SNEAKING THROUGH THE TOTALITARIAN FILTER - a Retrospective of 2019 and looking forward to 2020

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”

Ya’ll remember the Nature – Demeanor divide from crusty old white wolf?   Well mid-November my archtetypes were talking.

Demeanor:  “Hey asshole, I may be starving but I’m starving with a clear conscience.”

Self-righteously gives everyone the finger

Nature:  “OOOOH we’re starving with a clear conscience  I feel better already….”

No I’m not walking back anything.  😊  But I am charging a buck and some change for the first issue of Sub-ether. If I do another Blasphemy Leak it will also likely be expecting you to cough up some credits.   I like paying rent. (Not true, paying rent is capitalism but I don’t have much of a choice in the matter; the alternatives are undesirable)

So what’d we accomplish?   -  The butcher’s bill for 2019

One book, two “zines”  (air quotes because the second of the two is almost twice the length of the ‘book’ – down with needless symmetry!  In seriousness though this does get something across – Every work will be as long (or as short) as it needs to be.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Haven’t seen them?  GET THEM HERE https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse/pub/15028/Dreaming-Gynoid

Also a mention, while it isn’t out yet, Galaxy Black is in fukkin layout.  The work[1] of nearly two years is almost over.  Am taking the holiday week to tweak the psychic disciplines and some of the Maker sequences but otherwise the text is set ya’ll.  

How long will final layout take? I have no actual idea.   I am going to be moving the chapters around so until I have that part done any ballpark figure I could give would be useless. Spring earliest. But that would be the ideal.

I’m in negotiations with an artist for a really cool piece for the cover so there is also that :D 

Book will be hardcover, black and white (other than the outside) and it will comparable to a textbook in that you will likely be able to do serious damage to someone if used as a melee weapon.

It may be optimistic but I’d like Sub-ether no. 2 to drop with or shortly after Galaxy Black goes live. The funnel in it was designed as an intro adventure and has lots of basic concept walk throughts (which – I don’t say this to be an arse – will be necessary for some tables.  This book is DENSE folks.   There is so much in Galaxy Black.  Don’t worry it’s modular as hell but you certainly can use it all at once!) – also will likely be the only other issue to have any ‘preview’ content – though I do maintain that the duplication of data is quite minimal.   I err on the side of not needing additional materials beyond the DCC core for Sub-ether regardless).

I have Sub-ether two and much of three already done;  I have stuff for about three – five more after that depending but they are well past anything I’m worried about right now.   After Sub-ether goes live (January folks) I may do a post outlining what the other five issues will be about.  (Yes I already know)

Other things we managed to do that improved on 2018 and before

Well hey no heart attacks.  In fact my blood pressure hasn’t been this low in like 20 years. Mind you, the meds I take to achieve this feat give me the perpetual hacking cough of someone who *didn’t * quit smoking in 2007 (which I *DID* thanks) which you gotta know IM TOTALLY INTO.

Hail Pharmacopeia. I’ll take +5 on my next save v. drugs or toxins.   :P 

That last will make a little more sense when GB is out…..

Run  some games that were not just playtests

Or. Oh yeah. FUN.

At one point for about five seconds I had three games going at once.   Regular meetings though even on the internet are just not a thing for adults in this day and age, as it has been since Uni for most of us.  Bleargh.

Start getting serious about my photography.  This is a separate post and maybe not for here but I think I leveled up my visual media or something this year.   Across the board even.  Happy – VERY  HAPPY with this actually. Did not think I *could* get better at those things.   And I have. And I like it.  (Meanwhile in some lower plane I demonstrably have  a graphic designer trapped that is wanting to get out or maybe just design more stuff..  Who knew?) 

There’s a secret unannounced project I am working with a collaborator on (two books actually but…see already I’ve said too much) that I am increasingly thinking will look good with photographs for art.   Near recent historical.  Can’t say much more. Wanting to do the book as an Artifact like that is…ambitious to put it mildly.   I’m not sure I can do it. (I have not in fact mentioned this to my co-conspirator yet.  Too late just did.)

But like the song says

Cuz I like high chances that I might lose,

I like it all on the edge just like you, ayy

I like tall buildings so I can leap off of 'em

I go hard wit' it no matter how dark it is[2]

Everything I have ever accomplished was done with persistence and pure fucking will.   This should be no different.   

On that relatively WAY optimistic note I will leave you with an uplifting note from a wholly DIFFERENT song.

The thought for 2020 comes from the soundtrack to the movie, er TREMENDOUS 80s ROLLER DISCO LASER BEAM DRUGS?NAH- MYTHOLOGY!  EXPEIRENCE

…Xanadu. 

You have to believe we are magic
Nothing can stand in our way
You have to believe we are magic
Don't let your aim ever stray
And if all your hopes survive
Destiny will arrive

Enough retrospective. A new year, a new decade, a new future awaits.  Let’s take that hill together. 

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[1] Work, Revision, Playtesting, Revision, Work, revision, Playtesting, Work, Work, Work, Playtesting, Revision, Revision, Revision, Revision, Revision, Work, Learning curve, Revision, Computer failure, Doing the Work over again, and again , and a third time.  Revision, Playtesting, playtesting, playtesting, work, work, work, existential crisis, existential crisis x 5000, existential crisis OVER 9,000, work, revision, revision, revision, revision, hints of satisfaction, revision, work, work, playtesting, work, work, work, Revision, Playtesting like a Boss, playtesting, playtesting, being hungry, playtesting, playtesting, blood, playtesting, PLAYTESTING, revision, revision, revision, revision, work, revision, playtesting.

Or something very much like that.  

[2] What’s up Danger – from Into the Spiderverse. I am a big fan of the Holland MCU Spiderman but Into the Spiderverse is the BEST Spider-man movie, hands down. Fight me.