#new year's resolution art edition

[miss-yrrosa]

Silly goofballs

First officially finished drawing of the year. Donnie and April.

One goal of mine for this year, is to grow more in drawing expressions (eyes, mouth positions that aren't just flat lines), and hands. Those are all HARD for me to draw, and I hardly ever use references. Bad habit, I know, but I never have, except when I still drew prortaits directly off photo references.

For this one drawing, I was very lucky in how I could shape them in the sketching process, and I love how it rolled off the pencil colored.

This was drawn as part of Apritello Kinktober 2024, but for everything I couldn't do in October. Kept it sft, so they might as well be good friends here. I like them all the same.

The full version of this, and many more spicy drawings and a ton of Apritello fic art, are over on AO3.

[froggerland]

Time for a line up of the terrors most similar looking white guys!!

aka time to practice capturing ppls likeness

The impressive facial hair gang:

(Goodsir, Collins and Nedward)

No muttonchops just dark hair (still confusing)

(Jirving and Armitage)

(De Voeux and Peglar)

(What can I say, sometimes you slay the dragon and sometimes the dragons slays you man, their monolids are hard to draw so de voeux ended up looking fully asian, i’ll get back on that and figure out how to draw that little piece of shit (he’s a pretty boy with very bad morals unfortunately))

[lydiaplain]

Happy New Year ✨ 🎶 ✨

My no. 1 New Year resolution for 2024: Daily Music Practice for the whole year.. 🙏🎶

I'm excited to see how I can keep up to this expectation and challenge. 🤩

So far: Jan 4th = ☑️ 4 days of music practice 🎉

[lotussed]

[xyzzyarts]

hi. queueing some old art from my main because i forget this blog exists <3

[hurricanek8art]

Oh jeez I can't sleep I just realized I actually posting and people liked the posts and some of them might look at my blog and they have to look at that Meet the Artist I did when I joined over a year and a half ago when I had no idea what I was doing and I never went back to edit it and my eyes that self portrait my eyes they burn. Forget trying to be less self-deprecating about my art. I'm redoing that whole post at some point soon. I mean, I don't look any different but I know I can make that art better. I know nobody really cares and nobody's probably even looking at it so it doesn't really matter but it does to me, if you come to my blog for any reason, please for my sanity's sake avert your eyes from that art until I replace it. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[eintausendschoen]

"Nothing."

— for madnurse on AO3, inspired by chapter 6 of "600 deserved strikes" (<- fic rec for the stout of heart) || full edited render of this lineart/sketch

Poseidon's design is neal-illustrator's as referenced in the fic.

"Poseidon’s eyes burned with a terrible, unfathomable light. For a moment, the god said nothing, letting the answer hang in the waterlogged silence. Then, with a slow, deliberate movement, he spread his arms. The gesture was alien, almost human, and it struck Odysseus harder than any blow. It was an offering, an embrace. Odysseus froze, disbelief flickering across his hollowed features. Was this a trick? A final test? ..."

👀 details below 👀

This is the first full render of anything I've done for near three years, and keeping it black and white was enough for practice. I tried colour, but it wouldn't convey the atmo as well.

Part of my resolutions for 2025 is to get back into shape again. Haven't had as much joy painting since the Cyclops Saga aired and gigi's and mircsy's stunning animatics dislodged a real old bottlecap on my joy of the arts. Being part of this fandom brought a huge breath of fresh air to a house full of grief and stale air.

So, ... thank you, the fan creators in the fandom, for your tireless work and passion and your tremendous loveliness.

💙 Happy new 2025 ✨🙇‍♀️🙏

Bonus for realness, folks, because my painting process is usually smth like this: As long as there's an angry Klingon in there, I AIN'T FINISHED. And yeah - CLIP Studio on my phone, that's all atm, I use pretty much the vanilla brushes and edit for contrast in another app after exporting - so the stuff is probs not very printable aside A6, but maybe in the future I'll do larger formats.

[empty-movement]

Empty Movement's 2023 Revolutionary Girl Utena UPDATE

Fashionably late? As always. 2023 was a HUGE year for Empty Movement, so much so that to confess, we did a big fail in actually keeping up with sharing the stuff we did! OOPS. So finally, we proudly bring you: all the Revolutionary Girl Utena content we dropped in 2023. Essays, artbooks, CD information, you name it. Click below for the entire site update, or get it at the source, as always, at ohtori.nu.

In Analysis (Fan Essays): • seebee's essay The Power of Living an Embodying Narrative is about more than Utena, it's about the fandom--including us. We were both interviewed for this piece, and the result is an absolutely beautiful essay that has helped inform how we do Utena stuff going forward. Thank you so much for letting us be part of this! • seebee's VIDEO essay FILM CUTS BACK | transfeminism in utena absolutely blew our minds and it's so good we're listing it. Look at the title. Just go watch it, it rules. • Nicole Winchester's essay No Choice But To Become Witches: The Bishōjo-Demonic Phallic Mother Dichotomy in Revolutionary Girl Utena catches you up to speed on the academic discussion around what might best be described as the shoujo manga iteration of the Madonna-Whore complex. Then, naturally, it finds plenty to say about Utena. Great work that was well worth the coding!

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In From the Mouths of Babes (Translated Meta/Creator Content): • Cross X Talk, A Round Table Discussion Commemorating the Second Musical Utena GOGAI FUCKIN' GOGAI. Nagumo and friends bring us the final untranslated part of the 2019 Black Rose Musical's program guide: the monster interview with Ikuhara and the director of the musicals, Yoshitani. INCREDIBLE content here that 100% lives up to the first musical's similar encounter! A must read!! • The Rose Apocalypse's Ei Takatori Interview The director of the mysterious 1999 musical (yes the machine gun one, and YES WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT IT COMING) interviewed in The Rose Apocalypse book. This...is that. Thank you so much to iris hahn for translating, and I can't wait to bring you more of this mythology!!! • The Utena Dossier Animage Magazine's June 1997 supplemental, this 36-page Utena tome has ben translated by Nagumo with editing by Ayu Ohseki. Because so much of the content is in its visual presentation, I worked the translation into the original scans! Check it out! (PS. Yes that is an entirely different gallery on the emptymovement.com domain, no this won't stay there, yes it has been a weird couple years.) The Dossier includes two long interviews that are also worked into html pages for easy viewing! The Auspicious Joining of Manga and Anime: Saito and Hasegawa For Whom the Director Smiles: Ikuhara and Kitakubo

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In Historia Arcana & The Bibliothèque (Untranslated Resources): • There are a lot of changes happening in this arena!!! How and where to place different materials has been a moving target, so I'll do my best! The sites don't quite reflect this yet, but Historia Arcana will be for cover to cover Utena media, including special magazine publications. Something Eternal's gallery, the Bibliothèque, will be for magazine articles, clippings, and other things. Major artbooks will likely be in both places, cross referenced. New books in Historia Arcana: • The Rose Spiral: Reflections on the Mythology of Utena While not strictly official, this is a fan published book of in depth analysis of Utena, circa 1998! Yep, cover to cover. • Revolution Dictionary (OST 1 First Press Bonus) Cross-referenced from Audiology, this is the bonus dictionary you only got if you grabbed it early! Cool! • Revolutionary Girl Utena Making of Visuals Book Art of UTENA I am mentioning this for completions sake and because I already uploaded it, but this is a cover to cover high resolution, uncleaned scan of the 1999 Art of Utena artbook. I am going to clean the scans, and ultimately be posting the official artbooks elsewhere. • Revolutionary Girl Utena Photobook: Rose Memories This special Animage bonus could be purchased for 700 yen, and back then, was probably a great way to keep the anime in your pocket! It's entirely shots from the TV series, though, so there's nothing specifically new. But I scan it all, baby. New books in the Bibliothèque: • Chiho Saito's 1999 Revolutionary Girl Utena Original Illustration Collection HI THIS IS A VERY BIG DEAL. Read more about why when you visit! TLDR? Here's some of the best artwork of Utena, rescanned and remastered by yours truly to be the best big big scans of big big beautiful Chiho Saito Art. This is a feast. I even made myself a calendar! (Note that the price is such that I don't make a profit on these, so if you're looking to donate, definitely go by other routes, haha.) You will find multiple ways to obtain the scans, and in more than one size. Either way you soak up the rays, enjoy 'em! New articles and clips in the Bibliothèque: • H! Rockin' on Japan Magazine Saito X Oikawa This fashion music magazine's July 1999 article has ALREADY BEEN TRANSLATED? Like, I am going to add the translation officially to the site of course, but holy hell Nagumo is amazing!! This article is actually the origin of a Saito art piece that uh, well. Now we know she went to a love hotel with movie Akio's VA. Cool! Anyway check it out! • Comickers Magazine, August 1997 This absolute monster find is an industry-focused magazine with this gorgeous spread and interview with Chiho Saito. It gets into how she does things. The making of Utena. All kinds of stuff. I'd LOVE to know more about this one!! • Comickers Magazine, June 1998 Again, an industry-focused publication, this time it's exploring the manga and the anime and how they compare. Again looks like a tasty meal!! • Volks Magazine, Spring 2022 YEP SCANS OF THE BOOK OF THE DOLLFIES. For a lot of us, this is at close as we get to these ludicrously gorgeous dolls. I included a few extra pages because they were just fuckin' cool and felt relevant. • Sega Saturn Magazine, December 1997 One of two grabs I got recently on Yahoo! Japan! This appears to be the first look announcement of the 1998 Utena video game! (Yes we have more on it, yes we will eventually post links.) • Sega Saturn Magazine, April 1998 This feature brings attention to the voice actors, who are all returning for the game! • Dengeki G's Magazine, January 1998 Another gaming focused magazine, with frankly a more adult edge, cheaply lets the readers know about Utena. These three game magazine moments are just a bizarre reminder of how we did things before the internet, LMAO

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In Audiology (Music and CD Information): • Complete information about the STAR CHILD - Girls Character Song Best album! You also definitely can't grab the two new remix tracks there. • Did you know there was a first press bonus dictionary for the first OST? I DIDN'T UNTIL RECENTLY. Now I know all about it, and so can you. Check it out! Obviously, scans available, both here and in Historia Arcana. • I FINALLY acquired a complete set of the Utena CD singles!! Check out complete track lists, scans, and information for ALL FIVE Utena singles. Yes. Including the movie Akio guy's one.

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In The Doujinshi Gallery: • Several dozen dounjinshi were uploaded earlier in the year, and can be found listed on the Site Update archive here.

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That's all for now, folks! There's so so so much coming. I have the episode 18 and 20 (!!!!) storyboards to scan, as well as a fully translated scanlation of The Duelist Bible. We're planning to do something for Anthy's rare LEAP YEAR birthday coming up, probably a musical stream or something! Love!

[zineobiology]

Welcome to the Zine O’Biology (closed! Release January 25th 2025)

A multi-fandom Star Trek Zine.

Do you have strong opinions on Vulcan fra’als, Cardassian tails, or how the heck Trill symbionts reproduce? We want to hear from you!

The Zine O’Biology is a fictional comparative xenobiology academic journal set in the Star Trek universe. If you’ve always wanted to wax eloquent for up to 3000 words about your theories on alien biology, welcome to your new home!

We want all your theories about all your favorite aliens! This is a friendly but competitive academic journal where the content of every paper is a little bit suspicious (is this paper based on rumor or fact? What is the methodology?) and some competing authors leave snarky comments on one another’s work. So just like a real academic journal, except ours features the Great Green Anthurium.

We welcome xenobiology articles on all Star Trek aliens from all series!

The final format will be a PDF that you can scroll at your leisure or print at home in order to have a physical copy of the Zine. (This way there is no money involved.)

--SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR--

Alien biology articles

Alien biology artwork

In-Universe advertisements

Letters to the editor

ALIEN BIOLOGY ARTICLES

How do Andorian genders work? Are Cardassians actually lizards? Why do Klingons have so many redundant organs? What’s the biological purpose of Bajoran nose ridges? What’s the best cement mix for emergency surgery on a Horta?

You’ve been pondering alien biology for years. This is your chance to infodump all your favorite theories to an eager audience of your fellow nerds!

Articles will be separated into two categories: reproductive biology or general biology. Yes, we also want all your theories on what every species is packing downstairs…and how they use it.

Journal articles should be fun and engaging, but also written in your interpretation of a pseudo-academic style, since this is a highly respected Federation xenobiology journal. If you want to keep things more lighthearted and less academic, check out the section on Letters to the Editor.

ALIEN BIOLOGY ARTWORK

If you have independent illustrations about alien biology we would love to see them! If you would like to provide illustrations for one of our journal articles, tell us what species you want to illustrate and we’ll do our best to match you up!

Art should be in a square, scaleable format, printable at high resolution at 4x4 inches.

JOURNAL ADVERTISEMENTS

Even in a post-need future, academic journals will need a little extra funding. Submit your ads for Ferengi Oomox Creme, Self Sealing Stem Bolts, Gently Used Federation Technology, and, of course, “reproductive aids.” The weirder the better! Have fun with it!

All art needs to be printable at high resolution

Ad Sizes:

full page: 4.5" x 7.5"

Column: 2.21" x 7.5"

Half Page: 4.5" x 3.75"

Square: 2.21" x 2.18" (i know its not a perfect square but trust me)

Half square: 2.21" x 1.1"

Banner: 4.5" x 0.83"1.75

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Do you have a great idea, but it’s not enough to fill out a 3000 word article? Submit it as a “reaction” to a previous journal article. Feel free to lay into a mythical researcher who does NOT understand why their biological theory is wrong and yours is right!

Max length 800 words. Enjoy making these plenty frothy!

WE NEED SUB-EDITORS!

The creators of this Zine are all notorious Vulcan Fuckers. Since we want the Zine O’Biology to be open to all alien species, it is only logical that we seek your expertise.

We’re seeking fans from all over the Star Trek universe to spread the word that yes, it’s time for us to all come together in the spirit of explaining how our favorite aliens come together.

Sub-Editors will be in charge of helping us solicit articles and art for their specific race of aliens and editing those articles in order to fit into the Zine. If we don’t have a sub editor for a species, we’ll do our best, but the chapter on that species won’t be as good as it would be if folks with real fanon knowledge were involved.

WANT TO GET INVOLVED, BUT YOU’RE NOT A WRITER OR ARTIST?

WE NEED:

Graphic designers to help with Zine layout

Social media promoters

Alien art and article wranglers (ie: get your fannish friends involved!)

--HOW TO GET INVOLVED--

Fill out the Art or Writing (Applications now closed) Google Form letting us know your interests or reach out to the Editor in Chief at zineobiology@gmail.com

DEADLINES:

August 1, 2024: Last date for everyone seeking an art or writing partner to submit their request. We don’t guarantee you’ll be partnered up. It depends on how many people are interested and what aliens they want to draw/write.

August 18, 2024: Art/Writing partners notified. NOTE: it’s both fine and encouraged if you want to submit as a team from the start! This is for people who do not have a partner and would like us to find them one.

August 30, 2024: Final call for all journal authors, artists, and advertisers to let us know what species they’re working with, how many submissions they plan to send, and whether their submission will be general or reproductive biology.

October 30, 2024: All art, advertising, and journal submissions are due

We hope to have the Zine O’Biology ready for your enjoyment by New Year’s Eve 2024. We all have full time jobs and lives, so that date may change depending on the volume of submissions.

FAQ

What if my biological theories are totally different from another author’s?

Yes. Perfect. We love it.

We want to see everyone’s theories! Canon gave us scraps, but together we will make a meal! Expect to see many mutually contradictory articles. That’s part of the fun!

What about Smut?

Yes, we are accepting E rated submissions! The journal will be separated into two sections:

General Biology

Reproductive Biology

General Biology is everything but the genitals

Reproductive Biology should include actual descriptions of the mechanics and biology. Think of it as creating reference material for smut writers and artists.

[librarycards]

Submissions open through June 30, 2024 - Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds

Hello all! I'm editing a special issue of the literary magazine Sinister Wisdom titled Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds. If you're Mad –– regardless of personal label or diagnostic status –– and identify with some aspect of dyke experience (in all its multiplicities!), I want to consider your work for publication.

The title links to Submittable, the platform Sinister Wisdom (and most other magazines) use to process submissions. It's free to use, but can be inaccessible for visually disabled people. If that's you, email Sinister Wisdom for alternative submission options.

I am particularly interested in reading work by young/new/emerging creatives, survivors of psychiatric/medical incarceration, and/or those living outside the Global North/West. Visual art and written work are all welcome!

Note: Sinister Wisdom can't pay $; they compensate in a year-long print subscription and complementary copies of the journal. If you only submit to magazines that pay, consider checking out mine, manywor(l)ds.place; we reopen for general submissions June 1.

Feel free to email me with any further questions. Don't self-reject. ID for the image both in the alt text and below the cut.

Mad Dykes, Queer Worlds

What is Madness, and how do we, as lesbian/queer creatives, wield it? Amid much feminist discourse around the figure of the “madwoman,” mostly as an archetype to be avoided or, in some instances, appropriated, in reaction to rational distress under violently cisheteropatriarchal conditions, comparatively little discussion has focused on the lived experience of psychiatric survivorship, iatrogenic harm, and abuse under the sign of “mental illness” or psychiatric disability. Behind and beyond the figure of the madwoman, or the specter of “hysteria,” are the lived (sur)realities of Madpeople of all marginalized genders.

This issue of Sinister Wisdom seeks contributions by lesbian, queer, and/or trans people self-identified as Mad, mentally disabled, and/or psychiatric survivors. Following the portmanteaue coinages “transMad” (Cavar), “neuroqueer” (Walker, Yergeau, and Michaels-Dillon), and “neurotrans” (Smilges), Madness and (gender)queerness are deeply entangled and often inextricable from each other, both as they manifest “inside” us and in our ways of relating to our words, world(s), lovers, and friends.

What, who, and where are Mad dykes, and how do we find each other in a world increasingly oriented toward cisheteronormative, whitewashed wellness? What are the legacies and ongoing violences of queer/trans pathologization in our communities and beyond? How do we live as transMad people amid cissexist, saneist attacks from the reactionary Right? And how do we share, negotiate, or conceal our experiences of trauma, altered realities, and unfamiliar access needs while also building community?

Please submit works of any, all, or no genres, including reviews and interviews, up to 5,000 words, and a short contributor biography between 25 and 125 words. We are also seeking illustrations and photographs (.jpg or .tif files only, print resolution size at least 300 ppi). Please do not send previously published work.

Deadline for submissions: June 30, 2024

-

-

[tagging for spread hopefully! @closet-keys, @rebirthgarments, @fluoresensitive, @heavenlyyshecomes, @trans-axolotl, @fatehbaz @sawasawako @felgueirosa @bioethicists @campgender @candiedsmokedsalmon @sadhoc @osmanthusoolong @boykeats ]

[wheeloffortune-design]

I'm so happy for your new job opportunity man!!!!! I've been following your journey for a while and your updates have started feeling like the ones from a neighbour :) go kick ass!!!!!!!!!!!

thank you! :D Yeah, it's been a whole journey since I lost my job last september.... if i recall correctly, in the last four months, I-

crammed all the dentist appointments i could get in two weeks before my insurance ran out = 5h total of getting cavities filled

spent so much time applying to jobs, first in the artistic domain i wanted, then for management/desk jobs, then retail. i made a dozen CVs, a bunch of portfolios, countless cover letters. it took two months, and only the art store called me back.

went to two small conventions and gave presentations in both

had an artist table at the rpg convention so i had to prepare prints and stuff

drew a whole pinup calendar in a couple of weeks

built an online store and set the print on demand system to sell prints and said calendars

somewhere around that was halloween. i was a sexy pirate.

wrote a short-story in three days to meet a deadline

drew a lot of commissions, one of them with cars, it was hard

got a retail job at the art store

turned 40! my friends brought face makeup at the party, i was a pink spiderman.

worked full time at the art store, was physically exhausting

completely reorganized the framing department

a friend told me about a storyboarding opportunity that would open in january, showed me how to use the program

christmas rush

lost my grandma, was a very hard time for the family

awkward holidays

between christmas and new year i learned how to use storyboard pro and made a animatic as a portfolio piece (while working 40h)

new year. my resolution is fame and fortune.

had to prepare the kickstarter plan for the upcoming novel

grandma's funeral

online cover reveal party for the book

corrected the line edits of Mrs. Victoria, reread the whole book in three days

the studio liked the animatic i send, they made me take a storyboarding test, which took two days

reminder that i'm still working a 40h/week job and coming back home most days at 9pm. it's winter, in canada.

the test was accepted, i negotiated the contract

and today i told the art store i was leaving

i'm startig the new job on monday.

so yeah, i haven't stopped for a moment in the last four months. i still have some commissions to draw, and then i'll start writing and drawing stuff for the kickstarter, but i'll have a lot more time, money, and energy to tackle all this.

(i'm very lucky that i was finally medicated for adhd just before all of this, i couldn't have made it without my friend concerta.)

so this is gonna be me for the next couple of days, lots of sleep, maybe play a video game. make the puzzle i received at christmas.

[that-hippie-user]

>:3 alright my b*tches and bros and nonbinary-hoes, listen up.

>:( after years of witnessing my town in texas get more and more radicalized, now that i'm out of the closet and that orange fuck has won and is gonna rage war against me and my kin, i'm officially OUT.

UwU thanks to my loving partner and his family, i am leaving the south for good and never looking back.

:D IF THIS POST GETS AT LEAST 1000 NOTES, I WILL:

- get a mohawk and dye it a rainbow of colors

-spend a FULL YEAR re-learning art so i can draw decently again and start making art for my community

- get a tattoo to celebrate my escape (suggestions welcome)

- buy a sewing machine and learn to customize/make my own clothes to FINALLY live up to my fashion dreams

-learn an instrument, and its okay if i dont play it well at first.

and finally

-FINISH MY GODDAMN BOOK, and get it edited and submitted to the public domain.

UwU i leave this hell for good in december 5th, so i guess call that my new years resolution if it works. this doesnt have a deadline, i just wanna START.

-u- oh, and while i'm here, lemme make a statement and ensure the only support i get are REAL based people who i'd gladly befriend and platonically kiss.

I'M AB/DL AND PROUD OF THAT DAMN IT!!!

>:( k1nkshaming is for traitors, and after both FurAffinity AND Patreon have begun banning us wholesale, i'm done hiding this.

THE CRINKLE IN MY PANTS DOESNT MAKE ME ANY LESS HUMAN DAMN IT.

UwU that last bit i wanted to say cuz it funny, heheheh. no way is seymour gonna read THAT out loud.

;3 but if he doessssssssss. :3 hope they doin well, that man is a treasure.

^u^ my friends, my Little siblings out there listening, everyone of you, i wish us all a happier future.

edit: well! :3 at least FurAffinity has finally shown us some decency. Sciggles, i could kiss you! ^u^ there are still good people in this world after all!

[thydungeongal]

Fantasy Adventure Games part 2

You know what, there's still a lot of trad stuff that I haven't even touched out there, and I would be remiss if I didn't feature some of the other, newer entries into the field. This is a continuation of this post.

So, once again, staying with very trad fantasy games:

Dragonbane by the Free League. An English translation of the latest edition of the classic Swedish fantasy RPG Drakar och Demoner, Dragonbane is a very traditional fantasy roleplaying game whose design is clearly heavily informed by RuneQuest but in its latest incarnation also owes a lot to the game structure popularized by D&D 3e (a game that still informs a lot of game design to this day). Dragonbane is, at its core, a skill-based, no-levels fantasy game, but that still has classes of a sort to grant structure to character creation and advancement. Its playstyle has been dubbed "mirth and mayhem" by its creators, and it emphasizes quick resolution and a sense of randomness. The presentation is also top notch, with art by Swedish fantasy artist Johan Egerkrans.

Forbidden Lands by the Free League. Another game published by the Free League, Forbidden Lands is a classic fantasy RPG with a focus on sandbox play and exploration in a strange, scary world. Forbidden Lands uses a variant of the Year Zero engine from Free League's Mutant: Year Zero games, a type of d6 dice pool system. With out-of-the-box mechanics for exploration, foraging, negotiations, and hunting, as well as running one's own stronghold, the real star of the show is the ready-made sandbox setting that comes with the game, begging to be explored.

Against the Darkmaster by Open Ended Games. The creators of Rolemaster, mentioned in the previous post, for a brief moment held the license to the Middle-earth setting of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium and produced a slightly lighter version of Rolemaster to support playing in that setting, titled Middle-earth Roleplaying, or MERP for short. While the game is now long gone, it is still fondly remembered, and in 2019 Against the Darkmaster, a game that is essentially a tribute to MERP made by long-time fans of the game, was Kickstarted. Against the Darkmaster, or VsD for short, is a game in the heritage of Rolemaster, but with inspirations taken from modern RPGs, including the officially licensed modern LotR RPG The One Ring (which is another soft recommend from yours truly). VsD is a gritty and dark traditional RPG that seeks to empower its players to play out stories of a fellowship of heroes struggling against the forces of darkness, very much in the genre of Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance, and the Chronicles of Prydain. If you want crunchy, epic fantasy with a hint of darkness, this one's for you.

Fantasy Hero by Hero Games. A fantasy adaptation of the HERO System, the system that powers the classic superhero RPG Champions, Fantasy Hero is the closest thing I have found to an engine for running a fantasy immersive sim. The core philosophy of the HERO System is that its open-ended power creation system can be used to build anything, and Fantasy Hero directs that energy towards empowering fantasy adventures. The HERO System is very crunchy, almost like a TTRPG physics engine, and it's a dream come true for a certain type of gamer. Heck, I've personally considered using it to run a fantasy sim campaign where spell research is conducted through the power creation system. It's so cool. There is a one-book version of Fantasy Hero out there, called Fantasy Hero Complete, but word on the street is that the better way to run it is using the Hero System 6th Edition rules with the Fantasy Hero 6th Edition genre supplement on top.

Earthdawn by FASA. Once officially tied to the fantasy cyberpunk RPG Shadowrun as its mythic past, due to ownership issues Earthdawn is better understood as its own, standalone game without any ties to Shadowrun these days (and even in the past the actual ties were minimal). Earthdawn casts the player characters as magically empowered individuals who direct their magic into various disciplines, so that a Warrior in Earthdawn isn't simply someone who fights: they are someone who utilizes magic to subtly empower their fighting ability. Earthdawn is very much kin to RuneQuest in how it ties its game system to its world's underlying metaphysics, while being more in line with your traditional dwarves and elves and wizards fantasy. The setting of the game is post-apocalyptic fantasy, with a demonic scourge having recently ravaged the land and people for the first time stepping out of their magically sealed vaults to explore the world. In addition to Earthdawn fourth edition, there is an alternate, simpler version of Earthdawn titled "Age of Legend," which uses an extremely simplified system based on dice results of "Yes, and..." and "No, but..." style prompts. The fourth edition released by FASA is a very traditional, crunchy RPG.

Talislanta by various. Talislanta is a classic fantasy RPG set in an extremely unique fantasy setting that promises ABSOLUTELY NO ELVES. Talislanta is a very unique vision of a fantasy RPG with a very idiosyncratic setting, unique metaphysics, weird sights, and extremely easy to learn yet deep system. The system is very simple, with a basic d20+modifiers resolution mechanic, with varying degrees of success built in, and this system is used for absolutely everything, including combat, skill resolution, and magic. Speaking of magic, Talislanta's magic system is based heavily on keywords and schools, with magic-users being potentially able to produce almost any kind of magical effect the player can imagine under the keyword system, but with certain types of magic simply being more fit to certain purposes and some types of magic not being able to produce certain specific magical effects. What's more, legacy editions of the game are available online for free.

Anyway, that's enough for now.

[fuckyeselucien]

Creator Highlight #17 - @cauldronblssd

Today we’d like to highlight @cauldronblssd! CB is one of the most welcoming and generous creators in the Elucien community who has given so much to others. She is a talented writer with a wide variety of stories and has also commissioned some of the most gorgeous pieces for Elain and Lucien.

If you check out CB's work, you can find just about any flavor you crave! Whether that is an AU in space, canon divergence, or modern-day spice, she's got both the angst and spice you seek. Not only is she an amazing storyteller, she is also known for leaving some of the most thoughtful comments on AO3 to other authors. She really embodies what the Elucien community is about!

Below are a few favorites, but you’ll want to read all the fics and check out her commissions on her masterlist HERE.

Found in the Sunlight

Elain and Lucien have spent the past several years politely avoiding each other. When Elain has a vision about Lucien becoming the High Lord of Autumn, she agrees to accept the mating bond to a male that she hardly knows. Bound by the bond and a couple unexpected bargains, the newly mated couple form an alliance.

Morning Edition

Elain listens to her local public radio station every morning as a way to support her sister, Feyre, a local arts and culture reporter. What starts as casual listening develops into something more when she finally meets the man behind the voice she listens to on the new every morning, Lucien Vanserra.

"Lucien was an NPR reporter, an enthusiast of local politics and an active participant in the fall and spring fund drives. Surely, he couldn’t be a party animal either, with a call time of five AM or something else equally absurd. Still, it had been him who suggested they meet at the last minute. Was this a booty call? Would he still buy her drinks, then?

It seemed a strange move to select your coworker’s sister for such an arrangement, but perhaps she was naive. She’d have to keep her head on her shoulders, even when he spoke to her with that low seductive voice or wore another well-fitted shirt that showed off his expansive chest. Elain squared her shoulders, resolving herself to be firm in her resolution not to go home with him that night."

We're Leaving the Planet, and You Can't Come

Elain Archeron lives a quiet life on the Sun Station as a follower of the Nolans’ New Ways. When she is sent on a mission to find wanted man, Vanserra, she crash lands in alien territory.

We’re going to space, babes!

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