Moe Lane's Blog, page 644
December 6, 2021
I need to track down my poetry.
My mom wants copies of all of it, and damned if I remember where I put some of it. Does anybody remember if I did Halloween poems for 2020 and 2019? My tags are… not as good as they could be.
Moe Lane
PS: Is there any interest in a poetry chapbooHAHAHAHA what a silly question, Moe. What a silly question. I’m gonna need people to buy a lot of books to be able to fund that…
#commissionearned
12/06/21 Snippet, THE STARS ARE WRONG.
Shore leave!
Patreon!It started in the port district. One galley of Voyagers had pulled into the harbor to discover another galley of Voyagers, only from a different realm or tribe or whatever it is they use to tell each other apart. That was a recipe for trouble; but we Guardians knew that, and so did the captains of the two galleys. Seacity should have been big enough for the two ship’s crews to stay away, particularly since no Voyager likes to stray far from its ship.
But there had been a meeting in a bar close to both galleys, and then there had been a fight. The Guardians had gone in, doing our best to find stubborn heads to beat some sense into, and that should have been enough. But word soon came out that Voyagers from each galley had been found dead in alleys, slain by the weapons those people use.
And once that happened, our goal became keeping the city from being burned down. The Voyagers go wild when they are killed, and doubly so when they are killing each other. There were two nights of rioting, with fifty Voyagers slain, and three times that many deaths among the bilge-tramps and guttersnipes, with fires and looting to match. And it only ended because the Voyagers suddenly decided to end the fighting, which is of course how the Voyagers are. Both galleys sailed out that night, and I hope they both sank in strange seas.
12/06/21 Snippet, TINSEL RAIN.
Shamelessness!
Patreon!“This,” Pedro said, “is what the old Americans called a 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan. It’s got its original motor, over four hundred cubic inches in size. It has restored tires, reproduced suspensions, rejuvenated shocks. The engine has been converted, so it’ll run fine on vegetable oil.”
“Nice,” I said. “Does it have anything wrong with it?”
Pedro shrugged. “The cigarette lighter does not work.”
Look, I didn’t say I wanted Pedro’s gate keys. If I was going to get downtown in time, I needed something with more speed than a running man. And that meant… the car in the King’s stable he’d be least likely to mourn. Pedro had walked me past the Jaguar without losing a step, but this one he’d let me sign out, since the Hermosa did give me that note.
The “Oh [BLEEP] Me I Am THERE” SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (PART ONE) trailer.
These kids are adorkable.
Miles Morales’ story and the #SpiderVerse web expands. Take a first look at Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One). Exclusively in movie theaters October 2022. pic.twitter.com/EvnFkTruBg
— Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Part One) (@SpiderVerse) December 5, 2021
12/06/21 Snippet, THE DOOM THAT CAME TO LUNA CITY.
Lifeboats!
Patreon!Is this how your military usually operates? Asenath whispered in his ear. It seems remarkably informal, considering the contents of your service manuals.
That almost jerked Tobias’s eyes back open. Don’t tell me you felt you had to read those!
It seemed an appropriate way to try to understand how the base currently operates. Asenath gave him one of her deliberate pauses. I take it this was a waste of time?
Pretty much, Asenath. It’s hard to sub-vocalize resignation and regret, but Tobias tried. We’re not an organized military force anymore. We’re a bunch of survivors with a common background who are trying to escape certain death. My ‘troops’ still follow me because I have a plan, and I know what I’m doing. He almost chuckled. That, and everybody who couldn’t work well with others has died already.
December 5, 2021
Want to help out the content creators in your life?
Welp, those of us who are Amazon associates (hi!) always appreciate it when you use one of our links to go buy stuff. It helps. It really does — and since I use that revenue to pay for publishing services, it helps you, too.
Also: you know what makes for a great Christmas gift? My books! (I almost wrote ‘me,’ but I didn’t want to make it weird.)
12/05/21 Snippet, THE DOOM THAT CAME TO LUNA CITY.
So this is maybe not a cheerful story.
Patreon!“There a problem, sir?” Joe-Bob. “We’re stopping.”
“No, we’re not, Sgt,” Tobias said without batting an eye as the bus came to a complete stop. “We’re not stopping at all.”
The two soldiers and the civilian contractor got it right away, but Dr. Peters looked around in confusion. “No, Commander, I’m sure the bus is no longer moving.”
Tobias shook his head. “No, ma’am. We haven’t stopped,” he repeated. “And if anybody ever asks, that’s what you’ll tell them. We just drove straight on through.”
Jillian thought about it, opened her mouth, and thought some more. “Who’s left to be doing the asking?” she finally said.
12/05/21 Snippet, TINSEL RAIN.
Banter!
Patreon!Except that the famous Shamus luck laughed and went with option three: having the rope snap just as I was trying to get both feet on the balcony ledge. Which meant no feet on the balcony ledge, and I came close to instead trying to grab it with my face. Somehow I managed to kind of flop myself until the ledge was under both my armpits, and then I was fine. Except that it hurt, dammit. And I couldn’t move forward, because I had Dory on my back now. I figured she was basically okay, though. After all, I had broken her fall.
“Ow,” I noted.
“You all right, Tom?” Her voice did sound a little ragged. And muffled. Which made sense.
“Moonbeams and charm.”
“What’s that, Tom?”
“Never mind. Can you get on the balcony?”
“No.”
“Can you try to get on the balcony, Dory?”
“Again, no.”
“Why not, Dory?” I asked, trying my best to be cheerful about it.
“Because I hope I twisted my ankle, Tom.”
“You hope… right. Because otherwise you’ve busted it.”
“Yes. It hurts like hell, by the way.”
“Taking that into account, Dory. But they’re gonna be through that door any minute now, and this is starting to hurt, so you’re gonna need to grit it out soon…”
“I’m aware, Shamus.”
“Just keeping you informed of what’s going on in my life, Dory. I know you like that.”
“Yes, thank you, Tom…”
“Pardon me, senores?” came a voice from below. “Are you in need of help?”
12/05/21 Snippet, THE STARS ARE WRONG.
I wonder if this guy will be important?
Patreon!The apprentice looked both ways. “My master was at first ashamed. And, now that the shame has festered, he seeks revenge. The Kee that humiliated him, his name is known. They call him Jefsin-Fankin. You know the name?”
Jak and I exchanged glances, for we did. The scum that floated at the top of the Razor District was like the tides; eternal, but ever-changing. But Fankin’s name had been bandied about there for over a year now. He was known to the Guardians, but never for anything worth risking a fight over. But if he was shaking down and stealing from folk not his kind… “The name is known to us,” I said. “But he is the business of Guardians, not honest traders.”
“I know that,’ the apprentice said. “My master does not. He is wild to take us, and whoever is willing to go, and go lynch Jefsin-Fankin on the nearest gallows. ‘Just like the old days,’ he said last night, while in his cups. ‘We taught the Kee how to mind us then, we did.’”
