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.

They warped my fragile little mind…

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Clint

If you ever labor under the illusion that your childhood experiences have no effect on your adulthood? Forget it.

I’m not just talking about the smell of cinnamon relaxing you because your mom made homemade buns, or a phobia of creepy crawlies you acquired when you picked up and drank from an “occupied” soda can. Neither of those are personal examples, anyhow. What’s personal is that, dammit, I think 80’s era Chris Columbus brainwashed my writing.

I’m talking in particular about two movies: 1984’s Gremlins and 1985’s The Goonies. I’m old enough to have seen both in their first theatrical releases, and Goonies was probably the most insidious since I would have been right about the age of most of the kids involved. In retrospect, I remember having a Member’s Only jacket in exactly the same color as the one worn by Corey Feldman’s character Mouth, while my taste in shirts appears to have come straight out of Chunk’s closet. These, of course, are wardrobe decisions that probably weren’t part of the screenplay, but you see what I mean? Brainwashing.

I meant to talk more in-depth about the films for this installment, but my re-watch of Goonies encountered some technical difficulties. So it’ll wait. Let’s just say for now that in both cases I recognized a certain freewheeling tonal tapdance between drama, horror, and comedy, and between characters that on one hand seem as believable as the kids next door and on the other as cartoonishly archetypal as bickering lawmen or bloodthirsty old ladies. Where deadly danger can maintain its tension, even unto the occasional bit of outright gore, but the story as a whole maintains a lighthearted quality. And somehow, it works.

Oh, I didn’t say this brainwashing was a bad thing. I’m just saying.