I met a fellow BDer!!

[Mirandir]

He quickly became known as the Dane or even the Danish (hehehe)

No 'the.' Just Danish. :D:p

[Kath]

She also has absolutely no problem lying to your face.
Ha! Nienna I love this line. :D Was worrying what it was about til I read the rest!

[Glirdan]

At the beginning of the Meet we were having a serious debate about Soda vs. Pop and soda was inching out just a tad bit when Kath chimed in with “fizzy drink” … needless to say that even though there was only one person who called it fizzy drink that became the new term.

YAY!!! FIZZY DRINK!!! :D




While I'm making apologizes, sorry Glirdan and wilwa for putting you through that rather...erm...intense rant five minutes after you got off the train.

Don't bother!! It was entertaining as I've said countless times and it doesn't change the fact that I love you!! :D

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Many know that my plans were greatly waylaid.

Christmas with the family, Boxing Day with my own personal Formy and Nienna. Start gathering others immediately.

As we all must sometimes learn, even the best laid plans are sometimes tragically altered by the idiocy of others. Thanks to irresponsible parenting of a relative, I managed to acquire and cultivate a strain of strep throat that distinctly interrupted my arrangements.

And so my first bit of Mooting was done over google chat ("Are you serious, Ni? You want me to sit in front of a camera while you, Formy, Mira, and B88 watch me be all sick and horrible looking?" "Yes. You. Video chat. Now."), and was followed by a few speakerphone interruptions of their festivities.

"You'll never believe it, Fea, you and Sally just called us at the exact same time!"

"Oh," I smirked into my phone, "That is soooooo coincidental!"

I sent an MSN smiley at Sally, who I must say sounds a bit like a drug-addled Martian robot from the perspective of one listening to her speakerphone-voice through a speakerphone.

Finally I was no longer contagious, could eat solid food again, and was on my way. I arrived to the Moot five days after expected, after a long ride that included being stuck behind three plows and two tractors.

I dialed Ni's number as we pulled up to Apartment 23. "I need at least one boy, stat."

"Stick isn't good enough?"

"If Stick (Mira) wants to haul twelve days of my luggage - plus presents - up to fourth floor, then sure Stick's good enough."

"She and Formy will be right down."

Within seconds, a camisole wearing Stick - and a much more sensibly dressed Form - emerged into the 35 degree afternoon and I was glomped so hard my teeth rattled.

Into Apartment 23 we went - I being the last arrival to the Moot - just as the majority of Mooters were on their way out the door!

"Fea, you should try to guess who is who!"

I eyed Rune, who was highly identifiable (our resident Viking), and Kath (who was clad for the cold as thoroughly as a ninja, her face covered almost entirely), and thought I could maybe do this, except I was exhausted and a bit overwhelmed, and who was this small sleeping figure on the couch next to the sleeping figure that was Alona? And this charmingly handsome dark haired fellow immediately in front of me, who I couldn't quite label on the spot, but whose smile made me feel immediately more comfortable.

I would learn later that the sleeping form was Shasta - who could sleep quite literally anywhere, at any time - and the smiling stranger was Glirdan, who for some reason I may never have actually looked at a picture of prior.

The majority, including the Wereduckling, who I was sad not to snuggle (but I was afraid to get her sick), left, leaving me with my Ni, my Formy, my Stick, my Mira, my Lari, plus a sleeping Shasta and Alona, and Boro.

Some late Christmas gifts were exchanged on the down low - ask Formy if you wish to see what Lego-Laura, Lego-Kelly, Lego-Michael, and Lego-Rude-Waiter look like - and some relaxing was accomplished. Some catching up was managed.

A lot of huggling ensued.

Later, everyone returned, propelling me back into immediate exhausted overwhelmedness.

Within minutes, however, I was comfortable again, reuniting en masse with Form, Nienna, Alona, Mira, Lari, Rikae, Mac, Wereduckling, and Brinniel, and acquainting myself better with Wilwa, Glirdan, Encai, Rune, Kath, Shasta, Celuien, and Diamond.

Some hours later, the moment of truth arrived: or, I should say, the phantom arrived.

I perched on the couch, feigning disinterest, and watched him look around the room, nodding or greeting or otherwise taking things in.

And then his eyes fell on me. I may have raised an eyebrow.

I should mention that this occurred during the too-short 24 hours during which I was not actually ill.

We barely interacted, which amused me.

Not long after, it was ordained that we should all play werewolf.

"I can't," I argued, "you have no idea. I've only just gotten over strep; I'm taking penicillin four times a day. I've literally only felt functional for about a day, and I've been up since 6:30 this morning. I just spent all day in the car. With my parents."

"You have to play," the phantom said, raising my hand for me.

"Fine." I said. "But if I have to play, then you have to sit down, hold still, and be my pillow."

He was somehow okay with this.

The next day was - yes, Rune, I'm going to say it - epic.

New Year's Eve.

By the time I arrived, others had given up on the notion of personal space. By the time I'd been in residence for more than a few hours, I'd given up on the concept as well. As pictures will clearly illustrate, laps became chairs, smooches were freely traded, and everyone looked astonishingly attractive.

I must repeat what the phantom mentioned to me several nights ago: we, the Barrowdowners, are one fine looking group of people.

The telly was turned on close to midnight, and everyone that drank had a tequila shot in hand, and as the ball dropped, there was one intensely dramatic kiss in the room that absolutely nobody witnessed, as all eyes were on the television, or buried in their liquor.

I shall leave it up to you to guess which two Barrowdowners locked lips as the New Year commenced. ;) (I bet you'll be wrong in your guess).

I - tragically - went to bed. I had school on New Year's day, and every day after since (I've only just gotten home).

As such, I left each morning before most were awake (Rune occasionally stumbled out to say a few words, before going back to bed, and I usually had Formy to keep me company as I got ready for school, and some nights people hadn't gone to bed, so I emerged from whichever room or patch of floor I'd gone to sleep on, blearily waved, and stumbled through my morning routine), and returned most nights long after the Mooters had spent the day doing awesome things.

This is probably the moment to mention that New Year's Day I fell completely and totally ill. Again. With something new.

Still medicating every few hours for strep, I managed to fall so ill that I - your belovedly loudmouthed Fea - had no voice for days. I squeaked my commentary at whoever was close enough, sometimes repeating my squeaks until they could eke out meaning and share it with the larger audience.

It made for a total inability to take advantage of comedic timing, since my witty reparte - when I was alert enough to attempt wit - was quite muted.

In any case, here I shall cease and desist my babbling about being ill. I merely wished to preface that due to illness and a very busy academic schedule, I was unable to spend half as much time with half as you as I should have liked, and less than half the time with half of you that you may or may not have deserved. ;)

I am completely and desperately in love with every last member of my Apartment 23 family, and I hate that I had to send you all home. At least my horrifically exhausting schedule meant that I could avoid painful goodbyes at trains, buses, or planes, or you'd have seen me cry every time I lost one of you.

I will be seeing you again, all of you. Or else.

I hope the love is reciprocated. You are all astonishingly wonderful human beings, and it was my privilege to meet those I had not met, and to rekindle my friendships with those I had.

[Glirdan]

And this charmingly handsome dark haired fellow immediately in front of me, who I couldn't quite label on the spot, but whose smile made me feel immediately more comfortable.

Awww, shucks!! You're making me blush!! :o


I will be seeing you again, all of you. Or else.

That sounds slightly threatening! Although, if I hadn't met you in person and hadn't had that....ahem.....adventure....with you, I would be a little more alarmed!! :p

And I'm sorry that I haven't continued my posting on this. I hope to do it soon...actually I might disappear until the Werewolf game starts and do a bit of that....

So I may have one up by the end of the night....well, end of my night :rolleyes:

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Although, if I hadn't met you in person and hadn't had that....ahem.....adventure....with you, I would be a little more alarmed!!

I'm counting on you, Glirdy. :cool:

[Glirdan]

Okay, so here's my continuation...how many people can I get through this time?? We shall see!! But where to start is the question as there are so many people to get through seeing as a giant group of them were there once Wilwa and I had arrived with our escort.

We shall start with.....

Kath, our resident exotic speaker (along with Rune of course!) and the one with the heart of gold. No jokes!! I never really got to speak to her much on the Downs, except in Werewolf games really (and we all know how those turn out. :rolleyes:) and so it was rather nice to finally meet and speak with her in person. I will also mention that (and Wilwa can attest to this) Kath and Rune were the two people I was most excited to meet. As an actor, I have a tendency of doing something that is known as "people watching". Sometimes it's unintentional (people are just fascinating sometimes) but this one was going to be completely intentional. I'm actually really surprised that I did not stand there for hours on end just making both of them speak so I could hear their accents!! Anyways, sadly, I did not get to spend as much time with Kath as I would have liked, but the few times we did manage to get to speak, they were wonderful. And she is also the reason I will be calling pop (soda) fizzy drink instead! Yes, it was Kath that started this bandwagon! I absolutely cannot wait to meet this wonderful woman once more and hope to spend a little more time with her.

As for our other exotic European (I do love you guys and you know it!), I spent a little more time with. Rune and I spent much of the time at the apartment together, and ended up sharing the floor as a bed one night! I would also like to say that Rune and I were very good friends when he and I first joined the Downs, which was approximately the same time if I am correct. Anyways, there were many different adventures had with this Dane (as he soon became known as). The first was my very first trip to the grocery store with Rune, Fea, Lari, Diamond and Mira. I had heard the story of Rune's excitement at the price of meat the day before (it happened to be one of the first stories told to us by our escorts {Boro in this case} once Wilwa and I arrived) and was sort of expecting what was to happen to happen....yet nothing to the extent that it did happen! As soon as we walked through the door, Mira took one look at Rune, noticed the bored look upon his face and told him to go play in the meat section. And he did so....with a hop, a skip and a jump to set him on his way!! The sight of this Dane, skipping through the grocery store to the meats was enough to set the rest of us into giant fits of uncontrollable laughter for a good five minutes! Yet this was not the first field trip I had with Rune. Earlier that day, him, Diamond and I went on a long adventure to go find the post office, and we stopped in at a pub for lunch. Rune is definitely one of a kinda. Behind the tough, witty persona he puts on, there beats the heart of gold. Kind and caring, our Dane set me to tears with the copious amounts of hugs that I received as Wilwa and I were boarding the bus for home. I am extremely happy to have finally met him and cannot wait to see him again.

Diamond is another total sweetheart. Quiet, a little shy, but funny and outgoing all at the same time. I had a lot of fn with this Downer on our rather long adventure to find a post office (with Rune) in order to send out a post card! The three of us stopped many times on what should have been a fifteen minute walk to take pictures (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=10377808&id=644350510#/photo.php?pid=10317916&id=644350510) of the scenery. She is also a dangerous Werewolf player for she remains quiet, yet when she does speak, there is always really good thoughts put forward, so you're afraid to vote and lynch her off. And I would like to apologize to her for my rather good luck at surviving a day longer then I should have! Don't kill me!!

Enca was another rather quiet member as she sat there for a good portion of it crocheting a hat for Formendacil. Which also made her a very dangeroud Werewolf player (and if memory serves me correct, she did in fact end up being a Wolf and almost managed to get away with it!) I also did not get to spend much time with Enca, which is rather sad as she was one of the ones I was looking forward to meeting. But what I did get to know of this Downer, I have nothing bad to say about her (or any of them for that matter....except Mira but she knows I'm kidding and love her! :p ) and really cannot wait to meet her again and hopefully spend more time with her.

That's all for today. I'll do another four sometime this week....if not, then next weekend hopefully!!

[Kath]

So I've been commenting, but the amount of energy needed to create a post like some of the ones above? Wasn't quite there yet! Had some nasty jet lag which is fading now. I thought you were supposed to get it when you went from the UK to America not the other way round, but whatever. Anyway here goes. It is 2am, and the only reason I'm up is because this lag business meant I slept 12 hours last night and now can't sleep - so we'll see how far I get.

I arrived after a very boring plane ride into the welcome arms of Brinn. They were very welcome, as I had no way of contacting any 'Downers since my phone turned out not to work internationally, so I was filled with relief to find her stood there! I'd met Brinn before so we hugged and chatted very easily all the way to my new home for the week. Brinn's a great talker - ooh and I thought of a quote for you after going through my pictures: "Why is the rum gone!?" (As it happens, the rum was gone because Shasta and I had drunk it.) She's also very funny and was very generous in giving up her room to those who liked to sleep past about 9am! And poor sick Fea.

Upon arrival at said new home I met Rune, Nienna, Mira, Boro and Form. Do excuse me if I'm getting times/places/order of 'Downers wrong but it all blurred together so nicely I can't remember! Rune of course I have met far too many times already so we got on easily, and I immediately ruined any chance he had of being taken seriously by the others to his dismay and their delight. Finland all over again eh Rune? But no, Rune is hilarious, teasing, teasable and just generally good fun. I may have felt a very badly disguised desire to slap him when he was being all that and my tooth was hurting but apart from that short incident all was well! Given my reunion with Rune I'm afraid I spent less time than I should have speaking with the others, but I'm actually shy with those I don't know so I think I was mostly with Rune and Brinn that first evening. Then I passed out on Mira's couch (totally dressed and with my T pass still in my pocket!) and thus woke up the next morning terrified that she was going to murder me.

Luckily, Mira is a gem. She informed me that death was not a natural effect of stealing her couch and after that we got on famously! I have also met Mira before, but on that occasion we only met for a few hours and she was practically bouncing off the walls because Lari was there too. This time, she was still bouncing off the walls, but we actually got to spend quite a lot of time together on various trips and just in the apartment and it turned out that we have a lot in common! Mostly food I'll admit, but that can be a very strong bond. I may have sat and whispered snarky comments in Nienna's ear the whole time her and Boro's American football game was on, but it was only said with love. Our chance meeting in the kitchen in search of food and our subsequent other two trips and the feeding of both ourselves and the others with bacon cemented our relationship and we're now awaiting our rings. :D

Nienna I saw less of than I would have liked for she is very funny and so lovely. Her reactions to my tired grumblings about rugby for wusses, ahem, American football and my total lack of respect for the very silly pictures the commentators were drawing on the screen showed a shared sense of humour and during the last couple of days when there were fewer of us and she was joining us in card game magic we got to interact a bit more, only confirming my view of her as a person I'd love to see more of. I'm also immensely impressed by her organisational skills - I saw that spreadsheet and it was, to use the word of the Moot, epic! She kept us all in line beautifully. She also has excellent taste in books. The Library Lion? Awwww.

Boro I have but two words for. Master chef! To me, who cannot (well, will not) cook this is an accolade indeed. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I would happily have Boro live with me just for the food! Except not just for the food, for he is also very good company. I had never really interacted with Boro much outside the 'Downs so I had no idea whether we would get on, but as it turns out he's an incredibly easy guy to get along with and very generous, happily going out to get lost with Glirdan on that lost-wilwa occasion that I am still feeling very guilty about!

Form I feel to have spent little time with. I suspect this is due to our conflicting schedules. He naturally gets up, oh, 4 hours before I do! And for someone who claims to naturally be lazy he seemed to be constantly on the move! Actually, to be fair, he was mostly picking people up from airports/stations and doing a very fine job of it. On the odd occasion we got to sit and have a nice chat he was very funny and it was hilarious to watch him reveal his subversive humour to a newcomer who would stare in shock and giggle nervously for a bit. Having spoken to him on MSN this sense of humour didn't surprise me. That said, reading his Annotated Twilight would shock anyone! There is a picture of Glirdan and myself reading it, and I think our expressions say it all! This man has a healthy career ahead of him writing satire if he ever wants to!

The next day we met Shasta, wilwa and Glirdan, and in the days after phantom, Di and Encai. Well not all on the same day I don't think, but fairly close together!

Shasta is one of the funniest guys I've met. He slotted in to the group like he'd always been there. Brinn and I were on duty to meet this particular 'Downer, and it didn't go well as we went to the wrong terminal and then we were eating when he arrived. Also, I had no idea what he looked like so I was relying on Brinn entirely! When he arrived, he didn't see us until he was already on an escalator and then when we finally met him I accidentally exploded a packet of frozen biscuits - don't ask. Luckily he found all of this hilarious so I realised we'd get on well! He is a master of card games, and will one day have to tell alona and I how on earth he manages to make California Speed a short game, and was often a member of the 'stay up all night so I can be awake to say goodbye to those leaving early' crew. Which is actually surprising given how much the boy sleeps! It also turned out that he liked English musical shows that I have watched so we bonded over that. He was also a wonderful companion at the Science Musuem and played with everything.

wilwa - ah wilwa. I don't think that anyone who meets wilwa would ever be able to say a bad word against her. She is an absolute sweetheart and I can see why Glirdan is so protective. I got to spend a little more time with her as she shared Brinn's room too - which was brilliant because she turned out to be an early riser so whoever was on the floor got to steal her bed space when she left - so we had some nice chats. Her reaction to the condo prank by Glirdan (aided by Fea) was brilliant, she got phantom to show his soft side and she allowed us to take photographs of her with alcohol even after demanding that we didn't when she arrived. To be honest I think we corrupted her a little, but then she probably made us better people! I love wilwa, and I'm so glad I wasn't there when she and Glirdan left because it sounds like it was devastating!

Glirdan was just a joy. I'm thinking the constant singing and general 'up' ness might have caused me to try and murder him, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was just so funny with it all! It's thanks to him (and Shasta) that I'm now hooked on Glee and our joint reading of Form's Annotated Twilight was brilliant. He'd have it open, I'd be reading one comment, he'd be reading another and we'd both feel it was imperative to point the comments out rather than just waiting for the other to get there. Therefore it took us about four times as long to read each page as it should, which just added to the joy of it all. New Year's Eve was just hilarious, the love between Glirdan, Rune and Boro was simply beautiful. I have also never met anyone who, while somewhat distraught as well as utterly lost, takes pictures of their lost state! Definitely one of a kind this chap.

phantom was a funny one. When he arrived he was very much 'the phantom' as he comes across online and a little distant, hiding behind his laptop and his werewolf book. Now, I'm as much a fan of werewolf as any other 'Downer that plays, but unlike most I have a complete inability to remember what happened in a given game. I truthfully do not remember who won the game I modded, despite the fact that when I mentioned this at the Moot Brinn actually told me. Therefore, after about 3 hours of discussing the finer points of individual games courtesy of his book, I wasn't feeling overly warm toward him. However, over the following days and especially with the arrival of wilwa and Fea, phantom became less his online persona and more himself and with that much easier to get along with. In fact he and wilwa made a very sweet pair, especially as she just could not stop stroking his head! After New Year's Eve he seemed to be more relaxed around us, and even played with the wereduckling a bit!

PAUSE: Ok, so it's now 3am and while I'm not sleepy I feel sleep is called for. Therefore I shall take a break here and continue later on today! Hmm, bolding names first though.

By the way, how many times did you others read through and discover you'd put real names down instead of 'Downs ones without realising even though you were trying not to? I found two occasions, and am worried I have missed more!

[Glirdan]

I had never really interacted with Boro much outside the 'Downs so I had no idea whether we would get on, but as it turns out he's an incredibly easy guy to get along with and very generous, happily going out to get lost with Glirdan on that lost-wilwa occasion that I am still feeling very guilty about!

Don't!! Honestly, I thought it was rather humorous!! I'm surprised Mira or Alona or Lari didn't tell you about what I had said AFTER my freak out!


Glirdan was just a joy. I'm thinking the constant singing and general 'up' ness might have caused me to try and murder him, if it hadn't been for the fact that he was just so funny with it all! It's thanks to him (and Shasta) that I'm now hooked on Glee and our joint reading of Form's Annotated Twilight was brilliant. He'd have it open, I'd be reading one comment, he'd be reading another and we'd both feel it was imperative to point the comments out rather than just waiting for the other to get there. Therefore it took us about four times as long to read each page as it should, which just added to the joy of it all. New Year's Eve was just hilarious, the love between Glirdan, Rune and Boro was simply beautiful. I have also never met anyone who, while somewhat distraught as well as utterly lost, takes pictures of their lost state! Definitely one of a kind this chap.

This whole thing honestly made my night so much better...which is a good thing because I've been having a terrible night. I'm quite flattered that you find me funny because I don't try to be! and yay Glee and the reading of the Annotated Twilight! :D And I'm glad you found the love beautiful because I don't remember it...well, sort of. As for the pictures whilst Boro and I were lost....yeah...I do that....


By the way, how many times did you others read through and discover you'd put real names down instead of 'Downs ones without realising even though you were trying not to? I found two occasions, and am worried I have missed more!

Actually, once....that's it. And it was while I was writing this one...Although everyone's RL names do pop into my head and make it rather difficult sometimes.....



And before I forget, I'm really quite glad you didn't murder me. We wouldn't have been able to enjoy all that fizzy drink!! :D Yes, I will say this for the rest of my life.

[Mirandir]

my Stick, my Mira

I has become two people! :eek:

The telly was turned on close to midnight, and everyone that drank had a tequila shot in hand, and as the ball dropped, there was one intensely dramatic kiss in the room that absolutely nobody witnessed, as all eyes were on the television, or buried in their liquor.

I shall leave it up to you to guess which two Barrowdowners locked lips as the New Year commenced. ;) (I bet you'll be wrong in your guess).

Oooh ooh, I know, I know! *jumps up and down*

---

So this one time...I'm ridiculously bored at work. This means I'm FINALLY going to do my epic post of epicness. Yeah. Be happy. :p

[Diamond18]

I shall leave it up to you to guess which two Barrowdowners locked lips as the New Year commenced. ;) (I bet you'll be wrong in your guess).

Rikae and Mac.

HA.

:p

[Boromir88]

Since I've visited my normal set of sites, and now just find myself trolling, I guess it's a good time to finish like I told Enca I was going to two days ago.

As Diamond said, I went with Form in the morning to greet her. I'm surprised I was able to do it, as I think that was night 1 of 2 that I wound up somehow sleeping at the kitchen table. Luckily we had left early, because we found out that Diamond was flying in on Northwest and they changed terminals, we went to 4 different terminals until finally finding the right one (Logan seriously lacks information desk and the people at them are not very helpful!...go outside and head straight it's like a minute walk...Thanks for sending us into a parking lot that we could not walk straight thru!) Anyway, I told Form that I hope he knew what Di looked like, because all I knew is vaguely remembering glasses. It was quite perfect timing, we finally were in the right terminal and then Di approaches recognizing Form. There was brief awkwardness as I hadn't talked to Di outside of WW games, and I knew from her cold she at first didn't register me. I apologized for not being a welcoming, 'bucket of cheer,' as I was seriously lacking sleep and she was ill. But on the ride back, I discover she's from Wisconsin, a place that I have actually been before, and near the Milwaukee area. After that awkwardness ends, and I think when she's a wolf, she just wants to lynch me because unlike Glirdan, Shasta, or Brinn even in real life WW no one wants to lynch me. :D

The next two I met were Enca and phantom. I had gone out on a grocery store run to get the turkey with Brinn, Kath, Rune, and Diamond. Brinn and Kath went to get Shasta, where Rune, Di and I headed back to the apartment, me pushing a large wheelie cart full of groceries.

With Enca, you can say, we had eachother at "hello" (to put it politely :p). I think all I can say, is after getting back with the cart of groceries, pressing the button to be let in, and being asked the password...umm ya, no one heard the password part. They just heard a bunch of rage and expletives from me to get everyone downstairs and help us carry groceries. This took Rune by shock (and probably Di too) as he says I was very composed on the train and hike up-hill back to the apartment. So...my first impression I give to Enca and phantom went something like this.

" *&$# *@##**&^ get %#$& *bleep* groceries #&^@ _____ everyone ******* &^$# *bleep* NOW!" Of course the tirade probably lasted for a good minute, but you get the gist (and everyone says I'm so kind! :p).

But back to Enca and phantom, once letting that out, it was immediately made better by Nienna sending down the entire apartment of 'Downers in mass to get the groceries. Plus seeing two new 'Downers. I was very worried, until Enca was practically cracking up and welcomed me with a good hug. The day she left, she still remains the only 'Downer that I properly serenaded too! I worry a bit too much about first impressions, and anyone who can hear that from me as a first impression and still love me, deserves it!

the phantom, I have conversed with a lot more outside the Downs than Enca, and knowing that I was worried about his reaction too, but was reassured with basically "No big deal. So did you see the Texas-Nebraska game?" He was pretty much how I imagined...talked a lot of sports and werewolf at first (and for anyone who thinks he fixes the Arda Cup results...it's legit, he doesn't), but he proved much more useful in convo than simply at those two topics. I regret not getting a bit more time with him, since he was one of the people who stayed at a hotel, but still a good guy with a good sense of humor.

And now, I feel more drained than at the start (so the plan worked and got me to unwind...woo!) but this means the story has to be continued.

[Mirandir]

Recounting all the adventures had during Bostonmoot would take far too long and I'd probably still be sitting here in the library until way past closing (not so much an option when you don't know the security guards closing, heh heh) soooo true to Werewolf style, here is a list of people and my thoughts! Whoo! (Did I mention Mira is very sleepy?)

Nienna - Oh my Nienna...How I love her. She's fabulous and housed us crazy people and forced me to buy pancake mix in New York and drag it all the way to Boston...Not like we didn't know all these things before. She became the mother of the trip, making sure everyone had their T pass at all times and didn't kill each other or burn the apartment down (although there wasn't much she could do about that when she was at work...*coughFormcough*). I love her lots. That about sums it up.

Formendacil - The father to Nienna's mother. From making apple pies while Boro and I "helped" to always have a camera around, Form was on top of things. Well, not quite everything. There was the one time he left the gas stove on and almost burned down the apartment. But he didn't, so all is well. He also made fabulous pasta the first night we were there, so that makes up for it as well. The self-appointed picker upper and dropper offer of various Downers, he got everybody where they needed to be when they needed to be there, even when they didn't want to be there themselves. He's always good for a snuggle or inappropriate comment regarding...well, I don't want to scar the rest of you the way I have been. Aside from that, Form is an absolutely fabulous person and will hopefully not be all the way in Canada for too much longer *fingers crossed*

Boromir88 - aka Grandpa. This kid eats ridiculously slowly. Case and point: Form and I were on part 2 of our two part lunch (cheesy scrambled eggs and orange juice in goblets for part one, peanut butter and jelly for part two) while Boro was still plugging away on the eggs. He made up for it by cleaning like a champ and always doing dishes when there were dishes that needed doing (so...all the time). When Boro, Form, and Nienna picked me up at the bus station, the boys glomped just to be mean because Nienna and I were being epic. Then he carried my stuff. Which weighed more than Shasta. Have I mentioned lately that I love this kid? One of the only people to put up with my insane football watching (he abandoned Rune for football with me on more than one occasion) and we threw around Tony Jr. (my super awesome Tony Romo "signed" ball) while waiting for people to come and go on more than one occasion. Grocery shopping with Boro, Form, and Nienna was certainly an experience, one that involved getting pushed around in a shopping cart for the duration of the trip and getting called a boy by some little kid in the queue. I'm sure there are a variety of other fabulous moments that I just can't think of at the moment (being interrupted by my minions doesn't really help either) but in short Boro is amazing. Case and point - turkey.

Rune - aka Danish. Love this kid. I mean, how can I not after punching him in the face 3 hours after I met him? (This is when the 3 hour rule was established, by the way) Just for the record, he was between me and my football and he had fair warning to move. He chose not to. ANYWAY. Our Europeans are fabulous. Listening to Rune and Kath bicker was absolutely amazing. He put up very well with being my punching bag (and actually fought back, which was a pleasant surprise) and all our general obnoxious American tendencies. He was also a champ about going to the liquor store whenever we needed more of something. Oh! And the meat! If you haven't gone grocery shopping with a Dane, I highly suggest you do. After being told to go to the meat section, witnessing him hop, skip, and jump his way over there absolutely made all our days! Absolutely fabulous.

Kath - aka English. My wifey and fellow lover of random bacon making! Kath and I had met with Jenny when we were traipsing around London last May, but that was only for a few hours and we did manage to get ourself slightly less than horribly lost for a while. I was really glad we got to spend more time together this time and traipsed around Boston without getting lost. By the end of the week she had us all saying things like "rubbish" and "queue." The overwhelming favorite, however, had to have been "fizzy drink."
It put an end to the soda vs. pop debate for good. She also showed the majority of us that it was okay to be mean to Danish (although personally had already figured that one out :P) and thereby effectively demolished any sense of superiority he might have had. She also stole my couch one night. She'll pay for that down the line (just kidding dear <3) She needs to not be in England. kthx.

Brinn - Brinn and I had met last year when she came up to the Purple Bubble for a week during her vacation (and Fea got us epically lost getting back to campus after picking her up). She definitely gets the same awesome status for hosting all of us insane Downers in her apartment and sharing her bedroom as Kelly. She was very willing to show us all around Boston and play tour guide, which was greatly appreciated.

Lari - Only for Lari and alona would I be at the airport at 7 in the morning. Not happy about it, but there nonetheless. She's just as fabulous as I remember from living with her for a year. Kath, Fea, Lari, and I had epic story telling time, complete with dramatic reading of evisceration scenes from the fabulous Jack the Ripper book she got me for Christmas (eviscerated girl played by Fea). We then solved the Jack the Ripper and Sweeney Todd murders in one night. Take that, Scotland Yard. Our walk around Boston at night also could be qualified as epic, seeing as how we had absolutely no idea where we had gotten to but still somehow managed to find our way back to the apartment in one piece, without having to call Nienna in a panic (unlike some people *coughGlirdanandBorocough*)

alona - Adore this girl. Still eating lemons straight like a champ as she was when she came to visit last year, alona became the second adopted daughter of Form and Nienna, as well as my little sister. One of the three people younger than me on the trip, she was the victim of many late-night hallway chats and therapy sessions, which she handled flawlessly. Have I mentioned lately that I adore this girl? Because I definitely do.

Fea - Oh my sickly Fea. Depressingly coming 4 days later than originally planned, Fea was stricken ill multiple times during the week, but was still the victim of a hearty glomp from yours truly upon exiting her vehicle. Always good for a snuggle (or midnight smooch ;)), she was a fabulous evisceration victim during Jack the Ripper story time. As always, she proved amazing at the hair styling game. Lesson learned: always trust Fea when she has a pair of scissors aimed at your head. Hopefully next time she will be in fabulous health, because I think most of us will probably kill her if she's not. <3

Glirdan - Most epic memory: gutting the fridge and freezer on New Year's Day. What a ridiculous cleaning experience that was. Oye. Close second in the epic memory race: getting ranted at 5 minutes after getting off the bus from an 18 hour ride. Third most epic memory: RENT singalong time with Shasta and Lari. Fourth most epic memory: not one, but two frantic phone calls from Glirdan and Boro when they got lost traipsing around Boston one night. /adore

wilwa - It is impossible to not love this girl. She is just absolutely fabulous. After a ridiculously short period of time, I came to think of her as a little sister and miiiight have peer pressured her into doing a little experimenting in the beverage area. She handled it like a champ, as she did when accosted by my aforementioned rant after getting off the bus. Saying goodbye to her and Glirdan was one of the most painful experiences I have faced yet. It's ridiculous how close all of us got after such a short period of time. Oh, and sorry for randomly lynching you that one game when Rune and I were too tired to care, dear. <3

Shasta - My two hour Lover. Never have I known someone to sleep under a mattress when there's a perfectly good one to lie on top of. Of course, this is also the kid who slept on the back of the couch, so draw what conclusions you will. Between epic musical singalong times and making me fabulous mixed drinks, there is no way not to fall in love with this kid.

the phantom - ZOMG he does exist outside the Downs! I know, everyone's shocked. Always good for an in-depth analysis of RL WW and/or a pillow for Fea, phantom was the one other person (other than Boro) capable of carrying on an intelligent conversation about football. Awesome points, right there.

Celuien - Epic dominator of the turkey! Where Boro and Glirdan failed, Celuien prevailed! Without her, the delicious turkey we had would not have existed (and that would have been a shame beyond all others). She was quite quiet when we were all in a group and I'm sad we didn't get to spend more one-on-one time together. She definitely needs to upload pictures from her awesome camera. *hint hint*

Encai - Oh, the bonds forged on the T ride back to the apartment from the bus station! Our relationship started out with a hug, which is always a fabulous sign in my book. Encai has the most amazing boots ever, which everyone was epically jealous of. Another person I wish I had gotten to spend more time with, but is absolutely fabulous nonetheless!

Di - Um, so apparently she was terrified of me the first day because I was yelling about punching people when she first walked in. I feel bad about that. We went on many a trip together, including to see Sherlock Holmes in the bitter cold (fingerless gloves + cold night = bad life choice). She was fantastic help in the kitchen when needed and fabulously entertaining to play RLWW with, especially when Shasta fake revealed as Seer. Yet another person I would have liked to spend more time with.

Rikae, Mac, and the Wereduckling - Get lumped together. Seeing the Wereduckling again was definitely the highlight of that day (Nienna, Fea, Lari, Brinn, and I visited them at home last year when she was just a wee one). She knows how to text! sally can attest to that, as she replied to a number of her texts all on her own. Rikae was fabulous as always, helping us clean the apartment like it was her job on New Year's Day (have we mentioned lately how much we appreciate that). Mac was as well, especially when he make potato pancakes for everyone for dinner (deeeeeeelicious!) It was fabulous to see them all again and I'm super glad they were able to make it to Boston for the festivities!

Oye. This is a ridiculously epic post which successfully ate up about two hours of my time at work (yay!). I'm sure I've left out a ton of things that I'll remember upon going to bed and thus not be able to sleep tonight, but alas. Seeing as how I'm not on my own computer at the moment, I can't so much link the pictures that go along with these fabulous memories. They will get done eventually though. Promise.

[Diamond18]

Luckily we had left early, because we found out that Diamond was flying in on Northwest and they changed terminals, we went to 4 different terminals until finally finding the right one (Logan seriously lacks information desk and the people at them are not very helpful!...go outside and head straight it's like a minute walk...Thanks for sending us into a parking lot that we could not walk straight thru!)

It still cracks me up that you went through all this and I saw you almost immediately after getting off the plane. Your timing and placement was imperfectly perfect. Also, I was on Midwest not Northwest... perhaps that's why you were at the wrong terminal? :p

and I think when she's a wolf, she just wants to lynch me because unlike Glirdan, Shasta, or Brinn even in real life WW no one wants to lynch me.

Here now, I think you're forgetting that I was only a wolf once over the course of the shindig, and I voted for you several times as an innocent! :D I did think you were far too trustworthy and helpful by the computer and too un-suspicious to be true, so yes that part is right.

I find that I actually really do enjoy real life werewolf. It's a lot more flying by the seat of your pants rather than studying posts, and one game takes about an hour rather than a week. A pity we're so seldom all together in one place.

This took Rune by shock (and probably Di too) as he says I was very composed on the train and hike up-hill back to the apartment.

Quite true. I had no idea, and for a moment or two thought you were playing at being upset because it was so, um, colorful.


Diamond is another total sweetheart. Quiet, a little shy, but funny and outgoing all at the same time. I had a lot of fn with this Downer on our rather long adventure to find a post office (with Rune) in order to send out a post card! The three of us stopped many times on what should have been a fifteen minute walk to take pictures of the scenery.

Awww you make me blush. :Merisu: I loved our postcard-buying/mailing/sight-seeing/lunch outing. Actually that is one of my favorite memories from the week. We were just so excited to be in Boston that we wandered around Brighton acting like it was the most exotic place ever, haha. Also possibly the only time I strolled around outside with my head up, instead of running from T-stop to T-stop complaining about the cold, buried in my hood.

[Boromir88]

Now, I can't have Mira show me up with that epic post as I whine about my own exhaustion. Left off with phantom, which I believe next comes Glirdan and wilwa, who I went to get at the bus station then returning back to meet Shasta.

Glirdan, where do I start with this kid? Wilwa told me he was coming before the moot and I was really excited, because as he said we had developed a good friendship, but when he went on hiatus from the site and lost touch. That is until I find out from wilwa, that the Devin coming with her was Glirdan! I mean I seriously can't say enough about him. On the 'Downs he was someone who I could always go to if I needed something done, and handled my frantic "I can't close this down, I hope you can!" messages. He is exactly the same in person, someone who handled the moments I did get frantic, and I was more than happy to repay when Kath had him worried about a missing wilwa. :p (I won't go into details about being lost, Glirdan was pretty cheery about the whole thing taking lots of pictures. My calls were not THAT bad, I was just concerned about making it back to induge in Mac's delicious potato pancakes). I can say we developed that friendship where I would be perfectly ok if he punched me for the times that I can be a prick. I say this, because I know there was a time when he probably seriously did want to knock me out, but instead just gave me a sleeping pill. I wasn't sure how long it would take to sink in, and the snoring from others who will remain nameless, led me to go into the other room where I was given earplugs. By the time I got to the door, I felt the sleeping pill taking effect forget what happens next, but according to alona I was yet again sleeping at the kitchen table.

And wilwa can just brighten your day instantly. We picked up the Canadians, and I was probably also in not the best of moods (I blame Mira who was dragging down everyones' spirits :p), but it was impossible to not smile when Glirdan and wilwa came through the doors smiling exclaiming "WE'RE IN BOSTON!" The B&N trip was quite epic too with her and Form. (Aside: I think this was when I first used the word excursion, and it makes me happy to see the word being used frequently here. Looks like you're not the only one who can get 'Downers to say words that catch on Kath! :p). It was good to go to Barnes, and it was an unexpected trip as I saw Form leaving, I wanted to get some air, then wilwa is anxious to come, and we make a pleasant trip to the bookstore and Starbucks. I already knew wilwa's obsessed fondness for butterflies, but learned the story behind it, and it was very sad to see my two Canadians who could instantly make you smile leave.

The first night, I don't recall much interaction with Shasta, beyond *New person is here...ahh this must be the person I legit fear the most, because of my Ranger stunt.* "Oh hi. I'm John, aka Boro." I don't think I have mentioned how great it was to meet this guy. Let's see...he's a great singer and absolutely hilarious, and he always got mad because somehow I was the Ranger 3 straight times, and he was the seer often, but I never defended him even though he was usually night 1 killed. The other thing about Shasta is he sleeps anywhere, at anytime. He made it nigh impossible to leave by tackling (http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs147.snc3/17469_563537763771_13005338_33320712_2303810_n.jpg ) (Had to steal this pic Brinn) and then trying to kidnap me at the airport.

The morning bunches of us go to pick up a Lari, an alona, and a Celuien.

Lari is someone who I can talk history with for hours and I love it, because
there aren't many people I know in person who can do that with me. She is a calming person to be around, it's just something where she knows exactly what to say in the perfect situation. When my head inevitably races around, Lari calmed it with encouragement or direction. And times when I needed a good laugh, we could discuss the Defenestration of Prague, and how to properly defenestrate people to make it look like an accident! I wish we could have thought of that role as a D-list superhero, someone carrying around a pane of glass to throw people thru...oh I love the idea.

Alona was a wolf in the WW game I did here, and we got to know eachother a bit afterwards. It's a shame that uni life made us both really busy, before the moot, but she did manage to instruct me on how to install Skype. I had no idea about her strange lemon habits, but I can't say too much as a person who will eat mashed potatoes and gravy with eggs. One of the few pictures I do have on my phone is when we woked up alona to tell her that Lari had gone to get hair dye. She takes out her phone, but while calling her fell back asleep with the phone to her ear. It was hilarious, and I have never seen anyone who can sleep like she can. Lari's trying to call her back, and alona has the phone right up to her ear, but still soundly asleep.

Celuien, I will just add had to the turkey story, had an absolutely stunning dress for New Years.

The last ones I met...Fea, Mac, Rikae, and their wereduckling. The wereduckling is adorable and she will without question be the most deadly WW player in history. When she speaks...erm points...watch out, you will be lynched or eaten.

Mac made a delicious meal for us as well, I can't take full credit for being the cook. He and Rikae also helped in the epic cleaning of the apartment that one day when Glirdan, alona, Mira and I decided it absolutely needed to be done. The WW-game I probably most remember (besides the one that I left because of a nose-bleed only to come back and find phantom had to pick new wolves) was getting into a staring contest with Mac. I had contacts, and in the desperate need for water that my eyes were I had to submit, to which Mac shouts "WOLF!"

Rikae is just as scary in real WW as on-line, because she sounds exactly the same. I swear at times when she talked, it was like reading a post from Rikae, and the sly tone to her voice did not help at all. I will distrust her even more now! Rikae also provided much needed help, in making the cheese sauce, for my pretzel-breaded chicken. It turned out beautifully, and I thank you because with everything else going on, I probably would have neglected the sauce, leading to separation or something else going wrong.

I had actually first met Fea through the screen as Nienna demanded a video chat, telling Form, Mira, and I that she had to go make herself pretty. I made a sign for her too, as I had asked her to wear some red when picking me up, but then she had to go and get sick. So, the sign on the back that red "and looking for the lady in red BOOTS" did not make sense. (Funny story...at the airport I fail at remembering what you can take in your carryon. So as the security guard confiscated my shampoo and toothpaste, came across the sign too. I said I would not allow him to throw that away and he kindly put it back in the bag for me.) Poor Fea was coughing, raspy, and quite often sleeping or at class, but a lovely person and I would have been most upset had that held her back from the trip entirely.

[Celuien]

Celuien - Epic dominator of the turkey! Where Boro and Glirdan failed, Celuien prevailed! Without her, the delicious turkey we had would not have existed (and that would have been a shame beyond all others). She was quite quiet when we were all in a group and I'm sad we didn't get to spend more one-on-one time together. She definitely needs to upload pictures from her awesome camera. *hint hint*

They're coming! Tonight!

I felt bad about being so quiet... especially the first day when I was falling asleep every 5 minutes. Sigh. Wish there was more one on one time too!

And... SQUIRREL!

[Kath]

Don't!! Honestly, I thought it was rather humorous!! I'm surprised Mira or Alona or Lari didn't tell you about what I had said AFTER my freak out!
No? What did you say?

And before I forget, I'm really quite glad you didn't murder me. We wouldn't have been able to enjoy all that fizzy drink!! :D Yes, I will say this for the rest of my life.
Good! Fizzy drink shall reign forever!

And I'm glad the post cheered you up. :)

[wilwarin538]

wilwa - ah wilwa. I don't think that anyone who meets wilwa would ever be able to say a bad word against her. She is an absolute sweetheart and I can see why Glirdan is so protective. I got to spend a little more time with her as she shared Brinn's room too - which was brilliant because she turned out to be an early riser so whoever was on the floor got to steal her bed space when she left - so we had some nice chats. Her reaction to the condo prank by Glirdan (aided by Fea) was brilliant, she got phantom to show his soft side and she allowed us to take photographs of her with alcohol even after demanding that we didn't when she arrived. To be honest I think we corrupted her a little, but then she probably made us better people! I love wilwa, and I'm so glad I wasn't there when she and Glirdan left because it sounds like it was devastating!

Haha, I could say the same thing about you sweety, you're so loving and affectionate I don't think anyone could ever not adore you instantly, and I'm glad we got to spend as much time together as we did. :D And I'm glad my early rising could provide you with a more comfortable sleepy spot. ;)



wilwa - It is impossible to not love this girl. She is just absolutely fabulous. After a ridiculously short period of time, I came to think of her as a little sister and miiiight have peer pressured her into doing a little experimenting in the beverage area. She handled it like a champ, as she did when accosted by my aforementioned rant after getting off the bus. Saying goodbye to her and Glirdan was one of the most painful experiences I have faced yet. It's ridiculous how close all of us got after such a short period of time. Oh, and sorry for randomly lynching you that one game when Rune and I were too tired to care, dear. <3



The metaphor works, little sister wants to be just like cool and tough and awesome big sister...so she resorts to drinking. :p You cracked me up dear, you are this tough tomboy who is so beatiful and so loving, and our little chat made me feel so loved and our goodbye was heartbreaking, I'm sure those big puppy dog eyes of yours could get you anything you want cause they were rediculously adorable. And you made me a kind sort Fenris so I don't mind. <3

And wilwa can just brighten your day instantly

I'm glad I could!!!! I think I was most excited to meet you Boro, and you definitely didn't disappoint me, you were so funny and caring and fed us all very well and didn't mind me tagging along on your excursion with Form, and you're the bestest. <3

Everyone was just so awesome!!! I loved everyone and miss everyone and had the best time!!!

[Kath]

Does anyone else get the feeling that those 'Downers who weren't there have abandoned this thread for fear of gagging over all the lovey-ness? Not that I'm suggesting we stop it for a moment! I just note a lack of non-Bostonmooters around here. :D

[Glirdan]

I am indeed getting that vibe...I just never wanted to say anything :rolleyes:

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Don't stop - it's so much fun to read about the good times you all had and to reinforce the idea that Downers are awesome! I'm sure many of us are reading your reports and greatly regretting not being able to have been there themselves.

Of course, we are all hoping that one of you will drop a hint about that midnight kiss - can we expect another Downs couple sometime? :Merisu:

[the phantom]

Does anyone else get the feeling that those 'Downers who weren't there have abandoned this thread for fear of gagging over all the lovey-ness?
Heh heh... That's precisely why I've been waiting to write my Boston review. I knew that I would be terribly gushy sounding if I wrote it while still in the grip of the emotional high brought about by the storm of delightful first time meetings and then sudden separation and lack of sleep on the long drive home.

I mean really, I've been described already as possessing a "soft side" and being half of a "very sweet pair", and if I were to tack on a rosy I-loved-you-all-and-miss-you-so-much post on top of that I would say that my image here on the Downs would be ruined forever.

I will give my thoughts later this week, after carefully editing them for gushiness, gooeyness, or fluffiness. As a matter of fact for the sake of image I may even fabricate a story or two in which I attempt to kill the Boston Moot attendees. We'll see.

[Brinniel]

Nineteen BDers in one photograph...let's see if anyone can beat that!

With so many people, it's hard to get a picture of everyone in one photograph...so here's three:

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs147.snc3/17469_563537683931_13005338_33320696_3841056_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs147.snc3/17469_563537688921_13005338_33320697_875729_n.jpg

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs127.snc3/17469_563537693911_13005338_33320698_985904_n.jpg

[wilwarin538]

note: the one asleep is our dear Fea, who was such a wonderful person who I did not get to see enough of because she was crazy sick most of the time :(

And I love that if you work from the bottom picture up my smile looks less and less genuine, I think I was tired of posing...or Kath's knee jabbing into my back may have started hurting by that point :p

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

note: the one asleep is our dear Fea

Yes. Everyone more or less posed around me, which confused me a lot. What's happening? Why are there bodies pressed against me?

We're taking pictures, Fea.

What?

Group pictures. Wake up.

Huh?

I'm glad they didn't just leave me out on the porch in the snow or something, however. Everyone somehow managed to include me in the festivities even when I was more or less totally unaware of what was happening.

[skip spence]

That's an amazing group picture! What a way seeing out the decade...

Rune, you must be way in front in the meeting-other-downers race, how many is it now?

Good! Fizzy drink shall reign forever!
Cheerio, Kath. Jolly good to hear of your valiant effort teaching these septics the Queen's English. Ta-ta! ;)

[Rikae]

It would resemble some sort of class picture if it weren't for the baby and those two old people on the left...

[Valier]

I would dearly like to thank all you Downers for making me partyqueen of the Moot!:p

Sorry I just had too!! All of us not cool nonmooters feel a little left out....I can't resist a good party and was sad to not have attended, so well....I made myself attend.:D:p

[Celuien]

As a matter of fact for the sake of image I may even fabricate a story or two in which I attempt to kill the Boston Moot attendees. We'll see.

There's photographic evidence of this fact... ;)

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

There's photographic evidence of this fact... ;)

In fact, he once or twice even forcibly restrained yours truly just to show that he - big bad phantom that he is - could. With one hand.

He has none of our best interests at heart.

He is cold and cruel, cunning, wicked, and the only reason we are still alive is that we were incapable of raising ourselves to the level of significance wherein it would actually matter to him if we lived or died.

;)

[Lalaith]

Agree with Esty, this is all great vicarious fun, especially the loved-up bits (I do try to have firm faith in the clean-living rep of Downers, but I am beginning to suspect that this fabled New Year turkey was actually spiked with MDMA...:eek:)

So, any chance of a school-photo style left to right namecount..I do recognise most of you (particularly the livejournalers) but it would be nice to put names to all faces...

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Front row, left to right: Glirdan, sleeping Fea, Mira, Alonariel.

Second row: Diamond, Brinniel, Rune, Wilwa, Phantom, Celuien

Back: Mac with Wereduckling, B88, Rikae, Shasta, Encai, Kath, Nienna, Formy, Lari.

[Lalaith]

Ah, thank you...

[Boromir88]

*predicts phantom to say I'm an overated cook, tends to get cranky after midnight, and I did not pay enough attention to him. The last one he can probably say about everyone.* :rolleyes:

As for more 'Downer hook-ups, well it will be interesting to see considering the moot. I can say there was lots and lots of bromance. I think, by far, the person I am in the most pictures with is Rune. And most of these pics we are embraced in a manner similar to this (http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs147.snc3/17469_563537758781_13005338_33320711_5590527_n.jpg )...although I was not involved in any mysterious midnight kiss. At least, I don't remember being in one, come to think of it, I don't recall seeing the ball drop. (There you go Rune, finally a picture of you on the 'Downs where you are not drinking :p)

[Durelin]

What's with all these normal looking people who met on teh intrawebs? It's absurd!

(This is the ultimate stalker thread. Keep posting, please.)

:p

[Aganzir]

Nope at least I am not overlooking this thread, it's fun to read about your adventures. Looks like you had a great time but even so I can't say I'd regret not coming, given that I had probably the most awesome New Year ever anyway. ;)

And even though I wasn't there, your stories portray the whole happening quite vividly... probably partly because I've met a couple of attendants myself and know something general about most people anyway. So thanks for posting, keep doing it! :p However, even at the risk of sounding demanding, it'd be quite awesome if you posted more photos here. Yeah I know Facebook is full of them, but not everybody has an account, or the energy to go through hundreds and hundreds of photos to find those that summarise the moot the best.

Oh and a word of warning in advance... there might be a slight chance that some day, certain people find a painting of themselves in a cuddly pose. :smokin:

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

This (http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs147.snc3/17469_563537753791_13005338_33320710_7794496_n.jpg ) one!!!

[Kath]

Oh I don't know Fea, maybe this (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=3&aid=2083967&id=36702022#/photo.php?pid=32941775&id=36702022) one.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

It won't load, Kath! So I'm left assuming it's the one that's almost entirely my thigh?

[Boromir88]

Nah, the one that is probably the most tender embrace between Rune and I. :p

[Kath]

It is indeed Boro! Sorry it won't load - don't know what to do there because it works for me!

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

It started working. Must just be my wireless connection.

I'm merely amused because we actually did have a conversation one night about giving Agan fodder for homoerotic paintings.

[Lush]

I'm so proud of this forum, honestly. It's full of fun people. If I was J.R.R., I'd be even more proud, for setting off such a splendid chain reaction.

[Aganzir]

I'm merely amused because we actually did have a conversation one night about giving Agan fodder for homoerotic paintings.
Awww thanks sweeties! :D

[Thinlómien]

Just to give a differing opinion, I actually have to confess I didn't read through all the gloating because there was simply too much to read - but keep posting still if you want to, undoubtedly there are some more stalkerish people around. ;)

You know, I know it would've been awesome to be there, but on the other hand, I think that kind of meeting would've been too huge for me to really enjoy. But I'm really really looking forward to a probable Finno-invasion on the American terrain next summer...!!! (And Kath and Rune, I want to see you again, come here now! :p)

[Boromir88]

Or then this (http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs163.snc3/19061_750467380273_8230980_42488553_145877_n.jpg) one...

But I think people are starting to get the point. :p

Just to give a differing opinion, I actually have to confess I didn't read through all the gloating because there was simply too much to read


As long as you have read about me we're good. I don't care about the others, that's between you and them. :p

[Mithalwen]

Cheerio, Kath. Jolly good to hear of your valiant effort teaching these septics the Queen's English. Ta-ta! ;)

You know Cockney slang.... pearly queen's english ;) That is impressive.... I love Listerine for anti-american....

[skip spence]

You know Cockney slang.... pearly queen's english ;) That is impressive.... I love Listerine for anti-american....
:D
I don't know Cockney slang though, it's just a poor mimic.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Can I just say I didn't know you were calling Rune Danish?

Oh, and Rune and Kath destroy my ability to call people by screen name, because I hit them when naming people and my brain says "this is real name" and the rest of the names just convert themselves!

[satansaloser2005]

[b]Seeing the Wereduckling again was definitely the highlight of that day (Nienna, Fea, Lari, Brinn, and I visited them at home last year when she was just a wee one). She knows how to text! sally can attest to that, as she replied to a number of her texts all on her own.

This are trufax. Lol I've still got a couple of them saved on my phone. ^_^

[Nienna]

New quote from Mira (in reference to someone new she has to play nice with): psh, unless she's blonde, foreign, has an accent, will let me sit on her lap, and encourages me to drink at 3:30 in the afternoon, she will never be as cool as Danish

[Mirandir]

New quote from Mira (in reference to someone new she has to play nice with): psh, unless she's blonde, foreign, has an accent, will let me sit on her lap, and encourages me to drink at 3:30 in the afternoon, she will never be as cool as Danish

Hahaha I am Mira and I approve of this message. :cool::p

[satansaloser2005]

++Mira for representative



:p

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I believe in Mira Stick.

[satansaloser2005]

I believe in Mira Stick.

You just won (a) life(time supply of cookies). How would you like it shipped?

[Thinlómien]

PS. My guess for the midnight kiss is Annika the Wereduckling and Legate (aka a bottle of Czech beer). ;) :p

[wilwarin538]

PS. My guess for the midnight kiss is Annika the Wereduckling and Legate (aka a bottle of Czech beer). :p

That is a wonderful guess, haha. :D

But incorrect. Please try again. :smokin:

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

You just won (a) life(time supply of cookies). How would you like it shipped?

I would like my Sally to deliver every other batch in person, so we can have quality Fea/Sally time, and the other batches can come by FedEx.

[Boromir88]

I would also like to add that fortunately this forum has good moderators, because without the stability they provide, this place would go up in flames if left in the hands of the insane characters at the moot. :rolleyes: :p

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I would also like to add that fortunately this forum has good moderators, because without the stability they provide, this place would go up in flames if left in the hands of the insane characters at the moot. :rolleyes: :p

True story.

*bows to moderators*

If left to the Moot, this forum would have:


many trips to 7-11 in search of the meaning of the text
pie pie pie pie bacon pie pie pie pie bacon lembas bread
cross-gender marriage proposals involving the One Ring
performance art and/or interpretive dance depicting the deaths of every major character
Harry Potter trivia games ("This is the worst Tolkien convention ever!")
half the number of wolves promised
long, winding, explorations of Middle Earth during which the Downers try not to get hit by the fast moving Eagles... or the other fast moving Eagles... or the oncoming Riders of Rohan... or the other oncoming Riders of Rohan...
etc.

[wilwarin538]

True story.

*bows to moderators*

If left to the Moot, this forum would have:


many trips to 7-11 in search of the meaning of the text
pie pie pie pie bacon pie pie pie pie bacon lembas bread
cross-gender marriage proposals involving the One Ring
performance art and/or interpretive dance depicting the deaths of every major character
Harry Potter trivia games ("This is the worst Tolkien convention ever!")
half the number of wolves promised
long, winding, explorations of Middle Earth during which the Downers try not to get hit by the fast moving Eagles... or the other fast moving Eagles... or the oncoming Riders of Rohan... or the other oncoming Riders of Rohan...
etc.


I luvs you so much right now!♥♥♥♥♥♥♥Especially for the ones I bolded. :D:D:D

[Estelyn Telcontar]

If left to the Moot, this forum would have:


more Werewolf games than discussion threads

Oh, wait a minute - we already do... :rolleyes:

[the phantom]

A summary for all of you tired of reading reports- it was cool.

(if you don't care to read anything more detailed than that, skip the rest of this)

The Journey

I left Omaha around 6 AM on Sunday. The interstate was terribly icy from the big storm. There was a car or truck in the ditch every couple of miles. It started to snow.

To avoid being part of another wreck I flew off the interstate into the shallow ditch between the two ways. I clipped a sign, but avoided any vehicles, and amazingly ended up back on the shoulder when I stopped. It was nice not getting stuck, and not dying was nice too.

The snow continued through Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. In Ohio it got really bad. Traffic was moving at a crawl. There was no way to tell where lanes were, and cars were beginning to become invisible at distances of greater than 20 feet. I checked the weather and kept going, fearing that if I stopped I would be snowed in and arrive late (or not at all) to Boston Moot.

Pennsylvania- still snowing, and the reports said the same of New York and Connecticut. I decided I would just go all the way to Boston without stopping. I arrived around 9 AM Monday, and thankfully my hotel let me check in before the official 3 PM check-in time. The rest of the day and the following morning was spent recovering.

The People

(if I don't mention you, it's because I ripped this list from the Facebook event page)

Alonariel- She seemed to time her naps for my visits. Purposefully? I can't answer that, but I can say that she taught me a new card game which I rather liked and she proved quite good at games in general. And she certainly made an impression on New Year's with her blue dress.

Boromir88- He was a bit quieter than I expected. It is a grave mistake to judge the amount of noise a person will produce based upon online Werewolf games. Though some of it may have been weariness. When discussing football he was talkative enough, though, and I was pleased to have a football outlet present. He was also a responsible chap, picking up groceries and cooking and worrying about picking up new arrivals. Terrible cook though. :p

Brinniel- The first couple of days convinced me that Brin was extremely quiet and serious, and her glances seemed to say, "Yeesh, Phantom, you are annoying- go away". Then we went to the museum and I was thrown for a loop by witnessing a picture-snapping, pointing, and yapping Brin. And then my final day in Boston we had a nice little conversation in the afternoon. Turns out she's fun and likable. First impressions aren't always right.

Celuien- Very quiet. If the entire moot would've been one large group I doubt I would've had an opinion of her (other than the fact that she in her black dress was spectacular). Thankfully she was part of the smaller group that stayed at the museum for a long time, which gave me a chance to find out that she is in fact awesome. Any future moot must include her.

Diamond18- Every gathering needs someone who socializes like Di. She didn't talk loads, but could talk about anything, and a couple times I noticed her adding to more than one conversation at once. She hovers, listening, watching, and then pounces, leaping in with an amusing comment. She was consistently funny, and along with Shasta produced the best WW moment of the week.

Encaitare- Unexpectedly tall, and chillingly familiar. She was like an amalgamation of people that I used to know- my orchestra girls from back in the day. When I played in various youth symphonies and university orchestra and such, I knew a small group of girls that played with me in nearly every group. We had a shared taste in music and films, and a similar sense of humor, and I just loved them. From everything I saw Enca was shockingly similar to them, and I am completely convinced that if we knew each other in RL we would be friends.

Feanor of the Peredhil- She was busy with school and quite thrown off by sickness much of the time. Very sad. I'd say the majority of my contact with her was not spent speaking with her, but rather speaking with others as she used me as a pillow in her pitiful state. I think this is a good enough reason to have another moot- we never really got to meet Fea as she usually is.

Formendacil- A master at pretending to be serious when being funny, and obviously more skilled than me at falling asleep. The man actually went off to bed with sixteen of us in the next room shrieking our heads off. He seemed to be pretty responsible in general, and if forced to choose I would say Formy would have to be considered the resident "father" of the moot (an appropriate title for him, I would say).

Glirdan- It took me all of two seconds to assume Glirdy was a theater geek of some kind. He was loud, dramatic, and an enthusiastic YouTube sing-along supporter. To say that he added considerable life to the party would be an understatement of epic proportions. He also had terrible luck at WW, poor lad. Oh- and he also requested that a Downer abduct him, should anyone find himself up that direction.

Kath- She is living proof that truth cannot be based upon pictures alone. From what I had seen here on the Downs in pics from other moots, Kath was supposed to be a short girl who looked like she was in junior high. Instead, in walked a tall and quite lovely young lady that I had a difficult time not hitting on. She was very nice and friendly, and had an adorable voice to boot. I approve.

Lariren Shadow- She was an insufferable know-it-all. But only on the day we went to the Harry Potter exhibit. :p She was great company when she was around, but I was often not at the apt at the same time she was, plus the group was so large... You can definitely put Lari high up on the list of reasons I wanted to stay longer or wished to make the group smaller to allow for more chats.

Macalaure and Rikae- To play any game without Rikae would be a crime. She was as fun and into it as anyone there, and her humor was a great mix of funny and brutal. Mac's evil grins and laughs during WW games were just beyond funny (especially since half the time he was being sinister without even trying), and "Darth Wader" will outlive almost everything from the moot in my mind. They were both very nice and were simply the definition of "awwww" when sitting together holding the little wereduckling.

Mirandir- She was definitely evidence that interacting online does not always give the complete picture. I was expecting bubbly and giggly, but it turns out that loud and violent is a better summary. Thankfully I escaped Boston without suffering injury at her hands (the same cannot be said by Boro, Rune, and others). She ranked up there with Glir and Shasta at injecting things with life.

Nienna- Mom. Big sis. She was more likely than anyone to know what was going on, what the plan was, who was where, what was where, and so on. But don't let that make you think she was an uber serious bore- on the contrary she seemed quite cheerful and pleasant and was one of the most genuinely nice people there. She's another one that belongs high up on the list of people I wanted to talk to more than I did.

Rune- Rune was a laugh, and always good for a story. He's been a lot of places and of course comes from someplace I am unfamiliar with to begin with, and so it was really a pleasure hearing his tales and getting his take on things. In particular I enjoyed hearing about his views on sports and fans in other places. And I hope he's learned his lesson about helping people with bags on buses.

Shastanis Althreduin- I know it isn't probably proper to pick favorites in a review like this, but I just have to say that Shasta was the best. There aren't enough words that mean "amusing" and "entertaining" to give him proper credit. He was just delightful to have around all the time, except of course when he was sleeping, which he was able to do almost anywhere under any circumstance.

Wilwarin538- Very nice, uncommonly sweet, and in other ways that I discovered (certain tastes and opinions) she was as similar to me as anyone there. On the downside she was a stealer of ties and a rubber of heads, but she more than made up for her flaws by extending to me an extremely generous offer that Fea bore witness to. Fea thinks she'll back out, but I have faith in Wilwa's honesty and character. ;)

[Boromir88]

Boromir88- He was a bit quieter than I expected. It is a grave mistake to judge the amount of noise a person will produce based upon online Werewolf games. Though some of it may have been weariness. When discussing football he was talkative enough, though, and I was pleased to have a football outlet present. He was also a responsible chap, picking up groceries and cooking and worrying about picking up new arrivals. Terrible cook though.
Large groups I tend to stay back, simply because I find myself trying to pay attention to all the conversations that I can't really get into any of them. :rolleyes:


Mirandir- She was definitely evidence that interacting online does not always give the complete picture. I was expecting bubbly and giggly, but it turns out that loud and violent is a better summary.
Seriously? Someone who can hold their own in a good football conversation, giggly and bubbly? I must say you are not as perceptive as I thought you were.

[Mirandir]

Mirandir- She was definitely evidence that interacting online does not always give the complete picture. I was expecting bubbly and giggly, but it turns out that loud and violent is a better summary.

Psh, I don't know what you're talking about. *twirls hair around finger* My bright pink Tony Romo jersey and I will just be over here in this corner swooning about how gooooorgeous he is. :cool: :D :p

[Diamond18]

pie pie pie pie bacon pie pie pie pie bacon lembas bread

:D There was an epic amount of pie! I especially loved the peanut butter pie. And nothing says party like midnight bacon.

Harry Potter trivia games ("This is the worst Tolkien convention ever!")

Tooooo true. "What did you do with all your Tolkien-geek friends?" "Well, we went to see the Harry Potter exhibit...."

My favorite "We are so bad at being Tolkienites" moment was on the 3rd, when I was browsing Facebook, saw that it was my cousin's birthday, went to comment on his wall, and then suddenly had this niggling sensation in the back of my mind. Like, Hey doesn't my cousin share a birthday with someone famous? Oh wait.... "Hey guys, isn't it Tolkien's birthday today?" "I dunno, I suppose so." *everyone continues on as before.* (Or something to that effect. :p)

half the number of wolves promised

And a part time Ranger. ;)


Diamond18- Every gathering needs someone who socializes like Di. She didn't talk loads, but could talk about anything, and a couple times I noticed her adding to more than one conversation at once. She hovers, listening, watching, and then pounces, leaping in with an amusing comment. She was consistently funny, and along with Shasta produced the best WW moment of the week.

I lurk.

[wilwarin538]

Wilwarin538- Very nice, uncommonly sweet, and in other ways that I discovered (certain tastes and opinions) she was as similar to me as anyone there. On the downside she was a stealer of ties and a rubber of heads, but she more than made up for her flaws by extending to me an extremely generous offer that Fea bore witness to. Fea thinks she'll back out, but I have faith in Wilwa's honesty and character.

We'll just have to wait and see about that, won't we. :Merisu:


I see Mira as being all four of those things, she giggled very loudly, and was bubbly about violence. :p

We definitely sucked at being Tolkienites. :rolleyes:

[Boromir88]

I see Mira as being all four of those things, she giggled very loudly, and was bubbly about violence.


Easy for you to say! :p Let me sock you in the gut and smack you across the face and then tell me if there was something bubbly about it. :rolleyes:

[wilwarin538]

Easy for you to say! Let me sock you in the gut and smack you across the face and then tell me if there was something bubbly about it. :rolleyes:

Now Boro, don't forget what Mira told you! Don't be a......well, ya know. :rolleyes::p

[Kath]

Pfft Boro I got kicked in the mouth at cheer yesterday but I still think the girl that did it is bubbly! :D

[Kath]

Oh! Oh I can't believe I forgot this, sorry for the double post but it's important.

alona, Lari and Nienna had NEVER SEEN Taking the hobbits to Isengard!? Rune and I educated them of course but that was a jaw dropping moment at Bostonmoot.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

][/B]alona, Lari and Nienna had NEVER SEEN Taking the hobbits to Isengard!? Rune and I educated them of course but that was a jaw dropping moment at Bostonmoot.

This is probably my fault. My thanks for educating them. :cool:

[Boromir88]

The four of us (Boro, Mira, Form, and I) were also a happy family and had a pretty epic grocery shopping trip.

One important detail that Nienna failed to report about this grocery trip (http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs162.snc3/18965_260096610934_740905934_4760000_4729052_n.jpg ) (besides the fact that it was the one I did not return from in a colorful (good choice Di :D) display of words)...Form and I were indeed right, the metal cart was not necessary on this trip. Nienna and Mira said we needed to bring the cart, Form and I said no, and they said "Fine. But you realize you two will be carrying the most bags and we don't want you complaining about it?" Our combined response was "The cart is unecessary and will be a pain." (as proven in the next grocery trip I go on :p). So, we went without a cart, all groceries made it back to the apartment safely. Form and I were gentlemanly enough to carry the most, but also make sure that Nienna and Mira were comfortable and not over-burdened by their loads. We return back to have our first meal together, which has been properly told.

*speaking of food this reminds me of lunch before having a Mira...However, I think it would only be proper if Nienna told you the story about ketchup bottles* :p

[Nienna]

So shortly after we retrieved Boro from the airport (before the epic trip to the liquor store and before picking up Mira and creating our family) we decided to go to lunch. Form had us scheduled so we knew exactly how much time we could spend at lunch, then walk to the liquor store, then pick up Mira. We went to a local sports bar/restaurant place and sat down to have a nice meal. We order drinks and burgers while chatting and trying to distract Boro from the many television screens showing American Football.

Our food arrives and we begin eating. Boro asks for the ketchup bottle and then proceeds to look at it with a strange expression on his face. Form and I just kind of look at him until he explains to use that he doesn't really know what to do with this strange glass ketchup bottle (http://teleburst.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/heinz-ketchup-old-bottle.jpg). He then proceeds to tell us that he has never seen a glass ketchup bottle so I explain how to use it (hitting the #57 which is inlaid in the glass right about where the bottle starts to neck). The result is, of course, Boro having a new ketchup experience and Form and I teasing him about being from a weird place with no glass ketchup bottles. :cool:

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

He told me he was baffled, and tried impotently to squeeze the glass bottle, and stared blankly until Nienna took the bottle from him and asked, "How much ketchup to you want?"

*loves my B88*

[Boromir88]

He told me he was baffled, and tried impotently to squeeze the glass bottle, and stared blankly until Nienna took the bottle from him and asked, "How much ketchup to you want?"

*loves my B88*

And we both love her remarkable ability to show people how to do things without making them feel like an idiot. :D

[Glirdan]

And we both love her remarkable ability to show people how to do things without making them feel like an idiot. :D

And for not laughing or making jokes at those of us who wandered off and got lost down the street from the apartment. :D

[Mirandir]

And for not laughing or making jokes at those of us who wandered off and got lost down the street from the apartment. :D

No no, that's what the rest of us were for. :D :p

[Formendacil]

Going through and replying to some--alas, not all!--of the stuff I meant to reply to earlier, though the sleep deprivation and mad dump back into "reality" discouraged it.

Formendacil kept blowing my mind with his somewhat suggestive sense of humor, which I had not been expecting at all. One of the more hilarious surprises of the trip.

Really? Really, Encai? How long have we chatted online and you did not expect this? I am amused.

Correction: I recognized YOU. Even after Boro introduced himself I didn't know who he was, due to my being deaf from the plane's descent. So there was an awkward few moments of "Yay Michael! Aaaaaand... other dude..." before it registered.

Heh, well... you covered nicely enough at the airport then. And, now that you mention it, I didn't want to bring up that Boro was merely "other dude" to my "first dude." ;)

Form I feel to have spent little time with. I suspect this is due to our conflicting schedules. He naturally gets up, oh, 4 hours before I do! And for someone who claims to naturally be lazy he seemed to be constantly on the move! Actually, to be fair, he was mostly picking people up from airports/stations and doing a very fine job of it. On the odd occasion we got to sit and have a nice chat he was very funny and it was hilarious to watch him reveal his subversive humour to a newcomer who would stare in shock and giggle nervously for a bit. Having spoken to him on MSN this sense of humour didn't surprise me. That said, reading his Annotated Twilight would shock anyone! There is a picture of Glirdan and myself reading it, and I think our expressions say it all! This man has a healthy career ahead of him writing satire if he ever wants to!

See, Encai--Kath picked up my sense of humour from online! She's quite right about the shocking newcomers bit--and there were a delightful number of newcomers about (not all of them, alas, shockable).

As for being naturally lazy, Kath, I most certainly am--I just also didn't sleep super-well on the floor (or even on the bed in the "boys' room")... and there's a certain amount of manipulative sneakiness in getting up first--it means you have a much clearer shot at using the washroom. Besides, as the resident curmudgeon who went to bed first each night, it's only proper that I should have been the first one up--even if it was only a mere 4-5 hours of poorish sleep later.

I assume no one is wondering where the sleep deprivation I've mentioned comes from...

Of course, we are all hoping that one of you will drop a hint about that midnight kiss - can we expect another Downs couple sometime?

Really, Esty, as long as there are Downers left untaken, you can probably expect there to eventually be more Downs couples. We're all too entirely taken with each other. :smokin:

Agree with Esty, this is all great vicarious fun, especially the loved-up bits (I do try to have firm faith in the clean-living rep of Downers, but I am beginning to suspect that this fabled New Year turkey was actually spiked with MDMA...)

Any reputation for clean is 90% attributable to Boro and Glirdan. As for the rest of us? "Clean" might not be the best description of our living all the time.

Formendacil- A master at pretending to be serious when being funny, and obviously more skilled than me at falling asleep. The man actually went off to bed with sixteen of us in the next room shrieking our heads off. He seemed to be pretty responsible in general, and if forced to choose I would say Formy would have to be considered the resident "father" of the moot (an appropriate title for him, I would say).

Ah... allow me to reveal to you my dastardly secret: earplugs. Definitely had them for three or four nights.

Also: getting up too early--it makes you pretty tired come nightfall.

And: Big family. You learn to sleep with some noise.

And that seems to be all the posts that I need to catch up on replying to. For the record, I'm still not mentally past Bostonmoot. I'm not sure it's a wise idea to have another one for several years, given how long the emotional recovery seems to take.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Of course, we are all hoping that one of you will drop a hint about that midnight kiss

The best hint of all is that the hints have already been dropped.

[Encaitare]

Encaitare- Unexpectedly tall, and chillingly familiar. She was like an amalgamation of people that I used to know- my orchestra girls from back in the day. When I played in various youth symphonies and university orchestra and such, I knew a small group of girls that played with me in nearly every group. We had a shared taste in music and films, and a similar sense of humor, and I just loved them. From everything I saw Enca was shockingly similar to them, and I am completely convinced that if we knew each other in RL we would be friends.

I was so excited that we both loved the same bands! It's not a very popular genre, but I love talking about it. :D Also, I am pleased to have been described as "chilling," even out of context.

Really? Really, Encai? How long have we chatted online and you did not expect this? I am amused.

Well, like I told you the other day, you often make me laugh on AIM but usually have a very, shall we say, clean vocabulary. You must understand, my dear Michael, that you came with the good-Catholic-boy tag stuck to you, and this being so far removed from my life experiences, I would remain somewhat reserved so as not to offend your delicate sensibilities. ;) Now that I know your true colors, all bets are off!

You guys... I really miss you all.

[wilwarin538]

You guys... I really miss you all.


Me too!!!!!!!! ♥

I find in every conversation I have with anyone I somehow get to a point where I can say "When I was in Boston blah blah blah", or I say stuff like "I know someone who blah blah blah" or "a friend of mine blah blah blah" and it's always me bragging about one of you guys cause your all so cool, and therefore make me sound cool for having cool friends. :D :D :D

[Mirandir]

The best hint of all is that the hints have already been dropped.
Truefax. ;)


I find in every conversation I have with anyone I somehow get to a point where I can say "When I was in Boston blah blah blah", or I say stuff like "I know someone who blah blah blah" or "a friend of mine blah blah blah" and it's always me bragging about one of you guys cause your all so cool, and therefore make me sound cool for having cool friends.

Awwwwww wilwa I've been doing the same thing! Then it comes out that we know each other from the internet and the strange looks start. :rolleyes:

[Mnemosyne]

Then it comes out that we know each other from the internet and the strange looks start. :rolleyes:

That's when the strange looks start?

[Formendacil]

That's when the strange looks start?

I'm with Mnemo here--the strange looks started long before I left, when I told people I was going away during the Christmas holidays to meet people from the Internet.

Wilwa's quite right, though--everything seems to relate back mentally somehow or other to either the trip to Boston or the people there.

[Mirandir]

That's when the strange looks start?

Haha well the people I'm telling generally know I'm insane already. :p

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

and it's always me bragging about one of you guys cause your all so cool, and therefore make me sound cool for having cool friends.

Me today at the grocery store... "So it's apparently really hard to get Jello and meat in Denmark."

"What?"

"Jello. And meat. Denmark."

"Okay, dear."

[Glirdan]

Me too!!!!!!!! ♥

I find in every conversation I have with anyone I somehow get to a point where I can say "When I was in Boston blah blah blah", or I say stuff like "I know someone who blah blah blah" or "a friend of mine blah blah blah" and it's always me bragging about one of you guys cause your all so cool, and therefore make me sound cool for having cool friends. :D :D :D

ME TOO!!! And then I feel bad because I get the "We weren't there so shut up!" look...It's actually rather entertaining seeing some people's face.

[wilwarin538]

Awwwwww wilwa I've been doing the same thing! Then it comes out that we know each other from the internet and the strange looks start. :rolleyes:

Haha, actually yesterday I was talking with a girl I work with, who I don't know all that well, at our staff party and she had seen the word Bostonmoot somewhere on my Facebook page (not surprising) and she wanted to know where it came from. So I was like, well we're all kinda LOTR geeks, and before I even went further she was like "Ohmigosh, me too, that is sooo awesome, I totally get it now, that's wonderful", so I took it a step further and said I actually met all of you on a LOTR site, and she thought it was marvelous. Made me very happy, and so you're all I talked about for most of the dinner, and she was totally into it. :D I may have a new BD recruit in the making. :cool:

I totally ♥ you guys.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Me today at the grocery store... "So it's apparently really hard to get Jello and meat in Denmark."

"What?"

"Jello. And meat. Denmark."

"Okay, dear."

I just realised. . . We never made Jello!

This makes me feel sad.

I am back home in my extremely cold house and will write my version of the events soon(ish).

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I just realised. . . We never made Jello!

I know! I realized at school the day you left. Stupid me being sick killing my ability to actually function.

Next time, Rune? There will be Jello.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

My version of the Bostonmoot. (Also known as "How people I have never had any contact with lived up to my expectations")

Nienna: Nienna and I only started talking online after it was decided that I was going to the Bostonmoot and even then it was about practical stuff, so naturally I had no real expectations. Well, I did expect her to be taller than a smurf, but I turned out to be wrong. Nienna was a person that I did not have much direct contact with, it was always in a larger group (except for the last days). It is a shame because she is truly delightful, one of those people who always seem to be happy, even when she gets annoyed.

Brinniel: I had already met Brinn before and she is a lovely person, unfortunately she does not shine in big groups and that became clear during the Bostonmoot. I for one managed to neglect her and other of the more quiet downers during the moot and it is a pity, because I know what level of awesomeness they posses. Kath, Brinn and I did have tons of fun though, on a short run of madness through the center of Boston.

Feanor of the Peredhil: I expected Fea to be an intellectual, fun individual that would outshine the rest of the mootl. I did not expect her to have absolutely no immune system and I certainly did not expect her to like Aquavit. . . I got along with Fea better than I could have hoped for. To be honest, I kind of expected to be "star struck" and not know what to say, because Fea is just one of those downers that made a massive impression on me when I first joined. . . When talking to downers who have made that sort of impression on me, I often feel like a first grader trying to hang with the cool fourth graders. . . Luckily that was not the case here.

Formendacil: A wise man (me) once foretold that if ever Formendacil and Rune would meet great events where afoot, for good or evil. As it turns out I was right, great things did happen, but since this is a family site I cannot share all the details. And I shall let the future generations judge whether it was for good or evil. I had always seen Form as well balanced, highly intellectual and somewhat funny fellow, as it turns out he was a being of impure thought, much to my liking. (He was everything I imagined he would be and more)

Boromir88: I don't know what I expected Boro to be like. . . I guess I never really got a new mental image of him. In my head he remained "Old Boro", because it was back then, that we had all our talks about the European Union and other evil things. In some ways I think that Boro was surprisingly normal and very non-downer like. He is good laugh, great at sitting on laps and an amazing cooker of turkeys.

Lariren Shadow: Lariren likes history, so I like Lariren. She takes great joy in telling tales and is much more entertaining when doing so, than the rest of us.

Alonariel: I had never ever heard of Alona before, so I did the only proper thing to do, I introduced myself topless. Actually Alona turned out to be an absolute downer gem, not only is she a master of werewolf, but on a personal level she is truly amazing. She is a person who is there when her friends need it and as it turned out, also when strangers need it. [SIZE=3]

Mirandir: She punched me! Luckily she isn't that big, but for a moment I was afraid my pretty face might bruise. . .

Celuien: Another person I did not talk enough with. I especially regret not talking more with Celuien, the other people that I neglected during the Bostonmoot were people I had met before, but this was the first time I met Celuien. I really enjoyed the few times I talked to her, she was very nice to be around and seemed like one of those people who can talk about everything and actually seem knowledgeable. . .I could never do that. I guess she was quite like I imagined her, maybe a bit younger at heart than what I had thought

Encaitare: Encai is probably the love of my life. She is awesome incarnated, as she walks through life with her kickass boots and a winning smile. She is always up for adventure, random weirdness and is probably one of the most good natured people in the world. . .which is good, otherwise she would kill us all!

Shastanis Althreduin: For some reason I always imagined Shasta as a girl, even after I learned that he wasn't. . . I don't know how describe Shasta. . . I didn't see it coming. . .I would never ever have imagined him being the person he is. A bit too fond of Glee, but otherwise amazing. The first real impression he made on me was when he tried to sleep on top of the sofa-back.

Wilwarin538: Wilwa was exactly like I imagined her, the sweetest person ever! That is it. . .no more needs to be said about her

Glirdan: When I heard that Glirdan was coming to the Bostonmoot I became rather happy, as it reminded me of the days of old when I had just died and joined the wights on this site. Back then Glirdan was amongst the people I interacted quite a bit with and I believe we were even talking about co-moding a werewolf game at one point, then he disappeared and I was sad. I guess I was expecting to meet a slightly shy and kind of quiet guy, boy was I wrong. Glirdan totally blew my mind, he is the sort of person that it is impossible to dislike. He is funny, sweet, cleans up your mess and he fits right in your pocket!!! Everything you could want in a friend. . . and I must admit that seeing him and Wilwa get on the greyhound and drive away, was the worst part of my trip to the states

Diamond18: Unfortunately Di was sick for some of the Bostonmoot, which resulted in her being more quiet than normally. She was another of the quiet downers that I neglected during the Bostonmoot, which is a shame because Di truly is lovely company, she will provide pleasant conversation and a snappy remark when you least expect it.

Kath: Kath is the downer I have met the most times and she is always brilliant. Unfortunately she also has a tradition for ruining things for me, by questioning my divinity and right to rule. . .the Bostonmoot was no different

Macalaure: I expected Mac to be tall, dark and to lurk in shadows. Much to my surprise he turned out not to be a super villain. Instead he had a friendly face (and personality) and did not try to kill us all, even when he had the chance. Instead he made us a lovely meal. I am sure there are much more to Mac's personality than what I saw, he seems like he holds back in large groups

Rikae: I also got the feeling that Rikae is better in a small group of people that she knows well, but even so she managed to leave a quite good impression. Just like Fea she enjoys a bit of aquavit and she is a master of wicked comments.

the wereduckling: Adorable. . .Unfortunately she was so much in demand by the other downers that I hardly got to play with her, I did try to speak Danish to her though. . . I thought the response was rather positive.

the phantom: In some ways the Phantom remains a mystery, though not in the same way as on the downs. Here he is a dark shade of ego and awesomeness, in real life he is more like a bag of mixed nuts. A very pleasant and tasty snack, where every bite is from the same category, yet at times you get a nut that is not what you expected and does not go well together with the ones you just ate. . . (yes it is a rather poor analogy). The conversations with the Phantom would be very interesting and funny, often including sports, werewolf and English comedy, but I was left with the feeling that I never got to know the "real" phantom.

I hope I did not leave anybody out. . .

[Mirandir]

Mirandir: She punched me! Luckily she isn't that big, but for a moment I was afraid my pretty face might bruise. . .

People are going to start thinking I'm this violent crazy person who just goes around punching people! (only the ones who deserve it, just for the record). You left out the bit about my sparkling personality. :P

Shastanis Althreduin: For some reason I always imagined Shasta as a girl, even after I learned that he wasn't. . ..

Aunty Shasta!


Glirdan: He is funny, sweet, cleans up your mess and he fits right in your pocket!!!

Heh heh, pocket Glirdan! That is a fabulous mental image.


the phantom: A very pleasant and tasty snack

*coughhackthat'swhatshesaid*

[Kath]

You left out the bit about my sparkling personality. :P
Bubbly wifey, we're using bubbly. :D

[Mirandir]

Bubbly wifey, we're using bubbly. :D

Oh truth! Amendment: Rune, you left out the part about my bubbly personality. :cool::p

[wilwarin538]

Wilwarin538: Wilwa was exactly like I imagined her, the sweetest person ever! That is it. . .no more needs to be said about her

Awww, :D Rune you're the bestest! ♥


Glirdan: He is funny, sweet, cleans up your mess and he fits right in your pocket!!!

This is the best thing in the universe....

[Celuien]

Hehe. I have undergone the screen name to real name transition. And first-first, not my usual online middle-first! :smokin:

Bostonmoot was, in fact, all of the epic awesomeness that was advertised, and more. The quest began with an early morning trek to the local airport, an early departure made easier by working night shifts 7 days straight through until the day before leaving. The plane touched down in Boston, exactly on time, and I made my way to the baggage claim.

While waiting for the conveyor belt to deliver my bag, I turned around and spotted a familiar face... Formy and the rest of the welcoming group! We trekked back to the apartment on the T, where there was much cold-huddle singing on the platform, and a "Cheesy Broccoli!" from Boro88. We did, by the way, go back for the cheesy broccoli on a later shopping trip. I think most of the subway trip has been previously documented elsewhere.

I suppose I do fail at large groups in general... and this was magnified exponentially by suffering from the equivalent of jet lag from China due to those overnight shifts. I feel bad about that because I know I was falling asleep/very quiet in quite a bit of the large in apartment group times and wanted to get to know everyone better. However, it was still a great time, and talking in the smaller settings was great! And really, everyone was amazingly fun to be around.

Major highlights include cooking the turkey with Boro and Glirdan and the Harry Potter exhibit, followed by wandering around the science museum, where this photo was captured, which I offer as incontrovertible evidence that the phantom is, in fact, as ruthless as previously rumored:

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs127.snc3/17469_563537668961_13005338_33320693_2913757_n.jpg

...to be continued...

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Hehe. I have undergone the screen name to real name transition. And first-first, not my usual online middle-first! :smokin:

Sorry about that!

When I wrote the thing I used peoples first names and edited the names later, I don't know why I missed yours.

[Brinniel]

For some reason it took me a long time to post this, but while we were playing some smaller WW games I happened to record some audio:

Annika the cobbler gets me lynched. (http://brinniel.xanga.com/audio/cf2aa3824961/)

and

Werewolf fail. (http://brinniel.xanga.com/audio/aa1543824960/)

(Basically the story is that Mac got lynched and the following Night he discovered that alona was the wolf and he made such a face which caused alona to burst out laughing, basically giving herself away. Us innocents who had our eyes closed were rather confused, but nonetheless, alona was promptly lynched by Rikae and me the next Day.)

I have more audio from during that twenty minute period, but it's not as interesting and a lot of it involves Annika attacking my computer. I wish I had recorded more audio during Bostonmoot, but I realise that with so many people, anything that might've been recorded would just be incoherent. But perhaps I'll make a better effort next meetup.

[alonariel]

Werewolf fail. (http://brinniel.xanga.com/audio/aa1543824960/)

Funniest. Moment. Ever.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Funniest. Moment. Ever.

So funny!

I forgot I was 'modding' at that moment. I like the sense of impending death that my inability to talk right gives... "Ranger... is... *gasp for air* dead..."

I'm also amused more quietly that in the first clip when they're counting votes and the phantom doesn't vote for Brinn, it's because he was a werewolf and was trying to get fenrised by voting for himself. And the statement, "Two for Philip, wait, you can't vote!" was directed at me. Because while I was there for a lot of ww games, I was rarely actually playing and spent most of my time trying to vote to wreak havoc for the mods.

I love that the fail got recorded, Brinn. Excellent work.

[Loslote]

I have met my very first Downers! As many of you probably knew, TGEW, Lauri and I are all in the Alaskan Model UN, and we arranged to meet during this year's conference. And I'm so glad we did! They're both wonderfully random and funny, and we stole wonderful moments of PandA quotes and evil plotting in between doing what we're supposed to be doing. (Work...:rolleyes:)

TGEW is soo energetic. She's always bubbling over with words and moving all the time. She's random, and acts so very British (yay) and really fun to be around.

Lauri is insanely nice. I don't think I ever saw her *not* smiling. She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met. Meeting them, plus PandA quotes, plus Downer gossip, plus evil plotting...I love Alaska moot! :D

Oh, and pictures are following, but they're on Lauri's camera, so I don't know exactly when they'll be up. Only one more day of Alaskamoot...we'll have to make it a good one! Mebbe kidnap an important global leader or something...:Merisu:

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I have met my very first Downers! As many of you probably knew, TGEW, Lauri and I are all in the Alaskan Model UN, and we arranged to meet during this year's conference. And I'm so glad we did! They're both wonderfully random and funny, and we stole wonderful moments of PandA quotes and evil plotting in between doing what we're supposed to be doing. (Work...:rolleyes:)

TGEW is soo energetic. She's always bubbling over with words and moving all the time. She's random, and acts so very British (yay) and really fun to be around.

Lauri is insanely nice. I don't think I ever saw her *not* smiling. She's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met. Meeting them, plus PandA quotes, plus Downer gossip, plus evil plotting...I love Alaska moot!

Oh, and pictures are following, but they're on Lauri's camera, so I don't know exactly when they'll be up. Only one more day of Alaskamoot...we'll have to make it a good one! Mebbe kidnap an important global leader or something...
Thank you. I'm flattered. Don't forget yourself, Loslote!

Lottie was a very kind person, who actually listened to my rants rather intently. She was great fun to be around and never failed to find us during a break! When she did get a word in edge-wise (thanks to my monopolising the conversation) it was well said and we got to talk about intelligent things. Lottie is a brilliant person who says knowledgeable things.

Of course, I've already met Laurinque. But it doesn't ever hurt to say nice things about somebody. ;) She is a good person, and is very intelligent. A great person to talk to, who, when not acting insane, has good insights.

We talked about the Downer a lot and confused some people. I believe we also talked about the wings controversy. Every single break we got we got together and discussed something or another. We also spotted a few people who looked like Downers. Rune, Formy, and Squatter is who I saw. Well, people who looked like them, anyway. Then we decided that we are very bad Tolkien nerds, but a least we don't go to Harry Potter exhibits during our meet-ups. :p

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, Alaskamoot. I look forward to meet-ups between Lauri, Loslote, and I in the future.

[Laurinquë]

Thank you. I'm flattered. Don't forget yourself, Loslote!

Lottie was a very kind person, who actually listened to my rants rather intently. She was great fun to be around and never failed to find us during a break! When she did get a word in edge-wise (thanks to my monopolising the conversation) it was well said and we got to talk about intelligent things. Lottie is a brilliant person who says knowledgeable things.

Of course, I've already met Laurinque. But it doesn't ever hurt to say nice things about somebody. She is a good person, and is very intelligent. A great person to talk to, who, when not acting insane, has good insights.

We talked about the Downer a lot and confused some people. I believe we also talked about the wings controversy. Every single break we got we got together and discussed something or another. We also spotted a few people who looked like Downers. Rune, Formy, and Squatter is who I saw. Well, people who looked like them, anyway. Then we decided that we are very bad Tolkien nerds, but a least we don't go to Harry Potter exhibits during our meet-ups. :p

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, Alaskamoot. I look forward to meet-ups between Lauri, Loslote, and I in the future.

It was the best thing ever. Epic, wonderful, magic times!

I had of course already met TheGreatElvenWarrior, but it never (excuse me, rarely) hurts to see her again. Loslote was amazing. TGEW and I were hunting wild signatures for my resolution when I spotted a rather familiar-looking person in a very large and wonderful hat standing several feet away. I think I terrified the Nigerian delegate from China when I started jumping up and down and waving my arm to attract Lottie's attention. I'm sure her first impression of me was a rather strange one. ;)

Unfortunately out time together was severely limited by the constrains of the conference and my odious cold that kept me from attending most of the third day. We badly wanted to make amendments to provide wings for all balrogs but fear of being kicked out of the conference always kept us back. Silly rules! I DID however take up about five minutes of a page's time by demanding a cryptically encoded message be sent to UNCTAD Brazil (aka Loslote). It contained the words 'Downer' and 'Alien' but was COMPLETELY on topic I swear!

When Tabby gave her a second or so to talk Loslote proved to be every bit as wonderful as we predicted her to be. She is a lovely person and waaaay too tolerant of TGEW's and my own insanity. It's great fun being able to make jokes that NO ONE ELSE understands and then laughing hysterically about them. I just wish I posted more on the threads Lottie prowls so we could discuss those too.

We simply MUST meet up more often! The Valley isn't more than an hour's drive away after all. :)

[Loslote]

And in the tradition of Bostonmoot, Lauri and I went the extra mile. We both got sick. :rolleyes: But despite the flaming red cold-nose, constant sniffling, and random hacking/coughing, I had a great time, and was very sad to leave. :(

We also spotted a few people who looked like Downers. Rune, Formy, and Squatter is who I saw. Well, people who looked like them, anyway.

I saw Boro, too! The resemblence was uncanny. :eek:

[Loslote]

It was the best thing ever. Epic, wonderful, magic times!

I had of course already met TheGreatElvenWarrior, but it never (excuse me, rarely) hurts to see her again. Loslote was amazing. TGEW and I were hunting wild signatures for my resolution when I spotted a rather familiar-looking person in a very large and wonderful hat standing several feet away. I think I terrified the Nigerian delegate from China when I started jumping up and down and waving my arm to attract Lottie's attention. I'm sure her first impression of me was a rather strange one. ;)

Unfortunately out time together was severely limited by the constrains of the conference and my odious cold that kept me from attending most of the third day. We badly wanted to make amendments to provide wings for all balrogs but fear of being kicked out of the conference always kept us back. Silly rules! I DID however take up about five minutes of a page's time by demanding a cryptically encoded message be sent to UNCTAD Brazil (aka Loslote). It contained the words 'Downer' and 'Alien' but was COMPLETELY on topic I swear!

When Tabby gave her a second or so to talk Loslote proved to be every bit as wonderful as we predicted her to be. She is a lovely person and waaaay too tolerant of TGEW's and my own insanity. It's great fun being able to make jokes that NO ONE ELSE understands and then laughing hysterically about them. I just wish I posted more on the threads Lottie prowls so we could discuss those too.

We simply MUST meet up more often! The Valley isn't more than an hour's drive away after all. :)

Ooh, xed. Yes, I was wearing the most ridiculus hat in the history of ever the first time I met TGEW and Lauri. I'd say you weren't the only strange first impression (not that I noticed anything strange).

Haha, yeah, I remember that note! Both times they tried to send me page notes, something went weird. I got Lauri's just when I was thinking that I seriously needed to blow my nose, and TGEW's ended up being given to my teammate by mistake. I got it later, and realized what reference I had missed earlier. :p

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

And in the tradition of Bostonmoot, Lauri and I went the extra mile. We both got sick. :rolleyes: But despite the flaming red cold-nose, constant sniffling, and random hacking/coughing, I had a great time, and was very sad to leave. :(



I saw Boro, too! The resemblence was uncanny. :eek:
Well, it didn't seem to impair your . . . um, judgment very much. You still were as crazy as you are on the Downs.

Oh yes! I forgot Boro! I remember now!

[Loslote]

Well, it didn't seem to impair your . . . um, judgment very much. You still were as crazy as you are on the Downs.

Oh, yes. My judgement was excellent! I chose exactly the right people to assasinate to pave our road to - I mean...I chose good food at lunch...:Merisu:

[Laurinquë]

And in the tradition of Bostonmoot, Lauri and I went the extra mile. We both got sick. But despite the flaming red cold-nose, constant sniffling, and random hacking/coughing, I had a great time, and was very sad to leave.

I saw Boro, too! The resemblence was uncanny.

We should have had our picture taken with the pseudo-Formy and Rune.

Also:

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/th_IMG_0634.jpg (http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/?action=view&current=IMG_0634.jpg)

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/th_IMG_0649.jpg (http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/?action=view&current=IMG_0649.jpg)

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/th_IMG_0631.jpg (http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/?action=view&current=IMG_0631.jpg)

What?No more than four images in a message? Bleh!

[Loslote]

We should have had our picture taken with the pseudo-Formy and Rune.

:eek: That would have been awesome! Only, there were, like, three Rune look-alikes. How would we have chosen?

...and why were all the Downer look alikes male?

[Laurinquë]

Because you are not allowed to post more than four images in a message I have conveniently double posted. What will the Dear Leader think? I mean . . . the mods . . .

EDIT: Lottie saved me from the wrath of Our Dear Leader and posted before I re-posted.

THE HAT! And me planning to kill someone. As usual. It's my job. Click to embiggen.

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/th_IMG_0626.jpg (http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/?action=view&current=IMG_0626.jpg)

I love this picture and I'm not really sure why. Probably because Lottie is chewing and TGEW is looking annoyed by the camera.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/th_IMG_0628.jpg (http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/?action=view&current=IMG_0628.jpg)

That would have been awesome! Only, there were, like, three Rune look-alikes. How would we have chosen?

...and why were all the Downer look alikes male?

There WERE an unusual number of Rune look-alikes weren't there? And possibly more than one Formy. As for why they were all male, well, we'll just have have a serious discussion with our subconsciouses about that.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

The mods are related to our Dear Leader? Onoes!:eek:

Why do you enjoy taking pictures of us at inconvenient moments, Lauri?:p

[Loslote]

There WERE an unusual number of Rune look-alikes weren't there? And possibly more than one Formy. As for why they were all male, well, we'll just have have a serious discussion with our subconsciouses about that.

Possibly. TGEW said she saw a different Formy than I did, but I didn't see him...

And, *snickers*

[Loslote]

The mods are related to our Dear Leader? Onoes!:eek:

Why do you enjoy taking pictures of us at inconvenient moments, Lauri?:p

Who is the Dear Leader? The Barrow Wight Himself? ... that reminds me....

I pledge alligence to the Downs
and to the Barrow Wight Himself
and to all the Wights who live in the Downs
undead, underground, utterly bribeable, with soap and meat products for all.

I think this should be required at all future Moots. What say you, Dear Leader? ;)

[Laurinquë]

The mods are related to our Dear Leader? Onoes!

ALL the mods are Our Dear Leader don't you know?

I think this should be required at all future Moots. What say you, Dear Leader?

Oh yes! Unconditionally.
And TGEW, you need to give me back those precious page notes. I want to take pictures of them. Everyone should be able to see my flag of the United Barrow-Downs! It's like the UN one only with bones and a reaper. And no disaster relief whatsoever. We LIKE disaster.

[Loslote]

ALL the mods are Our Dear Leader don't you know?

Oh yes! Unconditionally.
And TGEW, you need to give me back those precious page notes. I want to take pictures of them. Everyone should be able to see my flag of the United Barrow-Downs! It's like the UN one only with bones and a reaper. And no disaster relief whatsoever. We LIKE disaster.

THAT makes perfect sense.

Ooh. Shiny. :p

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

THAT makes perfect sense.

Ooh. Shiny. :p
Of course you would say that. :rolleyes:

[Loslote]

Of course you would say that. :rolleyes:

Sally has corrupted me. You guys have, too. I call cookies biscuts now, and chips crisps. ... this is not a *bad* thing.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Sally has corrupted me. You guys have, too. I call cookies biscuts now, and chips crisps. ... this is not a *bad* thing.
Has our Anglophilia rubbed off? Shame on that.:p

[Eönwë]

Sally has corrupted me. You guys have, too. I call cookies biscuts now, and chips crisps. ... this is not a *bad* thing.Has our Anglophilia rubbed off? Shame on that.:p

Anglophilia or just common sense?

Also, a biscuit is a biscuit (http://www.oldleagonianscc.com/drinking%20race/rich-tea.jpg)and a cookie is a cookie (http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2009/06/chocolate_chip_cookie.jpg)over here, or at least to me. Do you call everything cookies over there?

edit: Did some research. So your biscuits (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5097/biscuit20from20clinton2bg6.jpg)are almost the same as scones (http://www.longorshortcapital.com/GJ%2520Scone.jpg)?
This is just confusing...

[Laurinquë]

Anglophilia or just common sense?

Also, a biscuit is a biscuit (http://www.oldleagonianscc.com/drinking%20race/rich-tea.jpg)and a cookie is a cookie (http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2009/06/chocolate_chip_cookie.jpg)over here, or at least to me. Do you call everything cookies over there?

edit: Did some research. So your biscuits (http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5097/biscuit20from20clinton2bg6.jpg)are almost the same as scones (http://www.longorshortcapital.com/GJ%2520Scone.jpg)?
This is just confusing...

COMMON SENSE! :D

To my (American) knowledge scones are sugary things usually involving fruit; often in the shape of a 45-45-90 triangle. Our 'biscuits' are cardboard covered in lard . . . excuse me, they are flakey spheres of carbohydrate. Or something like that. I have a low opinion of most of them, save for the ones TGEW's mother makes. In short, scones are sugared; 'biscuits' are not.

You call biscuits 'cookies'? Whaaat? Every British language book I have ever read calls these (http://www.davidscookies.com/images/flavorpage/203_20.jpg) things them biscuits. But I think I would trust a real Brit more than a book.

But let's not get too off topic now . . . :cool:

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

COMMON SENSE!

To my (American) knowledge scones are sugary things usually involving fruit; often in the shape of a 45-45-90 triangle. Our 'biscuits' are cardboard covered in lard . . . excuse me, they are flakey spheres of carbohydrate. Or something like that. I have a low opinion of most of them, save for the ones TGEW's mother makes. In short, scones are sugared; 'biscuits' are not.

You call biscuits 'cookies'? Whaaat? Every British language book I have ever read calls these (http://www.davidscookies.com/images/flavorpage/203_20.jpg) things them biscuits. But I think I would trust a real Brit more than a book.

But let's not get too off topic now . . . :cool:
I do not know of this 'common sense' you speak of. It is Elvish to me. :p Apparently there are a lot of books on Britain that are off in some way or another. We've found a lot, seemingly.

I am not off topic, see:
Alaskamoot was fun. We talked about our Anglophilia and I think we enlightened Lottie. :D

[Loslote]

I do not know of this 'common sense' you speak of. It is Elvish to me. :p Apparently there are a lot of books on Britain that are off in some way or another. We've found a lot, seemingly.

I am not off topic, see:
Alaskamoot was fun. We talked about our Anglophilia and I think we enlightened Lottie. :D

Oh, I am very enlightened! I learned so much about proper ways to speak. Did you know it is possible to include a Downer referense in every sentence? Trufax. :p

[Kath]

Every British language book I have ever read calls these things them biscuits.
Then they would all be wrong I'm afraid. Those are most definitely cookies.

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ippp.dur.ac.uk/~dph3tcl/images/biscuits.jpg&imgrefurl=http://buchnknight.blogspot.com/2009/07/collaboration-crumpets-and-english.html&usg=__tz20Dwyh8mY9Qn4Hbx5-hUYS1PM=&h=1085&w=1301&sz=126&hl=en&start=11&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=RdtTKKnGiLU2gM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Denglish%2Bbiscuits%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den %26tbs%3Disch:1
These are biscuits.

And these are what were called biscuits while I was over there, which do look a lot more like scones!
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rohlfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/american_biscuits.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rohlfamily.com/2009/01/biscuits-and-gravy-no-not-that-kind-of-biscuit/&usg=__9VHe-sv9S1pVVQuPYQKmwwRo718=&h=536&w=800&sz=130&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=X4zlBkb038oitM:&tbnh=96&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Damerican%2Bbiscuits%26um%3D1%26hl%3De n%26tbs%3Disch:1

[Eönwë]

Kath speaks the truth.

Also:
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ippp.dur.ac.uk/~dph3tcl/images/biscuits.jpg&imgrefurl=http://buchnknight.blogspot.com/2009/07/collaboration-crumpets-and-english.html&usg=__tz20Dwyh8mY9Qn4Hbx5-hUYS1PM=&h=1085&w=1301&sz=126&hl=en&start=11&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=RdtTKKnGiLU2gM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Denglish%2Bbiscuits%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den %26tbs%3Disch:1
These are biscuits.
Am I the only one who read the skier as an M to make SPM? :rolleyes:

I must be more addicted than I thought... :eek: ;)




I'll try to stay on topic from this point.

[Laurinquë]

I'm still confused. Someone will just have to slowly and calmly explain it to me when I get there. :confused:

SPM? Sorry, didn't see it.

Here is a picture of a page note I wrote to Loslote. It's not the one I encrypted so I had to give it to her by hand rather than through the page system. If I had it would have been confiscated.

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/ss83/robynhalloran/NOTE.jpg

[Loslote]

You know, I object to this message. Sponsered by Rune's Quality Beef? Loslote's Better Quality Bacon was better, even if it wasn't real bacon. :mad:

Plus, why a *small* side salad? Capitalists deserve to be eaten with a large side salad (half off the croutons if you also buy the tomatoes).

[Laurinquë]

You know, I object to this message. Sponsered by Rune's Quality Beef? Loslote's Better Quality Bacon was better, even if it wasn't real bacon. :mad:


Hey, you weren't the one that paid me £30 to send page notes! :p Where is that money you promised me Rune?

Plus, why a *small* side salad? Capitalists deserve to be eaten with a large side salad (half off the croutons if you also buy the tomatoes).

Capitalists do not deserve such good treatment! Ah hem. That was an inside joke involving my friends in the DPRK delegation.

Anyway, this is the sort of rubbish that went on during Alaskamoot. If anyone feels like travelling to Alaska some time soon you may be unfortunate enough to receive similar treatment.

[skip spence]

Kath speaks the truth.

Also:
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ippp.dur.ac.uk/~dph3tcl/images/biscuits.jpg&imgrefurl=http://buchnknight.blogspot.com/2009/07/collaboration-crumpets-and-english.html&usg=__tz20Dwyh8mY9Qn4Hbx5-hUYS1PM=&h=1085&w=1301&sz=126&hl=en&start=11&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=RdtTKKnGiLU2gM:&tbnh=125&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Denglish%2Bbiscuits%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den %26tbs%3Disch:1
These are biscuits.
[/QUOTE]
Now I'm confused. There are clearly chocolate-chip cookies among the biscuits in that picture. Can a biscuit be a cookie and a biscuit at the same time? Or is a biscuit a biscuit and a cookie a cookie no matter what?

[Pitchwife]

Don't let them confuse you, it's quite simple. Cookies are what websites put in your computer. Biscuits and scones are what you put into your stomach.;)

[Kath]

You're quite right skip. The two that have chocolate chips in are cookies.

[Eönwë]

You're quite right skip. The two that have chocolate chips in are cookies.
Kath, stop confusing the non-English folk with your pictures! :p

(Btw skip, that was me trying to quote Kath- fixed now)

Don't let them confuse you, it's quite simple. Cookies are what websites put in your computer. Biscuits and scones are what you put into your stomach.;)
Oh yeah, that's true too. ;)

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Hey, you weren't the one that paid me £30 to send page notes! :p Where is that money you promised me Rune?

What about instead of money, you get cookies with bits of beef?

[Loslote]

*is all sneaky* Hey, everyone, I'll give you biscuits with chunks of Better Quality Bacon if you agree to boycott Rune's "Quality" Beef.

[Isabellkya]

Or.. you could just have a Bacon Maple Bar. Then there would be no arguing of cookies, biscuits, scones... ;)

(A maple bar doughnut, with strips of bacon on the top.)

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Last weekend Skip Spence decided to make the trip acros The Sound to visit me in Copenhagen.

We just wanted to have a few pints and maybe a good party, unfortunately the latter never materialised due to three factors. Easter, money problems and the x-factor.

Many people had left Copenhagen to be with their families during easter, it was late in the month, which always means less people are about and most significantly it was the X-factor final. . . for some reason they decided to make the biggest X-factor show ever at the parken stadium. This resulted in very few people out in the night life. So when me and Skip walked to Nørrebro we only found a few bars with anything going on. . .

Anyways we managed to have a good time with quite a few beers, laughs and we even made it home safe.

Skippy was good company as always and very entertaining, I cannot say what we talked about as I belive this is a family site. . .but yeah, entertaining.

[Thinlómien]

Aww, Rune and Skip. :D

[skip spence]

Skippy was good company as always and very entertaining, I cannot say what we talked about as I belive this is a family site. . .but yeah, entertaining.
Oh as far as I can remember, all we ever talked about was the finer, most cultured points of Tolkien's authorship.

[the phantom]

Sally, Mnemo, and I have gotten together a couple times in recent months. Sorry- no epic pictures this time around, but we did have lots of fun!

The get-togethers were largely defined by playing a LotR/Barrow-Downs themed D&D campaign that I wrote. Duck and Sally showed considerable skill in figuring out the various riddles and references throughout the game and turning them to their advantage. Here are just a few of the things their characters (a Rogue from Dale and Paladin from Minas Tirith) did during the course of their quest.

cheered up a thoroughly depressed Tom Bombadil
scaled Tol Brandir
summoned a bigger fish (kudos if you know the reference ;) )
engaged "Darth Wader" in combat
rescued Peter Hampton from Hookbill's castle
set Treebeard on fire
called Nob a "slowcoach"
battled a mob of penguins in Lommy's house
led noobs into a chat skwerl death-trap
killed the imposter Kent
bluffed a rather dim-witted Tumnus
maimed Anakin Skywalker
convinced Alien to leave Phantom's dwelling
passed a deadly series of Indiana Jones booby-traps


There was much much more, but to really get the full story you'd just have to play the campaign. Anyway, it was great fun writing and administering the game, and I feel quite fortunate to know people that I can truly geek out with.

[Eorl of Rohan]

Wow, I'm really envious of you, Phantom.
No one I know in real life even knows English, let alone the Barrow-Downs.

Anyone from South Korea? *hopefully looks around*

[Boromir88]

killed the imposter Kent


Hahaha, I approve of that action. Well done you three. :D

[Mnemosyne]

...Yeah, I still feel kind of bad for that, as all game!Boro told us to do was get rid of him...

Then again, he was stupid enough to be bluffed into leaning over the top of a very, very steep tower, with these kind of scruffy-looking adventurers standing behind him...

[Hookbill the Goomba]

convinced Alien to leave Phantom's dwelling


Gosh! How did they mange that? That's like untying the Gordian Knot! :eek:

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Yesterday Laurinquë and I had the great pleasure of meeting Hookbill the Goomba. It was one of the grandest days of my life, Downers really are wonderful people. We didn't talk about the Downs too much, more Doctor Who than anything else; but you really couldn't expect anything very different. Also, I now know that Hookbill is more than willing to push people (such as myself) into moving trams for his own amusement. :p
I also learned that Hookbill is a tea-snob who will ONLY drink Twinings' tea. . . well, mostly. I realised that running into windmills isn't really a very good idea. Furthermore, Hookbill's brothers are strange blokes. Lauri and I were greeted with "And who are you on the Barrow-Downs?" I'm guessing from that that this was somewhat of a normal occurrence. . . Hookbill also made us Jelly Baby milkshakes (which were lovely) and tea (which we drank a lot of).

I should think that pictures will come later, since my mother took five or six of them of all of us together in various places (like Mordor, for instance).

[Guinevere]

I’m much belated in writing this, as usual.
It’s now already two weeks since I’ve come back from Jena (Germany) where I attended the 2010 Tolkien Seminar. It was very interesting, but what I enjoyed most was meeting Estelyn Telcontar again. (for the 5th time!) We arrived and met the day before and shared a room in the Hostel, so we had the evening and next morning to ourselves for chatting and strolling around in Jena, visiting a museum and enjoying meals in cosy restaurants. Esty has become a very dear friend!

At the Seminar I also met Shadowfax again, who has joined the Downs only recently, but whom I already know from the Swiss Tolkien Society. (which sadly doesn’t exist anymore :( ) It's always a pleasure to talk with him.

Oh, and I finally bought my own copy of Esty's book "Music in Middle-earth" and she signed it for me - so it was worth waiting for! (and I had something to read on the 7 hours of train journey) :)

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

This past weekend has been an Upstate New York convention of Downers including Mac, Rikae, Nienna, Mira, Kath, Wilwa, Boro, Bethberry, Nogrod, Greenie, Lommy, Aganzir, and Brinniel with the occasional addition of various of our family members.

A true rendition shall follow, but some highlights include:

-Kath driving a vehicle with an automatic transmission for the first time

-Fea's first trip outside the country and her subsequent difficulty getting back in

-Nogrod acquiescing that the First Day of a werewolf game is useless, and Fea trying to convince people not to vote at random on the First Day because those are important

-The Wereduckling identifying Mac as a werewolf, Nog as the werebear, and some unknown individual as the ranger

-B88 dressed in drag and almost being lost to the tender mercies of Canada (not at the same time)

More to follow, with pictures...

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Oooh. So jealous. :p It's not like I wont be meeting Aganzir soon anyway, but I'm jealous all the same.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I suppose for me it starts at work on Thursday afternoon when I texted Mirandir to see if she would mind leaving for Geneva Saturday morning instead of Friday night. She didn't get that message, but she spontaneously called me about thirty seconds after, asking if I would mind her leaving for my house Thursday night instead of Friday afternoon.

Lo! I received a Mira and a Nienna so late on Thursday that it had technically become Friday. We stayed up gabbing and eventually got to sleep. I got to bring Ni to work with me on Friday, and Friday night the three of us had girly bonding time involving white chocolate mousse and Alice in Wonderland (the new one) and loads of jokes and teasing and love.

Saturday morning occurred. We provisioned ourselves with fresh farm stand produce and traversed our way to the Ithaca airport, where Boromir88 eagerly awaited our arrival, since his flight was scheduled for 11:45am, we arrived at 11:37am, and he'd managed to land somewhere closer to 11:26. I slowed down enough for him to jump in, briefly stopped to put sunscreen on my driver's side arm (which was turning a lovely shade of truck driver red), and then Ni and I chatted whilst Mira and Boromir88 napped in the back. There are adorable pictures which no doubt someone will provide later.

Having informed the Mac and Rikae household we would arrive around 1pm, I showed my travel estimate prowess by pulling up to the house around 1:03pm. Wilwa had already arrived, and we were hug-tackled by the children. The girls learned my fear of snakes and promptly found one in the very lovely garden to bring over and show me against my will. Until I realized the power of having a really good camera: you can only use it if you never bring a snake near me again. I was safe from serpents ever after, and many pictures were taken by the younglings. Mac and I made a grocery store run and we lazed for the afternoon, playing with the girls and falling ever more in love with all of them. We cooked out of doors alongside their local Fingerlake and played the most intense game of Duck Duck Goose I've ever partaken in.

When Boromir and Macalaure were their respective ducks and geese, it became a full contact sport! At one point I believe we had more geese than ducks!

I was taken hostage by the children and Nienna and Mirandir rode valiantly to my rescue, which was quite excellent, as the soccer net they were using to bind my wrists and ankles rather hurt when they yanked at it.

The next day we slept... not so late. The girls woke us, which was quite all right, and Mac commenced with his morning duty of providing us all with coffee. I sleepily found myself presented with a cup of steaming hot black coffee, brewed to my favorite specifications without even needing to ask!

And then!

We all realized it was Father's Day and called our respective dads.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mama, is dad there?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It's Father's Day."

And so on. At one point I believe there were at least five phone conversations with Barrowdowner fathers occurring at once.

Some time after lunch, Boromir, Mirandir, and I decided that the most brilliant idea we'd ever heard was Nap Time, and proceeded to sink into desperately deep sleep for several hours. After this we ended up playing mini golf at a charmingly petite venue and competing less about the game as than for the innuendo we could make out of it. And then ice cream.

Now, for those who don't know, the Fingerlakes Region of Upstate NY is renowned for its vinyards. And while I'd never considered the possibility of mixing wine with ice cream, when I saw that the ice cream place sold peach zinfindel ice cream (must be 21 years or older to buy!) I really had to insist on trying the blend.

Let me just say, whomever decided putting wine in ice cream was a genius. Mirandir's chocolate cabernet was equally wonderful.

When we got back to the house, Celuien had arrived (sorry I forgot to mention you in the first post!) with her marvelous cobbler (made of peaches, not of players; I asked). Shortly after, Macalaure arrived with Brinniel, who'd flown into Rochester.

And then just moments later, as I asked rhetorically when the Finns would arrive, and walked outside with a glass of iced tea, I saw them pull up and park.

"THEY'RE HERE!!!!!!!"

And then there was hugging and squealing and excitement, and those of us who knew each other already pounced even more enthusiastically, and we realized that the wereduckling was terrified of Nogrod!

Nog and I made a run to the grocery store to pick up the very American purchase of beer and bacon, and we hit it off immediately. Upon our return we sat outside and combated the rather significant mosquito population of Mac and Rikae's back yard. While I can post only a few dozen bites, poor Boro had a solid coating of bites spanning one arm, and Mac had dozens, many of which were clustered around his ankles.

All was good fun until I was rather frightened by an exceptionally dodgy accident involving nobody but myself, and then we all ended up inside and it was yet again wonderful. I'm honestly too exhausted to remember what we did, but I know we didn't go to bed until late!

The next morning we were obliged to lose Ni and Mira, so we packed their belongings back into my truck and the three of us with Vanilwa and Kath sojourned back to my house where those who hadn't met my Sibling did, and where we somewhat promptly continued the journey.

We did a quick drive by tour of some Amish farms down the road from me and then went to my grandmother's expanse of property where I'd promised Kath she could attempt to drive my vehicle which is larger than any she'd ever find in Europe, and which is automatic transmission.

As I turned off the road and down the road-trail that skirts the soybean fields, Wilwa expressed her concern that we were headed straight for trees and she could see nowhere for me to put my truck. Have no fear! We drove through the woods and to another field where I put my truck in park and let Kath behind the wheel. Mira and my Sibling went wandering with a rifle looking for things to shoot at, and the rest of us drove around and around the field while Kath expressed her glee at how easy it is to drive an automatic car with power steering.

She drove part of the path back up to Grandma's, and then Wilwa drove us home, deciding that she must own her own version of my vehicle.

At that point we departed sans Ni and Mira, which was awful except that I remembered I'd see them in two weeks again, and then we decided upon driving straight to Watkins Glen instead of going there from Geneva. Since it was the same distance either way, I took them in a different direction and we talked a great deal and became very close on the ride (which came within five miles of where Ni, Mira, Lari, and I went to college and where Mira still goes). Conveniently that direction also took us past the farm stand again, so our traveling came equipped with fresh cherries, strawberries, and garlic and herb cheddar.

Though I was greeted at Watkins with some personal bad news, the day was still stunningly wonderful, and the agreement is that Watkins is Rivendell. Greenie was blown away to the point of stunned silence, and it was quickly decided that my reputation for getting people lost is completely absurd, since I was the go to person for directions and never once failed on them.

Boro and Lommy joined us for the car ride back to Geneva, and some purchases (such as chocolate) were made. Celuien joined us again upon our arrival and we were again reminded how wonderful she is.

And then Werewolf began! Rikae lit a small bonfire for us and we rekindled our war with the mosquitoes, and after a bit of cross dressing and some valiant attempts to teach Boromir to waltz, we settled around the fire and allowed the shadows to make us feel sinister.

In the very first game I was a wolf! And so was Nogrod! And someone must have misread their role because we had absolutely no idea whom our companion was! And so we spent a great deal of time trying to subtly find out who the third wolf was. I was killed and discovered to be a wolf, for reasoning that was quite faulty, but also clearly lucky.

The next game, since we were all bit up (except the internationals, whom the mosquitoes seemed to neglect) was indoors and Nog and I formed a coalition of madness that actually drove Wolf-Lommy to her own brand of madness! Nog and I were both Ordos, of course, but the point was more that our lack of roles meant a lack of inhibitions and a great deal of playful insanity. Eventually (it was around two in the morning, or perhaps three) the last votes were cast and we went to bed. Kath, Wilwa, and I fell asleep listening to Lommy and Agan murmuring in Finnish.

And then yesterday we drove to Niagara Falls. Most of us took the boat ride under the falls, which Nog described as, "A bit humid." Pictures will reveal that it looks like we swam to the falls as opposed to taking a boat. Bethberry was with us with her husband and son, and I must say, she is as lovely and kind a person in real life as she is online. I'm exceptionally grateful for her generosity and sweetness.

And there I must leave you for now, which is tragic since we've reached the part where I was snuck across the border into another country without a passport!

The part where I had to explain to a persistent border guard that I knew all of these strange people off the internet and that we wanted to get into Canada for all of the best reasons, and that I promise we're not creepy!

But that will have to wait, I'm afraid. You'll just have to be patient...

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Mac and I made a grocery store run and we lazed for the afternoon, playing with the girls and falling ever more in love with all of them.
Way to forget Wilwa and I were there too! :eek:


I'm honestly too exhausted to remember what we did, but I know we didn't go to bed until late!

Apples to Apples! And shower time. :p


Greenie was blown away to the point of stunned silence, and it was quickly decided that my reputation for getting people lost is completely absurd, since I was the go to person for directions and never once failed on them.

*would like to point out that it is ridiculously hard to get lost at Watkins Glen unless wandering around with Lari who is terrified of graveyards and thus cuts off two paths*

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Way to forget Wilwa and I were there too! :eek:

Actually, love, I remembered as I was writing, but didn't change it for the following reasons: I was at work and my boss had just arrived, I didn't want to have to edit any pronouns to reflect the added number of people, and I knew you'd correct me so I didn't have to worry about people being mistaken for very long.

:)

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

And here we have captured Macalaure, Greenie, and B88 (all ordos) outside during our exceptionally ambianced werewolf game around the campfire. Please don't ask how many mosquito bites we got playing this...

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs073.ash2/36971_138148979528839_100000012124034_385584_76335 _n.jpg

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

And here we have captured Macalaure, Greenie, and B88 (all ordos) outside during our exceptionally ambianced werewolf game around the campfire. Please don't ask how many mosquito bites we got playing this...

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs073.ash2/36971_138148979528839_100000012124034_385584_76335 _n.jpg
Did you actually go camping or did you just have a campfire?
You have candles! I love candles. ^.^

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Rikae lit a small fire in the back part of their back yard and as we let the fire die, we put a circle of candles around it so we could still see each other's faces in the dark.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Rikae lit a small fire in the back part of their back yard and as we let the fire die, we put a circle of candles around it so we could still see each other's faces in the dark.
That's wonderful. :)

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

The Finns, Diamond, Oddwen, and Joe (sorry, Joe, I didn't catch your Downer name! The curse of bad hearing, alas :o) were gathered here in Wisconsin last night, a little tired but in good spirits. Nogrod and Company made it through Chicago without any real problems, and I give them credit for braving the Windy City in the midafternoon --not my cup of tea at all. We don't have any spectacular sights like Niagara to offer, but sometimes a good night's sleep is better than sight-seeing. Which happens with old fogies like me and my husband. They were all on their way to a picnic lunch before noon today -- wish I could've gone, but a thrice delayed appointment will not allow it. It was a true delight meeting my first Downers in the undead flesh, and I hope the rest of the Finns' long trip is spectacular. Hmm, if they'd been here on Monday, we could've shown them a real Midwest tornado, but they got to see a lot of the downed and snapped and uprooted trees. A lot like the ruin of Isengard, I'm sad to say.

[Mnemosyne]

Wow! Chicago in the afternoon on a weekday!... :eek:

[satansaloser2005]

The Finns, Diamond, Oddwen, and Joe (sorry, Joe, I didn't catch your Downer name! The curse of bad hearing, alas :o) were gathered here in Wisconsin last night, a little tired but in good spirits. Nogrod and Company made it through Chicago without any real problems, and I give them credit for braving the Windy City in the midafternoon --not my cup of tea at all. We don't have any spectacular sights like Niagara to offer, but sometimes a good night's sleep is better than sight-seeing. Which happens with old fogies like me and my husband. They were all on their way to a picnic lunch before noon today -- wish I could've gone, but a thrice delayed appointment will not allow it. It was a true delight meeting my first Downers in the undead flesh, and I hope the rest of the Finns' long trip is spectacular. Hmm, if they'd been here on Monday, we could've shown them a real Midwest tornado, but they got to see a lot of the downed and snapped and uprooted trees. A lot like the ruin of Isengard, I'm sad to say.

*cough* McCaber? *cough*

Also, fail on the weather. Fortunately it missed us here for the most part (at least in my part of Nebraska) but I heard some places had it really bad.

[Boromir88]

When Boromir and Macalaure were their respective ducks and geese, it became a full contact sport!

Hahaha, right? When it was all the kids, I was careful not to sprint around and in some way accidentally run them over. When it was Mac, I didn't care, it became full speed, contact, sliding, diving, and tackling.

Now, where to begin? Plane arrived early, I think I sent a message to Nienna like "Where are you? *sad face*" But I didn't have to wait longer than 5 minutes. In Boston Mira first greeted me with a "Stop being a *beep*, carry my bag." In Ithaca, it was a solid hug, and a "You smell good." The vast difference was slightly disturbing. :p

I passed out for a bit, until Fea stopped to put on sun screen and then decide I should open my birthday present (my guesses at were epic fails). But who could have guessed Mr. Bacon vs. Monsieur Tofu (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/photo.php?pid=385567&id=100000012124034) action figures? I'm very fickle, one of the best presents of recent memory. I was legit like a 5 year old getting a new bike. I think it made Fea, Nienna, and Mira giggle but nauseated at the same time.

We arrive at Mac and Rikae's, my first comment heading around the corner was, "I hope it's not that ugly lime green house." All the artsy students in the truck yell THAT'S NOT LIME GREEN! IT'S PISTACIO!" It wasn't the pistacio [lime] green house though, it was the beautiful blue house across the street.

There's that first week period when student teaching that the kids are curious, but too nervous, as to the new person sitting at the teacher's desk watching everyone. I was the "new boy" and the girls curiousity overtook their nerves within an hour. They began putting all kinds of leaves on my head that supposedly described my personality. The descriptors I received over the weekend: evil, awkward, ugly, smelly, lazy, armpit, pickle. Oh and the combinations they would come up with. Favorite was probably "awkward ugly armpit pickle." I tried to convince them I was 40 and thus completely unfun, but they weren't buying it.

The teasing never became too much, it was all in good fun, and it clearly meant I was accepted and liked by this caring and lovable family. (As confirmed by the oldest one, who apparently told Fea, that I allowed them to steal my things and beat up on me. Two things that are rather common in all my relationships with girls :rolleyes: ). It truly was a joy, at times it made me think about having kids myself...and then one of them would splash me with water. :p

More to come...like the Finns and receiving another fabulous gift, via Agan. My right arm being swollen from nationalistic mosquitos, and the most humorous tan lines you will ever see. Oh, can't forget getting through Canada with no passport, and the journey back into the US, either.

[wilwarin538]

My post will be coming up tomorrow. My week with Downers lasted exactly 1 week. I arrived in Geneva to see Mac and Rikae at 1 pm on Friday, and Kath left my town today at 1 pm. So I thought that part was cool!

It was very fun, and my post will be long, so be prepared!!! :D

[Glirdan]

I would totally post about seeing Kath yesterday and today....but I think miss Wilwa will be covering that. :p

[satansaloser2005]

So I have a Phantom, a Shasta, and a Nog all sleeping upstairs at the House of the Phantom. The rest of the House of Nog and Associates (Agan, Lommie, and Greenie) are probably 40 feet from me, snoozing away after a very long but of course brilliant night. I'm cursing myself for not being able to sleep in longer, but now I can plot evil to perhaps do things to them while they sleep. Erm, I mean....:rolleyes:


Brief highlights/observations then. And I do mean brief, as I'm still very tired and thus will probably leave stuff out.

Phantom has an enigmatic nose.
Greenie and Phantom whisper at each other far too much to be healthy.
Lommie is snuggle-tastic. (What now, Wilwa, what now?)
Agan and Shasta were dancing out on the balcony last night, and it was super cute.
Shasta entertained us at insane o'clock by singing along with Abigail (my laptop, sadly, not Lhuna) to a bunch of random Disney songs. That kid is just awesome.



Much RL WW was played, much chatting was had, and this little list covers just about nothing, but it's a teaser, etc. Although, funny story time....

Lommie, Noggins, and I went to go tend to the group's grocery needs last night at the nearby(ish) Walmart. On the way there, I realized I hadn't called my mother to tell her I'd arrived safely. (I tend to get lost so she panics if I go somewhere and don't tell her I've gotten to the right place.) I phone her up and it goes like this....

Me: Mom, I got to Omaha okay, but I have a problem.
Mom: ....
Me: Well, I'm sort of lost, alone in a car with two people I don't know, one of them like twice my age, and they just kind of decided to take me away.
Mom: ....And how did this happen exactly?
Me: Well, Phantom just kind of ditched me (f you've heard the story of my near trip to Bostonmoot, you'll know that, among other things, my mother thought Phantom was just going to leave me somewhere along the side of the road) and Shasta got lost on the way (true story, and thus relevant to this tale) so I just kind of got left alone with these people and they just kind of....dude, I'm a bit freaked out because they're gabbling in Finnish now (true story!) and I'm not quite sure what they're planning on doing to me. Yeah....not so much good.
Mom: *blinks several times, pretty much audibly* So....can you leave?
Me: I'm in the car. We're on the highway. I'm kind of trapped. What the what?
Mom: *blinks some more*
Me: *abruptly changes tone* And we're like lost on the way to Walmart (sort of true story, though we really only took a tiny wrong turn) but Phantom didn't answer his phone so we don't know what Shasta wants for dinner and goodness, I'm enjoying this. So....how have you been?
Mom: *twitches*

I'm a freaking horrible person. ^_^



Anyway, off to plot evil whilst they sleep. Obviously more proper details will be up at a later time. :)


ETA: Oh, and Nog is an evil, evil man. ;)

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

ETA: Oh, and Nog is an evil, evil man. ;)

Mhm. And Agan is a naughty little vixen and I love them both for it. Oh, and I have a humongous girl crush on Greenie, who is super adorable in every sense of the word.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Me: Mom, I got to Omaha okay, but I have a problem.
Mom: ....
Me: Well, I'm sort of lost, alone in a car with two people I don't know, one of them like twice my age, and they just kind of decided to take me away.
Mom: ....And how did this happen exactly?
Me: Well, Phantom just kind of ditched me (f you've heard the story of my near trip to Bostonmoot, you'll know that, among other things, my mother thought Phantom was just going to leave me somewhere along the side of the road) and Shasta got lost on the way (true story, and thus relevant to this tale) so I just kind of got left alone with these people and they just kind of....dude, I'm a bit freaked out because they're gabbling in Finnish now (true story!) and I'm not quite sure what they're planning on doing to me. Yeah....not so much good.
Mom: *blinks several times, pretty much audibly* So....can you leave?
Me: I'm in the car. We're on the highway. I'm kind of trapped. What the what?
Mom: *blinks some more*
Me: *abruptly changes tone* And we're like lost on the way to Walmart (sort of true story, though we really only took a tiny wrong turn) but Phantom didn't answer his phone so we don't know what Shasta wants for dinner and goodness, I'm enjoying this. So....how have you been?
Mom: *twitches*

My dearest sally,

I love you oodles. My mother (bio-Mom and Fea's mom who's totally just adopted me) would have shot me in the face. Painfully. And probably slowly. Did I mention painfully?

Btdubs. Fea and I have just now decided (aka I decided and informed her) that we shall probably be calling you fantastic people at some point later today when we're not sitting at the library where Fea is working and I'm so not getting paid to be. So brace yourself. Natch.

Love, Mira (and Fea by association)

[satansaloser2005]

My dearest sally,

I love you oodles. My mother (bio-Mom and Fea's mom who's totally just adopted me) would have shot me in the face. Painfully. And probably slowly. Did I mention painfully?

Btdubs. Fea and I have just now decided (aka I decided and informed her) that we shall probably be calling you fantastic people at some point later today when we're not sitting at the library where Fea is working and I'm so not getting paid to be. So brace yourself. Natch.

Love, Mira (and Fea by association)



Heh. She's paranoid but if something actually happened? Not so much. She's like ten inches tall, if that. And....yeah. But screwing with her was fun. ^_^

Oooo, lovely. I'll charge my phone, 'cause it's sort of dead now.


*snuggles the both of you* Also, I want Proper!Mira back, kthnxbye.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Oooo, lovely. I'll charge my phone, 'cause it's sort of dead now.


*snuggles the both of you* Also, I want Proper!Mira back, kthnxbye.

If that fails we can always call Shasta.

And you can have Proper!Mira back when I stop caring about that account's particular post count. :p

[satansaloser2005]

If that fails we can always call Shasta.

And you can have Proper!Mira back when I stop caring about that account's particular post count. :p

Not so much. He doesn't have very good signal here. But I'm putting my phone on the charger right now (and deserting Greenie and Agan to do so, so don't you feel awful) so we'll be ready when you call, sir....I mean, ma'am! :)

Pfffft, post count, blah.

[satansaloser2005]

I lied. Post counts matter. Yay 3,500 posts! :p


*runs, hides from chat skwerls*

[Bêthberry]

So I have a Phantom, a Shasta, and a Nog all sleeping upstairs at the House of the Phantom
The bits in bold? The bits I'm not surprised by in the slightest. :D

PS: This was Kath - oops.

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

The bits in bold? The bits I'm not surprised by in the slightest. :D

PS: This was Kath - oops.

Let's just be impressed that he's not on the back of a couch. ...I presume, at least. :rolleyes:

[satansaloser2005]

*pets you all* Nope, unless there's a couch in his room. I'm sitting on one sofa and Agan is on the other with Greenie sort of perched on the back all creeper like.


ETA: Photographic evidence....

http://pics.livejournal.com/beautifulntime/pic/000csk30/s320x240

[Bêthberry]

And some lovely Downers are using my account! :eek: :p :D

Pictures and reports to follow once Kath and Rune leave.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Bit off topic, but I love Greenie's hair! I wish I could style my hair like that.

A bit on topic, I cant wait until Agan comes! Then Ka, Lauri (who comes today), and I will have super fun meetup times! :D

[wilwarin538]

And Agan is a naughty little vixen

Yeah, I have girl crush on her. haha ;)


And my mom is quick to worry too, which is why I left a certain part of my story out when I talked to her. Like the part where the bus driver dropped me off on the side of the highway at a sketchy truck stop. Ha.

I'll have my post up soon. :D

[Loslote]

Me: Mom, I got to Omaha okay, but I have a problem.
Mom: ....
Me: Well, I'm sort of lost, alone in a car with two people I don't know, one of them like twice my age, and they just kind of decided to take me away.
Mom: ....And how did this happen exactly?
Me: Well, Phantom just kind of ditched me (f you've heard the story of my near trip to Bostonmoot, you'll know that, among other things, my mother thought Phantom was just going to leave me somewhere along the side of the road) and Shasta got lost on the way (true story, and thus relevant to this tale) so I just kind of got left alone with these people and they just kind of....dude, I'm a bit freaked out because they're gabbling in Finnish now (true story!) and I'm not quite sure what they're planning on doing to me. Yeah....not so much good.
Mom: *blinks several times, pretty much audibly* So....can you leave?
Me: I'm in the car. We're on the highway. I'm kind of trapped. What the what?
Mom: *blinks some more*
Me: *abruptly changes tone* And we're like lost on the way to Walmart (sort of true story, though we really only took a tiny wrong turn) but Phantom didn't answer his phone so we don't know what Shasta wants for dinner and goodness, I'm enjoying this. So....how have you been?
Mom: *twitches*

I'm a freaking horrible person. ^_^

And we all love you for it. :p This totally sounds like something my mom would do to me. Or vice versa. :p

Btdubs. Fea and I have just now decided (aka I decided and informed her) that we shall probably be calling you fantastic people at some point later today when we're not sitting at the library where Fea is working and I'm so not getting paid to be. So brace yourself. Natch.

I'm thinking we need a massive group Skype call now.

[wilwarin538]

Ok.

So my trip started last Friday. I left Sudbury at 1 in the morning. It took 2 hours to get over the border for some crazy reason so I ended up missing a bunch of my transfers. Long story short the bus driver decided he would drop me off at a truck stop on the side of the highway and Mac would pick me up there. So I was only there about 10 minutes but it was a little weird, people driving by gave me some strange looks. I actually ended up ariving at 1 pm to Geneva, which was 2 hours earlier then I was supposed to. No, I don't understand how that worked out that way.

So the first night was fairly relaxed. Mac and Rikae have 4 lovely girls and I had a lot of fun hanging out with them. They made me a lovely dinner, and after the girls went to bed (and came down several times for a glass of water, and likely also to check that I wasn't leaving or anything) we played a game of Catan, which I was dreadful at but it was still really fun.

The girls woke me up at 7:30 the next morning, but I didn't mind. Mac and I took the three older girls to go fly kites, and I had never done that before so I really enjoyed it! We had some relaxed time in their lovely backyard and around 1ish Mira, Fea, Nienna and Boro arrived! We pretty much just hung out and relaxed for a while, then Stick, Fea and I went with Mac to go get some groceries, and Stick and I had a fun time in the meat section. :D

That afternoon we went to a lovely park and grilled some hotdogs and hamburgers, and played Duck Duck Goose, and some variations. This is when I discovered that my fancy walking shoes are only good for walking, since I fell on my face when I tried to stand up too quickly, and I couldn't run in them. :rolleyes:

The next morning I had some bonding time with Nienna while the other 3 took a nap, and then we all (minus the Rikae/Mac family) went mini-putting (or, mini-golfing which is what the Americans called it). We later went to get some ice cream and were very impressed by the wine ice cream, which was beyond fantastic.

When we got back Celuien was there, and she was just as sweet as I remembered her to be! Brinn arrived. Soon after the Finns and Kath arrived. Though we had never met in person we all hugged each other and had a moment of silence where I think everyone was just trying to take in all the awesome. I believe that night we played Apples to Apples, and I was really impressed because the Finns understood some American references that I didn't recognise. I couldn't get over how perfectly they knew English, and found out that they also spoke many other languages and I was beyond impressed.

The monday Nienna and Mira had to return home, so Fea, Kath and I went on a little road trip to bring them back. Once there Fea let Kath drive her automatic truck around a big field on her grandmother's property, since Kath had never driven one before, and it was really funny to watch her. I also had the chance to drive it, and now I totally want a big truck. It was fantastic.

The drive back was really great, we had some great bonding time and ate some amazing strawberries. We met up with everyone at a beautiful place called Watkins Glen, and took a ton of pictures and it was fabulous. That night we had a fire in the back yard, and had a bit of a cross dressing party, and played 2 games of werewolf. The first game was held outside and it was funny because everyone pulled out a role but then we realised that there was one role short, so we had to re-draw them. If that hadn't of happened Fea and I were wolves, and Nog was the Ranger. For the actual game it turned out that Fea and Nog were wolves, and I was the Ranger (there were supposed to be 3 wolves, haha, a miss-count that reminded us of something very similar Shasta had done in Boston).

The second game was done indoors, and we were getting rather tired. It ended up being down to me, Kath, Greenie, Lommy, Mac, Rikae and Agan. With 3 wolves, a Ranger and 3 ordors. Kath came out as the Ranger. It ended up being a tie lynch between Greenie and I, who were both innocents, so Rikae, Mac and Lommy won, and it was well deserved!

I actually have to cut off there. The rest of the story will include Niagara Falls, deer, a flying squirrel, and what really sunk the Titanic.

[Glirdan]

I actually have to cut off there. The rest of the story will include Niagara Falls, deer, a flying squirrel, and what really sunk the Titanic.

Oh yay!! You're not going to forget about our crazy adventures and my....umm.....well, I'm not giving it away :p :D

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

"And there's some deer."

"Where?"

"Side of the road."

"Where?"

"There are six."

"I can't see them!"

"One's bounding toward the road."

*whimper*

"Still bouncing."

*whimper*

"Passing them now."

*whimper*

"Can't see them any more."

"I WANT TO SEE DEER!"

:)

[Oddwen]

Herein lies a tale of the Wisconsonmoot.


It was a dark and foggy morning as my sister drove me to the airport.

"I can't believe you're meeting strangers from the internet," she said.

"You're registered there too," I replied.

"Shut up," Oliphaunts_Rule retorted eloquently.

Not even waiting to see me off, she sped off in her rattly little red car, blasting Ace of Base as I surveyed the revolving door before me. This took little time to navigate, and within the hour I was on a plane to connect at MSP. Minnesota is, of course, raining when I am there.

And very soon I am at the Wisconsin airport. There is a nice little display of Grimm's Fairy Tale items there that I take pictures of as I am waiting for my ride.

Diamond18, who graciously let me sleep on her couch and chauffeured me, arrives soon after due to inferior online directions featuring such instructions as "Turn left, then turn right".

"Stupid Mapquest!" I offer.

Diamond laughs uncomfortably, and I decide against using an Uncloaked joke.

She took me to the place where she works, which features an indoor theme park. We were butt-kicked at lazer tag, but excelled at go-carts and the ferris wheel. Diamond turned out to be quite adept at the rope jungle, while I experienced gut-twisting vertigo and turned back like a little(r) girl.

Though this is not a cat reviewing website, I will say that Merry and Pippin are five-star cats and are fuzzy and exceedingly cuddlable.

The next day we went to a waterpark, which was something I had never been to, but henceforth loved. My efforts to awkwardly grope Diamond and kick her in the head were mildly successful.

We arrived at Ibrin's on Wednesday a little later and a little more frustrated than we wished, as I kept giving such wonderful directions as "Turn left here. Yes, that way is left...no no! It's right!" and "Um...I think...yeah, that was our turn back there.". Usually I am a decent side-seat driver, but my directionlexia was flaring up.

We ended up meating Ibrin and Mr. Ibrin, Lommy, Agan, Greenie and Noggie at a restaurant that evening, and much squeeing and hugging was done by most.

At Ibrin's we talked about many things, excluding cabbages, sealing wax or kings, but did include Mythbusters, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Paper Telephone. McCaber joined us here, and we told him of our adventure in finding him.

The Tale of the Wrong McCaber


We were told which kind of store McCaber worked at, but as it was a very common store, we did not know which specific store he worked at. The hunt was long and fruitless, as the store we tried did have someone with the same first name working there, but was obviously not the right nerd.

Upon inquiring a sales associate if there was a person belonging to a certain name working at that time, a blank stare was returned to us, in addition to an "Uhhh" and an "Umm". She pointed us out to a young worker, to whom Aganzir boldly walked up to.

"Are you from the Barrow Downs?" the pretty young thing asked in her lovely accent. The young man's gaze flitted from her to the four other young women from the internet giggling insanely several feet away. He muttered something inaudible and dashed outside. This was not the right McCaber. So we gave up.

Here endeth the tale of the wrong McCaber.


Henceforth, we returned to the house of Ibrin and watched Mythbusters and talked. McCaber did join us later, and more talking ensued.

Aganzir was extremely tired that whole night and disappeared for a while, before being found asleep on the floor.

Sleeping was done in rather tight quarters, and Diamond claimed she sat up in the night at some point screaming, but nobody remembered that happening. Heh heh. Nobody at all. Nooooooooobody at all. Hem.

Not a one of us was happy to be up by eight the next morning, but it could not be helped. Certain Finns wished to be away to their next stop, alas.

Ibrin was not able to join us, so Diamond, Nogrod, Aganzir, Thinlomien, A Little Green, McCaber and myself picked up some doughnuts on our way to a picnic.

We talked Werewolf for quite a while, and enjoyed the pleasant if still muddy weather. At last came the Departure of the Finniship, despite Diamond's best efforts to get us turned around and despite my best efforts to be kidnapped.


Ibrin and McCaber I hadn't the pleasure of interacting with yet. Ibrin was a very nice lady with many stories to tell. McCaber seemed to be a little too obsessed with Cthulhu and the Old Ones and and that combined with his interest with hydroponics and ichthyology was bit worrying, but a fine young nerd nonetheless, and quite nice.

Lommy, Greenie and Agan were just as sweet and enthused as they seem on the board, and while I've skyped with Lommy and Agan I was very happy to finally meet them in person. Nogrod was very enthusiastic and animated about everything.


On my final day in the Cheese state, Diamond took me on an epic quest to free the four elemental wizards. We were only successful in freeing one, although much knowledge of the arcane was learned. And I totally defeated a dragon.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/Oddwen/dragon.jpg

That dragon found itself defeated.

Group shot:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v58/Oddwen/wisconsonmoot.jpg



It was an great time and was awesome to finally meet some of you. I'm saving up my pennies and hope to do it again in the not-too-horribly-distant future. :)

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

If the neighbor's obnoxious dog had gone on one of its barking fits at dawn, you might've had a wolf to add to the tale (albeit a small one). And you have such a nice and kind way of saying that I can't keep my mouth shut.... :D. And I continue to be remarkably unphotogenic.... *sigh*

It was a pleasure meeting you, and all the others!

[wilwarin538]

The tale continues.

We woke up on Tuesday and figured out the rides to head to Niagara Falls. I went in Fea's lovely truck with Kath, Boro and Agan. Mac and Rikae had to switch to another vehicle so went on their own with the Wereduckling. Everyone else went in Nog's vehicle. The way there I had a rather deep, but fantastic conversation with Aganzir. Her and I have very different views but she was very easy to talk too, and it was a very amiable conversation, despite our many differences. I adore this girl.

When we arrived in the city of Niagara Falls, NY, we got a bit lost, but since I had taken on the job of finding directions there and finding a meeting spot (with the help of my dear friend Google Maps), I was able to direct us to the correct parking lot and in no time we had met up with the other cars and with Bethberry and her lovely husband and son. I had other Canadians, and this pleased me.

We had some lunch inside a nice welcome centre, and it rained outside. Boro was sweet enough to buy Fea and I some matching necklaces that we were totally in love with, since the debit machines there hated my Canadian debit card. <3 We then went over to the falls and payed a dollar to get on the observation deck (keep that part in mind for later in the story), and some went on the Maid of the Mist boat to get closer to the Falls. We then discussed whether we should go over to the Canadian side, even though some didn't have their passports, and eventually decided there was no harm in trying.

We went through the free turnstiles onto the Rainbow Bridge. It was exciting to walk over the border line, and put one foot on each side, haha. Once we got to the customs booth Fea and I took the lead and walked up to the counter. She held up my passport along side Fea's driver's license, which confused us. She asked how we could possibly know each other and Fea skillfully avoided using the word 'internet' for quite some time, but eventually made the girl happy with 'literary forum'. Luckily, we all got through just fine, and lo and behold it wasn't raining at all on the Canadian side, it was actually very sunny. My country rocks.

We walked up a steap hill and looked in some little shops. On the way down we got some icecream and then looked at the Falls from the free observation deck (remember what I said about the US one? yeah, awesome). We then decided to head back to the US and had to pay 50 cents each to get on to the bridge (points out first sentence of previous paragraph). We had an immense moment of panic when Boro couldn't find his driver's license, but luckily a kind gentleman had found it on the ground outside customs and brought it in.

Then half the group had to leave. After some hugs and a very slow walk to Nog's vehicle, he and Greenie, Lommy, Agan and Boro left us. I lost count of how many times I hugged each of the girls, they are all just so sweet and snuggly and adorable, and I immediately missed them and Nog, and Boro.

I headed back in Fea's truck again with Kath and Brinniel. On the way when it was starting to get dark Fea exclaimed "Look at the deer!" and the conversation she described above then happened. It was really frustrating, cause I wanted to see a deer but clearly my eyes weren't working with me in this situation. On the ride home Kath and I decided that she would be taking the bus to Toronto with me, since she needed to get there and it was a stop for me on the way hoome. When we looked at bus prices I also looked at how much it would be to take her all the way home with me, and it was surprisingly expensive, but we decided that once in Toronto we would see if the prices could be brought lower.

We slept and woke up around 8:30 the next morning. Brinniel headed to the train station with the Wereduckling saying "bye bye" over and over, and it was adorable and sad to see her go. We watched Flushed Away with the girls and had some snuggle time with the Wereduckling. Then Fea left, and we were sad. Kath and I had more Wereduckling snuggles and eventually said goodbye to the girls and to Rikae. Mac drove us to the cute little bus station and then Kath and I headed towards Canada!

It was raining in Buffalo, but once we got over to Canada it stopped raining and was sunny. Haha, this made us really happy. We arrived in Toronto at 9pm and were very happy to get the bus tickets down to a more reasonable price. She was coming home with me!!! I immediately called Glirdan to make a date with him for the next day, telling him I got him a gift from Geneva that he had to have right away, and luckily he was available! We had something to eat and then hung out for 3 hours in the bus station, almost falling asleep and grateful to finally get on the bus. My dad picked us up from the bus station in Sudbury at 5:30 am and we took a nice little nap before going to pick up Glirdan at 9:30.

It was epic. He was so excited and so surprised and Kath was the best birthday present ever for him! I brought them out to breakfast and we had some epicly delicious waffles, then we went to Science North, which is Sudbury's snow flake shaped science centre. We say some cool animals and spent some time in the butterfly (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs097.snc4/36230_1515438571590_1403223219_31351122_1756899_n. jpg) room (yes, I was very happy). We also used some picture of butterfly wings that looked like letters to make mine (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs126.snc4/36642_1517325378759_1403223219_31356741_1815340_n. jpg) and Glirdan's (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs066.ash2/36642_1517325418760_1403223219_31356742_3445965_n. jpg)names. We lied down on the bed (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs488.ash1/26687_1515442411686_1403223219_31351143_830327_n.j pg) of nails (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs488.snc3/26687_1515442451687_1403223219_31351144_5685733_n. jpg), and played with dominoes (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs508.snc3/26687_1515442371685_1403223219_31351142_4702176_n. jpg). We got to pet an adorable flying squirrel (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs508.snc3/26687_1515442571690_1403223219_31351147_7587551_n. jpg), and Glirdy was eaten (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs097.snc4/36227_1515445011751_1403223219_31351151_930365_n.j pg). That night my brother (Wayne the Goblin, for anyone who may remember him), came with us to see the Big Nickel (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs097.snc4/36227_1515445131754_1403223219_31351154_6144802_n. jpg), and then we just hung out that evening playing Scrabble.

After our scrabble game Kath used the paper to make a little boat and this little claw thing. She then used the claw to pick up and throw over the boat saying something like "mwahaha, there goes the Titanic". And Glirdan responded with "So it was a giant claw that sunk the Titanic, not the ice cream." No, I didn't type that wrong, he actually said that. It's revealed people, ice cream sunk the Titanic, not some lousy iceburg. This kept us laughing all the way to his house.

Back home Kath and I (and my sister, Lote, if anyone remembers her) watched the first half of A Very Potter Musical, and it was fantastic, but then we were sleepy and so slept. Lote came with us to get Glirdy the next morning and we went out for breakfast, talked about Bostonmoot and eventually had to drop Kath off at the bus station (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs057.ash2/36227_1515445251757_1403223219_31351157_7871929_n. jpg). She left at 1pm on the Friday. I thought it was cool that my Downer time lasted exactly 1 week, down to the hour.

And that was my trip, and it was epic and I loved everyone and miss them all very much!!!

[Glirdan]

After our scrabble game Kath used the paper to make a little boat and this little claw thing. She then used the claw to pick up and throw over the boat saying something like "mwahaha, there goes the Titanic". And Glirdan responded with "So it was a giant claw that sunk the Titanic, not the ice cream." No, I didn't type that wrong, he actually said that. It's revealed people, ice cream sunk the Titanic, not some lousy iceburg. This kept us laughing all the way to his house.

Best Freudian slip of my life, just sayin!! :D

[Blind Guardian]

You all look like children having so much fun!!

Cute flying squirrel!

[Bêthberry]

You all look like children having so much fun!!



There's not a Wendy amongst us. :D

[Oddwen]

She asked how we could possibly know each other and Fea skillfully avoided using the word 'internet' for quite some time, but eventually made the girl happy with 'literary forum'.

Maybe we should start using the code term "International Book Club".

[Blind Guardian]

International Online Book Club :) it's true

[Loslote]

Back home Kath and I (and my sister, Lote, if anyone remembers her)

...man that'd confuse me if she were still around. :p

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Maybe we should start using the code term "International Book Club".

Haha!

Wilwa and I kept sharing these nervous meaningful glances as we tried to simultaneously and silently come up with a plausible and acceptable translation of:

"Our somewhat crazy group of internationals met on the internet, are having a massive party, and now want to cross into another country without the proper travel documents. Please let us."

But really, when the guard lady asked how long we'd all known each other and Wilwa and I were both just like, "Um... it depends on registration date?"

And then I started listing the approximate join date of people until the guard lady clearly decided that if we were going to tell lies, we'd have chosen a better one than, "We all talk about Lord of the Rings on the internet."

Which isn't strictly true anymore, since we mostly all just play werewolf or talk on Facebook! But we really didn't want to explain that we spend most of our hobby time pretending to murder each other!

[wilwarin538]

But we really didn't want to explain that we spend most of our hobby time pretending to murder each other!

Can you imagine? I don't think she would have found that funny, at all, haha. Especially if we said "hey, see that baby over there? Yeah, she loves that game, and wolves make her happy. Wanna hear her growl?" :P

Then there was the guy getting back to the US. Fea showed her driver's license and he was like "Do you have anything else on you?" and so she said "My car keys and 10 bucks"(since that was literally all she had on her) and he was like "Car keys? What use are car keys? Why would you even say that?" and we both just stood there staring at him, totally confused, and rediculously annoyed. She was trying to get into her own country, haha, and he wasn't being very nice. Luckily that time we didn't let on that we were all together, we just went up in mini groups, so we didn't have to deal with the whole "how do you know each other?" thing.

[Durelin]

To those who are more in contact with the Finns -- they said they would be in the DC area on the 15th of July, and I had talked about maybe meeting up with them. But I will actually be out of the country through the 18th. Rather a bizarre turn of events... I cannot remember if they are flying out right about then? Anyway, it seems I will miss them... :(

Sorry to cut into the reminiscing. I just thought this the most likely place for word and my apology to get to them before they return home... Or if they are checking emails let me know if I should send them one. Thank you guys!

[A Little Green]

To those who are more in contact with the Finns -- they said they would be in the DC area on the 15th of July, and I had talked about maybe meeting up with them. But I will actually be out of the country through the 18th. Rather a bizarre turn of events... I cannot remember if they are flying out right about then? Anyway, it seems I will miss them...Our flight back home takes off from NYC on the 20th. We'll probably be in New York from the 17th or so, which means that if you're willing to travel there to meet us we will be ever so happy! (And any of you sweethearts who said you liked us so much, a trip to NYC is never a bad idea.. :Merisu: )

Aww. I don't think I'll start ranting about any of our lovely Downer-meetings quite yet - from my part at least you'll probably have to wait for a super-epic massive post once I'm back home.. For now, I will just say that we have met a bunch of adorable people all of whom I miss already.

[satansaloser2005]

Our flight back home takes off from NYC on the 20th. We'll probably be in New York from the 17th or so, which means that if you're willing to travel there to meet us we will be ever so happy! (And any of you sweethearts who said you liked us so much, a trip to NYC is never a bad idea.. :Merisu: )

Aww. I don't think I'll start ranting about any of our lovely Downer-meetings quite yet - from my part at least you'll probably have to wait for a super-epic massive post once I'm back home.. For now, I will just say that we have met a bunch of adorable people all of whom I miss already.


Soooo....I dreamt you guys were at my house last night. I think this means something. :Merisu:

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Side note: There was supposed to be a super Skype date with me, Stick, Sally, Shasta, the phantom, the Finns, and possibly others, and it failed through almost no fault of mine.

The first time it failed was because when Stick and I got home from work, my house lacked power and thus internet due to bathroom remodeling adventures.

Then they weren't home when my power was back on.

Then we weren't home when Sally called saying people were home and ready. And then though eventually Stick made it back to my house, I never did.

And so, Skype failed. Lo siento. Otherwise there'd be stories from that too. And I doubt anybody wants to hear why I never made it home Saturday night. ;)

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Then we weren't home when Sally called saying people were home and ready. And then though eventually Stick made it back to my house, I never did.

And so, Skype failed. Lo siento. Otherwise there'd be stories from that too. And I doubt anybody wants to hear why I never made it home Saturday night. ;)

She was hippie cuddling, and don't let her try to tell you differently. :p I apparently totally missed the memo about them calling when we weren't home. Oh wait...

[Aganzir]

As you probably know by now, us Finns (Thinlómien, A Little Green, Nogrod and yours truly) decided to travel to the United States to see all our American Downer friends, and also a bit of the country itself. This is our 13th day of travelling, and we're currently in Salt Lake City. Thus far we've seen at least one Downer each day.

We arrived in New York City late at night (9pm, but my body told me it was actually 4am) and slept there before taking a bus to Boston to see Brinniel on Friday. It's over two years since we last saw her, and we all were pretty excited about meeting her again. She took us to her house which was quite lovely, and after some unpacking and relaxing we went to get some food and, despite the heat we northerners are not at all used to, walk around Boston. In the evening Brinn introduced Apples to Apples to us – a game that, interestingly enough, hasn't been translated into Finnish. We learned that Greenie doesn't find the phantom repulsive and Lommy doesn't think Kath is idiotic.

On Saturday we got up early and walked the Freedom Trail (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs085.ash2/37599_415417204302_688229302_4409389_1118471_n.jpg ) which turned out to be quite interesting. (OOT: Lommy is just reading the book 'The Third Chimpanzee' and found out there's an extinct species called Shasta ground sloth.) After that we visited the New England Aquarium (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs229.snc4/38793_415417964302_688229302_4409435_6222276_n.jpg ). It was an awesome place, and we spent hours watching the fishes. Lommy liked the penguins and the tortoises the most while my favourites were the stingrays, Nog liked an ugly fish whose name he can't remember, and Little Green fell in love with a big green monster.

In the end we were in quite a hurry if we wanted to have dinner before picking up our rental car and Kath from the airport, but even though Kath's flight landed early, Nog, Brinn and I were at the airport just on time with a ++Kath sign. Lommy and Greenie had gone back to Brinn's place and taken a nap, and they came to open the door to us only after five minutes of ringing the doorbell and trying to call them. They were not quite so tired anymore, so we made drinks (Greenie had a little green drink (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs213.snc4/38965_415418334302_688229302_4409449_3628197_n.jpg ) in a big green glass) and played more Apples to Apples, finding out the phantom is desperate.

On Sunday it was time to head to Geneva. We drove there with Kath while Brinn took a plane, and after hours of sitting in the car our GPS told us we had arrived at Rikae and Macalaure's house. It looked surprisingly empty, but just when we pulled up in front of it, a girl in a black-and-white striped shirt (who turned out to be Fea) came out and shouted something, and suddenly lots of people (Rikae, Boro, wilwa, Nienna, Mira, Celuien, and the Wereduckling of course) came from the backyard to welcome us. I have met several Downers before, but it still felt weird to see so many at once (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs077.snc4/35189_415418344302_688229302_4409451_766241_n.jpg) (Celuien, Mira, Kath, wilwa, Greenie)! And actually it wasn't even awkward. Even though none of us Finns had met them before, we had talked to them on the Downs and seen what they look like on Facebook, so they didn't feel strangers at all. (Later Mac came with Brinn, whom he picked up at the airport.)

So we sat down in the backyard while Fea and Boro cooked for us (it was delicious), and after that we ate the peach cobbler Celuien had made (om nom nom). In the end we spent most of the night talking about all kinds of random stuff in small groups, and when the insects began to bother us too much, we went inside and played Apples to Apples.

On Monday Nienna and Mira had to leave. Fea drove them back to her place, and Kath and wilwa went along. We others went to Watkins Glen (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs035.ash2/35104_415419409302_688229302_4409518_108920_n.jpg) (Rivendell), and Fea & co joined us there later. It was a really beautiful place.
The evening was also lots of fun. Rikae's and Macalaure's parents came visiting and we had a campfire and grilled sausages. Rikae's oldest daughter told us that the worse your sausage burns, the more evil you are. I was busy explaining something to somebody while grilling mine, and when I finally realised it was still grilling, it was very, very black. I swear I didn't do it on purpose.
Then some of us had fun cross-dressing, and later we played two games of werewolf. In the first one, the day 1 main suspects were Fea, Rikae and Aganzir who, said the village, had acted unnecessarily wolfishly on purpose. Déjà vu, anyone? In the second game I voted for Macwolf every day but the wolves won anyway.
I was killed and discovered to be a wolf, for reasoning that was quite faulty, but also clearly lucky.
Fea: Agan, are you a wolf?
Agan: Just as much as you are.
*later* Fea: Okay so Agan said she's a wolf...
village: Lynch!

Kath, Wilwa, and I fell asleep listening to Lommy and Agan murmuring in Finnish.
It was either the night we discussed how awesome people you are or the night we talked about me.

On Tuesday we packed our things and drove to Niagara Falls. I sat between wilwa and Boro and talked with wilwa pretty much the whole ride. Although we have differing world views, it was really interesting. I hadn't had too much interaction with her before, and although everybody who has met her had told me she's sweet, I was still surprised she's so lovely. It would be impossible not to like her.

We met Bêthberry (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs060.snc4/35360_415420319302_688229302_4409576_5398675_n.jpg ), her son who also has a Downs account (unfortunately I can't remember his user name), and her husband in Niagara. They all were very nice too. After hanging around and visiting the sunny Canada (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs111.ash2/38908_415421079302_688229302_4409613_2075880_n.jpg ) (Boro, Nog, wilwa, Rikae, Fea, Brinn, Green, Lommy, Kath, Mac), it was time to say goodbye. We postponed it by taking very tiny steps while walking back to the parking lot, and when we had finally reached the cars, we spent several minutes just hugging one another and exchanging comments like 'We must meet again,' 'Come to Finland!' and 'Any chance you could visit New York City before we fly back home?'

And then the others left back for Geneva and we took Boro with us and headed westward. In the car, we discovered that both Lommy and Greenie had adopted Kath's way of saying 'really, really [adjective].' I was suddenly exhausted – with the time zone difference and getting too little sleep because I was too busy hanging around with awesome people, only adrenaline had kept me going. At one point I was talking to Boro, realised I wasn't making sense at all and pointed out he should now understand why I always screw things up if I play werewolf when I'm tired, and he said something along the lines 'I see what you mean.'

In Boro's apartment, we stayed awake for a while and went through the photos we had taken, but we went to bed soon enough. And (too) early on Wednesday morning it was time for us to move on. Thus ended our trip's first major Downer meet-up.

I had met Brinn and Kath before, and both were just as awesome as I remembered. Brinn was a very good host and had planned nice things for us during our stay in Boston. It was really helpful to have with us someone who actually knew the city, otherwise we would have been totally lost. Plus, she looks gorgeous with short hair. As for Kath, I had really missed her sense of humour and her straightforwardness. And I had almost too much fun poking at her ribs.

I didn't know Nienna and Mira too well in advance and I only spent one evening with them, but they both seemed very nice. Celuien had work so she could be with us only in the evenings. I didn't talk to her as much as I would've wanted to, but I liked her as well. And thanks to her, I could make a painting for Boro (she took a nice picture of him and Rune in Bostonmoot).

I love Rikae and Macalaure. They are so sweet and lots of fun to be around! And they both are much less scary in real life than online: back in my newbie days (and okay, even later), I used to be semi-scared of Rikae, while Mac, on the other hand, looks darn scary only in pictures. Also, the Wereduckling is awesome. It was so cute to hear her growl. She was also afraid of Nog at first, but later she learned to say his name, and she told us Mac was a wolf when we played werewolf, but unfortunately nobody paid heed to her words. Rikae's other kids were awesome as well. And I loved their house, especially the basement. We did the laundry before we left, and some of my clothes still smell of their basement.

Boro was great too. He was quieter in live werewolf than he is on the Downs and it felt weird at first, but then again Nog is also like that. Anyway he is sweet and funny, and it was interesting to hear him talk about why he wants to be a teacher.

Fea is, if possible, even lovelier in real life. She was very much fun to be around, and she has the knack of being able to tell about even the most trivial stuff so that it sounds interesting. Also, she was great to play werewolf with, and even though I've always disagreed with her on the significance of day 1s, I'll never again be able to accuse her because of her behaviour if I think of her in real life werewolf! She was hilarious.

Bêthberry was sweet as well, and I love her hair.

So, on to Wisconsin. Lommy and I slept some hours in the car, but I was still rather tired when we arrived at Ibrin's place. We went to get something to eat, and soon after we had got to the restaurant, Oddwen and Diamond18 joined us. After eating we drove to the closest Walmart and tried to find McCaber, but it didn't go quite as planned.
She pointed us out to a young worker, to whom Aganzir boldly walked up to.
There happened to be a guy with the same first name and a last name that differed from McCaber's by only a few letters!

So we returned back to Ibrin's place and watched some Mythbusters. And I was quite tired. Around 10pm I thought, 'I'll go upstairs for a while, I just need some quiet,' and the next thing I knew was somebody coming into the room and saying 'McCaber just arrived, it's past 11pm.' So I went back downstairs and was as social as I could, but I'm not very much fun to be with when I'm tired.

Thursday morning was better. We started westward around 10am with Oddwen, Diamond and McCaber and had a picnic (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs072.ash2/36948_415422314302_688229302_4409662_7665756_n.jpg ) somewhere, after which Cabbie left us. Greenie and I rode with Diamond, and we had so much fun talking about werewolf that we entertained the people in the other car by accidentally driving past the exit we were supposed to take. When we eventually found a gas station we could stop at, we parted with Oddwen and Diamond and headed towards Omaha.

Ibrin and her husband were very talkative and easy to be with, and it was really funny to hear her talk about the RPGs she had played, the OneRing.net, fan fiction etc.

Oddwen and Diamond were awesome. One of the most hilarious moments during Wisconsinmoot was when Oddwen all of a sudden walked to Lommy and poked at her nose (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs229.snc4/38796_415422069302_688229302_4409658_7459725_n.jpg )! McCaber was really nice too, although he talked so fast I had a hard time deciphering what he was saying, especially in the evening.

So we drove the whole day, and some of us spent their time sleeping in the car again. When we were about a 100 miles from Omaha we called the phantom whose house we were supposed to stay at. He was shocked: 'What, are you coming today? I thought it was tomorrow!' Fortunately he didn't mind us staying there an extra night, and in the end we parked in front of his lair around 9.30pm. Phantom and Nog talked a lot about sports which bored me so I went online, and when I tried to find the others later, they were in the basement playing table football. Phantom and Greenie made a very good team (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs204.snc4/38550_415422559302_688229302_4409675_8383278_n.jpg ) while we others (first Nog & Lommy (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs197.snc4/38193_415422734302_688229302_4409679_1442150_n.jpg ), then Lommy & me) scored lots of own goals.

On Friday, sally and Shasta arrived and I found the phantom's tree house in the backyard. Sally came first. She was just as sweet as you'd imagine, and she gave us all ballpoint pens made of corn fibre. Shasta, who had got lost a couple of times, arrived some time later, and Nog, Lommy & sally went to grocery. Phantom, Greenie, Shasta and I sat in the phantom's living room (which was dark because the blinds were down). Phantom kneeled before Greenie (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs071.snc4/34893_415422989302_688229302_4409695_3283014_n.jpg ) and started to tell her of a dream he had had, and Shasta and I talked about all kinds of random stuff. He was very easy to talk to and we got along quite well:
Agan: 'I used to have a crush on Downer X.'
Shasta: 'Oh. Me too.'
And then we discussed our Downer crushes, and suddenly we realised Greenie and phantom were staring at us. They claimed they didn't hear anything, though. Shortly after that the shoppers came back and I helped Nog with the cooking while the others continued talking in the living room.

After eating we played werewolf twice. Greenie and Nog were the wolves, and phantom surprised us with a very accurate interpretation of the first night's events (for those who don't know, we don't have a mod at the beginning but the roles are written on pieces of paper, and before the day starts, we count aloud to ten with our eyes covered so the wolves can find out each other's identity meanwhile): he could tell from Greenie's (who was sitting next to him) voice that she was turning her head and began to smile when she saw her partner. Not surprisingly, the wolves lost. In the next game we wanted to avoid that kind of accidents so we decided everyone claps their hands ten times. Nog lost the count which led inevitably to jokes about the clap. This time Nog and Shasta were wolves, and they won quite easily. Greenie threatened to kill them both but hasn't carried out her plan yet. In one of the games, Lommy got annoyed with the phantom and talked about 'the plans he creates in his small head.' Phantom was shocked by this comment.

The rest of the night involved Apples to Apples (we really like the game!), jokes about pants, and Shasta and Greenie singing Disney songs. Shasta's rendition of Be Prepared made me extremely happy.

On Saturday morning sally, Greenie and I were the first ones to be up. We gossiped about the phantom's softer side, and when everybody else was awake, Lommy, Greenie, Shasta & me explored the phantom's backyard. There's lots of mud (Lommy & Greenie still have some under their toenails) and a lovely brook where everybody except Shasta was attacked by leeches.

In the afternoon we packed our things and headed west. We played word games, and I hated Shasta's 'I'm going to the moon and taking with me X' game because I sucked at it. Actually I sucked at almost every game we played. Not good for my ego.
We parted with sally (who gave us our very own copy of Apples to Apples, yay!) in the late afternoon and continued our trip, trying to find a motel. However, they all seemed to be fully booked (according to the phantom this happened because Greenie brings bad luck), and at least Shasta and I ended up sleeping in the car. We found one as late as 1.30am, and when we woke up in the morning, we saw we were in South Dakota in the middle of nowhere (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs187.snc4/37713_415423674302_688229302_4409733_4288943_n.jpg ).

On Sunday we visited Badlands (Shasta found the Pride Rock and played Simba (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs167.snc4/37684_415425819302_688229302_4409925_8113992_n.jpg )) and Mount Rushmore, had a picnic in a forest and climbed on rocks (http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs115.ash2/39082_415425879302_688229302_4409931_6113438_n.jpg ). That night we found a motel relatively early but stayed up relatively late writing hilarious stories, playing werewolf (there were only six of us so we had a wolf, cobbler and ranger) – in the first game I was the cobbler and they lynched Shastawolf on day 1 because someone got the idiotic idea that we were the baddies because we joked about it, and in the second game Nog was the wolf and got lynched on the last day despite Lommler's valiant efforts to distract us; and Apples to Apples again. We finally went to sleep around 4am.

Yesterday phantom and Shasta left us, which made Greenie and me sick. Our being sick made also Lommy sick. Not nice.

Neither the phantom nor Shasta was quite what I had imagined. Phantom's softer side turned out to be very soft, but for his reputation's sake I must add he hates the sun and everything that grows (except for certain little green things), and he broke both Greenie's finger and her confidence in her musical skills.

Shasta, on the other hand, was much more evil than I had thought (that's certainly not a bad thing though). He's a terrific singer and provided us with lots of entertainment also in the form of climbing high rocks. Yesterday, after the guys had left, we stopped to eat while driving on the Bighorn Mountains, and somebody pointed out it was good we didn't have Shasta with us any more because otherwise we'd never have been able to leave (there was a particularly high rock next to us). And next time I meet him, I'd love to see him wear 8-inch stilettos.

We just came back to our hotel after having dinner with mormegil & his family in a fancy Mexican restaurant and driving/walking around Salt Lake City, whose geography actually reminds us of Gondolin (what with it lying between mountains etc). Morm isn't half so scary as I thought. He's actually very nice, and his family is adorable. We had much fun talking about werewolf and the Downs in general.

Tomorrow the others fly to San Francisco and I fly to Seattle to spend some quality Ka, TGEW & Laurinquë time. I'm happy we're not even halfway through our trip yet and there are still more Downers we're going to meet, but at the same time I miss everybody like crazy. You all are ♥

[mormegil]

I finally met some fellow Downers. I think I'm the only Downer who hasn't actually met a fellow Downer and now I have. I had a lovely evening with Nogrod, Lommy, Little Green and Aganzir, along with my family in tow. It was, in my opinion at least quite enjoyable. I'm glad to have finally met some Downers and it reminded me why I love this forum and I am glad we have the common thread of our love of Tolkien to bring us together. Thank you for a lovely evening you 4.

[the phantom]

Thursday, 6:30 PM- I was busy finishing up some work when my phone lit up. I was expecting a call from a friend and so I did not bother to view the screen before answering. But the voice that responded was not that of my friend. It was Lommy!

I was very pleased to hear from the Finns, as I desired to arranged the specifics of their arrival the following day and work out the details of our weekend travels. Imagine my surprise when I was informed that they were nearly to Omaha and were intending to stay there that very night!

I spent the next couple of hours rushing around to get everything prepared, and then there they were, pulling up in front of my house. The wait was over.

****************

Thursday night- The Finns and I settled in and got acquainted and discussed what we would do the next couple of days. We also played some foosball. Lommy showed less flare for the game than did her sister, a fact that Greenie and I pointed out repeatedly. At one point Greenie went so far as to exclaim, "Come on, at least make an effort!" after scoring a goal.

The evening was capped off by the girls all wearing the souvenirs I had gotten them- Nebraska Husker shirts! ♥

****************

Friday- Aganzir skipped off into the woods to explore, wearing no shoes at all! I am still uncertain how she managed it given the stickers and poison ivy that carpets the forest. Meanwhile Lommy sat down in the yard with her laptop and I threw the football (American version) around with Nog and Green.

After that we visited Buffalo Wild Wings during the afternoon football matches (non-American version). The food was tasty as always and then we took the long way back home. We had some time to kill before Sally and Shasta arrived, so we messed around with YouTube videos and musical instruments and just generally had fun.

****************

Friday night- Sally and Shasta arrived and the group was complete! After a raid of the grocery store Nog master-minded a lovely meal and after filling our tummies we set about making epic Werewolf fun. And we were more than a little successful, I can tell you.

No lie, the very first day of our first game was possibly the best Day 1 ever! It lasted a good 20+ minutes, and rather than random votes and people complaining about how random Day 1s are, the votes were cast with conviction and there was lots of legitimately great discussion. We started the game by closing our eyes and putting our heads down and counting to ten. During this time the two people who drew Werewolf roles were to put their heads up so that they would know who was on their side on Day 1.

Well, I heard a certain Downer's voice change direction during the counting, telling me that this individual was a Werewolf looking around to find a partner. In addition I heard this person smile when they were almost fully turned my direction, telling me that the other Werewolf was most likely directly to my right (we were spread out through the living room).

So, armed with this information I launched directly into an accusation to open the day and things were off and running. It was... well... you just had to be there. Incredibly epic.

The first day of our second game on the other hand was the worst Day 1 ever. It lasted around 25 minutes or so, and I may actually be exaggerating by saying that 5 minutes was spent on topic. Somehow or other we continually ended up telling "pants" jokes or jokes involving "the clap". And just so everyone understands why we were making such jokes, after the events of the first game we did not wish to count aloud at the start of this game, and so we resolved instead to clap ten times with our eyes shut before day 1 so that the Werewolves could find each other.

Well, a certain one of our number gave an extra couple of claps at the end. Naturally, I quickly accused this individual of being a Werewolf on the grounds that he was too busy identifying his fellow wolf to keep track of the number of claps. Someone else bemoaned the fact that I had yet again been handed a free reason to suspect someone from the get-go, phrasing it something like, "First it was the counting, and now Phantom's been handed the clap!" After that it was chaos, and I don't think there was a laugh-free second the rest of the day. The Wolves won that game, but I'd just like to point out that I supported lynching them every day, and the other villagers just didn't obey me properly. *shakes fist*

(Funny quote- At one point Greenie said that something Agan had done caused her to look suspicious, and Agan dismissively responded, "Well, that's really not my problem."

****************

Saturday- It was time to hit the road. Shasta and the girls piled into Sally's car and in far too short a time we reached the parting of the ways, where we were forced to say farewell to Sally.

Upon reaching our destination (Valentine, Nebraska) we discovered that there was a big event going on and no rooms were available. I had foolishly joked earlier in the drive that such a thing would happen, and so it was decided that it was my fault. We ended up driving for another couple of hours before stopping that night, but that was fine as it gave me more time to get to know the Downer that was currently riding with me- Greenie. It turns out she isn't nearly as boring or mean as I was expecting her to be. :p

****************

Sunday- We took a couple of lovely walks in the badlands and I got to ride with Agan and Lommy, who taught me a new travel game that pleased me greatly. After the badlands we moved on to Mount Rushmore, and then we ate an excellent picnic lunch on a rocky hill. After the picnic we set about exploring the hillside. Both here and in the badlands Shasta took every opportunity to climb upon a high rock and pose for a picture.

****************

Sunday night- We checked into rooms in Gillette, Wyoming and kicked off a night of games. First we did something I had never done before- combined story writing! We each started a story, but limited our writing to two lines, and then we folded the paper in such a way that only one line could be read and passed it to the next person. The next person was only allowed to look at that one single line before adding two lines of their own, and so on down the line.

Our stories turned out to be quite amusing. I would post them on here (we did 12 of them), but if I'm not mistaken every last one of them contains something that would make it unsuitable for the forum. Not surprisingly the unsuitable parts were mostly all in the same hand-writing, but I won't point any fingers (and I'm sure you can figure it out anyway :p).

After that we played a couple games of Werewolf featuring Werewolf, Cobbler, Ranger, and three Ordos. Both games were fantastic, but I'll leave it to someone else to give a blow-by-blow account. Summary from my point of view- everyone I ever declared innocent turned out to be so, and I was a fantastic Ranger! *toots own horn*

To cap the night off we played Apples to Apples.

****************

Monday- Shasta and I said goodbye to the Finns and headed back east. We were very sad. The first part of the trip was spent talking about online games and listening to Nightwish. At some point my throat took a turn for the worse (I had been feeling rather ill since the night before), and so Shasta did a lot of napping and reading after that. As we neared Omaha my throat began feeling better and we chattered away once again. Shasta made his exit the following morning and the moot was officially over.

****************

Sally- She was as funny and cheerful as ever and I'm sure I'll be seeing her again in the coming months. Having another Downer living close is quite nice.

Shasta- He was just as entertaining and fun as he was in Bostonmoot, which anyone who was in Boston will tell you is high praise.

Nogrod- I finally got to meet my Arda Cup cosponsor! He was very much his Downs self- smart, responsible, and very polite and gracious.

Agan- She was... Maria. She had her own patented facial expressions and even her very own accent, as well as extremely long nails. I still wonder how she types.

Lommy- She was big on insults. I lost track of the number of bad things she said about me in our short time together. But she was just kidding around of course. I think.

Greenie- Perhaps the best travel companion I've ever been granted. Sharing music and conversation with her was quite enjoyable, and I'm sure she'll report that I am even more dark and evil and such in real life than on the Downs.

****************

There is much more that could be said for each person and each day, but I'll let others have their chance first. Long story short- the whole thing was fantastic! Totally worth coming down ill.

And lastly- moon, lightning, stars, Westside Story. ;)

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Wow Aganzir, that's more people than I've met in the last 10 years. :p

[Inziladun]

I finally met some fellow Downers. I think I'm the only Downer who hasn't actually met a fellow Downer and now I have.

Meh, you're not (weren't) the only one. :rolleyes:
I don't suppose the Southeast is on the Finns' itinerary?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Agan: 'I used to have a crush on Downer X.'
Shasta: 'Oh. Me too.'
And then we discussed our Downer crushes, and suddenly we realised Greenie and phantom were staring at us. They claimed they didn't hear anything, though. Shortly after that the shoppers came back and I helped Nog with the cooking while the others continued talking in the living room.

Sooooo curious.

I mean, I had a teenage crush on the phantom, but who didn't? :p

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Sooooo curious.

I mean, I had a teenage crush on the phantom, but who didn't? :p

Are you suggesting that some of us stopped? :p

[Mnemosyne]

I don't suppose the Southeast is on the Finns' itinerary?

Vaguely, as that's where I am right now. We're still trying to arrange things, but the House of Nog is answering PMs if you don't mind waiting for a bit. They won't be in the area for another couple of weeks, so that's plenty of time to arrange something. Rather depends on how blocked out their itinerary is so far.

[Inziladun]

At long last, I have something to post here.

I was able to get in touch with Nog, Agan, Greenie, and Lommy and arrange to meet them on the Southeastern leg of their journey as they passed through Birmingham. It came together rather quickly, so I didn't have time to arrange things for them the way I would have liked. Still, got together and had a very nice dinner with them. Chocolate brownies with ice cream is a wonderful thing, is it not? :)
It was a wonderful time, and my only complaint is that I didn't have longer to spend with them. Absolutely delightful people. Thanks for making my first RL Downer meeting such a pleasant experience.

[Folwren]

I finally met some fellow Downers. I think I'm the only Downer who hasn't actually met a fellow Downer and now I have. I had a lovely evening with Nogrod, Lommy, Little Green and Aganzir, along with my family in tow. It was, in my opinion at least quite enjoyable. I'm glad to have finally met some Downers and it reminded me why I love this forum and I am glad we have the common thread of our love of Tolkien to bring us together. Thank you for a lovely evening you 4.

Not so, my friend. I, too, had never met anyone from the Downs before, but Thursday changed that. I met them, too, and it was marvelous. I was so excited I hardly knew what to do with myself, and I hope I didn't look like a fool half the time. In the two hours they were there, I managed to embarrass myself extremely at least once...

Nogrod and company, I have a question to ask you all sometime so that a matter between me and my Camp friends can be settled...

-- Folwren

[Aganzir]

A few quick comments, a more elaborate post on our Downer meetings will follow when we have more time. Suffice to say everybody is awesome.

Friday- Aganzir skipped off into the woods to explore, wearing no shoes at all! I am still uncertain how she managed it given the stickers and poison ivy that carpets the forest.
We don't have poison ivy in Finland so I was obviously not aware it might be dangerous. ;) Anyway either it doesn't affect me or I'm even better at walking barefoot in forests than I thought.

(Funny quote- At one point Greenie said that something Agan had done caused her to look suspicious, and Agan dismissively responded, "Well, that's really not my problem."
If the village decides to lynch innocent!me, it's their problem, not mine. I'm only helpful as long as they want my help!

Not surprisingly the unsuitable parts were mostly all in the same hand-writing, but I won't point any fingers (and I'm sure you can figure it out anyway).
We're quite unanimous there was more than one family-unfriendly handwriting!

Sooooo curious.
X stands obviously for xyzzy. ;)

In the two hours they were there, I managed to embarrass myself extremely at least once...
We at least didn't notice anything.

Nogrod and company, I have a question to ask you all sometime so that a matter between me and my Camp friends can be settled...
Sure, go ahead! :)

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

We don't have poison ivy in Finland so I was obviously not aware it might be dangerous. ;) Anyway either it doesn't affect me or I'm even better at walking barefoot in forests than I thought.
Good thing that you have good skills; it's either that or good luck that helped you not step on the shattered glass in the forest in Washington!

[Folwren]

Sure, go ahead! :)

Okay, this may sound ridiculous to you, but it wasn't my doing, it was their's...

You had not been gone for two minutes before Janie, Zhenya, and Justin withdrew into a clump apart from Chad and I and when I began to pay attention to what they were saying, what I heard was, "Yes, it was definitely a Brittish accent."

"You guys!" I said, bursting in on their bubble. "They're from Finland - it was a Finnish accent!"

"No, no," they said wisely, turning towards me. "We obviously heard an English accent in there."

"How on earth could it be an English accent when they grew up and learned English in Finland?"

They tried to convince me that it was a Brittish accent and a reason that it might be that is because that would be the closest English speaking people near you, so you would take up their accent. I tried to explain that it didn't matter if the Brittish were the closest to you, you all learned English in grade school, so your accents would be Finnish, since you learned it from childhood AND you learned it from Finnish teachers, not from Brittish ones.

So....prove I'm right, and tell me that your accent is not a Brittish accent, but a Finnish one. er...I mean, tell me what accent you would consider yours to be. When you see a person from Britain, is their accent different than yours? I know that looking back, for instance, the way Aganzir's proper name is pronounced by you all is very different from how we pronounce it here in America, and again different from how it would be pronounced in Britain. I could not think of any other examples than her name off the top of my head, but I know it wasn't a Brittish accent.

I ran after you all to try to get your opinion on the matter, but you had just started down the hill and didn't see me running like a mad person behind you.

Hope your trip back home is safe.

-- Foley

[Kath]

So....prove I'm right, and tell me that your accent is not a Brittish accent, but a Finnish one.
Easy as pie! Come over here with your friends, bring Agan ... and have the two of us talk. The difference will be clear. :D

So I will post here soon about my adventures, I'm just struggling to get my photos off my phone at the moment!

[wilwarin538]

I had the Finns at the same time that I had Kath, and it's clear to me that their accents are really different. Definitely not British. And then I found that Agan has a slightly different accent then Nog, Lommy and Greenie do, even though I believe she grew up in the same area as they did. And if you were to talk to Rune I find his accent sounds very British, though he is from Denmark. I guess it depends on how/when/from whom, they learned English. I just think they all sound really awesome. :D

edit: wow, x'posted with Kath, haha

[the phantom]

Not surprisingly the unsuitable parts were mostly all in the same hand-writing, but I won't point any fingers (and I'm sure you can figure it out anyway).
We're quite unanimous there was more than one family-unfriendly handwriting!
Oh, I meant my comment to be taken as plural, but without actually giving a number. But since it came up, there were primarily two offenders, with an occasional third thrown in.
And then I found that Agan has a slightly different accent then Nog, Lommy and Greenie do, even though I believe she grew up in the same area as they did.
Ha ha, yes, that's one of the first things I said to the Finns after they arrived. "Um, Maria's accent is different from yours. Why is that?" They answered, "It's just a Maria thing".

And Folwren- you should know that one of the differences I heard in Agan's accent was a slightly Brit flavor that popped up here and there. Every once and a while it really stood out. On one occasion she said "Thank you" and I started laughing due to the fact that it sounded amazingly like Kath (we had just mentioned her in conversation). So while her accent certainly was not that of a Brit, I can perhaps understand where your friends got the idea from- if it was Agan they had in mind that is. The others never sounded anything other than Finnish to me.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

And then I found that Agan has a slightly different accent then Nog, Lommy and Greenie do, even though I believe she grew up in the same area as they did.

Mr. Ibrin and I noticed the same thing, but then, we've known others for whom English is a second language who had rather British-like accents because of where or from whom they learned it, so it didn't really surprise us. We were quite delighted by the fact that all of the Finns speak English better than a number of supposedly well-educated Americans we know. :D As both of us have journalistic backgrounds, it just proved our belief, as Henry Higgins says, that "in America, they haven't used it for years." ;)

[Inziladun]

And then I found that Agan has a slightly different accent then Nog, Lommy and Greenie do, even though I believe she grew up in the same area as they did.

So I wasn't the only one who had that perception. Interesting.

We were quite delighted by the fact that all of the Finns speak English better than a number of supposedly well-educated Americans we know.

I would certainly second that. They are more well-spoken in English than many people I know who are native speakers. ;)

[Encaitare]

Just popping in to say that I had an awesome two days with Rune and Kath recently! Those two always know how to make me laugh.

**The links in this post are photos. Those of you who are Facebook friends with me may have already seen them. :)

The first day, we went to the beach and I was really excited about it (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/ElvenPirate41/IMG_0118.jpg). Rune, on the other hand, was very rugged (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/ElvenPirate41/IMG_0120.jpg), and Kath was just her usual lovely self (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/ElvenPirate41/IMG_0119.jpg)! We took a nice long walk down the shore. I got accidentally soaked by a wave while investigating a strange piece of buried metal. And I attempted to explain the geography of Long Island to Kath. Our conversation was something like this.

Kath: So is Long Island actually an island?
Me: Yes, it's not a faker like Rhode Island. There's the bay to the north, and the Atlantic to the south, which is where we are. You know this ocean personally.
Kath: Actually, I don't live on the ocean side of England.
Me: Whoops.

That night, we cooked dinner and went to see Toy Story 3! It wasn't Rune's first choice of movie, but Kath and I wanted to see it, so we flipped a coin and that was that. Rune was a perfect gentleman, however, and bought us cotton candy, yum!

The second day was very laid back. We played some overly complicated nerdy board games (the best kind!) and went minigolfing. On the minigolf "course," there was a big Yankees themed cow sculpture (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/ElvenPirate41/IMG_0123.jpg). Tackytown! Of course we had to take pictures with it (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/ElvenPirate41/IMG_0122.jpg). We also tried our hands at the batting cages. I regretted to note that my skills have steadily declined since my days of All-Star Softball. And we had yummy Thai for dinner!

How can I help but love those two (http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y2/ElvenPirate41/IMG_0135.jpg)? I'm looking forward to seeing a Brinn and some Finns next week!

[Mnemosyne]

So, I spent a lovely 6-ish hours in the company of the House of Nog + Agan.

Things got off to a bumpy start when it turned out that their phone had no minutes left. I was asleep in my room when they got to the cafe we'd planned to meet at, having been up till 2 in the morning driving a kid to the ER (she's fine). They IMed and PMed me, but to no avail... till I woke up and saw I had a waiting IM on my comp.

I dashed over to the cafe, taking a call in the meantime from Sally who had been called by phantom who had seen the Finns' panic-stricken plea on Facebook.

All the Finns, needless to say, were lovely. We hung out in the cafe for a while, while deliberating what exactly we were going to do for the day. Eventually we settled on driving to the local public gardens and strolled around until we found the Epic Magnolia of Epic.

Agan and I immediately set to climbing it (me in tights and boots, which is a very idiotic thing to do in NC weather), which I only later found out was against park policy. Many photos ensued--apparently we both looked very elvish from the ground. Then Lommie joined us in the tree for a bit, there were more photos, and a discussion of various school organizations and things.

Afterwards we camped underneath what was dubbed Young Man Willow and played a rousing game of Apples to Apples (Sally's magnanimous gift). We were going to play Munchkin as well but ran out of time.

Dinner was at a Greek restaurant, in which we discussed such things as climate, tabletop RPGs, and linguistic tastiness. I have decided that all accents need to be IPA'd, and decided that what made Aganzir's accent sound more "British" was because she made her o's a diphthong.

All in all I found my visitors to be august company--a real delight to speak with, especially after being surrounded by pubescent nerds for the past three days. There was surprisingly little Tolkien talk, but when it slipped in it was natural as breathing.

I'd offer photographic evidence, but I'm afraid the pictures that I took were intended to be supplemented by the ones that everyone else did. So await their massive posts for illustration.

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Dinner was at a Greek restaurant, in which we discussed such things as climate, tabletop RPGs, and linguistic tastiness. I have decided that all accents need to be IPA'd, and decided that what made Aganzir's accent sound more "British" was because she made her o's a diphthong.
I'm still mesmerised by the way that Agan says 'apparently' it might be one of the cutest things I've ever heard! :D I love it!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I do not understand this whole "Aganzir has a British accent". . . I do love her accent, but it is nowhere near British, not even close. Had you said that her accent was like a stereotypical evil KGB agent from an 80's action movie, then sure. . .but definitely not British.

[the phantom]

I don't believe any of us think she has a Brit accent, laddie, just that here and there on certain words/vowels her accent differs from the other Finns, and the way in which it differs is reminiscent of a Brit accent (but only on those certain occasions- it isn't at all a judgement of her overall general accent).

[Mnemosyne]

She doesn't have a British accent, not by a long shot. But she has very southern-England sounding long o's.

[Folwren]

Hehehehehehe. I was SO right. Hahahahahahaha. They were SO wrong.

And my evilness that is pent up at Camp all week is finally coming out. ;)

It was a real blast having them out to see Camp. They showed great interest in everything I showed them, which was really cool. I learned a lot more about them, which was even cooler. I wish I could have spent a lot more time with them...but that can't be helped.

-- Foley

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I don't believe any of us think she has a Brit accent, laddie, just that here and there on certain words/vowels her accent differs from the other Finns, and the way in which it differs is reminiscent of a Brit accent (but only on those certain occasions- it isn't at all a judgement of her overall general accent).

Are you sure? I could have sworn that I saw somebody saying so. . .of course my memory have been failing me lately!

Also, when did the word "laddie" enter your vocabulary?!

[the phantom]

Folwren's friends were the ones most close to saying that, but she stated that they were wrong and all of us Downers agreed.

And as far as "laddie" goes- I suppose I'll blame Downers that use the word around me, which I think would pin it largely on Eomer. Hmmm... I can't recall ever using that word in conversation, but I certainly use it when typing. Odd.

[Nogrod]

It was a real blast having them out to see Camp. They showed great interest in everything I showed them, which was really cool. I learned a lot more about them, which was even cooler. I wish I could have spent a lot more time with them...but that can't be helped.I think we share the same feeling...

And the same goes with many people, well all the people we have met on our tour to be honest. But it is clear that with some we really had a possibility to share such a short time (especially with Roa & Inzil just over a dinner...) that there just wasn't time to really converse about things or to get to know each other any better. But to you all we have just passed by, let me tell you we'd love to meet you again with more time! And all you others!

You're all great people I'm very happy to have had a chance to meet, even if briefly.

[satansaloser2005]

Folwren's friends were the ones most close to saying that, but she stated that they were wrong and all of us Downers agreed.

And as far as "laddie" goes- I suppose I'll blame Downers that use the word around me, which I think would pin it largely on Eomer. Hmmm... I can't recall ever using that word in conversation, but I certainly use it when typing. Odd.


Indeed. When Agan says certain words she sounds a bit British, but not as a whole. Certainly different from the other Finns at times though.

And I use lad all the time, though like you I only use it when I write. Weird. o_O

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I tantalize you with a hint of what is to come:

Rune is currently lodging at the Casa de Feanor, and though he will shift from the house to a hotel later today, he will continue to interact with my family until Wednesday.

In preparation for his tale, one should remember that Mirandir warned him - only slightly exaggerating - that there is a gun in every room and that he should be scared.

He shall let you know what transpires.

[Mithalwen]

What? You mean if he lives long enough? :eek:

[satansaloser2005]

I tantalize you with a hint of what is to come:

Rune is currently lodging at the Casa de Feanor, and though he will shift from the house to a hotel later today, he will continue to interact with my family until Wednesday.

In preparation for his tale, one should remember that Mirandir warned him - only slightly exaggerating - that there is a gun in every room and that he should be scared.

He shall let you know what transpires.



Bugger. I can't rep you again yet. :(

Rune, please survive (if only to tell us cautionary tales for future Fea visits)! :rolleyes:

[Pitchwife]

Bugger.
SALLY!!!:eek:

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

I tantalize you with a hint of what is to come:

Rune is currently lodging at the Casa de Feanor, and though he will shift from the house to a hotel later today, he will continue to interact with my family until Wednesday.

In preparation for his tale, one should remember that Mirandir warned him - only slightly exaggerating - that there is a gun in every room and that he should be scared.

He shall let you know what transpires.

Psh like I'd ever exaggerate about how Fea's older brother (one of them at least) would want to kill him in his sleep. Oh, and did I mention he sleeps with a gun? :D :p

But ya know, I'm sure he'll be fine. The demon dog who hates everyone will keep him safe. :smokin:

[skip spence]

Rune, please survive (if only to tell us cautionary tales for future Fea visits)! :rolleyes:
It's funny or perhaps disturbing that Rune shared with us a few words in parting (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?p=633997#post633997) just yesterday.

[satansaloser2005]

SALLY!!!:eek:

....

....

....

....

....

....

PITCHIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


?


Also, Skip? Laughed my face off just now. ;)

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Rune, please survive (if only to tell us cautionary tales for future Fea visits)!
I shall do my best. . . so far my tale would be "Run Sally! Run!!!"

Psh like I'd ever exaggerate about how Fea's older brother (one of them at least) would want to kill him in his sleep. Oh, and did I mention he sleeps with a gun? :D :p

But ya know, I'm sure he'll be fine. The demon dog who hates everyone will keep him safe. :smokin:

The demon dog is starting to like me, or at least it is not barking at me all the time.

Also stop this sillyness and start using your own BD account!

[satansaloser2005]

Also stop this sillyness and start using your own BD account!

Seconded. I want Proper Mira back. :(

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Seconded. I want Proper Mira back. :(

Pah this is much more fun. And fitting, considering Rune has now met the one the account belongs to. ..."met" being a loose term for his interaction with my snookiewookiewolfiekinns.

*diiiiies of laughter* Can't wait for Fea to see that one. :P

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

The demon dog is starting to like me, or at least it is not barking at me all the time.

That doesn't mean she doesn't likes you, just that she's getting used to you being there. As Fea's MeanElderBrotherwhoI'mstillmadat put it, Kodi has a lot of hate in her heart. ...Have I mentioned that I'm jealous you're there and I'm not?

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Kodi has a lot of hate in her heart.

Kitten-dog doesn't have a lot of hate in her heart, she just happens to have a finite amount of love. Most of which is used up on me.

And little sis, you call him things like that - and use his account because of a passing comment he gave about yours - and then tell me you're not dating? Snookiewhatever? Uh huh. Sure. :p

[Glirdan]

Kitten-dog doesn't have a lot of hate in her heart, she just happens to have a finite amount of love. Most of which is used up on me.

And little sis, you call him things like that - and use his account because of a passing comment he gave about yours - and then tell me you're not dating? Snookiewhatever? Uh huh. Sure. :p

Ooooo, snap crackle and BURN!! :p Love you guys!! <3 And I'm sorry, I totally agree with Fea on this one.

[wilwarin538]

Ooooo, snap crackle and BURN!! :p Love you guys!! <3 And I'm sorry, I totally agree with Fea on this one.

Haha, I agree too! It's so cute! ;)

and I'm also jealous of Rune right now!

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Wilwa, Rune wants to know why you're jealous of him for being with me, but not jealous of me for having Rune here. :p

[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Wilwa, Rune wants to know why you're jealous of him for being with me, but not jealous of me for having Rune here. :p

Obviously because you're way cooler. Even though you accuse me of dating your brother. :rolleyes: haha love you, sis!

PS. It was less of a passing comment, more of a flat out "DUDE YOU CAN'T POST ANYMORE! blah blah blahstoppedlistening"

[Nogrod]

Coming to Helsinki airport we found a most agreeable 82F summer-afternoon we would have complained about it being too hot without the trip to the "hottest place on earth"... :)

Jet-lag starts to take it's toll but I'm afraid there will be lengthy descriptions of our trip here soon.

I'll just say this to begin the thing...

It was by far the best holiday I've ever had (and the most expensive :rolleyes:), thanks especially to the wonderful 'Downers who on their part made it like that! We met a host of really nice people with whom it was without exception very easy to come together and whose company, planning, advice, lodging, families... were just awesome!

Thanks to everyone! It was great to meet you all (someone will probably come up with exact numbers which I think will near thirty).

Also I learned to appreciate the vastness of the country called the USA - geographically, culturally, ideologically... and what comes to the portions one gets to eat in a restaurant. :D

On top of the Barrow Downs seemingly being the number one dating-site on the internet... (*whoa!*) it is great to see how also love of Tolkien's work gathers such wonderful people together and makes it possible to go to the other end of the world just to meet them and have such a good time. I do really recommend mixing your travelling to meeting fellow 'Downers!

[Aganzir]

I (and everybody else, I suppose) are going to post about our meetings with Downers soon, but here's what we did during the trip: Paper Telephone. For those of you who are not familiar with it, see here (http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=13160) (and take part yourself)!

Our sentence, quoted here in case people have trouble with my handwriting,
A Turkish ladies' man was exterminated by a bunch of banana peel wearing Nazgûls. is comprised of elements that we came up with during our flight. Somebody made a non-family-friendly joke, comparing a Turkish plane to a Turkish ladies' man. Lommy and Greenie watched the Bakshi cartoon on the plane and concurred the Nazgûls looked like they were wearing banana peels. And why killing? Because I made lots of morbid jokes about plane crashes which Greenie didn't like at all.
It wasn't a very easy sentence to draw, but Brinn did a fabulous job anyway!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt01.jpg

Then we had Kath write a sentence, and Nienna drew a picture. Of course penguins were bound to pop in sooner or later. Hanni=Lommy, in case somebody doesn't know.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt02.jpg

Next, there are Mirandir's sentence, Celuien's drawing (her penguin says: Everything looks worse in black and white. FAIL!), wilwa's sentence, and Macalaure's drawing.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt03.jpg

[Aganzir]

After them it's Rikae's sentence and Fea's picture. I really love them both, especially because they got rid of the penguins! :-p
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt04.jpg

Bethberry's interpretation is interesting, but Boro knew the simplest solution is often the easiest. "Hey this guy looks like Mac... I'll draw him a goatee!"
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt05.jpg

Diamond18 got the reference:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt06.jpg

[Aganzir]

Oddwen drew another very good picture of seeing the rain.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt07.jpg

Then McCaber wrote a sentence and Ibrin drew a picture. Note the tornado!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt08.jpg

Sally's sentence and Shasta's picture. Sally you should know the Finnish numbers look perfectly normal! :-p
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt09.jpg

[Aganzir]

"Hey Shasta, because you drew a stick figure I'm going to write it's Mira," said the phantom. However, in Laurinquë's picture Mirandir turns into Mithrandir!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt10.jpg

TGEW's sentence and The Ka's drawing. "His beard looks like armpit hair," she pointed out.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt11.jpg

I had to take a photo of Ka's picture and send it to the other Finns who were having fun in San Francisco with Lariren and alona while I was in Washington. Lari's sentence and alona's picture:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt12.jpg

[Aganzir]

Then we met mormegil, but because we all were really tired we didn't remember the Paper Telephone! It was only in the car the next day that Nog went, "Crap, guess what we forgot!" So I took a new picture and emailed it to him, and he was kind enough to write the sentence on a piece of paper, scan it and send it to us. Interestingly enough, this is the first real Tolkien connection since our original sentence!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt13.jpg

The next new Downer we met was Roa, who drew a really cute picture:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt14.jpg

Also her boyfriend Craydon, whom some might remember from werewolf, took part. Love the sentence!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt15.jpg

[Aganzir]

Folwren's picture is about the cutest ever.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt16.jpg

We cracked up so badly at Inziladun's sentence.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt17.jpg

And from then on we laughed more and more. Mnemosyne's picture captures the awkwardness really well:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt18.jpg

[Aganzir]

And in the end we have Rune and Encaitare. He made a funny Disney reference, and Encai's picture couldn't have been better.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/Aganzir/America/pt19.jpg

Hope you enjoyed as much as we did! :p

[Mnemosyne]

*sporfle*

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

That was AMAZING! :D

For my sentence I was half tempted to say something about the Pandorica, but I didn't. :p So there.

[Oddwen]

Amazing!

Our little International Book Club should be proud. :D

[Kath]

Indeed. I am so impressed and so jealous of all you amazing artists.