Late Monday Update
Aug. 21st, 2023 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickAs you can clearly see from the timestamp, so let's get straight into the to-do list, shall we?
Work – Pretty quiet day that got rather more annoying as time went on – I did the very short GL, I cleaned up a few duplicates, I organized what’s still outstanding on my various bits of scrap paper, I did a QC file for a new capital campaign billing, and I ATTEMPTED to figure out if we’d put up a particular chargeback Fiscal had noticed or not, but it’s kind of hard to figure out when you don’t have any names or anything to attach to it. *sigh* Honestly, I was just in kind of a grumpy mood overall because I didn’t want to be at work at all (hard to readjust after a vacation!), but what can you do but endure. Meh.
Beanbags – We did play today, despite some horrible humidity – and while I didn’t do as well as yesterday, losing the first game, I was still champ in the end with wins in the other two (though the second one was a bit come-from-behind and relied on Dad getting a two when he needed a four). Dad, for his part, gradually went downhill, and Mom struggled a bit but managed to get second more often than not – final scores were me 3-W-W; Dad W-2-3; Mom 2-3-2. We’ll see if we play together and how it shakes out then!
To-Do List –
1. Get in a workout: Check – back on the bike tonight, and back to Oxventure Presents Blades In the Dark, with the next episode in the list, “Fate Of The Dimmer Sisters!” This was a Lilith and Barnaby adventure, taking place shortly after the train heist. In the days after the heist, Barnaby had managed to destress WITHOUT overindulging for a change (refusing to drink after midnight, as that seems to be the problem), and had gone to his optometrist to have his sandblasted corneas looked at – the guy had given him cool purple Dracula-type glasses to help correct his vision, but they were of such a high prescription that Barnaby’s eyes looked enormous behind them. XD Lilith, meanwhile, had ATTEMPTED to destress at the theater, but her chosen murder mystery play happened to be about a train heist during which everyone died – in the most cliched way possible, because the butler killed them all. Meaning that she left the play feeling barely better at all (one stress removed) and with a new fear of butlers (Barnaby trolled her by pretending he’d talked his butler into accompanying them on future trips XD). She also attempted to reduce their Heat by talking to the train driver in a bar, intending to get him on-side by sharing cool ghost stories and assuring him that he could always call on them for a hand – however, when she appeared in the bar, it turned out the driver had JUST been working up the courage to go to the Bluecoats with his story (guess we know what Luke rolled then last time!), and took Lilith’s appearance as a sign that she’d been tailing him, so he just knocked his drink back and left for home, terrified. Which DID reduce their Heat, so – yay? :p They just have to hope he doesn’t try talking to anyone OTHER than the Bluecoats now. . .
Anyway – the adventure proper started with Barnaby having taken Lilith to one of his posh lounges, where he was indulging in the old day-drinking while she had some tea. However, as she went to have another sip of her tea, she found that it had turned ice-cold. Soon after, a blackness descended upon them, leaving them lost in a void – Lilith was unnerved, while Barnaby was like “eh, I’ve had benders worse.” XD And then two women in familiar Dimmer Sisters robes appeared out of the gloom, and one of them presented –
A white flag. Which Barnaby promptly used as a napkin to dab bisque from his face. XD The other sister reminded her partner that you were supposed to WAVE it, not just hold it out, and after some more confusion over whether or not they were telling Barnaby he had more bisque on his face, the two realized that the girls, Millie and Lily, were offering a truce. Because, as it turned out, Keleanor, their leader, wanted to speak to them. Lilith and Barnaby, while a little cautious – after all, they DID collapse the Dimmer Sister mansion while escaping with the bracer and their patron Eleanor at the end of Season 1 – decided they were open to chat, and the Dimmer Sisters led them through the darkness to the room that Keleanor was staying in while the mansion was repaired, a ratty old place with a mattress Barnaby refused to sit on as it would ruin his coat. (And we can’t have the coat ruined TOO early. :p) Keleanor greeted them in raspy tones – fortunately, Lilith still had her toffees on her and offered one as a makeshift lozenge, and Luke rolled a five and was able to use a less-horrible voice for the NPC going forward. She explained that she knew that the Hobbyhorses were looking into Brightener activities, and that the Brighteners were in turn looking into them. So far the secret society was content just to observe, but Keleanor warned that they would be more than willing to strike if they thought the Hobbyhorses were a true threat. So far, so “Astor warning off Barnaby and Edvard from investigating the group” earlier.
However – as it turned out, Keleanor was in fact on the outs with the inner circle of the Brightstone Society for Analytical Alchemy, being as they were interested in just maintaining the status quo, and she very much wanted to go beyond and start trading sanity for madness so they could pierce the veil of reality and glimpse beautiful and horrifying truths (she went on in this vein for quite some time). Things had been said at a recent meeting, and right afterward two of her Sisters had been taken in on trumped-up charges of spirit-twisting (not BASELESS charges, just trumped-up ones) and been sentenced to be burned at the stake in public. While no friend of the Dimmer Sisters, Lilith and Barnaby were like “okay, yeah, that’s a bit horrifying.” So Keleanor proposed a trade – they saved her Sisters from the stake, and she’d tell them all the Brightener secrets she knew. The pair easily agreed to this bargain, and Barnaby asked for some details – where the girls where, what was going to happen to them on the day of, did she have any booze on her, etc. Keleanor explained the two were in Iron Hook Prison, and would be taken by carriage to the square in Brightstone where the burning would happen, stating bitterly that probably Lord Strangford (one of the most powerful men in the city, and a fellow Brightener – Barnaby considered him a bit of an idiot) would probably be there to oversee the execution, along with Bakaros of the Spirit Wardens and his minions to make sure the execution went off without a hitch. And yes, she DID have something with a bit of a kick on her – a mysterious liquid that would let Barnaby know the true shape of reality. As it turns out, though, Barnaby drinks to FORGET the true shape of reality, so he was happy to refuse this particular bottle – Keleanor called him a coward and took a swig herself, causing her eyes to turn ever so slightly purple at the corners. “Instant hangover,” Barnaby called it. XD She also informed them of the names of the captured Sisters – none other than good old Rosie and Josie! Barnaby was like “oh. . .can we let them burn a LITTLE, then?” XD Keleanor was insistent on them coming back unharmed, though, so Barnaby was like “Fine, but I reserve the right to be unhappy about it.” XD
And so planning began on how to save Rosie and Josie from the fire! The pair agreed that striking while the girls were being transported from prison to burning grounds was the best idea, and Barnaby decided to Consort with all his various contacts to see if he could find out what security company was being used for the transport (perhaps Squiffy had bought a company while drunk or something) –
And rolled double sixes! CRIT CRIT CRIT :D Luke decided that THAT meant that Barnaby himself was a major investor in the firm involved, Tripot Security – the brainchild of one Darnell Ironhook, the guy they robbed of his magnificent anchor in the second episode of Season 1. Turns out he’d still been willing to talk to Barnaby after the mess at sea, and Barnaby had recognized his hopes of getting into private security as a good investment. Barnaby was thus able to learn the types of carriage being used to transport their prisoners (basically giant steel boxes on wheels, each opened by two keys that had to be turned at the same time), how many would be used on the day (at least ten, as they’d be moving a bunch of other prisoners at the same time to cause confusion among those who might think to attack the convoy), and the route they’d be taking (a very circuitous path through the city). Barnaby also made sure, via flashback, to take Darnelle out drinking so the guy would like him (an adventure that ended up with them in the harbor, thus at least flashback-ruining a coat XD), and thus allow him to ask to actually oversee the whole thing as a prime investor – Darnelle ended up agreeing to the ride-along, but insisted that he’d have to be with Barnaby at all times. A bit of a complication, but I’m sure the pair will figure out how to work around that! Lilith, for her part, decided to stake out Iron Hook prison and try to see if she could figure out which carriage would be at the head of the eventual convoy – a four meant that she was able to see the carriages going in, and spot a distinctive bit of chipped paint that would let her identify one in particular (the one that went in last, in fact, meaning she was pretty sure it was going to come out first) – BUT a guard with a spotlight happened to spot her and ask what she was doing and who she was. Lilith claimed to just love carriages and threw an awful pun at him as her name (“Itza. . .Itza nice night, isn’t it?”) before bolting – she got away successfully, but her description HAS been added to the list of people the guards will be looking out for to avoid shenanigans during the transport. Though, if I’m honest, I think all she has to do to beat THAT is lower her hood – that snake-hair of hers is bound to be distracting! XD We’ll see what other plans they make, and how the start of the heist goes down, tomorrow! I’m excite~
2. Continue writing Valicer In The Dark, “Home Sweet Lair”: Check – Alice has explained to Smiler and Victor how Wonderland – specifically, saving it from the Queen of Hearts – is what got her out of her catatonia, and clarified to Victor that while, yes, her adventure through the corrupted Wonderland did involve a lot of symbolically killing her mental illness, it didn’t really FIX her. Mostly because even the Queen has a role in her psyche (being a representation of her bad temper, but also being that part of her that knows that sometimes, to deal with a problem, you have to be brutal), and she can’t just slaughter parts of her own mind and expect them to stay dead. The way she dealt with the Bluecoats also came up as a result of this, and Alice admitted to just being worried about her own fate should they go to prison, only to be immediately reassured by Smiler that their parents would have happily faked that she was an Advocate to keep her from being sent back to Rutledge, and by Victor that he would have shamelessly bribed their way out of trouble if he was able. :) Alice is definitely not used to people caring about her like this, and has said so, which is going to prompt Smiler to start going on about how stuff like this is exactly why the Advocates were formed. . .right before Victor notices an abandoned building nearby they can stop and rest in should they choose. . .
3. Keep up with YouTube Subs: Half check on purpose – as I had stuff to do on tumblr, I chose to watch just yesterday’s GrayStillPlays – “Becoming a pet owner who should be in prison,” aka Gray Plays Cat Life Pet Simulator 3D! This is another one of those dumb mobile games where you can either be the nicest or evilest creature in the world, and in this case the creature was a cute cat! A cat who, thanks to Gray always picking the most evil option, did things like leap on the bed and leapfrog a rat that was running around up there; beat up a new kitten who was introduced to the household; made sure to poop on Dad’s lap AND in front of the scratching post; left Dad to suffer at the fangs of three vicious doggos; ate Dad’s underwear during his birthday celebration; and basically drop-kicked an alligator toy that the whole family was playing with. He was a very bad cat indeed. XD Though interestingly, Gray couldn’t show us any of the weirdest options, because he made the mistake of paying to turn off all the ads, and without the ability to watch said ads, he couldn’t actually click on them. So we had to miss out on things like kitten strippers and the cat stealing a motorbike from dear old Dad. :p Lesson learned, I suppose – never pay to get rid of the ads, and always keep an eye out to see if your cat is possessed by GrayStillPlays when it does something naughty. XD
4. Get my tumblr queues sorted: Check – I finished up the full text, tags, and alt text on the third post of this week’s Chill Save update, and I did the text of the fourth and fifth ones so I’d have THAT bit done (or as done as I can get tonight – probably will end up tweaking it a bit tomorrow). I’ll finish up the alt text for the images and the tags tomorrow as I get to queuing! But at least I’m in a decent spot to DO that now.
*nods* Not bad -- I could have done without being in a bad mood most of the day because of having to be at work during such a slow time of the year, but I'm feeling a bit calmer now. And now it is time to head to bed and prepare for another such day. Night all!
Work – Pretty quiet day that got rather more annoying as time went on – I did the very short GL, I cleaned up a few duplicates, I organized what’s still outstanding on my various bits of scrap paper, I did a QC file for a new capital campaign billing, and I ATTEMPTED to figure out if we’d put up a particular chargeback Fiscal had noticed or not, but it’s kind of hard to figure out when you don’t have any names or anything to attach to it. *sigh* Honestly, I was just in kind of a grumpy mood overall because I didn’t want to be at work at all (hard to readjust after a vacation!), but what can you do but endure. Meh.
Beanbags – We did play today, despite some horrible humidity – and while I didn’t do as well as yesterday, losing the first game, I was still champ in the end with wins in the other two (though the second one was a bit come-from-behind and relied on Dad getting a two when he needed a four). Dad, for his part, gradually went downhill, and Mom struggled a bit but managed to get second more often than not – final scores were me 3-W-W; Dad W-2-3; Mom 2-3-2. We’ll see if we play together and how it shakes out then!
To-Do List –
1. Get in a workout: Check – back on the bike tonight, and back to Oxventure Presents Blades In the Dark, with the next episode in the list, “Fate Of The Dimmer Sisters!” This was a Lilith and Barnaby adventure, taking place shortly after the train heist. In the days after the heist, Barnaby had managed to destress WITHOUT overindulging for a change (refusing to drink after midnight, as that seems to be the problem), and had gone to his optometrist to have his sandblasted corneas looked at – the guy had given him cool purple Dracula-type glasses to help correct his vision, but they were of such a high prescription that Barnaby’s eyes looked enormous behind them. XD Lilith, meanwhile, had ATTEMPTED to destress at the theater, but her chosen murder mystery play happened to be about a train heist during which everyone died – in the most cliched way possible, because the butler killed them all. Meaning that she left the play feeling barely better at all (one stress removed) and with a new fear of butlers (Barnaby trolled her by pretending he’d talked his butler into accompanying them on future trips XD). She also attempted to reduce their Heat by talking to the train driver in a bar, intending to get him on-side by sharing cool ghost stories and assuring him that he could always call on them for a hand – however, when she appeared in the bar, it turned out the driver had JUST been working up the courage to go to the Bluecoats with his story (guess we know what Luke rolled then last time!), and took Lilith’s appearance as a sign that she’d been tailing him, so he just knocked his drink back and left for home, terrified. Which DID reduce their Heat, so – yay? :p They just have to hope he doesn’t try talking to anyone OTHER than the Bluecoats now. . .
Anyway – the adventure proper started with Barnaby having taken Lilith to one of his posh lounges, where he was indulging in the old day-drinking while she had some tea. However, as she went to have another sip of her tea, she found that it had turned ice-cold. Soon after, a blackness descended upon them, leaving them lost in a void – Lilith was unnerved, while Barnaby was like “eh, I’ve had benders worse.” XD And then two women in familiar Dimmer Sisters robes appeared out of the gloom, and one of them presented –
A white flag. Which Barnaby promptly used as a napkin to dab bisque from his face. XD The other sister reminded her partner that you were supposed to WAVE it, not just hold it out, and after some more confusion over whether or not they were telling Barnaby he had more bisque on his face, the two realized that the girls, Millie and Lily, were offering a truce. Because, as it turned out, Keleanor, their leader, wanted to speak to them. Lilith and Barnaby, while a little cautious – after all, they DID collapse the Dimmer Sister mansion while escaping with the bracer and their patron Eleanor at the end of Season 1 – decided they were open to chat, and the Dimmer Sisters led them through the darkness to the room that Keleanor was staying in while the mansion was repaired, a ratty old place with a mattress Barnaby refused to sit on as it would ruin his coat. (And we can’t have the coat ruined TOO early. :p) Keleanor greeted them in raspy tones – fortunately, Lilith still had her toffees on her and offered one as a makeshift lozenge, and Luke rolled a five and was able to use a less-horrible voice for the NPC going forward. She explained that she knew that the Hobbyhorses were looking into Brightener activities, and that the Brighteners were in turn looking into them. So far the secret society was content just to observe, but Keleanor warned that they would be more than willing to strike if they thought the Hobbyhorses were a true threat. So far, so “Astor warning off Barnaby and Edvard from investigating the group” earlier.
However – as it turned out, Keleanor was in fact on the outs with the inner circle of the Brightstone Society for Analytical Alchemy, being as they were interested in just maintaining the status quo, and she very much wanted to go beyond and start trading sanity for madness so they could pierce the veil of reality and glimpse beautiful and horrifying truths (she went on in this vein for quite some time). Things had been said at a recent meeting, and right afterward two of her Sisters had been taken in on trumped-up charges of spirit-twisting (not BASELESS charges, just trumped-up ones) and been sentenced to be burned at the stake in public. While no friend of the Dimmer Sisters, Lilith and Barnaby were like “okay, yeah, that’s a bit horrifying.” So Keleanor proposed a trade – they saved her Sisters from the stake, and she’d tell them all the Brightener secrets she knew. The pair easily agreed to this bargain, and Barnaby asked for some details – where the girls where, what was going to happen to them on the day of, did she have any booze on her, etc. Keleanor explained the two were in Iron Hook Prison, and would be taken by carriage to the square in Brightstone where the burning would happen, stating bitterly that probably Lord Strangford (one of the most powerful men in the city, and a fellow Brightener – Barnaby considered him a bit of an idiot) would probably be there to oversee the execution, along with Bakaros of the Spirit Wardens and his minions to make sure the execution went off without a hitch. And yes, she DID have something with a bit of a kick on her – a mysterious liquid that would let Barnaby know the true shape of reality. As it turns out, though, Barnaby drinks to FORGET the true shape of reality, so he was happy to refuse this particular bottle – Keleanor called him a coward and took a swig herself, causing her eyes to turn ever so slightly purple at the corners. “Instant hangover,” Barnaby called it. XD She also informed them of the names of the captured Sisters – none other than good old Rosie and Josie! Barnaby was like “oh. . .can we let them burn a LITTLE, then?” XD Keleanor was insistent on them coming back unharmed, though, so Barnaby was like “Fine, but I reserve the right to be unhappy about it.” XD
And so planning began on how to save Rosie and Josie from the fire! The pair agreed that striking while the girls were being transported from prison to burning grounds was the best idea, and Barnaby decided to Consort with all his various contacts to see if he could find out what security company was being used for the transport (perhaps Squiffy had bought a company while drunk or something) –
And rolled double sixes! CRIT CRIT CRIT :D Luke decided that THAT meant that Barnaby himself was a major investor in the firm involved, Tripot Security – the brainchild of one Darnell Ironhook, the guy they robbed of his magnificent anchor in the second episode of Season 1. Turns out he’d still been willing to talk to Barnaby after the mess at sea, and Barnaby had recognized his hopes of getting into private security as a good investment. Barnaby was thus able to learn the types of carriage being used to transport their prisoners (basically giant steel boxes on wheels, each opened by two keys that had to be turned at the same time), how many would be used on the day (at least ten, as they’d be moving a bunch of other prisoners at the same time to cause confusion among those who might think to attack the convoy), and the route they’d be taking (a very circuitous path through the city). Barnaby also made sure, via flashback, to take Darnelle out drinking so the guy would like him (an adventure that ended up with them in the harbor, thus at least flashback-ruining a coat XD), and thus allow him to ask to actually oversee the whole thing as a prime investor – Darnelle ended up agreeing to the ride-along, but insisted that he’d have to be with Barnaby at all times. A bit of a complication, but I’m sure the pair will figure out how to work around that! Lilith, for her part, decided to stake out Iron Hook prison and try to see if she could figure out which carriage would be at the head of the eventual convoy – a four meant that she was able to see the carriages going in, and spot a distinctive bit of chipped paint that would let her identify one in particular (the one that went in last, in fact, meaning she was pretty sure it was going to come out first) – BUT a guard with a spotlight happened to spot her and ask what she was doing and who she was. Lilith claimed to just love carriages and threw an awful pun at him as her name (“Itza. . .Itza nice night, isn’t it?”) before bolting – she got away successfully, but her description HAS been added to the list of people the guards will be looking out for to avoid shenanigans during the transport. Though, if I’m honest, I think all she has to do to beat THAT is lower her hood – that snake-hair of hers is bound to be distracting! XD We’ll see what other plans they make, and how the start of the heist goes down, tomorrow! I’m excite~
2. Continue writing Valicer In The Dark, “Home Sweet Lair”: Check – Alice has explained to Smiler and Victor how Wonderland – specifically, saving it from the Queen of Hearts – is what got her out of her catatonia, and clarified to Victor that while, yes, her adventure through the corrupted Wonderland did involve a lot of symbolically killing her mental illness, it didn’t really FIX her. Mostly because even the Queen has a role in her psyche (being a representation of her bad temper, but also being that part of her that knows that sometimes, to deal with a problem, you have to be brutal), and she can’t just slaughter parts of her own mind and expect them to stay dead. The way she dealt with the Bluecoats also came up as a result of this, and Alice admitted to just being worried about her own fate should they go to prison, only to be immediately reassured by Smiler that their parents would have happily faked that she was an Advocate to keep her from being sent back to Rutledge, and by Victor that he would have shamelessly bribed their way out of trouble if he was able. :) Alice is definitely not used to people caring about her like this, and has said so, which is going to prompt Smiler to start going on about how stuff like this is exactly why the Advocates were formed. . .right before Victor notices an abandoned building nearby they can stop and rest in should they choose. . .
3. Keep up with YouTube Subs: Half check on purpose – as I had stuff to do on tumblr, I chose to watch just yesterday’s GrayStillPlays – “Becoming a pet owner who should be in prison,” aka Gray Plays Cat Life Pet Simulator 3D! This is another one of those dumb mobile games where you can either be the nicest or evilest creature in the world, and in this case the creature was a cute cat! A cat who, thanks to Gray always picking the most evil option, did things like leap on the bed and leapfrog a rat that was running around up there; beat up a new kitten who was introduced to the household; made sure to poop on Dad’s lap AND in front of the scratching post; left Dad to suffer at the fangs of three vicious doggos; ate Dad’s underwear during his birthday celebration; and basically drop-kicked an alligator toy that the whole family was playing with. He was a very bad cat indeed. XD Though interestingly, Gray couldn’t show us any of the weirdest options, because he made the mistake of paying to turn off all the ads, and without the ability to watch said ads, he couldn’t actually click on them. So we had to miss out on things like kitten strippers and the cat stealing a motorbike from dear old Dad. :p Lesson learned, I suppose – never pay to get rid of the ads, and always keep an eye out to see if your cat is possessed by GrayStillPlays when it does something naughty. XD
4. Get my tumblr queues sorted: Check – I finished up the full text, tags, and alt text on the third post of this week’s Chill Save update, and I did the text of the fourth and fifth ones so I’d have THAT bit done (or as done as I can get tonight – probably will end up tweaking it a bit tomorrow). I’ll finish up the alt text for the images and the tags tomorrow as I get to queuing! But at least I’m in a decent spot to DO that now.
*nods* Not bad -- I could have done without being in a bad mood most of the day because of having to be at work during such a slow time of the year, but I'm feeling a bit calmer now. And now it is time to head to bed and prepare for another such day. Night all!
