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Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

@signalstation.bsky.social

1.2K followers 1K following 1.8K 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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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.

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Chris 🎃 DevPods.gg gamedev community @chrisdeleon.bsky.social · 6h

Portland protestor frog costume: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge pepper balls?

Morpheus from Matrix movie: No, Frog. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.

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Annie Wu @anniewu.bsky.social · 2d

Here are all the little haunted house workers on break.

This is the digital file because I did not like how things printed out at all. I'm gonna have to fight with the Riso machine some more.

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

Francesco Francavilla @ffrancavilla.bsky.social · 1d

Day 3. Faces of Universal Horror presents
THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933)
Directed by James Whale and starring Claude Rains as mad Dr Griffin, this movie is still phenomenal to this day and this character will never be not fun to draw :) #UniversalHorror #Day3 #FacesOfUniversalHorror

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

𝙒𝙚𝙨 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 is Dead. @carrion-comfort.com · 15h

It's my second (of many) entries for #hauntalong this year and I'm surfacing one of my favorites of the Universal Monster movies for the morning crowd!

Today I present you:

Jack Arnold’s 1954 creature–feature The Creature from the Black Lagoon!

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Anthony D. Herrera @aherrera.bsky.social · 1d

Had a telehealth consult with a doctor about my hand wounds that bleed candy corn.

"Spooky Stigmata," he said.

"What does it mean?" I asked

"You're The Halloween Christ."

"What do we do?"

"As a man of science, I must find you and kill you," he said, closing his laptop.

U.S. Healthcare sucks.

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

Gabriel Robinson @glowingroots.bsky.social · 1d

Continuing this year’s #hauntalong, I’m recommending Bring Her Back (2025).

Film poster for Bring Her Back, featuring a hand grading the head of a child with red demonic eyes and a circle of blood in the background

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 1d

oh yeah, sure enough, there it is in the original thread

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priscilla page @priscillapage.bsky.social · 2d

have been desperately looking for this old erotic Spanish comic I stumbled on almost 10 years ago called "El secreto de Frankenstein" and I'm so happy to report I finally found it

black & white comic panel depicting a sexy, thicc Frankenstein's monster disrobing in 3 different poses - pulling his shirt of his shoulder, seen at an angle; from the front, shirtless, beginning to take his pants off; then almost totally nude as seen from behind. the words at the top read "Strip-tease de Frankenstein..."

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🔥💀LA MANTIA!💀🔥 @lamantia.bsky.social · 1d

Never hit save image so fast.

Frankenstein's creature checking himself out in a full-length mirror wearing a garter belt, fishnet stockings, and stilettos, word bubble reads "¡Bel...lo!"

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 1d

Looks like that might be from the same source as this image I plucked off the internet, contextless, years ago.

A three scene comic panel composed of three spotlight circles. Caption at the top reads "Strip-tease de Frankenstein..."

In the upper left, Frankenstein's monster, with a somber expression, delicately tugs a top off his shoulder.

In the middle right, Frank shows off his broad chest, his pants hanging loosely.

In the lower left spotlight, we see Frank from the back: broad back, canted hips and muscular buttocks, pants sagging to half thigh, not yet fallen off.

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 1d

I'm no chef or grandma expert, but I have heard that many of them use "love" as a secret ingredient. I don't know if the recipes online mention that. I assume it's some kind of herb or something? Maybe a powder?

Could be worth looking into.

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

Jesse Ross @jesseross.com · 1d

Tomorrow is my birthday, and this last year has been a rough one. If any of the games or other art I’ve made have had a positive impact on you, hearing your stories would bring me a lot of joy 💖

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 1d

So yeah, the most fulfilling parts of my life, from friends to creative outlets, all came from being lucky enough to cross paths with you.

Happy birthday!

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 1d

oh, you mean like how I went from writing little bits of mostly ignored short fiction to placing in the Trophy Dark incursion-writing contest, which led to 5 years of writing RPG stuff, including an in-progress full game, while surrounded by creative friends online (many of whom I met via Trophy)?

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DisgustingFilm @disgustingfilm.bsky.social · 1d

Many are saying Weapons may be the horror hit of the year but someone at my book club told me they didn't like it

(Source: tinyurl.com/2s4yj7j9)

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Mike Murderens | Clear Keep @clearkeep.bsky.social · 2d

Make something for the best damn community zine in existence.

Amanda/iamatrex @iamatrex.com · 2d

Sprigs & Kindling sprigsandkindling.com is actively seeking pitches:
Vol 6: Endings & Beginnings. Any Carved from Brindlewood-related creation. Due Dec 1, 2025
Vol 7: Gods & Monsters. The Silt Verses TTRPG and Arkham Herald. Due Mar 1, 2026
Vol 8: Short-form CfB. Due Jun 1, 2026

DM me with pitches!

Sprigs and Kindling

An ongoing digital zine of community collected creative works for Carved from Brindlewood TTRPG games

sprigsandkindling.com

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 2d

Day 1 as a motivational speaker: When I was a child, the only person who hated Mondays? Just one cat. And now, look around you. Everyone here today hates Mondays. Amazing, right? That cat changed the world. Changed all of us. Which begs the question: what's MY Monday?

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𝖏 𝖆 𝖈 𝖐 @jackofficer.bsky.social · 2d

Hello, rats and bats. It's #hauntalong time, and tonight I'm kicking off my selects with inarguably the best (authorized) Dracula movie ever.

Title card for "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992)

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Michael Van Vleet (he/him) @signalstation.bsky.social · 2d

"Note... to... self... Stop... eating... sandwiches...off... back... of... scooters. Okay, got it."

Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

Amanda/iamatrex @iamatrex.com · 2d

AP alert! :D @madelancholy.bsky.social and friends played my one shot Trophy Gold incursion A Throne of Hollow Feathers! (iamatrex.itch.io/a-throne-of-...)
Check it out on Mads' youtube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYI7...

A Throne of Hollow Feathers, a Trophy Gold one-shot for Shared Hearth 2025

YouTube video by Madelancholy

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

🍄Just a Mushroom🍄 @mycotae.bsky.social · 5d

Cymothoa exigua as a human (don't ask me why please I'm not responsible for what my brain comes up with)

A creepy multi-armed human consuming/becoming the tongue of a monstrous, multi-eyed bear. Like a weird tongue eating louse. There are three flowers with eyeballs on the bottom.

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Jordon Nardino @jnardino.bsky.social · 3d

They are called writers

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 3d

we need a word for a type of person who spends all their time working to live in a city so they can be near cool things, but they don't actually like going out

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𝙒𝙚𝙨 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 is Dead. @carrion-comfort.com · 3d

This #hauntalong, I'm trying to be a bit sexier than last year. I'm talking sultry, sanguineous, seductive, and penetrative.

Like with knives.

Or teeth.

I wanted to get

Let's talk about my first entry:

Claire Denis' 2001 psychosexual horror film, 'Trouble Every Day' 🫀

Still from the Claire Denis film Trouble Every Day. It shows a wall with wild blood splattering all over it. A woman walks from right Drake to the left, also covered in blood while wearing a neglige.

The foreground says, "Trouble Every Day" A film by Claire Denis.

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

Nick Stevens @nick-stevens.com · 3d

Privacy on the modern internet.

“Go into Settings, Privacy, Activity Controls, Web Activity,
Manage Activity, and deselect Giant Snake.”

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Reposted by Michael Van Vleet (he/him)

CamCron @camcron.bsky.social · 4d

so what you are gonna do is head down to your local library and get you a library card (if you don’t already have one). then you are gonna download these three apps and enjoy yourself a huge range of free movies, ebooks, graphic novels, tv shows, and documentaries. for free.

the app icons for Kanopy, Libby, and Hoopla

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