#this is even clearer in the book

[lunamond]

I love how Dune references Greek mythology in the name of its main characters.

When we initially meet the Atreides family, in both the original book and the new movies, they look like this very honourable, very stereotypical "good" fantasy family. We are seemingly meant to root for them like the Starks in A Song of Ice and Fire.

They visually appear much nicer and likeable than the Harkonnens whose entire aesthetic just screams evil. The Harkonnens are portrayed as violent and impulsive. They only wear black. They look inhuman. They are even shown to be cannibals.

However, the name Atreides is already a tip-off that they are just as fucked up as the Harkonnens. Because Atreides means House of Atreus, from whom the Atreides claim to be descendants.

This means they are the descendants of Tantalos, who served his own son to the gods.

Of his grandson Atreus, who was killed by his nephew born of an incestuous relationship.

Of Agamemnon, who sacrificed his own daughter Iphigenia to the gods to go fight in the Trojan war.

Of Clytemnestra, who killed her husband in revenge for her daughter's death.

And of Orestes, who in turn killed his mother to avenge his father.

So, despite their pretty faces and their nice clothes and luscious hair, the Atreides are ultimately the same as the Harkonnens (Leto and the Baron refer to each other as cousin, Jessica and Paul are literally direct descendants of the Baron).

So, even though on first impression the Atreides might look heroic, but with just a glance under the surface and you can already tell that they are as rotten to the core as the Harkonnens. They're just nicer to look at, and therefore, they dupe you into believing that they are the good guys.

[egophiliac]

still absolutely losing my mind over Lilia

[jackie-taylors]

you make heaven a place on earth ♪

[daguerreotyping]

Daguerreotype of two men, affectionately entwined, circa 1845-50. Source: Dear Friends: American Photographs of Men Together, 1840-1918 by David Deitcher. This book is also available to read for free on Open Library, though the scan quality is a little rough. I've just acquired a used copy and it's so worth it, not only for the many lovely reproductions but also for Deitcher's writing, which is beautiful and I imagine very relevant to the interests of many viewers of this tumblr:

Anonymity, and the uncertainty it perpetuates, facilitate a kind of pleasure that would be more difficult to sustain under the potentially harsh, and always more limiting, details of a more concrete historical intelligence. Research into the gay history of nineteenth-century London prompted one writer to ask: "Do we view it with dismay, since it is a record of sorrow, of powerlessness, a record of lives wrecked? Or is it possible to read even these texts, written as they were by journalists, policemen and court clerks, with delight, as precious traces of dangerous, pleasurable, complicated gay lives?" Uncertain of anything that actually transpired between the men in such a photograph, the collector is free to imagine whatever he pleases. Immersed in their appearance, he remains ignorant of any tragedy that might have befallen them, or of any crime they may have committed or been punished for.

[sketch-elf]

Too many people misread the original one and tumblr refuses to let you edit any part of a poll post so I'm remaking it.

[irritablepoe]

ok i wrote a little over 1k words today, somebody tell me they're proud of me :')

[ban-joey]

actually marking another one on the autism list. why are my favorite stories always the ones about "what is it that makes you a person" and why do i find the most kinship with the characters above which that question looms. anyway

[e-louise-bates]

Kinda funny how I actually enjoyed cataloging when I was working in a library, but now that I'm taking a class on cataloging my brain has started shutting down at the very mention of the word ...

[dnangelic]

dark and daisuke's relationship with music is.... hrmmgmm. they both easily pass any sort of dexterity requirement to be able to play even the most difficult pieces, but i don't think daisuke knows how to read notes, and he doesn't have much of a natural ear. meanwhile dark is the sort who can play and is sure to have a number of random hidden talents, but he doesn't actively derive any sort of personal pleasure from it. if you show dark a beautiful instrument, the music and usage comes secondary to the craft and beauty of the instrument itself- he never desires to nor imagines himself playing it, only how beautiful it would/should be with someone else playing it. both dark n daisuke would really enjoy listening to someone play or harmonizing in a duet with them though. it's just that music alone isn't something a phantom thief can steal.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

also let's hear it for our [cam stone exists] entry being the only one (so far) of the 2 trans 2 furious zine to have an editor's note, hell yeah

[pepprs]

also the favoritism thing is still making me so fucking mad and insane btw. im not jealous / resentful of my brother bc he deserves her love and is also burdened in his own ways by it and bc i think my drama w my mom has shaped my life in profound ways and given me friends i cherish and i would never trade any of that for the world but jesus fucking christ. why do i have to beg you to interact with me like a mother. why do i have to talk to me at all beyond asking me to do you 847439473 favors a day. why do i have to beg you to take an interest in my life and apologize when you hurt me and be nurturing and perceptive for once in your fucking life. like it hurts to hear her asking him about his classes and whatever bc she didn’t think i was stressed out w school but i had to talk to a ****** hotline last decemver when i couldn’t take it anymore and my mental health was crashing and burning and it doesn’t even fucking matter to her at all and she’s going to get him the nice gifts and throw him the nice parties and whatever because she hates me and my sister for… and let me get this straight… being complicated and anxious and depressed and also girls. lol!

[lesbianlenas]

me fighting for my life trying to pretend the main character of this book is a lesbian while she has now had a crush on her 18 yr old neighbor AND an adult man who is a cop when she is 14 i’m like 😭😭 ms author could she not at least have crushes on boys her own age i’m BEGGING……..

[earl-grey-love]

I've been reading a lot of books lately and it really has been a great medium for self-discovery. Learning what I do and don't like, what works in plots vs what doesn't, character likeability etc. It's definitely going to help me as a writer. But also a person, weirdly enough.

I'm not someone who really steps out of my comfort zone. I'd always replay/watch the same games/movies/tv shows/anime/music. Only really read fics or books I loved as a teen as well I'll be honest lol. But kinda in the last two years I started changing that. Mainly cus my mental health improved enough for me to cope w unfamiliarity or darker themes, but also due to boredom. The enclosure lacked fresh stimuli.

For example, I never would have touched Mad M*n with a ten-foot pole a few years ago. Now I'd rate it as one of the best shows I have ever seen. And due to that, I was able to realise that I want to write something like that, and that writing something like that is possible. Which I never would have known I was compelled by such a thing if I never stopped watching lord of the rings on repeat.

[suttttton]

me 🤝 my mom undiagnosed anxiety disorders

[cyberneticdragons]

I am going through it again!

[ohbutwheresyourheart]

I watched north and south years and years ago; I don't remember exactly when but I'm pretty sure I was in my teens

I loved it then, but there's an extra appreciation to finally reading the book as an adult who grew up in the north, lived for a few years in the south, and now lives in Manchester