UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)

9 thoughts on “558 – Cotton Clad Calamity”

  1. Raznaak

    Yup, he’s a bastard XD

  2. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Are those pajamas available in XXXL in the gift shop?

  3. Otaku

    It’s been a while, so let me ask: Did we get a reason for him to WANT Susie dead? Not to backseat, but if we didn’t, I’m worried were about to move into “Stupid Evil” territory. Now, stupid happens, don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad storytelling for that to be the case here.

    You’ve just done a good job NOT having that be a driving factor, so the “Kill off the stars of my successful reality TV show.” seems shortsighted, otherwise. Oh, I guess I could be mistaken about the in-story reality TV show’s success. Like, if the company behind them is losing money, or they think a change in management at the ranch would make the whole thing more popular/profitable, then I can see the above scenario happening as well.

    I REALLY think I’m just forgetting something important, but that I don’t have time to deep dive to remind me of, hence the comment. >_<

    1. Deoxy

      It certainly has been stretched out over quite a while, but there have definitely been hints from quite near the beginning that whoever is running the reality TV show definitely wants her dead.

      But I certainly don’t recall any reason why.

      1. Clint

        Yeah it’s fair to not remember since it’s been a hot minute (many, many minutes) but if you feel like a refresher the most relevant bits would be the beginning of Episode 8 and the end of Episode 15. We haven’t explicitly spelled out exactly what The Exec means by his “side hustle” or who was on the other end of that phone call, though.

        I’m hoping that when the whole thing is eventually available it will make sense, or at least enough sense to have hung this narrative on.

        1. Otaku

          Thanks for the replies, Deoxy and Clint. Yeah, I’d totally forgotten about those things. Good to know!

  4. Evervigilant

    Seems about time for the two people who aren’t there to make a surprise entrance as the ace Susie didn’t even know she had.

  5. Scarsdale

    There’s still 3-5 people on her side that might be planning something. This guy is a megalomaniac with a god complex, so letting him think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed sets him up for a fall. Everything depends on those cameras, and I suspect their little stop over by the charging coffins had something to do with her actual plan, not the one the a-hole thinks it is.

  6. lyra

    Really enjoyed the opening of Zombie Ranch. I like the combination of the western setting with the zombie concept, it gives the story a really distinctive atmosphere. I’m a freelance illustrator and animator, and I’d be interested in seeing how some of these scenes could translate into motion, especially as a short animated teaser or character scene.

    If you’re ever interested in something like that, you can reach me here:

    IG: eve_verse_
    Email: [contact.lilaclines@gmail.com](mailto:contact.lilaclines@gmail.com)
    Discord: Lyralilac_

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558 – Cotton Clad Calamity
Posted on August 26, 2026 by Dawn

What would you call this? Armchair assassination? Merk-from-home?

Well, Suzie ain't dead (or undead) quite yet, so we'll just have to see if his gloating is justifiable.

Sleep on it.

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Clint

Somewhere in nearly nine years(!) of blog postings I’ve probably talked about this before, but it bears repeating for any of you aspiring scribes out there.

There will come a time when even when you know exactly what you want to happen next, you will figuratively hit a wall on how to express that properly in the story. Even if you have it all outlined — hell, even sometimes when you’ve got a draft, you’ll suddenly be seized with the surety that not only is what you currently have inadequate, you’re not up to the task of making it right. Your brain becomes a whirl of all sorts of thoughts but they’re mostly anxieties and recriminations that aren’t doing anything but make you feel terrible.

And it’s at this point I force myself to walk away.

Now, this won’t work for everyone, and certainly won’t work in every situation. If you’re up against a deadline, having a nap or taking a stroll may not be an option… but then again, although I love procrastination as much as the next Joe or Jane, this is why I tend to leave time available to procrastinate. That may sound very strange to read, and yet it’s the truth: I like to tackle the current writing project at least a day or two beforehand, just in case I get clobbered with a heavy helping of writer’s block. I don’t mean just thinking about it but actually getting the words down and the panels visualized so that if something isn’t working there’s some leeway to do other than become a frazzled mess forcing myself to stare at uncooperatively blank pages. Animals evolved their fight-or-flight response as a means of self-preservation, but when you stress yourself to that level it’s no good for thinking.

That’s my experience, at least. It’s like when I’m looking for my keys (again), cursing myself for losing track of them, cursing the universe for being so big and key-swallowing, or just plain cursing as I rove back and forth through our tiny (and yet somehow insurmountably vast) apartment getting more and more upset. And then I collapse on the couch in miserable defeat, slumped and stumped… and a few minutes later as my brain quiets, a gentle thought rings through of somewhere I’ve missed, and lo and behold when I get up and follow that thought the keys are found.

Thus it is with writing, sometimes:

GrrArghHateSelfHateWorldImposterSyndromeYouSuckEverythingSucksThereIsNoWayToMakeThisWorkJustChuckItAll…

And then I make myself stop. Play a videogame. Watch a show. Do that horrid thing you’re never supposed to do and chill out for awhile on Social Media. Maybe even the biggest extreme where I just shelve it all for the night and go to bed, for tomorrow is another day. Epiphanies can come at the oddest of times, but for me they definitely like to arrive after a decent sleep when I come back to that page I was having trouble with and the answer is just right there, just waiting for me to fit it into place as if there was never any trouble at all.

Oftentimes as a writer it’s good to let others take a look for a fresh perspective. But sometimes, the fresh perspective you’re looking for is your own. You just need to let it be heard.