Levels of Love Quotes

“Deine Narben zeigen, dass du überlebt hast.
…
Du bist so viel stärker und schöner, als du glaubst.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Unabhängigkeit ist schön und gut, aber wir alle benötigen von Zeit zu Zeit Hilfe - danach zu fragen ist ein Zeichen von Stärke.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Ghibli, Novel Haven, my insecurities, everything around me dissolves until only Luca remains. He tastes of salt and memories, but also of hope and the future. And for the first time, I prefer the future to the past.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“This convention was a complete success, but not because of Lara’s win or my break with Hank. No, it’s because she turned my life upside down in a matter of days. Because Lara broke down my walls. Because she’s my game changer.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“You can ask the book spirits on the outskirts of Novel Haven for help with everyday tasks in your lighthouse. Solve their riddles, befriend them, and recruit them by having the local carpenter build them a hut in your garden. Independence is all well and good, but we all need help now and then—and asking for it is a sign of strength.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Nat: Did he make your lighthouse glow?
Aria: Nat.
Nat: Did he put his book on your bookshelf?
Aria: NATALY SUMMERS.

Lara: Ladies! He did not.
Nat: Did he plow your body like Nora plows the fields of Novel Haven?
Lara: Is that even a real phrase?
Aria: I'm about to send your parents screenshots of your texts.
Nat: Then I'll tell yours there is a book on our kitchen table called "Kidnapped by the CEO Twins," and that there is a pink sticky note at a very racy part of the book.
Aria: You wouldn't dare.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“My gaze falls on the little tree spirit from Princess Mononoke sitting on one of the bookshelves. It’s an easter egg in our game, which Kamal, being his usual meticulous self, has added here as well. I cautiously pick up the tiny figurine, weighing it in my trembling hands. Mononoke is an umbrella term for monsters, spirits, and demons— creatures you’re supposed to be afraid of, but San, the film’s main character, is the exact opposite. My free hand strays to my tattoo, which today is covered by wide-legged trousers for a change. See with eyes unclouded by hate.
The words, like the film itself, are a reminder not to be blinded by hate, to look behind the veneer, not to give in to the allure of black-and-white thinking. It’s something I’ve experienced firsthand, and despite my tattoo’s reminder, I’ve slipped into that exact kind of thinking myself over time. It’s why I can’t accept compliments from Luca, and it’s why I always immediately assume the worst.
Novel Haven is meant to carry lessons like this out into the world, showing people a better path than the one I’m on. Showing that looking behind the veneer is worth it.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Use safe zones to regenerate.
You’ll need the energy.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Our game will be out there. In just a few days, it'll be played by people outside of our team. I'll be letting strangers into into Novel Haven, a place that has well and truly become my home. And what's more: That game is me. Me, in all my facets—the humor, the dialogues, the world building, all the bits and bobs in the lighthouse. Without their knowledge, I'll be letting those people see more of me than I've allowed my own family to see in the years since the accident.
They'll see me for who I truly am—without being influenced by my looks. Thy'll enter my innermost sanctuary, judge me on it, and get to know me by it. Just the way it should be.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Your scars tell your story. If I’d acted, maybe I’d have some of my own— and I’d wear them proudly. The fact that I don’t have any physical scars from that day just goes to show how weak I was then. You’re so much stronger and more beautiful than you think.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Do you guys have any more plans then?” I stifle a laugh when I notice Aria’s lips are compressed into a thin line. I’d wager her social battery is drained after Mildreds.
Nat seems to notice too, because she gently pokes Aria in the side. “No worries; you can hole up in bed with one of your smutty books now.”
“Oh, thank God!” she exclaims, and the three of us burst out laughing.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Aria: This is so romantic though. Is he from London too? I bet he is, if he got on the train there. Maybe you won’t have to go separate ways…

Nat: Aria’s doodling a heart with your names in it on a notepad right now.

Nat: By the way, they’re the same length and end on the same letter. Kind of romantic, if I’m honest. Makes it harder to think of a ship name, though.

Aria: Larca works.


Lara: You have issues. Both of you.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“I bite my lip when I see her pajamas. The pink long-sleeved top read “In My Cozy Game Era” with a pixel version of a blond woman underneath— that must be Taylor Swift— with a pickax in lieu of a microphone.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a Swiftie.”
“I’m not, but my flatmate Nat is. This was a Christmas present.”
“Cute,” I say, suppressing a laugh as Lara’s cheeks flush an even deeper shade of red. I should stop teasing her. But most of all, I should stop calling her or anything about her “cute.” Although her expression certainly is right now.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“GameChanger Playlist

Petals on the Moon—Wasia Project
Home—Matthew Hall
Anti-Hero—Taylor Swift
Here—Alessia Cara
Doin' Time—Lana Del Rey
Chills (Dark Version)—Mickey Valen, Joey Myron
Outta My Head—Omido, Rick Jansen, Ordell
Video Games—Lana Del Rey
Breaking Out—The Protomen
Creature Fear—Bon Iver”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Try unlocking uncharted areas—It’s worth it!
You’ll find materials and collectibles there that
you can use to expand your bookshop.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“The next few minutes disappear in a vortex of numbers and code as the cute pixel graphics that Aria created make their way from the screen on my left into the game. Since Aria can’t have a pet in real life, she’s convinced us to add a bigger selection of animals to the game. Now players can adopt not only a dog, a cat, and a guinea pig but also a turtle, a bird, and…
“What on earth?” I murmur as my eyes fall on a folder of capybara graphics. Novel Haven isn’t set in a real country, but the surroundings and the climate are supposed to look like South America.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“Nat is our resident social butterfly. Aria’s more introverted, but even Aria manages to do live streams, despite her shyness. I’m different— I usually stay away from all of that. And for good reason too. I can be myself inside our four walls, here in the office, and in Novel Haven, of course. But out there? In the real world, nobody wants my true self. I’ve had to learn the hard way.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“I queue up behind him and let my gaze wander across the room, which is based on the lighthouse in Novel Haven: warm colors, nautical decor, and a bookshelf sponsored by Notting Hill Bookshop, which takes up the ground floor of our office building. It exudes all the calm and coziness that we want people out there to experience in our game. And the game itself shows a lot of my inner world that never had an outlet before.
This office, like Novel Haven, has become a sort of home for me. A refuge in a world that excludes me more than it accepts me. And that’s the exact reason why I don’t care about the bags under my eyes or my weird sleep schedule. Because if I can offer even one person the kind of refuge that once helped me, it will all have been worth it.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love

“The demo version of Novel Haven is ready: The world I've been escaping to on a daily basis for the last two years, the world that means everything to me. The world that takes the pressure off and heals the wounds of my past, one line of code at a time.”
― Anabelle Stehl, Levels of Love