Ada 🐙
@adarel.bsky.social
Writer/designer. I study narrative theory and make games. Classics PhD. She/her.
I post about games, history, cats, stories, and octopodes.
http://adaplays.com
Firaxis | UChicago
I post about games, history, cats, stories, and octopodes.
http://adaplays.com
Firaxis | UChicago
This is the energy I want to carry to my grave.
October 18, 2025 at 7:50 PM
This is the energy I want to carry to my grave.
Had to be in Hyde Park for a thing today so I couldn’t be there but so proud of my city!!
Watch Live: #NoKings Chicago in Grant Park www.fox32chicago.com/news/no-king...
October 18, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Had to be in Hyde Park for a thing today so I couldn’t be there but so proud of my city!!
Reposted by Ada 🐙
Helicopter view of Chicago #NoKings in Grant Park via @cbschicago.bsky.social
October 18, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Helicopter view of Chicago #NoKings in Grant Park via @cbschicago.bsky.social
Reposted by Ada 🐙
Showing off the magnificent chublet. Photo from my collection, no date/info.
October 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Showing off the magnificent chublet. Photo from my collection, no date/info.
Gifted. A short read, a good read. I sometimes feel the surreal nature of this when I look up from the news to see the city I know, and it feels like living in two worlds. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/o...
Opinion | This Is the Feeling of Losing a Country. I Know It Well.
www.nytimes.com
September 22, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Gifted. A short read, a good read. I sometimes feel the surreal nature of this when I look up from the news to see the city I know, and it feels like living in two worlds. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/21/o...
Reposted by Ada 🐙
News of this morning's Chicago River Swim makes its way to the British press.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Hundreds plunge in Chicago River for first official swim in nearly 100 years
Group participates in previously unthinkable mile-long swim after US made key progress to clean polluted rivers
www.theguardian.com
September 21, 2025 at 10:15 PM
News of this morning's Chicago River Swim makes its way to the British press.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Ada 🐙
Someone was trying to take a portrait of their two fave Chickens, and this happened.
September 20, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Someone was trying to take a portrait of their two fave Chickens, and this happened.
Reposted by Ada 🐙
I think this comparison is largely right.
Yes, it’s a replay of McCarthyism’s ugliest aspects but that was fueled by a widespread sense that the country faced dire external dangers while this is about a deeply unpopular president’s grudges.
Yes, it’s a replay of McCarthyism’s ugliest aspects but that was fueled by a widespread sense that the country faced dire external dangers while this is about a deeply unpopular president’s grudges.
This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.
September 18, 2025 at 7:09 PM
I think this comparison is largely right.
Yes, it’s a replay of McCarthyism’s ugliest aspects but that was fueled by a widespread sense that the country faced dire external dangers while this is about a deeply unpopular president’s grudges.
Yes, it’s a replay of McCarthyism’s ugliest aspects but that was fueled by a widespread sense that the country faced dire external dangers while this is about a deeply unpopular president’s grudges.
Reposted by Ada 🐙
A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
September 17, 2025 at 11:22 PM
A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the President doesn’t like what they say.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
This is an attack on free speech and cannot be allowed to stand.
All elected officials need to speak up and push back on this undemocratic act.
Is there anything more miserable than formatting references? 😭
September 10, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Is there anything more miserable than formatting references? 😭
This ad is good for all the reasons people say but also bc a) her shirt rocks and b) her beer is a Shorts.
You deserve a break on Sundays that doesn’t break the bank.
September 7, 2025 at 10:29 PM
This ad is good for all the reasons people say but also bc a) her shirt rocks and b) her beer is a Shorts.
Reposted by Ada 🐙
“What Pritzker and his allies have actually accomplished is something arguably more powerful. They have sent the message to everyday Chicago residents that acquiescence to authoritarianism is not an option, and that someone will have their back if and when they resist.”
It's getting harder to shock America, but Trump managed this weekend with a crude, fiery threat to wage war on Chicago
But a massive street protest Saturday, backed by a strong governor, shows Chicago isn't having it
Did Trump pick the wrong fight? My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
But a massive street protest Saturday, backed by a strong governor, shows Chicago isn't having it
Did Trump pick the wrong fight? My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
Trump wants to make war on Chicago. He picked the wrong fight
President Trump's stunning online threat against America's third-largest city will test the power of the resistance.
www.inquirer.com
September 7, 2025 at 8:34 PM
“What Pritzker and his allies have actually accomplished is something arguably more powerful. They have sent the message to everyday Chicago residents that acquiescence to authoritarianism is not an option, and that someone will have their back if and when they resist.”
Reposted by Ada 🐙
Wait what do you mean Jesus loves me? Did he say something to you? OMG I'm freaking out right now tell me his exact words.
November 19, 2024 at 3:51 PM
Wait what do you mean Jesus loves me? Did he say something to you? OMG I'm freaking out right now tell me his exact words.
Reposted by Ada 🐙
This convo I had highlights the difference in what "respect your time" means in games.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
September 5, 2025 at 6:52 PM
This convo I had highlights the difference in what "respect your time" means in games.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
A lot of players want to trade time for in-game progress. It's purely transactional: 1 hour = 1 progress
But I want to feel like my actions matter i.e. what I do with time creates progress, not time itself.
Reposted by Ada 🐙
I was a Firaxis narrative designer/writer and lost my job today. Any help sharing leads on new opportunities would be great!
Over 3.5 years, I contributed to Civilization VII and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, helping turn maps, mechanics, and chaos into memorable stories. See my work benreeves.carrd.co
Over 3.5 years, I contributed to Civilization VII and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, helping turn maps, mechanics, and chaos into memorable stories. See my work benreeves.carrd.co
Benjamin Reeves Is Incredible
Ben Reeves narrative designer and writer
benreeves.carrd.co
September 4, 2025 at 7:23 PM
I was a Firaxis narrative designer/writer and lost my job today. Any help sharing leads on new opportunities would be great!
Over 3.5 years, I contributed to Civilization VII and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, helping turn maps, mechanics, and chaos into memorable stories. See my work benreeves.carrd.co
Over 3.5 years, I contributed to Civilization VII and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, helping turn maps, mechanics, and chaos into memorable stories. See my work benreeves.carrd.co
I threw so much burning oil on invaders in Lords of the Realm 2, but that wasn't a real thing! Excellent 🧵👇
*sigh* No, that’s just the effect of several centuries of rain through an iron grate. Nobody was wasting precious oil during a siege. they were throwing piss
September 4, 2025 at 3:53 PM
I threw so much burning oil on invaders in Lords of the Realm 2, but that wasn't a real thing! Excellent 🧵👇
Reposted by Ada 🐙
Hi! I was laid off from Firaxis this morning. I wrote leaders and civs for Civilization VII (NDA for now) and Deadpool and Storm for Marvel's Midnight Suns. I also wrote the award-nominated Hindsight.
I'm available for full time, remote work starting ASAP. DMs are open:
emmkid.info
I'm available for full time, remote work starting ASAP. DMs are open:
emmkid.info
Portfolio
emmkid.info
September 4, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Hi! I was laid off from Firaxis this morning. I wrote leaders and civs for Civilization VII (NDA for now) and Deadpool and Storm for Marvel's Midnight Suns. I also wrote the award-nominated Hindsight.
I'm available for full time, remote work starting ASAP. DMs are open:
emmkid.info
I'm available for full time, remote work starting ASAP. DMs are open:
emmkid.info
Reposted by Ada 🐙
If you want to pick a fight with Chicago, you may want to try the first week of February. Everyone has "greatest city in the world" mode on 11 this week specifically
August 26, 2025 at 11:05 PM
If you want to pick a fight with Chicago, you may want to try the first week of February. Everyone has "greatest city in the world" mode on 11 this week specifically
Greatly enjoyed this piece by Mary F. Casey on thinking about history through theatre, especially the emotional perspective of historical characters. www.historians.org/perspectives...
Plays Are Good to Think With – AHA
Playwrights often lean on historical themes, but Mary F. Casey argues in her second column that historians, too, can learn from plays.
www.historians.org
August 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Greatly enjoyed this piece by Mary F. Casey on thinking about history through theatre, especially the emotional perspective of historical characters. www.historians.org/perspectives...
Without insomnia, how would I know about money in a chip bag? What a gift.
August 21, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Without insomnia, how would I know about money in a chip bag? What a gift.
Reposted by Ada 🐙
manta rays are so freaking beautiful and majestic 🥰
Meet Mobula yarae, the newly confirmed Atlantic manta ray and officially the planet’s third manta species. First spotted 15 years ago by marine biologist Andrea Marshall, it roams waters from the east coast of the United States to Brazil. buff.ly/OmHdUN5
#ShareGoodNewsToo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Scientists hail third manta ray species "evolution in action" - Oceanographic
15 years on from the largest species discovery in half a century, scientists confirm a third species of manta ray in the Atlantic Ocean.
buff.ly
August 16, 2025 at 3:30 PM
manta rays are so freaking beautiful and majestic 🥰
Reposted by Ada 🐙
civilization vi leader two turns before you destroy his lone attacking trebuchet unit with a missile cruiser
August 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM
civilization vi leader two turns before you destroy his lone attacking trebuchet unit with a missile cruiser
Reposted by Ada 🐙
This man has zero idea what the fuck he's talking about. Eat shit and stay away from Chicago.
August 9, 2025 at 6:31 PM
This man has zero idea what the fuck he's talking about. Eat shit and stay away from Chicago.
This is unfortunately so true and part of why I’m glad to just be making video games now. As depressing as this is, it’s worse the closer you are to it.
August 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM
This is unfortunately so true and part of why I’m glad to just be making video games now. As depressing as this is, it’s worse the closer you are to it.