328: We all live in a folk horror nightmare
Hullo
Fun Hell
Bad Hell
Scenariyes!
Desperate Attempt To Get Free Food From Babur
Links
Bye
****
The Power Fantasy is back, and we finally get to focus in on Eliza Hellbound, and tell what she was up to during the second summer of love. It’s not good. The book goes to hell, for the first time, in a literal but not metaphorical fashion. This is an astounding issue by Caspar, I think – he’s doing stuff with mood and colour which renders our apocalypse deeply uncanny. I’m really happy with this one. I shared the preview last week if you want a taste.
Our alternate cover is Dani, whose work I just adore.
Also, I’ll be releasing the release teaser image later, so here it is for you now, as you’re special, you hear me, you’re special.
If you want more details? The Power Fantasy primer is right here.
****
It was Eastercon this weekend, and Jeanette Ng and Lauren Beukes got talking with various people, and started what they describe as a small, personal response to “to the devastating and dehumanising UK Supreme Court ruling last week, where we both live, and also the withdrawal of vital international aid in the last few months that is affecting trans organizations in South Africa.”
They’re doing a silent auction of objects, services and more from creators, for you to bid on. The money is going to the The Good Law Project in the UK and The Triangle Project in South Africa.
Go nose. There’s really a lot here, from signed books to personalised objects (Crochet!) to written critiques and more.
I’ve donated three objects for folks to bid on.
This is my promotional invitation to The 2nd Hellfire Gala from Emma Frost herself, complete with Krakoan blossom. A unique memento of the Krakoan age. I can sign it if folks want.
You can bid on it here, and already has one for £250, which is amazing.
I’ve also donated two of my remaining third and fourth WicDiv hardcovers. These are out of print and so really in demand. I’ve seen copies going for £300 on Ebay before, so this is a very rare chance to actually get hold of them. At the time of writing this newsletter, they’re beneath RRP, which I suspect won’t last when folks read this.
You can bid on Volume 3 here, and Volume 4 here.
****
****
It’s been available in PDF for a while, but the third DIE Scenarios book is now for sale physically. You can get it directly from Rowan Rook & Decard, or from your friendly local game shop
It’s a good one, I think, and the last one for now – the Quick Start will be coming later in the year, and we have something a little larger than this planned for the end of the year. Which I need to start designing properly, actually. Phew.
****
I moved out of London on November 4th. I’ve been meaning to write this ever since. I’ve put it off, as I wanted to do a good job of it, and wanted to have enough mental space to give it that. That hasn’t happened, so in the spirit of something is better than nothing, I’m going to write something.
I loved living in London. Being a hermit-y writer, I didn’t ever really get the full benefit of what the city offers, but I still loved it. It’s London. I spent the first few years up in Archway, before moving south of the river, to Lewisham, to Brockley.
I’ve never actually said I lived in Brockley, because while I’m someone who leans towards transparency and accessibility, I do like privacy.
I managed to be spectacularly bad at keeping the privacy by having Laura live in Brockley in The Wicked + the Divine. Specifically, she lives in a street near where I used to live. When Jamie wanted reference, I wandered down the road and took the photos.
I was not exactly in a great place circa WicDiv, and prone to making bad decisions. That was certainly one of them.
There was upsides – like, this is classic Phonogram immersion writing. Knowing the streets, walking around trying to imagine them through someone else’s eyes, knowing where there’d go to get cigarettes, a overground, whatever. But really, it was foolish, so when I realised how foolish it was, I didn’t want to bring any more attention to it. Occasionally I met WicDiv readers from the area who tried to work out which road it was – they mostly didn’t, which says more about Brockley’s streets than Jamie’s art.
It’s a shame I didn’t, as I also loved Brockley. When C first came down to look, there was a stereotypically hippy guy at the top of Hilly Fields, doing something hilariously stereotypical. Kites? Making giant bubbles? It’s been a while. Caught in the blast radius of New Cross Art School, there was a lot of that worked into the warp and weft of the place. Laura was very specifically Brockley to me.
So as I salute it, I wanted to highlight some small things I especially love in the area. If you’re in South London generally, you’ll likely know them, but if not, try ‘em out.
Babur is the restaurant of choice in the area. Something to celebrate? Babur. Friend in the area? Babur. Interview with a journalist? Babur. I once arrived a month early for an interview there, and figured – hey! – I’m here, so may as well, Babur. It’s been here for nearly 40 years, and is just part of the place. You go on a night, and look around to see generations of people who felt the same way about it as I do. Also If you want a Laura-esque evening, the Pomegranate Martini is there waiting.
A 6 minute train journey over, there’s the legend that is the Peckhamplex. Just the best value cinema in london. Independent, part of the community, an institution. I hail it.
South London is a good place for getting your goth on in a Cemetery, but Ladywell and Brockley Cemetery was the one nearest the house, and the one we haunted. In summer, the undergrowth becomes the overgrowth, and you enter and can’t see the way out. In winter, it becomes so barren you see from side to side, and you feel haunted by these skeletal trees. Especially during the pandemic and Iris’ first years, we stalked it in circles. I never mastered it, never being able to reliably choose a correct route through, but C could find her way like Tenar beneath Autuan.
When Iris arrived, other things to love made themselves apparent. I always thought the Crofton Park Railway Garden was pretty when I walked past, but using it regularly, and it’s an oasis. If you want the purest burst of joy, there’s a small platform on it, and any time a train comes past, all the children run to it, and wave at the trains. Sometimes the driver honks a horn. Often the commuters smile and wave back. It’s a small thing, but it’s a lovely thing, and I miss it. I just went into the living room to mention I was writing this to C, and Iris said “The railway garden. We saw the trains.” Yes, Iris. We saw the trains.
Finally, the pedestrian bridge that connects the two halves of Ladywell fields is numbered “666” which always gave a pleasant satanic tinge to my runs.
Thanks, Brockley. See you soon, as I still have friends there, and will visit, if only to go to Babur.
****
I just listened to the fourth gameplay part of Quinns’ Quest’s Play podcast series on Sky Realms of Jorume, which was a delight. I think Quinns and company are doing something interesting here – yes, it’s an actual play, but it’s actually primary drive is not that “the story we are telling is interesting” but “let us explore this weird ass 1980s game system and explain it to the players and the listeners.” As such, it’s basically working as criticism and cultural history, while also being entertaining and emotionally engaging. As such, I’ve found it’s worked for people who’ve tended to bounce off Actual Play (including myself.) First two episodes are up in a bunch of podcast places, and the rest is on the patreon. Here’s the public links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, Castbox, and the Quinns Quest YouTube Channel.
Fluxblog does the work of the various phonomantic musical goddesses. The latest newsletter includes a bunch. The “1980s songs about the end of the world” and “Twee indie 2004-2009” have a lot of The Power Fantasy and Phonogram vibes, respectively.
The week has been depressing. More next week – I need to find time to write to various MPs and finally quit the Labour Party. You may want to write to your MP too. Al just linked to Transactual’s guide to writing to your MP on the issue. If you want to ID your MP, They Work For You can help. If you want to just write a mail, Write To Them will help you out.
****
Easter weekend. Iris has hit the age where she understands both chocolate, and the search for chocolate. As such, there was locating of chocolate in the garden, left by a giant rabbit. We all live in a folk horror nightmare.
There’s been work stuff, but I’ll save that for next time, as it’s been a long weekend, which means one thing: I am ludicrously behind on my e-mail, so need to get back to it.
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
Bath
23.4.2025