#ranna in middle-earth

[rannadylin]

Ranna's Year in LOTRO

To sum up: They updated human CC and I made a Curly Girl just for fun and then she took over and is now tied with my main at 140. XD Pretty sure Curly Girl Cerphedis is going to hit the new 150 level cap before Librarian Lennidhren does, at this rate.

Both of them are mid-Gundabad questwise now. But I think Cerphedis will finish it first; as a Gondor girl, she insists on beating Lenni to the King's Gondor questline...

Honorable mention, though, to Wendelind, my River Hobbit captain who is the cutest ever.

Wendy will not be racing anyone to level cap anytime soon but she will certainly be adorable when she gets there.

I'll put the rest of the screenshots (to show off some alternate outfits :-D) behind a cut!

Wendy's adventuring gear with the hat that weirdly casts a shadow on her chin but not her eyes...

Lenni looks very schoolmarm in the river hobbit dress:

She does like fancier dresses too, though :-D

Meanwhile, Cerphedis most often wears her Gondorian uniform...

But she also has found some pretty dresses this year!

Including a Yule ensemble.

[lightningblade1994-blog]

{Sonic the Hedgehog/Juniper of Ebon} "Juniper & Haily's Cosy Bathtime Fun" For © KatarinaTheCat [Collab by © Lightninblade1994] (R-15+)

[It was a quiet evening night at Ebon, where everyone in Echidna Town is as pleasant as always, going about their daily business like they always do. Haily Ranna was in the middle of enjoying her bath at this moment, while the warm water soothes her whole body as she emerges, showing only her head and upper half which appears to be dripping wet after a long soak with only her lower half partially submerged. She then let out a sigh of relief. This wasn't the first time she felt like that ever since she and Andrew felt such peace and joy in their lifetime after defeating Lancelot for the past few years. although, she can't help but feel that something was on her mind. she started to think back to when things used to be quite simple back then, back when she and Andrew actually became so close, much to the dismay of Lancelot, who was probably in his much younger years. She then gently closes her eyes as she slowly starts to sink deeper into the warm water with only her hair partially submerged while she soaks there for mostly a whole hour. Just then, Juniper Ebonywood; who had just finished her duties as high priestess, begins to settle down for the night as she marches on to the royal bathroom with nothing but her bathrobe on and a few towels just to prepare a bath for herself. Juniper then proceeds to enter the room, only to find Haily Ranna, still soaking in the tub at this rate, then looks at her as she starting blushing red , much to Haily's surprise. As Juniper looks on with much embarrassment, Haily then gleefully smiles, who is quite happy to see Juniper again ever since she became the high priestess of Ebon, which had been a long time ever since they last saw each other, thinking that she might require some company herself, wanting to share the tub with a bit of company at the moment.]

Juniper:[flustered] What th--??

Hailey: Hello there, Juniper. It's been a long time, hasn't it?

Juniper:[blushing] Not nearly enough, I suppose.

Haily: You like what you see?

Juniper:[still blushing] S-sorry about that. I-i didn't realize that you were in the bathroom recently. I didn't mean to barge in like THAT.

Haily: It's alright. You're the only one here anyway. We're all girls. So there's no shame into that.

Juniper: Oh, right... I knew that. Sorry.

Haily: No need to apologize, dear. Oh, Do you wish to use the tub too? Don't worry, there's enough room for two as it is. Would you care to join me?

Juniper: *chuckles nervously* Y-you're kidding, right...?

Haily: C'mon, you've seen us at the hot springs before. This here is the best way to settle down after a long evening. I'm sure you've must be tired, having to be in the temple after all these past few hours. It must've been a lot of work for you even until now. You deserve one yourself. I insist.

Juniper: Err... No thanks. I'll just wait until you're finished with your-- whatever it is you've been doing there.

Haily: But you've been out all day, not to mention all the tasks that you were require to do. And I must say, meeting you here has actually been a most pleasant turn of events. It's been a long time since you and I last bonded, and we have so much for us to discuss!

Juniper:[still blushing red from before, but says nothing.]

Haily: Besides, It's not like you actually bathed with an actual woman that one time, has it not?

Juniper: Well. I guess so.

Haily: So, what brings you here all the sudden?

Juniper: Oh, you know... Just thinking about how different it all feels being back on Ebon somehow, how I've missed so much back then, how different things used to be... it's been so long since I've left my home back on earth, It's still gonna take some time to get used to this stuff.

Haily: Well, I'm sure I can help you out with that, if you would like to keep my company for a while, that is.

Juniper: Thank you. but-- I can still find some other ways to make a living here if I going to spend the rest of my days on Ebon. This is actually new territory for me.

Haily: That could be arranged. For now, it's girl-bonding time! So, hop your butt right in, cutie!

Juniper:[blushes a bit, but shrugs it off] *Sighs* Alright, then.

[Juniper then begins to remove her bathrobe, leaving her fully exposed as she proceeds to enter the large bathtub and joins Haily finally. Afterwards, Both Juniper & Haily begin to giggle, which leads to them splashing each other just like any kid would. Then, they take a moment to settle down as Juniper goes under for a good soak, but then rises back up at the very last second now fully refreshed, Haily does the same thing, then rises up again, With both of them now partially submerged and dripping wet, but also refreshed. Haily breathes a sigh of relief, But is interrupted when Juniper squirts some water onto her. Juniper chuckles, Then Haily ponders gleefully.)

Haily: So, what do you think about being back on Ebon?

Juniper: What do you mean by that?

Haily: Well, You've been on Earth for a long time now. Heck, you've hardly even recognized yourself at first when you came here. Andrew must've filled you in on the details, did he not?

Juniper:[leans back a bit] I don't really know. To be honest, Growing up back on Earth, I wasn't really sure where I came from after having to grow up in an orphanage for all these years. Yet, my memory seemed kinda hazy, at first. Mostly because I wasn't really from around that place at that time. But here, it's... Different.

Haily: You've seemed to know a lot about that world more than you can imagine.

Juniper: I do, actually.

Haily: What's it like living on that world?

Juniper: A bit tough, but intriguing otherwise. I can't really say for sure. I've learned a lot ever since I was transported there as a baby once. for once, I didn't really know about that place until know. The only family that kept me around for so long was Mrs. Gray that raised me once. Plus, there were my brothers; usually some friends that I could rely on in order to keep me company. So, I guess living there was really worth the shot. It was thanks to those guys that I was able to keep going, no matter how tough things got. Can't say it was THAT easy back then. But, what can you do?

Haily: Mrs. gray really seemed like a nice lady. She's must've worked really hard to raise you as her own. You should be really fond of her to have around these days.

Juniper: Yeah. I know.

[Haily smiles as Juniper lies back to rest, only to raise her right leg out of the tub in a more comfortable position]

Juniper: So, how'd you and Andrew meet exactly?

Haily: Beg pardon?

Juniper: I mean, you and Andrew have actually known each other for a long time and now that you two are married, well... Maybe it's about time you've told me on how you guys met for the first time?

Haily: Ah, yes. That does take me back apparently. It was much to tell, really. I'm guessing you could say he might've went on heels over me ever since our first encounter that day. By what Andrew saw on that, his face must've turned red when he first met me. You could tell by his reaction that he was quite the shy type at first. Maybe because he couldn't resist my irresistible charm. So, when he came to ask me to dance with him that one night, I can't tell for sure he was already blushing red. It was kinda cute, actually. Not gonna lie. Unfortunately. I had to turn him down. so he asked me again, and I said "No". But, he was a persistent little fella, I tell ya! So, after much persuasion, I've said to him: "OK, but just one dance". and before you know it, He went nuts over me! it was actually love at first sight! I guess my charm might've worked on him after all.

Juniper: Well, that's... quite a lot to take in.

Haily: I thinking you've dealt with stuff like this before, haven't you?

Juniper: Yup. About multiple times I have. I mean, for starters, you got: Randy, Harold, Mikey. *shrugs* ...Butch.

Haily: Those friends of yours must really be quite the handful, the way I put it.

Juniper: They really are.

Haily: --Especially with that "Butch" guy.

Juniper: Well, Butch is great and all. But, sometimes... there are some days where can be wreckless at times, especially when he teases people, like me, for example. I mean, It's bad enough that he does it to show off, especially when he's around other girls. But mostly, it's due to his character, nonetheless. He is a bit of a blockhead, sure, and there are times when he can get over his head. So, he's pretty much all we got. even if he can a bit of a jerk most of the time. I should know.

Haily: It's true. Some guys do think with their muscles besides their heads mostly. I guess that's something we have in common more likely, even when it comes to guys like that recently.

Juniper: I know, right??

Haily: Certainly :)

Juniper: Oh! That sorta reminds me, I got this neat bath bomb that I wanted to try out. Apparently it's hidden in one of the towels. I'll fetch it myself.

[Juniper steps out of the tub for a moment and goes to find the bath bomb that's hiding beneath one of those towels. She then sees the bath bomb hiding in one of the towels, then bends over to pick it up only for Haily to watch on as she starts to blush softly.]

Juniper: Ah, Here it is! I've thought I left that somewhere.

[Juniper then proceeds to make it back to the tub, still dripping wet from before, then sits for a while, only to show the bath bomb that she's holding.]

Haily: That's quite an Interesting Doo-Dad. What does that do?

Juniper: It's quite simple, actually. You've just place it in the center of the tub in front of you. and-- [gently drops the bath bomb as it begins to fizz] Then, the real magic happens...

Haily: Ok. I'm not sure if I feel anything, except-- [starts to feel the effect of the bath bomb] Oh! there it is... *starts shaking with contentment as the effects tingle her skin* Oooh! Now, that feels good ^///^ Aahh X3 [feels a bit of bliss as she starts sinking down in the tub more.] I tell ya, I never got used to this kind of stuff until now ;)

Juniper: Yeah, Doesn't get much better than this. How's the water, btw?

Haily: Still nice, Which I can say the same thing about that new Doo-Dad that you've brought. Really adds a nice touch to it.

Juniper: I'm glad to hear it. [steps right back into the tub, only to feel the effects herself) Whoo! That does feel nice. I'm glad I've paid for those things. Honestly, I don't know where I be without them.

Haily: *snickers*

Juniper: What's so funny?

Haily: You sure have a funny way of showing how you do things around here. even when being around other women. That say a lot about your character

Juniper: Umm, yeah. sure.

Haily: Did I say something wrong?

Juniper: No, it's nothing. It's just that... after all this time, the way we've handled ourselves when we were facing Lancelot & Hiretsuna, You and Andrew must've been through a lot recently. The last thing we really needed was for Andrew to lose you as well. He must've been really desperate to save you ever since-- *sniff*

Haily: Juniper, I'm so sorry.

Juniper: No, it's fine. Just a thought that crossed my mind, that's all. No biggie.

Haily: I understand. You just wanted to be there for him, just like he was there for you.

Juniper: How did you know about that--?

Haily: When I first heard that you were coming back to Ebon, I had hope, hoping that you would take your father's place as high priestess and carrying on the Ebonywood legacy. Of course, that was the only thing that matter the most. Having to see you again after all these years is what brought Andrew back to his senses. Without you, All of this would've been for nothing.

Juniper: :3

Haily: Now, why don't I just wash that back of yours just to make things more easier? Would you mind fetching me that cloth towel and soap there?

Juniper: Sure thing. [emerges out of tub to get the cloth towel and soap, much to Haily's curiosity]

Haily:[thinking to herself] Hmm, she sure does take after me in the beauty department.

[June sits back down as Haily starts scrubbing her back with the soap and towel.]

Haily: Would you like me to wash your lower back?

Juniper: Sure thing. Haily.

[Juniper emerges up a bit, with only her upper half while partially submerged, Haily continues to scrub her gently]

Haily: Can you sit back forward a bit?

Juniper: Absolutely! [lowers herself a bit as she sits down an inch, enough for Haily to scrub there more.]

Haily:[blushes a bit] Y'know, I must admit that you are certainly growing into a very, beautiful young lady. [rinses Juniper's back] There we go. Alright, Do me next.

{Juniper does the same thing, only for Haily to watch from behind as she feels a sudden bliss within her.}

Juniper: How long have you guys known each other for?

Haily: Not much, Just about a few times. Why do you ask?

Juniper: Nothing, just asking, is all.

Haily: I still can't believe after we got back from Lancelot's castle, Nobody had expected something like this!

Juniper: Yeah. I mean, It was obvious that everyone was waiting for this right moment, wasn't it? [rinses Haily's back]

Haily: Of course! it's quite obvious!

Juniper: Speaking of which, Thanks for letting me come to the palace to stay for the whole week.

Haily: Anytime, dear priestess.

Juniper: And I also wanted to thank you for being there for me and Andrew for when we've need help the most.

Haily: Ah, don't flatter yourself. You would've done the same for me anyways, which was actually considerate for you. I have a feeling you're going to fit into Ebon just fine.

Juniper: Haily...

Haily: Yes, dear?

[Juniper then begins to hug Haily out of sheer happiness, then clings onto her with so much content, joy and heartfelt emotions pouring out of her as she continues to hug her, crying silently out of happiness, an emotion that she hasn't felt in a long time since her she left Earth, knowing that she won't have to carry out this burden alone anymore.]

Juniper: Thank you... for everything. :')

{Haily then proceeds to hug her back, also shed a few tears of joy herself.)

Juniper: *ahem* So, where were we?

Haily: Oh, right? You were just going to tell me about your amazing adventures on Ebon?

Juniper: Yeah, that-- or maybe we can we one to other things, like how my is definitely where you're about to GET SPLASHED!! (splashes on Haily; who seems to enjoy it)

Haily: Oooh, Ohoho, Now you've done it! [splashes back at Juniper] Ha, Gotcha!

Juniper: Eek! *giggles* Cut it out! [continues splashing on Haily.]

Haily:[splashes on Juniper} Yah! Take that! [keeps gets splashed on by Juniper]

[Both start laughing as they continue to splash each other for a whole hour, without anything to interrupt them. Well, maybe until next time, that is.)

-The End...For Now-

[jeanjauthor]

I want people to read the creator’s message below today’s webcomic, and then I want folks (who have the spoons to spare for it) to read the commentary below, and especially Mr. Morris’ replies to many of those comments.  These dialogues between creators and viewers are very important when it comes to messages like this, ones which could be misconstrued when encountered without context.

For my part, I deeply appreciate that he posted his remark. He is a good guy, he does try to “mix it up” to diffuse & disperse bigotry moments (not perfectly, but nobody is ever going to be perfect)...but that isn’t the point.  And it isn’t a point of “performative” apologizing.  It’s not a performance; he genuinely feels bad about the timing of all of this and the potential for someone who hasn’t read the (massive) backlog of stories in the archives to see only surface images.

Regardless of what longtime or even shortime fans know about the story, regardless of utter newbs coming to the webcomic to view it...that statement needs to be there.

As I posted to Anonymous earlier regarding whether or not to include racial slurs in historical settings...to ignore that it happened, to ignore what it looks & sounds & feels like, is to try to deny the pains of the past, present, and future.

By pinning that particular message to this particular comic, Rick Morris is assuring people for generations to come that he knows the differences between fiction, reality, longterm plotlines and surface appearances.  He knows, he acknowledges, he pledges to keep working toward being a better storyteller & artist...and that’s an important message for everyone to receive.  Not just to inspire others, not just to apologize and explain context, but to renew his own pledges to himself & his readers that he’ll keep working on being better.

Storytellers don’t always tell comfortable stories.  Sometimes we tell ones that are meant to hurt, in order to evoke emotions that can create not just sympathy but empathy for the suffering of others...and sometimes that backfires.  Sometimes we tell ones that hurt in additional ways, in very unexpected and unfortunate and/or badly timed ways, increasing the pain for some.

Intention is an important part of storytelling, because most stories have a lesson to teach to our audiences.  (Not all need to have one, but most have something for others to learn.)  Intention also includes trying to be aware of unintended outcomes.

One of those lessons occurred today in a storyline that has been building to this climactic moment for literally the last four-plus years.  No one could’ve predicted how real world events played out.  At the same time, it would be wrong to stop telling this story to “wait for a better time.”  There won’t be a better time for it.

Changing systemic racism will still take years and decades more to come, even if this is a manual-transmission-clutch moment, where we could wind up going faster in our forward progress, or find ourselves dropped into reverse, with a possibly broken transmission. (Hopefully not, but not holding my breath. I got better things to do with my energy.)  So there literally won’t be a better time for this story.

Instead, we need to acknowledge that these visualizations do exist without proper context, and that even with context it can still cause some folks to feel hurt.  Mr. Morris understands if new folks won’t want to start reading the rest of the story because of this one scene (and the following pages involving the rest of this scene).  That’s part of the message that needs to be told.

That’s part of the pain that needs to be acknowledged. It is not intentional, it isn’t the best timing, but it is acknowledged...and all he asks is that folks consider giving the whole story a try.

I’ve been following his webcomic for a very long time, and I can personally say his characters are vastly diverse, and that he does tackle bigotry head-on in multiple ways with multiple races, genders, social classes, and more.  Is it completely problem-free? Nope! But like reality, the characters do learn & change & grow, the creator does, too...and many of his characters have some absolutely outstanding character growth.

You don’t have to give YAFGC a try, but I do hope you’ll read the message & the comment interactions if you’re a writer (or an artist)...because these interactions are a good set of dialogues about this subject, how to handle it, how to agree or disagree, and how to be polite when the latter happens.

Personally, I am deeply pleased to see he didn’t shrug off his responsibility to post that note, and isn’t shrugging it off...like a number of the commenters imply he could’ve done instead, via their absolution-style comments.  Instead, he’s doing the work that is necessary, even if it’s seen by some as extra, unnecessary work. That’s something all of us need to step up and do, for this kind of topic.  Acknowledge the inadvertent visualizations, and apologize for them.

...

Speaking of which...in The Song, I created the character of Duke Finneg, Councilor of Conflict Resolution for the Empire of Katan. The continent of the Empire of Katan is longer than it is wide, stretching from the Sun’s Belt (equator) in the north toward the Ice Sea in the south (separating Katan from the southern polar landmass, smaller than Antarctica and just as uninhabited).

When I populated the landmass that was Katan, I knew that there would be dark-skinned folk in the northern regions close to the Equator, and pale-skinned folks in the southern regions close to the south pole, because that’s literally why we have skin color variations.  Those that live in the middle lattitudes have a mix of skin hues, some paler, some darker, and plenty of people have traveled all over and settled in different areas than those their ancestors were born & raised in, even if the majority of everyone really don’t move very far.  (If you look at the real world, this is basically how reality works, too.)

This logical pattern is repeated all over the world of the DestinyVerse.  In areas with thick rainforests like Natallia, which are tropical to subtropical, the people are tanned but paler in melanin coloration than Sundara, which is a desert environment with few trees for shade (again like the real world we live in).  There are slaves in some countries & cultures, and there are anti-slavery laws in others.  There are good people, and there are bad people, and there are indifferent or self-focused people who just are either apathetic or oblivious to what’s going on around them...exactly like the real world.  But it is not our world

So when I designed the appearance of Duke Finneg, a Katani mage of important political power who was destined (plotwise) to have a high-strung temper and an increasingly unhinged world-view because of self-delusional closed-minded thinking...I was tempted to make him white, to be honest.  But since he’s from Katan, he could’ve been from any point on that continent. 

The Corvis brothers are mid-lattitude with a variety of transcontinental intermarriages in previous generations, but in general are lightly tanned, almond-eyed, and have hair from light blond to jet black, because that’s how genetic inheritances work in their particular bloodline (and I needed a way to easily tell brothers apart description-wise...but I honestly have seen some families with blond, brunette, & redheaded members).  (That, and it’s a non-Earth world, so, I could make shh up like that.)

(If you honestly want to know what the Corvid brothers look like, they’re a blend of East/Southeast Asian & European, with more in the way of Asian features and that wider range of European haircolors, same as most Katani from the mid-latitudes...though some on the east coast mid latitudes look more Latinx than Asian, like the folks from the western side tend to look.)

So when it came to the main protagonist for the fourth book in the series...I decided to roll a dice for his origination point, low for somewhere in the south (pale & blond), high for up near the equator (dark & brunette). I wrote down the general characteristics for each of the numbers/regions that might come up (I don’t have the paper anymore, alas, it got lost in one of my household moves)...and I rolled.  (With real D&D style dice, because I’m a frikkin nerrrrd, duh.)  The dice rolled high, aka his family is from a region up by the equator region where there isn’t much shade and dark skin tones are needed to ward off skin cancer...so I wrote him to be dark-skinned, etc. It was literally a random dice roll.

There are other characters in The Song and in other books of the DestinyVerse, showing various skintones & social backgrounds.  Some are high-ranked, some are low-ranked. There are skin hues and hair colors in a wide range of hues. There are cultures with social equality, and cultures that are extremely bigoted (yes, Mandare, I’m talking about YOU)...but they’re not Earth cultures, and they don’t necessarily have real-world problems.

But I can see how they can be seen that way if you just pick up the book, rifle through it, see that Duke Finneg is an increasingly unstable hardass with a hate-on for the people on Nightfall Isle (spoiler alert, if a bit late)...and read that he’s got dark skin and brown eyes, etc, and perhaps feel hurt that he’s a Black Man being typecast as the Bad Guy from reading just one scene, with nothing of any further context than just that.

So I apologize for that.  I was trying to write a story set within the context of its own universe, with its own distinct and different cultures, and viewed that particular character--the same with everyone else in the book--while writing the story from that viewpoint.  Literally, I rolled up the physical characteristics for most of the Katani characters on that “this is where they’re from” sheet, which is why the harbormaster and his husband in the later books look the way they do, why the various other Councilors look the way they do, etc, etc.

But that doesn’t negate the fact that one of my villain characters is an increasingly unstable darkskinned male, and for anyone who has been hurt or offended by that description for my antagonist/villain character, I apologize.  It was not my intent to perpetuate a false, harmful stereotype from our own world.  It was just a random description roll for a stereotype that (in my mind, at least) has nothing to do with race--and nothing to do with genuine mental health issues--and everything to do with closed-minded attitudes toward “inferiors” and clinging to those mental dogmas rather than releasing them and admitting one has gotten an opinion/viewpoint of others deeply wrong.

I’m working on being better, as a writer.  And to be fair, when you look at the whole context of all my writings, I’m doing a better job when it comes to ensuring diversity for protagonists and antagonists than the majority of published authors (most of whom are white). I’m particularly pleased with my IaVerse, where the main & secondary & other important Human characters come from a wide variety of backgrounds, the chief villains aren’t relatable to anything stereotypically Human, and positions of authority & power are not only achievable, but also removable and/or punishable if one steps too far out of line when it comes to acceptable/forgivable behavior.

The one thing I will always try to do is to try to tell a better story.  People may still get hurt, but my stories will have context, and lessons, and the message that respect, tolerance, and compassion for nearly everyone is very important.

(I will, however, uphold the paradox of tolerance by asserting the lesson of refusing to tolerate the intolerant in order to preserve the existence of tolerance, and I will always encourage the metaphorical/allegorical punching of Nazi types.  Or actual punching in stories, particularly the milSF ones...but then that is a genuine official trope of the military fiction genre.)

[rannadylin]

OK, new character time! Cerphedis is a hunter from Gondor who exists for two reasons:

Curly hair options in the human CC update! There are quite a few of them and they are not half bad.

Swanfleet, which I hadn't yet had a chance to try out as an alternative to the old tutorial instances. It's quite fun so far!

Bonus: A convenient demonstration of how to tell a Heron from an Egret from a Stork?

[rannadylin]

"So, Ranna, what phase of summer vacation are you in?"

"Oh, you know, the one where I ponder my Lore-master's backstory to the point of making her dad as an alt. And then photoshopping them together into a family portrait."

(Apparently also the phase where I start talking to myself in photo captions? anyway...)

So this is Lennidhren of Lórien with her father, Athenon. Also of Lórien. For some reason I made him a Warden, and got him to level 5 before remembering that I don't especially enjoy that class (my other Warden levels by cooking nowadays), but we'll see what happens, I might yet level him. Time will also tell whether this backstory-pondering results in fanfic. XD For the backstory that prompted this, though: Athenon is a weaponsmith. (Lenni is a Historian, but she's focused on the Scholar side of that and hasn't yet leveled the Weaponsmithing very far, so I presume that she learned a bit of that from her dad but was just never as into it as the book-learning. :-D It's just such an odd profession to group with Scholar, though, that I had to make up a reason for it, and that reason snowballed into an alt. XD)

[rannadylin]

I finally put some dress outfits together for Cerphedis! Modeled here in the middle of the night atop the Colossus in Evendim because...dresses are dramatic and call for a dramatic background, right? Apparently Curly Hunter Girl thinks so, anyway!

The dark blue/ombre dress features Arwen's Dinner Dress with an Ascot Scarf, Cloak of Bright Company, and Argent Dwarf-Make Helm. (I'm sure dresses of that style become quite fashionable in Gondor after Arwen moves in there as queen, so Cerphedis is just way ahead of the trends XD).

The purple ensemble is the Simbelmyne Dress, again with an Ascot Scarf (I really like Ascot Scarves y'all),the Simbelmyne Cloak, and Simbelmyne Circlet.

And the light blue is the Farmer's Fancy Dress, Alliance of the Third Age Silk Cloak, yet again an Ascot Scarf!, and Winged Circlet.

Maybe Ascot Scarves are a future fashion trend in Gondor too?

[rannadylin]

Cerphedis a.k.a. Curly Hunter Girl hit kindred with the Wardens of Annuminas and added their spotty horse to her spotty horse collection! (Evendim horse on the left; Sporting Steed on the right)

[rannadylin]

I decided it was time to get some outfit screenshots for Cerphedis' cosmetics, and then she grinned when I was taking this one so we'll just start with that. :-D She's wearing the Dwarf-Make Circlet from the Keeper of Gifts (the one that barters for those steel tokens you get as random loot drops during the anniversary festival) which goes nicely with the curly hairstyle - not clipping with the curls like some of the circlets do.

See how cute? :-D

OK, so on to the wardrobe!

Along with the Dwarf-Make Circlet, her [current] main outfit features the Farmer's Fancy Tunic and Trousers, Golodir's Cloak, and Salvaged Elven-Made Leather Shoulderpads.

This one features all the fun old quest rewards/loot drops/cosmetics saved to my wardrobe. :-D Cloth Waistcoat with Gamli's Leggings, plus Boots of Hidden Peaks, Turquoise Summer Circlet, and Cloak of the Golden Forest Defender. And apparently Well-Preserved Leather Arm-Guards as part of her current equipment since I haven't yet picked out gloves to go with this outfit, oops.

Recently acquired festival awards that I probably won't use on Cerphedis that much, honestly, they look more like Lennidhren's type of thing (once I dye them gold for her, of course): Jacket, Shoulder Guards, Cap, Cloak, Gloves, and Boots of Illumination.

This'll likely be for when she gets to higher levels, Gondor and Gundabad and such: Armour and Boots of the Three Peaks; Argent Dwarf-Make Shoulder Guards; Dwarf-Make Helm; Leather Gauntlets of the Leaping Stag; and Tasselled Ceremonial Cloak.

And lastly (for now), the purple one!

Rune-Stitched Dunlending Robe with Rune-Stitched Dunlending Leggings; Boots of the Slayer's Raiment; Gloves of the Dwarf-Holds; Circlet of Fresh-Picked Flowers and Ceremonial Cloak of Remembrance.

One thing she lacks is a proper dress! I need to consult my wardrobe a bit more thoroughly and find something that suits her in that regard...

[rannadylin]

Ranna in Middle-earth...*frequently* in Middle-earth

After that poll with the "over 300 hours logged on a video game" bit I got curious about my LOTRO play time so I did the /played check on the ones I play the most...

That's on Evernight Lennidhren, who's at level 140. (There's also Landroval Lennidhren, who was around...85-ish, maybe, last time I played on that server?) If my math is correct that comes to almost 1393 hours logged in on my elven librarian lore-master.

Alts under the cut as this could get long...

Up next is Corbous, level 112 Hobbit Brawler:

So that should be about 286 hours of punching things. :-D (Also, he's that close to level cap and less than a quarter of the time it took Lenni to get there? Brawlers, man. Although of course I've been spending less time on underlevel quests with him and just moving on when quests in a zone turn grey because I've seen them before on Lenni anyway, after all. And I haven't done any festivals and such on him yet either, just zooming to Mordor.

Next highest leveled is Ianthina, level 53 high elf Runekeeper, the LOTRO incarnation of my Pillars of Eternity inquisitor past-life of Watcher Violet (as Corbous is the LOTRO incarnation of Vi's older brother Corbus Itzli...). Note how she's, you know, less than half of Corbs' level? Note how long it took her to get there:

Brawlers, man. In 286 hours he gets to level 112, and in over 330 hours my Runekeeper is just up to 53?

Let's take one more example...my high elf minstrel Fjiola (LOTRO incarnation of Fjóla Reinert who's a Pillars chanter/cipher for a PoE ttrpg we...may or may not ever get around to actually playing, but it's been a while since I first started making her) got to level 35 before I discovered the magic of speed-leveling a Brawler and abandoned her until Corbous, like, single-handedly punches Sauron or something:

So a bit over 31 hours...For a total of over 2000 hours logged in just to the four characters I've played the most overall and recently on one server. I should probably revisit my Landroval and Crickhollow (formerly of Nimrodel...er...I think Crickhollow was where that server got merged to long ago?) and see what their play time was like, too, but anyway. It's a lot. I've been playing since about half a year after LOTRO launched except for a few years when I burnt out on Landroval and didn't play until more recently on Evernight. I guess this does confirm that I chose wisely to buy my lifetime subscription to this game back when they still offered those...I think I've gotten my money's worth after more than 2000 hours! :-D

[rannadylin]

Corbous has reached a deeply significant achievement in Moria and may now be considered Well-Travelled! :-D

[rannadylin]

Corbous made it out of Moria today!

And then he went back in and had an odd...vision?

Also, he hit level 62. I've got a few more quests to wrap up back in Moria but then it's on to Lothlorien!

[rannadylin]

Ranna in Middle-earth, 2022

I'm not much for new year resolutions, but perhaps I should make one to actually post more about my gaming in the brief moments that said gaming gets to flourish in between all the lesson planning. XD Anyway, at the end of 2022 I got back into LOTRO a bit, so how about a brief recap?

OK, right, this isn't going to be all that brief and there are going to be screenshots, so time for a read more! Click to read what I've been up to in LOTRO, including the introduction of this guy...

In November, having seen someone's hobbit lore-master post and being thrilled to discover that was now an option, I made a hobbit Yolotli Itzli. :-D

But she mostly wears her hood up to cover for the lack of braided hair options on hobbits... :-(

Around that time, my main, Lennidhren (also a lore-master, but elven since I've been playing her since long before hobbits could pursue this most delightful of classes), has hit level cap and started exploring Gundabad! But then I thought maybe it'd be a good time for more alting until the level cap is raised again so the quests she's doing there could give her XP again...

I've actually not leveled Lottie very far yet, but did switch over to Fjiola for a bit; she's in the 30s and now questing around Esteldin (but being photographed only in Bree, apparently)...

HOWEVER while she was doing that I had a sudden urge to try the new Brawler class. So, continuing my efforts to make all the Itzlis as hobbits, I went with Violet's older (second-oldest) brother, Corbus, a.k.a. Audie's nemesis. :-D

And it turns out Brawler is ridiculously fun to play, so I have basically spent all of winter break that I wasn't baking cookies or visiting family playing this fierce little dude.

He has acquired a cat...

And a matching title. :-D

And a hobby...

And so many pretty screenshots...

And so many questionable fishing spots... :-D

And now he's zooming around Moria!

Brawler seems to involve rather a lot of one-shotting enemies on the first punch, sometimes even if they're several levels higher than him, so zooming is accurate. Especially when I'm used to playing a lore-master! XD

[rannadylin]

Weathertop, as seen from Cardolan! Cerphedis has finished questing there, moved briefly through the Lone-lands and on to Esteldin and then Rivendell. So it looks like she's now on the main epic questline and at that point where you have plenty of leveling options - I think she'll finish up around Esteldin and then maybe do Evendim since Corbous skipped that.

Also, continuing Lennidhren's tradition of naming her Lore-master pets and cosmetic pets after Pillars of Eternity npcs and gods and such, I have named Cerphedis' skirmish soldier... :-D

She has also acquired a very handsome horse from the Curator!

[rannadylin]

So...these horses you have to chase down and ride back to the stable-master in Avardin in Dunland...they look very Fenris-inspired, don’t they?

[rannadylin]

On the one hand, I hate changing my user icon because I am one of those people who will lose track of who’s who among the blogs I follow if those blogs change their icons and/or username too often. XD And Linett Redfern, Jedi Sage, makes an excellent Ranna stand-in. On the other hand...this is such a good picture of Lennidhren, my LOTRO Lore-master, at Cerin Amroth in her homeland of Lothlorien among the elanor that match her fashion choices so well...

Bonus: A few more gorgeous shots of Middle-earth as Lenn has been revisiting some very picturesque places for the Anniversary scavenger hunt quests. And her new cozy grey cat. And the front yard of her Belfalas house. :-D