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.

Relational databases…

Posted on October 14, 2020 by Clint

There’s this game called Fiasco where you and your friends come up with interrelated characters and proceed to tell a communal story together, guided by some dice rolls and other mechanics. While the story itself is important (and, as you might guess, is designed to end in disaster for most if not all involved), the lion’s share of the game is arguably coming up with characters in the first place and making sure they have things in common, such as a location, item, etc. Ties that bind. Things to live, laugh, and love over — and also bicker and even kill over.

This web woven before a Fiasco game even begins is similar to how some writers will tackle keeping track of the characters in their stories, whether that’s on post-its or a whiteboard or a computer spreadsheet. Who knows whom? Which characters are friends? How good of friends are they? Or the same question but applied to antagonistic tendencies? How did they meet? How long has it been since they last saw each other? Is there something else that connects them, and if so is it simple as a convenient MacGuffin? Or something deeper?

Not every writer does this much prep and not every character needs it: the horde of ninjas wants to kill the hero because Their Master Wills It. ‘Nuff said there, especially if that’s the kind of story you’re telling. But you certainly want to have some kind of handle on how your major characters will interact, even if their meeting remains hypothetical. With rare exceptions, people don’t show the same “face” to their boss at work that they do to their kid at home. We put on all sorts of masks just to get through the day, and though we may have been taught by G.I. Joe after-episode PSAs that lying was bad, we grow up understanding that sometimes being entirely truthful and open just starts fights.

So remember that your characters have their masks, as well, even someone like Brett who might assume subterfuge was some kind of sandwich. And have your “relational database,” but remember that when you tweak even a few parameters the output can change a lot.