ewen_cluney.txt

@nekoewen

TTRPGs, writing, Japanese language, anime, mechanical keyboards, steno, 3D printing, movies, pasta, cats. Ewen is pronounced like Aaron. he/him

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ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· 22d

From the novelization of X-Men: The Last Stand, written by Chris Claremont, describing Jean Grey at age 12. 😬

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· 24d

I just had to print another faceplate with multi-material printing to emphasize the cat ears. I also added some new sleep screen wallpapers. makerworld.com/en/models/30...

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· 24d

I’m inordinately happy with this tiny e-reader (an Xteink X4), and of course I 3D printed the kitty ear case.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· 26d

THE REAL ODYSSEY

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· 28d

From the Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive:

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· 28d

Meanwhile, Memes of the Prophets has Amadeus, who is half Eitalethi (forest elf) and half Kalanethi (desert elf) and (according to him at least) also 100% Awesome.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 15

I know he was just a gag that Ryan North came up with, but I'd really like to see Marvel do something with Weapon II, who was a squirrel with adamantium claws, a healing factor, and human level intelligence. marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Weapon_...

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 14

The Mandalorian and Grogu has some genuinely charming bits with Grogu and some Anzellans, several instances of the Mandalorian being kind of stupid and violent, and an upsettingly muscular Hutt gladiator.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 13

The British mind cannot comprehend the thing I learned from a Thundercats episode in 1985. bsky.app/profile/mors...

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 10

I've been inspired to work on "Killfile Kills the Crimson Circle," a Xeroverse short story that makes fun of organized crime guys who won't leave a badass alone a la John Wick, and I ended up adding an Atlantean secret agent into the mix, since the Circle is smuggling Atlantean drugs.

He straightened. "Mr. Wilson, back off."

I got up into his personal space and took a good whiff. "What does Atlantis want with some Crimson Circle dork?"

He stared at me and frowned.

"With those eyes, that accent, and that fit in a back alley in Empire City? You might as well be carrying a trident around. Or do you have like a little folding one in your jacket?"

He looked skyward in irritation. I have that effect on people. "I am conducting an important investigation, and I do NOT need you interfering and killing my leads. You may have just destroyed months of work."

"Alright, time for a teamup! I'm a teamup whore, team up with everyone, not just Talon! Empire City and Atlantis City, together at last!"

"One, it's not called Atlantis City, it's Poseidon City, and two we are not teaming up."

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 9

Apparently in a 2012 interview Daniel Craig outright said that Mike Myers ruined all the Bond gags for them and forced them to make the franchise more serious. www.mi6-hq.com/sections/art...

The truth of it is that I always had this plan in my head is that we got to make them and begin them again and bring all that back in, but it had to happen the way it did. I can't see it happening any other way. We had to destroy the myth because Mike Myers fucked us - I am a huge Mike Myers fan, so don't get me wrong - but he kind of fucked us; made it impossible to do the gags. What I am proudest of in Skyfall is the lightness of touch we've been able to bring to back into it but not lose the drama and the action.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 9

Best STAR TREK captain. Wrong answers only

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 8

I started reading Salt: A World History, and it's fascinating and now I'm thinking about developing how different cultures get salt (often with help from magic) in Memes of the Prophets.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 5

This would be the second time I’ve come across a D$D-themed YA romance and something something two dimes.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 4

The mug I got at the Monterey Bay Aquarium gift shop:

A teal mug in the shape of a happy cartoon whale, with his tail curling up to form the handle. It looks handmade, and the outer coating is deliberately a little uneven.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 4

Yesterday I stopped off for dinner at the Giant Artichoke Restaurant in Castroville. I witnesses the waiter answer the phone with "Giant Artichoke," and if I had called the wrong number and heard someone just say "Giant artichoke" I'd lose my mind.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 3

I tried garlic ice cream for the first time. It's sort of like unflavored ice cream right up until a garlic aftertaste hits you over the head. I think I can still kinda taste it.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jul 1

Also I didn't know that the GoldenEye 007 game has a low-poly Grace Jones (her character May Day from A View to a Kill).

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 30

My alternate, even more portable #BYOK setup! #writerdeck

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 29

I've seen some people rate the new Supergirl an 8/10, and that seems about right to me. It also has just the right amount of Lobo; he just kind of wanders in and out of the plot when he feels like it.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 24

Buying a $400 mini-PC for Steam couch gaming turned out to be the right call apparently. (Granted, it helps that I don't really play AAA games.)

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 23

It's going to go into Book 4, but I started working on an appendix that lays out the regions of Eitania for Memes of the Prophets. It's been a mix of interesting, fun, and messed up. And also I ended up writing a lot about food, because that's a thing in MotP in general.

Lethyn, Beautiful Islands
Practically a mirror image of Ghent, Lethyn is a small archipelago with many beautiful beaches and a gentle climate. The elves of Lethyn, the Lethynethi, have a reputation for being more easygoing than their mainland counterparts. The Prophet Andrea described this idyllic land as “fantasy Hawaii,” though in the resemblance goes beyond the superficial.
Lethyn originally became part of Eitaleth via conquest. The islanders had plenty of warriors and mages—including some very powerful aquamancers—but the mainland elves overwhelmed them with sheer numbers. During and after the War of the Leaves, the Lethynethi originally supported the war effort and unification because King Valewyn promised them the independence and local ownership of land, though during the unification era they took to attacking mainland ships until the king kept his promises. While they have a reputation for being chill, the Lethynethi are ready to fiercely defend their land and heritage. They’re not all that interested in Earth stuff, but when Andrea introduced them to the concept of surfing during her visit, it became a local obsession that still persists.
Lethynethi cuisine uses a mixture of tropical fruits, a locally grown root vegetable called tan’no, and the bounty of the sea. While the Prophets have created a niche following for sushi and sashimi, the Lethynethi are the only culture in Galania that natively developed dishes that use raw fish. Most other elves find it repulsive, but it’s gained popularity in New Serenity.
Governor: Solamua Kareen, a descendant of one of Lethyn’s more famous High Chiefs, is the current governor of the archipelago. King Thomas is rumored to be considering replacing Kareen with someone more loyal, despite how bad a reaction that would get from the locals.
Local Specialties: Grilled shrimp, raw fish, aquamancy, surfing

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 21

Getting back into Memes of the Prophets Book 3 now, which means getting into a very silly chapter where another catgirl demands Erica have a contest to prove who is cuter.

“I challenge you!”
“Whyyyyyy?”
“Because I’m the cutest catgirl in town, and everyone needs to know it!”
Erica thought of the other feline wildkin girls she’d seen, and Vanilla was incredibly adorable. She almost looked like a doll, or maybe a Vocaloid. “I mean you are cuter than me. I don’t know how anyone would say otherwise.”
Vanilla stamped her foot. “Then why is everyone dressing like you!” She pointed to people in the crowd who were wearing hoodies. And while women had always worn pants around there, there had been a bit of an uptick. “And why do you dress like that?!”
“It’s comfortable and has pockets.” To illustrate, she pulled a marzipan confection out of her hoodie’s front pocket and ate it.
One of the bystanders turned to another bystander and said, “Bloody rivers, you can keep snacks in those? I gotta get one!”
Vanilla stared. “Did you used to be a guy or something?”
“…Uh, yeah?” She still wasn’t clear on what it was about her that so many people were picking up on.
“That’s kinda hot,” said someone in the crowd.
“I didn’t ask for this. There’s a lot of things I didn’t ask for.” For example, she hadn’t asked to have such acute senses of hearing and smell that she could always pinpoint who had farted in any given room.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 20

In the Xeroverse the "Blue Shift" was an event where blue light bathed the world for 37 minutes and 1% of the population gained powers. Watching the first episode of Widow's Bay inspired me to include some surreal stories of other stuff that happened at the time.

“Some crazy shit happened during the Blue Shift too,” Tien enthused. “My cousin was high on shrooms and said he saw God’s typewriter, and the ribbon was gold, and it had a special key that was like a pointing finger, and its bell for the end of a line sounded like the screams of the damned.”
Sparky snapped her gum. “I heard every Kronn on Earth got forced out of their disguises, like some people found out they’d been married to an alien for years. Real They Live shit.”
Dan looked the Blue Shift up on his phone. There was a whole Wikipedia page about it, with a list of notable people who’d become metahumans at the time. It included some celebrities and poli-ticians, and a minor member of the British royal family. There was also a section titled “Unconfirmed Events,” which mentioned the thing with the Kronn, and also the claim that everyone who’d been sleeping at the time had the same dream, about a tree growing in the depths of Professor M’s mansion until it choked them. Some pundit had accused Professor M of having caused the dream, but he’d never commented on it publicly. Dan didn’t remember the Blue Shift at all, much less any-thing odd happening during it.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 16

National security

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 16

I'd like to do some kind of Xeroverse story that satirizes the Surf Dracula phenomenon—it's definitely a thing in some superhero media—but I'm not sure how to convey the feel of a 10-episode TV series where the hero finally becomes a hero near the end of S01E10 without writing the whole thing.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 16

In Xeroverse Book 2, Saber is a parody of Katana in the first Suicide Squad movie. I was considering just forgetting about her after her "I would advise not being killed by her" intro, but I came up with this dumb nonsense to put near the end.

When they were close to the rendezvous point, a woman stood in their way. She had a white half-mask and drew a curved sword from the scabbard at her hip. “Wo ist Captain Eagle?!” she de-manded. (Where is Captain Eagle?!) The blade shed and uncanny light and a susurration of tor-mented whispers.
Curry Man turned to Omniglot. “Ano hito wa ittai dare da?” (Who the heck is that?)
“He asked, ‘Who is that?’” Omniglot translated.
“That’s Saber,” said Freddie. “She’s got the Eagle’s back.”
Saber grew more animated. “Sag es mir! Wo ist er?” (Tell me! Where is he?)
Xero realized that Omniglot was repeating what she said in English and then in Japanese. He then addressed her, holding up placating hands. “Jemand hat ihn ins Meer gestoßen. Wir wissen nicht, wo er jetzt ist.” (Someone knocked him into the ocean. We don’t know where he is now.)
She shook her head bitterly. “Und wer ist dieser Jemand?” (And who is this someone?)
“Captain Eagle suggested not getting cut by her sword,” Freddie added. “It traps the souls of its victims.”
Saber scowled and launched herself at them. Gazer wearily lifted a hand to his visor and blasted her. She tried to block the blast with her sword; it worked until Xero joined in. The dual cosmic blasts left her unconscious on the ground.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 15

The new Masters of the Universe is incredibly fun, and I think they were aspiring to something like Barbie, in that it explores what healthy masculinity can look like. And now I'm bummed that it flopped, because it means we're unlikely to get any more. (And they were teasing more because of course.)

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 14

Making myself angry by writing a fictional op-ed for the Xeroverse, where an economist suggests Empire Studios needs a David Zaslav type to implement "algorithmic production" and stop letting creatives have so much power.

Empire’s Troubles Are an Opportunity
Opinion
By Richard Melter

We need to rethink Empire Studios from the ground up. Empire is a corporation and needs to start acting like it. Adam Figueroa is too much of an artist, too blinkered by his fandom, to handle the responsibility, but Jim Fitzgerald was too caught up in his petty grudges and biases to truly practice disciplined capitalism. Fans may prefer the former, but neither will avoid plunging a highly profitable company into disaster.
David Onofrio is the obvious choice. He’s a graduate of Harvard Business School and has experience leading some of the biggest entertainment corporations in the world. His tenures at ABS-Chorus Studios and Yancey Bros. saw strong growth, efficient productions, and substantially less waste. He was ruthless about underperforming IP, defeated labor strikes, and trimmed YB’s portfolio of useless, niche titles. In short, he can become the adult in the room that Empire so desperately needs right now.

ewen_cluney.txt@nekoewen· Jun 14

I was looking for ideas for a Japanese superhero name, which led to learning that one of Toei's early tokusatsu shows was 1960's "Messenger of Allah," which takes place in a fictional Middle Eastern country despite having an entirely Japanese cast. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messeng...