#Forged Mechanical Components

[cpfltvs]

Explore the world of forged automotive parts and discover why they are the gold standard for strength, durability, and performance in the automotive industry. Learn about their manufacturing process, key applications, and benefits in this concise audio segment. Perfect for enthusiasts and professionals alike!

[reninemetalloys1]

High-Performance Solutions: ASTM B564 Inconel 600 Forging Bar for Extreme Industrial Applications

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Forging enhances the inherent properties of Inconel 600 by refining its grain structure, leading to improved mechanical strength, toughness, and durability. The bars produced under ASTM B564 specifications adhere to stringent quality standards, ensuring reliable and consistent performance. They are versatile and can be machined and fabricated using standard techniques, making them adaptable to various industrial needs.

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[morganas-pendragons]

holly | celebrimbor

3 pieces in one weekend is alot for me lol

tag: @celebrimbormylove @erebusbabylon @pentaghasm @thesolarangel @celebrimborsapron

prompt: gifts from the forge

You have been wondering about how to ask this again for weeks. You've had desires to learn more about the forge since your earliest days in Eregion, and Celebrimbor always seems to have an excuse to prevent it.

Your inherently stubborn nature is what prompts you to ask him again, this time with the other Gwaith-I-Mírdain present. Mirdania gives you two thumbs up from behind her station as you approach.

"Lord Celebrimbor?" You call over the ringing of hammers against anvils. "Might I have a moment?"

Celebrimbor looks up from his sketches and smiles. You're so taken with him already, but particularly when he's like this, and even more so when there's lead smudged all over his hands from his sketches.

"I did not see you arrive. What are you up to today, dearest?" He asks.

"I'm coming to ask you a question.." You hesitate. "I would really like to learn how to forge. I have an idea, if you're willing to help me craft it."

Celebrimbor's smile wavers slightly. His main reasoning is that he simply does not wish to see you hurt, but all of his smiths have started in your position. The hopeful smile and the way your eyes shine with curiosity...

He sighs. "Very well. Only under my watch, and you must do as I say. Understood?"

You nod eagerly. Finally.

"Absolutely. You have my word. When do we start?"

"Let's start with you telling me more about your idea."

You are many, many things. Subtle? Not one of them. Mirdania snorts as you lean impossibly closer to Celebrimbr, eagerly talking on about your idea of crafting two holly pins.

It had been her input that had given you the courage.

"A holly leaf??" Celebrimbor asks. "That's an excellent project for a beginner! As it happens, there's gold being prepared for another project and I'm sure there's enough to spare. Come."

You follow Celebrimbor throughout the forge as you both gather the necessary components for crafting these leaves. You allow him to talk most of the way, explaining the mechanics of the forge and how he will be guiding your hands.

You wink at Mirdania as you catch her eye. Perfect. This is what you want.

By the time all of the supplies are gathered and ready, it is only the three of you left in the forge. The others have returned home for the evening. Mirdania bids you both a good evening and mouths, ''good luck!" before she too disappears.

After she departs, Celebrimbor peers over his shoulder at his last remaining companion. "I would understand if you want to continue this in the morning," He begins. "I don't want to keep you from something important."

You flash a pointed, though playful look. "You are important to me, you insufferable elf," You tease. "For you, I have all the time in the world." You stand just in front of him and, after throwing on a smith's apron and gloves, reach for the hammer you know is used to shape the metals. "My hands are yours."

Celebrimbor smiles and steps into your space, chest pressed to your back.

"First you must place the mold.."

"Mhm." You keep your eyes solely focused on his hands. If you get too distracted by how this is the closest he's been to you thus far, you're going to embarrass yourself. "Like that?"

"Carefully," He chides. "I don't want you to burn yourself." You can tell he's been doing this for centuries, as his movements are all slow and precise. "And now to pour the gold..."

He's so warm. So warm, and strong, and safe. You don't recall anyone else who has ever made you feel like this.

You surrender yourself to his guidance, absorbing what little time you will have to feel him like this before he shies away again. You'd let Celebrimbor imprint himself on your soul if he asked it.

Once poured, he guides you to move to the mold so the two of you can watch the metal cool. He watches you out of the corner of his eye. You are so trusting, so pliant, so soft.

Two holly pins are starting to take shape beneath them. They're meant to be worn across cloaks, as was your intention because you're aware that's the only way you can get him to wear it.

You lean into his arms around you as the metal cools. It really is quite a fascinating thing to witness.

Celebrimbor presses his chin into your shoulder. "Do you wish to add any detailing or color?" He asks quietly, relishing the feeling of your body so close to his.

"Green," You whisper, desperately trying not to close your eyes because he's now gotten closer and you can feel all of him. "For Eregion."

Celebrimbor smiles as though he already knows your answer. His affections for you have bloomed, budding from a timid bulb into a flowering plant that continues to bloom under your careful cultivation. He knows he loves you. He knows you: your weaknesses and fears and desires and aches.

He is still trying to allow you to know him. He wants to, yes, but it proves difficult. This may be a start.

"If I didn't know better," Celebrimbor teases lowly in your ear. The rasp in his voice is enough to make you shiver. 'I'd say you were trying to flatter the Lord of Eregion."

"You gave me a home," You reply simply. It is the easiest answer you've ever given. "Two of them. You, as the person, and Eregion as the place." Scarlet dusts his cheeks as he hides his face in your shoulder. "Of course, I am trying to flatter you, you ridiculous smith."

You peer at him through your peripheral and wink.

Oh, I am done for.

It is only then in the glow of the forge that Celebrimbor is struck by how beautiful you are.

"May I kiss you, dear?" He whispers in your ear.

It is not often that you are caught off guard. This time you are. You turn around in his embrace and wrap your arms around your neck as you nod. "I would love nothing more, meleth nin." You reply.

Without giving himself the opportunity to second guess this decision, Celebrimbor takes this risk and presses his lips to yours, one hand deftly cradling the back of your neck while the other rests at the small of your back.

All coherent thoughts go flying out the window as you curl your fingers against his chest. This is what you've wanted for weeks now, for Celebrimbor to realize that you want him to touch you as much as you touch him. You want him to let him know you the way you know him. There's already been so much vulnerability, so many nights of whispered confessions hidden in the dark and tears wiped away with the pads of your thumbs, yet he still hesitates to take that final leap.

Until now.

When you pull away, a whimper breaks at the back of your throat, and your fingers have moved to tangle in a mess of dark blonde curls.

Letting you pull away is one of the hardest things Celebrimbor has ever done. All he wishes to do now that he's taken that leap is to pull you back and cover you in his kisses, to worship you like the being of divinity you are, to sweep you off your feet with the heart of the hopeless romantic he knows he is.

"You are ethereal," Celebrimbor breathes against your lips as he rests his forehead against your own. "Unlike anyone I have ever known. I am sorry it has taken me so long to communicate that."

You could say so many things to him in that moment about how much you love him. About how Celebrimbor has become your sole reason for continued breathing, about how his passions and desires and yearning for life have given you a renewed purpose.

You do neither. Not yet.

"Help me finish our pins," You say softly, lightly tugging on his hair as you continue to play with it. He suppresses the groan rumbling in his chest as heavy-lidded hazel eyes meet yours. "And then I will allow myself to echo that same sentimentality to you."

Rationality overcomes him once again. Celebrimbor clears his throat, cheeks reddening. "Right." He coughs into his arm, scratching at the back of his neck as you part just enough to turn back around in his embrace. "The pins. Let us place the adornments."

"I promise they have a purpose. Help me finish them, and then we can talk."

You remain back to chest as two gold holly leaf pins begin to take shape beneath you - adorned with green embellishments that spiral and shatter against gold jewels carefully placed along the length of each pin.

When they cool, you grab the first with careful fingers and turn around, his fingers drumming absently against your hips as you fasten it against his robes. Celebrimbor stares down at the pin in amazement. “You intended this to be for me?” He asks softly.

You press your fingertips against your lips before reaching for your own and reaching out to lay it in his hand. “Will you pin this into my hair?” You ask. He nods, pulling you closer to carefully tuck the holly pin into the hair you have that remains tied up. Celebrimbor exhales softly as his fingers drag against the expanse of your neck. You are so soft. “I told you I’d talk after we concluded. Here’s what I have to say to you.”

You take both of his hands and press them against your hips firmly. Your own fingers drag across his cheeks, tracing the lines of the crows feet around his eyes and the reddening skin that blooms under your touch.

His breathing hitches when you reach his lips. Against the light of the fire, Celebrimbor is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. He’s always so open, so wanting, always quietly craving more of a thing he thinks he can’t have. He has such a deeply personal connection to the world around him and appreciates even the smallest of things that most people would look over and ignore.

You lean inward to kiss him. He responds in kind, a long and slow kiss that slowly grows into one that has you pressed against Mirdania’s work station and his hands on either side of you to cage you in. Celebrimbor has gradually grown more confident in this area, and it often shows when he physically responds to the little sounds you make in response to the depths of his kisses.

You whine softly as he parts for just long enough to venture down your neck, right to your pulse of your right shoulder. “You are my peace,” You whisper, eyes fluttering as you flex your hands in the fabric of his robes. “My hearts safe keeping, my home, my desires and wants and everything I have ever wished for. You are everything good I have sought for so long, Celebrimbor. I wish you’d see it.”

You shiver as his tongue works against the muscle of your shoulder where a red mark blooms, and he only stops when he realizes that there is a tattoo on your skin just beneath your collarbone.

It is a holly leaf.

Celebrimbor has never seen skin markings on anyone, let alone an Elf. It is highly irregular. Nevertheless, he nuzzles your collarbone before laying a featherlight kiss thereupon.

“Where did this come from?” He asks, fascinated by the intricacies of the design and how it stands out against your skin. “It is identical to the pins, and to the holly leaf that is associated with Eregion.”

“I’ve had it all my life.” You remark. “It only gained its color when I met you. No one else knows about it.”

Celebrimbor has no idea what that means, but he is grateful to be knowledgeable of your secret as he pulls away to look at you properly. Your eyes are wide, lips swollen and hair nearly untucked from the pin he’s placed within it. You’re beautiful.

He wants you forever.

I’m going to marry you one day.

"I am going to get better at this," The words are out before he can take them back, and you stare up at him starstruck as his hands again find your face. "Better at communicating the depths of my affection for you. I no longer wish to hide it for fear of insecurities or old haunts coming back to taunt me. These things that say I am not good enough for you," You open your mouth to argue, but Celebrimbor simply places his fingers upon your lips and blushes when you kiss his fingertips. "You have shown me a different truth amidst all of the turmoil and deception that has plagued my life. If I am to keep to any oath, it will be an oath to you, melda."

Tears burn your eyes as you nod and allow him to pull you into a hug. The hour is late, and you are tired, which prompts you to ask the one question you never thought he'd say yes to.

"I do not wish to return home," You say quietly. "May I stay in your chambers with you tonight?"

He does not answer, just simply takes your hand and leads you through the hallways you have rarely stepped into since the tower was completed. You watch each door pass you by before he stops in front of the last one, which is the furthest away and out of sight of curious eyes. Then, he opens the door and allows you inside.

While you take in the sight of Celebrimbor's bedroom - and how nervous it should make you to be in it - he steps away to find something comfortable for you to wear and comes up with a dark-colored shift he'd had made for you months prior that was intended to be a gift.

"Here, darling. This should do it." Celebrimbor calls, turning toward you, only to find that you are already lying in his bed with your body turned toward the door and your hand tucked under your cheek. The comfort you find in him knows no bounds. "Sweet, sweet girl."

He changes his own robes into his nightclothes and slips into bed, wrapping his arm around your waist before pulling you closer to him so he can bury his face in your hair.

Rest, Celebrimbor. Allow yourself this. Be peaceful.

Sleep claims him with ease.

The next morning, Mirdania finds the two of you again in the Forge, but this time you are both wearing intricately holly pins proudly on display against your chosen clothes for the day.

She grins to herself and continues to tend to her work.

[midnight-mourning]

Liar, Liar (Goose Down Coat on Fire)

Holiday Spirit! au Chapter 1

hehehehehe, HEHEHEHEHE

ahem. here u go, first chapter after much waiting, please enjoy :D

reminder for those that don't know, this is an au for my fic, confused spirit but you don't have to have read it to follow along. Additionally, day 7 of my December requests serves as the prologue for this ^_^

Word Count: 5762

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There's a clattering sound behind you, making you jump ever so slightly. It's followed by a curse or two and a 'sorry!'. You frown, focusing back in on the gear work on the workbench in front of you. You have to be careful with this, these are delicate after all. One wrong move and you'll lose several hours’ worth of work. 

You adjust the tabletop magnifying glass, and tighten your grip on your tweezers. You're about to add the last thin gear into place—

Another clatter. "Sorry!"

You let out a noise of frustration. "That better not be important or it's coming out of your pay, Petey."

"Of course not, just the cogs we finished manufacturing this morning." Jesse quips, hammering something once or twice. "Not important at all."

"It's not my damn fault they keep slipping! These tongs suck."

Your eye twitches, turning slightly to look back at him. "Then use the other tongs, it's that simple."

"That'd be too easy." Savannah tsks. 

You shake your head, waving your free hand. "I don't have time for this, Ms. Faun's coming by in thirty for her clock and it's not finished yet." You look up to your apprentice, who's sitting to your right, watching you work intently. "Liv, would you mind helping Petey find the other tongs since he's so incapable of doing so?"

She nods, getting up to go over and help. 

"Hey! I'm the one making sure these things spend exactly 10 minutes in the fire."

Jesse scoffs. "Yeah, that's your job. Which, it wouldn't be if you'd hadn't messed up the clockwork with your grubby hands."

They start to bicker and you do your best to tune it out, focusing back on your work. This wasn't your typical gig—again, it was Pete's—but you enjoyed the smaller mechanism work every now and then. It also helped keep food on the table. 

Your crew was of decent size for the operation you had here, being the only smithy and mechanic shop in your village. It needed to be, considering that you were the only one around for miles and miles throughout the mountains. You were fortunate enough to be able to pull business from other nearby villages as well. 

But, as the arguing—and laughter—grows in volume behind you, sometimes you wonder if it's worth it to do something you love so much. Yes, they were your friends. But damn, if they didn't get on your nerves just like siblings sometimes. 

Speaking of, Lisa should be up soon. You should get breakfast ready. 

After a brief moment of clarity to finally finish the missing component of the clock, you set it aside, scribbling a note to Ms. Frau and sitting back with a stretch. You remove your goggles, shoving them up into your hair as you stand. 

You nod to Savannah, who's busy mixing metals as you head to the back door of the shop, into your kitchen and home proper. 

It's quiet back here, only small bits of noise coming through from the forge. Outside you can hear town starting to come to life, waking up as the day begins. You preferred to start earlier and end later so you had more time for your siblings. Additionally, having the shop open earlier meant you could prepare orders well ahead of time before having to worry about someone coming to pick them up. 

You rub your hands together, going over to the stove and checking the fire inside, tossing a log or two on both for heat and cooking purposes. 

As you're filling the kettle for the second time that morning, you hear feet hit the floor upstairs. A few minutes later, a face appears in the doorway, rubbing its bleary eyes. 

"Good morning." You say, walking over to the ice box. "You want bacon and eggs?"

A yawn. "Yeah."

"Go put boots on and check on Getrude then. She's probably hungry."

Lisa nods, shuffling over to the door and putting on boots, you hear the door close a moment later. 

While cooking breakfast, Lisa sits in a chair beside you, legs swinging as she watches you. 

"Those guards were super cool the other day. Do you think we'll see them again?"

You pause a moment, then shake your head. "Probably not up close, they've got duties to attend to and all that. But we might see them around."

"Oh. Okay." Lisa sighs. "But they were soooo fun. Mr. Moon gave us so many rides! And Mr. Sun is so silly."

You chuckle. You'd been surprised to find how good the two had been with your sister and Jack, but you'd been grateful for it. And amused as well, considering their initial hostility in your first encounter. "Yeah, I bet."

You're eating breakfast, Gabe in your lap now that he's awake, when you hear a commotion coming from the shop. 

Suddenly, your forge tender, Tyler, bursts through the door. Covered in ash and soot, he points a gloved hand behind him, out of breath. "They uh, need you in the main shop, broski."

You stand up, adjusting Gabe to sit on your hip. "What's wrong?"

"Better you see for yourself. That uh, purple rabbit's here, what's his name?"

Your brow furrows, but you make your way over to the door. "What would Bon need this early?"

Tyler shrugs. 

You walk back into your shop, your brother gnawing on part of an apple, where you see one of your neighbors, Bon, standing near the entrance. He locks on to you when you enter, concerned look in his eyes. 

"Everything okay Bon?" You ask as you make it over to him, nodding to Jesse and Pete that it's fine and they don't need to hold him back any longer. They nod in turn, going back to work. 

"There you are, sorry to be bugging you. And for making a scene." He winces, then shakes his head. "Listen, I've been seeing animatronics coming and going from here like crazy the past few days. What's going on?"

You cringe yourself. "It's a bit of a story, one that I'm not really too sure on myself. How long you got?"

Since the beginning of the festival a few days ago, you'd had a rather strange increase in clients. Specifically of the mechanical kind. Granted, you were used to taking care of animatronics, several lived in your village and the throughout kingdom as a whole. But this number of different clients every, single, day, was unheard of. 

Sure, it could be that because they were here on guard duty, many had decided to get a tune up or the likes and since your shop was the only option close by, took advantage of that. But the work you'd been doing lately wasn't routine maintenance. It was repairs.

Lots, and lots, of repairs. 

Not minor ones, either. You were replacing entire body parts in some cases. All of them guards, all of them coming from the castle. You had at least six or seven cases a day. 

It didn't make any sense. You doubted it was caused by the humans around. There was no ill will between man and machine in this day and age. So they had to be happening some other way. You'd tried asking directly, but never got a response on the matter. Given that most of your clients were the wide-eyed G.U.A.R.D. bots, this made sense. You honestly weren't sure if they were able to say much more than basic conversation topics. 

But the others you'd had, like the pink and white bear bot, or the fox, they just, avoided the topic. Skirting around it with a laugh or a quick quip. 

It made you uneasy to put it plainly. You couldn't wrap your head around it. It wasn't exactly a bad thing for you, it meant business was booming. Like the equivalent of a gold rush for you and your crew, holiday bonuses and the likes. 

But still, the idea that something more was going on was nagging at you, and you couldn't help the gnawing thought at the back of your mind that something really wrong was happening. 

You explain only part of this to Bon, not wanting to sound like a loon because of some hay brained passing suspicion. Maybe things will calm down today, and it'll just have been a weird fluke of coincidences. 

When you're finished, Bon nods his head thoughtfully. 

"Just like I thought." He shakes his head, looking to you. "Thank you, I suppose the only thing left to say is congratulations on the business."

You laugh, slightly awkward. "Yeah, thanks."

Bon heads to leave, then stops, turning to you. "And hey, out of curiosity. There hasn't been any blue rabbits that've come through right? Taller than me, maybe with an earring?"

"There was one blue rabbit." You say, thinking back, "But he was much smaller than you. Bright red cheeks. Why do you ask?"

Bon waves his hand. "No reason. I've seen him around, is all. Was curious. Have a good one!"

"You too!" You call after him, then frown. 

Surely it's just a coincidence that Bon's noticed the strangeness of this, right? You shake your head. No use worrying over something that's quite literally benefitting you. You let it go, and after a brief chat with your crew, head to go finish breakfast and send Lisa off to school.

Sure enough, you have several more animatronics come in before lunch, and many more that come in after. It's a busy day once more, and you have to shoo away that feeling in your gut by rattling your coin pouch several times as you walk through town later on in the day. 

Everything is bustling because of the festival, people you know and you don't passing you by as you walk along. You'd left Jesse in charge to finish out the day, deciding you needed to run some errands today. 

With the influx of money coming in, you'd decided you'd treat your siblings to some nicer meals for a least a few nights to celebrate. You also needed to get Lisa a new coat, maybe check in on your supplies you'd ordered from Lizzy because of all your new clients and there was also—

Your brother's delighted giggling interrupts your train of thoughts. Assuming some passerby must have entertained him, you keep moving forward. Another loud giggle and now your confused. 

You turn slightly to try and spy who or what behind you is exciting him, not seeing able to directly notice anyone. You shrug, giving up and about to step forward when. 

You halt, a red and blue torso blocking your view. A white and blue visage comes into your view. 

"Hello there, Andromeda."

You blink. "Oh, hello again, Moon. Fancy seeing you again."

"The same to you." He nods, then stands straight. "Are you enjoying the festival?"

You scoff, raising this paper in your hand with your to do list. "Hardly. I have things to do. Unlike the tourists, my job doesn't stop for the holidays."

"What a pity, and it's the nicest weather we've had so far."

You start walking again, Moon falling in step beside you. "No kidding. But, that's life. Maybe I'll take Lisa to one of the plays later, as a treat."

"I think that would be an excellent idea, personally." Out of the corner of your eye you catch him wiggling his finger at Gabriel, who giggles and claps his hands. 

You review your list, deciding to tackle the market first and foremost. "And what about you? What are you up to today?"

"Protecting civilians of course. What does it look like?" He teases. 

You snort. "Like you're chatting with civilians. No offense."

"None taken. I suppose."

The crowd thins only slightly upon entrance into the market. Nobles and the likes have no need to visit where the commoner's shop for food and the likes, unless they wished to gawk, that is. Moon sticks with you, chatting as you go stall to stall gathering groceries. Even offering to carry things for you, which, you're not one to turn down a bit of free help. 

You're examining some fresh fish when a thought occurs to you to finally ask. "Where's that partner of yours? The sunny one."

Moon pauses for a moment, then he chuckles, grin widening slightly. "Busy."

"Hm. Fair enough."

After the market, Moon continues to stick with you, playing the role of your helper quite well. 

You manage to knock out most of your list an hour quicker than you expected. So, you decide to take a break, heading to the bakery to grab a snack. 

You're sitting out at one of the tables, watching as across the square there's a bit of dancing and such taking place. Gabe's sitting on the table, nibbling on a bit of cookie you'd allowed him. 

It really is a nice day, the Sun is warm against the cold air. The music from across the square flits all around you, the chattering of people mixing in between. 

You take a bite of your scone. "Could I ask you a bit of a weird question?"

"Weird how?" Moon asks, but his tone is cheeky.

You shake your head. "I guess forward is the better word. But anyway, there's been a bit of an increase in customers in my shop the past few days."

"Remind me what it is you do?" He lifts his hand to twiddle his fingers above Gabe's head, chin resting in his other hand.

"Smithy, technician, tinkerer, what have you,"—you chomp down again—"Only one around, and that's been made very clear to me. Everyday I've had several animatronics come in, all banged up and bruised. Well, not bruised but you get the point. And I can't make hide nor hair of it."

You hear a click or two to your left. "And you think I might know?"

"Well, I assumed so, I don't know all the royal guard castle stuff works." You wave your hand. "Forgive me, I was just curious I guess."

No response. You glance over for a moment. Moon's eyes are narrowed, grin seeming, strained. But he's not looking at you, not seeming to be looking at anything in particular at all. 

Gabriel sneezes, and that seems to pull him out of it. You see the small, white pupils he sometimes has flick to you for a moment. 

"If I were you, I wouldn't worry so much about things like that."

You nod, smiling once. "Yeah, you're right." 

On the inside though? You're so, incredibly, suspicious. You know better than to let that show, however. While you've been cordial all day, you two don't know each other beyond the base conversations you've shared. 

And you know all too well the costs of trusting a stranger.

"Odd choice of a necklace charm." Moon interrupts your thoughts. 

You realize that you've been fiddling with it. "Huh? Oh, yeah." You tuck it back into your shirt. "Gift from a friend."

He nods, sitting back. "Must have been a good one."

"Something like that."

Despite your best efforts—and the extra set of hands—you still managed to forget a few things on your list. Forcing you to once again face the festival crowds the next day. 

Things aren't any slower than before, but by now your crew has fallen into the routine to be able to manage without you for a few hours. They've also been trying to force you to go more, somehow knowing that you'd be hunkered down doing repairs until your hands hurt otherwise. Which, you'd already done at least three days in a row now. 

So, you'll take the break, and use it as an opportunity to finish your list and maybe plan out some gifts for the upcoming holiday. 

It's a bit colder today, not nearly as sunny out. Still just as busy though. It's a bit harder to navigate, but you manage. 

For the most part. 

While walking through the shopping district, someone bumps into you. Not wanting to cause a scene, you apologize. 

The person huffs, and looking over you can tell by their dress they're upper class types. The woman snaps open her fan, eyes clearing showing her disdain. "How rude."

"You should watch where you're going." The man, you're guessing her husband, adds. 

You put your hands up. "Apologies. Won't happen again."

"Can't even be bothered to give a proper apology?" The man asks, stepping forward. Causing you to step back. People are starting to watch now. Of course, the one time you come to the nicer part of town and you manage to make a scene. It wasn't even your fault! She bumped into you. 

You keep your voice even to hide your irritation, and minor fear. "Again, I apologize. I really didn't mean anything by it."

"Sure you didn't,"—he scoffs, pointing a finger at you and again stepping closer—"You should consider it fortunate that—"

He doesn't get to finish, a large shadow obstructing your view of him. Taking a moment to adjust your vision, you see the back of a red coat, and glancing upwards, find the back of a seven-rayed head. 

Sun glances briefly back at you a moment before focusing on the man in front of him. 

"What seems to be the trouble here?" He asks. 

The man tsks. "They bumped into my lovely wife and couldn't even muster up an apology! The nerve of these commoners, I swear." He looks around Sun and points to you. "I want them fined at minimum, and a night in the jail unless they can give us a reason to forgive them."

"Is that so?" Sun turns to look at you, you duck your head, face burning. 

This was ridiculous. You'd heard stories of some stuck up nobles out there, and you knew better than to believe they were all like this, but still. You just hope this will be quick, and that the fine is a small one. 

There's a click or two above you. "Well, from what I saw, sir, your wife bumped into them."

You freeze, eyes wide as you look up to the bot, who's now staring down the man with a strained smile. 

"So, therefore, she should be the one apologizing,"—Sun suddenly bends down to be the same height as the couple, and they both jump back slightly. Sun tilts his head with a click—"Don't you think?"

The man blusters for a moment. "I, well I, that—" He shakes his head, adjusting his coat, angry, but relenting. "I suppose so."

Sun claps his hands, standing upright. "Very good then! Well, ma'am?" He turns his attention to her. 

You peek out a bit further from behind Sun, unable to smother the smirk on your lips. She seems just flustered and defeated as her husband. 

She doesn't look you in the eye as she mumbles out—"My apologies."

"Is that satisfactory for you?"

Your realize Sun's talking to you. You nod, not wanting to drag this out any further, you're still in shock that it's happening this way and that you're not being carted off the jail. "Yes, thank you for apologizing."

After another hushed exchange, the couple storm off, and you relax finally as the street returns to normal. 

You notice you still have a shadow on you. Glancing up, you see Sun staring down at you. 

"Thank you. Very much so." You start to walk off then. "I won't keep you, have a good day—woah!"

You're stopped by a firm hand on your shoulder. You trace it up to the sunny guard's narrowed gaze. 

"It was only by chance I was nearby. That could have gone very differently for you, Icarus." You hear a few sharp clicks emit from him.

You stare at each other a moment before you relax, rolling your eyes with a huff. "Yeah, I know. And again, I'm grateful for the help, but I have things to do. So let go or tag along for the ride. Keep in mind though, I'm only strong enough to carry Gabe."

"Very well then,"—his hand shifts from your shoulder to your arm interlocking with yours—"Let's get to it."

You glance at the hold a moment, then scoff. "Alright. Fair warning, I will make you carry stuff."

The two of you start to travel down the street, your first stop is the coat shop.

"I'll consider it."

"Hah! Witty aren't you?" You ask. 

Sun doesn't answer, eyes crinkling as he smile widens a tinge. 

Much like how Moon accompanied you yesterday, Sun does the same. Though, he has a bit more direct commentary on your shopping choices. Specifically critique. He seems to love to critique you. 

It wears you down quickly, and by the end of the trip you've thrown all common courtesy to the wind and bicker with him like you would anyone else you know. 

"I still believe you'd be better off purchasing something with goose down instead." 

You scoff as you exit the shop, bell clinking above you. "And for the last time, I've told you that Lisa would destroy a goose down coat in a matter of hours. It'd be wasted on her." You shove the brown parcel into his arms. "Sheep's wool is just fine."

"Perhaps you should teach her to take better care of her things." He takes the package, adding it to the others in his hold. 

You laugh. "You ever try to tell an eight year old what to do? They're not great listeners." You check the time, seeing that it's time to go pick her up from school. "Speaking of, I need to go grab her. Let's run this back home and then you're free to get out of my hair."

"Wouldn't it be easier on you to just retrieve her directly?" He asks.

"Yeah, but it'd be more work on you. And I figured you'd be tired of me by now." You shrug. "Besides, don't you have a job to do?"

Sun looks down to you, rays flicking back and forth. Then he tsks. "Tell me which way the school is before I start walking a random direction."

"I—okay. This way." 

He speaks again after a moment. "Your errands today weren't dissimilar to my patrol route, and after your little mishap earlier, I'd rather keep an eye on you myself."

"Make sure I'm not causing any trouble for the rich folk?" You simper. 

Sun laughs, it's surprisingly light. "On the contrary, I believe they'd cause you trouble."

"Oh."

"Though, yes, you'd probably somehow make it worse." He finishes. 

Your eyes narrow. "You know, I think I don't really like you."

"The feeling's mutual, Bright Eyes."

Lisa's waiting for you on the steps when you arrive, chatting away with a few of her friends. When she sees you she beams, waving. When she sees Sun her eyes light up, rushing over to tackle him with a hug. 

"Mr. Sun! What are you doing here?" She looks up to him. "They said I'd never ever see you again!"

You huff. "No, I said you probably wouldn't—"

"Well, they were surely mistaken then, weren't they?" Sun shifts all the items he's carrying to one hand, reaching down to ruffle Lisa's hair. 

She giggles. "Yeah, they're such a liar!"

"I did not lie!"

Sun walks you back to your home, and you thank him again for his help. 

Color you surprised—and suspicious—when over the next week or so either one or both of the celestial guards decide to accompany you on your walks to and from getting Lisa from school. Entertaining her or Gabriel while chatting idly with you. 

They also always seem to find you while you're out and about, which had been more frequent with all the repairs you'd been doing. You've gotten to the point where you've had to completely restock some days. You've even brought Tyler out from the back to help in the main shop, you're that desperate. 

Regardless of that, you can't help the sense of concern that's eating away at you. This doesn't make sense. What could be causing this amount of damage to these animatronics? Why won't they tell you what's happening to them? What exactly is going on up in that castle that no one seems to be noticing besides you?

As for Sun and Moon, you can't get a read on them either. You're not stupid, there's a reason they're essentially tailing you. And you know they're not foolish either. The three of you are just skirting around the massive elephant in the room. 

But, you can't deny, besides that, you've enjoyed the companionship as of late. Besides your crew you weren't much for talking to people. It was, unfortunately, undeniably good for you that they wouldn't leave you be. 

To a point, that is. 

You're mulling all this over again as the parade goes on in front of you. Abby's standing to your right with her brother, Lisa's in front of you. While trying to keep a calm demeanor, you know deep down you're both concerned about letting either child out of your sight. And not just because of what happened a little over a week ago. 

A child went missing last night. 

The butcher from down the road's daughter, his wife was going up and down the street sobbing. You were part of one of the search parties that went looking for her, not even a sign of her turning up in or out of town. The dogs weren't able to catch her scent. Just laid down on the ground, paws over their whining snouts. 

It sent a shock through the community, especially you. This was your biggest fear, all but confirmed. But, you kept that to yourself, the last thing that was needed was more panic. 

You yawn, you'd searched for hours, well into the night, and were exhausted because of it. Your grip on Lisa's shoulder tightens. Still, if that had been her—you shake her head. You'd do anything to find her, that's for sure. 

At the very least, your back is glad that you decided to leave Gabe at home today. Savannah's sister happened to be around and offered to sit for you, meaning you could just focus on your sister today. Which, given her troublemaker attitude, was a good thing. 

The precession grows more elaborate and the crowd's volume increases. It shifts from simple dancers and musicians to elaborate contortionists and stilt walkers. You spy a few animatronics within the mix, in particular a white and pink fox and a ballerina-like bot that catch your eye. 

It's not until the marching soldiers however that you really pay attention however. As while you do spy several familiar machines among the rows—including Sun & Moon—from their time in your shop, it's one of the human guards that makes you perk up. 

And unfortunately, so does Lisa.

"Hey! That's Miss Bri!" She exclaims, jumping up and down. 

You can't stop the grin that splits your face. "You're right, Lis. It is her."

"Miss Bri! Miss Bri it's me!" Your sister shouts, arm waving wildly. 

People around you start shooting looks and you mumble a few 'sorries' in response. You try shushing your sister. "Quiet down, Lisa. We'll try to talk to her after the parade. Look, there's the royal family." You point to the carriage they're riding in, but Lisa could care less. 

She blows a raspberry. "Who cares about some old king and his kids. I wanna see Miss Bri!"

You cringe at the offended gasps around you. 

"Teach that girl some respect." Someone comments beside you. 

You turn half-shrugging and trying not to get overwhelmed. "She's eight, can yah really blame her?"

Taking your hands off Lisa for even a second was a mistake. Everything happens all at once. 

There's a shot that rings out in the back of the precession where the king is, causing a disruption in the crowd and people to scream. In the commotion, Lisa takes her chance to break out of your grip, running over to where Bri is in the road. 

You race after her, getting there just in time to see your friend's surprised face as she scoops Lisa up in her arms. 

"Little Lady, I don't think you're supposed to be here." Bri states, looking down at your sister. 

Lisa wraps her arms tight around the guard, burying her head against her chest. "I didn't I'd ever see you again! You went away! I hated it." You can just barely make out a sniffle from her.

Bri softens. "Hey, it's alright. I told you I'd come visit sometime, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm visiting now. So, let's cheer up a bit, alright?" Bri pulls back, reaching up to take off her hat and setting it on your sisters head. "Here, you can wear this for me, yeah?"

Lisa sniffs again, cheering up. "Okay."

Bri smiles, then looks up to you. "Hell of an entrance, L/N."

"Same to you, Perry." You grin, and hug her tight.  

She claps you on the back hard, shaking your shoulder when you pull away. "It's really great to see you, but I think we both know this isn't the time for greetings."

"Yeah, I know." You both turn to the now calming chaos by the king's carriage. 

She nods to it. "Walk over with me?" 

"Sure."

She adjusts Lisa, who still clings to her, keeping her voice low. "If I'm right about what's going on, I'll need you. Have I got you?"

"Long as you got me." You nod, and she returns it. 

Upon arrival, you can see a small crowd of guards standing around something on the ground by the open-air carriage. You pay no mind to the royal family, you think you'd start freaking out if you did, and instead follow Bri into the crowd's center. 

Along the way, you catch Moon's gaze among the group, who seems surprised to see you. You just offer him a wave and a smile. When you see Sun, you stick your tongue out at him. You think if he could he'd return the favor. 

Laying in the snow, flailing about, is an animatronic, being restrained by three others. It's a blue rabbit, and the others holding him down include a bear, a wolf, and a gator. 

"Bonnie! You have to calm down, please!" The bear pleads. 

The gator growls as he's hit the face by a loose claw. "He's not home right now, Fred. Make a decision already, or I will."

"It's a long shot, but anything you can do?" Bri asks. "This keeps happening randomly to all our bots, and the only solution we've been able to think of has been a bit, graphic. Bonnie's a good guy, I think if he could stop, he would."

Glancing around briefly, you see several already disarmed GUARD bots lying about. Still twitching every so often. Alive, obviously, but likely in pain. If animatronics could feel pain, that is. You're going to assume yes for now.

You nod, trying to think quick. "Yeah, let's give it a chance." You try to take a closer look at the bot. "Tell them to flip him over on his back."

As Bri does so, you dig around in your bot for your knife, snatching it up into your hand when you find it. 

You approach the group, cautious, but determined. 

"Get me clear access to his head." You direct, earning a look from the gator and the wolf, but they shift so you can move in. 

You ignore the thrashing and garbled static coming from the bunny as you kneel down, hand ghosting over the metal of his skull until you find his access panel. You wedge your knife into the small crack, popping it open and tossing it off into the snow. 

Bonnie grows more erratic for a moment, and you jump back slightly until they regain control over him. 

"Hope you know what you’re doing, mon ami." The gator mutters. 

You nod, leaning back in. "Ouais, moi aussi."

Inside, it's set up exactly how you predicted, and after a few quick button presses, and the unplugging of a few wires, Bonnie stills completely. You remove your hands entirely, waiting for a few moments. Once the time is up, you slowly reach down and reinsert the wires in their proper places. 

"Okay. Let him go." You stand up, stepping back. You bump into something, and after a glance to the yellow hand on your shoulder you know who. 

There's a quiet voice by your head as the other animatronics also step back, and the bunny slowly starts to get to his feet. "What did you do?"

"Shut off his limb controls, then gave his system a hard reset." You murmur back. 

Bonnie stands straight, gripping his head. "What happened?"

He's tackled into a hug by the bear that had been holding him down, and a chicken animatronic joins shortly thereafter. "You're okay!"

"Of course I'm alright, Fred. Seriously, what's going on?"

The group of guards cheer, and you feel several reach around the bots behind you give you their thanks. You give polite smiles and nods in response, but inside, you're thinking. You're thinking intently. 

Bonnie has an earring in his right ear, and he's around the same height as another rabbit you know well. 

And his control access is identical.

Bri takes up your vision then, Lisa still in her arms. She encircles you in another hug. "I knew you could do it! Thank you."

"Of course. Glad he's alright."

She goes to say more, but stops, bowing her head. You see the others around you have done the same, in some cases going down on one knee. Turning around, your realize why. 

Through the now surrounding quiet, there's a lone clap that can be heard. It's coming from the carriage, from a man who's now standing, the crown on his head glinting in the sunlight. 

The smile on his face is wide, almost too wide. 

"Well done! Well done, indeed." The King ceases his clapping. "I've yet to meet one as well-versed with machines as myself. Tell me, who must I thank for stepping in and averting disaster here today?"

You can only stand frozen in shock, the grip that's slipped down to your arm is like iron. This is entirely not how you were expecting this day to end up.

Well, shoot.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Man, bet y'all weren't expecting the references to og fnaf in this huh? I keep y'all on your toes. You should know by now, NEVER lower your guard when it comes to me and Confused spirit related things. Anywho~ thanks for reading! I'll be working on getting the next one out soon :)

Main Post with chapter links & info

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a (brilliant mastermind behind this au idea btw)

[dailycharacteroption]

Starwright (Starfinder Archetype)

(art by 5ofnovember on DevaintArt)

One of the things that Starfinder was happy to take forward into the future setting was the seven starmetals, a group of poorly-understood materials used by magical smiths to make all sorts of wondrous weapons, armor, and equipment.

Now, while these ancient smiths were able to create great works with these materials, there was still a lot to understand and discover about them. It only makes sense then that in the far future of Starfinder, such technology and understanding has only improved, bringing a greater understanding of why these materials have the properties they do.

This has resulted in some serious innovations, and it is a general assumption that individual components in various technologies both material and hybrid incorporate starmetals in various ways. Inubrix components that can pass through steel components for otherwise impossible movements, cold siccatite heat sinks, horicalcum components that help regulate or accelerate the speed of nearby parts, and so on.

The Starforge on Absalom Station is at the forefront of starmetal research and fabrication, and its students are master metallurgists that are well-versed in the properties of these materials, and even if they leave their forges and workshops to go adventuring, they bring that skill with them wherever they go!

And that’s where we get the Starwright archetype, representing the skill of working with these exotic materials and applying their benefits to the gear of their allies!

Starwrights carry with them a toolkit containing small samples of all starmetals except adamantine, as well at the tools to manipulate them. Each day, they can craft a delicate addition to swap into the parts of a suit of armor, weapon, vehicle, or other piece of technological or hybrid equipment, applying the advantages to the affected target for an entire day before the component wears out and has to be removed, melted down, and made ready to reuse the next day.

For armor, an abysium core can reduce the energy cost of any upgrades with battery charges, djezet recepticals can bolster the magic of the wearer and synergize with existing djezet, horacalcum plating wards against time magic, inubrix resonators can briefly give the user’s whole body the ability to pass through metal, noqual coating wards against hostile magic, and siccatite can ward against extreme heat or cold depending on which is used.

Hybrid and tech items can use abysium cores to partially power themselves, djezet bolsters hybrid items and infuses pure tech items with magic, horacalcum can slowly tick back the clock on damage, repairing the item, noqual makes them resistant to magic, and siccatite gives the item immunity to fire or cold.

Enhanced vehicles include abysium-powered environmental reactors to protect the vehicle and passengers, djezet-guided magical autopilot and guidance, horacalcum-based speed boosters, inubrix internal parts making them easier to control, noqual plating for anti-magic, and siccatite heat sinks or warmers to protect both vehicle and passenger from extreme heat and cold.

Finally, weapons get surprisingly the fewest options. Abysium, horacalcum, noqual, and siccatite all either make the weapon count as being made with that material or bolster the effects that said materials normally grant.

Being able to add a buff to your and allied equipment is fun, though it is a pity that it can only be done once per day. While you don’t have to, the theme of the archetype practically begs to be paired with a crafting build so you can maximize your engineering skill and pump out various more permanent starmetal-enhanced items for the party. Mechanics and technomancers are an obvious choice here, as are other mages, but I can also see biohackers eager to test the effects of starmetals on living subjects, envoys that picked up a few tricks, military engineers in the form of soldiers, operatives, vanguards and the like rigging up temporary boosts, and more.

Fantasy metals have been a staple of the genre for a very long time, whether they are truly magical in nature or just titanium for a people that never called it that. The starwright, and by extension the starfinder setting in general, provides a unique opportunity to explore the properties of those exotic metals on a tech level approaching modern knowledge of metallurgy and beyond. With that in mind, if your own setting has its own exotic materials, you might consider a homebrew expansion for this archetype that works with them, bring out even more effects.

Brought on for his expertise in recognizing starmetal deposits by the way that life reacts and evolves around them, the neskinti scientist and xenodruid Bulfaas joined the expedition to Anox-IV. However, now that the corporation has decided to ignore his advice and plans to strip mine the entire deposit, wiping out an entire ecosystem in the process, he is forced to turn to the party, a group hired originally for security and supplementary science team, with the hopes their conscience will win out.

The science station Red Excelsior has many different samples from across the systems, including a treasure trove of starmetal ingots reserved for testing. This tempting target had drawn in a group of daring pirates eager to make off with the whole thing, and they have a plan to release hobgars, a form of electrically-empowered simian, free from the biodeck to create a distraction while they make for the vault.

While the bullets themselves were mundane, examining the footage of the assassination reveals that the senator was gunned down by a weapon with horacalcum components, causing chronal distortions on impact. Finding the perpetrator will be difficult, for they are a skilled starmetal forger, and have already smelted down the components in the murder weapon to throw off suspicion.

[soulstrand]

Ryo stepped into the forge, to her it felt like a grand entrance as materials were hauled in, raw material for the forge and technologic parts placed on a nearby workbench, hauled in by the loyal "employees" of her organization. This was a stage, the forge was a canvas-- One about to be painted on by a goblin but a canvas of art in its own way nonetheless. She made a mental note not to make -too much- of a mess for the Forgmaster who usually spent their time in here. Dressed down from her normal black armor, Glove on her single non-mechanical hand, leather apron, goggles down. It was time to work.

There was so much material that Ryo wanted to experiment with, upgrades were long overdo and she was ready to make some adaptations. Obsidum, Eternium, Arcanite and Blackrock, some of the favored materials for this session.

The forge was brought to life with rhythmic hammer blows, each strike reflecting sparking embers. The glow of molten metal reflected in Ryo’s goggle lenses as she griped a pair of heavy tongs, twisting red-hot metal into shape. The hiss of quenching metal fills the air as she plunged a piece into an oil bath, sometimes water, sometimes some other magically inclined substance, sending up a plume of acrid smoke or colorful sparks of reactionary magic.

Gears whir and servos hummed as she fine-tuned technologic components, the scent of burnt flux and machine oil mingling with the heat of the forge. Every movement is precise, even if she displayed a overall improvised chaotic methodology, it made sense to her.

The process would repeat, more experimentation was needed. Despite the sweat beginning to matt her hair and the feeling of dehydration setting in, she continued to experiment. Despite the feeling of overheating herself, determination burned hotter. Embers and sparks snuck past her safety gear, pin-pricking her green skin in little burns, Ryo refused to stop, not until this was complete.

The result? Two gauntlets, one was a whole piece with no room for an actual hand, the other was more akin to a fist-weapon for her left hand. This version was larger then her current model of arm, it would serve a different purpose. Slowly she would carve and mold metal with precision, etching runes into the gears and other parts that made up the gauntlets. The runes were different from ones in her current arm, but the process itself familiar. New material, new purpose, a familiar feeling of nostalgia washed over her as she neared completion. Ryo was tired of not being able to protect herself-- Her people that depended on her. This wasn't just a new weapon, new arm, new techno-prosthesis. This was a solution.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! I'm an apprentice librarian at a university of education, and I'd like to suggest our library get some TTRPGs, ones that are available in print and suitable for school (since our userbase is mainly aspiring teachers), ideally with a German translation (I know that part may be difficult).

Do you have some suggestions?

Theme: Available in German!

Hello friend, so my strategy for this was to find some German websites for roleplaying games and then try to see if they sold physical copies of certain games. This is going to be a bit different from my regular recommendations, mostly because I can’t read German! So I figured I’d send you to these different publishers, and point out specific games that look like potential candidates.

(Also German-speaking followers please sound off in the tags and comments!)

Plotbunny Games @plotbunnygames

From what I can tell, this is a small publisher with a number of indie ttrpgs, and most of these games look to have physical copies. The games that really stand out to me here are Follow, and Miss Bernberg’s Finishing School for Young Ladies. Follow is a game by Ben Robbins, the creator of Microscope, and is a GM-less collaborative storytelling game about going on a quest. I think it would be a great game for collaboration and quick brainstorming sessions. Miss Bernberg’s Finishing School for Young Ladies is made in-house, and is a Firebrands game, which means that it uses a number of small mini-games to tell a bigger story. Great for focusing on narrative over complex characters. There’s also a German translation of ImproVeto, which is a great tool for introducing safety tools, good for any roleplaying group.

Obscurati

Obscurati has two games that I recognize: Tiny Dungeons and Into the Dark. Tiny Dungeons is made by Gallant Knight Games. It is very streamlined, and has a lot of supplements for you to customize your setting. Obscurati appears to have a large number of physical Tiny Dungeon components, including a hardcover book. If you want traditional fantasy, this is probably worth checking out. Into the Dark is a Forged-in-Dark game by Off Guard Games, and is a dark-fantasy dungeon delving game that gives you character playbooks, tables for adventure generation, and a streamlined game system. I’m generally a fan of Forged in the Dark games because they give you some easy-to-understand mechanics that can carry a story really far. (This game is also in hardcover!)

Ulisses Spiele

Ulisses Spiele looks to be a pretty major publisher, with D&D, Warhammer, and Pathfinder all in one house. I'm assuming you're probably familiar with them. If you want a big-name roleplaying game, this is the place to be. Many of the games from this publishing house are pretty crunchy, so they’re more suited for folks who want to go through the traditional process of complex character creation, and specific rules for things like range, inventory, specific types of damage, etc.

If you’re looking for games that hearken to popular media, Dune and Tales from the Loop both come from Modiphius, a games company with a pretty good reputation for mechanically sound games, although they generally require a lot of bookkeeping. World of Darkness is the game system I’m most familiar with in this list, using dice pools of d10s, although much of the subject matter in these games is rather dark - especially since the bulk of their WoD catalogs appears to be Vampire: the Masquerade. I’m actually really intrigued by Die Schwarze Katze, of which I’m not entirely sure there is an English equivalent, and appears to be a fantasy game with cat characters!

Truant Spiele

Truant has a number of games that I am unfamiliar with, although I may have heard of their names before. Kult is labelled as an adult roleplaying game, so if you want something child-friendly, I’d stay away, and The One Ring has not received many friendly reviews - but Warbirds is a fantastical-historical game about fighter pilots and aerial combat, which looks pretty lighthearted, although this looks like a game that can have winners and losers. There’s also The Witcher RPG, a class-based system all about fighting monsters in a well-loved world based on that of the video game. The Witcher looks to be a bit on the crunchier side of things, so I’d see it as a better candidate for long-term campaigns rather than quick pick-up sessions. Finally, they carry Cyberpunk Red, which I’ve heard rave reviews for, with pre-generated enemies, a giant swathe of lore, and plenty of player support.

Fiasco

There’s a physical German version of Fiasco on the Pro-Indie website, along with a number of supplements. Fiasco is a game about a making a terrible movie using card stock and dice, and is great for lighthearted games and ridiculous stories.

Now, for some digital runners-up.

Pegasus Digital looks to be a German version of DriveThru Rpg, with a smaller catalogue but a lot of resources for Cthulhu 7, Shadowrun, and Avatar Legends. If you get folks who want to see what else is out there, this might be a handy website to direct them to.

Hero Kids is a game that only has a physical version in English, but it has a digital German equivalent! This is a great game for young role-players and folks who want a kid-friendly style of role-play.

DURF is a minimalist fantasy game with a number of different translations, including a German one. It isn’t available in print, but the game itself is small enough that printing copies of the game for yourself and fellow players shouldn’t be very expensive. DURF is based in OSR style play, so expect very small character sheets and an emphasis on your inventory.

Brindlewood Bay is only available in English and Polish, as far as I can tell- but there is a collection of play materials available in German! This game has such a big following because it has a reputation for being easy to teach, and it has a really wonderful mystery system, so I think it might be worth checking out.

[ragsy]

OC Masterlist (in alphabetical order)

Monster of the Week:

🐕 Dogmark (Mark "Dogmark" Kessler) (he/him)

A normal human guy in his late twenties/early thirties who got cursed to be a cannibalistic dogman. Extremely socially anxious, very fight-or-flight driven, struggling to come to terms with his monstrosity. Currently an NPC in an active game.

Tag: #oc dogmark | Visual reference

📚 Emily Song (she/her)

A real type-A woman in her thirties. She has a degree and a job and a fiancé and a dad who went missing five years ago and suddenly reappeared out of nowhere, ranting and raving about having been in some bizarre surreal other world. She doesn't believe in the supernatural. She thinks he needs help. Currently an NPC in an active game.

Tag: #oc emily | Visual reference

🚬 Everett (any pronoun, but defaults to he/him)

Some manner of immortal eldritch horror given human form, using his powers of influence over people to grow his Youtube channel and Twitch audience. He doesn't want your soul, he just wants your impressionable teen's expendable income. Currently being played as a warlock in a dnd capaign, despite the fact that he is from a motw setting. Don't worry about it.

Tag: #oc everett | Visual reference

🐟 Fishwoman (Diane Fishwoman) (she/her, it/its)

An emotionally constipated humanoid fish person (age unknown) who spends her free time daydrinking and stealing things. She's friends with benefits with Sloane, though she'd never admit to how much the "friends" component of that means to her. Not currently in any active games.

Tag: #oc fishwoman | Visual reference

🚪 Kenneth Song (Uncle Kenny) (he/him)

A goofy, soft-hearted widower and retired dentist (age 65) who recently escaped a five year internment in a liminal horror dimension called the Other Place. Trying his best to reconnect with his daughter. Currently in an active MOTW game (Searcher playbook)

Tags: #oc kenneth, #vistas from the other place | Visual reference | Playlist (YouTube version)

🍂 Mary Song (she/her)

A level-headed and analytical Voice of Reason, as well as a middlingly talented spellcrafter. She died suddenly at age 32, survived by her husband (Kenny) and daughter (Emily), and has been haunting their respective narratives ever since.

Tag: #oc mary

🧙‍♂️ Maximus Celestino (Max) (he/him)

Retired software programmer who died and came back wrong. Now he sees ghosts, has magic powers, and plays synths in a rock band while dressed as a wizard. Chill stoner grandpa vibes. Currently in an active MOTW game (Spooky playbook)

Tag: #oc maximus

🔫 Rye (they/he)

A human soul who got forged into becoming a living .38 caliber pistol. Has a human form and a gun form, but is bound to their wielder in some sort of toxic codependency situation. A bit of a weasel motormouth. Planned for a future MOTW game (Forged playbook)

Tag: #oc rye

🚙 Sloane (Agent Hill) (she/her)

A broad-shouldered tough-as-nails action butch. Makes her living doing field missions, getting monsters and other supernatural beings out of sight. She has a curse on her left arm that's slowly spreading to the rest of her body, but she hasn't told anyone besides her immediate superiors about it. Despite her hard exterior, she's got a warm heart that genuinely cares about the people she protects. Currently in an active MOTW game. (Professional playbook)

Tag: #oc sloane | Visual reference

Dungeons and Dragons

✨ Arjibi (Arji the Fool) (he/him, they/them)

Farmboy turned stage magician turned adventurer! He's a sweet silly boy with big expressive eyes and too much joy for his twinky body. Also, statistically speaking, he's your friend now. Dragonborn sorcerer (draconic heritage). Currently in an active campaign.

Tag: #oc arjibi | Visual reference | Defunct inspo blog: @arjibi-time

🤖 M.A.G. (Mechanical Autonomous Guardsman, aka Maggie or Mags) (it/its)

Once a mindless patrol construct, now mysteriously gifted with self awareness and holy powers. It's driven by duty to protect others first, and curiosity second. It's learning how to be a person! A little bit like a cross between Big Bird and Levi Scavengersreign. Warforged Paladin, oath of the crown. Currently in an active campaign.

Tag: #oc maggie | Visual reference

�� Professor Dewlap (Finneas Carlton Dewlap) (he/him)

Mad scientist. Cantankerous old bitch. Blew himself to smithereens in a freak lab accident, currently climbing his way back out of the afterlife. Dragonborn artificer. Currently in an active campaign!

Tag: #oc professor dewlap

⚔ Sir Dillion (Sir Dillion Fontaine Sargasso) (he/him)

Chivalrous medieval knight in shining armor with a fish for a head. Broad of chest, kind of heart, dumb of ass. Triton fighter (cavalier subclass), campaign completed!

Tag: #oc sir dillion | Visual references

Miscellaneous

🦎 Lizardsona (any pronoun)

This is literally just my fursona. Some sort of lizardy muppetty creature.

Tag: #lizardsona | Visual references

🐲 Marginalia (Marge) (any pronoun)

A medieval scribe's drawing of a dragon, come to life. Also sort of a quasi-fursona, though I don't use them very often.

Tag: #oc marginalia | Visual references

[madlabgames]

🔥 Forge Your Legend! Introducing "Hunting D&D Monsters" 🔥

Ever wished you could turn that epic dragon kill into something more than just loot? What if the very essence of the beasts you conquer could become your most powerful gear?

We're thrilled to announce Hunting D&D Monsters, our new D&D 5.5e supplement that brings a robust and super fun crafting system to your table!

Inspired by classic monster-hunting video games, this guide lets your players harvest components from defeated foes and craft unique, thematic equipment. Think about it: a sword imbued with a dragon's fiery breath, or armor that grants the resilience of a stone golem. Every hunt suddenly becomes even more meaningful!

What's in it for your game?

Meaningful Combat: Every monster is a treasure trove of components!

Player Agency: Chase down specific monsters to get the exact gear you want.

Unique Gear: Your equipment tells a story, literally crafted from the monsters you've faced.

Adventure Hooks: Need that rare scale? Time for a new quest!

Deep Downtime: Give your characters awesome crafting projects between adventures.

We break it all down in three chapters: from the basic concepts of Carving Kills and Crafting Mechanics, to detailed rules and tons of Gear Examples. Plus, we've got Advanced Mechanics like Set Bonuses and crucial DM Balancing Considerations to make sure it's a perfect fit for your campaign.

Ready to transform your victories into tangible power? Get your copy of Hunting D&D Monsters and let the crafting begin!

[ostrichmonkey-games]

Let's hear your answers to the Hierophant and the Hanged Man! You choose the specific questions c:

Hierophant: What is a piece of popular wisdom about games you think is nonsense?

Not so much nonsense, but I've got a lot of thoughts about playtesting! Playtesting can be very useful (but also isn't a one-size fits all kind of tool), but I think it's way harder to do that some people make it out to be. So, just diving into playtesting and saying "hey! try this game out!" probably isn't going to be very helpful because you might not have any idea what feedback you're actually looking for, and whoever is playtesting probably doesn't know what feedback is going to be useful to you right now.

I think you need to approach a playtest like you're designing an experiment. What's your hypothesis? What data are you trying to collect? How are you going to collect and then analyze that data?

In my opinion, I think first trying to playtest different "slices" of your game at earlier stages to see if different components work is good place to start. Start with having specific questions you want to answer in mind. Does this mechanic work? Does using these dice feel fun? So on and so forth

Also, if you do go for a larger pool of playtesters, make sure you have some context as to their own gaming experiences, or other ways you can "flag" feedback as more useful or less useful.

I could probably turn this into a longer post, but tl;dr, be very careful, prepared, and specific with what kind of playtesting feedback you're looking like (unless the main feedback is just "does this literally work at the table" lol).

Hanged Man: What current trends in game design are you most interested in?

I don't know how current it is, but;

I'm having a blast getting into the nitty gritty of Forged in the Dark.

Also having a blast diving more into NSR/OSR design Stuff.

I think poking around different design spheres and trying to mash stuff together is just a lot of fun. Like for example, I'm doing some early work on implementing a lot of procedural generation stuff you might see in an OSR sandbox into a Forged in the Dark game (which honestly, a match made in heaven). I'm also starting to poke at combining the mystery resolution approach in stuff like Apocalypse Keys with some sort of "hex crawl" idea.

It's fun stuff!

[lucindacordelia]

Behold, something I thought of while using nuln oil.

A nuln is a small, dark-furred semiaquatic creature similar in appearance to an otter or weasel, native to a variety of temperate and swampy environments across the Imperium. Highly adaptable, nulns are known for their elusive nature, keen intelligence, and a faintly chittering vocalization described by Imperial scholars as “mirthful”. The fur of adult nulns secretes a thin, dark grey oil with exceptional hydrophobic properties, making it highly sought after for a variety of industrial and military applications.

Nuln oil is primarily used as a lubricant for servo mechanisms, armor plating, and precision-machined components of bolter and lasgun assemblies. The Adeptus Mechanicus has sanctioned its use in certain sacred unguents, though Mechanicus doctrine remains divided on whether the nuln itself is a blessed creature or a mere biological resource. Some fringe human cultures, particularly in underhive apothecarion circles, attribute medicinal properties to nuln oil, claiming it aids in wound closure and augmetic integration—claims the Administratum has officially deemed “heretical” due to the oil’s highly toxic nature when ingested or applied to exposed flesh.

Standard nuln oil extraction procedures are to lift a captured nuln over a collection bucket and wring it out like a wet cloth, yielding approximately 25mL per extraction. This process is almost universally lethal to the nuln, as the force applied during extraction typically results in fatal spinal trauma. For this reason, vast breeding facilities exist on forge worlds and agri-planets to ensure a steady supply. Nuln meat harvested after oil extraction is most often preserved for use as field rations and is said to taste "alright".

Several Xenos species, most notably the T’au, also make use of nuln oil, though details of their applications remain scarce. T’au methodology differs significantly from Imperial procedure. Rather than manually wringing out the nulns, they periodically bathe the creatures using a specialized cleansing agent. The oil can then be extracted from the runoff, allowing for considerably greater yields over the nuln’s lifespan. Imperial authorities have attempted to replicate this method using confiscated T’au shampoos. Reports indicate that while the nuln 'appears to enjoy' the process - making pleased vocalizations and exhibiting increased sociability – bathing nulns remains significantly slower than standard Imperial extraction techniques and is thus considered prohibitively inefficient by the Administratum.

[adfasfwqer]

Zinemx Exchange Rises Strongly Amid Crypto Market Growth

2020 marked a pivotal turning point in the history of cryptocurrencies. As the global COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional economic models, crypto assets rapidly became the focus of capital markets. Bitcoin broke through historical highs, while trading activity in mainstream tokens such as Ethereum and USDT surged. Events like PayPal opening up crypto trading services, the rise of crypto trust products attracting institutional investors, and the rapid emergence of DeFi further accelerated the mainstream development of the crypto industry. Amid this opportunity-rich market, Zinemx, as an emerging crypto exchange, is quickly ramping up platform construction and actively integrating into the global crypto financial ecosystem.

Riding the wave of crypto popularity, Zinemx Exchange is forging ahead. In November 2020, Zinemx was officially established in the United States—an important milestone in the platform development. As a global leader in financial markets, the U.S. imposes high standards on crypto trading platforms. Zinemx is fully aware of this and is committed to compliance and technological innovation to meet diverse investor needs for crypto trading.

After its launch, Zinemx Exchange began supporting major cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and USDT, ensuring investors easy access to high-quality assets. This positions Zinemx as a key component of the crypto ecosystem, aiming to stand out in a highly competitive market.

The core competitiveness of a crypto exchange lies not only in product features but also in the stability and security of its trading systems. In December, Zinemx launched comprehensive R&D for its core technology systems. For trade matching, the platform built a low-latency, high-concurrency matching engine to provide users with millisecond-level trading experiences. In terms of system stability, the tech team deployed a distributed architecture to ensure high availability even during surges in user activity.

Security is always paramount for crypto trading platforms. Zinemx uses multi-signature cold wallet technology for segregated storage of user assets and has implemented real-time risk monitoring systems and behavioral risk control mechanisms to prevent malicious attacks and scam transactions at their source. The platform has assembled a dedicated security response team, establishing 24/7 monitoring and emergency response protocols to provide around-the-clock protection for user assets.

Since its founding, Zinemx Exchange has demonstrated a long-term international strategic vision. In its early operations, the platform completed foundational infrastructure and stable system deployment while gradually refining its organizational structure by recruiting professionals from traditional finance, blockchain security, and compliance law. This has laid a solid foundation for future international business expansion and diversified product offerings.

From the outset, Zinemx made clear its vision for global development, planning to enter major crypto markets in Asia and Europe. The platform is also investing in technology across multiple product lines, including crypto trading, asset management, and the Web3 ecosystem, striving to provide users with more comprehensive crypto financial services.

Looking back at 2020, Zinemx accomplished significant progress in technology development, compliance, and security system construction in a short time, providing long-term support for further business expansion. With the continued growth of the global crypto asset market, Zinemx will remain committed to the principle of compliant development, moving toward a broader world of open finance.

[marionmorse]

Ohh my absolute goodness..

side note, one look at Heavy and Medic on the character lineup at the teamfortress.com homepage tells you EVERYTHING about their marriage

Anyway, the god... damn... I can't get over... just, Engineer TF2 and the duality of his character. Like, he's one-hundred percent someone to pull on gator skin boots, a ten gallon, get all yee-hawed up for a night out at the dance hall. But then go home and infodump about hotchkiss drives, stress-strain curves, and reflow soldering.

There are some specific competitive lines that comes to mind that are JARRING to hear in his honeyed-up Texas voice along with shit like "hooo-whee, makin' bacon!" and "START PRAYIN', BOY." Maybe that's just a huge part of the appeal to his character, but think about his BUDDIES, too.

Medic is probably quite familiar with American stereotypes pre-Gravel Wars, doesn't expect much from a bumbling rural southerner with a generic set of tools upon first glance. but.., he's a bit BLOWN AWAY when Engie gets all inquisitive about the ins and outs of the medi-gun. Wants to look into how the serum works as a mechanical component, the powering and logic behind it all, even overwhelms med's (limited) level of delicate mechanical knowledge. his arc is all, "okay, so, this little guy might be a bigger-brained fella than I expected!" The punting of med's early-day ego and subsequent forging of their friendship is just so... ourgh... I love characters and arcs and stories and growth and...

Also, Soldier! The all-American Ultra Yank who doesn't see eye-to-eye with Engie at first. They've both got contrasting leadership qualities when it comes down to it, fr, a- a- and, AND, soldier HATES nerds. Engie's a nerd. Big time. It takes a while for that mutual love respect to build up, you know? do you catch my drift? I'm just rambling now.

ALSO also, Engineer himself going from the more introverted, lone-wolf type we see in Meet the Engineer to a sort of leader, the level-headed de-escalator we see in Expiration Date. The guy who feels for and loves his team, but no doubt brings out the 'Texas' in 'em all. It's kinda cute. I imagine he taught everyone square dancing at some point, 'cause how else would they know?

In the end, I just love to think of Engie as being one of the cornerstones of the team's overall culture. i mean, he's a solid family guy - cooks the breakfasts, fixes the (practical) problems, heck, plays music, tells stories, keeps 'em together when times are tough. We ALL know that some of him has to rub off on the team he bunks with for years. Not in a father-figure way, nahh, but certainly in a Dad Friend way. Big difference.

(Can you tell who my favorite character is yet? (demo, actually. And Heavy. come to think of it, the defense trio is the love of my life. My boys. (I could write and MLA-formatted essay about the balance of culture and personality within the Tuefort Nine, citations intact.)))

[crying-fantasies]

Emergence burns

Masterlist

Related to energon burns, these specific kind of burns happens when an organic helps with the emergence of a new spark, having direct contact to the hotspot full of energon, electric pulses and melted sentio metallico, tangling their organic components with a willing spark, attracted by the organic's living mechanisms wave or radiation and following it.

So far, it appears once the new spark chooses an organic and latches to it, following, in case of humans, the heartbeat, sometimes it comes to the willing hands of the bearer (name used for organics in these cases) slowly, almost searching and shy, other times the new sparks literally launch themselves to the bearer that works as a holder, one that has to endure the contact for as long as it takes the new spark to start the condensation of sentio metallico, the bearer can't let go of the new spark before that or it'll be lost forever.

The influx of high electricity, harmful condensed energon and melting burning metal bring obvious pain for the organic, the first bearer suffered continued heart failures before the first terraformer was able to take a hold of their own protoform, holding it to their little chest while all medical officers in the place mentioned, apart from the obvious painful screams and the blood, the unusual pattern on the bearer's hands and upper arms, oddly similar to lighting strike related burns, but deeper, strange colored that indicated energon poisoning, highly painful but not letting go of the protoform, holding lovingly the smallest protoform in history with care only similar to the long lost carriers.

There is still some investigation around it once the first case came know, easily to do when it happened in broad daylight and in an open, public area.

The resulting uproar was, of course, to be expected, specially from Caminus.

Emergence burns never totally heal, just like other energon poisoning related cases or energon burns, just being different in the lighting like pattern in real cases of emergence, it's the best way to differentiate the two apart.

In order to prevent emergence burns most organics use specialized gloves but it stops the new spark from retrieving elements from the bearer, something that many don't want, nowadays the ones to use the gloves are the organic blacksmiths, trained organics to help others and new sparks to make them reach complete forging, helping them to reach their truest frames, of course, in case the main bearer isn't able to perform the extraction due to health problems then the blacksmith takes action, the bearer puts only a hand in the hotspot and before the new spark reaches totally the blacksmith holds it, moving the sentio metallico before putting it in the bearer's hold, electric charge low and energon inside the new protoform, less dangerous overall.

So far, only conjuxed organics are able to perform this and obtain emergence burns, Camiens call it the sigil of Solus, as for them it's by Solus Prime blessing that organics are able to do it, firsts to call these organics bearers.

So far new sparks called by humans are terraformers, name given by the Lost Light scientific crew, formally know as terramorphos due to their ability to terraform alien environments to one similar to earth, not to be confused with Terrans, elonians call galarions, know for their almost indestructibility hard plating similar to Ore-12, visionaries call prysmorians, which like their bearers are able to use prysmosian magic, dire wraiths call and calve nebulons, similar to infected cybertronians in all senses.

So far, only a few cybertronians "reproduced" with organics, mainly using hotspots, but there are being strange cases of live births that seem to be more and more as pairs of dire wraiths and cybertronians start to appear, and so does their progeny.

[quantumlogician]

Face + HC

Word + HC

Per continuity, my headcanon widely varies concerning Shockwave's face. For sake of brevity, I'll keep it to main 3:

IDW — 100% compliance to the source material. His forged helm was totally replaced with the Empurata asset helm. The optic itself is a lens similar to camera, however it does not shutter, as assumed for 'blinking'. The inner rings of his optic are consistently turning to maintain visual focus. Despite this, he still possesses depth perception and wide field of view.

For the sake of comedy, I sample later IDW comic expressions where his face is treated like the standard Empurata screen + digital eye combo, where it can squint and emote.

TFP — Shockwave's head structure is an inherited trait from a common ancestral node. He is pretty old, deriving from a colony where they had evolved to be faceless with long antennae. They commonly communicated via wavelengths and EMfields ( this stands to be his preferred method of speech ) and it was not until much later did Shockwave eventually fit himself with a voice box to communicate in common language.

The optic itself is a compounded eye. His visual depth is rich and vibrant, allowing him to see an additional notch of colors and, sometimes, vibrations within the air.

TFA — The form he wears now was developed after stellar-cycles of trial-and-error. Preference for a screen face was born from a tactical necessity for his spy work; leaving no room for interpretation. Single optic does shutter ( as shown ), though the inner components of his optic is no different than any other bot.

Having grown comfortable of this default form, when he assumes any disguise requiring facial expression, the action itself can come off as mechanical and practiced. Though, it would take an expert to intuit the oddity of his physical behavior.

[leguin]

Smithing a sword in Deliverance II feels in many ways like sifting through a sandbox to learn about fossils, or like getting zapped at the aquarium to learn how it feels to get shocked by an electric eel. The attempt to genuinely recreate what a version of one of these crafts may have been like is interesting and engaging. But it also makes clear the limitations of these systems. There is no physical component to a videogame except for the rote motions of a keyboard or controller: there are no sensory aspects outside of vision, audio, and haptic feedback. A game can model aspects of what smithing a sword might have been like, but it cannot mimic the heat of the forge or the weight of the hammer or the response of the whetstone. A player may come out of Deliverance II with a more complex understanding of what blacksmithing entails, but they will not come out with a more complex feeling of it. Many of Deliverance II’s weaknesses come from that dissonance between its creators' approach to their subject, the mechanics, and what they're actually capable of providing to the player.

"Look But Don't Touch" by Maddi Chilton, Bullet Points Monthly - see also, imo relatedly, Ed Smith's article on verisimilitude in videogames (specifically Starfield).