Weekend Means Even Later Update
Jun. 17th, 2022 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickBut as it IS the weekend, also means it's harder to care. :p Plus I am busy doing some of the other social stuff and whatnot around the interwebs that I do on Friday nights. . .but I do have some updates for you:
Work – Extremely quiet day – basically spent all of it doing obits, with one call and a brief meeting to help bring the temp up to speed on more of the stuff we do around here to break things up. Rather boring, but as I said yesterday. . .then again, I just FINISHED the last of the obits, and we’re all done with the returned mail too, so I may be wanting some stress just to make the days go by soon. XD
Beanbags – Not today – we had a brief, fast-moving thunderstorm come through around 2:30 PM and just soak everything, and while it was back to being sunny by the time I got home, it was also still very muggy and hot, and the grass was wet, and it was generally agreed it was going to be miserable and buggy. We’ll pick it back up tomorrow!
To-Do List –
1. Get in a workout: Check – back on the bike to finish off the Oxventure stream “Gnome Alone!” Which – ran longer than I expected, because for once they did NOT have like seven minutes worth of “buffer” time at the end. *grumbles* Me and time management need to have a serious talk here. . .
Anyway! Left it off mid-fight with the troglodytes, with Merilwen having been poisoned by their stench – fortunately, this was not a “reduce hit points until you’re dead” situation, but a “you’re so overwhelmed by the smell you can’t effectively do anything situation” – she had to roll at Disadvantage, which meant rolling twice and taking the lower result. This meant her attempt to further cook the troglodyte that Egbert had already roasted internally (giving it a crispy outer layer) didn’t go to plan, with the intended victim leaping out of the way. Max then went in with their swords, but also missed both their hits, booo. Things were looking a bit grim –
But then Prudence managed to step up to the plate with good old Eldritch Blast! She didn’t do spectacularly well, but she did give a troglodyte something to think about with all the eldritch energy (mainly, how to survive with one hit point left). However, before combat could go back around again to Corazon, the troglodytes that were NOT terribly injured heard some sort of strange call down the corridor and retreated, the Oxventures hot on their heels to figure out where they were going (well, mostly – Egbert ended up falling rather behind, his troglodyte kebab sitting rather heavy in his stomach). The ones they were fighting met up with another holding some gnomes, and they all proceeded into a big room with a pit in the middle, where the gnomes were tossed in with a kobold. And on the other side of the pit, sucking the brain out of the cranium of another luckless kobold –
Was a mind flayer. Welcome to the real boss of the episode (and the actual thing that made Corazon freeze last time)! Prudence, in true Chaotic Evil fashion, immediately said their Plan A should be striking a deal with the mind flayer to lead them to the rest of the gnomes and kobolds in exchange for safe passage out. XD The others were not very keen on this plan (even Corazon, who clearly loathed the gnomes), but as Corazon slowly snuck up on it, they allowed her to at least try to talk to it. However, her attempt at communication hit an immediate snag as the Mind Flayer was one of their few enemies NOT to speak Common – only Undercommon and Deep Speech. Corazon helpfully cast Comprehend Languages and asked if the Mind Flayer could stop eating gnomes and kobolds, only to get a firm “no” in response – they enjoy their horrible meals too much.
So Corazon went in for the stab on the old brain pan, and combat began anew! He didn’t do terrific damage to the Flayer, but at least gave it something pointy to think about, and was allowed to hide as his bonus action. Merilwen tried once again to roast something with her Create Flame spell, and once again missed – Egbert, by contrast, went in with brute force and managed to just RIP off a facial tentacle. XD Max, inspired by his example, went in with their swords and scored one nasty hit on the chest – Prudence followed with a dual Agonizing Blast, though she was conflicted about it thanks to the Flayer looking a bit like Cthulhu. Appropriately, only one of her beams hit, though it did do some damage. Corazon jumped back into the fray long enough to sneak attack its brain again with his big old cutlasses and do some decent damage – but as he returned to cover, he noticed the troglodytes fleeing –
Cue the Mind Flayer letting loose with a NASTY psychic blast! Merilwen, Prudence, and Max all passed their saving throws and were okay despite the unpleasantness; Egbert and Corazon weren’t so lucky and ended up stunned for their next round, taking twenty-two points of psychic damage each. (After Johnny and Andy looked up whether or not Corazon could finally use Evasion on this area-of-effect attack – turns out it only works if you’re making a DEX save to avoid the damage, and psychic damage is against INT). Fortunately Egbert was tanky and Corazon – had enough hit points to survive, at least. XD The remaining combatants decided it was time to really put this monster down – Merilwen went in and poisoned it with her Poison Spray; Max went in with their sword and – did one point of damage by poking it in the swirled brains; and Prudence once again warmed up the Agonizing Blast!
And got a crit on one beam. :D She basically lasered it to death with eldritch energy, then borrowed one of the stunned Corazon’s swords to chop off its head so she could take it with her as a trophy. Dad Cthulhu was pleased. XD With the monster defeated, Max freed the gnomes and kobold from the pit, Merilwen blocked the entrance to that particular cave chamber with Stoneshape to trap the troglodytes inside, and they tromped back to the gym to share the good news and finally learn the way out. The gnomes were grumpy as hell, as per usual, but did admit they were glad the adventurers showed up. And they had made Shattershield a stretcher for easier transport, at least. Even better, Shattershield, upon hearing of their deeds from Max, admitted they were not totally fools and this whole experience, including saving his life, had earned Egbert some major atonement points. :) Awww! I mean, this was followed by Corazon throwing up on Shattershield and Egbert going “yeah, but it’s my fault that you ended up here” and the others having to remind him not to talk himself out of his own atonement, but it was a genuinely nice, feel-good moment, you know? :)
And then the gnome elder learned from the rescued gnomes about Prudence’s attempt to cut a deal, and the gang ended up being chased out of the caves by the gnomes (and possibly the kobolds). XD You know, typical end to an Oxventure! Good times, good times – even if I do kinda miss Dob. I know he’ll be back eventually, though!
2. Continue writing “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland”: Check – Alice has left LaCroix’s office, and now she’s heading back to the ground floor to start her next mission. But this time she has some company in the elevator – Terrence and Van, the Ventrue and Toreador from the first story (the ones who captured her and Fish, then picked her up after the Sabbat nonsense), who I’ve decided are ALSO investigating the plaguebearer thing for the Camarilla side. Because they should really have some people already looking into it, right? They’re kind of a fun duo to write – Van is very stereotypically Toreador, while Terrence is a more down-to-earth Ventrue. XD I’m planning on them continuing to make cameos up until the end of the series. :) And hey, now Alice can ask someone about this “Elysium” term LaCroix threw around. . .
3. Keep up with YouTube Subs: Three-fifths check, but it's as much as I was gonna get done tonight anyway – tomorrow is gonna be “catch up with all the James Turner uploads” day. But for now –
A) First up, the latest Fun With Shorts – “Toyland Express,” basically a commercial for some specific toys (chosen because they help the kids learn better hand-eye coordination and music appreciation and all that nonsense) featuring a bunch of kids saying what Marketing told them to say and Paul Winchell and his ventriloquist dummy Jerry making comments on the toys and telling stupid jokes. Josh of course got off some very nice riffs about how all this was ridiculous – and the comment section informed me that Paul Winchell should have considered himself much too good for this shit, as he was also a noted voice actor and patented an artificial heart design! O.o Who knew?
B) Then it was over to Call Me Kevin and more making horrible decisions in The Quarry! You know, that new horror game where you control a bunch of camp counselors and fuck up their social lives along with their actual lives? And trust me, a lot of lives were fucked up in this episode! Two of the characters went swimming together (impressing Kevin with their quick-change skills), only for one to abandon his supposed girlfriend in the lake the moment he heard a scream. . .leading to him running through the woods in his swim trunks, getting caught by the human hunter people, managing to escape the dude whose trap he sprung – only to get shot in the face by Kevin, controlling the guy who got his hands on the gun and making him shoot every bush that twitched. And then the girlfriend wandered off on her own, recording a video for her followers, and ended up getting eaten by one of the monsters (I THINK they’re supposed to be some sort of skinless variation on werewolves?) because Kevin made her go down the trap door of certain death. XD Meanwhile, the guy he left for dead LAST time somehow survived – but only because he got infected with the skinless werewolf stuff, and started acting REALLY creepy around his potential girlfriend. First time ended with the potential girlfriend shoving him into a pool – second time? She got her head literally ripped off. O.o That’s how Kevin ended the video, in fact. XD Not to mention, there’s ANOTHER guy who probably got infected when he and gun-dude were trying to fix the radio in the PA cabin (because gun-dude absolutely REFUSED to cut his arm off), and basically everyone hates each other because Kevin almost always chooses the most aggressive or sarcastic options possible when they interact. The only one who seems to be immune to his shenanigans is one particular girl who managed to outrun one of the hunter guys in a cutscene, making Kevin think she’s got plot armor. Which could very well be true! I’d have to check on TV Tropes. . .
C) And finally, we had GrayStillPlays and Dog Life Simulator! Another mobile game, where you play as a golden retriever (starting as a FETUS – you have to click to turn it into a puppy before actually starting) and you can either be a good dog or a BAD dog. Guess what Gray chose. XD His dog, Cannibella, was cheerfully doing shit like peeing on their owner, attacking burglars (yes, this was the bad option), destroying the house in a rage because the owners dared to get a new puppy, attacking their owner’s side chick, chomping the vet when they got a shot, demanding a stripper dog for their birthday, literally EATING A CAT, and pooping on the owner’s kid’s head. And then attacking his girlfriend and stealing her wig. XD This dog was so bad that, when Gray maxed out the “Hell” meter, THE GAME LITERALLY CRASHED. He was stuck in mobile game purgatory, unable to revive it. New personal best, Gray! XD
4. Get my tumblr queues sorted: Check – nothing much happening on Valice Multiverse, so I reblogged some VTMB and FO4 posts for funsies (the former talking about the silly brand names and such in the universe, and I encouraged the people taking screenshots to go behind the counter in the Ocean House Bar to check out those labels). So that’s something!
So yeah, pretty decent night, all things considered! :) And now I have a nice, non-cleaning Saturday to look forward to, yay~ Here's my to-dos for the day:
1. Edit the gift fic for tumblr friend Nebby's upcoming birthday
2. Keep up with YouTube Subs, catch up with James Turner and Plumbella
3. Play Fallout 4 and get further into rescuing Nick if possible
4. Work on tumblr drafts
Yes, Fallout 4 tomorrow -- I'm still waiting on more updates regarding my current set of mods for Sims 4, and of course still evaluating what I've seen so far about the Werewolves pack. Catching up on James and Plumbella should help there -- though Plumbella's recent thumbnails seem to be pointing to a stupid bug that should have been caught much sooner, so. . .yeah. We'll see how that goes. I may very much want to shoot things after watching that anyway.
*shakehead* But let's not think about that right now. Right now is time for chilling and whatnot. Literally, with the air finally cooling down around here. . .hopefully I sleep well tonight! Night all!
Work – Extremely quiet day – basically spent all of it doing obits, with one call and a brief meeting to help bring the temp up to speed on more of the stuff we do around here to break things up. Rather boring, but as I said yesterday. . .then again, I just FINISHED the last of the obits, and we’re all done with the returned mail too, so I may be wanting some stress just to make the days go by soon. XD
Beanbags – Not today – we had a brief, fast-moving thunderstorm come through around 2:30 PM and just soak everything, and while it was back to being sunny by the time I got home, it was also still very muggy and hot, and the grass was wet, and it was generally agreed it was going to be miserable and buggy. We’ll pick it back up tomorrow!
To-Do List –
1. Get in a workout: Check – back on the bike to finish off the Oxventure stream “Gnome Alone!” Which – ran longer than I expected, because for once they did NOT have like seven minutes worth of “buffer” time at the end. *grumbles* Me and time management need to have a serious talk here. . .
Anyway! Left it off mid-fight with the troglodytes, with Merilwen having been poisoned by their stench – fortunately, this was not a “reduce hit points until you’re dead” situation, but a “you’re so overwhelmed by the smell you can’t effectively do anything situation” – she had to roll at Disadvantage, which meant rolling twice and taking the lower result. This meant her attempt to further cook the troglodyte that Egbert had already roasted internally (giving it a crispy outer layer) didn’t go to plan, with the intended victim leaping out of the way. Max then went in with their swords, but also missed both their hits, booo. Things were looking a bit grim –
But then Prudence managed to step up to the plate with good old Eldritch Blast! She didn’t do spectacularly well, but she did give a troglodyte something to think about with all the eldritch energy (mainly, how to survive with one hit point left). However, before combat could go back around again to Corazon, the troglodytes that were NOT terribly injured heard some sort of strange call down the corridor and retreated, the Oxventures hot on their heels to figure out where they were going (well, mostly – Egbert ended up falling rather behind, his troglodyte kebab sitting rather heavy in his stomach). The ones they were fighting met up with another holding some gnomes, and they all proceeded into a big room with a pit in the middle, where the gnomes were tossed in with a kobold. And on the other side of the pit, sucking the brain out of the cranium of another luckless kobold –
Was a mind flayer. Welcome to the real boss of the episode (and the actual thing that made Corazon freeze last time)! Prudence, in true Chaotic Evil fashion, immediately said their Plan A should be striking a deal with the mind flayer to lead them to the rest of the gnomes and kobolds in exchange for safe passage out. XD The others were not very keen on this plan (even Corazon, who clearly loathed the gnomes), but as Corazon slowly snuck up on it, they allowed her to at least try to talk to it. However, her attempt at communication hit an immediate snag as the Mind Flayer was one of their few enemies NOT to speak Common – only Undercommon and Deep Speech. Corazon helpfully cast Comprehend Languages and asked if the Mind Flayer could stop eating gnomes and kobolds, only to get a firm “no” in response – they enjoy their horrible meals too much.
So Corazon went in for the stab on the old brain pan, and combat began anew! He didn’t do terrific damage to the Flayer, but at least gave it something pointy to think about, and was allowed to hide as his bonus action. Merilwen tried once again to roast something with her Create Flame spell, and once again missed – Egbert, by contrast, went in with brute force and managed to just RIP off a facial tentacle. XD Max, inspired by his example, went in with their swords and scored one nasty hit on the chest – Prudence followed with a dual Agonizing Blast, though she was conflicted about it thanks to the Flayer looking a bit like Cthulhu. Appropriately, only one of her beams hit, though it did do some damage. Corazon jumped back into the fray long enough to sneak attack its brain again with his big old cutlasses and do some decent damage – but as he returned to cover, he noticed the troglodytes fleeing –
Cue the Mind Flayer letting loose with a NASTY psychic blast! Merilwen, Prudence, and Max all passed their saving throws and were okay despite the unpleasantness; Egbert and Corazon weren’t so lucky and ended up stunned for their next round, taking twenty-two points of psychic damage each. (After Johnny and Andy looked up whether or not Corazon could finally use Evasion on this area-of-effect attack – turns out it only works if you’re making a DEX save to avoid the damage, and psychic damage is against INT). Fortunately Egbert was tanky and Corazon – had enough hit points to survive, at least. XD The remaining combatants decided it was time to really put this monster down – Merilwen went in and poisoned it with her Poison Spray; Max went in with their sword and – did one point of damage by poking it in the swirled brains; and Prudence once again warmed up the Agonizing Blast!
And got a crit on one beam. :D She basically lasered it to death with eldritch energy, then borrowed one of the stunned Corazon’s swords to chop off its head so she could take it with her as a trophy. Dad Cthulhu was pleased. XD With the monster defeated, Max freed the gnomes and kobold from the pit, Merilwen blocked the entrance to that particular cave chamber with Stoneshape to trap the troglodytes inside, and they tromped back to the gym to share the good news and finally learn the way out. The gnomes were grumpy as hell, as per usual, but did admit they were glad the adventurers showed up. And they had made Shattershield a stretcher for easier transport, at least. Even better, Shattershield, upon hearing of their deeds from Max, admitted they were not totally fools and this whole experience, including saving his life, had earned Egbert some major atonement points. :) Awww! I mean, this was followed by Corazon throwing up on Shattershield and Egbert going “yeah, but it’s my fault that you ended up here” and the others having to remind him not to talk himself out of his own atonement, but it was a genuinely nice, feel-good moment, you know? :)
And then the gnome elder learned from the rescued gnomes about Prudence’s attempt to cut a deal, and the gang ended up being chased out of the caves by the gnomes (and possibly the kobolds). XD You know, typical end to an Oxventure! Good times, good times – even if I do kinda miss Dob. I know he’ll be back eventually, though!
2. Continue writing “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland”: Check – Alice has left LaCroix’s office, and now she’s heading back to the ground floor to start her next mission. But this time she has some company in the elevator – Terrence and Van, the Ventrue and Toreador from the first story (the ones who captured her and Fish, then picked her up after the Sabbat nonsense), who I’ve decided are ALSO investigating the plaguebearer thing for the Camarilla side. Because they should really have some people already looking into it, right? They’re kind of a fun duo to write – Van is very stereotypically Toreador, while Terrence is a more down-to-earth Ventrue. XD I’m planning on them continuing to make cameos up until the end of the series. :) And hey, now Alice can ask someone about this “Elysium” term LaCroix threw around. . .
3. Keep up with YouTube Subs: Three-fifths check, but it's as much as I was gonna get done tonight anyway – tomorrow is gonna be “catch up with all the James Turner uploads” day. But for now –
A) First up, the latest Fun With Shorts – “Toyland Express,” basically a commercial for some specific toys (chosen because they help the kids learn better hand-eye coordination and music appreciation and all that nonsense) featuring a bunch of kids saying what Marketing told them to say and Paul Winchell and his ventriloquist dummy Jerry making comments on the toys and telling stupid jokes. Josh of course got off some very nice riffs about how all this was ridiculous – and the comment section informed me that Paul Winchell should have considered himself much too good for this shit, as he was also a noted voice actor and patented an artificial heart design! O.o Who knew?
B) Then it was over to Call Me Kevin and more making horrible decisions in The Quarry! You know, that new horror game where you control a bunch of camp counselors and fuck up their social lives along with their actual lives? And trust me, a lot of lives were fucked up in this episode! Two of the characters went swimming together (impressing Kevin with their quick-change skills), only for one to abandon his supposed girlfriend in the lake the moment he heard a scream. . .leading to him running through the woods in his swim trunks, getting caught by the human hunter people, managing to escape the dude whose trap he sprung – only to get shot in the face by Kevin, controlling the guy who got his hands on the gun and making him shoot every bush that twitched. And then the girlfriend wandered off on her own, recording a video for her followers, and ended up getting eaten by one of the monsters (I THINK they’re supposed to be some sort of skinless variation on werewolves?) because Kevin made her go down the trap door of certain death. XD Meanwhile, the guy he left for dead LAST time somehow survived – but only because he got infected with the skinless werewolf stuff, and started acting REALLY creepy around his potential girlfriend. First time ended with the potential girlfriend shoving him into a pool – second time? She got her head literally ripped off. O.o That’s how Kevin ended the video, in fact. XD Not to mention, there’s ANOTHER guy who probably got infected when he and gun-dude were trying to fix the radio in the PA cabin (because gun-dude absolutely REFUSED to cut his arm off), and basically everyone hates each other because Kevin almost always chooses the most aggressive or sarcastic options possible when they interact. The only one who seems to be immune to his shenanigans is one particular girl who managed to outrun one of the hunter guys in a cutscene, making Kevin think she’s got plot armor. Which could very well be true! I’d have to check on TV Tropes. . .
C) And finally, we had GrayStillPlays and Dog Life Simulator! Another mobile game, where you play as a golden retriever (starting as a FETUS – you have to click to turn it into a puppy before actually starting) and you can either be a good dog or a BAD dog. Guess what Gray chose. XD His dog, Cannibella, was cheerfully doing shit like peeing on their owner, attacking burglars (yes, this was the bad option), destroying the house in a rage because the owners dared to get a new puppy, attacking their owner’s side chick, chomping the vet when they got a shot, demanding a stripper dog for their birthday, literally EATING A CAT, and pooping on the owner’s kid’s head. And then attacking his girlfriend and stealing her wig. XD This dog was so bad that, when Gray maxed out the “Hell” meter, THE GAME LITERALLY CRASHED. He was stuck in mobile game purgatory, unable to revive it. New personal best, Gray! XD
4. Get my tumblr queues sorted: Check – nothing much happening on Valice Multiverse, so I reblogged some VTMB and FO4 posts for funsies (the former talking about the silly brand names and such in the universe, and I encouraged the people taking screenshots to go behind the counter in the Ocean House Bar to check out those labels). So that’s something!
So yeah, pretty decent night, all things considered! :) And now I have a nice, non-cleaning Saturday to look forward to, yay~ Here's my to-dos for the day:
1. Edit the gift fic for tumblr friend Nebby's upcoming birthday
2. Keep up with YouTube Subs, catch up with James Turner and Plumbella
3. Play Fallout 4 and get further into rescuing Nick if possible
4. Work on tumblr drafts
Yes, Fallout 4 tomorrow -- I'm still waiting on more updates regarding my current set of mods for Sims 4, and of course still evaluating what I've seen so far about the Werewolves pack. Catching up on James and Plumbella should help there -- though Plumbella's recent thumbnails seem to be pointing to a stupid bug that should have been caught much sooner, so. . .yeah. We'll see how that goes. I may very much want to shoot things after watching that anyway.
*shakehead* But let's not think about that right now. Right now is time for chilling and whatnot. Literally, with the air finally cooling down around here. . .hopefully I sleep well tonight! Night all!
