Newbies & Introductions

Yeah I get it, this is where everyone will actually post.
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Tobold
Farmer
Points: 109 
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2026 5:46 pm
Hello! It's 2026 and I'm posting on the LOTR Plaza. Holy smokes. So glad to see that this site has been resurrected and still has a heart beat. Big thanks to whoever made that happen. First of all, I just want to say that the nostalgia from these wonderful animated icons has hit me like a train. I love it.

I was active on here from 2004 until around 2007. My name was LotrDude. Many people just called me Dude. I was part of the Rohan kingdom, the Dunami family, and an army of some sorts called the Hunters of Ungoliant (I'm not really sure what we were doing tbh. Ardohoth if you're still on here hit me up).

At that time I was 12 to 15 years of age. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people found me kind of annoying, and rightfully so. I was a little kid who had only seen the movies. Now I'm 33, and over the last 3 years I've finally read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and some of the other books. I've read the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the Children of Hurin, the Fall of Gondolin, Beren and Luthien, and the Fall of Numenor. Currently I'm reading the Nature of Middle Earth. I'm more into the Tolkien Legendarium now than ever, so this was a great time to stumble on the Plaza. I'm looking forward to being able to discuss the books with you fine folks, or to at least finally understand what you nerds are talking about :grin:.

For old time's sake I'm going to end this post with a few more of these incredible emojis:
:shrug: :headbang: :hammer: :googly: :rofl: :smooch: :moon:
"from the veins of the lands to the mouths of the rivers, and from the strands and estuaries out into the deep"
Mahal
Drífa
Mahal
Points: 3 817 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:32 pm
Welcome back to the NuPlaza, @Tobold Brandybuck aka lotrdude :grin: The link to your last ten posts works!

Time sure flies, eh? Hope to see you around!
The world was fair in Durin's Day.
Aikári Salmarinian
New Soul
Points: 2 817 
Posts: 3091
Joined: Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:24 am
Hi Dude, welcome back. I do remember you! :grin: I was at the time 28- 30 years old. Now on my way to being 51.
Just call me Aiks or Aikári. Notify is off.
Find me stuff in Gondolin.
And let us embark to Valinor!
Merewyn
Esquire of The Mark
Points: 508 
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu May 14, 2020 2:40 am
@Tobold Brandybuck welcome back! Always nice to see someone returning to the Plaza. Your username sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it. It sounds like we wereboth similarly aged back then, not as lore-wise as we thought we were, and both part of the Dunami family, so I'm sure we've crossed paths at some point. But I'm closing in on 32 in a few months and many of my memories of early Plaza are a little fuzzy, so who knows? :shrug:

Anyways, welcome back! :grin:
Tobold
Farmer
Points: 109 
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2026 5:46 pm
Thanks for the welcome, guys! All of your names sound vaguely familiar, but it was a long time ago. I'm sure we did cross paths at some point Merewyn!

Edit: and thanks @Drífa for sharing that link of my last 10 posts. How fun! I'm having a good chuckle at those. How exactly does the way back machine work with the Plaza? Is there any way to access individual posts, or just snapshots of the message boards? I would love to have a read through some of the "Poems O' Lotrdude" threads if they still exist.
"from the veins of the lands to the mouths of the rivers, and from the strands and estuaries out into the deep"
Mahal
Drífa
Mahal
Points: 3 817 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:32 pm
You are welcome, @Tobold. I try to find a member's first post, but that's usually like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Snapshots are what you will find, which can lead to different threads and posts. That is how you may find "Poems O'Lotrdude" threads. Good luck!
The world was fair in Durin's Day.
Merewyn
Esquire of The Mark
Points: 508 
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu May 14, 2020 2:40 am
@Drífa clicking that link to go look at @Tobold's old post refreshed my memory about the Credit system and the Battle Arena back in the day. Boy, I remember trying to find ways to maximize my daily credits to buy things back then...ah, elementary and middle school dreams.
Mahal
Drífa
Mahal
Points: 3 817 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:32 pm
@Merewyn yeah, those were good incentives to keep the Plaza active. I get a kick out of going back in the machine and reading all the old threads. :thumbs:
The world was fair in Durin's Day.
Merewyn
Esquire of The Mark
Points: 508 
Posts: 374
Joined: Thu May 14, 2020 2:40 am
Oh boy, over the last few years I have had a BLAST scrolling through the time machine and amusing myself with old school shenanigans.
Tobold
Farmer
Points: 109 
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2026 5:46 pm
I was also really into the battle arena and items lol. But I never had enough funds for good equipment. Wasn't good at maximizing my credit I guess.
"from the veins of the lands to the mouths of the rivers, and from the strands and estuaries out into the deep"
Arien
Silky Gooseness
Arien
Points: 2 417 
Posts: 1982
Joined: Thu May 07, 2020 8:56 pm
Some of the equipment was award only… the day I got my balrog whip was when I peaked :lol:
cave anserem
Mairu
Child of The Mark
Points: 4 
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun May 17, 2026 1:51 pm
I already posted on Rohan, which i will always consider my true home, but I finally found my way back after a solid 20 or so years away (wow!) Like lotrdude I was in my mid teens around then and now closer to 40. (Holy crap lol). The forums were my escape and place of joy in a dark time, and through participation in the art part of the forum I got interested in photography and poetry. I lost touch around fall of my senior year of high school (2007ish) and when ive thought to look for the forum I couldn't remember the name until a slight better worded Google search yesterday. Anyway! I was briefly one of the admins in the art forum until the time I didnt have access to a computer. I also went by various variations on 'bean' like dr. Strangebean and greenbean, lol. But RP as mairu.

Anyway I know i may have not had a big impact on the forum, but it had a big impact on me. Im so happy to see that it's still alive nowadays and I recognize a few names still around.
Mahal
Drífa
Mahal
Points: 3 817 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2020 3:32 pm
Welcome back to the Nuplaza, @Mairu! Sounds to me that you did have an impact! :thumbs: Wonderful to see you here!
The world was fair in Durin's Day.
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