It's been three years since I made my last entry. Three and a half since I last made a new outfit. I never expected to return to LOTRO or to reopen Material Middle-earth. If it weren't for some stubborn, but well-intentioned friends, I would have been content to let this blog exist as both a wonderful memory and—though sometimes trying—labor of love. Yet, here I am.
I've had the pleasure of joining the Ainuthala kinship, and their progression raiding subcommunity, on Evernight. We've been stopping at each previous level cap, through the use of the Stone of the Tortoise, to experience older LOTRO content as originally intended. Ainuthala has already completed The Rift, Dar Narbugud, Barad Guldur, and Tower of Orthanc and is currently on a leisurely track for the Erebor raiding cluster. Although I'm primarily here to enjoy experiencing LOTRO's classic content, it doesn't mean I haven't been bringing my fashionable best. Between reaching the next scheduled level cap and waiting for the next community event, I've been spending some free time outfitting.
Don't get too excited! There are important things that you, my readers, must know.
I don't have plans to take up a long-term residency here again. As the entry title says, this is only temporary.
I'll at least be around until the raid group reaches level 130. Back in 2021, my interest waned after Minas Morgul's story concluded. I'll be honest, neither my feelings nor my expectations have changed. However, I did decide to pick up Gundabad during the Black Friday sales and give the expansion an honest attempt. If Gundabad doesn't hold my interest and I don't reach level 140, I'll likely not purchase subsequent expansions, and my time raiding will come to an end.
For the time being, I'll also be sharing my content on Bluesky (I'll update the "Follow MME Elsewhere" widget in the future) and on various Discord servers. Twitter is dead and I won't be sharing there, given the recent ToS change. I currently have no intention of joining the updated official LOTRO forums, unless there is good reason.
That being said, I look forward to showing everybody what I've been wearing while on this journey!
Thank you for making me feel welcome once more!
~Nath
