Alice Bell
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abeewords.bsky.social
Alice Bell
@abeewords.bsky.social
4.9K followers 1.1K following 4.1K posts
📖 GRAVE EXPECTATIONS & DISPLEASURE ISLAND out now! THE GRAPPLES OF WRATH out Jan 2026
◦ good books ◦ murder ◦ swearing ◦
Recovering games journalist
#BWithTheT
Rep Stevie Finegan at Zeno
@totalplaytime.com
https://alicebellauthor.com/
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abeewords.bsky.social
Alice Bell @abeewords.bsky.social · 10d
HELLO! My name is Alice Bell. I used to write about games, and now I still do that but also write murder mysteries with ghosts and jokes. The latest is about solving a murder in a pro-wrestling gym and is out now!
uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The cover of my new book The Grapples Of Wrath. It shows a 2D graphic, block colour scene of a beach, with Brighton pier on the left side. A blue and white striped deckchair sits on yellow sand, under an orange sky. A lucha wrestling mask hangs from the deckchair, and appears to be dripping blood...
abeewords.bsky.social
Remember last year when there were all those articles like “won’t somebody PLEASE think of the poor male authors”?
January 29, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
boredoftheoldone.bsky.social
Rachel Reeves went to Oxford and the London School of Ecomonics at a time when her tuition fees where paid by.....?
2damntrans.bsky.social sasha @2damntrans.bsky.social · 6h
Rachel Reeves: "It is not right that people who don't go to university bear the cost for others to." I don't use local leisure centres and I don't drive, so will I be made exempt for taxation that pays for all that stuff? Or is it only education we'll be going after
January 29, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
philippaeast.bsky.social
The Council of Europe votes by 2/3 majority to accept the resolution banning conversion practices, brought by UK MP @kateosbornemp.bsky.social.
#SexMatters and #AthenaForum tried their best to derail this resolution, but failed.
Huge well done to everybody involved 🙌🙌🙌
January 29, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
carolynmichelle.bsky.social
Absolutely. There's so much pressure to not write criticism about games that embraces one's subjectivity & personal taste, especially when one's view skews negative. Tevis Thompson wrote an essential piece on this 12 years ago that's as relevant today as it was then tevisthompson.com/indie-critic...
Don’t Be So Negative The past few years I’ve received a lot of challenges to the kind of criticism that values independence, experimentation, and the personal. I want to discuss a few of the more common ones. I am sometimes told that the internet has enough negativity, so why contribute more? Life’s too short and all. I confess I do not understand this. There is a kind of relentless positivity among some people, a tyrannical form of enthusiasm. It’s present in many fandoms and everywhere online in the culture of recommendations and likes, in the endless marketing of our lives. And of course, you can find this overbearing positivity in the indie community as well, where no one wants to be a downer. But who does this positivity really benefit? I don’t see how it is possible to stay consistently positive without being dishonest. And encouraging dishonesty in others. My positive and negative evaluations are both the result of my engagement with a game. This is what a game or any creation wants – engagement. Our time and focus and attention. Being ignored is far worse than any honest negative review. Is life too short for negativity? No, life is too short for dishonesty. It’s too short to disrespect our own experiences. And relentless positivity is fundamentally disrespectful. And Watch Your Tone Those who accept negativity and don’t demand that criticism always be constructive still sometimes have one small request: just watch your tone. This tone-policing often comes from people who might agree with the criticisms but have genuine concerns about how to reach people who disagree. Don’t be too angry. Don’t be too aggressive or harsh. Be reasonable and rational and respectful. But just as demanding ‘constructive’ criticism assumes an audience of game developers, demanding the right tone assumes an audience of those who might take offense. A perceived majority who need to be handled with kid gloves. Changing hearts and minds is tricky business, and to those more diplomatic than myself, I wish them the best. But I wonder how independent a critic can be if she is constantly worrying about the delicate sensibilities of her readers. I wonder how she stays honest and true to her own experiences with games, especially those she dislikes. What does she do with a game that enrages or disgusts her? Politeness, fairness, and seeming reasonableness can be very effective tools of oppression, especially when demanded by those in power. Indie criticism is not about talking in dulcet tones to a privileged majority, keeping them safe and secure in their positions. If we want to change the terms of our discourse, we cannot constantly defer to the terms already in place. If I want to say, for instance, that I find The Stanley Parable nothing but a self-satisfied in-joke, just another form of clever insularity that celebrates the prison of games culture as much as it mocks it…well, shouldn’t I just say that? Instead of worrying about how many, many people, including some of you, might have liked the game?
January 29, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
number10cat.bsky.social
Let's hope this positive news gets as much attention as the people who try to convince us that the UK is a murder ravaged hellscape.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Homicides at lowest level in nearly 50 years, ONS statistics show
The 499 homicide cases in the year to September were the lowest in England and Wales since 1977.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 2:50 PM
abeewords.bsky.social
You’re banning kids from the internet but beaming psychosis-creating, suicide-coaching, wrong-60%-of-the-time autocomplete robots that cause cognitive atrophy directly at them
bphillipsonmp.bsky.social Bridget Phillipson MP @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social · 2d
We want to make sure tutoring isn't the preserve of a lucky few, but accessible to every child who needs it.

AI can help us do that.

Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
Poorest pupils to be given AI tutors
Bridget Phillipson says tuition would no longer be the preserve of ‘the lucky few’
www.telegraph.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 7:41 AM
abeewords.bsky.social
Saw a dog that’s like if dachshund hardware was running spaniel software and now I want one
Some kind of dachshund cross that looks like if a golden retriever or spaniel was dachshund shaped
January 28, 2026 at 11:16 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
fiveburger.bsky.social
just saw 4 ice agents go up to a house and knock and within 1 minute there were 30 people out whistling and they left. we will not take our foot off the gas
January 28, 2026 at 4:28 PM
abeewords.bsky.social
I have just had to put on some tights and I forgot wha a perfect sensory nightmare they are
January 28, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
3mipop.bsky.social
Kermit the frog sitting on a log surrounded by flowers Text: "what radicalised you?" empathy bro, literally just wanting people to be treated like human beings
January 25, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
ewacat.bsky.social
if they can offer free AI training they could offer free media literacy training too. i know which of those would do more for the public good
January 28, 2026 at 10:19 AM
abeewords.bsky.social
These are SO NICE
thesunxix.bsky.social The Sun, XIX |shop & comms open @thesunxix.bsky.social · 1d
Okay, 3 days left in January, 15 orders to reach my goal of 30. Can I make it? I don’t know but nothing will stop me from trying!
If you like my art please push some buttons so the artsy queers who are looking to bring some whimsy in their lives see it!

Shop: linktr.ee/thesunxix
#art #illustration
Picture of a blue teapot sticker, painted with white flower motifs. Photo of a hand holding a square art print on a backdrop of stationery and art supplies. The print features an illustration of an olive tree, focusing on its trunk and roots. In the nooks and crannies created by the green-grey tree bark are tiny doors, windows, and staircases, suggesting that this is a burrow for small critters. The earth is yellowish-red, weeds and grass sprout from it. In the background are some hills dotted with trees. The texture of the illustration is grainy, reminiscent of colored pencil. Around it there are more stickers, cards and stationery. Picture of a single very colorful fish stickers. On the background more fish stickers can be seen, different from the one being held in focus. Picture of the inside of a greeting card. On the left page is the text “to blank, congrats on top surgery”. The T is capitalized and decorated like a medieval typeface. The frame is dark and ornate with flowers and foliage, which extend all the way to the bottom of he page where an elegant dagger is portrayed. On the right page, there empty are lines left blank.
January 28, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
brendyc.bsky.social
These devs make games about climbing - I sent them up a mountain in Peak
www.jank.cool/three-game-d...
Three game devs climb a mountain
It's your turn to get over it, Foddy
www.jank.cool
January 28, 2026 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
mattsteinglass.bsky.social
Jew in Amsterdam here. Please use Anne Frank as a comparison point to explain how state persecution of scapegoats impacts children, that is the point of her example, thanks
January 28, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
higgins.games
The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout 'SAVE US!'...and I'll look down and whisper 'Reads more like a 9.’
January 28, 2026 at 9:51 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
pillowfort.bsky.social
who criticises the critics
January 28, 2026 at 9:39 AM
abeewords.bsky.social
Bro one time RPS did some previews of cyberpunk that were a bit negative and people did red string investigation videos to prove that we were getting paid by Disney to do it because of Tencent or something, and the writers couldn’t open their email inboxes without a hurricane of violent threats
January 28, 2026 at 9:36 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
mrbasilpesto.bsky.social
If we do start reviewing critics I hope we get individual scores for graphics, audio, playability and lastability.
January 28, 2026 at 8:39 AM
abeewords.bsky.social
This government has what I would describe as a god-mode majority in parliament. They could be nationalising the water companies. They could have brought in a robin hood tax. 1/5 people in this country are living in deprivation. And we get this cavalcade of soundbytes.
peterstefanovic.bsky.social Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 1d
BREAKING: Free AI training will be offered to every adult in the UK, with short courses to teach people how to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall tells #BBCBreakfast about the scheme
January 28, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
jedgarnaut.bsky.social
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 AM
Reposted by Alice Bell
geoffreybunting.bsky.social
Brain-fog-riddent #journorequest, but, for The Verge, I want to hear from gaming accessibility folks about where we are heading into 2026. What's going well, what's slowed down, what's to come? Is 2026 going to be a better year for accessibility? Hit me up in DMs or at the details in my bio.
January 27, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
hazelmonforton.com
A youtube thumbnail baby meme picture where a child points at potty stairs with the caption "NEW STRAT DISCOVERED??"
January 27, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Alice Bell
ethangach.bsky.social
We are hiring!

My advice to any applicants is to use the cover letter not to talk about the past but about what you will do in the future and how that will contribute to the site and serve our readers.
January 27, 2026 at 3:31 PM
abeewords.bsky.social
Another new games blog, but make it the messy UK kind! I support this, also because these stupid smelly boys said I can write for them
January 27, 2026 at 1:13 PM