Sunday, May 11, 2025
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Falco, Fangorn/Treebeard, Sandalf, Varda (presiding), Xavier
Topic: Pets, working animals. Topic inspired by the latest suggestion by Ar-Pharazon for the theme of the Valar Guild's anniversary coming up October 4. We need to have our art and writing and screenshots (except the day of screenies) about done by then to be timely.
[May 11, 2025
[12:20 AM]Eönwë Valar: OK, have to ask now: Where did you get "Paladin's Cuffs" and "Paladin's Greaves" Phar? I guess from starting gear?
[1:17 AM]Eönwë Valar: Heh, was going to get my Dwarf Prot Paladin to 80, but he's already there. (edited)
[1:21 AM]Eönwë Valar: Well, looks like except for those two chars made during MoP Remix, I've done levelled all the chars I care to budge up to 80.
[3:05 AM]Eönwë Valar: And there we go. 6 million gold.
[3:06 AM]Eönwë Valar: 3,999,999 more to go. Eönwë Valar Well, looks like except for those two chars made during MoP Remix, I've done levelled all the chars I care to budge up to 80.
[4:53 AM]Eönwë Valar: Oops, found two: My guild Warrior and Shaman, heh.
[5:30 AM]Eönwë Valar: yay, got the Void-Scarred Lynx mount from the Nightfall stuff.
[5:56 AM]Eönwë Valar: Wow, apparently I started but never finished the Bronzebeard heritage armor questline.
[6:02 AM]Eönwë Valar: Or maybe I did it on my other Dwarf but only started on this one.
[6:12 AM]Eönwë Valar: Yep, did it, and just remembered what a long trek it was too.
[3:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, grats And yes, it's probably starter gear, either that or it's starting zone rewards.
[3:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: She didn't get too far out of the starting isle into Silvermoon, after all.
[3:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: When it comes to my alts, especially the more recent horde alts, I've made a habit of holding on to their starting gear. It's usually unique in appearance and can't be gotten as rewards anyway.
[3:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe through Exile's Reach, not sure about that.
[3:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And as you can see from the link, Clyps is using the hammer version of the artifact. Just seems more paladin to me.
[3:47 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Indeed (shamelessly linking more alts) Alcaria (Argent Dawn) ❮The High Guard❯ - 62 Human Retribution Paladin, 254 ilvl who's my primary alt and retribution spec, uses a hammer too!
[3:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And aiya all
[3:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "Is that a sword? Luxury!"
[3:53 PM]Varda: : )
[3:54 PM]Varda: My internet connection is a little off, but probably be ok-ish.
[4:00 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Aiya! Valar Guild meeting time, huzzah! Come say hi in meeting_place!
[4:01 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:01 PM]Varda: A star shines on the hour of our meeting.
[4:01 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:02 PM]Varda: Today is Mother's Day, so people are busy. : )
[4:02 PM]Varda: Thank you to Fangorn for breakfast, and to Sauron for my favorite meal at lunch. : )
[4:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Grats
[4:02 PM]Arien Valar: aiya all
[4:02 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya. Here sort of.
[4:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:02 PM]Varda: We also went to the Marvel movie: Thunderbolts*. Much fun was had, and popcorn.
[4:02 PM]Varda: Aiya Phar, Arien, and Eonwe!
[4:03 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Much fun, and munch fun!
[4:03 PM]Varda: hehe - exactly!
[4:03 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:03 PM]Varda: Any other hijinks and fun to mention?
[4:03 PM]Varda: Yep, that. : )
[4:04 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:04 PM]Varda: heh
[4:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Wowhead - Hot Buttered Popcorn - A toy box collection item.
[4:04 PM]Varda: Anyone else have fun to report? Anyone else seen that movie yet?
[4:04 PM]Varda: haha
[4:04 PM]Varda: About the right size, there.
[4:04 PM]Arien Valar: wow that girl looks firy , Phari
[4:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Haven't seen it, no.
[4:05 PM]Varda: If you go, don't forget to hang out for end credits.
[4:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not seen it either, not a cinema-goer much. For Marvel especially I just wait until they hit the tv.
[4:06 PM]Eönwë Valar: For tends to depend on if I find someone who wants to go see it in theaters.
[4:06 PM]Varda: I don't have the Disney channel, and there were three of us. : )
[4:06 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: Not quite? :}
[4:07 PM]Varda: That's three, yep.
[4:08 PM]Eönwë Valar: Oh, and one more for Happy Mother's Day:
[4:08 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and twas my birthday this past tuesday but I think I'd already mentioned that
[4:09 PM]Varda: And happy birthday to Phar!
[4:09 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And unless I'm mistaken, Fladrif's was yesterday!
[4:09 PM]Varda: Yay Fladrif! We miss the Ent. We've even shored up the floorboards for him.
[4:10 PM]Varda: So much cake and fun this past week!
[4:10 PM]Varda: Mother of Dragons hasn't been shown yet, but that last was blonde enough. : )
[4:10 PM]Varda: Web:
[4:11 PM]Varda: I'm fighting the connections and trying to get the programs cooperating in the midst of it, but it's happening.
[4:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Daenerys?
[4:11 PM]Treebeard: Hello
[4:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: That's Alleria Windrunner from Warcraft. OG Elf Ranger hero, married the OG Paladin hero, had a half-elf baby.
[4:11 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Fangorn
[4:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I meant the Mother of Dragons
[4:12 PM]Varda: Aye, Phar
[4:12 PM]Arien Valar: uhu ... i remember .. she reared the three dragons
[4:13 PM]Varda: On to
[4:13 PM]Varda: Gaming!
[4:13 PM]Varda: Eonwe, would you care to wield this large shiny gavel with delusions of Mjolnir?
[4:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sure.
[4:14 PM]Varda: (dropped on its head as a young gavel)
[4:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Poor thing.
[4:14 PM]Varda: flies your way!
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
[4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's bonus event: Delves. This week's PvP Brawl: Deepwind Dunk.
[4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: Season 2 Turbo Boost begins Tuesday May 13th. New upgrades, new stuff to do, and better Delve rewards.
[4:17 PM]Arien Valar: (sorry for this but i just had to thats what i call still decent growling btw
[4:17 PM]Arien Valar: YouTube - Amon Amarth - Mjölnir, Hammer of Thor" ))
[4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Surprised they're offering up some BiS gear in there. (For WoW)
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out WoW Weekly for anything not mentioned above.
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4: Check out the upcoming patch notes.
[4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal: Check out the recent bug fixes.
[4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch 2:
[A new Director's Take is out: Stadium By The Numbers.
[4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: The also did a recent Reddit AMA on Stadium.
[4:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: And that's it for my gaming news. For my adventures in WoW, tune in during the week, heh.
[4:20 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: Gavel shot right back to Varda.
[4:21 PM]Varda: catches the gavel Come to mama.
[4:21 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:22 PM]Varda: Last day for the Curator. I picked up a few mounts for the collection deed. And because I like horses and whatnot. : )
[4:22 PM]Varda: PRETTYINPURPLE is the code for free Violet Dye, through May 15.
[4:22 PM]Varda: The Anniversary Festival is still going. : )
[4:23 PM]Varda: Message from the Launcher:
[4:23 PM]Varda: "Glamdring, Orcrist, Meriadoc, and Peregrin will be brought down for weekly restarts every Friday from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) to promote the health of the game environment. This restart is in place until an underlying issue can be resolved. This restart is in addition to our regular Wednesday restarts."
[4:23 PM]Varda: and official Discord news warning to use one at a time:
[4:23 PM]Varda: Players should avoid using the multi-use (Alt+Left Click) “consume all” option when consuming stacks of Favoured Reputation item granting consumables. Consuming a Favoured Reputation item individually, whether in a stack or not, is properly granting Reputation, but “consuming all” is not applying the correct benefit. This will be fixed in our next game update.
[4:24 PM]Varda: StarCraft II:
[4:24 PM]Varda: The regulars: Fangorn, Eowyn, Faramir, and Floppa. : )
[4:24 PM]Varda: and surely others of whom I am sadly unaware.
[4:24 PM]Varda: Any other gaming or membership news?
[4:26 PM]Varda: On to
[4:26 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
[4:27 PM]Varda: The list of possible Anniversary themes is getting to a nice point. If there's another you'd like to add, grab your chance!
[4:27 PM]Varda: It can decide what Phar or Elwing may be drawing this year.
[4:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Good point, I'll add one we'd considered for an earlier year that I already had one in mind for.
[4:28 PM]Varda: Cool!
[4:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There we go!
[4:28 PM]Varda: We have until May 31 and then we need to close down the list adding.
[4:28 PM]Varda: Thank you!
[4:28 PM]Varda: Pets/Animals. Fitting : )
[4:28 PM]Varda: Bill the Pony fits a lot of categories!
[4:29 PM]Varda: Hah, and he could be a subject for Tolkien tonight if you like. : )
[4:30 PM]Varda: What categories that we have up (or might make up for him!) could Bill the Pony fit into?
[4:30 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Unsung fellowship members.
[4:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lucky fellowship members, heh.
[4:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: True, surviving fellowship members
[4:31 PM]Eönwë Valar: Those who encountered The Watcher in the Water and lived to tell the tale.
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: Those who encountered Bill Ferny and lived to tell the tale. Doesn't sound like much unless you consider that, unlike Sam, Bill the Pony couldn't throw an apple at him.
[4:33 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Those who managed to trek solo through Middle-Earth and make it to Rivendell on their own! (edited)
[4:34 PM]Varda: Fauna, Dwellings, Redemption, Reslience, Friendship/Fellowship, Pets/Animals for the topics listed so far. : )
[4:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Surely, Talents as well
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: If we dip him in the vats of Laurelin and Telperion we can add Sun and Moon, heh. (edited)
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: He wandered through trees and forests....
[4:36 PM]Xavier: Hi to all
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Quick, someone get Bill a mining pick!
[4:37 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya.
[4:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:37 PM]Falco: Image: "You can't mine obsidian without a diamond pickaxe'"
[4:37 PM]Falco: Image: Digging
[4:37 PM]Varda: Aiya Xavier : )
[4:37 PM]Varda: Aiya Falco : )
[4:37 PM]Eönwë Valar: hehe
[4:37 PM]Falco: Oops
[4:37 PM]Falco: lol
[4:37 PM]Falco: Aliya
[4:38 PM]Treebeard: Hello Xavier
[4:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: If you need a harder material to mine a material, how do you mine diamond to make a diamond pickaxe?
[4:38 PM]Varda: Aiya Fangorn : )
[4:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya Falco!
[4:38 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diamonds all the way down.
[4:39 PM]Treebeard: ... with a mithril pickaxe, for diamond digging
[4:39 PM]Varda: Let the girls spot the diamonds. They'll dig them out with fingernails!
[1
[4:39 PM]Eönwë Valar: heh
[4:39 PM]Varda: Ok, mithril pickaxe, sounds good.
[4:39 PM]Arien Valar: YouTube - WIND ROSE - Diggy Diggy Hole (Official Video) | Napalm Records
[4:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: Ok, a classic, just for Varda.
[4:40 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:40 PM]Arien Valar: innocent
[4:41 PM]Arien Valar: dance
[4:42 PM]Xavier: Happy to see you once again Treebeard
[4:42 PM]Varda: Diamond stars in the sky : )
[4:42 PM]Varda: Had to collect them from somewhere.
[4:43 PM]Treebeard: You too
[4:43 PM]Arien Valar: which makes me think of Durin s treasure lying on the bottom of Kheled Zaram ..
[4:44 PM]Eönwë Valar: You heard it here first, folks. Stars aren't for light and warmth to the living, they're giant diamond factories.
[4:44 PM]Varda: Stars around his head like a crown, reflections from the sky even in daylight
[4:44 PM]Varda: Some stars apparently do collapse into diamond, heh.
[4:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There is something to be said for that, Eonwe. There's great pressure and heat in there. It's a bit much for diamonds though.
[4:45 PM]Varda: Ok, so actually I like putting sailboats in the sky, the way kids like to make and put them in water. : )
[4:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And I can imagine diamond being formed in the collapse, yes.
[4:45 PM]Eönwë Valar: It's like cooking. Varda doesn't leave them untended.
[4:46 PM]Varda: Collapsed with care, the sailor Maia set up with a sparkling new ship!
[4:46 PM]Eönwë Valar: And you all scoffed when I said Varda might be plotting an invasion with the stars. Don't you all see? Varda is Big Wedding! All those engagement rings! Run while you can!
[4:47 PM]Varda: Invasion? Just lots of happiness!
[4:47 PM]Arien Valar: hey I sailed a boat first
[4:47 PM]Varda: Well, maybe Tilion pulled out a tiller first?
[4:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: It's already spring! Next you'll be twitterpated!
[4:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: "They're twitterpated"
[4:48 PM]Varda: Thumper knows.
[4:48 PM]Arien Valar: nods wisely
[4:49 PM]Varda: I see typing... 4:49 PM]Eönwë Valar: I love the owl's telling it like a horror story.
[4:49 PM]Varda: hehehee
[4:49 PM]Arien Valar: okay what other pets apart from Bill the pony .. well he wasn t exactly a pet .. but he certainly was dear to Sam
[4:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A bit like Sam was a pet to Frodo?
[4:50 PM]Eönwë Valar: Oh, even found the clip: YouTube - twitterpated
[4:50 PM]Varda: In canon, there are very few actual pets. The closest were the horses. Hounds like Huan must have been around, although lesser. And Queen Beruthiel had spy cats.
[4:51 PM]Eönwë Valar: Most "pets" were working animals, aye. Grip, Fang, and Wolf, for example.
[4:51 PM]Varda: Good point
[4:51 PM]Treebeard: spiders?
[4:52 PM]Varda: heh
[4:53 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Do we know anything about falcons? That seems like it would be a thing in Gondor or Numenor.
[4:53 PM]Varda: Would Shelob qualify as a "pet" of Sauron, a working type. Rather like a cat, unaware of its status. Fed a few orcs here and there to keep her happy and guarding.
[4:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: I remember quoting something about falcons in regards to Numenor.
[4:53 PM]Treebeard: Crabans were servant spies
[4:53 PM]Varda: Falcons. We know Peregrin's name, so they did have falcons around, quite likely.
[4:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: Shelob is called as much by the orcs, isn't she? At least shows how she's regarded based on Sauron's treatment of her.
[4:54 PM]Varda: Oh, aye, the crebain spies of Saruman were a form of working pet.
[4:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Beorn had ponies and bees, at least. Somewhere between working pets and servants. And friends I imagine.
[4:55 PM]Varda: The orcs knew Sauron would use them as fodder for her. Had to let them know they weren't the highest on the totem pole.
[4:55 PM]Varda: Beorn's collection! That should qualify for working pets, indeed.
[4:56 PM]Varda: They fit nicely into a children's tale. ; )
[4:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Pets not meant for work might be a recent phenomenon in our world. Even birds were used for their song.
[4:57 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aye.
[4:57 PM]Xavier: I had Landroval give me a ride to Peregrin
[4:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Pets that didn't have a "use" might be a luxury.
[4:57 PM]Varda: Even now they can have a working purpose.
[4:57 PM]Eönwë Valar: Tiny dogs good for little more than decoration and annoying people with their yapping.
[4:57 PM]Varda: hehe, there you go, Xavier. : )
[4:58 PM]Varda: The yapping can act as a burglar alarm or doorbell, aye. And comfort animal.
[4:58 PM]Varda: Radagast's familiarity with all sorts of animals could have affected the free people's attitudes towards them?
[4:58 PM]Treebeard: The Orcs had Warg
[4:59 PM]Eönwë Valar: I did say little more :}
[4:59 PM]Varda: Aye, and Wargs had Orcs. : )
[4:59 PM]Treebeard: Warg riders
[4:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For modern pets, companionship is still a use, though, if not always exactly work.
[4:59 PM]Varda: Service animals that we have now, might have been more common than we see in the book.
[5:00 PM]Varda: Lots of wars meant people might need some help when the family could not be around all the time.
[5:01 PM]Varda: Squirrels used to be pets back in the time of General Washington.
[5:02 PM]Varda: Herders had to be careful which animals they gave names to as it was harder to use them for the intended purpose if they did.
[5:02 PM]Arien Valar: we have working sheepdogs here on Skye and everywhere where sheep are held i think but to the shepherds they are friends as well
[5:02 PM]Varda: True
[5:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So, "who are we eating tonight?"
[5:03 PM]Varda: And dogs to help herd cattle, working along with horses and their riders.
[5:03 PM]Varda: heh, aye, that was the problem.
[5:03 PM]Varda: oops, we have reached the hour.
[5:03 PM]Varda: the gavel sends out sparks, pretending it's lightning
[5:04 PM]Treebeard: It was nice to see everybody. Cya
[5:04 PM]Varda: the hammerpad rises up just under it and flops back loudly
[5:04 PM]Varda: whomp!
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!
[5:04 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:04 PM]Varda: See you soon, Fangorn : )
[5:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I don't have any experience in the field (pun not intended) but I can imagine as a cattle farmer, for example, you might have an interesting attitude towards the whole thing where you might name your cattle, refer to them by name, and still not feel guilty about eating/killing them simply because that's their place in the whole business. Not exactly unfeeling, but still acutely aware of the reality.
[5:04 PM]Varda: We're only a couple of rooms apart. ; )
[5:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Like... it's just the way it is.
[5:05 PM]Varda: Actually, they just don't name them generally. Helps a lot.
[5:05 PM]Varda: Naming dairy cows works fine, though. : )
[5:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Don't you need a way to reference them though? Like.. that one and that one are of a certain age, or have certain characteristics, or are pregnant, or something?
[5:06 PM]Varda: Just the nameless herd. And a few brood types.
[5:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I suppose you could just number them, but still.
[5:06 PM]Varda: The ones in that field are that age.
[5:06 PM]Varda: The young bulls are ready to go.
[5:07 PM]Varda: Refer to them by group, rather than individual.
[5:07 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "Which one did you say was sick?" "Ehr, the... 17th from the left there."
[5:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: When you're driving 1200 cattle, you don't bother with names.
[5:08 PM]Eönwë Valar: If you were trying to talk to 1200 people, you wouldn't bother with names either :}
[5:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, I suppose.
[5:10 PM]Eönwë Valar: You're not forming a personal relationship with them.
[5:11 PM]Eönwë Valar: The ones you're worried about are the ones doing something contrary to the other 1199, so it's obvious which ones you mean when you say to your hands "go take care of that one".
[5:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: If they're all doing something they shouldn't be, then you're telling your guys to get them back in control. (edited)
[5:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That's a good point. Those who stand out, don't need a name to be doing so.
[5:13 PM]Arien Valar: oh i am not so sure about that ... I know one of our crofters here who loves her cattle and calves and she gives them names and goes for a walk with them
[5:13 PM]Arien Valar: but yeah i guess with 1200 that might be a bit much
[5:14 PM]Arien Valar: but friends .. it is that time for me .. it has been a long day
[5:15 PM]Arien Valar: have a good night and day whatever lies ahead of you
[5:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sleep well Arien :}
[5:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
[5:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I have trouble remembering all the names of my alt sometimes, let alone if there were 1200 of them....
[5:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: *alts
[5:16 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie !
[5:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: I almost missed two to level to 80, and I know all my important alts, heh.
[5:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Even remembering names doesn't guarantee you remember everything about them.
[5:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, I've got races, classes, specs and usually themes
[5:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And backstories, despite only having 7 of them written down.
[5:20 PM]Xavier: Thank you everyone. I'll be in game soon . 20 min or so
[5:21 PM]Varda: Good to hear. : )
[5:23 PM]Varda: Reminds me, ooops, didn't give the report of the active LotRO kin members this week. One sec...
[5:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Should probably throw them on the forum too at some point for those interested...we don't really have a section for non-Tolkien stories, right? (Note: Our forum does have such a section; Eonwe tells about it below.)
Peregrin branch (US RP-encouraged):
Glamdring branch (US normal):
Treebeard branch (temp VIP slow-level):
Angmar branch (temp US VIP "Veil of the Nine"):
Mordor branch (temp EU VIP "Veil of the Nine"):
[7:34 PM]Sandalf13: They were laughing at my pronunciation, and not in a friendly manner.
[7:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, that's different.
[7:35 PM]Sandalf13: Do you have time or interest for the sea story, or no?
[7:35 PM]Sandalf13: Either way is OK with me.
[7:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No, it's fine, go ahead
[7:40 PM]Sandalf13: I had three years of Spanish in High School, and passed the Regents Exam in order to graduate way back in 1967...but I could not speak a word of it. On to College, where I took two years of Spanish, including one year of studying classical Spanish from the early Middle Ages....but STILL could not speak the language. When I went on active duty in the Navy, all brand new Ensigns are required to give a "resume" to their new Commanding Officers....so there we were: getting ready to enter a Spanish port where the Harbormaster (believe it or not) did NOT speak English...so the Captain told me to get on a boat, go onshore, talk to this guy, and get landing rights for our ship. I NEVER had to use the language in such a manner before. So there I was, conjugating verbs in my head just to make sure that I got the tenses right...after a couple of days like that, everything clicked, and like turning on a light bulb, I could suddenly speak Spanish. A este Dia, es muy facil para me una conversacion en Espanol yu mantener!
[7:40 PM]Sandalf13: a mantener! (Sorry...the German "zu" got caught up in there somehows).
[7:41 PM]Sandalf13: See? I only speech a little English.
[7:41 PM]Sandalf13: ha ha
[7:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
[7:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: All the pieces were already in your head, just had to click them together
[7:42 PM]Sandalf13: Yup. You hit the nail on the head.
[7:43 PM]Sandalf13: Does your brother, or do you parents, do a bit of gardening, a la Sam?
[7:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not really. Just flowers.
[7:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Bit of weeding.
[7:43 PM]Sandalf13: That is certainly gardening!
[7:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: True.
[7:44 PM]Sandalf13: Yeah...weeding sort of goes along with the whole deal, nicht wahr?
[7:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: All I do is water their flowers sometimes when they're on vacation and it hasn't rained for a few days
[7:46 PM]Sandalf13: I suppose you do get some pretty regular rain in Holland, even during the summer, yes?
[7:46 PM]Sandalf13: At least it rained whenever I was in England or on the English Channel.
[7:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, we've had some drier summers as well. Sometimes weeks without rain.
[7:47 PM]Sandalf13: Oy Weh. Not good.
[7:48 PM]Sandalf13: YouTube - The Geologists Are Coming! - Song by The Amoeba People
[7:48 PM]Sandalf13: Here is a very funny video for you. And here is the follow-up. Bound to make you laugh! And learn some geology, in the process.
[7:50 PM]Sandalf13: YouTube - The Amoeba People - Hammer Safety with The Amoeba People
[Note: The Amoeba People - YouTube, The Amoeba People - webpage
[7:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: To be fair, 10-20 million is pretty young for a mountain range
[7:50 PM]Sandalf13: Very true.'
[7:50 PM]Sandalf13: The follow up is hysterical.
[7:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Foreign Accent Syndrom
[7:54 PM]Sandalf13: Indeed.
[7:54 PM]Sandalf13: Will you have your weekly report this week?
[7:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I will, though not sure yet at what time. Still got a few more things to do.
[7:55 PM]Sandalf13: Great! I shall check in later...got to get washed up, and get all the garden dirt off, then get ready for a busy week. I hope to read your report later. Sei gesund! And Namarie for now!
[7:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Sure, namarie for now
[May 12, 2025
[12:40 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report:
[12:41 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, a game I hadn't seen in a while, and hadn't gotten the completion badge for that showed up this week.
[12:42 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Reaper of the Undead, on Kongregate" is a top-down shooter. Hunt down the undead in each level, claim their souls, and use them to buy upgrades for your health, weapon, etc.
[12:42 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not too difficult, since lost fights let you keep the souls you get from it, so you can just upgrade and make it easier.
[12:43 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But you can only have 10 upgrades in each category, and while you can swap them out, you'll have to keep spending souls to do so.
[12:43 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: If you have trouble getting through the missions, try out one of the top comments for a good upgrade build
[12:45 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Note, though, it doesn't appear to save properly, so you'll need to do it in one session. At least, without leaving the game/page. But it doesn't take too long anyway.
[12:47 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[12:48 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 77 on the reward track now. Getting quite slow
[12:48 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Quest event is done! Got my signature card rewards. Which means I can also stop doing battlegrounds for now.
[12:51 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Shop's working again apparently, so I bought a new skin for gold. Since I'd been using the A.F.Kay hero in the battlegrounds a few times, I figured I'd pick up her studious form, Study Kay, as a mage skin for normal play for 1000 gold.
[12:51 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still making sure to keep enough gold, though, to get the mini-set when it comes out!
[12:53 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Brawl this week is another pretty overpowered one, Top 2, where you pick 2 cards and get 15 copies of each. Of course, what does overpowered mean when both players have access to it?
[12:54 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I decided to go with the jade golems again in druid, picking the jade idol and the jade behemoth, both for cheap golem creation and a few decent taunt minions along the way. I've run into a few even more broken combinations, but I always like this one.
[12:55 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: No new collection level yet. As mentioned, it's quite slow at this point. Though the xp tomes are pushing forward.
[12:57 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the dungeon, I - unexpectedly, after the losses of the first few days - managed to clear a round of level 23s with all the leaders, getting a bit more gold. Always useful, that. And in the blackrock week, I completed through level 22 with the last 2 leaders, Rend Blackhand and Thaurissan. So now all my leaders have completed level 22 and obtained all their golden army slots!
[12:58 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It's all gold (currency) from here on.
[1:00 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Making good progress again in the heroic sigil campaign, venturing further into Winterspring. Got Kashoch the Reaver done with all families. Interesting one, that; the flash freezes now freeze all minis permanently, both you and your enemy's. So the best way to actually get to the boss is to get a halfway tower, wait for the freeze to pass, and then churn out units and hope they can do some damage before the next freeze comes around.
[1:01 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And also got Shy-Rotam done with alliance and horde. On heroic, they not only charge to each other's aid, each also charges to aid their closest tower. Which has actually made the fight easier for me... if I overwhelm one tower, I can keep luring in the matching tiger without worrying about the other one coming to help.
[1:02 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In these later zones, the heroic additions to the fight are becoming quite creative. I like it!
[1:04 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: This puts me at 142 sigils now. One of my warcraft group has actually managed to complete all 160 sigils, with minis around my level, so I'm guessing he's been more creative with his compositions. I don't mind waiting a bit longer, though, gives me something to work towards. He's only got Onyxia left.
[1:06 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, a new Blingtron event is going as well, simple enough with some daily quests to fight with specific families. Gives lots of gold and star tomes as well. Between those, I've been getting a lot of stars for my minis across the board, with a few actually coming a bit close to epic.
[1:06 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But no actual quality upgrades yet!
[1:07 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[1:07 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Bit more raiding, making progress on the fifth boss on heroic. On that difficulty, knowing the order of the traps and where to move the boss actually becomes relevant, who knew?
[1:09 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No new gear upgrades from their directly, I think, though getting more crests and valorstones are always useful, as I've outgrown the use of runed crests.
[1:12 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not much else has happened this week except delves: Delves are the weekly quest for this week as well, though the quest reward was no good for me, and I've made good progress in them, getting started on the highest tier, 11, and am actually getting through it nicely in dps/feral spec. I suspected it would be easier this season, especially with Eonwe's recommendations in weeks past, but I didn't figure it'd be this much easier.
[1:13 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Slowly working on the achievement to do all the delves on tier 11, and while I can't see that achievement directly yet, I'm starting with the ones I hadn't even done on tier 4 or higher yet. Completing that should give me insight into what I need for the higher tiers.
[1:16 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm also almost done with the delve journey, completing step 9, and being about halfway to step 10. Should happen this week. And the new gilded crests that are coming in, up to 3 times a week, are helping as well. I've also completed rank 4/4 of each of the new curios for this season, got Brann from level 65 to 68 - I should really be able to get him to 80 this season with the new upcoming buff event - and even got a new hat appearance from th delve chests, the Deep Nautic Helm.
[1:18 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I feel like all my goals for this season's delving are on the horizon now. Getting Brann to level 80 and collecting enough undercoins to buy all the missing stuff might take a while longer, but soon I might be able to slow down my delving altogether.
[1:19 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And since I've also decided to leave the rare mob Ishak for now, as well as rare mount farming in general, suddenly I have more time, maybe I'll make some permanent story progress in WoW or Diablo 4 soon
[1:19 AM]Eönwë Valar: Gonna take more item upgrades to make Underpin a comfortable fight, and Zek'vir on ?? is still rough. (edited)
[1:21 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, I'm trying not to think much about those. I'll want to do Underpin, at least on ?, but Zek'vir can wait I guess. And more heroic gear is incoming, especially with the upgrade cap increasing.
[1:23 AM]Eönwë Valar: Still haven't beat Zek'vir on ??. Beat Underpin on ? several upgrades ago, and the fight's still rough.
[1:23 AM]Eönwë Valar: Personal opinion of course. Your mileage may vary, heh.
[1:24 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe I do know he showed up in my very first tier 11, and I didn't have much trouble with him there. But that's different from the actual bossfight
[1:24 AM]Eönwë Valar: Hehe, yeah.
[1:24 AM]Eönwë Valar: La Mariposa just reached lvl76, btw.
[1:24 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Grats!
[1:24 AM]Eönwë Valar: Thanks :}
[1:25 AM]Eönwë Valar: Too bad my rested exp can't keep up, heh.
[1:26 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Gotta slow down
[1:27 AM]Eönwë Valar: But the free gear bags! :}
[1:28 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh.
[1:29 AM]Eönwë Valar: She'll get time off for a couple of days come Tuesday when I focus more on Auros again, heh.
[1:29 AM]Eönwë Valar: Probably not going to bother with a full 8 T9+ delves this week, but I'll still have 2 spots to try and get an upgrade on.
[1:30 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Good luck then!
[1:30 AM]Eönwë Valar: Thanks.
[1:32 AM]Eönwë Valar: Still surprised they're making Ret Pally BiS items available from a vendor, and I'm just waiting for that other shoe to drop.
[1:35 AM]Eönwë Valar: Also of note, the Nightfall quests aren't just good for gearing up alts, they're good for feeding fodder to my enchanter.
[1:35 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, good to know!
[1:37 AM]Eönwë Valar: The equipment reward in the bag for doing the daily quests are BoE.
[1:37 AM]Eönwë Valar: Or WoE now I guess.
[1:37 AM]Eönwë Valar: *WuE
[1:38 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warband.. under.. equip?
[1:38 AM]Eönwë Valar: wARBOUND UNTIL EQUIPPED.
[1:38 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, right.
[1:39 AM]Eönwë Valar: Bah, got attacked mid-typing, heh.
[1:40 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, should go to bed again
[1:40 AM]Eönwë Valar: Heh, my warrior is squishier than my Demon Hunter.
[1:40 AM]Eönwë Valar: Sleep well :}
[1:41 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For this was my report for the week!
[1:41 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
[2:20 AM]Eönwë Valar: Sulenar, my Fury Warrior, is now lvl 79.
[7:31 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I was wondering about naming your alt after a horse before realizing I named my primary alt after a boat.