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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Name a non-LOTR character who could resist the One Ring.

The image is of a man, Doc Savage (bronze hair, clean shaven, well-muscled and tanned, shredded shirt) with several Mayan natives in the background, which also includes a rectangular stone column of vague Aztec Styling. This is the cover of the first Doc Savage Pulp from March 1933. Doc was the product of a scientific upbringing. He was virtuous, stalwart, smart and courageous; and he had tons of money. Great wish-fulfillment for the Depression Era.

He was wholly incorruptible.

Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Here's my schedule for DragonCon this year (graphic courtesy of Bryan Young). Please check alt text for schedule changes and clarifications on locations.

This shows my schedule at DragonCon:

9/3 7 PM @Offbeat Books, a preview BattleTech panel (subject to my plane arriving on time and in Atlanta...don't ask.)

9/4 10 AM Inman Hyatt Characterization: Where it all begins ($ Writing Workshop)

9/4 1 PM Inman Hyatt Building a Solid Series ($ Writing Workshop)

9/4 4 PM Regency V1-VII Awesome Star Wars Authors

9/5 10 AM Inman Hyatt Creating Reader Engagement ($ Writing Workshop)

9/5 1 PM Inman Hyatt 21 Days To a Novel ($ Writing Workshop)

9/5 2:30 PM Embassy EF Hyatt Gutsy Plotting

9/5 4 PM Cent I Hyatt An Hour with Amazing Star Wars Authors

9/5 5:30 PM Inman Hyatt Plotting ($ Writing Workshop)

9/6 10 AM Inman Hyatt Finding The Story ($ Writing Workshop)

9/6 1 PM Inman Hyatt Advanced Characterization ($ Writing Workshop)

9/6 5:30 PM Inman Hyatt Making the Next Draft the Best ($ Writing Workshop)

9/6 7 PM 204-207 Hilton Creativity and Art in Skepticism

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Getting that cute little guy involves hitting these waypoints: (The Cymre Jones video is on YouTube.)

To get J'imothy, travel to the waypoints listed. He will be at one of them. Free him from a magical prison and pet him and he will be yours. Much thanks to Cymre Jones for her YouTube video on how to find him.

The image shows J'imothy in a plaza in Silvermoon City with, I would guess, Cymre Jones' PC or main. The pet is a really easy get AND is a combat pet. Which makes me slightly hopeful that they're reconsidering their drive to eliminate pets. I mean, when you run out of story, and have maxed out equipment level, what the heck else are you supposed to do but pet battles. Or now you're going to be doing interior design, which is fun, but not nearly as intellectually challenging as working out pet battle solutions.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Describe your Bluesky account with a single image

the imagine is of a clean toilet with a toilet paper rose on it, and another rose on the toilet paper itself.

Beautiful, and a metaphor for something. And I really like the reflection.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Thanks to Bryan Young for putting together this nifty schedule of where I'll be at Gencon next week!

The image is of my schedule at Gencon. Most of the time I will be at the Catalyst Game Labs booth, or in panels with the Writers Symposium. The schedule is:

Thursday, 5 pm, Character creation panel, Marriott Ballroom 3
Friday, 2pm, Book signing at the Catalyst Booth
Friday, 3pm, Writing BattleTech and Shadowrun, Marriott BRM 2
Saturday, 11am, Story 101 Marriott Ballroom 2
Saturday, 2pm, Book signing at the Catalyst Booth
Saturday, 5pm, Story 201: Breaking the rules, Marriott BRM 2
Saturday, 7pm, Masters and Minions, Hall A, CGL HQ
Sunday, Noon, Read and Critique Marriott BRM 1 ($14)
Sunday, 2pm, Book signing w/ Bryan Young, Catalyst Booth

I hope to see you there!

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

You wake up in the last TV Show you watched. This is your life now. Where are you? (In an undisclosed location, doing important work for an Uncle.)

The image shows a promo picture for the TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E., with Napoleon Solo on the left and Ilya Kuriakin on the right, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum respectively. I've been rewatching the old episodes, since, when I was a kid, I only ever got to watch a couple dozen. They're great fun. so I would be living anywhere and everywhere UNCLE is called upon to stop petty dictators and THRUSH from world domination. And I have a very cool theme song.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Let's Settle This Now #283: No. No, they could not have met. They are both MAKE BELIEVE! Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

The image is of a tile which shows a depiction of Odysseus on the left and Moses on the right, with the caption "Could Moses have met Odysseus?"

While a provocative premise, which invokes the need for detective skills and language knowledge, and literary acumen to determine if both characters overlapped in the timeline, and then whether or not their journeys could possibly intersected within their lifespans. One of those fun speculative conversations you could have between intellectually nerdy friends some lazy afternoon in a cheap bar drinking warm beer and eating soggy french fries so you can convince yourself that you've not wasted four years of your life getting a liberal arts degree when you should have just gone for voc-ed training so you could fix cars.

The answer to the intriguing question is simple: NO.

No, they could not have met.

They are make believe, in the same way that Kermit the Frog and the Martian Manhunter are make believe. Sure, they're both green and not big fans of fire, but they DO. NOT. EXIST. Therefore, they never could have met.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Me: Here's a pic or me at the zoo this morning, cosplaying (badly) a penguin. Her: Were you robbing the place? Me: Not gonna say one way or another. But in an unrelated inquiry, what do you feed otters?

A picture of me at the Phoenix Zoo on the morning o f July 11th, standing on a pile of shaved ice/snow (kind of the Velveeta of snow) for a summer snow party for zoo visitors. (Roughly 6am in Phoenix, where it is already beastly hot.)

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Its Juneteenth. Post your favorite Black fictional character. Imaro, from Charles R. Saunders.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Dubious distinction to be listed, but solidly circumstantial evidence of widespread theft of my work:

The graphic comes from "In the Weights" which is a site which searched AI databases for mentions of the person named. This indicates that I am in the 2% of names mentioned. I personally find this disturbing because, at the same time, another Michael A. Stackpole who is, apparently in state government in Illinois, placed only in the top 5%. This would indicate that LLMs are largely weighted toward works of fiction (which they've stolen) and yet are being consulted on matters that have nothing to do with fiction. Plus, and I say this as someone who regularly indulges their personal sense of fancy to create magickal and far future worlds, that science fiction and fantasy fiction, because it is based on magick and technology which does not exist (like hyperdrives and man-portable energy weapons) has very little application to real world problems.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Most authors I know had a book they read that made them say to themselves, "I can write a novel better than this." Quote post with the novel that did that to you. Mine was:

This is the cover of the novel Sword and the Sorcerer. It was written by Norman Winski based on the movie's screenplay. Writing a novel based on a screenplay has a lot of complications, as I know from writing the novelization of Jason Momoa's Conan movie. Being a big fan of Robert E. Howard, I felt insulted on his behalf when I read this book. When I put it down, I told myself I could do better.

The illustration on the cover looks like a Boris cover, with a wizard in the background, a serpent in the foreground, the half-naked barbarian hero to the left and a half-naked woman to the right. I'm pretty sure the illustration was why I read it because I have never seen the movie.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Can you imagine what this would be if we were NOT winning the war with Iran?

This is a snapshot of the price of a gallon of gas in Scottsdale, AZ (Granite Reef and McDonald). The price is $5.19 (and 9/10) per gallon.

Imagine what it would be if we were NOT winning the war with Iran.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I've gotten a lot of new followers of late, so I wanted to post an image indicative of what I do. These are 26 of the 70+ novels I've written. (One volume here is a 2 in 1).

The image shows a selections of my novels all arranged on stair steps in no particular order:

Top Row (8 titles) Conan, Isard's Revenge, Eyes of Silver, I, Jedi; A Gathering Evil, Evil Ascending, Evil Triumphant, Talion: Revenant

Next Row (6 titles) Warrior: En Garde, Warrior: Riposte, Warrior: Coupe, A Secret Atlas, Cartomancy, The New World

Next Row (4 Titles) Mysterious Ways, Fortress Draconis, When Dragons Rage, The Grand Crusade

Bottom Row (7 Titles) Wolf & Raven, Voljin (World of Warcraft), Dark Tide Onslaught & Ruin, In Hero Years... I'm Dead, Tricknomancy, Dark Souls: Masque of Vindication, Perfectly Dead.

These books are 26 of the over 70 I've had published since 1988, when my first two came out (Warrior: Engarde and Warrior: Riposte). This is about an even mix of tie-ins and original books. I also write tons of shorter work.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

I love living in the future. Traveled 2500 miles in 5 hours. Took a robot car home from the airport. Arrived to a meal I ordered in the car and had delivered to my house at the same time I got there.

This is a wonderful pizza from Niteowl in Phoenix. It is huge (I'll be eating off it for the rest of the week). It is a meat lovers, with sausage, pepperoni, ham, bacon and more sausage. thin crust, but not terribly crispy, and tastes great cold, too. Plus instead of the little plastic thing to keep the box lid off the cheese, they use a garlic dinner roll! Brilliance.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

And finally three other results because, why not: Sure

Screen shot of an AI Detector letting me know I am, alas, human. Or, at least, I write like it.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Nice to see I'm going to be able to blend in with our machine overlords... Second result:

Screen shot showing AI detection results on my fiction, in this case my being 38% human and 62 percent AI...

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

I deliberately chose a weird sample: the opening of my BattleTech Gothic story, which I styled after Wuthering Heights because, well, Gothic. Here's the first result:

Screen shot of an AI detector rating a passage of my fiction (artisinal fiction) in which it is rated 7% human, 93% AI.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Please take a look and invest in your writing career. (And Share, please, so we can get the word out.)

The image is a graphic showing pictures of Bryan Young, Michael A. Stackpole and Chantelle Osman, advertising "World of Wordcraft," which is a weekend of writing seminars conducts online for anyone who wants to learn to write, or to level up their writing. Workshops will be conducted via Zoom. It's going to be really great. Bryan, Chantelle and I have taught writing all around the world, literally, and have students who have gone on to publish short stories and novels. It is an opportunity you don't want to miss.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Cruise Director HVAC Tech Talk Show Host Televangelist

Woodcut of a skeleton with a femur and shield going toe to toe with a renaissance warrior with a great sword in a battle field with lots of dead bodies; also mountains in the background. The text above says "What are the four core character classes?" Below it says "Wrong Answers Only." The really wild thing in the illustration, though, is the warrior's codpiece, which is shaped/styled to look very much like female genitalia. Not sure if this was a joke--and we all know artists who would do that on a whim--or is representative of what some guys went into combat to protect their dangly bits.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

While musing on Irony, I scroll down to this juxtaposition of quotes and posts. Enjoy. (Note: not a comment on the post quote, just Homan's image.) (Note: I did vent in the Alt Text, if you want a giggle.)

the image is of a juxtaposition of a quote and an image of Tom Homan.

The quote is from Carl Sagan: "Nothing disturbs me more than the glorification of stupidity."

Below is an image of Tom Homan, a potato-headed, vile simulacrum of a human being, likely cobbled together from parts together from a compost heap and the offal sluicing away from an abattoir closed for health reasons (not limited to a cockroach infestation), a simulacrum empowered by cowardice, energy drinks, bribes and unholy powers bestowed upon him in some diabolical ritual involving sacrifices, likely at Epstein's New Mexico Ranch. The article cited reveals that the FBI failed to pursue an investigation into Homan's acceptance, recorded on video, of a cash bribe ($50K) delivered to him in a CAVA bag. The bribe was given by undercover FBI agents and has not been recovered from Homan.

Note: While I have never been offered a $50K bribe in cash, were this to occur I would understand that I could call it a "retainer" all I wanted, but if it was a legit business deal, there would be a check and a paper trail and a contract. And then there would be deliberately breaking it down into smaller piles to avoid triggering a reporting requirement by the banks when I deposit it. So I am left thinking that Homan took that bribe and may have, in fact, failed to report it as income. But, hey, he's the "Border Tsar," so I guess it's "whatever floats your autocracy" time.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Breathing easier... the Chip Locker™ is again full!

A chip locker, bursting with flavor and savings. (Buy 4, get them for $1.99 each, WITH a store coupon that took an additional $1 off each.) Party weekend incoming. (or just watching episodes of Ultraman until the chips run out.)

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

And folks wonder why I hate email... (Also, I would avoid this clown and his scam.)

This is an email sent to me, a New York Times Bestselling author (Rogue Squadron; I, Jedi...) explaining to me why a novel of mine is not showing up in Barnes and Noble. It is because I have no representation, and Harvey offers to represent me.

Ole Harv (all of his potential victims call him Harv) misses the fact that the book's been in print for over a decade, which is why it's not in Barnes & Noble anymore. It had its run, did well, we've all moved on.

So I'm sure Harv will move on to other victims. Send him packing.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I'll see yours and raise you one a hundred and forty-ish years old that still works:

Cover of Puck from January 9th, 1884, featuring a child at the Senate, being handed money by a parent. The child is pointing at a Senator (one amid many who all have their prices for action firmly displayed on their desks).

Perhaps of interest, a framed copy of this very print hung in my family home since the late 1970s and always fascinated me. As true today as it was the day it was printed.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

My stay in DCA is a touch longer than I would like, but still fun.

The shot shows the huge Christmas tree in the main concourse at the Reagan National airport in Washington DC. Tall, a perfect cone, with small white lights throughout and a scattering of red and gold Balls. Very pretty.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

All I need now is vodka and a Karaoke machine...

The image shows a shot of Red Square in the background. In the foreground is author Michael A. Stackpole in Red Square, wearing a Captain America t-shirt.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

The best friends are the friends who understand that what you never had as a child, you desperately NEED as an adult.

The image reveals the cover of the 2025 Lego Advent calendar.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Without downloading new pics, what is it like dating you?

In response to a prompt "Without downloading any new pictures, what is it like dating you," I have posted a pic with two signs on a fence in front of a hole dug in the ground. One sign reads, "Hard Hats Only. No Trespassing. Violators will be prosecuted. "Private Property."" and the other reads "Video Recording in Progress."

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

I just released my "Brief Guide to Writing Short Fiction." It's a solid guide to writing short stories and more; and has a special focus on Sword and Sorcery stories. It costs $10, which, as a set of instructions to write stories you can sell, is rather inexpensive. Like and share. That helps!

the image is of a note pinned to a cork board. The note reads "Basic Guide to Writing Short Fiction."

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

As a veteran of the Great Satanic Panic, I am wildly surprised that the Godly GOP can condone the production of the coin. The laws of Similarity and Contagion would make it a prime focus for Black Magick being used against their chosen one. Someone will get a thesis out of this...

The image is the front and back of the proposed Trump coin, which is disturbing in a number of ways. US law prohibits putting a living person on coins/stamps. Moreover, as I point out, this coin would be a prime focus for evil magick directed at 47. I should also note that, as a fantasy writer, I've dealt with similar coins. In one set of books, the DragonCrown War novels, the people of a country regularly "blinded" the image of their King on coins by punching the eye out. The idea was to prevent him from spying on them because they possessed that coin. Hmmm, maybe we need to protect ourselves in case they plant a microchip in this coin. Also, as a coin collector, these type of memorial coins are regularly produced and sold to collectors, and never used in commerce. Interestingly, I buy a memorial coin like this to commemorate each book and most stories I've had come out. At least one of the coins has appreciated so much in value it is worth more than what I got for the book I bought it to commemorate.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Repost this with you and your significant other (not really):

the image is of Cassandra Peterson dressed as Elvira, sitting next to the puppet known as the Cryptkeeper. It is delightful and was an ad for Knott's Berry Farm.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Turns out you CAN make individual-serving size bread pudding. In this case made from donuts. (Twas an experiment; details on preparation in the alt text.) If you try this, shoot and post pics; tag me please. I'd love to see your versions.

Image shows two and a half individual servings of Bread Pudding, shaped roughly like popovers. They were made from cut up stale donuts and soaked in an egg-cream-sugar mixture overnight. I added both white and milk chocolate chips. I then put them into a silicone dish meant to hold eggs; putting in just enough to form a little crown. Into the toaster oven at 350. After 25 minutes a toothpick came out clean. I popped them out and returned them for another five minutes, standing on their crowns, on a cookie sheet just to let the body crisp up a little. 12/10, will make again bc I have a ton more of the mixture.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

So, let's logic this out. If participating in a No Kings rally means one hates America... Then loving America means you want a King? (Wanting a King in America we can discuss, but not this bloated buffoon who makes King George III look positively wonderful by comparison.)

The illustration is a screen cap showing that the No Kings rally in Scottsdale AZ will be between 9-11 AM at the PF Chang's Plaza at Scottsdale road and Camelback, southwest corner. Wear Yellow.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

NO KINGS is peak Scottsdale. Gotta love the power-corner location. Brunch. Protest. Spa. The American Dream: Luxury, irony and passion. And a great place to be seen expressing one's love for the United States.

The photo is a screen cap of the location and time for the No Kings protest on 10/18. Specifically it lists 9-11 AM at the PF Chang's Plaza in downtown Scottsdale. This is a power corner right next to the biggest mall sprawl in Scottsdale. It is political theatre with a side of posh as only Scottsdale can do it. This is peak Scottsdale, and I love it. Irony and passion.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Today, after so many instances of UTTER and COMPLETE failure at a task so simple that BILLIONs of people have succeeded at it, I must announce: (thread for details)

The image shows a covid test with the unmistakable double line of Positive....

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

DragonCon asks its guests to bring items for the charity auctions. This year I am bringing: 1) Mint condition trade paperback of Star Wars Union (signed) 2) Hand-made (by me) leather belt pouch in black and red.

In the image are shown a copy of the Star Wars Union comic trade paperback (mint condition, from my own collection) and a red and black, hand stitched leather belt pouch, with a brass wolf's-head conch as a fastener. These are to be auctioned off for charity at DragonCon

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

For anyone traveling to DragonCon, this is where you can find me. (Thanks to Bryan Young @swankmotron.com for putting this graphic together for me.)

This graphic lists the days and dates for Michael A. Stackpole's appearances at DragonCon

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

In Masters and Minions, @swankmotron and I managed to defeat a worthy quartet of opponents and get a Black Knight and Morgan Kell’s Archer off the board. The game lasted three hours and fun was had by all.

The Battle tech game board shows four giant robots yet standing, though two would not be for much longer. The Mechs all have fantastic paint jobs, which greatly enhanced the game.

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Michael A. Stackpole 🇺🇦 @michaelastackpole.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Show me a picture on your phone that has your energy but isn't a selfie.

The image is of an orange colored drink, with a slice of blood orange in it. Probably had rum. Lot of rum. If it had less rum I'd remember what it is.

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