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Better Weather Sunday
Jul. 18th, 2021 10:59 pmIn the sense that we got to see the sun occasionally, and while it was distressingly cloudy, it never rained or -- more importantly -- thunderstormed. Which meant I could actually DO THINGS I WANTED TO DO ON THE COMPUTER. Isn't that nice? Though, admittedly, I wasn't in the greatest of moods today for another reason -- namely, I went to bed WAAAY too late last night, and then, just as I was starting to get to sleep, I heard a buzzing in my ear from underneath my pillows. A few smacks later, I found a little bug had somehow gotten in there. I killed and disposed of it, but that whole incident meant that I didn't get to sleep until around 3 AM -- and I woke up at 8-something because I needed the bathroom and never really got back to sleep proper. Mom ended up having me take everything off the bed so we could look under the mattress, and we added some more tape around the AC to close off any other routes into my room. *sigh* Getting really tired of this "having trouble sleeping" shit -- literally.
But yes, on the plus side, much more productive day, as evidenced by this updated to-do list:
1. Do the second draft of the tumblr gift fic: Check! Got that done this morning – think it came out pretty well, for something written with a character I’m not that familiar with. But I like writing anyone arguing with LaCroix, so that all works out, really. XD I just hope the tumblr friend likes it!
And yes, as per usual these days, I spent a bit of time working on matching up Sims 4 vampire powers to Bloodlines disciplines in preparation for that “Bloodlines Challenge” I’d like to do in Sims 4 at some point. I’ve linked almost all of the disciplines with something at this point, though a few I had to consult how they work in the actual tabletop games (original and V5) over the video game, because there’s just no match in the Sims 4 power set. And “Mentalism” from Bloodlines 2 is a complete no-go – it’s telekinesis, it seems to be unique to that bit of vaporware, I don’t think I’ll find anything for it. And I still haven’t decided what to do with all of the Sims 4 powers yet. . .I mean, this challenge isn’t coming for a while, so I have time to fiddle, but still. Might as well be prepared, right?
2. Keep up on YouTube Subs and watch Jon’s FO4 YOLO episode: Check, plus – thanks to the weather not being COMPLETELY FREAKING AWFUL today – I even managed to get a few more videos out of the WL! Imagine that, right?
A) Started this afternoon with James Turner and the latest in the Cottage Living Early Access LP! Most of the beginning of the episode was more fiddly renovation, as James desperately tried to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with the layout of Chaz’s barn home. Dude, mood. XD He eventually came up with something he was happy enough with, complete with a kitchen nook, mud room, and large bathroom. Upstairs is still looking kind of sad, but at least now Chaz has stairs instead of a ladder! He also has a very busy life – feed the chickens, feed the cow, feed the llama, collect the eggs, milk the cow, shear the llama, check on his plants, run off to Finchwick to sell all his produce and whatnot, occasionally finish helping out a Sim with their errands (he finally cleared out the ones for Sara at the Pub and Kim at the Grocery Stall today), and then stumble to bed before doing it all again. He’s making good money (especially now that he’s learned how to make spicy treats for Obsidian eggs from his chickens), but doesn’t really have a lot of time to himself. James is thinking that it might be time to hire some help – or maybe even just give Chaz some help. And given he cannot yet be merged into the main save, I’m not sure what that would entail. . .
B) Then, since I saw it pop up with the title “Goodbye Ireland,” I went ahead and watched Call Me Kevin’s latest – a vlog to let us know “hey, if I’ve been inconsistent with streams and whatnot, it’s because I am moving to Spain to escape Ireland and the hell it is playing on my allergies!” XD No, seriously, he said that a) he has always wanted to live in Spain, at least for a while and b) the reason he’s been missing streams on Twitch is because his allergies have been giving him hell, poor guy. So he’s moving to Spain, move should take place at the end of July, he may miss a few uploads but he thinks he’ll be back up and running sooner rather than later. I wished him all the best in my comment – moving across RI was tough enough for me five years ago (damn). I can’t imagine what moving to another COUNTRY at the tail end of COVID is going to be like! Good thing Anna’s apparently already got Spanish citizenship. . .
C) Then I managed to spend a little bit of time with one Plumbella over in the Watch Later:
I. “The Sims 4: Cottage Living World Review” – just a general overview of the world of Henford-on-Bagley, which Plumbella felt qualified to do as she is, you know, an English Simmer. (Not THE English Simmer, but she is English and a Simmer.) And she was quite approving – admitted that it could be hard to navigate in the more open areas of the Bramblewood and Old New Henford, and felt that there should be more semidetached houses in Finchwick (instead of everyone having their own specific plot of land), but she admitted those were just nitpicks and she really loves the pack and the way it looks. And she apologized to Declan for overloading him with videos from her LP. XD Poor guy. . .
II. “we have sinned in the Cottage Living cow shed” – back to the Cottage Living LP, with Jesse McCowtipping having a nice, chill day in Finchwick, learning how to cross-stitch for the first time and giving the completed pattern to Michael as a “Finchwick Favor.” This then led to a date at the local pub which – well, thanks to Jesse being a bit distracted and some jokes not landing well, only made Bronze. Plumbella was determined though and had him over the next day for more romancing, culminating in a first kiss followed by trying for baby in the cow shed! XD Successful too, no less – now we just have to see what cow-themed name Plumbella comes up with for the bairn. . .
III. “okay this pack is a lil suggestive, your honour” – another episode of the LP, with Jesse McCowtipping (now heavily pregnant with Michael Bell’s baby) participating in the “average size” vegetables fair – to Jesse’s annoyance, as she’d specifically saved up her bigger veg for this one, not realizing. She submitted a sad carrot and got a participation trophy, poor thing. Ah well. . .she also had her baby by the end of the episode – little Daisy! Who, having been born in a cow shed, now lives out with the rest of the animals. XD Look, Plumbella thought it was more efficient than having the baby in the house, okay?
D) Then in the gap between my shower and supper (mostly because Mom had to run out during said gap), I watched GrayStillPlays versus another GTA V stunt board! This one started out as a board of multiple choice horrors, where you’d better pick the right spot to fall down the tube, or either get yeeted through the air or smashed to pieces in a blender. XD Or just encounter a wall that has a checkpoint hidden tantalizingly close behind it. Gray’s car ended up so beat up the left half of it was melting. XD Fortunately, Gray could ditch it for the second part of the board – unfortunately, that was so his Florida Man character could kill himself multiple times in a series of free-fall obstacle courses, culminating in a drop through a home-made Spongebob’s front teeth. XD There is a reason most of the course is red, and it’s to hide the terrible, terrible bloodstains! XD Oh dear. . .
E) And finally, this evening after supper, it was time for Jon’s latest Fallout 4 YOLO episode! Today was the great trip to the Nakano Household, which occurred in roughly three parts:
I. The Preparation – Finalley going between Hangman’s Alley and Diamond City to figure out what kit she needed and to make sure she had enough ammo and chems and whatnot. She’s going in power armor, natch (her nice BOS set) and while food shouldn’t be much of a problem (plenty of wildlife up on the Island), water might be an issue, so she took plenty of that. Over in Diamond City, she made herself a bunch of grape mentats for all the Charisma checks, then updated one piece of armor (I want to say a leg piece?) to Brotherhood of Steel because it’s basically free extra rad resistance if she’s out of her power armor and it IS legit in the game despite having no materials. She also swapped her chest piece over to the asbestos lining because enemies shooting fire (Anglers) are a thing on the Island, and she’s gotta be prepared! Along the way, Jon talked about how he can never enter the Colonial Taphouse again because taking a quest from – I believe Mags Black – in Nuka-World means there’s now a raider in there ready to commit murder, and also he’s gotta avoid Colette because she’s linked to the drug money murders Finalley committed some time back. XD Also, since Finalley needs to avoid having caps on her, and thus can’t pay the Diamond City surgeons to fuck up her face for her, Jon set up a surgery chair in Hangman’s Alley and gave her some grody new scars as a result of all her Nuka-World adventures. A shame we can’t do anything on her back because THAT’S where that clown-painted bastard actually got her, but yeah.
II. Trip Part 1 – After a good night’s sleep and all her scarification, Finalley was off, in her power armor and with all her gear! Though there were a few things that she had to pick up along the way. . .first stop, Corvega, where she had to spend quite a bit of time (and a couple of crits) taking care of the respawned raiders so she could grab the Repair Bobblehead and add ten percent to the life of her fusion cores (which, given she’s a VATS-heavy shooter, is important as hell – though it’s worth noting she burned a fusion core in getting it). From there it was to the Drumlin Diner to do some trading for extra ammo (with the loot she got off the corpse of the raider right outside), then over to Starlight Drive-In, where she solved the overcrowding problem by sending a bunch of settlers off to the Castle. Because Jon is eyeing the Minutemen as her endgame for the main campaign, and since that means attacks on the castle, he’s only too happy to empty out other settlements to get an army set up there. Finalley also encountered my favorite random encounter just outside the place – the wounded dog! This is a wounded mongrel whom, if you choose to heal her (this generally takes a stimpack, but Jon discovered you can also do it through the power of positive thinking), will become an ally who spawns in occasionally to help you with stuff. Jon named her Sparky, but I will always think of her as Mutt due to my own first encounter with her. (And I have never wanted anything more than a mod than will allow you to formally adopt her.)
III. Trip Part 2 – After healing Sparky, Finalley swung by Tenpines Bluff, where she encountered a farmer being chased by rather-less-friendly mongrels. Seeing an opportunity to get her crits back up, she helped him out, and he repaid her – with 50 bottlecaps. Jon was livid. XD Fortunately her stats stay boosted to the max from SCAV! as long as she’s under 100 caps, so she just has to spend these as quick as she can once she reaches Far Harbor. With that sorted, she headed over to Outpost Zimonja to send more people to the Castle – though when she arrived, there actually seemed to be more brahmin than humans. O.o As Jon put it, Finalley accidentally created a ranch! But she got her soldiers off to be trained, and then headed up north to the Fence At The Edge Of The World. Yes, in order to mark the boundaries of the playable area, Bethesda put up a fence – a fence that, happily, has pretty much NO enemies anywhere near it! (Except for one bear, for some reason.) Finalley used that fence to skirt the edge of the map straight toward the Nakanos, with one quick detour over to Recon Bunker Theta to finally talk to Brandis, tell him about his team, and convince him to rejoin the Brotherhood. And to let Jon complain about the fact that Brandis, if convinced to go back to the BOS, will give the Sole Survivor a special gun that has the Bloodied effect on it – it gets more powerful the lower your health is, meaning it’s perfect for Finalley – except, as a guaranteed spawn, she can’t use it. And, apparently, under normal circumstances, the “Bloodied” legendary effect is tied to MELEE weapons, meaning Finalley has no chance of a random spawn of one. So yes, that annoyed Jon quite a lot, poor fellow. (Also annoying – Sparky showing up again surprisingly early and causing explosions outside of Bunker Theta. Jon thought it was enemies, but I remember correctly, that area is just mined to hell and back, probably by Brandis himself.)
But yeah – by episode’s end, Finalley had reached the Nakanos with a minimum of trouble thanks to The Fence. Next week, it looks like we officially start the trip to Far Harbor! This should be interesting. . .
3. Play Sims 4 and work some more on that house shell I made in my building save: Check! Nothing too special here – I just fiddled with the layout a bit (using some cheap and random items to figure out where I want the living room to be, the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, all of that), and added a pool and a greenhouse to the back garden. It’s a pretty swanky house – designed so far for parents and a couple of kids (each with their own en-suite bath upstairs!), and it’s got a vaguely Victorian feel to it. I might come back to it after picking up Cottage Living and use some of the stuff in that pack in it.
4. Get in a workout: Check! Back on the bike today at last, watching another recent upload from The English Simmer – little things that annoy her about The Sims 4! Gee, I wonder why I was in the mood to watch people griping. . . :p Anyway, her complaints range from “why can’t we save our own styled outfits” (which, yeah, why not) to “the Simology panel is getting REALLY cluttered” (it is, though I never noticed you could close certain sections before – that’s handy) to “I want to get rid of these townies who end up in my relationships panel because they randomly joined a conversation” (why can’t we just have a base game update that stops them doing that?). Just little quality-of-life fixes – that you probably ought to rely on mods to get, because holy hell it’s taken us seven years and an expansion pack to get groceries, so I don’t hold out much hope for this little stuff.
Additionally:
-->As for tumblr queues, got a head start on the Chill Save update for the week on Victor Luvs Alice – three posts of pictures, all set up, boom. :) Still need to finish the text, but I’ll see if I can get at least a couple done tomorrow. And on Valice Multiverse, one ask reply, one thread reply, so that's all sorted, yay.
Aaah, nice to have completed things for a change. Just wish this weekend had been more relaxing overall. . .I'll settle for a better night's sleep tonight. Hopefully this upcoming week won't be too difficult. Night all!
But yes, on the plus side, much more productive day, as evidenced by this updated to-do list:
1. Do the second draft of the tumblr gift fic: Check! Got that done this morning – think it came out pretty well, for something written with a character I’m not that familiar with. But I like writing anyone arguing with LaCroix, so that all works out, really. XD I just hope the tumblr friend likes it!
And yes, as per usual these days, I spent a bit of time working on matching up Sims 4 vampire powers to Bloodlines disciplines in preparation for that “Bloodlines Challenge” I’d like to do in Sims 4 at some point. I’ve linked almost all of the disciplines with something at this point, though a few I had to consult how they work in the actual tabletop games (original and V5) over the video game, because there’s just no match in the Sims 4 power set. And “Mentalism” from Bloodlines 2 is a complete no-go – it’s telekinesis, it seems to be unique to that bit of vaporware, I don’t think I’ll find anything for it. And I still haven’t decided what to do with all of the Sims 4 powers yet. . .I mean, this challenge isn’t coming for a while, so I have time to fiddle, but still. Might as well be prepared, right?
2. Keep up on YouTube Subs and watch Jon’s FO4 YOLO episode: Check, plus – thanks to the weather not being COMPLETELY FREAKING AWFUL today – I even managed to get a few more videos out of the WL! Imagine that, right?
A) Started this afternoon with James Turner and the latest in the Cottage Living Early Access LP! Most of the beginning of the episode was more fiddly renovation, as James desperately tried to figure out what the hell he wanted to do with the layout of Chaz’s barn home. Dude, mood. XD He eventually came up with something he was happy enough with, complete with a kitchen nook, mud room, and large bathroom. Upstairs is still looking kind of sad, but at least now Chaz has stairs instead of a ladder! He also has a very busy life – feed the chickens, feed the cow, feed the llama, collect the eggs, milk the cow, shear the llama, check on his plants, run off to Finchwick to sell all his produce and whatnot, occasionally finish helping out a Sim with their errands (he finally cleared out the ones for Sara at the Pub and Kim at the Grocery Stall today), and then stumble to bed before doing it all again. He’s making good money (especially now that he’s learned how to make spicy treats for Obsidian eggs from his chickens), but doesn’t really have a lot of time to himself. James is thinking that it might be time to hire some help – or maybe even just give Chaz some help. And given he cannot yet be merged into the main save, I’m not sure what that would entail. . .
B) Then, since I saw it pop up with the title “Goodbye Ireland,” I went ahead and watched Call Me Kevin’s latest – a vlog to let us know “hey, if I’ve been inconsistent with streams and whatnot, it’s because I am moving to Spain to escape Ireland and the hell it is playing on my allergies!” XD No, seriously, he said that a) he has always wanted to live in Spain, at least for a while and b) the reason he’s been missing streams on Twitch is because his allergies have been giving him hell, poor guy. So he’s moving to Spain, move should take place at the end of July, he may miss a few uploads but he thinks he’ll be back up and running sooner rather than later. I wished him all the best in my comment – moving across RI was tough enough for me five years ago (damn). I can’t imagine what moving to another COUNTRY at the tail end of COVID is going to be like! Good thing Anna’s apparently already got Spanish citizenship. . .
C) Then I managed to spend a little bit of time with one Plumbella over in the Watch Later:
I. “The Sims 4: Cottage Living World Review” – just a general overview of the world of Henford-on-Bagley, which Plumbella felt qualified to do as she is, you know, an English Simmer. (Not THE English Simmer, but she is English and a Simmer.) And she was quite approving – admitted that it could be hard to navigate in the more open areas of the Bramblewood and Old New Henford, and felt that there should be more semidetached houses in Finchwick (instead of everyone having their own specific plot of land), but she admitted those were just nitpicks and she really loves the pack and the way it looks. And she apologized to Declan for overloading him with videos from her LP. XD Poor guy. . .
II. “we have sinned in the Cottage Living cow shed” – back to the Cottage Living LP, with Jesse McCowtipping having a nice, chill day in Finchwick, learning how to cross-stitch for the first time and giving the completed pattern to Michael as a “Finchwick Favor.” This then led to a date at the local pub which – well, thanks to Jesse being a bit distracted and some jokes not landing well, only made Bronze. Plumbella was determined though and had him over the next day for more romancing, culminating in a first kiss followed by trying for baby in the cow shed! XD Successful too, no less – now we just have to see what cow-themed name Plumbella comes up with for the bairn. . .
III. “okay this pack is a lil suggestive, your honour” – another episode of the LP, with Jesse McCowtipping (now heavily pregnant with Michael Bell’s baby) participating in the “average size” vegetables fair – to Jesse’s annoyance, as she’d specifically saved up her bigger veg for this one, not realizing. She submitted a sad carrot and got a participation trophy, poor thing. Ah well. . .she also had her baby by the end of the episode – little Daisy! Who, having been born in a cow shed, now lives out with the rest of the animals. XD Look, Plumbella thought it was more efficient than having the baby in the house, okay?
D) Then in the gap between my shower and supper (mostly because Mom had to run out during said gap), I watched GrayStillPlays versus another GTA V stunt board! This one started out as a board of multiple choice horrors, where you’d better pick the right spot to fall down the tube, or either get yeeted through the air or smashed to pieces in a blender. XD Or just encounter a wall that has a checkpoint hidden tantalizingly close behind it. Gray’s car ended up so beat up the left half of it was melting. XD Fortunately, Gray could ditch it for the second part of the board – unfortunately, that was so his Florida Man character could kill himself multiple times in a series of free-fall obstacle courses, culminating in a drop through a home-made Spongebob’s front teeth. XD There is a reason most of the course is red, and it’s to hide the terrible, terrible bloodstains! XD Oh dear. . .
E) And finally, this evening after supper, it was time for Jon’s latest Fallout 4 YOLO episode! Today was the great trip to the Nakano Household, which occurred in roughly three parts:
I. The Preparation – Finalley going between Hangman’s Alley and Diamond City to figure out what kit she needed and to make sure she had enough ammo and chems and whatnot. She’s going in power armor, natch (her nice BOS set) and while food shouldn’t be much of a problem (plenty of wildlife up on the Island), water might be an issue, so she took plenty of that. Over in Diamond City, she made herself a bunch of grape mentats for all the Charisma checks, then updated one piece of armor (I want to say a leg piece?) to Brotherhood of Steel because it’s basically free extra rad resistance if she’s out of her power armor and it IS legit in the game despite having no materials. She also swapped her chest piece over to the asbestos lining because enemies shooting fire (Anglers) are a thing on the Island, and she’s gotta be prepared! Along the way, Jon talked about how he can never enter the Colonial Taphouse again because taking a quest from – I believe Mags Black – in Nuka-World means there’s now a raider in there ready to commit murder, and also he’s gotta avoid Colette because she’s linked to the drug money murders Finalley committed some time back. XD Also, since Finalley needs to avoid having caps on her, and thus can’t pay the Diamond City surgeons to fuck up her face for her, Jon set up a surgery chair in Hangman’s Alley and gave her some grody new scars as a result of all her Nuka-World adventures. A shame we can’t do anything on her back because THAT’S where that clown-painted bastard actually got her, but yeah.
II. Trip Part 1 – After a good night’s sleep and all her scarification, Finalley was off, in her power armor and with all her gear! Though there were a few things that she had to pick up along the way. . .first stop, Corvega, where she had to spend quite a bit of time (and a couple of crits) taking care of the respawned raiders so she could grab the Repair Bobblehead and add ten percent to the life of her fusion cores (which, given she’s a VATS-heavy shooter, is important as hell – though it’s worth noting she burned a fusion core in getting it). From there it was to the Drumlin Diner to do some trading for extra ammo (with the loot she got off the corpse of the raider right outside), then over to Starlight Drive-In, where she solved the overcrowding problem by sending a bunch of settlers off to the Castle. Because Jon is eyeing the Minutemen as her endgame for the main campaign, and since that means attacks on the castle, he’s only too happy to empty out other settlements to get an army set up there. Finalley also encountered my favorite random encounter just outside the place – the wounded dog! This is a wounded mongrel whom, if you choose to heal her (this generally takes a stimpack, but Jon discovered you can also do it through the power of positive thinking), will become an ally who spawns in occasionally to help you with stuff. Jon named her Sparky, but I will always think of her as Mutt due to my own first encounter with her. (And I have never wanted anything more than a mod than will allow you to formally adopt her.)
III. Trip Part 2 – After healing Sparky, Finalley swung by Tenpines Bluff, where she encountered a farmer being chased by rather-less-friendly mongrels. Seeing an opportunity to get her crits back up, she helped him out, and he repaid her – with 50 bottlecaps. Jon was livid. XD Fortunately her stats stay boosted to the max from SCAV! as long as she’s under 100 caps, so she just has to spend these as quick as she can once she reaches Far Harbor. With that sorted, she headed over to Outpost Zimonja to send more people to the Castle – though when she arrived, there actually seemed to be more brahmin than humans. O.o As Jon put it, Finalley accidentally created a ranch! But she got her soldiers off to be trained, and then headed up north to the Fence At The Edge Of The World. Yes, in order to mark the boundaries of the playable area, Bethesda put up a fence – a fence that, happily, has pretty much NO enemies anywhere near it! (Except for one bear, for some reason.) Finalley used that fence to skirt the edge of the map straight toward the Nakanos, with one quick detour over to Recon Bunker Theta to finally talk to Brandis, tell him about his team, and convince him to rejoin the Brotherhood. And to let Jon complain about the fact that Brandis, if convinced to go back to the BOS, will give the Sole Survivor a special gun that has the Bloodied effect on it – it gets more powerful the lower your health is, meaning it’s perfect for Finalley – except, as a guaranteed spawn, she can’t use it. And, apparently, under normal circumstances, the “Bloodied” legendary effect is tied to MELEE weapons, meaning Finalley has no chance of a random spawn of one. So yes, that annoyed Jon quite a lot, poor fellow. (Also annoying – Sparky showing up again surprisingly early and causing explosions outside of Bunker Theta. Jon thought it was enemies, but I remember correctly, that area is just mined to hell and back, probably by Brandis himself.)
But yeah – by episode’s end, Finalley had reached the Nakanos with a minimum of trouble thanks to The Fence. Next week, it looks like we officially start the trip to Far Harbor! This should be interesting. . .
3. Play Sims 4 and work some more on that house shell I made in my building save: Check! Nothing too special here – I just fiddled with the layout a bit (using some cheap and random items to figure out where I want the living room to be, the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, all of that), and added a pool and a greenhouse to the back garden. It’s a pretty swanky house – designed so far for parents and a couple of kids (each with their own en-suite bath upstairs!), and it’s got a vaguely Victorian feel to it. I might come back to it after picking up Cottage Living and use some of the stuff in that pack in it.
4. Get in a workout: Check! Back on the bike today at last, watching another recent upload from The English Simmer – little things that annoy her about The Sims 4! Gee, I wonder why I was in the mood to watch people griping. . . :p Anyway, her complaints range from “why can’t we save our own styled outfits” (which, yeah, why not) to “the Simology panel is getting REALLY cluttered” (it is, though I never noticed you could close certain sections before – that’s handy) to “I want to get rid of these townies who end up in my relationships panel because they randomly joined a conversation” (why can’t we just have a base game update that stops them doing that?). Just little quality-of-life fixes – that you probably ought to rely on mods to get, because holy hell it’s taken us seven years and an expansion pack to get groceries, so I don’t hold out much hope for this little stuff.
Additionally:
-->As for tumblr queues, got a head start on the Chill Save update for the week on Victor Luvs Alice – three posts of pictures, all set up, boom. :) Still need to finish the text, but I’ll see if I can get at least a couple done tomorrow. And on Valice Multiverse, one ask reply, one thread reply, so that's all sorted, yay.
Aaah, nice to have completed things for a change. Just wish this weekend had been more relaxing overall. . .I'll settle for a better night's sleep tonight. Hopefully this upcoming week won't be too difficult. Night all!
