Sismrnoth
@sismrnoth.bsky.social
Video games, art, books, linguistics, etc. Working on PhD in genre studies.
She/her 🇿🇦 🇫🇷
She/her 🇿🇦 🇫🇷
Pinned
Sismrnoth
@sismrnoth.bsky.social
· Aug 14
My current folly is this oil painting copy of the Revachol key art from Disco Elysium, originally by @rostovjanka.bsky.social
Reposted by Sismrnoth
November 13, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Sismrnoth
I’m bored… maybe I’ll go destroy a planet
November 13, 2025 at 1:12 PM
I’m bored… maybe I’ll go destroy a planet
Reposted by Sismrnoth
I wasn't actually going for Subaru in it's natural environment pic, but if I say the name Richard Attenborough, you'll read the next line in your head in his voice.
Here's Paul's Subaru XV parked up with an Aurora Australis dazzling in the night sky of the rugged South Otago Coast of New Zealand
Here's Paul's Subaru XV parked up with an Aurora Australis dazzling in the night sky of the rugged South Otago Coast of New Zealand
November 13, 2025 at 10:48 AM
I wasn't actually going for Subaru in it's natural environment pic, but if I say the name Richard Attenborough, you'll read the next line in your head in his voice.
Here's Paul's Subaru XV parked up with an Aurora Australis dazzling in the night sky of the rugged South Otago Coast of New Zealand
Here's Paul's Subaru XV parked up with an Aurora Australis dazzling in the night sky of the rugged South Otago Coast of New Zealand
Reposted by Sismrnoth
They told me I was daft to build a church here but I did it anyway! It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third church. That burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up!
November 13, 2025 at 11:05 AM
They told me I was daft to build a church here but I did it anyway! It sank into the swamp. So I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So I built a third church. That burned down, fell over, and then sank into the swamp. But the fourth one stayed up!
Reposted by Sismrnoth
— cmm: Tank
for @clevergamername.bsky.social
for @clevergamername.bsky.social
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
— cmm: Tank
for @clevergamername.bsky.social
for @clevergamername.bsky.social
Reposted by Sismrnoth
Still rueing the day, eh? Me and m'boys are rueing entire weeks.
November 13, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Still rueing the day, eh? Me and m'boys are rueing entire weeks.
WIP WIP wipp
Nearly done
Nearly done
November 13, 2025 at 11:27 AM
WIP WIP wipp
Nearly done
Nearly done
Reposted by Sismrnoth
Again, to every videogame writer who wrote funny emails to read in an immersive sim/etc. where I rolled my eyes and said out loud, "lol like anyone would ever email something this on the nose", again, sorry, I was wrong, life sucks, you nailed it
November 12, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Again, to every videogame writer who wrote funny emails to read in an immersive sim/etc. where I rolled my eyes and said out loud, "lol like anyone would ever email something this on the nose", again, sorry, I was wrong, life sucks, you nailed it
Reposted by Sismrnoth
appreciate this article breaking down a taxonomy of knowledge games (also, unfortunately, known as metroidbrainias)
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
Against 'Metroidbrania': a Landscape of Knowledge Games
What are knowledge games? How do we relate them to each other? What sub-genres exist – and which ones might be implied?
azhdarchid.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:17 AM
appreciate this article breaking down a taxonomy of knowledge games (also, unfortunately, known as metroidbrainias)
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
Reposted by Sismrnoth
⭐🌟 searching by starlight 🌟⭐
November 12, 2025 at 7:49 PM
⭐🌟 searching by starlight 🌟⭐
Reposted by Sismrnoth
there's a priest who's job, twice a day, is to lift a floor stone in the nave and check the water level with a Holy Dipstick and communicate if the sluice needs adjusting
again, i am not exaggerating
again, i am not exaggerating
November 12, 2025 at 12:57 PM
there's a priest who's job, twice a day, is to lift a floor stone in the nave and check the water level with a Holy Dipstick and communicate if the sluice needs adjusting
again, i am not exaggerating
again, i am not exaggerating
Reposted by Sismrnoth
i fully agree with this theory and in my actual field, british architectural history, The Problem is that Salisbury Cathedral is built on top of a lake and no i am not exaggerating
between this and the FSO Safer (another ship at serious risk of exploding) I’m convinced every field has its “yeah, this is the problem that keeps me up at night” and I’m on a quest to learn about all of them
yes yes we all know about the Edmund Fitzgerald, rest her soul, but did you know about the ship laden with explosives that sank in the mouth of the Thames in 1944 and could explode at any minute and which attempts to disarm keep failing
November 12, 2025 at 12:53 PM
i fully agree with this theory and in my actual field, british architectural history, The Problem is that Salisbury Cathedral is built on top of a lake and no i am not exaggerating
People have mentioned many US and UK books, and I've loved them. But also, some life-changing Southern African masterpieces:
Nervous Conditions
The House of Hunger
The Quiet Violence of Dreams
David's Story
Welcome to Our Hillbrow
Nervous Conditions
The House of Hunger
The Quiet Violence of Dreams
David's Story
Welcome to Our Hillbrow
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 8:59 AM
People have mentioned many US and UK books, and I've loved them. But also, some life-changing Southern African masterpieces:
Nervous Conditions
The House of Hunger
The Quiet Violence of Dreams
David's Story
Welcome to Our Hillbrow
Nervous Conditions
The House of Hunger
The Quiet Violence of Dreams
David's Story
Welcome to Our Hillbrow
I realise that reading Eco's The Name of the Rose as a teen explains a lot of why I am Like This.
Eco was voracious for knowledge and making connections. He shared the thrill and the danger of ideas and how they touch the world, but also the way mystery always persists and entices us.
Eco was voracious for knowledge and making connections. He shared the thrill and the danger of ideas and how they touch the world, but also the way mystery always persists and entices us.
Quite a few books have changed me, but the one that comes to mind today is China Miéville's The Scar, which as a young person sent me down a feminist rabbithole after my first reaction was: "this protagonist isn't very nice 😐"
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 8:49 AM
I realise that reading Eco's The Name of the Rose as a teen explains a lot of why I am Like This.
Eco was voracious for knowledge and making connections. He shared the thrill and the danger of ideas and how they touch the world, but also the way mystery always persists and entices us.
Eco was voracious for knowledge and making connections. He shared the thrill and the danger of ideas and how they touch the world, but also the way mystery always persists and entices us.
Reposted by Sismrnoth
The Magus, by John Fowles. That it was assigned by my 80+ English teacher blew my mind.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 5:23 AM
The Magus, by John Fowles. That it was assigned by my 80+ English teacher blew my mind.
Reposted by Sismrnoth
The New York Trilogy. The fact that someone so smart could love so much such stock stories and characters but then also completely upend the genre really messed with my early 20s pretentiousness against genre writing
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 5:27 AM
The New York Trilogy. The fact that someone so smart could love so much such stock stories and characters but then also completely upend the genre really messed with my early 20s pretentiousness against genre writing
Reposted by Sismrnoth
I didn't comprehend how viscerally a book can hit you until NK Jemisin's THE FIFTH SEASON hit me like a cinderblock to the brain stem.
Holy shit let me count the ways (above and beyond Jemisin's incredible prose) ...
Holy shit let me count the ways (above and beyond Jemisin's incredible prose) ...
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 5:53 AM
I didn't comprehend how viscerally a book can hit you until NK Jemisin's THE FIFTH SEASON hit me like a cinderblock to the brain stem.
Holy shit let me count the ways (above and beyond Jemisin's incredible prose) ...
Holy shit let me count the ways (above and beyond Jemisin's incredible prose) ...
Reposted by Sismrnoth
I genuinely shook with excitement while reading the first page of “If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino because I had no idea what I was getting into and I didn’t know books were allowed to do that.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 5:56 AM
I genuinely shook with excitement while reading the first page of “If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino because I had no idea what I was getting into and I didn’t know books were allowed to do that.
Reposted by Sismrnoth
Too many books to name, but today I introduced one of my colleagues to Libby. They assumed the library wouldn't have the niche book they wanted and was stunned to find the book on the app. It was like seeing a kid visit the library for the first time and be told they could take whatever they wanted.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Too many books to name, but today I introduced one of my colleagues to Libby. They assumed the library wouldn't have the niche book they wanted and was stunned to find the book on the app. It was like seeing a kid visit the library for the first time and be told they could take whatever they wanted.
All of Le Guin, actually. I read Earthsea as a teen, and it was wonderful, but those Hainish books!? For me she was mind-opening, and so empathetic and actually wise?
The Left Hand of Darkness! Holy shit, what a book.
The Left Hand of Darkness led me to reevaluate my approach to art and literature. The way Ai is changed by being sent solo on a mission to the other, i felt reflected the way one is changed when engaging with a good book, all alone.
November 12, 2025 at 8:39 AM
All of Le Guin, actually. I read Earthsea as a teen, and it was wonderful, but those Hainish books!? For me she was mind-opening, and so empathetic and actually wise?
The Left Hand of Darkness! Holy shit, what a book.
The Left Hand of Darkness led me to reevaluate my approach to art and literature. The way Ai is changed by being sent solo on a mission to the other, i felt reflected the way one is changed when engaging with a good book, all alone.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 8:34 AM
The Left Hand of Darkness! Holy shit, what a book.
Reposted by Sismrnoth
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Seeing how a writer can weave the horrifying into the mundane, and understanding that many people are scared of teenage girls' latent power and sexuality was potent for my adolescent self.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 7:34 AM
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy. Seeing how a writer can weave the horrifying into the mundane, and understanding that many people are scared of teenage girls' latent power and sexuality was potent for my adolescent self.
Slaughterhouse-Five and Virginia Woolf! Life-changing. They both felt like they were speaking directly to me, even though they are both so different
The two that come to mind are "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Mrs. Galloway." Vonnegut was like "Oh. Everything is different now." And when I was reading Woolf, I'd been reading a ton of postmodern Irish plays about duality and yeah, I just was so taken by Clarissa and Septimus.
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Slaughterhouse-Five and Virginia Woolf! Life-changing. They both felt like they were speaking directly to me, even though they are both so different
Yes! I was transformed by reading Borges as a teen, and even today. Your favourite author's favourite author, and the most imaginative writer I know
My still-cooking teen brain was recalibrated by a combination of Moore's WATCHMEN and Jorge Luis Borjes' The Labyrinth (specifically Pierre Menard, Author of The Quixote).
performative reading, lack of reading skills, nobody's reading anymore -- NO!
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
tell me about a book that changed you
for me? the *extremely* ahistorical novel, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY which I read at 13 and was like, "Oh, art can be *everything* to a maker, for good and bad"
November 12, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Yes! I was transformed by reading Borges as a teen, and even today. Your favourite author's favourite author, and the most imaginative writer I know
Growing up, everyone just used to laugh at how long Russian novels were, but when I read Crime and Punishment, it was an amazing book
For me it was this one classic Russian novel where the protagonist is supposed to be a villain but I kinda identify with him 'cause killing landlords is based lol
November 12, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Growing up, everyone just used to laugh at how long Russian novels were, but when I read Crime and Punishment, it was an amazing book