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
Every time I look at horror-themed toys/decorations/merch I'm so glad that I'm not invested in any of the properties that are widely licensed.

I'd be in real trouble if The Abominable Dr Phibes appeared on Spirit Halloween shelves alongside Chucky and that lot.
November 27, 2025 at 4:26 AM
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
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
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
signalstation.bsky.social
Some action figure designers seem to be riffing on He-Man designs, but making them... fantasy-ish?

"Giant feathered wings combined with incredible stamina enable the Oraphim to travel great distances."

Got it. That is NOT Stratos.

www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
Action figure who looks a LOT like Stratos from He-Man, color scheme-wise. He's got big red feathered wings and a golden staff. Helmet with blue around the eyes, red bits on top, a silver faux beard and gold faux mustache. Bare gray chest with criss crossing blue strappy things connected to shoulder things. Red skull plate on the belt. Leather pleated thingy covering the unmentionables.
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
Did you know that back in 1986, Marvel Comics' Thor got turned into a frog?

Doesn't matter. Context isn't important.

Frog Thor. Just lookee!

www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
A smiling tree frog on a stump holding up a heavy hammer. He's got a little winged helmet on his head and is wearing Thor's outfit: red cape, black top with gray circles of uncertain purpose. Arm and leg bands. Frog Thor!
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
I don't know what a Zoid is, but: little hermit crab guy!

With a gun!
A robot that looks like a hermit crab, all rendered in plastic. The "shell" si grey and has a mounted laser gun of some sort. The front claws have the kinda heavy joints you'd see on construction equipment. Just imagine a hermit crab, but built like you'd make a bulldozer or something.
November 21, 2025 at 3:16 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
Hard to mess up a Black Lagoon Creature. Classic design.

www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
Action figure: The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Green scaley guy, yellow belly, suspicious eyes. Articulation points at shoulders, elbows, top of legs. Knees might be locked. Creature from the Black Lagoon action figure on its packaging card, which features, you know, cool art of the Creature, plus the film's logo across the top.
November 21, 2025 at 3:14 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
I don't need Worm Guy Scholar. But I feel the pull.

store.unboxindustries.info/product/book...
Figuring: a worm guy... he's made of worms. Worm hands, worm head, eyeballs kinda rolling around in the worms, open mouth... the mouth is normal. Still has on a tan shirt and green jacket. Worms are leaking out of the black pants. A shoe is missing, worms coming out. Somehow this figure is holding a red hardcover book out. Seems important to them. Says "The Lambton Worm" with an illustration of a demonic worm. A close-up of the figure where you can see the skull is covered (or maybe replaced) with squirmy pink worms. The mouth is open as if yelling or screaming. The eyeballs, blue, are... okay, one is floating out of position, at mid-forehead. As if the worms are just holding them in place. A pair of glasses sits at the top of the forehead, one lens cracked.
November 21, 2025 at 3:11 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
Whose life wouldn't be improved by having some kung fu/karate animal-headed figures on their shelves?

Doberman: www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
Fox: www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
Action figure: a Doberman-headed fighter in a white martial arts getup. Do they call this a "gi"? You know, cotton top, black belt, loose pants. Human lookin' fella but his heads a vicious looking Doberman head. Action figure: a martial arts person with a fox head, hands at the ready for blocking incoming kicks and/or punches. Typical martial artist clothing: loose white top held in place with a black belt, loose white pants.
November 21, 2025 at 3:08 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
I love these Ben Cooper 80s-style Halloween costume figures.

I'll keep adding to this thread as I have time to type all the alt text and whatnot.

www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/Vari...
Action figures: a trio of youths dressed like Garfield, Pee Wee Herman and Alf. All their costumes have plastic masks and plastic costumes. The Garfield and Alf costumes have the figures printed on the chest with the matching logo, as was the style in the 80s. You only looked like the character with your mask, but the chest ruined the likeness by explaining who your mask was portraying. Pee Wee Herman here, though, gets a better costume that looks like the gray suit and red bow tie worn by Paul Reubens when he was in character. Action figures in a row, from left to right: a zombie, an invisible skin person, a clown, a... brain monster from... I can't remember the movie. It's a classic. And a Dracula. Most of the characters have chest images that duplicate their masks. This Island Earth! I think that's where the alien is from. I refuse to go look. Big eyes, exposed brain, claw hands. The invisible skin kid is my favorite. His body costume is of a circulatory system and his mask is transparent plastic with red and blue veins visible. Action figure of a kid wearing a costume of, like, a human circulatory system. His plastic bodysuit has the outline of a human body with red and blue veins, kidneys, the heart... his mask is transparent plastic with red and blue veins. He's mid-stride on a surface littered with fallen leaves. He's holding a Trick or Treat! bag with a jack-o-lantern image. It's an amazing staged photo of an action figure.
November 21, 2025 at 3:05 AM
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
oh, that reminds me: the footer link labeled "Twitch" on POE leads to an empty page

Maybe it was meant to lead to an archive of VODs, or link to the twitch page, but at present, it does neither, near as I can tell.
Social * Twitch * YouTube
November 16, 2025 at 10:49 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Been at this long enough to anticipate player reactions a bit.

"What's the tattoo say?" Can't read it.

"Ask the tattoo person." They can't explain it.

It's just flavor text. I'm not going to make a GM invent something and create a red herring if I can help it.

Still a good moment, though.
A Pentahite looks back and forth between an open book and their own forearm, tattooing an important passage down its bruised length. The tattoo is written in a dead language. Words fail if the Pentahite attempts to explain its meaning. It's personal.
November 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Gotta admit, I've having a lot of fun writing Trophy Gold stuff again. It's been awhile.
A vulture sulkily picks at a body long since reduced to a jerky-like consistency. The skull, finally loosened, rolls free, bouncing once before tumbling down the mountainside.
November 16, 2025 at 7:41 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
An NPC from STEP RIGHT UP, my carnival/Dust Bowl RPG based on the ruleset of The Between.

Kept my players horrified/amused by drawing from online lists of dirty jokes while they chatted with Gina.
Regina "Jolly Gina" Leitzel A heavy woman in an expensive blonde wig, Regina performs as Jolly Gina, telling bawdy jokes while reclining on stage on a specially constructed bed. A flowing top on top of baggy harem pants. A paper fan in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other. Quote: "I coulda gone the easy route and done a Fat Lady act, but I never found a skinny fella could keep up with me. So I tell jokes. Like about the public masturbator who got arrested as soon as they unzipped... they almost had a stroke!"
November 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Years back, I spent an afternoon taking distorted macro photos of dollar bin comics. Enjoy this giant chef face from a man obviously thrilled to be cooking for Dr. Doom.
Illustration from an old Fantastic Four comic. In the background, Dr. Doom, a man in armor with a green hood and cloak. In the foreground, a heavyset face of a man with a thin mustache and a white chef hat on his head.
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
They won't let you do it.
Comic book panel. Man in green suit and tan hat, his back to us, says "They won't let you do it!!" He's speaking to an older man, white hair, round glasses, white long-sleeved shirt. The man in white has a dialogue balloon but we can only see the letter "P" because something has gouged into the comic book, obliterating the word balloon. There are colored layers and layers of pages revealed by the gouge, shrinking as the damage goes deeper into the comic book, like the walls of a strip mine. It looks as if the man in white's very words are able to destroy reality, that he's uttering something that pokes a hole in the universe, dangerous to observe, impossible to comprehend.
November 3, 2025 at 8:06 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
screenshot of a mouse hovering over the Block account option for the post "Go Home and take a Nap, Old Man. You have already exceeded your Takes for this Day."
November 3, 2025 at 5:49 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Better late than never.
Screenshot of a bunch of movie posters from the CHC Haunt-along, but the pic is framed on the cover of From Dusk Til Dawn, where George Clooney points a smoking gun at we, the viewer, even though we didn't do nuthin'. Quentin Tarantino glowers in the background.
November 3, 2025 at 4:25 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
Kids don't come around our place, so Halloween is pretty quiet. Whole neighborhood seemed quiet, actually. Went for a short walk to grab a burrito and the taco truck's little picnic bench area was all decked out. A party with no guests.
Four picnic benches in a tented area, each covered with a bright orange tablecloth that has white spiderweb patterns printed on it. The nearest table also has a rubber spider on it, along with the usual napkin dispenser and potted plant accent.
November 1, 2025 at 5:30 AM
signalstation.bsky.social
Added alt text
An illustration of an elf. We can tell they're an elf because they're wearing a green tunic, on the front of which is a tan circle that says ELFS. They have forest green tights/boots on and are wielding a sword with both hands. The sword has sliced cleanly into the elf's head, right at the top of the crown. The face seems unbothered, eyes closed, mouth straight, beaky nose. On top of the head, just past the pointed ears, is a green peaked cap.
October 31, 2025 at 6:08 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Getting online used to take some effort. You felt like you earned it.
it’s a journey When I first logged into the internet, you had to fast for 48 hours, then drink a bitter tea that made you throw up. They’d roll you up next to a fire and behind your eyelids, the tumbling world, the bottomless sky and the internet would talk to you. It would tell you that your concerns were so small and the universe so large. It would tell you of a thing called a Bonzi Buddy (a kind of mechanical elf made of higher dimensions). And you never wanted (or needed) to go online again.
October 30, 2025 at 11:40 PM
signalstation.bsky.social
Have you ever seen a game before that describe rations in such a way that you're jealous of the adventurer who gets to eat it?
A section of a page of Kala Mandala. [illustration - a monkey man smoking a pipe, a sword casually resting on his shoulder, a knife in a belt-scarf wrapped around his middle. Two more blade handles can be seen at his waist. He's got a handkerchief on top of his head.] 4 - Workout Meal You know 2 power recipes to recharge. Padi Trail Mix: Young padi flakes, grated coconut, burnt cashews. Protein Balls: Mung bean paste, stomped banana, dried pineapple. * Both recipes restore up to 2 STR. [illustration: four fuzzy little balls]
October 28, 2025 at 6:05 AM