missizzy

Sunday was actually a very good day. After finding it was out of stock at multiple games stores, I went looking for the new Player's Handbook at the comic shop in Dupont Circle, and what do you know, they had a copy. I also managed to find a replacement of my worn-out jeans in Georgetown before going to my date, which also went very well. There will almost certainly be a third date, and I am very optimistic about more.
Then on Monday, while doing my shelving round, I think I pulled a muscle while handling one of our large West Point yearbooks, because my the end of it my back was suddenly hurting terribly. I ended up teleworking for the rest of the week, and it got so bad Wednesday I ended up going to the doctor, who gave me muscle relaxants. The wee hours of Thursday morning found me in so much pain I felt like I couldn't move. It's gotten better since then, but very slowly. No date this weekend; I need to rest.
I've found time to read through some of the Player's Handbook, though trying to do so while lying on a heating pad has been an interesting experiment. So far it's largely felt like them catching the game up to all the ways we've evolved socially over the last decade; you can see the effect of safety tools in the way they discuss gameplay, and they've done various things to lessen the offensive parts. As someone currently playing a Barbarian Tav, I especially appreciate the new opening description for the class. Definitely fits my Sara to a tee.
However, while I appreciate they've given the beastmaster Ranger the necessary buffing up, I can't help but ask if it's worth it, if we just summon magic animals, instead of getting to bond with one and share our adventures with them. I wouldn't have had any interest in playing my Varvara if she hadn't been able to have her wolf companion Lon. This means no more Lons, no more Trinkets, no more of any such characters.

This week's Call of the Netherdeep stream actually started with us testing out what the DM had set up on Foundry, and we may well finish the campaign there. But we found some issues, so we ended up playing the session out on Roll20. It was a shortened one, especially when we fell into discussing possibly doing Curse of Strahd next, but we accomplished the day's task. ( We did one kind of stupid thing, but I'm not sure it mattered in the end... )

They say that when you play D&D, failure can make for a more interesting story than success. Our Call of the Netherdeep group got a chance to judge that for ourselves this week, and it certainly lead to some good RP (we have gotten way more of that since arriving in Marquet!). In terms of the story, so far, ( it's only narrowed our choices... )

Eight sessions into our Call of the Netherdeep adventure, it finally happened. Someone got killed. And it ended up being a permadeath as well.( We'd gone into the dark temple... )

We might finally be approaching the end of the the two-hiatus on Critical Role, but my Call of the Netherdeep Group has begun one of our own, as the DM is going to visit his mother next week, and he left us at the gates of Bazzoxan, wondering if the General my fellow drow is acquainted with who was supposed to be there actually is, or if he'll bring any members of Schist's own family in. He said he'd spend the two weeks rereading our backstories, so who knows what he'll come up with. ( The module provided enough for last night's session... )

In-person group got cancelled again. We've got a guy with a family issue that keeps giving him trouble on Wednesday. He even told us to meet without us this week, but we're too small a group for that. At this point we just have to hope next week will be fine, especially since, of course, the week after I'll be in New York.
Preparations for that are now underway. My sister and I have booked hotel rooms, and my badges arrived today; I just got them activated. But unfortunately, I won't be able to get my omicron booster before we go. Mom and I struggled to navigate the CVS appointment system this weekend, and Monday she instead booked appointments for us with Kaiser, but they can't get to us until the end of October. I am now debating the amount of time I'll spend on the convention floor and thinking I'm much less likely to go to any shows in NY this year.
At least I've got my Call of the Netherdeep group. ( Provided, of course, we can get to Bazzoxan alive... )

I genuinely thought when the Queen died, I would spend the next few days properly mourning her, regardless of whether I ought to or not. But then she went and died in a week where we got more reminders that both her and our country is in the grips of far worse people that may destroy the lot of us yet, and it just felt unimportant. Seeing my Twitter timeline filled with all the reminders of the terrible things done in her name (much to my poor mother's shock when I showed her!) just makes the whole thing feel even more screwy, though I've never seen the point of being angry at the dead. (Speak ill of them if you must, maybe, but there are other people who can still do things to focus the anger on.)
I did go back and reread one Captain America fic in which she made an appearance, though. I could see from the comments on it I wasn't the only one either.
This was also the week I said goodbye to Varvara, as our group's first campaign came to its conclusion, with two of our four-person party heading off to another world, another one going back to his kid and babymama (I think that guy won the session, dropping that reveal on us!), and her and Lon heading off into the woods to live more quietly, though the DM then declared we were talked us as legendary guardians among the locals. I've been working on my next character, a dwelven bard, as we begin the next campaign next week!
But that wasn't even the only campaign I started this week, as I finally got Schist to Jigow with a new party, including another drow, a kobold druid, a dwarven blood hunter, and a monk who didn't make our first session, for Call of the Netherdeep. ( We only got through three festival events... )
The week's episode of Critical Role hasn't exactly helped with my mental state either. There may be more coping smut.

I first read Serena's words in Vogue about retiring when I was eating lunch while sitting with my mom at our gate in Dulles, and the news definitely hung over all of us when we sat watching Coco Gauff play the current Wimbledon champion the next day. But I don't think it felt real for me until earlier today, when I saw the tweet announcing she's playing on Monday. Her career could end on Monday. At least they had the sense to give her the evening session, if the first slot. I don't think anyone's ready.
Next week my D&D group will also finally be meeting again, after we missed most of this month because every Wednesday at least one of us has been out of town. The campaign's likely to wrap up next Wednesday night. I'll be saying goodbye to Varvara Glowgrotto, the first character I came up with and the first I played either in person or for more than a handful of sessions. Her and the fate of her wolf companion Lon is also very much in suspense right now, and this ending's going to be bittersweet for them even in the best case scenario.
I suppose it's even possible Serena might lose her second round match instead, and both these farewells will come for me on the same night. I might even have to be checking the results during our mid-session break, or on the drive home with a guy who'll have said the same farewell to the most colorful character of the party. That'll be quite a ride.

I think our DM has realized I'm there for the drama. We started the session, with the druid all ready to heal Varvara of the lycanthropy, even as he (with his consent) infected the one member of the party who didn't get it during the fight, but then he insisted he couldn't do it without offending the werewolves we were trying to do diplomatic negotiations with. She had to send her were-fearing wolf companion Lon off with their other allies and spend a traumatic night were three weres, two of whom had a very limited ability to control themselves, even after she finally got cured, terrified the villagers would take their fear of the werewolves out on the actual wolf. Then, when the druid actually told Lon she'd been infected and cured, he initially refused to be near poor Varvara, and yeah, high drama there. They eventually reconciled and we were able to continue the story, but things are definitely never going to be the same.
I haven't been watching the January 6th hearings so far. At this point I care only if it actually makes it harder for the Republicans to get votes, or if it makes Merrick Garland feel any pressure, and I don't have much faith in either thing happening. I've actually been paying more attention to the week's blowup in the TTRPG community, because hey, that's a thing where just maybe some good will come out of bad things being exposed. I even watched much of Brian's stream on it last night, and say what you will about him, he's done good there.

These past two days I have had enough go wrong that I am now dreading the rest of this week. Or even just D&D tomorrow night, when I'll have to hope that I'm not jinxed badly enough to get someone killed. Last week's session was actually the first time Varvara's wolf companion seriously came under threat-which suddenly made me aware of just how badly she'd react if he got killed.
Also, I have a dental operation scheduled for Thursday. Last time anyone tried to work on my teeth, it didn't go well at all, though at least it should be done by someone theoretically better at things this time.
I'm not sure even where the headaches are coming from either, or if the painkillers are doing a damn thing against them. Alarming back pains at one point yesterday too.
I've decided I'll probably just play Call of the Netherdeep online. Might wait a few days before applying to any groups, though. Just to maybe decrease my chances of getting rejected.