lost time incident 86
Fellow workers!
The air here smells of smoke from files to the north, but so far we have escaped all consequences. The wind has been howling and on a walk to get some coffee I had to step over a few downed branches. The climate doesn’t seem terribly friendly today, but for now we can still reach out to you online, and that’s something.
Let’s take advantage while we can.
New Security Questions for Q4 2019
- What vowels, primarily, does the dark shape in the corner whisper to you at 2:32 a.m. every day?
- What city were you in the first time you fell into the Inverse and had to free yourself from the Despair Trees?
- What’s your password? Just kidding, don’t type that in here, that was a test. What’s your favorite 401K service provider (whether you work with them or not) and how often do the ashes on your tongue make you think you never left the Inverse?
Are your children chatting about dying in outer space?
ROFL: Real Oxygen Failure Loop
STFU: Systemic Total Failure Underway
ILY: Irreparable Leak Yonder
YOLO: Your Oxygen Lost (Oops)
DGAF: Decompression: Gas/Atmosphere Failure
LMFAO: Let’s Maybe Forget Astronaut’s Odds
Least Popular Elves (as reported by Gygax’s Subscription Faxes, #3 v1 1978, delivered via fax)
- Income Tax Elves
- Pus Elves
- Divorce Lawyer Elves
- Misnumbered List Elves
ending theme song
Since the last time you heard from me, my writing efforts have been directed towards game-related projects. I’ve worked on some RPG stories for use in play, but I’ve also started learning some layout software and putting mini-RPG projects online at itch.io.
If you’re curious, I have a pamphlet/game concept about roadside attractions in the US (and failure) and just this weekend I posted a single-player game about taking a phone call during the Crucifixion, inspired by a weird ivory carving I saw in The Met’s online art gallery. (You can see the image on the cover of the mini-RPG.)
In the near term, a game I co-authored should be finalized soon and a contribution I sent to an online RPG scenario contest should leave its embargo, so I can talk about it.
I don’t know what my next big project is going to be, on the scale of WITCHES TOWN (still available for sale), but… I’ll be sure to let you all know!
Hope you’re doing well, and have opportunities to pet furry animals, or take nice naps, or enjoy some hobbies, etc. etc. We are on a spinning rock in the middle of cold, cold space and it’s a miracle any of this happened. Who knows if it’ll ever happen again. Enjoy what you can of it.
—Michael Van Vleet
Hey! Did you enjoy reading this? But did you find yourself thinking “Dang, if only this sort of thing were delivered directly into my inbox so I didn’t have to spend time on a website as if it were still the 90s or something!”?
You’re in luck! You can subscribe to the LOST TIME INCIDENT newsletter and finally class up your inbox.