#pro bastards

[danyseastar]

“He’s always angry, but we haven’t done anything.”

“…but I have a crooked finger, just like Mama!”

“We were born here. Mama is our mother.”

“I do not wish to be different.” “Nor do I.”

“So let us be good sons and please those who love us, so they may forget what we lack.”

I’m never going to recover from this. Once again scenes were removed that would add to both boys characterizations, and we all know why. The scenes would make the audience realize how Aemond’s ‘I’m being bullied for not having a dragon :( I’m the real victim!’ storyline so fallible and easy to shatter in universe because it’s a completely normal occurrence for Targaryen’s. Aemond is not the first child to not have a dragon by the age of ten, the original conqueror’s, Baelon, Alyssa, Rhaenys, Laena, Viserys, Daemon, Aegon II, Helaena, etc. all claimed young or fully grown dragons somewhere between the ages of 11-18.

The only character that had the potential to be marketed as his biggest bully is his brother. They’re never going to convince me (and many others) that it was Rhaenyra’s sons who would ever go after another child for their lack of a dragon, especially given that they were almost surely taught that hatching a cradle egg is but one way for a Targaryen to have a dragon. Aemond felt lesser than his nephews due to the way Alicent was parenting him. She led him to believe that his nephews were bastards, that due to their blood they were beneath him, and this is what led to his inferiority complex. It makes more sense than the crock of shit the show runners decided to include in the show.

Rhaenyra and her sons were subjected to actual abuse and bigotry over the timeskip due to their gender and their blood, respectively. It very much makes me sick how they’re being treated by not only the show runners, but a decent portion of the audience as well. Bastardphobia is not cool or edgy. Looking down on someone because their parents weren’t married is vile. It falls into the same category as believing in blood supremacy. It’s 2024. Do better.

Jace and Luke will forever be Mama’s boys and are never beating the best brothers/sons allegations.

</3

[soyboywenzie]

“Rhaenyra’s sons are bastards and they can’t have the throne because of that and neither can she because she birthed them.”

have…have any of you actually watched this series? Have you not read the books to this series that yall swear you know everything about?

whether or not yall like to admit it, Rhaenyra did her duty by giving her house heirs, and those heirs ,till this day, are still known as Targaryens and Velaryons.

Laenor said they were his, Corlys said the same and so did Viserys. The main people who needed to say something did, and you all simply do not like it. They hatched dragon eggs in their cradles, something only their Mother (Rhaenyra) and Father (Laenor) were able to do.

Considering that specific thing, no one really cared because they did something Alicent’s children couldn’t do which made them shine with legitimacy.

“but…but… no one would side with them…”

did we forget that a whole rebellion that did not end until 10-20(?) years before Dany was born was started because a bastard wanted to be King? Did we forget that the Blackfyre rebellions central point of fighting was this bastard should be king instead of this other rumored bastard? And they both had people fighting valiantly for both sides, either bastard or alleged bastard?

Did we not watch Margery get tossed between Joffery and Tommen so she could be Queen even though there are rumors of their lineage??

Did we forget heavy members of the Greens were singing Jace’s praise as the only man worthy of the Throne during the Dance??

NO ONE GAVE A DAMN, AND THE PEOPLE WHO DID ONLY CARED BECAUSE THEY GAINED SOMETHING OUT OF THEIR DOWNFALL. WAKE UP!

edit: JACE, LUKE AND JOFF ALSO WERE THE ONLY CHILDREN TO HAVE BETROTHAL AND MANY OF THOSE! MFS WERE FIGHTING TO HAVE THEIR DAUGHTERS MARRY RHAENYRA’S SON WHILE NO ONE WANTED TO MARRY ALICENT’S!! THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT!!

[closingremarks]

[jedi-enthusiasm-blog]

Jedi Antis: The Jedi are too caught up in politics! They have power to change things, they just don't!

Meanwhile, the Jedi:

Every time they argue with a politician, they are shot down.

I wonder what that could mean? That maybe they don't have as much political power as the antis seem to believe? That maybe *gasp* they were meant to be the victims of Palpatine's manipulation the whole time?

[GIFs aren't mine. Credit to @david-talks-sw ]

[reasonsforhope]

THANK FUCKING GOD

"The Supreme Court on Thursday [June 13, 2024] unanimously preserved access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year, in the court’s first abortion decision since conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago.

The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal right to sue over the federal Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the medication, mifepristone, and the FDA’s subsequent actions to ease access to it. The case had threatened to restrict access to mifepristone across the country, including in states where abortion remains legal.

Abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy in 14 states, and after about six weeks of pregnancy in three others, often before women realize they’re pregnant.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was part of the majority to overturn Roe, wrote for the court on Thursday that “federal courts are the wrong forum for addressing the plaintiffs’ concerns about FDA’s actions.”

The opinion underscored the stakes of the 2024 election and the possibility that an FDA commissioner appointed by Republican Donald Trump, if he wins the White House, could consider tightening access to mifepristone, including prohibiting sending it through the mail...

Kavanaugh’s opinion managed to unite a court deeply divided over abortion and many other divisive social issues by employing a minimalist approach that focused solely on the technical legal issue of standing and reached no judgment about the FDA’s actions...

While praising the decision, President Joe Biden signaled Democrats will continue to campaign heavily on abortion ahead of the November elections. “It does not change the fact that the right for a woman to get the treatment she needs is imperiled if not impossible in many states,” Biden said in a statement...

About two-thirds of U.S. adults oppose banning the use of mifepristone, or medication abortion, nationwide, according to a KFF poll conducted in February. About one-third would support a nationwide ban...

More than 6 million people [in the U.S.] have used mifepristone since 2000. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone and primes the uterus to respond to the contraction-causing effect of a second drug, misoprostol. The two-drug regimen has been used to end a pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation...

Biden’s administration and drug manufacturers had warned that siding with abortion opponents in this case could [have] undermined the FDA’s drug approval process beyond the abortion context by inviting judges to second-guess the agency’s scientific judgments. The Democratic administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, which makes mifepristone, argued that the drug is among the safest the FDA has ever approved."

-via AP, June 13, 2024

--

Note: A massive relief and a genuine victory - this will preserve access to the medication used in 2/3rds of abortions last year, for at least another 2 years. (Probably minimum time it will take Republicans to get their next attempt before the Supreme Court.)

Still, with this, a sword that has been hanging over our heads for the last two years is gone. There will be a new one soon, but we just bought ourselves probably at least 2 years. The fight isn't over, but this is absolutely worth celebrating.

[the-kipsabian]

[sad-stucky-shipper-107]

ISAGI YOICHI DESERVES MORE RESPECT.

Minor rant incoming:

It fuckin pisses me off that people underestimate Isagi so much, like even after he's leaving people in the dust left and right and is now a terrifying player in his own right, he's still treated like some- some weakling?! What the fuck?!

Its like he has to prove his worth with every fuckin match, to every single fucking person, every single time. They all act like he's beneath them and finally catching up. They all go on about like "Omg Isagi so weak he gotta compensate for it with his smarts"

Like. Bitch. No. His smarts is fucking crushing all of you. Oh my god. His smart is a weapon that is so fuckin terrifying but everyone's like "Uwu isagi, ur lucky, barely scraped by the skin of ur teeth there" like. Fuck off omg, he destroyed u. Stfu.

He's already devoured Barou, Chigiri, Nagi, Reo, Aiku: fuckin Rin and Shidou (although briefly) even before the U-20 MATCH BEGAN.. And yet they are considered better players in blue-lock verse?! Like mf in what world does that make sense?!

ITOSHI SAE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO I SEE PROPERLY RESPECTING ISAGI'S POTENTIAL, HE DIDN'T SAY SHIT LIKE 'I underestimated you' or 'lucky shot'

NO, HE FUCKIN ACKNOWLEDEGED ISAGI AS A STRIKER AND A POWEFUL ONE AT THAT (RIGHTLY SO) AND THEN MOVED THE FUCK ON.

His observational skills are a weapon, people gotta stop acting like physical weapons are the only ones that count. Isagi been breaking them weapons left and right with his mf brain. Ong.

And the NEL. God the fucking NEL.

He's keeping up with kaiser. I'd go so far as to say, he's managing to beat the fucking shit out of kaiser and in such a short while no less, working with the pitifully small pieces of advice that he himself has to go ask Noa for. We havent seen him recieve any other mentorship.

HE FUCKING IMPROVED HIS LEFT FOOT SO FUCKING MUCH IN LIKE- 10 DAYS. WITHOUT WHATEVER FUCKIN STEROIDS EGO WAS GIVING KUNIGAMI. AND HE MANAGED TO EVEN CONVERT IT INTO A USEFUL WEAPON?!

He devoured fuckin Chris motherfuckin' Prince. And adult. World's no. 2. And people just?? Brush over that?! Like mf. What do u want from him. What more do u want from him.

AND HE'S DOING ALL THIS WHILE HIS SHOTS HAVE BEEN GETTING BLOCKED AND STOLEN LEFT AND RIGHT BY HIS OWN TEAMMATES (FELLOW BLUE-LOCKERS INCLUDED)

My boy deserves so much more respect from like. Every single fucking person in bluelock verse.

I WILL NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT THIS. ISAGI YOICHI DESERVES SO MUCH BETTER-

[rainingriversofyou]

“Someone’s quick off the mark.”

—A Court Of Silver Flames

Artist: l.moon_art for warlock.and.co

[maxdibert]

Sirius Black saying that Snape knew more curses than advanced students before even starting at Hogwarts, as if that’s an excuse to pick on him or some kind of justification, just shows that deep down he was always a spoiled kid living in his rich bubble. I mean, who’s going to explain to him that when you don’t grow up surrounded by gold and live in a crappy hole in the neighborhood with an abusive father, it’s completely normal to learn how to defend yourself? It’s like in real life, if some guy who’s literally a millionaire and grew up among aristocrats says that a kid from a super poor neighborhood with a dysfunctional family knew how to throw punches and use a knife. Well, of course he did—it’s called survival.

[coffeebooksrain18]

Something hilarious to me is when TBs say shit like "if Daeron has Alicents hair then we know he's a bastard and TGs will be crying!" As their the ones who keep saying "but what if Aemma had brown hair or what if the Baratheon black hair mixed with the white made it brown!?" Or, or this one that only shows what hypocrites they are "but what about the Starks? Most of Ned,s kids looked like their mom! They had red hair like Catelyn!" So now they show again that their arguments only work if it's for their favorites.

Here's the fact, if Daeron has Alicents hair color and eyes, he's still Viserys son he only got his mom's looks! The strong boys don't look like either parents, which is why Daeron wouldn't have had the rumors following him.

[feyres-divorce-lawyer]

HOFAS SPOILERS! LOOK AWAY PLS

i can feel my fucking blood pressure rising from this. for context, rhys is mad at nesta cuz she took the trove and bryce was able to use it and leave her parents in the how i think? anyways, sarah what the fuck is this. what was the point of acosf’s ending with that nauseating “he’s my brother” bullshit. WHAT WAS THE POINT IF HE’S STILL GONNA TREAT HER HORRIBLY😐 and like further proving that the flying rat doesn’t still does not respect his wife. he did bring nesta back to lecture her behind feyre’s back, because he’s an incompetent dick that needs an ego boost every five fucking seconds. and god it’s so fucking heartbreaking how nonchalant nesta is about her treatment like. she doesn’t think they would kill her. that means despite being cassian’s mate or feyre’s sister, even though she may know they don’t like her as a person, she’s not 100% sure that her connection to them would still keep her safe from rhysand. and how fucking often has he blown up at her that she diverts to gallow’s humor when someone else who is completely unaware of the dynamics, brings up how shitty she is being treated.

and like this part. CASSIAN YOU’RE FUCKING USELESS. DIE!

[danyseastar]

On the topic of Rhaenyra having bastards, I think it’s pretty obvious that if she was going to have to have bastards she’d need to find a man who was willing to have his kids passed off as another man’s and not be a snitch to that fact. It would also need to be someone who could be around her constantly without drawing suspicion. As her sworn shield, Harwin wasn’t a terrible choice to fulfill those exact needs. Rhaenyra was just unlucky in the looks department, something she had no control over and overall didn’t matter. There was no way to prove that her children weren’t Laenor’s, due to paternity tests not magically existing during that time. The definition of bastard is a child born to parents who are not wed to each other, with no legal father (and before someone pops up with ‘Actually!! They’d have to be proclaimed bastards to be legitimized!’ I am begging you to pick up a history book). Her children are trueborn, they were born during her marriage to Laenor and legally he is their father because he claimed them as his. One could spend their time arguing semantics over the matter, but it would be a waste of time.

Her children’s last name is Velaryon, not Waters, like it should be in canon if they were indeed bastards. They live and die as the trueborn children between Rhaenyra and Laenor. Bastardy is considered to be a legal status during that time, not a state of being. One either is a bastard at birth or is not a bastard at birth. Contrary to what a few in the fandom believe nobody besides Alicent and her direct ilk viewed them as bastards and therefore undeserving of their station. Even Septon Eustace refutes all of these claims, and he makes it very clear throughout his testimony that he HATES Rhaenyra. It was a tactical move by the immediate members of the Green faction to sully and ruin Rhaenyra’s reputation (something used time and time again during the medieval days because it was the easiest way to take down a woman vying for power), to prove that she was unworthy of the throne as opposed to the candidate they wanted crowned. It didn’t work, considering most of the houses supported Rhaenyra over Aegon despite these rumors.

Rhaenyra’s ‘bastard’ heir, Jacaerys Velaryon, was mourned deeply by members of both Team Black and Team Green and heralded by many as worthy of the Iron Throne, so please, continue spewing your biased rhetoric of the Greens being justified in starting an entire civil war, plunging the realm into chaos, over Rhaenyra having supposed bastards, when that never happened. The rumors didn’t matter. No one cared. The realm was not plunged into war because of them, it was because of Team Green’s lust and greed for power. The entirety of those rumors is a red herring. In all honesty, the only reason I believe GRRM made those boys potentially bastards is to prove to the reader that being worthy to rule does not rely on whether one is trueborn. Aegon was trueborn and unworthy to rule. Jacaerys was rumored to not be trueborn and he was worthy. It’s not GRRM’s fault that some individuals who consume his stories aren’t intelligent enough to understand that.

[radicalinternetangel]

There should be a type of TransID for when people assume you're something to the point where you're so confused why that you just take on the identity of the thing people assume you to be. Actually fuck it, I'm coining that.

Huh?ID

A TransID for when everyone assumes you're a certain thing to the point you just kinda take on the identity of said thing. The uneveness is meant to symbolize the confusion. This is a mock-up for a flag since I've never made a flag in my life. If anyone wants to make this look not bad then here you go :)

-Made by Lemon

[lady-of-tearshed]

What defines you

Cassian x Reader

Cassian Week 2024

Day 1: Flying

@cassianappreciationweek

Sumarry: Cassian and Azriel have been sent on a mission while Rhys is away. Cassian gets back from this mission injured, and the prognosis of his wings recovery is uncertain.

Warnings: Mention of injuries, angst, Cassian self-loathing

Word count: 1,139k words

Dividers by @tsunami-of-tears

You jolted as Azriel walked out of the healer's room bloodied, face paler than usual, eyes wider too. His shadows were swirling all around him frantically, a poor attempt at covering their master’s raw terror. 

You tried to pass by him, to enter the room, but his large hand stopped you before you could open the heavy birch double door. “He doesn't wish to see anyone right now.” His voice was cold, firmly keeping you from entering the room. 

You had rarely seen Azriel refuse you anything. Your eyes watered as Cassian's cries echoed from the other room. “He's my mate.” You hiss. “I need to be there for him in these kind of moments-” 

“And I'm his brother. Yet here I am, respecting his wish.” He spat, completely losing his temper. You froze, you've never seen that side of Azriel. The male standing in front of you wasn't the Azriel you usually gossip with at family dinners, no. This Azriel was gone in this instant, the Azriel standing before you was the exact picture of the Night Court cold Shadow Singer. 

He ran his hands through his hair, not even realizing he'd spread your mate’s blood over it in his movement. “Look. He's in good hands. Madja’s doing what she can. He doesn't want to see anyone, that's it.” He mumbled, softening his voice this time. 

You couldn't be mad at him. This whole situation probably stressed him out as much as you were. You nod, stepping back from the door to rest your back against the opposite wall for support. You didn't feel like you could currently rely on your legs, as every wail of pain coming from Madja’s room made your limbs tremble. 

Azriel stood beside you, avoiding your gaze as he looked up at the ceiling. “I should've known there would've been an ambush.” 

“Where was Rhys? Where is he now?” You asked, venom was lacing your voice. All that burned inside of you was pure hatred towards the High Lord for his absence. 

And agonizing worry for Cassian’s fate. 

“He and Feyre are away to fix important matters in Day Court.” 

You looked incredulously at Azriel, your face reddening, burning, ready to burst. “So he's not here?! And he relied on you two to handle protecting the Night Court, alone?! All while asking you two to fly all the way to Illyria to fix other issues for him?!” 

Azriel didn't answer, didn't meet your eyes, only looked further away. 

Before you could burst out in anger again, Madja opened the door. She closed the door behind her and pulled out a white towel to clean her hands off the blood. Her eyes traveled between you and Azriel, letting out a long exhale.

She looked drained, exhausted…

“His vitals are stable,” She announced, looking at you as she tried to sound reassuring. 

“His wings?” Azriel asked and you shot him a glance. 

“He's going to live. That's all that matters. Thank you, Madja.” You tried to walk past her, but once again someone stops you from being your mate’s state for yourself. 

You almost growled at her, your instincts screaming to rip the head off anyone stopping you to reach your mate’s side. But the sad smile she wears is convincing enough for you to let her head stay intact. “He's not… Happy with the news…”

“What news, Madja?” You snarl, all muscles in your body tensing. Your hands curled into fists at your sides. 

“Don't look at me like that. I know, I'm ruined.” Cassian whispered weakly, turning his face away from you as you sat carefully on the edge of the bed. 

He still wore a visible frown on his face, his facial features twitching with pain with every move he did. His fractured ribs poked into his lungs with every breath he took.

But none of these aches could compare to the one of his soul. Every time the possibility of never being able to fly came up to the surface of Cassian’s mind, it crashed against him like a wave and drowned him in an ocean of anguish. 

“You're not ruined,” You reached your fingers to his face, gently, yet carefully, stroked his jaw. “Madja said that with time, maybe-”

“I don't HAVE time to waste on “maybe's”!” Cassian roughly shoved your hand away from his face, his still healing lower lip splitting open as he yelled at you. “What do you expect me to do, stay here, in bed, and be useless?!” He was panting with anger at this point. 

Cassian needed to calm down, or else he'd hurt himself even more. You tried to calm him down. “Cassian-” 

“I am nothing, no one, if I waste time rotting in this bed. I'll be useless, and forgotten in no time.” Cassian spat, his words burning you like venom. “What am I, if not a general, mh?” He didn't even give you a chance to answer before hissing through clenched teeth. “An Illyrian bastard.”

Silence fell upon the room, you gulped down your anger, fighting the urge to yell back at your mate. “That is bullshit,” Your voice was trembling, and your eyes burning from the tears you held back there. “You are so much more than just a general.” Cassian snickered coldly at your answer, and rolled his eyes at you. 

Your eyes darkened, this wasn't your Cassian. You refused to believe that this male, this stupid Illyrian about to give up everything, was your mate. Your fists clenched at your sides. “You are my mate, Cassian.” You take a shaky breath, tears rolling down your cheeks this time as you frantically continue your monologue. “You are my mate, Feyre's best friend, Rhysand and Azriel's brother, Nyx's fantastic uncle, and so much more.”

Cassian stays deadly silent, but the silver lining in his eyes mirrors how your words have affected him. You scooch closer to his side, and you intertwine your fingers with his. “We'll get through this. I promise,” 

“And if I lose my wings?” His voice cracks.

“Then we'll get through this too,” Your hand hovers above his heart, careful not to apply too much pressure on his bruised chest. “Your wings aren't what defines who you are. This does,” A breath caught in your throat as you feel the steady and strong heartbeat of your mate. “And I'm so glad it's still beating.” 

Cassian nods, the movement stiffed by his tensed muscles. “I am too…” 

You stayed by his side all night after that, and while Cassian didn't get much sleep because of the pain, your words kept him from drowning in his sorrows. Like an anchor in the middle of a storm, your words kept him together. 

“We'll get through this. I promise.”

We… 

He wouldn't have to do this alone, to fight alone. Not anymore. 

Taglist: @lilah-asteria @mybestfriendmademe

[questintheskies]

[ofooro]