Update – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

Posting a quick update on The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story. This is also an explanation for why I have not posted since Day 7. 

The Calendar's story is quite involved, and I have not found it easy to summarize the happenings and progress. But I have been documenting that progress by copying from the calendar site and pasting excerpts into a Google doc. As of today, up through Day 21, I have just under 50 pages of content. This includes the story notes, my dice roles and choices, and the results of said rolls and choices. So, while I stopped the daily posts, I have kept up documenting along the way.

Anyway, since Day 7, I have gained a familiar (Yrsa, the bear), traversed the Bifrost, journeyed through Niflheim, battled giant icy hounds on the bridge called Gjallarbrú, exchanged words with Módgudr and Nott, uncovered Sigyn's potential treachery, skirted the roiling center of Hvergelmir's waters, pulled a great black fang (of Jormungandr) from the eye of the maelstrom, and descended the Eversteps where I found the glittering Seed of Ygdrassil. 

Phew!

Along the way, I've received various dice as my daily gifts from the Calendar. As well as three more non-dice gifts:

• Day 15: Bear figure
• Day 20: Warrior figure
• Day 21: Mjölnir pin

Bear, Warrior, and Mjölnir for days 15, 20, and 21

Only a few days left to complete this Calendar ... and its epic story.

Friday 80s Flashback for December 19, 2025

[Turn Me to Stone] -- It's the penultimate Flashback of 2025, we're deep in the holiday season, so you would be excused if you thought we'd feature a Christmas album. You'd also be wrong. 

40 years ago today, the Alan Parsons Project released their ninth studio album, Stereotomy. It marked a change in sound, which had been evolving through the 1980s. And structure for this album was also new ground for primary members Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson – Stereotomy contains three tracks exceeding six minutes in length, one of which is an instrumental, and two songs under two minutes at the end of the record. This album was also the band's first effort at a full digital production with no analog tapes. 

Stereotomy received fairly negative reviews, with the topper being the ever snarky J. D. Considine calling the album "Unnecessary surgery" [Rock Short Takes, Musician April 1986, p.92]. But it still reached #43 on the Billboard 200, and within the top 50 of several global album charts. The title track was the lone single, released in early 1986, and it peaked at #82 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also the band's last appearance on that particular chart. 

Stereotomy may lack the genius of previous Alan Parsons outings but it is an enjoyable, if unsurprising, listen. And it does have a few glimpses of what made the band special, particularly the instrumentals: "Where's the Walrus?" and "Urbania".

Flashback: Stereotomy (December 19, 1985)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

See you in seven!

Mocha on the Shelf

Some of you out there know about our little companion, Traveling Mocha. And you might know that, every December since 2014, he does daily "Mocha on the Shelf" posts from the first of the month through the 25th. In these posts, he shares a photo of himself being cute, or helpful, or both cute and helpful. If you don't know about him, that's on us for not including him in our posts. 

But we're letting you know now. 

Since the first of this month, Mocha has been his helpful and cute little self over on all his socials. If you're interested, just click a link to see what he's been up to. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/mochaontheshelf2025

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/search/keyword/?q=%23mochaontheshelf2025

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/travelingmocha/search/Mocha%20on%20the%20Shelf

Former Bird App: https://x.com/hashtag/MochaOnTheShelf2025?f=live

Friday 80s Flashback for December 12, 2025

[a fine debut] -- Fine Young Cannibals formed in 1984 and released their debut album a year later (forty years ago this week, on December 9, 1985). The main drivers of Fine Young Cannibals were guitarist Dave Cox and bassist David Steele of The English Beat (or just The Beat in the UK). In 1983, the Beat's vocalists, Ranking Roger and Dave Wakelin, broke away from the band to form General Public. But Cox and Steele didn't know about the split until they both received phone calls from their former band's accountant [per AllMusic]. The duo decided to form a new band as well, one that added jazz and soul stylings to The Beat's ska basis. It took Cox and Steele over a year to find their vocalist, Roland Gift.

Now, when most people recall Fine Young Cannibals, they think of either "She Drives Me Crazy" or "Ever Fallen in Love". However, those songs were on the band's 1989 album, The Raw and the Cooked, not their self-titled 1985 debut. 

The singles on Fine Young Cannibals were "Johnny Come Home" and "Suspicious Minds", the latter being a cover of the Elvis Presley 1969 hit. "Johnny Come Home" peaked at #8 on the UK Singles chart and #76 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also charted in several other countries. "Suspicious Minds" also fared well for the band, reaching #8 on UK Singles, #49 on US 12-inch Singles Sales, and #23 on US Dance/Disco Club Play among other charts. The eponymous debut album itself received critical praise and and commercial success; it peaked at #11 in the UK and #49 in the US. 

Personally, I could not stand their debut single, "Johnny Come Home", when it first came out. And I continued disliking it for several years after that. And while it's still not a song I seek out, I don't exactly jump to turn it off or skip to the next track in those rare moments I come across it. I do appreciate their cover of "Suspicious Minds," and I love that their largely monochrome music video is something of an homage to Elvis Presley. Other standout tracks for me are "Don't Ask Me To Choose" and "Move to Work." 

And without this debut album, we would not have the outstanding pop gems from their later release. 

Flashback: Fine Young Cannibals (December 9, 1985)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

See you in seven!

Day 7 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

Continuing with The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 7: Yesterday, on Day 6, the Bifrost opened. This had the effect of transporting me from familiar waters to ... well, read today's prelude:

...The horizon shimmers into a greying dream, and the bright waters haze and blur into shadow and shade. All is lost... and yet the rough wood of the deck beneath your feet still rocks with the motions of the restless sea. What wearied world is this? 

I was directed to ROLL FOR THE REALM using the d6 from Day 7 on the calendar. I rolled a 5.

Brand new d6 for Day 7

So, where in the nine worlds did I end up?  

The air hangs thick with the scent of decay. A swirling fog, the color of old bone, obscures the horizon, where the sea churns in a violent, chaotic dance. A biting wind howls, carrying with it a silent promise of oblivion. Yet, beneath your feet, the deck is still. No waves disturb these waters. The silence is heavy.

This is Niflheim—Land of Mist and Ice.

What will happen in Niflheim? Tune in tomorrow when I continue to Day 8.  

Day 6 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

 Continuing The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 6: I set sail, and...

...suddenly, directly in your path, the horizon tears from the top of the sky to the depths of the seas! A bright multihued waterway falls away at an impossible angle. The Bifrost is opened! 

I was directed to roll the d20 from today's calendar (Day 6). After submitting my roll, the result was compared to a secret number (between 1 and 20) representing the task's difficulty. Exceeding that secret number indicates successfully navigating the Bifrost. 

I rolled a 15.

The "15" I rolled on the new D20 in the calendar's Day 6 slot

When I submitted my result:  

SUCCESS! Your ship dips and wheels as the chromatic waves crash over you, sending salted spray over the bow and nearly foundering in the chaos waters. But she shakes loose and emerges from the waves into altogether different waters...

What I find in those waters will have to wait for Day 7.  

Day 5 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

Continuing The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 5: A stranger meets me at the longboat. Whose favor have I drawn, and what gift have they offered? I open Day 5 on the calendar...

Frigga, the All-Mother herself, stands before you in all her glory! In her hands she holds the Spindle and Distaff, and at her neck are the keys of wood and metal that are her symbol... she places around your neck the runic keys she wore at her neck. 

The favor of Frigga is with me. I write her name on my journal sheet. Will her favor be the "key" to my success in this quest?

There is no preview for Day 6 on the journal sheet. I wonder what awaits!

Friday 80s Flashback for December 5, 2025

[Do We Still Care?] -- I know we are ending the first week of December 2025, but I want to pull one more album from November 1985. And this one was released on November 30, 1985, the very end of the month. Forty years ago, that date was on a Saturday. This year, November 30 fell on a Sunday, so it kicked of this week. Therefore, I feel it's a legitimate option as the first flashback of the last month of this year. 

And what is that album? We Care A Lot, the debut from California-based Faith No More (or "Faith. No More." as they are credited on the original vinyl). The title track is the best known song from this album, but the one you remember is probably the re-recorded version from the band's 1987 album, Introduce Yourself. But We Care A Lot was the indie release that did not chart and did not have any singles. Still, it's evident that all the pieces for the band you know, the one that later exploded on MTV and some charts, are here: Heavy metal guitar, swirling keyboards, funky bass riffs, and the occasional oddity (such as the short and acoustic "Jim"). It's just not as polished. And maybe that makes it more of a gem. 

Notable tracks: "We Care A Lot", "Why Do You Bother", "Pills for Breakfast", and "Arabian Disco".

Flashback: We Care A Lot (November 30, 1985)

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And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.

See you in seven!

Day 4 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

 Continuing The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 4: What will be the token of your beloved that you will carry on this journey? Roll the D4 that was today's gift. I rolled a 4 and...

You pick up the small flower you plucked and dried when first you fell in love. Its beauty, preserved from the moment of your union's beginning, reminds you of the lengths you would go to for the preservation of the beauty your union has brought. You place this memento into your tunic near your heart… 

I wrote "Dried Flower" on my journal sheet and added the D4 to my Inspiration Pool as instructed. 

The opened calendar with Day 2's gift and journal

Next up ... Day 5!

BATMAN RETURNS (1992) Is A Christmas Movie

Reminder: BATMAN RETURNS (1992) is not only a Christmas movie, it also "digs into seasonal depression."

Read the AV Club post from December 4, 2013: https://www.avclub.com/batman-returns-digs-into-seasonal-depression-1798242284 

Day 3 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

Continuing The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 3: Now that I have my weapon, I must choose from "the wall of armaments, arrayed in orderly rows... There isn’t time to don all - One piece must suffice."

 ... by rolling the D8 that was today's gift. I rolled a 6 and...

You pull your heavy grey cloak from the wall and fasten it around your shoulders. Your way may be long, and stealth and warmth never go amiss… 

I wrote "Heavy Grey Cloak" on my journal sheet and added the D8 to my Inspiration Pool as instructed. 

Next up ... Day 4! And a talisman!

Day 2 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

Second day with The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 2: I chose to heed the call presented on Day 1. So, I was invited to choose a weapon ... by rolling the D6 that was today's gift. I rolled a 4 and...

You pick up your Atgeir from the corner where it leans. Its sharp hungry blade stands above your head, flickering in the torchlight. Its weight feels familiar in your hand. This will serve you well.

You pick up your shield and turn to the wall of armor...

Per the instructions, I wrote down my weapon on the journal sheet. I also added the D6 to my inspiration pool. (Note: I downloaded and printed a spare sheet from the website so I can leave the included postcard-sized original unscathed). 

Next up ... Day 3! Looks like I'll get my armor. 

The opened calendar with Day 2's gift and journal

Day 1 – Advent 2025: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts

From my mother-in-law: The Darkness of Blighted Hearts 2025 DnD Advent Calendar Story.

Day 1: I'm one of many sent to seek out the cause of a blight upon the World Tree. WILL YOU HEED THE CALL? Choose either DAY 2 OR Go Back To Bed...

1st gift: Viking longboat pendant in a small drawstring bag.

The opened calendar with Day 1's gift

There's even a journal for documenting stats and such along the 25 days:

Journal for the Adventure

This is going to be fun.