Tar Miriel - Tumblr Posts
the rings of power + references to women in art
The ASOIAF fandom is so funny about discourse; both in topics and reactions. The other main fandom I frequent on Tumblr is Tolkien, and the difference is remarkable.
For instance, in the story of the Fall of Numenor, there's a story about the usurpation of a woman that leads to tragedy. I'm talking, of course, about Tar-Míriel. She was the rightful queen of Numenor, but was usurped by her cousin Ar-Pharazôn, who caused the destruction of Numenor.
There is not a single person in the Tolken fandom who argues that Ar-Pharazôn was in the right, was actually a good person, or that Tar-Míriel deserved to be usurped. Granted, the story isn't actually the same as that of the Dance, but the bare bones are pretty similar.
Tar-Míriel isn't a morally gray character like Rhaenyra, in fact we know very little about her, but the parts we do know are good. However, both Rhaenyra and Tar-Míriel were declared their fathers' heirs despite the existence of close male relatives. They were both usurped and ultimately killed (Míriel indirectly) by a male relative.
Ar-Pharazôn and Aegon II are both written as almost cartoonishly evil. They both were horrible rulers and warmongers. Their reigns caused massive tragedies; Aegon II and his faction caused the deaths of the dragons and Ar-Pharazôn's actions caused Iluvatar to destroy Numenor.
Now, I'm not saying that these two stories are meant to be connected or paralleled, they simple capture a similar story pattern rooted in history. My point is that the ASOIAF fandom has a major issue.
The greens are not secretly heroes, good people, or morally superior to the blacks in any way, shape, or form. The obsession of the ASOIAF fandom to turn them into more "sympathetic" characters is ridiculous. Fandoms like the Tolkien one are able to embrace a character being a villain without trying to turn them into a hero.
It's so frustrating because this obsession with making the greens into protagonists damages fandom discourse. It's turned the Dance into a cheap "choose your team" issue, rather than a story of the damage of misogyny, the patriarchy, and warring lords. The arguments over which team is right is absurd and creates a space were misogyny is fostered and encouraged (even some TB fans)
I know, a majority of my posts are complaining about TG and their stans, so I'm guilty of perpetuating the cycle. But there's a difference between analysis of a character and arguing with people's rotten takes and just reducing the story to team discourse; I try my best to avoid the latter.
I'm sure a large part of this issue can be traced to HOTD, but I think it's indicative of deeper problem in the fandom. People reduce the issues in the main books to "who's gonna take the throne" rather than actually addressing things. They're so comfortable spouting misogyny in regards to Daenerys and Arya. The ASOIAF fandom has deeper issues that are being exacerbated by the writing decisions of HOTD and, before that, GOT.
rewatched rop and i genuinely enjoy it. idk man something about adar is just super cool. something about galadriel is super cool. something about miriel is super cool. something about durin and elrond both is super cool. something about halbrand. something about nori and poppy and the stranger is super cool
hell i even like theo. theo's neat. and isildur, i like him too.
i may just be able to say this because i haven't read the silmarillion or any of the other books and i'm not a die-hard tolkien fan who points out every inaccuracy but i like it. i just like it
Friendly reminder to the RoP fans who don't know the original lore:
Valandil is Isildur's son (But let's be honest, he was more raised by Elrond)
Galadriel is older than the sun
Elven men canonically have long hair
Elrond was found by Maedhros and Maglor and also is not, in fact, an orphan, his mom is a bird and his dad is a star and they may or may not be divorced
Isildur, Ar-Pharazon, Miriel, Valandil, and almost all of the rest of Gondor and Numenor's royals are Elrond's nieces and nephews.
Galadriel has a husband and a daughter
A daughter who IS MARRIED TO ELROND
Gondolin
In Valinor, one year is a century long. 20 years to an elf is only about three months to a human.
A Durin would not be the son of another Durin
None of these events happen anywhere near one another in the timeline
Galadriel sees right through Sauron instantly, she does not fall in love with him
Nor does she fall in love with Elrond, as he is her son-in-law and also her therapist
And finally, a reminder to the Tolkein purists:
PEOPLE CAN BE BLACK.
Elves can, and in fact, probably were, people of color. Only the Noldor were probably ever genuinely white. The Sindar, the Vanyar, the Falmari, all of them were probably various POC.
In the final version of the canon, dwarf women having beards was uncertain, and even if it was 100% sure that the group of dwarves we know had women with beards, Disa is clearly a different ethnicity, and possibly a different culture, so it is entirely possible that she would not have a beard.
Arondir was a prisoner, and elven prisoners likely had their hair cut to insult or disgrace them, so it is entirely possible that he would have short hair at the time he is shown.
Elrond, Disa and Durin are cute. It does not matter that they aren't canon. People can like these characters. I liked several of them myself, though I found some quite flat and one-dimensional.
As long as you aren't hurting anybody, discriminating against anybody, or erasing someone else's hard work (ahem, Tolkein's elvish language and customs) you can do whatever you want. Hell, I kinda want to ship Disa and Celebrian. I'm not hurting anyone, so I can do just that! (Amazon, however, is hurting people. Know that before you go into this.)
screencaps from : https://www.cap-that.com/
When you see it you can't unsee it: Fidget spinner
For very boring council meetings.
Whoever made the costumes for Rings of Power sure do like weird looking gold and pearls. The second age were aparently not the age of jewelry making. (unless you are Celebrimbor and Sauron).
Really does make you miss and apreciate the Peter Jackson movies costume department a lot more. They did a great job making it so that each of the different races and peoples had their own characteritic design, style and culture. Separating them from each other.
The costumes in Rings of power looks like they all were designed by the same designer. There's not much that separate the different races. Only the Silvan elves weird wooden armor stands out, but once this is gone, you can't really differentiate between the humans and the elves.
