#32: End of October Round-up
Last newsletter for this month, with some thoughts, some art and some news.
Hello dear readers,
We are nearing the end of a very eventful October - that’s putting it lightly.
While I haven’t necessarily felt conflicted, I will say my emotional state has been oscillating quite violently between joy in my accomplishments, and despair and anger regarding the current state of the world, intermingled with some tentative hope. I’ll do my best to elaborate on all that in this post, as well as share some art and news about my projects.
Freedom for all, or none are free
That’s a creed that I often repeat to myself, perhaps far more often over the past few years. Since turning 18 I’ve identified as various things: a communist, a socialist, an anarchist. Nowadays, I prefer not to assign one or other single label to myself, but rather affirm what I believe in: that being total liberation.
I want us all to work towards a world where every living, thinking and feeling being (human and non-human) is free from oppression, exploitation and violence. I think that this belief has that intersectionality that so many social justice movements struggle with, kind of baked into it.
Total liberation is a big objective, perhaps the biggest, and it will take all of us working together to achieve it. That can only happen if we recognise the interconnected nature of oppression: the fight for freedom is happening on a multitude of different fronts, but we must not lose sight of the fact that is still one fight. I feel that believing in total liberation avoids falling into traps of comparison: do you care more about animal liberation or disability justice? Decolonisation or LGBTQ rights? It is possible to care about all of them, while recognising that individual energy and reach is limited. These various causes can become coordinated efforts, as soon as we affirm that none can be truly free until all are free. Otherwise it’s not really total liberation.
I’ve been thinking a lot about all this lately, as the violence towards the Palestinian people in both the Gaza strip and the West Bank continues to escalate, at the hands of the Isreali government, which seems all too happy to add to its seemingly never ending list of war crimes. Learning that most western powers either abstained from or downright opposed a recently proposed humanitarian truce in Gaza, makes me all the more convinced that the push for liberation must and will come from people, not governments.
I mentioned some tentative hope earlier: that is because I am seeing the cry for Palestinian liberation coming more and more frequently and loudly from the people. Citizens protesting and taking action across the globe, even in those western countries whose governments are happy to continue supporting the Israeli government in its genocidal efforts. It is clear that those who want to see a free and independent Palestine are the majority, and this does give me some hope.
If you can safely attend a demonstration in your area, I encourage you to do so. I implore you to keep looking for Palestinian voices and their accounts of what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, and spread them.
Moonlight Moosic
Onto to some more art now. The other morning I was lying in bed, having woken up far too early, and listening to the song “Shepherd Moons” by Enya.
A scene popped into my head, possibly as a lucid dream, that I decided I had to draw as soon as I could. I saw a pastoral night-time scene, set on heathered hills covered in tall grass and bushes. It felt like something out of an ancient Greek myth. A farm boy catches sight of a young minotaur girl, and stops to listen to her enchanting voice, as she sings under the light of the stars. Here is the scene.
It has been a fair amount of time since I drew such a large, environment-heavy scene like this, and not just character art against a featureless background. It was fun to work on and hopefully I’ll feel inspired to do something similar again.
Stravagante third itch-funding goal reached!
I’m incredibly pleased and touched that so many have purchased a copy of Stravagante, meaning that the third itch-funding goal has been reached.
I have continued work on the Stravagante bestiary, and should have it ready for publication soon. In case you missed it, here is a video I published last weekend (before the goal was reached), showing what I have made so far.
I’ve also resumed work on my Italian translation of the game, as well as started writing down ideas for another game modelled on Stravagante.
It would recycle a cyber/solarpunk game concept I was working on earlier this year. Stay tuned for more news about that.
Some cool links and media to share
Animation Obsessive’s latest newsletter talks about a favourite of mine: the Creature Comforts stop-motion shorts by Aardman Animations.
The Soloist shares a collection of cozy GM-less games, perfect for the autumnal season.
Geek Gamers did a video review of Cezar Capacle’s game Nexalis, which features my open license fantasy adventurer character art.
That’s all for this month!
As always, thank you so much for reading. One last reminder that if you feel like supporting my work, you can buy something from my website or itchio, join my Patreon, or commission me!
Until next time,
- Penflower