Bree-town Border-guard (with Kyix of Gladden)

Very simple outfit by Kyix, going for the very simple guard or watcher look. We just got her to pose around at Bree because it helped the name fit the alliterative nature of the blog (lol), and also it looks more mannish than anything to be fair. 

You might remember a shot like this by Brina a few posts back, and I thought it would be a funny allusion to that, only this time by an actual respected member of society. 

Of all outfits, this is the one that got more than 3 pictures, and that's not a good thing because I really have nothing to say about it. To me, as well as Kyix's player, it just speaks for itself.

Like, yeah, no idea what to say...

Head: Potent Dextrous Helmet of Fate (sienna);

Shoulders: Ornate Pauldrons of the Dunland Swordsman (white); 

Chest: Lesser Steadfast Chestguard of Fate (black);

Hands: Kelkka-maker's Gauntlets (white);

Feet: Barrow-warrior's Boots (black).

Captain of the Chasm (with Kyix of Gladden)

Again returns the captain of champions and guardians alike, Kyix, to lend her aid to the dwarves of Moria, as they scavenge what is left of their once glorious mountain behind the trail of the Fellowship of the Ring. In such a dark place, she is a beacon of hope against the many dark creatures that lurk, be they orc or beast.

With all my other toons that have passed Moria, not one of them had a Moria-themed outfit simply because I found it too difficult to make. But here is Kyix showing me that it is in fact possible to do it. I especially like the bright gold bits on her armour that really act as a reflection of light in the dark, a perfect representation of what a captain should be, although it can be hard to sometimes hide one's fear in such a dark and near-desolate place. 

Looking at her choice of pieces, I can tell she had quite a hard time finding the perfect pieces for this outfit. Like I said before, I tried a lot and didn't have any success but this seems to be the best way to put together a Moria-based outfit. I don't know, it looks really nice to me, I really like it, and I wish I came up with this!

Head: Ceremonial Helm of the Brazen Call (evendim blue);

Shoulders: Ceremonial Stone-reader's Shoulders (walnut brown);

Back: Ceremonial Singed Cloak (walnut brown);

Chest: Hall-captain's Breastplate (evendim blue);

Hands: Ceremonial High-protector's Gloves (evendim blue);

Legs: Ceremonial War-captain's Leggings (evendim blue);

Feet: Ceremonial Boots of the Gloom-bane (gold).

Samurai Settler (with Kyix of Gladden)

I'm really glad to see more outfit submissions - thanks once again to Kyix for the pictures!

Very obviously this outfit was inspired by the costumes of the Japanese samurai. Now I don't know much about history, but the samurai were regarded as highly skillful warriors, and Kyix is no exception on the battle-field. She settled in Middle-earth after some strange, headcanon, universe crossover between the real world and Arda and has helped the Elves of Eregion maintain order, and repel against the evil forces there.

Now, there are a few differences between the inspiration and the end product, but that I found came down simply to the availability of armour skins - there aren't any slipper-like foot pieces in game, and the colour scheme of chest pieces don't really match the ones you'd find on samurai. That being said, I think Kyix has done a wonderful job at capturing the essence of samurai. The helm pretty much says it all, and what's really great is that Kyix's weapon is a pole-based one, just like the Naginata that female samurai used. Way to pay attention to detail!

Head: Scowling Helm (red);

Shoulders: Fine Mathom-hunter's Mantle (steel blue); 

Chest: Strong Eastemnet Combat Armour (red);

Hands: Gloves of the Unflagging Dragon (crimson);

Feet: Boots of the Anorien Fields (red).

A Flying Flare (with Kyix of Gladden)

I rescheduled the posts to accommodate this outfit being posted here when it is because I wanted to board the "use new Mordor quest rewards" ship as soon as possible. After all, what point would there be to let people see outfits based on these pieces starting June next year (yes, I have posts scheduled until then)? 

By now, Kyix is no stranger to My Middle-earth Mode, and her constant contributions have been stellar so far.* This one, however, takes the word "stellar" and brings it further as the outfit simply glimmers under the light of the sun, gleaming hope into the hearts of all the citizens of Gondor. Obviously, the winged theme is used here in the boots, gloves and helm, but my favourite part of the outfit is its use of armour/cosmetic pieces from all over the place.

* I just realised that she has submitted many outfits but only two, including this one, have been published so far.

The helm, albeit winged themed as well, isn't actually part of a Gondorian armour set - both gloves and feet are - but rather is a quest reward from Dunland. Not only that, but the shoulderpiece used here is a 2016 Summer Festival cosmetic item which I imagine shouldn't have Gondorian history behind it - but it works so well!

I feel that the chestpiece is the one piece to bind them all together in such success. Being a one-piecer, it allows for a consistency from the neck all through the torso and legs to the feet, which allows for  more deviations from the set in other areas. Also, looking at the outfit from close up shows the obvious and beautiful glints of light on the metal pieces all over; and I can totally see this being used to great effect in Mordor as the idea of this outfit contradicts the very nature of Mordor, giving hope to those who would fight alongside Kyix in such a dark and desolate place.

Overall, I utterly love this contribution from Kyix, and she has really raised the bar for the quality of outfits on this blog from today on. I might just try my hand at using some Mordor quest pieces in my outfits right now, despite just starting my second semester here at Berklee College of Music - all is going really well, by the way! 

Head: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Helm (Belegaer blue);

Shoulders: Mantle of the Summer Sea (grey);

Back: Cloak of the Unwelcomed Huest (Belegaer blue);

Chest: Invader's Heavy Hauberk (Belegaer blue);

Hands: Heavy Nadhin Gloves (steel blue);

Feet: Heavy Nadhin Boots* (Belegaer blue).

* although supposedly being in the same set as the gloves, this piece has a very different look from the gloves. Kyix said she found it on the Auction House, but I haven't been able to find any of the other pieces in that likeness, so I can't say if there is a whole set like this or if it's just the boots.

Celebrating the My Middle-earth Mode family!

After a year and a half, I'd like to celebrate the ever-growing My Middle-earth Family, as well as (finally!) an actual logo for the blog!

Just a huge thank you to:

1) my inspirations, the other LOTRO fashion websites, and especially Nathrien of Material Middle-earth whose comments bring a smile to my face and motivates me to keep doing this;

2) the friends I've made on Gladden who contribute to the blog by sending me screenshots of their toons in costumes they made: Kyix, Sintuilë & Halygr;

3) my audiences from all across the globe, who make it worth actually documenting these outfits and publishing them online.

Worm Wrangler (with Kyix of Gladden)

Wearing the hide and scale of her foes, this fearless captain charges into the lairs of drakes on her trusty dragon-clad steed. Together, their might keeps the worms at bay and keeps Middle-earth safe.

I have to say I am loving the new cosmetic armour rewards for this Anniversary Festival; they just look amazing. Well done to the new design team who brought such freshness to the table - it's paid off, as I've already received an outfit submission based around the new helm. Granted it's not the most versatile piece, but it does look amazing.

It definitely looks great in combat stance too, as the points on the helm and the shoulders create this intimidatingly beautiful outline. I use the same shoulders on my Rune Keeper and I can testify to the silhouette of her riding down the dark forests of Mirkwood looking absolutely stunning.

Head: Helm of the Unflagging Dragon (red);

Shoulders: Shoulders of the Deathstorm (ranger green);

Back: Cloak of the Boar Warrior (ranger green);

Chest: Scaled Hauberk (red);

Hands: Ceremonial Dragon-scale Gloves (gold);

Feet: Boots of the Unflagging Dragon (crimson).