FriendlyFiend
friendlyfiendish.bsky.social
FriendlyFiend
@friendlyfiendish.bsky.social
Telly writer, story editor and geek. This is my account for the geeky stuff, especially TTRPGs. You may know me from my other roleplaying accounts, @FriendlyFiend on Mastodon, GeorgeP on assorted Discords, or from telly things I write/story edit.
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The #Fellini Masterpiece!

NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (1957) 9:00pm #GiuliettaMasina #FrancoisPerier #FrancaMarzi Italian comedy-drama with English #TPTVsubtitles
November 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Someone really needs to explain how to use email to the NHS. Just received a letter explaining why I need an urgent CT scan, four weeks after the letter was dictated and three after the scan was carried out.
November 26, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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And the folks who are actually writing full-time generally only got there after years of day jobs, family support, or both.

The point of sharing this is not to demoralize anyone, but to let emerging writers know they're not failing if they can't make a living off writing alone. Almost no one can.
almost every novelist you read who's not from the airport fiction or bestseller sections is working a full on day job, including multi-award winners and absolute legends, or they have a spouse or trust that supports them. virtually across the board. just normalize in your mind that's how it works.
I know we know this, but authors need to get better at talking about how they actually make their money. Stop pretending it's from the books.
November 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM
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As Rachel Reeves prepares to ruin the economy and working people's lives... Let's remind ourselves of the excellent and still relevant Not The Nine O'clock News budget sketch...

We're going to need a laugh.

youtu.be/BI7fudmO7FY?...
not the nine o'clock news - budget
YouTube video by Gareth
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
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Hey Against Time and Death backers, you might want to check your emails. The Time War has begun!

And if you’re not a backer yet, there’s still time…

against-time-and-death.backerkit.com/hosted_preor...
November 26, 2025 at 8:38 AM
I'm not saying I was a weird kid but 3-year-old me preferred this Lovecraftian version. Iä R'lyea! Bungle ftagn! Iä! Iä!
RAINBOW (1972) was originally conceived as Britain's answer to Sesame Street, and Geoffrey, George, Zippy and Bungle would eventually become household names. But the first series featured a maniacal, wide-eyed, terrifying prototype of cuddly old Bungle Bear...
November 25, 2025 at 2:17 PM
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Playtest deployment (and new website) imminent. Gather your gear and settle your affairs.
November 23, 2025 at 5:11 PM
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Earlier this month I had two gaming weekends back to back and it was glorious. More for my own record keeping than anything else I did a write up covering The One Ring Road Trip 2025 and Grogmeetish

open.substack.com/pub/oldscous...
Two weekends to rule them all
Surely I can’t be the only one with an unhealthy focus on the next gaming weekend…?
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:46 PM
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Good morning. XKCD just made me cry again
xkcd.com/3172/
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:55 AM
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November 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM
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And you may find yourself living in Vatican City
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large popemobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful palace, with a beautiful nun
And you may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"
November 23, 2025 at 11:56 AM
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What are your favorite mystery games that really hit that sweet spot of deductive reasoning? Blue Prince and Obra Dinn are two favorites, but I'm really craving a classic murder mystery.
November 21, 2025 at 4:59 PM
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My new favorite kind of meme is "here are detailed instructions on how to turn off AI". 🔨
November 19, 2025 at 3:00 PM
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The wolves are running.
November 21, 2025 at 9:50 AM
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To “my students and to anyone who might listen, I say: Don’t surrender to AI your ability to read, write and think when others once risked their lives and died for the freedom to do so.”

www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:22 AM
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Thinking a lot about creativity and my own suspected (but largely inconsequential to me) neurodiversity because once again I have been asked to speak to young people about creative jobs. I have been a full time creative for 25 years by blithely fucking shit up & then going "oh wait! A connection!".
November 21, 2025 at 9:37 AM
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If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."

There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
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Every time Dominic Cummings spouts forth again I am reminded of @daveyjones.bsky.social's Dogshit Puppet Master from 2021 in @vizcomic.bsky.social
February 14, 2025 at 9:47 AM
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You have a little less than a week to get a little less than 40 PDFs by ME! for a little less than $18 @bundleofholding.com!! From Alchemy to Xeno-archaeology + two independent GUMSHOE campaign frames: Scholars of Night and the Moon Dust Men triple set!! bundleofholding.com/presents/Ken...
Ken Writes About Stuff Bundle
Reader! This Ken Writes About Stuff Bundle presents more than three dozen small supplements from Pelgrane Press in the Ken Writes About Stuff series by master Lovecraftian writer and GUMSHOE guru Kenn...
bundleofholding.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Studio Agate make fabulous games and this jaunt to the post-apocalypse looks v interesting indeed www.backerkit.com/c/projects/s...
Vermin 2047 - Universe
Vermin 2047 is a survival and cooperative TTRPG set in the post-apocalyptic world of 2047. Discover two new books and grab one of the last Ennies-nominated Survival Kits!
www.backerkit.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:43 PM
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Black Armada Games are in the Backerkit Holiday Sale!

We have bundle deals on a bunch of our products for the holidays including physical products so please check it out and share it around.

#ttrpg #rpg #backerkit
Black Armada Christmas TTRPG bundles
TTRPG bundles including: * The eldritch bundle: Lovecraftesque and all its expansions! * The urban fantasy bundle: Bite Marks and Wreck This Deck! * The space bundle: Last Fleet and Flotsam! Plus our...
www.backerkit.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:48 PM
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Paula Rego,
'Hey Diddle Diddle', from the series 'Nursery Rhymes', 1989 etchings and aquatint prints
#ReframingWomenPrintmakers
November 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
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If you want to grab THE DRACULA DOSSIER campaign at a discount, Pelgrane have just launched a promotion over at Backerkit.

The Dossier remains the Most Fun Thing I've ever written.

www.backerkit.com/c/projects/p...
Operation: CRIMSON GIFT
The Bourne trilogy meets Dracula in The Dracula Dossier, an expansive, fast-paced, modern horror campaign for the Night's Black Agents RPG. Cut loose by your agency, you must take down the vampiric co...
www.backerkit.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:47 PM
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The most amazing thing I saw at #vcfw was BEEBFAX: a digital news service delivered over the airwaves from the BBC to a home PC via teletext. A technological achievement so singularly remarkable, no one from the UK thought to mention it in 45 years 🧵 davidcwga.github.io/vcfw/#master
August 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM