#Cassian is extremely beaten up

[mosylufanfic]

Rebelcap Whumptober Day 2

I went with the prompt in the title because I just loved it so much!

I’ll call out your name (but you won’t call back)

The first thing he heard was the monotonous beep of a heart monitor, slowly speeding up as he came to full consciousness.

The first thing he realized was that he couldn't move his arms or his legs.

"Easy!" said a voice. "Easy, easy. It's not permanent. We had to give you a paralytic."

He stared up at the strange face hovering over his. Twi'lek, he registered. He wasn't a prisoner of the Empire, then. 

Of course, that didn't mean he was among friends, either.

"I couldn't have you thrashing around and undoing all my hard work," the Twi'lek went on.

He made a questioning noise.

"I had to  brace your back to keep the spine immobile, remove your spleen and your appendix, set several ribs and vertebrae, and pump in a lot of synthblood. You're not entirely out of the woods but you may be seeing daylight. Do you know where you are?"

Scarif, he thought, but no. That was where he'd been. 

The last thing he remembered was kneeling on the beach, Jyn in his arms, holding onto her as his internal injuries and the shock wave of the boiling ocean raced each other to kill him first. And the burning point of her kyber crystal, pressed between them - 

How he had gotten from there to here was a mystery he couldn't even begin to solve.

Jyn. Where was Jyn? Dead? Somewhere else in this facility? He tried to look around but there was some kind of brace keeping his head immobilized. All he could see was a rough pourstone ceiling, pitted and stained with age, and some of the area around the foot of his bed. That wasn't any more informational - just pourstone wall and a jumble of medical-supply crates, long expired if their labeling was anything to go by. 

"You're on Tamsye Prime," the medic informed him. 

Tamsye Prime, he thought. Why was that important? Why was that ringing the most distant of alarms?

When he tried to reach for it, pain burst in his midsection like a bomb, and a groan escaped his throat.

"Sorry, let's get these meds dialed up." A couple of clicks, and something cool began to spread through his veins from a spot in his elbow.

"What are you doing?" said a second voice. "She wanted to know when he woke up."

"I'm checking him first." A straw nudged at his mouth, and he instinctively jerked his head away. "It's water," the medic said.

He considered pulling away again, but his throat was dust-dry and a coughing fit might tear him open. And this medic didn't seem the type to poison him after working so hard to put him back together. He accepted the drink, holding most of it in his mouth to trickle as gently as possible down his throat.

"Right away, she said."

"I'll comm her in a moment."

The painkiller started to take effect, blurring the knife edges of the pain into spiky clouds. He thought about asking for it to get dialed down again. He didn't like to be fuzzy. But he wasn't sure he could form coherent words.

Jyn, he thought. Jyn.

A click and a buzz and the second voice said, "Yeah, he's awake."

"Kriff you," said the medic.

"I'm not presenting my ass to be kicked along with yours," said the second voice. 

He lost time then, awareness blurring in and out until a door swished open. The mysterious Her.

"Everybody out," said a voice. It had the mechanical edge of a vocoder, distorting it from original. 

Shuffling and murmurs as people exited. 

"Everybody means everybody," said the vocoder'd voice. 

"Kest - " the medic said in a pleading voice. 

"Do I have to say it again?"

A pause, and one last set of footsteps, and the hiss of the door. 

He scrabbled through the clouds in his head to pull his thoughts together and work out what to do. 

Was this Jyn?

The aggression tracked. But why would she be wearing a vocoder? Unless she was trying to disguise herself from whoever it was that had them. 

"You awake?" said the voice, now clearly addressing him. 

He let his eyelids flutter in confusion that wasn't entirely feigned. 

"I'm turning down your painkiller drip so you're clearheaded enough to talk," she went on. "Of course, that means the pain will come back, too. If I like what you have to say, I'll turn your meds back up."

No. It couldn't be. Not talking to him like this.

He was pretty sure.

He waited long enough for the clouds to clear to the edges and then allowed his eyelids to slide open.

"Took you long enough," said the voice.

She was staying to one side of his head, correctly guessing that with his neck braced, his field of vision was severely limited. Anything he could use to guess at age and species were disguised by the vocoder, of course. Gender, too, if he hadn't heard the pronouns the medics used.

But he had the feeling that, like many inexperienced interrogators, this one was letting the vocoder do the work and didn't realize the kind of information he could extract from what it left behind. 

Like a Core accent, there in the syllabic emphasis, the rising and falling tones of the sentences. 

Like - 

No, it wasn't her. 

He didn't think. 

"What's your name?"

He flicked through aliases like flimsicards. "Aach," he managed. "Clem Aach."

"Hmm. Where do you come from, Clem Aach?"

"Ogem," he said. Mid-Rim, far enough away from Scarif so that if the Empire were searching for them - and the Empire had to be searching for them - it might throw these people off the scent. 

"How did you get here?"

"Crash," he said.

"Crashed in what? We didn't find any wreckage. Anywhere. "

He made a puzzled face, as if the lack of his entirely fictitious spacecraft was a surprise to him as well. "Crashed," he said again. 

Silence for a moment, as if she thought he might change his mind about that. He waited it out with the patience of one who used silence like a scalpel. 

Soon, much sooner than he would have, she went on, "I was the one who found you. In a rock canyon just outside our perimeter."

"Thank - you," he managed. A little politeness sometimes went a long way, and if he played this right, they might think he was some gormless civilian in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"You were saying a name," the voice said. 

"I was?"

"That name is why I brought you back. You think we waste resources on every broken wreck of a being we find in the wastes? I want to know where you heard that name."

"Don't know," he lied. "Maybe - delirious?" That was possibly not a lie. Given the extent of his injuries, and his lack of memory, he could have been delirious. He hoped he hadn't dropped anything other than Jyn's name.

Because who else would he have been calling out for?

"Handy," the voice said. 

Stalemate. He wasn't willing to betray Jyn's identity, she wasn't willing to give him anything to go on. 

And yet, his captor had already heard him. If he admitted to it, maybe they could get somewhere. Even if "somewhere" was knowing how he'd ended up here. 

"Could - have - could have been 'Jyn,'" he said. 

Silence again. This time, calm and considering, like she was working out which of his fingers or toes to slice off first. "Jyn Erso," she said.

Hells. He had said her full name. Maybe in response to someone. That wasn't like him. 

Reluctantly - "Maybe."

The footsteps again, traversing the length of his bed. Slowly, his interrogator stepped into view. 

It was Jyn.

And it wasn't.

Her face was different - rounder in some parts, sharper in others. Her mouth was softer and fuller, most of the lines and shadows around her eyes missing, some scars vanished, only smooth skin in their place. And there was no recognition in her eyes as she looked at him. Just suspicion. 

Her eyes cut to the heart monitor, whose high beeps matched the sudden galloping pace of his heart. "So you do know who I am," she said.

He made a noise of partial assent, still staring dumbfounded. If the girl in front of him was a day older than sixteen, he'd walk into the nearest Imperial base and give himself up right now. 

"Good," she said. "We've got that out of the way." She stepped out of his line of sight again, and he stared at the ceiling, trying to feel his way through a situation that had suddenly gotten a lot stranger - and it hadn't been particularly normal in the first place. 

Tamsye Prime.

Sixteen-year-old Jyn. Clearly not going by her original name, and not willing for anyone else to hear it, even in the Partisans - for that had to be who the others had been. 

Impossible. 

The dial of the medication clicked again, two times. Three. Downward, as there was no cool rush into his elbow again. 

"Now," she said very softly. "Who sent you?"

FINIS

Inspired by the woooorrrrrrld of difference between Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland and Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso.

[starsxblazing]

Pushing the Limits (Part 4)

a/n: I am really, really bad with summaries so they'll probably be left out

Azriel x Reader

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7

------

You had left right before the sun began its ascent in the sky, enjoying the feeling of the wind in your hair as you replayed Azriel’s words from the night before. It was an assumption on your part to think that the disdain between the two of you didn’t run that deep but evidently it did. You thought all of them through a million times, trying to figure out why you going on this mission affected him so badly. Your mouth did tend to get you in trouble but you knew that the issues at hand had to be handled carefully.

Even though the words were meant to play on any insecurities that you may have that no one knew about, you didn’t stoop down to his level. You knew that the family didn’t see you as a burden, especially since Feyre had thanked you many times for being Nesta’s friend. The skills that you had weren’t in any way close to the Illyrians’ in the family but you still had your own abilities that could give you the upper hand when needed. You weren’t foolish enough to think that you couldn’t be beaten because there was always someone stronger and more skilled than you.

You had every intention of mixing your persuasive charm with your more stern nature and it was exactly what you did. By the time that the week was over, you had done exactly that. The camp was nowhere close to what Rhysand wanted it to be but you saw a hint of progress. Once you got to the river house with Cassian striding in behind you, you found Amren, Feyre, and Rhysand in the office, the latter appearing hopeful.

“Did you give them hell, girl?” Amren asked with an amused smirk.

“She did great,” Cassian chuckled as he took a seat beside you. “Where’s Az?”

“On a mission.” The High Lord’s eyes never moved from you, obviously extremely eager to hear what had transpired. “Are you going to keep us all waiting?”

“You Illyrians really are the biggest babies,” you snickered. “It went as well as what I assume could be expected.”

“She doesn't give herself enough credit,” Cassian replied, frowning down at you as you shrugged. “We all know that the camps are on edge but she did great with the females and even managed to placate some of the restless, angry soldiers.”

“That’s more progress than we’ve done ever since the war,” Rhys muttered, mostly to himself before looking at you again. 

“Did I mention that she put Devlon in his place more than once?” Cassian laughed at the memory about the demands that you had put up. “He kept brushing her off but she managed her demands that he listen to what she had to say.”

“That’s a feat by itself.” Rhys grinned, obviously happy about what little progress that you had already made. “Perhaps she should be going with you each time if this is the effect that she has.”

“I’ll have a detailed report ready tomorrow from my own account,” you replied, not wanting to be in the spotlight anymore than needed.

You excused yourself, opting to walk back to the House and give yourself time to think. It didn’t feel like you had done a whole lot but since Rhysand was happy, you would be too. Cassian still hadn’t returned so you were forced to take the ten thousand steps. You had expected it to be worse due to what little Nesta had told you. It did take some time because you didn’t want to rush too fast but your legs were burning by the time that you were finally walking through the door.

“Did you really just make it all the way up here?” Nesta asked, her fork frozen in front of her mouth in her shock.

“My legs feel a little bit like jelly but yea,” you chuckled, helping yourself to some food before you had to make the report.

You didn’t eat much since you were already tired but your friend asked about the mission and by the time that you were done with the short run down, you were done with your meal and ready for a hot bath.

Azriel stopped by to see Rhysand to give a small run down of his own mission that had taken him longer than he expected it too. He had to check on two other camps before he could come home but was surprised when his High Lord told him of the small progress in Windhaven. You had already made two trips within a week and a half and you had done more since the war than they had been able to do. Only one incident had occurred but it wasn’t anything too serious. 

The next morning, he was somewhat shocked to see both you and Nesta already in the ring. He had been told that you and Cassian had gotten back late last night so he was expecting you to be one of the last to show up. Instead, you were throwing your dagger at the target, striking it perfectly almost with each throw. 

He knew that he needed to apologize for his harsh words and it only furthered his resolve when you didn’t look in his direction even though Nesta did. There was a small cut on your face that was accompanied by a light bruise on your jaw that had him frowning. When he noticed Nesta’s knowing stare, he turned his attention elsewhere. By the time that your other friends’ and Cassian arrived, you were working on your hand wraps and smirking at the general.

“Thought you would’ve skipped today’s training,” Cassian said nonchalantly, his voice low enough that Azriel had to strain to hear.

“Why?” you asked, a hint of confusion on your face as he watched from his peripheral. “I’ve had a lot worse and it didn’t stop me.”

“Getting attacked by an overgrown bat gives you enough of an excuse,” Nesta scoffed as she glared at you.

“Yea, yea.”

You waved them off with the most genuine nonchalance that he had ever seen from you. He noticed that you were a bit stiff despite the warm ups. By the time that your cool downs were finished, you seemed more at ease and it made him hope that he could apologize without getting verbally assaulted even though he deserved it.

Azriel couldn’t keep his eyes off of the marks on your face that he saw were paired with a light bruise on your shoulder that he could barely see peeking out from your shirt as they all ate. Once he noticed that Cassian was staring, he turned his attention to his plate while listening to your and Nesta’s conversation. He noted that you ate less than usual which caused him to grit his teeth, his shadows begging him to let them free to check on you themselves.

He gave you time to bathe, his patience running low due to his nerves once a single shadow escaped him. Following it quickly, he watched it slide under your door so he figured it was as good as time as any. He took a deep breath, swallowing hard before knocking on the door.

“Come in.”

With one last deep breath, he opened the door and braced himself for you to scream at him.

[wisteriabookss]

Nessian Folkmore

I’m going to start this series called “Nessian Folkmore,” where I compare songs from the albums Folklore and Evermore by Taylor Swift to the Nessian relationship!

Todays song: Ivy, from Evermore

[Verse 1] How's one to know? I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones In a faith-forgotten land

Though Nesta and Cassian didn’t first meet in Illyria, I think this can be seen as their “first” meeting, in which they first start to see each other as evolving and changed people, in Illyria. I also think “where the spirit meets the bones,” is a pretty poetic way of describing Illyria. It just fits. 

Or, this could also be applied to ACOWAR where Nesta was being more obvious of her feelings toward Cassian. A lot of people say that when Nesta screamed Cassians name during the battle, the mating bond snapped into place, so this whole verse could be describing that moment. I could definitely describe a battlefield as “a faith-forgotten land” and “where the spirit meets the bones.”

In from the snow Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow Tarnished but so grand

This lyric transports me to Illyria, obviously because of the snow. “Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow / Tarnished but so grand,” the tarnished part makes me think of how rough Cassian’s hands are always described to be, but also of the emotional damage that has been done to the both of them, so even though they both feel beaten down, their touch will bring each other warmth and comfort (eventually, anyways). 

[Pre-Chorus] And the old widow goes to the stone every day But I don't, I just sit here and wait Grieving for the living

“Grieving for the living” is such a powerful line for me, but in relation to Nessian, I think we can apply it to Cassian grieving for the state Nesta is currently in. He see’s how bad of a place she’s gotten herself into, and he obviously doesn’t like it.

[Chorus] Oh, goddamn My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand Taking mine, but it's been promised to another

“My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand” I mean could we get any more Nessian? Nesta’s pain getting perfectly healed in the palm of Cassians freezing hand? And Cassians pain also being perfectly healed in the palm of Nesta’s freezing hands It’s too perfect. (also the “freezing hand” part works well too cause they’re in the mountains)

“Taking mine, but it’s promised to another” ya’ll will see how this song is about a woman finding love outside of her marriage, so I will obviously skip these parts lmao. 

Oh, I can't Stop you putting roots in my dreamland My house of stone, your ivy grows And now I'm covered in you

“Oh, I can’t / Stop you putting roots in my dreamland” could be talking about how Nesta may want to fight it, but she can’t stop Cassian from weaving his way though her heart, her mind, and her spirit. “My house of stone, your ivy grows, and now I’m covered in you” perfectly explains how each of these guys have hard exteriors, but will be covered in each others goodness and love. 

[Verse 2] I wish to know The fatal flaw that makes you long to be Magnificently cursed

Nesta and Cassian wanting to know what makes the other one who they are, as in, what trials and tribulations did each get through in order to get to where they are now. 

He's in the room Your opal eyes are all I wish to see He wants what's only yours

What if someone has a crush on Nesta when she gets to Illyria? I doubt it, but that would be fun lol.

[Chorus] Oh, goddamn My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand Taking mine, but it's been promised to another Oh, I can't Stop you putting roots in my dreamland My house of stone, your ivy grows And now I'm covered

[Verse 3] Clover blooms in the fields Spring breaks loose, the time is near What would he do if he found us out?

Maybe what would Devlon and the other Illyrian’s do if they found out that Cassian and Nesta are together? We already know they don’t like her because they think she’s a witch and “other,” and we know they don’t like Cassian.

Crescent moon, coast is clear Spring breaks loose, but so does fear He's gonna burn this house to the ground

Fear breaks loose because of what Nesta might do with her extreme powers once they’re revealed. 

How's one to know? I'd live and die for moments that we stole On begged and borrowed time

Cassian grunted in pain, but lifted his bloodied hands—to cup her face. “I have no regrets in my life, but this.” His voice shook with every word. “That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.”

So tell me to run Or dare to sit and watch what we'll become And drink my husband's wine

“Go,” Cassian groaned. Her power had stopped hurling the king across the forest. He now stalked toward them, brushing off splinters and leaves from his jacket—taking his time. Knowing she would not leave. Savoring the awaiting slaughter. Nesta gritted her teeth, trying to haul Cassian up once more. A broken sound of pain ripped from him. “Go! ” he barked at her.

[Chorus]

[Bridge] So yeah, it's a fire It's a goddamn blaze in the dark And you started it You started it

A Court of Silver Flames. Feyre painted fire on Nesta’s drawer. And there’s enough fire references to their relationship that I think it’s obvious.

So yeah, it's a war It's the goddamn fight of my life And you started it You started it

I’m pretty sure this next book will represent the fight of Nesta’s life, because there’s a lot she needs to accept and work through. It’s make it or break it time. Cassian would obviously be one of those catalysts, cause he’s obviously the one going with her.

[Chorus]

I really hope you enjoyed this! Please feel free to add your own theories or comparisons, this is all for fun!

[glitterst1m]

star wars rare pair 2021 letter

Star Wars Rare Pair Fest!

First of all, thank you so much writer! You can find me on AO3 at glitterstim, where you will discover I am a problematic fan who likes fic about my fave, Poe Dameron, getting beaten and bloodied up. BUT!!! It’s totally fine if that’s not what you’re into. If it IS was you’re into than feel free and run wild into your trashiest dreams. But it’s absolutely not a requirement on my part, and I’m fine with space adventures, crushes, make outs, dogfights in X-wings, post-canon political intrigue, search and rescues, or anything else you’ve dreamt up for a pairing I’ve requested.

DNWs: mpreg, pregnancy of any kind, daddy/mommy kink or ageplay, kidfic, incest, a/b/o, watersports, 24/7 total power exchange or lifestyle BDSM, non-canonical major character death, extreme fluff, soulmates, high school AUs, homophobia.

Preferences: not into redeemed First Order or villains (if set in canon, AU it’s whatever), am into a glimmer of hope of escape at the end if things are grim.

If you want to go dark, I’m fine with non-con for Poe/villain ships, dark/light side switching au, unhealthy power dynamics, BDSM, AUs, canon divergent AUs, kidnapping, Force torture, torture in general, and slavery. I also love fuck-or-die scenarios.

PAIRING SPECIFIC STUFF + PROMPTS TO COME.

Poe Dameron/Terex (Canon EU) 

Terex is such a snarling wretch and yet there’s something so magnetic about him, his focus, and his anger. Poe is so cool and unaffected until he’s pushed too hard and then he can bring as much heat as needed. He makes a clever and dangerous captive who won’t make it easy on Terex, but I don’t think he’s above allying with him (with deep suspicion) if it was mutually beneficial or for the war effort. Poe’s willing to do a lot to help General Leia save the galaxy (and he suffers so beautifully while he does so). On the darker end, Terex is already known to keep slaves on his ship and you know he’s itching to make Poe one of them.

Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Terex (Canon EU)

Throw in Kylo Ren and you’ve got something even more dangerous and snarling! Terex’s disdain for him is fascinating, and Poe is absolutely someone who would try to play them against each other even in the most dire of straits. Can Kylo use the Force against Terex’s mechanical implants? Are they uneasily working together to take down Poe? Is Poe making a last ditch appeal to Ben Solo’s better side, using Terex as a fixer with the First Order? Is Kylo using the pain of his enemies to level up? Regardless, Poe is probably not going to come out of this encounter unscathed.

Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul (TCW)

Oh I just love this meeting of the minds, and Sam Witwer’s tragic and Shakespearean Maul is so delicious when pushing against the respectable and clever Obi-Wan. This pair can go so many directions, from forming an uneasy post-war(s) alliance to desperate bargaining. I would love contrasts between their relationships to the Force, their backgrounds, and the way Obi-Wan would obviously consider himself the moral one despite all he’s done.

Cassian Andor (Rogue One)/Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

Probably the softest pairing on here despite being made up of two extremely rough men, I think a meeting of these two would smoulder with unspoken suspicion and maybe some recognition of their loneliness, the way they’re in the world but stand slightly apart. I would love to see them cross paths pre-Rogue One or after. Maybe Mando takes on some jobs from the Rebels, maybe Cassian Andor never died but went underground. Maybe there’s a rescue mission where they end up rescuing each other? Maybe Mando is the deus ex machina for your fix-it! I feel like Cassian would be desperate for Mando to join the rebellion and Mando would be unable to break away from his Tribe and traditions, but a steamy encounter between missions is just as good.

[drjackandmissjo]

it’s nice to have a friend

previous chapter --- chapter 6 --- next chapter

feysand masterlist

“church bells ring, carry me home. Rice on the ground looks like snow”

"You may kiss the bride."

Feyre had almost missed the words the priestess had said, loudly to let even those at the end of the church ear. She was too focused on gazing into his violet eyes, categorizing each silver swirl that she never managed to capture properly with her paints, to notice anything but him, anything but his strong hands intertwined in hers. His smile was blinding and threatened to completely undo her fully, yet she couldn't bring herself to care, not when his eyes glimmered in the light. She would welcome Death with open arms if it meant remaining in that moment for eternity, just the two of them.

She could feel him move, slowly tying his arms against her back, trapping her into a prison she would never willingly leave. Rhys' lips were gentle against hers and he smiled softly into the kiss, her own response suit behind. It ended way too quickly, as they both rested one against the other, noses touching lovingly. All around them joyous yellings erupted, people clapping and cheering for the newlyweds. Yet they didn't matter; all Feyre could feel was the soft texture of his suit and the warmth he spread through her with a single touch.

Someone, undoubtedly Cassian, broke their little bubble by whistling and yelling them to ' go get a room ' despite that being their wedding day and despite the kiss having been extremely soft and chaste. Rhys threw a rude gesture towards his brother standing behind him, his eyes never once leaving here, and tightened his arms around her, bringing her as close as her dress allowed. She molded against him as she sank into his lips once more, her own arms encircling his neck and bringing him down to her.

"This is what Heaven feels like" she thought smiling as he raised up in the air and swirled her around, neither caring if they hit someone, lips still connected and wishing to never be apart.

The new and unfamiliar weight on her left hand was welcomed immensely, as had been the momentary pain on her right arm a year prior, when she got herself a fully tattooed sleeve and hand in traditional Illyrian markings, claiming herself for him. She had asked Azriel for help in the translation and to accompany her, to have someone's hand to hold when the pain became unbearable. That same night Rhys had planned on proposing and she had surprised him in the best way possible. "I cannot believe you've beaten me once more!" he had lamented that night, playing with her hair as she rested against his chest, their legs tangled in the covers. "Do you mind?" she had asked, suddenly self conscious; " Not at all, Darling " came his reply, silencing as usual all her doubts.

All too soon he had put her down, hands linking in each other's. Feyre could've sworn she was glowing then, such was the happiness coursing through her veins. The reverence and love in his eyes had been enough to choke her and leave her breathless. He had looked at her in that same way during the whole ceremony, a bright grin and wet eyes as he first saw her approach from the other side of the aisle. She had barely been able to keep her own tears at bay as he turned around, perfect in the black suit with silver threads while the glowing light of the altar painted a halo around his head. Her personal angel, dressed every inch the fallen demon. She stored the memory dearly, ready to transfer it in one of her canvases that she didn't have to hide anymore. It had been an incredibly embarrassing moment for her when he found her secret stash of drawings of him. He had the most stupefied look on his face, hands shaking as he stood up and kissed there on the spot, three little words spilling of her lips freely at his reaction as he replied not even a heartbeat later, laughing and kissing her.

They both were incredibly aware of the countless eyes on them, waiting for pictures and to give their congratulations, yet they couldn't let go of each other for a second.

Mor brought them both back to reality, showing her cousin out of the way to embrace her best friend. Feyre hugged her back with fervour, both careful not to mess the make-up they had spent too long applying. When the blonde moved away, arms still around Feyre, her brown eyes were rimmed with silver that she was willing not to spill. Feyre knew she must've had a mirroring look on her own face. "Officially welcome to the family!" Mor said sweetly and that undid both: they crashed once more into each other's arms, tears falling freely.

"Mor, your mascara!" mused Feyre as she tried not to ruin her own eyes too much. Elain laughed freely at her concern, "Don't worry, it's all waterproof!" she claimed while taking her turn congratulating her younger sister. One after the other, her family and friends came closer. Rhys' mother hugged her tightly as his father whispered something to him that had left him beaming as the older man wrapped his son in a tight embrace as well.

He had walked her down the aisle as the ceremony began. Nesta was slightly offended by that, since she was promised the honour as that their own father had passed away, but she let him take her place with minimal complaining. After her own father had died four years prior, not managing to reach her birthday and let alone Christmas, Rhys' had became a solid point for her, giving suggestions and caring dearly for her. Rhys' mother had also done the same, replacing one by one the scars of neglect Feyre's own mother had left from such a young age.

Feyre couldn't do anything other than tighten her grip on that wonderful family that had welcomed her fully.

When the photographer had finished taking the pictures from the inside in all the possible angles that as an artist Feyre appreciated but as a bride she didn't mind particularly, they slowly moved on the outside of the church, the night sky gleaming above them. It hadn't been easy organizing the wedding to fit both common and Illyrian traditions, but they had managed wonderfully. The ceremony was done during the night, as the Illyrian custom demanded, and the party would happen the next evening. When Feyre had proposed the idea, her then fiancée had reacted rather vividly, leaving the actual planning for very much later, after they were both spent.

"My love" he had whispered as they exited through the main doors, shielding themselves from the rice shower that left the pavement looking like their own little snowstorm in the middle of August. The majority of their guests had enjoyed greatly the choice for a night ceremony, avoiding the summer heat as a chilled breeze washed the small square.

Feyre then smiled up at her husband, profoundly and widely, trying to convey all the love she felt for that man into the simple action.

[acourtofsadnessanddespair]

all the proof i could muster up that nesta and cassian are mates

 With just little over a month until A Court of Silver Flames comes out, I decided to set the fact straight that Nesta and Cassian are mates and we simply cannot ignore the evidence anymore. 

1. First Meeting

There’s actually not that much evidence here, but there is a lot of banter between the two and throughout the dinner, Cassian constantly is grinning and trying to rile Nesta up. One line states: “Cassian was sizing up Nesta, a gleam in his eyes that I could only interpret as a warrior finding himself faced with a new, interesting opponent.” He then continues staring at her pretty much through the entire meal, only taking his eyes off her to nod agreement. They also “have it out” the next morning. Of course this is in no way an indication that they our mates, however I would like to remind you that a certain other mated couple started off with the slight enemies-to-lovers scenario. 

2. The Bonus Scene

Chile... there’s a lot to unpack here. Cassian describes Nesta’s face as unnervingly perfect, and talks about her build and, uh, the certain parts that he “doesn’t look at. Much.” When he leans close to her, her scent “hits him in the gut so hard he could barely focus.” Which is a little suspicious and mate-y to me (as mate-y as a human and Illyrian can be I suppose, however Rhys knew he was mates with Feyre when she was human, and Feyre becoming Fae heightened it, which we will go back to later). When Cassian finds out what Tomas tried to do Nesta (or senses the fear), he immediately wants to kill him, without knowing pretty much anything, except that someone had hurt Nesta. His Nesta. He also says, “It’d make me hunt them down and shatter every bone in their body.” Then he tries to cover it up, saying he’d do it for anybody (which he would, but still). Nesta admits that she feels things, sometimes more than anyone else and Cassian had seen those things and had seen her, “...he’d looked at her- not at the face and human body that men marked, but her- and had seen it all.” She then says that this made her want to hurt him, so he wouldn’t tell everyone. When Nesta tips up her neck, every instinct in Cassian’s body came “roaring to the surface, so violent he had to choke them with a brutal grip...” Then he once again says something about her scent and what it does to him; “Cassian breathed in the smell of her into his lungs...as it latched onto some intrinsic part of him and sank its talons deep.” And that just sounds so mate-y to mean, like her scent latched onto him??? He then brings the topic around to Mor who he had slept with prior and had some degree of romantic feelings for, and says that even though she did not care about the lovers her had, he did not want to tell her about Nesta. And when he returns to Velaris, he refuses to go back alone again. 

3. The Promise

After the queen’s refuse to give Feyre the book, Nesta stands up to them and begs the queens to help. Cassian then makes a promise to Nesta; “...I will stand on that battlefield again, Nesta Archeron, to protect this house- your people. I can think of no better way to end my existence than to defend those who need it.” He then wipes away her tears and Nesta lets him do it. This promise remains important in a Court of Wings and Ruin, as Cassian is regretful and takes part blame for her becoming Fae in Hybern, despite him not being able to stop it as his wings were shredded. “I made her a promise. And when it mattered I didn’t keep it.”

4. Hybern

As Nesta is being put into the Cauldron, Cassian begins moving on the ground, despite his bloody, shredded wings. He stirs again when she begins screaming and tries to move his hands towards her. “At Nesta’s shouts, her raging, his eyes fluttered open, glazed and unseeing, an answer to some call in his blood, a promise he’d made her.” I mean, come on... That literally sounds like there mates I-... Not to mention, Cassian tries reaching for her again when she is sobbing for Elain. 

5. The House of Wind

Even before entering where Nesta was sitting, Feyre noticed that Cassian was tense. When Feyre notices how devastatingly beautiful Nesta, she wonders if Cassian also feels the same as he stiffens beside her. We then also see more of that banter from a Court of Mist and Fury (mainly from Cassian, but still). Cassian then says that he goes up to the House of Wind often because it is good exercise for his wings (more like a good excuse to see Nesta). He also says that he is going to kill the King of Hybern (just as he said he would kill Tomas). When he is flying Feyre to the House of Wind, she asks why he bothers and he says “Because I can’t stay away.” (Which gives me MATE vibes)  And as Nesta arrives in her dress, Feyre narrates that Cassian looks as though he had been punched in the gut. 

6. I don’t know what to call this segment but still... MATES

After Nesta is flown to the town house by Rhys she is extremely mad and only Cassian, it seems, is game enough to calm her down and get the fire out of her eyes. When Amren is telling her story, Cassian moves himself closer to Nesta and then signals her to stand behind him, willing to protect her if something goes wrong. After it is realized that there is no threat, Nesta moves from behind Cassian, but not away, to his side. After Hybern attacks the library, Rhys lets Feyre into his mind to see what Cassian had shown him, from his point of view. In the memory, when Nesta comes stumbling out and sees Cassian. “...her fear a tang that whetted his rage into something so sharp he could barely think, barely breath-” And this just feels mate-y and reminds me of how Rhys when Tamlin destroyed the study, or even after the attack when he was still enraged. He also calls her body slim and beautiful as she grips his arms. 

7. Battle of Adriata

When the others return from the Summer Court, Nesta demands to know where Cassian is and actually says his name, which was Feyre’s first time hearing it from her. She was also pacing as she waited for them to return. However, when Amren offers mild support, she simply says “I don’t care.” 

8. The High Lord Meeting 

When Nesta appears down the stairs, Cassian ignores her for the most part. And when she announces she is going with them, she makes sure to ignore his approving gaze. Nesta and Cassian then are set to winnow out together and there is a bit of banter and then Nesta says “You didn’t come to-” and cuts herself off (And I’d just like to know what he didn’t go to, THAT IS ALL I WANT IN LIFE PLEASE SARAH). Cassian then interlaces their fingers and their gazes do not leave each other’s faces and then he says, “The next time, Emissary, I’ll come say hello.” (Swoon) Nesta stands up for Cassian after Beron insults him at the meeting, and Cassian just looks at her “like he’d never seen her before.” When Nesta feels something amiss and calls for Feyre, Cassian also comes in assessing if she is okay and looking at every inch of her. Feyre also asks Rhys if the two are mates and he said he didn’t know and that the bond would have to snap into place (SUSPICIOUS)  And when Nesta begins vomiting was the first one there holding her back and monitoring her. 

9. Not really any proof

...But when he tells Nesta she’d start a riot if she wore pants and trains her, I- yes.

10. The War

While Nesta is working around the camp she listens intently to any talk of Cassian and when Cassian returns to the camp with a sprained wrist, Nesta somehow notices immediately without anyone else noticing. She ties it up and they hold hands, then Mor interrupts and Cassian drops her hand, Nesta just looked at her hand and then disappeared to her tent. As the battle is happening, Nesta only concentrates on Cassian and is terrified when he is about to be hurt, and when Feyre leaves she barely takes her attention of him. Nesta is found standing outside of the tent Cassian is staying in after he is injured, but then after a confrontation with Mor. As Nesta is helping find the Cauldron, Cassian stands with her, his hand on her back and comforts her and reminds her that nothing can hurt her there. During the final battle, Nesta was still monitoring where Cassian was, and when she saw where the Cauldron’s power was gonna be used, she only roared for Cassian and didn’t alarm the several others in its path. He then decides to get off the battlefield and go with her to kill the king.

11. THAT SCENE

Cassian is beaten severely by the king and when Nesta sees what he has done, she becomes a predator. “I am going to kill you.” Which is similar and in parallel to when Cassian wanted to kill who had hurt her. And after she has used her power, she ignores Cassian’s pleas to run and instead tries to keep killing the king. And when she goes down, Cassian tries to reach for her like he did all those months ago in Hybern. And when he tells her to go she says she can’t. Cassian grabs her face and tries saying goodbye; “I have no regrets in my life, but this. That we did not have time. That I did not have time with you, Nesta.” And she doesn’t stop him as he kisses her (KISSES HER OMFG). “I will find you again in the next world - the next life. And we will have that time. I promise.” She doesn’t leave she just covers his body with her own. Willing to die with her lover or her mate? Because she cannot live without him?

Post War

Nesta does not visit Cassian on his sick bed and their relationship once again becomes tight and tense. Cassian tries not to think about her and Nesta becomes closed off. On Solstice, he tries giving her a present which had taken him months to find and she declines (that made me so mad), but he still follows her home. In the sneak peak, he admits that even though she is too thin he finds her “mouthwatering” and he doesn’t care about the males she sleeps with. The males, however, are sometimes afraid to sleep with Nesta because of Cassian, because of what happened in the war (or maybe they’re afraid because they’re mates, just saying).

In conclusion, 

Nesta and Cassian are mates. Sarah, you ain’t slick, we know. And if they do not confess their love in the next book I will cry. Actually a lot of this isn’t evidence just rehashing but... meh.

[thirivms]

Name

Pairing: Alkar Cassian x GN!Reader Prompt: Name: Being so exhausted that they faintly whisper the name of someone they trust as they are carried to bed.

AO3

-----

Everything hurt, from the various scratches littered across your skin to the bone-deep exhaustion that was currently thrumming through every inch of your body.

Each step made your feet ache, made every fiber of your being beg for you to just collapse somewhere so you could rest, but even in such a groggy state you still know better than to just drop down somewhere in the middle of the forest, especially when injured like this.

Honestly, the fact that the scent of your blood hadn’t attracted anything yet was a miracle in itself.

Speaking of miracles, you’re surprised that you hadn’t run into some kind of search party yet. Everyone knew that you were an extremely capable hunter, the very best one around alongside Piper in fact, but you’d been sent out to deal with a juvenile chimera as soon as you’d arrived at your General’s office that morning. You aren't exactly sure what time it is now, but that had been well over ten hours ago.

The juvenile chimera was easy enough to track down, and the fight with the small but vicious beast had been a short one. You just hadn’t expected to suddenly get jumped by a pack of them right before dealing the killing blow.

That fight had lasted quite a bit longer, with you frequently having to fall back and try to regain your strength before they could catch your scent once more, but most of them had been dealt with now and you highly doubted that the surviving chimera would come anywhere close to this territory again. Those beasts tended to respect a strong opponent, at least.

But that victory had left you with nothing but a bruised and beaten body, and you can’t help but groan as you think about how far away your bed at The Wolf still is. You might even have to report to August before heading to the inn, if only to keep them from tearing their hair out wondering where you were-

Snap.

The crack of a branch suddenly makes you freeze mid-step and you reach a hand towards your weapon, trying not to wince when your muscles ache in protest at the movement. Either the chimera were coming back after all or your blood had finally attracted something else, or-

“There you are!”

Thank the Gods, you immediately recognize the voice..

Your hand falls away from your weapon, unable to keep yourself from letting out a deep, relieved breath when Alkar suddenly emerges from behind the shadowy trees. He looks you over, red eyes narrowed as he takes in the sight of the visible scratches and bite wounds peppered across your body, but when he looks up to meet your gaze his eyes are burning with worry.  “Where have you been?!”

“Out on a hunt..” you answer, starting to feel a little groggy again. The hint of adrenaline you’d just gotten from Alkar’s sudden arrival was already fading, leaving you feeling somehow more exhausted than you already were. “The target just had some.. unexpected reinforcements.”

“We’ve been patrolling the woods for you all bloody day!” Alkar huffs before walking over to stand in front of you. He grips one of your shoulders with a frown, probably trying to inspect you for any more severe wounds, and before you can help yourself you lean heavily into his warm, familiar touch. It’s a struggle now to keep your eyes open, and it takes a moment of effort to raise your head to look at the man in front of you. Alkar's staring back at you with narrowed eyes, and an endearing pout on his lips.

You sigh, feeling a flash of guilt for having worried him and the others so. “Sorry, Alkar, I didn’t-”

“You’re exhausted.” Alkar interrupts, tone softer than you expected, and before you can even try to form a response Alkar suddenly turns on his heel, standing with his back to you. For a moment neither of you move – you just blink blearily in confusion – until Alkar looks back at you with another impatient huff. “C’mon, climb on.”

“Climb on..?” you repeat eloquently before the haziness in your mind clears up just enough for you to realize that Alkar means to carry you. “Alkar, I don’t need you to-”

“I’m not leaving you alone out here, and you’re more likely to face-plant into the mud than make it back on your own.” Alkar says, one of his wolf ears twitching, before he shoots you a look that tells you that this isn’t up for debate.

Well, it’s not like you have the energy to argue with him right now anyway..

You don’t bother giving him a verbal reply, instead just letting him help you climb up onto his back, arms wrapped securely but still loosely around his neck. He adjusts his hold on your legs, giving you another glance over his shoulder before he takes off running back towards the town.

The forest seems to speed past you in a rush of wind and blurred trees, and you’d normally be taking the time to admire just how much strength and control that the half-lycan had but right now you just want to go to sleep.

The warmth of Alkar’s body is already seeping into yours, seeming to ease some of the lingering aches, and you nuzzle your face into the soft hair at the back of his head. He smells like smoke and coffee, smells like home, and you find yourself being overwhelmed by relief again that he’d found you. He was here with you now, and you weren’t stumbling home through these dark woods by yourself anymore.

“Alkar..” you mumble softly against his hair, and he doesn’t stop running but you do feel him turn his head a little, just enough to acknowledge that he’d heard you. You try to speak again, maybe to thank him for finding you or maybe to say that you should go to your Headquarters and report in, despite how much you really don’t want to.  

But the words don’t come out, just a tired, breathy sigh, and you hear Alkar huff again but it’s a gentle noise, like he was more amused by this moment than anything else. Perhaps he was, now that he knew you were safe and back in his arms, and you feel him give your leg a gentle squeeze as he faces ahead of him again. “Don’t need to thank me, just.. don’t worry me like that again.”

You smile to yourself, nuzzling your face into his hair again as you just breathe in his comforting scent, and relish the heat of his body against yours. You feel so safe and warm and eventually your eyes drift shut, finally dozing off into the sleep that your body had so desperately begged for.

[thebastardofgloucester]

all the posts collating reactions to The Empire Strikes Back or writing mock Rotten Tomatoes reviews to imply that the criticisms of this film aren’t worth paying attention to are just…so missing the point

exactly two works that said what ‘Star Wars’ was existed at the time of Empire’s release in 1980: Star Wars (not yet renamed ‘A New Hope’) and Alan Dean Foster’s 'Splinter of the Mind’s Eye’ (a sequel written in case Star Wars was a flop that could be filmed on a shoestring budget and without Harrison Ford. It’s Wild and puts the lie to the idea that Lucas had any idea where the Skywalker story was going; highly recommend)

in the year of our Lord 2017, The Last Jedi was released as the third film in a revival of a six film, single creative vision franchise, with the added baggage of over two decades of novels, comics, video games, and other media (the only thing ever fully expelled from canon was the infamous holiday special, which, honestly, had greater creative merit than some of the stuff that got to stay)

what’s the point? Expectations. No, not people who didn’t want anything to change and are Mad About It or whatever facile narrative the authors of those blog posts and reviews are using to explain why this film is probably more divisive than the goddamn prequels. The problem is that not only does The Last Jedi clash with decades of fandom, it is even at loggerheads with its sister films in this particular revival. and it doesn’t get the same benefit of the doubt that ESB got because that’s not how franchises and fandoms actually work. you don’t get to ignore everything that came before to tell your own story. they have to work together. 

Sure, not everybody read the EU (and trust me some of them are better off for it). But almost everybody saw The Force Awakens, most of them saw Rogue One, and a fair number of them, old and young fans alike, eagerly consumed the New EU content that offered glimpses into how the events of The Force Awakens came about and what mysteries were set up in what was effectively a reboot rather than a sequel. Generally, you know, regardless of how much you hate 'puzzleboxes,’ it is reasonable to expect that what one film sets up will have a payoff in the next, particularly when the first film takes such care to be sensitive to what the fans want (as JJ and Kasden did with TFA) - because while this is a money faucet for Disney, sure, there’s no point in bringing this franchise back without those fans (and of course, their kids) - and what they got from Rian and the Lucasfilm story team was…a confirmation that they had been wasting their time. It’s all well and good to pull the rug out from under the audience (as this film does incessantly) but it’s cynical bullshit to basically bait them with promo material and the preceding canon and then to deliver on basically nothing and expect everyone to just be okay with it. This film effectively penalizes the people who cared the most and spent the most time engaging with The Force Awakens and rewards people who may not have really been here for what Lucas was selling to begin with. As one review put it, it ‘does not care what you think about Star Wars’.

But when you set expectations as deliberately as Kennedy and the Lucasfilm Story Group did in JJ and Kasden’s TFA, it’s not great writing to blow them to pieces mid-narrative. It’s just lazy. the idea that Rey has no connection to the Skywalker line? a good idea, potentially, but clumsily executed, as it is played out less as an important revelation and more an excuse to not actually give any kind of answer to how Rey came to be Ben’s equal on the Light (or why she even is ‘Light’ honestly; I love Angry Rey but there’s seemingly no danger in her temptation) or where she got a skill set rivaled in this franchise only by literal Space Jesus Anakin Skywalker. Snoke is a one-noted villain; having him be betrayed by Kylo in the midst of his own villain arc? a very good idea. it belongs as the climax of the film, not the end of act 2 so there is no time for anything to breathe, just more never-ending crises and hardship.

Like, spare me the 'force visions are unreliable’ (Rey’s was unlike anything we had seen before, it wasn’t Anakin’s nightmare or Luke on Dagobah) bs; the film didn’t say that what Rey saw was wrong for x reason, it just pretended that it never happened and Rey didn’t say anything about it); spare me ‘our heroes have to fail and sometimes all the plans don’t work out’ we know that, we live in the real world of 2017 but while making your clever point you have wasted the presence of three extremely talented actors of color, and let down the audiences waiting for a chance to see people who look like them be the heroes for once. instead it turns out they didn’t actually matter all that much, but maybe next film! 

It’s not clever. It’s not visionary. It’s cheap, it’s cowardly, and it isn’t actually that original because the film leaves us exactly where we expected. Poe is the leader and Leia’s heir to command, Finn is a newly-committed Rebel brimming with unrealized potential, Rey is a Jedi character (amorphously defined) who we know exactly as much about as we started, Luke is gone, even if he went out in pretty spectacular fashion, Carrie’s death means that Leia will be leaving us soon, and Kyle Ben has become the big bad. That’s the only real development - Snoke’s death and Ben’s rejection of his redemption - and it’s buried under Rey, our erstwhile heroine, being a vehicle for the villain’s character development. The only character this film particularly cares about is a white fascist who gets every chance to be redeemed and rejects them while the film expects us to keep caring. 

So, yeah. People are mad. Not because of the same ‘the series is changed forever now’ shit that the haters of ESB were on about. Because the real changes? Ben being the real villain, the smallfolk of the galaxy being the source of light and conduits of the Force? I don’t see anyone complaining all that hard about them. 

the complaints are about the damage done to beloved characters for…not all that much of a payoff. the misuse and marginalization of the characters of color. the disdain with which the script treats the nostalgia of the Force Awakens. the unrelenting pace of the film that just grinds the Resistance (and the audience) down and just tells them to trust us, even as more and more and more is taken away. Rey’s parentage isn’t the only thing cast aside - promises of developments in Finn’s story - his identity, his potential to cause a revolt in the First Order, even his force sensitivity (you want a force user from nothing? how about a child soldier from a nameless family who as we are continually reminded used to be on sanitation crew) - are broken. Rey has her dream of family taken away…and replaced with…well the film doesn’t really bother to say because she’s a plot device for most of act 3. We don’t get to see her reject Ren and leave him. Because this isn’t her story; it’s his. Kylo is unconscious, so the scene is over. Tell me how that is a satisfying arc for our erstwhile protagonist? Poe’s character is completely uprooted from what we’ve seen before to make him an obnoxious hotheaded menace whose emotions threaten the survival of the Resistance if two old white women aren’t able to keep him in check. Rose says a lot and gets to do almost nothing. Luke…Luke is torn down to justify the fall of Ben Solo, never given the chance to establish a meaningful bond with his erstwhile successor, and is only given the chance to atone by acting as a diversion to give the others time to escape. he dies alone, a failure, even if he is at peace with how things turned out.

last year we were shown a movie in the wake of one of the more traumatic political events in the life of the people on this website where a diverse and sympathetic cast fight hard and are entirely wiped out. But their deaths come in a spectacular and charged finale that carries the desperation and grief and pathos through into the beginning of the story we know and love. it all feels worth something. Rogue One has its flaws as a film but it comes together in a way that The Last Jedi does not. In the end, what Jyn and Cassian and the others do is just enough to get the plans away, to start the sequence of events that will lead to the Empire’s destruction.

Here?

there’s just not enough left. not enough of the Resistance, not enough story, not enough hope. 

to have that hope repeatedly stripped away and cynically exploited through a narrative that drags the characters from crisis to crisis without bothering to justify itself or its role in the story (while retreading the highlights of Episodes V and VI without the emotional depth to back them up), and in so doing wears down the audience as much as the characters is not why I have devoted so much of my life and emotional energy to this series about space wizards and their galaxy-destroying family squabbles and eventual chance for redemption. for all his many, many faults, George Lucas understood that.

you can’t just talk about hope. sooner or later you have to see it. You have to feel that what you are suffering will be worth it. The text needs to tell you as much. it’s clumsy and cliched and it is necessary. In the Empire Strikes Back, after Han is captured and Luke is beaten, the turning point is Lando. Lando changes the course of the movie, rescuing Leia and Chewie, who rescue Luke. They live to fight another day, and at the end they are wounded but among friends. 

the moment in The Last Jedi where that could have happened was when Leia’s signal went out. How terrific would it have been if after being betrayed by a scoundrel the original scoundrel with a heart of gold, Lando Calrissian, arrives at the head of a fleet made up of all the alien races so inexplicably missing from the sequel trilogy so far, fending off the First Order long enough for the Resistance to escape with most of the survivors on Crait?

But Rian had to have one last twist of the knife. so nobody came. only Luke, and only as a distraction to buy time that ultimately cost him his life and reduced his legacy to giving everything to atone for his past sins. there is no Lando moment. there is no turning point, no moment where a larger victory is hinted at. and no, a single stable boy far, far away from the war is not the same thing. It makes an interesting point about the force and the metanarrative of Star Wars. It is not what this film needed after everything it put its characters and audience through.

and so at the end I’m not hopeful. I’m just tired. So, very tired. And I miss what made me fall in love with this series about space wizards and the Skywalker family in the first place

[moranice-solvej]

A youtube Star Wars show I used to fancy has made a point to criticize Disney’s choice of making a Cassian-centric series in pretty much every episode ever since the show was announced, and at this point I’m sick of being beaten over the head with it. 

My personal feelings aside, I get it, all right, you don’t find Star Wars without the Force all that interesting and that you didn’t connect to Cassian as a character. That’s fine. You’re entitled to this opinion.

However, saying that there’s no point in making such a show at all, that it doesn’t deserve attention and time spent upon it is ludicrous. It completely disregards the idea that other people can enjoy things that are different from what you love and that they should be given a chance to experience and enjoy those stories. The whole point of art is to tell stories. Those who consume the stories choose how to react to it or whether to watch it, but it’s not up to us to decide whether something is worthy of being created. The whole idea of diversity in art, of freedom in creativity is completely undermined by such talk.

Listening to someone casually putting down the very notion of creativity and its right to exist is extremely upsetting.

I root for Cassian’s series to be great because I love the character and I’m fascinated by the storytelling opportunities it presents, but at this point I also want it to be absolutely-effing-amazing just so people who criticize the very idea of it could be proven wrong.

ive had too many interactions recently with people saying that cassian is uninteresting so lets settle this

cassian was fighting from a very young age, he learned to do whatever it takes, he was most likely involved in rebel activity pre the alliance, and then was a fulcrum spy which is possibly the most dangerous and interesting position a rebel could have. its a very different story to the ones focused on in mainstream star wars media and its something weve hardly seen anything of in the whole star wars universe outside of the animated series rebels.

its not a debate.

cassian andor has got one of the most interesting untold backstories in all star wars. where his disney plus series falls on the time line will only showcase this.

its funny how all the people whove said they find cassian boring are all a certain type of fan.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sun., May 24, 2020

Venerable Simeon the Stylite ( the younger)

Saint Simeon the Stylite was born in the year 521 in Antioch, Syria of pious parents John and Martha. From her youth Saint Martha (July 4) prepared herself for a life of virginity and longed for monasticism, but her parents insisted that she marry John. After ardent prayer in a church dedicated to Saint John the Forerunner, the future nun was directed in a vision to submit to the will of her parents and enter into marriage.

As a married woman, Saint Martha strove to please God and her husband in everything. She often prayed for a baby and promised to dedicate him to the service of God. Saint John the Forerunner revealed to Martha that she would have a son who would serve God. When the infant was born, he was named Simeon and baptized at two years of age.

When Simeon was six years old, an earthquake occurred in the city of Antioch, in which his father perished. Simeon was in church at the time of the earthquake. Leaving the church, he became lost and spent seven days sheltered by a pious woman. Saint John the Baptist again appeared to Saint Martha, and indicated where to find the lost boy. The saint’s mother found her lost son, and moved to the outskirts of Antioch after the earthquake. Already during his childhood the Lord Jesus Christ appeared several times to Saint Simeon, foretelling his future exploits and the reward for them.

The six-year-old child Simeon went into the wilderness, where he lived in complete isolation. During this time a light-bearing angel guarded and fed him. Finally, he arrived at a monastery, headed by the igumen Abba John, who lived in asceticism upon a pillar. He accepted the boy with love...keep reading OCA

St Vincent de Lérins

Personal life

Vincent of Lérins was born in Toulouse, Gaul[4] to a noble family, and is believed to be the brother of Lupus of Troyes.[3] In his early life he engaged in secular pursuits; it is unclear whether these were civil or military, though the term he uses, "secularis militia", may imply the latter. He entered Lérins Abbey on Île Saint-Honorat, where under the pseudonym Peregrinus he wrote the Commonitorium, c. 434, about three years after the Council of Ephesus.[5] Vincent defended calling Mary, mother of Jesus, Theotokos(God-bearer). This opposed the teachings of Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople which were condemned by the Council of Ephesus.[4]Eucherius of Lyon called him a "conspicuously eloquent and knowledgeable" holy man.[6]

Gennadius of Massilia wrote that Vincent died during the reign of Roman Emperor Theodosius II in the East and Valentinian III in the West. Therefore, his death must have occurred in or before the year 450. His relics are preserved at Lérins.[7]. Caesar Baronius included his name in the Roman Martyrology but Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont doubted whether there was sufficient reason. He is commemorated on 24 May.

Commonitory

Vincent wrote his Commonitory to provide himself with a general rule to distinguish Catholic truth from heresy, committing it to writing as a reference. It is known for Vincent's famous maxim: "Moreover, in the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all."[8](p132)[9](p10) The currently accepted idea that Vincent was a semipelagian is attributed to a 17th-century Protestant theologian, Gerardus Vossius, and developed in the 17th century by Cardinal Henry Noris.[9](xxii) Evidence of Vincent's semipelagianism, according to Reginald Moxon, is Vincent's, "great vehemence against" the doctrines of Augustine of Hippo in Commonitory.[9](xxvii)

Semipelagianism

Semipelagianism was a doctrine of grace advocated by monks in and around Marseilles in Southern Gaul after 428. It aimed at a compromise between the two extremes of Pelagianism and Augustinism, and was condemned of heresy at the Second Council of Orange in 529 AD after more than a century of disputes.[10]

Augustine wrote of prevenient grace, and expanded to a discussion of predestination. A number of monastic communities took exception to the latter because it seemed to nullify the value of asceticism practiced under their rules. John Cassian felt that Augustine's stress on predestination ruled out any need for human cooperation or consent.

Vincent was suspected of Semipelagianism but whether he actually held that doctrine is not clear as it is not found in the Commonitorium. But it is probable that his sympathies were with those who held it. Considering that the monks of the Lérins Islands – like the general body of clergy of Southern Gaul – were Semipelagians, it is not surprising that Vincent was suspected of Semipelagianism. It is also possible that Vincent held to a position closer to the Eastern Orthodox position of today, which they claim to have been virtually universal until the time of Augustine, and which may have been interpreted as Semipelagian by Augustine's followers.

Vincent upheld tradition and seemed to have objected to much of Augustine's work as "new" theology. He shared Cassian's reservations about Augustine's views on the role of grace. In the Commonitorium he listed theologians and teachers who, in his view, had made significant contributions to the defense and spreading of the Gospel; he omitted Augustine from that list. Some commentators have viewed Cassian and Vincent as "Semiaugustinian" rather than Semipelagian.

It is a matter of academic debate whether Vincent is the author of the Objectiones Vincentianae, a collection of sixteen inferences allegedly deduced from Augustine's writings, which is lost and only known through Prosper of Aquitaine's rejoinder, Responsiones ad capitula objectionum Vincentianarum. It is dated close to the time of the Commonitorium and its animus is very similar to the Commonitorium sections 70 and 86, making it possible that both were written by the same author.[5]

Source Wikipedia

Saint Vincent died peacefully in 456 AD. His relics are preserved at Lérins.

Acts 16:16-34 NKJV

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days.

But Paul, greatly [a]annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; 21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” 22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Saved

25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

Footnotes:

Acts 16:18 distressed

John 9:1-38 NKJV

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

9 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I[a] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was [b]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, [c]“He is like him.”

He said, “I am he.”

10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

11 He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to [d]the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”

12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?”

He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man

13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not [e]keep the Sabbath.”

Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”

He said, “He is a prophet.”

18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these thingsbecause they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”

25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear itagain? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”

30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they [f]cast him out.

True Vision and True Blindness

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of [g]God?”

36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”

37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”

38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

Footnotes:

John 9:4 NU We

John 9:8 NU a beggar

John 9:9 NU “No, but he is like him.”

John 9:11 NU omits the pool of

John 9:16 observe

John 9:34 Excommunicated him

John 9:35 NU Man

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

Source Biblegateway

[quackspot]

what is love- baby dont hurt me- DONT HURT ME... no more..

under the cut is an essay

                                        Baby Don’t Hurt Me, No more.

Many songs are about love, in Haddaway’s song, it’s asking “What is love?”, so what’s so big about it? What is it? Love is a number of things, explored by us all at one point. It’s in many forms of literature, and it even has it’s own genre! In some movies, people fall in love at first sight, while in others, it takes a while. There’s even two different kinds of love: romantic love, which is obviously the kind with crushes, and platonic love, a friendship kind of love. Even though love is varied in media, it means trust, care, and devotion.

An emotion is one of the things love is. When you feel love, you most likely trust somebody and care about them an extreme amount. When somebody else loves you, they’re most likely trying to hang out with you a lot. This is because, of course, they like being around you. Some people even write literature or songs because they’re in love, which is something i’m quite fond of.  Sometimes even just simply saying “I love you” to a friend can brighten their day, if they’re beaten down by opinions of others, that is. Other than that, a quote from a famous book says “Love is patient and kind…” (The Bible | Corinthians 13:48a). Being patient and kind is a big part in love, as it shows that you care about your partner or friend.

In movies, love is used a lot as a mini-plot, or the main plot in a romantic movie. Though, there are, of course, books that do the same. For example, a book series named Warrior Cats has multiple forbidden loves. Dovewing from ThunderClan and Tigerheart from ShadowClan, Leafpool from ThunderClan and Crowfeather from WindClan, Graystripe from Thunderclan and Silverstream from RiverClan, and Bluestar from ThunderClan and Oakheart from RiverClan are a majority of the known forbidden loves. These are the relationships in which are used to drive the plot further, and add a bit more drama. Moving on from Warrior Cats, the Emoji Movie is all about the phone user, Alex, wanting to date his crush, Addie. This is a proper example of a romantic love, a crush. A few more examples are Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare, Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton from history, and the devotion of John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor from history. The last two show lots of devotion to stick together through it all, as the husbands cheat on their wives. Moving on from names of couples, in the poem “A Man” the author states, “I shall only be able to half hold my love close to me” (Cassian 65). This relates to the topic because this man loves his partner, as they are one of his thoughts of losses.  

Every human shows love differently, but there are things that are definitely not love. Wishing to cause harm to another is something that nobody would want if they actually loved somebody. What if you don’t care about them? You don’t love them, to put it bluntly. If you don’t care if the person you “love” gets hurt, then, as mentioned before, you obviously don’t love them. Love definitely isn’t giving up on your partner or friend at the first problem. Showing devotion is the same as showing care, and both definitely are parts of the description of love. From the same famous book mentioned in the second paragraph, it says “... Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude” (The Bible | Corinthians 13:48a). Here, the Corinthians are saying that love is kind, and should not be used to show off. It relates to this topic because if you love somebody, you won’t just show them off like a prize, as you actually care about them.

To sum it all up, many characters in media show care, trust, and devotion, which is also known as love. It’s an emotion, there are many media examples, and it definitely isn’t using or abusing your friend or partner. Anyways, now you know the answer to a specific Haddaway song.

- me, October 19th, 2017, in an essay for ELA

hOL YFUC K IUSED THE EMOJI MOVIE AND WARRIOR CATS IN THE SAME ESSAY KJHGFCDASXFGHJKLSKJHG AND HAMILTON AH

and the salem witch trials man that’s wild

[pamphletstoinspire]

Saints Hippolytus and Cassian - Feast Day: August 13th - Latin Calendar

Saint Hippolytus (Note: Saint Hippolytus feast day is celebrated in both calendars on this day), an officer of the body-guard of the emperor Decius, had been born in the darkness of idolatry, but he had become a Christian, with all his household, in consequence of witnessing the many miracles which Saint Lawrence performed while in the prison under his charge. He had also been present when the saint, lying on the red-hot iron gridiron, endured the most terrible tortures. At the sight of the heroism of Saint Lawrence, he was filled with the desire to denounce himself a Christian, but he was prevented by Saint Lawrence. But when this martyr had gloriously ended his combat, Hippolytus, with the assistance of a priest, named Justinus, buried the sacred remains with great devotion and veneration. The emperor on being informed of it, had Hippolytus seized and brought before him. He asked him if it was true that he had become a Christian? Hippolytus answered firmly: "Yes, I am a Christian, and moreover resolved to die such." The emperor, who had always highly esteemed him, endeavored, first by promises and then by menaces, to induce him to forsake Christ. As, however, all was unavailing, he caused him to be tortured.

He was accordingly stretched on the ground, whipped with scourges, and beaten with clubs so fearfully, that it was believed he could not survive. But God, by a visible miracle, prolonged his life. Keeping his eyes fixed upon Heaven, he frequently repeated: "I am a Christian, I suffer for Christ’s sake." After having been tormented for a long time, he was cast into prison, and the prefect received the order to behead him. Before executing this order, however, he went to the house of Hippolytus to secure his property. Finding the entire household had become Christians, he took them beyond the gates of the city and had them beheaded. Concordia, an old and holy matron, who had been Hippolytus’ nurse, was scourged until she expired, because she encouraged the others to remain firm in their faith. At last, Hippolytus was taken out of prison and fastened to the tails of two horses, and dragged by them until he was torn to pieces, and his heroic soul was in the presence of Him whom he had so fearlessly confessed.

On the same day, though at another place, Saint Cassian suffered a martyrdom of unprecedented cruelty. This saint, was bishop of Brescia, but had been banished from his See on account of his faith. He intended to go to Rome and offer his services for the salvation of souls in some other place. On the way, he changed his mind, and taking up his residence at Imola, a town in Italy, he resolved to teach children to read and write, hoping that occasion would not be wanting to do good. In this apparently humble position, he was no less zealous than he had been in the administration of his diocese. He taught the children with love and gentleness, and endeavored to inspire them with respect for the Christian faith, fear and horror of sin, and love of virtue and piety. He continued in this occupation with great zeal for some years, to the great benefit of young and old, when suddenly a terrible persecution of the Christians arose.

He was one of the first who were taken prisoners. The tyrant commanded him to sacrifice to the gods. The holy bishop and teacher refused, as might have been expected, and tried to convince the judge of his fearful blindness in worshiping dumb idols or making gods of godless men. The tyrant, furious at his arguments, ordered the executioners to strip him of his clothes and tie his hands behind his back, and leave him exposed to the mercy of the children whom he had taken such great pains to teach. The children, who were taught that Cassian was a magician and consequently must die a most painful death, took their sharp iron pencils with which, in those days, they wrote upon their wax tablets, and pierced him with them till the blood ran profusely from his veins. This torture lasted a long time and was extremely painful. The saint, however, never complained of the ingratitude of his pupils, nor gave a sign of impatience, but praised and thanked the Lord until his soul went to Heaven to receive the crown of martyrdom.

Saint Hippolytus turned his eyes to Heaven during his martyrdom. Many holy martyrs, in their sufferings, and many saints, in their sickness and adversity, did the same. They desired to show by it, that they bore their pains for the love of God. They also recalled to mind the recompense which they hoped to receive for their sufferings, and were encouraged by this remembrance. Do we do the same in all our sorrows, cares and afflictions, and show, by it, that we will bear all for the love of God? No labor, no pain, no care will be too hard for us to bear, nor last longer than we can endure, if we raise our eyes to Heaven, especially if we consider that our labor, our cares, and our pains are very short in comparison to the eternal rest.

Saint Cassius especially endeavored to impress three moral points upon the minds of his pupils: esteem for the true faith, horror for sin, and love of virtue and piety. Whoever esteems the true faith has a priceless grace from the Almighty because He has granted you that faith without which there is no salvation. Fear and abhor sin more than any other evil: for, it can do you more harm than any other. Sin alone can make you eternally unhappy. Love virtue and piety: for "godliness is," according to the Apostle, "profitable to all things (1 Timothy iv)."

Without virtue we cannot go to Heaven. "Vainly does he desire to obtain the heavenly glories, who is not adorned with virtue. Virtue is the road to glory. Through virtue we attain eternal honor and joy" writes Saint Bernard.

Image is of Saint Cassian