Cultus Dispatches: "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far)
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.
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Cultus Dispatches: "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far)
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.
New Challenge: Building Middle-earth
Let global architecture be your inspiration in this challenge, where you will work with a prompts that are architectural styles, locations in Arda, or both.
Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
[Writing] Wound Care by StarSpray
He’d ventured into the little fishing village in search of food and maybe a dry place to sleep for a night of rain and wind—he hadn’t expected this, to be bullied into a hot meal and a healer’s attention.
[Writing] Swelling from the Sea by annarobots
Tuor and Elwing’s recreational sailing excursion goes terribly awry when a carnivorous siren casts her gaze upon their vessel. With her song, she enchants the mariners and boards with evil intent. She kills and eats their crewman, she demands Tuor’s hand in marriage, and for dessert…
[Writing] A Song Amidst His Torment by Elrond's Library
Of course it was a trap.
Maitimo has to survive. He must. But what price is too high to pay for survival?
[Writing] The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster
Rescued from a brutal Angband hunt, an ex-thrall with a strange and powerful artifact embedded in his spine is brought to Himring, for it is one of the only places in Beleriand which welcomes such folk. Though he has no memories of his life before, Anniavas slowly becomes accustomed to his new…
[Writing] From That Rubble by StarSpray
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I…
[Writing] One Flesh, One Soul. Part I by FellFireFan
As beautiful as he is dangerous, Aegnor, an elven prince, stands against the looming shadows of Angband. Brother to Galadriel, he commands the siege with a fierce intensity, a duty that exacts a heavy toll on him. But beneath the iron walls he has built lies a broken soul, haunted by a…
[Reference] "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far) by Dawn Walls-Thumma
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies mark perhaps the most influential events in the history of the Tolkien fanfiction fandom. As the Rings of Power show approaches its third season, data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows that it is not even close to…
Building Middle-earth
Receive a prompt of an architectural style or a location on Arda—or both!—to inspire your fanworks. Read more ...
Secret Gate
A Matryoshka challenge where prompts are based on the common plot points and tropes from mystery novels. Read more ...
"The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far) by Dawn Walls-Thumma
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies mark perhaps the most influential events in the history of the Tolkien fanfiction fandom. As the Rings of Power show approaches its third season, data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows that it is not even close to matching the impact of the films ... yet.
Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Data from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows demographic changes in participant gender, age, and education and new revelations about neurodiversity.
Communities Do Comment: Expanding the 3C's of Commenting with SWG Data by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Expanding on my 2018 article "Why People Don't Comment," comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
[Writing] Down the Long Years by Isilme_among_the_stars
Bilbo, the strange old hobbit with the wandering feet, senses something special in young Frodo the first time he sees the lad; as they become close, they find in each other a cameraderie not well understood by other hobbits. Five poignant moments between Bilbo and Frodo Baggins over the course…
[Artwork] The Mirror of Galadriel by skywardstruck
Smoke rises from the Mirror, where the Lady of Lothlórien awaits to share its visions.
[Writing] Bar-en-Eladar by Gabriel
Out of the shadow, light is born anew.
A Chieftain is dead. And whilst the events surrounding his death are unclear, a son tries to come to terms with his loss.
Innumerable Stars 2026
A character-based Tolkien fandom gift exchange is returning for another year of gifting.
Silvergifting Week 2026
A week dedicated to Celebrimbor/Mairon | Annatar | Sauron pairing, aka Silvergifting. August 10-16, 2026
I feel like the moods are layered like the mountains, with more implied than the eye can see.
Starlit nights are always so calm and peaceful for me, and your piece so palpably conveys a sense of relief and release that must have been felt when the background radiation of Morgoth’s energy — insidiously permeating the last half-millennium of the First Age — suddenly subsides.
Of course Celeborn feels a fresh hope for a new Age!
I have the sense that Tom is rather Buddha-like, existing purely in the moment, accepting things as they are, ebbing and flowing in perpetual — balancing — cycles, differing only in detail.
I am curious to know what led to your choice of featuring Celeborn here, if it isn't only that he just fits so comfortably here.
Canon seems to emphasize more how much Morgoth left behind of himself, but I thought surely when he departed it must have had an effect that could be felt, especially by anyone strong in osanwe (as Celeborn does seem to be, later in the Return of the King)? And Elrond does mention later that at first they felt quite optimistic, after the fall of Morgoth, but I thought that it might take a while for that to set in, for some who had seen their home in Beleriand destroyed.
I picked Celeborn because of how Treebeard talks about him and also because it would make sense for him to be approximately in this place at this time, if he was planning a settlement at Nenuial. He is a Sinda and he is older than both Elrond and Galadriel (at least in my 'verse) and that was what I wanted for this, because he would also remember the times when Beleriand was (relatively) at peace, long before Melkor himself attacked again.
You were right that the banner was easy to upload! I think it looks great like this, do you agree? Thank you very much for making it and also for your comments!
Yes, I think there's a distinct difference between the leached influence Morgoth infused Arda with, and his radiated vibrational frequency. (No matter how I phrase this I can't help sounding all new-agey!) Same with the feeling of despair people felt due to the effects of destruction and devastation; that's directly related to the trauma they'd experienced and would take time to heal, while Morgoth's "bad vibes" would just, as you put it, feel gone.
Ah, yes, I like your line of thinking of the interconnections between Treebeard, Tom, and Celeborn.
(And I'm so happy you're happy with the banner :)
Nice. Happy.
But still... a hint of sorrow. Only a hint. Barely there. Almost nothing. But...
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