Hotter Than Expected Friday
Jul. 26th, 2019 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickI mean, it was pretty nice when I went for my lunchtime walk at work, but I noticed it getting muggier when I left at 1:30, and then it just sort of kept increasing as the afternoon went on. Dad and I turned on the air conditioners around dinnertime at six because it was just getting too warm in the house. And they already said that tomorrow was supposed to be muggier. . .ah well, it's supposed to be low 80s, so I think I can stand it for the cookout at my aunt's. That's happening around 12:30, so it'll be before the worst heat too, if there is any. We'll see what happens!
Work was pretty quiet, which I appreciated -- doing the GL, following up on a few returns, doing some reversal batches. Nothing too bad. Got home in decent time too, and spent the afternoon mucking around as I usually do on Fridays:
-->Watched a bunch of OXBox videos! Three new ones -- a list of weird things you got attached to in games (like FLUDD from Super Mario Sunshine, or your wedding ring from Fallout 4 -- or the Seaman from Seaman, which is particularly disturbing because it's a fish/frog thing with a human face); a chunk of gameplay from a new retro survival horror title, Back In 1995 (the title referring to the fact that the graphics and controls are set up so it resembles a game from the PS1 era, like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. It even has a fake CRT-screen border with screen effects! Unfortunately what it mainly did for Mike and Andy was remind them how awful tank controls are); and a list of enemies in games that became a pal in a later installment (GlaDOS from Portal 2 got a mention -- conveniently ignoring the part where she deletes her human side so she doesn't have to deal with being friends with Chell XD). And one old one, because I saw it on the recommended side bar and, well, it's a favorite of mine: the old "3 Ways To Play" of the Hitman: Patient Zero mission. You know, the one set in a hospital where 47 has to kill a "Patient Zero" with a super-contagious virus an evil doctor is trying weaponize, and is allowed to murder anyone who becomes infected, because this thing CANNOT be allowed to spread. The one where Andy got rid of the single infectee before she could spread it to anyone else, then burned Patient Zero and the doctor alive before leaving the level in style; where Jane managed to kill Patient Zero and the doctor fairly early, but had to go on a bit of a mercy murder spree with a screwdriver, for a final kill count of 37 infectees. . .
And where Mike ended up BASICALLY SLAUGHTERING THE ENTIRE LEVEL. I'm not kidding -- Mike's final kill count was the two targets (he attempted to explode them, only for his explosive to go off with a really wimpy bang and force him to shoot them); eleven non-target kills (mostly bodyguards who noticed him being suspicious and tried to shoot him); and ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE infectees. Not joking -- he literally could not kill people fast enough to slow the spread of infection. Mike "never met a non-target kill or collateral damage I didn't like" Channell was actually feeling BAD by the end of it. It's absolutely hilarious. XD
-->Also watched a "Fun With Shorts" about SPACE -- showing spatial relationships in artwork, that is. Vanishing points, overlapping, exaggerating features, things like that. A perfectly serviceable short, but made much better by the riffing. All hail Stubby the Golf Pencil!
-->Played some Fallout 4 -- after a false start (where I ended up opening fire on MY POTENTIAL COMPANION because I couldn't tell him apart from the mutant he was fighting), Victor, Preston, Rex, and Strong managed to get safely down and out of Trinity Tower. Rex gave me a fancy suit and headed back to his radio station, while Strong became available as a companion. I demurred at first, as I wanted to finish the Oberland station mission I was currently on, head back to Sanctuary, clean up my inventory, and then separate from Preston and head to the main plot.
Hahahaha -- Preston surprised me with a Minutemen core quest, "Taking Independence" -- all about reclaiming the "Castle," an old Minuteman fortress with a super-strong radio transmitter. Apparently we've helped enough settlements that he feels we need that. (Never mind that he keeps heaping NEW "go here and fix these problems" quests on me. . .) I TRIED to put it off for later, heading back to Sanctuary, helping the Abernathy Farm with some raiders, and clearing out my inventory with some armor and weapon upgrades. . .but then I made the mistake of talking to him after sleeping and accidentally put myself into the position of having to say "yes" or "no" to the quest. And -- I couldn't bring myself to say "no," so -- retaking the Castle it is! *sigh* Why can I never get back to the main plot??
The one good thing about this? Doing the quest has Preston go to gather backup and get things ready, meaning I had my companion slot free and could recruit Strong and have him around for a little while. From what I've seen on the wiki, there are some NASTY monsters both on the way to the Castle and in the Castle itself, so -- having a Super Mutant as my current companion is probably a good idea. Though I suspect I'll be doing a lot of saving and reloading as I try to keep everyone alive. This game can be tough, and I'm still only Level 13. . .oh, Victor, what have I gotten you into? XD
-->Did another short for "A Wedding, A Wedding" -- the "Victor and Alice actually agree to go to Brighton for their honeymoon" one. It's a rough draft, but it gets the idea across: William and Nell offer honeymoon; Alice admits she'd actually like to go to Brighton and thus she and Victor accept honeymoon; Nell promptly starts trying to force a to-do list on them; Victor and Alice push back by saying they will pay for the honeymoon themselves if the gift version comes with stipulations; Nell gets pissy about the way they're doing things; Victor snaps that they're welcome NOT to come. Thus explaining better why the Van Dorts aren't in the wedding chapter of "Fixing You" beyond "I don't want them there ruining Victor and Alice's day." *sigh* I still can't believe what was supposed to be a quick four chapters has suddenly become seven spanning two months. . . I mean, I DO like each individual story idea I came up with, but -- darn it, brain, I'm supposed to be working mostly on "Secundus 2!" (Which I suppose I still am, but still.)
-->Got my queue for Valice Multiverse sorted (I did the one for Victor Luvs Alice this morning in a spare moment, good for me); from super-busy to super-quiet! Just a couple of asks and one thread. *shrug* Guess everyone had other things they wanted to do this Friday night. I'll take it; gives me more time for the Friday Night Writing thing with my tumblr friend. (Very important since I have to make sure to end at a decent time so I can get up at a decent time for the cookout.)
So yeah -- busy but satisfying Friday afternoon. And now it's time for the Writing Thing before trying to get to bed before two A.M. Gotta make sure I'm fresh for tomorrow. . . Night all!
Work was pretty quiet, which I appreciated -- doing the GL, following up on a few returns, doing some reversal batches. Nothing too bad. Got home in decent time too, and spent the afternoon mucking around as I usually do on Fridays:
-->Watched a bunch of OXBox videos! Three new ones -- a list of weird things you got attached to in games (like FLUDD from Super Mario Sunshine, or your wedding ring from Fallout 4 -- or the Seaman from Seaman, which is particularly disturbing because it's a fish/frog thing with a human face); a chunk of gameplay from a new retro survival horror title, Back In 1995 (the title referring to the fact that the graphics and controls are set up so it resembles a game from the PS1 era, like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. It even has a fake CRT-screen border with screen effects! Unfortunately what it mainly did for Mike and Andy was remind them how awful tank controls are); and a list of enemies in games that became a pal in a later installment (GlaDOS from Portal 2 got a mention -- conveniently ignoring the part where she deletes her human side so she doesn't have to deal with being friends with Chell XD). And one old one, because I saw it on the recommended side bar and, well, it's a favorite of mine: the old "3 Ways To Play" of the Hitman: Patient Zero mission. You know, the one set in a hospital where 47 has to kill a "Patient Zero" with a super-contagious virus an evil doctor is trying weaponize, and is allowed to murder anyone who becomes infected, because this thing CANNOT be allowed to spread. The one where Andy got rid of the single infectee before she could spread it to anyone else, then burned Patient Zero and the doctor alive before leaving the level in style; where Jane managed to kill Patient Zero and the doctor fairly early, but had to go on a bit of a mercy murder spree with a screwdriver, for a final kill count of 37 infectees. . .
And where Mike ended up BASICALLY SLAUGHTERING THE ENTIRE LEVEL. I'm not kidding -- Mike's final kill count was the two targets (he attempted to explode them, only for his explosive to go off with a really wimpy bang and force him to shoot them); eleven non-target kills (mostly bodyguards who noticed him being suspicious and tried to shoot him); and ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE infectees. Not joking -- he literally could not kill people fast enough to slow the spread of infection. Mike "never met a non-target kill or collateral damage I didn't like" Channell was actually feeling BAD by the end of it. It's absolutely hilarious. XD
-->Also watched a "Fun With Shorts" about SPACE -- showing spatial relationships in artwork, that is. Vanishing points, overlapping, exaggerating features, things like that. A perfectly serviceable short, but made much better by the riffing. All hail Stubby the Golf Pencil!
-->Played some Fallout 4 -- after a false start (where I ended up opening fire on MY POTENTIAL COMPANION because I couldn't tell him apart from the mutant he was fighting), Victor, Preston, Rex, and Strong managed to get safely down and out of Trinity Tower. Rex gave me a fancy suit and headed back to his radio station, while Strong became available as a companion. I demurred at first, as I wanted to finish the Oberland station mission I was currently on, head back to Sanctuary, clean up my inventory, and then separate from Preston and head to the main plot.
Hahahaha -- Preston surprised me with a Minutemen core quest, "Taking Independence" -- all about reclaiming the "Castle," an old Minuteman fortress with a super-strong radio transmitter. Apparently we've helped enough settlements that he feels we need that. (Never mind that he keeps heaping NEW "go here and fix these problems" quests on me. . .) I TRIED to put it off for later, heading back to Sanctuary, helping the Abernathy Farm with some raiders, and clearing out my inventory with some armor and weapon upgrades. . .but then I made the mistake of talking to him after sleeping and accidentally put myself into the position of having to say "yes" or "no" to the quest. And -- I couldn't bring myself to say "no," so -- retaking the Castle it is! *sigh* Why can I never get back to the main plot??
The one good thing about this? Doing the quest has Preston go to gather backup and get things ready, meaning I had my companion slot free and could recruit Strong and have him around for a little while. From what I've seen on the wiki, there are some NASTY monsters both on the way to the Castle and in the Castle itself, so -- having a Super Mutant as my current companion is probably a good idea. Though I suspect I'll be doing a lot of saving and reloading as I try to keep everyone alive. This game can be tough, and I'm still only Level 13. . .oh, Victor, what have I gotten you into? XD
-->Did another short for "A Wedding, A Wedding" -- the "Victor and Alice actually agree to go to Brighton for their honeymoon" one. It's a rough draft, but it gets the idea across: William and Nell offer honeymoon; Alice admits she'd actually like to go to Brighton and thus she and Victor accept honeymoon; Nell promptly starts trying to force a to-do list on them; Victor and Alice push back by saying they will pay for the honeymoon themselves if the gift version comes with stipulations; Nell gets pissy about the way they're doing things; Victor snaps that they're welcome NOT to come. Thus explaining better why the Van Dorts aren't in the wedding chapter of "Fixing You" beyond "I don't want them there ruining Victor and Alice's day." *sigh* I still can't believe what was supposed to be a quick four chapters has suddenly become seven spanning two months. . . I mean, I DO like each individual story idea I came up with, but -- darn it, brain, I'm supposed to be working mostly on "Secundus 2!" (Which I suppose I still am, but still.)
-->Got my queue for Valice Multiverse sorted (I did the one for Victor Luvs Alice this morning in a spare moment, good for me); from super-busy to super-quiet! Just a couple of asks and one thread. *shrug* Guess everyone had other things they wanted to do this Friday night. I'll take it; gives me more time for the Friday Night Writing thing with my tumblr friend. (Very important since I have to make sure to end at a decent time so I can get up at a decent time for the cookout.)
So yeah -- busy but satisfying Friday afternoon. And now it's time for the Writing Thing before trying to get to bed before two A.M. Gotta make sure I'm fresh for tomorrow. . . Night all!
