#Ansrit post

[archmage-ansrit]

These Ain't Lemons, But They Still Burn Nice - 1 - Rain World Downpour (...

We start a new adventure!

The movement is really fun!

The amount of scavs involved... not so much

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[archmage-ansrit]

I worked customer service over the phone. In two occasions people refused my help and immediately demanded "someone in the US" to tend to them, one of them going so far as to refuse giving his name in a really rude way:

"My name is immaterial, get me somebody in the united states."

We were not allowed to outright say "no" to costumers, and for obvious safety reasons we are not allowed to tell customers where we are based - these people just immediately assumed they were talking to someone in an outsourced call center and demanded someone in the US.

Even if that were the case...

There is literally nothing that a first-level support in a US-based center can do that is any different from a foreign call center. It's the same system, the same solutions for the possible problems, the same service.

Once, a woman started to claim "my accent" was indecipherable and it made it really hard to understand me... halfway into the call... after I told her that for legal reasons I could not do what she asked. She really wanted me to do something I am by law not allowed to do, and ignored me when I told her so, instead insisting that I should just help her out because she was getting frustrated by my inability to speak coherently.

She is, to date, the only person that has ever complained about the way I speak.

If there is a dignified job, treat it like so, because taking into account the way people treat customer service workers it makes it seem like they do not believe it to be deserving of dignity.

[archmage-ansrit]

Delivery! ... I Hope - 4 - Rain World Downpour (Rivulet)

OK, this is actually a little stressful - however, having performed a real test of Rivulet’s lung capacity, I think I can do this more calmly next time.

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[archmage-ansrit]

Depths of Corruption - 3 - Rain World Downpour (Rivulet)

Man the Overseers really made me lose a lot of time. It took two hours to perform a 30 minute trek.

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[archmage-ansrit]

Ascending Tastebuds - 3 - Rain World Downpour (The Gourmand)

All things considered, this was a very productive session! Died several times, yes, but I got to increase my Karma maximum all the way to 9! And I manage to snatch a little present for Looks To The Moon.

Was unable to meet my goal of eating a yellow lizard, unfortunately.

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[archmage-ansrit]

The Adventure of Wet Mouse - 1 - Rain World Downpour (Rivulet)

Gotta go fast.

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More Slugcats! Let's Try Out The Chonky One - 1 - Rain World Downpour

We start a gastronomic tour of the world of Downpour!

The lack of agility is... a bit of an issue, as is the urgent need of some cardio for Gourmand, but MAN do I feel powerful with this rotund specimen.

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[archmage-ansrit]

Stepping Up - 9 - Rain World Downpour (The Artificer)

HOW IS THERE SO MUCH MAP TO EXPLORE IN ONE AREA?!

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[archmage-ansrit]

During Christmas time, when the houses have been decorated, I like to take a stroll outside at night to see the lights.

I then take off my glasses - I am both near-sighted and veeeery slightly astigmatic, so each tiny light has a halo and rays coming out of it, making everything look more magical than with my glasses.

Sometimes, rather than a stroll, it's when I'm hitching a ride on a car; back when my dog still lived, I'd take him out for walks and just... take off my glasses.

Even when it wasn't Christmas, I took my dog for walks through side streets and other places I'd typically never go to. I found many mom and pop shops of all sorts, (parked) food carts, all sorts of things, all within walking distance.

Take a walk around your neighborhood. It's more interesting than your mind is willing to admit.

honestly the human brain is so small that you *will* forget how much beauty there is out there to experience unless you leave your house every three days. ik its fucked up but i promise its true

[archmage-ansrit]

I had been pondering and debating whether or not to draw attention to this, since it all began during a time when there were being scams of people that don't even have pets asking for money using stolen pet pictures... but now it's not as important and I've had time to process it.

Warning for mentions of death.

November 2023 we lost one of our cats, and then on December it was the second anniversary of the death of our dog.

Both of them were amazing pets for a person that is so quick to feel drained as I am.

So, I feel like I should talk about them. Starting from the very beginning.

This is Lucky. Not particularly imaginative but he is! My brother found him as a kitten, abandoned in a local park; he was really concerned for the kitten, and took him with him. He took the kitten to the vet because there was something strange on one of the eyes - he has a tiny nick ON HIS EYE, but the vet managed to save the eye!

Mom wasn't super-thrilled, but the kitten endeared himself to her enough to keep.

Then, Thomas.

He 100% used to be a housecat. A coworker of my mom's found him in her backyard, limping a little - knowing we had taken in a cat already, she wondered if we wanted to take in another.

Yes. It helped a lot that this cat is gentle and well-behaved. A quick vet visit revealed the leg was just a bit swollen, probably from a bruise. By the second day he responded to the name we gave him, and when presented a collar, he stood still for us to put it on.

Vet calculated, approximately, he was like 4 or 5 years old already.

Then Blacky, the one that just passed last November. And her kittens.

That is Blacky, The Darling (the one with short hair) and Merida. Not included are Babe (I don't have pictures of her that won't make me Doxx myself), and a male kitten we only had for like 2 weeks before someone else adopted him.

My mom picked Blacky up with her kittens included. At first we thought Blacky was young herself, since she was so small.

We only had a little plate for food, so we worried it would be chaotic. The kittens were actually old enough for kibble, and maybe all of them would jump on the plate at the same time.

Kind of! Blacky actually waited for her kittens to eat - we refilled the plate for the kittens that had yet to eat, and only after we refilled the plate a second time did she begin to eat.

Blacky turned out to be older than we thought, probably 6 years, and had really bad teeth from a life in the street. She was easily angered, and distrustful of Thomas (probably because he is a larger cat), she allowed herself to be picked up only briefly, starting to hiss if we held her for too long. We eventually won her over, and she allowed herself to be handled for longer periods of time.

She became larger, as did her kittens. They were malnourished, but now they had food aplenty.

Then came Spot, the troublemaker.

He only has a single brushstroke of white on his head. Cried a lot, very nervous, but loving and cuddly.

Then, Trooper, our dog.

He was a housepet, no doubt. He could shake! He warned us when he needed to go outside.

Literally followed mom home one day.

Really chill dog. He probably was 6 years when we got him. His teeth were horrid. He didn't run or jump too much.

I loved him as much as I could.

Then, Otto.

He is more energetic than the others, and gets into the occasional fight with others.

Trooper would bark at them whenever that happened, helped get some order back.

Trooper was sick, though, we didn't know how much just yet. He loved getting bits of ham, and French fries, and he nuzzled so gently.

He had kidney problems, and even trying to get medications for him we weren't quite on time. He would have difficulty walking, and, in fact, that picture of him is from the last week he was willing to walk long distances.

The walks had been... I think as good for me as they were for him. I got to know more of my neighborhood. I got fresh air more often.

My phone, at the time, was pretty new, and this is the only picture I have of him on it. My mom has more. I used to be reluctant to take pictures, but something compelled me to take the picture.

He eventually would not even stand, and it was during the middle of Christmas break for the vet, so we had to hold on...

We got him to the vet, had him stay the night, but he got real bad over the night. He looked to be in such pain, we had to let him sleep.

And so we went forward.

2023 comes, and Blacky starts having trouble eating. She had lost several teeth because they had gone so bad they needed to be taken out, and now it seemed the last ones were giving her trouble. Feeding her was difficult, but we endured.

She spent more and more time in my room, as she would go there to avoid Spot and Otto's shenanigans. I leave my door closed because of them, so she understood it was a safe place.

She even got to let Thomas near her.

But even cleaning her teeth would not help her mouth issues, she was losing so much weight, so the difficult choice was made to have the rest taken out. It was a risk because she did NOT do well under the anesthesia the few times she had to have something done.

She came back, no longer any teeth left, but she ate her fill - she even got into dry kibble! She must have been so hungry...

But she, indeed, reacted poorly to the anesthesia. She stopped eating and drinking water regularly.

Oh, she held on to life with all she had. We tried getting her to the vet. She got an IV, medication for her kidneys (she was having a special diet for it, too, before she stopped eating).

She looked so much better! She was perhaps a bit grouchy over being held so long, but she needed warmth...

She held on with everything she had, tried to walk...

But in the end, she passed during the night.

Since I was taking care of her so much and so often, and she hung around my room all the time, my mom gave her my last name for the little memorial we got of her.

Financially, my mom took care of things, as she had been the one to take in the cats in the first place - I could not have done so myself. I can barely take care of myself, but with them, it helped me move in order to take care of them.

I feel like I should have done better, even though, realistically, there wasn't much I personally could have done without being a veterinarian.

Here is to pets. They love us as we love them, and some times, the have to leave sooner than expected.

[archmage-ansrit]

Avoiding Becoming Microwave Dinner - 8 - Rain World (Blind playthrough)

Slugcat Microwave Exploration Adventure!

We have White Lizards, Yellow Lizards, and Daddy Long-Legs!

Also, the whole place is still essentially a giant microwave.

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[archmage-ansrit]

Blows Up Lizards With Mind - 4 - Rain World Downpour (The Artificer)

It’s been a year since I started.

I feel so different now.

I am still in need of extra money.

It’s a bit stressful, I’ll be honest.

The games do help.

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[archmage-ansrit]

You act with the same careful deliberation that saw you through the most violent of days back... before.

A lich must not, at any point, be impulsive.

Even the very act of becoming a lich should be done coldly, something borne of reason and logic.

The ones that do not remember this do not tend to last very long.

A lich studies, a lich makes plans, a lich moves only when they need to do so.

As such, you swallow down the chant that would see this two-bit mercenary and his crew of imbeciles flayed and shredded where they stand - the children should not see that.

You also bite your (oh-so-carefully reconstituted) lip to avoid releasing a fog of plague and putrefaction - while it would obscure the... process, the screaming is a different thing altogether. Plus it does tend to get everywhere and is so hard to control.

A lich has plans.

Naturally, even an excursion to the battlefield of An-oraht has to be planned for, beyond what the school consider "satisfactory".

You may not have been involved in this specific conflict, but then again, restless spirits are more your area of expertise.

The ghosts of the druids that lost their lives in the battle may not look upon you favorably, but the same righteous ideology that made them stand in opposition to the regent lord who broke the ancient accord between them and the theocracy made these ghosts particularly disinclined to tolerate thinly-veiled politically-motivated assassinations.

They whisper about the trio hiding on the trees, circling around the walls of stone you raised in order to get at your students. There are another five, circling in the opposite direction, moving through the shadows of the massive trees in that direction.

When angry druids let loose, forests grow and armies shrink.

Even if the ghosts of the druids would not take well to your brand of magic, you would take a cooperative spirit over having to force the theocracy's ghosts to bend to your will. Bunch of self-righteous bastards, they got what was coming to them.

With only some grumbling, the druids take the magic you offer, weaving their arts once more.

The leader of the mercenaries is still talking, you just haven't been really paying attention to him ever since he demanded your students, presumably for ransom but it was clear from the initial salvo of arrows that that was not really on his mind.

Or his pockets.

He does display some modicum of intelligence - he has the crossbowmen aiming at you, as are the few mages they have.

Stalling, letting his men surround the barrier, keeping the mages in front of you so that their own magic would not give the game away.

He is also scared of you, although not enough to back down. He fears his employer more than he fears the academy.

His funeral.

Not that you intend to let him have one.

Ravens gather above, called by the druids. Beaks and talons sharpened, plumage solidifying beyond mere iron.

You step forward.

One of the mercenaries loses their nerve and so does the bolt of his crossbow.

You raise an arm and it manages to slide through the enchanted cloth of your robe. The assessment of them as a threat rose a notch or two - honestly, you were wondering why they were not using larger arrows and bows, but whoever made the bolts is decent at condensing power into it.

Were they your students, this kind of work would get a passing grade.

They are not, however, and as such the words you will be having with them will be pointed and direct.

The mercenaries have more of a reaction to your "wound" than you do. The bio-manipulated tissues covering your bones give a signal of damage, of course, but it is a far cry of the pain signals of regular flesh.

These hired thugs are understandably unnerved when they see a man pull a crossbow bolt the rest of the way through their own arm with the kind of dispassionate interest that a coroner uses to prepare a cadaver.

Truly your wit has no parallel.

"That's two." You warn. "You can leave and lose your pay, or stay and lose your lives."

Snakes gather, slithering silently, although the men's attention is quite firmly centered on your self. You have studied what druids can do to the venom of an animal - it was quite the inspiration for some of your more ruthless actions, back when the theocracy still stood and sought your End.

Another thing you studied was sleight-of-hand, a quick move to remove one of your own golden bracelets, but always useful to have non-magical tricks under your sleeve.

Another of them tenses, and fires albeit at the same time that the leader himself decided that you are far too dangerous for their operation and gives the order to attack.

The bracelet goes... backwards, over the wall and into the crude enclosure you made to defend the students.

A lich makes plans. That includes defense.

The bracelet contains a spell, always charged but kept in check by your person. Separated, the impact sets it off, pulsing the spell out and reaching the walls, concluding the work you began and connecting them properly, and forming a dome.

The birds descend, the snakes strike.

"That's three." You say, unbothered by the sharpened metal sticks halfway through your torso. "I haven't done this in a while, do forgive me if I take longer than I should."Ansrit post

You are a lich who retired from villainy long ago and took up teaching at a magical school. Today someone made the mistake of threatening your students.

[archmage-ansrit]

(Under)Hang In There - 2 - Rain World Downpour (The Artificer)

Dreams! Adventure! Explosions!

What else can you ask for?

Other than not to fall and die a stupid death, that is. That one is impossible.

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[archmage-ansrit]

Potato the blacksmith from Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

Found at the edge of the river, this friendly fellow is a craftsman that gives you a little something for your brush!

I'd also add that the area has incredible music but the whole game has incredible music.

[archmage-ansrit]

A Long Slide Off A Sunken Pier - 9 - Rain World Downpour (The Gourmand)

Home is where the heart is, but after a long and arduous journey, there’s nothing quite like going back to your friends and family.

Many, many thanks to Windette for dropping by and allowing me to have so many people keeping me company for the end.

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