Moe Lane's Blog, page 550
May 23, 2022
Guttersnipe [250 pt] [GURPS]
Trying to write an unpleasant NPC, for once. Note the lack of Bloodlust, Bully, Callous, Sadism, or Greed, though. I was trying for ‘unpleasantly dangerous,’ not ‘shoot on sight.’
Guttersnipe-Google-DocsDownload
NOW IS THE TIME TO DO YOUR TINSEL RAIN SURVEYS.
I’ve gotten the edits back from the Editor, I’ve been preparing the digital downloads, and if you qualified for Special Thanks and haven’t finished your survey question I went ahead and made my best guess. As soon as I hear back from the editor I’m punching buttons, so You Have Been Warned.
And yes, that means that the print copies of the books will soon be available. Get your pre-orders in now.
May 22, 2022
TINSEL RAIN Edit Update: up to Chapter 17.
We’re more than halfway through the second edit pass of TINSEL RAIN, and I… may not have it ready in time for Balticon. Alas. We’re way ahead of schedule anyway, which is the important thing. Better it be good than too fast.
In other news, TALES FROM THE FERMI RESOLUTION is still on super-Kindle sale! Tell your friends. Heck, tell your acquaintances on the bus.
#commissionearned
05/22/22 Snippet, SCENES FROM THE ZOO.
Deathworlder species!
Patreon!The air tasted different, away from the Observation Area. Here on the other side of the planet, there was almost no sign of human presence at all. Or, really, any sapient presence, either.
This part of the planet was mostly grassland, which surprised him. George had been under the impression that the planet had only recently gotten past the primordial soup level. “What happened?” he asked the tech.
“Bio-breach,” the tech replied. Her name was Rhonda, and her shrug was perfectly human. “Something dropped a bag of grass seed, it scattered in the wind, and here we are. You know how Terran life is.”
“Yeah. Insidious.” George looked around. “Still, a planet’s big place.”
Rhonda laughed. “Yeah, and terraforming’s a big operation. Whoever programmed the ‘bots gave ‘em a lot of leeway for getting the operation in on time. You know how it is: ‘On time, effective, cheap…”
“…‘Pick any two.’ Sure. So they cut corners?”
“From what I saw from the notes, they didn’t care about corners at all.”
Patreon Microfiction: “Just Don’t Look Over The Edge.”
If you’re curious: the gloubari are not particularly more or less advanced than humanity is, technology-wise, so this wasn’t an imposed colony. They instead acquired the Saturn colony in a complicated land estate deal that ended with humanity picking up three rather nice terrestrial-type planets in gloubari systems in exchange. This means that both sides in “Just Don’t Look Over The Edge” are firmly convinced that they’ve robbed each other blind, which is always good for interstellar amity.
Patreon!Tweet of the Day, You’ll Laugh In Pure Horror edition.
Although my wife doesn’t know if this is any worse than just picking up the cat by the scruff of the neck. And she’s the one who knows cats. I just like having ’em around.
— Ibuprofen Hippo(@JimJamitis) May 22, 2022
May 21, 2022
05/21/22 Snippet, SCENES FROM THE ZOO.
Going Home!
Patreon!They both went to Juan’s End of Tour party on Saturday. It was all right: most people didn’t know they were together, and if Juan found out, what did he care? He was going Home.
“Five years!” George said to him. “Did they go by fast? I’ve still got two to go, myself.”
“Pretty fast,” Juan admitted. “The work’s fun, but I’m ready to go.” He looked down at his plump body. “I can’t wait to look like me again, too.”
“Were you thinner?” Emily asked as she sipped her drink. Late Middle First Republic Americans put umbrellas in some of them, for no rational reason observers could decipher. “I think I was fatter, actually. If that even means anything, when it comes to two different species.”
“…Yes. Yes, I was definitely thinner.” Juan grinned. “And I won’t have to shave anymore! I hate shaving. And hair.”
“I’ve found that mine has grown on me,” George said deadpan, and was gratified that the other two laughed. Making a joke like that in another language was hard.
Tweet of the Day, That Episode Was Genuinely Lovecraftian edition.
And definitely Delta Green-ish, too. If you still have Netflix, it’s fifteen minutes’ worth of icepick-style cosmic horror. Worth a watch.
The “In Vaulted Halls Entombed” is the latest season of Love Death & Robots is great. A Delta Green Cthulhu type story with a team of American marines. Creepy and cool#LoveDeathRobots #netflix #deltagreen #callofcthulhu @lovedeathrobots @JoeManganiello pic.twitter.com/8qWpuI9Kt2
— Phil Edwards (@Live_for_Films) May 20, 2022
