#cassius au bellona death

[realmariesplatoon]

“I hurt all over” GODDDDDDDDDDDDD

i think this is the first time in a while, maybe since red rising, that darrow has this much of a physical reaction to someone’s death. as far as i can remember the last time he got to actually mourn someone he lost was in morning star with ragnar (and roque i guess but i hate that guy), and even then he had to move on almost immediately as he unfortunately does with most everyone else he loses.

he also holds it together most of the time, and this is a situation where you’d expect him to steel himself even more. he’s unarmed, without men or armor in the rim before a moon lord court, and his only somewhat assured ally is diomedes (whom he can’t fully rely on considering his other allegiances).

he’s in an extremely vulnerable position, especially so with the revelation that lysander won’t be following through on their initial deal and outright tells everyone there that he’s going to destroy the garter, which will in turn destroy the rim. this is the most inopportune moment to lose his composure, but he does. for once, he cries. he all but completely breaks down, because cassius is dead.

and then when he sees sevro again for the first time afterwards, he’s been under io in a bunker for weeks. but he barely gets a word out to sevro before he completely breaks down into sobs again. i think this is also the most frantic his internal monologue gets in the wake of a friend’s death. it’s so unrestrained, so panicked and mournful. it feels so raw and regretful and just ughhrhrhrhhhggg i hate it here omg. LYSANDER WHEN I GET MY FUCKIGN HANDS ON YOU

bro i just got here FREE MY BOY

[vesperpharsalius]

I read the quote you posted from golden son and I didn’t immediately read the tags so I was going crazy because I remembered the scene differently, but since I have only read GS translated in my language I thought it was a translation change. But now I feel dumb because what are the RR snippets I need more of whatever that was because that was beautiful, the lancelot part got me screaming crying and throwing up. please help😭

Thanks for the ask!

My copy of Red Rising (which is just a standard American mass–market paperback I bought back in 2016) has a teaser for Golden Son at the end, excerpts from Ch. 11–12, which cover the Gala.

It is mostly consistent with the corresponding parts of GS, with less dialogue and detail and overall polishing than the actual book, but there’s the occasional thing that got cut or changed in the final version. Strangely, the teaser at the end of my GS is identical to its corresponding scene in Morning Star—it’s the prologue—so I’m not sure whether this was deliberate.

Here’s the official version of THAT scene:

He of the bloodydamn golden curls is with the girl who nursed me to health in the winter, who helped me remember Eo's dream. His hand on her waist. His lips whispering into her ear. As surely as Cassius au Bellona put a sword in my stomach, he now sticks a dagger in my heart. His hair thick and lustrous. His chin cleft, hands steady. Shoulders powerful, made for war. Face made for the hearts of court. And he wears the rising sun of the Morning Knight. The rumors are true. It rips through the party. The Sovereign has made him one of the twelve. Despite the fact that I won the Institute, he's risen higher, tearing through the Dueling Circuit on Luna like an ancestor possessed. I've watched him on the HC, watched him stalk around the Bleeding Place as another Gold lies near death. But here, now, he dazzles, charms. Face split with a white smile. In his Golden body he has all I have and more. He is faster on his feet than I. As tall. More handsome. Wealthier. He has a better laugh and people think him kinder. Yet he has none of my burdens.

And this is the teaser from RR:

He of the bloodydamn golden curls is with the girl who nursed me to health in the winter, who helped me remember Eo's dream. His hand on her waist. His lips whispering into her ear. As surely Cassius au Bellona put a sword in my stomach, he now sticks a dagger in my heart. His hair thick and lustrous. His chin cleft. His hands steady. Form powerful. Shoulders made for war. Face made for the women of court. And he wears a crown badge. The Sovereign has taken him for one of her lancers. Despite the fact that I won at the Institute, he's risen higher, tearing through the Dueling Circuit on Luna like an ancestor possessed. I've watched him on the HC, watched him stalk around the Bleeding Place as another Gold lies near death. He stalks like a famished beast as if one life cannot sate the hunger that roils inside him. Here, now, he dazzles, charms. Face split with a white smile, he is the man fit for stories of romance, a Lancelot galloping from myth to steal a woman who could have been, but never was, my Guinevere. His is a charmed birth. He has all I have in his Golden body and more. He is faster on his feet than I. As tall. He is more handsome. Wealthier. A golden knight. He has a better laugh and people think him kinder. He does not have my burdens.

As you can see, the final version is a little more eloquent and better–worded. The teaser is rawer and a little clumsier. But… whoever cut the Lancelot and insatiable beast bits out should go to Deepgrave, fr, because they’re just 🤌🏽

With the exception of THAT scene, the differences are minor, the Final Cut being obviously superior and often opulent by comparison. Still, there are some notable omissions that didn’t make it, like:

A brief but important conversation between Darrow and Karnus (where he guzzles like, four glasses of wine in less than a minute; Eagle Rest needs an AA chapter, apparently) about butter, in which they establish that A) Lunese food has too much butter and not enough salt and that B) butter is disgusting and makes them feel like pigs.

Karnus also mentions that Julian loved butter so much he ate it by the stick, alone. Wtf, Julian.

Darrow also remarks at one point that A) Martians pride punctuality and always arrive on time, that B) Venusians disdain it and are always fashionably late, and that C) Lunese either come first or last, to keep people guessing and mess with their heads, ofc.

(I like to imagine the Raa being equally punctual and Dido coming to dinner two hours late wearing a diaphanous dress and body glitter, getting criminally offensive side–eye.)

Secret canon facts! Reblog for Lancelot Cassius and Carny Julian.

[sonsofichor]

The Mark of Wolves - Red Rising fic

Synopsis

All my people sing of are memories. And so I will remember this death. It will burden me as it does not burden my fellow students—I must not let that change. I must not become like them. I’ll remember that every sin, every death, every sacrifice, is for freedom.

But Darrow forgets. He forgets everything. Red, Gold, the mines, the Sons of Ares, his mission, his family, his purpose, his dreams, his past. Eo. So what does Darrow become?

Drabble I: Darrow

He tells me his name is Cassius. Cassius au Bellona.

“Cassius,” I repeat, hoping that at least the taste of his name would bring me some familiarity. It doesn’t.

“Do you remember me?”

I study him—his golden curls, his shining eyes, the cleft in his chin. He’s a boy on the cusp of adulthood, a young man of infinite beauty. He’s not someone you can easily forget. And yet, the sight of him sparks nothing. “Should I?”

He flinches. I didn’t mean to hurt him. You shouldn’t hurt young, beautiful things. He waves away my hesitant apology and calls me Darrow. Darrow au Andromedus. It leaves me indifferent.

I sit cross-legged with my back against the wall. Cassius mirrors my position across from me, and next to him is a slight long-haired boy who’s kept silent until now. He leans forward. “I’m Roque au Fabii,” he says and when that, too, gets nothing from my side, he asks, “What about your family? Your parents? Your home?”

I frown in concentration.

Cassius perks up. “You’re from Yorkton. Your mother’s name was Lexus, I believe.”

I shrug.

"And your father... Your father's name, I mean..." Trailing off, he turns to Roque for help, but all Roque does is shake his head. It’s clear none here knows me all that well.

Roque sighs, “It seems you’ve lost your memories.”

I feel lost.

I woke up surrounded by forgotten faces and with no idea who I am or who I’m supposed to be. Questions tumble through my brain, the next one louder than the one before.

They try to explain the situation succinctly.

It’s our third day at the Institute on Mars,

So, I’m trapped in the savage wilderness, where society has been reduced to young Golds giving in to their primal instincts, and I don't even know what Gold is supposed to mean.

“I do wonder sometimes,” Roque begins after Cassius has recovered, “as to the purpose of all this. How can this be the most efficient method of testing our merit, of making us into beings who can rule the Society?”

“And do you ever come to a conclusion?” Cassius asks.

“They have us here because this valley was humanity before Gold ruled. Fractured. Disunited even in our very own tribe. They want us to go through the process that our forefathers went through. Step by step, this game will evolve to teach us new lessons. Hierarchies within the game will develop. We’ll have Reds, Golds, Coppers.”

“Pinks?” Cassius asks hopefully.

“I … don’t know about Pinks,” Roque says. The idea of a Gold being a Pink offends him. I don’t know enough to form an opinion. “But … the rest is simple. This is a microcosm of the Solar System.”

Roque notices my blank look. “Darrow… do you know what the Society is? The colors?”

I shake my head. “What’s a Pink?”

Roque snorts.

Cassius buries his face in his hands.

…

Roque is finishing his summary of  the Red class when he’s interrupted by two pairs of voices and pounding feet. The girls have returned.

“Has he woken up?” is the first question the shorter girl asks as she steps through the doorway.

The lean, long-limbed girl that follows closely behind her, whistles. “Wow, that looks gorydamn nasty!”

She means the wound on the side of my head—a horizontal, freshly stitched and swollen scar. Nine stitches. Cassius is in the middle of cleaning it with salt water.

I stare at them, suddenly conscious of the fact that I’m wearing nothing but my underwear under the light blanket. Cassius said they’d washed them and hung them to dry in the sun outside.

"What?" asks the lean girl.

"What?" I say.

"What?" she repeats.

Cassius lifts his eyes to heaven. "Great ancestors, spare me."

"He doesn't remember you, Quinn. Or anyone, for that matter." Roque clears his throat. “We believe he suffers from amnesia.”

“Believe?” Cassius gives a harsh laugh. “He doesn’t recall his mother from Jove. It’s a fact, my goodman.”

Quinn gapes. "Nothing?"

"Not a gorydamn truth," Cassius says. I admire how his hands stay steady and gentle despite his heated tone. "We just had to explain to him what the Society is."

Quinn gapes some more.

The short-haired girl brings me a cup of water. “Little sips,” she advises, smiling kindly. She introduces herself as Lea.

“We were deciding who was right to lead us. The discussion quickly devolved into . Titus waited until we had our backs turned.” He nearly growls. “The coward.”

“What happened exactly,” I ask him, “Cassius?” But he remains tight-lipped, the anger obvious in the way he works his jaw. He finishes putting the bandages in place, squeezes the back of my neck and leaves the room. 

We stare after him.

“Did I do something?”

Lea shakes her head. “You should eat your berries, Darrow. You need the energy.” 

After some hesitation, I fall upon them. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.

Quinn takes over. “We were leaving. Titus grabbed the standard and attacked. Caught you—” she points at my temple, the wet spot underneath the bandages, “Right there.”

“I saw it all happen. Titus was aiming for Cassius,” sweet-featured Lea adds, “You saved him, Darrow. You pushed him out of the way, left yourself open. That’s how Titus got you.” She shivers. “Your blood splattered all over us. It was everywhere. We thought you’d died.”

“It was chaos,” Quinn agrees, her gaze faraway. “We fought like hell. Cassius threw himself at Titus with a roar. I grabbed a chair and started swinging at anyone who came close. Got Vixu-something in the chest. He was down for the count after that. Lea did the maddest thing. She hit and bit Titus’s hand until he dropped the banner.” She laughs when Lea blushes. “By then, you’d recovered enough for us to retreat. Roque knew a shortcut through the empty stables. Cassius’d left Titus’s face a gory mess and we covered our retreat.”

“I can’t believe I forgot the standard,” Lea groans, hiding her face in her hands. 

“At least you remembered to grab us some grub instead. I carried that chair out of the gorydamn castle!”

They devolve into giggles.

Roque finishes quietly. “You passed out after a mile. Cassius carried you the rest of the way here. You were unconscious for twenty-seven hours. The rest is history.”

It’s strange how that sentence is true, especially for me. My history boils down to the past hours spent in their company. Anything before that is an empty void.

Cassius walks back in and throws a pile of damp black and gold fatigues on my lap. He seems in an even worse mood than before, although none of his ire is directed at us. “Darrow, get ready, my goodman. Proctor Mars wants a word with you.”

[msunitedstatesjames]

I finally finished Light Bringer. Here's my thoughts (obviously, spoilers incoming):

-First and formost, RIP to the king of my heart, Cassius Bellona. The worst part about his death is that you know it's coming the whole book. You don't take a character like him, a former enemy, give him a solid redemption arc, make him the most ABSURDLY likeable character and source of all humor in the book, and then not kill him off. But still, I held out a tiny bit of hope. I really dreaded getting to the end of this book just because I knew it would be coming. But, you had to respect the way he went out at least. Dude's gonna be legend if that counts for anything.

-So, The Abomination was WORRYINGLY absent from this book, aside from a couple of mentions and that (maybe) he's Virginia's mysterious source of intel? Like, everyone is worried about how Atalantia is sitting around building up her power while everyone else is duking it out, but what about the Abomination? I know he's not anybody's most immediate threat in this book, but is anybody else extremely worried about what he's going to get up to in Red God?

-I was happy with the Virginia chapters we did get, but I hope she gets more time in Red God. Also, same to Victra. She was awesome in this book, as always, but like, I want to see you do even more destroying, girl. We love you. I also missed Electra.

-The Bromance in this book was next level, even by the standards previously set in this series. I loved having a little break from the relentless battles and death in Dark Age, to just get the dudes (and Lyria) hanging out and trying to work out their differences. This also helped get back some of the old humor I missed from earlier in the series.

-This was Lyria at her best in my opinion. She was great. I only wish we got to see more Lyria and Cassius because they were just so heart warming.

-Sevro is back! I loved getting to see the old Sevro make his triumphant return for the last third of the book or so. Sevro walking up to Gaia au Raa and just going, "shut up, crone," really made my day.

-Lysander has killed my favorite character of the book two books in a row now. And both times with a gun. I love how this dude talks about how he's secretly really good with a razor, but every time he's confronted with someone who's actually good at using one he just shoots them point blank. I know I've said this before, but seriously guys, fuck Lysander. I mean, even Atalantia is becoming more likeable than him. She may be an evil, power hungry tyrant, but at least she's pretty much honest about it. Everyone knows she's the worst and she barely bothers to pretend otherwise.

-Admittedly, it's been a few years since I've read the other books in the series, but this might be my favorite of the bunch. Pierce Brown really hit every emotional note and character perfectly in this one, and it felt a lot more balanced compared to the (necessary) bleakness of Dark Age.

[cassius-erosennin]

characters im expecting to be Something in red god:

- pythia definitely knows more than lysander thinks she knows;

- i still see a role for gaia & grecca to play;

- julia au bellona will not take the death of cassius lightly, and i don’t think lysander’s little fable will be enough to fool her;

- kyber and screwface give me weird vibes, on opposite sides of the fight. idk.

- who i believe to be lyria’s brothers (the snippers in DA and the reds who would not move when darrow is boarding the spaceship in the beginning of LB) are more than meets the eye

- pierce brown give me rhonna back or we riot (bet she’s raising hell in mercury — shes in mercury right? my memory fails me)

- any more thoughts?

[vesperpharsalius]

As surely as Cassius au Bellona put a sword in my stomach, he now sticks a dagger in my heart.

His hair thick and lustrous. His chin cleft. His hands steady. Form powerful. Shoulders made for war. Face made for the women of court. I've watched him on the HC, watched him stalk around the Bleeding Place as another Gold lies near death, like a famished beast as if one life cannot sate the hunger that roils inside him.

Here, now, he dazzles, charms. Face split with a white smile, he is the man fit for stories of romance, a Lancelot galloping from myth to steal a woman who could have been, but never was, my Guinevere. His is a charmed birth. He has all I have in his Golden body and more. He is faster on his feet than I. As tall. He is more handsome. Wealthier. A golden knight.

Ah, yes. Heterosexual Thoughts™️ of my hated rival.

Darrow: ugh I hate Cassius and his golden curls and his broad shoulders and his perfect smile and… what was I saying again

Mustang: … you hate Cassius

Darrow: UGH yeah I hate that guy

[kavinskhhy]

@fandomaestheticnet >> halloween event

Reaper

/ˈriːpə/

noun

a person or machine that harvests a crop.

[based on Red Rising by Pierce Brown]

[385bookreviews]

1.3.1 Red Rising by Pierce Brown

SPOILERS

Pages: 382

Read Time: 9 hours and 48 minutes

Overall Rating: 4.5★ Storyline: 4★ Dialogue: 5★ Characters: 5★

Genre: Adult Science Fiction

TWs for the book: Mentions of r*pe, violence, death, murder, blood, war, slavery, torture, animal death, injury, execution, grief, classism, SA, cannibalism, cursing, bullying, sexism, colonization, genocide, su*c*de, kidnapping, abuse, racism, ableism, alcoholism, vomit, drug use, confinement, self harm, police brutality, medical trauma, fire, dysphoria, betrayal

POV: First person from Darrow

Time Period/Location: A future of genetically enhanced and segregated humans on the planet Mars

First Line: I would have lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war.

Darrow is a miner under the surface of the planet Mars. He is a Red, the lowest of the color sorted caste system that now governs this interplanetary society; Browns, the servants; Obsidians, the inhuman brute soldiers; and Pinks, the sex slaves; are above them. After that comes the Grays, similar to cops. After them are Blues, ship navigators; Yellow, doctors; Greens, engineers; Violets, entertainers; Oranges, mechanics. Above them are Silvers, who handle money; Whites, who handle justice and are almost religious figures; and Coppers, who are bureaucrats. At the top of the pyramid, are the Golds. They are superhuman in physicality and intelligence. The Reds under the surface however, think they work to terraform Mars so that others may inhabit the surface. But it is merely a lie to keep them in check, as the surface is already terraformed. Darrow and his wife Eo sneak into the Grays’ garden and are publicly flogged for the crime. But Eo, in the presence of the ArchGovernor of Mars and as an act of rebellion, sings the forbidden and illegal song. They hang her for it. Darrow buries her body, which is also illegal, and he too is hung. But instead of death, he wakes in the custody of the Sons of Ares, a Red rebellion group. They take him to a Violet carver, and he is made genetically into a Gold. He is trained in all things of the Gold and the Society, and is sent to The Institute, a school for Golds to rise high in the Society and become Knights, Imperators, Governors, Praetors, etc. There he meets two brothers, Cassius and Julian au Bellona. They were all separated into Houses based off of the Roman gods, Mars, Ceres, Diana, Minerva, Neptune, Bacchus, Juno, Vulcan, Apollo, and Pluto. Darrow, Cassius, Julian, and others are chosen for House Mars. But very quickly, 500 of the higher ranked students are pitted against 500 of the lower ranked ones, to pick off the weaklings. Darrow reluctantly kills Julian, and allows Cassius to think it was someone else. Their House is quickly torn apart, as Cassius, Darrow, Roque, Lea, Quinn, and others form a tribe, a snotty girl named Antonia forms her own tribe, and a big brute named Titus takes control of the main castle. Sevro, the 100th pick of the House who is immensely shorter than everyone else and often referred to as Goblin, goes off on his own and joins a pack of wolves. Titus begins SAing girls in the castle, slaves from House Ceres, and even other girls in House Mars, and cuts off Quinn’s ear. Cassius, Darrow, Roque, Antonia, and Sevro, with the unwitting help from Virginia (Mustang) from House Minerva, take back the castle and overthrow Titus. Darrow installs himself as leader, and, upon finding out that Titus is another Red who had been carved like him, allows Cassius to kill him, as Darrow allowed him to think that Titus killed Julian. With Darrow now in charge, he captures House Minerva and House Diana in one fell swoop, earning the nickname the Reaper because of the slingBlade (scythe) that he carries. However, Antonia plots against him and, using Lea and Roque as bait, she lures Darrow into a trap to kill him, bribed by the Jackal, the menace of House Pluto killing in the south. Lea is killed during this attempt on Darrow’s life, and Roque goes missing. Fitchner, the Proctor of House Mars, reveals that the Jackal is the ArchGovenor’s son. The next night, Cassius leads Darrow out of bed, far from the castle, and reveals that the Jackal sent him a video of Darrow killing Julian. They duel, and Cassius stabs him through the stomach and leaves him for dead. But he is rescued and nursed back to health by Mustang, as he had let her escape from the siege of House Minerva. She nurses him back to health, and, when she falls ill, he goes in search of medicine. He comes across Fitchner again, and he explains that the game is rigged in favor of the Jackal, as the ArchGovernor bribed and threatened them all. He demands medicine from Fitchner, and also learns the main people supporting the rigging of the game are Proctors Apollo and Jupiter. Upon returning to Mustang, he formulates a plan. Soon, he has a small army of people he enslaved and then freed. They take House Ceres, and then House Apollo. Fitchner comes to him to warn him to stop, but Darrow imprisons him in the bottom of the fortress and steals his gravBoots, armor, weapons. They march toward House Jupiter, and take it quickly. It is surrendered by a small boy named Lucien, and Darrow pulls the ruse on him that he trusts him and that his army is drunk after they take the castle. But when Darrow suddenly stabs him through the hand, it is revealed that he is actually Adrius au Augustus, the Jackal. Darrow gives him the choice of surrendering and becoming a slave, or sawing off his own hand to escape. Adrius chooses the latter option, and then attempts to kill Darrow, but Pax, one of his closest warriors and a former member of House Minerva, sacrifices himself for him. He runs away, pursued by  Sevro, his Howlers, and Darrow, but escapes with the aid of Proctors Apollo and Venus. Apollo attempts to kill Darrow, but Darrow kills him first, not before Apollo reveals that the Proctors have captured Mustang, who Darrow is now in love with. He storms Olympus, the floating mountain above the arena where the Proctors live. He captures them all and frees Mustang, revealing his feelings by kissing her. He then sends her to deal with the Jackal, who is now attacking House Mars. He frees Fitchner, who then reveals that Mustang is actually Adrius’ twin sister. Fearing a betrayal, he quickly takes back House Mars and it is revealed that Roque is alive. Cassius, the head of the house in Darrow’s absence, surrenders to him, but not before spitting blood in his face and declaring a blood feud over the death of his brother. Darrow meets with Mustang, expecting a betrayal, but she just delivers Adrius to him, naked and bound. And just like that, he has graduated from the Institute at the highest level. Shockingly, on the spot, he is offered an apprenticeship by the ArchGovernor himself. He agrees, and therefore infiltrates his enemy’s household as a sworn sword of House Augustus.

Darrow O’Lykos (Darrow au Andromedus; The Reaper): Darrow is an immensely noble character. His constant battle with his self identity and his own rage and need for revenge against his greater mission makes him a very compelling main character. The love he expresses for Eo before, during, and after her death is heartbreaking, and you really get an understanding for how immensely intelligent this character is. He is capable of change, unlike a lot of the Golds we encounter. 

Cassius au Bellona: Cassius is a likable character at first, but you quickly notice all of his flaws. While Darrow is in the wrong for lying about Julian’s death, it was a strategic play, and Cassius seriously goes off the deep end after discovering this. He is too emotional, and based off the love they first expressed for one another (calling each other brothers), it is a compelling friends to enemies trope. 

Adrius au Augustus (the Jackal): Adrius carries a mystique about him as you don’t see him until near the end of the book. He is talked about frequently though, rumors (all true) of him sacrificing members of his own house, killing indiscriminately, cannibalizing for food, make him a terrifying and intimidating figure. This makes it an even larger plot twist to realize that he is just a small boy, and an even larger one when he saws his own hand off before Darrow’s eyes and kills the most unkillable character in the book. 

Storyline: The world building for this book is beyond phenomenal. They have their own ways of speaking and culture in each color, and amongst the Golds, they have two different ways of speaking, midLingo and highLingo. There are Bronzies, golds who don’t achieve much, and Pixies, who also don’t achieve anything but being young and beautiful and weak. There are highReds, who live on the surface of Mars as the most basic sanitation workers, and the lowReds, who are enslaved under the surface as miners. The Violets and Pinks that they own are all inhuman in appearance, genetically modified with extra fingers, wings, etc. There are people stretched across the Solar System, from Mercury to Pluto. The intricacies of this Society Pierce Brown created is only just touched on but already reveals so much. The plot twists are impeccable, and, even though this was my second time reading, I was still on the edge of my seat. From Eo’s death, to the revealing of Mars already being terraformed, to Julian being Darrow’s first kill, to Cassius and Darrow’s falling out, to Adrius’ revelation of being in House Jupiter the entire time, to Mustang being revealed as his twin sister. It was a raw, well thought out, emotional, intricate, book.

Representation: As far as representation goes, there wasn’t a ton. There are heavy undertones of racism, classism, police brutality, and misogyny. Matteo, a Pink who helps train Darrow in the ways of the society before he is sent to the Institute, makes mention of having been with men before. Tactus au Valii-Rath, while not mentioned explicitly in the book, is of Afro-Turkish decent. Darrow and Cassius’ relationship is somewhat homoerotic in nature. 

Summary: This is one of my favorite book series of all time. Worldbuilding? Immaculate. Characters? Immaculate. Plot? Immaculate. The only thing it’s iffy on in the first book is representation, but for a sci-fi novel published in 2014 written by a presumably cishet white man, it’s pretty damn ok. 

Quotes:  “Man cannot be freed by the same injustice that enslaved it.” “Funny thing, watching gods realize they’ve been mortal all along.”

[wisowind-writing]

Okay so like my ocs right, they're a trio of sisters, triplets if you can call, clones grown together triplets, of which only two make it to the academy on Mars. The 'oldest' having been assassinated four years prior, age twelve.

Their "Mother", Acera au Belladona, or more accurately their donor, since the woman who provided the genetic template for experimentation can hardly be considered a mother works for The Board of Quality Control. The sisters, project name FATES (First Aureate Time Eclipsing Systems) the first experiment on making psychic Gold children, in the interest of Gold's perpetual controlled evolution and dominance over all other races.

The oldest sister, Nona, named after the fate who spins the thread of life, nickname Nonni, is a protegee, able to predict not only an ever changing future with extreme accuracy but also able to accommodate for how the variables of how sharing her pre-knowledge of the future will change the future, able to predict even those new actions and how they will shape time.

At five years old, after showing a remarkable talent for years, she negotiates the adoption of her and her sisters into their 'mother's' family, as her daughters. They live the next seven years as Golds from a well off family, but never treated as fully Gold. They are regarded as anything from abominations to simply experiments but rarely as people or children by the other families. The sisters have few friends who remain past them revealing who they are, one of those few exceptions being Julian au Bellona and later, as they grow into teenagers, Cassius au Belladona.

When they are ten years old, Nonni tells her youngest sister of her approaching dead and makes her promise that she will do what she is told and not intervene, that if she intervenes then all three of them will die. Two years later, at age twelve, despite all the forces and protections in places, assassins break through and the first of the fates dies to save her sisters.

Decuma, nicknamed Deci, is the middle child, named after the spinner who measured the thread of life. Compared to her older sister, her powers of prediction were unremarkable, yet compared to her younger sister they were something to be envied. Her ability to predict major events is good for a month to a year, though what is considered a major event is based on her age. She has trouble managing the variables that are brought about by acting on foreknowledge. Her powers gain potency after her older sister's death, granting her reprieve from any more invasive experimentation.

Morta, nicknamed Mori and named after the fate who cuts the life threads of life, is the youngest. She is the least psychically capable of her sisters but the only one to be physically healthy. In fact, she finds herself physically adept and preternaturally good at dueling and close combat, anything where a few seconds make all the difference.

Morta is the main character and the only one of her sisters to survive the academy after Decuma dies to save Pax.

[shyanonimousunicorn]

Why the Bellona house is better than Augustus.

First disclaimers: I love the Augustans. Adrius is my all time fave villian. How great Mustang is, simply can’t be described. And Nero is one imposing ass dude.  However speaking of connections and love between the family members and even number of actual normal human beings, the Augustus family can’t really step on the Bellona. ( and Mustang can’t carry the whole house on her back) Lets look at the proud Lions for a second so i can make comparisons. Nero may be the most powerful man on Mars however his love is the most conditional love ive seen in a parent. And considering the fact he made his brilliant son a monster and drove his wife to suicide, he is a man you wouldn’t want as a husband or father. Adrius despite being one of my faves in The Red Rising series, is beyond doubt a monster, as a male ( since Nero was obviously so very set on having a male heir) he was supposed to be perfect in ways he wasn’t and he tried and succeeded in becoming more ruthless, more power hungry, more monstrous, merciless and vicious than his father at the end.Only Mustang was spaired the same fate, partially to the fact her father didnt have the same expectations from a girl ( yeah Nero was sexist, you can’t deny that) AND because in the end, she had friends like Pax and Daxo and was raised by the Telemanus family ( technically speaking from all the Gold families, The Telemanus are the healthiest Gold house in the books)  Now as I said, Mustang can’t carry the weight of a whole house on her back but you will ask, okay but then Cassius won’t be able to carry his house on his shoulders either, no matter how wide and huge they are. Well, he doesn’t. The Bellona unlike Augustus family have 50 members and Cassius wasn’t the kindest of them all ( despite being good natured and kind hearted), Julian was. Julian was kind, compassionate, gentle and lovelable. We didnt get to see much of Cassius’s twin but we were given a very clear description of who he was as a person, both from Darrow and from Cassius. In fact he was so beloved by his mother ( yes, Julia is very vengeful, spiteful and full of hatred, but then again, ask any mother...no matter the circustances, how would they feel towards a person who killed her child) she is more than willing to abandon any pride, any justice and all honour to have her revenge. But hold there, contrary to Nero’s cold and absolutly terrifing parenting and conditional love, Tiberius au Bellona, leader of House Bellona and father to Cassius, Julian ( and 8 more kids) is honorable, loving father who taught Cassius to be what he is today - basically the knight in shining armour, a man of honor. During the duel at the Gala, Tiberius saw his brightest child being inches away from death and yet he accepted the fact these are the grounds of the duel.BUT WHAT OF KARNUS, the monster you will ask. Firstly, almost every house seems to have them ( except the Telemanus ) Well I am here to say, I see a lot of people like Apple,well Apollonius is not that much different than his best drunking buddy Karnus - violent, monstrous, ruthless, decandent and excessive in his desires, albeit he is more flamboyant and dramatic in his presence. But the fact he was a monster, but he was quite fond of Cassius ( and resentful of Julian) so he too has depth but this post is mostly not about the individuals rather the house manner - The Bellonas are obviously are family family, they support, they love, and stick together. In fact, their connection rings very similar to that of the Raa - Romulus being the honorable father, Dido being the vengeful scheming mother, Diomedes, the favorite son and AN olympic knight ( and we even have an even worse family monster in Atlas’s face). Cassius, who changed and grew a lot over in the years, never stopped loving his family as we saw in IG. I understand a lot of people tend to villify the Bellona family because Darrow was on the side of the Augustans and they targeted him ( and Darrow is ofcourse our beloved hero) but their reaction was a natural one. One of theirs was killed by Darrow and everything was staged by their biggest enemy the Archgovernor. Later their most beloved son was almost killed in a duel by the same man ( and yes Cassius tried to be mean with words but its normal to taunt the enemy and try to make him less concentrated, after all Darrow - for the drama - yelled at Tiberius face and tried to rile up the Bellona even more to start a civil war, this doesnt make Cassius a bad man) So the Bellona aren’t worse than the Augustus there. Even Darrow senses it, but he had no other choice but to become their enemy in order to fullfil his mission Thus my verdict is final ( at least for myself, everybody is allowed an opinion) the Bellona were technically a greater and healthier family than the Augustus. Nero would never match Tiberius and even Julia as a parent because their love for their children was genuine and uncondional ( Julian whom by Nero’s standarts would be weak and undeserving of care was beloved by his parents ) p.s @jasmin-au-bellona just cause u love to be informed about everything in regards to Cassius au Bellona, your husband :D

[nerd-in-distress]

Well, let's hope that Pierce loves us enough to bring Cassius back then. Because otherwise I'll be so heartbroken and guilty.

Because during Golden Son/Morning Star era I was JUST A BIT annoyed by him because c'mon Cassius give them a break let the guy breathe. BUT I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO TURN OUT OKAY and thats why cassius calling darrow brother makes me this happy

And idk I think all of them deserves happiness in the end. They've been through so much.

BUT FOR A SECOND CAN WE ALL PLEASE APPRECIATE THE MOMENT WHEN CASSIUS CALLED DARROW “BROTHER” AT THE END OF THE MORNING STAR BECAUSE THAT SCENE FREAKING HAD ME CRYING.

[thehaemanthus]

what kind of person would you see cassius with?

Hello, dearest!

This is a difficult question. I’d like to start by saying that, out of almost all the books I’ve read, the characters in the Red Rising saga have always been the most difficult for me to wrap my head around. Are they just super complex? Am I reading too fast and only paying attention to plot points and thus missing out on character beats? Is there a dearth of fanfiction writers doing the work for me in dissecting characters to their essentials and then plopping them into a coffee shop AU? The world will never know.

Point is, it’s a challenge for me to decide who would be a good romantic partner for Cassius while feeling I don’t have a firm grip on the character. So. Be patient with me.

What does Cassius need? Well, poor guy has had a tough decade. He’s lost a lot. He’s tried to do the right thing, but let’s be honest. He hasn’t really been rewarded for it. not that you should be rewarded for simply doing what is right

I want Cassius to be with someone gentle and simple. Someone who will settle down with him on a farm or equally bucolic home on Mars or Earth, where the couple can live in peace and life. I think he’s had an eventful life and has always been on the path towards power and greatness. In this universe, power and greatness also mean death and pain and conflict. So I think it would be nice if one of the last Bellona could say, “okay, enough. We’re living a simple life of happiness and maybe helping people every so often now”. 

I would like peace for all of our characters, tbh. 

But hmmm....what does Cassius need? I think a fresh start. Someone who has not been involved in the wars for the solar system, or only tangentially so. Someone who he can talk to about his past, who honestly doesn’t care what side he was on or about the acts he did. Someone who only sees a man who tried to do what he thought was good. 

In a world where “good” was defined by who your family is or what Color you are, people can be quick to judge. While Cassius may need forgiveness from some people, I don’t think he should have to find forgiveness or atonement from any romantic partner. Does that kind of make sense? I don’t want baggage from the past to follow him into the future.

Literally anyone else is welcome to hop on here, because clearly I have no idea what Cassius needs.  

[commanderkats]

“He is very dreamy, but he is not the sun. You are.”

In a week time the three of them would be at the Institute, Aurelia understood what this party meant. This was a farewell party just in case they didn’t return. She hated it, everything about it, the Institute, this party, the way Cassius seemed to soak it up. He wasn’t giving up the same thing she was when choosing to go to the Institute, he wasn’t one of the most promising ballerinas, he wasn’t giving up on his dream. This choice hadn’t truly been hers, no this was just another one that her father decided for her. 

For as long as she could remember Aurelia had dreamed of being a ballerina just like her mother and at a young age she showed great talent. Her mother had encouraged it, kindle the fire within her to become better. Then she died and the man her father once was did too. Her mother’s death had broken him worse than it had for her, she still had ballet, had an outlet for her pain. Until her father took that from her. Aurelia had sensed it far before he made the choice, Julian had told her his father was pushing for them to get an invitation. She knew when she saw hers that was what her father had done. 

The room was full of Bellona's men and other important people to them, her father included. It made her sick and she wanted nothing more than to leave but Aurelia knew what would happen if she did. Julian stepped away from his parents and walked over to her, she had grown up with the twins and kept a pretty steady friendship with Julian. Not so much with Cassius.

“Bit stuffy in here wouldn’t you say?” He asked smiling, handing her a drink she hadn’t noticed he was carrying.

“Thank you.” She said smiling back, “And I’d only say its Cassius making it stuffy.” They both laughed glancing at the other twin, his curly gold hair bright in sunlight and Aurelia felt her stomach give that all familiar flutter. 

“You know what Aurelia,” Julian turned, his eyes wide and wonderfilled, “How about you go tell Cassius that?” A wider smile breaking across that wholesome face though all it made her want to do was slap him. “Oh excuse me Aurelia I’m needed by my parents. Drink up I’ll bring another.” He tapped his glass against her own and walked off towards his parents. 

A part of her wanted to love Julian, he was sweet and funny, they both spent far too much time reading and she enjoyed dancing as he read aloud. Yet there was always one thing that stopped that from ever happening and he was walking across the room towards her. Cassius au Bellona was the most breathtaking man she had ever seen, it wasn’t fair how handsome he was, everyone paled next to him. 

His smile bright like sunlight, “How are we tonight Aurelia?” There was always this sureness in his voice, no matter if it was silky or silver there was a certainty in it. She also hated the way it made her feel, especially when he spoke her name. Her body tried to betray her, willing to give itself fully over to him, it had always been like that with Cassius. 

“I’m fine Cassius,” She took a drink, “And how’s yours?” 

His too brilliant gold eyes watched her, “Julian and you seem close.” He tried to make it sound casual, something he could do with the simplest of phrases though this time it seemed to fall short. 

Aurelia raised an eyebrow then shook her head hopelessly, “Ah, Cassius.” Her voice ending in a small chuckle. “There’s nothing going on between Julian and me.” 

“Why not?” He asked, his gold eyes roaming over her. 

“I mean don’t get me wrong,” Aurelia glanced towards Julian, Cassius following suit, “He is very dreamy, but he is not the sun.” She took the chance to look at Cassius without him watching, quickly taking in that old beauty that seemed once chiseled in stone, “You are.”

[unlikely-allies]

4.5/5

***SPOILERS***

It has been ten years since Darrow became the face of a rebellion and war has taken its toll on all sides. Venus and Mercury remain under the control of the Ash Lord and The Society, a cold peace is maintained with the Rim, and the Core’s newly appointed Republic struggles to find solid ground. Darrow is the ArchImperator of the Republic, responsible for leading its troops and finishing the war that began so many years ago. Darrow is not the Politico that his wife is, he is a warrior. When the Republic’s Senate deny him the means to liberate enemy Mercury, Darrow trusts in his tactical knowledge and goes against the Republic’s wishes. When an emissary from the Ash Lord’s forces broaches the topic of meeting for peace talks, the ArchImperator sees through the ruse and proceeds with the battle. Mercury is freed of the Ash Lord’s power, but Darrow’s actions cannot be excused, even by his wife the Sovereign. The Senate wishes to engage in the peace talks with the forces of The Society, and a warrant is issues for Darrow’s arrest. Darrow refuses to be imprisoned while the false peace negotiations result in the Republic’s demise. Instead, he takes a group of Howlers and sets a course for Venus to finally end the war with the Ash Lord once and for all.

After the death of Octavia, Cassius takes Lysander under his wing. Cassius seeks penance for his wrongdoings, and dedicates his time to protecting the merchant ships of the Republic from pirates and other dangers. Lysander and Cassius keeps their identities a secret, leaving their location and overall status a mystery to even the Republic. While responding to a ship’s SOS signal, Cassius and Lysander are captured by ships from the Rim and brought before the Sovereign of the Rim, Romulus au Raa. Cassius and Lysander soon find themselves in the midst of a coup and a power struggle over the Rim. The two must tread lightly given the Raa’s history with both the Lune and Bellona families.

The Rising brought the end to a structured hierarchy and complete Gold rule, but it has left chaos in its wake. Red freed from the mines now find themselves wasting away in Assimilation camps and being slaughtered at the hands of the Red Hand. Conditions in the cities have worsened and criminal groups like the Syndicate are gaining momentum. Dancer’s newest project, the political group the Vox Populi, oppose Mustang’s Optimates at every turn. The sides that were once united in their fight now oppose each other in how to rebuild this new “free” world, and the lowColor and the liberated suffer as a result. The issuing of Darrow’s arrest warrant seems to deplete the already unstable foundation of the Core, leaving them open to an attack from the Syndicate. When Darrow’s son Pax and Electra au Barca are taken as hostages, Mustang realizes that Darrow was wrong about the peace talks, and Darrow knows he must choose between his roles as Reaper and father.

A decade was the perfect amount of time to let pass between the events of Morning Star and Iron Gold. The government has been tried and tested, but continues to struggle. Battles have been fought and won, but the war rages on. The toll of rebuilding a civilization is evident in the demeanor of our heroes, and yet they continue to fight. Darrow, Mustang, Victra, Sevro and the others now have families and some of their priorities have changed, but they have started this upheaval and now they must see it through to make a better world for the next generation. Unlike the first three books of the series, Iron gold is told from the perspectives of Darrow, Lysander, Ephraim, and Lyria. The book contains a lot of moving parts and the various perspectives help to bring the whole story into focus, however they disrupt the flow and momentum of the plot. This makes it feel as thought the first half of the book drags a bit. The changing viewpoints become less distracting as the action picks up in the second half. By the end of the book, the friendships between our heroes and civilization itself is fractured. I can’t wait until Dark Age is released on July 30 to see how/if any reconciliations can be made. As Lorn said, the bill comes at the end. It is simply a matter of when that end comes.

[ao3feed-lotura]

Broken Empires

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/34aczPt

by violethowler

There are infinite realities in existence. Each different by degrees from what we would consider the “main” reality. Some diverge in only minor details, while in others, the universe veered on a drastically different course. In most, Lotor is eventually rescued from the Rift, healed by the princess he loves before they defeat the witch together and restore peace to the universe. In some, he dies in the Quintessence Field, his rotting corpse melted to the pilot’s seat. In fewer still, circumstances align so that he’s never left in the Rift to begin with, and the chaos that followed his defeat was avoided. And in a rare handful of realities, his warping in and out of the Quintessence field creates tears in the fabric of the multiverse. And after Voltron leaves him in the Rift, he falls out into another universe before they seal up the tears with the destruction of the Castle of Lions. This is one of those realities.

Words: 1215, Chapters: 1/100, Language: English

Fandoms: Red Rising Series - Pierce Brown, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Characters: Lotor (Voltron), Darrow au Andromedus, Lysander au Lune, Lyria O'Lagalos, Virginia au Augustus | Mustang

Relationships: Lotor (Voltron) & Cassius au Bellona, Cassius au Bellona/Horatius au Savag | Screwface, Darrow au Andromedus/Virginia au Augustus | Mustang, Clown (Red Rising)/Pebble (Red Rising), Matteo/Regulus ag Sun | Quicksilver, Kavax au Telemanus/Niobe au Telemanus, Lyria O'Lagalos/Volga Fjorgan, Sevro au Barca | Goblin/Victra au Julii, Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Lysander au Luna/Atalantia au Grimmus, Atalantia au Grimmus/Ajax au Grimmus

Additional Tags: Dark Age Spoilers, Post-Dark Age, POV Multiple, Season/Series 06 Spoilers, Post-Season/Series 06, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not Canon Compliant - Voltron Season 8, Unhealthy Relationships, Aunt/Nephew Incest, Grimmuscest, Marriage of Convenience, Extremely Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Aftermath of Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, War, Threats of Violence, Politics, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Canon Bisexual Character

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/34aczPt

[ao3feed-voltronlegendarydefender]

Broken Empires

read it on the AO3 at Broken Empires

by violethowler

There are infinite realities in existence. Each different by degrees from what we would consider the “main” reality. Some diverge in only minor details, while in others, the universe veered on a drastically different course. In most, Lotor is eventually rescued from the Rift, healed by the princess he loves before they defeat the witch together and restore peace to the universe. In some, he dies in the Quintessence Field, his rotting corpse melted to the pilot’s seat. In fewer still, circumstances align so that he’s never left in the Rift to begin with, and the chaos that followed his defeat was avoided. And in a rare handful of realities, his warping in and out of the Quintessence field creates tears in the fabric of the multiverse. And after Voltron leaves him in the Rift, he falls out into another universe before they seal up the tears with the destruction of the Castle of Lions. This is one of those realities.

Words: 1215, Chapters: 1/100, Language: English

Fandoms: Red Rising Series - Pierce Brown, Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Characters: Lotor (Voltron), Darrow au Andromedus, Lysander au Lune, Lyria O'Lagalos, Virginia au Augustus | Mustang

Relationships: Lotor (Voltron) & Cassius au Bellona, Cassius au Bellona/Horatius au Savag | Screwface, Darrow au Andromedus/Virginia au Augustus | Mustang, Clown (Red Rising)/Pebble (Red Rising), Matteo/Regulus ag Sun | Quicksilver, Kavax au Telemanus/Niobe au Telemanus, Lyria O'Lagalos/Volga Fjorgan, Sevro au Barca | Goblin/Victra au Julii, Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Lysander au Luna/Atalantia au Grimmus, Atalantia au Grimmus/Ajax au Grimmus

Additional Tags: Dark Age Spoilers, Post-Dark Age, POV Multiple, Season/Series 06 Spoilers, Post-Season/Series 06, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not Canon Compliant - Voltron Season 8, Unhealthy Relationships, Aunt/Nephew Incest, Grimmuscest, Marriage of Convenience, Extremely Dubious Consent, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Aftermath of Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, War, Threats of Violence, Politics

read it on the AO3 at Broken Empires