2025

Okay, I think the Old Year is leaving, everybody make sure the exits are clear and - OH SHIT HE'S GOT A SCYTHE

Happy holidays if applicable, a good and safe day to all.

At mum's. Chicken, roast potatoes, soup, chocolate pudding and some Jaffa Cakes eaten, Fantastic Four DVD confirmed to work, book of winter ghost stories confirmed to have words in, charming Aardman animated special and charmless Amazon Santa movie watched, meeting people I didn't see before to exchange gifts organised for next week. And so to bed.

My Chemical Romance, All I Want For Christmas Is You

Stonehenge midwinter black cat

Her name is Moon

Maybe we'll be okay after all

The Force Awakens at ten

And despite how that ended, it's still pretty fun.

Tales From Black Friday 2025

#talesfromblackfriday

You arrive at the mall with time to spare.

Everyone seems to be lining up patiently, chatting amiably, sharing snacks.

This is WRONG.

You hear people discussing which stores have the things they're after. Offering advice and even directions.

Mall staff dispending warm drinks.

You ask what's going on, and a clerk explains "This is the chosen mall. Every year one mall gets properly supplied."

Really? Huh.

"The tricky part is that we only have a limited time before staff and customers from the other malls hear about it. So no need to rush for bargains... but we do need to be quick about this." She smiles, but her eyes dart to the food court clock.

It's all quite orderly, for the first hour or so. A band plays shopping classics, and the PA includes regular assurances that the security watch teams haven't spotted any approaching convoys so far.

But then the alarm goes up. Delivery trucks from West Harbor. And they're high on the axle, empty in back. Looking to be filled.

Mall security hold the line, knowing this is their best chance of an extra bonus.

And the new tablet you got is SO light, you agree to help shore up the shieldwall for half an hour. If you make it out it'll be so worth it.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, US friends! Turkey sandwich of solidarity eaten. Went all out this time and got it from Subway.

Wake Up Dead Man

Wake Up Dead Man is nearly a serious movie that still has Benoit Blanc in it.

Character plans

Found my next player character.

No idea which game for but I can make it work.

A.R.: I'm feeling changling or mage

J: Gangrel. They all count as one Famulus

Bloodlines 2

There are some NPCs I'd like to initiate combat on during some of our conversations, but I guess the story needs them alive or undead for later.

And done as of a couple days ago!

Looked great, sounded great, happy with it as a story.

Very much appreciated adjustable difficulty.

Good to have more enemies later, though could still do with more.

I see proper saves are in upcoming patch notes.

Alas, no Spooky House level.

Felt Bloodlines-y to me, so happy there.

All Hallow Bunny

Aww

Daily bunny no.3125 got here early

Will Quinn

A little bunny dressed as a witch goes trick-or-treating. Arriving at a house where candy has been left out, she is surprised to see two squirrels taking all the candy for themselves, despite the sign saying "Take One"

C: Emergency! More sweets for Bunny!

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Update:

We had some trick or treaters!

I went to see Nosferatu!

I saw people in costume at the club!

My feet are sore!

Happy All Hallows!

Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is so Guillermo del Toro. Not at all scary, going more for the big sweeping grand version. Beautiful, sad, kind.

Bloodlines 2

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2

It's real. It's happening.

I've been playing Bloodlines 2 for a couple hours now and I like the flip from starting as a nobody. I got to punch a guy across a room, wrench a padlock off a door instead of the bit where you have to pick locks, make other vampires nervous just by existing (while also being kind if I want) and the writing and options let me feel like I'm going along with quests and plots for my own reasons instead of having to. Now if I can dance without looking like Kermit the Frog...

Didi's Anniversary

October 2018

And on that night a monster was born

Month Of Darkness 2025

#MonthOfDarkness 2025 prompts just in time.

Very Vampire coded so some Tanith IC but mostly went OOC

1. When I Changed

It was agony, but afterwards it seemed so wonderful... at first.

OCTOBER

Happy October!

AUTUMN

60 seconds of a happy dog jumping into leaf piles

Vampire: Lonely City

Vampire: The Masquerade 5th edition

Lonely City

New York, and the Camarilla cracking down on Anarchs

0: New Players

0 part 2

28/9

Alice, Thin-blood runaway

Marla, Gangrel street defender

Steven, Brujah student activist

Swan, Ravnos courier

1: Fall

28/9

At a raucous meeting of the anarchs of Brooklyn, the borough's elder Stirling confirms that Callihan, the Baron of the Bronx and liaison with the Queen of Manhattan, is dead. Nobody knows how or why, yet, but he had a long list of enemies across the city.

Decisions

Should I decide what game to run on Talk Like A Pirate Day? Hmm...

Halloween preparations

Via Halloween on Facebook

CHVRCHES and Robert Smith

CHVRCHES and Robert Smith, How Not To Drown

Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream

Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream

House Carna recruitment video

Next time we play Mage I will have Didi pop out from behind Cara and make funny faces like that as she marches confidently towards an opponent.

Chronicles Of Darkness

Happy 21st anniversary to Chronicles Of Darkness and Vampire: The Requiem!

We may not see more for them but they gave us a lot and more fun can still be had with them.

MarkK: VtR gave me Requiem for Rome, my favourite vampire rpg thing in the ever of ever. I still go back and re-read it.

Bloodlines 2 maybe this time?

Nice to see Bloodlines 2 actually in joined-up gameplay and stuff.

Garbage

Happy (When It Rains) 39th anniversary to garbage by Garbage!

And I can't stop when it comes to you

RPGaDay 2025

#RPGaDAY2025

A prompt a day through August to talk about RPGs

1) PATRON

Who gives the PCs directions or orders to their next adventure? This can very much affect how they feel about it.

Fantastic 4

Fantastic 4 is delightful. Light and fun despite world-being-eaten stakes.

Birthday!

Books! DVDs! Pizza! Cake! Chocolate! Probably going to the cinema this weekend!

J: Yall need to calm down over there.

Me: Maybe later!

A very merry World Goth Day!

Finale Destination: Bloodlines

Final Destination: Bloodlines is the first good one in nineteen years. The scene used in the teaser is maybe its best, but the opening is great, and Tony Todd gets a touching farewell.

ICONS: Unity

ICONS

Unity

The big superhero team of their setting, sorta-grounded like the MCU

Guardian

Laura Kincaid

Superhumanly strong and tough granddaughter of a legendary supersoldier, team leader and brick

Lancelot, power armour

Mist, phasing and invisibility

Clarity, sonic stun singer

Black Angel, all-weapon martial artist

Vampire: The Last City

Vampire: The Masquerade 5th edition

The Last City

Los Angeles, held by the Anarchs against all enemies, now in need of new leaders. Is there a better way to do this?

Session 0: too early to say.

Matt: MacNeil get the final death?

Nobody much canon around... or are they

J: Claudia and Tanith just dancing at goth clubs?

Me: "I consider it my duty to the Kindred of the city that there's a decent goth night at least every other week." One of the NPCs

1: Nightfall

11/5

September, and LA's vampires have time to do more than hunt again after the short nights of summer. The guiding council of the Free States want to investigate San Diego having gone dark. The Rack clubs are in a currently good-natured feud looking for ways to lure in students as the academic year starts. There are rumours of agents for the Camarilla - or someone else - in the city.

And someone's preying on street kids, in a way that will leave someone dead soon if nobody stops them.

Martin, Ravnos, community activist

Rake, Caitiff, tagger

St. Clair, Brujah, former detective

Snow, Caitiff, runaway

Willa, Toreador, history student

Happy bunnies day however you celebrate!

SINNERS

Sinners is rocking fun.

If you've seen a trailer you know where it's going but it took its time getting there and let us get to know and care about the characters getting into that predicament.

Yes I want this Hunter game.

GMing?

Possible game of the summer as ST, Vampire. Hmm.

Important decision: set in LA and the Anarchs won't just be arguing amongst themselves.

Playing?

Possible game of the summer as player, superheroes. Hmm.

Important decision: I'm the Cap, getting in the way of damage.

Fancy Party Episode

Daredevil has a Fancy Party episode!

And heroic and villainous reveals and stuff.

April

Be mindful of Stupid Shit Day, especially when Stupid Shit has new plagiarism toys for ease of forgery.

Five years

Memories reminding me of that first few days' rush of free books, games and more in March 2020. Little acts of kindness all adding up.

Companion

Companion: Is the world better if terrible men can have robot girlfriends? Maybe for most people, but not for the robot girlfriends.

Heart Eyes

Heart Eyes is great fun, more for horror comedy people than romantic comedy people. If you're both, bonus!

Buffy!

Sarah Michelle Gellar returning as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, pilot directed by Chloe Zhao. Fingers crossed.

February

February is a wee short month that has a Captain America movie in it. So that's something.

31/01

It's the 31st of month 01. Happy Typo Halloween!

Fear Itself

Fear Itself

A Gumshoe system modern horror RPG.

Gumshoe characters always get the core clues and have lots of ways to get more information. But not much in general skills...

Session zero: Character Creation.

26/1

College kids in an isolated campus.

More to follow hopefully.

Andrew Eldritch Without Sunglasses

Some things were not meant to be seen

David Lynch

Wisdom from Agent Cooper Twin Peaks

Love

Nosferatu (2024)

Robert Eggers' Nosferatu is Nosferatu as staged by Robert Eggers, with some additional points about not enough people listening to Ellen by making her more clairvoyant, and bonus suffering all round.

Hello, New Year. Be kind.