Sunday, June 8, 2025
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf, Shelob, Varda (presiding), Xavier
This is the last week to vote for the Valar Guild Anniversary topic. Go to the Discord #polls to the left of the chat channel, pick one, and press Vote.
Topic: What did the Valar look like?
[June 8, 2025
[2:41 AM]Eönwë Valar: Well, Nerdy Pally managed a 6-mask before my main did.
[2:42 AM]Eönwë Valar: But it seems you can only get 2 hero pieces per week.
[2:43 AM]Eönwë Valar: How disappointing
[2:48 AM]Eönwë Valar: Even less reason to push 8-masks beyond the achievment
[2:56 AM]Eönwë Valar: And looks like spamming delves is still better for getting crests.
[3:57 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya all! Just got back from a gathering at the Courthouse in Boulder, CO. Lots of security...but lots of good company as well.
[3:59 PM]Varda: Aiya Sandalf!
[3:59 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Sandalf#!
[3:59 PM]Arien Valar: Aiiya all :)
[3:59 PM]Varda: I hope the police will remember their duty and be present for any future peaceful protests, to keep them safe.
[4:00 PM]Varda: Aiya Arien :)
[4:00 PM]Sandalf13: Me too....sound familiar?
[4:00 PM]Arien Valar: Which state is that again , sandalf? and how far from you is boulder
[4:00 PM]Arien Valar: ?
[4:01 PM]Varda: Colorado
[4:01 PM]Sandalf13: Colorado....Boulder is 14 miles due west of my home in Thornton, right on Colorado Highway 7
[4:01 PM]Arien Valar: ah okay
[4:01 PM]Arien Valar: not too far then
[4:02 PM]Sandalf13: Nope...a pleasant drive...open country for about 1/2 the journey....still.
[4:02 PM]Sandalf13: This part of the Front Range is developing very fast.
[4:02 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Valar Guild meeting time! Yay! Come on in and say hi. :)
[4:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya.
[4:03 PM]Varda: Aiya Eonwe : )
[4:03 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Eonwe!
[4:03 PM]Sandalf13: :)
[4:03 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:03 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:04 PM]Varda: Feel free to type Manwe to show you're here
[4:04 PM]Varda: Manwe
[4:04 PM]Arien Valar: aiya Eonwe
[Manwe
[4:04 PM]Sandalf13: Manwe
[4:05 PM]Eönwë Valar: Manwë
[4:05 PM]Varda: That was a chance for lurkers to be counted, too. : )
[4:05 PM]Varda: On to
No new Tolkien stuff.
[4:05 PM]Varda: Gaming
[4:06 PM]Varda: One half of our guild is gaming, the other half is Tolkien. On the third hand is friendship. : )
[4:06 PM]Sandalf13: On the right hand, it could be this, on the left hand, it could be that, and on the third hand, it could be something.
[4:07 PM]Varda: the friendly gavel skates by Arien, Sandalf, Varda, and Eonwe, and into Eonwe's gauntlet. Was Eonwe wearing it at the time?
[4:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: But... that's three hands! No one has three hands!
[4:07 PM]Varda: Old science fiction story. ; )
[4:07 PM]Varda: And we Valarites can have as many hands as we like! Just whatever we wish to imagine!
[4:08 PM]Sandalf13: And I can show you how I have 11 fingers, if you are interested.
[4:08 PM]Varda: First we count the thumbs... then where is the last one?
[4:09 PM]Sandalf13: Counting down on the LEFT hand: 10 - 9- 8-7-6...then count the right hand, 1-2-3-4-5. 5+6 = 11
[4:09 PM]Sandalf13: he he
[4:09 PM]Varda: hah. Don't think so, but fun anyway.
[4:10 PM]Sandalf13: As Sheldon would say, "Fun with Math."
[4:10 PM]Varda: Aye!
[4:10 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:10 PM]Eönwë Valar: I assume we're looking for this guy.
[4:11 PM]Sandalf13: Image"
[4:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
[4:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's bonus events: Burning Crusade Timewalking. This week's PvP Brawl: Temple of Hotmogu.
[4:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: Dastardly Duos is going through July 14th.
[4:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Legacy of Arathor is coming June 17th.
[4:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: Coming with it are Lorewalking Quests and Overcharged Delves. --- Lorewalker Cho" and Overcharged Delves
[4:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: Guess we'll see how easy horrific visions are with an ilvl 699 belt, heh.
[4:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out WoW Weekly for anything not mentioned above.
[4:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hearthstone:
[Patch 32.4 is out.
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: The next expansion, The Lost City of Un'Goro, is coming July 8th.
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: Warcraft Rumble:
[Check out the patch notes.
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4:
[4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Anniversary event is running through June 17th.
[4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's patch notes.
[4:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal:
[Check out the recent bug fixes.
[4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 2:
[Ladder Season 11 begins June 20th.
[4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch 2:
[A new Director's Take is out: Cultivating the Game.
[4:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heroes of the Storm:
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: The game is now Ten Years Old.
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: A new patch is live.
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Last but not least...
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Update 44.2.1 is out.
[4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: There's now a schedule for the 64-bit server transfer availability. It goes for the next 6 weeks (this is week 1). Afterwards, transfers will revert to a paid service.
[4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: And that's it for Gaming News from me.
[4:19 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe.
[4:19 PM]Varda: A little more LotRO:
[4:20 PM]Varda: Crafting XP Coupon Code through June 12: KNOWITALL
[4:20 PM]Varda: Hobnangians event is here, for chicken tennis with live chickens and prizes.
[4:20 PM]Varda: Our Peregrin kinship house now has full crafting facilities inside the kinhouse, just past the entryway, instead of outside.
[4:20 PM]Varda: Kinship members that were present in our organized branches this last week:
Peregrin kinship:
Glamdring kinship:
Treebeard kinship:
Angmar kinship:
Mordor kinship:
[4:21 PM]Varda: Any other Membership or Gaming news?
[4:21 PM]Varda: (I left out Web. We have been working on the site, but no new content other than News.) (Note: added into the transcript.)
[4:22 PM]Varda: StarCraft 2: Eowyn, Fangorn, Prince Sheriff Floppa, Faramir, and Fangorn.
[4:22 PM]Varda: Pallando may have some news for EVE. I will ask him. : ) (Note: he said he had no new news for this past week.)
[4:23 PM]Arien Valar: I wonder whether book will come out around Xat alah or whatever her name i d love to know more about her .. always good to know your villains and if they were always villains :
[4:23 PM]Varda: Which game is she associated with?
[4:24 PM]Arien Valar: WoW
[4:24 PM]Varda: Thank you.
[4:24 PM]Varda: And they flip flop on being heroes or villains.
[4:24 PM]Arien Valar: she is something like the big super villain in Kaz modan
[4:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: Kaz Algar.
[4:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Kaz Modan would be Dwarf lands.
[4:25 PM]Arien Valar: err i meant that
[4:25 PM]Varda: Oh, we also have had people gaming in Star Wars: The Old Republic. : )
[4:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Also, for those who have missed it, the Poll to determine this year's Anniversary Theme is up.
[4:26 PM]Varda: Soo many names to keep track of as gamers and Tolkienites and general book fans!
[4:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: polls
[4:26 PM]Arien Valar: oh do we :O? i deleted my old characters from the old valar guild branch .. i thought noone was playing anyway
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: One week left to vote.
[4:27 PM]Varda: I voted. : )
[4:27 PM]Varda: Good to know, Arien.
[4:27 PM]Sandalf13: do we vote on the sute?
[4:27 PM]Sandalf13: site
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: No, it's in the Polls channel
[4:27 PM]Varda: Look to the left of this channel where it says polls
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: I just gave the link.
[4:27 PM]Sandalf13: on discord?
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Yes
[4:28 PM]Varda: Yes, on Discord.
[4:28 PM]Sandalf13: ah
[4:28 PM]Arien Valar: I voted as well .. i chose forests because you can integrate Light and Fauna and flora in that
[4:28 PM]Varda: hah : ) Macro-thinking!
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Only seeing two votes.
[4:28 PM]Varda: That would be Arien and me
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Nope.
[4:29 PM]Sandalf13: I shall vote...
[4:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Shelob and Varda.
[4:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sure you hit the button to vote, Arien?
[4:29 PM]Varda: Spidey went for Dwellings.
[4:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: For everyone voting, remember to select the option you want, then hit the "Vote" button.
[4:29 PM]Arien Valar: ah must have forgotten that
[4:30 PM]Arien Valar: did that now
[4:30 PM]Varda: Yay!
[4:30 PM]Sandalf13: I voted.
[4:30 PM]Sandalf13: One of four.
[4:30 PM]Varda: Most will only have one vote. All are good ones.
[4:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Poll closes next week, so early next Monday we'll have our theme.
[4:31 PM]Sandalf13: Could be a close decision!
[4:31 PM]Varda: You can pull Arien's stunt by having redemption happen inside a forest. ; )
[4:31 PM]Varda: Three-way tie last year.
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aye. If every Guild Member with a little green circle next to their name voted, we could have a clear winner.
[4:33 PM]Eönwë Valar: Or at least a clear favorite, heh.
[4:34 PM]Eönwë Valar: Anyway, 7 days left, get voting.
[4:34 PM]Varda: Right!
[4:34 PM]Sandalf13: Someone should send online "I voted" stickers to every voting member!!
[4:34 PM]Varda: Vote early, vote often does not work in this kind of poll. ; )
[4:35 PM]Varda: In a way, we did. It remains on the poll on who voted for what. You can see it now with a mouse-over.
[4:35 PM]Eönwë Valar: I prefer "vote often" to not work in any singular instance of voting, heh.
[4:35 PM]Varda: Aye : )
[4:35 PM]Varda: Vote early is good though, just not with the rest of the saying. : )
[4:35 PM]Sandalf13: But we could decorate our "I voted" stickers with flags of many countries, not only the good old USA!!
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Yes, do not wait until the last minute.
[4:36 PM]Varda: On to
[4:36 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:36 PM]Varda: There you go. : )
[4:36 PM]Sandalf13: Where do you find these clips? They are neat!
[4:37 PM]Eönwë Valar: Usually from the "gif" button to the right of the text input.
[4:37 PM]Varda: That one says: https://tenor.com/view/uhf-stanley-spadowski-be-there-gif-27089541
[4:37 PM]Varda: Ahh, thanks Eonwe.
[4:37 PM]Sandalf13: Fantastic...a new weapon in the arsenal...watch out, you guys!
[4:37 PM]Eönwë Valar: I type in the subject I'm looking for and let Discord sift through its sources.
[4:38 PM]Sandalf13: gals?
[4:38 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:38 PM]Varda: Anyway, for the Valar to "be there" to be seen:
[4:38 PM]Varda: What did the Valar look like?
[4:38 PM]Varda: (Could look like Kermit, yes.)
[4:38 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heh, wasn't aiming for that to look like a response to what Sandalf just said, but it works, heh.
[4:38 PM]Varda: It does. : )
[4:39 PM]Eönwë Valar: I don't trust Discord enough to present me with anything viable to that search, lol.
[4:39 PM]Varda: Let's not. : )
[4:39 PM]Sandalf13:
[4:40 PM]Varda: Not on the Autobahn, surely?
[4:40 PM]Sandalf13: Warum nicht, nicht wahr?
[4:40 PM]Sandalf13: Why not? Is that not so?
[4:40 PM]Arien Valar: something like a Naaru in their original form but they liked to take the forms of the Children of Eru .. , probably Elves maybe a bit bigger .. at least that is my idea
[4:41 PM]Arien Valar: i mean taller
[4:42 PM]Sandalf13: I agree with Arien...I think that in Tolkien's mind, in order for the Valar to "dwell" on Arda, as long as it lasted, they had to assume a form that is inherent within the framewor of Arda as a whole.
[4:42 PM]Sandalf13: Unfortunately, that sort of rules out Kermit and Cookie Monster, but perhaps not the Grouch.
[4:43 PM]Eönwë Valar: Generally in a shape similar to the Children of Eru, sometimes as other things.
[4:43 PM]Sandalf13: Oscar the Grouch, that is.
[4:43 PM]Varda: Pallando-(Valar) says he has no new news for EVE Online this past week.
[4:44 PM]Varda: Silmarillion "Ainulindale" has more on that subject of their form.
[4:44 PM]Varda: "Now the Valar took to themselves shape and hue; and because they were drawn into the World by love of the Children of Iluvatar, for whom they hoped, they took shape after that manner which they had beheld in the Vision of Iluvatar, save only in majesty and splendour.
[4:44 PM]Varda: Moreover, their shape comes of their knowledge of the visible World, rather than of the World itself; and they need it not, save only as we use raiment.... Therefore the Valar may walk, if they will, unclad, and then
[4:44 PM]Arien Valar: Tulkas maybe would have taken on the form of a dwarf when he communicated with them i d imagine ,
[4:45 PM]Varda: even the Eldar cannot clearly perceive them, though they be present.
[4:45 PM]Sandalf13: and then?
[4:45 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aulë you mean?
[4:45 PM]Arien Valar: Aule yes
[4:45 PM]Varda: But when they desire to clothe themselves the Valar take upon them forms some as of male and some as of female; for that difference of temper they had even from their beginning, and it is but bodied forth in the choice of each, not made by the choice, even as with us male and female may be shown by the raiment but is not made thereby.
[4:45 PM]Varda: But the shapes wherein the Great Ones array themselves are not at all times like to the shapes of the kings and queens of the Children of Iluvatar; for at times they may clothe themselves in their own thought, made visible in forms of majesty and dread."
[4:46 PM]Varda: End that quote. : )
[4:46 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[4:46 PM]Sandalf13: Well...that just about does it for the question, yes?
[4:46 PM]Varda: That is just the general answer.
[4:46 PM]Eönwë Valar: Not quite "majesty and dread" I suppose.
[4:46 PM]Varda: We see them in various forms in the book.
[4:47 PM]Varda: Depends. How big is that traveling light?
[4:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: I don't think Aulë would've changed his form just to talk to the Dwarves. I think he would've presented himself in his accustomed form.
[4:47 PM]Varda: We even see different forms during the books for the same Vala, depending on circumstances.
[4:48 PM]Varda: A giant tree. A huge wave. A mountain.
[4:48 PM]Sandalf13: Perhaps in a lighthearted moment, Manwe may look like this...
[4:48 PM]Varda: Could be. : )
[4:49 PM]Varda: How they were feeling affected the form too.
[4:49 PM]Sandalf13: I believe that one of the greatest depictions of a Vala in a recognizable, "human" form, is Ulmo talking with Tuor on the shores of the western sea.
[4:50 PM]Sandalf13: Crowned with lightning...and so on.
[4:51 PM]Sandalf13:
[OIP (1).jfif
[20.97 KB
[4:53 PM]Varda: A non-human form of early Morgoth:
[4:53 PM]Varda: "His envy grew then the greater within him; and he also took visible form, but because of his mood and the malice that burned in him that form was dark and terrible.
[4:53 PM]Varda: And he descended upon Arda in power and majesty greater than any other of the Valar, as a mountain that wades in the sea and has its head crowned with smoke and fire; and the light of the eyes of Melkor was like a flame that withers with heat and pierces with a deadly cold."
[4:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: There's a couple of good pieces of art by artists, but I don't think I've seen one I'd say is the look for any given Vala... though one I saw long ago of Morgoth dueling Fingolfin comes close.
[4:53 PM]Varda: End that quote.
[4:54 PM]Varda: The word paintings of JRRT are wonderful. : )
[4:54 PM]Eönwë Valar: hehe, Aye.
[4:54 PM]Sandalf13: I agree with you as well, Eonwe. Art is in the hands of its creator, and what that creator sees as the "truth."
[4:55 PM]Sandalf13: After all, for all we know, Ulmo could have shown up as Bozo too...
[4:55 PM]Varda: But did they do a fair job of showing the word painting?
[4:55 PM]Arien Valar:
[4:56 PM]Arien Valar: that is a Naaru . but maybe rthe valar looked like this ?
[4:56 PM]Varda: Morgoth's form was a reaction to what he saw of theirs:
[4:57 PM]Varda: "the Valar walked on Earth as powers visible, clad in the raiment of the World, and were lovely and glorious to see, and blissful,..."
[4:57 PM]Xavier: Hi everyone hope all is well
[4:57 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Xavier
[4:57 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Xavier!
[4:58 PM]Eönwë Valar: If the question is "Did they look like this when they had no actual physical form", I wonder if the question itself isn't the problem. If they aren't giving themselves a tangible form, there's nothing to see, but there's still plenty to perceive.
[4:58 PM]Varda: Hiya Xavier : )
[4:58 PM]Varda: Olorin/Gandalf walked unseen among the Elves to whisper good things into their ears.
[4:59 PM]Sandalf13: I think you are on to something, Eonwe. I always assumed the Valar were mostly in "Valar" form, and not a form recognizable to Elves, Men, Dwarves, or even Hobbits...
[4:59 PM]Varda: The question is what forms did they show themselves in at times when visible.
[4:59 PM]Varda: The Valar had no form, but put on forms as if they were clothing.
[5:00 PM]Eönwë Valar: It says they took forms based on their knowledge of the Children of Eru, so I expect their "everyday forms" to be not too unlike them, if larger and "more glorious".
[5:00 PM]Sandalf13: Thus, to be "visible" to the peoples of Middle-earth, they had to assume a form familiar to ALL the peoples of Middle-earth. Even Elves, with all their gifts from Eru, still had eyes that saw as Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits saw...
[5:02 PM]Varda: Silmarillion "Valaquenta": Ulmo: "If the Children of Eru beheld him they were filled with a great dread; for the arising of the King of the Sea was terrible, as a mounting wave that strides to the land, with dark helm foam-crested and raiment of mail shimmering from silver down into shades of green. The trumpets of Manwe's are loud, but Ulmo's is deep as the deeps of the ocean which he only has seen."
[5:02 PM]Varda: Sandalf, as in solid, aye. : )
[@Sandalf13
[Thus, to be "visible" to the peoples of Middle-earth, they had to assume a form familiar to ALL the peoples of Middle-earth. Even Elves, with all their gifts from Eru, still had eyes that saw as Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits saw...
[5:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: Elves' senses discerned things in finer detail, it would seem, but yes. They were still physical eyes, so there were limits.
[5:04 PM]Xavier: As far as I know The Valar did take somewhat recognizable forms doing tasks or whatever it was they were doing to accomplish a victorious outcome but not everything was this needed
[5:04 PM]Varda: "...At times he will come unseen to the shores of Middle-earth, or pass far inland up firths of the sea, and there make music upon his great horns the Ulumuri, that are wrought of white shell..."
[5:04 PM]Varda: Aye, Xavier. They only took form when they wished to.
[5:05 PM]Xavier: Yes
[5:05 PM]Sandalf13: So most of the time, in Valinor, they were in some form that could not be seen with normal eyes, whether Elves (or Men).
[5:06 PM]Varda: Yavanna: "In the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green; but at times she takes other shapes.
[5:07 PM]Varda: "Some there are who have seen her standing like a tree under heaven crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the barren earth, and it grew green with corn;
[5:07 PM]Varda: "but the roots of the tree were in the waters of Ulmo, and the winds of Manwe spoke in its leaves."
[5:08 PM]Varda: (These are quotes from the Sil, still in the Valaquenta. There are tons of nifty descriptions all over.)
[5:08 PM]Sandalf13: Perhaps in one of her visible forms, Yavanna resembled an Entwife...
[5:08 PM]Varda: Please note the earlier quote of the Valar being in lovely, blissful forms that irritated Morgoth to see.
[5:10 PM]Varda: Feel free to dig some out, too, or speculate on some not mentioned.
[5:11 PM]Arien Valar: My mind is getting too foggy to dig I fear .. at leasrt in other things than pillows or divets
[5:11 PM]Sandalf13: A worthy place to dig, methinks.
[5:11 PM]Varda: Ahh, my apologies for not watching the clock!
[5:12 PM]Varda: The hour is upon us plus 12 minutes.
[5:12 PM]Varda: the gavel pounces at the hammerpad while it is reading
[5:12 PM]Varda: thonk! pages flutter
[5:12 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:13 PM]Arien Valar: nosy gavel
[5:14 PM]Arien Valar: but yes .. Namarie for now .. i shall read up what you come up with
[5:14 PM]Eönwë Valar:
[5:14 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sleep well :}
[5:14 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie, Arien! May the Scottish stars guide you in peace tonight!
[5:14 PM]Varda: Namarie, Sunshine. : )
[5:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: In case someone hasn't seen the trailer that's from: YouTube - Super Smash Bros. - World of Light - Nintendo Switch
[5:20 PM]Sandalf13: Wow...and I don't mean Wow.
[5:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: Smash Bros is primarily a fighting game series, but the last few iterations have done a really good job providing a story mode with an interesting story.
[5:23 PM]Sandalf13: Since we are watching something musical, next time you watch the "Return of the King," and you see the Rohirrim lining up to attack on the Pelennor Fields, flip off the Howard Shore, and turn on the last few minutes of Janacek's Sinfonietta, written in honor of the Czech military...enough horns to make your hair stand up.
[5:23 PM]Sandalf13: YouTube - Classical Music Chest - Sinfonietta - L.Janáček
[5:24 PM]Sandalf13: Start listening around 19:30...the beginning is great too, but the last 5 minutes or so are Rohirrim all the way. BTW, the conductor in this video was born only a few miles from the place where Janacek wrote this composition!
[5:25 PM]Varda: Thanks. : )
[5:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: You could watch all the cutscenes from Subspace Emissary or World of Light and get a pretty good story out of each.
[5:25 PM]Varda: Tulkas:
[5:25 PM]Varda: "He delights in wrestling and in contests of strength; and he rides no steed, for he can outrun all things that go on feet, and he is tireless. His hair and beard are golden, and his flesh ruddy; his weapons are his hands."
[5:26 PM]Varda: end of that quote.
[5:27 PM]Varda: "But fair and noble as were the forms in which they were manifest to the Children of Iluvatar, they were but a veil upon their beauty and their power."
[5:27 PM]Varda: End of that quote.
[5:29 PM]Varda: "Uinen, the Lady of the Seas whose hair lies spread through all waters under sky."
[5:29 PM]Varda: She is a Maia, rather than a Vala. Some Maiar were close in power to a Vala.
[5:30 PM]Sandalf13: Yes...Olorin was right up there, even though he didn't believe so himself...Manwe had great confidence in Olorin's strength, character, and power...
[5:31 PM]Varda: "Wisest of the Maiar was Olorin...."
[5:32 PM]Varda: "...for though he loved the Elves, he walked among them unseen, or in form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts.
[5:33 PM]Varda: In later days he was the friend of all the Children of Iluvatar, and took pity on their sorrows; and those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness."
[5:33 PM]Sandalf13: In line with today's topic, I wonder what form Olorin would have assumed as a "young" Maia in the early days of Arda, should he have chosen to do so....I have seen many fan-art depictions of Olorin to date, but none seem to catch my eye as the way I envisioned Olorin in his "youth in the West."
[5:33 PM]Varda: end quote
[5:41 PM]Varda: Phar's a mite late coming in today. Hope all is well for him.
[5:42 PM]Sandalf13: He was busy online with Eonwe earlier this week...
[5:43 PM]Varda: Aye. : )
[5:43 PM]Varda: In case it hasn't been mentioned yet,
[5:43 PM]Varda: Today is International Tabletop Day, as the first Saturday in June.
[5:43 PM]Varda: This has taken in pretty much any kind of board game. : )
[5:44 PM]Varda: Not just Dungeons and Dragons.
[5:49 PM]Sandalf13: Men spite you not? That is what the German says...
[5:49 PM]Sandalf13: Could also mean "annoy," or "vex."
[6:01 PM]Eönwë Valar: OK, for those interested, here's a master class in visual "Show, don't tell". Keeping in mind there are a few duplicate scenes with alternate characters which represent a "choose your path" moment in the story, you ought to be able to watch this and get the story. I wanted to make sure I'd found a decent quality version first, so here it is: YouTube - DyllonStej Gaming
[4K 30FPS] The Subspace Emissary All Cutscenes Full Movie
[6:03 PM]Eönwë Valar: There is no dialogue to speak of, but you won't need it.
[6:33 PM]Varda: I do like the love/loyalty, truth, beauty/majesty in the books. Fun is fun and greatly needed, but the rest we get so little of. Gaming tries to touch on that, even if presented in a comic fashion
[7:35 PM]Eönwë Valar: Aye.
[@Sandalf13
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[7:46 PM]Spidey (Ungwetari/Shelob): This is from Oct 2024. The main reason why this became such a big thing was because the driver was recklessly driving in a suit that severely limited his field of vision.
[8:47 PM]Sandalf13: Any sign of Ar?
[8:48 PM]Sandalf13: Ar! Are you there?
[8:48 PM]Sandalf13: Here?
[10:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya, reading up...
[10:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Funny about what Arien said about Tulkas... I always did picture him as a stout dwarf-like brawler.
[10:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And Eonwe mentioning Morgoth vs Fingolfin... could that be The Lays of Beleriand" ?
[10:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Alright, caught up
[11:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Back a bit later for report, can't keep eyes open and it comes with a headache.
[June 9, 2025
[5:47 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A good six hours later...
[5:47 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report!
5:48 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, we've got Kongregate - Zak
[5:48 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I've linked it before when the easy badge came up, but this time one of the medium badges came up and I decided to fully complete all badges for this.
[5:51 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It's a platformer where you make your way through streets and sewers to confront an evil creature. 18 short-ish levels to get through, and when you die you respawn at the last checkpoint you visited in each level, while the enemies you've already slain remain dead. So you should get through eventually, though some timing may be necessary!
[5:54 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Quite a forgiving game, though the medium badges involve a speedrun, and beating each level once without dying and once without killing any enemies (except certain marked ones you need to kill, and the final boss). But when you get through the game once, you'll have access to a level select screen where you can choose individual levels to get the conditions on. And it's nice enough to show you on each level whether you've gotten the objectives and how fast your fastest run is!
[5:54 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Some practice will still be necessary for all of them, but if I can do it without too much of a headache, how hard can it be?
[5:57 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and after you complete the deathless/killless thing, you get a new epilogue ending!
[5:58 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[5:59 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes of the Storm: After I saw the article Eonwe linked earlier this meeting, I decided to open the game for the first time in years to get the 10-year anniversary portraits Logging in is all that's needed, but who knows, maybe it's time for a game or two soon!
[6:01 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 4: Also anniversary stuff, as I logged in to buy all the stuff for the anniversary: appearances for 4 weapons, and 2 mount trophies, and finally a mount armor for getting all of them. I figured I'd be needing a few days to get the gold to do so, but the gold I already had was more than enough to buy them all straight away. Guess that makes sense, they want the stuff gettable by newer players as well.
[6:02 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: This time around I did get to a bit of questing, though, entering the new zone, following our new guide around, meeting up with an old friend, and making my way to a dungeon which I shall pick up next time.
[6:04 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Made it to level 100 exactly, on the reward track! Good thing too, new expansion's already been announced.
[6:06 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That allowed me to get a new class skin from the tier sets, and while none of the remaining ones I actually want to use more than the skins I'm already using, I got one anyway for completion's sake Nordrassil Malfurion, based on what is apparently the tier 5 druid set.
[6:07 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I also got enough gold to buy a new class skin, though currently none are up in the shop. First time I've seen that happen. Guess I'll hold on to my gold until they do!
[6:10 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Unless it's a permanent change, but I hope not.
[6:13 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Brawl this week - which has moved under the Modes menu button now that they put arena and its new form in the spotlight again - is Mimirons' Faceoff. Each player gets a deck full of low mana mech minions, while also summoning one through their hero power. If you ever start your turn with 3 minions still alive, you'll get Mimiron's Head, which is quite powerful.
[6:14 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Since it can also easily clear the enemy board in most circumstances, whoever gets it first tends to easily win the game by building up multiple if necessary. So it has generally (d)evolved to a state wherever one player is going to start their next turn with 3 minions left alive, the other one concedes right away. Making for short games.
[6:15 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But that's okay, since that's where all the strategy stops being necessary anyway.
[6:15 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and I also got the cardback for June, and a new legendary and some free shop minions tied to the next expansion's announcement. Yay free stuff!
[6:17 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: One or two more levels, no new collection level. Only one mini remains on the 37500 track, so we'll probably be level-free for a while after that.
[6:18 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Tried out the Molten Core raid on normal, pugging as we went with a bit of help from online guides to see what kind of armies I'd need.
[6:20 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And while a few attempts were necessary, it went well! Got the first 3 wings down, including a reward for a boost slot (boosting the lower right corner slot of your armies to give the mini in it a base level of 20 while it's in the slot), and enough valor for 3 more diamond slots, which I spent on 3 more leaders from different families, hopefully to help with the heroic sigil campaign.
[6:20 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I could probably do Ragnaros, but I'd like to see a few more armies get to a level 26 average before I pug him.
[6:22 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And in the heroic sigil campaign, got 2 more fights done with Gish the Unmoving. 2 families remain there. Have been needing the custom decks, and the new army upgrades do help, but at least it works that way!
[6:22 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[6:24 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not much raiding news. We went for some attempts at heroic Mug'zee, the second to last boss, but didn't really have enough people for it to be forgiving enough, so we farmed some earlier bosses instead. The valorstones and crests are always nice to get while I still have stuff to upgrade at the vendor.
[6:25 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly quest is timewalks, which are generally cruised through easily Still need one more this week but we've got time.
[6:26 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In delves, got Brann to 80! I'm not quite sure if the final level gave him a significant boost, since his damage/healing just increased by 1% as usual. But at least I have no need to pick up out of the way curiosities anymore.
[6:30 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In Horrific Visions, I picked up 4 more masks. 3 more remain, 2 of which need to be collected in Orgrimmar and 1 is just more easily done in Orgrimmar. Got all upgrades in the hourglass, and some of the tributes are close to completion as well, so when that's done and I have all the masks I'll work on getting through the places with more and more masks.
[6:31 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Got an illusion, Void Edge, from an achievement, which apparently I already had from the original Horrific Visions, as well as a new pet, the Void-Scarred Tallstrider Chick.
[6:33 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and back in delves, forgot to mention I got all delves done on tier 11 as damage dealer, so started doing them as tank instead, switching Brann to dps. At level 80 and with my gearlevel, the two of us are still strong enough to breeze our way through quickly enough Healer role is going to be interesting though...
[6:36 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And finally, the Dastardly Duos event! So far, my plan to do the weekly quest each week for the cosmetic rewards, is working out. Granted, it's just week 1 so far. Went in, did quest, defeated 4 bosses, got some achievements. Not sure if I'll work on more of those achievements, they seem annoying. Not a fan of the event in general, it's like a more punishing, more number-crunching, time-limited version of the brawler's guild. But the weeklies should be doable, and get me all the toys, pets and mounts. Speaking of, got the toy for this week, the Dastardly Banner.
[6:41 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week!
[6:41 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
[4:38 PM]Arien Valar: impressive creation of the Star lady
[4:38 PM]Arien Valar: SciTechDaily: Tarantula Nebula’s Magnetic Maelstrom