#several years have passed

[itsthedoodle]

Luckiest Male Alive

Summary: After the birth of his daughter, Cassian reminisces over the lucky moments in his life.

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: none

Read on AO3

@cassianappreciationweek

Day Two: Gentle

Cassian could count his lucky moments on one hand. 

His father had raped his mother, so his start in life had been less than ideal. Ripped away from her at a young age, he’d had to fend for himself—survival of the fittest was the life for bastards in the Illyrian camps, kill or be killed. So Cassian had taken care of earning the clothes on his back, making sure people knew he was not to be messed with, and then he had met his brothers. That was the first time he considered himself lucky. 

They’d conquered Ramiel together, dropped on opposite sides of it with no powers or weapons to aid them other than what they made for themselves on the go. Still, they’d found each other, and they’d mastered the sacred peak at the same time, inseparable and invincible together. 

They’d been sent to war, separated from each other because their high lord feared their combined powers. During the seven years the war lasted, Cassian had dreaded every casualties list, fearing he would read their names. Every time he hadn’t, and when the war had ended and they’d all made it out alive, he had considered himself lucky again. 

He’d been aware that things didn’t come easy to bastards like him, so he had worked hard for every single thing he had achieved, partly because he had drive, but also because he’d always held out hope he’d one day be accepted by the Illyrians, seen as more than just a bastard. He’d expected resistance when Rhys made him general, and while he’d found none, he knew better than to read into it. Acceptance was not something he had, but Illyrians respected genuine power and strength, and that was something no one could deny he had. 

Still, Cassian had always been a bastard, and he’d owned it so no one could use it against him. But it had always bothered him, the festering root of all his insecurities, which he hid so well behind a veil of sarcasm and playfulness that only those he let get close knew what truly lay in his heart. 

He had fought against the love he had for his brother when Rhys had been trapped under the mountain, and had nearly lost it by the end of the longest fifty years of his life, when Feyre had freed Rhys and the rest of Prythian. When Rhys had come back, Cassian had considered himself lucky for the single fact that his brother had come back alive. He had quickly learned that Rhys had returned half broken, had hidden it behind the same façade Cassian himself had used his whole life, and had gotten back to work as if nothing had happened. So Cassian hadn’t forced him to talk about it and had stood on the sidelines as Feyre slowly brought Rhys back to life. 

Feyre was another person Cassian considered himself lucky to know, not just because what meeting her represented for him personally, but because he saw himself in her. Forced to fend for herself at a young age, Feyre had known desperation and hunger, just like he had. They had become fast friends, and she was someone he could talk freely to, more so than the rest of his family, simply because she knew. He considered himself lucky to know her, not just because of what she meant to his brother, or the fact that she was his High Lady, but because through Feyre, he had met the one person that had made him feel  beyond lucky. 

Nesta had been another less than stellar start. She had been volatile and angry, with words able to cut deeper than a knife, and more often than not he had been on the receiving end of that viciousness. He’d taken one look at her, however, and had fallen in love. He'd suspected she was his mate from the beginning, but Nesta hadn’t been ready for the truth so he had kept his suspicions to himself. He had known from the start that winning her over would be a hard, long battle, one he’d been more than willing to fight. He’d known she wouldn’t make it easy for him but he’d fought, and when it had looked like she was finally warming up to him, when he’d been on the verge of death, he had poured his heart out to her on the battlefield. 

Everything after that had been a giant mess, a dark tunnel with no end in sight. Watching her waste away day by day, refuse help, and throw herself in the path of destruction had been the hardest thing to witness. He’d forced himself to keep out of it until he had no longer been able to, and when she’d finally been ready, Nesta had gotten back up all on her own.

It hadn’t been thanks to her friends, though they’d helped. It certainly hadn’t been thanks to his family, he could admit that. It hadn’t been because of him either, though he’d have handed the universe over on a silver platter to help her. Nesta’s road to self discovery had been because of her, her hard work, and relentless drive. That, he knew, they shared. 

It was her whisper that brought him out of his thoughts, her voice so soft and loving he could feel his heart expanding in his chest. He looked at her, as beautiful as the day he had met her, as confident and resilient, if not more. 

“I can take over, you know that, don’t you?” he asked, one eyebrow raised, trying to keep a straight face lest she thought he was joking. He could see the exhaustion on her face, but he could also see the Archeron stubbornness, the unwillingness to ask for help. 

“I know,” she said, giving him the kind of soft smile she reserved just for him. “I’m just, you know… scared somehow. Like-” she gestured vaguely with one hand. 

“Like you’ll blink and she’ll disappear into thin air?” 

“Yeah. Exactly like that.”

Cassian took a seat on the bed next to her and she carefully inched closer. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, and she positioned herself so that her back was resting against his side. 

“Can you believe we made her?”

No, Cassian almost said. I can’t believe we did. 

After they’d been mated in a ceremony which, thanks to a very grateful Rhys, had been extremely lavish, Cassian and Nesta had thrown themselves into reviving the Valkyries. They had, together with Gwyn, Emerie, and Az, trained new recruits, mostly made up of priestesses that had braved the outside world again and any Illyrian females that had wanted to join. That had been another thing for which Cassian felt particularly lucky. 

Devlon and the rest of the Illyrians had been forced, albeit begrudgingly, to accept the fact that females were just as good (if not better, in Cassian’s completely unbiased opinion) at fighting as males were. Rhys liked to tease Nesta that she had worked her “witch magic”, and the Illyrians hadn’t had any choice but to accept if they didn’t want to run the risk of her being hexed. The Illyrian females had laughed themselves hoarse when they’d realized she was no witch and had no magic, and had made sure to keep it to themselves. Thus, Nesta had become the most feared female to an entire camp of Illyrians. 

Azriel had cracked a big smile at that. 

They had both put in a lot of hard work, and after a few years they’d had a solid Valkyrie unit. The day they’d reached one hundred of them, Nesta, Gwyn, and Emerie had all cried tears of joy, and Cassian had been so proud. 

A few months after that, lying in bed sweaty and spent, Nesta had told him she was ready. He had understood right away what she meant, and they’d eagerly gotten to work. 

Now, half-sitting in bed, Nesta curled up against him, Cassian looked down at their infant daughter. Aoife had been alive for exactly one week and there wasn’t a single soul she didn’t already have wrapped around her tiny finger. Elain and Feyre had lost it, squealing in delight when they learned Nesta was having a girl, Gwyn, Emerie, Mor, and Rhys had cried, Amren had cracked a smile, and Az had clapped his back, telling him he couldn’t imagine Cassian as a father to anything but a daughter. 

Cassian himself had simply never thought he’d be here, with a mate and a daughter, had never considered himself good enough for it. He’d been a nervous wreck the entire pregnancy, hiding it from Nesta as well as he could. Madja had told them the baby had wings and, while it wouldn’t have mattered to him if she hadn’t, he had still felt an indescribable amount of joy at learning their daughter would get to experience the freedom of flight. 

The moment Aoife was born had been one he would never forget in a million lifetimes. His heart felt like it resided in both his own body and the small infant in her mother’s arms, his entire being attuned to her breathing and heartbeat. He had cried from the sheer force of love that filled his heart, and he had thanked the Mother for the blessing. 

He snapped out of his thoughts again and found Nesta looking up at him. “You’re thinking too hard.”

Dropping a kiss to her forehead, he smiled. “Sorry. I still haven’t wrapped my head around it to be honest.”

Nesta was looking at him in that way of hers that left him feeling utterly naked and exposed, that brought all his walls crashing down. It was too soon to tell, but he prayed day and night that their daughter had Nesta’s eyes. 

“I’m suddenly feeling very tired,” she said. He eagerly took over, Nesta transferring Aoife to his waiting arms. “Can you wake me up in an hour so I can feed her?”

He was glad for all the practice he had gotten holding Nyx. The old him would have pissed himself at the thought of holding a baby. The new, fun uncle version of him had thanked Rhys and Feyre for letting him use their son as a test subject. 

That had earned him a glare from Feyre. 

He nodded, waiting until Nesta was fully lying in bed. “Rest,” he said, pulling the covers over her, and dropping a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll be fine.”

Closing the door behind him, he headed to Aoife’s bedroom, the House turning the lights on and preparing her a bath. He mentally calculated the time since her last feeding, muttered a sorry to the House for doubting it and, deeming it safe, he washed his daughter, changed her into a fresh set of clothes, then sat on the reclining chair with her in his arms. 

She was so small and vulnerable, yet so quiet in his arms, as if she felt safe. 

Lord of Bloodshed. He snorted. More like Lord of Diapers these days. He wasn’t remotely bothered by it, however. This was the happiest he’d ever been. 

“You know, I hope you’ll end up taking after your mother. She’s beautiful, and perfect, and loves fiercely. She’s brave, and she is strong, and she really won’t take anyone’s shit.”

The lights flickered, the House scolding him for using that language in front of the baby. 

“Lighten up, she doesn’t understand,” he said, and the lights flickered again. 

Aoife yawned and he nearly melted at the sight of it. “I can’t wait to teach you how to fly. You’re going to love it. There’s just something about the freedom of it that makes you feel invincible, like there is nothing you couldn’t do. When you’re old enough, you can join the Valkyries, if you want to. Or you can go into politics. Or you can paint, like Feyre, or grow beautiful gardens like Elain. You could end up loving dancing like your mother. Or you could end up doing none of those things and doing something else, something purely you. I hope your whole life ends up being a big, beautiful dance. I’ll make sure there’s never a day where the sun doesn’t shine for you, I swear it.”

Aoife’s eyes closed softly, her breathing evening out. 

“You’ll always feel loved, and appreciated, and have our support in anything you choose to do. There will never be a day I won’t tell you how much I love you, and how much you and your mother mean to me. You’ll have the freedom to be whoever you want to be, because you’re you, and you’re special, and you can do anything you set your mind to. And I’ll always hold your hand every step of the way.”

He kissed the top of her head, the hair there impossibly soft, her baby scent something he would never tire of. 

Yes, he could count his lucky moments in single digits. But this, right here. This was the happiest he’d ever been. 

He was the luckiest male alive. 

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[heritageposts]

The grandfather, who is also blind as a result of severe diabetes, feels isolated despite having his family around him. "If an air strike targets the house or the neighbourhood, I cannot move, not even using the wheelchair. I am completely paralysed, I cannot see and I can barely hear and move my arms. What has helped me is that we evacuated by car when the situation was less dangerous," Abujubein told MEE. . . . "What did the world that has long talked about human rights and the rights of people with disabilities do for us? My granddaughter has a subject about human rights in school. The first time they learned about people with disabilities, she was happy that she could reflect on me," Abu Jubein laughed. "She came to me repeating what she had learned about their rights and how they should be given a special treatment." "Now where is this special treatment? Did the world at least call for the evacuation of the displaced from Gaza until the end if the attacks?" "Even hospitals are targeted. When the Israeli occupation started bombing hospitals and then besieged al-Shifa Hospital, we thought that this would be the start of an international revolution against the occupation, because the protection of patients and children inside hospitals is the core value of human rights." "But, surprisingly, nothing happened."

. . . full article on MME (18 Nov 2023)

[skunkes]

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Lackadaisy Enrichment

[unriding]

me n moze say good morning to the world !!! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

art by @rabbbitseason of course <3

[dizzybevvie]

obligatory kh1 Paopu tree scene redraw

og under cut <3

[mesopelagos]

what if he were italian.

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 171 spoilers and thoughts but i'm mostly just going "YAY I LIKED THIS MOMENT" and more below the cut

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DEMON KING LLOYD HELLO. HELLO?? WHAT. WHY?? BUT WOW. HOLY SHIT. I REALLY REALLY LIKE THIS

I LOVE WHEN CHARACTERS GAIN WINGS AND HORNS AND . GHGHHGHGHHG AAAHHH ITS MY FAVORITE THING if you didn't already know dragon lloyd was like one of my favorite all-time panels so this is VERY AWESOME FOR ME YAYYY YAAAAYYY HAHAHA

LIKE SERIOUSLY LOOK HE GOT FANGS N SHIT AND. OH MY GODD THE SMOKE SLIPPING PAST HIS LIPS IM SO??? THAT'S SO COOL. I LOVE WHEN THEY DO THAT WITH SMOKE AND MONSTROUS FORMS OF CHARACTERS

genuinely i need to draw this asap. pacing issues aside i am obsessed with how sick this is. i love this a LOT

ok ok back to the top bc theres some stuff i wanna touch on from before demon king lloyd got revealed! because...

"master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us". "master lloyd taught us".

EXCUSE ME WHAT

YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT OFF SCREEN, LLOYD TOOK TIME OUT OF HIS BUSY ASS DAY. TO TEACH THE KIDS HOW TO PLAY SOCCER. AND THEY HAVE PLAYED ENOUGH TO BE FAMILIAR ENOUGH TO PLAY ON THEIR OWN. WHICH MEANS THAT LLOYD . PLAYED SOCCER WITH THEM . AND WE FIND THIS OUT. NOW?? I. GGHH. THATS SO. CUTE. IM GOING TO BITE HIM. THE FUCKER. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME

the fact that they go up to ask him im going to EXPLODE?!?!?

he looks so nonchalant abt it here im cryinf

AND LOOK AT THEM GO THIS IS SO SO SWEET IM VERY GLAD LYRA GOT TO PLAY WITH THEM I LIKE THIS A LOT

this scene, and the beginning scene where the adults were just so casual with her and treating her as a living person with feelings and someone that they can talk to was so so heartwarming i oooghhh my heart

AND THEN THERE HE IS. SMILING IN THE BACK. YOU ASS.

I SEE YOU BEING KIND AND EMPATHETIC AND SELFLESS LLOYD. YOU LOST THE NONCHALANT WAR. YOU CAN'T ESCAPE

christ. i fucking HATE him /j /aff

it is also VERY silly that they're so casual abt. destruction like that HELPPP they got it from someone sob sob, though i imagine since most of the estate consists of people who have done construction it probably isnt that big of a deal when things get destroyed every now n then

and lyra looks so damn happy,,, god im so glad she had a good experience, she really needed one :')

also i completely LOST it when the kid got mad at lyra for not responding with a yes or no HELPPP JESUS CHRIST

again they,,, got it from someone HAHA though honestly i think it tracks. kids can be straightforwardly brutal in their language, especially when they don't really have biases or cares for who they are speaking to. as crazy as this instance looks (LMFAO) i think this fits well with the context of the straightforwardness of children and considering the person who they look up to at the estate. i think it was good for lyra to meet a human child her age who can speak straightforwardly and not skirt past things, if that makes sense? i hope it does!

AND THE DEMON KING TRANSFORMATION i already talked abt it above but i wanna point out this blue system box here

a power outside of the system?!?? what does this mean for the protagonist of the new prequel bk_moon is writing?? is the weather forecasting included in this???

my first assumption right now is that the demon king power is just an in-world power system while everything else (ie the weather forecasting) is external, blue-textbox system. maybe? so lloyd got the demon king power which comes with skills separate from the ones that the system can provide? that would explain why there's no indication of lloyd trying to use the weather forecasting, he probably can't use it,,,? except i dont know why artanis can use it in that case. most likely i am overthinking it LMFAO

semi-related, i am a little confused as to why artanis did this? i guess she really, really trusted him w this power? or maybe her weather forecasting noted that this would be something good to do i have no idea,,, it Does feel a bit sudden i won't lie, i'm not sure how earned this is

also javier and everyone else not reacting that much to the demon king status. SENT ME HAHA "... nothing's changed." LOL

deadpan humor never fails to make me giggle ily javier

also loved the moment where the two of them were bein serious for a sec,,, they've got a job to do they've got people to protect. lloyd will stop fate and javier will be right besides him...

i think showing them at emily's wedding really cements how much they really, REALLY need to fight fate now. the novel events happening is very very bad, but it feels like now that so many people, emily especially, have found THIS much happiness in their lives,,, failing to stop fate will hit even harder. i really like the analogy of a taut bow that the dragon king used when he first described it, bc it's really REALLY showing how much the repercussions will hit if they fail. im praying they succeed,,, please,,, i need a happy ending or i will curl up and turn into an actual shrimp irl.

and now the demons have to build the pantara railroad,,, artanis's expression omfg

she really didn't,,, know,,, she trusted him that much,,,, girl,,,

but it's ok. it'll be a net positive trust! that's how lloyd does things!!! and then soon we'll get the happy ending where we can get the eye of summer and beat up fate and then silly fun times YAYY <- probably copium

some other thoughts of note that i had with a dear mutual (hi sprout :3) about this ep:

we were talking about how the plot seems to be paced right now, and honestly i'm of the opinion that while yes its Technically moving, the way they're ending each ep in this current arc makes it feel like it's going both very slow and very fast, that is to say it feels like it's not moving at all

bc they're like "okay NOW we're gonna do the build project" and it's been like that for several episodes now. pieces are moving but we're going past the point of it all too fast (especially the whole demon king thing. mentioned this before but while cool, doesn't feel as earned simply bc we're both tackling each point and yet blowing past all the points, so it's a lot less satisfying than it should be (despite how awesome it is,,, oh lloyd you give me so much internal conflict </3))

it does make me a lil worried that they're gonna timeskip the hell out of the pantara railroad build. however this episode, although it still has a weird pacing/movement issue, does feel a little bit better than the last two imo, so i have hope that it'll turn out okay, that it'll start heading up! i'm actually really excited to see where they go with this and i'm sure that even if the pacing is still goofy i'll have some kind of fun with it (seriously the panels this ep were wonderful HAHA)

anyway that's all for this week! extremely excited for the next ep,,, ill see yall then,,, lets go pantara railroad arc!!!

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Someone should make an analysis of Amphibia's geography for fanfic writing purposes and by someone I mean Oh god please let there be something out there so I won't be tempted to procastinate on studying for my finals working on a detailed world map for a fantasy Disney show about talking frogs and polyamorous lesbian divorce when the writers themselves probably didn't think much about it beyond what would be funny in each individual episode

[jukeboxhound]

In the last eight years or so -- which means it's not just COVID-related issues -- I've lost my favorite local coffee house, my favorite local bookstore, my favorite local quirky restaurant, AND my favorite local Irish pub with the 1916 Easter Rising mural, and now I'm about to lose my favorite local secondhand clothing shop. 😭

[lore-of-mobius]

Little Planet Has Appeared Several Times Since Sonic CD

So in the Sonic Twitter Takeover #6 - All Answers at 33:08 Amy is asked if she visits Little Planet when it reappears, which would be in reference to her visiting it since Sonic CD. When Amy answers her answer implied she has visited Little Planet not just one time but multiple times sense then. She also reestablishes it shows up for one month a year.

This would mean at least several years have passed since Sonic CD. This could also corroborate Sonic The Hedgehog 4's implications that modern Eggman has visited Little Planet at least twice since Sonic CD. Given Amy wouldn't have been able to visit any of those times without having to deal with Eggman it would have to be after those times. Also, given her wording she would have had to had visited sometime after Sonic Adventure.

[chaos-in-one]

Me: Peacefully reading my psychology textbook, enjoying learning new things

The Textbook: Yeah so prolonged stress has actually been proven to lead to a much higher risk for a variety of health issues

Me:

Me: Ah.

[thevioletcaptain]

I know the ask is about ships but could you make a non ship one with Dean and Carlos from the Winchesters? I can't think of an exact thing for Dean to say, but the first sentence can be what Dean would say for their first meeting. Thank you if you can (*^‿^*)

"I like your hair," Dean says, staring up from where he's clinging to the bottom of Mary's winter coat, and Carlos grins wide when he adds, with all the breathless gravity of a four year old eager to impress their opinions upon a new friend; "It's swooshy and it's pretty like Mommy's hair, and your-- your beads are pretty and shiny and shiny is my favorite color."

"Swooshy and pretty and shiny is exactly what I was going for, so thank you, little buddy."

Even with almost six years between now and the last time he'd seen Mary, Carlos is relieved to find that they still have a good sense of one-another -- can still communicate silently, swiftly, like they used to when it was life or death. He meets her eye, and her face softens, and understanding passes between them before he slides one of his lucky beaded bracelets -- the bloodstone one -- free.

Dean's eyes light up when he takes it.

When he smiles, he looks just like his mother.

[for this askbox game if anyone else wants to send me a prompt]

[skunkes]

[perilegs]

my sweet little baby man is no longer with us