"You're so lucky, you've done so many things." I've tried. "I'd love to be an author, but I've never written anything." Try. "I'd love to spend a year or two overseas." Try! "You worked in TV? That's so lucky." I tried! I tried really hard! I went to film school for years. My first on-set job was watering background extras. I've done a lot, yes, but I've also tried a lot, and failed a lot too.

I could paper a wall with my fuck ups, and that's okay.

I think some people are so afraid of leaving the spawn point they never play the game.

Come in! The water's fine! Mostly! Okay, I admit, there are dangers, but also, you won't learn how to fight off a shark until a shark attacks. (Is this metaphor working? I don't know, it doesn't matter, I'm not hitting backspace for no one, it's locked in now).

When you try you sometimes fail, but is that really the worst thing? There are plenty of things in life I have tried and failed at. I understand safety nets, taking the time to make sure you'll be okay in case you fumble something is smart, but eventually you do need to try.

Also, being real, some things (like writing) aren't all that dangerous. Sure, it hurts when something you've poured your heart and soul into flops... but some pain is actually just what life is. You have to stagger out there to find your voice, your people, and it will be awkward and weird, but it's okay.

It's okay.

Please.

Don't give up.

I believe in you.

⸺ on soulmates and suffering.

Word count: 113K

Grow up in a picturesque boarding school

Befriend or romance your childhood bestie

Go to a Hollywood Party

Engage in acts not-so-appropriate

Choose between being a rebel and being a rule-follower

Meet 3 out of 5 ROs

Have a complicated relationship with your mother

Decide why you want to be famous

Play | Spotify

This game is intended for a mature audience.

The meters for the ROs do not function the same as Evelyn’s. There is no good vs bad, it’s simply how many flirt options you’ve chosen. Some flirt options score better than others. For example, some ROs prefer a flirty, more forward MC, while some prefer a slow, friendly approach. There will also be extra flavor text when you “score” higher with an RO.

Flirting with everyone in these early chapters is fine; feel free to explore all options. However, once feelings come into play and flirt options include physical intimacy, your actions may have consequences. Some ROs may not appreciate an MC who goes around kissing everyone. 🫢

Leonora is a UI template for use with the Sugarcube story format in Twine.

Inspired by an imaginary cathedral by the sea and the distorted, sacred devotions of a woman who was once a girl there.

Did this template need three stories for its demo? No, but here they are anyway: there's flash fiction, a petite novelette, and a branching interactive adventure to show off everything Leonora can do. All lovingly written, coded, and styled by hand.

Features:

Mannerism-inspired design

3 built-in themes (dark, light, sepia)

Customisable title screen

Matching settings & save menus

Optional built-in Character Profile

Annotated passage guide, CSS stylesheet, and Story Javascript for easy customisation

Customisation guide included with template

Responsive design for desktop, tablets, and mobile devices

Includes both portrait and landscape styling for small screens

Download + play the demo on itch:

Microsoft Office, like many companies in recent months, has slyly turned on an “opt-out” feature that scrapes your Word and Excel documents to train its internal AI systems. This setting is turned on by default, and you have to manually uncheck a box in order to opt out.

If you are a writer who uses MS Word to write any proprietary content (blog posts, novels, or any work you intend to protect with copyright and/or sell), you’re going to want to turn this feature off immediately.How to Turn off Word’s AI Access To Your Content

I won’t beat around the bush. Microsoft Office doesn’t make it easy to opt out of this new AI privacy agreement, as the feature is hidden through a series of popup menus in your settings:On a Windows computer, follow these steps to turn off “Connected Experiences”:

If you do not absolutely need Word (for work or school or a functionality that exists literally nowhere else), just stop using it.

For a 1:1 Word replacement, I'd always recommend LibreOffice. There's also a version of OpenOffice still around, though it updates at a slower pace.

If you're a fiction writer and would like to switch to a dedicated novel writing software, the free options tend to be a bit limited. However, there is SmartEdit Writer, which looks a lit like a slimmed-down Scrivener (which is pretty much the writing app, but has a one-time cost).