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acceptance speech after setting the world record in goosebumps by Andrea Gibson

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Janice Sung

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Despite My Efforts Even My Prayers Have Turned into Threats

Holy father I can’t pretend I’m not afraid to see you again but I’ll say that when the time comes I believe my courage will expand like a sponge cowboy in water. My earth- father was far braver than me —  coming to America he knew no English save Rolling Stones lyrics and how to say thanks God. Will his goodness roll over to my tab and if yes, how soon? I’m sorry for neglecting your myriad signs, which seem obvious now as a hawk’s head on an empty plate. I keep waking up at the bottom of swimming pools, the water reflecting whatever I miss most: whiskey- glass, pill bottles, my mother’s oleander, which was sweet and evergreen but toxic in all its parts. I know it was silly to keep what I kept from you; you’ve always been so charmed by my weaknesses. I just figured you were becoming fed up with all your making, like a virtuoso trying not to smash apart her flute onstage. Plus, my sins were practically devotional: two peaches stolen from a bodega, which were so sweet I savored even the bits I flossed out my teeth. I know it’s no excuse, but even thinking about them now I’m drooling. Consider the night I spent reading another man’s lover the Dream Songs in bed — we made it to “a green living / drops limply” before we were tangled into each other, cat still sleeping at our feet. Allow me these treasures, Lord. Time will break what doesn’t bend — even time. Even you.

Kaveh Akbar Pilgrim Bell, 2021

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Announcing Mandrake

You are the last of the Mandrakes, a sorcerous line of gardeners. At long last, you’ve returned to your family’s abandoned home. Make friends, tend your gardens, and put down roots. Fish, gather and delve in the wilds. Make a place for yourself, and uncover the mysteries your family left behind.

The Lost Arts of Horticulture

Horticulture is a cursed and forbidden practice… except to you. You come from a long line of sorcerers who practiced the green and growing arts, and you’re able to grow such marvels as: runner beans! Cherry trees! The humble turnip!

And as your skills grow, you’ll be able to plant stranger seeds, like thunder-calling taran, or rhewyn, which waters your gardens for you. Perhaps you’ll even grow a goose-tree! (Where did you think geese came from? Other geese? Preposterous.)

Place beds, decorations and resting spots. Find, plant, nurture, grow and harvest plants both mundane and magical, and gradually expand your gardens into the tangled grounds of your family’s abandoned castle.

A World to Inhabit

Discover a beguiling new world inspired by British history and folklore. A world of old, wild powers, of uncanny spirits that reside in those places mortals dare not go; of deep histories, and deeper mysteries.

You won’t just work in your gardens. Forage for resources in the nearby woods and along the beach. Go fishing (but take care not to be cursed by the river). Delve into dangerous mines in search of bright minerals and stolen secrets.

Breathe life into the Mandrake lodge with your choice of furnishings and renovations; acquire old books, and spend the evenings reading in the candlelit comfort of your study. Learn to cook. Meet your neighbours, become entangled in their lives, give them gifts and learn their stories.

Fireside Menace

Long ago, the world changed. The Covenant of the Hearth decreed that the day belonged to humanity, but the night… the night belonged to other things. Now, all earthly lights save hearthfires go out when the sun sets, and the Mara ride the night-winds. Don’t go out after dark – the night is not for you. 

For now. (After all, what self-respecting sorcerer follows the rules?)

Human, Humble Magic

Magic in Mandrake isn’t about flashy fireballs and shimmering shields, but about folkloric ingenuity, whimsy and patience. Grow a cherry tree from seedling to maturity in seven days rather than seven years, then fashion your sorcerer’s staff from its wood. Befriend a river. Eavesdrop on the dead. Spend a haunted night at the Butcher’s Oak. Drink tea with the god who lives in your chimney. 

A Host of Lavishly-Realised Characters

Welcome to the village of Chandley. It’s small, it’s complicated, and everyone’s got their own story. 

Meet Rosen – bee-keeper, candlemaker, rook-speaker – the even-handed village leader charged with steering this troublesome community of eccentrics. Or Gideon, the sombre hunter who makes pacts with the wild powers of the woods. Befriend Nessa, the village smith, whose kindness conceals the scars of an old tragedy; and Thackery, the effusive Voicer, who keeps technology that no-one – least of all he – fully understands. Visit the lighthouse, where Jory and Ruan Vicory live with young Tamsyn: the girl they saved from the sea, and who still hears voices calling to her from beneath the waves…

Chandley may be small, but it’s old, thick with secrets, and set in its ways. Is it ready for the return of a Mandrake?

Beyond the firelight

Encounter the spirits, gods and bogles that live alongside the people of Chandley: the smiling revenant imprisoned in a tree, who claims he knows you (even though he’s hundreds of years dead). Lonely, long-armed Granny Jakes in her hidden orchard, who offers you a sip of a drink that the world has forgotten how to make. The Regent of the Woods, bearer of a white crown. The shy thing that whistles an old tune in the depths of a mine no-one has worked in decades. Hroame, who is sometimes stone and sometimes not.

Come along with us

If you’d like to hear from us when we release Mandrake or upload a demo, please consider wishlisting the game on Steam.

Because Mandrake is complex and has some very unusual features, we’ll be seeking ongoing feedback from players. At first, that will be through playtests on Steam, and later we’ll be releasing Mandrake in Early Access.

If you’d like to hear about playtests or just learn more about the game, you can follow us here or sign up for our monthly newsletter, which covers music, internet ephemera, art and film recommendations, strange historical anecdotes, pigeons, various mines/caves/catacombs, and sometimes also updates on our games.

About Failbetter Games

Should you see this and not know us! Founded in 2009, we’re an indie game studio known for quality storytelling and highly atmospheric art. You might know us from our other games: Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies and Mask of the Rose, which are set in the world of our long-running browser game Fallen London. In a break from studio tradition, this is a game where you can’t eat people.

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The fact that we've saved as many people as we have is a fucking miracle.

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Hey friends! I go by the name Holden now!

It's been a while since I've posted anything personal on here but I've been trying to start a new side hustle as a wedding celebrant with my business called Giddy & Gay Ceremonies. I'm based in London but happy to travel all over the UK (and also internationally tbh if anyone is doing a destination wedding 👀), and I craft and lead completely bespoke wedding/elopement ceremonies that are inclusive, joyful, and authentically romantic. Your love story is woven into the ceremony, so basically if you've ever read any of my fanfic and wished that I could tell your love story, this is your chance!

I'm especially keen to work with LGBTQ+ folk to create safe and affirming ceremony experiences for them. In fact, on the first weekend of August, I've teamed up with a really wonderful wedding photographer - Kim Williams Weddings - to offer free gender-affirming vow renewal ceremonies in Brighton and London for trans/nb/gnc folk who have transitioned/started presenting differently since they got married. There are still slots available so if you're in this situation, PLEASE get in touch! And if you know anybody who might be interested, please tell them about this opportunity!

And if you're engaged and looking at this post like "ooooh a personalised ceremony sounds intriguing" - I'm offering 20% off all ceremony bookings this month (June 2025), so if you get in touch either via DMs or on my website (and tell me you came through tumblr), you'll get your discount if you secure your date (i.e. pay your deposit) by 30th June!

You can find out lots more on my website! Or follow me on my celebrant Instagram!

Please tell all your friends and loved ones I would be so grateful <3

Photo credits, in order:

Ione Films and Photos

Alt Wedding Co

Joy Louise Photography

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hair-down-after-work crew

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Best Cinematography: Sinners (2025) — cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw

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SINNERS (2025) dir. Ryan Coogler

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Did you ever get stage fright?

HACKS 4.04 – I Love LA

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HAILEE STEINFELD as MARY

Sinners (2025) dir. Ryan Coogler

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HACKS 4.07

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“The bird in Charlie’s Angels is, I believe, the wrongest bird in the history of cinema — and one of the weirdest and most inexplicable flubs in any movie I can remember. It is elaborately, even ornately wrong.” (I was slack-jawed by the end of this.)

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Spring series all together! I don't normally use pastel colors, or draw spring-themed works, and I really enjoyed it.

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The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

🎬 Anthony Minghella

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Heaven by Hua Xi

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SEVERANCE 2.07 – Chikhai Bardo