Sniper Serpent is paid to title things

writer and tabletop game designery. They/them, 27

[sniperserpent]

Games I’ve designed

It has come to my attention that I should promote my game design work more here.  I have two game stores- sniperserpent.itch.io, where i post most of my work, and meleeserpent.itch.io, where i post nsfw games- generally kinky horror games.

Sniperserpent games:

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/anomaly

Anomaly is my biggest and most successful game. It’s a game about a sinister agency investigating the supernatural, in the style of SCP, Control, warehouse 13. There’s also Anomaly Containment Breach and Anomaly Investigation clubs, two hacks of it.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/centuries-outside-history

Centuries Outside History is a game about life on a colony ship moving between two planets that will take generations to arrive. It’s a melancholy game about the failures of neoliberalism played via discord bot. I’m very proud of it and basically nobody has played it! get on it, people

Outpost Alpha

A game about a space station on the borders between galactic powers over multiple years. Inspired by babylon 5 and DS9

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/schism-a-history

Schism is a game about building the history of a fictional religion solely through schisms and splinter groups that have appeared throughout its history.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/roll-to-death

Roll to death is a game where you play people who are all going to die a la final destination. Build up their relationships to make it hit harder as they all eventually drop.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/the-kingdom-must-divide

The Kingdom must divide is a game about a kingdom who’s monarch has died and now a buncha motherfuckers are vying for the throne.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/misery-loves-company

Misery loves company is a game of social combat where a bunch of people are using eachother and the people around them to accomplish schemes and destroy eachother.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/ego-deathlife

Ego Death//life is a game about someone who has experienced the death of their personality rebuilding themselves afterwards. 2 players, one plays the person before ego death one after.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/best-served-red

Best Served Red is a gruesome revenge fantasy game. Someone has been wronged and they are going to destroy the people who wronged them. Messily.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/death-rolls-at-midnight

Death rolls at midnight is a game about serial murder stories, based on roll to death.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/cold-comfort

Cold comfort is a game in which the whole table plays a single assassin beginning to question if their killings are justified.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/studio-isekai

Studio Isekai is a game about a cyberpunk dystopia sending people into a fantasy world to go on big adventures and kill people for entertainment.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/hunter-hunted

Hunter hunted is a game about a killer and someone hunting them and their close relationship. Think Hannibal or Killing Eve.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/rule-of-two

Rule of two is a game where you play some Sith building schemes and betraying eachother.

https://sniperserpent.itch.io/cheat

Cheat is a game where you play a buncha criminals after the same prize doing hijinx on eachother to compete for it

Meleeserpent games (18+)

https://meleeserpent.itch.io/lady-in-waiting

Lady in waiting is a game about a maid serving a noble lady who she discovers to be a serial killer. Romance and murder ensue.

https://meleeserpent.itch.io/the-meat-craves-the-butcher

The Meat Craves the butcher is a game about killing and eating your romantic partner.

https://meleeserpent.itch.io/a-piece-of-your-mind

A piece of your mind is a game about an unhealthy romantic relationship between a robot and a human who can reprogram their mind and personality at will.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: mata mata

Buckle up, buccaneers, because it's turtle time. We travel to the swamps and streams of the Amazon in search of this raggedy reptile. The mata mata is truly the world's skrunkliest turt and it has carved out an interesting niche in the world.

(Image: a mata mata out of water. It is a turtle with a light brown shell that has spiked ridges running down it. The feet have webbed toes and claws. The neck and head are disproportionately large and have a ragged appearance. The head is flat and triangular, with small eyes and nostrils on a tubular nose. End ID)

Mata mata refers to two closely related species of freshwater turtle: the Amazonian mata mata (Chelus fimbriata) and Orinoco mata mata (Chelus orinocensis).Prior to 2020,these were classified as the same species and both have a very similar anatomy and lifestyle. Mata matas are large turtles, with a carapace length up to 45 cm (18 in) and weight of 17.2 kg (38 lbs). Their shells have many spines and ridges while the body, especially the large neck and head, has many skin flaps, tubercles, and ridges. The body and shell are primarily brown to black. This has the effect of making the turtle look like decaying bark and leaves, an effective form of camouflage. The nose is very long, with nostrils at the tip, which, when combined with the long neck, allows the turtle to reach the water's surface to breathe while staying on the bottom. The chin has some short sensory barbels growing from it.

(Image: a mata mata in an aquarium. It is sitting on some rocks with its neck outstretched to reach the surface. End ID)

Mata matas are native to the Amazonian and Orinoco river basins, where they prefer slow-moving waters with low visibility, such as streams, backwaters, and swamps. They are primarily carnivorous, but have been known to eat plants, possibly to supplement their diets or by accident. They are sit and wait predators whose hunting strategy is to sit very still among vegetation. Their camouflage allows them to remain unnoticed by prey. When prey draws close, the turtle opens its mouth. This creates a vacuum, drawing water and prey into the mouth. The turtle then closes its mouth, forcing the water out, and swallows the prey whole. Unlike snapping turtles, who have a similar sit and wait hunting style, the mata mata has weak jaws with fleshy lips rather than beaks and thus cannot bite prey into chunks. It therefore has to feed on animals small enough to swallow whole. Their diet consists of small fish, frogs, and invertebrates. Because they inhabit waters with very low visibility, mata matas have very poor eyesight and rely on other senses to tell when prey is near. Mata matas have also been known to herd groups of fish into shallow water before eating. Unlike many other aquatic turtles, mata matas rarely come ashore to bask in the sunlight. They are also very poor swimmers and mostly crawl along the bottom of their habitats.

(Image: a mata mata facing the camera with its mouth open. The mouth is very wide and takes up most of the head. End ID)

Mata matas display sexual dimorphism. Females are generally larger, though not by that much. Males have longer, thicker tails than females as well as a concave plastron (lover shell) as opposed to the female's flat plastron. Mating occurs late in the year, around October. Males will seek out females and engage in a courtship dance that involves playing out the limbs, wiggling the skin flaps, and extending the heat toward the female while opening and closing his mouth. During mating, the male mounts the female. His concave plastron helps him stay on her shell without falling off. The female will emerge from the water to lay her eggs. She will bury them either in sand or decaying vegetation to keep them warm. She then leaves and neither parent provides parental care. The gestation period varies depending on temperature, up to 200 days at low enough temperatures. In other turtle species, the temperature of the eggs determines the sex of the hatchling. I could not find any references describing how or if this is the same in mata matas. Hatchlings have to scramble their way into the water. Juvenile mata matas have pink plastrons that darken to brown as they age. The maximum age of mata matas in the wild is unknown. In captivity, they usually live for 15 years, but sometimes up to 30.

(Image: a juvenile mata mata held in hand. It is held so the underside is facing the camera, displaying the pink color of the plastron. It is smaller than a cell phone. End ID)

Both species of mata mata are classified at least concern by the IUCN, meaning they are not in danger of extinction. Their primarly threat comes from habitat loss as more and more parts of their rivers are taken over fro land development. Mata matas are also edible and sometimes caught for food. Their unusual appearances have made them somewhat popular in the pet trade and wild mata mata are often caught for this purpose.

(Image: an extreme close-up of a mata mata's face. The shape of its mouth makes it look like it has a smug smile. End ID)

[everyday-cutephoto]

[whatcoloristhatcat]

black mackerel tabby with high white spotting

[louceph]

smirking bastard with grievous grin

[maidthings]

every time i say velociraptor is very important to imagine a turkey-sized predatory bird and not the weird lizard thing from jurassic park

[maidthings]

you have to love her. you have to

[ram1dus]

dinahbabsburger

[pinniposting]

can i stare at u like this

via

[egress-ahead]

give him a smooch

[herpsandbirds]

Western Blind Snake aka Western Threadsnake (Rena humilis), family Leptotyphlopidae, found in the SW United States and western Mexico

photos: Oonagh Degenhardt, Yinan Li, Toby, & Tbargholz

[herpsandbirds]

Because someone asked for the least skinky skink, may I please see the skinkiest skink that ever skinked in the history of skinks?

OH NO NO NO, YOU GET A DELUGE OF SKINKINESS!!!

Peter’s Banded Skink (Scincopus fasciatus), family Scincidae, Morocco

photograph via: Amphibians & Reptiles of Morocco

Müller’s Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus muelleri), family Scincidae, found in Indonesia

photographs by Roots, Scoots, & Scales

Mainland She Oak Skink (Cyclodomorphus michaeli), mother with pups, family Scincidae, eastern Australia

photograph by Ken Griffiths

Northern Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia), defensive display, family Scincidae, Cape York, QLD, Australia

photographs by Brother-Nature

Fire Skink (Mochlus fernandi), family Scincidae, found in West Africa

* Also known by the scientific name Riopa fernandi.

Photograph by Miniformat65

Yellow-belly Three-toed Skink (Saiphos equalis), family Scincidae, found in eastern Australia

The only species in this genus.

Coastal populations reproduce by laying eggs (oviparity), and mountain populations reproduce through live birth (viviparity).

photograph by Rebecca Pyles

Three Toed Earless Skink (Hemiergis decresiensis), family Scincidae, found in SE Australia

Viviparous (live bearing).

photograph by Rob Valentic

African Red-sided Skink (Trachylepis perrotetii), family Scincidae, found in central Africa

photograph by Dick Bartlett

Rainbow Skink (Mabuya margaritifera), family Scincidae, Langano, Ethiopia

Photograph by Volker Sthamer

McCoy’s Elf Skink aka Highlands Forest Skink (Anepischetosia maccoyi), family Scincidae, Australia

photograph by @skinkmania__

Great Desert Skink aka Kintore’s Skink (Liopholis kintorei), family Scincidae, Kata Tjuta Nat Park, NT, Australia

These lizards live cooperatively in underground burrow systems, with siblings and offspring, as well as with unrelated individuals and pairs.

photograph by Gary Stephenson

Prairie Skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis), male, family Scincidae, Kansas, USA

photograph by Katelyn Kuhens

[gammelgaedda]

[thespookywoods]

turning my mage oc over and over in my head like the characterrrrrrrr

i love. tiffany.

[thespookywoods]

tiffany (blonde) and her two girlfriends mary (short hair) and maxine (long hair). she loves them both so much. she's the most Normal Girl in the World. tiffany and mary said i love you to each other 3 days after sleeping together (before even properly discussing if they were dating) and maxine and tiffany were dating for 2 weeks before anyone told tiffany.

(used this picrew btw)

[thespookywoods]

tiffany's like if you discovered the annoying girl from your psych 101 class was able to literally micromanage the emotions of people around her. and then you learn she's somehow dating a) the hot female villian from a hong kong action film and b) molly millions from neuromancer

and this isn't even getting into her best friend who eats people

[thespookywoods]

There's a normal amount of characters & character relationships in the 1 on 1 mage game a friend is running for me

[ruinedchildhood]

[atlinmerrick]

I just laughed for one year watching this. The casual walk-off is just deadly.

[basicbutch]

i just love him so much

[dndmultiverse]

Tons of respect towards TTRPG designers that openly acknowledge their game won't appeal to every person

[byjove]

Me: *Removes my cat from my lap to do something else.*

My cat: Father is...evil? Father is unyielding? Father is incapable of love? I am running away. I am packing my little rucksack and going out to explore the world as a lone vagabond. I can no longer thrive in this household.

[cryoverkiltmilk]

The spiritual successor to Miette

[manicgoblinnightmarewoman]

Might I also add

[shydestinybread]

May i add the piece from artist Verbal Vomit

[unyanizedcatboys]

Glad to see we’re all in agreement that cats talk like disparaged victorian children

[explorerrowan]

I am so incredibly glad we finally moved on from "i can has". Cats are clearly smart enough for advanced sentence structure and dumb enough to draw entirely incorrect conclusions about what they're talking about.

[dualclock]

My cat, banging the cabnet door over and over and over: bang bang bang

Me: you will not earn what you desire by banging the cabinet door.

My cat: This is a test of wills, is it not? We shall see if your ability to put up with my incessant banging outlasts my eternal lust for snackie treats. Years of conditioning have hardened me for this purpose. bang bang bang

Me: ksst!

My cat, throwing herself to the ground like she's been shot: Oh! Oh I have been assailed in my own home! Have mercy, have pity! Surely in the cruel darkness of your heart there is some mote of goodness that might stay your hand! Do not strike me, I pray you!

Me: ok

My cat, after waiting about 3 minutes: bang bang bang

[notcaycepollard]

[callmebliss]

Can haz snackytreat

[ladyshinga]

(source)

[dogsrulepeopledrool]

Source

[cryoverkiltmilk]

#the ancient texts

... My reblog was only six years ago!

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Eisenfaust by Safe_Flamingo_9215

[sergal]

everyone shut da fuck up this is the only thing that matters

[sergal]

Oh My God Damn

[every-day-creechur]

Painted Tree Rat Callistomys pictus

A rodent from the state of Bahia, Brazil. The painted tree-rat is found in the Atlantic forest. It also occurs in cocoa plantations where some native trees remain. As far as known, it is nocturnal.

Endangered

image by Oberdan Nunes