#monster forge productions

[graphicpolicy]

Crowdfunding Corner: Moster Forge presents… gHosts, assembling a creative team and character line-up from other universes

Crowdfunding Corner: Moster Forge presents… gHosts, assembling a creative team and character line-up from other universes #comics #comicbooks #horror

Backer Beware: Crowdfunding projects are not guaranteed to be delivered and/or delivered when promised. We always recommend to do your research before backing.Disclosure: Graphic Policy’s founder Brett is a member of the Zoop team. If you’re a fan of pop culture today, you’d be hard pressed NOT to have run across the work of the team behind Monster Forge Presents: gHosts!. Did you enjoy The…

[ttrpgcafe]

You want GM advice for cool, niche ttrpgs? Check this out!

I'm doing a series of posts about project Moonbeam, a brand new streaming platform currently crowdfunding on backerkit and their associated projects! This time around, I'm talking about Dice Pool, a series of videos directed at Evil Hat Games', well... games! This includes Blades in the Dark, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Fate, and Monster of the week, as well as others with some stretch goals! There're a million videos on youtube with advice about how to be a good DM, but very few tailored specifically to these smaller games, and they're one of the more nuanced, tricky ttrpgs to run! I love Thirsty Sword Lesbians to death, but the subject matter can be tricky to tackle at a table, especially when people only see the title and assume they gotta be flirting constantly. (not so, in case you didn't already know) So having a series of videos helping GMs with other similar problems in the other Fate/Forged in the Dark/PbtA games from Evil hat would be great! check it out!

[thecuddlymuffintop]

Tonight, at 7 pm CDT, I will be continuing Lisa Definitive Edition on both Twitch and YouTube.

Viewer Discretion is Advised.

If you are feeling up for it, feel free to join me with any of the following links:

Twitch

YouTube

[gyusimp]

°•Lord Muzan feels tired after work

⚠️ WARNINGS: NSFW | Smut content | Fem reader | Fingering | Semi-oral | Minors DNI!

Finally the one-shot I promised! I changed the initial idea so I basically rewrote the whole thing again because of a dream I had and it gave me all the inspiration I needed lmao it even gave me an idea for another longer fic with Muzan. I ended up doing it in the canon Taisho Era so enjoy!

Art credits for the creator (not mine)

It wasn't physical fatigue that he felt, after all, the progenitor of demons was tireless. He was rather fed up. Fed up with his employees, his servants, humans in general and how exhausting it was to be the only perfect and intelligent creature among them. His day had been full of problems today.

The current role he had was that of a young and rich businessman, owner of a company importing foreign products whom he murdered in order to carry out his plans and continue increasing his fortune. He forged a few papers, impersonated some people and murdered others and so the company was his now but that included all his stupid and useless employees. He was so fed up with damn humans, sometimes he avoided dismissals, it depends on their mood and how efficient they were at some point then Muzan fired them, otherwise he just called them to his office simply to kill them.

Then a few months later he met you, a young and beautiful woman in the business world with a company dedicated to natural medicine and importing medicinal plants. You were an essential piece in his plan to conquer the sun. He married you when he had the chance to but you eventually found out that he wasn't human. How come you were still alive then? You discovered it on your own, you didn't make a fuss or try to run away from him, you simply let him know that you already knew through small clues or ways of acting, like you were in charge of closing all the curtains in the house during the day but you didn't ask the servants to do it for you. Your loyalty to him remained despite knowing what he was and that was not lost on Muzan.

One night, he told you what this was all about, if you hadn't left despite knowing his condition then you had to stay alive. Muzan gave you the choice if you wanted to become a demon or not but whatever your answer was, you had to serve him for your entire life. The fact of being immortal did not tempt your human weakness but you told him that by having the ability to walk under the sun, you could be his eyes in the light of day and help him do different things so you both ended up accepting. You were legally his wife, so in front of everyone Muzan treated you as such although there were times in private where he was still a little soft on you, plus, he is an attractive looking man which led you to feel some things more for him , taking on mind his demonic nature.

Today had been a terribly long day, the fatigue in Kibutsuji's body caused the veins on his forehead to stand out strongly under his skin, his red eyes appeared and his pupils turned into vertical slits like a cat's.  He took off the black trench coat he was wearing and left it on the coat rack at the entrance, his fangs grew to normal size after having hidden them all day, as did his sharp blue nails, making one of his servants tremble who should have already gone home. The man next to him was observed with indifference, his skin was pale and he was sweating coldly having seen the small transformation of his master, then he remembered the stories of those man-eating creatures that the women of his town told the children.

"A monster! This man is not human!! MISS KIBUTSUJI, THERE IS A DEMON IN THE HOUSE!" the man shouted trying to alert you.

His shrill screams tried Muzan's patience and when the man turned to walk up the stairs towards you he was cut into pieces in less than 2 seconds. The reddish and thick liquid splashed Kibutsuji's face making him sigh and wipe it with a handkerchief as well as his hand, the drops dripped on the stairs and when he walked next to him he moved it with too much disgust using his foot and continuing his way towards your room upstairs.

Like a gentleman, he knocked on the door before entering and upon hearing your voice he entered the room. You hadn't heard anything but his murderous look told you that he wasn't in the best of moods so you didn't say anything. You went to the bathroom in the large room and put on a pearl-colored sleeveless sleeping dress with a matching silk robe. Just like your husband, you preferred to dress in a Western style, you left your hair down and went out. You found him sitting on the edge of the bed, with both hands together mumbling some things, noticing how stressed he was and without saying anything you knelt on the bed behind him and started massaging his shoulders. You were involved in the world of medicine since you were little, so you knew the points where stress usually accumulates. Feeling your hands exerting pleasant pressure on his body, Muzan couldn't help but tilt his head to the side and put aside everything he was thinking, he took off his tie and closed his eyes, sighing tiredly. You continued caressing his neck, shoulders and back until slowly his muscles relaxed and his veins stopped showing under his skin.

"Can i...?" You asked, bringing your hands to the collar of his shirt.

You unbuttoned the entire garment and got rid of it completely leaving his naked and well-worked torso exposed, you continued massaging his shoulders and back until he felt good enough to close his eyes and lay his head on your chest, feeling your breasts very close to him. Your hands were soft and light, with a sincere and warm touch making his thoughts go elsewhere. While you continued doing your thing, he got rid of his belt and unbuttoned his pants without you realizing it, then grabbed your wrist with some force and brought you in front of him so that you were sitting astride his lap. As soon as you sat down, he took it upon himself to stare at you and open the robe you were wearing to see your breasts under the thin fabric of the nightgown and how your nipples were beginning to stand out. He took off your robe and then grabbed the hem of your nightgown to pull it up and take it off as well. A few seconds passed, he lightly patted your thigh to make you lift your butt so he could get rid of your panties as well, leaving you completely naked under his gaze. He gently took your hand, still looking at you, and brought it up to his face to caress it against his cheek and kiss your palm elegantly.

"You are a rather attractive woman...worthy of bearing my last name." You felt so lucky when he took the time to compliment you since you knew his disdain for almost everything.

You melted at his touch, at his kisses, but an unusual sensation on the skin of your hand made you look in that direction. You saw how a mouth began to form in Muzan's palm with teeth, tongue and everything. You knew about all the changes and transformations that his body was capable of so it no longer surprised you at all since he also knew how to use those changes to your advantage. Muzan smiled at you with seductive malice and with his free hand he grabbed your waist while the hand with his mouth went straight between your legs, placing his palm just below your pussy. You couldn't help but moan and startled a little when you felt his warm breath hitting you, you felt his tongue come out from his palm and begin to suck and lick all your folds. You looked at Muzan with a huge blush as you grabbed his shoulders. While his palm was in charge of your center, he brought 2 of his fingers to your hole, making you arch your back as you felt him enter and arch his fingers inside you. Both sensations made you begin to moan his name and move your hips on him to increase your own pleasure as he hardened dangerously beneath you. His entire mouth sucked on your pussy, playing with it with his teeth and pressing your clit against his tongue over and over again as he moved his fingers and the mouth on his face kissed and bit your neck and collarbones. You were starting to get very wet, the saliva and your juices between your legs making you feel very hot and slippery. Muzan's free hand took you from behind to bring you closer to him and caressed your back until it went down and reached your butt, then he went to your bust and began to knead one of your breasts between his fingers, causing you endless moans.

"Aa-aah...Muzan! Aah!" You could barely speak properly.

You rubbed your center on the palm of his hand while the mouth beneath you devoured you completely, you listened to the wet sounds that leaked beneath you and imagining the dirty scene aroused you more and more. The simple act of letting the Demon King fuck you as he pleased turned you on no matter what. Muzan was going too fast and every rub on and lick on your folds was killing you, you clung tightly to his shoulders making scratches that regenerated immediately feeling your orgasm getting closer to the point of not even being able to stay upright. Your head leaned down, leaving your left hand on his shoulder while you held on to the bed with your right as if your life depended on it, never stopping moaning or moving.

Muzan watched you from above, proud of the mess he made of you, of how he was able to lower such a prestigious and elegant lady to such a level, making her beg for more as if she were a prostitute. You were close, he knew it by the way you squeezed his fingers tighter than before and he didn't want to let this moment pass him by. Muzan grabbed your chin to make you look into his eyes.

"Look at me...you're about to cum, aren't you? I want you to look at me..."

You tried to raise your face towards him but lust was stronger than your five senses, your body was heavy with pleasure and you could barely open your eyes properly. You didn't heed his request and that might make him angry so this time he held you tighter, digging his nails into your soft flesh making your cheeks sting.

"I told you I want you to look at me when you do it...it's an order." He demanded.

You clung to his shoulders without stopping moving and he increased his speed, you squeezed him again and just when you felt yourself on the edge you looked down but forced yourself to half open your eyes and look up again just as you screamed of pleasure as you feel all your whitish and slippery discharge come out from your core, wetting all of Muzan's hand under you where his mouth did not waste a single drop.

"Your taste is very pleasant, dear. I would never get tired of it." He licked his lips.

You were shaking in his lap, sweating all over your body, and a huge blush came over you again when you looked down and saw the mess you had left in his pants. Muzan smiled evilly at you and pushed you on the bed to change places and position himself over you after having completely gotten rid of all his clothes.

Your hair was a mess on the bed, your chest rose and fell trying to normalize your breathing and you could feel your sensitive folds throbbing after such a strong euphoria. You finished having your orgasm, you were wet and slippery and Muzan wasn't going to waste that.

"It's my turn, precious."

He told you, showing you his fangs in a smile and in less than you expected he opened your legs to position himself in the middle of you, he took one of your legs behind your knee and placed it on his shoulder without letting go and then entered you with a single thrust making you moan intensely. He didn't care that you had not yet adapted to his size, he began to stretch you and move repeatedly inside you until he aroused you again. You could hear his soft moans and grunts in your ear as he moved, you took him by the shoulders again and adjusted your legs so you both felt better.

Even though this was only the second round for you you felt almost dead tired, your legs and waist were starting to hurt and you envied the way your husband wasn't even sweating. A pleasurable sensation formed inside you as you felt the crashes of each of his thrusts against your clit and the pressure you felt on it again and again causing you to stretch your toes and squeeze Muzan very tightly again. He loved feeling you that way, you drove him crazy with pleasure and you noticed how the veins appeared again on his back and arms but this time it was due to the strong arousement he was feeling. He had the nerve to lift his head from your shoulder and moan heavily as he closed his eyes and increased his speed, feeling you suck him deep.

"Fuck...you're perfect nngh, you're even better than those 12 fucking idiots." He moaned, complimenting you.

You loved pleasing your husband and even more so seeing that you were doing a good job. Knowing that you could manage to put the Demon King in such a vulnerable state turned you on more, making you eagerly wait for his orgasm and the second one on your part, but on the other hand it made you nervous. Muzan's arousal was as strong as 10 men combined every time he fucked you and his release was just as intense or even more so, so when he tilted his head back after you cum again, you felt a huge amount of his falling inside you reaching the bottom of your insides, spilling the rest between your legs until forming a whitish stain on the bed, under the two of you.

The way Muzan felt his scent permeate your flesh once again made him feel powerful, it was a way of claiming you as his because no matter how many times you showered or cleaned yourself, how many days went by without him fucking you, Muzan let his cells inside you, so that any creature that knew of his existence would also know that you belonged to him.

[tellnotalespod]

List: Queer creatives to spend your money on instead half-arsed pride merch from Target 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

We're all aware by now that when you buy pride merch from one of Those Companies, your money is just going to a CEO who half-heartedly told someone to slap a rainbow on it and call it a day. So why not use that money to support an actual queer person who’s working hard to make art?

I've collected a(n incomplete) list of queer creatives who would benefit from your support this Pride Month - this is fairly limited in scope, as it only includes creators who responded to my call for links (or whose links were sent by friends & fans). It is also, for that reason, fairly audio-drama-heavy, but not exclusively so! It includes sections for crowdfunds, online stores, ttrpgs, and ko-fis and patreons for creators of a variety of different art forms.

The list is long, but worth a look through. Have a browse, see if anything appeals, and if you'd like to add any links, please do! Share the list around, shout out your friends and peers, boost your favourite artist, and vitally, self-promo is strongly encouraged!

Crowdfund campaigns:

Starting off strong with Forged Bonds @forgedbondspod — A queer, myth-bending audio drama retelling of Aphrodite and Hephaestus's love story.

This one takes pride of place as the inspiration for this post. Pine is working SO hard to make sure their cast gets paid regardless of crowdfunding outcomes, even if that means paying out-of-pocket. Help them avoid having to do that by supporting a truly kind and wonderful creator. (Crowdfund ends in a little over two weeks!)

We've also got a tight time-sensitive crowdfund for Waiting For October @monkeymanproductions — an upcoming queer supernatural audio drama series from the creators of Moonbase Theta, Out.

At the time of posting, they only have 13 hours left on their crowdfund, but they're 93% there! Help them cross the threshold and tell what I'm sure will be another gorgeous and wild story.

And for the horror lovers, a new crowdfund from The Morbid Forest — a deep dive into all things grusesome!

They are hoping to fund their fifth season, and it's looking to be their biggest yet. A lot of what they're asking for will be used to pay guest authors they're bringing in for the new season, allowing platforms for up-and-coming writers. Help them make this a reality!

All three of these creators also have Patreons you can subscribe to instead of (or in addition to!) their crowdfund: Pine Tree Pods, Monkeyman Productions, Morbid Forest

Buy yourself a little treat:

Saph the Something creates ethically handmade clothes made with vintage materials by a non-binary queer individual, with an emphasis on non-default clothes for non-default people.

You can find Saph's physical goods on xaer ko-fi (including a GORGEOUS loose-knit subtle trans flag tee)! Or support xem on Patreon for early access to content, behind-the-scenes updates, and more

For prints and pins of some truly stunning art, visit Survival of the Artist's ko-fi!

If you love gorgeous, unsettling underwater horror, you're going to absolutely love these prints

Eeler's Choice @eelerschoice is offering their season 1 soundtrack on Bandcamp!

Eeler’s Choice is a maritime horror fantasy podcast that serves as a reminder that the ocean never gives back what it takes unchanged. The music is GORGEOUS and if you love sea shanties, folk music, and eerie ambient instrumentals, you'll love this album.

They also have merch on sale, the logo sweatshirt is one of the best things I own

Pyon is an afro-latino freelance artist, writer, designer, and indie game developer

He is currently working on a visual novel magical girl project, @magicalwarriordiamondheart and you can buy prints, plushies, apparrel, charms and more from their store (or support him on Ko-fi!)

Xan Larson is an Illustrator, Comic Artist and Content Creator with a specialty and marked enthusiasm for mythological creatures of all kinds and all cultures.

She offers a huge range of treats on her website, including art prints (& original paintings), resin art, and books

Dylan Birtolo is a writer, a gamer, and a professional sword-swinger

Dylan has a huge number of books on offer, primarily fantasy, including anthologies, novellas, and novels.

TTRPGs galore:

(these also fall under the little treat category, but there were so many that I felt they needed their own section)

Sunken Rust are a game company run by married couple Dave Eisinger and Jazz Eisinger, and they offer a range of absolutely delightful TTRPGs, ranging from a wholesome GBBO-inspired micro RPG, to a solo journaling game about exploring an abandoned mansion.

Tea Witch Games is run by Anna Landin, a queer Swedish illustrator, comic artist and game designer. She offers games that run the gamut from sweet and cozy to weird, sad and spooky.

K. Petker offers games from wonderfully unique perspecitves including heroines of the princess council, children facing the apocalypse, and cats protecting their humans from the supernatural.

Christine Prevas is a writer, designer, PhD student & erstwhile librarian offering TTRPGs that range from two-player steamy horror to theatrical tragedy, and more.

Unseeliejess is a game designer and social worker, and my personal favourites from her offerings include Oops! All Draculas! and multiple sapphic-focused TTRPGs

Thoughty is run by Beau Jágr Sheldon, including innovative TTRPGs in a range of formats, as well as some games that break away from the table entirely.

Riverhouse Games includes a ton of fun concepts, including a micro-game about cleaning your kitchen and a game about telling your hot gay (dragon) boyfriend you love him. They also offer a guide to writing your own RPG!

E. Chris Garrison is the proprietor of Chris's Compendium of Free RPGs, one of the oldest game repositories on the web. They are also the designer of Saving People / Hunting Things, a TTRPG inspired by monster-of-the-week style television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Supernatural. They also have a ton of fantasy, supernatural, and sci-fi books on offer

Handsofblue offers a campy horror game about awful people and a serial killer, and a solo knitting game

Drazillion is an award-winning narrative designer, writer, and artist, offering a huge portfolio of games with a strong focus on queer narratives and themes. You can also support her on Patreon

Patreons & Ko-Fis:

Finally we have some ways to directly support the creators you love or their ongoing projects!

Soul Operator @souloperatorpod is a multi-genre fiction podcast, created to highlight solo ttrpgs.

If you haven't listened yet, you absolutely should - this show will rip out your heart and you'll be grateful for it. Support them for behind-the-scenes content, exclusive short stories, and more

Divine Rodentia Studios @divinerodentiastudios is releasing a new fiction anthology audio drama, Sixth Door to the Left

This is some truly intriguing and wonderful storytelling, and you can support them through the development of their upcoming project, The Loser's Game.

YamiKakyuu @yamikakyuu is a writer, photographer, amateur digital artist, and horror podcast enthusiast.

Supporting them will help an up-and-coming voice actor invest in decent equipment (a huge barrier to so many incredibly talented VAs breaking into the industry!)

Daisy McNamara is an *incredibly prolific* podcaster, the co-creator of Eeler's Choice and Waterlogged, and has contributed his talents to so many more

Daisy has made such a huge contribution to the audio drama world, so if you've listened to any podcasts to speak of, you've probably enjoyed some of her work. Your support can help him make ends meet and continue creating!

And finally (because I fave a few pals who'd kill me dead if I didn't do a bit of self-promo), I'm Leanne Egan, the creator of Tell No Tales, an audio drama about ghosts and the people who refuse to hunt them. While there is currently no way to support the show financially, my debut novel, Lover Birds, releases soon!

As a bonus, if you're in the UK, you can pre-order it from a North-West-based queer indie bookshop too!

[the-moon-files]

Linked Universe / GN!Reader - Random Headcanons abt the Chain :)

Part 1 (ur here!) / Part 2 / Part 3

Sun: Gender Neutral! Reader (you/they/them), Guide Reader

Orbit: Headcanons-ish

Stars: First, Sky, Four, Legend

Comets & Meteors: Content: None Known & Triggers: None Known.

U have a lot of Nicknames: Guide, Hero's Guide, Prince, Princey, Star, (more to be added?).

☆

First (Manga!Link):

Has "too good" of posture lol

It makes his back stiff and by the time he's in his bedroll he's confused about why it feels better, silly silly man

Just in general tenses his muscles too often, so whenever u offer to massage him, he nearly crumbles on the spot

(the others know exactly how amazing ur massages are, and are fully staring at him in jealousy lol)

Gets little rips and tears in his clothing all the time somehow??

Even tho he wont have a scratch acc on him after hours of battle???

mans could be flying around Skyloft with only clouds touching him and come back pouting telling you he ripped his scarf again :'(

Likes to be slightly in front of you most of the time, especially in new places/other Links' Hyrules

It just makes him feel better knowing he's both protecting you, and that you're watching his back

(Most Links feel at their best/most confident when your voice can be heard just over their shoulder, not that they don't love seeing ur face now too)

Sky (Skyward Sword Link):

Is slowly making everyone he knows a collection of wooden figurines

He usually carves when he's bored or stressed

so needless to say this mission of the Shadow (slow going, stressful at times like Twi getting hurt)

Has made him give u an army of little wooden figures (everyone else gets a small collection bc ur the first he gives one to)

Did i say give? Excuse me, i meant:

sneaks them as a little surprise into your belongings or clothing or other personal effects

This started bc after a week or two of him giving you wooden things you tried to reroute him to other ppl,

so Sky just made it his mission to see how many he can sneak instead onto you on any given day lmao

(Also he may or may not have daydreamed abt being able to carve u things and actually physically give them to you on his adventure before, so he's taking advantage of being able to now)

Has luscious hair at all times, little to no effort, Wars is so pissed abt it lol

Mf responded when asked what products he used (by poor Wars too) with, "wym?? With water??? And soap????"

Never ties his boot laces

You will all be gearing up for battle and go to stalk and stealth kill monsters and right before u get up on them u always have to look over at Sky's shoes and whisper at him to tie them

Is the most likely to plant face first into the ground or trip and fall on his ass from shoes untying

He just didnt need to with being in the clouds on his Loftwing all the time back on Skyloft and so he never rlly adapted to that even on the surface lol

He's also just miserable at doing a decent knot so you've taken to teaching him repeatedly how to tie them-

why didnt the knight academy help with this at all actually??

(Wind makes fun of him be hes a sailor and knows like 10+ knots)

Four (Four Swords/Minish Cap Link):

Loses his tools constantly

Well not really "lose" so much as "slightly misplace"

It drives him crazy, the Minish used to help him with it back in his Hyrule so he got out of the habit of putting things back where they belong

You've gotten to the point where you'll glance over wherever he's working so the next time he comes up to u complaining abt a lost hammer or smth u immediately just "should be over by the fire"

And ur right, 99.9% of the time its so funny

Bc Four's all like "wtf ive moved around so much since then i took all the other tools with me- MF. U WERE RIGHT."

Is rlly good at like color matching, comes in handy for new outfits

Also has aches and pains like in his hands and arms mostly

Bc of all the forge work, and absolutely treasures any massages u offer him

Likes to wear matching jewelry with you! Like earrings or piercings or necklaces etc

Also has good taste in jewelry and what looks good on everyone + you

Legend (Link to the Past, Link's Awakening etc):

Unfortunately the type of person to just shove things in his bag willy nilly

Its the horder tendencies, he just has a lot of stuffs so he gave up trying to organize it

Actually really good at styling hair, Legend would absolutely lie abt it if u asked but he can spend as much time on his hair as Warrior

Likes to experiment with new clothes, like skirts or bright colors, esp if they match some of his clothes already

U ran by some makeup one time in another Hyrule and he knew how to use it rlly well??

Lies abt random skills he has, or like thinks skills he already has can translate well,

like he's rode a horse before wym he can't drive Wild's motorcycle??

Or fly a Loftwing???

Well now its a challenge

Tbh most competitive over stupid things randomly out of all the Links besides Wild, Wind, Wars, and occasionally Hyrule + Sky + Time

Got challenged to try and go shield surfing with u once and thought that horse-riding skill would transfer and it did in fact Not.

Actually kinda scared the other Links watching u two spin out and crash ngl, what with doing an accidental backflip? Midair??

but u both were okay somehow???

Also weirdly lucky, u stg he's got some sort of ring or blessing for that

☆

IT ACCIDENTALLY POSTED I FUCKING HATE TUMBLR ITS DONE THIS TO ME MULTIPLE TIMES NOW 😭😭

All the Links WOULD HAVE been here if it werent for fucking tumblr

Ill post more parts soon if anyone is interested

Peace out,

🌙

[mychlapci]

Cybertron/primus being an tentacles monster that in addition to forging mechs, would also fill willing bots up with Sparks so they could grow sparklings in their forges, with the record being 6 at once.

Then the council messed everything up and started taking sparks from the tentacles and carriers by force to do mass production cold-construction. This pissed Primus off so much it retracted all its tentacles from every single last temple built around its many access ports on the surface.

It's so long that only the oldest Cybertronian remember when there were sparklings... And then the war starts.

When it's FINALLY over, the matrix leads Optimus to a very old temple and Primus is very happy to reintroduce the idea of Carriers to modern Cybertronians. Optimus Smashes the old record by carrying 12 sparks/sparklings at once.

ough... I love weird breeding and religious rituals. I love it when Primus is a giant capable of and obsessed with giving life... it's always so fun. I can definitely imagine cybertronians building beautiful temples for the out-reaching tentacles and pampered carriers. And since the population is dwindling after such a harrowing war, it's only merciful that Primus returns and begins to breed his creations again <33

[zer0pm]

Imagine being an undercover agent who once infiltrated Umbrella and grew close to Luis Serra. You were forced to separate from him, never telling him why and broke his heart in the process. When you thought that you have finally moved on, you find him again. Tied up in a sack.

“What’s in Spain?”

“My home. A village, to be exact. And remote. The people there could use people like us to help them. No one would be able to find us there. Not even Umbrella. There, we can disappear.”

“…I’m sorry, Luis. I can’t.”

.

“You seem distracted.”

“What?” you blink, immediately biting your tongue after. But it was too late, you were caught red-handed.

“Case in point,” your partner Leon sighs. “So, what is it? What’s on your mind?”

You reply with a frown, “I’m wondering how deep these tunnels go. Must have something important down here for these… villagers to go through the trouble of trying to lock it up inconspicuously.”

It was such a blatant lie, the blond’s stony expression showed that he wasn’t buying it at all. But Leon doesn’t say anything. Instead, he leads on with his gun and flashlight pointing forward in the darkness. You were relieved that he didn’t press further.

But he’s also right. You were distracted and on a mission where a steady, focused mind is imperative at all times. Mulling over the past on things that were best laid forgotten is meaningless and offered no benefit to the task at hand. So why bother even allowing it to weigh so heavily in your thoughts?

Because what are the odds that this is the same place that he mentioned? The one that he wanted to hide away with you within? Given everything you’ve seen so far, with all these monsters roaming about, you sincerely hope not. Surely this is all coincidental and that he is in some other part of Spain.

.

“You mentioned that you grew up in Spain, right? What was it like there?”

“Oh? For once you don’t want to talk about work or whatever ingenius discoveries I’ve made recently? Pero, you actually want to engage in small talk? It must be a sign!”

“Answer the question or I’m requesting a department change.”

“Calma, calma. I only tease. Hmm… The weather can be unforgiving, especially during the rainy season. The people live day-to-day on whatever resources that can grow or be found under the constantly harsh conditions. Sickness often spreads and the treatment is… archaic.”

“This all sounds awful.”

“It wasn’t all bad. Everyone in our small community had someone to support them. I had my grandfather. He helped shape me to be the man I am today. A very handsome man at that, with both brains and brawn. In case, you didn’t notice already.”

“He must be very proud of you.”

“I hope so...”

“You don’t keep in touch?”

“So interested in my life story all of a sudden. And yet I still know so little of yours.”

“What’s there to know? There’s not much to tell.”

“See, that is where you’re wrong, my friend. A key to a great story is time to gather your thoughts. And I wouldn’t mind making time to listen to yours. How does after work sound? There’s an excellent coffee spot around the corner.”

“…You know what? A drink sounds great.”

.

You should have rejected him then and there. The task was only to gather information and find evidence of the production of biochemical weaponry. Forming attachments was not part of the job. But you couldn’t find it in yourself to deny him then, convincing yourself that it was necessary to reinforce your cover. You were seen as just a researcher forging deep interpersonal relationships with your fellow coworker and not at all a spy for the government sent to infiltrate a pharmaceutical giant for secrets that could topple a nation.

No one suspected a thing- not Umbrella, not your handlers, not even him. It worked. But it didn’t make you feel any less guilty about it, especially when you developed real feelings for him and he reciprocated them earnestly and affectionately. At first, you meant to play along with no intention of taking him seriously. The Spanish researcher expressed himself as a man who talks a big game but settles down or folds over for no one. He had a reputation within the labs as a serial flirt after all.

However, the day he casually asked you out, he surprised you. Beneath all the playful, charming remarks and practiced come-hither smirks belied a genuine romantic. He was a man passionate about his work, driven by a real desire to help others. He cared about other people, evident at how intently he listened to you when your shared bits of yourself to him. Granted, much of what you said then was fabricated to uphold your secret identity, but he showed unwavering interest in you and the image you created as if you two were only people in that coffee shop that mattered. After one date came another, then another, then another until you lost count. You fell for him and you fell for him hard. And before you knew it, at his suggestion, the two of you moved in together.

It was a dream. A wonderful dream. You couldn’t remember the last time you lived a normal life, let alone someone to come home to. It was such a domestic feeling. To go wit him to work by day then go home together by night to fall asleep in each other’s arms and do it all over again the following morning. To fall into a routine was strange and something you grew affectionately accustomed to. And it was all because of him. He made you feel safe. He made you feel loved. He made you feel normal. But it was only a dream. And all dreams eventually come to an end.

It got to a point where you dug yourself so deep that by the time you had to shed your identity and leave him, it left scars that neither of you would ever recover from.

.

“¿Qué? What do you mean, you can’t?”

“I can’t go to Spain with you.”

“Is it the location? We can go anywhere you want,l, but we have to make sure we hide our tracks from Umbrella-”

“I mean that I can’t go with you. Anywhere. Period.”

“¿Mande? Why.”

“I want to tell you, I really do.”

“…Tú no me quieres.”

“No! Of course I do.”

“Then why? Why can’t you run away with me? I can protect us, you just have to trust-”

“This isn’t about trust.”

“Then tell me what it is!”

“…This isn’t going to work. I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“L-Lo siento, mi corazon. I didn’t meant to shout. We can work through this-”

“Just please remember that what we had was real.”

“¡Amor!”

“Goodbye, Luis.”

.

That was the last time you saw him. You broke his heart, the pieces of yours shattered away with every step that you took away from him. Revisiting those memories all caused a single tear to fall down your cheek.

You have to move on. It’s been long enough. It was all to protect him, you told yourself countless times. In your line of work, attachments just do not (and cannot) stick. And you stuck with that choice without an ounce of regret. You only hope that wherever Luis is now, he’s happy and safe. That alone kept you going.

When you finally broke yourself out of your daze, you found yourself facing a wall. You quietly berated yourself for your absentmindedness again and were grateful for the darkness. Luckily, your fellow agent didn’t notice you or your inner turmoil, something else catching his attention at the end of the tunnel.

“Over here. I found someone.”

Your head snaps towards Leon’s direction, your heartache momentarily dulled and set aside. “Ashley Graham?”

“Don’t know yet,” Leon replies, crouching down. “Here, hold the light.”

You hurry over to the blond’s side, taking the flashlight from him and directing it towards his finding. A large sack, big enough for a person, was flailing about. The sound of muffled struggling reaches your ears. Leon unties the top of the thick cloth before pulling it down. You almost didn’t believe what, or rather, who you were seeing. But your eyes were blown wide in recognition before Leon rips the tape off of their mouth. There was no mistaking those rugged features, that dark hair, and those grey eyes that you fell in love with helplessly so long ago.

It was him. The man that haunted your every thoughts and dreams. The man that dug his way into your heart and made a home there.

Luis Serra Navarro.

“Oh no, not you.”

The man merely gazes back at you, momentarily stunned before chuckling in that husky voice of his that you thought you’d never hear again.

“I’ve missed you too, mi corazon,” he says. His eyes glide over your form lasciviously, uncaring that you (and your partner) can see him staring shamelessly. He looked and smiled at you as if the years spent apart never happened. “Te ves bien.”

You had so many questions.

.

.

.

A/N: Part Two can be found right here~

[david-talks-sw]

"Bring in the flamethrowers!"

The above moment from The Clone Wars gets brought up a lot to illustrate Ki-Adi Mundi or the Jedi's moral decadence, a fall from grace caused by the war.

Figured I'd point out a couple of things in support of Ki-Adi!

1) Simple answer: the situation called for it.

The Geonosians attacking Ki-Adi were:

enemy fighters

with the element of surprise

who could fly and were thus harder to hit with the clones' blasters, hence why more wide-ranging weapons like flamethrowers were called for, as the clones were getting picked off one-by-one.

Time was of the essence, men were dying, Ki-Adi made a choice.

Wanna know what Jedi choose when a Geonosian isn't actively trying to kill them? They save its life (and get praised for it by their peers).

2) In-universe, the Geonosians are assholes.

From Attack of the Clones - The Illustrated Companion, 2002:

"Geonosians are a physically intimidating race conditioned to live and work in caste-segregated hives. The vast majority of Geonosians are subservient to the ruling caste, and throughout Geonosian society, there is evidence of a biologically engineered class system. Some Geonosians have wings, while drones do not. [...] The blind obedience of menial Geonosians makes them an easily exploitable workforce for the upper classes, who have built a highly profitable business manufacturing Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids, and Droideka Droids for the Trade Federation and its allies."

"For unusually intelligent Geonosians unlucky enough to be born into the lower castes, participating in the games provides the only chance they will ever get to escape the misery of their downtrodden lifestyles and the rigid social expectations of the upper classes. Triumph in the arena is often a hollow victory, however; while lower- and middle-class Geonosians may win the right to talk to their superiors, they can never earn their respect."

Okay, so the winged upper class are obviously elitist bastards, but how is that even remotely relevant--

-- oh. But hey, two of them don't have wings! Those are members of the drone caste, and they're all begotten underdogs, so--

"If there is one thing that unites Geonosians of all classes, it is their xenophobia. A traditionally isolationist species, they fear espionage attempts by rivals eager to learn the secrets behind their latest droids."

-- oh. Huh.

Bottom line: yes, they're sentient... but they're xenophobic, have an elitist caste system, and earn their living by forging weapons that melt your insides or blow up planets.

Now sure, this notion has been explored and deconstructed in Star Wars: Rebels...

... and I'm not entirely sure if the quoted info still holds true in current Disney canon (the lore is from 2002, after all), but if you ask me?

On a normal day, ol' Klik-Klak would be actively trying to murder the entirety of the Ghost crew for daring to even step their dirty non-Geonosian feet on his pure red planet.

3) Out-of-universe, the Geonosians are just "bug aliens". Nothing more.

The production team of Attack of the Clones referred to them as the "termite people". The script describes them as "winged creatures" who are heard "chuckling" once Anakin and Padmé are sentenced to a gruesome death. At some point, the storyboard artists considered introducing the Geonosian workers like you would a horror monster.

Hell, the whole Lucas decided to base them on termites is because his house was besieged by them.

They're not people, which is why they're not designed to look like people. They're purposefully dehumanized so that when one of them gets killed by our heroes, it's ethically "okay" and the audience doesn't need to stop and think "oh my God, that's murder!" or "hey! that's racist" whenever a clone calls one of them a "bug."

A similar logic is applied to the stormtroopers, who have face-covering helmets that dehumanizes them.

Functionally, a stormtrooper is a fascist goon, nothing more.

Same goes for the Geonosian. It's a bug alien, that's about it.

4) The flamethrowers were probably just added because they're cool.

Dave Filoni described how the decision to add flamethrowers came up, and it doesn't sound like George had deeper storytelling motives:

"You know, we're going through the tunnel with the Geonosians and George is like: “Yeah, well, here, we'll have the-- the tunnel and the flamethrowers. Yeah. How about that? ‘Bring in the flamethrowers!’ have Ki-Adi Mundi say ‘bring in the flame throwers!’” And it's like “flame—- What? Flamethrowers?!”" - Dave Filoni, “Return to Geonosis” Featurette, 2010

It sounds like he came up with it on the spot.

The flamethrowers aren't indicative of "the moral degradation of Ki-Adi and the Jedi Order." They're likely just in there 'cause they're cool (and if you've played Team Fortress 2, you know that's true)!

At the end of the day, when it comes to the Geonosians, I think that there's a certain irony to how their story ends.

They gleefully created the battle droids that tore the galaxy asunder and the Death Star, a weapon that enables the Empire to commit genocide... but fell victim to genocide themselves, at the hands of an even bigger monster.

They reaped what they sowed. They're not meant to be mourned.

And it's nice to see this aspect of the narrative doesn't get ignored as much as I would've expected.

I came across this video that basically rips into Ki-Adi for using flamethrowers, and I was ready to roll my eyes when I scrolled down to the comments section...

... but then, a happy surprise!

Most of the comments disagree with the video's stance! For once, logic prevails over anti-Jedi bias.

So yeah, that put a smile on my face.

[monstersandmaw]

Hello lovely friends and supporters! Thank you for your patience while I finish off this absolute behemoth of a story for you! You voted in the poll for a deep sea merman and a gn reader, so that is what I wrote for you.

All 13k words of it!

It's a new corner of my fantasy realms, with new characters I'm excited to introduce to you!

Content: gender neutral human reader becomes a part of a bandit gang made up of non-humans and struggles a little to find their place. On a new venture for the gang, the human becomes essential to the plan to smuggle a product from the Absolute Deep all the way to the capital, and in the process, they forge an unlikely relationship with a certain Deepfolk merman. Featuring some minor violence and threat to life, a near drowning, and mention of biting and very mild blood during nsfw, messy hand jobs and some oral, as well as some self-worth and self-deprecating humor on the human's part.

Wordcount: 13,324

Extract:

The storm had mostly blown itself into quiescence overnight, though the air was still thick with salt and the wind carried gusts of seawater thinned with errant raindrops that spattered onto your cheeks and dribbled down your collar until you shivered with almost every step.

There wasn’t another soul out on the main Cliff Road that stretched the length of the Saraghin Coast and then dipped inland to become other roads that headed towards the capital. After close to three miles of walking in the pre-dawn gloom, you'd begun to think this ‘Arnak’ wasn’t going to show. You’d also completely forgotten about Nil trailing you until you saw the faintest flicker of a shape out of the corner of your eye and your hand went to the blade snugged in against your hip on reflex.

A lanky figure emerged from behind a gnarled rowan tree on your right and stood regarding you, motionless, for three pounding heartbeats before sliding back behind it, and you exhaled shakily. 

“Bloody hell,” you hissed, not sure if they could hear you or not, but you suspected they weren’t human and probably had really good hearing. “You scared the shit out of me, Nil.”

Something like shards of glass scraping together sounded on the wind, and you shuddered again.

Another half a mile or so down the road had you certain the selkie was going to be a no-show, but just when you’d begun to entertain the idea of turning around and heading for a warming drink, and maybe a tumble in the sheets with that minotaur barkeep to warm you up even more, you caught sight of a figure sitting hunched on a rock ahead of you, with the spotted sealskin of a leopard seal selkie shimmering in the grey light of the waxing dawn.

“Took your fuckin’ time,” the huge man growled as he got to his feet at your approach. “Avis said ‘before dawn’.”

“You didn’t give her a point to meet me. I’ve been on the road since well before dawn, friend. Shall we go?” you said with a firm but not unfriendly smile.

He just rolled his dark eyes and turned away without a word.

The man was massive, and built like the boulder he’d been sitting on, with colossal shoulders and a soft middle that belied the strength underneath. His iron grey hair was tied back in a low bun, and sections of it drifted across his eyes in the wind. He could have been anywhere from his late twenties to his early sixties for all you knew. 

Your companion said nothing whatsoever to you until you reached a tiny, switchback path in the cliff a couple of miles later, where he abruptly stopped, gestured with one salt-tanned hand, and said, “Good luck, human. If you survive this and I ever see you again, I might buy you a drink at the Three Eyed Rat myself,” and walked off in the direction of Saltwater Bite without another word.

For a long moment, you stared after him with your heart thudding in your throat, but with a deep breath for courage, and the knowledge that there was probably a shadow-less creature within earshot to help out if you got into trouble, you turned your attention to the cove below.

The slate grey sea still churned with the remnants of the storm, waves shouldering their way up the beach and raking their foaming wake down the gritty shingle shore in a relentless rhythm, but there was no sign of anyone down there. The whole thing felt horribly like a setup, but you tried to tell yourself that Avis and her crew liked you by now, and you had your uses too. You filled a niche in the group that no one else could. She wouldn’t give you up to the authorities or to a spy or even a rival crew so easily.

You hoped.

The switchback path took a while to navigate safely, and by the time you had made it to the bottom, the sun had just started to rise above the horizon, way out to sea. It cast a weak, silvered-bronze look to the water and to the wet, dark rocks, and made each of the pebbles beneath your boots glint like lost diamonds from a shipwreck. You picked one up and turned the ordinary stone over in your hand before lobbing it as far as you could out into the water.

The flat, bottom half of an empty oyster shell caught the light and you stooped to pick that up next, fitting it into the curve of your index finger and flicking your wrist so that it skimmed the waves. Well, it skipped twice, and then chopped into the waves and flipped over, disappearing out of sight beneath the water.

“Are you Avis’ human?”

The grinding, scraping voice came from the rocks somewhere to your left and you all but screeched in surprise. Your whole body jolted and you whipped your head around to stare at the rocks, but there was no one there.

“I’m not anyone’s human,” you fired back, defensive mostly out of surprise rather than any real outrage. “Where are you?”

A coarse, slightly wheezy laugh was your only reply for a moment, then, making a small bow-wave ahead of them in the water, a hand appeared around the rock.

The skin was grey and speckled, but it looked almost chitinous, and it reminded you of the kind of fancy gauntlets the armoured knights wore at jousting tourneys. As more of it appeared, you followed the line of that muscular arm, up its body to a shoulder that was equally armoured, with spiked protrusions like a fantastical pauldron, until the figure pulled itself around the boulder in the water and regarded you from pale, almost blind-looking eyes. 

The creature before you was like nothing you’d ever seen. If a sea dragon had mated with a shark, its offspring might have come close to this, but there was something of the monstrous merrow in their clearly bipedal body, and behind them in the water, like the spined tail of a sahaugin, floated a thick tail.

Your jaw must have been hanging open because the creature laughed that shattered glass laugh again and you blinked yourself back to the moment.

They had no real lips, only a slightly pinkish mouth that showed a double row of teeth, again like a shark’s, and they cocked their wedge-shaped head curiously at you. “Shark got your tongue, little human?” the creature snickered. “You weren’t expecting one of the Deepfolk in person then, eh?”

“I…” you faltered. “Forgive me,” you croaked, forcing yourself to speak. “It’s not often I find myself completely lost for words. And you’re right. I thought perhaps another selkie, or one of the shallower-dwelling merfolk would be here to deliver Avis’ shipment.”

“I’ve brought it personally for you,” the Deepfolk grinned, showing off all those teeth. It shouldn’t have been as attractive as it was to have a predator leer at you like that from the water, but it was what it was, and you hid it as best you could. “Are you going to come in and get it?”

Read all 13k words of it over on Patreon right now!

[ostensiblyanimated]

in addition to Midori Yoshizawa, the new director of Monogatari as of Off & Monster Season, there's a few other names in the credits which deserve their own shoutouts:

Hisato Shima is the CG director. Shaft, for many years, was on the cutting edge of CG, especially its integration in smaller elements, and Shima has been involved in many productions to date in this role. while CG is, as ever with Shaft, a supplementary aspect, it's still a rather notable one

Hiyori Hashimoto and Mizuho Ishikawa are both credited as photography director. the use of photographs so far has been one of the most distinctive elements of OMS, and so these two women deserve to be recognized for what they're bringing to the series. for both, it's their first time in a directorial role, but they've worked together before as photographers for many productions, Shaft or otherwise, in the past

we also have a trio of returning credits: Yasuko Watanabe as colour designer, Hisaharu Iijima as art director, and Rie Matsubara as editor. all three of them have been working on Monogatari since Bakemonogatari, and it's nice to see some returning staff after all the turnover Shaft has had in recent years. Matsubara in particular deserves a lot of credit, because the way that Monogatari is edited has gone a long way in forging the visual identity this show has

[theresattrpgforthat]

Almighty TATTRPGFT, I ask you what is a good fantasy ttrpg thats like a smidgen simpler than/tighter than dnd thats flexible and has individual character progression thats cool? (I am so damn tired of dnd and after I finish my lancer campaign I'm gonna try to run a fantasy thing thats about world hopping since my brain cant stick with just one world... I wanted to run OSR stuff but most of my players want to keep their characters longer than a couple sessions)

THEME: World-hopping Fantasy Games

Hello there, so I’ve got some world-hopping games for you that I consider all much simpler than D&D, although the way they cater to your players’ wants may vary. Now I’m personally biased towards Forged-in-the-Dark games if your characters want to hold onto their characters and explore all of their mechanical and narrative details, but I’m also hoping that folks will see this ask and suggest more fantasy games that give you cool character abilities - maybe you can even mesh some regular fantasy games with something else on this list!

Portal Rats, by Tore Nielsen.

Portal Rats is a stand-alone fantasy tabletop rpg, based on the Black Hack rules. 

There is an unlimited wealth of worlds out there. Some are embodiments of ideals, some the product of a god's fevered will, and some who seem to have congealed from pure potential. In Portal Rats you can visit all of them. 

The core mechanic of Portal Rats is a roll-below test, using a d20 against an attribute on your character sheet. You have six attributes that should remind your players of D&D, although the backgrounds of your characters are less about your race and more about what you did in the past. The rules of the game look to be pretty concise, with much of the 58-page book being different character options and character classes. You level up when you finish a mission or quest, which results in more hit points, and higher attributes.

This game is probably close to what you as a GM are looking for: it’s an OSR mindset, with very little that allows the players to hold onto their characters if a roll goes badly. That being said, if your players are attached to their characters, they might be able to bring out emotional and narrative elements regardless of the system. Therefore, even if you pick up something that is more similar to OSR, they’ll find ways to role-play.

Vergence, by Small Cool Games.

Within the multiverse are a few places of great power called Vergences. They are ruled by families bred for the ability to open portals between worlds.

You play a member of one of these empowered bloodlines. Your birthright gives you the capacity to travel across infinite dimensions and manipulate reality.

But you’ll need to deal with conflicts involving your own powerful and manipulative family, secret conspiracies, mystical enemies, moldering gods, terrifying monsters, ancient artifacts, and existential threats with the potential to affect all the worlds of the Umbra. And possibly your annoying little sister…

Vergence is a Forged-in-the-Dark game that really amps up your character’s powers and broadens the stakes to a cosmic scale. Vergence is a much looser interpretation of Blades, taking away much of the bookkeeping found in the vice and heat mechanics that punish typical Blades’ characters. You also level up as a group, rather than individually, which I understand might not be what your playgroup is looking for, but your characters are still uniquely powered individuals with special abilities.

1400 Planes, by Unknown Dungeon.

1400 Planes is lo-fi hi-fantasy. 

The multiverse roils with boundless existence. For many, the infinite planes of creation drift past at an immeasurable distance, their alien secrets perpetually out of reach. However those who break their mortal shackles and cross that liminal space, wander such exotic spheres on an eternal pilgrimage.

1400 Planes is a stand-alone table-top RPG. The rules are short and easy to learn and the whole game can fit on a single sheet of paper.  It can be played using just the rules provided, or combined with other entries in the 1400 series to expand the world and provide more character and game options.

24XX games feel very slim and small, but I think they can provide the base for something bigger that caters to your group. They can also be combined with other games that use the same rule-set very easily, which you could use to provide interesting level-ups for characters. 24XX games are also usually pretty cheap, so you’re not going to break the bank picking up a few to play around with.

Planedawn Orphans, by Sharkbomb Studios.

Set in the Planar City, a strange melting pot that connects the vast diversity of the multiverse. You all play Planar Orphans stranded in this city, your original home worlds destroyed, corrupted or lost. 

A mysterious Patron has brought you together, provided you with a base of operations and tasked you to complete a Planar Key. This key will let you create a new plane for you and your fellow refugees. Your quest will bring you to exotic places filled with strange creatures and bizarre phenomena.

This isn’t a game in itself - it’s a campaign framework - but it gives you the opportunity to cobble together a bunch of different games while still giving your players a structure upon which they can scaffold their character’s growth and personalities. I’m currently running this across a huge number of different games with a co-GM and my home group: so far we’ve played Household, The Wildsea, Sundered Isles, and The Great Soul Train Robbery!

Sig, City of Blades, by Genesis of Legend Publishing.

Sig is the nexus of the multiverse, where eternal planes and infinite primes meet. It’s a rough home for cutters and bashers, hungry for coin and glory. It’s a city of gods, demons, and stranger things which lurk. It’s a place where opposites meet, trading knives and kisses in equal measure.

The Silent Regent once ruled over the city with a bladed fist. Now her throne sits empty and the criminal factions battle for control. They dispatch crews of Freebooters, clever and bold, to further their schemes. This is where you come in.

In Sig: City of Blades, you will play the Freebooters in service to once of the mighty city factions. Your faction depends on you to perform vital missions to seize territory and coin from their rivals. This is a game about clever spies, renegade sorcerers and reckless smugglers. You are the best of the best and the worst of the worst.

If you are familiar with Planescape, I’ve heard that Sig: City of Blades gives off the same vibes, at least when it comes to setting. Rules-wise, it’s Forged in the Dark. It looks like in this game, the multiverse comes to you; as scoundrels in a city at the centre of these dimensions, there are plenty of ways for you to get rich in some kind of way that counts. If your group is up to play scoundrels and thieves, you might be interested in Sig: City of Blades.

Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition, by Gallant Knight Games.

Tiny Dungeon: Second Edition is powered by the TinyD6 engine, with streamlined mechanics that utilize only one to three single six-sided dice on every action, characters that can be written on a 3x5 notecard, and easy to understand and teach rules, Tiny Dungeon 2e is great for all groups, ages, and experience levels!

Tiny Dungeon feels like a very boiled-down version of a classic fantasy game; heritages that give you starting abilities, traits that are reminiscent of character classes, and a turn economy that structures combat to make sure everyone gets the same amount of time to do things. You use d6’s to roll, with 1d6 being the worst pool (rolling with a disadvantage) and 3d6 being the best (rolling with an ability or advantage). The game is meant to be mod-able, with optional rules and various micro-settings meant to get your inspiration flowing. The best part about so many different micro-settings that all use the same rules is that you can absolutely jump from one setting to another!

Fantasy Recommendations from The Past

Fantasy, With Tools

Echoes of D&D

Non-Western Fantasy

Non-Gritty Low Fantasy

Fuck Wizards of the Coast

I’d also ask myself if Slugblaster could be hacked to be about fantasy adventurers jumping into various dimensions, rather than teenagers hoverboarding across space and time. It certainly has plenty of pieces that allow your characters to dig into personal issues - the Trouble mechanic really lets you digest the kinds of things your character might have to neglect in order to go adventuring! You can read more about it in my Dimensional Travel recommendation post.

[moonlight-tmd]

I was just reading though some of your older stuff and saw mention of a Sparkeater Bee au, though I can't find much on it. I was wondering if you had anymore thoughts for it and which ship you would go with for it. Personally I could see it leaning more ShockBee thank anything with Long Arm finding out about Bee needing extra rations in Bootcamp and helping sneak him what he needs. After he comes Long Arm Prime, he also tweaks their supplies to make sure there's extra energon in there for Bee to have without anyone raising an eyebrow at why the crew on Earth would need so much.

When the Elite Guard goes to Earth, he makes sure to go with them to he can see Bee and check in on him to make sure he's ok. And maybe if Bee ever can't hold himself back anymore and has to start eating sparks, Shockwave can add little... canisters addressed to Bee in the supply shipments. After all, no one would really notice if a few of the bots who are on the cybertronian equivalent of death row decided to "take the process into their own hands". Not like anyone would look for their missing spark, nor would there be any guilt attached to eating someone so evil. Right?

You know, I have yet to have an AU that is purely ShockBee.

This is a perfect opportunity you gave me right here, anon.

Yeah, I never wrote anything about it other that this brief mention because I found Cyberbeast AU to be more interesting. So-

Sparkeater!Bumblebee AU

-in my AU, Sparkeaters are a product of a disease of Cybertron origin. It forces the host to become cannibalistic and lose their sanity and conscious to the point of being hungry ravaging monsters. Each Sparkeater still has a resemblance to their original form as Cybertronian, but more monstrous, famished-looking and with 4 bladed tentacles coming out the back.

There is a treatment to delay the disease, but it isn't enough to stop or fight against it. Cybertron Law and Medical Code was altered to kill anyone who had the disease to prevent engangering the population Of course, there is no purges like when the disease had its "gold era" but anyone who has the disease detected will be personally hunt down by Elite Guard.

There are few who managed to stay hidden all this time, trained themselves to keep the darkness under control and eat whatever sated their hunger; be it energon, live-scrap or Sparks of those who wouldn't be missed, probably. Bumblebee was one of them. From a young age he was exposed to any barceria since he was living on the streets, but he got the disease shortly before becoming a youngling. He met another stray bot who also had the disease and that's how he learned what he will be now and how to keep it on a leash. Although unlike the rest he never taken anyone's Spark. He refused to hurt anyone like this if there was an alternative. He was a pretty good thief so he managed to stick with energon.

Then he went to boot camp, he hoped that once he will be in Elite Guard then he'll be able to get more ways to sate himself, but life had different path for him...

He met Longarm and Bulkhead, Bee was quite sceptical to the idea of being around other normal bots, he was very aware of what could happen if one got too close and he got hungry. Nonetheless, Bulkhead stuck with him and made him his friend. Longarm on the other hand, he wasn't as pressing to be his friend, the two sorta drifted together until there was friendship. Longarm noticed an odd demeanor Bee had but brushed it off because Bulkhead wasn't any more normal.

One time when they were supposed to hang out, Longarm came into Bee's private room and found the medical documents laying on his berth- he immediately knew they were forged, he himself was using forged papers. When Bee came in after taking a shower and saw Longarm browsing his important stuff he was on high alert, but Longarm seemed to believe the fake medical case and offered to help him out. Of course, Bee took it, he couldn't risk not being able to contain himself.

So Longarm/Shockwave steals significant amount of energon from the supply closet and gives it to Bee. He's not stupid, he's seen bot with similar conditions and connected the dots- he knew the risk of having an afflicted nearby but he also knew of ways to keep the disease at bay... He's grown to like the little bot and wouldn't want him to die because of it. This however didn't last too long- the officers were investigating the cadets about the stolen supplies and found them inside Bee's suite. The scout was suspended but found himself taking shelter in Bulkhead's room. So Longarm kept bringing him the extra fuel, altho this time he was being careful when stealing it.

Bulkhead got him into repair crew then while Longarm stayed to graduate. Bee was nervous to learn he was on the same ship with a medic who could uncover the danger and ruin him. He was lucky enough that Ratchet also believed the professionally forged documents and assigned him the extra rations. He thanked Primus when Ratchet didn't double check the scans he made when Bee got injured. Longarm stayed in contact with Bee, making sure he has everything he needs for his 'defect'.

When he heard about the repair crew going missing he feared Bee has done something- he didn't want this to be true... In the meantime said crew crashed on earth and Bee resorted to eating old car parts and oil from the local scrap yards. It almost tasted like a mech- not that he'd know, it just felt like it would. He... chose not to think about it and just kept himself busy while the energon supply shrank with every month.

While being on earth, Sari got to learn about Sparkeaters when she was talking some stories and stuff about the human version- vampires. She even got to hear the little rhyme that was told to sparklings sometimes so they'll listen to their parents. (this neat post i found) Bee found himself uneasy hearing what others think of them, he felt his own spark stop when he instictively commented that they can't be that bad and that they're still a mech inside. Thankfully the others didn't catch onto it and just kept wondering about Sparkeaters and if there's an actual way to either get rid of them or help them.

Then Decepticons came around. In the short interactions with Blitzwing he suspected he might also have the disease... but the longer the banters between them went Bee realized he's just a wierd cannibal and not much more.

In any other circumstances Bee would've hated it but right now he was glad Sentinel tracked down the evil bunch and found them also. Energon was once again flowing... and that wasn't the only good thing.

Longarm spend nearly all his free time searching for Bee or any signs of his whereabouts. He knew the last signal of Decepticons was send just before the encounter of the crew Bee was in so hearing that they've tracked the same signal somewhere further in the galaxy made him eager to go and check for himself- not even if his actual secret-allies are ok, just if Bee's there.

Sure enough, the autobot Blurr he's been paired up with for the mission send him a back-up signal while he was investigating something in the alley- there was Bee, being seized up by Blurr, Long didn't listened the reason for arrest, he only ran towards the mini and hugged him, He couldn't have been happier.

Bee was also very happy, he couldn't get enough of Long's company- more so when he said he's been looking for him all this time. It was very sweet...

They stayed together on earth for a while, Longarm visited often and called him all the time when Elite Guard left earth's atmoshere.

Eventually someone pointed out how much Bee and Long hang out and hinted at there being more than a friendship. Bee denied... Longarm was kind and he did everything to make sure Bee is okay, he hated to admit but he did like Longarm a lot, more than just a friend even, but he couldn't risk hurting him if he knew what he was.

He tried his best to ignore the little gestures, the lingering touches and words with deeper meaning Longarm said when he was feeling vulnerable. He tried to resist, he wasn't meant to have a good life... Yet, Longarm seemed to disagree. He went out of his way to spend as much time with Bee as possible, brought him gifts and any supplies needed without question.

When Longarm took him out on a lone drive around the city... Bee was scared, he knew it shouldn't happen. But when Longarm had them sit on a meadow by the lake and started speaking about how much he cares about Bee, he couldn't muster all the strength he had to turn him away. Bee kept avoiding the question and bringing up all the reasons he couldn't date him- mostly his 'defect'. He froze when Longarm admitted to knowing what he was, he almost couldn't believe when he said he loves him and he'll do anything to help him. And he meant anything.

Bee gave up, there was no point in denying it any longer. Bound to break or not, Bee was gonna be happy for as long as he could with Longarm. So were the others when they found out about the new-formed couple.

For the relationship itself; Both Longarm and Bee know they can't truly be together- sparkbonding or even interfacing is a high risk of contracting the disease. They still find other means to make it work.

I don't think Bee would be so desperate to eat Sparks at any point as long as he has enough energon... but i suppose after the space barnacles incident before the crew was found he wasn't doing good and was forced to stuff himself with as much scrap as possible to shut the internal dread and hunger. The incident after Sari accidentally blasted and nearly killed him left a huge pit in his tank that he couldn't bring to satisfaction... He never had such bad injuries that would require so much sustenance to ease. At that point he couldn't let Longarm near- but Longarm promised, and promises are to be kept.~ The next time he visited he brought a package for Bee to open in private. They both sat in his room, doors and windows locked tight, curtains pulled. Inside was a medical transportation jar with a still-live Spark. At first Bee was scared of what Longarm has done, Longarm explained he gotten it from the "death row criminals" and Bee didn't have to worry... Which he couldn't really do at this point, the hunger rose with each second he stared at the unprotected Spark...

Those who learned to control the disease could make it hasten on command, allowing them to utilize the Sparkeater form(or certain features) while still being themselves. Getting back to normal was a bit more challanging than turning tho... Normally when Bee had to go wild he'd stuff his tank with any vehicle he found on the way until he was good... Now that he was lavished with a Spark containing so much energy and minerals to satisfy him, it was no trouble keeping it down. He almost regretted not doing this sooner. After that the hunger was not an issue- the Spark took a good while to fully digest in his tank... The biggest issue in that time was avoiding Ratchet and his scanner. He was relieved when he felt the other Spark finally give out in him and Ratchet forced him to go take the overdue system scan.

Geez that is long. I blame you for making me wanna write about it more now. Thank you for the ask.

[thecuddlymuffintop]

Tonight, starting at 5 pm CDT, I will be finishing both Battleblock Theater with IvoryRose on YouTube & Lisa Definitive Edition on both Twitch and YouTube.

You're always welcome to join us when we're live with the following links:

Cuddly's YouTube

Cuddly's Twitch

IvoryRose's Twitch

[subterlyfitumtale]

Deep analysis done by Daniel and me/Adley of Chara from our Undertale AU: Subtertale:

Chara is one of the most complex and fascinating characters within Subtertale, and in our version of the story, her role is significantly expanded. Subtertale takes key elements from Undertale and inserts them into a context where the relationship between humans and monsters is much more intricate and painful, with deep wounds that have yet to heal, which directly influences Chara's development.

Chara's origin and context in Subtertale: In our AU, Chara lived in Jasuttisuville, a human city characterized by its connection to magical culture and ancient tales about monsters. While the humans of Ketteiville, like Lyra, lived with a certain neutrality and distance from the past events of the war, those of Jasuttisuville maintained a closer and more emotional relationship with these tales. Chara is a direct product of this environment, which gives her a unique perspective on the war between humans and monsters and its tragic outcome.

Chara, having fallen into the Underground long before Lyra, becomes a bridge between both worlds. However, her fall was no accident: Chara, deeply influenced by the conflicts and hatred unleashed by the radical group in Shymattiville, chose to throw herself into Mount Ebott as an act of desperation, rage, and resignation. Upon discovering the existence of the monsters, Chara developed a much darker plan: to use her connection to them to take revenge on humanity.

Chara as a symbol of hatred and redemption: Chara is a deeply tragic figure. She represents the collective pain of the monsters and the corruption of human hatred. Rather than simply being the “first human,” Chara in Subtertale is a victim of conflict, a person caught between two worlds who never managed to reconcile her place in either. Chara is scarred by the devastation of war, and her desire to destroy or save is constantly in conflict.

The war that devastated the surface and exiled the monsters underground left scars not only physical, but emotional and psychological as well. The humans who survived, especially in Shymattiville, saw the monsters as an existential threat. In Jasuttisuville, where Chara grew up, the echoes of fear and hatred were even more pronounced. It is here that Chara’s personality begins to be forged, absorbing the hostility of the adults towards the monsters.

However, upon falling underground and living among the monsters, Chara discovers a world far more complex and nuanced than what he had been told. The monsters were not simply dangerous beings; they were beings with feelings, hopes, and desires, just like humans. This contrast between human propaganda and the reality of the monsters begins to create cognitive dissonance in Chara.

Duality in Chara’s Personality: One of the most important aspects of Chara is the duality of his personality. Chara is, in many ways, a reflection of the decisions Lyra will make later in the story. Depending on the choices Lyra makes, Chara can be a key ally or a destructive force. This duality is the heart of the character.

Chara as an agent of chaos:

If Lyra chooses violence and hatred, Chara becomes a figure who encourages and fosters that darkness. The hatred accumulated since the war, the despair and the suffering of having fallen into the underground manifest in a nihilistic vision. Chara, under this interpretation, sees humanity as a plague that must be eradicated, and monsters as tools to achieve that goal. It is here that Chara connects with Kamydxiel, the entity that seeks to destroy the balance of creation, representing chaos and hopelessness.

Chara as a redeemer:

If Lyra chooses the path of empathy and understanding, Chara can find a way to redemption. In this case, the hopelessness that initially marked Chara's life slowly dissipates, and the character finds in Lyra a mirror of what could have been had she made different choices. Here, Chara is a symbol of forgiveness, both towards monsters and towards herself. This route shows Chara as a tragic character but with a ray of hope.

The connection between Chara and monsters: Chara's relationship with monsters is a key point of analysis in Subtertale. Chara not only lived among them, but joined in their suffering and, in many ways, became one of them, although she was never fully accepted. Toriel, who serves as a motherly figure to both Lyra and Chara, is one of the most important characters in Chara's life. Despite her efforts to protect Chara, she could not prevent hatred and resentment from taking root deep in her soul.

The influence of Asriel, Toriel's son, is also fundamental. Asriel and Chara share a deep and symbolic connection. Asriel represents hope, innocence and kindness, while Chara embodies hatred, pain, and despair. This relationship reflects Chara's internal struggles, as she is constantly torn between her affection for Asriel and her desire for revenge.

Chara and the Barrier: Finally, the barrier that separates monsters from the outside world is a key symbol in Chara's life. For Chara, the barrier is not only a physical prison, but also a manifestation of the mental and emotional divisions between humans and monsters. The existence of the barrier keeps the ghosts of war and hatred alive, reinforcing Chara's beliefs about the irreconcilable nature of both species.

Chara, in many ways, sees the barrier as an instrument of power. Her initial plan, as Lyra discovers, is to use human souls to break it. However, the purpose behind breaking the barrier is what sets Chara apart from the others: while some monsters want to destroy it to be free, Chara desires it to enact her revenge and destroy both the human and monster worlds.

Conclusion: The analysis of Chara in Subtertale reveals a deep and multifaceted character, whose life and decisions are shaped by conflict, hatred, and tragedy. Chara represents both the potential for redemption and utter chaos, and ultimately, her fate is in the hands of Lyra and the choices she makes over the course of her journey.

[breelandwalker]

Hey Pennsylvania pals - Are you a fun-loving geek? Do you love the outdoors? Do you love medieval fantasy? Do you love the idea of running around in the woods beating your friends with padded plumbing supplies?

Then come join me and my LARP fam April 27-28 at Olivet Blue Mountain Campground in Hamburg PA for Game 2 of the 2024 season of Xanodria Productions, Inc!

Xanodria (or XPI) is a Medieval Fantasy Live-Action Roleplay group based in Southeastern Pennsylvania, with over 30 years of history and lore and a lively, inclusive atmosphere where all are welcome, whether you're a veteran LARPer or just picking up your first sword.

You can create your own character in a well-established and deeply-immersive medieval fantasy world with many nations, faiths, and professions to choose from. Learn swordplay, magic, alchemy, physiking, and other skills to help you on your journey. Join a faction or forge your own path. Join your fellow wanderers as we explore new lands and battle the forces of evil. Or if you'd rather, join the cast, get your monster on, and give those foolish mortals what for!

(Onsite accommodations for lodging and camping are available. Food is provided with your admission fee and new player orientation is held before every event.)

Visit the Xanodria Productions Inc (XPI) Facebook page for more information or check out our FAQs and feel free to message the staff with any questions you may have.

Pre-registration for Game 2 is now open! Tell 'em Bree Landwalker sent you. 😉

Hope to see you there!