Moe Lane's Blog, page 83
February 19, 2025
‘Two Types of Cosmic Horror Stories.’
As a Type Two kind of cosmic horror writer, I feel kind of seen.
February 18, 2025
‘Rose Tattoo.’
#commissionearned
More yet on Milken Forts (Back the Fermi Resolution Worldbook Backerkit!)
Please? Nine more backers and $245 dollars to go before the next rewards. ‘
https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/flying-koala-publishers/fermi-resolution-worldbook-ttrpg
Milken Forts were an iconic element of the First and Second Ages of Magic, before ‘proper’ fortification techniques were rediscovered and implemented. Their greatest flaw was the need for a reliable water source, one that could be protected by the Fort itself. Everything from cisterns to ground-level wells and pumps to actual magic was used to keep the reservoirs filled, but it was a fundamental problem. Their greatest advantage was that a properly staffed Milken Fort provided excellent overwatch of the area, and of course act as the anachronistic castles that they were.
There was certainly the need for even the crudest and slapdash castles, back then. The Twenty-Third century in particular was an extremely chaotic time in the middle of the North American continent, as the Mages’ Alliance alternately struggled and schemed with both the Kingdom of Nebraska, and the Kingdom of the Lakes. The Ohio Marcher country in particular sprouted petty-kingdoms that formed around every defensive position, both natural and manmade.
This ironically preserved that area’s hardscrabble independence during the Dominion’s first conquests in the Twenty-Fourth Century. The Dominion chose instead to conquer first Nebraska outright and the Great Lakes by proxy; both of those states were centralized enough to discourage semi-independent baronies and free cities. The combination of the Dominion’s curious reluctance to start direct wars east of the Mississippi, coupled with the plethora of castles in the region, kept the Marcher lands independent long enough to be purchased by Greater Hershey, instead. The inhabitants of Ohio, after seeing what happened in what used to be Illinois and Indiana, quickly decided that they had met a much better fate.
I’m not really rooting for injuries in Uwe Boll vs. Warner Bros…
…it’s just that I think they kind of deserve each other: “Infamous director Uwe Boll is stirring up controversy again, this time refusing to change the title of his next movie, The Dark Knight, despite a warning from Warner Bros. Discovery.” It’s also going to star Armie Hammer, if you were looking for another reason to vaguely wish that all of these people would go off somewhere and iron everything out. Slowly. Over the course of several years.
Seriously, I don’t even want them getting hurt, not really. I’m not a monster. I just want them too busy to bother me.
02/18/2025 Snippet, PICKMAN’S MODELS.
Had to change some stuff around.
Another call to Turkel, which didn’t go as well as the first one. “I am very sorry, Commander Marsh, but it is the position of the Coalition that you should not interfere with that site.”
“Well, it’s been interfered with now,” Marsh pointed out. He politely ignored how Turkel didn’t say what her position was. “Or did you dig a hole in the regolith, and bury the contraband yourself?”
“We did not, Commander. The containers should have been sufficient. After all, there was officially no longer anything at the site worth retrieving. Why draw attention to it?”
“Right. Hiding something in plain sight. Classic — look, Rushan, I understand the Coalition didn’t want any of that filth around, but obviously somebody disagreed with you. We just can’t ignore that it’s been grabbed.”
“Really, Tobias?” Turkel almost looked human for a moment. “Why can’t we? Why can’t we just shrug it off. Whoever took the contraband hasn’t done anything with it. Soon it won’t matter, anyway. We’ll either be dead, or off this hellworld. I repeat: the Chinese Coalition does not consider this issue to be worth expending more resources on, and we will politely decline to assist you in any direct investigation of it.”
Tobias sighed. “I understand. But what do you think we should do?”
Ruslan looked at him — and broke the connection. He sighed again. “Yeah. That’s what I thought you’d say.”
Patreon!
Just started THE GORGE.
THE GORGE is on Apple TV+, and so far it’s not half bad. Boy meets Girl, separated from each other by circumstances, and a Hellmouth. I can only watch movies in stages these days when I’m at home (one more reason to see movies in theaters), but I expect that I’ll finish this one quickly.
I will be doing a crowdfunding talk at Halfway to Halloween.
As is my wont. I’ve done this talk before at Halfway to Halloween, and fortunately this time I don’t seem to be followed by a guy trying to make a pitch for why small vendors should take out personal business loans. (They should not, unless they are absolutely certain of their business plans.) I’ll have the Fermi Resolution Worldbook Backerkit fresh in my head, too, which will be nice…
PS: As always: if you can’t make it, buy my books here.
#commissionearned
February 17, 2025
More blocking out of stories.
I really kind of hate that it works so well. I actually know how to make my new Flim-Flam story work! Plus, I can incorporate an earlier story that I never knew how to fit into a bigger world. Now, I do.
I still miss being spontaneous.
The Lead & Chrome Backerkit has hit its first stretch goal!
Lead & Chrome is the post-apocalyptic TTRPG project my Fermi Resolution Worldbook is cross-collaborating with. If you’re more into “Mad Max with Mutants” than “future fantasy America,” go back that one instead. Or, you know, back both. Both is likewise good.
Anyway: they’ve hit their first stretch goal, which is great news! Go help them get along even further!
Where’ll I be at Once Upon A Con.
Once Upon A Con is August 14-17, 2025, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor. And I have a table:
I’m not putting up the GoH list and so forth yet because I’m not sure it’s been finalized. They’re saying it’s going to be a fairly large convention, so hopefully there will be many opportunities for me to sell books over the four days I’ll be there. And, as always: if you can’t wait, buy my books now!
