Keep on Struggling

I've been making slower progress on Teyr'loch Delter Pach than I care to admit. I'll overcome one block just to encounter another immediately behind it. I can feel sparks of ideas ignite but then blaze out before I can develop them fully, leaving me to wonder, "Where is this going? What's the purpose behind this scene?"

Where is it going? What is the purpose behind this final Arc of Act I/Interlude before Act II?

It needs to strike a precarious balance unseen from the rest of the performance thus far. This is the scene that demonstrates how violently Cael rejects the notion of fate, shown by their interruption of Pihm's reading of their future, and following their journey as they unpack the underlying fear that spurs their denial. Acknowleding the future can be predicted through magic means that they have to accept that Maryn's own readings of their future hold validity, so they've vehemently denied any possibility that fate can be read or that it even exists.

Of course, these beliefs have evolved over the course of the campaign, and that's what this section needs to capture, ending, even, with potentially new revelations about themselves and what constitutes "fate". In some ways this could be regarded as the climactic point of the performance because they're having to work through this trauma, coming to terms with deeply set fears in front of people they hardly even know, doing so in a way that's neither melodramatic nor cheapens the anger and confusion and pain they've felt toward others predetermining their fate before ever really giving them a chance.

Hence the struggle.

Easy to summarize, difficult to visualize.

So, I do my due diligence and beat my head against the proverbial brick wall every morning, and then in the afternoon I work out or have, in some cases, found alternative channels to express my creativity, giving myself permission to play while also letting the performance simmer on the back burner. I stir it occasionally in the evenings just to see if it's ready yet. I may have let it boil over once....

This may or may not have been my Sunday afternoon project:

Willaudale!

It's our farm on Stardew, made using a wonderful online planner! It's what my partner and I will be working toward as we continue our 2nd play through the game. We're maybe 1% there. It's gonna take a while....

Other Notable Accomplishments:

• Tried day 1 of the Intermediate program on my BWS+ App yesterday. So far it doesn't seem so different from the Beginner program, maybe just an exercise or two added onto the daily total.

• New dumbbells arrived today!!!

  • I can finally start upping my weight on the more powerful muscle groups such as the quads and hamstrings again! Heave ho!

• Arc 2 of Teyr'loch Delter Pach is "finished" though I still think it needs a lot of work. Arc 3 and the Interlude have melded together. For now.

• Completed bodyweight step-ups with no knee pain; returned to doing heel-elevated goblet squats with a focus on form; no knee pain, an improvement from last week. Still wary of lunges and sissy squats, the latter of which I might start referring to "knee over toe squats" because I dislike how derogatory "sissy squats" sounds when they're anything but.

What's Left to Write of the Performance?

Act I

• Arc 3: Future / Interlude

  • Dude, I don't even know how far I am. I want to say ~40%, but that feels generous.

Act II

• Arc 1: Past

• Arc 2: Present

• Arc 3: Future

Questions for Contemplation & Discussion:

• What was your most frustrating block that you can remember, and how did you feel after overcoming it?

• What was your longest lasting block? How long did it last? What steps did you take to finally overcome it?

• Are you facing a block currently? If so, what is it?

This Week's Obligatory Cat Pic: Salad

"Look at meeeee-ow!"