UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)
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11 thoughts on “539 – A Knife In The Dark (END OF EPISODE 22)

  1. Why am I not surprised.

  2. Typical, it’s always someone else’s fault. Revenge is not just best served cold, but by stupid too. “This is all your fault!” Which is wrong, but in his head, it’s right.

    1. It’s also been heavily hinted he has already been brain washed by the zombie worshiping cult.

      1. Which, no doubt, made easier because of that under-lying feeling. People are always looking for a scape-goat…

    2. I don’t know if you got my callback by intent or not, but it’s great to see almost the same words echoed! https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/comic/203-breaking-worst/

  3. Honestly, probably the first time he’s ever taken control of and done ever in his life. There’s a reason why they kept him. Give a dog that’s been beat all its life a whiff of conference and control, you got a problem.

  4. Imagine his surprise when he stabs a pillow. 😜

  5. He isn’t in control, RC – he’s probably drugged to the very dilated eyeballs, probably with Datura. Back on p.443, Eustace is shown holding a Mojave Rattlesnake on a stick while the Brujefe milks it into a glass. Mojave venom A is a paralytic neurotoxin, like tetrodotoxin. Tetrodotoxin was thought to be part of the legendary Haitian “zombie powder”. The other part was Datura, which contains scopalamine, which messes with memory and concentration, and is supposed to render victims docile and suggestible.
    The question is, where did he get his current dose, and did a little drone whisper in his ear?

    1. Except Datura doesn’t do that. You’re thinking of the compound Scoplolmine (AKA the devil’s breath) which generally comes from a specific plant, Borrochero (Brugmansia arbora) that is native to Columbia that the gang in question probably would have had access to. It’s active compound obliterates free will, your conscious, you can function as normal but you are totally open to suggestion which is what happened to McCarty here. Datura just makes you trip mad balls and maybe die, but it does not make you a puppet.

  6. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Me lleva la chingada !

  7. I’m betting money there’s no one in that bed and it’s a ruse to get him caught.

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539 – A Knife In The Dark (END OF EPISODE 22)

Happy Holidays, all! That's a wrap (heh) for Episode 22 just in time for a Christmas cliffhanger! Hope we don't twist the knife too much...

See y'all in 2025 when Zombie Ranch continues!

Relational databases…

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.