I met a fellow BDer!!

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

If it was appropriate to post Glirdan and my trip to 7-11 for the necessary props for his proposal to Wilwa, I would call dibs on that.

However, all I can comfortably say is this:

Glirdan and I are both accomplished actors.

[Kath]

Heh - yeah ... the Ranger thing. New rule for live games definitely needs to be: the mod must find out who the Ranger is BEFORE Night 2 starts. Otherwise these things will happen! Well, they will if I'm playing anyway.

[alonariel]

While pulling an all-nighter before we have to drop off Kath and Rune, we came up with the brilliant idea of having quotes do the talking

Rune
"How do you play Sh*thead?" -Lari
"You need a sponge, five eggs and a tiger." -Rune

Alona
"Daniel Radcliffe needed prosthetics when he went on stage." -Kath
"Really?!" -Alona
"He's not actually...a woman." -Kath
"No, I know! But I thought maybe he was a bit self-conscious..." -Alona

Kath
"I'm on drugs!" -While playing Trivial Pursuit

Lari
"When I call you a whore, it means I love you."

Boro
"I like cheesy broccoli!" -Coming out of a dead stupor on the T

Shasta
"No, those are too big for you." -Glirdan
"Well you should know, you slipped one on me last night!"

Form
"I'm the pervy seminarian."

Mira
"Wifey!"

Nienna
"Children, children. Don't die crossing the street." -Our group-appointed Mom

Glirdan
"Rune, my Danish lover!"

Wilwa
"Hey Philip, I'll give you a French kiss!"

Phantom
"We should change the definiton of overwhelming to the phantom."

Mac
"WEREWOLF!"
"Darth Wader."

Rikae
"I'm scared to blink!" -While playing Murder

Were-duckling
"Nein."

Fea
"It's the one picture where i look half way decent, not sick or unconscious in Philip's lap."

Encai
"Sketchy puddle!"

Celuien
"BDers 1, Turkey 0."

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

You've forgotten "Darth Wader."

[wilwarin538]

Those are amazing quotes, even though I think I may not have been there for half of them, but the other half are hilarious!

[Rikae]

Ah yes. Darth Wader.


He actually has a few rules of his own:
1. Don't break the T.
2. Don't break the other T.

3. If you have a parking space in Boston at 7pm on New Year's Eve, hang on to it like "Fee" to the Phantom. Even if it's five miles from where you want to be.

4. Wear your awesome boots (Darth Wader always complies with this rule).

[wilwarin538]

Originally Posted by Rikae

He actually has a few rules of his own:
1. Don't break the T.
2. Don't break the other T.

3. If you have a parking space in Boston at 7pm on New Year's Eve, hang on to it like "Fee" to the Phantom. Even if it's five miles from where you want to be.

4. Wear your awesome boots (Darth Wader always complies with this rule).

ahahahahaha. I love this, how did I miss this? I definitely always followed rule # 4!

[Shastanis Althreduin]

Originally Posted by wilwarin538

ahahahahaha. I love this, how did I miss this? I definitely always followed rule # 4!

So did Encai.

[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]

Originally Posted by Fea

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!!

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!!

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

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Glirdan

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.

[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. ) 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 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! ) 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Kath

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! 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!! Yes, I will say this for the rest of my life.

[Kath]

Originally Posted by Glirdan

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?

Originally Posted by Glirdan

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!! 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.

[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?

Originally Posted by Kath

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!

[Mirandir]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

my Stick, my Mira

I has become two 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).

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.

[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.

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 ). 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! ).

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.

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

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?

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! 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.

Originally Posted by Glirdan

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. 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. (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 ), 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! ). 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 (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.

[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.

[Celuien]

Originally Posted by Mirandir

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!

[wilwarin538]

Originally Posted by Kath

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. And I'm glad my early rising could provide you with a more comfortable sleepy spot.

Originally Posted by Mirandir

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. 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

Originally Posted by Boro

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.

[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.

Originally Posted by Encaitare

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.

Originally Posted by Diamond18

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."

Originally Posted by Kath

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...

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

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.

Originally Posted by 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...)

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.

Originally Posted by the phantom

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.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Mirandir

[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

[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.

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

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.

[Glirdan]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

If it was appropriate to post Glirdan and my trip to 7-11 for the necessary props for his proposal to Wilwa, I would call dibs on that.

However, all I can comfortably say is this:

Glirdan and I are both accomplished actors.

Indeed we are Fea, indeed we are!! It is a good thing that it this is a family site or else there would have been MANY inappropriate posts from us now AND then!!


Oh, and for all those who knew me when I first joined the Downs some four years ago...Everyone at the moot can attest to this.....I am this hyperactive in person! :P

[Formendacil]

I'm not yet fully rested from my incredible trip to Bostonmoot, and given that I didn't get a good sleep last night because I was dreaming that I was still there and was reliving having to leave, it may be a while before I am fully rested.

Certainly, it'll be a long time before I've fully sorted out what all happened. Bostonmoot came at a rather awkward time in the broader scope of my life, as I've been attempting to discern for the past semester and a bit of the summer, whether I'm heading the right way in life. Bostonmoot definitely had an impact on that, and hopefully for the good, but in the meantime I have a lot of mental and emotional baggage to unpack.

Enough about me, though--this post and thread should be about meeting other Downers, not meeting yourself in their company, even if that should happen.

Starting then with the Downers I already knew:

Nienna was every bit as awesome as I remembered. Insofar as we've been best chat-buddies most of the past few months, as I wormed my way ever so slightly into the ongoing planning and organizing of the Bostonmoot, it was great to see her in person again, and be best real-life buddies for a few days--subject to amused tolerance and the approval of various other actual real-life buddies. She's got to be something of a saint--or at least one of the most patient people I know--for putting up with and organising the whole lot of--and working some of those days to boot.

Feanor of the Peredhil deserves a round scolding for getting sick and not showing up until the day before she had to start school, meaning I hardly had any time with her, and when I did, I had to share her with the majority of the Barrow-downs... who are nice people and all, but hard to compete with in terms of shiny.

Brinniel also suffered from general lack of contact with on this trip. Part of this is because I am definitely an early riser--I was first to bed (the household curmudgeon) and first to rise (the household coffeemaker), more or less, the whole week, and Brinn is definitely a nightowl who sleeps in. We also have somewhat different attitudes towards doing things--Brinn is a sightseer, do-stuff-er, and I'm more of a moss-gatherer... so we didn't interact a whole lot on this trip (which is actually true of a few Downers...), but it was good to see her again, regardless, and her hospitality as the other resident hostess was also appreciated.

...and that's it for old Downers. Each of my three was present. Now I have so many more than three. In the order of meeting them, then:

Boromir88 is awesome, just for the record. He's one of the workhorses that kept the Moot running. He was in charge of our awesome turkey, cooked a number of other meals, and did half the cleaning during his stay, singlehandedly. He's not only a reliable cook, though--he's an awesome cook! And a more or less fun guy generally. While I don't think we had tonnes of overlap in terms of expressed interests, we got on fabulously well. I mean, we were glomping for fun (aka to annoy Nienna and Mira) within 4 hours of meeting. Boromir's pretty much the exact ideal in my head of a perfect brother-in-law... given that actual brother would probably be too squabbly.

Mirandir, too, is practically family now, in my books. Of course, as one of Nienna's roommates from last year, there wasn't complete newness when she sidled into our group. With no offence to the awesome Downers who came later, the 24 hours after Mira's arrival were probably my favourite part of the trip, as we drifted along in domestic/familial calm. There was no drinking then, or partying generally... just making meals, and making pies, and eating meals, and watching TV, and just hanging out. For someone who starts getting lost in groups larger than 6, because he can't focus, and who isn't a super-partier, it was awesome. Of course, Mira is just awesome on her own two feet, and had she come later in the week, I'm sure she'd still be my favourite. Whether or not she'd be my new adopted daughter, is another question. Definitely missing her, but also glad she got to stay the unplanned extra two days until I left too.

Rune son of Bjarne was our most exotic Downer--if Danes are exotic--and, I admit, I wasn't looking super-forward to him showing up, both because he was the first interruption of our awesome family, and also because I knew he was expecting to really get along with me... and I wasn't sure that we would. And, at first, I definitely thought that Rune was crazy over-the-top, with his random, wild, European humour and outgoing personality. By the end of the week, though, he'd definitely proven his point--we did get along quite well. In a weird way that's impossible to explain, he was both completely as I had pictured him after a lot of time knowing him online--and hugely different from his online persona.

Kath is simply a dear--an absolute dear. She's got the most amazing accent--Rune's is nice too, but not nearly so lovely. She is also just a lovely person. I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked--this becomes a quickly familiar story--but towards the end of the week, I did get more, even if never any real one-on-one. More Kath needs to be a staple of the future.

Diamond18 was not exactly what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, because she looked like Diamond's pictures, could well have written Diamond's LiveJournal, and definitely seemed to recognize Boro and I when we picked her up. Unfortunately for getting to know her, she's a bit of a quiet Downer in a party that had a few loudmouths *looks guilty* Diamond definitely belongs on the list of "people I didn't get to spend much time with."

Encaitare--also a Downer I wanted to spend more time with. I feel a bit guiltier with her than most Downers I didn't hang out with maximally, both because she spend a chunk of the trip making me a hat, and because she was one of my favourite online Downers that I wanted to meet at the Moot, and while she proved to be every bit as awesome in person as I'd expected after the online version, I don't really think we spent much time together at all. Still feeling a bit guilty that I didn't see her off, but I've been wearing the hat almost daily since, and it is a great comfort in my dreary, cold, Canadian, life.

the phantom... well... the phantom is still a bit of an enigma, as I'm sure he intends. He didn't stay at the apartment, but had the sense (and money?) to afford an hotel, so he didn't get as much of the full-immersion bonding as the rest of us. I also daresay that the first couple days, he was deliberately presenting a bit of a deliberate protective façade of his online persona. It got relaxed after that, and I think he ended up comfortable with the lot of us... but I lost track of him as we reached maximum capacity... The difficulty was that, on the one hand, he generally only came to us, so I could only see him at the apartment, where one-on-one with anyone was easily lost, and also because when things got that crazy I either needed to escape or power down, and as the phantom was only around then, there wasn't much interaction. We also don't have tonnes of things in common, other than the Downs, but it's not as if we managed to discuss everything we do.

Glirdan and Wilwarin came in together--they are best friends in real life--and they are awesome. And I don't just say this because they augmented our Canadian stats at the Moot, or because they travelled 18 hours one-way on a bus to meet us... but because they are. Glirdan is full of energy, full of fun, and can honestly be everybody's best friend. He's also an amazing cook, and fully complemented the Boromir Team in the kitchen--both in making epic meals and doing entirely too much of the cleaning.

Wilwa is also adorable. I got more one-on-one time with her than most of the later arrivals, because I planned a couple of minor excursions to get out of the craziness of the apartment in the afternoons, and since they involved bookstores and libraries, they were tailor-made for a Wilwa. It was also really nice to find someone who agreed completely with my rural Canadian appreciation of Boston's awesome ambiance.

Shastanis Althreduin looked only a bit like I imagined--unlike most, I hadn't formed a proper mental image of him from pictures, chiefly because his Facebook profile picture is non-revelatory, and because I'm too lazy to have looked for more. He's awesome too. I was a bit afraid that I'd been too harsh with the whole "Shasta is a Werewolf, certainly!" thing, but he took it and ran with it, and he is now my official favourite WW. We didn't --again-- get much time to know each other, as individuals, but within the context of the whole party of us, I think I know him rather well. Whether he feels the same... you'd have to ask him.

Lariren Shadow and Alonariel came in together from California, and because Lari is the four of the roommate Downers that started with Fea, I sort of felt like I knew her, once I finally met her. I think we got along well, in the interaction we did have--a similar appreciation for snarky comments towards "popular" literature, and perhaps a similar attitude towards needing common sense in doing things. Because she arrived as late as she did, I didn't get a whole lot of time with her--again--but like Kath, she cropped up a bit more towards the end.

Alona is a dear. Yes, I know, there were a lot of them about. Not my fault! It was a sneaky pleasure to meet my other WW partner (with Nienna) from my last, and victorious, WW game, and also to "adopt" her as a younger sister for Mira. I got a bit more time with her, because she came along for one of the aforementioned bookish trips with Wilwa. It's lucky for me that she never dragged me into a store, put on a pouty face, and held up a desired article, because I may have spoiled her if she had...

Celuien was a Downer that has been sorely missed from activity on this site, so I made sure I was with the welcoming party to see her in, and as her farewell escort out, when she became the first to leave on Jan. 2nd--but apart from these two instances, I didn't get a lot of time with her, which is a pity, because she's a lot of fun to talk to, one-on-one. I was afraid, since she's so quiet--I daresay the quietest of our lot--that she would get lost and not have as much fun during the Moot, but she said she enjoyed it as I saw her off, and I am inclined to think she told the truth. Though definitely quiet, there were moments when it was clear she was enjoying getting lost in the shuffle.

I think I only met Rikae and Macalaure--and their were-duckling--after we got back with Lari, Alona, and Celuien from the airport. Or, rather, later that same day, because my first Wilwa expedition (Boro was also along) was after the return from the airport, but before Fea arrived, and Rikae and Mac only made their first appearance then. Unfortunately, they suffered from the phantom Syndrome--they had a hotel room--wisely, for the duckling--and thus were generally only around when things were craziest. So I don't really remember talking with them much at all, directly. But I did get to see them together, and with their little girl, and they are an adorable couple, with an adorable baby, and I'm just extremely impressed that they were willing to immerse themselves in a full-fledged cauldron of young craziness. Not that Mac and Rikae are old... but there's a certain reliability that comes with marriage and children that is absolutely lacking in the rest of us, it seems. Of all the Downers present, I probably spent time with them the least, which is a definite pity. I liked what I saw... but I mostly only saw, and didn't get to talk/hear.

And... I think... that's the lot, but there were so many, I'm almost afraid I've lost one. That'd be a pity... but, really, it's a sign of how awesome things were. I can't wait to see each and everyone of you again--and those of you who didn't come? I can only guess that you're just as awesome. Someday...

[Formendacil]

As an addendum:

It was a real privilege to be on the welcoming committee for so many of you. As the first out-of-towner to arrive, I had the opportunity and volunteered for it, to meet people at the airport or train/bus station, and I'm glad I did. It was fun travelling with old companions to get new ones, and always exciting.

However, I'm even more privileged that, when I had to leave, although I had to be at the airport such that we left at 6:00, I had the entire apartment (sans only a Fea who was sick and had to go to school) coming to see me off. Granted, I suppose, I had to share you with Boromir, but even so--I felt very loved, and while it was unnecessary, I thank you all again for it.