I realized today it’s been 5 years since I started freelance writing! Here are my 5 current favorite pieces I’ve written to celebrate. One, my retrospective on Pyre from when I wrote at Paste Games (now endless mode)

ARE YOU READY NON-KIDS? Prob not bc I dont think Ive talked about it here, but I've been making video versions of my Impressions articles on Exalclaw! The latest one is for Titans of the Tide and is a great one to check out since voice acting is a big reason I liked the demo: youtu.be/1bPa7w77k1o

Please send tips I need to refill my HRT and get foods and groceries

If you want to start a newsletter and don't want to use Substack because they currently platform/sponsor Nazis: consider using the free and open-sourced alternative that has been around for over a decade. I'll personally walk you through it.

Playing games is fun bc half the time it’s saying things to yourself like “I need to go talk to Crimson Acid asap, Starlight needs an upgrade NOW” and acting like that’s normal

hello game dev community, i am looking to interview a few people who have been in the industry for 5+ years and are comfortable in the role they chose for themself in their career. i want to hear from everyone, producers, engineers, narrative, community managers, etc. !!!

My latest essay for @endlessmode.bsky.social: I wrote about the games technology of the past that incentivized being in community with one another, and how those tools could prove useful in our current political moment. www.endlessmode.com/article/i-mi...

ICYMI: 🥚-> 🐣 (me and the game fr)

We’re so close ;3; ko-fi.com/acvalens/goa...

ARE YOU READY NON-KIDS? Prob not bc I dont think Ive talked about it here, but I've been making video versions of my Impressions articles on Exalclaw! The latest one is for Titans of the Tide and is a great one to check out since voice acting is a big reason I liked the demo: youtu.be/1bPa7w77k1o

For our first November article, @lucafisher.bsky.social wrote a personal essay about @sunsetvisitor.studio's 1000xResist, his mother, cycles of abuse and domestic violence, and letting go of emotional baggage.

my latest is out for skybox!!! 💜 the casting of teruyuki kagawa in yakuza kiwami 3 is not only disgusting in itself, but also ridiculous in its hypocrisy considering rgg's past recasts and the series. i feel, and write, very strongly about it please read, i think this is some of my best work 💜

ICYMI: 🥚-> 🐣 (me and the game fr)

It's a beautiful day to support independent criticism Consider throwing Stop Caring a couple of bucks so I can keep paying guest writers

Having played the Dropshot demo I will echo this, don’t sleep on it!

accessing gender affirming care in the UK

"Rockstar, Rockstar, you're disgusting, we charge you with union busting," the protesters declared.

So not only is Square Enix going to try to replace 70% of its QA with AI, it's also apparently laying off at least 100 people (possibly significantly more) as it continues to consolidate its operations further and further: www.ign.com/articles/squ...

Small thing that sucks about have life-threatening food allergies your entire life is that when you’re eating smth like vegan cheese that you know is okay, you reeeeeally gotta train your brain to chill tf out. It rings every alarm bell bc vegan cheese still looks like regular cheese

@pfrazee.com can we please address the safety concerns with this automod? this is putting people like me in danger. (i am tagging you because your team refuses to use official channels to announce rollouts and policy changes. this is a change that was announced by you.)

I'm one of the four fired employees. I was a writer & producer at Bon Appétit for nearly five years, during which I helped organize our union and sat on our bargaining committee. I am, to my knowledge, the only trans woman in our union and the only trans woman on editorial who doesn't work at Them

The language in the unsigned opinion will be utilized to try and overturn existing cases and bolster increasing bans on gender marker changes. Incorrect gender markers on ID's can out trans people and subject them to harassment, abuse, and even severe violence. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

if we talking about the game awards can we talk about their silly games for impact category aka the diversity award. its so silly they will put queer games and games with poc leads (all indie btw) in that category but never nominate them in anything else

EXCLUSIVE on @gamedeveloper.bsky.social: not only has The Game Awards not nominated a Future Class for 2025, it's told alumni it "does not have any active programming plans" for the award. The Future Class page was taken down sometime this year—eliminating a definitive archive of honorees.

New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.

ATTENTION TO ALL MY PRESS AND STREAMING FRIENDS: As we lead in to the release of Demonschool, now is the time to get me on your podcast to talk about things, do interviews, etc. I can talk about things other than my game, but also hopefully my game. Hit me up if you want conversations like the below

this is a big deal! i spoke to two lawyers about it. (thanks @haleyfax.bsky.social!!!!!)

It's the morning, ykw that means! It's time for a new Exalclaw post about Egg and the act of hatching in a game that feels like its namesake (yes, eggs were broken in the production of this piece): exalclaw.com/2025/11/06/t...

It's the morning, ykw that means! It's time for a new Exalclaw post about Egg and the act of hatching in a game that feels like its namesake (yes, eggs were broken in the production of this piece): exalclaw.com/2025/11/06/t...

If you aren't seeing skeets from some of your fave people, they might have been labeled "Rude" by bsky mods. Idk what they are thinking, I don't need a mommy to tell me who to be buddies with. Anyway, go into Settings > moderation > bluesky moderation (advanced) and turn Rude off.

In another world, Battle Suit Aces is a dating sim where Im married to most of Patchworks and half of the Typhoons. Alas, in this one it’s only a really good card game and space opera 😔

This being said, I'm at the stage where I'm just cold emailing old coworkers and random local ad agencies that aren't even hiring, so if you are in need of any of the many things I have learned how to do over the years, holler at ya boi.

Need some help with groceries and expenses after the hurricane. www.paypal.com/paypalme/KiA... Anything you can spare.

Danny Brown has such a cool approach to music, kind of mindset that keeps him youthful as he gets older in a way that feels like growth rather than clawing for relevancy

November, so another thread of freelance and full-time tech, gaming and culture job opportunities! Shares appreciated as always 💛

ICYMI heroes and beat em ups rule, wrote about why they rule even harder together

I am no longer employed so I'm not blogging Zohran tonight but I can just repeat exactly what I said in June :-) he won on the back of a pro-migrant, pro-trans, pro-working class campaign. and also: Dem pundits are full of shit

FD Signifier cooking so well in this Sinners video that I want to re-watch Creed now

For the past decade, I've been slowly cooking a small and humble book. Part (alternative) history, part analysis, and part social critique, this is a look at what games also are and have always been. ZEN AND SLOW GAMES Out 20/1/2026 by MIT Press mitpress.mit.edu/978026255356...

I hope people have been taking note of who decided to go full tilt racist and Islamophobe over the last few months and will hold them accountable for that shit.

mamdani is human. he'll fuck up and fail, especially with a hostile press and the giant mess that is nyc's politics. but today is a great day for the brave women who told what cuomo did, and for those of us who care that it should matter. that power shouldn't go to those who hurt the poweless.

Lterally cannot overstate how much this win matters to my Muslim family and friends, over the moon for them especially rn

A 34-year state democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens, Mamdani became the city’s first ever Muslim mayor—and the first immigrant mayor in half a century.

Socialist NYC mayor is such a tremendously good vibe shift and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise

My tri-state area group chat going wild rn, it’s a good night y’all

If we had lost Virginia, there was a very real chance that we’d be losing abortion access in the state, which would be a disaster especially for us in DC, which couldn’t possibly absorb all those patients. Watching with my abortion fund board member hat on, these results are a tremendous relief.