Sunday, February 8, 2026
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
[2:59 PM]Varda: Aiya 🙂
[2:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[2:59 PM]Varda: Phar! : )
[3:00 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend @Maia @Vala Valar Guild meeting time! Come on in and say hi!
[3:01 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[3:01 PM]Varda: Membership:
[3:01 PM]Varda: Good to see Ar-Pharazon here. : )
[3:01 PM]Varda: Others are out and about. May they be doing great things! Or at least fun ones.
[3:02 PM]Varda: Tolkien Site:
[3:02 PM]Varda: A new story came out Wednesday from Eonwe-(Valar): "Narn I Auros: Learning Curve".
[3:03 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya from the sun bark 🙂
[3:03 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe!
[3:03 PM]Varda: Huzzah! The sun shines!
[3:03 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[3:04 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya.
[3:04 PM]Arien Valar: Short today early start but wanted to wave a ray
[3:04 PM]Varda: Thank you!
[3:05 PM]Varda: Eonwe is around and says he will be giving the Games Report shortly.
[3:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Everybody loves ray, after all.
[3:06 PM]Varda: Feel free to type a comment for any of your games, give it a boost!
[3:06 PM]Varda: heh
[3:06 PM]Varda: He's Ray, mon.
[3:06 PM]Varda: Gaming News:
[3:07 PM]Varda: Pallando has not yet replied, probably fighting in the starry skies.
[3:07 PM]Varda: Istari keep busy!
[3:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Istari Trekkin, across the universe.
[3:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Boldly going forward, 'cause he can't find reverse.
[3:08 PM]Varda: heheh
[3:08 PM]Varda: Pallando replied.
[3:08 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie from me have fun
[3:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
[3:08 PM]Varda: Go ahead, Blue Wizard!
[3:08 PM]Varda: Namarie, Arien!
[3:09 PM]Pallando-Valar: CCP posted their director's letter for the year:
[3:09 PM]Varda: Ahh, nice to see.
[3:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: (there's goblins on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow)
[3:11 PM]Pallando-Valar: is the roadmap for the year
[Discord-only Image
[3:11 PM]Varda: Handy
[3:12 PM]Pallando-Valar: Mostly FW updates, supposedly, though no real details
[3:12 PM]Pallando-Valar: The other thing is PvP contest with some interesting rules
[3:14 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya All!
[3:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[3:14 PM]Varda: Aiya Sandalf : )
[3:15 PM]Pallando-Valar: that's it for eve for now
[3:15 PM]Sandalf13: Sorry Iam late...I have a visitor from Lincoln and we just got back from a mountain trip.
[3:15 PM]Varda: Thank you, Pallando! Much appreciated!
[3:15 PM]Varda: Welcome back from the mountains!
[3:17 PM]Varda: Eonwe, your gavel!
[3:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: Image of Egon saying "Go!"
[3:17 PM]Varda: tosses gavel high over the table to Eonwe
[3:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
[3:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's bonus events: Battlegrounds and Shadowlands Timewalking (Turbulent Timeways IV).
[3:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's PvP Brawl: Packed House.
[3:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: Now Live: Burning Crusade Classic Anniversary Edition.
[3:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: A second Pre-Expansion Update goes live February 10th.
[3:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Blizzard put out a ""Midnight Story So Far" Trailer.
[3:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: See WoW Weekly for anything not mentioned above.
[3:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[3:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Disappointed a bit by the "so far", I also expected more Heart stuff from DF or even more Xala backstory from previous expansions.
[3:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But I suppose it's made to fit the trilogy.
[3:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: Also note that the 1 free transmog per char is live, and they even fixed it so if you have the free one available the button will light up to apply even without having enough gold (before it wasn't lighting up for my low-gold alts)
[3:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4:
[3:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Lunar New Year eventk goes from February 12 to February 26th.
[3:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight will be February 11th.
[3:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal:
[A new content update is out. --- Sing the Ballad of the Moon
[3:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 2: Resurrected:
[Ladder Season 12 is ending February 11th and Ladder Season 13 begins February 20th.
[3:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch:
[3:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch 2 is now just Overwatch. Most didn't think it felt like a "2" anyway.
[3:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: There's three blogs to take a look at this week:
[3:24 PM]Varda: 🙂 Easier to type, too.
[3:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So it's basically Overwatch+.
[3:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch: The Current Generation. Boldly going where they just were.
[3:25 PM]Varda: hehe
[3:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Step Into The Spotlight
[3:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch Spotlight: The Reign of Talon Begins
[3:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Director's Take: Sunrise in Gibraltar
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hearthstone:
[It's the Year of the Scarab in Hearthstone and there's a Spotlight Livestream tomorrow at 9:30am PST.
[4:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lord of the Rings Online:
[Update 46.1: Kingdoms of Harad came out this week and with it UI scaling phase 1.
[4:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: And that's it for my gaming news.
[4:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Image: Enterprise leaving
[4:29 PM]Varda: : )
[4:29 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe.
[4:29 PM]Sunday, February 8, 2026 4:29 PMVarda: StarCraft 2: Eowyn, Fangorn, and Varda. Faramir.
[4:29 PM]Varda: A bit more on Lord of the Rings Online.
[4:29 PM]Varda: First, be sure to check out that 46.1 release note. Good stuff in there.
[4:30 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings codes:
[4:30 PM]Varda: Weekly Coupon:
[Free Simple Rally Horn
[Coupon Code: TOOTTOOT
[Now through February 12.
[4:31 PM]Varda: Determine Your Discount is here:
[Use NEWYEAR15 for 15% off one item (5 per account)
[NEWYEAR20 for 20% off one item (3 per account)
[NEWYEAR30 for 30% off one item (1 per account)!
[Discounts are applied to redeeming character.
[Use coupon before logging off or switching characters!
[Runs through February 12th
[4:31 PM]Varda: Those are some very useful codes.
[4:31 PM]Varda: Eonwe, go ahead, please.
[4:31 PM]Eönwë Valar: ^^ VV < > < > B A START
[4:31 PM]Eönwë Valar: Trying to enter my code cough
[4:32 PM]Varda: Funny 🙂 Okie dokie
[4:32 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online Valarites in our kin branches this past week:
[4:32 PM]Varda: Some interesting names in here, not usually seen.
Peregrin server:
Glamdring server:
Meriadoc EU server:
Angmar server, temporary:
Mordor server, temporary:
[4:32 PM]Varda: Done on my gaming news.
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: (For the uninitiated : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konami_Code )
[Konami Code
[The Konami Code (Japanese: コナミコマンド, Konami Komando, "Konami command"), also commonly referred to as the Contra Code and sometimes the 30 Lives Code, is a cheat code that appears in many Konami video games, as well as some non-Konami games.
[The code has also found a place in popular culture as a reference to the third generation of...
[4:33 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yay for Japanese duolingo lessons, I can actually read that 😄
[4:33 PM]Varda: Wow, that's a lot of uses.
[4:34 PM]Varda: Nice, Phar!
[4:34 PM]Varda: Any other gaming or membership news? Requests? Suggestions?
[4:35 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lol, I wasn't trying to do this by being funny, but it's funny: "Entering the code on any Discord Error 404 website will unlock a secret game of Snake.
[36]"
[4:36 PM]Varda: You now all have a new game!
[4:36 PM]Varda: On to
[4:36 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
[4:37 PM]Varda: If someone has a topic, type fast before I put one up. ; )
[4:38 PM]Varda: (I see Sandalf typing.)
[4:38 PM]Sandalf13: Not a topic, but I found a great book, recently published, about Tolkien and the LoTR - "The Tower and the Ruin." Once I am finished with it, I will prepare a book review and post it...if it is of interest to our group.
[4:38 PM]Varda: Thank you. That would be great!
[4:38 PM]Varda: Who wrote it, if you happen to remember?
[4:39 PM]Sandalf13: I shall get the book now....pray continue, and I will fill you in once I go into my bedroom to retrieve the book.
[4:39 PM]Varda: This topic came up secondarily while reading the Fingolfin vs Morgoth fight.
[4:39 PM]Sandalf13: "The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien's Creation"
[4:39 PM]Sandalf13: Michael D. C. Drout
[4:40 PM]Varda: Thank you, Sandalf. : )
[4:40 PM]Sandalf13: W. W. Norton and Company, (c) 2025
[4:40 PM]Varda: That helps us look for it.
[4:40 PM]Sandalf13: 369 pp.
[4:40 PM]Sandalf13: A good picture of the Professor on the cover, lighting his pipe.
[4:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A pipe, in this age? How do they get away with putting one on the cover?
[4:42 PM]Varda: The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien's Creation
[4:42 PM]Varda: Seems as if a pipe might be better for a person than a cigarette, at least.
[4:42 PM]Varda: Historical
[4:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, when it comes to tar intake at least.
[4:43 PM]Varda: Next topic:
[4:44 PM]Varda: Silmarillion, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand"
[4:44 PM]Varda: That's the location of the fight between Fingolfin and Morgoth.
[4:45 PM]Varda: Fingolfin, High King of the Noldor, believed his people to have been destroyed, so he went to Morgoth, forced him to come out of his stronghold or be shamed in front of his own followers, and fought.
[4:45 PM]Varda: Fingolfin caused seven wounds before being held down by Morgoth's gigantic foot, which he then hewed the foot with his sword, before dying.
[4:46 PM]Varda: Morgoth would have cast the body to his wolves, but Thorondor, lord of the Great Eagles of Manwe, used talons to scar the face of Morgoth and took away the body.
[4:46 PM]Varda: Such a fight would certainly have the attention of the Valar.
[4:46 PM]Varda: Quote:
"Morgoth went ever after halt of one foot after that day, and the pain of his wounds could not be healed; and in his face was the scar that Thorondor made."
[End quote.
[4:46 PM]Varda: For this great deed by the Elven-king, his son, Turgon, built a great cairn over the body. But wait, there's more:
[4:47 PM]Varda: Quote:
["No Orc dared ever to pass over the mount of Fingolfin or draw nigh his tomb, until the doom of Gondolin was come and treachery was born among his kin.
[End Quote.
[4:47 PM]Varda: One amazing deed brought this magical defense to the grave. The treachery among his descendants took away this gift to them.
[4:47 PM]Varda: A visible thing on Arda showing the attention of the Valar had not wavered.
[4:47 PM]Varda: Comments?
[4:48 PM]Sandalf13: Do you believe that it was the valar who sent Thorondor to rescue Fingolfin's body from the place where he fell?
[4:49 PM]Varda: Manwe himself, is the suggestion there. That is the head of his Great Eagles.
[4:49 PM]Varda: It was not from where he fell, but from the grasp of Morgoth himself.
[4:49 PM]Varda: That's why the attack had to be made, rather than a simple grab.
[4:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still, giving him a good talon to the face might have been satisfying.
[4:51 PM]Varda: heh
[4:51 PM]Sandalf13: I believe it was more than one talon, and more than one swipe.
[4:52 PM]Eönwë Valar: Well Morgoth wasn't just going to drop him because of some fluttering bird.
[(Note from above: "used talons")
[4:52 PM]Varda: Quote: And Morgoth took the body of the Elven-king and broke it, and would cast it to his wolves; but Thorondor came hasting from his eyrie among the peaks of Crissaegrim, and he stooped upon Morgoth and marred his face.
[4:53 PM]Varda: The rushing of the wings of Thorondor was like the noise of the winds of Manwe, and he seized the body in his mighty talons, and soaring suddenly above the darts of the Orcs he bore the King away.
[4:53 PM]Varda: End quote.
[4:54 PM]Sandalf13: Wow. What an exit.
[4:54 PM]Varda: Note: like the noise of the winds of Manwe
[4:54 PM]Varda: Thorondor was at risk from the "darts" aka arrows of the Orcs, too. Not just Morgoth.
[4:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Imagine how many of those arrows fell down back into the orcs.
[4:55 PM]Varda: Shooting up... heh. At least some.
[4:56 PM]Varda: And "Sorry about that, Boss," if any hit Morgoth even in the armour. They must have hoped he didn't notice.
[5:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: There's a bit of irony to be seen that she bucked at protection from her brother Turgon, whose concern was for her safety and the safety of his people, to become Eol's wife, who demanded she shun her people and even sunlight. And she did it willingly.
[5:13 PM]Varda: Sil "Of Maeglin" has more on Aredhel. "fearless and hardy of heart, as were all the children of Finwe..."
[5:14 PM]Sandalf13: Sure. Fingolfin was a half-brother to Feanor, so his children (Turgon, Aredhel, et al) would have been half-nephews.nieces to Feanors sons. I suspect the family lawyers have a specific name for that sort of thing.
[5:15 PM]Varda: Aredhel went riding alone and was enmeshed in Nan Elmoth.
[5:15 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Not nephews/nieces, they were nephews/nieces to Feanor. Cousins to his sons.
[5:15 PM]Varda: "He set his enchantments about her so that she could not find the ways out, but drew ever nearer to his dwelling..."
[5:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: Fingolfin would've been the "half-uncle" if we want to use the term. Fingolfin's/Finarfin's/Fëanor's kids would all be cousins or "half-cousins" if we want to use that term.
[5:16 PM]Varda: "...weary with wandering..."
[5:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Should've used breadcrumbs.
[5:18 PM]Sandalf13: I grabbed my old Silmarillion: Finwe had THREE sons....Feanor, Fingolfin, and Finarfin. Feanors sons were cousins to the children of Fingolfin, i.e., Fingon, Turgon, ARedhel, and the same with Finarfin's children. So you are right, as usual.
[5:18 PM]Varda: "...though at Eol's command she must shun the sunlight, they wandered far together under the stars or by the light of the sickle moon; or she might fare alone as she would, save that Eol forbade her to seek the sons of Feanor, or any others of the Noldor."
[5:18 PM]Sandalf13: Eol was a dark elf indeed.
[5:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A night elf...
[5:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I wonder what the age gap was between Aredhel and Galadriel. Were they the only female cousins in their generation? Could've have been best friends growing up.
[5:20 PM]Varda: "Yet it is said that Maeglin loved his mother better, and if Eol were abroad he would sit long beside her and listen to all she could tell him of her kin and their deeds in Eldamar, and of the might and valour of the princes of the House of Fingolfin. All these things he laid to heart..."
[5:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: Roll credits
[5:20 PM]Varda: : )
[5:22 PM]Varda: Maeglin becomes adult, Eol is away. Maeglin suggests to his mother that it is their chance to leave bondage and learn from the other elves.
[5:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So his intentions were good, at least on the surface.
[5:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Guess he didn't expect taking after Eol so much.
[5:23 PM]Sandalf13: Did not Eol live pretty much by himself? Perhaps Maeglin was feeling some need to find a suitable elf maidern to hook uip with...
[5:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: Among many other things, like not being stuck under daddy's thumb for eternity.
[5:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: Maeglin was his father's son. He was also his mother's son.
[5:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: I'm sure the stories his mother told him had a bit of the rose-colored tint, but we shouldn't forget the Noldor who made it to Beleriand weren't exactly saints.
[5:26 PM]Sandalf13: They did have some issues, yes?
[5:27 PM]Varda: Maeglin took from his mother's stories a certain interesting datum: "...he heard of Turgon, and that he had no heir; for Elenwe his wife perished in the crossing of the Helcaraxe, and his daughter Idril Celebrindal was his only child."
[5:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hey Phar, got a new buddy for ya.
[5:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Opportunity spotted
[5:27 PM]Sandalf13: There you go....Maeglin did in fact feel the need to get to know Idril.
[5:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, I did notice the similarity.
[5:28 PM]Sandalf13: I am using "feel the need" euphemistically.
[5:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: I suspect it was more pure ambition at that point.
[5:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Though I have to say I still prefer the version from HoME where Miriel reciprocates the feelings, unlike Idril.
[5:29 PM]Varda: Maeglin: "Yet to none were his eyes more often drawn than to idril the King's daughter, who sat beside him; for she was golden as the Vanyar, her mother's kindred, and she seemed to him as the sun from which all the King's hall drew its light."
[5:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Prove himself to Turgon, get named his heir, etc. Elves don't marry that near, so I don't think those... considerations... were on Maeglin's radar initially.
[5:30 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It does not do to water the royal blood!
[5:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: I doubt Aredhel was making Idril sound like Miss Gondolin in her stories.
[5:30 PM]Varda: Eol cursed his son just before being tossed overboard.
[5:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, perhaps that's also a problem with Tuor. Not just that Idril married a mortal, or that Idril married someone other than Maeglin, but maybe just that Idril married, reducing the need for a male heir.
[5:31 PM]Varda: "Here may you die the same death as I"
[5:31 PM]Varda: and he did.
[5:31 PM]Eönwë Valar: A very strong point.
[5:33 PM]Eönwë Valar: Maeglin didn't have to marry Idril to be named Turgon's heir, but once the king had a grandson, Maeglin's chance shot down as close to 0 as it could get without something drastic happening.
[5:34 PM]Eönwë Valar: Like, say, Gondolin being invaded, and oops! Poor Earendil.
[5:34 PM]Sandalf13: An interesting question: What was the color of Tuor's hair? Did he inherit the dark, Noldor-like hair from the House of Beor, through his mother, Rian, or did he inhderit the yellow hair of his Father, Huor, from the House of Hador? Or a mixure of the two?
[5:35 PM]Eönwë Valar: Turgon is dead, and Tuor is dead, andMaeglin must now reluctantly lead the people in the king's name.
[5:35 PM]Varda: Maeglin loved Idril "without hope". As Eonwe said, "The Eldar wedded not with kin so near, or ever before had any desired to do so. And however that might be, Idril loved Maeglin not at all..."
[5:35 PM]Varda: We may have to make a page just for known hair colors. : )
[5:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Noldor had some redheads. Just putting that out there.
[5:36 PM]Varda: Aye, they did, as Eonwe said.
[5:36 PM]Sandalf13: We do know that both Elros and Elrond had the dark hair of the Noldor, that was their dominant hair color.
[5:36 PM]Sandalf13: And gray eyes, to boot.
[5:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Their descendants too, I'm guessing, despite my nickname.
[5:37 PM]Varda: We are now half an hour past time, but don't let that stop your Tolkien chat, or other chat. Just changing the "order" of the meeting.
[5:37 PM]Sandalf13: Aragorn had the dark hair of he Noldor, as did Arwen, as did Elrond, Elladan, and Elrohir...and they all had gray eyes.
[5:37 PM]Varda: gavel tries to brush non-existent hair
[5:38 PM]Varda: drops brush on the hammerpad
[5:38 PM]Varda: thwink!
[5:38 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:39 PM]Eönwë Valar: Luthien had dark hair.
[5:39 PM]Eönwë Valar: She was Teleri.
[5:39 PM]Varda: Tuor had all three houses mixed in him.
[5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Melian strikes me as dark-haired as well.
[5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But for the Maiar, who knows? She might change it at will.
[5:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sounds right, Phar. Barring a quote that shows otherwise.
[5:41 PM]Eönwë Valar: Er, about dark hair, not about changing it at will.
[5:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Right 🙂
[5:41 PM]Eönwë Valar: I can't even imagine Thingol walking in on that. "So... you're a blonde today? Cool."
[5:42 PM]Sandalf13: Perhaps she was into purple, as well.
[5:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "Green today? Really?"
[5:42 PM]Eönwë Valar: Thingol: "Hmm, rgb(186,100,133) was your best hair color. When do I get to see that again?"
[5:42 PM]Sandalf13: Just blending in with YAvanna's trees....
[5:43 PM]Eönwë Valar: (No, I don't know what color that makes. That's part of the joke :})
[5:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hah, now picturing Melian going around with color swatches. "Any preference tonight?"
[5:43 PM]Varda: hehe
[5:44 PM]Varda: Sil, "Of the Coming of Men into the West"
[5:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That color's not bad, Eonwe. A bit like my Nyssy's skin.
[5:45 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: https://www.colorhexa.com/ba6485
[ColorHexa
[]#ba6485 hex color
[]#ba6485 hex color code information, schemes, description and conversion in RGB, HSL, HSV, CMYK, etc.
[Image
[5:45 PM]Eönwë Valar: I was going to link the color, but Phar's is a much (much) cleaner link.
[5:46 PM]Varda: "...His people..." "Yellow-haired they were for the most part, and blue-eyed; but not so was Turin, whose mother was Morwen of the House of Beor. The men of that house were dark or brown of hair, with grey eyes..."
[5:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: Like the Noldor in that respect. I vaguely recall a mention of that.
[5:47 PM]Sandalf13: And the House of Beor was most beloved to the Noldor, because they were moved sooner to pity than to laughter, and because they had dark hair and gray eyes.
[5:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: (The House of Beor)
[5:47 PM]Eönwë Valar: There we go, what Sandalf said.
[5:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: YouTube - gotworld - «The seed is strong» || #got #gameofthronesImage
[5:49 PM]Varda: Turin is contrasted with the others of Hador like Tuor.
[5:50 PM]Sandalf13: That is why I was wondering about Tuor's hair color earlier...Rian was from the House of Beor and Huor was from the House of Hador...
[5:50 PM]Eönwë Valar: A whole dictionary entry on "Rian" as a word is now running through my head, thanks to The Lost Road.
[5:50 PM]Sandalf13: blond + dark black/brown = ?
[5:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: If black hair is the dominant trait between the two houses, Tuor should have black hair as well.
[5:53 PM]Eönwë Valar: As much as I wish I could continue both the serious and non-serious parts of this conversation, I've stayed too long already.
[5:53 PM]Sandalf13: Blonde hair is not controlled by a single recessive gene but is instead a polygenic trait, meaning it is influenced by multiple genes acting together. While the outcome often mimics a recessive pattern, the involvement of numerous genes and regulatory elements makes the reality far more complicated than a simple two-allele model. Genetic studies have identified dozens of genetic variants across multiple chromosomes that contribute to the full spectrum of light hair color.
[5:53 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: YouTube sequel to my previous, equally relevant. Eddard Stark - Reading about the Baratheon lineage.
[5:53 PM]Sandalf13: From the Science Digest
[5:54 PM]Varda: Turgon went against Ulmo, by not leaving Gondolin. There is one crack of slight betrayal.
[5:54 PM]Varda: Namarie, Eonwe, and thank you. : )
[5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: True, Sandalf, there really is a spectrum to go around 🙂
[5:54 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie, Eonwe!
[5:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie, Eonwe!
[5:55 PM]Eönwë Valar: Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun.
[5:55 PM]Sandalf13: You too, and sei gesund!
[5:56 PM]Varda: Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin includes that Maeglin had a secret following. He was not alone.
[5:56 PM]Sandalf13: That blankety-blank....he had a following!
[5:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: When the whole invasion went sideways I imagine they figured staying secret was a healthy thing.
[5:58 PM]Varda: Tuor's and Idril's son was Earendil.
[6:00 PM]Varda: heh, far as hair color, right here it says flat out "yellow-haired Glorfindel", as an aside.
[6:02 PM]Varda: From what I've read all through here, I would say Tuor was a blond.
[6:03 PM]Varda: It fits everything. Contrast with Maeglin, making him more "light" as a messenger of the Vala Ulmo, matching better with Idril. Fits the line of Hador Goldenhead, since Turin is an exception there from outside, beg pardon for this, hairline.
[6:05 PM]Varda: And time for me to bug out!
[6:05 PM]Varda: Namarie folks!
[6:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
[6:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "he was fair of face, and golden-haired after the manner of his father's kin, and he became strong and tall and valiant"
[6:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That's from the opening page of Tuor's bit in the Unfinished Tales.
[7:37 PM]Sandalf13: Great detective work, Ar!
[7:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Just a matter of googling and then looking up the source on my bookshelf 😄
[7:38 PM]Sandalf13: You are golden, hair color or no.
[7:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Thank you 🙂
[7:38 PM]Sandalf13: My friend from Nebraska made a delicious homemade spaghettic sauce, with noodles, and I made the salad. Tasty!
[7:38 PM]Sandalf13: And I am stuffed.
[7:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ooh, nice.
[7:43 PM]Sandalf13: Two different views of Tuor...one dark hair, one blond. The artists on the left also showed Earendil with light hair.
[Image
[Image
[7:51 PM]Sandalf13:
[Image
[7:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aww, it's like puppies.
[7:51 PM]Sandalf13: I think you are right!
[4:08 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report:
[4:09 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, they're all old badges this week, but the fact that I replayed most of this one just for fun probably makes it a good choice.
[4:11 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Light-wanderer is a platformer, pretty simple, you play a little hexagon making its way through an unlit world, seeing only a small radius around you. Quickly you pick up a light which you can aim with the mouse to see ahead.
[4:13 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Jump platforms, dodge fireballs, don't fall into lava, and when needed, throw your light at a lamp on the wall which you then use to create temporary platforms.
[4:14 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And when you're done with all 10 levels you can play them again in light mode, where everything's lit and you can see around you better as a reward 🙂
[4:19 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[4:21 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 129 on the reward track. That got me enough gold to buy a new skin for 1000 gold!
[4:24 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I went with the rogue skin Beast Tess, the reference throwing me for a moment until I realized we're talking about the worgen form for Tess Greymane. She's got nice waving hair in the portrait, which I wish was an option for my worgen in WoW. Or maybe it is and I just missed it. I suppose the braid on mine looks nice too.
[4:33 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: New 1-week quest event, a sort of epilogue of the Moruzond stuff, where you have to play cards from various expansions to save the timelines. Or just play any cards, but then you have to play more, as all the main quests involve summoning 100 minions with a bonus for each particular expansion.
[4:36 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Rewards are a random unowned card back - for me, that was the one from the Titans expansion's paid reward track - and a new druid skin, Lunar Lunara. Was hoping for that to be a bit more blue-ish, but it's styled for the Lunar New Year, so some red and gold instead 🙂 It looks nice but I think I'll stick with Ardenweald Lunara for now!
[4:38 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And for reward text we get this! They're really hyping up for whatever's coming next, and in about 6 hours they're going to announce it in their roadmap stream, so we'll see. Image
[4:40 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Core set changes have been announced already, at least, but since I mostly play Wild, I still have access to all the cards anyway 😉
[4:42 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft rumble: No new collection level, about halfway to the next one.
[4:42 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Doing more dungeons, getting more gold, and started on the next heroic sigil fight, Omnotron, which I completed with alliance family now.
[4:43 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Seems like a simpler battle than the last one. Main changes are that there's 6 omnotrons instead of 4 now, and the electric field they leave behind stays permanently. Which was to be expected.
[4:44 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No major new mechanics though, which means maybe my level advantage is enough without having to resort to changes in my armies. Worked for alliance so far anyway.
[4:45 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and completed Volchan with the last family before that, leaving me at 151 sigils. 9 to go!
[4:47 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Almost halfway through the login event now, getting some good rewards as I go down one side. In a few days we'll find out if you can travel back up the other side.
[4:47 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For quality upgrades, got the Stonehoof Tauren and the Mountaineer to epic, as well as their last talents. I don't really use the tauren much, but the mountaineer has shown itself to be quite useful, so I'm happy with that.
[4:47 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[4:48 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still no raiding, unless you count beating up rares in the Twilight Highlands with about 30 random people with low level alts 🙂
[4:51 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: With my main, however, I completed the achievement for winning 50 games of the tic tac toe minigame present at the event's base camp, and pooled enough insignias to buy the mount, Retrained Skyrazor, the pets Scruff, Emerald Sporbit and Ray'Dahr (which I called Walter, a reference I'm sure some of you might appreciate) and the Twilight's Blade Top Secret Strategy Training Guide toy, which is basically the tic tac toe minigame to be played at any time.
[4:52 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Basically all I'm missing for insignias is the remaining gear appearances, but I'm also considering buying up to 2 more of each of the pets and duplicates of the decor pieces. We'll see, still a few weeks left.
[4:53 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly, besides timewalks, is battlegrounds, which actually went quite smoothly, I think I needed 6 or 7 matches throughout the first half of the week to get my 4 wins.
[4:55 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Finally, alts! Sent some more in to complete the intro quests and fight some rares! My mail-wearer Calnystra ended up at level 20 with 5 pieces of the mail set gained, and then the shadowpriest Caligonn went from 10 to 20 while gaining only 3 cloth pieces.
[4:57 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For plate, sent in Calclypsia, my protection paladin, to get some pre-emptive revenge for Silvermoon. My 4 alts for this pre-patch now together in the screenshots folder, though you might need special glasses before looking directly at her!
[4:57 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, Clyps is now level 15, and has gotten 2 plate pieces so far. After she hits 20, we'll see which alt has the least pieces and I'll resume fighting on that one.
[5:02 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for this week!
[5:02 AM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie 🙂
[5:03 AM]Eönwë Valar: Sleep well :}
[9:06 PM]Eönwë Valar: Love is in the Air in WoW. Don't worry, we can solve that problem by beating up the evil perfume people putting it there.
[10:02 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hopefully the patch tomorrow fixes the camera when mounted. It keeps aiming too high.