I met a fellow BDer!!

[Mithalwen]

All I can say was that it was worth the journey to meet you and (briefly) Guinevere, renew aquaintanceship with Squatter and catch up with Rune (who knows me well enough not to feel the need to be polite even though I brought him beer!). Taking an hour to get out of my home town wasn't an auspicious start and having finally made contact with Bethberry (seems like trying to phone Mithalwen was a major occupation) and most vitally found a parking space after a mere half hour or so circling St Giles, I then had to wait for the end of a learned discourse before I could say hello!

It was lovely to see that the Lamb and Flag was not too different from when it was a favoured Sunday lunchtime haunt when I lived in Oxford many moons ago. However I don't rememeber ever laughing quite so much or so long on previous visits. Rune and Squater are a great double act. And while I can't remember much of details (not due to alcohol... due to the stress of the journey I risked only a half, a measure I would normally regard as homeopathy rather than a drink) ) but I am fairly sure that "Can elves walk on treacle?" was oneof the more serious topics. I do know how to silence a group of downers and shall attend any future gatherings suitably prepared . And no I didn't uncloak.

[the phantom]

A few weeks ago three Downers from Nebraska (Sally, Mnemo, & Phantom) met for an afternoon of fun. But things didn’t turn out quite the way they expected.

First, the Nebraska Downers were pleasantly surprised when Lommy and Little Green showed up, arm in arm.
Lommy & Little Green

But there were more visitors yet! To the delight of all, Aganzir, Esty, and Mira (aka "Stick") dropped in as well. Here are all of the out-of-staters pictured together.
Group Pic (sorry we couldn't find a Scar doll, Aganzir- hope this lion is close enough)

Unfortunately, they didn’t all get along. Only minutes after arriving, Esty and Mira had an argument that escalated swiftly.
Esty vs Mira

As evident in the following picture, reactions to the fight were mixed. Mnemo registered shock, Sally fretted over the possibility of injury, where as Phantom- he seemed amused, if not downright pleased.
Watching the fight

The fight ended when Esty snapped off one of Mira’s limbs. Here she can be seen displaying it over her left shoulder as a trophy.
Esty wins!

After that things calmed down and the Downers chatted and got to know each other. As shown in this picture, Aganzir and Phantom really hit it off.
Phantom & Aganzir

It wasn’t long before they were blowing each other kisses.
Blowing kisses

Tired of Aganzir getting all of the attention, Little Green went to great lengths to thrust herself into the limelight. The following picture features her at the zenith of her act, during which, as can clearly be seen, she took off her top. Sally and Duck averted their eyes from the shocking display, but Phantom on the other hand was obviously captivated.
Little Green takes it off

Later, the discussion turned from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, and Duck shared her controversial theory that all of the spells from the books are real and possible to duplicate. Here she can be seen preparing to cast a spell on Lommy. (And you’ll notice her “wand” is in fact Mira’s arm.)
Mnemo's Magic

Soon the talk turned to werewolf, and Phantom and Lommy entered into a heated debate about double-lynching rules. Unfortunately their argument soon crossed into the realm of physical violence. Here Phantom can be seen holding Lommy’s beak shut and threatening to punch her.
Argument escalates

But things only got worse from there. Phantom actually picked up Mira and used her to pin Lommy to the table.
From bad to worse

Phantom’s behavior warranted a warning from the Mod on site, Esty. She got in his face and told him off quite strongly.
Esty chides Phantom

Phantom, however, had no interest in listening to her tirade, and let her know in no uncertain terms.
Phantom's response (image edited for obvious reasons)

Under cover of Phantom’s misconduct, Little Green took the opportunity to settle an old score with Sally, leaping onto her from behind and grinding her face into the table.
Green ambushes Sally

Due to the group’s appalling behavior, they were unceremoniously booted from the eating establishment, thus cutting short what was a truly exciting Downer experience. Should such an event happen again, you can be sure that it will be captured on film and posted here.

(All joking aside, we did indeed meet up for several hours and we had a great time. Lots of laughs, plus Mnemo introduced us to D & D via a Barrow-Downs campaign that she wrote herself. It was a blast!)

[Mnemosyne]

Phantom failed to mention that his scuffle with Esty resulted in his nearly being smothered by her skwerlish minions.

Ah, well. It was an experience which no camera will ever be able to capture. Not even with surround sound.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Fabulous. Very amusing. I'm a bit sad that Stick lost an arm... And that the phantom beat up on Lommy... But such things happen.

[Morai]

I find it amazing that such an epic event took place at Arby's. I Love the censoring of that filthy finger/hand.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Phear the might - skwerlz rule!!

Thanks for the great photos - this former Nebraskan would have loved to be there with you.

[Aganzir]

Hahaha that's brilliant! The topless Greenie has got to be my favourite, though.

However I strongly object to being a pink lion with a heart-shaped mane!