Pity and Shrugs | Jonathan Volk

THE LANDS BETWEEN

Part 1: Negligence Part 2: Getting Stuck Interlude: An Illegible Fog Part 3: The Lands Between 1. Aesthetic Malpractice 2. Room Service...

VULGAR REALITY

1. Dissolving Margins 2. Vulgar Reality 3. The Lives of Others 4. Vulgar Futurity 5. There Is No Society 6. The Third Impact 1....

EARNING IT

The Great Hollow: Clinging to Failure Depths: Buried Stories Blighttown: Marx's Realms of Freedom and Necessity Anor Londo: Saving You...

TWO RICKS

I tell this story sometimes to the young writers I teach, many of whom ask how I got where I am.

THE MOTHER ALIEN

My mother died in Kentucky on March 2019 at the age of 72. She had been admitted to the hospital after a bleeding incident, attributed to

THE OLDEST HOUSE

The terror of space is not that it's empty, or that it will outlast us; the terror of space is that it is us, and we are it. Home sweet home

THE GAME THEORY OF ELECTIONS

Most voters are playing. Full stop. The act of voting is symbolic and metaphorical, in the same way that the pieces in chess are said to be

THE GREAT STRANGER AMONG US

Among Us brings the power back to the people, and the people are a fucking terror.

HADES IS INFINITELY UNSEXY

Hades, Supergiant’s latest, is sexy, deathless comfort food.

THE CARDBOARD CLOSET

On June 4, 2019, Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) updated their Facebook page logo, replacing the familiar chrome-blue background for a rainbowing

NEVER MISS A POST.

Pity and Shrugs is a journal devoted to good writing about the games people play. We cover video games, board games, and other forms of play.