WELCOME TO THE TERRORDROME. It is lovely to have you.

TERRORDROME DISPATCHES are sent out once a month, and are a great way to keep up with my rollicking nightmares.

(I’m also on Bluesky as @cyborgurl.)

—

ANNA ANTHROPY PATCH NOTES: AUGUST 2026

• In honor of Encyclopedia Frown’s upcoming birthday, the first since her passing in December, I’ve released a new zine in her memory. Frownsongs contains songs I used to sing to her, either originals or lyrics sung along to existing songs. Miss you every day, little one.

• My second Exceptional Story for Fallen London, The Poetry of God, just went live for September! I’ll talk more about it in the next issue, but I’m really proud of this one: it’s about language, academia, fascism and liberation. And very scary machines.

• The first proof of the Princess with a Cursed Sword Bound Edition has arrived! This is the last step before the book goes into full production. I think it looks very pretty.

—

MEET THE IMPETUOUS LINGUIST in this month’s Fallen London exceptional story, The Poetry of God. Art by Paul Arendt.

—

WHAT HAVE I BEEN PLAYING CORNER

• The Mermaid Mask. Someone in chat during a stream of Golden Idol once said they liked that game because the time between realizing a solution and entering it is instantaneous. Not so in the Detective Grimoire games, where you are often required to sit with your realization until the game finally prompts you to act on it. Pretty and fun nevertheless, though the adventure game puzzles, as always, feel unnecessary.

• Swords Against. I love the format of an early dungeon crawl TTRPG for a narrative “what happened here” mystery. I was completely uninterested in the most explicitly puzzle-coded puzzles, but I loved reading and solving the little mysteries hidden in the text. The writing is beautiful and evocative; Jennell Jaquays’ tabletop work was a clear touchstone.

• Starflight. I’m playing the Amiga version, but with the physical components from the original DOS version, which I acquired a year or so ago. Physical components and thick manual were a consequence of limited memory for in-game text, but they add such a depth of texture and richness to a game like this. Starflight has been a longtime favorite of mine; replaying it, I’m realizing just how much it owes to Frederik Pohl’s Gateway.

—

FROWNSONGS IMAGE GALLERY

This zine collects both original songs and “covers” – these are some of the covers, along with the accompanying photo collages I made to illustrate them.

—

THE CHICAGO BEARS: CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF THE NEW LITTLE GUYS I LIVE WITH

Willow has been becoming much more comfortable and affectionate with me, and will often approach and ask for cuddles when I’m in bed. A gift!

Two of Pebble’s favorite places are the cat tree and the windowsill, both of which are adjacent to my office. He’s become a treasured work-time buddy.

—

And that’s it for this month! From our terrordrome to yours: Stay soft, stay strong, stay nasty.