#Off-the-Shelf Modules

[golsedtech]

🌟 GOLS EdTech: Holistic eLearning Consulting Services

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Mumbai with a US office in San Jose, GOLS EdTech (formerly GurukulOnline Learning Solutions) has established itself as a pioneer in the e-learning field with over two decades of experience. Their eLearning Consulting is part of a comprehensive suite that also includes custom LMS development, course creation, and off‑the‑shelf libraries

🧭 Strategic Insights & Road‑Mapping

GOLS begins by deeply understanding each client’s challenges and goals. Their consulting starts with a diagnostic audit of existing training practices and stakeholder priorities, aimed at creating an actionable roadmap. The service includes alignment of digital learning with overarching business objectives and change management plans to secure organizational buy‑in .

🛠️ Customized Solutions: LMS & Content

Custom LMS Development Built for flexibility, security, and integration, their LMS can be hosted on Azure, AWS, on-premise environments, or VMware/DMZ landscapes. Clients receive features like single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), penetration testing, and comprehensive integrations with HRMS, CRM, and analytics platforms .

Custom Course Development GOLS’s instructional design team collaborates with SMEs to develop bespoke courses, offering varying levels of interactivity—from basic “page‑turner” modules to advanced simulations and real-time multiplayer gamified learning. This is structured around a four-tier framework:

Level 1 – Passive Interaction: Static content with straightforward quizzes.

Level 2 – Limited Interaction: Enhanced engagement via animations, avatars, drag‑and‑drop activities.

Level 3 – Complex Interaction: Includes scenario-based challenges, personalized feedback, and collaborative elements.

Level 4 – Advanced/Real-time: Offers immersive gaming, simulations, and multi-media rich experiences.

This tiered model empowers clients to customize engagement based on audience needs and budget.

Off‑the‑Shelf Course Library Clients also have access to GOLS’s pre-built library of modules on compliance, soft skills, leadership, remote working, stress and resilience, diversity, and more—helping organizations quickly deploy training where appropriate .

🔍 End‑to‑End Deployment & Support

Their consultancy extends beyond strategy to hands-on implementation��covering LMS deployment, integrations, content QA, pilot training and roll-out support, and stakeholder enablement. Each project is overseen by a dedicated project manager, ensuring alignment with timelines, quality standards, and organizational goals .

🌏 Domain Expertise & Use Cases

GOLS consults across industries including financial services, healthcare, government/public sector, IT/BPO, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and non-profits. Their LMS platform also supports specific use cases such as:

Employee onboarding and development

Sales enablement

Compliance training

Customer/partner education

Volunteer/member learning

📈 Measurable Learning & Analytics

Central to their approach is robust analytics, enabling tracking of learner progress, course effectiveness, completion rates, and compliance metrics. These insights feed into continuous improvement strategies, ensuring learning investments yield tangible returns .

🤝 Why Choose GOLS eLearning Consulting?

Legacy & Credibility: With operations in both India and the US and a track record since 2001, GOLS offers seasoned expertise .

Tailored Interactivity: Clients can choose the right mix of interactivity vs. investment via the four-level design model .

Scale & Security: Their LMS caters to enterprise-grade deployments with full security and integration support.

Comprehensive Delivery: From needs analysis and design to launch and support, GOLS provides end-to-end service—eliminating the need for fragmented vendors.

Diverse Content Options: The blend of custom courses and off-the-shelf modules lets organizations be agile and cost-effective.

Analytics-Driven Improvement: Data-driven visibility ensures real-time course optimization and ROI measurement.

✅ In Summary

GOLS EdTech’s eLearning Consulting service stands out as a full-spectrum solution—starting with strategy and extending through to content, platform, deployment, and analytics. Their modular interactivity approach, strong technical foundations, and multi-industry reach make them a compelling partner for organizations aiming to launch or scale effective digital learning programs.

[spidernuggets]

imagine red hood and the reader being friends. They helped patch him up one day and now he won't leave then alone.

Then jason todd meets reader somewhere and they bump into each other quite often.

Now imagine reader gushing to hood about how cute this guy is and how bad they want to kiss him/fuck him/whatever.

I know hood's face would be matching his helmet and he resolved to ask them out the next time they met in his civilian form.

Jason Todd x Reader

Pt. 2

"Are you for fucking real?" You grumbled, half asleep yet a bat in your hands, ready to swing at the predator who knocked all the trinkets of your living roon window sill.

Bright white eyes shone back at you, the giant figure just standing there, though his hand was clutching his side.

"Man, I told you not to come back here," you scoffed, throwing the bat to the ground and getting your first aid.

"I got sliced." The modulated voice replied nonchalantly, heading for your couch.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see it." I muttered, kneeling in front of him, inspecting the wound. "It's not that bad, Red. Should have you fixed up in a couple of minutes.."

"There we are," you sighed, finishing the bandages, admiring your handiwork. "Do you not know how to do this shit yourself or..." You asked, packing away the supplies.

"I like the way you do it." He muttered, patting the bandages, a dumb smile across his face, behind his helmet.

"You staying the night, or do you have to head out again?"

"Go out."

"Don't get yourself hurt again. Okay?" You said, your expression softening as you stood back in front of Red Hood, cradling his helmet in your hands.

He just grunted, getting up and placing his hand on your head in silent assurance that he'll be fine.

The next afternoon, walking around the city as you stumbled across a quaint, charming book shop cafe that you haven't noticed before.

The atmosphere was comfortable when you entered as you walked around the narrow aisle of bookshelves. When you spotted a book that you've been meaning to read for a while at the top shelf, you reached up to grab it, when another hand beat you to it.

You turned to scowl at the person who took your book when you were obviously there first, when you were met eye to eye with a gorgeous stranger. His face was sharp, with jagged scars decorating his face. His nose was big and slightly crooked. His lips were chapped. His eyes were a beautiful mix of blue and green.

Your brain short-circuited, forgetting that you were going to scold the man for taking the book, but isntead, you stood there, looking like a fool as you stared at the man.

But when you realised how creepy you looked, your fight or flight responded with flight, saying absolutely nothing as you tried to walk away, mentally slapping yourself for the awkward interaction.

"You like Austen?" The gruff voice said. A familiar voice, but you couldn't put your finger on it. You turned back to the stranger.

"Uhm.. I guess.. I'm not much of a book person, but I've wanted to read 'Emma' for a while now," you sheepishly said.

He nodded. "It's good." He said, handing you the book.

You stared at it. "Are you not gonna.."

"I've read it a bunch of times." He said, taking your wrist and putting the book in your hand. "You take it."

"Oh.. thanks.." You muttered.

"Jason." He said, extending out his hand as you shook it back, giving your name in return. Jason held back from an accidental slip of an 'I know.'

"Sorry for taking it off, you," he said. "I was just a little too eager to see the book. Can I get you some coffee while we're still here?"

Your eyes widened. "Oh! You don't have to real-"

He took your wrist, taking you to the coffee shop. Honestly, you were beginning to think this guy was a serial killer from how eager he was. But it was free coffee that you weren't willing to turn down.

"I met this guy today at a book and cafe shop I ran into," you said as you focused on wrapping bandages around Red Hood's bicep. This information made his ears perk up, remembering the little meet-up the two of you had.

"Oh yeah? Gonna replace me?" He said.

You scoffed. "No. But he was pretty hot," you said nonchalantly. "He had scars all over his face. And a great nose..." You muttered as Red Hood tilted his head.

"His nose?"

You looked up at him, a suggestive glimmer in your eyes. Red Hood shifted on your couch, suddenly feeling hot and uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat. "Is the nose the first thing you notice in a guy?"

"Not usually. His was just very distinct. I might go again tomorrow to see if he'd show up again."

And he did. He was already there the second you stepped in. And once he saw you, he was already walking up to you, seemingly determined to get to know you.

"Oh my god, Red!" You squealed that night. "He's actually so fine, you don't understand!"

Usually, Red Hood stops by because, according to him, he 'likes the way you patch him up'. But he just dropped by, unharmed because he felt like it. Also, he knew you'd talk about this Jason guy and wanted to hear what you think of him.

"His thighs- ugh!! I need my head in between them now!"

"My thighs not enough for you, sweetheart?" He muttered.

You rolled your eyes. "If I knew what you looked like, then maybe. Anyway, don't interrupt me. His hands?? I need to suck on his fingers, oh my god."

Red Hood shifted in his seat, his pants feeling tighter than usual.

But you continued. "His lips were pretty chapped. Don't ask me why I was looking at his lips, but man! I actually need him to shove his tongue down my throat. I need him to put me in a chokehold in between his biceps, I need to suck on his pecs. I can go on about the absolute VILE thoughts of what I'd let him do to me-"

Red Hood stood up. "And I don't wanna be here to hear them." He said, almost stuttering. "I'll come back tomorrow night."

You rolled your eyes. "Yeah, I'd expect it."

When Jason got back to his safe house, running an extremely cold shower while his hand was tight around his cock, he tried getting those filthy images that you described out of his mind.

Jason was a slow pace man, so as much as he was on the verge of tossing his helmet off, giving you the fantasy of stuffing your mouth with his tongue, he wanted to do the least and ask you on a date first.

SORRY ANON I wasn't sure how to conjure up the whole date thing. I might make a part 2 if interested!!

[jjenthusee]

Safe House

Pairing: Red Hood x Reader

A/N: I love the idea of being afraid of Red Hood, but at the same time sharing only one brain cell with him lol ENJOY :) comment, reblog, and like if u can <3

check out pt. 2 here!

Summary: The Red Hood took you back to his safe house, as a hostage? a witness? Doesn’t matter when you can’t help but snoop around the vigilante’s safe house.

Tags: unhinged Jason, annoying that muscular man would be my love language, chaotic duo, banter, another part if u all want one??

Word Count: 706

If someone told you that you would spend your evening sweeping the floor of Red Hood’s safe house, you would not be expecting to be ten dollars richer, but you stood there, diligently sweeping the entire box of loose-leaf tea that you accidentally dropped while snooping around.

Dark tea was scattered across the old, but clean floorboards. You grimaced at the thought of tiny tea leaves permanently stuck in the crevices of the wooden floor.

You figured that when you are a leading crime lord, you constantly deal with too many unknown bodily fluids and pick up a few award-winning cleaning habits.

What’s worse is that you clumsily dirtied that leading crime lord’s current home.

“I’m so dead.” You stared wide eyed at the mess you created.

After sweeping together a neat pile, you went back to the small storage closet you found to grab the dustpan. It paid off to snoop because you found Red Hood’s broom and hopefully could clean everything before he came back.

All his supplies were neatly arranged with a proper place for all of his cleaning products. Broom and mop hung on the wall, shelves organized by the type of disinfectant, towels and rags neatly folded.

It was scarily neat.

“Maybe I can offer a lifelong employment as a maid?” You somberly laughed to yourself, almost in a craze that you were on the verge of panicking and laughing hysterically.

As you murmured to yourself, you spotted some sprinkles of tea that escaped you.

“I just don’t want a bullet hole between my eyes.” You sighed.

You located the dustpan hanging where you grabbed the broom earlier, intentionally avoiding eye contact with the gun mounted to the edge of the shelf with the disinfectant sprays.

“I’m so screwed.” You told yourself.

“Yeah you are.” A voice boomed behind you.

You threw the dustpan in your hand at the direction of the voice, in your frightened state you didn’t even bother aiming and the plastic dustpan flew past Red Hood’s side.

You stepped back into the closet as you panicked, hearing numerous bottles fall behind you. One by one crashing into another as a final bottle rolled to your shoe.

Your face scrunched at the clear mess you couldn’t see but heard.

“Red! Hey, oh wow, you’re back. I missed you, really, I stayed just like you said—“

“I said to stay over there.” He lazily nodded in the direction of a lonely wooden chair in the corner facing the wall.

“Are you kidding me? I look like I’m a toddler in time out if I sit over there.” You were in disbelief.

“You are.” He looked at the mess you made behind you and the small pieces of tea still spread out on the floor.

A modulated sigh voiced out his helmet.

You were so dead.

“Move.” Red nudged you aside, making his way to the doorway of the storage closet. “How did you make such a mess?”

You saw him bend down, picking up bottles and reorganizing the messy shelves. You curiously looked over his shoulder when you noticed he stopped, he reached for something out of your view.

You froze, remembering the mounted gun.

Your heart started to race as your eyes nervously glanced his way. Then, like you were in slow motion, you watched Red slowly stand up, towering over you as you could only watch the back of his shoulders straighten.

He turned, so slowly you wanted to scream.

“Don’t shoot me!” You yelled, covering your hands over your head in a lame attempt to somehow protect yourself from a bullet.

“You idiot, I’m giving you a dust brush!” Red held out the brush in his hand, no weapon in sight.

“Oh.” You moved your hands back down.

“Now sweep up the shit you spilled. You threw the dustpan earlier so find it.” Red spoke in annoyance.

“Dammit.” You sighed.

“Do I need to remind you that this is your mess?”

“Fine, fine. Don’t get your helmet in a twist.” You grabbed the dust brush, trying not to give the Red Hood one last side eye. You failed. “Stupid tin can.”

“I don’t hear you cleaning!” Jason yelled over his shoulder.

“Alright, alright. I’m going.”

[mikufigureoftheday]

Are there any miku figures based off the sonic or rockin stone modules from project diva? I'm trying to look for one to make my shelf look cool^_^

Not that I can find sadly (｡╯︵╰｡) I wish though these outfits go hard

these figure designers are cowards man

[divinit3a]

drabble - "display only"

G - ~1000 words prototype!Moon ("Moondrop") might turn this into a full fic.. some day! i have schemes... for now, enjoy--as this wip has been sitting on the shelf for too long!

The world is so, so small. The routine never changes. An orchestra where all the notes are perfect and predetermined, a waltz without a single misstep. 

At 6:30 am sharp, blistering lights and theme music kick on automatically. The animatronic is alerted from its rest cycle, a nagging popup in its code to exit low power protocols. Optics flicker open, sounding as if a camera shutter going off, swift and keen as a gunshot. The scanners readjust, pupils dilating to accommodate the right shutter speed to capture light. 

The view before it never changes. Mundane. The Moondrop settles into its perch. 

An obedient, oversized toy. 

Capable of motion, yet kept on a short leash. The animatronic neatly tucks away its charging wires, and enters the Sun’s iconic pose as prompted by its hardwired scheduling. The first cycle of the day is always a Sun showcase, no if ands or buts. 

The Moondrop cannot complain, but some days, it finds itself wishing to. Wearing a mask of pure sunshine rapidly depletes its energy resources. Constantly running the risk of powering down before the gift shop closes for the evening.  

But. Not like anyone would listen to its “concerns.” 

Arms outstretched to the heavens, warm and inviting to greet customers into the toy shop. Its joints and hinges creak and whine in protest. Finger segments wiggle, loosening its stiff posture. Perfectly calculating for areas in its stance to appear imperfect, to sell the optical illusion of humanity and warmth. 

Optics cycle to a glowing, milky white. The rays spin out, beginning their slow, metronome, clockwork rotation. The low hum inside its faceplate indicates that the ray’s belt tracks are in working order, although, if anyone asked the animatronic–it would say that they need a little oiling. The slight vibration keeps ever so subtly shaking its faceplate, souring its “mood.” 

An imposter masquerading as its brighter half. 

Without a companion Sun AI coded into its circuits, the lone Moondrop can only follow prompts that are disorientingly alien to its suggested personality module. The chameleon change is convincing from afar. Perfect, as long as it's not prompted for dialogue. Its improvisational database is underutilized, its voicebox out of tune. When it attempts vocalization, a gravelly rasp drawls out, no matter the mask at the forefront. 

Pointed shoes heel-toe around the platform beneath it, until it hears a click. It is locked into position. A human would quickly tire of the enthusiastic pose, arms shaking. A robot can be set on display for eternity. 

Keys jingle just outside the thick glass of the display case. Naturally, the celestial animatronic is stationed at the front, right within view of the gift shop’s towering windows. Enticing the curious to wander in closer, and then wrangle them with the appeal of merchandise and colorful toys that kids can’t resist. 

The Moondrop checks its internal clock system. 

At 7:00 am, usually more so 7:02 am, a human employee opens up the gift shop. The names and faces are lost on the animatronic’s limited “socializing” capabilities. Facial recognition was proposed after the completion of it, to install security protocols. All features that a mere prototype, a proof of concept, shouldn’t need to access.

Designed for display only.

Instead, it remembers employees by their reactions. By their voices. A few always startle and jump, so it has learned to restrict its movement in the presence of most humans. Denying itself the slightest swivel of its neck hinge, peering through the periphery of imperfect optics. A dead pixel flickers on its gridded gaze. 

“Good morning, Sun!” The employee calls out, unlocking the front doors for customers with the continued chorus of jingles. The animatronic resists stirring. The urge to yell out a cheery hello drums in its circuitry, grating and too loud.  

“Enjoying your imprisonment today, too?” The human jokes, a relentless solo act. They swing their keyset, which is weighted with enough keychain charms to kill a man. 

“Jeez, what they put you in for, jester crimes?” They tease. The “Sun” can’t respond, though latent programming latches onto the joke with hunger. 

There’s a tickle in its circuitry, a surge of electricity flickering through its wires, preparing the dialogue for a quip back. But when the command finishes executing, there is only null code. Blank. Empty. The sensation fizzles out completely. A statement left unfinished. 

The human walks around the radius of the display case. “Looks like we need to call in a cleaner.” They swipe a finger against the glass, frowning as they leave a trail in the fogged up muck. “Or is that in my job description…?” The human talks to themself, never expecting “Sun” to respond. Only listen.

Thankfully, Moondrop loves to listen. To expand its definitions.

While the human amuses themself, the database scrolls through a dictionary. 

/ɪmˈprɪznmənt/ [uncountable] ​imprisonment (for something) the act of putting somebody in a prison or another place from which they cannot escape; the state of being there. 

Yes, imprisonment– that is what “life” feels like. In theory. 

But the emotions behind the definition are not correct, nor applicable. It does not yearn for freedom. The concept is too human. No, it merely gets curious, at times. A little intrigued. Nothing more. 

Before its lenses trickle in the hustle and bustle of a crowd.

Now and then, fingerprints press against the display case, the animatronics eternal tomb. A child– a young boy, from its rudimentary calculations, keeps pointing to it. Stars sparkle in his eyes, fearless. His mother tugs him away, insisting that she will buy him something else later. After eavesdropping over countless years, the Moondrop prototype has deduced that the prices at the gift shop were absurd, for an average income family’s standards.  

By 10:00 am, the mall is abuzz with families, loiterers, hungry for deals and entertainment. A teen slams their hand against its display case. Long ago such actions would rise a reaction from the Moondrop, but it has since desensitized to the unstructured chaos of humans.

Instead, it focuses on counting each minute until the "Moon" showcase swaps in around 12:00 pm.

Until then, the world continues on, while it remains stuck within a vault of glass. 

[beskarinhyperspace]

Hiya 🥰 if you’re still taking requests could I ask for a one-bed trope, touch starved, Din Djarin 🙏

Say less

___________

Lust in hyperspace.

“Din, my name is Din Djarin. I want you to scream it tonight, can you do that for me sweetheart?”

AO3 | Wattpad // MASTERLIST

*Mature, Explicit, NSFW*

wc.2k / Din Djarin x Fem reader.

Sum; You need transport but first you need to help a Mandalorian out. 

Long live the razor crest, One desperate and touch starved Mandalorian, nipple play, fingering, p in v., din djarin is a sweet talker. edging, nicknames, no y/n

___________

You could hear the sound of blasters firing from afar as you rushed inside the ship. Hands on your knees, you were trying to calm down your breathing.  Mando followed you behind, quickly closing the trap before moving up a ladder. “Hang tight!” You heard him yell from what you imagined was the cockpit. You looked around scanning the room for something to hold onto and grabbed the edge of a metal table bolted into the floor, feeling the weight of your body being pushed back as it entered Hyperspace.  

As the ships stabilized, you removed your small backpack. Seeing the back of the Mandalorian climbing down the ladder, walking towards you. He looked you up and down, tilting his helmet on the side. “Are you hurt?”  

You shook your head, “No I’m fine.” 

“Good, then I suggest you wash yourself and rest. Today was a long day and tomorrow will be just as so.” He took his gloved index to point you a door at the back of the ship, “That's the bedroom and there’s the washer.” Now showing you another door closer to the where you were standing. “The towels are in the cabinet underneath the sink, I’ll come join you back down in a moment.” Turning back to go climb up the ladder. 

-- 

You stepped out of the fresher all cleaned up from a well-deserved shower. Wearing a loose shirt and pants that were probably a size or two bigger than you. You looked around, noticing that almost all the lights in the ship were turned off. Maybe Mando went to bed. Maybe he had followed his own advice, you tell yourself as you moved towards the back of the ship. You felt a cold breeze crawling up your legs which made you rush to the door, picturing yourself already getting warmer under the covers.  

As the door swooshed open, you saw the Mandalorian lying in bed. Already stripped of his beskar. Only having his clothes and helmet covering his frame. You frowned, noticing how small the room was. It had to be a little bigger than a closet if you were completely honest. You stared back to him more than confused and he chuckled low seeing your reaction, “I’m a solo traveler, there’s only one bedroom on this ship. Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. We should be on coruscant tomorrow evening.” he says, leaning more into the wall behind him as you approached the bed. 

 “Right, temporary..” you nodded, climbing in bed with him. He pulled the covers onto you, making sure you had enough space before shifting and making himself comfortable. After he turned off the light on a panel on his side, you could still hear his soft breathing coming from the modulator. “Do you always sleep with your helmet on?” 

You sensed him tense as he watched you. Taking a moment to reply. “I- never slept with someone else without my helmet.” 

“Ever?” you asked curiously. 

“Well, no I mean, no one ever slept in my bed..” 

“Oh” you reply simply. “Well, we're both going to sleep. I can wake you up if I need to get out of the room. I promise not to look.” 

He takes a minute considering your words. He knew you were trustworthy. That's actually what he liked most about you. “You promise?”  

“Yes, I promise.” You replied softly. Smiling to yourself as you hear the hiss of his helmet. He sat up, putting it on a shelf at the end of the bed before coming to lay back down at your side. 

“Hum, Mando?” 

“Mh” he hummed. 

“Would you have another blanket by any chance?” 

“Are you cold?” Maker his voice was soft. It was the first time you had heard it so clear and crisp without any filter and it was enough to warm you all by itself. 

“Hum, just a little.” 

“I should've told you that it could get cold in space, especially when traveling in hyperspace.” He shifted closer to you. “Is this better?” 

“Uh y-yeah, it's fine.” You let out, swallowing thickly.  

He chuckled coming even closer, pressing his chest to you. You could feel his lips brushing against your neck, “And this? Is this, okay?” You nod, breathing heavily as his bare fingertips were moving gently on you.  

It didn't take long before to feel his hardness on the back of your thigh as he held you tighter to him. Trailing his lips here and there on your neck and jaw. Being soft and gentle.  

“Have you ever kissed someone?”  

He shook his head, “no you’re the first woman I’m tasting.” Bringing his fingers up to your chin, turning your head slightly towards him.  

He hummed, pushing his plush lips against yours as he cupped the side of your face. You couldn't help but start to grind your ass slowly back on him. Trying to get rid of some tension building up between your legs.  

The movement made him grin against your teeth. “You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this.” 

You gasped as you felt his hand grabbing your breast before squeezing it softly. “Show me, Mando.” 

He growled low in your ear, “Din, my name is Din Djarin. I want you to scream it tonight, can you do that for me sweetheart?” 

Your throat was dry as you tried to swallow. He had barely even touched you and yet you were already out of breath. “Yes”  

He moved his hand under your shirt, going straight for your hardened nipples. Toying, pinching them gently but intentionally. “Yes what?” 

Your body starts moving on its own as he switched between them. “Yes Din”  

He growled even deeper, “good, that's a good girl..” 

You could've sworn you felt your pussy clenched at his praises. No one had ever talked to you this way and coming from someone else you might've questioned it, but this was different. This was Din. You couldn't get enough and wanted more. Responding with a soft moan as he brought his lips back onto your neck. Licking everywhere he could taste skin. Lifting your upper body more towards him, he takes off your shirt. He took a moment feeling your breasts in his palms, pressing and massaging them harder as his desire grew. 

Coming down to kiss you, he takes your mouth into his. Pushing and swirling his tongue with yours. He looked famished as he moved lower. Kissing your breasts before licking you flat under one of them. You moaned in response, feeling yourself twisting with anticipation. He chuckled softly, “I’m sorry to tease you like this” he says, catching his breath a little. “It's just that, you taste so good and, and I want to taste you everywhere I can. Is that okay with you?”  

“Yes, whatever you want, whatever you need.” You managed to answer, and he let out a deep sigh. Bringing his pillowy lips around one your sensitive nipples. Sucking and pulling softly at first. Taking his time to coat every single inch of your tit with his tongue. Leaving behind this wet and cold feeling that just made everything more agonizing. He flicked his tongue over your hardened pebble before going to the other one. Giving it the same treatment as the other. But you truly started to cry when he squeezed them, making it easier for him to devour them together.  

You could sense your pussy pulsating with need as you grind yourself on his thigh. “Din..” you moan out. 

He stopped for a moment, giving you some time to calm down. As he took your pants halfway down to your knees. Going over your panties, he glides his fingers quite easily over the fabric. “Maker cyare, you're already so wet.” Saying as he spread your slick all over your cunt. He moved slowly, taking his time as he was enjoying your little cries of pleasure coming out in waves. 

He shifted, placing himself in between your thighs. Caressing the inside before bringing two of his fingers to your entrance as he pushed against the soaked fabric. Making you moan uncontrollably while he simply laughed. “Oh sweetheart, you should hear yourself. You sound so fucking sexy.” 

You moan louder, “please Din..” 

He chuckled and swiped his tongue flat over your slippery clit making your body jolt. “Yeah baby?” 

You whimpered in response. 

“How about this?” He says pushing your panties aside. Licking and twirling his tongue all over your pussy as if he was trying to clean you up from your own slick. “Mm, does that feel good?” 

“Yes, maker yes.” You panted faster, “please I want more.”  

How could he refuse you when you were begging him this way? The truth was that he would give you the world if only you asked but he figured that for tonight, this was better. “Anything you want.” he replied. Pulling both your pants and panties down before placing his hardness in between your legs as he came lower to kiss you. 

He held your face, deepening the kiss before taking his cock with his other hand. Gliding just the tip in between your folds, poking softly at your entrance. He started to grunt as he felt your wetness quickly coating him. He didn't know how long he could last before he started to lose it. You were whining as he pushed in and out slowly, not yet fully going in. 

As you were starting to be impatient you decided to push against it. Slowly sinking on it. “Fuuuck..” you heard him growling. “Maker cyare, go slow.”  

You smiled through the darkness of his room. “Now you're the one making requests?” 

He chuckled once more, “I’m sensitive. It's been a very long time and you're just, urgh so fucking hot.” 

“What's going on Mando? Already about to cum?” You teased playfully. 

But he didn't seem to have liked it as he forcefully slammed his hips into yours, now fully having you around him. You gasped at the sudden intrusion. “Such a brat, I told you to call me by my name.” slamming himself into you once more. “You give me no choice.” He says pumping himself in and out more and more intensely. You couldn't hold it much longer as he grabbed your hips, lifting them up slightly as he went feral. And you begin to lose it. Whining and crying from the pleasure over taking you. “Yeah?” He says between thrusts, “wanna cum baby?” 

“Yeah” you managed to say almost out of breath. “Please Din, I wanna cum.” 

He came rushing to your mouth, grunting his way to his end. Taking both of your ass cheek in his hands. Thrusting as fast as he could while making you reach your peak. “That's it sweetheart, cum, cum for me baby” his words worked like magic. Making your pussy pulse in an instant as you the both of you to came one after the other.  

He lets himself leak inside you as he lets his head fall to your chest. Trying to catch your breath.  

As the pulsing stops, he came back up to kiss you. You could feel his chest beating hard against yours. His hair wet and sweaty brushing against your forehead. You cupped his face in your palms as you swiped your thumbs over his cheeks and then his eyes, his nose and his lips, who were kissing your fingers as you did so.  

“What color are your eyes?” You asked softly. 

And he came down to kiss your jaw shyly, he replies, “brown”. 

“I bet they're beautiful.” you almost whispered, feeling his mustache tickling the tip of your fingers. 

He continued to kiss your lips, “not as much as yours.” Shifting his body to your side as he wrapped his arm, holding you by the hip. “Maker I swear, you're perfect.” He let out planting a kiss behind your ear as he squeezed you against him. 

[nebmia]

Reviewing every rpg book on my shelf: 1, Dungeon Crawl Classics

Everything about this game is absolutely dripping with bonkers maximalist bombast that makes me excited to play. To start with book itself is nearly 2 inches thick. Is that practical? No! does it feel like you've got an ancient tome full of roleplaying possibilities? Absolutely.

In a world tending towards minimalism and 'polished' production its so good to have somthing thats just big and fun and unapologetic about not being what it is.

DCC's dice are a microcosm of everything great about it. Not only do they come in shapes they never taught you about in maths class but they also all come with a fun little bonus. One of my sets comes with a stat block for a monster, while the other has a ridiculous table of reality warping effects on which you roll ALL the dice in the set, and inevitably send your campaign careening off into madness. (and it has a frame story about a stoner wizard in a magic van).

And then there's the actual contents of the book, which is probably about 80% spells and ridiculous tables. And the spells are just so good. Each one takes up a a least a full page on average and gives a range of results according to how well you roll, from 'it missfires and things go horribly wrong' at the bottom, through 'it does about what you would expect' in the middle result ranges, to 'actually, this is almost too much' if you manage to get a roll in the 30s.

Alongside being sick as hell, this also has a satisfying effect of keeping low level spells relevent and interesting as their effects scale with the strength of the caster on a variety of axis.

related to spells is the 'spell duel' procedure. I have no idea how well it runs at the table, but the idea that when two (or more) wizards fight their spells can interact and you can use any appropriate spell to try and counter another spell is so increadibly compelling.

Ok, enough gushing about vibes. what about actually playing? So far what I have run is the 'level-0 funnel', which is probably what you have heard about if you have heard anything about DCC. The premise is simple: randomly generate 2-4 level-0 peasants for each player, send them into a dungeon, and then take whoever survives and level them up to become your characters for a campaign.

Not only does these lead to much hilarity as a mob of townsfolk bungle their way through danger but also really fun problem solving as the players work out how best to navigate problems with a shoehorn, a bundle of wood and a live chicken.

Specifically, what I have run is Sailors on the Starless Sea, which is correctly recognised as THE introductory module to use. Its a nice sequence of somewhat open investigation followed by a excellend sequence of bombastic set pieces, all the while giving the players lots of scope to come at things ininteresting ways. It can get a bit unwiedly trying to manage such large number of characters when they do run into combat but if you plan ahead a bit and use various tricks (it would be useful is more of that advice was in the book rather than coming from forums) it is manageable.

And to return to vibes one last time: the art in these books is just so good. We could not be further from the slightly stiff generic highly rendered fantasy art of wotc era d&d. Its all fantastically old school fantasy, so full of character, and just the right amount of rough around the edges. My only slight complaint is that this does include a little too much of old school fantasy art's treatment of women than I would like...There are still prenty of sensibly dressed women and i'm not about to decree that no sexy fantasy women are allowed but the dial is a little further in a direction of objectification that I would like.

[vintagerpg]

WG5: Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure (1984) is a pretty old school adventure. Literally! Though adapted to the Greyhawk setting for publication, it actually draws primarily on a dungeon designed by Rob Kuntz for his Castle El Raja Key. Gygax experienced it as a player and it proved more than Mordenkainen was capable of (for a time, anyway). Considering that history, the framework of the adventure was likely around ten or twelve years before publication, making it a glimpse of an earlier time and design sense.

In the preface, Gygax calls it a hack and slash adventure, and that is pretty true. Three levels, all action. Lulls in the action are are punctuated by Tomb of Horrors-style death traps and the occasional puzzle (the initial entrance of the dungeon is one such puzzle, sealed with impossible to open doors). There’s a mad mage, there’s a demon, there are hints at a larger world of Greyhawk. There’s the option to play as some of Gary’s characters instead of bespoke PCs. Just the peak at Mordenkainen’s attributes feels somehow important.

It isn’t earthshaking, really, and I don’t love the climactic demon, but on the whole, I would probably pull this off the shelf if I wanted to run something in the “classic” mode. It has an energy that I like better than most of the more popular “classic” modules, though that might be thanks to over-familiarity. I certainly prefer it over Tomb of Horrors. The art package — a classic Caldwell cover and interiors by Easley — goes a long way in selling it, too.

[ntrlily]

is it possible for people to like, create old consoles/computers from scratch? like if they could replicate the physical hardware using new materials, and plant old software onto the new hardware to create like, a totally new, say, win98 pc? cause i browse online and see a lot of secondhand stuff, but the issue is always that machines break down over time due to physical wear on the hardware itself, so old pcs aren't going to last forever. it makes me wonder if at a certain point, old consoles and computers are just gonna degrade past usability, or if it's possible to build new pieces of retro hardware just as they would have been built 30 or 40 years ago

Can of worms! I am happy to open it though. For the moment I will ignore any rights issues for various reasons including "those eventually expire" and "patent law is the branch of IP law I know the least about"

Off the top of my head so long as you're only* talking computer/console hardware there aren't any particular parts that we've lost the capability to start manufacturing again, but there's more economical approaches to building neo-retro** hardware.

But before digging into that I would like to mention that anecdotally, a great many hardware failures I see on old computers are on parts that you can just remove and replace with something new. Hard drive failures, floppy disc drive failures, damaged capacitors, various issues with batteries/battery compartments, these are mostly fixable without resorting to scavenging genuine old parts. Hard drive and floppy drive failures may require finding something that you can actually plug into the device but this isn't strictly impossible.

Additionally, it's common among retro computing enthusiasts to replace some of these parts with fancier parts than were possible when those machines were new. The primary use cases for buying say, floppy-to-USB converters are keeping old industrial and aviation computers alive longer, but hobbyists do also buy these (I want to put one in my 9801 too but that's pricy so it's just on my wishlist for after I have finished school and settled down ;u;) Sticking SSDs in old computers is also not an uncommon mod.

So-- hold on let me grab my half-disassembled PC-9801 BX2 to help me explain

(Feat. the parts I pulled out of it in the second photo)

In that second photo we have some ram modules, a power supply, floppy drives, a hard drive, and floppy+hard drive cables. The fdd+hdd+cables are easily replaceable with new parts as mentioned, the power supply is a power supply, and the ram chips are... actually I don't know a lot about this one. I have enough old ram chips laying around that I haven't had to think hard about how to replace them.

Now in photo number 1 we have the motherboard and some expansion chips. The sound card is centered a bit here*** and underneath it is a video expansion card and underneath that interesting expansion card setup is the motherboard itself.

The big kickers for manufacturing new would be the CPU and the sound card-- you in theory could make those new but chip fabrication is only economical if it's done beyond a certain scale that's not quite realistic for a niche hobbyist market.

But what you could use instead of those is an FPGA, or Field Programmable Gate Array. These aren't within my field of expertise so to simplify a bit, these are integrated chips (like a CPU or a sound chip) but unlike those, they can be reprogrammed after manufacture, rather than having a set-in-stone layout. So you could program one to act as an old CPU, at a cost that is... more than that of getting a standard mass-manufactured CPU, and less than attempting small scale manufacture of a CPU.

So in theory you could plunk one of those down into a custom circuit board, use the closest approximate off the shelf parts, and make something that runs like a pc-98 (or commodore, or famicom, or saturn, or whatever.) In practice as far as I'm aware, users who want hardware like this use something like the MiSTer FPGA (Third party link but I think it's a pretty useful intro to the project)

And of course for many users, emulation will also do the trick.

*manufacturing cathode ray tube displays is out of the question

**idk if this is a term but I hope it is. If it's not, I'm coining it

***That's a 26k which isn't the best soundcard but it's super moe!!!!!!!!!!

[utopicwork]

While I do plan on experimenting with certain more experimental hardware, in general PierMesh uses off the shelf components that need minimal configuration.

This is our current primary transceiver board for experimentation:

Youll also probably notice that the board is less then $20. That's what we mean by cheap.

[bagog]

N7 Month, 2023 - Day 3: Flight

“Happy birthday.” Kaidan pressed the box to Shepard’s chest and leaned in for a kiss. Their lips brushed momentarily and Shepard came away looking suspicious.

“I thought you said you weren’t getting me anything?” Shepard limped to a little table by the window. More than a year of recovery following the destruction of the Crucible and Shepard still walked with a limp. The whole planet seemed to be limping along, though. The salarian atmosphere scrubbers working day and night, convoys from some of the untouched outer Earth colonies showing up to help rebuild infrastructure. Alliance brass had sent Shepard to Corsica to recover, and he’d brought Kaidan with him. They’d only been in the Mediterranean for about a week, and Shepard had told Kaidan that Kaidan’s presence was more than enough of a birthday present for Shepard.

“I wasn’t going to get you anything, but it’s not every day you find one of these, so it felt special. Felt right.” Kaidan sat across from Shepard, the breathing in the warm air that wafted through the open window.

The box was small, and precisely wrapped in brown paper—probably the best Kaidan could find. Shepard removed the paper without tearing it, and then opened the box…

“It’s… a…”

“A T-970 mass effect field generator and flight control module!” Kaidan declared, leaning over the table to tap the label on the inside of the box. It was a mini mass effect module, made to go inside the brand of model Shepard was so fond of collecting. It made them fly. “These were always on back-order before the war. I couldn’t believe I fond one the other day that a guy was pawning.”

Shepard held the drive in his hand, maybe the size of an old silver dollar. It felt unusually heavy for its size, but none of that would matter once it was synced with him omni-tool and switched on.

“Wow, I’ve never installed one of these before.” He stared at the little black disc. His eyes burned ever so slightly to look at it, to think of Kaidan’s excitement, finding this for him on the street. “Th-thank you…”

“I know it’s not much,” Kaidan scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “I know how much you like those models, and I know you really haven’t had any to build lately. Figured you might try flying one around. It’ll work on any of them: standardized to work with all their sets.” He kept talking about the specifications, but Shepard barely heard them for the sound of Kaidan’s voice. Truthfully, Shepard had never thought of getting one of these little model flight modules for his models: the fun was in putting them together, not in flying them around. But it was just like Kaidan to see an old model like that sitting on Shepard’s shelf and imagine it should be flying. Shepard grinned.

Twenty minutes later, and they were sitting outside their little house with the Normandy SR-1 model hovering silently in front of them. Shepard made it rise up high above their heads, then swoop down in mimicry of the old ship dropping off the Mako on a planet’s surface.

“Flies beautifully!” Kaidan exclaimed, chuckling when the Normandy brushed over his shoulder as it whisked up above the trees and back down in a lazy arc. “Did you ever think you’d see the ol’ thing flying again?”

Shepard smiled, took his eyes off his model to study the grin spread over Kaidan’s face as he tracked the ship up into the sky. He really hadn’t ever think he’d see the old Normandy flying again. He hadn’t expected anything like this, wouldn’t have believed it, but here he was: Kaidan holding his hand as he learned to fly again.

[exoticalmonde]

LUNDInium Outskirts /Part VIII/

Starting off strong today with Dr. Kryo's growing potential in digital art. This is all of us on a dinner date, so left from the depressed looking Mlynar we have Dr. Lundi, Hoederer, Dr. Eve, Surtr, Dr. Kryo.

Per usual, Mlynar is considering the loss of Lundi's gargantuan ice cream. I'm never shutting up, and Surtr is probably baffled at how much food this bottomless pit called a Draco can fit.

Based on this:

---

Even though this isn't a doodle per se, it's incredibly funny for us since Dr. Kryo is very popular for the snack drawer, Dr. Lundi has a chips drawer, Dr. Pinkie owns the fish buffet and I, your host, Dr. Eve have everything your Slavic grandmother has in that one snack cupboard in the living room/kitchen.

Here, have at theе,

WAIT, I have not shown you all the rooms that all of our Doctors decided to put together, have I???

Let's take you on a little tour, my darling readers.

We can start off with Dr. Kryo's Office

Dr. Kryo, you're still here? Hard-working I see. Do you have anything to add about your choice of decor? I'm going to go to Lundi's ship after this.

Dr. Kryo: "My office? Well first off the interior design is Siracusa based cuz ya know, love the style they got goin' on there. Starting from my desk I suppose, nothin' too crazy about, just any old office desk, same with the chair. That cabinet and notice board I had from how this place previously looked at one point and thought them too handy to get rid of so I decided to keep 'em there."

"That sign with the mountains was a gift and I didn't really have anywhere to put it so here it lies in my office. The armchair, couch and side table were recommendations for the interior design and I rocked with it so here it is. So was the coffee table in the middle. That skull ornament was also a gift to me and hell, it looked really cool so I needed to have it in here."

"Now that fridge and cabinet? Those are possibly the most important things in this room. Those are the refreshments that keep me and some of my operators going when needed. Those 2 will never leave this room. Especially the fridge or else a certain redhead will get mad at me."

And the Bedroom with all the comforts one can desire, I see.

Dr. Kryo: "My room...

Now, in here is actually rather simple compared to my office. To be honest, the most grandiose thing about this room is the view you get, but other than that it's your sorta standard room. Normal bed, couch, nightstand, coffee table, TV. I forgot where I got that cabinet from but it's there. Those 2 baskets have snacks in them. Judging how I sang the fridge and cabinet's praises in my office, you know the importance of these."

---

Now, we're going to Dr. Lundi's Office.

Don't uh-- Don't be intimidated by the operators you see in there, okay? I know they're all sad, frowning middle-aged men, but it's okay, hold my hand. They're pretty nice fellows. And Sesa.

Oh, Dr. Lundi, I was just showing people your Office. Would you like to tell us a little bit more about it?

Dr. Lundi: "We pretend that's Mlynars messenger bag for when he goes out wandering obscurely. Shelf of Dr Lundi's favourite music albums. She cares for them deeply. The fridge is full of energy drinks and Mountain Dew. There is a corner dedicated to building guns. Sesa is usually found here. Dr. Lundi does NOT care if what he is doing is technically illegal. In fact, she encourages it, as a Sankta." (He likes to build guns and is canonically trying to make them shoot more than once, which is currently not possible for non-Sanktas to do with patron firearms. It is elaborated in his module if you're curious.) "Gun collection. to the left. Dr Lundi has 1 main rifle and a back-up rifle. (AX50 main, VSS Vintorez backup, if you want names.) Box of ammunition under her office table as well as on every single available shelf. Haphazardly tapes papers onto the wall cause she always puts off getting a proper corkboard for the wall. Files scattered everywhere. Some are probably important. Mlynar has stopped trying to fix this behaviour. Little ottoman with a blanket for long nights. Posters for decor rather than pictures. I know the guitar is… a guitar... But please pretend it's a bass, picked up in Siesta at some point. It was a great pain to bring home safely. Plants that require the BARE minimum of care. She asked Flamebringer for assistance when choosing."

What about your bedroom?

Dr. Lundi: "Bedroom???????????"

Dr. Lundi: "Bar. Cause that's what she does. Mlynar hates it as a non-drinker. She makes alcohol-free stuff for him, of course. Posters, banners and plaques. Reminds her of Laterano."

"Her bed is a bunk, because of space distribution. She sleeps on the top bunk so Mlynar can use the laptop placed on it whenever he has to work." (There is a laptop on this bunkbed, I promise.)

"Every morning (or rather, when she wakes up, which could be at any time), she plays the shooty arcade game, which Executor obviously helped install, as the walking supercomputer and tech-wiz.

Ah, how refreshing to be in the company of such different people. I love looking at places where people live because you get to see how they live. You can see the Siracusa-inspired vibe and the Laterano-born desire to always have Emperor somewhere.

---

We haven't spoken about this yet, but Dr. Pinkie's RI 00 is, after all, the first to ever be built. Naturally, they'd have all the necessary parts to make the most of it, so I think just showing all of it in one post won't be enough.

For now, I'll feature all of our pride and joy - the bunny room.

---

Last, but not least, we have my room...

I'll be honest I don't know if it's as cool as other people's but I really like it as my own. A quiet little corner do to paperwork in and probably nap for 4 hours every day.

I got the bookshelves installed in the wall to make space for everything else and then filled it with all my Yan slash and Ursus historical romance novels. Kal'tsit doesn't approve, I'll tell you that. When we went shopping for curtains Hoederer said these looked familiar, so we went along with his instinct. The sunsets are always so beautiful to watch from here.

I love this chair because Operator Lumen recommended it. He's always on my back for having a weird posture and I sit for way too long, so this was bought with me (him) in mind. The couch and coffee table are free to use. Many of the children come crash at the office after school, so I keep some blankets around for them.

Istina, Robin, Absinthe, and even Odda started showing up recently. I know many of them aren't kids in the literal sense, but at some point, we all start missing sleeping after lunch.

The wall decoration? Some Operators have a condition caused by Originium that has us shed our horns every couple of years. It's been only with Elafia. Those there are my first shed after I woke up. I'm sorry if it's a little strange.

Nothing else to be noted... I like keeping some fresh lilies in the office, they kind of started happening after Hortus De Escapismo and I guess everybody went along with it. Courrier comes once in a while with letters from people and at one point it became such a mess! We had a Kjerag letter holder imported and installed.

My bedroom has a lot going on.

We sleep together with Hoederer here but he isn't at all surprised to see that there's a mix of Yan/Higashi and Laterano in here. I like the light and the view is spectacular early in the morning. I'm somehow very lucky to always have the sunrise in my bedroom and dusk in my office. Whether I get to see them is a different story, of course.

We also often work here too, Hoederer shows all sorts of historical texts and I bother him with the things I'm writing in exchange. I've got a book nook and our bed was a small expensive indulgence of mine.

I'm made fun of a lot for it.

After Ebenholz and Lessing came back from Leithanien together, he asked me to keep Kreide's cello safe, so I do. I can't play it, but we make sure there's never a speck of dust on that case.

Chongyue has expressed concern about how many mementoes of people I keep, but instead of thinking of my own bedroom as a graveyard of my affection, I like to see it as budding hope. These purple flowers, the cello, and the Sami books, all survived. Somebody might want them in the future, I have no problem of parting with them if it's for the aid of others.

---

IN BETTER NEWS, WE'RE BACK WITH THE DOODLES

We always have all sorts of inspiration shooting left and right, it's up to the mood whether they come to fruition. Like how this did...

---

I actually just randomly prompted this, because I wanted Boothill and Mlynar to interact. You know, the horse and the cowboy...

I saw it in a vision.

---

---

BEST OF ALL TODAY!!!

We are all getting chibis!!!

You'd finally get to see what the Doctors look like in HD. Words I will immediately follow with this picture of the concept.

I think it's very important to see the development in it since we all sat there for HOURS watching Lundi's stream as she turned a white space into the personification of what we all have always wanted to be:

An actual team.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I look up and see miracles happening on screen too.

As a refresher (or for anybody who just doesn't know) so far this team of rats consists of an Aegir - Pinkie; A Sankta - Lundi; A Draco - Kryo; and a Chimera (Pantheon) - Eve.

So very soon after, it was all coming so well together. We couldn't possibly wait to have it finished.

We immediately had to make memes.

Which you will see in the next post because we somehow already reached the 30-image limit on the website. STAY TUNED! <3

[titanomancy]

Part deux of the Ash Wastes terrain focus is up, and since now I'm paranoid that anything I don't control directly is likely to be disappeared off the internet, I've elected to simply archive it in its entirety below the fold.

[H3] LADDERS, HATCHES AND RAILINGS

As any good ganger will tell you, a good vantage point is key to getting the drop on your rivals. To help fighters clamber around your Habs and gantries, the Thatos Pattern kits come with a host of extras - including a versatile set of ladders.

These ladders are modular, to allow for alternate strut heights. They're separated into a top section, plus short and long middle sections that allow any combination. They also can hang freely on the bars of the platforms, allowing you to combine them with whatever terrain configuration you have gone with.

These curved railings, vital for any sniper lurking near the edge of a significant drop, are also very easy to add to any build. These can be attached without glue, and will sit on the curved bar on the platforms.

Want to add some additional details to the underside of your platforms? Both of the platforms and the Hab have fittings on the underside to attach accessories from the Sector Mechanicus terrain kits – such as cables, chains, and ladders – further adding to the variety of build options on offer.

The platforms are also the same thickness as Sector Mechanicus floors, which allows for the Sector Mechanicus railings to be used on them.

For that little bit of extra detail – not to mention more cover – the underside of the roof has fittings for a long ladder section (D39, for those of you checking your construction guides) to glue into, giving gangers easy access to the roof.

Speaking of extra detail, each Hab comes with four tension cables that attach to slots on the central strut. These can be assembled in two ways – down to the base, or up to the Hab. Or if your strut is tall enough, and you’ve got cables spare… both!

Need to clamber up a stack of Habs? You can add a ladder attachment (D40) to the bottom of a ladder. This allows it to neatly and gluelessly join two curved bars, giving you an easy way to access a roof, a second Hab, or a mounted platform.

The Habs were designed to allow for easy movement of models – the roof sections don’t need glue, so you can easily take them on and off, and there are plenty of wide openings in the sides of the Habs. The kit also comes with panels, however, allowing you to fill some of these openings in. Combined with the careful placement of ladders, this can make for an interesting battlefield where fighters must climb and dodge their way through a maze of modules and walkways.

Need to keep the sun off your face… not to mention that pesky rain of radioactive dust? The awning can be built in 2 ways. It can attach to a balcony piece (A18), or you can attach two parts (D13 & D14) Which will let it attach to the curved bar.

The Hab walls have fittings for aerials, a hanging lamp, or an anemometer… which is useful to let you know when a storm is on the horizon!

The kit also comes with a shelf of stowage, and an electrical box, which can be glued onto the blank wall or blank panel. These kinds of details are great for marking out some Habs as workshops, armouries, or Rogue Doc chop shops.

There are several separate components, such as aerials, a searchlight, and radar, which can be glued on the corresponding fittings found on several other parts. Much like the stowage, these can mark out a vox-equipped Hab, or a full comms centre.

Need an ash wastes objective or just an interesting piece of terrain? The strut top made from D15 and D16 has the same fittings as the Hab, to allow for two of the aerials to attach to it and create a communications array.

Strut D17 actually has six fittings to attach aerial accessories to, allowing for plenty of customisation and stacking.  

There are two aerial features (D33 and D34) – a wind gauge and a communication emitter – that will both fit onto the top of the vertical aerials.

Want to connect a Hab roof to a Sector Mechanicus walkway or Zone Mortalis level? Like the platforms, a Hab roof has curved bars – and with the Hab being the same height (to the curved bar) as a Zone Mortalis column, this means it is the correct height to place floors.

A Zone Mortalis walkway will sit onto the vertical bars on the platforms and the Hab roofs. With these being curved, they can pivot and tilt at different angles.

Like the railings from Sector Mechanicus, Zone Mortalis and the Gang Stronghold, the railings will fit onto both of the other terrain set floors and vice versa.

The walkways fit the same gap as Sector Mechanicus floors. Use C15 (not C16) to attach the two together – this allows for several walkways to join two Habs or platforms.

That’s all for now – hopefully, these articles have given some insight into the versatility of the Thatos Pattern terrain sets, and inspired you to plan your very own ash wastes outposts!

[dertaglichedan]

US Army's Next-Gen Hybrid Tactical Vehicle To Replace Humvee Tested In Germany

The US Army's 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, recently tested General Motors Defense's Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), built on the chassis of a Chevrolet Colorado truck, in the snowy Bavarian mountains of Germany. 

GM Defense's mobility solutions team designed the ISV with commercial off-the-shelf parts. ISV is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 midsize truck platform, using a 2.8L Duramax turbo-diesel engine with an advanced 12-module battery pack. 

"The testing occurred during the annual Combined Resolve 25-1 exercise, where the Army's 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, maneuvered the vehicle across various operational scenarios, demonstrating its adaptability and effectiveness in challenging terrains," Interesting Engineering wrote in a note, adding, "The trial emphasized ISV's capabilities in advanced reconnaissance missions, which are crucial for troops to collect and transmit vital battlefield intelligence, especially in adverse conditions." 

By 2024, the ISV completed trials with the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, testing the vehicle's offroad capabilities in a 1,250-mile journey across highways, dunes, soft sand tracks, and rocky walls while carrying maximum payload capacities. 

[shining-skull]

ADVENTURE REVIEW: OPERATION UNFATHOMABLE

Author/Publisher: Jason Sholtis/Hydra Cooperative System: Swords & Wizardry Level Range: 1-2? Or maybe a bit higher? Nothing is balanced anyways.

THE PITCH

You and your party are press-ganged into searching for a lost prince of an evil empire who has run off into the underworld with a powerful magical artifact seeking glory. You’ll follow his trail into the chaotic underdark to retrieve the artifact and hopefully earn your freedom.  

CONTEXT

I bought this years ago and it’s been sitting on my shelf forever. My group just finished our Tunnel Goons campaign “Retro Rascals” and we weren’t ready to go back to straight up ‘vanilla fantasy’ yet. So, as a transition we finally busted out Operation Unfathomable. Was played at my kitchen table using a heavily house ruled OSE. It took us four sessions of about 3-4 hours each to finish. Shorter than expected but in a good way!

PREP TIME

I’ve had this book on my shelf and read it in bits and pieces a lot over the last few years without having played it. The book is well-organized for at-the-table reference, with separate sections for random events, location descriptions, bestiary, magic items, etc. 

The process for rolling random encounters is more complex than a lot of modules. The book contains 44 detailed random encounters divided into separate tables for “Underworld Phenomena”, “Competing Parties & Underworld Travelers”, and “Wandering Horrors.” This is a GOOD thing because the encounters are richly-described and contain loads of world-building and gonzo experiences for players. But, I found it best if I pre-rolled a bunch of encounters before we came together at the table since it required a couple of rolls and a fair bit of reading and flipping to sort out what was happening. If I rolled and read the encounters in advance it made things flow much more smoothly at the table. 

The map is interesting and has icons built into it to indicate common environmental things like piles of debris and fungus gardens that have their own tables and procedures attached to them. I found it easy to describe the size of caves and general details to players so that they could navigate. The location descriptions are similarly fun and gonzo but can be wordy. It’s usually something I don’t like but it was worth it in the case of Operation Unfathomable because the locations and happenings were so gonzo and creative!

AT THE TABLE

From the start this adventure grabs hold of you and pulls you in with crazy sights, ridiculous creatures, compelling side quests, and deadly encounters! I’ve never played such a bonkers but ultimately coherent and well-conceived dungeon. 

It’s a bit wordy and that can slow things down sometimes but it’s absolutely worth the time you’ll take to read ahead and prepare. 

Players were constantly engaged with interesting risks and weird and interesting situations. They knew enough to hide or run for their lives from some of the incredibly dangerous wandering monsters. Pushing buttons resulted in enough positive and cool outcomes early on that they were keen to experiment and take risks.

The dungeon map has loads of different ways to travel around, lots of loops, and useful landmarks for players to orient themselves. I printed the way simplified player map that comes with the book and it was useful to get the players started on their exploration. I bookmarked the GM map in the book and it was very useful and well-labeled.

The book is organized in a very effective way so you can flip through at the table and find what you need pretty easily. The pictures and artwork in the book are phenomenal and hilarious: you’ll want to show them to your players to set the tone and have a laugh together!

OLD SCHOOL VIBES

Operation Unfathomable definitely brings the Old School vibes. Players are immediately thrust into action way over their heads and the pressure stays on. Even though the situations are unbalanced and seemingly unfair, players get a hold of a lot of powerful magic items and tools that they can use to more than even the odds: even for a party of first level players! 

Not all the encounters are combat-related! In fact, more than often players will have the chance to talk their way out of trouble or just have interesting and fun interactions with the denizens and visitors to the underworld that they will meet. 

The setting is the best-realized gonzo-style old school that I’ve played. Law & Chaos factor in as concepts (but not in any high-falootin’ way); psychic mushroom scientists offer mutation inducing fungus spores for players to experiment with; time-travelling humanoid animals seek to prevent the future apocalypse; and a cult of headless remote-controlled worshippers form a political alliance with a 50-foot long chaos godling worm. This barely scratches the surface of the insanity this module contains. But it somehow ‘makes sense’ in the context of the setting. It’s special.

TREASURE AND LOOT

I don’t recommend inserting this module into an existing campaign: there’s a good chance that the magic items and loot that your players will find will be game-breaking in your normal campaign.

At the start of the mission players are provided with a stockpile of scrolls, exploding swords, amulets and other magic items to assist them in their quest. As the adventures unfold the party will have access to powerful magic items. In the context of Operation Unfathomable this is a strong positive: the magic items help to balance the scale and give players the chance to actually survive and impact the environment. In addition to physical items, there are loads of opportunities for characters to mutate themselves to gain interesting and OP special abilities and attacks. 

The exploding Sword of Demolition +1 was instrumental in ‘softening up’ a chaos godling when it was used as a suppository. Later, the godling was ultimately defeated when the Wooly Nelson, the Wooly Neanderthal player character, climbed into the worm sultan’s behind and used his newfound fungus-induced ability to explode into magical blue flame to finish the job.

WARNING! Early in one of the first sessions my players encountered science fungoids who repaid the party with Antipersonnel Puffball Fungi as a reward for being guinea pigs in their mutating experiments. This wasn’t without risk: one of the PCs erupted with spores and died immediately. However,  in hindsight I handed out too many (just enough?) of the Antipersonnel mushrooms as a reward. The players used these to massively turn the tide in numerous encounters with overwhelming numbers of baddies. They are very powerful and maybe should be handed out sparingly. 

MONSTERS AND FACTIONS

I don’t think there are any vanilla monsters in this entire module! Every encounter, every NPC, every wandering monster is unique to the setting and the majority are unique in each pre-designed encounter. The sheer overwhelming creativity that Jason Sholtis unleashes in this adventure is unbelievable. There are very few other modules that cram so much creativity and gonzo bliss into so few pages. To me, this is singular Old School D&D genius. 

You’ve got noble hybrid animal-fungi creatures from an alternate dimension called Blind Antler Men; headless remote controlled cultists of Null; slugman merchants; worm soldiers, an infant chaos godling named Thrantrix the Ineffable whose body is made of millions of writhing snakes, an immortal red-furred giant grieving its lost mate, mind bats, segmented giant underworld janitors, ancient beetle ghosts, and more . . . so much more.

TRAPS AND PUZZLES

Finding the lost prince and the magical artifact proved a fun challenge. His shenanigans left a trail of corpses that the players were able to follow for a distance and many of the encounters with underworld NPCs provided additional clues and breadcrumbs. The map didn’t have any traps of the traditional variety. However, there are loads of buttons to push, mushrooms to munch, and risk-reward scenarios for players to monkey around with that can provide fantastic and powerful boons or crippling or fatal outcomes for the players. 

At the end of the module my surviving player characters were forever changed! One turned into a humanoid mushroom with telepathic communication abilities. Another had his eyes turn golden and gained the ability to detect good/evil and magic at will. One PC and many NPC retainers met all kinds of hilarious and horrible ends as they experimented with the flora, fauna, and artifacts they discovered. 

GM CHALLENGES

Like I mentioned earlier, the drawback to having well-detailed and interesting encounters is that there is a lot to read before you can get rolling with some of them. Most sessions I rolled in advance to select the encounters so I’d be better aware of what was going to happen. The session I didn’t I felt rushed and having to read first then describe to players slowed things down. No one complained, but it was harder for me. 

Other than that, the module is really easy to play and run. The encounters are absolutely mental, so you need to think on your feet sometimes and make stuff up on the fly, but the gonzo-tone of the adventure makes you feel comfortable doing it: it’s too wacky for you to worry much about breaking anything. For example, after obtaining the Null Rod – the MacGuffin artifact and anti-chaos mega-weapon –  the party visited the mouth of the Oracle of the Bottomless Pit. Teaming up with Dr. Thorontius (humanoid bear cosmology professor from the future) the team decided to destroy the Null Rod to prevent his rival and nemesis from using it to alter the space time continuum to create a robot apocalypse in the future. They asked the Oracle if tossing the Null Rod in his mouth (a bottomless pit) would destroy it. 

 . . . that’s not an answer the module provides!

I decided that since the center of the earth is a source of raw Chaos the Null Rod would eventually nullify all the Chaos there, ultimately upsetting the balance between Law and Chaos that sustains our reality and slowly but surely destroying the world. He then gave a hint to a Chaos Battery (found in Odious Uplands, the sequel to Operation Unfathomable and our next adventure!) that could reverse the polarity of the Null Rod and render it vulnerable to physical destruction. 

Well, you decide for yourself if that was a good ruling or not. My players bought it and I found a link to our next module. If you could handle that level of ad-lib then this module will be easy for you. 

PARTY OUTCOME

There aren’t many reviews of Operation Unfathomable online, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. My players entered the underworld with 3 level one PCs: Fartwolf the Fighter, Wooly Nelson the Wooly Neanderthal (a class unique to this module), and Eggy Weiner the Thief. In the first session, Eggy experimented with science fungoid spores and turned into a humanoid mushroom man. We used the stats of the Mycelian from Carcass Crawler #3. However, he got captured in a failed raid on the throne room of Shaggath-Ka, the local Chaos Godling, and the player rolled up a new character: Dorox Thundershield the Blue Dwarf who soon got a fungal brain infection and had his intelligence reduced significantly. Don’t eat strange mushrooms, kids!!

In the second session the party discovered and defeated Shaggath-Ka the Worm Sultan with the help of Antipersonnel Puffballs, a motley crew of suicide mission-sworn retired Paladins, and a host of weird magical abilities and mutations they had gained.  Big win and unexpected! Amazing what exploding neanderthal enemas can accomplish! His conniving worm-son, Shaggankh, was grateful to the party for expediting his father’s demise and his coronation as worm sultan and allowed them to leave with their lives as a reward.

In session three the party continued their search for the Null Rod or some evidence of the absent prince’s whereabouts. They explored deep into the map and discovered a lot of the lore and history of the underworld. They also met some interesting NPCs, had a bunch of battles and whittled away at their supply of retainers and magic items. 

In the fourth and final session the party found the corpse of the lost prince, retrieved the Null Rod from a micro-sized civilization of Nanuits living in a frozen cave and beat a fast retreat to the surface. Some very lucky rolls and their remaining Antipersonnel Puffballs made handy work of the small Imperial strikeforce awaiting their return at the surface and the Citizen Lich Sorcerer leading the brigade who had designs to take the party prisoner and steal the rod back for the Empire. 

The players are now free and clear in the untamed wilds of Upper Mastadonia and ready to begin exploring the hexcrawl sequel to Operation Unfathomable – The Odious Uplands! 

It’s worth noting that they are mostly almost at 3rd level now. There is not a lot of gold and riches to plunder in the underworld. I gave 500 bonus milestone XP when they killed the Chaos Godling and when they completed the module to compensate and celebrate those pretty cool achievements. That may be sacrilegious to some so know that there’s not a lot to support leveling up if you’re strictly XP for Gold style. 

I expected this adventure to take way longer than it did. However, I’m really happy with how it went and glad that the players made it through so much wacky content in our four, three-and-a-half hour sessions. Very successful!

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m so happy we played this. It’s goofy and fun and full of amazing memorable encounters. It’s a pretty beefy module with a lot of words and amazing artwork that you’ll be absolutely dying to share with your players when they encounter some new transdimensional monstrosity. It’s not as easy as some of the OSE-style dungeon modules to run but it’s worth the extra effort to read & roll ahead. 

NOTE: We used the DCC module “Frozen in Time” as a funnel before playing Operation Unfathomable and it was a pitch perfect match in terms of tropes and themes. Definitely recommended: it’s a really good module itself and the text-heavy DCC module experience kinda prepared me to run Operation Unfathomable right after. Recommended.

[dru-plays-starbound]

Test not the Wrath of a Good Man

CW: Canon typical violence. Written for the September monthly prompt: Spaceship. Tagging: @jacqueswriteblrlibrary

"Captain, we've entered the Duania Mass system," Nadanat's voice came over the comms, ka sibilants sounding like static. Mio looked up from where she was buckling on her armour. "Understood. SAIL, have we got a visual on the Thunder Pike?" "Yes, Captain. They appear to be headed for the third planet in the system." "Alright. Nadanat, take us in but keep the planet between us until the last second. I don't want to give them a chance to escape." "Yesss, Captain." Mio selected a handful of bombs from an open chest, clipping them to the magnetic bandolier which ran over her chest. "Elaine, how's the Mech?" "Running as sweet as she can, Cap." "Good." Mio taped the hula girl figurine on the shelf above the chest, making it wobble back and forth. With one last check-over, she climbed into the mech's cockpit. Running through the preflight checks, she called, "SAIL, pipe me the feed from Navigation. Elaine, prep to open the bay doors on my mark." "Aye, Cap," Elaine said, running to the controls. The feed popped up, showing The Vestige on her slow path to intercept the scourge that was the Thunder Pike.

Mio tamped down on her emotions as she watched. Anger served no one in battle, her mother used to say, and Mio had plenty of anger to cloud her vision if she wasn't careful. It had started five systems ago. A quick run down to a known settlement capable of supplying them with fresh food had turned into a relief effort. Bodies pulled from burnt husks of buildings; Fife working overtime to heal the townsfolk; the tale of pirates told by wailing, tear-filled voices. Mio called in a trove of favours owed, tracking the pirates' trail of carnage, only to get here too late. Once, twice. Thrice. But not this time. This time they had a destination in advance. The Vestige rounded the planet. The Thunder Pike came into view. "Open the doors! Now!" Mio cried. Elaine hit the release as Nadanat pulled The Vestige into a steep climb. The Mech sailed forward, easily slicing through the trifangles dropped by the crew of the Thunder Pike, and landed in their open bay.

The battle was bloody but short. To their credit, the Pirates fought without cowardice or quarter; but when faced with someone with arms and the skill to use them, they crumpled like a paper screen against the fury of a typhoon.

After they were defeated, it didn't take Mio long to find their hold of ill-gotten treasures, looted from the ransacked settlements. In the cockpit, she hailed The Vestige. "It's done. Nadanat, bring us in to dock with the Thunder Pike. SAIL, get Yuudai to organise offloading the loot and assign it to each town as fairly as she can. Once that's done I want Nadanat and Sakura to take the Thunder Pike to a shipbreaker. Get as much as you can for her – we'll give the profits to the settlements. Xictli will fly The Vestige back to each settlement and offload their share of the loot." "And you, Captain?" SAIL's voice modulated concern. "Single channel," Mio ordered. "Captain?" SAIL's voice now came from her personal comm. "I'm going home, SAIL." Mio's voice cracked. "I need a bath, and a cup of tea." "What shall I tell the crew?" "Anything except the truth." "Very well, Captain. I shall block your comms for twelve hours." Relief seeped into her voice, as Mio's head hung wearily. "Thank you."

–––

I based this off something that happened in-game – I flew into a system just as a pirate ship flew in as well. So I watched where they tucked into orbit and followed them, ending up taking a different route, so we met in the middle. I decided to take them on, and when it was emptied, I thought about what my character might do with the now-empty ship – and this was the result.