Merely Matt
@merelymatt.bsky.social
I make I Need A Miracle, a divine audio drama, and Merely Roleplayers, a podcast where theatrical people play roleplaying games. Find me at www.foggyoutline.com
Pinned
Merely Matt
@merelymatt.bsky.social
· Jan 2
I Need A Miracle, an original audio drama podcast — Foggy Outline
Each episode a prayer; some prayers are granted; a prayer granted can upend the world. Featuring Annette Badland and Patrick McKenzie, and produced by multi-award winning Wireless Theatre. Official Se...
www.foggyoutline.com
I write I NEED A MIRACLE, the audio drama where each episode is a prayer, some prayers are answered, and miracles can upend the world.
Finalist for various awards in 2025, including Best Concept and Best Writing at NZ Web Fest.
Season 2 crowdfunding in 2026.
www.foggyoutline.com/ineedamiracle
Finalist for various awards in 2025, including Best Concept and Best Writing at NZ Web Fest.
Season 2 crowdfunding in 2026.
www.foggyoutline.com/ineedamiracle
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"Who's the audience for this?"
"Anything from the kitchen for anyone?"
"I don't expect they will, but can you ask if they have a style guide?"
"And when do you need this by?"
"Who's the audience for this?"
"Anything from the kitchen for anyone?"
"I don't expect they will, but can you ask if they have a style guide?"
"And when do you need this by?"
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"Hover your cursor over the record button."
"Roll for initiative."
"The game is designed to teach itself."
"Our story continues, in the clouds."
"Hover your cursor over the record button."
"Roll for initiative."
"The game is designed to teach itself."
"Our story continues, in the clouds."
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"For purposes of legal defensibility, we need to-"
"What would you say are the 5-7 core responsibilities for this role?"
"Is this a reasonable expectation for this job level? No? What needs to change so it would be?"
"For purposes of legal defensibility, we need to-"
"What would you say are the 5-7 core responsibilities for this role?"
"Is this a reasonable expectation for this job level? No? What needs to change so it would be?"
February 8, 2026 at 8:34 AM
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"Who's the audience for this?"
"Anything from the kitchen for anyone?"
"I don't expect they will, but can you ask if they have a style guide?"
"And when do you need this by?"
"Who's the audience for this?"
"Anything from the kitchen for anyone?"
"I don't expect they will, but can you ask if they have a style guide?"
"And when do you need this by?"
Reposted by Merely Matt
I'm looking at the applications we've had so far and there are so many fabulous people, but I KNOW there's more women and femmes of colour in the European TTRPG scene than this. There has to be!
Come and play on our channel, we are super nice and cool.
Come and play on our channel, we are super nice and cool.
Casting is still open for our 6 amazing all women and femme tables! We've got gothic horror, team sports, arctic horror, bittersweet road trips, space and DRAGONS, all with our facillitated Session 0s, European-prioritised tables, and POC applicants go to the top of the list!
tally.so/r/Pd9a4x
tally.so/r/Pd9a4x
February 7, 2026 at 2:17 PM
I'm looking at the applications we've had so far and there are so many fabulous people, but I KNOW there's more women and femmes of colour in the European TTRPG scene than this. There has to be!
Come and play on our channel, we are super nice and cool.
Come and play on our channel, we are super nice and cool.
Reposted by Merely Matt
Hard agree. It is one of the most approachable systems that bends towards a satisfying narritve.
Belonging Outside Belonging games do not get anywhere near the love or attention they deserve.
They never disappoint.
They never disappoint.
January 31, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Hard agree. It is one of the most approachable systems that bends towards a satisfying narritve.
Reposted by Merely Matt
Musk: see, we gotta da problem witta da grok
Musk: it no maka stories no good
Musk: so we need hira a writer to fix them
King: grok can't write?
Musk: yeah da writing machine i make
Musk: it good atta da racism
Musk: but da writing? not so much
Musk: it no maka stories no good
Musk: so we need hira a writer to fix them
King: grok can't write?
Musk: yeah da writing machine i make
Musk: it good atta da racism
Musk: but da writing? not so much
January 31, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Musk: see, we gotta da problem witta da grok
Musk: it no maka stories no good
Musk: so we need hira a writer to fix them
King: grok can't write?
Musk: yeah da writing machine i make
Musk: it good atta da racism
Musk: but da writing? not so much
Musk: it no maka stories no good
Musk: so we need hira a writer to fix them
King: grok can't write?
Musk: yeah da writing machine i make
Musk: it good atta da racism
Musk: but da writing? not so much
Describe your bluesky account in one image
January 31, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Describe your bluesky account in one image
Tell us 5 classes you took at university (UK here so all 5 are on a theme):
Theatre criticism
Australian film, TV & theatre
Ecologies of performance
Boundaries of performance
Contemporary theatremaking
Theatre criticism
Australian film, TV & theatre
Ecologies of performance
Boundaries of performance
Contemporary theatremaking
Tell us 5 classes you took in college:
The Picaresque Novel
Victorian Prose & Poetry
Fencing
Geologic Resources
Non-Chaucerian Middle English Works
The Picaresque Novel
Victorian Prose & Poetry
Fencing
Geologic Resources
Non-Chaucerian Middle English Works
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
History of American Musical Theater
Sociology of Religion
Global Perspective
Interactive Performance
Directing
History of American Musical Theater
Sociology of Religion
Global Perspective
Interactive Performance
Directing
January 31, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Tell us 5 classes you took at university (UK here so all 5 are on a theme):
Theatre criticism
Australian film, TV & theatre
Ecologies of performance
Boundaries of performance
Contemporary theatremaking
Theatre criticism
Australian film, TV & theatre
Ecologies of performance
Boundaries of performance
Contemporary theatremaking
Them: The letter R is the funniest letter to add to words
Me: I'm becoming the Jorker
Me: I'm becoming the Jorker
January 30, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Them: The letter R is the funniest letter to add to words
Me: I'm becoming the Jorker
Me: I'm becoming the Jorker
For the first time, I didn't decide to completely change the newsletter format for the new year! buttondown.com/FoggyOutline...
January 30, 2026 at 4:44 PM
For the first time, I didn't decide to completely change the newsletter format for the new year! buttondown.com/FoggyOutline...
New newsletter arriving soon! My Dad tries to stump me with what roleplaying game I'd run for Grimmy and Annie Mac, plus the state of Foggy Outline's various projects a month into 2026 buttondown.com/foggyoutline
Foggy Outline
How well could you explain what your grown-up children do for a living? In Professional Relations, the monthly email from Foggy Outline, a wife, a husband, and a son, who are also business partners, i...
buttondown.com
January 30, 2026 at 8:32 AM
New newsletter arriving soon! My Dad tries to stump me with what roleplaying game I'd run for Grimmy and Annie Mac, plus the state of Foggy Outline's various projects a month into 2026 buttondown.com/foggyoutline
Reposted by Merely Matt
Contrast this with Shirley Jackson:
“The actual act of taking pen to paper…occurred on snatched time, in common spaces. Jackson’s children recall her writing in the middle of baking, perched on a kitchen stool or wedged at a folding table in the dining room.”
Which takes the greater discipline?
“The actual act of taking pen to paper…occurred on snatched time, in common spaces. Jackson’s children recall her writing in the middle of baking, perched on a kitchen stool or wedged at a folding table in the dining room.”
Which takes the greater discipline?
January 29, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Contrast this with Shirley Jackson:
“The actual act of taking pen to paper…occurred on snatched time, in common spaces. Jackson’s children recall her writing in the middle of baking, perched on a kitchen stool or wedged at a folding table in the dining room.”
Which takes the greater discipline?
“The actual act of taking pen to paper…occurred on snatched time, in common spaces. Jackson’s children recall her writing in the middle of baking, perched on a kitchen stool or wedged at a folding table in the dining room.”
Which takes the greater discipline?
Reposted by Merely Matt
Tomorrow is my 35th birthday, help me celebrate by overpaying for any of my games on itch.
If you could overpay by £350, that would be appreciated and I'd give you a high five.
If you could overpay by £350, that would be appreciated and I'd give you a high five.
Ursidice
ursidice.itch.io
January 29, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Tomorrow is my 35th birthday, help me celebrate by overpaying for any of my games on itch.
If you could overpay by £350, that would be appreciated and I'd give you a high five.
If you could overpay by £350, that would be appreciated and I'd give you a high five.
Feeling bad about my writing this week. Rational Matt knows why, and how to cope, but emotional Matt needs to sulk for a bit.
January 29, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Feeling bad about my writing this week. Rational Matt knows why, and how to cope, but emotional Matt needs to sulk for a bit.
Reposted by Merely Matt
Kodansha announced they released all 26 episodes of Mushishi Season 1 to watch for free on their Youtube Channel
(Availability limited to English Speaking Countries)
English Sub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsA...
English Dub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpg...
(Availability limited to English Speaking Countries)
English Sub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsA...
English Dub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpg...
January 28, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Kodansha announced they released all 26 episodes of Mushishi Season 1 to watch for free on their Youtube Channel
(Availability limited to English Speaking Countries)
English Sub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsA...
English Dub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpg...
(Availability limited to English Speaking Countries)
English Sub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsA...
English Dub
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpg...
More on this in this month's newsletter, out on Friday buttondown.com/foggyoutline
Podcasters, hire me to run a roleplaying game with your hosts or cast to use as a bonus episode, between seasons or for your paying subscribers! foggyoutline.com/rpgbonuseps
Need bonus content for your podcast? — Foggy Outline
Play a roleplaying game on your podcast and show your audience a different side of your hosting team. Let Matt Boothman (Actual Play UK, Merely Roleplayers) curate the right game and make playing it e...
foggyoutline.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:13 PM
More on this in this month's newsletter, out on Friday buttondown.com/foggyoutline
Which blogs and podcasts do people try to guest on when they're running an audio drama kickstarter?
January 28, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Which blogs and podcasts do people try to guest on when they're running an audio drama kickstarter?
Apologies to the mods.
Chapter 10 of Camera Obscura – my actual play of Outliers by Samantha Leigh – is out.
The IRB's off our backs for now, but money is getting too tight to mention.
www.foggyoutline.com/cameraobscura
Chapter 10 of Camera Obscura – my actual play of Outliers by Samantha Leigh – is out.
The IRB's off our backs for now, but money is getting too tight to mention.
www.foggyoutline.com/cameraobscura
January 28, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Apologies to the mods.
Chapter 10 of Camera Obscura – my actual play of Outliers by Samantha Leigh – is out.
The IRB's off our backs for now, but money is getting too tight to mention.
www.foggyoutline.com/cameraobscura
Chapter 10 of Camera Obscura – my actual play of Outliers by Samantha Leigh – is out.
The IRB's off our backs for now, but money is getting too tight to mention.
www.foggyoutline.com/cameraobscura
I'm still in the market for TTRPG adventures and scenarios that would make good delves, landmarks, and adversaries for Heart!
Please point me to any TTRPG scenario zines (zine-arios?) that I could easily drop into a Heart: The City Beneath campaign. I've got Yanahn's Enter the Whalefall and David Lombardo's Not a Place of Honor, and I'm looking for more like that.
January 28, 2026 at 8:37 AM
I'm still in the market for TTRPG adventures and scenarios that would make good delves, landmarks, and adversaries for Heart!
Hey babe, what's your sign
January 27, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Hey babe, what's your sign
*refreshes all your Resistances as you scroll past*
*adds 5 to your Sanity save throw as you scroll past*
*fully restores your HP as you scroll past*
January 27, 2026 at 9:03 AM
*refreshes all your Resistances as you scroll past*
Curtain up! Use Your Words Act I is now playing in your podcast app.
If there was ever a time for some purple prose, it's when setting the scene for a game and a story all about words.
If there was ever a time for some purple prose, it's when setting the scene for a game and a story all about words.
January 27, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Curtain up! Use Your Words Act I is now playing in your podcast app.
If there was ever a time for some purple prose, it's when setting the scene for a game and a story all about words.
If there was ever a time for some purple prose, it's when setting the scene for a game and a story all about words.
I'm watching Dimension 20: A Starstruck Odyssey again and I just realised I started the year by repainting my living room in the Starstruck dome colours
January 26, 2026 at 7:26 PM
I'm watching Dimension 20: A Starstruck Odyssey again and I just realised I started the year by repainting my living room in the Starstruck dome colours
I can confirm, now that I've done it, that this takes 20-30 minutes. And the Amnesty guidance helpfully points out some cynical traps (and plain bad survey design) that could otherwise see the government misinterpreting your views.
The UK government is proposing radical and punitive changes to settlement rules. This is settlement, not citizenship. The consultation is open until 12 February; please respond to it and oppose these evil proposals. Amnesty have a good guide: www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/gu...
Guidance for responding to 'A Fairer Pathway to Settlement' consultation
We are Amnesty International UK. We are ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights.
www.amnesty.org.uk
January 26, 2026 at 6:29 PM
I can confirm, now that I've done it, that this takes 20-30 minutes. And the Amnesty guidance helpfully points out some cynical traps (and plain bad survey design) that could otherwise see the government misinterpreting your views.
Please point me to any TTRPG scenario zines (zine-arios?) that I could easily drop into a Heart: The City Beneath campaign. I've got Yanahn's Enter the Whalefall and David Lombardo's Not a Place of Honor, and I'm looking for more like that.
January 26, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Please point me to any TTRPG scenario zines (zine-arios?) that I could easily drop into a Heart: The City Beneath campaign. I've got Yanahn's Enter the Whalefall and David Lombardo's Not a Place of Honor, and I'm looking for more like that.
Reposted by Merely Matt
YOU FUCKED UP. You left the genetastic scramblomatic on all night and it spat out a thousand buck-toothed gremblings with mayhem on their minds.
No one else is coming to fix this. It's time to own your lab boo-boo.
WHAT IS A ROLEPLAYING GAME?
Remember playing pretend with friends? LABUBU WORLD is
No one else is coming to fix this. It's time to own your lab boo-boo.
WHAT IS A ROLEPLAYING GAME?
Remember playing pretend with friends? LABUBU WORLD is
January 26, 2026 at 1:40 PM
YOU FUCKED UP. You left the genetastic scramblomatic on all night and it spat out a thousand buck-toothed gremblings with mayhem on their minds.
No one else is coming to fix this. It's time to own your lab boo-boo.
WHAT IS A ROLEPLAYING GAME?
Remember playing pretend with friends? LABUBU WORLD is
No one else is coming to fix this. It's time to own your lab boo-boo.
WHAT IS A ROLEPLAYING GAME?
Remember playing pretend with friends? LABUBU WORLD is
Bibliocalypse is a silly party game in a lot of ways, but our actual play of it also has more character death and some of the most intense content warnings of any production we've done on Merely Roleplayers.
January 26, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Bibliocalypse is a silly party game in a lot of ways, but our actual play of it also has more character death and some of the most intense content warnings of any production we've done on Merely Roleplayers.