Moe Lane's Blog, page 752
April 26, 2021
Tweet of the Day, Just Got In Under The Wire edition.
HOW?
HOW?! HOWWWWWWWW!????!!!!!
— Ogiel (Moe Lane) (@Ogiel23) April 27, 2021
The APE VS. MONSTER Asylum Ripoff trailer.
Erm. It doesn’t look… entirely… awful? I mean, it’s not good. But APE VS. MONSTER has more of a 1950s Creature Feature vibe to it than the usual stuff Asylum does.
The first trailer for 'Ape vs. Monster' has officially been released. pic.twitter.com/aiMiVWDr9D
— Kaiju News Outlet (@KaijuNewsOutlet) April 26, 2021
Well, MORGAN BAROD proceeds apace.
Got about half of the beta readers back in full and the other half are sending me stuff, so that’s on track. I also have the editor confirmed, and contracted out for the map (I absolutely needed to have a map for this book). The cover’s being worked on already, as you all know. I expect MORGAN BAROD will go to the editor at some time in May. I expect I’m going to try to work on TINSEL RAIN also in May, and until it’s time for me to do edits for MORGAN BAROD. If I have any time left over after that, I’m going to get a jump on the new novel.
Oh, and I’m planning a side project involving “Pickman’s Model.” Keep watching the skies…
Patreon!In the Mail: Stand Still, Stay Silent Book 3.
Gorgeous, as always.
For those who don’t know: Stand Still, Stay Silent is a Finnish post-apocalyptic webcomic which is just flat-out excellent. I get these compilations in hardcover, as soon as they come out. And, obviously, the third one just did.
04/26/21 Snippet, PICKMAN’S MODEL.
Oddly, this is not a horror story.
Patreon!“Merely? Ah.” Alice nodded. “You do not think Wilcox’s strategy to be a true answer to the problem. Do you worry that you will merely create ‘new’ old devils?”
“Exactly!” There was not enough room in the crowded subway car to pace, so Richard contented himself with a smile that featured in many of his fellow-passengers’ nightmares that evening. “It would be trivial to turn our surroundings into a horror, would it not? Creatures, suddenly come from the dark to surround and seize this prosaic cab, their features shrouded by muck and worse things. Picture the men, futilely trying to stand sentinel, only to shrink back at the hellish laughter of those outside; or perhaps the engineer, striving to still push the train through the sudden crowd of abominations on the tracks ahead and behind, until he was pulled through his own window. The remaining passengers would huddle as the first victim’s shrieks were overborne by the terrible sounds of rending and ravening, and then watch with dull terror in the flickering light, as the doors between them and mad agony were slowly… pried… open.”
April 25, 2021
Snippet, PICKMAN’S MODEL.
I am in the process of doing something with this.
Patreon!He took her advice, although owning a revolver felt absurd. What was he, a Wild West cowboy? Practicing firing it was equally absurd, although a part of him thrilled at the cacophony and caustic fumes that accompanied the use of the infernal device. He contemplated painting a scene highlighting the connection between the sulfur of gunpowder and that of Hell, but swiftly decided against it.
“Mere devils are boring,” he told Abigail as they sat in the rattling subway car. Richard had been struck with the impulse to actually travel in one of the provincial things, and she had readily agreed to indulge him. Indeed, from her smile she found the experience highly congenial. “Hell is overdone…”
“I would imagine so,” murmured Abigail, and Richard winced. If she had a flaw, it was her weakness for puns.
He went on. “Yes, thank you, Abigail. But my point is, everything that could be said with those motifs has been said. Endlessly. Draw the Devil today, even in all the desperate glory given to him by generations of terrified peasants (and their priests, too!), and the audience would yawn. Even the ones truly terrified by the idea of the Devil would yawn.” He looked through the window. “It is a pity; the conceit was good.”
“Then paint it anyway,” said Abigail. “Why not? After all: do you paint for yourself, or others?”
Richard gave a rueful shake of his head. “Alas, while I paint for myself, I exhibit to get paid. Starving in a garret is for the people who secretly enjoy the experience.”
In Nomine Revisited: Mastema, Habbalite Duke of Envy
Found this while looking for something else. Okay, while ego-googling. But it was pretty good and got a good reaction, so I guess the ego-googling… worked?
Mastema-Google-DocsDownloadMastema
Habbalite Duke of Envy
Corporeal Forces: 6 Strength: 12 Agility: 12
Ethereal Forces: 6 Intelligence: 12 Precision: 12
Celestial Forces: 6 Will: 12 Perception: 12
Vessel/6 (male), Charisma +3
Role (Someone Better Than You/6, Status/6)
Word-Forces: 20
Skills: Detect Lies/3, Dodge/6, Emote/3, Fighting/6, Knowledge (Human Psychology/6, Kronos’ Hierarchy/6, The Archives/6), Large Weapon/6 (sword), Lying/3, Move Silently/3, Small Weapon/6 (knife)
Songs: Entropy (All/6, virtuoso), Healing (All/4), Motion (All/3), Shields (All/6, virtuoso), Tongues (All/4), all of Kronos’ secret songs at /3
Attunements: All of Fate’s unrestricted Band and Servitor attunements, Duke of Envy (Mastema has been granted knowledge of both 900 – 1000 AD and 1000 – 1100 AD)
Duke of Envy: 1). Mastema has the ability to inflict Envy as part of his resonance. This will cause the target to desire either the possessions or accomplishments of another (chosen at the time of the resonance use); if given the opportunity to somehow steal either, the target will try to do so if he fails a Will roll. The target will also react negatively (reaction roll at a minus equal to the CD of the resonance roll) to the person chosen to be the focus of the target’s Envy. Both effects last for 1 hour. Mastema may give this out as an attunement, including to non-Habbalah! 2). Mastema does not suffer dissonance when he absorbs Envy from a backlash. 3). Mastema automatically detects what thing a mortal is most envious about.
Rites:
All of Kronos’ Rites, plus the following:
: Make someone envious of another person without resonance use (3x day)
: Publicly criticize someone in a fashion that would make others envious of him (cumulative with the first)
: Cause a Servitor of Destiny to Fall (+2 Essence)
: Cause a Soldier of Destiny to become Damned
: Prevent a Servitor of Fate from going Renegade
Mastema? Mastema has it all.
He is at the absolute top of the greasy pole of rank in Fate’s organization. He is a powerful Duke with a powerful Word (an actual Deadly Sin, no less!), and whatever he wants, he gets. He has an army of servants dedicated to his every directive and whim, and he is the most welcome of VIP guests in those portions of Hell suitable for outside demonic tourism. Not that this is anything except Mastema’s due, given that he’s here to show these fool demons how to really do the work of the Lord.
Mastema earned that due, too. When the Traitors seized control of Heaven and banished the true angels, he was there. When Lucifer and the rest, trapped in Hell, weakened and Fell, Mastema was there. When these new ‘demons’ clawed their way back to Earth, Mastema was there. He has endured and been tested and tormented, and he always prevailed. More than prevailed: his power steadily rose. They say he was ‘granted’ the Word of Envy, the fools. He invented Envy! He is Envy! You can tell, because virtually everyone who ever sees him is instantly filled with his Word. And, again, this is how it should be.
The best part is that he doesn’t even have to go to Earth anymore. Mastema hated Earth: it was… messy. He likes it much better in Kronos’ nice, clean Archives, where human souls are reduced to their proper place and form: a dingy manila file folder that no one ever bothers to read. Actually, he likes it much better running Kronos’ Archives, which is what he pretty much does. It’s not his name on the door of the “official” Head Archivist, but then: it never is. “Official” Head Archivists are there to take the blame on those rare occasions where Mastema had instructed the staff to do something that ended up going wrong badly enough to merit Kronos’ attention. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, the Habbalite is covered for it.
And it cannot be said enough that this is nothing but Mastema’s due, for he deserves it all. He’s not shy about saying so, given his status and his power. Yes. Mastema has it all.
Well.
Almost.
The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the In Nomine and GURPS systems from Steve Jackson Games . This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games . In Nomine and GURPS are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games, and the art here is copyrighted by Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy .Tweet of the Day, #JoshFight edition.
Short version: some Josh on the Internet challenged all the Joshes on the Internet to come to a certain spot yesterday and fight it out for who would get to keep the Josh name. The fight happened – with pool noodles. The winner is below.
BREAKING: Five-year-old #LittleJosh has won the #JoshFight! pic.twitter.com/VTztUHDMeW
— Yousef Nasser (@YousefKLKN) April 24, 2021
More . Fair warning: the entire story is quite ridiculously wholesome.
