#theonering.net

[arsonyte]

Back when I was a teenager and I was a huge LOTR-Tolkien fan because of the movies-- I became part of TheOneRing.Net's online chat group (and did form a group of friends with fans my age).

During that time, I had a big bad crush on Elijah Wood and I remember being dragged into a chat in the same community mentioned-- where they claimed that Elijah was "an anonymous guest" during that session.

Looking back now as an adult, I thought -- damn, must have been scammed. There's no way an actor of that scale would actually be in a chatroom made by fans by the fans. It's just... impossible. It's like I was young and naive and I believed it was him.

I brushed it off.

Then I remember how he was going around during the pandemic, actually visiting people's islands on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Suddenly, I looked back and thought -- well fuck. Elijah might have actually been in the chat.

*shrugged*

Guess we'll never know.

[sirioniel]

To be honest I still have some problems with TRoP's mithril origin story, but theonering.net's take on it is quite alright. According to their article the origin story fits nicely in Tolkiens lore - and I think I can make my peace with it.

[marahsfandomloves]

I have been a member of THEONERING.NET forum for years and never have I experienced such aggression and toxic traits since recently. I for one loved the Rings of Power, like I love the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. I love the books. It's sad that my opinion of a character of a show was attacked. I probably won't be on there as much anymore.

It's sad when your safe Fandom gets aggressive.

[association-of-freed-people]

I’m a huge Tolkien fan dating back to childhood. I remember the announcement that Peter Jackson was going to make the LOTR films and being excited that someone was going to take a big swing at translating a big story. I followed production pretty intently at theonering.net. The biggest controversies in advance of Fellowship were Jackson’s decision to omit Tom Bombadil/Goldberry and the Barrow Downs from the films.

That time seems so far removed now. I can’t remember the last time I anticipated a big budget adaptation because of the certainty that it will be bastardized beyond recognition and used for political allegory.

[emilybeemartin]

Just got catcalled by a power tools bro revving his dad’s Chevy while I was deep in Aged Millennial thoughts about the early days after The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) released in theaters--- thinking about how my friends and I used to log onto LordoftheRings.net, speakers turned up, to hear the actors welcome us to the website, refreshing and refreshing until we heard Dom, Billy, or Orlando’s voices. How TheOneRing.net had a fan art page with a bad pencil scan of Arwen (BOOK VERSION NOT MOVIE VERSION).jpg as it’s first image, while new fan art was added in its hundreds behind it, and you had to click through each page to see new art, which meant seeing all the same pieces dozens of times and never actually reaching the end. How all the Angelfire fan pages had the same look-- those oversaturated, gaussian-blurred photos with that incredibly small, black-and-white text, and how the only way to find new sites was through the affiliate icons on their links page, and how exciting it was to find those affiliates even though they all had the same photos because nobody could screenshot yet.

Anyway, there’s no point here, I guess, except that my first OC, Laurelin Silverwing, would have thrown her sword at that redneck bastard and then made out with Legolas over his broken scapula.

[fandomsandfairytales]

For the unwritten fics game - the terrifying sons of Fëanor and the baseball AU!

(Also you have to divide tags up into five per paragraph now, two of them didn't go through.)

Thank you for letting me know about the dividing tags!! I just updated the post, so hopefully they've all gone through now.

These descriptions got kinda long so I put them under a cut XD

Terrifying sons of Fëanor

This was largely (to my memory) inspired by reading in The Silmarillion about how Maedhros was scary and intimidating to the point that orcs fled from him in fear, and just reading about how people were fearful of the Fëanorians in battle in general.

This was one of the quotes I was thinking of from The Silm:

“Maedhros did deeds of surpassing valour, and the Orcs fled before his face; for since his torment upon Thangorodrim his spirit burned like a white fire within, and he was as one that returns from the dead.”

And also this:

"[Maedhros'] body recovered from his torment and became hale, but the shadow of his pain was in his heart; and he lived to wield his sword with left hand more deadly than his right had been."

I also recalled Maglor killing Uldor for betraying them in the Nirnaeth, and the epithet "Celegorm the Cruel." In my running list of ideas, I wrote the following down when I came up with the overall idea:

A story (or stories?) where we get to see how epically *terrifying* the Noldor are in battle. Please. I need to read about Maedhros being terrifying to any orcs crossing his path and scaring anyone around him. I need to hear Maglor softly whispering “Nelyo?” and see the battle-light fade from his brother’s eyes. I need to hear Maglor shrieking and his voice horrible and awful, ringing off the walls, sharp and overpowering with Song. I need to see Celegorm on the hunt, fierce and feral. I need to read about Caranthir, face and countenance as black as his hair, any hint of redness gone from his pale face (or, conversely, his face dark with color). I need to read about Curufin with crazy weapons, designed to be deadly, and he is terrifyingly, freakily calm as he strides across the battlefield, knowing even a tiny slice of his knife will cause an enemy to bleed out. I need to read about Ambarussa, cunning and sly and how nobody should ever, ever underestimate them as they work in a pair to drive their enemies back, orcs and elves alike. I need it. (It could be 7 chapters. Maybe 8, if I wanted to do each of the Ambarussa)

I think it would be intense and it could easily end up quite dark if I wanted to go that direction (I don't really want to, however), and I have the feeling I'd need to do some research. But I haven't read anything quite like it before and I would enjoy writing it and reading it later, I think. Each chapter could be a compilation of moments in battle, from the viewpoints of other characters—perhaps one or two from a brother and then others from enemies. If I write it, it might be pretty short, but I like the idea of expanding further on each individual sub-idea I wrote down.

Baseball AU

This was partly inspired by seeing something on Twitter about season 1 Rings of Power* and how Elrond's cloak/outfit had runes with Eärendil's name on it, and someone made a joke about how it's the equivalent of a sports jersey. (I really thought I took a screenshot of it, and I searched in like 5 different possible folders for it for about 10 minutes but couldn't find it, so if I ever stumble across it again I'll add it to this post.) Also, from a quick Google searching, apparently TheOneRing.net has an article analyzing the cloak, if anyone's interested.

Anyway, I was so amused by the idea that I drew a little picture of a baseball jersey with "Eärendilion" on the back, along with the number 8. (I liked the idea of incorporating both Elrond's biological and adopted family into the design.)

And then—this is where my memory gets a little hazy—I think later on in the summer, my family had baseball on the TV in the background, and one of the teams playing was the Seattle Mariners. I had either just been rereading The Silm (bc I did that last summer) or had been recently on Tumblr scrolling through Silm stuff or somehow remembered my Eärendilion sports jersey design. In any case, I had The Silm on my mind and noticed the baseball team and went to myself "hey. HEY. Mariners. Like Eärendil, get it?" and thought it was hilarious. I decided that if they ever had baseball teams in Valinor or Middle-Earth or wherever, they'd definitely have a Mariners team.

It didn't really go anywhere from there until earlier this year, when I came up with "Finwë Park," a play on Fenway Park (the Red Sox baseball team's stadium), and that amused me as well. I kept thinking that it would be cool to do more with this idea, especially with plays on names both in The Silm and in real life, but didn't have any more ideas until tonight, when we were once again watching baseball. I remembered a few fics I've read that are essentially sports commentaries, and that made me think "hey. I could probably write that. I think." And then went "well, hmmm, I feel like with a baseball game it would be less interesting because you have to *imagine* these things happening, seeing or hearing it is a lot more interesting than reading, and if you don't know baseball well it might get kinda boring....WAIT. WHAT IF...what if I made a podfic. Of sports commentary for a Silm characters baseball game. I could totally get sound clips of crowd noise and baseballs being caught and hit from online, and I could change the pitch on my voice so it's lower or higher to differentiate between commentators....oh heck yeah. This now sounds really fun."

I feel like this would take a while to get together (both the writing and the podfic), but I would want to release the text and audio at the same time. Summer is the prime time for baseball, so I'm going to try to pay more attention to baseball games over the next couple months and see what I can come up with!

Thank you so so much for the ask :D (especially for one of the unwritten fics that I came up with most of the ideas for literally tonight, lol)

Link to my not-yet-written/unwritten fics here.

*I am neither a ROP supporter or hater, I'm a...neutral and kinda "meh" party, interested enough to hear about where it goes but not interested enough to really get into it and develop strong opinions. I've heard plenty on both sides. I didn't really want to get into it in this post since that was not the point here XD

[jurakan]

So I know I’ve been critical of how people here are talking about Rings of Power before its release, but thing I’ve been thinking: TheOneRing.Net has been VERY positive in their coverage of the series, and I wonder, if the series truly is terrible, how that coverage is going to go.

[olderthannetfic]

Maedhros/Fingon NOTP anon pt 2

It's absolutely true that first cousins don't count in a lot of historical contexts, and if people want to ship Maedhros/Fingon in an AU where that's the case that's great. And if they want to ship them because the incest is fun, that's great too. I just wish people actually knew the whole of the Silm before shoving their dumb ship down my throat and disbelieving me when I try to explain that I'm not homophobic I'm just not into incest ships when they themselves are the ones demanding an explanation (this last is not at anyone in the replies here, I'm venting about decades old fandom interactions on theonering.net and LJ)

--

[tolkien-fandom-history]

2000s Tolkien Fanfiction Splash Pages

If you read Tolkien fanfiction in the 2000s, you probably passed a splash page or two in your quest for fic. These pages, located at the site's index page or homepage, served as a buffer between the visitor and the site's content. You often had to click to "enter" the site. They contained warnings; disclaimers; spiffy images and backgrounds; affiliate links, awards, webrings, and Yahoo! Groups; and (my favorite) invitations to LEAVE NOW if "offended" by the content on the site. (The LEAVE NOW link usually pointed to Google.com, though Least Expected helpfully invites wayward prudes to "Head on over to theonering.net or something.)

I grabbed the text from about a dozen splash pages from the early-mid 2000s (the oldest, King & Herald, was from 2007; all others are 2001-4) and made the word cloud above, which illustrates the climate and concerns of fanfiction archivists in the first years Tolkien-based fanfiction was online.

I'll share a few of my favorite splash pages below the jump.

Fanfiction was scary. Slashfic was scarier.

Many splash pages assumed that the people visiting the site were going to be offended by the content of the site, especially if that content was slash fanfiction. I already mentioned the LEAVE NOW links above. Also typical was the understanding that explicit fanfiction (especially slash) was for people over the age of 18. The splash page for Least Expected, circa 2001 and the earliest Tolkienslash archive on the internet, shows how splash pages foregrounded deterrence, even in a group that was unapologetic about its interests, reflecting the larger cultural panic about growing acceptance of sexuality, especially LGBTQIA+.

Sites spelled out very clearly what could be found there: adult-rated material, same-sex pairings, and real person fic (RPF), for example. The site Legolas in Chains even had illustrations. (Content warning for incest and non-con and graphic acts performed by stick figures; see the Legolas in Chains splash page here.) "I will not hold responsibility ..." writes the Legolas in Chains' archivist before launching into the text version of the warning, "just in case you don't get the picture above." This was an important cultural difference between fanfiction fandom in the 2000s and now: Archivists and group owners assumed it was at least partly their responsibility to shield "web surfers" (especially children) from the content on their sites and groups and made an effort to demonstrate that they were fulfilling this obligation.

Slash and adult-rated content weren't the only anxieties on archivists' minds. The words disclaimer, copyright, and permission occurred frequently too. And even larger than those words: please. While many of these splash pages are very direct and some use humor, they tend to be polite. The overwhelming sense from many of this is, "We're not harming you. Please just leave us alone."

2000s Tech.

Splash pages also showcase the rapidly evolving technology of the web. You wanted your splash page to show that you knew what you were doing. The splash page for Meduseld above is a beautiful example.

Splash pages often included banners and graphics, visitor counters, and of course, links to the guestbook. Images sometimes moved and twinkled. Colored text and patterned backgrounds showed the designer's HTML and CSS skills.

Splash pages also reflected the challenges of creating webpages (especially if you were trying to be cutting-edge) in an era where web standards were not universally adopted and sites displayed differently depending on the browser, OS, and resolution of your screen. Splash pages sometimes advised which resolution worked best with the site (some offered a choice!) and which browser the site had been designed in.

Affiliates: A Little Help from My Friends.

The splash pages for Middle Earth Romance Fan-Fiction and Meduseld both highlight the importance of a splash page in announcing your affiliates. The majority of these archives developed out of a community, usually on Yahoo! Groups, and linking to the group was essential. As Middle Earth Romance Fan-Fiction shows, sites also had "sister sites" sometimes: sites created by the same designer (but with different focuses) or that otherwise shared resources and collaboration.

The fanfiction community (okay, the internet in general) was also much more fragmented than it is today. Consider that, in the 2000s, there were dozens (probably hundreds, if not more) Tolkien fanfiction archives online. Many of these sites were small and highly specialized. Furthermore, search engine technology was rudimentary, so it wasn't like today when you visit a handful of sites (say, AO3 and Tumblr), type in a tag or search term, and there is your fannish experience, all in one place. You had to work to find groups and archives about what interested you--a challenge compounded by the fact that many of these groups and archives legit feared being sued by New Line or the Tolkien Estate and didn't want to be found.

Webrings, cliques, fanlistings, and awards were one way that small sites got the word out to friendly company. Once you found one site, you could meander through the webring to find others like it. You could join email lists (like Yahoo! Groups) to unlock even more access, since these groups were most often members-only. Most sites had both "Links" and "Link to Us" pages, and exchanging links with another site was common.

You can see my splash page collection here, using the earliest Wayback Machine capture I could find.

(Posted by @dawnfelagund)

[ringsofpowerfans]

// For those of who aren’t at SDCC but want to feel like we’re being left out

[hunthalloweeen]

Official NYCC TheOneRing.net and Sideshow Gathering #New York

Official NYCC TheOneRing.net and Sideshow Gathering

from Halloween Events & Happenings in New York | #NewYork https://ift.tt/pgb2Goc

[marahsfandomloves]

New Lord of the Rings War of the Rohirrim logo on Theonering.net Instagram page.

[rags751]

Rings of Power Cast Interviews with TheOneRing.net

[esonetwork]

The Earth Station One Podcast - Stranger Things Season 4 Review

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/the-earth-station-one-podcast-stranger-things-season-4-review/

The Earth Station One Podcast - Stranger Things Season 4 Review

This summer saw the return of Upside Down with a threat so dangerous, it crashed Netflix’s servers. Mike, Mike, Rebecca Perry, and Amy Chandler discuss the Hellfire Club, Russians addiction to peanut butter, Kate Bush, Surfer Boy Pizza, and one of the Metal scenes ever filmed. All this, along with Ashley’s Box Office Buzz, Angela’s A Geek Girl’s Take, Michelle’s Iconic Rock Moment, and Shout Outs!

We want to hear from you! Feedback is always welcome. Please write to us at feedback@earthstationone.com and subscribe and rate the show on Apple Podcast, Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, or wherever fine podcasts are found.

Table of Contents 0:00:00 Show Open / Stranger Thing Season 4 Review (Initial Thoughts) 0:33:32 Box Office Buzz 0:35:56 Stranger Things Season 4 Review 1:37:21 Michelle’s Music Moment 1:39:36 Stranger Things Season 4 Review (Final Thoughts and What’s Next) 2:15:48 A Geek Girls Take 2:18:45 Show Close

Links Earth Station One on Apple Podcasts Earth Station One on Stitcher Radio Earth Station One on Spotify Past Episodes of The Earth Station One Podcast The ESO Network Patreon The New ESO Network TeePublic Store ESO Network Patreon Angela’s A Geek Girl’s Take Ashley’s Box Office Buzz Michelle’s Iconic Rock Talk Show The Earth Station One Website NSC Live TV Tifosi Optical TheOneRing.net

Promos Tifosi Optics Dragon Con Report Best Saturdays of Our Lives The ESO Network Patreon

If you would like to leave feedback or a comment on the show please feel free to email us at feedback@earthstationone.com

[hyperlexia-1]

SDCC Live: What's Next for JRR Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Across All Media