Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
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signalstation.bsky.social
Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
@signalstation.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1K following 2K posts
Writing type person. TTRPG work: Ennie award-winning Wassailing of Claus Manor; Devil, Aim For Me; DIE, GRAVE ROBBER, DIE!, writer on Trophy, Brindlewood Bay, Public Access, Planet Raygun etc. etc. | signalstation.itch.io
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signalstation.bsky.social
Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · Nov 17
Hey all, I'm Michael, a writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I've written a goodly amount of stuff for The Gauntlet and mostly write TTRPG stuff that alternates between horror and hilarity.

[artwork by @pigeonchild.bsky.social, @rapidpunches.neocities.org (x2), @thoughtographic.bsky.social]
Cover for DEVIL, AIM FOR ME by Michael Van Vleet. Illustration: A man in a grey suit holds a pistol, a single red eye visible under his cowboy hat. He is bleeding from his chest. A shadowy demon figure behind him with many strange eyes is reaching around him, holding his wound closed. The cover of DIE, GRAVE ROBBER, DIE! by Michael Van Vleet. Illustration: A blank eyed green masculine face hovers in the background, its disembodied grasping hands beginning to encircle a shrouded corpse in the foreground, the corpse's mouth in agony, visible even through its sheet. The border is decorated with pink roses. The cover for Moon's Shot by Michael Van Vleet. Illustration: In the foreground, a walrus reclines in a sci-fi flying seat, rockets visible underneath. Its left paw is wrapped around a joystick. In the background, a cave with stalactites. A crude rocket ship has been lowered into it with two stout ropes attached to loops on its roof. Its door is open. Illustration: a bearded man with black glasses gives an evil grin. He is wearing a top hat and a bow tie,and jacket, dressed like a circus ringmaster. Behind him on the left, a grinning clown with black empty eyes. Behind him on the right, a cynical clown looks away, a fez on its head. It holds a balloon decorated with a single unblinking eye.
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
dngnclub.itch.io
All I want for my birthday are some 5 Star reviews!
DNGN CLUB: BIRTHDAY BUNDLE by DNGNCLUB
A sale by DNGNCLUB, 100% off 16 games
itch.io
November 25, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
dngnclub.itch.io
In the spirit of hobbit birthdays, have some free games!
DNGN Club Birthday Bundle Today I turn 39. For the next 24 hours, 16 of my games are free!
November 25, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
randomgacha.bsky.social
https://gacha.o0o0.jp/gp/archives/557
『すべてがおしまいになったカエル マスコットフィギュア』発売！あふれんばかりの悲壮感。
"Everything is Over: Frog Mascot Figure" now on sale! Overflowing with a sense of tragedy.
#ガチャポン #gachapon
『すべてがおしまいになったカエル マスコットフィギュア』 ラインナップ＜１＞カエルとバニラアイス＜２＞桃色カエルとイチゴアイス＜３＞青色カエルとミックスアイス＜４＞黄色カエルとチョコアイス＜５＞紫色カエルと抹茶アイス＜６＞シークレット メー "Everything is Over Frog Mascot Figure" Lineup <1> Frog and vanilla ice cream <2> Pink frog and strawberry ice cream <3> Blue frog and mixed ice cream <4> Yellow frog and chocolate ice cream <5> Purple frog and matcha ice cream <6> Secret Ma
November 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
brain snapped wide awake at 3 a.m. for no reason

I read the whole internet, then took a melatonin, so maybe sleep is coming, but until then

professional insomniacs, what should I be doing? catastrophizing? re-examining embarrassing moments from childhood only I remember?
November 24, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
phorrums.bsky.social
I misread this image so badly that I can only really hope to illustrate what I saw.

( Also a good excuse for an #art study )
A digital drawing referencing the quoted image. In the style of an early 20th century drawing, a woman in a dress holds a minigun. The text above is changed to read "Does the minigun make women cruel?"
November 23, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
declouxj.bsky.social
Hello. I will be recommending a Christmas movie every day on my YouTube channel this year. Please subscribe, watch the new, essential, life-changing video every day, and share it with everyone you know. Thank you.
November 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Came across this early rough I sketched for a possible character sheet for Step Right Up, designed as a clown's painted face. The blocky teeth were to have the stats written on them.
A hand holding a yellow postcard, on which has been scribbled a poor approximation of clown make-up: circular eyes in window pane shapes, a round nose, blocky tombstone teeth in a painted frown. On top have been jotted character sheet labels: Name and Pronouns under the eyes, Moves and Conditions in the painted frown. The teeth were to hold stats, like "Presence."
November 23, 2025 at 8:03 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
how do I mute a fucking picture of the pope
November 23, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
boat.horse
Muting words on here clearly no longer sufficient. I need the ability to mute concepts.
November 23, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
feldfrog.bsky.social
Guy who is being evil: Well what is "evil"
November 23, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
shawkgames.bsky.social
I'm gonna try to pitch for the first time and if you're reading this. You should too! Be my first time pitch buddy?
November 22, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
czamboni.bsky.social
"Tourist Hole" just arrived! Thanks @clearkeep.bsky.social and @plusoneexp.bsky.social !

I am not sure how I feel bout cutting our cards from the pages of the booklet, but I'll get over it. 😅🃏
November 22, 2025 at 9:21 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Big opportunity to write cool stuff and get paid for it!
November 22, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
bisonrimant.fr
I want to make a third Ancient Wisdom. Someone commission me please.
Woodcarved scene on a round base. An humanoid octopus wearing a dress is holding a basket with a duck inside of it. On the head of the octopus, a grumpy frog taking shelter of a big ancient book. Next to them all, a sword is coming out of water among bulrush. On the top of it sits a kingfisher. Glass bell with a woodcarved scene of a humanoid octopus wearing a dress on the surface of a pond. The creature has a kingfisher on its head. It's holding a book wich has a duck sitting on it. On the left of the base looking like water, bulrushes. On the right, a little frog has its head out of water. In the background, indoor plants by a window.
November 21, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
iamatrex.com
Happy Friday! We're getting hyped for an upcoming project, looking to crowdfund physical copies in March 2026! That's right, we're getting MORE (unofficial)TROPHY! In partnership with @jesseross.com and @pemetawe.bsky.social, with a stellar list of writers! #TrophyTTPRG #Trophy #TTRPG
RUIN: an anthology of one shot Trophy incursions. Writers include: Sarah Bolling Darren Brockes J Carter Kevin Macku Ben Mansky Mike Martens Blaine C. Martin Amanda Mullins Gabriel Robinson Brian Sago Sean Tibbitts Mads C. Turley Michael Van Vleet Arthur Wells Crowdfunding in 2026!
November 21, 2025 at 2:31 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Giveaway time! The person with the quickest finger can click on this link to get a free year-long subscription to Evlyn Moreau's Patreon, guaranteeing that your inbox will be graced by cool as heck drawings on the regular.

www.patreon.com/evlynmoreau/...
Illustration by Evlyn Moreau of a Viscous Ink Scribe. They're ... okay, bear with me. They're a bird, right? A bird person. Long legs with scales, talons. But also: pants with kneepads and a jacket with bottle-filled pockets, the back of which has holes so some black feathers can jut out. They have a Shakespearean ruff at the bass of their long swan-like neck. They have a very long beak with very small round glasses perched at the top by their eyes. They seem to have wattles, like a turkey. In their right hand, a jar that they seem to be spitting into. I guess that's ink. In the left hand, a black feather, like the ones in their back, now in service as a quill.
November 21, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
signalstation.bsky.social
I'll jump at any opportunity to rave about Escape from Dino Island's character sheets, which are dripping with flavor, from the move names, to "stories you tell" to a sidebar full of resources to draw from to evoke your character background with expertise you may not have yourself.
Hunter playbook sheet. Moves include: Tracker Trapper It's Too Quiet Stories you tell: Whenever a move requires you to tell a story, choose one from this list and cross it off. • Your most impressive catch • A time you were lost in the wilderness • One way animals outclass people • The strangest food you’ve eaten • Something an idiot did that got them killed There's a sidebar called 8 Animal Signs that give you things your hunter would look for when tracking an animal, like Breaks, Hair & Feathers, Gnaws and Chews, Scat, etc. It's SO GOOD Playbook sheet for The Kid Moves include: I Know This! Ahhhhh! Inspire Heroism Good Listener Stories You Tell: Whenever a move requires you to tell a story, choose one from this list and cross it off. • A time you were really brave • The most annoying thing your parent does • An explanation of something baffling to adults • Something cool a friend taught you • What you’re secretly scared of There's a sidebar of excepts from "101 Dino-Mite Dinosaur Jokes" that you can drop in to truly embody an annoying dinosaur obsessed kid. What came after the dinosaur? Its tail! It's SO GOOD
November 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Looking through old photos, came across this moment from 2015 where I was happily sipping beer and reading B. Kliban comics.

"Look, honey! It's God!"
In the foreground, a glass of dark beer. A hand holds open a book, each page containing a single panic comic. On the left, an enormous man with billowing hair, his mouth lost in the waves of beard, wields an enormous flaming sword. He takes up half the page, looming over everything, floating in the air, his body not even in the panel. He's too big. He's bigger than everything. In the lower right, a couple is dressed in desert attire: flowing robes, head coverings, as is typical in the Middle East. The woman, looking back over her shoulder, grabs the man ahead of her. She says "Look, honey! It's God!" On the right, Captain Ahab (presumably) walks along a desolate field in front of some hills, limping on his wooden leg, holding a harpoon. The context of the joke is lost, as the page is cut off in the photo. Probably really funny, though.
November 21, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
fridaypacific.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 4:03 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Here's an odd enthusiasm of mine: I like looking at neat-o action figures, but I don't allow myself to collect them. I don't have space. They get dusty. Won't do it.

So sometimes I just share images of the best ones. Wanna see some cool toys?

www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
Four Ben Cooper action figures of young children dressed in 80s-style licensed character Halloween costumes. These never existed, pretty sure. On the left, a child wears a flat Garfield mask and a plastic body suit that's orange with Garfield's distinctive stripe pattern on the sides. On his chest, it says Garfield and has a picture of the cartoon cat. He's holding a sack with a printed Garfield in his cat bed printed on the side. Next is a child wearing an Alf costume: mask, Alf with logo on a plastic poncho front, holding a Trick or Treat bag featuring an illustrated black cat. Next: A child with a Pee Wee Herman mask and body suit that looks like Pee Wee's distinctive gray suit and red bow tie. He's holding a large sack with the Pee Wee's Playhouse logo printed on it. Finally, a young Predator, with a muscular chest printed on their costume shirt. They're holding a bag that says Val Verde, the setting of the film. There's an image of a helicopter over tropical trees, like a travel poster.
November 21, 2025 at 2:58 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
you guys, be honest

do I really look as dead-eyed as the Funko Pop version of me makes me look
November 20, 2025 at 11:44 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
That cover art is /sick/
sivads-sanctum.bsky.social Jon Davis @sivads-sanctum.bsky.social · Aug 23
In the Light of a Setting Sun is a rules-lite game of bigger-than-life cowpokes on an unforgiving frontier. It it, you can play as cowherds on a long cattle drive, gunslingers solving problems in dusty border towns, or no-good outlaws on the run from a bloodthirsty sheriff. (1/?)
November 20, 2025 at 8:02 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Of all the lost genres of fiction, I truly believe it's zeppelin stories that most deserve another shot in the limelight.
harryskeeler.bsky.social Harry Stephen Keeler @harryskeeler.bsky.social · 5d
["For all my seemingly sometimes rattlebrained manner, I am actually deathly sincere and serious about my writing... Am only happy--my only real happiness--at the machine." Noir author Gil Brewer was BOTD in 1922. His father, also Gil Brewer, wrote "The Gorilla of the Gasbags" for Zeppelin Stories!]
November 20, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
munkao.bsky.social
"Wretched Escapees From Gisang's Forsaken Comedies"

This illustration thematically previews my next theatre adventure, which I've just sent to print. Yasss.
Southeast Asian Fantasy: 3 masked looking guys in a cool pose. One on the left is wielding kerambits, small malay/indonesian daggers, looking a bit wild. Guy in the middle is in a pose, welcoming a fight. Holds a pole arm. Guy on the right has a huge head and holding a fly whisk. Calm looking.
November 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)
elkowalczuk.bsky.social
Sure temu, there is no better look in sleep than a guy from medieval catapult crew.
November 19, 2025 at 9:37 PM