#rustypipes-rambles

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not done duneposting

isn't it fucked up how in the first book, the role of love is that of one force intertwined with so many others and in the end it's just another justification for the terrible things humans do to each other

but in messiah it's the narrative bat with which herbert bonks his characters on the head screaming, "you dumb!! you loved and were loved, and there was nothing else of remotely comparable value in your short stupid life!!! all your accomplishments are dust except for the love you were given!!!!! you dumb!!!!!!"

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yes van gogh did medicate and receive treatment and paint some of his most acclaimed pieces in the sanatorium where he stayed but he also very much did use art as a coping mechanism and work himself to near breakdowns due to anxiety and impostor syndrome. and maybe the practice he acquired as a result did indirectly contribute to the masterpieces he produced. and maybe we wouldn't have sunflowers or starry night had he found a healthier outlet for his suffering.

and maybe that would've been okay. maybe theo was more entitled to having a brother than humanity was to starry night. maybe there wouldn't be a van gogh but there would be vincent.

and maybe that would've been a better universe.

[rusted-pipe-of-wisdom]

the fact that lady ashbury adopted charlotte with no intention of making her immortal, knowing she would one day bury her own daughter

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kullervo lore makes me insane. drifter just invented a guy and then put him in jail.

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it will never be not funny that hollis mason got nicknamed nite owl for staying up late and then met a guy who is obsessed with actual literal owls and fantasizes about being one

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also for all the lack of respect for source material, doomsday clock made me appreciate just how much of adrian's character is actually a study of loneliness.

he is an incredible mix of passion and sensitivity with a dash of savior complex, and he's so focused on the big picture he can't see human beings as anything other than figureheads in the grand game. he's haunted by the idea that he, too, is a figurehead in someone else's design, that he is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. it's no wonder he and manhattan get on so well, but whereas jon is removed from the definition of humanity, adrian is fully human, and in this sense he's far lonelier and more tragic than jon. he's not invincible or immortal. he's just so out of touch he can't meaningfully connect with other people.

isolation is an important theme in watchmen, but adrian's version of it is crucial to his identity, and it just feels so complete and profound.

he's a poor little meow meow.

[rusted-pipe-of-wisdom]

*inhales*

so I was put off by the use of tarot as a plot tool but at a closer look it actually makes so much sense-

okay so tarot cards were invented in Europe circa 15th century as a type of playing cards. using cards for divination is a long-standing practice, but the specific meanings of tarot as it’s known today came from a pair of occultists in 18th century France, who described tarot as an artefact linked to Jewish numerology and kabbalah. the word ‘tarot’ has the plural suffix -ot which is used in Yiddish (idk about Hebrew), making it sound like a Yiddish word... except it isn’t. basically, tarot are a scam that exploits the mystified goyshe view of the Jewish culture. it’s something goyim say we invented--but we really didn’t.

(side note: I love the aesthetics of tarot and using them for character development can be fun, but anyone who claims these cards have oracular powers is making themself look like a huge clown.)

so assuming Herbert was aware of all that (edit: I’m inclined to believe he was, but it's also possible he's ridiculing the 20th century's mysticism boom in general), we can see how the Dune tarot ties with the teachings of Bene Gesserit to form what I call The False Oraculum.

The False Oraculum represents the notion of, and attempts at, controlling the future. the Bene Gesserit’s breeding program, their use of spice as a way of preserving memories, Paul’s visions and his experiences of time, the aura of mysticism around Paul and the way different characters interact with it - all of these things are driven by lust to control the future.

and this is where the cards come into play. sitting alone in her cell, Mohiam uses them to read her destiny, but finds no comfort in what the cards tell her. merchants sell them to pilgrims: a fraction of their Emperor’s power turned into a commodity. Paul himself uses them to interpret his own visions, but the cards fail him too. and then, of course, the Tleilaxu face dancers put on a tarot-themed spectacle. all of this hints at one thing: the cards lie.

if the cards lie, then Paul and Mohiam and others are just a bunch of people grasping at straws, trying to comprehend the chaos of time. they lock themselves into a vicious circle of ‘seeing’ into the future - acting upon the visions - making that specific future a reality. they fail to factor in a simple fact: the future is undefinable. it cannot be read. it cannot be controlled. even if you do catch a glimpse of it, you can’t use what you see in any meaningful way, because your actions will pre-define the future that you saw happen. until the future has turned into now, it doesn’t exist.

the False Oraculum doesn’t make you prescient. it makes you blind.

of all people Alia alone expresses disdain for tarot, stating it ‘muddles time’. that’s because she’s chaos personified. unlike Paul, she doesn’t experience time as a vision but as an instinct; a natural, raw reality. and this is why she’s the one at whom Mohiam’s conspiracy is aimed first - she’s the wild card in Paul’s tyranny machine. it’s also why she’s objectified so much and constantly referred to as an abomination. as a character, she’s meant to showcase two things: one, how Paul’s oracular power is fundamentally flawed; two, how the Bene Gesserit’s view of humanity will never grant them the mastery of a human soul and how playing gods will be their downfall. if Paul is their success that’s turned against them, Alia is their failure.

(I have More Opinions about Alia’s writing and how Dune is mired in sexism, but it’s a whole separate can of worms)

[rusted-pipe-of-wisdom]

feeling extremely normal about the contrast between paul's ascension to power and the deterioration of his personhood. emotionally he starts out at the highest point and consistently descends into utter misery throughout the novel.

in the beginning his life is shielded with comfort. everything his great house stands for is like a wall of security around him, and most importantly, he is loved. everyone loves him: thufir, gurney, his parents, even yueh. his terrible purpose is but a dot on the horizon. his visions are no more than odd prophetic dreams.

the moment when he ingests melange and truly sees into the future is when his wholesome facade gives its first real crack. it coincides with the fall of house atreides as a whole which is a metaphor for paul's illusions being crushed. every step, however well-thought, only furthers his descent into destruction, and it's parallel to the inevitable approach of the "jihad". he rides the crest of life's chaos and thus only hastens the impending disaster. by the time he sees the fault in his logic, it's too late. he has built himself a machine of death and in doing so has become a slave to this machine. the realization leaves him bitter and cold. and so he lets the gears grind on.

he fails by succeeding. he has all the strings and yet he's not in control. he is the master of the world, the ultimate human—and yet there is nothing human left within him.

[rusted-pipe-of-wisdom]

don't have the energy to draw the otp dynamic meme but there's something about 'beast/hunter' ships that makes me go bonkers.

I am the end of your line you are the freedom I chase your teeth have sought my flesh my blade has touched your heart we live inside each other and each craves what other takes for granted I will never let you be but you will haunt my dreams I am my own beast you are your own hunter we are the anthem to each other's wilderness we are both prey and predator we will consume each other endlessly until not even our bones remain. that shit fucks.

[rusted-pipe-of-wisdom]

Why Anders Was Right: A Meta

murder is fun

you're a clown if you think any other reason is necessary

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took some reference shots and it kinda ended up looking like kullervo is protecting them ;_;

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bingo! got tagged by @massgrav to submit my (correct) character opinions.

tagging @laniardraws for Samson and @ryyann302 for Malenia, if you’d like <3

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I love you trans allegories in morrowind I love you gender as an aspect of divinity I love you female and nonbinary nerevarines I love you mephala's voice modulations I love you canonical they/them boethiah I love you vivec

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Hello!! List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the ask box for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you. Learn to know your mutuals and followers. 💚

chocolate, the texture of book pages, family, queer love, big monsters with bigger dicks.

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rorschach is so fuckin funny like what's with the catholic style pettiness my dude

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every day I wake up and think that gurney halleck was given fief of caladan because in the body that is house atreides he is the heart and the sounds I make aren't even remotely human