Survived The Installation Mass
May. 20th, 2025 11:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickIt wasn't exactly FUN -- my coworkers showed up at basically the last second; the whole thing went on for way too long; and then my parents were late coming to get me (I'd had them drop me off because there was no parking to be had around the building for the regular employees) because there was some sort of accident on the highway. And it was a pretty chilly day today, so it wasn't exactly pleasant to wait. But I got through it, and now all that remains is to see if this one makes me sick too (as I caught Covid after the LAST one of these a couple of years ago). Just gotta see how I feel in the morning!
Happily, the rest of my day was pretty nice:
Tumblr: Good day over in tumbl-land, I am happy to report –
Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) – I was pretty damn productive over here today, if I do say so myself:
A) First, this morning, I took a moment to edit my tags on the reblog of the “if i'm not supposed to be attracted to the rollercoaster then why'd you make it so attractive huh.” post sitting in my drafts, to better explain how my Valicer OT3 came about (specifically, to explain how it’s all Victor’s fault since he’s the one who wanted to date the coaster – I just wanted to use the themes in fun sexytimes between him and Alice!)
B) Then I spent the rest of the morning working on the “How To Write Smiler Alton” post! Because I’d like it to be ready to post next week, as a lead-up of sorts to Smiler’s birthday next Saturday (the 31st, opening date of the coaster). I didn’t complete it, sadly – figuring out the wording for some of the bits proved pretty hard – but I got through a good chunk of it, covering the “Big,” “Cheerful” (and the different levels of such), and “Charismatic” portions of their personality, and getting a start on the “Intelligent” bit. Hopefully I can use some of my extra time this long weekend to get it sorted! There shouldn’t be that much more left, but you know me – writing up this stuff always takes a while.
C) And then, tonight, I got my queue for the rest of the week sorted, with:
I. A third reblog of the “Help: How Do Tav!Smiler in BG3???” post for Wednesday, just to get it out there one last time (who knows if it’ll help, but I figured I could at least try)
II. That post with all the VTMB-inspired keychain designs I put into my drafts earlier for Thursday (they’re pretty~)
III. A Severance gifset comparing Helly (Innie!Mark’s love interest) and Gemma (Outie!Mark’s beloved wife) and showing off how they’re actually kind of similar (it’s cute and makes me hope for World’s Weirdest Polyamory for the three of them XD)
IV. And a video of someone performing BOTH Christine and the Phantom’s parts during the big “Phantom of the Opera” musical number, with the help of a double-sided costume and a looot of breath control (very amusing AND very impressive, an excellent combination)
So THAT’S all good! :) Nice to be fully ahead of the curve.
Valice Multiverse – And over here, I had one anonymous ask to put in the queue, featuring two anonymous people arguing if “Good morning” counts as a quote from Confucius, with one being like “oh, so you think he NEVER said good morning to anyone ever?” XD I had High School!Smiler offer up that they couldn’t prove that Confucius was a late sleeper and thus greeted everyone with “Good afternoon,” to Victor’s amusement. XD They couldn’t resist being silly!
Writing: Edited another page of “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” this afternoon after the Mass, which featured Alice first realizing that the candle puzzle opened up the door she’d seen before in the atrium (the one with all the weird bands on it holding it closed), then very reluctantly listening to Dr. Grout’s second audio diary in the library at Wonderland’s urging. You know, the one where he laments the death of the traditional insane asylum, and all the horrors that occurred within. *wince* Yeah, uh, Alice is struggling mightily with the desire to murder this guy the minute she sees him, as you might expect from a former patient at Rutledge. And she’s pissed off with all the elder vampires (aka Strauss) who were apparently perfectly fine with this guy extolling “blissful gurgles of the lobotomized” and possibly kidnapping people off the street to experiment on them! Basically, she is not in a good mood – and given I’m about to send her into a room where she can’t just sneak past or knock out all the ghouls like she’s been doing, it’s only going to get worse...
YouTube: No Subs Tuesday again this week, so – since I had some extra time thanks to finishing my writing early – I went instead with a double-shot of CaFae Latte by C. M. Alongi! :D Hooray for getting to watch more than one episode at a time. We had –
A) First up, “CaFae Latte Season 49 - TikTok Compliation” – aka “the really dark one.” This season featured:
I. The gang doing their best to figure out what happened to Cyrus, with Husniya getting help from her husband’s FBI friends (everyone was a bit “…” over that), Patrick and Janine out driving around trying to find him and his car with Rethu providing aerial support, and JC trying desperately to phone Erik to see if he could help – only for him not to answer…
II. Cyrus waking up in the Stone Oak Coven kidnapping basement, learning from the head witch that they’re planning to have him harvested for parts but their doctor was running late, and after being a little snarky, getting one of the henchmen to scratch his nose – and then biting off his finger
III. The witch and henchmen discussing the Cyrus situation, with the henchman who got his finger bit off being all for putting a bullet in his brain – head witch said no, that would damage the merchandise, they’d just stay well away from the fairy; there was also a discussion of how their client basically “gave” them the fairy by putting a bad luck charm in his car, and how, as a result, he was getting his immortality potion for half off…
IV. The gang continuing to look for Cyrus, with Husniya’s husband getting them the address of a place the Stone Oak Coven just bought, and Patrick finally picking up his scent; meanwhile, the doctor finally arrived at the location, and they started discussing plans on how they were going to kill Cyrus – only for a VERY BLOODY Cyrus to show up with a knife, revealing that he knew how to get out of handcuffs and that the three henchmen they left him with were very dead…
V. Patrick and Janine arriving at the place just in time for Janine to catch the fleeing doctor...and then discovering that Cyrus managed to kill ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE IN THE BUILDING (obviously he didn’t catch the doctor, and he left the henchman whose finger he bit off alive) with the help of the glamoured knives disguised as pins on his hat; he also revealed that he’d overheard some stuff before his murder spree –
VI. And cue a furious Bob and JC arriving at Erik’s, where it was revealed that Erik set all of this up to get an immortality potion (Cyrus called him from the witch’s cell phone, which had records of all of their calls and texts). Erik claimed that they told him that they could do it WITHOUT killing Cyrus (and that he wasn’t going to pay them if they did), but Bob noted that the fact that Erik was still okay with Cyrus getting HURT for it was – upsetting, to say the least. Erik tried to weasel out of it with a “no harm no foul,” but Bob pulled a knife and refused to let him off that easy. Instead, she gave him a choice – he could be arrested and put in prison for what he did, all nice and legal, or she could sell her morals, get him a fruit of immortality from some pretty nasty acquaintances of hers in the Fae Realm, and give it to him with a curse – for as long as he lived, he would never have a friend, ally, lover, or even a pet. Erik, in the first smart decision he made all episode, chose to be arrested (asking just for a beer before they went to the station).
VII. And finally, Bob and Cyrus having to talk JC out of quitting because they knew their baker was only doing it out of misplaced guilt (JC having been the one to talk Bob into hiring Erik in the first place). They both firmly insisted that it wasn’t JC’s fault, only Erik’s, and that neither of them blamed them…
And then Cyrus used the opportunity to guilt JC into making cupcakes (which JC had refused to make previously, considering them inappropriate for a coffee shop) for the bakery to sell for a week. According to him, the resentment and fury really bought out the flavor. XD Nice to see things end on a lighthearted note after such a heavy episode. Fucking hell, Erik...you could have had a family there, but no. Shame.
B) And second up, “CaFae Latte Season 50 - TikTok Compilation,” aka “the one where Cyrus and Rethu get together!” :D This season featured –
I. Bob finally revealing to Husniya that she’d figured out she was a CIA agent sent to keep tabs on her (it was the way she read people and her response to Cyrus’s kidnapping) – Husniya owned up to it, confirming that both she and her husband were part of the agency (said hubby, Asif, is her handler, since he can’t lie to save his life) and asking if Bob wanted her to put in her two weeks; Bob said no, she wasn’t ready to lose another employee yet, and she and Cyrus were fine with the government watching them (and ONLY them – Husniya immediately confirmed she hadn’t told on any of the other employees or customers), so Husniya could continue working there. Though she would owe Bob a favor, so we’ll see how THAT plays out in the future…
II. Rethu going around to Patrick’s to ask his advice because they’d recently realized they were in love with Cyrus (well, they knew they were getting a crush on him, but the kidnapping kind of cemented the feelings), and they need to know if there were any “landmines” to look out for. Mainly, if Cyrus had truly moved on from the death of his last partner, Sean. They just didn’t want to make things awkward, you know? Patrick was like “look, I’m sure it’ll be fine, but for you I will try to do the ‘sneakily finding out if your crush likes you’ thing so we can avoid any potential drama. Because I only like that in books.” :P
III. Patrick checking in with Cyrus after finishing off their current D&D campaign with Janine, Toothy, and Drek (Drek wants to DM the next one!) and trying to sneakily figure out his feelings by talking about his own upcoming romantic getaway with Janine and the fact that they should invite Rethu to the next campaign – however, Cyrus knows his best friend, realized something was up, and got him to spill by revealing JC figured out dog-safe fudge. And then, right after Patrick spilled, revealed he’d been into Rethu for MONTHS. He’d just been reluctant to make a move because a) Rethu’s demi and it felt presumptuous, and b) he wanted to make damn sure that they were truly over the “love spell” incident with Jenny, because, you know, traumatizing. Patrick agreed that was probably for the best but said it was time to resolve things with an honest conversation, and Cyrus groaned and agreed. XD
IV. Cyrus having an encounter with a customer who needed help with figuring out what one of the pride flags stood for – only to have a blue screen moment when it turned out she knew exactly what “asexual” and “aromantic” meant, she just thought that the aromantic flag was the asexual one. Like, it was a good blue screen, but still. (Meanwhile, in the background, Bob cursed another customer for being a total dick about the LGBTQ representation, and good for her.)
V. Cyrus talking about his encounter with Rethu (he/him that video as per his pin), who was similarly shocked; confirming that Rethu was doing okay in the wake of Jenny; then telling Rethu that he’d learned about his feelings from Patrick and that he wanted to take him on a date. Rethu was a little annoyed at first that Patrick had spilled, but eagerly consented to the date, and they agreed to Friday. <3
VI. Husniya and Asif reporting back to their boss about the latest happenings in the cafe (also revealing that Erik used a plea deal to get his sentence down to three years, and that while he’d had no contact with any CaFae Latte staff, he should probably be watched)...and then Husniya dishing to Asif all about Cyrus finally asking Rethu out on the drive back to their house XD
VII. And Cyrus and Rethu’s date (with bonus JC being stunned because THEY didn’t see this coming at all; Drek, by contrast, thought they were ALREADY dating XD) – featured them going out to Rethu’s favorite Hebrew place; a brief argument over the relative merits of Jane Austen over Alexandre Dumas after Cyrus paid for Rethu’s one-minute book dash; and a trip to the arcade where Rethu beat Cyrus handily at a motorcycle-racing game – and then covered him as he broke into the ticket machine so they could get the good prizes XD
Excellent stuff, both episodes – I know I always say that, but it is. I really enjoy this series – looking forward to catching up to the present!
Workout: Another night on the bike, another night with “D&D But... It's Pokémon | Oxventure” by Oxventure! Today’s adventures saw Backpacker Pearl (Ellen), Skull (Andy), and New Yorker Meowth (Johnny) –
A) Finish off the battle with Hiker Jim and his Growlithe via Pearl’s Ekans successfully chomping (though not successfully poisoning) the Growlithe and grappling it; Skull entering the battle (after asking Meowth what it’s like inside a Pokeball – apparently it’s a too-small void) and having his Weepinbell Plant-Skull use Sleep Powder on JIM (it was very effective); Growlithe getting annoyed at this, shaking off Ekans, and attempting to use Ember on Skull – only to roll a crit 1 and only belch out a bit of smoke; Ekans using another Poison Sting bite to bring Growlithe down to “fainted” status and cause him to retreat into his Pokeball; and Skull throwing both the Pokeball and a photograph Jim had on him of him and his Growlithe over a ledge. XD Even Meowth, a seasoned veteran of Team Rocket, was like “damn, that’s cold.” XD
B) Continue on their path and find a cavern with a bunch of Clefairies dancing around a gorgeous shiny moonstone on a pedestal – the “precious thing” the Clefairy who met with Meowth before mentioned (what I misremembered as some sort of “big guy” last time, my apologies). Cue Skull, realizing that the moonstone was worth something, rushing in (despite his kidney infection) and snatching the moonstone (trying to show initiative as a new Team Rocket member); the Clefairies getting VERY upset by this, as evidenced by Luke’s menacing stare (Ellen made him do it to the camera so everyone could see how spooky it was), and indicating (in Pokespeak, of course) that they were considering dumping him down the hole in front of the pedestal as a sacrifice; Meowth quickly stepping in to defuse the situation, claiming that Skull got excited and grabbed the wrong precious thing – and then telling Skull that if he didn’t put the damn thing back his femurs would be sticking out his shoulders; Skull obligingly putting the stone back; and the Clefairies asking the group to make amends by sacrificing something else to the Precious Thing via dumping it down the hole. Treasure, a Pokemon, a human – the Precious Thing wasn’t picky.
Guess where Hiker Jim ended up. XD Yup, Skull IMMEDIATELY went back and got his unconscious ass, and he and Meowth dumped him into the hole while poor Pearl threw up, horrified. The gang then joined the Clefairies in their dance to the precious thing (with the camera sloooowly zooming in on poor, awkward, “how did things get so bad so quickly” Pearl) until the Clefairies finally tuckered themselves out and fell asleep –
Aaand cue them sending Pearl’s recently-healed-up Spearow down the hole, because Meowth had pointed out just before dumping Hiker Jim that there was probably a load of treasure down there, and if they sent a Pokemon who could fly down, they could make some serious moolah. Unfortunately for everyone, Spearows are actually fairly dumb (-4 on Intelligence rolls, poor thing), and it didn’t really see anything worth taking in the huge treasure cavern full of goodies and skeletons (and one very dead Jim). However, Spearow is a loyal bird it appears, as what it ended up bringing back for the team was a backpack for Pearl! (With a skeleton attached, but fortunately that slipped back down the hole before Spearow presented it to her.) A mysteriously-heavy backpack, no less...we’ll see what’s in it, and where the team goes from here, tomorrow! I imagine it will involve much more chaos because, as Luke pointed out, he forgot while planning this one-shot that this is Oxventure. XD
*nods* Not too shabby! And now it's time for me to go to bed, because I do have work tomorrow. While a nor'easter blows in. Yay. *sigh* We'll see what happens -- night all!
Happily, the rest of my day was pretty nice:
Tumblr: Good day over in tumbl-land, I am happy to report –
Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) – I was pretty damn productive over here today, if I do say so myself:
A) First, this morning, I took a moment to edit my tags on the reblog of the “if i'm not supposed to be attracted to the rollercoaster then why'd you make it so attractive huh.” post sitting in my drafts, to better explain how my Valicer OT3 came about (specifically, to explain how it’s all Victor’s fault since he’s the one who wanted to date the coaster – I just wanted to use the themes in fun sexytimes between him and Alice!)
B) Then I spent the rest of the morning working on the “How To Write Smiler Alton” post! Because I’d like it to be ready to post next week, as a lead-up of sorts to Smiler’s birthday next Saturday (the 31st, opening date of the coaster). I didn’t complete it, sadly – figuring out the wording for some of the bits proved pretty hard – but I got through a good chunk of it, covering the “Big,” “Cheerful” (and the different levels of such), and “Charismatic” portions of their personality, and getting a start on the “Intelligent” bit. Hopefully I can use some of my extra time this long weekend to get it sorted! There shouldn’t be that much more left, but you know me – writing up this stuff always takes a while.
C) And then, tonight, I got my queue for the rest of the week sorted, with:
I. A third reblog of the “Help: How Do Tav!Smiler in BG3???” post for Wednesday, just to get it out there one last time (who knows if it’ll help, but I figured I could at least try)
II. That post with all the VTMB-inspired keychain designs I put into my drafts earlier for Thursday (they’re pretty~)
III. A Severance gifset comparing Helly (Innie!Mark’s love interest) and Gemma (Outie!Mark’s beloved wife) and showing off how they’re actually kind of similar (it’s cute and makes me hope for World’s Weirdest Polyamory for the three of them XD)
IV. And a video of someone performing BOTH Christine and the Phantom’s parts during the big “Phantom of the Opera” musical number, with the help of a double-sided costume and a looot of breath control (very amusing AND very impressive, an excellent combination)
So THAT’S all good! :) Nice to be fully ahead of the curve.
Valice Multiverse – And over here, I had one anonymous ask to put in the queue, featuring two anonymous people arguing if “Good morning” counts as a quote from Confucius, with one being like “oh, so you think he NEVER said good morning to anyone ever?” XD I had High School!Smiler offer up that they couldn’t prove that Confucius was a late sleeper and thus greeted everyone with “Good afternoon,” to Victor’s amusement. XD They couldn’t resist being silly!
Writing: Edited another page of “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” this afternoon after the Mass, which featured Alice first realizing that the candle puzzle opened up the door she’d seen before in the atrium (the one with all the weird bands on it holding it closed), then very reluctantly listening to Dr. Grout’s second audio diary in the library at Wonderland’s urging. You know, the one where he laments the death of the traditional insane asylum, and all the horrors that occurred within. *wince* Yeah, uh, Alice is struggling mightily with the desire to murder this guy the minute she sees him, as you might expect from a former patient at Rutledge. And she’s pissed off with all the elder vampires (aka Strauss) who were apparently perfectly fine with this guy extolling “blissful gurgles of the lobotomized” and possibly kidnapping people off the street to experiment on them! Basically, she is not in a good mood – and given I’m about to send her into a room where she can’t just sneak past or knock out all the ghouls like she’s been doing, it’s only going to get worse...
YouTube: No Subs Tuesday again this week, so – since I had some extra time thanks to finishing my writing early – I went instead with a double-shot of CaFae Latte by C. M. Alongi! :D Hooray for getting to watch more than one episode at a time. We had –
A) First up, “CaFae Latte Season 49 - TikTok Compliation” – aka “the really dark one.” This season featured:
I. The gang doing their best to figure out what happened to Cyrus, with Husniya getting help from her husband’s FBI friends (everyone was a bit “…” over that), Patrick and Janine out driving around trying to find him and his car with Rethu providing aerial support, and JC trying desperately to phone Erik to see if he could help – only for him not to answer…
II. Cyrus waking up in the Stone Oak Coven kidnapping basement, learning from the head witch that they’re planning to have him harvested for parts but their doctor was running late, and after being a little snarky, getting one of the henchmen to scratch his nose – and then biting off his finger
III. The witch and henchmen discussing the Cyrus situation, with the henchman who got his finger bit off being all for putting a bullet in his brain – head witch said no, that would damage the merchandise, they’d just stay well away from the fairy; there was also a discussion of how their client basically “gave” them the fairy by putting a bad luck charm in his car, and how, as a result, he was getting his immortality potion for half off…
IV. The gang continuing to look for Cyrus, with Husniya’s husband getting them the address of a place the Stone Oak Coven just bought, and Patrick finally picking up his scent; meanwhile, the doctor finally arrived at the location, and they started discussing plans on how they were going to kill Cyrus – only for a VERY BLOODY Cyrus to show up with a knife, revealing that he knew how to get out of handcuffs and that the three henchmen they left him with were very dead…
V. Patrick and Janine arriving at the place just in time for Janine to catch the fleeing doctor...and then discovering that Cyrus managed to kill ALMOST EVERYONE ELSE IN THE BUILDING (obviously he didn’t catch the doctor, and he left the henchman whose finger he bit off alive) with the help of the glamoured knives disguised as pins on his hat; he also revealed that he’d overheard some stuff before his murder spree –
VI. And cue a furious Bob and JC arriving at Erik’s, where it was revealed that Erik set all of this up to get an immortality potion (Cyrus called him from the witch’s cell phone, which had records of all of their calls and texts). Erik claimed that they told him that they could do it WITHOUT killing Cyrus (and that he wasn’t going to pay them if they did), but Bob noted that the fact that Erik was still okay with Cyrus getting HURT for it was – upsetting, to say the least. Erik tried to weasel out of it with a “no harm no foul,” but Bob pulled a knife and refused to let him off that easy. Instead, she gave him a choice – he could be arrested and put in prison for what he did, all nice and legal, or she could sell her morals, get him a fruit of immortality from some pretty nasty acquaintances of hers in the Fae Realm, and give it to him with a curse – for as long as he lived, he would never have a friend, ally, lover, or even a pet. Erik, in the first smart decision he made all episode, chose to be arrested (asking just for a beer before they went to the station).
VII. And finally, Bob and Cyrus having to talk JC out of quitting because they knew their baker was only doing it out of misplaced guilt (JC having been the one to talk Bob into hiring Erik in the first place). They both firmly insisted that it wasn’t JC’s fault, only Erik’s, and that neither of them blamed them…
And then Cyrus used the opportunity to guilt JC into making cupcakes (which JC had refused to make previously, considering them inappropriate for a coffee shop) for the bakery to sell for a week. According to him, the resentment and fury really bought out the flavor. XD Nice to see things end on a lighthearted note after such a heavy episode. Fucking hell, Erik...you could have had a family there, but no. Shame.
B) And second up, “CaFae Latte Season 50 - TikTok Compilation,” aka “the one where Cyrus and Rethu get together!” :D This season featured –
I. Bob finally revealing to Husniya that she’d figured out she was a CIA agent sent to keep tabs on her (it was the way she read people and her response to Cyrus’s kidnapping) – Husniya owned up to it, confirming that both she and her husband were part of the agency (said hubby, Asif, is her handler, since he can’t lie to save his life) and asking if Bob wanted her to put in her two weeks; Bob said no, she wasn’t ready to lose another employee yet, and she and Cyrus were fine with the government watching them (and ONLY them – Husniya immediately confirmed she hadn’t told on any of the other employees or customers), so Husniya could continue working there. Though she would owe Bob a favor, so we’ll see how THAT plays out in the future…
II. Rethu going around to Patrick’s to ask his advice because they’d recently realized they were in love with Cyrus (well, they knew they were getting a crush on him, but the kidnapping kind of cemented the feelings), and they need to know if there were any “landmines” to look out for. Mainly, if Cyrus had truly moved on from the death of his last partner, Sean. They just didn’t want to make things awkward, you know? Patrick was like “look, I’m sure it’ll be fine, but for you I will try to do the ‘sneakily finding out if your crush likes you’ thing so we can avoid any potential drama. Because I only like that in books.” :P
III. Patrick checking in with Cyrus after finishing off their current D&D campaign with Janine, Toothy, and Drek (Drek wants to DM the next one!) and trying to sneakily figure out his feelings by talking about his own upcoming romantic getaway with Janine and the fact that they should invite Rethu to the next campaign – however, Cyrus knows his best friend, realized something was up, and got him to spill by revealing JC figured out dog-safe fudge. And then, right after Patrick spilled, revealed he’d been into Rethu for MONTHS. He’d just been reluctant to make a move because a) Rethu’s demi and it felt presumptuous, and b) he wanted to make damn sure that they were truly over the “love spell” incident with Jenny, because, you know, traumatizing. Patrick agreed that was probably for the best but said it was time to resolve things with an honest conversation, and Cyrus groaned and agreed. XD
IV. Cyrus having an encounter with a customer who needed help with figuring out what one of the pride flags stood for – only to have a blue screen moment when it turned out she knew exactly what “asexual” and “aromantic” meant, she just thought that the aromantic flag was the asexual one. Like, it was a good blue screen, but still. (Meanwhile, in the background, Bob cursed another customer for being a total dick about the LGBTQ representation, and good for her.)
V. Cyrus talking about his encounter with Rethu (he/him that video as per his pin), who was similarly shocked; confirming that Rethu was doing okay in the wake of Jenny; then telling Rethu that he’d learned about his feelings from Patrick and that he wanted to take him on a date. Rethu was a little annoyed at first that Patrick had spilled, but eagerly consented to the date, and they agreed to Friday. <3
VI. Husniya and Asif reporting back to their boss about the latest happenings in the cafe (also revealing that Erik used a plea deal to get his sentence down to three years, and that while he’d had no contact with any CaFae Latte staff, he should probably be watched)...and then Husniya dishing to Asif all about Cyrus finally asking Rethu out on the drive back to their house XD
VII. And Cyrus and Rethu’s date (with bonus JC being stunned because THEY didn’t see this coming at all; Drek, by contrast, thought they were ALREADY dating XD) – featured them going out to Rethu’s favorite Hebrew place; a brief argument over the relative merits of Jane Austen over Alexandre Dumas after Cyrus paid for Rethu’s one-minute book dash; and a trip to the arcade where Rethu beat Cyrus handily at a motorcycle-racing game – and then covered him as he broke into the ticket machine so they could get the good prizes XD
Excellent stuff, both episodes – I know I always say that, but it is. I really enjoy this series – looking forward to catching up to the present!
Workout: Another night on the bike, another night with “D&D But... It's Pokémon | Oxventure” by Oxventure! Today’s adventures saw Backpacker Pearl (Ellen), Skull (Andy), and New Yorker Meowth (Johnny) –
A) Finish off the battle with Hiker Jim and his Growlithe via Pearl’s Ekans successfully chomping (though not successfully poisoning) the Growlithe and grappling it; Skull entering the battle (after asking Meowth what it’s like inside a Pokeball – apparently it’s a too-small void) and having his Weepinbell Plant-Skull use Sleep Powder on JIM (it was very effective); Growlithe getting annoyed at this, shaking off Ekans, and attempting to use Ember on Skull – only to roll a crit 1 and only belch out a bit of smoke; Ekans using another Poison Sting bite to bring Growlithe down to “fainted” status and cause him to retreat into his Pokeball; and Skull throwing both the Pokeball and a photograph Jim had on him of him and his Growlithe over a ledge. XD Even Meowth, a seasoned veteran of Team Rocket, was like “damn, that’s cold.” XD
B) Continue on their path and find a cavern with a bunch of Clefairies dancing around a gorgeous shiny moonstone on a pedestal – the “precious thing” the Clefairy who met with Meowth before mentioned (what I misremembered as some sort of “big guy” last time, my apologies). Cue Skull, realizing that the moonstone was worth something, rushing in (despite his kidney infection) and snatching the moonstone (trying to show initiative as a new Team Rocket member); the Clefairies getting VERY upset by this, as evidenced by Luke’s menacing stare (Ellen made him do it to the camera so everyone could see how spooky it was), and indicating (in Pokespeak, of course) that they were considering dumping him down the hole in front of the pedestal as a sacrifice; Meowth quickly stepping in to defuse the situation, claiming that Skull got excited and grabbed the wrong precious thing – and then telling Skull that if he didn’t put the damn thing back his femurs would be sticking out his shoulders; Skull obligingly putting the stone back; and the Clefairies asking the group to make amends by sacrificing something else to the Precious Thing via dumping it down the hole. Treasure, a Pokemon, a human – the Precious Thing wasn’t picky.
Guess where Hiker Jim ended up. XD Yup, Skull IMMEDIATELY went back and got his unconscious ass, and he and Meowth dumped him into the hole while poor Pearl threw up, horrified. The gang then joined the Clefairies in their dance to the precious thing (with the camera sloooowly zooming in on poor, awkward, “how did things get so bad so quickly” Pearl) until the Clefairies finally tuckered themselves out and fell asleep –
Aaand cue them sending Pearl’s recently-healed-up Spearow down the hole, because Meowth had pointed out just before dumping Hiker Jim that there was probably a load of treasure down there, and if they sent a Pokemon who could fly down, they could make some serious moolah. Unfortunately for everyone, Spearows are actually fairly dumb (-4 on Intelligence rolls, poor thing), and it didn’t really see anything worth taking in the huge treasure cavern full of goodies and skeletons (and one very dead Jim). However, Spearow is a loyal bird it appears, as what it ended up bringing back for the team was a backpack for Pearl! (With a skeleton attached, but fortunately that slipped back down the hole before Spearow presented it to her.) A mysteriously-heavy backpack, no less...we’ll see what’s in it, and where the team goes from here, tomorrow! I imagine it will involve much more chaos because, as Luke pointed out, he forgot while planning this one-shot that this is Oxventure. XD
*nods* Not too shabby! And now it's time for me to go to bed, because I do have work tomorrow. While a nor'easter blows in. Yay. *sigh* We'll see what happens -- night all!
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Date: 2025-05-21 12:55 pm (UTC)I DESPERATELY want a recipe for that ENBY Blast to be in the next cookbook. It sounds so good I want to try it. I did ask ChatGPT to come up with one but I haven't had the time or patience to experiment yet.
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Date: 2025-05-22 04:05 am (UTC)It did sound like a very fun drink, yeah. Though I personally wouldn't trust anything ChatGPT came up with in regards to food, because there's no way to guarantee that it's not going to suggest something absolutely rancid-tasting. Or potentially lethal (apparently there was an AI mushroom identifier that told everyone a very very deadly mushroom was fine to eat, which put me off this sort of thing permanently).