Moe Lane's Blog, page 475

10/25/2022 Revisions, GHOSTS ON AN ALIEN WIND: 74000/80000

Interestingly, that’s 74K words on the nose. It was 73,998 when I finished the section, so I added two more words where they’d do the most good. Just for the look of it, I guess.

Patreon!

I’d say that the three cultists looked just anybody else when we burst through the door, except that it’d be a lie and we all know it. Sure, the two women and one man weren’t physically deformed, but there’s more than one kind of ugliness. The three of them had all relaxed in what they thought was quiet isolation, which meant that their true smiles and expressions had come out.

Their names were — well, we all had a therapy session after this (except for Oft, of course), so some of the details are a little hazy. I remember that they were new hires, no more than three months in-system, and that two of them were female and one was male. Call them Jane, Rose, and Lu. All young, too, but that’s cultists for you. It’s not a life path that has lots of lifespan attached to it.

When you arrest somebody, even out here in the Tomb Worlds, there’s supposed to be a system to it. You say who you are and why you’re doing the arrest, confirm that there’s a safe place for the arrestee to go to, and just try to avoid, you know, panic and rash moves. If things go right, the arrestee will end up securing themselves, which cuts down the risk for everybody. Nobody wants to die because somebody else decided on the spot that they were space-happy, right?

Things did not go right.

The GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL trailer.

I’m aware that the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL is pandering to me in multiple ways. Which is as it should be. I deserve to be pandered to. What, you don’t think the same of yourself? I’m sorry to hear that, if that’s the case.

(H/T: GeeksAreSexy)

The RINGS OF POWER Honest Trailer.

There are significant spoilers in this fairly brutal Honest Trailer, which is why I’m linking, not embedding. On the other hand, none of you will care because you’ve either already finished RINGS OF POWER, or else (and more likely) you’d rather eat nothing but cram for a month before watching the show. On the gripping hand? I am weirdly more interested in finishing the series now. At least the scenery’s pretty.

Tweet of the Day, YES! …And NOOOOOOOOO! edition.

Some of you might reverse the reactions.

McDonald's announced McRib is back on the menu for a limited time and it may be the last time https://t.co/Rs5K7KY5Bn pic.twitter.com/N33OVHJXSA

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) October 25, 2022

Via @Jeff_Weimer.

‘Feed Me Seymour.’

Feed Me Seymour, Little Shop of Horrors

#commissionearned

Had to deal with stuff tonight.

No writing got done. Everything’s dealt with and resolved, but I don’t wanna talk about it. I should get some sleep.

The first ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA trailer.

I keep wanting to write ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA with two Ms. Not that either is actually a word in English. Just a quirk of my brain, I guess.

Not gonna lie: I hope this movie is sillier than it looks. I liked how non-apocalyptic the stakes of the first two movies were. I’m in favor of continuing the trend.

My mini-review of Black Adam.

Short version: Sonny Bunch was correct when he described this movie as, ‘What if Superman killed people, but it’s okay because they were all bad?’ It’s not what I’d call deep, but it was fun.

Slightly longer version: …pretty much that, really. Dwayne Johnson is sometimes a bit much for me, but he does a nice job here. Like I said, the flick wasn’t deep, so you can put whatever message you like in there, as long as it’s not too convoluted. ‘Colonialism sucks’ works, as does ‘The UN is just completely f*cking useless, isn’t it?’ or ‘Some people have already run out of last chances before you even meet them.’ And then there’s the classic life hack BLACK ADAM provides: ‘You can’t dodge falling damage.’ Black Adam is really fond of that one. But, again: they were all bad.

I had a good time, but I love popcorn flicks.

Moe Lane

PS: The rumors are true: there was an end-credit scene. And it was even better than I expected.

#commissionearned

Gonna go see BLACK ADAM this afternoon.

Everybody’s feeling better and I could frankly use a couple hours off. BLACK ADAM promises to be – well, not mindless entertainment. But I’m not going in expecting any Deep Thoughts*.

Moe Lane

*Although one of the things that strikes me now about SHAZAM! was how there was a surprising amount of dark, down there in the subtext. The worldview is surprisingly stark, not to mention Manichean. It ain’t easy to be good, and there’s virtually no mercy shown to those who fall too under the sway of evil. …I guess it really is a kid’s movie, then. Children aren’t exactly what you’d call nuanced about this stuff.

#commissionearned

The ‘This Actually Looks Good’ 1899 trailer.

I kind of like late-Victorian Mad Science Electrico-Arcane Horror. Then again, who doesn’t?

Via Facebook.