blackgirl0nline

[blackgirl0nline]

Is Feyd Rautha Honourable?

A (shorter) cultural analysis through Dune Part Two

In her description of Feyd Rautha Margot Fenring gives insight into his character flaws. We can consider these as especially accurate because of the control she has over him without use of “the voice.” She does use tricks but doesn’t take away his free will.

Typically you’d think someone who is honour-obsessed would be acutely attentive to goodness or right-action. But there is a second understanding of honour- “high esteem or respect”

Now you might think- but those who have high respect or esteem gain it through acting righteously. But you must consider the context. Geidi Prime- the Harkonen homeworld runs on very harsh politics and ethics.

Feyd Ruatha excels in this setting where power is the highest good. He exerts this power through his martial abilities. But these are not the only avenues. The Baron is no great fighter- but in his cruelty he gains power. Feyd’s own cruelty is expressed through his fighting abilities- but he has the same lust for power as the Baron. The Baron says, “show me who you are” when Feyd is in the ring because what is needed to rule on Geidi Prime? A harsh power over others.

So in this harsh cruel culture Feyd’s understanding of honour- and how to gain it is through an inhuman level of cruelty. In this way his obsession is sincere and his belief in honour is sincere. Even if it is alien and very counter-intuitive.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this piece consider buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/bakhita

#dune 2 #dune part two #feyd rautha #harkonen #austin butler

[blackgirl0nline]

Feyd Rautha- “Warrior Sexuality”

Exploring the intimate effects of culture through a focused analysis of Dune Part Two

CW: discussion of Feyd Rautha’s abuse at the hands of his uncle 

In “Ur-Fascism” (Eternal Fascism) by Umberto Eco there is a paragraph on fascist sexuality that I think applies to Feyd Rautha

First, a minor note that I’m not exactly saying the Harkonens are fascistic only that this comparison came about because of the black sun that the Harkonen homeworld (Geidi Prime) orbits, which produces a black-and-white world of harsh politics where only those cruel enough to grasp power are rewarded.

This is a world where you are either powerful or weak- and to gain that power you must be harshly cruel. Additionally, this is a slave culture with a clear and degraded underclass whose lives are on the line every second of their existence in the Harkonen sphere. This is a warrior culture with cruelty at its heart. So how is Feyd Rautha’s sexuality informed by this setting? 

Eco says, “since both permanent war and heroism are difficult games to play, the Ur-Fascist transfers his will to power to sexual matters,” So, Eco is focusing on the transfer of cruelty from the political to the most intimate realm. From the most public sphere to the private. 

He goes on to say “This is the origin of machismo (which implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality).” Notice this disdain is why Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam even sends Margot Fenring in the first place. Mohaim is a motherly figure. That Feyd murdered his mother (with seemingly no consequences) implies a very degraded place for women in this society

Consider there are no non-slave Harkonen women we can see. No wives, mothers, sisters. Only the Benegesserit- with their independent power are unharmed. Feyd still holds a knife to Lady Fenring’s neck, she still has to prove herself powerful enough to overtake him.

This is the only way normative sex happens on Geidi Prime- one partner must overpower the other. Love cannot exist here- as it necessitates an interpersonal equality of partners. Even a parent-child love is not possible. Feyd must kill his mother, the same way he almost kills his brother and threatens to kill his uncle.

This is also the reason for his “sexual vulnerability” from the books due to his uncle abusing him. The kiss he forces on his uncle should not be seen as loving. All Harkonen sexuality is domination. Attempting to gain power over his uncle in the same way he abused Feyd.

Eco finishes with “Since even sex is a difficult game to play, the Ur-Fascist hero tends to play with weapons — doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.” 

Here I bring your focus on Feyd's knives and his seeming ecstasy in fighting. He caresses his knives and licks them. There is something almost overtly sexual about his relationship with them. They’re introduced in the same scene as his cannibal harpies.

Off topic but are the cannibal harpies also sexually involved with Feyd? He calls them his “darlings” offers them gruesome gifts, and they seem to lounge in a sort of happiness?

They still take on the position of pets, they’re dressed the same, look the same, and never speak like the other slaves. But they seem prized in a sense. They eat human flesh- and so perhaps possess their own deadliness - and from that earn Feyd’s… adoration? Food for thought.

But the “ersatz phallic exercise” is first practiced in the scene when he offers his "darlings" flesh. There are many coital details before the battle. Consider the black paint across his naked body. Showing off his form as a vehicle for war. Nothing carnal is far from brutality.

Even his seduction by Margot Fenring- that he threatens her with that phallic object- that she says he “craves pain” right after he faces the Gom Jabar. There is some sort of sadomasochistic itch. Lastly, consider the intimacy of battle. When he fights the “last Atreides.” Seeing that his opponent is not drugged, he removes his shield. He makes himself vulnerable (also notice the slightly vulvic entrance to the arena like he’s participating in something vital/ sexual).

Perhaps because he craves pain, and the threat of an equal opponent is made more exciting if that equal opponent can equally harm him (note at the end how close the two are as Feyd holds him to his chest- the smile and wink in at his opponent the refusal of outside interference).

In conclusion, Feyd participates in Umberto Eco’s “ersatz phallic exercise,” as a natural extension of Harkonen cruelty infecting every sphere. That’s also why I found this post especially true to the character there is something very inherently sexual about Feyd’s relation to fighting.

Thanks to my Twitter mutuals who asked me to put this in a more readable format, so I got to clear up some spelling and punctuation errors in the original thread.

If you enjoyed this piece consider buying me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/bakhita

#feyd rautha #dune part 2 #dune movie #dune 2 #feyd rautha harkonnen #house harkonnen #margot fenring #geidi prime #austin butler #frank herbert #i cant stop thinking about his bald head

[blackgirl0nline]

*         send   META   +   a   word [primal]   ,   a   name [for the na-Baron, Feyd-Rautha]   ,   or   phrase [Sense with keenest edge unusèd, Yet unsteel'd by scathing fire; Lovely feet as yet unbruisèd . . . ]   and   i   will   write   a   head  canon   based   off   of   this   !!!

𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝑬𝑻𝑨 + 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 , 𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 , 𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔.

𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍.

Primal as in first, instinctive, and fundamentals of being. Primal cuts are the initial pieces. I think there are six or seven when dividing up an animal, I'll give you three.

Bond. There's a primal need to bond to something. To a place, a person, a thing. This can often look like a lover. The most explicit and concentrated form of bond for her. Sex binds almost more than anything. But bonds can be more than pair-bonding. Like her connection to ground. This is why she's so often without shoes. Bare feet to the floor, grass, earth, she can feel herself fusing to it. Swears she can feel it breathe through her. She can feel the disconnect when there's something in the way. Shoes and otherwise.

Survival. She is no different than any other animal but her upbringing has doubled this primal need for survival. This can look like fight or flight — watch her flutter away without thought because she's scared. This can look like her doing things to lessen the pain — sex, drinking, high. This can look like her hitching herself to questionable figures in the name of protection and life.

Pleasure. There's a primal need in the pursuit of pleasure. Whether it's the taste of a perfect summer melon or a hot bath. Distinctively, sex drives her ( and touch in general ). She can be easily swayed by a good kiss; she can be easier swayed by good dick. She's spent so long in pain and surviving. Pleasure is the remedy. It soothes. It feeds. It sustains.

𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒂-𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒏, 𝑭𝒆𝒚𝒅-𝑹𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒂

She speaks to him in cut truths. Beyond being a generally bad liar ( her face and body betrays her in this regard ), she does not think this thing between them will work without verity. Certainly not seduction, or a lasting seduction. Because this won't be temporary nor singular.

An example of truth and omission, when she comments on his skill as being beautiful, she means it. The skill of it, at least. What he does with that skill can disgust her. She's a pacificist with condition — she's learned that violence isn't avoidable in particular circumstances and in fact, in some situations, it can make things worse not to. But she honestly finds the art in being able to do what he does ( a little shamefully, probably ) attractive. Hence, virtuoso.

She's got a nice repertoire of petnames at her disposal but none of them sufficed for Him. He needed something of his own. And there's more to it than a pretty sound to make dizzy. Mon couteau translates to "my knife". Which is cheeky and playfully and painfully obvious where the origins of this come from. But I think the more interesting part is 'mon'. As in... my fate, my inevitability, mine.

A little fun tidbit ( that actually might have some merit to it in this ) I found while looking for the perfect nickname fit is the saying "Avec ma bite et mon couteau": To do something with very few tools (literally: "with my dick and my knife"). Also here's a picture of a knife handle with this saying because why not.

She's definitely got a few... souvenirs from their encounters ( a cut, a seed, etc ). But there's this little thing she does with people of importance in her life. And the divine plan makes him such ( who could be more paramount now ) . She's cut a little piece of a clothing item of his ( shirt, probably ) and worked it into an anklet. Maybe a strand in a braid or put into a small charm of sorts.

𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒆̀𝒅, 𝒀𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒍'𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆; 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒆̀𝒅 . . .

Despite loss or losing innocence being represented in literary works and society through virginity, you will not find that here. Her having sex will never be synonymous with her virtue or lack of. I would even go as far to say sex is considered one of the purest expressions in her ideology. And although it can be dirty in execution sometimes ( affectionally ), the act itself never is.

I've brushed with this topic a little ( headcanon post, Childhood ) ( verse, Galaxie ). Through the expansion of new knowledge, both good and bad, she shed girlhood. New knowledge is best absorbed through visual or physical versus words. She witnessed evil like she had never known and she felt love like she had never known. Both items could not scope her imagination before and flipped her whole world when it did.

Even so, you can not change a lamb into a different beast. Scathed by fire, bruised to the toe, the depth of her character is not actually in her ingenue features seen but it is her very bones. These can not shape differently. Not really.

𝒇𝒕. @nightmarefuele

[blackgirl0nline]

Tfw you search the Dune tag and its just WALLS of Feyd-Rautha/Reader

I get it the bald twink was hot BUT I WANTED TO SEE TEXTUAL ANALYSIS AND LORE DAMMIT

[blackgirl0nline]

After sitting with it for a while, I've realized something: Feyd Rautha is foreshadowing for what Paul is going to become.

Think about it.

Paul become exactly what Feyd is and by killing him, replaces him in the hierarchy.

They are both;

1. Privileged elites

2. Heirs to a noble house

3. Harkonnens

4. Vying for the title of Emperor

5. Want to control Arrakis

6. Have cults of personality that surround them

7. Are pawns of Bene Gesserit meddling

8. Have killed relatives

9. Don't care who they have to kill to get what they want.

10. Are roughly the same age.

[blackgirl0nline]

edmure tully fix it fic when?

#edmure tully #game of thrones #a song of ice and fire

[blackgirl0nline]

thinking… Logan brought Shiv into the family business not because he believed in her (he strings her along and points out her lack of experience) but with Ken out of the way Roman needed another competitor. There needed to be another dog into the ring (Roman sees Ken as his primary competition even though both Ken and Logan know that’s not true).

Logan ulimtatly gets fed up with Shiv when she publically declares herself the heir. There’s nothing Logan hates more than someone expecting or claiming his spoils. “You’re so jealous of what you gave your own kids” Logan sees his children as unworthy partly because he let them grow up well off- so he hates when this entitlement seeps into business. I wonder if Connor’s age gap and being an only child for a while made him so impotent in Logan’s eyes (everyone must have expected Connor to follow in his dad’s footsteps regardless of his own innate skills)- so Logan takes him completely out of the running. Notice how close in age Ken Shiv and Roman are- putting them against each other at as soon as possible seems like something Logan would be up for.

#succession #succession rewatch #succession season 2 #logan roy #kendall roy #shiv roy #connor roy #hbo

[blackgirl0nline]

Dream's Relationships

I thought this was really insightful

"My theory on the lack of an ongoing relationship with the King of Dreams is that there's no percentage in falling in love with a god whose nature is ephemeral and whose function is to reveal to you things about yourself. Loving him is a complicated form of (narcoleptic?) narcissism. (Note that generally, his old flames tend toward deep vanity.)"

-user EnsignLunchmeat on the MetaFilter forum.

[blackgirl0nline]

Interesting interpretation, I'm just not wholly convinced that it's supposed to be a mystical restriction that keeps him from having fulfilling relationships.

Ofc Dream's a guy who experiences things much differently than mortals and all that. But I think, Gaiman goes out of his way to not let that excuse his behaviour. The anthropomorphization factor plays heavily in this. Yes, he's not mortal, but he does occasionally realize he can't let that fact harm his interpersonal relationships. I'm just getting into Volume 7 and Mervyn gives a very clear-eyed spiel after Dream has a mysterious breakup after a short relationship. "He enjoys it. I mean it's a pose. Y'know? He spends a couple months hanging around with a new broad. Then one day the magic's worn off, and he goes back to work, and she takes a hike." (A breakup he tries to pin on Desire who by some ancient mystical saying, swears they didn't cause).

This is an incredibly human response to breakups, and I'm sure we all know someone who's perpetually unlucky in love (perhaps we are that person), for completely mundane reasons.

All in all, not being mortal, and trying to engage in a breakable and sensitive thing as relationships is probably harder for the endless, but we see that they can and do engage in (dramatized versions of) regular relationships- primarily familial and platonic (with all the mundane disfunction that allows for).

Dream's Relationships

I thought this was really insightful

"My theory on the lack of an ongoing relationship with the King of Dreams is that there's no percentage in falling in love with a god whose nature is ephemeral and whose function is to reveal to you things about yourself. Loving him is a complicated form of (narcoleptic?) narcissism. (Note that generally, his old flames tend toward deep vanity.)"

-user EnsignLunchmeat on the MetaFilter forum.

#dream #deam of the endless #morpheus #sandman #the sandman #neil gaiman #bitches get to volume 7 and think they're suddenly and expert (its me I'm bitches) #loooooveeee babyyyyy

[blackgirl0nline]

Dream's Relationships

I thought this was really insightful

"My theory on the lack of an ongoing relationship with the King of Dreams is that there's no percentage in falling in love with a god whose nature is ephemeral and whose function is to reveal to you things about yourself. Loving him is a complicated form of (narcoleptic?) narcissism. (Note that generally, his old flames tend toward deep vanity.)"

-user EnsignLunchmeat on the MetaFilter forum.

[blackgirl0nline]

Dream's Relationships

I thought this was really insightful

"My theory on the lack of an ongoing relationship with the King of Dreams is that there's no percentage in falling in love with a god whose nature is ephemeral and whose function is to reveal to you things about yourself. Loving him is a complicated form of (narcoleptic?) narcissism. (Note that generally, his old flames tend toward deep vanity.)"

-user EnsignLunchmeat on the MetaFilter forum.

#dream #dream of the endless #morpheus #the sandman #neil gaiman #tom sturridge

[blackgirl0nline]

Yeah I pretty much like them but I need to see other girls that aren't Rhaenyra or Alicent by now. Bring on Laena!!! The wait is so long. 😭

[blackgirl0nline]

twilight revival, early 2000s revival, its a perfect mix

i hope someday someone does a fun 2000s style vlog (ala lonelygir15) set in Forks highschool, thats about the cullens, but not really. the main characters would be Bella's human freinds. But like, the main character who's trying to unravel the mystery clearly has a crush on Bella and doesn't know how to deal.

Unfortunately, I've been reading midnight sun, so that means its practically infeasible, for mind-reading Edward to not notice a spunky y/n type trying to uncover the truth. It would have to be some weird witchy shit. Imagine how fun that would be???

the main character's interest in Bella would get her to ask questions about the Cullens, and maybe some aunt who's in the police force is hiding some shit, and it turns out that she's a witch or something, and after saying something about Edward gives her niece a supernatural block thingy that lets her go about her detective work unencumbered.

Honestly, this could work in like a season long, or novela long format bc so much happens so quickly in the twilight series.

Anyways those are my half baked thoughts.

#twilight #twilight revival #bella swan #the cullens

[blackgirl0nline]

glidus is lurking somewhere on tumblr i know it

#game of thrones

[blackgirl0nline]

The fact that I still have a fanbase that exists and still follows my work is humbling to no end.

I really bloody love you guys.

I won't give any empty promises, but I'm still here, I still write, and I still have the same love for all of my characters that I always did.

I came back today because I'm excited that I'm in the final stages of my own, real, very much alive novel - but there's a lot here I'd like to do, too.

I don't know what that'll look like yet. But my Discord friends have reignited my passion, and I've recieved a lot of feedback today that's made me realise just how much I've missed you all.

I'm excited for what that might mean for this community, and for me as a writer.

:D

[blackgirl0nline]

Laena Velaryon's hair (or, bad meta)

Okay, if you're not or never have been a black girl strap in for this bit of twisty meta.

I was watching a Glidus review of the second episode of House of the Dragon (great video, great channel in general, go subscribe immediately). But he was talking about Laena Velaryon's wig being bad, but ... ahem! I have a counter!

Glidus said (as many people have), 'bad wig'. Which I found funny because the second I saw it I thought it was horribly accurate. I first ran over to my sister to ask her whose telling the House of the Dragon hair stylists about crochet hair?? Because that's exactly how a 15-year-old me would do a shitty crochet.

Laena's hairstyle looks apropriately bad, especially for a girl whose mother probably has no idea what to do with it. It looks overbrushed as if her handmaiden also had no idea what to do with it.

So my meta is, this little girl is left to her own devices in terms of her hair, and that's why it looks so... well like a little girl was left to her own devices.

I'm actually surprised they wouldn't go for like a straight style or... some sort of locs like her father. Anyways, that's my meta.

Edit (clarification from Glidus): Hi I know this is old but I just want to clarify what I meant when I was talking about Laena's hair in episode 2. I found no issue with the style, it's perfectly believable, as you say. I was actually just talking about how the wig appears to be poorly fitted, like how Nova's black hair is really clearly visible underneath the Valyrian hair.

#house of the dragon #laena velaryon #viserys targaryen #corlys velaryon #rhaenys targaryen #HOTD #House of the dragon meta #house of the dragon brain rot #daemon targaryen #have you work wigs #will you wear wigs #when will you wear wigs

[blackgirl0nline]

Hey!  So I’ve seen a lot of tags from people reblogging from me, tags on Sandman posts.  About how you haven’t watched it yet.  Or you’re not sure if you’re going to watch it. 

Let me take this opportunity to ENTHUSIASTICALLY ENCOURAGE you to do so, ASAP.  According to Neil Gaiman, in order to get another season, people really need to watch and finish it THIS WEEK (ie within the first 30 days of release) as that’s how Netflix decides on renewal.

So if you’ve been putting it off or hesitating, please give it a try?  If you still have questions or concerns about it, feel free to ask me?  I’ve watched the series twice and read the comics like a lot so, I think I’m a pretty good source.