MaeradCase

Thank you! It was exhausting playing for an entire day! I couldn't even run on Monday last week because we were still spent! When Wednesday rolled around we had a laid back table top game night last week, and we won't have a session this week. Hopefully next week we'll be back to Humblewood. As for tonight, my players will resume exploring the vast Castle Ravenloft, and hopefully find a way out. *waggles eyebrows dangerously* Fingers crossed my health will prove stable enough this week that I can resume challenges next week. Breathing has continued to be an issue, and panic attacks are a new bane of my existence. DX

I have so many unread emails from last year's... 😅

Changed my mind - Animal Crossing can wait - I want to go into details. XD

Oh, guys, you must be wondering if the medicine is helping! Bad news: not really, but I think I'm the one to blame for that because I haven't used an inhaler since I was a child with a parent making sure I did everything right, so I took a week to figure out the three things I was doing wrong: 1. That I was breathing in at the wrong moment of the dose 2. That I wasn't getting the full dose because I had to do it twice 3. That I wasn't getting enough medicine because I was using it only when my breathing was difficult, and not on a consistent schedule. So now my lungs hate me and hate the medicine, and taking it makes it hard to breathe, but not taking it makes it harder to breathe, so I'm still taking it on a semi consistent schedule. 😅 Help In better news, I got to see the solar eclipse on my lunch break on April 8th. There was a crescent of the sun still visible at the peak of the eclipse, but the shaded day was still observable, and I had a lot of fun using the glasses to take occasional peeks at the astronomical event. :3 Speaking of events, yesterday was the grand finale for the D&D storyline that we'd abandoned for a few years due to the interpersonal conflicts that would arise at the table every few months. It was worth all the effort we've put in to prepare and play lead-up sessions in the place of our far more pleasant Humblewood game (which has been an excellent return to D&D after a year of other forms of table top games). The marathon covered three different scenes of combat: one at the main gates of the city we were bringing the armies of the world to break into at various points on the perimeter, one in the castle's throne room against Goliath warriors (one of which was the brother of our barbarian/cleric of Bahamut - the brother had been corrupted by Tiamat, but a successful divine intervention severed her hold), and the final battle against the evil emperor whose arcane ritual would serve Asmodeus' purpose. We played from 10 in the morning (when I'd finished setting up the charcuterie spread, and the prodigal player had been fetched), through lunch (pizza delivery, which I made sure to have with a hearty serving of veggies from a tray I'd brought), past dinner (Cidran got BBQ, and I again hit the veggies), until we were wrapping up around midnight. I made excellent food choices by have a diverse variety of fruits and veggies in addition to everything else, and there was plenty to go around so everyone else was having them, too. 🥰 I had a serving each of grape juice, Capri Sun (with ACNH illustrations, otherwise I wouldn't pick Pacific Cooler as my flavor), and a root beer. I used my Hufflepuff cauldron mug (which holds like 18 oz) with plenty of ice to drink water the whole day. 🥳 And I got a bit of stretching in here and there to keep from getting my muscles in a bind. I am proud of my food decisions, and the game was like five sessions stacked atop each other. We had a giant Jenga tower going to show the growing tension of when the emperor's spell would go off, and it waited for the very end where we had a climactic conclusion to the event. 🤯 It was everything we could've hoped for. Anyway, I got to bed at 2 and slept in until 10:30 when my body finally insisted I could not roll over and doze again. I've had lunch, Zemi is curled up against my leg, and I think I'll play ACNH now that I've checked in here. Hope your weekend has something awesome and/or a beautiful quiet moment. Maerad

That checks out. 😅 Wow! That is some amazing insight! 😲 Thanks for sharing it with us! As for your latest update, Sovalis, those sound like good steps correcting the massive imbalance and I'm so happy to hear any improvements are being found no matter how small. Excellent work communicating, and a solid chance for recovery. Love the dice spread. They are gorgeous. And the pool of neon dice is really eye catching. 🥰

I hope this investigation goes well. Finding security in new locations when the present place is compromised sounds like a safe measure to take. Not to mention librarians are so awesome! 🥰 I like the beans and rice suggestion, too, and hope you find a number of fun ways to serve them! ❤️ I'm glad you know there's support for you here where we all are horrified by the people that make ridiculous demands on your sanity and well being.

Rage lift so that the energy has a place to go. 🤩

Agreed. Aside from a milder second round Monday night, I haven't had further issues. But now I have medicine for if I do... especially since it's exercise induced... so I may as well be prepared for the next walk or other cardio I do. 😅 It was! My thoughts exactly. 😂

Well, I chose to go on a walk because it'd been two weeks. I chose the worst day for it because it was muggy af outside. An hour later I couldn't breathe and the warnings on the internet had my anxiety through the roof that maybe I could die. So I went to the doctor and basically discovered that the athletic induced asthma I had as a child reared its head in defiance. 😮‍💨 Dealing with trying to get the prescriptions today. Looking forward to having the medicine on hand if it happens again. Worst April Fools prank my body has ever played. As for game night, I insisted the games must go on so that the fun could commence. I put out the four wrong name cards and let them each pick one. They rolled unheroic stats (3d6 in order) to fill in the blank bits on the character sheets, and that worked brilliantly for a comedic session in which they all split up and went into different sections of the castle the main party hasn't been to. There was a skeleton dance party, a struggle with dismembered hands, a flight from wights, and a cool interaction with a teleportation brazier after speaking with Bellview and Rahadin. Very eventful, very fun. I bought glow in the dark dice because I can't get enough of them. XD

Right? 😅 That would be brilliant, but I stuck to the occasional hot shower, the frequent hot lemon honey water, and a steady dose of DayQuil until my symptoms finally abated that by Friday I dared to go to work without a mask. This weekend was spent doing nothing so that my body could finish recovering. Small injuries inflicted by the cat are starting to heal now that my immune system can bother with anything else. Cidran and I have plans for a mostly unusual meals this week. Yesterday, I made Hawaiian chicken using a flavor packet I got that we then ignored a few months. Tomorrow I will prep carnitas in a crockpot to have for dinner. We also have plans for pork tenderloin and salmon dinners. All very good, and not our usual beef choices. Fun! D&D tonight is cracking me up because our last session two weeks ago the sensible cleric's player couldn't show up. So this week, instead of continuing where we left off, I am going to surprise them for April 1st by having them run four commoners encountered by the party near the end of the session. 😂 As for the Wednesday night games, we ran Part II of the Siege on Truthenholt despite my being mid-recovery. My nearly assassinated bard holed up and took charge of the military response. To participate in combat, I ran a really cool dwarf monk NPC whose weapon was especially strong against the devils that had invaded the keep. Very cool. This week, after confirming our characters all survived, we're taking them to attack the island taken over by the forces of the Abyss. Probably another two-parter to see how our fight changes the tide for the forces of good leading up to the big finale game. Now that I have the energy to poke around, I may explore what everyone's up to presently. Hope you're having a good day! Maerad

+ Thank you The period cleared up eventually. Fortunately before the sneezing began. Yesterday I stayed at home despite the new boss saying she'd rather I show up. I showed up to work today wishing I wouldn't, but recovered enough to be able to do so. My ears are so stuffy that my teeth hurt, a symptom which started yesterday and only cleared up for the duration of a very steamy shower. 😮‍💨

🥲 Not too great. Period cramps ruined my week starting Tuesday and a chest cold has been trying to kill me since it began developing on Friday. If I weren't currently in continual need of slumbering recovery, I could probably tell you about D&D and other things, but my brain has not the resources as my body is redirecting all energy to militarized internal defense. 😅

Oh no! Is this with the coil or au naturel? That's frustrating though That's my body as is. 😣 It's kind of stupid about my cycle. Yay! 🎉

Me every f*n month 😤 Glad to hear that it's going away, though. 😃

Tangents are where all the fun stories are. 😉

I did get started on that, though I only completed fifteen minutes' worth. Since then, it's taken up a lot of my focus. 😅 Will I put in this much effort for the other character I know I'll be playing? Maybe? Since it's been just as long since I've thought about how to play him. At least I have his spell cards picked out, and have been informed of his cool magic prosthetic hand. 😍 The cleric who may return as a sorcerer if Wish is used successfully to recover her soul is already playable without strategy because she's all fire and healing. 😅 Well, guess I'll go read outside and enjoy the nice weather until it's time to come back to work. Hope you have something cool to nerd out/obsess over. 😉 Maerad

Funnily I think I got MORE looks for wearing the mask, as everyone is very judgey now... Thanks, other than my lips peeling like crazy, I seem to be on the mend 🤞 A mental scene to perk up your brain next time they give you judgey looks You: "YOU WANNA KNOW HOW I GOT THESE SCARS?" Unimpressed nurse in HISHE video: "From the Batman?" You: "FROM THE BATMAN!" Sidenote, I use 'scars' as a direct quote, and I have every faith that your skin will recover. 😅

I mean, that is a good life hack for this situation. Pretty sure no one even gives a second thought anymore about people in masks on public transport. Hope the lotions and ointments take effect and you heal quick and easy. ❤️

This helps my brain. Thank you for sharing here. You are considering the matter with care, and I expect you'll find a resolution that is satisfactory. ❤️ Hope you have a lovely day!

I am much better rested today, though Zemi woke me up around 7 with claws in my lower back. I got to sleep in until 9 (8 according to my body) because I wasn't scheduled til 11 (which felt like 10)... Have I mentioned time change is stupid? 😆 I did my Sudoku puzzle, did my warm ups, made an egg and bagel sandwich for breakfast, did my TGUs (three on each side, and right side shoulder aching while supporting my weight is still noticeable, but was not awful), read Dune while eating breakfast, then spent my remaining time preparing lunch. I made mac n cheese so that I could have some with my BBQ left overs in addition to a side salad and a serving of green beans. I left extra BBQ for Cidran to have the same, though he might not pay attention to the can of green beans, and I doubt he'll take one of my salad bowls. 😂 I think after lunch I will go to my car and work on the flow chart concept for Lexi. I hadn't worked on it since mentioning the notion. 😅 And I haven't read anything this brief morning, despite it being so slow, because I was exploring titles to add to my TBR wish list, and considering which ones on there should be given a try. Dune is a greater priority because even though I'm not about to get the eBook (still several weeks off in the wait list), the sequel is predicted to be available to me in four weeks, and I want to have finished rereading Dune before I read the sequel for the first time. Anyways, hope you have plans for a meal that makes you happy with its diverse spread! Sincerely, Maerad

I'm not sure what it was, but I was absolutely exhausted, even when the dizziness passed. I took a bit of time to rest my eyes while waiting for a machine to be operational again. I also ate my snack bar near closing time to be a little less hangry since that attitude had snuck up on sleepy me. I stopped for groceries to buy ingredients for Pizza Pie (Pi day must be celebrated with a savory pie since Cidran doesn't care for fruity ones, though there is bound to be an extensive array for me to enjoy at a party we're attending this weekend). I got home to find Cid on the last string for his guitar, and so frustrated by the task that he snapped at me, but I told him that hurt my feelings but that I was willing to help because he'd asked. After we finished the last string with teamwork, we ran through our different interpretations of the last 24 hours. He hadn't been intentionally brusque to me, and I needed to process some emotions for the cancelled event and further details involved with it. I cried pretty continuously even after the talk, but I've worked out some of the issue, and have drank a few glasses of water. We made hot dish, and Cid has been playing RockSmith songs on his new strings. He's very pleased with the task being completed and how well the new strings play. 😃 Also, I finished Deathless today. 🤔 And I may need to head to bed. That might resolve the exhaustion, right? 😆

Went on a walk on this bright windy day. My head feels a little dizzy, and I could go for a nap, but my lunch break is about up. Saw two dogs being walked, one of which had to be physically restrained from befriending every new acquaintance. I'm grateful the owner held her back since I didn't feel like getting mud and slobber on me today. 😅 Cleaned up some trash from the last rain, but the stream is really low. Ope, really gotta go. Bye

Ow! 😳

Seems like I prepared pretty well. They went upstairs, fought some shadows that were following them, fought some rats that were piled on top of each other, spoke with Pidlwick's ghost, followed their signal back downstairs, disturbed an accountant, and scared off the wights he summoned to protect him... and left him with a smoking office, a broken chain, and third degree burns. As for Cidran, he was upset by not being alerted that two of our players would be late, and has been giving me the cold shoulder. Then asked why I was sulking, so naturally I've responded by having the worst mood possible. Still, I put away the dishwasher, cleared the dish rack, washed the things in the sink that don't need to soak, and soaked the three things that do. I also washed the stove top quite thoroughly and took a shower. I also put on my glittery makeup to challenge my misery. Hope you find satisfaction in something within your abilities today, Maerad

Hello! Quick report. Saturday, after work, Cid and I visited with his family. We played Pinball. I had a really great score on Godzilla and on Medieval Madness (though on my second attempt at the latter, one of the flipper buttons froze, and I couldn't resume the game 😭). When we got home, I fiddled around with RockSmith so that any time I play, it'll be off a limited selection of the songs (primarily ones I know), from which I then removed several songs after trying them. 😅 But I played for an hour and a half, and my shoulder didn't act up too badly. Cidran was in a bad mood, so I walked through that with him instead of my usual treading softly to skirt around it, and I think that helped? 🤔 Sunday we spent some time with my family, though we disappointed the niblings by leaving early. I announced our departure in jest, and Cidran was more than ready to go... I felt bad for the sobbing children, but they do that regardless of how long we've hung out, and I would've felt even worse watching my husband resume his miserable wait for departure. So despite my attempts to see if he'd understand, we left, and I might send them a letter to try to make up for it. 🥲 We went home. Cid played RockSmith for a time, then turned on JoJo's. I played ACNH and its DLC. His guitar lost a string, and we'll have to replace it, but he's trying to do all the thinking in advance so that he makes a decision that won't disappoint him when he replaces it. Game night tonight involves the group exploring the vast dark interior of Castle Ravenloft. How am I supposed to be prepared for this? They could go any direction! To my knowledge, they want to go up (trying to find Pidlwick II), but they'll pass him going down an inaccessible staircase unless they go downstairs first. 😅 In the meantime... ENCOUNTERS. 😂 Anyway, I'm gonna spend the rest of my break trying to cram for what feels like a final. Despite not having done TGUs and likely benefitting from a walk. 😅 Maerad