Charlie (Pizza), Dexter (Zebra), Mandy (Wings), and Tony (Me) against Tsathoggua.
Without realizing it until it was almost too late, Malaise seemed to seep into every aspect of this game. Our weapons were less than desirable: Charlie got a Molotov, Dexter had his Shrivelling, and Mandy got a .38. Charlie got Eric Colt, fixing his major deficiency: his Speed. Dexter did get an Alchemical Process and the Seven Books of Hsan, so he was churning out money all game, but somehow that became some kind of evil distraction, as we all went lazily shopping at the beginning. Only Mandy went to work, killing anything that moved, since our first couple of Mythos cards were the two-monsters-in-Street variety.
Tony failed his story at the Woods immediately. Zebra called me out on that one, but it’s not like I can NOT remember how STUPID Tony’s story is: why waste time gathering monster trophies to toss away when you can blow his story in Turn 1 for one of the “best failures” in the lot? (Even against Tsathoggua where you actually have to LOOK for ways to waste your trophies, Tony’s story is still better failed!)
Tony didn’t want to hop in a Gate without a weapon, but all I could manage was a Task and a Cavalry Sabre. Dexter made himself money and bought Spells: best one was Call Friend. Then he went shopping for Tomes: only managed to find one (Dhol Chants). Mandy killed a Mi-Go: got a Mission. Charlie blew all his Clues AND Mandy’s Research failing to prevent getting Cursed: three turns in Church got him nothing he could use (Steal Life and True Magick). So what was all that? Deck Malaise? Dice Malaise?
Tony gave up and was gonna hit a Gate when the Southside Strangler showed up. Mandy and Charlie both fail their stories according to the Terror Track, and I was the only one with five Clues. Which ended up giving us all money, distracting us further.
While Mandy used Dexter’s Shrivelling to take out one of the Hairy Toad’s Formless Spawns blocking the Asylum, Dexter “called” Charlie from the Church to trade his Fetch Stick for Charlie’s True Magick. His plan was to hit the Asylum to become a money-and-Clue factory, but he was out of money so he had to draw an Encounter. He was sent to the Abyss for an Encounter-and-Return trip: when I moved his Investigator token, he asked why I was bothering. “Well, you might get delayed.” And then he was. On his next turn, he was driven insane, and Lost in Time and Space, losing his story, his turn, and his plan, but gaining an Addiction.
Thus began this weird extended bout of ribbing, where we all playfully blamed each other for our various misfortunes. Dexter was LiTaS because I said "delayed" out loud, Charlie and Mandy made me waste my Clues, Wings had to waste her reroll on someone else before Mandy herself needed it…socially it was delightful, but we just weren’t paying attention. (MALAISE!) Cursed, Clueless, and low on Sanity, Charlie got dumped off to Carcosa during the Mythos Phase, while Dexter came back to the Asylum to read his books and “call” Charlie back. Mandy went to Dunwich for Clues. Charlie passed his PS and went to the Science Building for a couple of Clues, and his “rational mind” convinced him that Curses didn’t exist (discard!!!). Tony killed an awesome gathering of a Cultist, a Deep One, a Zombie, and a Maniac, getting a burst of Clues, but then got arrested (for Disturbing the Peace?). Notice how we are all frolicking about the game board without really accomplishing anything? MALAISE!!!
By the time I got bailed out and into the Woods Gate, there were five Gates open. “Uh…guys…?” 
We all sobered up pretty quick, shaking the Tsathoggua out of our heads. Mandy wanted to get more Dunwich Clues, but I suggested we might not have the time. Dexter “called” her back, and they spread out as fast as they could, jumping into any Gate whether they had the Clues or not. The sixth Gate popped. All of us offworld now, Tony needed one turn to get out and hold the Gate Limit long enough for the rest of them to cut it in half, but one bad Mythos and we were all devoured in one round (no Gate Trophies).
Sunny and Clear. Monster Surge. Tsathoggua must have dozed off (clearly petrified from the threat of our cavorting). 
Tony sealed, getting us that inch of breathing room. Another sixth Gate popped, but then Mandy sealed, and Charlie and Dexter closed.
Things kinda turned around after that. Sunny and Clear gave way to Noden’s Favor for several turns. Tony got a Broken Hand, but the Monster Cup Malaise put out nothing but single-drop monsters begging to be killed: Tony used several of them for Clues, and found a Return-to-Arkham Encounter to quickly seal again. Dexter sat safely in the Asylum making money and Clues for our fourth Seal. Mandy went on a killing spree with her .38 and Gladius of Carcosa, with a Gruesome Talisman for her Horror Checks, eventually grabbing both Clues and Sarah Danforth with a Parchment of the Elder Sign (fifth Seal). Mayor Charlie ended up in the Riverton Streets for a few turns as monsters kept finding their way to him, only to be beaten with his Fetch Stick.
A Solar Eclipse slowed Dexter down from leaving the Asylum for the sixth Seal (since he would be Shrivelless), but left as soon as a lazy Balmy came out (which assisted Mandy with the fifth Seal). Dexter was then accosted by some hungry zoogs, and was forced to dump almost all his Clues to avoid being LiTaS AGAIN. So Tony followed him in. Our intent was for Dexter to “call” Tony forward a space, but then Dexter abruptly returned to Arkham. Last gasps from Tsathoggua, I suppose. As Tony came out for that sixth Seal win, he gave the oft-traded Gladius to Dexter so he could lay waste to a Hound of Tindalos. You know, work off that late game rage.
Final Score: 30. But any game you win against a sealed Tsathoggua is going to be boosted by dozens of trophies.
Zebra liked Dexter as a “team supplier”: his inventory changed a great deal as he facilitated much trading amongst the rest of us. Lately, Zebra had been running himself ragged trying to accomplish so much with his Investigators, it seems it was nice to take a break out of harm’s way this time. (Malaise?) Pizza has no problem with Charlie, but didn’t really do anything “uniquely Charlie” with him. (Although Pizza’s perception of Charlie's appearance went from, say, Chief Wiggum to the Kingpin.) I’ve always liked Tony, and with his PS BS, I find him INFINITELY more playable than many of the other “hitters” that actually START with weapons. Wings ended the game with eleven kills, more than the rest of us. Rather exceptional for a rookie. But we must wean Wings off of Mandy; there are 47 other Investigators to try, and one of them’s got to be more interesting to her.
(Besides, I’d have to deal with a boatload of forumites giving me guff about using Mandy over and over again if we do. Where’s that malaise when I need it?)
