I wanted to put something together to talk about things I love at present, be it music, writing, RPGs or something else.
Musically, I've been on a major Folk for a while and I'm obsessed with Thea Gilmore. I love the way Folk touches on politics, world events, the nature of the country, and other subjects. It feels refreshing when a lot of other music genres seem to spend all their time talking about love and attraction. In many ways, it reminds me of punk (which may be why the two genres seem so compatible). The song Bones is amazing and makes me so happy, but I've also included her song Have You Heard because its also great, and really brings a touch of humour to the proceedings.
I also wanted to throw in a David Bowie song from Labyrinth (an amazing film), because I started listening to Aurelio Voltaire's album The Black Labyrinth. This is a homage to Labyrinth and other 80s fantasy films and led back to Bowie and the amazing Within You.
I recently read The Turn of the Screw for a book group and enjoyed it, although I feel it's purposefully written in a difficult style. It's hardly a revolutionary thought to say that the "ghosts" in the story are likely nothing more than the products of a fevered imagination, the true cruelty within the story is in sending a young woman to look after two children when she's barely more than a child herself.
I also read Peach Momoko's Demon Days, which was beautifully drawn, even if the story felt a little thin in places. The reinvention of several of Marvel's characters as Japanese mythological figures was brilliantly thought out. I must admit I particularly liked that Wolverine was reduced to being a wolf and still managed to convey his tough-guy attitude.
On the RPG front, I've picked up the Die RPG, based on the comic series of the same name by Kieron Gillen (who also wrote the RPG). Gillen is a gamer and an example of the gamer to writer pipeline that is prevalent in comics and the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror genres. Tabletop gaming is a launch pad for writers a lot of the time and many GMs eventually grow out of the desire to tell a big story with their players to write those stories down. The Die RPG is gorgeous and well put together, allowing players to access the different types of characters from the comic. It looks to capture the comics very well and the Bestiary was assembled by a cast of famous fantasy writers, including Adrian Tchaikovsky, Jess Nevins, and of course Gillen himself. The only word of warning I'd offer right now is that the game is designed to customise the world of Die, meaning that while you can adopt gods like Mother Woe, you don't have to. That may be a feature or a bug, depending on how much your gaming group likes customising content. I think mine might struggle with it.
Still, your mileage may differ and I hope if you get the game it brings you joy.
That's it, I'm conscious there was no Scion RPG Rough Guide to New Orleans this weekend, but I'm working on it as well as the Gallanburgh Guide.
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