Chapters M-W-F 9AM.
Volume 1 Blood and Steel: All Three Acts Complete!
Volume 2 Thunder and Webs: Act Two Ongoing!
Discord - Patreon - Spotify Playlist
Upgrade. Consume. Evolve. Whether it’s cybernetics or mutations, this world demands you be more than human.
Every century, the MALswarm invades — adaptive aliens of blood and steel led by Titans that decimate billions and leave behind raw Warp Energy. Humanity seizes this power, transforming into beings of mutated flesh and cybernetic might. Yet the promised utopia remains a lie, and New California’s underworld schemes to profit from the impending Fifth Swarm.
Amidst the chaos, two destinies collide. Ripley — a cybernetics savant battling to save his dying mother — operates in the shadows of a gang-owned nightclub. Diana, engineered for perfection, fights as an officer of the law to forget her past. When a monster is unleashed, they steal its infinite potential to warp their futures with their newfound powers.
In a city where salvation and damnation are inseparable, Ripley reinvents himself from the wreckage of his enemies' cybernetics as a mercenary who will one day become an architect of ruin. Diana's mutated blood crackles with lightning as she purges corruption, igniting into a storm of change. Against a grand conspiracy of aliens, rogue AIs, shady corporations, organized crime and centuries of forgotten history, their alliance — and conflict — determines if the world will plunge into darkness or embrace the light.
Wrong City? Wrong People? No. This is the right city, and they're the only ones who can save this dystopian future.
In the Clash of Blood and Steel, The Eclipse rises — echoing in Thunderous Omens and Webs of Lies.
What happens when you mix GodClads, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Akira and a dash of Blade Runner into the mix? This novel.
What to expect?
- Two MCs on opposite sides of the law. Crime vs Police. Mercenary vs Investigator.
- Superhero/Supervillain Themes. How far will they go to achieve their goals?
- Two distinct Power Systems. Cybernetics vs Mutations.
- Adaptation-based Progression. Every Powerset is a story of survival.
- A medium-burn story. Fast-action; slow-burn drama.
- Slice-of-crime. Criminal hijinx, cybernetic crafting, conspiracy investigations, and asskicking.
- Both MCs have separate romantic lives... for now.
- Weak to strong to legendary. Power. Fame. Money - they'll get it all.
- A long Sci-Fi Epic. Three Acts Per Volume. Ten Volumes.
- Eventual alien invasion and Kaiju fights.
Author's Note: This story can be pretty heavy at times. T/W's include: Gore, death, profanity, sexual themes (no descriptions), drugs. Honestly, my novel might be a list of war crimes one day. This story was highly influenced by some downer moments in my life as the characters learn that they can accept the darkness in them and embrace the light. As tragic as elements of this story might be, it is about overcoming tragedy. I hope you'll enjoy it.
WELCOME TO THE RETROFUTURE!
The Future That Never Was is a book series project featuring an alternate space age where the Soviets colonized the belt before David Bowie sang Life on Mars; where rogue AIs took over the web; where pizza came in cans. Humankind couldn’t dream of a more exciting future. Yet, as foolishness eventually turned Earth into a nuclear wasteland, shadows began to conspire from the heart of the Moon to beyond the mysterious Planet Nine…
This extended universe in progress includes numerous R-rated titles. All of them will be uploaded on Royal Road for free. Check the Index or the list/links below for the main stories.
🐈 KITTY KITTY - Completed - <READ>
Join sassy space cat Lee and his Desert Eagle-toting, soda-swigging human partner, Ali, in a future stuck in the late 80s/early 90s. Board the dynamic duo’s ship, the mythical Kitty, as they bounty-hunt their way through a dystopian solar system—so lock and load, and shout Cowabunga! because it’s crime-fightin’ time!
🪐 PACHINKO BLUES - <START READING>
Amid the chaos of the Rings Civil War, a disgraced pilot finds himself tangled in a vast vendetta involving a megacorporation, android mercenaries and data-cartels. From Saturn’s Plastic Fields to the fringes of Kuiper, his violent redemption is an 80s-esthetic space western filled with tears, blood and... ducks?
[Back in November 2023]
Other stories related to the first arc of The Future That Never Was:
• RADIO FREAK - Standalone biopunk short story featuring Ali Koviràn, the Data Maiden and Bill Murray
• STELLAR PATRIOTS - Short special with Braun Kamirov, linking KITTY KITTY and the book series
• DATA ONE & DATA ZERO - 2024
• CYBER MACHO - 2025
To support our work or simply read in better condition, visit our amazon shop and patreon!
Avo was born to destroy New Vultun. In a twist of fate, he’ll become its only hope for salvation.
The gods were the enemy. The slaver. The chains. With dreams of paradise, humanity slaughtered them and stole their powers, opening the path to become more – to ascend.
Instead, they nearly destroyed the world.
Vast hive cities serve as the final bastions against the crumbling of reality. New Vultun is the greatest of them all, and within its borders, ascenders wage war to determine the laws of existence itself.
The world descends ever deeper into ruination.
Avo was born a weapon, a slave to his instincts and his masters. He and his brothers were made to burn New Vultun to ashes. Everything changes when Avo gains immortality and becomes heir to an impossible legacy.
He must ascend the megacity of New Vultun. He must challenge the very tyrants that usurped the gods.
He must finally free the world from chains.
Join the Discord and subscribe to the patreon here.
Chapters are usually around 2.5 to 3k words.
Disclaimer: Expect detailed descriptions of violence, cannibalism, and cursing.
Expect: Monster mc, magitech, cyberpunk, implants, atrocities, oppression, non-human protagonist, reality-warping powers, and combined arms warfare.
Do not expect: Smut, romance
If you develop a sudden outbreak of rash after reading Godclads, it's not the story. But go see a doctor. Just in case.
Tinea...had an ugly childhood full of pain and abuse. It taught her how to fight and survive, how to run and hide and cut ties. It didn't teach her much else.
So she'd ran.
Crossed an ocean, grown up, and discovered the world. She'd made her life her own. Soul-deep pain notwithstanding, she'd fought to be happy.
Until the rabid aliens invaded her neighborhood.
Smoking rifle in hand and still coming up short, she'd made a life-ending choice...and was rewarded beyond her wildest dreams. Or, perhaps exactly to her wildest dreams; dreams of a chrysalis, come to life through DNA-changing Vanguard science.
Reborn, a whole new journey awaits the warrior looking for connection, for togetherness.
It just so happens, an opportunity lies not far.
What to expect:
Plot is discovered, not designed. Consequences shape events, rather than scenes being designed to push plot. Characters, relationships, and setting are particularly strong, plot can get WILD in amazing, unexpected ways.
- A serious approach to transforming male to female, using sci-fi DNA morphing. Tinea starts out as Aden, but quickly gains his wishes.
- Maturity from both leads
- WLW/GL/Sapphic: from the soft and cuddly, to the (clearly marked) explicit
- Gratuitous violence against unthinking aliens
- Get points, buy gear
- Cybernetic upgrades
- Organic augmentations
- Occasional slowburn sections
- Many, many chapters
This work is set in the universe of RavensDagger's Stray Cat Strut, but it ISN'T necessary to read that first. Further, Tinea and Leah has been recognized officially as canon by master Raven himself. Cheers!
I develop my own plot and characters. Thank you for reading. :)
The cover art was drawn for me by Jero, who can be found on my Discord server - links in each chapter.
Royalroad staff has designated this story as Original so that I may post my Ko-Fi link in the chapters. TnL is still a fanfiction-slash-extended-universe-slash-canon-thing for Stray Cat Strut, regardless of the "Original" tag. :)
image host expired >read comic on wayback machine for now
Thousands of years ago, HUMANKIND was destroyed ...
… but the xenos still worship them as GODS.
Now, xenos build cities among the majestic ruins scattered across the worlds. Though these alien people are surrounded by ancient wonders and relics, few understand their true powers. One Empire has learned to harness the remains of humanity's forgotten technology to reconnect the distant worlds ... and dominate them.
Eolh is a jaded, avian thief who was raised in the dark underbelly of Gaiam, a city full of winged xenos and soaring temples. When the Empire first stormed through the Gate, Eolh and his friends fought and bled to defend their home.
But the resistance died a long time ago.
No one dreams of fighting back, because only the Empire knows how to wield Humanity's forgotten weapons: warships that fly, robotic constructs that hunt, and rare mysteries scavenged from the tombs of the gods.
Instead, Eolh lives a half-life: thieving, running jobs, and selling his services as a freelance listener for the last gangs of Lowtown. He trusts no one, and only looks out for himself.
But when an unusual heist takes a deadly turn, Eolh must bargain with an overzealous android who carries an impossible secret—one that will shake the foundations of the universe.
There is one last hope for salvation.
Read if you love:
- Extremely powerful human MCs
- Space Opera inspired by the prophecies of Dune
- Aliens and machines found in Star Wars
- The long-forgotten ruins from The Elder Scrolls
2 Books Now Published!
Get The Last Human, Book 1 of the Human Gods here.
Get The Lord of Change, Book 2 of the Human Gods here.
... or keep reading right here on RR :)
No stubs!!!
I'm now posting the 4th and final book as of Sept 2025, so you can read the whole thing right here.