A Semi-Lazy Saturday
Jan. 3rd, 2026 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chick"Semi" because I did spent much of the day cleaning, and I'm currently catching up on some other stuff now. But I did spend a good chunk of the day just lazing around and looking at stuff on the web. I just needed the quiet time! But I got pretty much everything I wanted to get done, done, so...
Cleaning: Yeah, it took most of the day, who is surprised. Though, granted, I was expecting it to take a pretty long time, just because the new socks I got for Christmas have been leaving little pieces of fluff EVERYWHERE, and it all ended up on rug. Like, seriously, I’m surprised there’s any of either sock LEFT given all the little bits of blue and white and red fluff I have had to pick off of clothes and blankets and whatnot. (They were washed today along with my pajamas and sheets, so HOPEFULLY all the loose bits were finally knocked off in the washer/dryer and I won’t have this problem going forward.) Anyway, bottom line is I started dusting a little after 10:40 AM and finished up just before lunch at a little after 1:15 PM; then, once lunch was consumed and laundry gotten out of the dryer, I Swiffered and vacuumed from 2 PM to 2:40 PM. *shrug* Would have liked to have finished up at least a BIT earlier, but again – fluffs. All over my rug. At least this means my first Saturday after work resumes won’t be a Cleaning one!
Fallout: New Vegas: I got most of the way through setting up this today – following the guide over on the “Viva New Vegas” site, I –
A) Updated all my VC++ Redistributables (to make sure everything runs correctly)
B) Actually installed the game through Steam (which took a little bit to download)
C) Opened up the game launcher and let the game detect my video hardware settings (so it knew what settings to pick)
D) Downloaded Wabbajack and got that all set up (so it could get the mod list all sorted for me)
E) Downloaded the mod list and clicked through all the files on NexusMods (because I don’t have a premium account and thus had to manually approve each one – which was a bit of a slog, I confess, but the alternative is paying for bullshit “fast downloads” and no ads (which are already blocked by my ad blockers), so…) before letting Wabbajack download everything and dump it all where it should be
F) ...proceeded to stall out at the “exclusions” section because apparently Mod Organizer 2 (the mod manager that Wabbajack got for me to hold all these mods) sometimes doesn’t play nice with Windows Security and other antivirus programs (something about how its “virtualized filesystem” works), so you’re supposed to tell them to exclude it from scans...except I’m not seeing the option in Windows Security, and McAfee seems to only let you exclude individual files, not whole folders, which is what the guide is telling me to do.
So, uh, yeah. We have a bit of a conundrum there. *shakehead* I ended up leaving it there, because it was getting late and I had other things to do – tomorrow, we’ll see if I can finally finish this set-up and get the game rolling! ...well, rolling as far as I dare roll it on a Sunday, given I try not to do any “strenuous” gaming on that day so I have plenty of time for the F:NV YOLO Remastered write-ups...
Writing: As I previously said I would, I wrote a little bit of self-indulgent fic tonight to reward myself for all my hard work on getting Chapter 2 of “The Van Dort Vacancy” done and making sure to get a rough draft of Moose’s gift fic done on time – specifically, the start of an alternate version of the Forgotten Vows Verse version of Alice and Bumby’s confrontation at Moorgate Station! This version is one of those “Smiler in Forgotten Vows” variants (where Smiler and Victor had a thing before Smiler got sent to rural Lithuania by Kelman to keep them away from Victor) and has as its backstory Smiler getting back to London in time to meet Alice BEFORE she confronts Bumby (around the time she does the Dollhouse in fact), and them tagging along as she goes to yell at the asshole – only to be horrified when Thirteenified Victor shows up, and Bumby tries to get him to kill Alice. Cue poor Victor’s brain being pulled temporarily in three different directions by Smiler trying to get “pet” to stop and come to them, a confused and angry Bumby insisting “Thirteen” do as he’s told, and a desperate Alice telling Victor not to listen to Bumby because he’s not a goddamn number. I left off with Smiler kicking Bumby in the shin, and they and Alice managing to snap Victor out of his Thirteen state a bit, to the point where Victor at least somewhat recognizes Smiler and goes in for a hug. :) Might continue with this tomorrow – I’m enjoying the scene, and it would be nice to work on something that doesn’t necessarily need to be polished during the final day of my time off. “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” can wait until I start work again. *nods*
Tumblr: Interestingly, while I didn’t get to the stuff I was half-intended to get to on Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) (got caught up in reading my Polyship Week 2025 fics), I did end up doing something on The Valice Multiverse – specifically, I answered an ask from an anon who said that, when a guy at their high school started a rumor that they’d had sex, they just told everyone it was bad sex and that he’d yelled out his mom’s name at one point. XD Inevitable High School!Alice approved of this way of handling things, saying she hoped the jerk now thought twice before spreading rumors, while Smiler commented they especially liked the “shouted out his mom’s name” detail – it was a good extra gross touch. XD Nice to get a decent ask over here after such a long drought!
FreeTube: Saturday is back to being CaFae Latte Compilation Day, so tonight’s video was the latest round-up – “CaFae Latte Season 81 - TikTok Compilation!” This was the “holiday special” compilation, and featured:
A) Drek doing another work-out session (aka waving a laser pointer around for her to chase) with the Sphinx in her woods on a snowy night, talking about holiday plans (the Sphinx didn’t have any, and was like “eh, not a party person, and cats are solitary creatures” when Drek said she could join his family’s Christmas dinner – Drek, under his breath: “lie”), Drek raising his rates for winter (because it’s cold and HE doesn’t have fur), Drek’s plans to go to trade school next year to become maybe a welder or electrician (and how learning about trade schools was one of two good things to come out of the whole mess with that asshole Conner accusing him of being a predator – the other being meeting Abby) – only for the Sphinx to suddenly smell something and hit Drek with a riddle: “Who feeds cannibals and is in my territory?” Drek guessed a bear, but apparently it was “the fucking Yule Cat!”
B) Drek asking what the hell the Yule Cat was (and responding to Sphinx’s “don’t they teach you anything in school?” with “it’s the American Public Education system”), and Sphinx explaining that it was a giant cat like her that travels around with two trolls, Gryla and Leppaludi, and their kids – all of whom were cannibals – before bitching that it was supposed to be in Iceland, not her woods. Cue Drek revealing that Minnesota has the highest number of Scandinavian immigrants and descendants of same, as apparently everyone from Norway, Sweden, or Iceland settled either there or North Dakota. XD The Sphinx then dismissed his smart ass so she could go hunting (turning down his offer to phone help by saying her mother tried the power of friendship once in her territory, and it got her literally stabbed in the back – and yes, seeing a therapist was on her list), and Drek headed back while calling his mom to see if he could pick up anything for her on the way back...only to suddenly hear an echoey voice above him…
C) Leppaludi bringing Drek back to the cave he and Gryla have just moved into, and the pair immediately getting into an argument – first because Leppaludi somehow had it in his head that fat people are more common in warmer climes (Gryla was like “it’s an INSULATOR, you dope”), then because he’d picked up Drek as a special appetizer for Gryla (apparently she loves goblin), only for Gryla to be like “an appetizer I have to cook and clean” (Leppaludi was like “you could get our sons to help,” but Gryla replied that they NEVER helped, they always had some excuse). Eventually Gryla got tired of trying to explain things to her idiot husband and had him toss Drek in the cage, where he met fellow victims little Cassie (who was out icefishing with her dad), teenage hunter Mark (who was just trying to get some food for the fridge, as established in the next bit) –
And Conner. Yes, that Conner. Drek was like “and I thought this day couldn’t get any worse…”
D) Drek trying to figure out why the hell Conner was even there (apparently he’d been hiking in December, refused to elaborate on why), then telling Cassie not to repeat the slur Conner let loose; Conner and Drek bitching at each other in response to Cassie asking if they’d been boyfriends and Conner getting very defensive about not being gay, stating he hoped they ended up in separate stew bowls – causing Cassie to cry over potentially being turned into soup and Mark to ask the trolls to kill them faster so he didn’t have to listen to the drama (Gryla: “Stop bitching or you’ll be alive when I cook you”); Drek comforting Cassie and then asking Mark and Conner if they had anything useful (no – the trolls were smart enough to search Mark for any knives, and they used Conner’s bear spray as seasoning for the soup), before noticing that Cassie had hairpins...just as Gryla declared the soup pot ready for the meat…
E) Gryla and Leppaludi getting ready to butcher the kids, only for Drek to state that they couldn’t cook them in that set-up, it was atrocious, did they not see how dirty that counter was? (Leppaludi: “It’s extra seasoning!” Drek: “It’s salmonella.”) And then to follow it up with telling Gryla he didn’t blame her, she obviously had a full plate, it really should be Leppaludi’s job to make sure the place was clean. Gryla was like “that’s what I keep telling him, but he keeps saying I clean better than he does,” prompting Leppaludi to be like “you do” –
Only for Drek to be like “or do you just do a bad job so she’ll stop asking?” Cue Leppaludi being like “well” and him and Gryla getting into another fight about the division of labor and their parenting skills (Gryla pointing out that he’s never disciplined his kids, while Leppaludi retorted that she over-disciplined them and that they never talk to her because they’re afraid of being hit with a spoon) – and Drek taking advantage of the distraction to use one of Cassie’s hairpins to pick the lock on the cage…
F) Gryla and Leppaludi having it out about how Leppaludi still treats Gryla like she was his servant or toy, much like when they got married back in medieval times...and Leppaludi admitting that if he’s made her feel that way, then he’s a failure of a husband. And that he knows that he’s made a lot of mistakes, and that he’s terrified of disappointing her more than he already has, which is why he doesn’t try very hard. Which might have been more heartwarming if they weren’t cannibal trolls –
And if he hadn’t immediately gone “so why don’t I catch you some manservants next time I go out” instead of promising to try harder, like Gryla wanted. *shakehead* Gryla was brought around to the idea by him promising that they’d cook and clean and maybe even set up a little gingerbread house like they’d always wanted, though, and – thus reconciled – they went to kill the kids –
Only to find they’d escaped. Gryla: “Sneaky little bastards.” XD Cut to the four trudging through the snow, doing their best to get back to civilization, with Mark offering Cassie some tips on staying warm (using her hair as a scarf, essentially) before asking Drek what about the Yule Cat (which is what got him). Drek: “One problem at a time.”
G) The Sphinx having a chat with the aforementioned Yule Cat, informing her that she wasn’t allowed to hunt in Sphinx’s territory – and then shredding the Yule Cat’s insistence that she only killed “bad” kids by pointing out that her criteria for determining if a kid was bad or not – namely, if they’d gotten new clothes for the holidays – meant that she was actually just killing poor kids whose families wouldn’t have the same resources to look for them as rich ones. And yes, that going after a rich kid was probably the reason they got kicked out of Iceland. The Yule Cat refused to give up her hunt, though (apparently, she was very loyal to her trolls), so the Sphinx declared she had a riddle for her –
And then used the laser pointer to get the Cat to knock herself out against a tree. XD Telling the unconscious body, “don’t feel bad, it took me some time to figure it out too.” XD
H) Drek continuing to lead the kids on their march, explaining that as long as they kept going southwest, they’d hit the parking lot or the road sooner or later – and then explaining to Conner that he had a hyperfixation with the stars and constellations briefly, which allowed him to figure out how to navigate by the night sky. (Cue Mark pulling out a compass for him to use, and Drek wondering again how he got lost in the woods – “I didn’t say I was good at it!” XD) Conner continued bitching about how could Drek be sure where the parking lot was (Drek was like “In these woods three days a week at least to train the Sphinx”) and how they could still get lost and freeze to death – cue Drek revealing his protection charm from Nicole and how he’d be safe so long as it remained unbroken, so if they stuck with him… Conner first pointed out that he’d still gotten kidnapped (with Drek retorting that he’d then got them all out – aka, usual CaFae Latte magic putting someone exactly where they need to be), then snapped that he couldn’t believe Drek was trusting their lives to WITCHCRAFT, that was a SIN –
And Drek finally going “you know what? You can go off on your own if you like, I’ll tell the cops what happened and hope they find you in time.” Cue them fighting over the fact Drek would happily leave Conner to die (Cassie telling Mark “they so dated”), and Mark complaining that he wish they’d just all die already –
Aaaand Leppaludi showing up, saying “Wish granted.” Uh-oh.
I) Leppaludi and Gryla confronting their runaway dinners, saying “no one escapes from a troll’s cauldron,” and Gryla straight up smacking Drek when he tried to argue that he and Conner were over 18 and thus would be less appetizing. Cue Conner telling the trolls that they’d be run out of town if they ate the four, claiming that his dad owned the local welding company and that everyone owed him favors; Drek worked for a fairy sorceress who could fuck their shit up (relating how the angel who ran his church went up against her and lost); Cassie was the daughter of the man who owned the most expensive fish restaurant in town; and Mark’s father owned the local Target. Leppaludi asked Gryla what she thought after hearing that –
And Gryla was like “I think anyone would lie to avoid being killed.” Conner was like “oh crap” –
And the Sphinx, who had just found the group, was like “you’re in MY TERRITORY” and descended upon the trolls with the fury of teeth and claws. Cue Drek getting Cassie to cover her eyes to avoid the violence; Cassie telling Conner that her dad didn’t own a fish restaurant; and Conner explaining that he’d lied his ass off to try and save them, confirming that Mark’s dad didn’t own a Target either (apparently Mark’s on food stamps, in fact)...but that Drek really did work for a fairy. (Whether or not the story about his dad was a lie was not confirmed – perhaps we’ll find out later.)
J) Drek thanking the Sphinx for saving their asses in the aftermath (Sphinx confirming that the cops and game wardens were already getting started on a search for Cassie, at least) and asking if Mark could get permission to hunt in her woods – with an adult to keep him from getting turned around of course (Sphinx clarified that she didn’t care if people hunted regular animals in her woods, she only cared about those hunting people...but agreed that yes, someone had to help that kid get some navigational skills); Sphinx revealing that the Yule Cat was being taken to a special prison for paranormal folks to pay for all the many, many, MANY murders she’d been involved in; and Conner showing up to thank the Sphinx for saving them (Sphinx: “Just defending my territory” Drek: “We were 15 miles from your stream” Sphinx: “Big cat, big territory”) and finally revealing why he was hiking in the woods in December so late in the day – apparently, his dad had gotten it into his head that Conner might be gay and was making life hard at home. Drek was like “...did you need to get away in a ‘he’s being annoying’ sense or a ‘I need to get out of there’ sense,” but Conner insisted the guy wasn’t abusing him, he was saving up for an apartment, and eventually his dad would realize he wasn’t gay and get over it. (Sphinx, too Greek to understand this: “Why is it bad to be gay?” Drek: “Homophobes.” Sphinx: “Ah.”) Conner eventually left commenting that he’d say it was good to see Drek again, but honestly he hoped never to again –
Causing Drek to mutter “go fuck yourself,” then go “hey, just because I don’t like swearing doesn’t mean I can’t” to the surprised Sphinx. XD
K) And Rethu checking their phone at the cafe later and telling Bob about how two cannibal trolls ended up dead in the Sphinx’s woods and how their Yule Cat (who Bob knew, interestingly) was getting locked up for a WHILE after their trial...only for both to go pretty quiet when they saw Drek’s name on the list of survivors of the incident; fortunately for everyone’s sanity, Drek called shortly thereafter and explained his parents were making him take tomorrow off as a “mental health day.” Bob fully agreed with that and said his health insurance should cover any therapy appointments he might need – Drek insisted it hadn’t been too bad, though he had gotten a little sick in his mouth when Sphinx went to work on the trolls. He then confirmed that he did have that day off (with Bob confirming in turn that it was the day his family were celebrating Christmas, as ACTUAL Christmas is spent helping Drek’s dad and Lindsey on 4th St), before hanging up (post “take all the time you need” from Bob) and asking his mom if she needed any help in the kitchen. His mother assured him she was fine –
And cue the reveal that the Sphinx DID go to Drek’s house for Christmas. :) And was helping Drek’s mom make the gravy. And was trying to figure out how to make a riddle out of the fact that flour was involved. XD
Good stuff – I always like seeing Drek with the Sphinx, they have a great friendship. :D Wasn’t so enthused about the return of Conner, but I suppose I’m glad he wasn’t eaten by trolls. Wouldn’t mind seeing more of Cassie and Mark, though! I guess we’ll see what the new year brings for new seasons…
Not too bad -- I'm a little annoyed about not being able to get farther on my F:NV Modlist install, but hopefully I can figure out what I need to do tomorrow. And it was nice to just take a good chunk of the afternoon off to reread my own fic and chill out. :) And now I should consider heading to bed -- tomorrow, plans include posting my Fic Resolutions for the year on Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) (should probably also reblog a Poets Of The Fall song, since I forgot to reblog one before the end of the year); seeing if I can finish the F:NV Modlist install and maybe get through character creation in the game if possible; continue working on my self-indulgent fic; and getting in a workout and watching the next episode of Jon's F:NV YOLO Remastered series. :) Hopefully all achievable goals, but we shall see. *nods* Night all!
Cleaning: Yeah, it took most of the day, who is surprised. Though, granted, I was expecting it to take a pretty long time, just because the new socks I got for Christmas have been leaving little pieces of fluff EVERYWHERE, and it all ended up on rug. Like, seriously, I’m surprised there’s any of either sock LEFT given all the little bits of blue and white and red fluff I have had to pick off of clothes and blankets and whatnot. (They were washed today along with my pajamas and sheets, so HOPEFULLY all the loose bits were finally knocked off in the washer/dryer and I won’t have this problem going forward.) Anyway, bottom line is I started dusting a little after 10:40 AM and finished up just before lunch at a little after 1:15 PM; then, once lunch was consumed and laundry gotten out of the dryer, I Swiffered and vacuumed from 2 PM to 2:40 PM. *shrug* Would have liked to have finished up at least a BIT earlier, but again – fluffs. All over my rug. At least this means my first Saturday after work resumes won’t be a Cleaning one!
Fallout: New Vegas: I got most of the way through setting up this today – following the guide over on the “Viva New Vegas” site, I –
A) Updated all my VC++ Redistributables (to make sure everything runs correctly)
B) Actually installed the game through Steam (which took a little bit to download)
C) Opened up the game launcher and let the game detect my video hardware settings (so it knew what settings to pick)
D) Downloaded Wabbajack and got that all set up (so it could get the mod list all sorted for me)
E) Downloaded the mod list and clicked through all the files on NexusMods (because I don’t have a premium account and thus had to manually approve each one – which was a bit of a slog, I confess, but the alternative is paying for bullshit “fast downloads” and no ads (which are already blocked by my ad blockers), so…) before letting Wabbajack download everything and dump it all where it should be
F) ...proceeded to stall out at the “exclusions” section because apparently Mod Organizer 2 (the mod manager that Wabbajack got for me to hold all these mods) sometimes doesn’t play nice with Windows Security and other antivirus programs (something about how its “virtualized filesystem” works), so you’re supposed to tell them to exclude it from scans...except I’m not seeing the option in Windows Security, and McAfee seems to only let you exclude individual files, not whole folders, which is what the guide is telling me to do.
So, uh, yeah. We have a bit of a conundrum there. *shakehead* I ended up leaving it there, because it was getting late and I had other things to do – tomorrow, we’ll see if I can finally finish this set-up and get the game rolling! ...well, rolling as far as I dare roll it on a Sunday, given I try not to do any “strenuous” gaming on that day so I have plenty of time for the F:NV YOLO Remastered write-ups...
Writing: As I previously said I would, I wrote a little bit of self-indulgent fic tonight to reward myself for all my hard work on getting Chapter 2 of “The Van Dort Vacancy” done and making sure to get a rough draft of Moose’s gift fic done on time – specifically, the start of an alternate version of the Forgotten Vows Verse version of Alice and Bumby’s confrontation at Moorgate Station! This version is one of those “Smiler in Forgotten Vows” variants (where Smiler and Victor had a thing before Smiler got sent to rural Lithuania by Kelman to keep them away from Victor) and has as its backstory Smiler getting back to London in time to meet Alice BEFORE she confronts Bumby (around the time she does the Dollhouse in fact), and them tagging along as she goes to yell at the asshole – only to be horrified when Thirteenified Victor shows up, and Bumby tries to get him to kill Alice. Cue poor Victor’s brain being pulled temporarily in three different directions by Smiler trying to get “pet” to stop and come to them, a confused and angry Bumby insisting “Thirteen” do as he’s told, and a desperate Alice telling Victor not to listen to Bumby because he’s not a goddamn number. I left off with Smiler kicking Bumby in the shin, and they and Alice managing to snap Victor out of his Thirteen state a bit, to the point where Victor at least somewhat recognizes Smiler and goes in for a hug. :) Might continue with this tomorrow – I’m enjoying the scene, and it would be nice to work on something that doesn’t necessarily need to be polished during the final day of my time off. “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” can wait until I start work again. *nods*
Tumblr: Interestingly, while I didn’t get to the stuff I was half-intended to get to on Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) (got caught up in reading my Polyship Week 2025 fics), I did end up doing something on The Valice Multiverse – specifically, I answered an ask from an anon who said that, when a guy at their high school started a rumor that they’d had sex, they just told everyone it was bad sex and that he’d yelled out his mom’s name at one point. XD Inevitable High School!Alice approved of this way of handling things, saying she hoped the jerk now thought twice before spreading rumors, while Smiler commented they especially liked the “shouted out his mom’s name” detail – it was a good extra gross touch. XD Nice to get a decent ask over here after such a long drought!
FreeTube: Saturday is back to being CaFae Latte Compilation Day, so tonight’s video was the latest round-up – “CaFae Latte Season 81 - TikTok Compilation!” This was the “holiday special” compilation, and featured:
A) Drek doing another work-out session (aka waving a laser pointer around for her to chase) with the Sphinx in her woods on a snowy night, talking about holiday plans (the Sphinx didn’t have any, and was like “eh, not a party person, and cats are solitary creatures” when Drek said she could join his family’s Christmas dinner – Drek, under his breath: “lie”), Drek raising his rates for winter (because it’s cold and HE doesn’t have fur), Drek’s plans to go to trade school next year to become maybe a welder or electrician (and how learning about trade schools was one of two good things to come out of the whole mess with that asshole Conner accusing him of being a predator – the other being meeting Abby) – only for the Sphinx to suddenly smell something and hit Drek with a riddle: “Who feeds cannibals and is in my territory?” Drek guessed a bear, but apparently it was “the fucking Yule Cat!”
B) Drek asking what the hell the Yule Cat was (and responding to Sphinx’s “don’t they teach you anything in school?” with “it’s the American Public Education system”), and Sphinx explaining that it was a giant cat like her that travels around with two trolls, Gryla and Leppaludi, and their kids – all of whom were cannibals – before bitching that it was supposed to be in Iceland, not her woods. Cue Drek revealing that Minnesota has the highest number of Scandinavian immigrants and descendants of same, as apparently everyone from Norway, Sweden, or Iceland settled either there or North Dakota. XD The Sphinx then dismissed his smart ass so she could go hunting (turning down his offer to phone help by saying her mother tried the power of friendship once in her territory, and it got her literally stabbed in the back – and yes, seeing a therapist was on her list), and Drek headed back while calling his mom to see if he could pick up anything for her on the way back...only to suddenly hear an echoey voice above him…
C) Leppaludi bringing Drek back to the cave he and Gryla have just moved into, and the pair immediately getting into an argument – first because Leppaludi somehow had it in his head that fat people are more common in warmer climes (Gryla was like “it’s an INSULATOR, you dope”), then because he’d picked up Drek as a special appetizer for Gryla (apparently she loves goblin), only for Gryla to be like “an appetizer I have to cook and clean” (Leppaludi was like “you could get our sons to help,” but Gryla replied that they NEVER helped, they always had some excuse). Eventually Gryla got tired of trying to explain things to her idiot husband and had him toss Drek in the cage, where he met fellow victims little Cassie (who was out icefishing with her dad), teenage hunter Mark (who was just trying to get some food for the fridge, as established in the next bit) –
And Conner. Yes, that Conner. Drek was like “and I thought this day couldn’t get any worse…”
D) Drek trying to figure out why the hell Conner was even there (apparently he’d been hiking in December, refused to elaborate on why), then telling Cassie not to repeat the slur Conner let loose; Conner and Drek bitching at each other in response to Cassie asking if they’d been boyfriends and Conner getting very defensive about not being gay, stating he hoped they ended up in separate stew bowls – causing Cassie to cry over potentially being turned into soup and Mark to ask the trolls to kill them faster so he didn’t have to listen to the drama (Gryla: “Stop bitching or you’ll be alive when I cook you”); Drek comforting Cassie and then asking Mark and Conner if they had anything useful (no – the trolls were smart enough to search Mark for any knives, and they used Conner’s bear spray as seasoning for the soup), before noticing that Cassie had hairpins...just as Gryla declared the soup pot ready for the meat…
E) Gryla and Leppaludi getting ready to butcher the kids, only for Drek to state that they couldn’t cook them in that set-up, it was atrocious, did they not see how dirty that counter was? (Leppaludi: “It’s extra seasoning!” Drek: “It’s salmonella.”) And then to follow it up with telling Gryla he didn’t blame her, she obviously had a full plate, it really should be Leppaludi’s job to make sure the place was clean. Gryla was like “that’s what I keep telling him, but he keeps saying I clean better than he does,” prompting Leppaludi to be like “you do” –
Only for Drek to be like “or do you just do a bad job so she’ll stop asking?” Cue Leppaludi being like “well” and him and Gryla getting into another fight about the division of labor and their parenting skills (Gryla pointing out that he’s never disciplined his kids, while Leppaludi retorted that she over-disciplined them and that they never talk to her because they’re afraid of being hit with a spoon) – and Drek taking advantage of the distraction to use one of Cassie’s hairpins to pick the lock on the cage…
F) Gryla and Leppaludi having it out about how Leppaludi still treats Gryla like she was his servant or toy, much like when they got married back in medieval times...and Leppaludi admitting that if he’s made her feel that way, then he’s a failure of a husband. And that he knows that he’s made a lot of mistakes, and that he’s terrified of disappointing her more than he already has, which is why he doesn’t try very hard. Which might have been more heartwarming if they weren’t cannibal trolls –
And if he hadn’t immediately gone “so why don’t I catch you some manservants next time I go out” instead of promising to try harder, like Gryla wanted. *shakehead* Gryla was brought around to the idea by him promising that they’d cook and clean and maybe even set up a little gingerbread house like they’d always wanted, though, and – thus reconciled – they went to kill the kids –
Only to find they’d escaped. Gryla: “Sneaky little bastards.” XD Cut to the four trudging through the snow, doing their best to get back to civilization, with Mark offering Cassie some tips on staying warm (using her hair as a scarf, essentially) before asking Drek what about the Yule Cat (which is what got him). Drek: “One problem at a time.”
G) The Sphinx having a chat with the aforementioned Yule Cat, informing her that she wasn’t allowed to hunt in Sphinx’s territory – and then shredding the Yule Cat’s insistence that she only killed “bad” kids by pointing out that her criteria for determining if a kid was bad or not – namely, if they’d gotten new clothes for the holidays – meant that she was actually just killing poor kids whose families wouldn’t have the same resources to look for them as rich ones. And yes, that going after a rich kid was probably the reason they got kicked out of Iceland. The Yule Cat refused to give up her hunt, though (apparently, she was very loyal to her trolls), so the Sphinx declared she had a riddle for her –
And then used the laser pointer to get the Cat to knock herself out against a tree. XD Telling the unconscious body, “don’t feel bad, it took me some time to figure it out too.” XD
H) Drek continuing to lead the kids on their march, explaining that as long as they kept going southwest, they’d hit the parking lot or the road sooner or later – and then explaining to Conner that he had a hyperfixation with the stars and constellations briefly, which allowed him to figure out how to navigate by the night sky. (Cue Mark pulling out a compass for him to use, and Drek wondering again how he got lost in the woods – “I didn’t say I was good at it!” XD) Conner continued bitching about how could Drek be sure where the parking lot was (Drek was like “In these woods three days a week at least to train the Sphinx”) and how they could still get lost and freeze to death – cue Drek revealing his protection charm from Nicole and how he’d be safe so long as it remained unbroken, so if they stuck with him… Conner first pointed out that he’d still gotten kidnapped (with Drek retorting that he’d then got them all out – aka, usual CaFae Latte magic putting someone exactly where they need to be), then snapped that he couldn’t believe Drek was trusting their lives to WITCHCRAFT, that was a SIN –
And Drek finally going “you know what? You can go off on your own if you like, I’ll tell the cops what happened and hope they find you in time.” Cue them fighting over the fact Drek would happily leave Conner to die (Cassie telling Mark “they so dated”), and Mark complaining that he wish they’d just all die already –
Aaaand Leppaludi showing up, saying “Wish granted.” Uh-oh.
I) Leppaludi and Gryla confronting their runaway dinners, saying “no one escapes from a troll’s cauldron,” and Gryla straight up smacking Drek when he tried to argue that he and Conner were over 18 and thus would be less appetizing. Cue Conner telling the trolls that they’d be run out of town if they ate the four, claiming that his dad owned the local welding company and that everyone owed him favors; Drek worked for a fairy sorceress who could fuck their shit up (relating how the angel who ran his church went up against her and lost); Cassie was the daughter of the man who owned the most expensive fish restaurant in town; and Mark’s father owned the local Target. Leppaludi asked Gryla what she thought after hearing that –
And Gryla was like “I think anyone would lie to avoid being killed.” Conner was like “oh crap” –
And the Sphinx, who had just found the group, was like “you’re in MY TERRITORY” and descended upon the trolls with the fury of teeth and claws. Cue Drek getting Cassie to cover her eyes to avoid the violence; Cassie telling Conner that her dad didn’t own a fish restaurant; and Conner explaining that he’d lied his ass off to try and save them, confirming that Mark’s dad didn’t own a Target either (apparently Mark’s on food stamps, in fact)...but that Drek really did work for a fairy. (Whether or not the story about his dad was a lie was not confirmed – perhaps we’ll find out later.)
J) Drek thanking the Sphinx for saving their asses in the aftermath (Sphinx confirming that the cops and game wardens were already getting started on a search for Cassie, at least) and asking if Mark could get permission to hunt in her woods – with an adult to keep him from getting turned around of course (Sphinx clarified that she didn’t care if people hunted regular animals in her woods, she only cared about those hunting people...but agreed that yes, someone had to help that kid get some navigational skills); Sphinx revealing that the Yule Cat was being taken to a special prison for paranormal folks to pay for all the many, many, MANY murders she’d been involved in; and Conner showing up to thank the Sphinx for saving them (Sphinx: “Just defending my territory” Drek: “We were 15 miles from your stream” Sphinx: “Big cat, big territory”) and finally revealing why he was hiking in the woods in December so late in the day – apparently, his dad had gotten it into his head that Conner might be gay and was making life hard at home. Drek was like “...did you need to get away in a ‘he’s being annoying’ sense or a ‘I need to get out of there’ sense,” but Conner insisted the guy wasn’t abusing him, he was saving up for an apartment, and eventually his dad would realize he wasn’t gay and get over it. (Sphinx, too Greek to understand this: “Why is it bad to be gay?” Drek: “Homophobes.” Sphinx: “Ah.”) Conner eventually left commenting that he’d say it was good to see Drek again, but honestly he hoped never to again –
Causing Drek to mutter “go fuck yourself,” then go “hey, just because I don’t like swearing doesn’t mean I can’t” to the surprised Sphinx. XD
K) And Rethu checking their phone at the cafe later and telling Bob about how two cannibal trolls ended up dead in the Sphinx’s woods and how their Yule Cat (who Bob knew, interestingly) was getting locked up for a WHILE after their trial...only for both to go pretty quiet when they saw Drek’s name on the list of survivors of the incident; fortunately for everyone’s sanity, Drek called shortly thereafter and explained his parents were making him take tomorrow off as a “mental health day.” Bob fully agreed with that and said his health insurance should cover any therapy appointments he might need – Drek insisted it hadn’t been too bad, though he had gotten a little sick in his mouth when Sphinx went to work on the trolls. He then confirmed that he did have that day off (with Bob confirming in turn that it was the day his family were celebrating Christmas, as ACTUAL Christmas is spent helping Drek’s dad and Lindsey on 4th St), before hanging up (post “take all the time you need” from Bob) and asking his mom if she needed any help in the kitchen. His mother assured him she was fine –
And cue the reveal that the Sphinx DID go to Drek’s house for Christmas. :) And was helping Drek’s mom make the gravy. And was trying to figure out how to make a riddle out of the fact that flour was involved. XD
Good stuff – I always like seeing Drek with the Sphinx, they have a great friendship. :D Wasn’t so enthused about the return of Conner, but I suppose I’m glad he wasn’t eaten by trolls. Wouldn’t mind seeing more of Cassie and Mark, though! I guess we’ll see what the new year brings for new seasons…
Not too bad -- I'm a little annoyed about not being able to get farther on my F:NV Modlist install, but hopefully I can figure out what I need to do tomorrow. And it was nice to just take a good chunk of the afternoon off to reread my own fic and chill out. :) And now I should consider heading to bed -- tomorrow, plans include posting my Fic Resolutions for the year on Victor Luvs Alice (N Smiler) (should probably also reblog a Poets Of The Fall song, since I forgot to reblog one before the end of the year); seeing if I can finish the F:NV Modlist install and maybe get through character creation in the game if possible; continue working on my self-indulgent fic; and getting in a workout and watching the next episode of Jon's F:NV YOLO Remastered series. :) Hopefully all achievable goals, but we shall see. *nods* Night all!
