Somewhat Wound Up Saturday
Jan. 20th, 2024 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickYeah, unfortunately today proved not to be the most relaxing day off, as I spent a not-insignificant portion of the day wound up internally for one reason or another. (I swear, the END of my period sometimes leaves me as off-kilter emotionally as the beginning -- I think it's the hormones getting themselves resettled again.) Didn't help that I got a later start on the day than I wanted thanks to both sleeping in a little later AND spending a decent amount of time doing laundry stuff because my parents were out most of the day (Mom getting her birthday present from Dad, a new sewing machine -- her birthday's NEXT Saturday, but she really wants to make new arm covers and stuff for our new loveseats, sooo. . .), and YouTube Nonsense kept me from watching something I was looking forward to this evening. But I did get some important stuff done regardless --
Tumblr: Not as productive over here as I would have liked, but I got some stuff done –
Victor Luvs Alice – I cleaned up the main text of my drafts (which did take a bit even with most of it being pre-written – some stuff I had to tweak or make clearer for my tumblr audience, and of course the formatting is a bit different over there), and got the tags done on the very first post as well! So that’s all sorted, at least!
Valice Multiverse – Nothing happening over here – fortunately I had my most recent Not Incorrect Valicer Quotes collection to slot into the queue. *shrug* It’s something!
Baldur’s Gate III: Holy fuck, I actually played today. I mean, I got to playing LATE, because ever since that damn hotfix that potentially broke quest items dropped near the beginning of the month, I have had The Anxiety about the game (and also because I had to update my 5e Spells, Artificer Class, Improved UI Assets, and Secret Scrolls mods), but I did actually boot up the game (hell, I did so twice – first through the BG3 Mod Manager after updating my mods, and then through Steam so I could take advantage of its screenshot button) and progressed in the story a little bit! Specifically –
A) Smiler, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Us all headed to the helm and got involved in the fight between the mind flayer and Commander Zhalk and his minions – the group was able to take out the smaller enemies with little issue (Lae’zel at one point making good use of a “caustic bulb” she found to coat some enemies in acid), though I quickly realized I was gonna have no chance taking out Commander Zhalk (who has a special sword you can claim if you DO kill him) with my current party. Especially since he insisted on making his saving throws against Smiler’s Mind Slivers. >( I just kept chipping away at him for fun while having the characters gradually make their way toward the transponder that was the end goal for this area, looting all the dead bodies along the way. Took me long enough to get there that a couple of bonus enemies (cambions, lesser devils in this setting) spawned in behind the party – however, they spawned in SO FAR behind (in the next room over!) that they only just managed to dash into the room before Smiler reached the transponder and connected the necessary nerves to get the ship out of Avernus (First of the Nine Hells) and back to Faerun (earning themselves the first achievement of the game, yay). I’m actually kind of glad that I delayed it that long – having the extra enemies appear at the doorway just as the party reached the transponder made it feel like there was a bit more urgency to the whole mission – not only were the gang trying to get out of the Hells before another dragon attack rendered the ship unflyable, they ALSO had to get out before the devils themselves overwhelmed the ship! It’s just more cinematic, you know?
B) The Nautiloid crashed on the beach beside the Emerald Grove (where all the druids live), watched by all the characters who will soon become important in Act One, and Smiler woke up on said beach the morning after, having been knocked out of the crashing ship before being saved by a mysterious force. I had them try to collect their bearings, then more successfully collect Shadowheart (who was also unconscious nearby – she was very eager to stick with her new friend, and thanked them kindly for freeing her when they could have easily passed her by) and start looting everything they could find. There are a lot of containers and such on this ravaged beach – along with a fair number of dead fishermen who did not survive having a nautiloid crash on top of them. One of which was carrying a love letter from his sweetheart, with her telling him that they should leave for Baldur’s Gate soon to start new lives. :( Awww. . . On the less-sad side, Smiler’s also picked up some gold, a trap disarm tool kit (handy!), a hammer, and the standard 50 feet of hempen rope (they are now officially An Adventurer XD). And there’s still more to snag in the general area. . .
C) Smiler and Shadowheart both leveled up! Apparently fighting those imps and boars and surviving the crash provided them with enough experience to reach Level 2. With Shadowheart, I just kept it simple – didn’t change any of her spells or her class or anything, just let her grab her new hit points and go. Smiler, on the other hand, started their multiclass journey by picking up their first level of Artificer! :D This got them an additional spell slot (as Artificer supplies one when you first multiclass into it); four new cantrips (the class automatically gave Smiler access to Mending (to fix objects) and Light (to imbue an object with, well, light) – along with Minor Illusion, the cantrip they already had (sigh) – and allowed them to pick two other ones – after a lot of “umming” and “ahhing,” I settled on Poison Spray and Mage Hand as the most useful/thematically appropriate); and – well, TECHNICALLY two new spells. Because, you see, there are two types of casters in this game – those who have spells Always Prepared (and thus only have those spells – there’s no switching out unless you chose to Optionally Replace a single spell during a level-up), and those who Prepare their spells (and thus can swap out what spells they’re using at any time other than combat – they just can only have a limited number “ready to go,” as it were). Bards are the former, so whatever you pick, you’re stuck with –
But Artificers are the LATTER. Meaning I spent a lot of time pondering what spells to get, finally decided on Sanctuary (because of, well, the name and its prominence in The Smiler lore XD) and Feather Fall (just useful!) – and then checked out Smiler’s stats in the game and realized “oh. They can swap those out like a wizard. I should have realized this because the mod itself says that any Artificer dialogue options are gonna show up saying ‘Wizard’ on them because presumably that was the class that was used as the baseline.” *shakehead* Well, I stand by my original choices, but I’m glad that I can switch them out as necessary!
And that’s where I am in the game currently! With Smiler and Shadowheart, freshly leveled, getting ready to clear out more of the beach. *nods* I’m looking forward to playing more soon – I have stuff to loot, companions to claim, enemies to fight, camp events to experience, and digital deluxe content to grab. *nods* All very important. XD
Writing: Got another chunk done on “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland,” with Strauss attempting to tell Alice that she should figure out what’s going on in L.A. on her own, only for Alice to shut that argument down by pointing out that a) asking someone who lives there IS an attempt to figure out what’s going on and b) she hasn’t had much of a chance to observe the city for herself due to being trapped in Santa Monica for the past week and then jumped by the Sabbat the minute she arrived back Downtown. Strauss admitted those were good points and gave her the skinny about the epidemic that’s popped up so suddenly and severely in her absence, and Alice volunteered to look into it. Mostly because she doesn’t want to become a carrier of disease, and because LaCroix was probably going to put her on the case anyway. Which, honestly, he really should in the game, because an epidemic raging in his domain is serious business! Maybe that being regulated to sidequest stuff is another example of what a bad Prince he truly is. . .
YouTube: Well, I managed to clear out the Watch Later this afternoon, but I was unable to watch my GrayStillPlays video of the day this evening because the stupid YouTube buffering issue is back with a vengeance. *heavy sigh* That’s REALLY going to be a problem tomorrow, I can already tell you that. . . Anyway, here’s what I did get through –
A) First up, we had the latest from OXBox – “7 Sibling Rivalries That Got Way Out of Hand!” Andy, Mike, and Jane detailing some of those sibling rivalries in video games that might make your own relationships with your siblings look calm and controlled. From the classics of Solid and Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid (we all know Liquid’s “I’m going to kill you because genetic engineering means I got all the crap recessive genes from our DNA dad” deal, right?) and Dante and Virgil in the Devil May Cry series (our favorite red/blue half-demon brothers with a penchant for trying to murder each other while snarkily referring to parties), to some more head-tilting ones like Lucas and Claus in Mother 3 (where the latter is your secret rival for most of the game, but I THINK he’s been mind-controlled while amnesiac?) and Mario and Luigi from the Super Mario series (again, Luigi does become a villain briefly in Super Paper Mario, but he’s DEFINITELY been mind-controlled there – this seems to be largely based on the gang THINKING Luigi should be bitter because his solo games all involve him running away from ghosts), these sibling pairings all could benefit from a bit of family therapy. And maybe a trip to the Tekken universe so they can see how bad it can REALLY get (seriously, EVERY family there seems to be trying to kill all the other members all of the time from what I’ve seen in other videos).
B) And then we had the latest from onlyabidoang – “The Sims 4: 15+ FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS MODS with New Activities & Gameplay!” Sixteen “functional object” mods and modpacks from various creators that give Sims things like more gym equipment (“Let’s Get Fit” modpack by Cepzid & hakrabr and “Flowfit” from the Sims Realist Team); an archery set (“Archery Skill” by Jane Simsten); a whole bunch of arcade games (“Arcade Room” modpack by Cepzid & hakrabr – aka the one mod set in the list that I own); the long-missing pool table (“Functional Pool Table” by UTOPYA_cc); and FUCKING WORKING HELICOPTERS (“Functional Helicopter” by waronkcc). Like, seriously, that last one is a helicopter that you can fly around in. It works like the bike and your Sims can carry it around in their inventories. How amazing is that? :D I love these mod showcases because it really shows how much awesome stuff modders are putting into the world. Seriously, the main game could NEVER.
*nods* Yeah -- not my best Saturday, I would say, but far from my worst. And now I REALLY have to get to bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow, I have to get more done on my Victor Luvs Alice Chill Valicer Save update drafts; catch up on that GrayStillPlays video and hopefully manage to watch both Gray and Jon's Sunday offerings without issue (not holding out much hope, though); either play Fallout 4 and investigate the Office Raiders or play more Baldur's Gate III and continue Smiler's adventures; either update the FO4 Playthrough Progression or do some more Valicer In The Dark worldbuilding depending on my gaming choice; and get in a workout. We'll see how well I do! Night all!
Tumblr: Not as productive over here as I would have liked, but I got some stuff done –
Victor Luvs Alice – I cleaned up the main text of my drafts (which did take a bit even with most of it being pre-written – some stuff I had to tweak or make clearer for my tumblr audience, and of course the formatting is a bit different over there), and got the tags done on the very first post as well! So that’s all sorted, at least!
Valice Multiverse – Nothing happening over here – fortunately I had my most recent Not Incorrect Valicer Quotes collection to slot into the queue. *shrug* It’s something!
Baldur’s Gate III: Holy fuck, I actually played today. I mean, I got to playing LATE, because ever since that damn hotfix that potentially broke quest items dropped near the beginning of the month, I have had The Anxiety about the game (and also because I had to update my 5e Spells, Artificer Class, Improved UI Assets, and Secret Scrolls mods), but I did actually boot up the game (hell, I did so twice – first through the BG3 Mod Manager after updating my mods, and then through Steam so I could take advantage of its screenshot button) and progressed in the story a little bit! Specifically –
A) Smiler, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, and Us all headed to the helm and got involved in the fight between the mind flayer and Commander Zhalk and his minions – the group was able to take out the smaller enemies with little issue (Lae’zel at one point making good use of a “caustic bulb” she found to coat some enemies in acid), though I quickly realized I was gonna have no chance taking out Commander Zhalk (who has a special sword you can claim if you DO kill him) with my current party. Especially since he insisted on making his saving throws against Smiler’s Mind Slivers. >( I just kept chipping away at him for fun while having the characters gradually make their way toward the transponder that was the end goal for this area, looting all the dead bodies along the way. Took me long enough to get there that a couple of bonus enemies (cambions, lesser devils in this setting) spawned in behind the party – however, they spawned in SO FAR behind (in the next room over!) that they only just managed to dash into the room before Smiler reached the transponder and connected the necessary nerves to get the ship out of Avernus (First of the Nine Hells) and back to Faerun (earning themselves the first achievement of the game, yay). I’m actually kind of glad that I delayed it that long – having the extra enemies appear at the doorway just as the party reached the transponder made it feel like there was a bit more urgency to the whole mission – not only were the gang trying to get out of the Hells before another dragon attack rendered the ship unflyable, they ALSO had to get out before the devils themselves overwhelmed the ship! It’s just more cinematic, you know?
B) The Nautiloid crashed on the beach beside the Emerald Grove (where all the druids live), watched by all the characters who will soon become important in Act One, and Smiler woke up on said beach the morning after, having been knocked out of the crashing ship before being saved by a mysterious force. I had them try to collect their bearings, then more successfully collect Shadowheart (who was also unconscious nearby – she was very eager to stick with her new friend, and thanked them kindly for freeing her when they could have easily passed her by) and start looting everything they could find. There are a lot of containers and such on this ravaged beach – along with a fair number of dead fishermen who did not survive having a nautiloid crash on top of them. One of which was carrying a love letter from his sweetheart, with her telling him that they should leave for Baldur’s Gate soon to start new lives. :( Awww. . . On the less-sad side, Smiler’s also picked up some gold, a trap disarm tool kit (handy!), a hammer, and the standard 50 feet of hempen rope (they are now officially An Adventurer XD). And there’s still more to snag in the general area. . .
C) Smiler and Shadowheart both leveled up! Apparently fighting those imps and boars and surviving the crash provided them with enough experience to reach Level 2. With Shadowheart, I just kept it simple – didn’t change any of her spells or her class or anything, just let her grab her new hit points and go. Smiler, on the other hand, started their multiclass journey by picking up their first level of Artificer! :D This got them an additional spell slot (as Artificer supplies one when you first multiclass into it); four new cantrips (the class automatically gave Smiler access to Mending (to fix objects) and Light (to imbue an object with, well, light) – along with Minor Illusion, the cantrip they already had (sigh) – and allowed them to pick two other ones – after a lot of “umming” and “ahhing,” I settled on Poison Spray and Mage Hand as the most useful/thematically appropriate); and – well, TECHNICALLY two new spells. Because, you see, there are two types of casters in this game – those who have spells Always Prepared (and thus only have those spells – there’s no switching out unless you chose to Optionally Replace a single spell during a level-up), and those who Prepare their spells (and thus can swap out what spells they’re using at any time other than combat – they just can only have a limited number “ready to go,” as it were). Bards are the former, so whatever you pick, you’re stuck with –
But Artificers are the LATTER. Meaning I spent a lot of time pondering what spells to get, finally decided on Sanctuary (because of, well, the name and its prominence in The Smiler lore XD) and Feather Fall (just useful!) – and then checked out Smiler’s stats in the game and realized “oh. They can swap those out like a wizard. I should have realized this because the mod itself says that any Artificer dialogue options are gonna show up saying ‘Wizard’ on them because presumably that was the class that was used as the baseline.” *shakehead* Well, I stand by my original choices, but I’m glad that I can switch them out as necessary!
And that’s where I am in the game currently! With Smiler and Shadowheart, freshly leveled, getting ready to clear out more of the beach. *nods* I’m looking forward to playing more soon – I have stuff to loot, companions to claim, enemies to fight, camp events to experience, and digital deluxe content to grab. *nods* All very important. XD
Writing: Got another chunk done on “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland,” with Strauss attempting to tell Alice that she should figure out what’s going on in L.A. on her own, only for Alice to shut that argument down by pointing out that a) asking someone who lives there IS an attempt to figure out what’s going on and b) she hasn’t had much of a chance to observe the city for herself due to being trapped in Santa Monica for the past week and then jumped by the Sabbat the minute she arrived back Downtown. Strauss admitted those were good points and gave her the skinny about the epidemic that’s popped up so suddenly and severely in her absence, and Alice volunteered to look into it. Mostly because she doesn’t want to become a carrier of disease, and because LaCroix was probably going to put her on the case anyway. Which, honestly, he really should in the game, because an epidemic raging in his domain is serious business! Maybe that being regulated to sidequest stuff is another example of what a bad Prince he truly is. . .
YouTube: Well, I managed to clear out the Watch Later this afternoon, but I was unable to watch my GrayStillPlays video of the day this evening because the stupid YouTube buffering issue is back with a vengeance. *heavy sigh* That’s REALLY going to be a problem tomorrow, I can already tell you that. . . Anyway, here’s what I did get through –
A) First up, we had the latest from OXBox – “7 Sibling Rivalries That Got Way Out of Hand!” Andy, Mike, and Jane detailing some of those sibling rivalries in video games that might make your own relationships with your siblings look calm and controlled. From the classics of Solid and Liquid Snake in Metal Gear Solid (we all know Liquid’s “I’m going to kill you because genetic engineering means I got all the crap recessive genes from our DNA dad” deal, right?) and Dante and Virgil in the Devil May Cry series (our favorite red/blue half-demon brothers with a penchant for trying to murder each other while snarkily referring to parties), to some more head-tilting ones like Lucas and Claus in Mother 3 (where the latter is your secret rival for most of the game, but I THINK he’s been mind-controlled while amnesiac?) and Mario and Luigi from the Super Mario series (again, Luigi does become a villain briefly in Super Paper Mario, but he’s DEFINITELY been mind-controlled there – this seems to be largely based on the gang THINKING Luigi should be bitter because his solo games all involve him running away from ghosts), these sibling pairings all could benefit from a bit of family therapy. And maybe a trip to the Tekken universe so they can see how bad it can REALLY get (seriously, EVERY family there seems to be trying to kill all the other members all of the time from what I’ve seen in other videos).
B) And then we had the latest from onlyabidoang – “The Sims 4: 15+ FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS MODS with New Activities & Gameplay!” Sixteen “functional object” mods and modpacks from various creators that give Sims things like more gym equipment (“Let’s Get Fit” modpack by Cepzid & hakrabr and “Flowfit” from the Sims Realist Team); an archery set (“Archery Skill” by Jane Simsten); a whole bunch of arcade games (“Arcade Room” modpack by Cepzid & hakrabr – aka the one mod set in the list that I own); the long-missing pool table (“Functional Pool Table” by UTOPYA_cc); and FUCKING WORKING HELICOPTERS (“Functional Helicopter” by waronkcc). Like, seriously, that last one is a helicopter that you can fly around in. It works like the bike and your Sims can carry it around in their inventories. How amazing is that? :D I love these mod showcases because it really shows how much awesome stuff modders are putting into the world. Seriously, the main game could NEVER.
*nods* Yeah -- not my best Saturday, I would say, but far from my worst. And now I REALLY have to get to bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow, I have to get more done on my Victor Luvs Alice Chill Valicer Save update drafts; catch up on that GrayStillPlays video and hopefully manage to watch both Gray and Jon's Sunday offerings without issue (not holding out much hope, though); either play Fallout 4 and investigate the Office Raiders or play more Baldur's Gate III and continue Smiler's adventures; either update the FO4 Playthrough Progression or do some more Valicer In The Dark worldbuilding depending on my gaming choice; and get in a workout. We'll see how well I do! Night all!
