms: kinetic, choice-based, hyperlinks, parser, visual novels... As long as it is Interactive Fiction (there is interactivity and the focus of the game is on the text), the entry will be accepted.

The Showcase is open to IF games in any language.

Entries must be playable and in its complete form when submitted. Completed games in 2024, whose demo was previously public, are welcome. Games submitted to other events (jams/competitions) are welcome.

Entries can include NSFW content, as long as it is indicated in the submission.

Entries should not include any generated AI content - or it will be removed.

Spam or hateful content will be removed.

Creating Interactive Fiction:

Interactive Fiction is a text-based narrative medium, where players can interact with the story in some fashion (input commands, click a link/button, press key). There are many different ways of creating IF, and many different programs to do so. You can find some mentioned below:

Primarily HyperText/Choice-Based: Twine,  Ink, ChoiceScript, Dendry

Primarily Parser/Input: Inform 6, Inform 7, PunyInform, Adventuron, ADRIFT

Other: Bitsy, Binksi, Ren'Py

and many more can be found listed in the IF Wiki.

If you are looking for other Interactive Fiction Events, discuss general IF, or ask question, you can visit the IntFiction Forum. (we also have monthly IF events over at @neointeractives)

Interactive Fiction Database and Archive:

IFDB

The IFDB, or Interactive Fiction Database, is an IF game information catalogue, creating a historical record of the IF landscape. The database is a community project, updated by its members, by adding titles to the directory, ratings games, writing reviews... If a listing has not yet been created for your game, please consider making one!

IF Archive

The IF Archive is an archive of Interactive Fiction games, and IF-related elements (walkthroughs, interpreters, articles, collections...). The Archive’s mission is to preserve the history and practice of interactive fiction and make it freely available to the public. If you wish to, you can upload a copy of your game to the IFArchive, through the IFDB listing of your game (recommended) or directly to the archive.

The IFDB and IFArchive, as well as the IntFiction Forum and Twine, are managed by the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation. These programs are funded through individual donations.

Visual Novel Database

The VNDB, or Visual Novel Database, is a community project that strives to be a comprehensive database for information about visual novels. The database is updated by its members, by adding titles to the directory, ratings games, writing reviews... If a listing has not yet been created for your visual novel, please consider making one!

[madeline-kahn]

Incomplete and unranked list of albums I enjoyed in 2024

Pictured here:

MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks

Megan Thee Stallion - MEGAN

Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter

Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet

Katie Gavin - What a Relief

Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

Maggie Rogers - Don't Forget Me

Orville Peck - Stampede

Lizzy McAlpine - Older

The Beaches - Blame My Ex

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us

Gold Star - How to Shoot the Moon

Remi Wolf - Big Ideas

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

Gracie Abrams - The Secret of Us

Clairo - Charm

Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal

Pom Pom Squad - Mirror Starts Moving Without Me

Kendrick Lamar - GNX

Charli xcx - Brat

The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstacy

Conan Gray - Found Heaven

Griff - Vertigo

God's Mom - As It Was Given

Other albums that I would have done if time had permitted but it didn't:

girl in red - I'm Doing it Again Baby!

Halsey - The Great Impersonator

Bleachers - Bleachers

Suki Waterhouse - Memoir of a Sparklemuffin

SZA - SOS Deluxe: LANA

Debbii Dawson - How To Be Human

Rachel Chinouriri - What A Devastating Turn of Events

Towa Bird - American Hero

FLO - Access All Areas

beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves

Megan Moroney - Am I Okay? (I'll Be Fine)

Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine

Carol Ades - Late Start

The Dare - What's Wrong with New York?

Tyla - Tyla+

Del Water Gap - I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet

Maude Latour - Sugar Water

The Marias - Submarine

Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism

Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Dora Jar - No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire

Sexyy Red - In Sexyy We Trust

Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness

Brittany Howard - What Now

Eliza Mclamb - Going Through It

Fontaines DC - Romance

Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven

Normani - DOPAMINE

Role Model - Kansas Anymore

Soccer Mommy - Evergreen

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming

Tyler the Creator - Chromakopia

Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future

Charley Crockett - $10 Cowboy

Lauren Mayberry - Vicious Creature

Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police

Nemahsis - Verbathim

Reyna Roberts - The Lost Files

ROSE - rosie

Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers

Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk

Allie X - Girl with No Face

Cheekface - It's Sorted

Maren Morris - Intermission

Father John Misty - Mahashmashana

Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind

[artificial-ascension]

Reading through the wolrds surely most accurate source, Death Note fan wiki, I have accumulated a list of Wammys kid letters that are confirmed in some source to have an individual associated:

A- First successor of L, dead by suicide, mentioned in Death Note: Another Note

B- Beyond Birthday, number two of the first known successors behind A and a main character of Death Note: Another Note

D- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

E- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

F- Appears in the opening of L: Change The World film on a massion for L, dies via helicopter attack*

G- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

H- Sends L an email informing him of F's death in L: Change The World

I- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

J- Appears in the game L: The Prologue To Death Note, the game is unavailable in English so little is know of them, presumably a Wammys kid based on name, a separate J appears in the second episode of Death Note: A New Generation, she is not out right stated to be a Wammys kid, but she is assumed to be

K- Antagonist of L: Change The World book and film

L- If you do not know who L is why are you here, also Linda is a child who appears briefly in the manga and is responsible for the drawings of Near and Mello (I belive that is only presumed but I may be wrong, I can not remember where it was said)

M- Mello, second successor of generation four and a main antagonist of Death Note's main series and Matt, unranked member of generation four appearing as Mello's comrade in both anime amd manga

N- Near, successor of L and number one of generation four, appears in half the places L dose

P- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

Q- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film

R- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film, their letter is greyed out, presumably indicating they are dead**

T- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film, their letter is greyed out, presumably indicating they are dead

V- Shown on L's mailing list in L: Change The World film, their letter is greyed out, presumably indicating they are dead

X- Alluded to in Death Note: Another Note as helping in a detective war with L

Y- Alluded to in Death Note: Another Note as helping in a detective war with L

Z- Alluded to in Death Note: Another Note as helping in a detective war with L

Unused letters- C, O, S, T, U, W***, possibly J as both instances of the usage are for individuals only presumed to be successors

Letters with known duplicates- L and M, J(?)

------

Conclusion:

1. L: Change The World introduced a shit ton of Wammys lore for apparently shits and giggles.

2. Alot less dead Wammys kids than I expected. (Only 9/24, that's only over a third. Maybe 10/24 if you count Watari.)

3. I can understand not finding a U or V, but how the hell were there no genius orphans with S or C names??

4. It is impossible for a Death Note title to not have a : in it.

------

Notes:

I got this information from the fan wiki and my brain. If it is wrong I'd like to know. I'd also love to hear of any more orphans the fan wiki or I missed.

------

*I can verify that that happened. I remember it vividly. Only known Wammys kid to die from a helicopter.

**A greyed name implies death as B's name was also greyed out. However, this also implies L could readily email B whenever he wanted, which is extremely funny.

***W is often totoed as Watari's letter. However, I am not considering him a Wammys kid but this may mean some of the letters shown do not indicate successors but rather other Wammys higher ups.

[now-and-4ever]

I used this tier list maker to rank the moments from Our Life 1.

The reason Reflection is unranked is because the topics in it make me uncomfortable to the point I can't play it. So I can't fairly rank it.

[thealmightyemprex]

Emprex's 10 Favorite Film Directors unranked

So I thought about this list a lot ,and these are the 10 directors that I have to say are favorites

Ishiro Honda -Truly an underrated director ,a maestro of science fiction filmmaking .Whatever project he was doing,and no matter what big creature he brought to the screen,I feel Honda never forgets the human side :My reccomendation to those getting into his filmography is Mothra vs Godzilla ,while my favorite is Mothra

David Lynch -He made 10 movies,Ive seen 5 and love those 5.Known for favoring the abstract ,I follow the emotions of his work,and am intrigued by his mix of earnestness and darkness underneath .My reccomended starter film is Elephant Man ,favorite is Blue Velvet

Coen Brothers -I need delve back into these guys cause I love their work .I love their dark humor ,their use of actors (They really know how to use John Goodman affectively ) and mix of the mundane and the violent .My reccomeded starter film is Oh Brother Where Art Thou ,my favorite is True Grit

Alfred Hitchcock-Problematic favorite,I dont like him as a person but as a filmmaker,if a Hitchcock film is on I am probabbly going to watch it .I prefer his smaller films to his bigger films ,the smaller murder stories to large wronged man specticals .Good Starter is Rope ,favorite is Psycho

Sidney Lumet -Always solid ,I think his strength is navigating ensambles and making it where if you are stuck in a certain location you never FEEL stuck or uses that claustrophobia to his advantage .Reccomendation is 12 Angry Men while my favorite is Murder on the Orient Express

Mel Brooks :What I love about Mel Brooks's comedy is there is both a love for and understanding of whatever hes making fun of.The filmmaking is authentic which makes when something rediculous happens even funnier . Roccomend Spaceballs as a starter ,but my favorite is the Producers

Steven Spielberg-I mean this guy has one of the most versetile filmographies of any filmmaker.Now with a filmography spanning 50 years there are a lot of hits and misses ,and I am more familiar with his crowd pleasers then his more dramtic work ,that said he knows HOW TO MAKE A CROWD PLEASER ! Reccomendation I would say Duel ,and favorite is ET

Guillermo Del Toro:Known for his loves of monsters ,tales of outcasts and casting Doug Jones and Ron Perlman a lot , Ive seen most of his films which are both intelligent and visually splendid .I find it funny some call him a horror director cause hes not ,I guess his films are horror adjacent but its more,hes a monster director ,using monsters to tell love stories ,super hero tales ,and fairy tales with backdrops of the horrors of fascism .Now my reccomendation for a starter has to be Hellboy ,favorite is a bit harder so I'll go with Pinocchio

John Carpenter -While known mostly for horror ,I view Carpenter as just a great genre filmmaker in general ,his films have a definitive feel though,you always know when your watching Carpenter but he is pretty good at whatever topic hes handlingbe it action ,comedy,romance ,satirical sci fi ,martial arts fantasy and especially all consuming horror .Reccomendation is Halloween,favorite is Big Trouble in Little China

John Musker and Ron Clements:I wanted to have some animation representation ,and I frankly think this duo are the best while weirdly being underrated ,with some of the best films by Disney animation ,being directed by this duo .Reccomendated starter has to be Little Mermaid ,but my favorite is the Great Mouse Detective

So what are you guys thoughts of my director choices ?Are any of these surprising?

@theancientvaleofsoulmaking @ariel-seagull-wings @punster-2319

@alexa-santi-author @countesspetofi @princesssarisa

@themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9

@filmcityworld1 @florals-cardigan

[ayasenisan1713]

My favorite novels rankings:

1. Genius Wizard Takes Medicine (alternative title: Drug-Eating Genius Mage—ongoing)

2. Lord of the Mysteries (funnily, the only Chinese novel here—completed)

3. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (the side story is really amazing—side story ongoing)

4. Trash of the Count’s Family (alternative title: Lout of the Count’s Family—part 2 ongoing)

5/6/7. The Demon Prince goes to the Academy (completed)

5/6/7. Debut or Die (completed)

5/6/7. Classroom of the Elite (ongoing)

Unranked from now on (I feel like the ranking for these ones is really guided by subjectivity, so I didn’t put a number—but still kept them in order):

- Acting as the Perfect Narrow-Eyed Villain (completed)

- I’ll Retire After Saving the World (Alternate title: I Will Save the World and Retire—not all chapters are translated so I didn’t catch up to the latest one—marked as completed on Novelupdates, but the side story is probably still ongoing)

- SSS-Class Suicide Hunter (completed)

- The Novel’s Extra (completed)

- The Law of Webnovels (alternative title: Inso’s law/My Life as an Internet Novel—completed)

Not sure whether to add 'The Hero Returns' or not. (I deleted it from the list because I think time may have left me a beautified memory—but since it’s been years, I actually have no idea.)

Put them at the bottom of the ranking because they’re unfortunately incomplete, but still put them into the ranking because I love them regardless.

- Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight (opinions are controversial on this one, but it’s also the same for some novels listed above anyway—hiatus)

- How To Raise Your Regressor (really amazing—who cares if it’s unfinished? who needs a plot anyway…—hiatus)

- My Death Flags Show No Sign of Ending (the only Japanese novel here (except for Classroom of the Elite), though it became a mess during the second arc—hiatus)

I recommend all of them. Although I ranked them in my favorite order, it doesn’t mean the ones at the bottom are bad—I put here all the best novels I read.

(Didn’t add 'A Transmigrator’s Privilege' because I didn’t finish it (and read far too much spoilers 💀); nor 'The S-Classes That I Raised' because I didn’t finish it either, but it’s in my to-do list; same for 'The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman'; nor 'Solo-Leveling' because I read the manhwa instead for this one and this is a novel list. Just for those wondering.)

[bigklingy]

In going for 100% in SA2 for the first time, here's my preliminary, knee-jerk tier list on how hard I find each level to A Rank. Only counting the first mission. (Otherwise the Tails and Rouge driving levels would be way higher) It's surreal that Sonic's first two levels are by far the hardest A Ranks to get. ESPECIALLY METAL HARBOR. It's also surreal how much of a joke Shadow's A Ranks are by comparison. Just go kinda fast and don't die. [I haven't played Green Hill yet so it's unranked]

[obsessioncollector]

haiiiii peyton ^_^ what were your favorite books this year?

Hiiii Lane!! 🤗💝 I hope you're having a lovely holiday or just a lovely day if you're not celebrating! I am so indecisive when it comes to picking faves so enjoy my non-answer 😊 I'm also going to tag you celia @symptomofloves bc you said you want to see my faves! ❤️

I would say the overarching theme of the year has been longing, desire, eroticism, and obsession, in many manifestations. So I'm going to list a cluster of excellent and often insanity-inducing (compliment!) books that fall into that category, in the order of when I read them (so unranked):

Dennis Cooper — George Miles cycle: THE obsessioncollector saga... Definitely not for everyone bc it's very graphic and upsetting, but he captures the desire for understanding and connection so well. I read it at the beginning of the year so it really set the tone for the year to come.

Mary Gaitskill — Bad Behavior: A story collection! She is one of those writers who articulates things I never realized I feel—reading her is such a revelation!

D.H. Lawrence — The Rainbow; Women in Love: Would transitioning have saved her? I'm kidding but truly he captures the experience of being a teen girl and young woman so well. (These two books are a diptych so I get to lump them together.)

Kathy Acker — In Memoriam to Identity: Read this so you can enjoy the sadly defunct @kathyack-blog-blog 😊 Like Mary Gaitskill in that she captures elements of myself I never knew existed.

Angela Carter — Burning Your Boats: The Collected Stories and The Magic Toyshop: Her most famous work is the story collection The Bloody Chamber, so I also recommend starting there if you want something less daunting than the complete stories. I love Angela Carter! I think I reblogged a gifset of her talking about her work being self-indulgent but she is self-indulgent in the same ways as me! Gothic and elegant and she is such a master of the fairytale/folklore retelling, which I think is so often done in boring and predictable ways.

Edmund White — A Boy's Own Story: All bangers from the very first few pages! Such an eloquent examination of a self-conscious adolescent painfully dedicated to trying to understand himself and others. Reminiscient of that Mishima quote about how he thought he was more mature than the other boys but it was just because he thought about himself more bc he was so insecure </3

And then here are a handful of ones that don't fit into that theme but were nonetheless highlights:

Scholastique Mukasonga — Our Lady of the Nile: Celia is also a Mukasonga fan so you know she has to be good! 😊 This is a collection of interlinked short stories, all set at a Rwandan boarding school. Masterfully combines the more mundane tensions of adolescence with the leadup to the genocide.

Maya Binyam — Hangman: A 2023 release! I don't read many recent releases bc I find it difficult to sift through the hype but I'm so glad I read this one. A treasure and also quite distinctive in terms of the style and structure.

Mae M. Ngai — The Chinese Question: This was my only 5 star nonfiction of the year! Ngai is probably better known for her book about undocumented immigrants in US history, but I read this one bc it was available at my library and it's excellent. It focuses on restrictions on Chinese immigration, both in the US and also South Africa and Australia, around the time of the Gold Rush. Ties into contemporary issues, both in terms of immigration (unsurprisingly) but also in terms of questions of diaspora and cultural identity.

Jhumpa Lahiri — Interpreter of Maladies: I should have read this years ago but I think I unconsciously avoid contemporary writers from bourgeois New England backgrounds bc that's literally me 😭😭😭 Pretty much the platonic idea of a story collection though. All the characters seem so fully realized, in such a small amount of time!

Thomas Mann — Death in Venice and Other Tales: Sometimes people talk about reading to see themselves reflected but Mann is a writer to read if you want to see yourself reflected in the most unflattering light possible 😭 Another writer I'd been putting off for way too long.

Isabella Hammad — Enter Ghost: As I said wrt Angela Carter, I can be wary of anything marketed as a retelling or too intertextual/meta bc I think they're often done poorly, but this is an exception! To be clear, it's not a retelling, but it's centered on a British Palestinian theatre actress who impulsively joins a Palestinian production of Hamlet while visiting her sister. Very intriguing examination of the protagonist trying to understand her own Palestinian identity while also negotiating how to present herself to her family + friends and the world and resists simple dichotomies.

[neointeractives]

Smoochie Jam!

A Valentine's Interactive Fiction Jam

For this Valentine's month, you can help make romance happen with a smooch!

The Smoochie Jam is a month-long unranked jam all about kisses, real or imagined, love and romance.  The name and concept of this jam were inspired the original SmoochieComp in 2001, hosted by Emily Short.

Games should be about romance, kissing, or the deliberate subversion thereof. Here is an optional list of story ideas and concepts:

♡ first kiss, last kiss ♡ kissing in the rain ♡ kiss of life (or kiss of death) ♡ sealed with a kiss ♡ kiss with a fist ♡ spaghetti kiss

Constraints and Rules:

Your Entry should relate to romance, love, kisses, or the deliberate subversion thereof.

The Jam is open to any program/medium, as long as the piece can be considered Interactive Fiction (i.e. the game is interactive, and its focus is on the text).

The Jam is open to any language.

You can submit up to 3 entries!

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[thealogie]

thea please hit us with your top 5 albums of all time ❤️

i shouldn't have said that because it implies i have a top 5. instead i truly have an unranked list of albums that are my "favorite" at various times.

Ok here's my maybe top 10 in no particular order:

-dirty computer. janelle monae.

-blood on the tracks. bob dylan.

-born to run. bruce springsteen.

-wasteland baby. hozier.

-this is all yours. alt j.

-trouble will find me. the national.

-channel orange. frank ocean.

-cowboy carter. beyonce.

-coming home. leon bridges.

-be the cowboy. mitski.

-folklore. taylor swift.

[yanyandere]

This feels like such a strange question to ask, but where do you read your yan Manga? I'm kinda new to reading Manga (as in I haven't done it in ages and everything I used to use has long since been obliterated) and I would really like to sink my teeth into some of the stuff you've posted!

not a strange question at all. i almost exclusively use batoto; it’s been the most consistent manga hosting site in the past few years. i read on mobile (iOS) with adblock and have never had an issue with obtrusive ads etc. if you have the means, please also consider supporting artists on places like dlsite, which lets you buy translated manga chapters.

feel free to check out my batoto lists (i update both regularly):

the red flags make him hotter (high-quality yanderes for the discerning trash enthusiast) - curated list of male yandere, ranked in order of quality

all the male yanderes - comprehensive, unranked list of male yandere i’ve found

as for discovering new yandere manga, i recommend following @maleyanderecafe and @ystrike1! they do really great reviews.

there’s a lot out there to discover, so enjoy!!!