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hoedamn-eron · 1 year

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he found the box of condoms - part 3 (finale)

You and Leto have to deal with the aftermath of your relationship.

Warnings: Age gap, but it is appropriate/legal. Mentions of drinking but it's isn't specified to be alcohol (but it's implied). An awful lot of dialogue. Some swearing. Angsty but happy ending. I have never seen nor read Dune (yet), so there may be some inaccuracies (Duke and Paul being OOC, stuff like that), but it's Modern!AU anyway. Slightly proof-read, as per usual. Word count: 3,025 GN!Reader, no use of Y/N.

FINALLY, I have this posted! Not some of my best work, but I was so aware that I hadn't updated this for 4 months!

Part 2

You wished you had declined your parent’s invitation to their barbeque.

It had been a terrible week. You had started your new job, but the person you were taking over from must have left the company with spite since they left everything in such a mess, that you technically couldn’t ‘start’ your job until everything was put right again. And there was a snooty woman (Harriet, in sales) on your office floor who had already decided you weren’t worth her time, and she seemed to have her fingers stuck in a lot of pies.

You’re dating life was a joke too. You’d been on a few dates here and there, from your adventures in the worlds of Tinder, and Bumble, but nothing went past the first date. They were all either looking for different things or just general walking red flags. The only ‘successful’ dates you had had were with your neighbour, Tom, who was a really nice guy, who treated you really well, and put an effort into your dates, but you had let him down massively by being too hooked on Leto Atreides. Now you can barely look at him when you happen to pass each other in the hallway of your building.

Speaking of your living arrangements, your apartment wasn’t working out like you thought it would. When you moved in five months ago, you weren’t prepared (or warned about) the excessively noisy neighbours, and the terrible water pressure, and the fact that your apartment was just freezing constantly. You’d already been on your landlord’s case, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest, not now he’d had your security deposit and months’ worth of rent. You were on the verge of asking your parents if you could move back in until you could afford and better place.

And to top off your already terrible week, Leto was here.

You hadn’t seen him since he broke up with you six months ago, after you told your parents and Paul (who hadn’t talked to you since) of your relationship. It had been a hard time for you, obviously, practically seeing him every day since he lived next door to your parents. Of course, you didn’t expect your parents to stop talking to him, he was their friend before he was your partner (even though your dad had given him the cold shoulder for a while); but they could have given you some warning that he was going to be here.

“I’m sorry,” your mother said after pulling you aside to ‘help with the salad’, away from earshot of the other guests.

You were already shaking your head at her, giving her a tight smile. “It’s fine.”

It wasn’t, but you weren’t going to tell your mother who she can and can’t have in her own house.

“Your father must’ve invited him – “

“Really, it’s fine,” you say, placing your hand on her shoulder. “I’m gonna grab a drink.”

You really needed one.

Your mother soon went back to mingling and you hung around by the kitchen door, regretting your decision to come to the barbeque more and more. Everyone just seemed so chatty and happy, and like they currently had no problems happening in their lives. These people weren’t struggling to get hot water or being shunned in work by their new co-workers.

They most certainly weren’t in the same space as their ex-partners, still hopelessly in love with them. You did feel slightly pathetic, still pining over Leto the way you were, especially when he’d made it perfectly clear that it would be in everyone’s best interests that you separated.

“We shouldn’t see each other anymore.”

You had the feeling that was what was coming when he had said ‘We need to talk’. Nothing good every came from ‘we need to talk.’ But it didn’t stop you physically feeling your heart break in two, your body suddenly feeling like it would collapse.

Leto’s shoulders slumped as he looked at you with, annoyingly, sympathy. “That came out – “

“No, it’s fine,” you breathed, lightly shaking your head. “I get it.”

But it wasn’t fine, and you didn’t get it. You didn’t understand why you two would need to end what you had, just because Paul had thrown a hissy fit. But at the end of the day, you knew – deep down - Leto would choose Paul over you any day; he was his son, his flesh and blood. They’d both been through a lot since Jessica died. Leto would want the easiest life for Paul, and this wasn’t a part of it.

“I’m sorry,” Leto whispered, looking at you with those deep brown eyes, that you always thought held the stars. “I’m so sorry. It’s just you’re young, you don’t want to be with someone like me, an old man. And Paul is…I’m sorry.”

You shook your head at him again, disagreeing with everything he was saying. You both go silent before a wobbly smile makes its way on to your face. “We can always stay friends.”

Leto stared at you for a moment before giving a single nod. “We can.”

You almost roll your eyes at the memory, trying hard to ignore the pang in your chest. You hadn’t even remotely stayed friends. You wanted far away from him as humanly possible after that night. You were pissed off for a while, blaming Paul and wanting to wring his neck, but eventually you accepted that was just how life was going to go. Sometimes things work out how you want, and sometimes they don’t.

No matter how much you had wanted it.

You take a large sip of your drink, almost coughing at the burn down your throat. You truly didn’t want to be here. Maybe you could give your parents a discreet goodbye a quietly sneak out. Surely no-one would notice, only your parents had greeted you. Leto hadn’t even noticed you were here. You take a quick glance around your parents sunroom, your eyes landing on the God of a man himself.

He always looked so effortlessly good looking. He’d grown his beard out a little and God dammit, if salt and pepper wasn’t his colour. His white polo really brought out his golden tan, evident he’d been working in his garden with the nice weather you’d had the last few weeks. He didn’t look like his life was falling apart; obviously, Leto was a perfect human being. Nothing ever went wrong with Leto Atreides.

You sigh as you finish your drink, throwing your head back and looking back at Leto, before jumping out of your skin.

He was looking right at you, an unreadable look on his face.

You avert your gaze quickly, going to take another drink before realising it was already gone. Good, an excuse to disappear and avoid Leto’s coffee brown gaze. You make your way into the kitchen, intending to raid your parents appropriately named ‘drinks fridge’ for a good five or ten minutes. You weren’t ready to face him, even 6 months of being apart. It still hurt.

Once you had refilled your drink, you turn only to nearly drop your drink in shock. Leto had followed you into the kitchen.

Oh God, you’re cornered, there was no escaping him now.

“Hey.”

Why, why, did he have to have a voice that melted you from the inside out? It wasn’t fair. And you hadn’t heard him since you moved out, it shouldn’t make you feel like this.

“Hi,” you greet back. You curse yourself as the slight wobble in your voice, but you hope he didn’t notice.

He probably did, but he won’t say anything, because he’s just that nice of a person. He’s even looking at you like he’s causing you such an inconvenience talking to you.

“How are you?”

How were you going to answer that? Would you be honest and tell him that you were the unhappiest you’d been in a while, or would you lie? You could tell him that you were living your best life, that everything was absolutely fine with you, that you hadn’t had a few unsuccessful pity dates with your neighbour across the hall, because all you could think about was the Adonis of a man stood in front of you.

You’re taking too long to answer. The call of your name causes you to blink at him with a quick, “I’m fine.”

Leto nodded, an awkward silence filling the air. You look down at the drink in your hand, swirling it around the glass, biting your lip. You wanted to leave. What were you supposed to talk about? How miserable your life was? How he’s probably living his best single life with all the people falling at his feet?

“Your mom mentioned you’d…that you’d met someone.”

You couldn’t help the snort of a laugh that came out of you. Straight to the point. You shook your head as you look back up at Leto, a confused look on his face. “I wouldn’t say mine and my neighbour’s dates were something to write home about, pretty sure we’re not going to go out again.”

“So you’re not seeing anyone?”

“No.”

“So I can take you out then?”

You freeze, looking at him with wide eyes. What did he just say? “Pardon me?”

“I’ve been…completely miserable,” he said, huffing a laugh as he shook his head. “The past six months have been rough.”

The nerve! He broke up with you. He decided to end your relationship for Paul’s feelings, which you understood, really you did, but that didn’t mean you were going to just drop everything and crawl back into his arms. He’d ignored you for six months until today. As much as you were pining for Leto when you first spotted him, you couldn’t help but feel put out and pissed off.

Unnerved by your silence, Leto cleared his throat. “I spoke to Paul – “

“That makes one of us,” you mutter.

“He’s mentioned that he misses you and wants to make things right between us all.”

“He could have reached out himself instead of making you come and speak to me,” you mutter. “It’s awkward enough as it is.”

“He didn’t make me – “ Leto huffed, his shoulders slumping. “I’m trying here.”

“I just thought that my feelings meant just as much as Paul’s do.”

Leto sighed your name, closing his eyes in frustration.

“No, I get it,” you say, nodding at him. “As long as Paul’s feelings aren’t hurt.”

Leto looked back at you. “He’s my son – “

“And as I said, I get that, but he was also my friend. And he was a prick.”

“I know, I’m sorry, but you have to understand – “

“I do.”

You both stare at each other.

After a few moments, Leto shook his head at you. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” you counter. “We broke up. That was it. The relationship was evidently too much, so we decided to end it. And now you’re coming up to me, assuming you can take me out, like nothing happened?”

You knew you were being unfair. You had agreed to break it off too, but you had been having a bad week and you weren’t prepared for him to be at your parent’s house after feeling sorry for yourself. And for him to just approach you the way he did and throw his feelings back at you?

You wanted the floor to open you up and swallow you whole.

You found yourself suddenly laughing in disbelief, averting your gaze to look around the kitchen, mainly so you didn’t have to look at his heart-breaking expression, and so he didn’t see the overwhelmed tears in your eyes. “I really didn’t need this today.”

Leto didn’t say anything as you ranted to him, your stress and anger from the past few weeks coming out of you.

“Ever since we broke up, I feel like my life just fell apart. I lost Paul, and you, and my apartment that looked great on paper absolutely sucks and my landlord knows it but doesn’t bother to fix anything. My new job isn’t what I thought it would be and I have already rubbed somebody the wrong way, and I can’t seem to hold down a date with a decent guy, because all I can think about is you!”

You hadn’t realised Leto had made his way to you until he pulled you into his arms. You hadn’t realised you were crying until he was shushing you and whispering apologies in your ear, keeping you to his chest and he lightly swayed you. He was always so warm and welcoming, and always left you wanting to stay in his arms eternally.

You find yourself trapped in a wave of conflicting emotions. As the memories of the time you had spent with Leto flood back, you feel a mix of joy, pain, and longing at being held by him again, even if it was in the middle of a breakdown. Your heart feels heavy with the weight of regret, as you reminiscence on the times you had together and the things left unsaid when you broke up, how it was so sudden when you felt like your relationship had just started.

You don’t know how long you both stood embracing in the kitchen for, but you were vaguely aware of Leto waving your mother away, probably checking to see where you’d both gotten to. You heard your father call to the guests that he was going to start grilling, so you took that as your queue to get out of the kitchen. You pulled away from Leto, wiping at your eyes and avoiding looking at him.

You’d embarrassed yourself enough.

He watched you silently pull yourself back together before you finally look up at him, giving him a shaky smile. “Sorry about that.”

Leto was already shaking his head. “You don’t need to apologise. Ever.”

You take a few more deep breaths, finally calming down. “Did you mean what you said?”

Leto looked at you with a raised brow, before countering back. “Did you?”

Well, yes you did. You know you constantly think about Leto. He’s never far from your mind, you’re always wondering how he was doing since you moved out of your parent’s place, wondering if he ever got back into the dating pool, or if Paul had forgiven him (evidently, he did). Leto was the love of your life, even if you both chose to separate. And despite this, he was giving you the choice to get back together.

You eventually nod at him. “I did. I think about you all the time.”

Leto gave a small laugh of disbelief. “Then what are we both doing?”

You shook your head at him. “I don’t know. Everything was happening so fast, I didn’t…”

Leto gives you a small smile. “I understand.”

“I didn’t want us to break up. I didn’t want to be alone, without you, but you looked like you were doing so well without me and I was practically a pathetic, blubbering mess.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way.”

“I’m glad you were as miserable as I am,” you say jokingly, giving a small laugh.

The change in Leto is instant. His shoulders relax, and he starts giving you that small smile that he used to give you when you were having your long talks on dates. It was the smile that warmed your insides and made you feel gooey, like a teenager going to prom with the most popular person in school.

He stuck his hand out to you. “Shall we start again? I’m Leto, it’s nice to meet you.”

You snort but humour him, grasping at his hand as you introduce yourself.

“I just noticed you across the room and I have to say, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re so cheesy.”

“I remember you used to like me being cheesy.”

You feel your cheeks warm as you gave him a light shove. “We just met, Leto, I don’t know what you mean.”

Leto smiled at you. “Want me to ask you out again?”

You couldn’t help but sigh dreamily at him. Your heart beats hard against your chest as you nodded at him.

“Can I take you out sometime?”

Your breathing quickens, and you still felt like you were melting against that smile of his. This was it. This was your opportunity to be with Leto again, to be happy again. You wouldn’t need to sneak around and you could be a real life couple.

But you didn’t want to risk being hurt again. What if the same problems arose, that Paul wasn’t okay with it after a while, or your parents? Would Leto break it off again? Would he think it was too much again and end things? You were still an adult and could make decisions for yourself; something that others seemed to forget last time.

But you could handle it. You loved him, and you were sure he loved you. And you could be together again.

You nod at Leto. “Yes. I would love to go out with you.”

Leto grinned. “Are you free on Saturday?”

“I am.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven on Saturday then.”

Before you could reply, Leto leans forward, his lips meeting yours. You melt against him, your eyes closing as you revel in the familiarity of their kiss. The way his lips fit perfectly against yours after so long, like coming home after a long journey. You wrap your arms around each other tightly, deepening the kiss, savouring every moment as if you’d never been apart.

As the kiss comes to an end, you both pull away, gazing into each other's eyes, feeling the love and longing that has been building inside you for so long.

“I’ll hide the condoms better next time.”

You let out a laugh before slipping your hand into his, leading him back out to the party. You choose to ignore the smirk your parents were giving each other as you join them.

Tagged - @m0nster-fvcker, @justanotherkpopstanlol, @eonnyx, @secre-flower, @shaggzthatsnottheworm

#dune #duke leto atreides x reader #duke leto x gn!reader #duke leto atreides x gn!reader #leto atreides x gn!reader #leto atreides #duke leto x reader #duke leto atreides #paul atreides #paul atreides x platonic!reader #paul atreides x reader #oscar isaac

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thewormformerlyknownasletojrjr · 1 year

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Sometimes self care is rewatching Dune (2021) and going on and on about ‘the symbolism of this or that’ or how ‘something here is a nod to the sequels’ or ‘look how the casting characterizes the house atreides’ or ‘the music here is phenomenal, it foreshadows gurney’s fate later on’ or ‘I think the difference in the vocalizing in the soundtrack here is deliberate’ until whoever you’re watching it with is ready to commit murder to shut you up.

But it’s just so phenomenal that you can watch it and catch new things each time, the visual and auditory storytelling in the background gives you so much! All these little things that go unnoticed until you see and want to jump out of your seat at them, let’s talk about that.

Let’s talk about how Jessica is always hooded when her scenes are associated with her Bene Gesserit powers and upbringing, how you can literally watch her out her hood down or up mid scene as she transitions from mother and concubine to an obedient disciple, how it foreshadows her struggle in the books all the way through Children of Dune.

Let’s talk about how well done the foreshadowing of the jihad is, how even this early on we can see the start of what is integral to Paul’s conflict in Messiah, how that feeling of helplessness about a destiny he doesn’t want will keep him frozen and unable to stop what’s in motion, how Messiah is such an incredible book because it ties into the dystopian trope wherein revolutionaries become like those they once revolted against, but how it’s so much more fascinating than some of the ways we see it in modern dystopias, because it’s the main characters who are following the pattern, not just watching in horror as those they fought with change for the worse, but actually experiencing it, horrified at what they’ve done and what they will continue to do, frozen and so unable or unwilling to do what needs to be done to stop it, how the movie is still in the stage where they are noble and valiant, but it makes sure to show the dread of what it coming, how it does such a good job of showing the burden of foresight that is so integral to Dune, the way that even as they see the future and can attempt to change it, they know that no matter their decisions, horrible things will come, how it shows Paul as scared hating the power he was given and blaming his mother and her aspirations, how the atreides family never wanted to be great, they wanted to be good, how Paul is coming to see that great and good cannot always coexist, how you look at this boy and you can genuinely see how he will become the man saying ‘Believers, all of them’ how Dune is such a hard story to get right because you watch someone devolve and stand by why horrible things are done without seeing him as a terrible person from the start, without the boy and the man seeming irreconcilable from one another, how the movie actually is on the right track even though the end result is unpalatable to the majority of society, how they are showing the white savior trope in a way that is thus far complaint with how it is deconstructed later on, how they have the epic notes of the beginning without going in a direction that makes the ending impossible.

Let’s talk about how they cast the Atreides family as beautiful people, but not soft, not tamed to modern standards, aristocratic in their looks in such a way that you believe they have been nobility for centuries, maybe millennia, slightly untouchable, dangerous, like those in power during the Italian Renaissance, how Paul looks young but also ethereal and formal, the balance between boy and duke and messiah in his appearance, how Leto’s hair and beard make him not only regal but worn by politics, cold and formal yet fatherly all at once, how Jessica’s ghostly pale complexion nods to her Harkonnen ancestry in the books and how she is beautiful in a way that seems not entirely human, how the other members of the Atreides house are each unique and full of character, not designed to fit a palette or aesthetic, whereas the Harkonnens have an eerie similarity that shows how little they value free will, how the Harkonnens are not dramatized to emphasize their characterization but rather understated, devoid of emotion save for rare explosive moments, how they echoed this in their design, making them blank slates, taking away rather than adding, leaving them almost human, but not quite, enough to trigger that ancient animal instinct in a person that says ‘something is wrong here, something is dangerous’ rather than making them fit in with the conventions of a time period or trend as to how to look evil.

Let’s talk about the soundtrack, how the epic music playing when House Atreides lands on Arrakis is echoed as Gurney and his men charge at the Harkonnens who so greatly outnumber them, how this not only ties you emotionally to the battle, hearing this dying cry of the Atreides, more so than the music continuing to be dark and foreboding through it all, but also how it foreshadows the survival of Gurney and the small group of men with him, living to reunite with Paul later on.

Let’s talk about how throughout the soundtrack we have women vocalizing, the emphasis on the power of the Bene Gesserit and how in Leto’s death scene we diverge from this trend, how he was so powerless against all these grand plans but he still took a stand, still ended things on his own terms.

Let’s talk about how Jessica doesn’t answer when Leto asks her to protect Paul as a Bene Gesserit. Let’s talk about the bull and the matador, the symbolism there. Let’s talk about the emphasis on medieval and renaissance headdresses on the Bene Gesserit, the significance of choosing attire from a time when the Catholic Church was in the peak of its power. Let’s talk about the nods to Gurney’s music. Just, look at all this stuff in the movie that you barely even notice, the first time. All the planning that went into it, how to fit in all these little nods, how to stay true to who the characters are in the present while also beginning to show who they will become. Let’s talk about it.

Though maybe not to the people I was watching the movie with. I don’t actually have a death wish.

#dune #dune frank herbert #paul atreides #children of dune #dune messiah #lady jessica #leto atreides #dune 2021 #visual storytelling #soundtracks #movie appreciation #wow this got long #that part in messiah when he says ‘believers’ hits me like a punch in the gut

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alwritey-aphrodite · 1 year

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I feel like y’all’ve got the drift by now: go ahead and send me a character with a prompt and I’ll write a little blurb!! It’s one character per prompt, so if a prompt gets crossed of its already taken! Go ahead and send me one now, and it’ll get posted in the month of June :)

1. Fresh fruit (Modern!Poe Dameron)

2. Day at the pool (Jamie Tartt)

3. Hiking (Marc Spector)

4. Backyard barbecue (Santiago Garcia)

5. Planting a garden (Jamie Tartt)

6. Sunbathing (Jamie Tartt)

7. Sundress (Marc Spector)

8. Ice cream (Poe Dameron)

9. Beach trip (Roy Kent)

10. Driving with the windows down (Frankie Morales)

11. Tropical drinks (Agent Whiskey)

12. Dinner out after a day in the sun (Marc Spector)

13. Napping in the sun (Poe Dameron)

14. Collecting seashells (Jamie Tartt)

15. Broken AC (Jake Lockley)

16. Watching sunsets from the back porch (Jamie Tartt)

17. Quickly melting popsicles (Jamie Tartt)

18. Midnight rainstorms (Marc Spector)

19. Beach showers (You Are In Love!Poe Dameron)

20. Boating (Roy Kent)

21. Freshly cut grass (Santiago Garcia)

22. Vegetables from a farmer’s market (Roy Kent)

23. Beach house (Poe Dameron)

24. Fishing (Agent Whiskey)

25. Convenience store slushies (Steven Grant)

26. Picnics (Steven Grant)

27. Campfires and s’mores (Jamie Tartt)

28. Swingsets and tree houses (Santiago Garcia)

29. Trips to the park (Roy Kent)

30. Sweet tea (Steven Grant)

Characters To Choose From:

Agent Whiskey

Frankie Morales

Santiago Garcia

Poe Dameron

Marc Spector

Steven Grant

Jake Lockley

Kane

Duke Leto Atreides

Roy Kent

Jamie Tartt

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minigirl87 · 7 months

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The Laird & The Lassie series Prt 1

An Au Duke Leto Atreides x F'Reader

Summary:-

This is an au that was inspired by Oscar Issac in his black kilt suit at the New York fashion week. Set in the Scottish Highlands in modern days. I've set Caladan in the North Scottish West Coast in the Lochaber area of Fort William, which is beautiful and surrounded by mountains and water. Some points of interest on Fort William, its the road to the Isles and West Highland way. It is the home to Ben Nevis and the mouth to the rivers Nevis and Lochy and is where you can get the Harry Potter train to cross the famous Glenfinnan viaduct. And History wise, it is where Glencoe is. I've set the Lairds castle as Inverlochy Castle, which is beautiful ruin which historic Scotland look after and it sits in front of river Lochy. This is my first Duke (Laird) Leto fic. Please be kind if it is not perfect. Please feel free to like, comment, share, and leave feedback. Please Enjoy

There are some Scottish words in the story that I was a fun idea.

Warnings:-

Angst, mentions of road traffic accident, reader ends up in hospital.

Word Count:- 5,997

The air smelled thickly of a mixture of heather and peat as the Laird walked his two Gordon setter dogs along the river Lochay. It was a driecht afternoon, the sky a dull mixture of grey that the autumn leaves broke up with splashes of reds and oranges dancing in the breeze and scrunched under his boots.

“Archie and Angus, come here now!” Leto shouted to the two barking dogs that had spied a pheasant. In the distance, castle Caladan sat against the backdrop of the Munro mountains. Caladan was a beautiful area of Scotland’s west coast surrounded by rugged coastline to the north sea and the Munro’s but the beauty also held the long ago history of bloodshed.

As a Laird of the land of Caladan, it was his duty to get married and have an heir. But he never found the right woman for him. They were always interested in what he was, not who he was. Leto was kind, caring, compassionate, man. Who worked hard and had respect from not only local people but also nationwide? He longed for a woman the same as him to give his love and life. To give her the gift of his children to be a dream family.

Caladan castle was mostly a hauntedly beautiful ruin of golden sandstone. Where Leto would often think of his families his of generations and to which he was the last Laird of it all. But despite this ruin that the public could see through a walled gate stood an 18th-century baronial style tower, and that was his home. His lonely cold home only made better by her, his little thistle.

Walking into the entrance hall, he was greeted by her, his housekeeper, his only member of staff. She walked towards him with a smile.

“Good afternoon, sir. Shall I assist with your coat?” she said the smile still formed on pretty face.

“Aye would be most helpful” Leto chucked as Y/N helped him with his coat. The two Gordon setters bound happily, wagging their tails into the kitchen.

Leto watches as Y/N hangs his coat up. He watches her hips as the black dress clings to them and then admires her legs in the black seemed tights. He knew it was wrong to think of her this way, but his desire burned for her burned inside him. He longed to touch her, hold her, and make her his.

Quickly adverting his gaze as Y/N turns to speak to him. “Would sir like tea in the drawing room?”

“Aye my Lassie, that would warm my cockles up” smiling as Y/N walked back to the kitchen, as he himself headed to the drawing room to await his little thistle. Y/N had worked for him for many years, fulling almost every whim without complaint. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of his home and dogs when he had to travel for his duties. She was almost like a wife to him. He longed to tell her his feelings, but he couldn’t bear losing her.

Y/N knocked on the drawing room door, awaiting permission to enter.

“away ye come lass” Leto’s voice lulled through the heavy oak door. As Y/N walks in with a tea tray, setting it down in front of him. And then pokes the fires glowing embers as the howling wind cast shadows in the back of the hearth’s the logs cackle and crackle like the witches in Macbeth.

“Sir. You’re remembering it's my evening off tonight? And I’m going into the town” Y/N says excitedly.

“Ye canny be going out it that, there’s a storm a coming tonight” worry laced in he voice as he tried to reason with her.

“och I’ll be fine sir, nae need tae worry about me” trying to reassure him. “I’ll be back by the morning”

As Y/N leaves the room, Leto stands and strides over to the window, the rain is lashing down, and the winds howling like a banshee. Whispering to himself “she can’t leave in this weather”.

An hour passes, and Leto goes looking for Y/N and finds a note on the kitchen work top next to the kettle. The only line he sees says I’ll be back before the morning, sir.

“I can’t lose her, if anything happens to her I’ll never forgive myself” as he stares into the darkness from the kitchen window.

As the storm raged quickly the time stood still for Leto as he heard every hour chime till in the wee hours there came a tremendous thudding at the front door causing Archie and Angus to start barking loudly awakening the Laird.

As Leto put his hand on the door handle and was about to playfully chastise Y/N for forgetting her key. He was quickly taken aback, and his face lost all colour as his view was filled with yellow, high visibility jackets from the Scottish police service. As they asked him his name and if his was the residence of miss Y/N L/N.

In shock, Leto responds that it is and that she’s his housekeeper of many years. The officers go on to in form him that Y/N has been involved in a traffic accident and is in hospital. That she is stable. At those words, his mind goes blank his little thistle is hurt. He needs to see her, and he needs to comfort her. He has to tell her she is loved and safe.

At the Hospital Leto walks silently through the quiet corridors the noise that he could hear was his heart drumming away loudly and the humming of machines which had him felling the blood rushing through his veins As the thought of his little thistle. The light was low as he approached the little room that Y/N lay in.

She looked so small and doll like, a vulnerability that she would never show normally. He had called her his little thistle as she was soft and sharp, she knew how to sting with her wit. But that wasn’t visible now. A salty tear rolled down his cheek into his beard. He failed his love. He’d never forgive himself.

He sat on the chair next to her and gently took her hand, caressing the back of it with the pad of his thumb. He could see the scratches on her hand and body. He sits and talks gently to her about how he will love her and protect them, but she has to stay with him.

He stands up, looking down at her softly smiling, as he moves some stray hair with his fingers. Leaning down to kiss her forehead as he straightens up he sees to his hearts delight Y/N slowly blinks awake looking at him with her beautiful Y/E/C and a gently smile on her lips.

Softly she speaks to him “Hello”

Too be continued............

Story photo made by me.

Borders by @cafekitsune

@melodygatesauthor @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @my-secret-shame @missscarlettangel @missdictatorme @jake-g-lockley @steven-grants-world @romanarose @campingwiththecharmings @writingforcurrentobsessions2 @welcometostayingawake @novanitee @micheleamidalajedi @annautumnsoul @guruan-is-not-here @ivystoryweaver @whirlybirbs @whatthefishh @lonely-dark-moon @missscarlettangel @missdictatorme @lonelyisamyw-0love @madlittlecriminal @midgardian-witch @saturn-rings-writes @silvernight-m @ominoose

#duke leto x reader #duke leto atreides x reader #leto atreides x reader #au leto atreides x reader #au duke leto atreides x reader #oscar issac characters #i love oscar issac #dune #oscar isaac #Scottish au #duke leto atreides #duke leto atreides angst #duke leto atreides x reader angst #Spotify

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ladyxskywalker · 2 years

Text

July 2022 (part two)

fandoms featured on this list; moon knight, pedro pascal characters, the batman, the amazing spider man, bridgerton, oscar isaac, charlie hunnam, the originals / tvd, & misc./multi fandom 💫

thank you to the amazing fic writers for sharing some wonderful stories with all of us ! & to the kind readers for their support. 💙

please assume that all works & the blogs they belong to are 18+ only

mature adult content will be marked with a double asterisk **

be sure to check all warnings & tags before reading, feel free to skip if something isn't for you

& of course, enjoy responsibly

all the love xo A ☕

✨️ apologies for this month’s list being a little shorter than usual ! I had some things going on, so some of these are comfort reads, & repeats that I’ve read again, new things I’ve read, or various series that I’ve started. hope you enjoy ! & happy reading ! 🤗

please send me things to read ! favorite fics or something you've written that you're proud of ! 💌

find more monthly fic recs over on my masterlist, Aug 2022 coming soon ! ✨

please let me know if you would like to be removed

✨ new authors & characters added for the first time !

✨ some authors are mentioned more than once throughout the list, check to see if your works are there !

MOON KNIGHT

✨ Jake Lockley

Six Stops by @lcvenderblues (gn!reader)

Love in Bloom, & Sunday Kind of Love by @egcdeath

✨ Marc Spector

Happy Birthday by @writingforcurrentobsessions

✨ Steven Grant

Spirals And Skin by @clints-lucky-arrow (artist!steven) (tattooed!f!reader) **

Tilt, Shift, & Balance by @the-little-ewok (steven x f!reader, marc x f!reader) **

Who Wouldn’t Want That? & Darling, I Fancy You by @yespolkadotkitty (f!reader)

PEDRO PASCAL

✨ Ezra (Prospect)

Clarity by @ezrasbirdie (dentist!ezra universe) (f!reader) **

Daze by @iamskyereads (slice of life) (domestic ezra universe) (prof!f!reader) (cw: children) **

In the Dark (series) by @frannyzooey (cw: age gap) (f!reader) **

Where the Foxglove Grows by @mandoblowmybackout (plus size, neurodivergent, f!reader)

✨ Jack (Agent Whiskey) Daniels

Tangled Up (series) by @writeforfandoms (dragon rancher au) (f!reader)

✨ Marcus Pike

Desperado by @writeforfandoms (f!reader)

Starting Over (series) by @wardenparker , & @absurdthirst (f!reader) (cw: pregnancy, divorce)

✨ Oberyn Martell

Yes, I do? by @toomanystoriessolittletime (modern au) (escort!oberyn) (f!reader)

✨ Pero Tovar

Full Moon Confessions by @artemiseamoon (f!reader)

Risk by @forever-rogue (f!reader) (cw: pregnancy mention) **

✨ The Thief (Casillero del Diablo)

The Painting by @forever-rogue (f!reader)

✨ Misc. Pedro Pascal Characters

Euclidean Geometry by @leslie-lyman (modern au) (poly!relationship) (f!reader) **

How Did You Love (series) by @writeforfandoms (f!reader)

MISC./MULTI FANDOM

✨ Alfred Pennyworth (The Batman)

Penny For Your Thoughts (series) by @eupheme (cw: age gap, daddy kink) (f!reader) **

✨ The Amazing Spider Man (Andrew Garfield)

Approach Shift (series) by @psithurista (f!reader) **

Beautiful Distraction by @flightlessangelwings (gn!reader) **

✨ Bridgerton (Benedict Bridgerton)

Truth Unseen by @make-me-imagine (gn!reader)

✨ Bud Cooper (Oscar Isaac, Suburbicon 2017)

A Softer Side by @leiakenobi (f!reader) **

✨ Clash of the Titans (Draco, Mads Mikkelsen)

Of Gods and Men (series) by @KrystalFlare on fanfiction.net (draco x goddess oc) **

✨ Cobra Kai (Johnny Lawrence)

Challenger by @SecretSecret on ao3 (f!reader) **

✨ Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac, Dune)

The Sun on Your Skin by @writefightandflightclub (gn!reader) (touch starved reader)

✨ Joel Miller (The Last of Us)

Safe With You by @flightlessangelwings (f!reader)

Under the Cherry Blossom Trees by @flightlessangelwings (fluff, angst) (gn!reader)

✨ John Watson (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)

The Doctor Is In by @cinewhore (black!f!reader) **

✨ The Originals / The Vampire Diaries

An Act That Brought You Joy (series) by @Merontheshore on ao3 (elena gilbert x klaus mikaelson, elena x elijah mikaelson, elena x kol mikaelson) **

The Artist (series) (a choose your own outcome story) by @brittishmenorbust on ao3 (f!reader)

Bienvenue (series) by @Merontheshore on ao3 (klaus mikaelson x ofc) (kol mikaelson x ofc) (elijah mikaelson & ofc) **

Endlessly Enough (series) by @brittishmenorbust on ao3 (damon salvatore x f!reader)

Labyrinth: A Bonnie Bennett x Klaus centric universe (series) by @artemiseamoon (bonnie bennett x klaus mikaleson) **

✨ Raymond Smith (Charlie Hunnam, The Gentlemen)

Right Hand Woman by @autumnleaves1991-blog (f!reader) **

✨ Rick Flag (DC, Joel Kinnaman)

Motivation by @loverhymeswith (f!reader)

✨ Roswell New Mexico (2019) (Alex Manes x Micheal Guerin)

here everyone knows (you’re the way to my heart) by @catchingpapermoons on ao3 (malex) **

** be sure to check out part one for star wars, the mandalorian, kenobi, rogue one, & triple frontier fic recs 📖

#moon knight fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal character fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #tasm fanfiction #dune fanfiction #the originals fanfiction #oscar isaac character fanfiction #charlie hunnam character fanfiction #misc. multi fandom #pxk monthly fic recs 💫#pxk monthly reading list 💌

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supernovafeather · 2 years

Text

The Forbidden Room

Leto Atreides x F!Reader

Content : nudity (not sexual), slight pining.

Synopsis : Reader is a soldier coming back from exhausting military drills. Due to renovations in the castle she can't shower in her quarters and has to go to the men sector and meets the Duke there.

Please comment and reblog!

No word could possibly match your anger. Coming to your quarters extremely late due to an intensive military drill you ended up naked in your shower, your palm pressing the button that was supposed to deliver that hot water you have dreamed of all day long.

"Of course they forgot to turn it on." You groan before stepping out.

Leaving your uniform soiled with dirt, blood and sweat, you put some night clothes on - black thick woolen pants and a blue shirt - then tied your hair up hoping the dried mud in it would get away with some water. Once you got your soaps, towels and another pajama you to wear on your way back you prayed not to cross the path of some officer that would have came back at around the same time.

Water may be turned off in your sector due to the renovation work, but the showers reserved for the officers must still be working, at least that was what you could only hope for. The last week had been so animated that you couldn't bother trying to remember the exact dates.

Once the empty corridors left behind you, you sigh in relief as your bare feet start patting on the grey tiles looking similar to marble. Only similar of course, you had no right to appreciate such luxury for such commodity. But as right now you needed to take that shower no matter what you weren't expecting for anything better. Even a lake could have sufficed. The man sign above your head doesn't put you at ease but as the female parts are closed due to the renovations as well you don't have much choice remaining.

"Hello ?" You call out loud as you walk past the doorless cabins. "Is anyone there ?"

The fun part here is the lack of intimacy for male officers. Now that's something you despise but as everything is silent maybe you could go behind this tree growing in the center. Its roots are buried deep down under the Caladan castle, the thick and curvy brownish trunk covered in moss and red ivy. No way to see its majestic branches and leaves from there, the fancy side of its existence stopping at the beautiful vegetal colors in this mineral and modern room. They built around this fully grown oak, preserving its old age from their saws. Wide by around 15 inches, this tree deserved better that being erased in favor or a septic tank.

You found a shelter in one of the open cabins at the back, invisible to any possible eye that could come into your temporary heaven. Not that you got used to this constant paranoia of getting spied on, but did you really had any choice remaining ? Most of your colleagues were certainly eating in their quarters or sleeping after collapsing from fatigue.

Undressed, you face the wall, and closed your eyes as the warm water welcomes you. You don't need much more to sigh happily, tension leaving you completely as you start to apply soap in your hair and all over your body.

"A shame I don't have anything that smells better than that," you mumble as you turned around, "strawberry smell could have been great."

Due to your responsibilities you couldn't take care of yourself as much as you used to. The best you could do was the occasional massages on spa days - around one every five months when you had two days off - or some good food around the same periods where your diet wasn't scrutinized.

Once your skin covered in this uniform blue soap, you let the product act for a few seconds, your arms crossed as you watch the immense and uncanny room. It's too calm and you're too exposed. You don't like it. You cover your breasts and crotch as you shiver, counting the seconds so that any bacteria got eradicated by the product. After ten seconds you turn the water on.

"Fuck fuck fuck no no no !" you thought.

The freezing water condemned your body to get paralyzed under its fall as you kneel down, tempted to shield in a fetal position. You are used to cold showers but why had it to be. At hing tonight ? You only want some rest and warmth, you are tired of dirt, cold nights and promiscuity.

You step out of the shower, your skin besieged by the hundreds of goosebumps as you stare at the wet greyish tiles with pure hatred. At least you are clean now.

"Is everything-"

Your brain needed some seconds to process the voice erupting and the hasty footsteps, too late apparently as the intruder stops dead in his tracks and walks away, behind the tree you thought.

"I'm sorry lieutenant, I thought someone was attacking you."

Suddenly, crying sounded like a seductive option. You only wanted to take a shower in your quarters, not to end up getting caught in the men's showers. They could have prepared something for their female counterparts, at least for safety reasons. Or add curtains or anything. And apparently this man knew you. Well there aren't many women here and they must be used to watch you once your back get turned to them. How distinguished.

You wrapped in a towel in total panic, your breath barely starting to get back to normal now that adrenaline rushed through your body. Turning around slowly, your brain melted into some mercury-like liquid as you recognize the Duke himself.

Fortunately he is dressed, staring at the void away from you with a towel in his hand and maybe some soap in it.

You are in serious trouble.

"My Lord I am sorry for violating the privacy rules," you said in a high-pitched voice, "there was no water in my side of the castle and-"

"It will be alright for this time, I wanted to make sure you weren't getting attacked." He stated before walking away. "I'm going to the other side."

Tension left your body as the Duke disappeared by your right in a corner behind the tree. From where you were he couldn't be seen and same for you, but just in case you check twice in case someone else could have came with him.

After drying yourself at something similar to light speed, you put your other pajama on, took your stuff and kept your eyes focused on the greyish tiles when you walked past the tree as you pass by a path perpendicular to the Duke's cabin, your stuff pressed against your chest.

"I didn't mean to scare you lieutenant." Your ruler says calmly.

You stopped after walking past his cabin. Still out of sight, you could hear the water hitting the ground with some droplets running down to the hallway.

"I wasn't supposed to be there my Lord, there is no excuse needed."

According to the sound he was massaging his scalp through some thick foam. After all he came back in almost the same state as yours.

"Alright. You said there was no water in your quarters?" He asked before blowing through his nose.

"Yes sire. And the female baths are in the same state."

"I see. Thank you for letting me know, I am going to send a warning to the workers." He added before you heard his hands rubbing his face and beard. "It was supposed to be done by this morning right before we came back."

The slight annoyance in his voice made you smile a bit nervously. You hoped it wasn't directed to you.

"I guess you don't have water in your quarters neither ?"

"You guess well." He sighed loudly.

"Thank you for not sanctioning me my Lord. I am going to let you take your shower in peace now."

The workers were definitely in some trouble if they weren't even able to turn the water back on for the Duke himself. Not that Leto Atreides is known for his cruelty, but it was some serious mistake to make.

"Lieutenant, wait a second please." He called you out.

"Yes sire ?"

No matter how many times you saw him bare chest during a medical exam, you looked away immediately. It didn't feel appropriate to let your eyes examine him and the towel wrapped around his waist didn't change anything. Yourself wouldn't dare to violate his intimacy in such a way.

"I wasn't following you and I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." He said seriously when you risked a glance at him. "I thought it was one of the male officers that was already there. It's when I heard your voice that I thought you could be in danger."

"I trust you my Lord." You mumbled as you pressed your towels against your chest.

"Good."

In any normal circumstances you would have appreciated the beauty of his features as it would happen regularly and anonymously. But seeing him with his hair soaked and dripping without being bothered by it disturbed you. You shouldn't be there. You were no maid, no wife, no mistress.

Shyly, you turned around and walked towards the door. At least the Duke didn't sound like one of those perverts you could have encountered tonight. He might have seen a glimpse of your body at some point but this thought didn't make you half as uncomfortable as you felt after arriving in this room. After seeing him so professional on the battlefield you couldn't set your mind on a defensive mode despite how guarded you should remain anytime. Honestly it was tiring to never be able to trust the people around you.

- - - -

Thank you for reading, please comment and reblog if you liked it ! 😊

@salome-c @stevenngrant @lavenderluna10 @one-hell-of-a-disappointment @dailyreverie @thecursivej @lady-targaryen @general-latino @harrys-tittie @laura-naruto-fan1998 @later-gators12 @geo-winchester

#oscar isaac #leto atreides #leto atreides x reader #leto atreides x you #dune

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campingwiththecharmings · 4 months

Text

tagged by @soft-girl-musings ❤️ ty, this was super fun! tagging whoever wants to do this (please tag me in your posts!!!!)

1. Type your name followed by core into pinterest and paste the first pic. 2. Refresh your pinterest homepage and paste the first person. 3. Refresh your pinterest homepage and paste a random aesthetic picture. 4. Write a little story :)

(Please be gentle, I have not actually seen Dune, tho I did read a little of the novel, and am basing this characterization on my very limited exposure to Leto lol)

Dune Modern AU (I guess??) - Leto Atreides x F!Reader | (1,840 words) | Not proofread

AN: i...might've gone a bit overboard with this lmaooo. i blame oscar. 🫣

Warnings: murder, allusions to SA, probably a tad stockholm syndrome-y (lol), vague smut, some angst.

---

You struggle against the crewman's tight hold on your wrists, knowing that even if you were to break free, you'd have no where to escape to. Your ship had been attacked and boarded that morning by pirates, after which you, along with a handful of others, had been left to die on your pillaged ship.

When a ship flying the flag of Caladan had happened upon you, you'd been relieved, over the moon, even. That is, until they'd boarded and killed everyone left alive save for you. You should've known something was off as soon as they stepped onto the deck, their uniforms filthy and unkempt. But you'd been so desperate, had wanted to believe so badly that you were being rescued.

You don't know where he's taking you now, but given the lecherous look he'd given you just before grabbing you, you can take a guess.

Hopefully he'll at least have the decency to kill you once he's finished.

You growl as the man pushes open the door at the end of the hall, dragging you swiftly behind him. He throws you into a chair and looms over you, caging you in with a hand on either armrest.

"Feisty, aren't we?" he says, his dark eyes cold and cruel. "I like the feisty ones."

You stare him down with a glare, determined to not let this man take the only thing you have left: your dignity. He smirks at you and leans in, but it halted by the sound of the door opening.

"I'll take it from here, Yueh."

You watch as the man's lip curls slightly, annoyed at being interrupted. Nevertheless, he stands, schooling his face into an indifferent mask and turning toward the newcomer.

"Of course, Captain."

The crewman leaves, closing the door behind him with a loud "thwack," leaving you alone with this new man, apparently the captain.

You study him, noting that his uniform is in far better condition than that of his subordinates. Even his knee-high boots have been polished to a shine. You drag your eyes up his torso, then his chest, your eyes snagging on the insignia pinned over his left breast pocket. It looks familiar, but you can't seem to immediately place it. You allow your eyes to continue their journey, sliding up his neck, over his graying beard and stately nose, until you meet his eyes.

They're a warm, deep brown with a gentleness in them you are not accustomed to seeing in men (especially those in authority). He smiles at you apologetically, knowing he is at least partially responsible for the terror you've endured.

"Are you alright?" he asks, his voice soft and gentle, just like his eyes.

Inexplicably, the facade you've erected to make yourself seem unaffected by all of this crumbles at his question. No, you are absolutely not alright. In less than a week you've been attacked by pirates, had all of your possessions either taken or destroyed, and have watched almost every person you care for die. Tears well in your eyes and you're helpless to stop them from falling.

Embarrassed, you hide your face in your hands, silently sobbing into your palms. You flinch when you feel a hand on your shoulder. Was he...comforting you? You look up, his eyes radiating sadness and, dare you say, compassion?

He hugs you then, gently pulling you against his chest and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. He murmurs soothing words, promises to keep you safe, tells you you'll never have to live in fear again so long as he is with you. .

And you believe him, God help you.

He asks you to call him Leto despite clearly holding some kind of title. It feels odd to be so informal, but you do as he asks. He does not appear to have much trust in his crewmen, namely the group who'd boarded your ship. As a result of this, he is reluctant to let you out of his sight, so you spend most of your time with him. He does most of the talking, telling you of his beloved homeland Caladan, of his son Paul...of his late wife, Jessica. When you are ready, you do the same, telling him about where you grew up, of your parents, of your desire to see the world.

It's not until a few weeks later that you realize you're falling in love with him.

You do your best to hide it but he seems to sense the shift in you. The night before you are expected to return to Caladan, he finally asks what's troubling you. As when you'd met him that first day, his eyes are what get to you, the gentle kindness and patience in them like a balm to your soul.

"I...I think I'm in love with you," you admit, sure he doesn't feel the same.

But he surprises you yet again.

"I love you too, my darling," he rasps, leaning in to press his lips against yours.

He makes love to you until the sun rises, his movements gentle yet still passionate. His fingers tangle with yours when he pins you to the bed, making you come over and over, you body shaking with pleasure as he smothers your moans with his kiss.

He asks you to marry him in the afterglow, his head nestled between your breasts as you comb your fingers through his soft hair. You tell him you will and he looks up at you with a smile, sitting up so he can steal another kiss from your lips.

There is a commotion on deck as soon as the ship docks and it takes Leto a moment to realize it's not the usual flurry of activity that usually comes with a return to land. Sensing something nefarious, he tells you to escape through the window in his quarters. You don't want to leave him, flat out refuse to, in fact, but he convinces you yet again with his gentle, earnest eyes.

"I need to know you're safe," he says, taking your hands in his. "I'll find you, I promise."

You wait for him at an inn a few blocks from the docks but he never shows. You don't sleep, you can't, too worried about Leto and what might've happened to him. At the first sign of dawn, you leave the inn, returning to the docks in search of your Leto.

His ship is gone, the slip where it had been empty, and your heart sinks. Had it all been a trick? A game? A way to pass the time while at sea? Had he even really loved you or had he just told you that so you'd warm his bed?

You consider asking the harbormaster if they know what happened but...what would be the point? You know all you need to know: Leto is gone, has left you here alone, despite his promises to protect you, to love you, to marry you.

You do your best not to break down, to not give in to the crushing weight of your broken heart. Using the last of your coin, you decide to stay another night at the inn Leto had told you about, and in the morning, you convince them to hire you as a housekeeper in exchange for a bed and a meager salary. You work there for months, saving every penny you can for passage back to your homeland.

The night before you're set to leave, he finds you.

Leto.

"What are you doing here?" you ask, crossing your arms defensively over your chest.

He's disheveled, almost haggard, and much skinnier than you recall. You wonder briefly if he's been ill but quickly decide it doesn't matter--he left you, fooled you into thinking he loved you.

"I'm so sorry it took me so long," he rasps, his voice strained, as if he'd been screaming for hours.

You scoff, doing your best to avoid looking him directly in the eyes. That's how he always got you, manipulated you.

"It's too late, Leto. I'm leaving in the morning," you tell him, turning away to fiddle with your already-packed bag.

"Will you at least let me explain?" he pleads, shuffling closer.

You sigh, shaking your head. You tell yourself no, that you don't owe him anything, that he doesn't deserve a chance to explain himself...but you can't help but be curious.

Without looking at him, you nod, bracing your palms on the dresser before you.

He thanks you, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he dives right in. He's been in jail, he claims, was locked up as soon as he stepped foot on land. Evidently, there was a mutiny and some of his crewmen, led by Yueh, had framed him by planting an illegal drug called Spice on board the ship. As soon as it had docked, the mutineers had sent an anonymous tip to the authorities and, as the Captain, Leto was arrested and thrown in jail. Unable to prove his innocence, he'd had no choice but to serve his time.

The story sounds plausible, and you're almost inclined to believe him but....you just can't. Your heart wasn't just broken by him, it was shattered. Irreparably, you think. Even if what he claims happened is true, you can't see how you could ever trust him again. Not after everything you've been through. You tell him as much, back still turned to him. After a beat of silence, you hear him shift closer, feel his warmth against your back, your eyes falling shut as he presses a gentle kiss against the base of your neck. You swallow a whimper, inhaling shakily when he runs his knuckle down the back of your arm.

"Please look at me, my darling," he pleads, voice thick with emotion. "Just one more time."

Hesitantly, you turn and your heart breaks a little more at the pain and desperation in his eyes. He smiles, taking your hand in his and gently squeezing it. Your eyes well with tears, one escaping and sliding down your cheek, and your curse yourself for your weakness. Using his free hand, he swipes the tear away, his touch lingering on your face.

You're not sure who moves first, but suddenly his lips are on yours, and a fire ignites in your chest. More tears slide down your face as you kiss him back, your arms winding around his neck as he hoists you up to sit on the dresser. The action knocks your bag to the floor with a dull thud, but you can't bring yourself to care as Leto licks into your mouth, his tongue hot as it slides against yours.

When he finally thrusts inside you, it feels like coming home. Suddenly you feel safe again, you feel at peace.

In the end, he travels with you back to your homeland. Slowly, the trust that was broken is rebuilt and before you realize what's happening, you allow the love you have for one another to heal your shattered hearts.

#leto atreides x reader #duke leto atreides x reader #my fic #i guess lol #bro i had wayyyyy too much fun with this omg #evidently my brain doesn't know what a 'little story' is a;sds;ldfk lmao

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blue-sadie · 6 months

Text

.Marvel.Universe.

Request Page

Platonic = 🌼 Fluff = 🌺 Smut =🌹 Lime =⚘️ Angst = 🥀 Yandere =🍁

Imagines

Temptation - Bucky 🌹

Khonsu's Turn - Khonsu 🌹

Gentle Touch - Loki 🌺

Sit Upon The Throne - Loki 🌹

Praises - Marc 🌹

Combos

After Class Punishments - Moon System 🌹

Reflections - Moon System 🌹

Incorrect Quotes

Crusty... What? - Bucky, Natasha

Drabbles

Oneshots

Drive On - Jake 🌹

Take A Breather - Miguel 🌹

Blood Flood - Peter 🌺

Combos

Save Him - Moon System 🥀🌺

Three For The Price Of One - Moon System 🌹

Series

Different Versions Oscar Isaac Characters: Moon System, Marcus, Shiv, Basil Stitt, Jonathan Levy, Llewyn Davis, William Tell, Cecil Dennis, Robbie Paulson, Outcome 3 (David), Santiago Gracia, Kane, Nathan Bateman, Leto Atreides, Poe Dameron, Peter Malkin, Bassam, Prince John, Orestes, Laurent Leclaire, Oscar Isaac

Modern Day

Medieval/Fantasy

Omegaverse

Crossovers

Preferences

Flashing Lights - Marc Spector, Jake Lockley, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes 🌺

Movie Marathon - Jake Lockley, Peter Parker, Pietro Maximoff, Bucky Barnes 🌹

NSFW and SFW Alphabet

Headcanons

Apologizing After A Fight - Moon System

Dating An Artist - Moon System

they accidentally hurt you when having a nightmare - Moon System

Them when Your On Your Period - Stephen Strange, Loki Laufeyson, Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers, Peter Parker

#marvel x reader #marvel imagine #marvel fluff #marvel #marvel smut #marvel fluff imagine #marvel fanfiction #marvel angst #marvel angst imagine #marvel smut imagine #marvel x you #marvel x y/n #marvel x reader smut #marvel x reader angst #marvel x reader fluff #marvel universe #marvel universe x reader

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hoedamn-eron · 1 year

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he found the box of condoms - part 2

You’re telling your parents and Paul about your relationship with your neighbour; who happens to be your best friend’s father.

Warnings: Age gap, but it is appropriate/legal. Some swearing, from a very angry Paul. An awful lot of dialogue. I have never seen nor read Dune (yet), so there may be some inaccuracies (Duke and Paul being OOC, stuff like that), but it's Modern!AU anyway. Slightly proof-read, as per usual. Word count: 2,815 GN!Reader, no use of Y/N.

Finally this is out! This isn't my best work and I was conscious I hadn't actually posted for a while so I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Apologies to everyone! Also, this may have suddenly turned into a 3-parter.

Part 1 ● Part 3

Your parents were always supportive of you, whatever you wanted to do.

From when you didn’t want to go to college to travel, when you took up those piano lessons before deciding to give them up; they even supported you when you were fifteen and made the bad decision to go to that house party where the police were called. Of course, your parents weren’t exactly happy with the outcome, but they were firm believers that you could make decisions for yourself, whether they were right or wrong. You had always dealt with the consequences of your own actions, you’d always learned from them.

They were never really ‘disappointed’ in you; or if they were, they’d never said it out loud. You were terrified of doing so, since they had been so encouraging of you, and giving you the freedom you had. Now, though, as you prepared to tell them that you were in a relationship with a man twenty years older than you, who happened to be their very good friend, you were terrified they wouldn’t be able to look at you the same. Not that there was anything they could do about it, you were both adults. And it was your relationship.

And really, it was 2022, age gaps in relationships was becoming more the norm. If your parents -

“Is that okay for you, honey?”

Your mother was looking at you with a questioning look on her face, glass of red wine in her hand. You were having dinner with your parents, having decided to let them know about Leto. You and Leto. You and Leto being a couple. Your nerves had kicked in as soon as your mother called everyone into the kitchen to plate up and you had merely picked at your food since, a heavy feeling in your stomach, making you feel nauseous. You just knew your parents were going to flip out over it.

You stare at your mother again as she called your name. Your eyes widened. She was talking about something. What was it?

“Sorry?” you asked, realising you had taken too long to answer.

“You’re going to travel up with me and your dad for Rebecca’s wedding?”

Rebecca was your older cousin. Her and James had been together for five years before they got engaged, before finally deciding to actually plan the wedding two years afterwards. Now your family was treating this wedding like it was the next Royal Wedding, so everyone was going to be there. You were going to sit out, you were never overly close to Rebecca, since she was a few years older than you and you hardly saw her, since she lived a few states away, but your parents were keen for you to join them.

You knew why. Although supportive in your decisions, your parents were still traditional in the sense that they hate to see you ‘on your own’. They were not-so-secretly hoping you would start settling down soon, and thinking about your future, maybe getting married and having a family of your own (they had been mentioning grandchildren a lot recently) but would they still feel the same knowing that you’d been seeing Leto Atreides? Because you hadn’t even thought that far ahead. Of course you really liked Leto, it wasn’t just a passing fling, you’d been together for seven months already.

But surely it was far too early to think about that. You cringe at the thought of having to explain to your parents that you just might not want children. Would Leto even want kids anymore, he’s twenty years older than you? Would he even want to get married? He’d said so himself, after losing Paul’s mother, it took him a long time to even start considering dating again, never mind marriage. And you were only twenty-five, nearing twenty-six, and you didn’t quite have a career yet, you weren’t even remotely thinking about extending your family. Would your parents understand, if you didn’t want children? Regardless of if you wanted them or not, Leto and your father had been friends since Leto moved to the neighbourhood, and you were his child, would your parents even accept that you would even have children with Leto?

You’re getting ahead of yourself. You’re panicking. Your parents haven’t even said anything yet. You need to get a grip.

You’ve taken too long to answer your mother again.

“Do I get a plus one?”

Your mother raises her eyebrows at you as your father stopped eating, also looking at you with a look on his face that you can’t quite distinguish. You looked between your parents with an unsure look on your face before your mother clears her throat and answers, “Unfortunately not, but was there someone you were thinking of asking to come along?”

You didn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything. Your mouth was open but nothing was coming out. Your parents were staring at you expectedly, not trying to push you but you could see how curious and more worried they became as time went on.

You groaned as you buried your head in your hands, leaning your elbows on the table. This might be easier if you didn’t look at them. “You can’t be mad at me because I’m a grown adult and I’m working with a full-time job and I nearly have enough to move out – “

“Where’s this going?” your dad asks, his usual no-beating-around-the-bush tone.

You swallow thickly. Just tell them. It’s not like you were hooked on drugs or doing God-knows-what at God-knows-what-time (not that you were an adult, like you said. Plucking up the smallest amount of courage you have, you blurt out. “I’mseeingsomeone.”

Your parents stare at you before your mother grinned, your father chuckling and going back to his food. “Oh honey, we know.”

Your mouth falls open as you look between the two. “You…you know?”

“You’re not exactly smooth about it,” said your dad. “You’re sneaking out like you used to do in high school. You don’t have to do that, anymore, you know.”

Was this a joke? Some sort of trick? You felt a cold chill go down your spine, and you were still sweating. They were acting way too calm about it. They’d already gone back to eating, so nonchalant about the whole thing. How long had they known about you and Leto? Why hadn’t they ripped you a new one when they found out? Your dad was ex-military, you were sure he was going to storm over next door, all gung-ho, guns a-blazing.

“So…you’re both okay with it?” you look between both of them, who were both still casually eating their food.

“Why wouldn’t we be okay with it?” your mother asked. “Like you said, you’re an adult and we trust you. You’re being safe though, yeah?”

“Oh God, mom, yes,” you said, feeling your cheeks burning as you avert your eyes.

“Well that’s all we ask for,” she replied, giving you a smile.

“So when do we meet him?”

You look at your dad with wide eyes. “Pardon?”

“Your new boyfriend, when do we get to meet him?”

Oh shit, they didn’t know as much as you thought.

“So you don’t…know who he is, then?”

“Why would we know?” your dad asked.

Your mother suddenly gasped. “Oh my goodness, is it Paul?” your mother laughed. “I always thought you two would be cute together, but you’d always said you were just good friends!”

You were already shaking your head. “N-no, not Paul. He’s got a new girlfriend.”

Oh God, what do you do?

You can’t lie to them, because you’re a terrible liar and they always know when you’re fibbing. They were expecting it to be someone they might know, someone your own age. Oh this was such a bad idea to do this today, you should have waited until you’d moved out. You couldn’t bear to think about the looks your parents would give you until you do.

“If it’s not Paul, then who is it?”

You had almost forgotten what you were doing and your mother’s question made you jump. You looked at your parents, who were looking at you with raised eyebrows. You had obviously taken too long to answer them. Again. You were getting a headache.

“I-I don’t want you guys to be weirded out by it, but I know you will.” You swallowed nervously, your throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry. “Just know that it…I like this guy a lot and it’s becoming a bit more serious – “

“Just tell us who it is, honey,” your mother said, looking at you nervously.

You clear your throat, averting your gaze to your mostly untouched plate of food. It was now or never. “It’s…it’s…uh, it’s – “

“You’re fucking my dad!?”

Paul had fantastic timing.

You hadn’t even heard him come in. You looked over at Paul, who was breathing heavily from his place at the kitchen door, as if he’d ran over here as quick as he could (he probably did). It was as if he couldn’t see your parents, his gaze locked on you, a mix between confusion and anger. Your eyes were wide as he stared at you, his hands curled tightly into fists at his sides, his jaw clenched tightly.

You had seen this expression on Paul before, but you never thought it would have been aimed at you.

“Well?” he demanded through his teeth at your silence.

You didn’t know what to say. You were just staring at him like he’d grown a second head, aware that your parents were looking between the two of you with equally as shocked looks. Your parents were thrown in at the deep end, and not gently told. You know your dad is about to go on the rampage to Leto’s house if you don’t calm the situation down in the next five minutes.

“I was…it just happened, one night, okay, and now we’re – “

“Fucking?”

“Paul!” you snapped, eyeing your parents, who were still looking at you with that shocked expression on their faces (although your dad’s complexion was slowly reddening as his jaw tightened). “Can you calm down?”

Where was Leto?

“Calm down? Calm down?”

“Please.” You stood from your chair, practically pleading, begging Paul to just let you get your side of the story out, for his sake and your parents. Your dad’s breathing was getting heavier and your mother’s mouth was opening and closing, like she couldn’t find the words to say. It was bad. It was worse than you thought it would be. “Just let me explain…”

Paul looked at you expectantly, waving his hand out dramatically, giving you an impatient, “Go ahead.”

You finally looked back at your parents, your mother looking at you with confusion, your father with barely contained fury. You gasped through your teeth, scrambling to calm the situation. “Look, it isn’t just a…we’re serious about each other.”

“Yeah, my dad, who you’re fucking, made it pretty clear how serious you both were.”

“Paul – “ you cut yourself off by closing your eyes tightly and pinching the bridge of your nose. Your headache was getting worse.

“When did this happen?”

Your eyes widened, practically giving yourself whiplash as you turn your head to look at your father, who had seemed to have regulated his breathing. But he still sat stiffly in his seat, his forgotten glass of water gripped hard in his left hand. You stuttered out, “When you and mom were away, seven months ago. Well, nearly eight months ago now.”

“You and…you and Leto?”

You grimaced. “Dad, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“No, of course not, it’s just that my very good friend has been sleeping with my kid.”

“Dad!” you snapped, appalled at his wording. “That’s not what it is!”

Paul took a step towards you, his anger flaring up again. “That’s exactly what it is! It’s weird, and sick, and you have no right – “

Your mouth fell open in shock. “No right? No right? I’m an independent, fully grown adult, as is your dad! We can date whoever we want, including each other.”

“Well I’m telling you to stop!”

You scoffed at him, actually even laughing at his sheer entitlement. You knew Paul wouldn’t be happy about the news; he was protective of his father, and of you too. But you didn’t think it would come to this, that Paul would ban you from seeing Leto. You wondered how their conversation went. Did Paul react the same? Did he ban Leto from seeing you? Is that why Leto was still MIA?

You cross you arms over your chest and shake your head at Paul. “You’re unbelievable.”

“I don’t think it’s so unbelievable that I’m asking you to stop dating my dad.”

“We’re both happy, Paul! Why can’t you just be happy for us?”

“Because it’s you, and my dad!” Paul cried, his hands flailing.

“My parents aren’t even making this much of a fuss!”

“That’s still in court,” your dad muttered, your mom giving him a swat on the arm, shushing him before she turned back to you and Paul, watching carefully.

She had yet to say a word.

Paul gave a laugh of disbelief as he ran his hands through his hair, turning away from you, barely able to calm the anger that was burning hot in his chest. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this is happening. My best friend. My best friend and my dad! Why? Why is this happening?

You couldn’t answer him, because truly, you still question yourself every day why Leto chose to be with you. You didn’t know why he gave you the chance, why that night happened that seemed so long ago, on the couch that you could actually see from your place in the kitchen. The memories cause your cheeks to warm, your hands to sweat, and you suddenly felt like you need to go and see him. You needed to check if Leto is okay.

You give a light shrug to Paul. “Your dad makes me happy. He’s a great guy, he’s kind and he treats me well.”

Paul rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You’re ridiculous, the both of you. You need to end this, like yesterday.”

“I don’t think you can dictate who I can and can’t be with and love, thank you,” you snapped at him.

The silence that followed was deafening.

That was new. You and Leto had never spoken the ‘L Word’ before. And you hadn’t planned on saying it for the first time shouting at his son in anger because he was disrespecting you and Leto’s relationship.

Because he wasn’t taking you seriously.

Because he didn’t think that you were deserving of Leto.

Because he didn’t think you both should be happy together.

You swallow nervously, averting your gaze from everyone in the room. “I need some air.”

You turn and head towards the front door, ignoring your mother’s calls, the first thing she’s said in ages. You grab the nearest jacket to you, which happens to be your father’s, opening the door before leaving the house, closing the door with a little more force than you meant to.

Slipping the jacket on, you set off walking, not sure where you were going. You should go and check on Leto, something must have happened with Paul since he didn’t come over. Or he was avoiding your parents, because he knew your dad well enough that he would have no qualms in putting Leto in his place (honestly, at this point, Leto would probably let him).

You turn to Leto’s house, walking up the path and quickly knocking on the front door. Your nerves were on fire, and you were already picking at your nails, still not being able to kick that nervous habit you’d had since you were six. You bit your lip as the front door opened, your heart skipping what felt like twenty beats in your chest as Leto’s brown eyes came into view.

You look at Leto, inhaling through your teeth at the beginnings of a black eye growing on his right eye. You reach forward, your body nearly colliding with his as you cup his cheeks in both hands as you look over him. “What happened to you?”

Leto gave a small grin, despite the hurt look in his eyes. “Paul didn’t take my news very well.”

You give a snort of laughter, your gaze finally meeting his. “You’re telling me.”

Leto reached up to wrap his hands around your wrists, bringing them down so he could hold your hands in his. His hands were always so warm, always enveloping yours and making you feel secure, and loved. You gave him another smile but it falters at the look on his face. “What’s the matter?”

Leto gives you a serious look. “We need to talk.”

Tagged - @shes-not-alone, @dd122004dd, @sofsofsposts, @prakhyanair

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sregan · 2 months

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Thoughts on Denis Villeneuve's "Dune: Part Two" (2024)

Following on from my recent viewing of the first part when it returned to cinemas, I've now been able to apply myself to view the second part also. Once again, in lieu of a proper essay I have merely recorded my impressions in roughly chronological order.

As a reminder I previously wrote about how I might adapt Dune, years before Villeneuve's latest effort, as well as creating some concept art (I am working on my take on Shaddam Corrino IV). I did not re-read the book ahead of my most recent viewing and therefore some of my critique might be inadvertently comparing it to my own ideas on adaptation rather than the source material.

I was amazed and a little aghast that after all the talk of not doing introspection and critiquing the 1984 version's clunky opening narration by Princess Irulan, Villeneuve's Part Two opens with ... a clunky opening narration by Irulan. Perhaps there was a desire to have the 'other woman' do the narration as the first film opened with Chani as our viewpoint character; here we start with the view from the Imperium, introducing the Emperor.

Irulan implies the Emperor loved Leto like a son and is torn up about ordering his death. Was this in the books? When she says 'And the Emperor says' - we are on the edge of our seats, waiting for Walken's dialogue - 'nothing'. I am unsure if this was a clever trick or not. Shaddam here is portrayed as an older man, perhaps infirm, manipulated by those around him and particularly women. This is part of the sexual politics Villeneuve presents to us specifically in Part Two which stood out to me as either peculiarly heterodox for a mainstream modern Hollywood production, or perhaps was intended to be progressive but poorly assembled and unable to overcome Herbert's own (but noticeably different) views - some might say hang-ups - on the sexes.

My sense is very little time has passed on Arrakis since the end of the first film, despite Irulan's narration creating the impression it is old news. The column is still carrying Jamis's body and on its way to the sietch.

This sits oddly with Stilgar's blithe dismissal that the Harkonnen are there for the two Atreides. Are you sure? In-universe that was no more than 72 hours ago (the first night in the desert and the second in Kynes' weather station, with the sun coming up during the Jamis fight). He doesn't know the Baron ordered Rabban to commit genocide against the Fremen, so the logical conclusion is they are still looking for Paul and Jessica.

The opening fight scene seemed interesting, even if I wasn't sure why Paul and Jessica were where they were or why they didn't seem to be armed. Villeneuve seems to have forgotten that at the very least Paul has his crysknife and the gun he used to threaten Stilgar just hours earlier in-universe. I didn't mind the pregnant Jessica clubbing the Harkonnen over the head to protect her son, even though I feel like if this film had been earmarked differently by the usual suspects on YouTube and Twitter it would have been viewed as ridiculous and 'woke' given criticism of the same in games like Wolfenstein II.

As a note: The Harkonnen in the opening scene are now using Sardaukar antigrav tech; I feel this works poorly because we've been conditioned from the first film to associate this with the Emperor's forces, even though they weren't involved. I wondered if they had just randomly changed up the Sardaukar uniforms (which they have, but more on that later).

Sietch Tabr felt interesting but not quite as I imagined; did I miss something or were we really not properly introduced to the terraforming effort? We see some bird nests and the precious underground water and Stilgar says when Lisan al-Gaib comes he will use the water to transform Arrakis, but we seem to have dropped any mention of the idea they were already working towards it. And indeed, Kynes won't appear in this film at all - my preference to kick off a two-parter would have been Kynes wandering in the desert, dying of dehydration while having his revelation about how the sandworm life-cycle works, re-introducing us to the setting and the worms.

I feel the need to mention Villeneuve's racial politics here, which, like his sexual politics, seem awkward in ways commentators don't seem to have entirely picked up on.

When the sietch receives Paul and Jessica with hostility, there is a noticeable shift in who the camera lingers on, to the extent that the Fremen seem abruptly almost entirely black or very dark-skinned, with the lighter Stilgar and Chani the only ones speaking up for the outsiders. I hope I shouldn't need to explain this; if it's calculated, it is calculated to induce a kind of gut-reaction fear in white audiences. I noticed this in the first film where Jamis was cast as black and presented as noticeably wilder and crazier than the other Fremen. One might be tempted to suggest this is establishing ethnic groups within the Fremen - after all, later we learn that Stilgar comes from the south, so perhaps the north is darker-skinned (which would sync with some of the black city-dwellers we see in Arrakeen). It would even make sense as the south is said to be covered with dust storms and thus not exposed to direct sun. Except, as soon as the sietch turns and becomes more welcoming, the camera begins favouring the lighter-skinned north Africa and Middle Eastern Fremen actors.

This leads quite neatly into the Fremen culture and language. David Peterson, the linguist who worked on Game of Thrones, was tapped to create languages for Dune based on the phrases in the book, and others have picked up on the strange decision to avoid using actual Arabic words wherever possible - explained in inverviews as Peterson feeling that thousands of years into the future languages would have evolved so far that any similarities are mere coincidence. This means that words that are too important to the franchise to change, such as 'Lisan al-Gaib' (which they use a *lot*, seemingly to avoid relying on real-world messianic titles like Mahdi), stay as-is but others are radically changed. "Ya Hya Chouhada", a real-world battlecry meaning 'long live the martyrs', is changed in Part Two to a fictional phrase (I didn't remember it and seemingly others I haven't either) in the Peterson conlang. This is disappointing and actually not true to life given how Latin survived for thousands of years as a holy language.

UPDATE: The new phrase based on Peterson's conlang is something like 'A t'la abisi a santar!'. I can vaguely see something like 'life' in 'santar', but it's from a Latinate root. 'Toward the fighters, life'? Maybe 'At'la savaşçı uzun ', incorporating the Turkish word for 'fighter' and '?

It also means that Villeneuve's Dune is oddly sanitised and stripped of the book's Islamic and Central Asian cultural touchpoints. Very little mention is made of God; characters pray but I think at one point Paul says that they prey to their dead relatives (?). 'Jihad' and any mention of the book's main religions (Zensunni and Orange Catholicism) are excised.

All this begs the question - where is the line between inclusion and Orientalism? Where is the line between diversity and caricature? Or between cultural sensitivity and the kind of flattening that insists on Western neoliberal values everywhere at all times, even in our fiction? In 1984, the Fremen were mostly cast as white (likely due to actor availability) - not necessarily an incorrect reading of the book, given Herbert's inspiration 'The Sabres of Paradise' was not about Arab but Caucasian mountain tribes. Change them to a mix of interchangeable 'non-white' actors and have them led by Timothee Chalamet and the accusations of 'white savior complex' gain weight. Selectively show darker extras when you want the audience to be afraid and lighter when you want them to feel sympathetic and, to be honest, you probably deserve a few thinkpieces which I haven't seen in the press.

Stilgar threatens Jessica that he'll have her killed unless she agrees to become the new Reverend Mother. I felt this went back on his development in the first film, or even a couple of scenes ago where he fought their corner against the unsympathetic female elder. Jessica's flippant, almost Marvel-esque dialogue in the next scene where she references this annoyed me. Villeneuve has Jessica's experience with the water of life happen early in the movie and long before Paul's. This is somewhat true to the book and better than the 1984 version where Paul only takes the Water when his prophetic dreams randomly stop working, but my favoured method of compressing this for film has Jessica take the Water, fall into a coma, and Paul rescue her by taking the Water himself, entering into the same vision. This is when Jessica begins to suspect they are not merely using prophecies created by the Bene Gesserit, but Paul may in fact be the Kwisatz Haderach.

In Villeneuve's version, Chani is initially skeptical of the prophecy, saying only the southerners are superstitious (an invented distinction not found in the book). This is set up fairly competently as a romantic conflict; Paul wins Chani when he only wants to be one of the Fremen, but doing so means giving up on his revenge - however, the way it's resolved is frankly offensive and one of the things that I found most disrespectful about Villeneuve's Dune as an adaptation.

The first we see of wormriding in this film (Stilgar on a small worm) didn't entirely impress me; I feel it should have been much farther off to give a greater sense of the scale of the worms. However, Paul's own wormriding trial eliminated my doubts; again, no-one is doing cinematic scale like Villeneuve right now, where the audience is absorbed completely in *witnessing* a monumental event, without the need for quick cuts or snappy quips.

The 'naming' scene was also great and felt plausible as Paul being welcomed as one of the Fedaykin (interestingly Peterson didn't rename that one, despite being almost identical to 'Fedayeen').

The Harkonnen 'evil spice harvesters' bothered me - the harvesters we saw in the first film *WERE* Harkonnen harvesters! The Atreides literally just assumed control of the operation days earlier. The ornithopter mini-guns were pretty great but also felt un-Duney. The use of lasguns also felt good even if perhaps not book-accurate.

I actually really liked Rabban's failed reprisals, with the Harkonenn getting lost in the dust of their own carpet bombings and and the big guy losing his nerve when he sees Muad'dib's shadow. Bautista is surprisingly (?) one of the stand-out performances in the two movies.

We get some much-needed off-world politics, with Irulan talking to the Reverend Mother and deducing (I feel this wasn't in the book) that Muad'dib is Paul Atreides. There's clearly an effort made to present Irulan as a more hard-nosed politician in the making, with Shaddam even saying she will be a 'formidable Empress'. Mohiam introduces us to the idea of Feyd-Rautha being an alternative 'candidate' to Paul (did they actually say 'to be the Kwisatz Haderach'?? I don't think they did).

My feelings on Giedi Prime being an insane hellplanet are a matter of public record; it goes against a central theme of Dune, which is that a harsh environment breeds both discipline in the sense of espirit de corps and discipline in moral life. Whether you agree or disagree with the 'Fremen Mirage', this is Herbert's central idea. In the book, Giedi Prime is a neo-feudal world, with a cheerfully painted blue keep where 'fearful perfection' under military jackboot is the order of the day, but just off the main street you can see dilapidation and decay. It's a Potemkin village, feeding into the idea that Baron Harkonnen and his house are fundamentally about falsity and fakeness. He wears suspensors to convey the idea he is more physically able than he is. Feyd fights in a gladiatorial arena, but the combatants are drugged to make him look more competent. When a combatant isn't drugged, it's a plot to win over the crowd and he's not really in danger. Everywhere gets a fresh coat of paint and smiles at gunpoint when visitors arrive, but under the surface they don't genuinely care for the people.

In Villeneuve's Dune, Giedi Prime is an infrared nightmare under a 'black sun' (yes, the pasty skinhead Harkonnen live under a black sun, a seemingly deliberate allusion to fascist occultism trivia that made me raise an eyebrow). No diversity among the Harkonnen; it's just an anonymous tide of bobbing bald white heads. Again, I was unsure how to read this obvious Villeneuve innovation (in the original books the Harkonnen are mentioned as having dark hair). For what it's worth, Lynch did something very similar when he decided the Harkonnen were universally ginger. I also feel we've seen this archetype quite recently in 'Mad Max' with the white-painted radiation-sick Warboys.

This decision to make the Harkonnen interchangeable mooks does somewhat detract from Austin Butler's Feyd Rautha, who is just another chalky bald guy among many. Butler tries his best to infuse the role with random acts of violence against his own minions that put the 1984 version's heartplugs to shame. Couple it with Rabban's temper tantrum smashing the overseer against his monitor and you have to ask - why does anyone follow these psychopaths? At some point the bad guys end up killing more of their own than the enemy and it makes them feel incompetent and stupid.

In this version, the undrugged slave was a 'birthday present' from the Baron, who wanted to see who Feyd really was under pressure. In the book, Feyd contrives the assassination attempt with Thufir Hawat to increase his own standing with the people. There's no poison on Feyd's blades (he even licks one) but I think (the moment was super-fast) the Bene Gesserit watching mention that he uses an implanted word to stagger the slave momentarily. Odd to see that in this version the Harkonnen seem to worship their leaders ('the holy birthday of our beloved na-Baron'?).

It's an interesting reversal as in the book, Feyd tries to poison the Baron by having one of his sex slaves implanted with a needle (foreshadowing his own use of a similar hidden device in the final fight).

Margot Fenring appears here unaccompanied as a Bene Gesserit femme fatale, and her seduction of Feyd Rautha and their subsequent discussion of his levers was well done.

Around this time Villeneuve starts deciding that the Bene Gesserit are psychic, which is jarring and I don't believe foreshadowed (Jessica communicates using sign-language with her son but not in glances). I almost wondered if this scene - and the later one where the Bene Gesserit have an impromptu psychic discussion - were rewritten after filming.

Returning to Arrakis after the harsh black and white Giedi Prime seemed like a breath of fresh air and I think that was the intent. Villeneuve uncharacteristically doesn't linger long enough on the dunes for my tastes.

I should note here that in this version, Jessica emerges from the water of life trial changed, and while her motives are to protect Paul, she is subsequently framed in a very antagonistic role, always pushing for Paul to cynically embrace the prophecies and so, in this version, drive a wedge between him and Chani. This syncs up with my observations in Part One that Villeneuve almost presents her as a romantic interest for Paul; if so, here she is almost the 'other girl', and Paul has to choose between mother/prophecy and Chani/a simple life among the Fremen (this latter choice is highlighted by him removing the signet ring when he feels welcomed by the Fremen but keeping it in his stillsuit).

Gurney Halleck in this version is not leading a ragged band of Atreides guerillas like 1984's Patrick Stewart version. Rather he is now keeping a low profile and working as a spice miner, seemingly having given up hope that any remnants of House Atreides remain. The Fremen attack the harvester but Paul recognises him and tells them to stay their hand and presumably save the rest of the crew, though I don't think we see anyone else after this and he's more or less framed as the last remnant of Paul's old retinue in the final scenes. This *really* bothered me. Gurney says he managed to get offworld after the attack. OK; we know he has knowledge of the location of the Atreides atomics and hates the Harkonnen with every bone in his body; first for killing his family prior to the events of the first movie (as he reveals for I think the first time here); and then the loss of his new family with the death of Duke Leto. And so, Villeneuve imagines, he...

...goes back to Arrakis to work for the Harkonnen (the movie really seems to have forgotten who owns the original harvesters) and forgets about the atomics. What the absolute fuck? They do establish that the door is gene-coded so only a direct descendent of the Duke can open it (the line 'your genetic heritage only, m'lord' made me visibly cringe in the theatre), but in-universe, is there *any* reason he wouldn't go to, say, House Richese and say 'The Emperor was involved in the attack on Arrakis. I saw Sardaukar among the Harkonnen. I know where there are untraceable nukes on Arrakis; send in a covert mining team and you can tunnel down to get them. All I ask is you use some of them on Giedi Prime and the rest on Kaitan.'

For all that 1984 stretched plausibility that Gurney and his men could have survived in the desert without Fremen skills, it still feels more plausible than him getting off world then just coming back to work on a harvester.

(Note: in the book he joins a smuggler crew. Did they mention in an off-hand remark in the film that the crew he was with were not Harkonnen?)

The worm-drowning scene was well-done, even if I thought they should probably have set up the sandtrouts here if they have any hope of filming 'God-Emperor'.

Feyd Rautha's anti-grav ships bombard Sietch Tabr, causing heavy casualties. I almost feel like more attention should have been placed on this and how *this* is what changes Paul's mind; seeing his own new family injured and dead, rather than continuing for several scenes with will-he won't-he back and forth. Leave me here and go south - the people will only go if you go - there's an important meeting, they call the Lisan al-Gaib to appear, etc. The reunion between Paul and Chani *should* have been the conclusion of their romance arc here. I noticed the 'I will love you as long as you stay true to yourself' and anticipated the subsequent tension, but it felt clumsy.

Paul apparently just shows up and abruptly decides to drink the Stuff on a whim. This felt really bad and rushed. There was a jarring cut between him arriving and the guardian offering him the drink that I *think* was meant to represent Jessica's Voice command taking effect; she warns him 'leave or die' and then finds herself administering the Stuff.

(as a note: just how powerful is Villeneuve's Voice? It can apparently implant suggestions that take effect days or weeks later)

The female voice in Paul's visions has apparently (I think) been Alia? I am not sure about this as my assumption after the last movie was that it was future!Jessica. I didn't think the 'mind opening' was that well done in terms of mind-warping visuals, other than seeing an ocean in the desert. We caught of a glimpse of what I think were meant to be the face of his female ancestors, but a big point in the book is that the Kwisatz Haderach can access the memories of both his female and male ancestors (for all that this makes very little sense). This was crying out for a cameo from Duke Leto, instead of all people he sees Jamis (this may have been book-accurate, I can't remember at point of writing).

In the vision, he learns that Baron Harkonnen is his grandfather and 'we are Harkonnens'. So the pasty skin, black teeth and hairlessness of the Harkonnen is just environmental? Or even just fashion? This is interesting to see given the Harkonnen have been very deliberately racially 'Othered'.

In a reverse Sleeping Beauty scenario, Chani administers some more Water of Life, mingled with her tears, which wakes Paul up, because it vaguely fits the (fake, fabricated by the Bene Gesserit) prophecy? I am struggling to see how this works in-universe, for all that they clearly wanted some more action for her as female co-lead. Was it just a 'hair of the dog'?

The Fremen war council was spectacular, in a vast cavern (?) with lit podia (or was it just one with reflections on the walls?). Chani is again regrettably throughly modern, breaching her own society's rules by barging onto the podium to lecture to her leader. Her having to be restrained in accordance with Fremen decorum by Gurney Halleck *might* have been intended to be character development for him, but I think was just clumsy writing.

In general, Chalamet's acting was up to par, but something different was needed from him after his transformation into the Kwisatz Haderach and we didn't get it (for those saying he wasn't really changed; nonsense - he now has psychic powers that would make Kyle MacLachlan's version blush, actively reading minds when this is supposed to be impossible in-universe). What was called for here was a very elevated style of talking when he is consciously assuming the messianic role, reminiscent of holy text - not necessarily thees and thous but 'shall's and 'unto you's.

I cringed a little when, for example, he threatened the Emperor later in very unelevated, thuggish language. I can somewhat forgive the sections he is speaking Peterson's conlang-Fremen language it sounds quite rough; part of this is probably the difficulty getting the actors to sound fluent but it also had some echoes of rough and tumble military braggadochio in languages like Turkish.

The Emperor's reflective sphere-ship was certainly imposing; possibly too much so as it dwarfs Arakeen, something not immediately obvious from the ground shots so later when we see it just hovering over what just looks like a landing strip I wondered why it was suddenly out in the middle of nowhere before realising the shapes on the ground were the quarters of the entire planet's capital city!

I am always annoyed at the possibly royalties-motivated redesign of uniforms in sequels, and the Sardaukar here are a particularly offensive example. It's literally been less than nine months since the Battle of Arakeen; probably less given Jessica is not (I think) massively pregnant at the end. I did wonder if the redesign was to emphasise that 'the hunter has become the hunted'; now the Sardaukar are, like the Atreides, mostly bare-faced and their opponent is now the masked Fremen. On some level I feel this was deliberate, as when later the Sardaukar assume an Atreides-like sword line. I was also annoyed that we didn't hear any throat-singing as the Sardaukar form up outside the palace-ship. This would have immediately worked to remind us 'Oh yes, those guys', and differentiate them from the Harkonnen mooks who the Fremen have been killing all movie.

The attack on Arakeen was generally great - I would have liked to have seen the nuke scene handled differently and linger more on Paul silhouetted against the mushroom cloud.

The worm attack was also good; I did notice that suddenly the Harkonnen ornithopters become significantly less powerful than in the first movie, both rockets and miniguns seeming ineffective against worms and infantry Fremen alike. There wasn't really any sense that Shaddam's hubris led to him remaining on-planet (even the Dune 2000 game did this better, with the Truthsayer whispering 'Retreat, with victory in sight? Release the Sardaukar!"). I also felt like they sneakily tried to resolve a discrepancy between the visions of the first movie and this one by putting Chani in the role of infantry leader; she ends a shot in the exact same pose as Paul in the first movie when he has a vision of killing Sardaukar in a power suit (these don't appear in the second movie). In the second movie, he arrives on a worm instead. I guess this is a slight retcon and he is seeing himself in the place of whoever the vision is about. It seems a real waste though as presumably this sequence was shot - or was this implied to be during the galactic jihad?

One thing that stood out to me was the (redesigned) Sardaukar trying to regain formation after the blast takes down the mountain and the following storm. The first thing we see is one trooper trying to lift the Corrino banner and, as the wind overcomes him, another one helping to get it upright again. This felt *immensely* true to the book's universe.

Walken wasn't as bad as I feared; he mostly resisted the mugging I feared and wasn't given any lines containing 'walk without rhythm' or 'weapon of choice'. He plays Shaddam, again, as elderly, weary and manipulated, with the suggestion of fire re-emerging when he tells Paul 'your father was a weak man' ringing true. His throne room was appropriately Villeneuve-brutalist while still feeling Dune-y, and he thankfully replaces the Palpatine robe he wears at the beginning with an understated but still decently ornate tunic when holding court. No Burseg helmet as per the books, sadly. Should we read anything into the Emperor's throneroom being lit in a very obvious cross?

I understand why the plot was changed to give Paul a chance to meet the Baron and enact his revenge personally. Feyd wasn't in the first film and despite much more screen time compared to 1984 and even the mini-series doesn't feel satisfying as a final target for Paul's vendetta.

(As a note, the Baron throughout this movie now has a floating respirator with him that I am certain he didn't have in the first film. Is this supposed to be a lingering consequence of the gas attack?)

In this version, the duel between Paul and Feyd Rautha is explicitly a challenge to Shaddam for the throne, with Feyd serving as the Emperor's champion. This felt odd; has it been established that in this version the Padishah Emperor is a role you can have a knife-fight for, like the Klingons in Star Trek? I believe in both the book and 1984 version the coup was presented as a fait accompli with the duel a simple matter of honour and arguably an unnecessary risk by Paul; Shaddam's forces are shattered with only those immediately around him still loyal.

This is further reduced in the 2024 version as Paul has his Fremen kill the remaining Sardaukar and bring the Emperor to the visitor accommodation. This was a really missed opportunity as it deprives us of a huge and obvious shot; the victorious Paul sitting on the throne.

Feyd has no secret poison spikes in this version and, annoyingly, there's no tension in Paul choosing whether or not to use the Voice (Feyd Rautha reacts to Paul commanding the Reverend Mother to be 'Silent!' as if noting and remembering the ability, but we've already established he's vulnerable to it). This continues a trend of Villeneuve forgetting about the Voice in combat, where in the first film Jessica doesn't use it against Stilgar and Paul doesn't use it against Jamis, without even a one-off line like 'and no Bene Gesserit tricks'. Rather, he wins the first two clashes, even leaving a knife embedded in Paul's shoulder, before Paul kills him in a grapple that recalls his first on-screen spar with Gurney Halleck; Feyd is focused on the knife he is pushing further and further through Paul's seemingly exhausted grip, but he - and the viewer - can't see Paul's knife further down.

I *think* we were supposed to understand that as a possible Kwisatz Haderach Feyd is outside Paul's newly acquired precognition (this was sort of foreshadowed when he says he didn't foresee the attack on the sietch), together with the mention by Feyd that he dreamed about Lady Fenring, but wasn't spelled out.

A moment somewhat mocked on social media, but which I felt rang very true, was Bardem's frantic "Lisan al-Gaib!" when it is clear Paul has just barely survived the duel. This is *not* Stilgar the believer once again extolling his messiah's supernatural powers. This is Stilgar the politician and tribal leader realising that Paul looks very vulnerable and *un-supernatural* right now, and if he doesn't quickly get the watching Fremen on board with a chant of 'Lisan al-Gaib' the spell may be broken.

I liked how the Emperor was forced to plead for his life via the medium of his daughter, and the ambiguity of Paul's gesture; I initially thought he was commanding Irulan to step away from her father and take his hand in marriage (and this might be intentional), but instead, Shaddam is forced to go down to his knees and kiss Paul's ducal ring; a good use for the ring finding its way to Paul, which I complained about in the first movie (he also uses it in this movie to seal the ultimatum to the Emperor earlier).

The other Houses refuse Paul's ultimatum to accept him as Emperor (did he say this? I thought they only asked the other Houses to hear him out), leaving Paul to command his Fremen 'Lead them to heaven', ushering in the jihad. But we see their ships leaving seemingly without ill effect. This was crying out for first a few then intensifying rockets from the ground; perhaps even one of the ships burning and falling to emphasise that, yes, Paul just declared war on the entire universe and the ships are *fleeing*.

The final shot, incomprehensibly, is a grumpy Chani on her own, preparing to ride a worm. Perhaps Villeneuve has a plan for how Dune: Messiah will play out with her, maybe even taking some of the role of Alia, who obviously doesn't have the same interaction with the original cast here, being a psychic fetus the entire film-

(At this point I should violently interject; Villeneuve's politics, by God. What are we to make of the fetal personhood on show multiple times in this movie, at this time in American politics? She isn't even called an 'abomination'; that line is transferred to refer to Paul (who irritatingly doesn't even get to declare 'Look into that place you dare not look; you'll find me there' to justify it, just use the Voice, which the Bene Gesserit already know he can do!

Is the fact that it is most clearly championed by Jessica, who in this version has an antagonistic or at least 'bad influence' bent, intended to make it ambiguous? I feel this choice was probably intended to avoid the time-jump implied by a child actor; or perhaps to avoid the controversy of Alia of the Knife being a murderous toddler. But, as with his sexual and racial politics, what emerges is something that feels very odd, like he accidentally ended up throwing in a pro-life message.)

-All this should make us wonder. Villeneuve clearly likes the idea that Chani is the viewpoint character of Dune, beginning the first film with a voiceover from her and concluding with changing the story (no "history will call us wives" here) to leave her on her own but also seemingly abandoned in favour of the swanky princess; again, I feel like this last one wasn't intentional. There was probably an intent that 'Chani is her own woman and in this version she wouldn't want to marry Paul after he gives in and embraces the messianic role', but does it read as that? Or does it read as 'Chani missed her chance and Paul has married someone more suitable' (again, there's a racial reading here that can't be ignored; something not present in the 1984 version where Chani is played by Sean Young). Is this simply neo-Puritanism over the idea of the protagonist having multiple wives (I don't think any adaptation has thrown in the fact that Paul is honour-bound to marry Jamis's wife also)? Did someone say 'this feels a bit harem anime'?

The Guild are almost completely missing, and instead of using his knowledge of the worm lifecycle to threaten to use the stored water to create a chain reaction that will poison the worms, Paul just threatens to nuke the spice fields with his family atomics. When he does that, the Emperor says something like 'You've gone insane!', but no-one chips in to explain that, in fact, if he destroys the spice, the Guild can no longer navigate space, the Imperium will fall, and most of humanity dies due to the end of interstellar trade. This is the dilemma! The jihad claiming billions of lives vs. terraforming Dune claiming *literally all the lives*.

What was needed for the final shots of Dune was something like - of all things - the denouement of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. We should see the Fremen rampaging across the universe; ships burning; the shot from the vision of Paul looking out over Caladan, his again; Giedi Prime getting bombed into ashes - just to provoke us to think 'well, they liked violent gladiatorial games, but did they *really* deserve to die en masse because of what the Baron did?'. And then we cut to Paul on the Emperor's throne, looking shocked and hollow. He, like Dr Horrible, gets 'Everything (He) Ever Wanted', and it will haunt him forever. We grasp the cyclical nature of power - Paul Atreides, the exile turned revolutionary and mystic, is back on top - the very, very top, replacing the Sardaukar with his *own* brutal shock troops from a wasteland world. We needed to see that, and other than a few visions, we don't. Instead, we finish with what might, optimistically, be the message 'the traditional Fremen life will go on'? 'Sisters are doing it for themselves'? 'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a desert'? 'You can't please everyone all of the time'? In-pardon my language, fucking-scusable.

All of this means I think there's definitely room for a different Dune at an appropriate distance in time once Villeneuve's series - however long it runs, and God-Emperor is looking like a possibility - concludes. I have suggested an animated film or series as something very different from the existing adaptations, possibly leaning into precognition as the conceit, and after viewing Villeneuve's Part Two I think I've worked out how to do it.

The first scene in the book is someone - we don't see faces - being administered the Water of Life. We then cut to the dunes and the muad'dib mouse, and then it becomes clear we are watching it from the perspective of Paul and Chani.

They discuss the mouse on the moon and Paul decides that his name 'will be Muad'Dib'. Paul then awakens years earlier on Caladan. At about the two-thirds mark, Jessica takes the Water of Life but begins seizing. She sees herself drowning deep under an endless blue ocean. Paul says 'I can't reach where you are' and impulsively drinks the Water of Life himself; as Chani holds onto him he reaches out and holds his mother's hand and we see in the now shared vision that he swims down into the ocean, grabs her hand, and pulls her up. When they surface he experiences the rest of the vision, and then, awakening, says "I saw it all - I was back on Caladan; I saw us travel to Arrakis for the first time - but I also saw Baron Harkonnen; I saw him plotting with the Emperor - Shaddam! The Emperor is behind the downfall of our family". The entire first two-thirds of the movie *is* the Water of Life experience. Paul has watched the entire movie so far and for the rest of the film knows everything we, the audience, have seen, and more.

In general, Villeneuve's Dune is still probably one of the most striking and solid sci-fi films in recent decades. It is not as clearly stand-alone as I think reviewers have been prone to claim - much like the Lynch version which infamously issued a physical guide for cinema-goers to consult to understand the universe, Villeneuve's Dune does not clearly establish some of the book's most distinctive elements.

You might reasonably assume that the shields are why this universe relies so heavily on hand-to-hand combat - but why so few lasguns? (because in the book, hitting a shield with a lasgun obliterates both parties).

Why do the Harkonnen and Sardaukar feel so much weaker in the desert? Because shields act like a thumper and call worms.

(Note: This was in fact mentioned in the first film.)

Why do some people roll their eyes and do mental maths? They're mentats, human calculators. Why do they exist, and why are there no robots in this oddly run-down, primitive-feeling future? Because a thousand years ago a war called the Butlerian Jihad resulted in the absolute prohibition of thinking machines everywhere in the Imperium (it's bizarre this wasn't mentioned given AI is such a hot topic).

By the end of the second film you've also forgotten that the spice is vital for space travel (why? because it makes Navigators able to see the future, something Villeneuve has decided to emphasise only applies to Paul, and thus able to predict where a hyperspace jump will lead).

The Harkonnen were I think handled the worst of the characters, which isn't new. Skarsgard's Baron is overall acceptable and Rabban has decent menace, but he and Feyd Rautha suffer from the Lynchian 'kill your underlings' brain bug which no longer makes villains feel scary, and the random lurid elements Villeneuve has invented (gimp spiders, child slaves, cannibal prostitutes) feel just as over-the-top as the disfigured 1984 Baron pulling his servants' heart plugs for fun. The decision to make them all pasty bald troglodytes speaks to a fear to present villains as anything more than interchangeable cannon fodder lest, perhaps, the audience find them too compelling? The Fremen suffer from weird racial politics (a need to cast for diversity applied, we notice, most diligently to the desert-dwelling tribesmen, but coupled with the apparent desire to make them darker when you're meant to find them scary, which feels distinctly un-progressive) and the Corrinos from limited screen time. The Atreides in the first film felt most like a believable future society, while the glimpses we got at the Spacing Guild seemed intriguing, with their Daft Punk helmets, but were never followed through.

#dune

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