December 13, 2020 Sunday Meeting
5:00
P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Discord:
Valar Guild/meeting_place
Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.
[times are Central Time from Varda's Discord. Add one hour for
Eastern.]
["slight smile" is the same as we are used to using as a regular
smiley]
Attending (and
spoke): (8)
Discord: Anarion, Arien Valar,
Ar-Pharazon-V, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwë Valar, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:
Gaming:
General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
Tolkien:
Topic: The nature of Huorns.
After-meeting:
Flashgaming Reviews by
Ar-Pharazon.
top
Before-meeting
Eonwë Valar12/09/2020
Lol, my Paladin just got the proverberial angel on his shoulder.
[2:26 AM]
I'm expecting to find its opposite in Revendreth then, heh.(edited)
December 13, 2020
VardaToday at 3:46 PM
My computer battery backup screamed and went off during this rainy
weather. Back for now. I hope to be available but just in
case, letting everyone know.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 3:47 PM
Ouch.
VardaToday at 3:47 PM
It's status window has just gone black. Hmm.
[3:47 PM]
Hiya Phar : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 3:48 PM
Aiya
VardaToday at 4:01 PM
@Bounder Hurray! It's that time again where we get together, chat
and pass news around in the Valar Guild. Come on in, lurk, join in,
suggest things, enjoy the company!
CelebrianToday at 4:01 PM
Aiya
VardaToday at 4:02 PM
Aiya Celebrian : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:02 PM
Aiya!
VardaToday at 4:02 PM
Is that WoW or WoW classic?
ElrondToday at 4:02 PM
Aiya, pity me.. I'm in Torgast
VardaToday at 4:02 PM
Poor Elrond : ) And hi!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:02 PM
Revendreth is SL, so retail.
Eonwë ValarToday at 4:03 PM
Heya All.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:04 PM
I'm still plodding through Bastion myself, taking me time, seeing
the sights... hitting 55 already... actually, I did the last quests
last night but I want to do dungeon before I move to Maldraxxus.
VardaToday at 4:04 PM
Aiya Eonwe : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:04 PM
Aiya!
[4:04 PM]
*taking my time
ElrondToday at 4:04 PM
This is my 3rd 60 lol sobs
CelebrianToday at 4:04 PM
Umm.. I have two and another lvl 55 lol
VardaToday at 4:04 PM
You say that like it's a bad thing.
CelebrianToday at 4:05 PM
Means more dailies to do.
VardaToday at 4:05 PM
hehe
[4:05 PM]
I should count up my characters sometime for LotRO. Did and then
added some... heh
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:05 PM
Well, I said "already" because I'm still in the first zone, not
because I'm a fast leveler
Arien ValarToday at 4:06 PM
Aiya all thankfully a Maia is never too late .. nor she is early
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:06 PM
Aiya I would've poked you but I've not logged into WoW yet...
Arien ValarToday at 4:06 PM
she arrives exactly when she means to
VardaToday at 4:06 PM
Aiya Sunshine!
Arien ValarToday at 4:07 PM
Aiya all to be honest i havent logged an awful lot earlier and then
i got distracted by a documentary i was watching
[4:07 PM]
and didnt watch the time
VardaToday at 4:07 PM
Those Valar of Time are sneaky.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:07 PM
Been there
Arien ValarToday at 4:08 PM
Aiya Anarion
AnarionToday at 4:08 PM
Aiya ^^. I'll be mostly lurking
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:08 PM
Aiya!
VardaToday at 4:09 PM
Aiya Anarion! Thanks for saying hi. Feel free to make a remark if
you're moved to. : )
[4:10 PM]
The power seems to be stable for now. We have Eonwe and Arien to
back us up if I zap out, so let's go!
[4:10 PM]
Membership:
[4:10 PM]
And since I'm walking backwards,
[4:10 PM]
top
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:10 PM]
The Return to Membership:
[4:11 PM]
I apologize for being away so much. We've been working a lot on a
house in a town north of home. Fangorn kindly let me goof off all
day to be available here. : )
[4:12 PM]
Any other Membership news you'd like to pass along? Birthdays, etc?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:12 PM
I.. went to a play yesterday?
VardaToday at 4:12 PM
Oh cool! Great to hear it was possible. I trust she was brilliant in
it. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:13 PM
Quite, yes And it was very amusing, but also eye-opening.
[4:13 PM]
The play, that is. Her too, but still.
VardaToday at 4:13 PM
Sounds like it was worth going.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:14 PM
Definitely. Though overall, plays might not be for me. Felt a bit
odd in general to go all the way there, sit there for a while, see
people act for an hour, and going on my way again without saying a
word myself.
[4:14 PM]
I'm not much of a cinema person either.
[4:14 PM]
I dunno. I'm weird.
VardaToday at 4:14 PM
You get to make up for lost word time here, if typing counts.
[4:14 PM]
Different strokes for different folks. You like participation.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:15 PM
Hah, I suppose. But it's just the idea of going there, being
entertained, and then going home. It's not the participation, it's
not like I wanted to be on stage. But maybe it would've been more
interesting if I had gone with someone to discuss it afterwards or
something.
VardaToday at 4:15 PM
That does make movie-going more fun, by a lot.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:15 PM
As it is, it just felt a bit awkward.
[4:15 PM]
Hmhm.
VardaToday at 4:16 PM
Also, Happy Hanukkah to our members who celebrate it! We do
have some.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:16 PM
I dunno, maybe it's like going to a restaurant alone...
[4:16 PM]
shrug
[4:16 PM]
happy hanukkah!
VardaToday at 4:17 PM
Feel free to put a Happy whatever your celebration is in Harbor, if
you feel like it. So many different ones going that we aren't all
aware of.
Arien ValarToday at 4:17 PM
happy hannukah indeed
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:17 PM
Which always sounds weird to me. My first girlfriend (when I was
like... 7) was called Hanneke, which is pronounced pretty much the
same.
VardaToday at 4:19 PM
Might be for the same meaning.
[4:19 PM]
I'll let you look it up. ; )
[4:19 PM]
Any other comments? And thanks for the hellos! Great to know you
folks are there!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:19 PM
I'm not that interested, but thanks
VardaToday at 4:20 PM
We've had some people from way back showing up again in LotRO, a
real pleasure. Now if I could just be there at the same time, that
would be cool. : )
[4:20 PM]
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Web:
[4:21 PM]
Nothing new to report. I haven't been going outside the guild to
rattle for business lately. Guess I should get back to that.
[4:21 PM]
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Gaming:
[4:21 PM]
Our games have been a great way to handle being stuck at home. Nice
for socializing and to get to think about something else,
[4:22 PM]
like giant mushroom forests, the latest mounts and instances.
[4:22 PM]
Feel free to get creative with art or writing too, if you like.
Almost anything we come up with can be adapted into a Tolkien
subject, since his world is just so big!
[4:24 PM]
Eonwe has some general reports for us. Take it away, Fionwe!
Eonwë ValarToday at 4:24 PM
Thanks :}
[4:24 PM]
World of Warcraft:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:24 PM
Mushroom forests... like Maldraxxus?
Eonwë ValarToday at 4:25 PM
Shadowlands Season 1 is live. ---
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23572634/shadowlands-season-1-now-live
World of Warcraft
Shadowlands, Season 1—Now Live! - WoW
Shadowlands Season 1 includes an all-new affix—Prideful—for Mythic
Keystone Dungeons, powerful Conquest PvP gear, the new Castle
Nathria raid, and more.
[4:26 PM]
Here's the Castle Nathria raid preview and schedule. ---
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23584139/castle-nathria-raid-preview-and-schedule
World of Warcraft
Castle Nathria Raid Preview and Schedule - WoW
Cut down the traitorous Sire Denathrius and his court loyalists
before their twisted plans unfold in an epic new raid—Castle
Nathria.
[4:26 PM]
The weekly bonus events are going again after a brief halt during
the expansion launch. This week's is battlegrounds.
[4:26 PM]
The PvP Brawl: Packed House is running until Tuesday, December 15th.
[4:27 PM]
Check out the latest hotfixes. ---
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23580183/hotfixes-december-11-2020
World of Warcraft
Hotfixes: December 11, 2020 - WoW
Here you will find a list of hotfixes that address various issues
related to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and WoW Classic.
[4:27 PM]
Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:28 PM]
Update 28.2 came out this week. ---
https://www.lotro.com/en/content/update-282-release-notes
The Lord of the Rings Online
Update 28.2 Release Notes
[4:28 PM]
There's now an item in the LotRO Store to make substantial changes
to your character. ---
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/changing-your-race-gender-or-origin-lotro
The Lord of the Rings Online
Changing Your Race, Gender, or Origin in LOTRO
[4:29 PM]
That's it for gaming news from me.
VardaToday at 4:30 PM
Thank you, Eonwe. That's great info. : )
[4:31 PM]
In addition to that last bit of news, here's the how-to:
[4:31 PM]
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/changing-your-race-gender-or-origin-lotro
The Lord of the Rings Online
Changing Your Race, Gender, or Origin in LOTRO
[4:31 PM]
That's a big thing for the LotRO folks. : )
[4:33 PM]
And Eonwe already said that, pardon. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:33 PM
Don't worry, I shouldn't be distracting you in side
VardaToday at 4:33 PM
It was my own fault. Had it copied for pasting.
[4:33 PM]
But thanks : )
[4:34 PM]
Any other general news from all of our gaming? We know we play a lot
more games than that. And meanwhile, more for LotRO:
[4:34 PM]
Landroval server:
Ancalagon
Dis
Eonwe
Frodo
Irmo
Lenwe
Marigold
Nar
Varda
Ithil server:
Dis
Eonwe
Varda
Anor server:
Varda
[4:35 PM]
Ancalagon, Dis, Frodo, and Marigold were good to see there too. And
of course all us regulars!
[4:36 PM]
Any other news? Don't want to leave out any of your cool or even
mildly interesting stuff. : )
Arien ValarToday at 4:36 PM
Ancalagon
[4:36 PM]
glad he is still around :~D
VardaToday at 4:37 PM
I see on the sidebar that we have players in Endless Legend, The
Elder Scrolls Online, Minecraft, and Path of Exile. : )
[4:37 PM]
Aye!
[4:37 PM]
I've seen others on too, but only mention the ones playing in kin.
[4:38 PM]
If all minds are clear,
[4:38 PM]
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Tolkien!
[4:38 PM]
I ran across this neat bit where Huorn nature is described, as told
by the observant Merry.
[4:39 PM]
In LotRO, we run across Huorns. And beware the Old Forest!
[4:39 PM]
So here it is. From The Two Towers, "Flotsam and Jetsam"
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:40 PM
Anything about having wooden expressions?
VardaToday at 4:40 PM
May-be...
[4:40 PM]
"It was the Huorns, or so the Ents call them in 'short language'.
Treebeard won't say much about them, but I think they are Ents that
have become almost like trees, at least to look at.
They stand here and there in the wood or under its eaves, silent,
watching endlessly over the trees; but deep in the darkest dales
there are hundreds and hundreds of them, or so I believe.
"There is a great power in them, and they seem able to wrap
themselves in shadow: it is difficult to see them moving. But they
do.
They can move very quickly, if they are angry.
You stand still looking at the weather, maybe, or listening to the
rustle of the wind, and then suddenly you find that you are in the
middle of a wood with great groping trees all around you
They still have voices, can speak with the Ents--that is why they
are called Huorns, Treebeard says--but they have become queer and
wild. Dangerous.
I should be terrified of meeting them, if there were no true Ents
about to look after them.
"Well in the early night we crept down a long ravine into the upper
end of the Wizard's Vale, the Ents with all their rustling Huorns
behind.
We could not see them, of course, but the whole air was full of
creaking.
It was very dark, a cloudy night. They moved at a great speed as
soon as they had left the hills, and made a noise like a rushing
wind."
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:42 PM
Don't blink...
VardaToday at 4:42 PM
End quote.
[4:42 PM]
: )
[4:42 PM]
This isn't Dr. Who's angels, but yep.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:43 PM
VardaToday at 4:43 PM
I had to stop quoting so as not to go past "fair use" copying.
[4:43 PM]
That should be enough to tell a lot about how huorns operate.
[4:43 PM]
I recommend re-reading that part. It's a flashback, told by Merry.
[4:44 PM]
We see a lot of that form of flashback, where the other characters
learn about the details of an event from other characters who saw it
first hand.
[4:45 PM]
It breaks up the linearity and helps answer questions that may have
come up in the reader's mind, as hole-fillers.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:45 PM
A useful narrative device.
VardaToday at 4:45 PM
Aye.
AnarionToday at 4:45 PM
I think there should be a relevant bit from the silmarilion about
when the valar (or perhaps it was maya?) that created the ents also.
VardaToday at 4:45 PM
And more also at Helm's Deep. The forest came up as a Roach Motel
for orcs. They check in but they don't check out.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:46 PM
And there was a rustling and a crashing and a noise of branches
moving... or was that just the movie?
VardaToday at 4:46 PM
The above quote was for Isengard. After that bit of fun, the Huorns
and some Ents went to Helm's Deep. Then the Huorns got to go home,
satiated for a bit.
[4:47 PM]
"They moved at a great speed as soon as they had left the hills, and
made a noise like a rushing wind."
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:48 PM
"hurr hurr, did you see the way that orc ran face-first into my
branch?" "Yeah, we should do this more often!"
VardaToday at 4:48 PM
The movie showed the ents attacking Orthanc, but I don't remember
their showing the Huorns much there.
[4:48 PM]
hehehe
[4:48 PM]
Aye, they probably swapped stories for quite a while.
[4:49 PM]
Old Man Willow. Huorn in hiding?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:49 PM
Possibly. But didn't seem to relocate much.
[4:49 PM]
Others in that forest, though...
VardaToday at 4:53 PM
The path would change.
[4:54 PM]
One of the neat little bits at the edge of the Old Forest for the
Three Hunters was when they lit a campfire and a tree warmed its
branches over it, rubbing its "hands" together.
[4:54 PM]
A good bit of movement after the hobbits crossed the Hedge. And
sounds as well.
Arien ValarToday at 4:55 PM
Old manb Willow a chief among huorns or a fallen Ent maybe?
VardaToday at 4:56 PM
Merry said: Treebeard won't say much about them, but I think they
are Ents that have become almost like trees, at least to look at.
[4:56 PM]
That means both of your suggestions could be right!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:57 PM
A tree warming its branches over a campfire....
[4:57 PM]
kinda like warming your hands over a human cremation?
VardaToday at 5:01 PM
um, ick
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:01 PM
Exactly! Seems weird for a tree.
VardaToday at 5:02 PM
One mammal eats another mammal, not its own species. It's not
cannibalism then.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:02 PM
...So it's okay if it's a tree of a different kind, eh.
[5:02 PM]
Hope they didn't make a fire from a huorn, then.
VardaToday at 5:03 PM
Also, if something's dead, it's not going to complain, usually.
Barrow-wight possession not counting here.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:04 PM
Hence why I said cremation rather than a live burning
VardaToday at 5:04 PM
That fit.
[5:04 PM]
We have reached the hour.
[5:05 PM]
In kindness to our Europeans and to let the sun set before the
steerswoman falls asleep,
[5:05 PM]
the gavel tries to hoom-hom towards the hammerpad
[5:05 PM]
the voice is coming from such a small piece of wood that it is
more of a squeak
[5:06 PM]
tink!
[5:06 PM]
a splash of oil comes from the hammerpad
[5:06 PM]
the gavel makes oily tracks back to the shelf
[5:06 PM]
top
After-meeting!
[5:06 PM]
Free chat. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:07 PM
Oil to... make the gavel not squeak?
[5:11 PM]
Or I'm missing something.
VardaToday at 5:13 PM
The squeaky wheel/gavel gets the grease. : )
[5:14 PM]
Hope folks enjoyed the meeting.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:15 PM
Ents would've just said hello at this point.
VardaToday at 5:15 PM
I'm off to dinner. Sauron's eyeing it. He cooked it, very kindly
while I was in here.
[5:15 PM]
True, Phar!
[5:15 PM]
zooom
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:15 PM
Sauron's eyeing it?
VardaToday at 5:15 PM
Would I pun?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:15 PM
Anyway, enjoy
[5:15 PM]
Yes, you would
[5:16 PM]
Time to hit Storm and Stone then, after those games I'll give my
report.
[5:16 PM]
Would make a good game name on its own, too.
Arien ValarToday at 5:19 PM
dEnjoy
[5:19 PM]
and never . Varda never [Note: *cough*]
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:23 PM
Ah good, playing Auriel today... one of my favorite healers
Arien ValarToday at 6:08 PM
Namarie all
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:08 PM
Namarie!
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Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:41 PM
Personal gaming report!
[6:41 PM]
Flashgaming: Among the badges for this
week, 1 old, 2 new, including one that occupied too much of my time
this week
[6:45 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/elephant-quest
is the first game, the old one. A classic on the site, it's a quite
funny platformer/upgrade/adventure game where you play a blue
elephant in an elephant community who has to chase the bully (called
Wooly) and get his hat back! Filled with stat boosts, ability
upgrades including lasers, and 10 silly sidequests, as well as being
able to replay with your stats intact
Kongregate
Elephant Quest
The fight is on! Wooly has taken your precious
bowler cap and now you are on a romp to go get it back! Explore the
freeform world of 45 various areas in this R...
[6:48 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/VasantJ/medieval-chronicles-2
is the second game, a point and click puzzle adventure from the
Medieval series. A numerous series where most games play exactly the
same, with crimes to solve through walking around and talking to
people... by sheer repetition one of the most complained about
series on the site, but fun to play an episode once in a while
Kongregate
Medieval Chronicles 2
=Super Unnatural=
Join Dregg and his team as they quottryquot to
catch a Undead Mummy, which came to Life and killed Professor
Redguard.
[6:49 PM]
In this one, solve a murder in a museum, parodying Supernatural and
Scooby Doo, so it could be worse
[6:50 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/neurowocky/tesla8
is the third game, and one that... just sucked me in for several
days.
Kongregate
Tesla8
Dare you face the machine in a mad attempt
to reach Tesla?
[6:52 PM]
A breakout/arkanoid variation, you have to break through many layers
of bricks coming at you using paddle and balls.
[6:53 PM]
You don't lose by losing the ball, but you have to catch the ball to
retrieve the electric charge on it, which is then used to power
manual energy shots as well as buying upgrades within that run to
get more balls, bigger shots, more powerful shots, or powering up
the balls.
[6:53 PM]
You do, however, lose if a single brick gets past you.
[6:55 PM]
Starts off easy, but gets a lot harder as you go; you'll need a lot
of runs to get to the end, but get points between runs based on the
amount of waves you've cleared, as well as coins you've collected.
Coins appear more and more as you go through the run, so you get
points a lot faster as you progress further.
[6:56 PM]
Spend the points to increase the cap on the ingame upgrades, as well
as charge bonuses that unlock as you get further through. You can
also switch points between upgrades by decreasing one and respending
it on another, with no points lost in the exchange, so you can focus
on your current weak points, or sell back a lot of upgrades to buy a
big one.
[6:57 PM]
Goal is to beat the game by fighting Tesla himself after 128 waves
of bricks, but you'll need quite a few charge upgrades for that
[6:57 PM]
So not only did I get both badges during the week, but ground
through a bunch more times to get more upgrades
[6:59 PM]
Maxing it out though... is a pain of a grind. You need about 50k
points spent to beat it, I'm currently at 140k, and there's reports
of people grinding up to 300k and not maxing out yet, while you get
about 4-5k on a full run with efficient coin collecting.
VardaToday at 6:59 PM
Grats
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:59 PM
Thanks, but it was fun to get, and gets easy enough with practice
and upgrades
[6:59 PM]
So if you like the idea, go for it, beat the game, and if you still
like it, buy more upgrades!
[7:00 PM]
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Blizzard gaming:
[7:01 PM]
Heroes of the Storm:
Auriel to level 8! Played her quite a bit this week, and not bored
of it yet
[7:02 PM]
Hearthstone:
Demon Hunter to level 31, so continuing steadily
NEW
[7:03 PM]
Only level 32 on the reward track, but they're going to nerf the xp
needed in a few days, and convert us retroactively, so I'll get a
few more levels free and should reach 50 more easily
[7:04 PM]
Brawl is the fun Battle of the Bans, where each player picks 4
cards. You then ban one of the opponent's, and each player gets a
deck with 10 of the other cards.
[7:04 PM]
Goal is to create extreme combos while having redundancy, so losing
any one of the four doesn't cripple you.
[7:05 PM]
Won mine with a mech deck, with two mech upgrady cards and two to
make mech cards cheaper to play. Went well!
WoW:
[7:09 PM]
Well, not much to tell. No new pets and stuff. Just more Bastion
questing.
[7:10 PM]
Season 1 has started, but haven't been able to poke all that stuff
in this level. Taking my sweet time.
[7:10 PM]
Bastion's pretty enjoyable though, love the Larion quests
[7:11 PM]
Doesn't get better than having to collect 3 cat toys for a big kitty
and making it happy
[7:12 PM]
Anyway, completed all the major questlines in that zone and am now
at the edge of my first dungeon, as well as being able to move to
Oribos and Maldraxxus. Getting to 55 along the way.
[7:12 PM]
Quests are going green now, so I don't think I'll quite get to 60 in
Mald.
[7:12 PM]
Which is a good thing, because still 2 zones after that I need
anyway before I get into the endgame
[7:13 PM]
I suppose I'll be glad to get there by the end of the year!
[7:13 PM]
And yeah, that'd be my report for the week.
Eonwë ValarToday at 7:14 PM
:}
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:16 PM
I'm sure Ardenweald will go slowest.. I'll probably take a
screenshot of every tree!
VardaToday at 7:27 PM
Thanks Phar. notices a mass of screenies on my computer
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:27 PM
hehe
[7:27 PM]
I have 35gb of WoW screenshots.
[7:28 PM]
Every quest description. Every line of dialogue. Every achievement.
Pet. Mount.
[7:28 PM]
Cutscenes, interactions, sometimes an appearance.
[7:28 PM]
A funny joke someone makes in chat.
[7:32 PM]
And of course the environment
VardaToday at 7:37 PM
: )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:45 PM
well, namarie!
VardaToday at 7:46 PM
Namarie!
Eonwë ValarToday at 7:55 PM
Sleep well, belatedly.
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