367: this is why no-one ever shows emotional intimacy
Hullo
Formatting
D6-1
Public
Links
Bye
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By the time I next write, the DIE: RPG MetaDungeon will have launched. And so we did a cover reveal, showing Stephanie’s work. It’s the one above. You could have worked that out yourself, right?
Sign up for notifications on launch if you haven’t already. It’s going to be fun. Gar has such things planned for you, and I’m still chewing over which of two stretch ideas are best. There’s a launch stream too.
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It’s not all the DIE next week – issue 6 of DIE: Loaded drops. The comps arrived. Here they are.
Coo.
Probably time for a preview, yes? You are correct.
We also sent the trade to print this week, which is going to be a lovely volume. If you want to know more about DIE: Loaded, it’s here.
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Creepypasta 00s horror TTRPG Public Access’ kickstarter has 10 days to go and they announced that I’m doing a mystery as a stretch goal. It’ll be inspired by the Silver Sisterhood, who are very much a wiki-hole to fall down. In short, pagan S&M “nuns” who funded themselves with sexually explicit text adventures in the 1980s. I’m the 5000 backers goal, and they’re presently 123 off, so hopefully it’ll make it.
If you want an intro to Public Access and why it’s worth your coins, then Quinns has you sorted. The campaign is here.
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I imported all my old playlists (which date from the early 00s) over to Tidal. As the import means that they’re no longer chronologically in order, I’ve started to prune them so I can access the actual stuff I need. A bunch are just old itunes playlists I made to listen to period albums circa 2004 – so I have been listening to TV On the Radio’s Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes again. Which has been a which been a journey - you can file next to the Dears for 2004 bad relationship music. Try Dreams for a taste, which really is a hell of a thing.
Videogamepositioning about how No Man’s Sky clawed back its reputation after a launch, which boils down to “baton down hatches, no promises, do the work, and have the money so you can do the work.” In a world where media messaging is pushed so hard, this is an interesting one to chew over. That said, my perspective is skewed - I’m married to someone who loved No Man’s Sky on launch, and had little interest in anything that actually was added.
Clayton writes about what the hardest panel is to letter in comics – specifically, what the fuck to do when you have two people talking while hugging. This is why no-one ever shows emotional intimacy in my comics. I’m not a monster.
The current bundle of holding is a selection of Magpie’s PBTA games. There’s three of my favourite ttrpg designs of the last decade or so in here (Bluebeard’s Bride, Pasiones de la Passion, Masks) and even with owning them, there’s still enough stuff in here to make me want to buy – I’ve never picked up Cartel, for example. I haven’t even mentioned the big sellers of Avatar and Root, which are a little more out my wheelhouse.
I was googling for something else and found Holly Raymond’s old piece on Cyclops, Phoenix and the Messianic Gaze over at Shelf Dust. Good stuff for the Phoenix watchers amongst us.
Laurie posits that Straight Men are now banned from Polyamory: “I really wish it hadn’t come to this, but someone has to make the call. Straight men are banned from polyamory until further notice, and I’ll tell you why.”
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It was only when writing this that I realise that I haven’t sent out the Script Club for Uber: Invasion yet. I’ll set it to send later today, so if folks want to jump on, they still can.
Upgrade nowI had two separate creative friends tell me how impressed at what I do with the newsletter and how much content there is, which was both complimentary and also makes me question myself. I mainly feel what I do isn’t enough. I compare and contrast to what – say – Charlie Jane does and feel I’m less big critical downloads and more plugs with a little bit of fancy dress.
However, it does make me think that perhaps I can just phone one in.
“Phoned in” is one of those phrases which much have been coined by someone who has never done the thing in question. I phoned in a story once, when I covered Reading festival for the NME. It’s much harder than just handing in the finished copy. You have to stand there and say each word and the person at the other ends has to check them all. You can’t phone in phoning it in.
It has been a weirdly industrious week generally though. The first issue of the new big thing went over, and everyone seems to be happy – which is something of a relief. It’s one of two WFH projects I’m doing. One of them really couldn’t be more in my basic genetics as a writer – it’s real Warhammer level fundamental. The other – this one – simply isn’t, so for it to land with folks is just nice. It was a lot of work, and seems to have paid off.
Alongside this, lots of other movement – there’s a couple of other short WFH things I’ve likely said yes to. They’re small and confined, and also a lot of fun. That TPF is on a seven week schedule and DIE: Loaded is on an 8 week schedule means that I do have space – and with only 3 issues left of DIE: Loaded to write means my summer is opening up. I also just handed in issue 18 of The Power Fantasy to be ready for Caspar – and I”m structuring a little writing of The Scions (my new TTRPG I’m writing) every day. I’m in the modular content section, so it’s picking away on that.
But lots of movement, all over the place - for example, the Second Printing of The Power Fantasy’s first trade turned up. Here they are.
They’ve printed well, which is a relief – we weren’t 100% happy with the first printing. It was also a chance to tweak a few other things in there (the datapage from issue 2 wasn’t in the trade, for example.)
It’s also Easter, which will be a whole lot of family things. Easter Egg hunts is basically 50% of my religion.
The other 50% is Warhammer, obv.
(I do admire Warhammer’s commitment to this kind of April Fool thing. I like to think if any of my things ever became stupidly successful, I’d blow money on this kind of thing for the sake of it.)
Speak soon.
Kieron Gillen
Bath
2.4.2026