Now Playing: October 2024
Our October 2024 edition of Now Playing features a video game world to dive into, a tabletop game to share with friends, a portrayal of women’s relationships, and a song to cry along to, all from our contributors!
Séamus Isaac Fey
I just finished Zelda, Breath of the Wild, one day before going back on the road for my book tour. Zelda is the perfect amount of open world for me, just enough to appease my Saggitarius rising adventurous spirit, but contained enough to finish the side quests and appease my Virgo moon completionist needs. I don't mean to be dramatic, but this game changed my brain chemistry and made me a more intelligent and capable person. Alternating between the mental puzzles in the shrines, the excitement of finding new worlds and the divine beasts, and of course, sword fighting. Ugh, I loved it. I wanted to jump right into Tears of the Kingdom, but alas, I didn't bring my switch on the road because I have deadlines and need to attend back to my reading and writing with the same fervent energy I was using to defend Hyrule.
brandon brown
Since the start of August, I have watched all of The Sopranos for the first time (absolutely rules), all of Steven Universe (delightful + melancholy), and read a few of Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea books (low key + moving + strange) and Junji Ito’s Tomie (surprisingly fun) and Uzumaki (horrifying). But you know what I want to do next? I want to play The Ground Itself, a worldbuilding tabletop roleplaying game by Everest Pipkin. It wouldn’t be my first time, but that’s because I have this kind of energy most days. Games like Pipkin’s provide spectacular frameworks for imagining something else—grounded, fantastic, nuanced, melancholy, grim, joyful, quirky, all of that, all at once. Every time I sit down with The Ground Itself, my fellow players and I dream up something new and strange. The best thing? You don’t have to do it alone. It’s a delicious way to live and play, imo.
Leah Korican
I have been watching "L'Amica Geniale," based on Elena Ferrante's Neopolitan Novels. I am drawn to the feral intensity of the women's relationships. They love and destroy each other with equal passion. Trapped in patriarchy, they lash out at each other, and yet, even when wounded, they turn to each other again and again for comfort and support.
Kayla Lightner
Recently, a song that I've had on repeat is "Think I'm in Love With You" by Chris Stapelton. It's this soulful R&B-ish song that I was completely surprised how much I love considering that Stapelton is most known for working in the country genre––though I will die on the hill that country and R&B are two sides of the same coin! But then I watched the music video, and it adds a whole other emotional layer to the song. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it (but go watch it!) Not ashamed to admit it made me cry.