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animesmolbean · 21 days

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Guardian of Light

(Female)

Author's Note: Things are going to start picking up now. A lot of plot.

Side Note: Can we talk about how attractive Timothée is in this movie and, of course, Part 2? He's so beautiful.

Hope you enjoy it! ♥️

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Chapter 3: The Test

〰️

Paul and (Your Name) were sleeping, this time, in the same bed instead of (Your Name) staying in her room. The girl was cuddled up to Paul's chest, her head in the crook of his neck and his arms wrapped around her tightly.

As they slept, Jessica came into the room and her lips lifted into a small smile at the sight of the pair sleeping. Though, her smile vanished when she remembered why she was here.

Meanwhile, Paul was dreaming again. (Your Name)’s face came into view with the other girl standing beside her. “Paul…” His best friend whispered inside his dream.

Jessica was shaking Paul awake. “Paul, wake up and get (Your Name) up as well.”

He opened his eyes, still drowsy from sleep and looked down at the girl in his arms. He smiled tiredly at her peaceful state; sleeping like there was nothing wrong. Like there was nothing to worry about. She was always like that.

He wondered how he got so lucky.

Paul turned his attention to his mother, seeing her put clothes out for the pair and place them on a desk. “What's wrong?” He muttered.

“Get dressed and come with me.”

Jessica walked out of the room, leaving Paul confused. He looked down at the still sleeping (Your Name). He played with a strand of her (straight/curly/wavy) (hair color) before tucking it behind her ear. His fingertips caressed her cheek, “Hey…. love… wake up.” He spoke softly to her.

The girl groaned in her sleep, feeling fingertips caressing her cheek. When she heard Paul's voice, she felt a faint blush blossom onto her cheeks and she slowly opened her eyes.

Paul smiled softly when she opened her eyes, revealing the sapphire blue hues that fill him up with joy.

“What's wrong?” The sleepy girl asked Paul in a soft morning voice.

The boy bit his bottom lip a bit, trying not to show how her morning voice affects him. He replied, “Mom wants us to get up. Come on.”

(Your Name) pouted, wanting to sleep more but begrudgingly got up, took the clothes Jessica laid out and changed in the bathroom.

〰️

Paul and (Your Name) were walking hand in hand towards where Jesica was waiting, quietly making their way through the barely lit hallway.

Jessica spotted the pair, and moved a little away from the doctor that stood there. (Your Name) recognized him. The teenagers followed the older woman.

“What is this? What's going on?” (Your Name) asked in a whisper.

“The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam is here. She was my teacher at the Bene Gesserit school. She's now the Truthsayer to the Emperor himself.” Jessica explained, looking at the confused pair. “She would like to meet you two.”

The pair exchanged a look. “Why?” Paul asked.

Jessica looked down, very hesitant to tell the pair the answer. After a few seconds, she did. “She wants to know about your dreams and wants to know about (Your Name)’s dreams and feelings.”

(Your Name) looked bewildered by this. ‘How does she know about my dreams? How does Jessica know about them? Could she tell I was lying? And what does she mean that the Reverend Mother wants to know about my feelings?’ She thought to herself.

Paul gave a protective glance at (Your Name) then looked back to his mom appalled, “How does she know about my dreams? And since when did my best friend start having dreams? Why does she want to know about her feelings?” Paul asked, his tone getting more aggressive as he continued; he was very offended.

Jessica didn't answer, and she only looked back and forth between the teenagers, “And why is Dr. Yueh here?” Paul added, his tone more quiet this time.

“He only needs a moment.” Jessica answered before turning and walking away from the confused pair.

“Hello, young master, my lady.” Dr. Yueh greeted them, walking forward and looking at Paul. “Your mother asked me to check both your vitals.”

Dr. Yueh placed his thumb on Paul's temple, then placed his hand against the side of his face. “What's happening?” Paul whispered.

The doctor placed his other hand on (Your Name)’s face, doing the same to her. She stood there, still completely baffled about what was happening.

“Bene Gesserit claims to serve the greater good. But with all due respect to your mother they also serve their own agenda.” Dr. Yeah replied to Paul in a mutter, speaking in Mandarin.

“What are you saying?” (Your Name) questioned, an eyebrow raised, speaking back in Mandarin.

“Go carefully.” The doctor whispered to the pair, then let go of their faces.

“Their hearts are strong as ever, my lady.” Dr. Yueh called out to Jessica in English.

Jessica nodded her head, then sighed with her fingers, “Tell no one of this.”

The doctor nodded, understanding.

〰️

The pair followed Jessica to a room and the (hair color) haired girl had a bad feeling in her heart as they got closer.

“Paul…” Jessica turned to her son, patting his shoulder, “Remember your training.” She signed to him. The boy nodded. (Your Name) sensed that Paul was nervous, so she stroked the boy's hair to soothe him. The action worked, and Paul loosened up a little. “Thank you.” He whispered to his friend. (Your Name) hummed while nodding.

Jessica put up her hood, walking towards the door of the room and opened it walking inside with her head down. Paul and (Your name) followed close behind.

(Your Name) observed the room, seeing a figure sitting in a chair in the middle of the room. She couldn't see her face because it was covered in a veil.

“Who are you?” A strong, distorted voice echoed throughout the room.

The friends shared a look, not sure what to do.

“Defiance in the eyes. Just like his father.” The Reverend Mother observed Paul, “Leave us and take his friend with you.”

Jessica turned to Paul, “You must do everything the Mother Helen Mohiam tells you.” She whispered quickly, then walked away, placing a hand on (Your Name)’s back, guiding her outside the room before closing the door.

(Your Name) looked at Jessica. “What's going on? Why is he in there alone? Why couldn't I stay there?” She asked in a whisper.

Jessica looked at the younger girl. “She's going to test his powers. The ones I've been training him to use. The Bene Gesserit.” She whispered back. “But…what about me? What does she want with me?” Jessica was quiet for a moment before she spoke, “She's testing you too but for something else.” She turned her back to the door of the room, her hands clenched by her abdomen.

Before (Your Name) could ask any further questions, she suddenly felt slight pain in her chest. She made a soft noise, trying to muffle herself, thinking it was just a sudden pain that'll disappear in a second. But then, the pain gradually intensified and it hit a peak when she heard Paul loudly groan from inside the room.

The pain in her chest felt unbearable now and she fell onto her knees, clutching her chest. It felt like her heart was being squeezed. She groaned in pain, feeling tears prick her eyes as Paul let out another loud groan of pain.

“I must not fear… I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.”

She heard Jessica speak to herself softly as she shuddered and exhaled shakily.

“Fear is the little death that brings obliteration. And I'll face my fear and I'll permit it to pass over me and through me.”

Suddenly, the pain in (Your Name)’s started to lessen slowly. She trembled as she looked at Jessica.

“And when it has gone past… I will turn the inner eye and see its path.” Jessica let out a shaky gasp. “And where the fear has gone, there will be nothing.”

(Your Name) could still feel the pain in her heart, but it was weak. Whatever was happening in that room, it made her feel many things besides pain.

“Only I will remain.” Jessica finished her monologue. She was still now, no longer shuddering and gasping for air.

Then, the pain in (Your Name)’s chest abruptly disappeared and she let out a loud gasp of air. She started to pant softly, still holding her chest.

Jessica saw this and kneeled down to the girl. “It's okay. It's okay now.” She whispered in reassurance, hugging the girl and pressing a kiss onto the top of her head.

(Your Name) calmed down, holding onto Jessica's arms and looking up at her. “What was happening to me?” She asked in a whisper.

Jessica helped (Your Name) stand as she was still a little shaken up.

“You felt it. Paul's pain.” Jessica replied in a whisper.

“What?”

Before any further explanation, the Reverend Mother called for Jessica. The older woman placed a hand on the girl's back and guided her to the door. She opened in and walked in with (Your Name) beside her.

The moment (Your Name) saw Paul, standing away from the Reverend Mother, she ran over to him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, her breathing heavy and shaky. Paul immediately returned the hug, feeling her tremble in his arms.

“You're okay. You're okay.” She whispered, clutching the back of Paul's shirt. Paul was confused as to why his best friend was acting so panicked, but he rubbed her back soothingly, kissing the top of her head.

“You've been training him in the way,” The Reverend Mother Helen Mohiam paused, and directed her attention back to Paul, who was looking at her now, still holding (Your Name). “Tell me about these dreams.”

“I had one tonight.” Paul answered softly.

“What did you see?”

“(Your Name) and a girl on Arrakis.” Paul replied in a raspy tone. Said girl's head tilted up and to the side, confusion shown on her face.

“Have you dreamt of them before?”

Paul swallowed nervously, not wanting to answer since (Your Name) was here. “Many times.” He said in an exhale.

(Your Name) felt heat on her cheeks as she blushed. ‘He's dreamed about me before? Many times? How many dreams did he have about me? For how long?’ The girl wondered in her mind.

“Do you often dream things that happen just as you dreamt them?” Mother Helen Mohiam asked.

“Not exactly.” Paul replied.

Mother Helen Mohiam then turned her attention to (Your Name), who was still hugging Paul, then to Jessica.

“Jessica. How was the girl during the test?”

Paul turned his attention to his mother.

“She felt it. She felt the pain Paul felt.” Jessica replied softly.

Paul's eyes widened. ‘Was that why she was so panicked earlier? How can she feel my pain, too?’ He thought to himself.

The Reverend Mother turned her head back to (Your Name), who was now looking at her.

“Come over.” The Mother told her.

(Your Name) slowly slipped out of Paul's arms and walked forward a few steps towards The Reverend Mother.

“Is it true? You felt the pain?” She asked.

“Yes.” (Your Name) rasped out.

“How did it feel?”

“Mild at first, then… it became unbearable... then it lessened, before abruptly stopping.” (Your Name) explained.

Mother Helen Mohiam seemed to grow a bit tense. But she continued with the questions. “Tell me about your dreams.”

“I had one a night ago.” (Your Name) answered.

“About what?”

“I was flying… or gliding… over a desert area. I think it was Arrakis.” She paused, exhaling before continuing, “Then… I was falling backward. The scenery changed into darkness. Not pitch black darkness. It was more… dark blue. But… I wasn't scared. I felt… entranced.”

Paul was intrigued by (Your Name) explaining her dreams. He never knew she was dreaming, too. She watered it down by saying she was having thoughts.

“Are all your dreams like this?” Mother Helen Mohiam asked the girl.

She shook her head. “No. Most of them have two figures in them.”

“Describe them to me.”

“Two boys. Around the same age as me. One was tall and muscular with silver hair and turquoise eyes. The other was shorter, with spiky brown hair… and blue eyes. Like the colors of sapphires… or cobalt.”

The Reverend Mother didn't show much emotion but the description of the two boys in (Your Name)’s dreams confirmed many things.

“Were there others in these dreams about the two boys?”

(Your Name) nodded. “Sometimes. Seven others actually. They were all fighting … demon-like creatures.”

This was all the confirmation the Reverend Mother needed but (Your Name) added something.

“But… sometimes…. I dream about Paul.”

Paul upon hearing this, felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. ‘She dreams of me too?’

“You dream about him too?” The Reverend Mother asked.

“Yes.” (Your Name) whispered.

Mother Helen Mohiam stood up from the chair, collecting the box she used to test Paul. “Goodbye, young humans. I hope you live.” Then the woman walked out of the room. Jessica followed after her, leaving (Your Name) and Paul alone in the room.

Once the door closed, the two looked at each other. Paul's eyes were watery and looked stiff again. (Your Name) approached him slowly before reaching her hands out to his face, cupping his cheeks. Paul sniffled a little, making the girl frown.

“No. Hey, it's alright. I'm okay now.” She cooed, caressing Paul's cheeks with her thumbs.

“You felt my pain. You felt everything.” He whispered shakily.

(Your Name) didn't know how to respond to that.

“I don't want you to hurt. I don't want you to get hurt because of me, or anyone else. I can't let anything happen to you. I can't lose you.”

The girl frowned at his words. “You won't lose me, Paul. I'm not going anywhere.” She whispered encouragingly.

Paul looked at his best friend, cupping her face as well. She looked sad but her eyes showed tenderness and warmth as she reassured him sweetly. He pressed his forehead against hers. Their position changed into an embrace as they hugged each other tightly.

〰️

Jessica and Mother Helen Mohiam were walking outside back to the ship Mother Helen came from. The nighttime sky was dark and foggy, making it difficult to see.

“Did you have to go that far?” Jessica asked. She did not enjoy what happened to Paul and (Your Name).

“You chose to train him in the way in defiance of the rule.” Mother snapped back. “He wields our power. He had to be tested to the limits. So much potential wasted in a male. You were told to only bear daughters, but you and pride thought you could produce the Kwisatz Haderach.”

The Reverend Mother continued. “As for that girl, she wields too much power, more power than that boy. Mostly driven by the people she loves most. Notably that boy.”

“Was I wrong?” Jessica questioned in a soft tone.

Mother Helen Mohiam turned to look at Jessica. “You're lucky he didn't die in that room. The girl I wasn't too worried because it'll take more than that to kill her.” She inhaled before exhaling softly. “If he is The One and she is who I think she is… the Haris Aldaw’... they both have a long way to go. The girl especially. Her power has only just awakened, but it's not even the beginning of it. She wields a power not of any of the worlds we know. Perhaps even of a different universe. But our plans are measured in centuries. We have other prospects if they fail their promise.” She turned to walk away.

“Do you see so little hope?” Jessica asked, defending the two teens.

“On Arrakis, we have done all we can for you. The oath has been laid. Let's hope the children don't squander it.” Mother Helen Mohiam concluded, walking up the ramp of the ship.

Jessica watched the ship leave and turned, walking away. She spotted a distant figure in the thick fog.

“Paul…”

“What does it mean? That I could be The One and (Your Name) could be the Haris Aldaw’?” Paul questioned.

“You heard?” His mother whispered with remorse heavy in her tone. She replied, “The Bene Gesserit serve as a powerful partner to the Great Houses, but there's more to it.”

“You stir the politics on the Imperium from the shadows. I know.” Paul whispered through the distance between them, his figure barely visible in the thick fog.

“You don't know everything. For thousands of years, we've been carefully crossing bloodlines to bring forth-”

“The One?” Paul interrupted her. “And the Haris Aldaw’?”

“A mind… two minds powerful enough to bridge space and time, past and future. Who can help us into a better future. We think they're very close now. Some believe they are here.” Jessica explained, trying not to worry her son.

But Paul just scoffed. “All part of the plan.” Paul felt betrayed by the news, smiling tightly. Though, his expression quickly turned angry, “You promised me that she wouldn't get involved.” He hissed the words.

Jessica knew who he was talking about. (Your Name). The woman shook her head. “I have tried Paul, but she's more important than you could ever understand. Her power is a rarity of our worlds, not everyone-”

Paul interrupted her again. “I love her so much, Mom.” He breathed out the confession, tears welling up in his eyes. “It’s you who doesn't understand. I can't bear the thought of her getting hurt because of all of this. Or worse.”

Jessica stood there, conflicted, not truly understanding how much Paul loved (Your Name) and how he would do and go through for her. The boy would go as far as to die for her. He would do anything for her in less than a heartbeat. No questions asked.

“I'm so sorr-'' She started apologizing to her son, but Paul wasn't having any of it. He shook his head, holding his hand up, but he walked away, not sparing his mother a single glance.

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hopestrope · 1 month

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Poll al Gaib 8

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magicovento · 24 days

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OC: Izabela Yueh

I didn't write anything about her yet, the only think i know is that she is related to doctor Wellington Yueh (maybe daughter?), she is a bene gesserit and is sent to marry Feyd Rautha.

May i write something about her? Idk. I fear mist of the ideas i have are already written lol

I was thinking about all the drama when she finds out what the harkonnen (cof cof baron vladmir) did to her mom, etc, etc.

Also, she was like, heavily inspired in @austinbutlerslovers Feyd Fantasy, which i am in love with (mwah mwah queen i love your writing and @valeskafics 's too

Face claim: Sonoya Mizuno

#dune oc #feyd rautha x reader #feyd rautha x oc #dune fanfiction #self insert #self insert fanfiction

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nocturn-warrior · 11 days

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Oh my god, i feel so tempted to write pregnant sex with Feyd before i start the series where reader is the daughter of doctor Yueh

I am so horny for this man

#feyd rautha x reader

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alexagirlie · 29 days

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Close Your Eyes and Think of Caladan

(Masterlist)

A/N Here is the first part to the Close Your Eyes Series. I first write this 2 years ago. It has not been re-edited so i apologize for the grammar. I am very very mean to everyone. Please heed the tags. Part 2 will be posted soon! Thank you to @zaldritzosrose for the header!

Fandom: Dune

Pairing: Paul/Duncan (offscreen/implied), Paul/Trauma, Paul/Harkonnen(s)

TW: DDDNE. NON-CON. Canon Divergent. Banquet Scene AU. Major Character Death. The Baron is a Lecherous Animal. Angst. Hurt no Comfort. No Lube. Blood as Lube. Non Consensual Drug Use. Non Consensual Voyeurism. Non Consensual Touching. Non Consensual Oral. GangBang. Spitroasting. Murder.

Summary: "You are going to do everything that I say, everything." The Baron leaned forward in his seat menacingly, his shadow stretching down the table like a phantom. "If you do this and if I'm pleased with your effort I will allow your Father to live and he can join you and your witch mother in exile."

"Strip" The single word made every cell in Paul's body crawl, the reality of what he was about to do making him feel sick. But if his father had to go through the indignity of being drugged, helpless and naked in front of the enemy then so too could Paul. He could handle whatever needed to be done to save his fathers life.

Word count: 5.5K

Taglist: @valeskafics

Paul regained consciousness slowly as he was being dragged along the hard stone hallway outside his bed chambers. Rough hands wrapped around his ankles and animalistic laughter, deep voices speaking to each other. His hair caught and snagged on every little crack in the floor knotting the wild curls. The side of his face felt rubbed raw from sand and grit.

He couldn't make out the words of the conversation happening between the men dragging him. The effects of the sedative Dr Yueh had given him still pulled his mind down and made everything sound like he was underwater. All Paul knew was that he was in trouble and he had to get away. These men were not friends of House Atreides but enemies which had found their way into his room. Who knew who else they had taken, who else they had hurt.

Paul struggled to utilize all his Bene Gesserit training to drive the drug from his system. To fight and regain control of his body like he had been trained to do but it was no use. The drug was still too strong, designed to give him a full night of uninterrupted, dreamless sleep. He was uncoordinated, his limbs weak and not responding to the orders he gave them. He could move them just enough for his legs to twitch, for the men dragging him to notice that he was awake. They dropped him to the floor and two others stepped forward, grabbing him under each arm and continuing up the hallway. His feet kicking and scraping off the stone but he was unable to get his legs under him and stand.

They travelled for many minutes, down corridor after dark corridor that stank of blood, sweat and terror. The further they went the more Paul felt the effects of the sedative wear off and he tried to pull upon the powers of The Voice to aid in his escape. But he could not pull his focus enough to find the right pitch. Still he tried, over and over, voice getting louder and louder.

"Unhand me!"

"Let go of me!"

"You will not win, my Father will see your throat slit for this!"

Finally one of the Harkonnen soldiers grew tired of his words and he moved to strike Paul sharply across the face. It was hard enough to make his ears ring and blood dripped from his nose. Paul stopped trying, accepting now was not the right time. He needed to wait for the sedative to wear off further and his head to clear before he could try and use The Voice.

They turned the last corner before the Banquet hall and Paul could see the several Harkonnen soldiers which stood guard. And to his confusion he could see Dr Yueh. The Doctor was unrestrained and appeared to be unharmed though a look of panic grew on his face when he saw Paul being carried towards the door. Dr Yueh stepped forward and intercepted the men that held Paul captive. He began to question them in a hushed voice filled with barely restrained terror.

"What is going on? He is supposed to be with Lady Jessica. To be taken out into the desert and released into exile."

As Dr Yueh questioned the men, Paul came to the sinking realization that the House of Atreides had been betrayed. That the Doctor who had taken care of him for most of his life was a traitor and had sold them out to the Baron. Fury rose up within Paul, swift and burning in his chest, teeth clenched. Giving a sharp tug on his arms he managed to pull one of his arms free from the soldiers holding him. It granted him enough freedom to swing out with an open hand, slapped the Doctor across the face. The sound if flesh to flesh echoing down the hall.

"You traitor! You fucking trai-" His tirad was cut off by a hand that gripped into his hair and yanked his body back sharply. It pulled a yelp from his mouth and forced him down to one knee before it let him go. He glared up at those standing above him. Paul kept his mouth shut and waited to see what would happen next, mind spinning.

There was a long tense minute where no one spoke before one of the men finally answered the Doctor, "The Baron changed his mind, he demands to see the boy first before releasing him to his fate." The man stepped forward into Dr Yueh's space and met his gaze head on. "Now stand aside Doctor before you find yourself in need of fixing."

The two men stared at each other for a breath before Dr Yueh stepped aside without further comment. By now Paul was able to stand on his own, though his knees still felt weak. On wobbly legs he was able to move forward under his own power and no longer needed to be dragged.

They entered the room and Paul gaze locked onto a naked body sprawled limply in the chair closest to the door. Paul can feel his terror growing, his heart pounded, sweat gathered under his arms and in the small of his back. The soldiers led him further into the room and Paul could see that the body was his father, his eyes were open staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling. He could see his chest rise and fall so he was alive but he wasn't moving.

A voice sounded out from the far end of the room and pulled Paul's attention reluctantly away from his Father.

"Ah the young Paul, we meet at last" Seated at the other end of the banquet table was the most grotesque man Paul had ever seen. His bald head gleamed with sweat and his skin was an ashen shade of gray. His body looked misshapen under his black robes and his chin was covered in smears of food. There was a huge spread of food in front of him and he was stuffing his face. Handful after handful. It seemed he had found the time to raid the kitchen during his great siege upon House Atreides. This must be the Baron of house Harkonnen.

They came to a stop a few feet up the length of the table, the soldiers released Paul and stepped back. Left him alone to face the Baron. Paul tried to keep his disgust off his face, not wanting to make the situation worse, his mind whirled as he tried to come up with a solution the ended with his father and himself able to escape.

He considered a second attempt at using The Voice again but a glance around the room showed over a dozen. He would only have one chance to use The Voice and he wasn't sure if he would be successful with so many to control. Paul decided to save that skill for a time with a better chance of success, hopefully it would present itself soon.

"Such a pretty thing aren't you?" Paul can feel the Barons gaze like a caress, slimy and black as oil on his skin. Nausea built in his stomach at the implications behind the Barons comment. "Stand there quietly Child while we finish our business then we can get to know eachother better"

Paul felt bile rising up his throat and struggled to keep it down. He would not throw up, he was the son of the Duke, the son of a Bene Gesserit sister and he would not let his fear control him. He ran through the Litany against Fear in his head while the Baron conversed with the others around him.

'I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration" He could hear the conversation the Baron was having with Dr Yueh, it explained the deal they had made, the motivation behind the Doctor's betrayal. How they had his wife, how they promised to release her and reunite them.

'I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.'

Paul flinched at the slick wet sound of a blade being slid into flesh, a gurgle and a thud as Dr Yueh's body hit the floor. The traitor joined his wife in the release of death. The Baron turned his attention back to Paul, his beady black eyes swept over him from head to toe then slowly back up. A sick grin spread across his sticky, sweaty face.

"You are going to do everything that I say, everything." The Baron leaned forward in his seat menacingly, his shadow stretching down the table like a phantom. "If you do this and if I'm pleased with your effort I will allow your Father to live and he can join you and your witch mother in exile."

Paul stared at the Baron in disbelief, did he think Paul stupid? That he would just take him at his word and blindly agree.

"Why should I believe a word you say?" Paul asked "What's to stop you from killing us no matter what I do?"

The Baron let out a chuckle, humorless and menacing. The air seemed to drop several degrees, the sweat on the small of Paul's back cold enough to send a chill up his spine. Or that was the reason Paul had settled on, he refused to let his fear control him. He may have been deluding himself.

"Absolutely nothing," was the response "but you can count on me gutting your father like a pig if you don't." The threat rang with truth.

His night clothes were loose and comfortable, easy to take off. Paul pulled the fear-sweat soaked shirt over his head, dropping it to the ground at his feet. Next he pulled the waistband of his pants down over his hips and ass and let gravity pull them the rest of the way down to his feet. Stepping out of them he kicked the pile of clothes away. He wore nothing underneath, he had hoped for a visit from his swordmaster during the early hours of the morning.

Paul's face burned red with shame but he made no move to cover himself after he had finished getting undressed. Kept his arms firmly at his side, chin held high, he refused to allow the Baron to humiliate him. He had been naked in front of others before, during outdoor survival training back on Caladan.

"Good boy" Paul could feel the flush moving down his chest. This time part of it was fueled by anger, not just embarrassment. Only one person was allowed to call him boy, "Bend over the table".

Paul's blood ran cold and he froze in place, not even daring to breathe. He must have heard incorrectly, this was not what was about to happen. Next thing he knew he had been grabbed by rough hands and was forced face down over the table. He barely had enough time to turn his head to the side in order to avoid having his nose smashed into the hard stone. His head rang from the blow to his temple and he struggled against the hands which held him down by the shoulders.

The soldiers that held his arms pulled them out to the side so they were extended flat against the table and a third came up behind him. A booted foot roughly kicked his legs out wider while a hand came to rest against the side of his head to hold it in place. Paul had no leverage to try and get his upper body off the table and his legs were spread too wide to keep his balance enough to try and kick out.

The Baron waited until Paul was firmly in place before he rose from his seat. Lift repulsor buzzing as he glided down the length of the table, past Paul and came to a stop next to Leto's chair. He addressed his next words to the Duke directly.

"My men are going to reap the rewards of conquest, using your son's body however they see fit. If he lives by the end and has put on a good show then you will be released together into the desert."

His speech made, the Baron drifted back to the other end of the room and took his seat to watch the show unfold.

Leto had thought that being betrayed by one of his own trusted men, paralyzed, stripped naked and left prown was to be the worst part of his final moments. He was wrong. He had watched in horror as his Son was brought in, as he heard the Baron's words. Leto's freedom to be used as leverage against Paul.

The Baron lowered Leto's chin just enough so he could see his son, pressed firmly to the table just feet away from him. He watched as the first Harkonnen soldier, the one that stood at Paul's back, reached down with the hand not holding Paul's head down and removed bits of his armour and pulled his hard cock from his pants. He watched as that same soldier stepped closer to his son and forced his cock into Paul's unwilling body.

He watched as Paul let out a heart wrenching scream which cut off as he let out a sob. Tears ran down his face to puddle on the table top below. He was screaming, pleading with the man to stop but all he got was vicious laughter in response. His body jerked forward with each thrust, and with each thrust his pleader got quieter and his sobbing and screaming got louder and more desperate.

Leto screamed along with his son, only he could not get his mouth to move, to let the noise out. All he could produce was a high moaning sound, the drug still had a firm hold on his body. In his mind he begged and begged for the scene in front of him to stop, to not make him watch as his son was brutalized in front of his eyes.

Leto watched as the fight drained out of his son, watched as the first soldier's thrust grew more erratic and he spasmed, coming inside of Paul and let out a deep satisfied groan. He watched the soldier pull out, and in his wake a stream of blood and cum flowed down the inside of Paul's thighs. Another soldier took the first man's place and it began again and again and again.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl and half a dozen Harkonnens had taken their turn with Paul's body. His son no longer screamed, just made a high pitched pained sound each time the man behind him thrust in. His hips slammed against the stone table, and bruises had begun to form on his body. Finger shaped on his hips and upper thighs, bite marks on his back and shoulders. His eyes were glossy, red rimmed and unseeing, face pale and covered in spilled tears and snot.

The soldiers had exchanged jokes and crude remarks as they took their turns with Paul. Commented on how tight he was or how good he felt around their cocks. Leto had tried to ignore them until one comment grabbed his attention in the worst way.

"Heeey let's have a go at that pretty mouth of his, bring him 'round!" More laughter met those words and Leto felt a tear slide down his cheek as they manhandled his son onto the floor. Down onto his hands and knees. The soldier who made the comment moved to stand in front of Paul, slide a hand into his curls and pulled his face up.

He watched as the man forced his cock into Paul's mouth, heard his son gag and choke at the intrusion into his airway. Heard the horrible wet sounds they made with each thrust. Watched as a second soldier knelt down behind Paul and thrust inside him and Leto screamed.

"If I feel teeth I will knock them out of your mouth" The man spoke barely above a whisper but Leto heard him all the same.

Duncan awoke to the sounds of men yelling and distant explosions. He jumped out of bed, stopped long enough to pull a shirt over his head and grab his sword belt. He didn't wait to strap it on, he buckled it up as he sprinted out of the room.

Speeding down several corridors his heart sank as he took in the distant forms of Sardaukar soldiers and the fallen bodies of servants. The Emperor had taken a side, and it was not with the House Atreides.

He slips past the first group he had come across but soon his luck runs out. Coming to a fork in the hallway he sees a form up ahead in the dark. He pulls his longsword from his belt and moves to confront the soldier. Footsteps and panting breath from his left let him know there were more Sardaukars approaching. He drew his other blade and moved into action.

It was a matter of five, six strikes and the first three men were dead on the floor. A fourth fires a dart from up the corridor, Duncan barely blocking before throwing one of his blades at the man to halt his momentum. He takes a running leap driving his knee into the soldier's chest, driving him to the ground.

The man under him tries to get a hold on his shoulder but Duncan throws him off, bringing his other arm down to strike the killing blow. He gets up, collects his dropped blade and continues on to the Ducal family's sleeping quarters.

His first stop was to check the Duke room; he hoped to find Leto and Lady Jessica still safe in their bed. The room was empty when he arrived, sheets still warm to the touch.

Next Duncan raced to Paul's room, praying that he would not find the same. That he would find Paul safe, his parents by his side. Guards at the ready.

He jogged around the corner towards Paul's room and his stomach sunk. There were no guards and the door to Paul's room was ajar. He burst into the room and confirmed his fears. The room was empty.

"Paul…" His lover's name escaped his mouth in a whisper and he paused just over the threshold. The bed was unmade and one of the chairs had been knocked onto its side.

There was still a chance the Ducal family had made their escape. He would head to the hanger next, to try and steal a thopter and head into the desert. The protocol the Duke and his warmaster created prior to their arrival on Arrakis dictated that was his next move If Paul had escaped he would activate his beacon so Duncan could find him.

"I heard the Baron is letting us have turns with the little Duke. Apparently his ass is so sweet and he's a real screamer" His companion laughed and clapped the first on the shoulder.

He made it several corridors without seeing another living being. Hearing distant voices Duncan pauses and waits to see who was approaching. He watched another two enemy soldiers from the shadows, this time dressed in the armour of House Harkonnen. He was about to spring out for the kill when one of them spoke.

"Well then we must hurry so we can get a piece of that before the others ruin him".

Duncan's blood froze and his vision turned red before he sprung into action, both their throats slit before they could register that they were being attacked. Blood splattered across his face and chest but Duncan ignored it as he took off running towards the banquet hall, the most logical place for the Baron to be. Duncan operated purely on instinct while a single thought ran on repeat in his head.

'They have Paul, they have Paul, they have P-'

Duncan slows down to a silent crouching walk as he nears the hallway that led to the banquet room, the Baron would have the door guarded and he did not want to alert them to his presence. He peeked around the corner and saw that he was correct. There were two men guarding the door but Duncan could tell they were distracted. He could also take a guess at what it was that distracted them. The door to the banquet room was opened, just a crack, but that was enough for the noises from within to drift out into the hallway.

The sound of skin against skin and muffled whines and broken off sobbing.

He bursts into the room with a roar. In a matter of seconds he sees Leto naked in a chair at one end of the table, the Baron seated with a feast before him at the other end. Then Duncan see's Paul, on his hands and knees on the floor. One soldier bent over his back, hips moving at a punishing pace and another at his front, using his mouth. Tears were streaming down Paul's cheeks mixing with the saliva that glistened on his chin. Blood was running in a thin stream down his inner thigh, the red glaring against the white of his skin.

Duncan feels rage boil in his chest, hor and swift and before he even has a chance to think about what he doing he has rushed towards the door, killing the two guards.

Tears were rolling steadily down Leto's cheeks as the wounded noises coming out of his son continued to increase in intensity. There seemed to be no end to the Harkonnen animals lining up to take their turn with him. One would finish, take their leave and another would step forward. He wasn't sure how much more Paul's body could take before it simply gave out.

Leto briefly considered releasing the poison hidden in his mouth, in the tooth Dr Yueh had replaced. It would release Paul from his abuse but Leto couldn't be sure it would travel far enough to also kill the Baron and he had to kill him. This would all be in vain if he couldn't kill the Baron.

Suddenly Leto hears an inhuman roar, full of rage and hate and then Duncan Idaho bursts into the room. He can hear the thud of the two guards at the door falling dead as his swordmaster moves over the threshold. Sees the silver-gray blur of blades flying through the air, killing another two. They had not yet reactivated their shields after having their turn with Paul.

The last two Harkonnen soldiers had only just begun their attack on Paul's abused body when Duncan arrived on scene. They moved quickly to intercept the intruder, barely doing their pants up first. They met in a clash of swords just at the edge of Leto's peripherals. He could see Duncan strike, swift and brutal, easily overpowering them and ending the melee in a matter of seconds. Their bodies hadn't even hit the floor before the swordmaster was rushing to Paul's side.

He sees movement at the other end of the room and pulls his gaze away from Paul and Duncan in time to see the tail end of the Barons robes as they flutter out the door. The coward had taken the first opportunity to make a run for it. No doubt he would be sending reinforcements soon. Leto needed to ensure Paul's safety, and quickly.

Paul who has slumped to the ground in a pile of pale limbs and lays unmoving, eyes staring off into the distance. If it wasn't for the fact Leto could still see his chest moving with his breath he would assume his son was dead.

Duncan gutted the last enemy present in the room, the Baron having mysteriously disappeared during all the attack. He rushes to Paul's side, placing a discarded cloak over his naked form and pulling the pile of his shirt and pants closer. He reaches out to gently touch Paul's curls but freezes when Paul violently flinches away from his hand. Paul not yet recognizing that it was Duncan and not one of those animals that had raped him.

"I'm so sorry my boy… I need you to get dressed so we can escape" He explained gently, hoping a familiar voice will allow Paul to come back from wherever his mind had gone. He nudged the pile of clothes even closer and dared to breathe a small sigh of relief when Paul reached out with shaking hands to grab his pants. "That's it my boy".

Duncan watched as Paul got dressed then tried reaching out again. "I'm going to carry you now, okay Paul?"

This time there was no reaction from Paul. His mind once again retreating in the wake of his rape. Duncan takes the risk and wraps the cloak back around his shoulders, bundles him up and picks Paul up in his arms and carries him to his Fathers side.

"My Lord, can you move?" Duncan knelt by Leto's side, subtly giving him a once over, checking for injury beyond his nakedness.

The Duke could barely open his mouth to answer.

"..no.. you must leave me.." His voice was barely above a whisper, Duncan having to strain to hear his words, "get Paul… away…"

"It will be done"

Duncan closed his eyes and knew that he would not be able to save his Duke and Paul. Not if Leto could not yet move. He shifted Paul's weight in his arms and nodded to Leto to show that he understood. He would have to leave his Duke, his friend and knew that by doing so his life would be forfeited. The Baron would see to it.

Leto let himself feel relief as Duncan carried Paul away. He knew that the swordmaster would do everything in his power to see his son to safety. He did not know when it had begun but anyone with eyes could see that the two were in love. It was written in every interaction the two had. He trusted no one more than Duncan to look after Paul.

The feeling had only just begun to return to Leto's limbs when the Baron made his reappearance. Flanked by over a dozen of his soldiers. It seemed he was not willing to risk Duncan Idaho's blood lust after what had been done to his charge.

Leto can hear the whirl of his lift repulsors as he floats his way across the room. His robes dragged across the floor with a soft slithering sound. The Baron approached Leto's prone form when the duke saw him hesitate mere feet away. It seems his paranoia was showing and he activated his own shield before finishing his approach.

"For hundreds of years we’ve traded blood for blood. But no more. Your son is broken, he will not survive long in the desert. Your concubine is dead. Tonight the House Atreides falls…and soon your bloodline will end forever".

As the Baron was giving his speech he had been leaning further and further into Leto's space. This gave Leto an idea, an opportunity to finally utilize the poison tooth Dr Yueh had left him with. He opens his mouth just enough for sound to escape, he needs to draw the Baron in even closer.

"Here I am. Here I remain" Leto bites the tooth, opens his mouth and breathes the poison into the air.

"What did you say?" It seemed to work as the Baron closed several more inches.

Duncan carries Paul through the palace, keeping to the shadows and out of sight of any other person. As they approach the hanger area he finds a secluded corner just outside the entrance to set Paul down while he investigates. He creeps down the corridor and peaks his head into the entrance of the hanger. He counts roughly a dozen Harkonnen soldiers loitering around, more than he can typically handle in a single fight. He will have to come in fast and brutal, make a show of force and hope they think him not worth the effort.

Duncan makes his way back to where he left Paul, hoping he has roused on his own but he is still zoned out. He is slumped against the wall, eyes staring into the distance. Duncan risks reaching a slow hand out and running his fingers through Paul's hair, trying to detangle some of the knots. Normally Paul would find the action grounding, one common between them after a nightmare but Duncan gets no reaction.

Duncan says a silent apology to his lover and resorts to a single sharp slap across the cheek. He can see Paul's mind snap back into focus, a look of shock coming across his face. Duncan was glad to see some emotion on Paul's face, even if he did not like the method he had to use to put it there. His boy has had enough pain.

As an apology he cups Paul's face between his palms, one thumbs gently stroking across his cheek.

"Listen to me Paul, are you listening?" Duncan waits for Paul to nod in acknowledgement. "There are only a few stragglers in the hanger, I'm going to take care of them, then we are going to take one of the 'thopters. When I call for you, you need to be ready to move. Can you do that?"

Duncan holds Paul's gaze and waits for him to nod again "I need you to say it out loud my boy".

"I understand… when you call for me, I run" Paul recited back to Duncan, voice barely above a whisper, the sound strained and hoarse. Duncan's blood boiled at the memory of what had caused Paul's voice to sound like that, at the image burned into his brain of the Harkonnen animals taking him from both ends. The sound of skin on skin, the pained sounds that had escaped Paul's mouth even while gagged with cock. He fought with himself, with his rage, and shoved the feeling into a box to deal with later. He needed to focus on the here and now, on the men he needed to kill, on the job he still had to complete. They needed to escape Arrakeen and he needed to get Paul to safety.

"Good, stay close and be ready." Pulling his blades from their sheaths with a quiet hiss, Duncan leaned back around the corner into the hanger, just enough to double check their position before he moved in.

They stay low and against the wall of the hanger, circling around to the group closest to 'thopter. Using the Atreides battlesign Duncan tells Paul to stay put before springing out of the shadows. He kills the four men in quick order, they had stupidly left their shields off maling them an easier fight then expected. The scuffle had drawn the attention of another group a few feet away but Duncan saw them hesitate.

Together they climbed into the 'thopter, Duncan at the controls and took off.

He lets out a war cry, slamming his blades together, the sound of metal on metal ringing out. He stalks towards them, pointing his long sword in a challenge which they luckily do not rise to meet. He turns to motion Paul forward only to see the young man already most of the way to his side.

Paul felt empty, like someone had opened his chest and removed all things vital for life. He felt broken, his body screaming at him, to run, to hide, to wither away and die. He had allowed those men to touch him, to take what did not belong to them. What had only ever belonged to the man beside him.

To infect him and make him unclean. He could feel the mixture of cum and blood dripping from his hole, the seat of his pants wet with it.

His fathers absence salt on the wound. After all that he had endured they had to leave him behind. The Baron would never let him live.

The only thing stopping Paul from throwing himself out of the moving 'thopter was the knowledge that Duncan would not hesitate to follow him into death. He would live, to stay with Duncan, to find his Mother, to avenge his Father and himself. The Harkonnens would pay. Blood called for Blood.

#kirstin's chronicles #dddne #non-con #dark fic #dune #dune fanfiction #paul atreides #duncan idaho #atreidaho #paul x duncan #paul/duncan #angst #dune 2021

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esperwatchesfilms · 2 months

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Dune (1984)

This is my father's favorite movie. Every time I walk into my parents' house, I see the Baron floating around laughing maniacally. I have never watched it in its entirety, and with the new ones out, I wanted to watch this before I moved on to Dune: Part One. I spent an hour of the film being SO confused about what was happening and why. But about an hour in (I know, that's a long time), I realized how super into it I was, and the more I started to understand what was up, the more I enjoyed it. Ultimately, a really good film, and I hope I enjoy the new one as much as I liked this one! And I can't express enough how much I love the pug that made it through the whole damn film. ESE: 150/100 50 +2 for the brown spot in Princess Irulan's otherwise greenish eyes +3 for her soothing voice +5 for 9 bulldogs +10 for Patrick Stewart -10 for the laughably horrible effects they used for the shields -2 for the wild eyebrows on Thufir -3 for marching with Barbie hands +10 for the Duke telling his son that people need new experiences to grow +5 for the Atreides family pug -10 for the gross-ass fucking pain box +10 for Brad Dourif -10 for needles in eyes -10 for super nasty Baron pustules +5 for Sting -5 for the nastiest juice box ever +10 for Lady Jessica's hair +5 for Paul ticking off prophecy boxes +5 for how proud the Duke looks that his son knows how the suit should be worn +10 for Duke Atreides saving the miners and saying "Damn the spice!" showing he cares more for his people than the spice -10 for the Reverend Mother jumpscare +5 for Paul saving Shadout Mapes +10 for Shadout Mapes informing Paul of the traitor in his midst -10 for Yueh being a major shitterton +5 for the pug making a getaway +10 for Gurney saving the pug -10 for Yueh being all sookie-la-la after betraying people who were so good to him -5 for the death of Duncan Idaho +10 for Yueh's death because seriously, what a shitterton -10 for the Harkonnen Mentat guy trying to feel up Lady Jessica +10 for Paul using the Voice -10 for the Duke's death -10 for the Baron being alive -5 for the death of Doctor Kynes +10 for Paul's waking dream +5 for the second thumper +10 for the Fremen +5 for Paul Muad'Dib -5 for eating the cow tongue +5 for Feyd's goofy undies +5 for Thufir's new cat -5 for the weird advancement of Usul and Chani's relationship +5 for the weirding way +5 for worm-riding -10 for the fast-forwarding through Alia's growth and Usul and Chani's love story +10 for Gurney still being alive! +5 for Paul's blue eyes +5 for Chani trusting Paul's judgment and giving him the Water of Life despite being scared to +5 for the Emperor calling the Baron "that floating fat man" +10 for Alia +5 for the pug making it to the end of the film +10 for rain on Arrakis

#movies #films #review #David Lynch #Frank Herbert #Kyle MacLachlan #Virginia Madsen #Francesca Annis #Brad Dourif #Linda Hunt #Freddie Jones #Richard Jordan #Silvana Mangano #Kenneth McMillan #Jurgen Prochnow #Sting #Patrick Stewart #Dune #Dune 1984

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ackermental · 1 month

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I think people don't really understand why Baron was always supposed to be a ridiculous kind of villain and he was meant to die almost on accident, with no bang whatsoever.

There is a reason why Paul wasn't the one that killed him in the books. Baron was a shadow of a pawn and by the end of the story, Paul is so far above him, that he really couldn't care less. When he hears about his death, he doesn't give a single fuck.

He doesn't even care enough to kill Mohiam. He is beyond Guild's control, not to mention Emperor's or Jessica's.

They should all fear him. They can't do anything to stop him.

And Baron? This dude wouldn't even be able to bring down Leto, if it wasn't for Peter and him breaking an imperial conditioning for doctor Yueh.

What the movies fail greatly to present is how much the scale shifts over the story. What the message behind it all means. Because Harkonnes are the easiest kind of villains to spot, but in the end, maybe they are not the worst.

Maybe Paul himself is the worst.

Plans within plans don't exist in new Dune movies. It's as simple as that.

Even Feyd doesn't die because he's a Harkonnen. That's what Gurney thinks, that's what Fremen and even Emperor believe is happening. But Feyd dies because Feyd is almost Paul himself.

Baron is only as important as far Alia's story goes.

He was always her villain. Not Paul's.

The entire weight of her arc in Messiah shifts now, and I honestly hate it.

#dune part two #baron harkonnen #alia atreides #paul atreides

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machinesonix · 1 month

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The first Dune book is so narratively tight it makes me feel like I’m missing something with Dr. Yueh. First off, the Suk conditioning that’s supposed to make him incapable of harming the Atredies is introduced in the same breath that the Baron says Pieter has found a way to break it. Feyd-Rautha goes ‘Woah, no way, that’s impossible!’ to let us know this is impressive, but still, we are given zero time to consider Suk conditioning outside of a time where it’s not working. This is the Worf effect to the extreme. This is like if the first time Michael Douglas walks on camera Wesley Crusher beats him up for his lunch money. If you call that guy an unstoppable security officer, immediately inverting that is gonna seem like it’s a punchline.

That’s not even the worst part. We’re told that it was the sick genius of the twisted mentat Pieter DeVries that managed to outwit the Suk conditioning. The thing is, instead of going the Lovecraft route and leaving the reader to imagine what horrors the Harkonnens are capable of, we’re told exactly how it was done. Any time Yueh is in the room he’s thinking about how much he doesn’t want to betray anybody, but the Harkonnens have his beloved Wanna and he really has no choice.

So in the thousands of years the Suk school has had this reputation, never before has there been a mastermind so devious and sick as to put a loved one under duress. That really makes it seems like the kids gloves are on for all this espionage and intrigue. Yeah, the Harkonnens will brick a dude into a wall to pilot a little stabby drone into your teenage son’s nervous system, but they need to bring in a guy with a doctorate in Fucked Up Shit before they can puzzle out extortion.

Maybe I’m giving too much credit to Herbert here, but this just feels like such weirdly out of place sloppy writing I feel like I’m in the wrong here. Like maybe he’d just written himself into a corner needing a traitor when Paul and Jessica have preternatural truth-sight. If I’m being generous, Yueh is maybe a foil for Dr. Kynes, another scientist with a complicated relationship with loyalty, but I’m reaching there. I am half hoping there’s some sort of secret lore on this, because honestly I feel like I would be rolling my eyes less if this was some sort of secret Bene Gesserit conspiracy than how much I’m rolling them taking this at face value.

#dune #dune meta #a million deaths are not enough for yueh

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mariacallous · 7 months

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After six months of shooting, six months in postproduction, and nine months of concentrated editing, Dune was ready to be unleashed onto 1,700 screens worldwide simultaneously, a rarity then. There were four gala premieres scheduled for the film: Washington, DC; Los Angeles; Miami; and London.

The DC premiere at the Kennedy Center took place on December 4 and included Dune author Frank Herbert, Kyle MacLachlan (“Paul Atreides”), Francesca Annis (“Lady Jessica”), Dean Stockwell (“Doctor Wellington Yueh”), Raffaella De Laurentiis (producer), and, of course, Dino De Laurentiis (executive producer). The latter wrangled Herbert and David Lynch (along with his wife, Mary Fisk) invites to a White House state dinner to meet President Ronald Reagan, whom Lynch admired. Supposedly the President and First Lady Nancy Reagan told Herbert they enjoyed the film, though official records show Dune wasn't screened for the president until December 22, at Camp David.

“It is an important town for an important movie,” Dino told The Washington Post. “The Kennedy Center is the most important in the United States. That is why we have the premiere of Dune here.”

MacLachlan, smiling between book signings at the premiere, told a reporter: “I don’t feel like a God Emperor, just an actor. Actually, the process of filming was boring and tedious. The fun came in seeing it in its final form. This is the second time for me, I saw it once before in New York. Yes, I do hope there’s a sequel. I’d like to be in lots more. I’d read all the Dune books years before the movie, but once I was cast in it, I began to read them voraciously.”

“I think the movie captures the book,” Herbert opined. “Of course, it leaves out scenes, but it would have to, otherwise we’d be here 14 hours.”

However, negativity around Dune was already circulating. Lynch tried to quell the bad buzz (Variety had dubbed it a “Dune-boggle”) to the Los Angeles Times shortly after this premiere, saying: “I don’t know how the rumors got started, but they aren’t based on truth … that the picture was in trouble, it wasn’t going over well and that we had a bad preview. Well, I was at the Los Angeles preview, and the feeling I got was that we had a successful preview. The feeling I got at the premiere was an awful lot better. Dune is a film built for a big screen with big sound, and they had that at the Kennedy Center.”

Lynch later admitted in Greg Olsen's Beautiful Dark: “I said that I liked the film. I convinced myself that I did. But I was a very sick person at the time. I was dying inside.”

Herbert was also banging the drum for the movie and its planned follow-up, bragging to Philadelphia Daily News: “The principals of the cast and the director, David Lynch, have all been optioned for two more films. We have enough outtakes from this one to make a four-hour TV miniseries. We’re already plotting the screenplay of the sequel.”

A copy of the script for Dune II was even seen in Herbert’s office when he was interviewed for Prevue magazine in December 1984: “That’s David’s rough draft of Dune Messiah. Now that we speak the same ‘language,’ it’s much easier for both of us to make progress, especially with the screenplays.”

Lynch elaborated even further on his plans to shoot Dune II and Dune III back-to-back in Starburst #78:

Raffaella will be the producer again, and hopefully a lot of the same team will come back. Right now, I’m writing the script for Dune II. Dune II is totally Dune Messiah, with variations on the theme. Dune III is the one that’s going to be trouble for me. I’m not wild about Children of Dune, and I want to read it again and see what kind of ideas I get. I want to get to the point where I’m really dying to do it. Dune Messiah is a very short book, and a lot of people don’t like it, but in there are some really nifty ideas. I’m real excited about that, and I think it could make a really good film. It starts 12 years later, and this creates a whole new set of problems. It’s a kind of thing unto itself. The whole place where the characters live is now different. It’s the same location, but everything has changed. And it should have a different mood … it should be 12 strange years later.

At the Royal London Charity Premiere benefiting the National Association for Mental Health on December 13 were Lynch, MacLachlan, Annis, Sting (“Feyd-Rautha”), Patrick Stewart (“Gurney Halleck”), Siân Phillips (“Gaius Helen Mohiam”), and Raffaella partying at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square alongside special celebrity guests like Prince Andrew (Duke of York), Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland (The Police), Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael (Wham!), Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet), Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran), Roger Taylor (Queen), Grace Jones (Conan the Destroyer), Julie Walters (Educating Rita), Danny Huston (Wonder Woman), Billy Connolly (The Hobbit), and the American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.

There is even a photograph of Annis and Sting smiling as they cut a large (truthfully, disgusting-looking) Dune cake with a chocolate sandworm suggestively placed between fondant representations of Arrakis’ two moons.

One last premiere was held concurrently the night of the London event at the Dadeland Triple Theater in South Miami, Florida, to benefit the Coconut Grove Playhouse, where José Ferrer (“Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV”) was artistic director. Ferrer attended the public event alongside actor Brad Dourif (“Piter De Vries”), with tickets available for $20 for the film (with preshow champagne reception) or $50 for the film and a gala party with the stars. A critics’ screening and press conference with Ferrer and Dourif were also arranged, attended by John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, who had intended to screen The Brother from Another Planet in Cuba but were denied visas, so they settled for watching Dune. The reception by the press at the conference was reportedly icy.

During a London press conference in January 1985 (once writing was on the wall regarding Dune failing), Raffaella made a bold and not inaccurate prediction (via Space Voyager #14): “No, it won’t flop. It’s too original. It doesn’t look like anything that’s been on the screen before. I think it’s going to become a big cult movie.”

What follows are recollections of the cast and crew of Dune on their premiere experiences.

IAN WOOLF (Directors Guild of America [DGA] Trainee): I went to the premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington with my wife and a friend of ours. After the two hours and 20 minutes, you could hear a pin drop in the theater. It’s like, “What the fuck was this?” It wasn’t good.

VIRGINIA MADSEN (Actor, “Princess Irulan”): I didn’t go to that one. I went to the premiere at the Chinese, or maybe it was Westwood? They handed out this little dictionary. I saw that and I thought, “Oh no, this movie is in trouble … you need a dictionary.”

ERIC SWENSON (Visual Effects, Motion Control): I don’t remember everybody being bummed or super excited. It was like, “Hey, that’s pretty cool.” Everybody hates their own stuff, and thinks they could do it better. I’m looking at Rambaldi’s creatures and the forced perspective miniatures. Some of those sets, like the Emperor’s palace, were still left over when I got there, and to see them up on the big screen was phenomenal.

ALICIA WITT (Actor, “Alia”): I loved it! I loved it. I also missed a lot of the scenes that were missing. It was amazing to have that first experience of having watched something being filmed and then seeing it made into a real-life movie. That’s always magical, and it never stops being magical. No matter how many times I’ve done it now, you watch a scene being filmed over and over again from all the different angles and then you see it turned into a story. I also remember being confused by the feedback that I heard after the movie that people didn’t understand it, because obviously I knew the story backward and forward and it made perfect sense to me, but I can see now how it might have been confusing to people who hadn’t already read the book.

VIRGINIA MADSEN (Actor, “Princess Irulan”): It was kind of hard for me to recover from the fact that my face was 25 feet tall in the theater. That was the coolest thing I could have ever dreamt of as a little girl. There it was. I might not have been Barbara Stanwyck, but there I was. To me, everything about the movie was perfect because I was so proud to be a part of something that big when I was such a sci-fi/fantasy/horror fan. It was very exciting and very beautiful. I wanted to see it again immediately. [Laughs.]

PENELOPE SHAW SYLVESTER (Assistant Editor): They were all very complimentary at the Royal premiere in London. We all went out and partied afterward. I remember going into the ladies’ room, and Sting’s wife’s dress had come apart and she was in a panic. I said, “Don’t worry!” Being a Girl Scout, I had my safety pins; we pinned her up and back she went.

SEAN YOUNG (Actor, “Chani”): I was never at a screening when that movie came out because I was in Africa doing a movie called Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend. It was a long shoot. I never even saw the picture at all until 18 years later when I watched Dune on TV one day. I didn’t have a whole lot of thought about it, but I do remember the reshoot scene at the end that we shot day for night. I thought that was pretty good.

Young harbors no ill will toward the filmmakers for reducing her role of Chani almost to the point of haiku.

SEAN YOUNG (Actor, “Chani”): This is going to sound ridiculous, but I couldn’t have cared less. It didn’t matter to me. That’s show business. That’s what I mean about practicality. When you take stuff personally in show business, it makes life harder. How many people put their money in to make this movie? They paid you, right? They don’t owe you a storyline unless you put it in your contract: “I must have a storyline that takes up a half-hour of this picture at least.” Nobody will do that. If I could do one thing differently, it would be nice to appear in one of the gowns. Francesca got to wear nice gowns and she was also in the stillsuit, so she had both. Chani only had the stillsuit. That was it. Well, I had a little ropey see-through thing for the love scenes. It would have been nice to have a spiffed-up My Fair Lady moment. [Laughs.]

Molly Wryn did not discover that her major character of Harah—along with her entire storyline—had been almost completely excised from the finished film until she attended the premiere in Los Angeles.

MOLLY WRYN (Actor, “Harah”): Imagine? My heart crushed. Broke. It hurt. David had said to me not long before that, “You know, some of your stuff has been cut.” Something very gentle. I said, “Okay.” But I had no idea I was completely cut. They even shot me for the credits, when they show everybody’s face, but didn’t use it, which was sad. I remember how shocked I was. And then at the end, not even my face that they filmed. It took a while, they film from all directions and then pick out what they want to use and … gosh, I’m getting teary about it.

Harlan Ellison wrote articles at the time alleging that Frank Price of Universal thought Dune was “a dog” and was deliberately withholding it from the press.

FRANK PRICE (President of Universal Pictures, 1983–86): Not a dog. It was not bad. David Lynch does good work. Harlan Ellison was always around with a chip on his shoulder.

PAUL M. SAMMON (Universal Pictures Publicity Executive): Prior to its release, there was a great deal of journalistic interest in Dune. Fan interest was somewhat split prior to the film’s opening, though. There was the inevitable skepticism of, “Isn’t this the same producer who gave us that mediocre remake of King Kong?” That was balanced by Frank Herbert’s very vocal enthusiasm about how faithfully David Lynch was “doing” his book. In fact, I included some footage of Frank heartily (and genuinely) endorsing Dune in my “Destination Dune” convention featurette, but then the release date kept being pushed back and audience/press interest began waning. CRAIG CAMPOBASSO (Production Office Assistant): They didn’t do any press screenings. That’s where all that anger came from the press. People started writing bad stuff because of that.

FRANK PRICE (President of Universal Pictures, 1983–86): Oh yeah. You don’t want to give critics time to destroy you. I had a picture at Columbia that is a good example, called Neighbors. It had John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. When we test-screened it, audiences hated it. I told the marketing head, “Get every theater you can get, every seat, because we’ve got to get everything out in a week.” We did great business for a week, and then it collapsed. Word of mouth destroyed it. But with Dune, you can’t get your money back in a week.

CRAIG CAMPOBASSO (Production Office Assistant): They didn’t want anybody to knock it down before it was released, but not letting them see it had the opposite effect. Then the movie came out, and it just didn’t do well.

THOM MOUNT (President of Universal Pictures, 1976–83): The real problem was people didn’t show up. It’s hard to know. When we did The Deer Hunter, I was told by everybody repeatedly that the picture would be a total failure, that no one wants to see this long exegesis on our painful exit from Vietnam. Six Academy Awards and hundreds of millions of dollars in income later, they were wrong. But on the other hand, you’re talking to the guy who gave Xanadu the go-ahead. I know what it is to lose every dime.

Despite the wild reactions, much of the cast and crew weren’t blaming Lynch.

FREDERICK ELMES (Additional Unit Cinematographer): What’s on the screen isn’t really David’s film. It’s a different edit. It’s a different version of the film, and that made me very sad.

TERRI HARDIN (Stillsuit Fabrication, Stunt Double): People would say, “Oh, that movie was so terrible.” What you don’t realize is there’s like seven hours on the cutting room floor. Frank Herbert at the screening was devastated, so sad that he had to show us this movie. I think he had seen it before, but he was heartbroken by the movie. So many people were disappointed by the results. The De Laurentiises weren’t at our screening, mostly the builders and below-the-line people. It was supposed to be two films, and it became one, really short and really not very comprehensible.

KENNETH GEORGE GODWIN (Production Documentarian): I knew there was stuff that would have made a stronger film. You’re 45 minutes into it before the Harkonnens attack, and mostly what we’ve got is just setting up all these royal families. You’ve got this huge exposition at the beginning, then a pretty rushed midsection. After he’s with the Fremen, they start to follow him and attack … That’s all compressed into a couple of montages. There was way more shot. Then you’ve got the ending, a big battle scene. A huge chunk of the meat of the story got ditched.

GILES MASTERS (Art Department): The stories of what David went through are well-documented, and it wasn’t the film that he wanted. It wasn’t the film most of us expected to see when we went to the premiere. Everybody was a little like, “Oh, what happened?”

LUIGI ROCCHETTI (Makeup Artist): In addition to the human side of Lynch, I admire his vision of things. The film could have been better. It’s a very complicated and difficult story to tell, and surely David’s version was better when it was uncut.

KENNETH GEORGE GODWIN (Production Documentarian): If David had been left alone with the editor, it would have been better, had more coherence. The emphasis was never so much on the story as on creating four different worlds with all their architecture, the sense that these places all have different histories, different societies. That kind of world-building appealed to him more than the story of this kid who becomes a god.

JANE JENKINS (Casting Director): I don’t know that I ever understood it any better than when I struggled through the book. I think that the movie was not as successful as David could have made it. He had a vision to do it in black and white. He didn’t want to do it in color. I think that it had the potential if David had been left entirely to his own devices to make it a stronger movie. There was a lot of interference in his version, but [he] was not a powerful enough director at that point in his career to say, “All right, everybody back off,” and have final cut. Even though I found Eraserhead very odd, to say the least, all his films have been very interesting. Dune is probably the least successful [of his films] because he didn’t have enough control to do what he wanted.

RAFFAELLA DE LAURENTIIS (Producer): Look, it’s not an easy adaptation. If you have not read the book and you’re not familiar with the book, you’ll get lost easily. One of the mistakes—and I’ll take responsibility for that—was David would have probably been a lot more esoteric, but I was concerned about people being able to follow the story. Sometimes I was pushing to explain things, to remain close to the book, to be faithful to the book. I’m not sure that was always the right decision to make.

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