#the end quote is from andor

[luthanraels-bignaturals]

I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else talking about how karmic Fitzjames’ fate was.

From the perspective of the artic, it’s a revenge story. His wounds- the wounds he always bragged about, which he got from helping imperialize and plunder, wounds he got from people trying to protect their homes- literally reopening themselves???? This place wants us dead??? “Our ghosts have strong hands and long memories” type beat????

[intermundia]

i think my biggest frustration with the way many fans discuss star wars is the disdain they have for the genre of the movies and the way they dismiss the context for why they are the way they are. there's almost a contempt for the stylistic choices made; they wish that the movies were more like action movies than heroic space fantasy.

i like that they are stylized. i like the genre. i do not wish they were different. it surprises people when talking to them about star wars when i'm not eager to rag on the movies for repetitive or silly dialogue or things like that. it's like a large part of star wars fans love to hate star wars for being star wars. i am not part of that group.

i think that the star wars: magic of myth exhibition book is a great read that provides much essential context. there's a quote in there from science fiction author brian aldiss who defined 'space opera' in 1974:

Ideally, the Earth must be in peril, there must be a quest and a man to meet the mighty hour. That man must confront aliens and exotic creatures. Space must flow past the ports like wine from a pitcher. Blood must run down the palace steps, and ships launch out into the louring dark. There must be a woman fairer than the skies and a villain darker than the Black Hole. And all must come right in the end.

lucas's project is not realism, he is not a character-driven director! he is concerened with cinema as the moving image, loves speed and visual impact, soaring music and clear archetypal action. his dialogue is not naturalistic patter, just as the costumes are not streetwear. it's a movie shaped by its references to flash gordon and buck rogers.

it's melodramatic and obvious in its narrative goals, there's no secret to whether or not darth vader or the emperor are bad guys, you know? it's not about parsing their intentions, it's about how their dark looming figures fills the screen and enters the public consciousness as avatars of evil. luke, leia, obi-wan, all wearing white, are heroes to inspire and emulate.

those who dislike an elevated artifical style, who only want andor rather than flash gordon, are engaging with the material in a way that's simply different from the way i am, so we just talk past each other lol

[goingroguepod]

Ok. So.

"Oh my god, no" is a great pull quote. Looks great on a tweet, great on a t-shirt, but the actually interesting thing he said is buried in the article - "That’s the absolute best version of that movie that you could possibly imagine in the time that was given.”

It's no secret that Gilroy came on after the directors cut, with a limited timeframe for rewrites and reshoots. He ended up running a lot of those reshoots and his regular editor (and brother) John also joined the edit team. They had maybe six months (less with sound mix, VFX etc). Gilroy ended up with a screenplay credit which means that he must have written at least a third of the final film. Again, came on after the directors cut. He rewrote at least a third of the directors cut. And he did the best he could in the time he had.

But the thing is, Andor is a do-over of Rogue One.

There's an undercover break-in to a secure imperial facility by a group of mismatched rebels. Cassian spends time in an Imperial prison labour camp, just like Jyn did (very briefly) in the opening of R1.

There's the devastating death of a parent, a mining city with its own culture being slowly crushed under an Imperial occupation, a career driven Imperial enemy who you kinda root for cos they're surrounded by even bigger assholes.

There's a rebel leadership divided about how much they can sacrifice on missions that might lead to nothing. The Heist crew even has a queer couple divided by one person's single minded faith and use of violence, and a key team member who is an imperial traitor.

And Cassian's central character arc in Andor is going from an apolitical survivor who only looks out for himself because he's paid the price for trying to change the system, to someone who is willing to die for the cause.

Which, on paper, is also Jyn's arc in Rogue One.

But Andor had time. It has about four times the runtime of Rogue One to actually dig deep into the characters, and to actually set-up and play out tensions in the heist and prison arcs.

And it also had time in pre-production. Time to write the damn scripts. Gilroy had time to bounce ideas back and forth with his brother Dan and Beau Willimon, stress testing the story and the episodes and the characters, then they split the scripts and wrote full arcs. In the scripting stage. Not after principal photography, like he had on Rogue One. From those scripts, Luke Hull had the time to build a full, immersive sets and worlds. Michael Wilkinson got to develop a language around the costuming. Nicholas Britell had time to write a full symphony for the score (Michael Giaccino had 4 weeks to write Rogue One's music).

So if you want to know what Tony Gilroy's directors cut of Rogue One looks like - it's Andor.

[colleybri]

End of Andor season 1: yet another question

Where is Nemik’s manifesto now? Was it in the pocket of the coat Cassian gave to Bix during the rescue, so safely taken to Gangi Moon and beyond? Did it, perhaps, therefore safely make it with them to Dantooine rebel base / Farm Planet?? Did they all listen to it and get inspired? Did they make multiple copies? Did they find a way to broadcast it to other rebel cells? Was Vel’s line “Everyone has their own rebellion” a quote from it? Is this why …

Spoilers!…

… that sadistic evil little shit Doctor Gorst is quoting that exact line at some hapless victim he’s about to torture in the Star Wars Celebration leaked trailer?!

For the love of God, release the trailer before this kind of wild speculation makes me explode. 

[randomthefox]

Which Sonic characters would you say are the hottest preds?

Tails is always sort of my default when it comes to preds among the Sonic cast, for a lot of reasons. Personal bias for one. Foxy bias. That also means he's a species that is much higher up on the food chain than basically everyone else in the cast aside from Vector. So he always feels very naturally befitting for that role, to me.

But honestly I can imagine effectively every single member of the Sonic cast as either pred or prey, given the scenario. I could even imagine a scenario with Charmy Bee guzzling down the preys lol. They could all eat or be eaten by one another, in my mind. Though I do tend to prefer imagining that it's a different universe or setting depending on who's filling what role, since I'm personally not very inclined to free vore all everybody can eat or be eaten by anybody type settings.

In terms of characters that I think lend to being preds the best in terms of personality, I'd say Eggman is probably the top since he's already got so many canonical quotes which you can easily slap over a vore pic and it would fit that context without needing to change a single word. I mean, they'd have to be fatal vore pics, which I personally do not enjoy, but I mean still come on.

bro is vorny on main, absolutely.

Werehog is also a good fit for it, being the howling stretching beasty boy and all. Just let those hungry urges run loose for a bit, as a treat~

Oh a pretty common scenario I tend to go back to is Knuckles as the guardian swallowing up folks who arrive on Angel Island. Like an alternate version of Sonic 3 where when Sonic andor Tails show up, Knuckles the pent up tribal island stud just seduces and swallows the interloping boy(s) right up, patting his bulging ab toned belly and belching as he sauntering back to the shrine gut sloshing with every step<3

Rouge I think would also be inclined to being pred, maybe swallowing up security guards when she's sneaking into a place. Or gulping folks down for the sake of holding them for ransom. Or just being a general vamp and teasing or taunting folks she's trying to sweet talk with mawshots and stuff like that. Imagine this whole scene but Rouge is licking her lips and patting her growling belly while talking to Tails. She's got the chops for it, I think.

Vector and Big as well feel like natural preds, given their body types. I guess I don't personally tend to think of them in the front of my mind very often, they're not incredibly high on my list of characters that hook my interest. But given their size and species and with the right scenario their personalities can be very inclined for eating folks up too. Vector maybe swallowing up a client who welshes him on a job payment for example. And maybe Big having a dry spell when it comes to fishing so he swallows someone up to keep him fueled for the long hours of sitting by the lake, maybe falling asleep at some point and forgetting they're in there even after he does start catching fish, so they end up spending more than a few days churning in Big's belly along with some fried salmon piling in ontop of them.

Those are the ones that come to the top of my head when trying to think of which ones out of the cast seem to fit the best as natural preds in terms of personality. But like I said I can imagine every member of the cast as a pred lol. Sonic swallowing someone up while out on a morning job. Silver using his telekinesis to lift someone up and dunk them down his throat. Blaze having snackrifices brought to her to be a royal meal while she's doing paperwork at her desk. Ect.

they're all so fuckking hoottt Dx

[andorshitdaily]

Got two more for you: I believe this one's in episode 9. When Mon and Tay are discussing how solve the issue of missing funds in the Embassy. The way they talk and lean close to each other. Their body language is SO LOUD.

From episode 10, the wide shot of Mon, Tay and Sculdun all sitting on that round couch. Mon in the center, and one of them on either side. The symmetry in that shot still transfixes me to this day. Was it intentional? A reflection of Mon being torn between tradition (Sculdun) and a new age (Tay) while building a rebellion perhaps? It's the one thing I would ask Tony Gilroy about if I could.

Mon also very well represented. i should not be surprised

i went a page too far in finding this one

and ended up with this, which amused me but is not what you said

but this one hell yeah!! (tony come on the podcast (we have not started the podcast))

Tell me your favorite Andor quote or screenshot because I'm bored and I miss it!

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "The Honorable Ones"

Kallus starts growing the nigglings of a conscience and also I never want to visit Bahryn ever.

Does this count as Friendship Fetch Quest episode? I mean... we do technically recruit an ally, albeit we make one out of a consistent former enemy, and he is important to things later...

Yeah, you know what, I'm counting it.

Geonosis looks gorgeous.

Oooooof SO many Death Star foreshadowings in this conversation. This is in fact where they started construction on the Mark I, as far back as the Clone Wars. Some time between now and then (Wookiepedia thinks it's between "Breaking Ranks" and now), the project was moved, the orbital stations scrapped, and the entire population of Geonosis genocided to conceal the project's existence.

Just, you know, your ordinary Tuesday for the Empire.

Hi Kallus!

Love Chopper getting to be an absolutely murderous psychopath again lolol.

Ohhhh hey, this cue is from back in "Droids In Distress" when they were about to blow up the ion disruptors. How fitting, lol.

Ezra is still Not Fond of leaving people behind.

He looks so worried. :(

Love how Kallus and Zeb stop fighting for a second when they realize they're about to crash. Matching Oh Crap expressions and everything.

Ngl, I felt that cry of agony deep in the recesses of my childhood.

(I fell off some parallel bars once in gym, didn't break anything, but my first scream? Sounded not too unlike that.)

Lol Ezra banging on Chopper. "Yes, we want him back! Don't be a sleemo!"

Jeez, how terrified Kallus must have been, stuck in the exact scenario that traumatized him so in the past. Lucky for our favorite asshole Zeb is the honorable type.

Yup, yeah, pissing his pants terrified. David does a really good job with Kallus this episode, it's one of the first times they let him show a bit more range and he does shrill and hysterical very nicely, if I may say so.

Kallus is so assured of the Empire's fairness and nobility, aww let's shatter that to pieces this episode. :D

Worried Ezra continues to be worried. <3

He is already shivering, nice little animation here. Also lol @ Zeb pettily pulling the heater closer towards him.

Ahhh the glowing rock of friendship. Love that Kallus keeps it after this.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" <3 See this mother hen behavior right here is why I stuck the Iron Squadron kids with him in my Mirrorverse series, Kallus being a fussy fretful Team Mom is hilarious.

Ah NOPE, nope, nah-uh. Nooooooo thank you.

The bonzami are actually really well-designed. They look like prehistoric dinosaurs of some kind. Definitely evocative of all my childhood nightmares about T-Rexes.

Kallus parroting the Might Makes Right and Social Darwinism of the Empire, leading to Zeb beginning to ask pointed questions.

Oh man there was a really good analysis on here someone did about Kallus's fighting style, how he's better at close quarters than distance/ranged, I wish I remembered who wrote it.

Subtle animation appreciation detail: That pinched guilt in Kallus's expression.

Oooh yeah, that's the good stuff.

Kallus launches into his tragic backstory, possibly to try and remind himself why he personally hates Lasats, rejustify in his head how it was okay for him not to question orders when told to use the ion disruptors--("They deserve it, they're bad people, they kill the injured!")--and the connection to Saw is not a coincidence I think, the writers expand heavily on the whole "It's how we fight that matters." and "The ends justify the means." conflict later on down the line. Numerous characters on this show like Saw and Thrawn and Kallus to an extent represent what happens when you go too far to fight those you consider monsters. I've always loved how firmly Rebels comes down on the side of "The means do matter."

Probably one of the reasons I'm still kind of relucant to watch Andor, I know fandom loves that "I burn myself for a sunrise I'll never see." quote but eehhhhhhhhh.

The exchange right after Kallus's story is a bit clunky, I get what the intent was--that there are people in the Empire who aren't cold and bloodthirsty and evil and the Rebels shouldn't write them all off like they're the same--but it's clumsily executed.

PPFFFFTTTTTT LOLOLOL. KALLUS CANNOT BELIEVE THE SHEER PETTINESS IN ZEB HURLING THE BO-RIFLE OUT OF THE CAVE RATHER THAN LET HIM HOLD IT.

Hey remember when I said I love David Oyelowo's hysterical Kallus voice? Yeah.

Zeb's prehensile feet put to good use again.

Ohhhhh yeah no that's absolutely a terrifying concept for me. Nope.

"Hey we didn't get eaten! Are we friends now?"

There's some debate in the fandom about the inconsistency of the stories Kallus tells from "Droids In Distress" to here. Some parts of fandom point to how he almost gleefully bragged about giving the order to use the ion disruptors and others point out that he couldn't possibly have been high enough in the ranks at that point to actually have the authority to do that.

I tend to fall more towards the latter camp, that he wasn't actually THE one to give the order but he didn't question it and passed it right along due to his prejudice against the Lasat, and only said what he said to Zeb to rile him up. As much as he hated Lasats though, there has been some guilt severely weighing on him since then, and I'm pretty sure it's partly due to his confusion over the Honor Guardsman giving him his bo-rifle. There was a note of aggravated self-defense in Kallus's voice when he explains to Zeb how it was given to him, like he's dispensing with an act and being all, "All right look here's how it really happened."

This conversation is slightly less clear but to me reads like Kallus is detailing his thoughts from the moment he'd been given the order. Like it's mid-battle and it's going harder than they anticipated and the weapons are handed out and he's told to use them and he realizes, "Oh. The Empire is not playing around are they?" and he shoves down his own potential qualms about it and just passes on the order.

Zeb, having had his character development, is dismissive of Kallus's attempt to explain the massacre, saying that it doesn't affect him anymore, basically.

They're so happy to see him. <3

Awwwwwww.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: Zeb's little elbow bump to Ezra's arm as they climb up the ramp.

Ohhhhhh man the behind the scenes had a little plot bit that they should have kept, basically it was not the Empire that retrieved Kallus from Bahryn, it was a scavenger ship, the Empire spent a paltry two rotations looking for him and then wrote him off, he had to make his way back to them on his own.

Konstantine doesn't even look at him.

:((((((

Kallus's redemption is a bit of a polarizing topic in fandom. Personally I'm very fond of it, I like Kallus as an antagonist-turned-Rebel, I think he's a lot of fun post Heel Face Turn and the many myriad fanfics that bridge the gap between "Zero Hour" and Season 4 featuring Kallus slowly blending in to the Spectres are among some of my favorites.

But it's also one of my major nitpicks because it's a bit lacking in legwork. Show👏me👏the legwork!👏 Like 90% of all writing problems can be solved just by expending some effort. Don't just have Kallus as the new Fulcrum offscreen between seasons I need to SEE it.

That being said, this is a mostly tightly written Locked In A Room type episode, well-paced, decently animated. Fandom definitely loves it and I'll still give it fairly regular rewatches since it's another of the husband's favorites.

Next up, we return again to Lothal for Force Weirdness.

[hottpinkpenguin]

Reasons, Ch.3 - Cassian Andor series

Female reader insert Summary: You're a droidsmith on Ferrix when a handsome stranger walks in one day with a hopelessly damaged droid. You agree to take on the repairs for the stranger, a decision that will change the direction of your lives forever. Word Count: 2,029 Content Warnings for: canon-divergence; parental death; cursing Taglist: @mithicakurogo @nonniecannie

The chanting crowd fell silent as you stepped forward, your father’s funerary brick clasped in your trembling hands. Your hair was plastered to the sides of your face, cold raindrops running down the back of your neck and mixing with the tears you couldn’t seem to staunch. One of the Daughters of Ferrix smiled gently at you from, standing next to the city wall where your father’s brick was to be placed. She extended a hand towards you, beckoning you forward. You felt your feet carry you towards her. You lifted the brick - now slick with the cold morning rain - and slotted it into the rectangular hole in the wall. You marveled at the way the brick fit into the wall perfectly, indistinguishable from its neighbors. You wondered if you’d be able to find it again, or if eventually you’d walk by the wall and not be able to pick out the only piece of your father that remained. Your vision grew blurry with tears as you tried to keep your lip from trembling. 

“Well done, my dear.” The Daughter of Ferrix wrapped a wiry arm around your shoulders, gently guiding you back from the wall. The solemn crowd lingered a few moments longer before you heard the scattered sounds of wet soles squelching away. You kept your eyes fixed on your father’s brick, burning its location into your memory. The sky grew darker with your mood, rain now falling off the ends of your hair in plump droplets. More of the crowd thinned and returned to their lives behind you. 

You weren’t entirely sure how long you stood there. When you finally turned to begin the journey back to an empty house, only the Daughters of Ferrix and a handful of your father’s oldest friends remained. They took their cue from you and turned to leave, the final remnants of the funerary procession dissolving into the rain. You exited the square in the direction of your shop and your home - as you were now the sole owner of both - without a backwards glance. If you had looked back, you might have seen a familiar face, his dark eyes following your every movement. And although you’d never know, Cassian Andor was the last resident of Ferrix to pay his respects to your father. 

* * * * * * * * *

Three Weeks Later

“Kenth, you and I both know that quote is twice the price we agreed on and I won’t pay it.” 

You narrowed your eyes at the Abednedos junk dealer. Ever since you’d taken over your father’s business full-time, his long-time suppliers had all tried to jack up the prices on your standing orders. You knew it was their way of testing you. Your father had warned you that this would happen in the months before his passing, and you had promised him that you wouldn’t let his suppliers take advantage of you. What your father hadn’t anticipated was how dizzyingly flush with credits you would be, thanks to Cassian’s hefty first payment for your work on his droid. Even though Kenth’s new price would hardly make a dent in the credit stash you now had, out of respect for your father, you set yourself to the unpleasant task of haggling the price down.

“That was the price for your father, girl. This is the price for you. Pay it or walk.” 

Abednedos were notoriously stubborn, and Kenth was no exception. You held his gaze, chewing on your lip as you considered your next move.

“I’ll pay two hundred more than the price you set with my father and not a credit more.” 

Kenth scoffed at your counter-offer, his black eyes filled with mirth. You bristled, eager to end the transaction. Your customer list had grown exponentially in the wake of your father’s death, many of his longest-standing patrons sending you tedious work in what you knew were gestures of condolence. Each moment you spent here haggling over a price you could easily pay ten times over without batting an eye was eating into precious repair time. 

“Four hundred if you throw in that DD-13.” You gestured towards the medical droid in the corner, its smooth black surface glinting in the harsh light of Kenth’s shop. He looked over at the droid thoughtfully for an instant before he extended a hand towards you.

“Done.” You accepted his handshake, returning his grip forcefully. You knew your father would be disappointed that you’d accepted anything higher than what he had paid, but you saw the bargain as a win. DD-13’s were some of the most valuable droids in all the Galaxy, their parts easy to replace and their skillset unparalleled. The fact that Kenth just sold you one for a measly two hundred credits showed you that his knowledge of droids was lacking. You could use that to your advantage in the future. 

“Let’s go, X8.” Your reprogrammed pilot droid chirped cheerily behind you as he wheeled over to the large, wooden crate of spare charge stations you’d just purchased. You counted out the credits you owed Kenth, splaying them on the glass-bottomed desk in front of him. His beady black eyes fixed you with a cold stare as he watched you finish counting out your payment. You’d been careful not to bring too many credits with you: you knew enough of pirates and gangs to know that walking around with too much money put a target on your back. Even so, you had a sum large enough to make you jumpy, and Kenth had noticed.

“Where’d you get all these credits then?” He picked one up, inspecting it against the lights. 

“My inheritance,” you replied coldly. It wasn’t true, of course. Your father hadn’t left you anything but the deed to his shop and the living quarters above it because that was all he had to give. However, you’d learned rather quickly that implying otherwise about your newly deceased father made others uncomfortable, and usually shut down any improper lines of questioning.

Kenth looked conflicted. He was as shrewd as he was stubborn, and you knew that he sensed there was more to the story than what you were letting on. But you also saw the greedy glint in his eyes. After a moment of indecision, he yielded and scooped up the loose credits on his desk. 

“Fair enough. My condolences, by the way.” You nodded curtly, swallowing down the lump in your throat.

With his arms full of credits, Kenth turned and barked something in Abednedish at the DD-13 droid. The tall, humanoid-looking black droid sprang to life and walked over to you. 

“I am S-QL7, your medical assistant,” it informed you, its voice pleasant and sing-songy. You gestured in the direction of X8, who was piloting the hover-lift with the charge station crate on it up into the loading bay of your ship outside Kenth’s shop.

“X8 will make sure you have everything you need,” you replied. S-QL7 strode off with long, loping strides in the direction of your awaiting ship. 

“I’ll be back in three months,” you called over your shoulder at Kenth as you followed S-QL7 out. You exited the shop, eager to get home and make a dent in your customer list.

* * * * * * * * *

Four Days Later

You shot up in bed, your spine ramrod straight with adrenaline as the echo of shattering glass faded in the darkness around you. You reached under your mattress, feeling for your blaster. Your ears strained into the quiet of your quarters, listening for something, anything. A faint layer of sweat beaded over your body as you slid off your bed, careful not to make too much noise as your feet hit the cold concrete floor.

Your hand closed on the muzzle of your blaster as you  heard the muffled sound of crunching glass. Your heart jolted in your chest, the realization that you weren’t alone sharpening your senses. You forced yourself to breathe quietly as you slid your blaster out from its hiding place, careful not to scrape the metal of your weapon against the wooden bottom of the bunk. 

“Y/n? Y/n, are you there?” A vaguely familiar voice was whispering your name from the main room of your living quarters. 

“Y/n, it’s me. Cassian.” 

You froze, fear making you second-guess whether you really recognized the voice or if it was your mind hearing what it wanted to. Your mouth went dry as every muscle in your body went tight, intent on listening.

“I need to talk to you. Are you in there?” 

The voice was getting closer to your room now, soft footsteps tracking the intruder’s presence across the main room towards your bedroom door. 

“Cassian?” Your reply sounded small and terrified.

A shadow materialized in your doorway. 

“Y/n, don’t shoot. It’s me.”

Speaking in normal tones, you recognized the gentle lilt in his voice, an accent you’d never been able to place. You let go of the breath you’d been holding, standing up and flicking on your bedside lamp. The light illuminated Cassian’s sharp profile, casting half his face in deep shadow. He shot you a cautious grin as he tossed his hands up. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” you snapped. With the initial adrenaline surge fading, you were left feeling angry at the intrusion. 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” He closed the distance between you. As he approached, you noted the tense energy that hummed around him, the shifty way his eyes darted over his shoulder as if he expected something - or someone - to be closing in on his back. It reminded you of the first time you’d met Cassian, the afternoon he’d barged into your shop insisting that you fix his hopelessly damaged droid. 

“What’s going on?” you asked. Cassian grabbed you by the shoulders, not enough to hurt but with the pressure of a desperate man. It startled you, although you weren’t entirely sure you could blame your heart flipping over in your chest solely on nerves. 

“Do you have them? The credits I gave you? Tell me you didn’t spend them.” His eyes were wide and pleading, the note of anguish in his voice scaring you.

“Cassian, what are you talking about? Tell me what’s going on.” He shook his head, growing impatient.

“The credits, y/n. Where are the credits?” 

“I have them, they’re here.” You inclined your chin in the direction of your closet, where you kept your credits and other valuables in a small safe at the back. You saw Cassian’s shoulders relax somewhat before you spoke again. “Most of them.”

The same prickle of tension flared to life in his eyes as he met your gaze. 

“How many did you spend?” When he spoke, his voice was barely louder than a whisper. 

“A few thousand,” you replied quietly. The brief flicker of relief splintered in Cassian’s eyes, replaced by a guilt so deep you couldn’t see the bottom. It made you want to reach out and touch him, comfort him. Before you could, his head dropped momentarily, his hands still holding on to the top of your arms as if he were close to getting sucked away in a strong current. When he raised his eyes back to yours, you saw the effort with which he shut out the guilt. 

“We need to leave. Pack only what you can carry.” His voice was so cold it burned. You opened your mouth to argue, a million questions jockeying at the tip of your tongue.

He silenced you with a soft, sad shake of his head. 

“Do you trust me?” he asked, his voice stretched taut between faltering hope and a wretched twang of remorse. The sound stifled every conflicting thought in your throat. Before you knew what you were doing, you nodded in reply. 

“Then pack up. We’re leaving Ferrix. Tonight. I don’t know when we’ll be back… if we’ll be back.” 

You froze momentarily, the gravity of Cassian’s words settling on you like a heavy blanket. You hesitated only a few short breaths before you felt your decision click into place as naturally as a key in a lock. 

This time when Cassian left, you left with him.

*read chapter 4 here If you'd like to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know

[quote-tournament]

Second round, tenth fight

Quote number 38 :

"Life is only precious because it ends, kid. Take it from a god. You mortals don't know how lucky you are."

-Mars, Rick Riordan's The Son of Neptune

VS

Quote number 40 :

"Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chances at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion: I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there's no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down, there was no longer any ground beneath my feet.

What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? Everything!”

-Luthen Rael, Andor (2022)

[hegodamask]

Okay, trying not to post too much of my face on here these days but please can I talk about Denise Gough for a second because!! I just! I..! 💀

She 100% made my Celebration. I very rarely do things like this because I get so nervous about embarrassing myself. But she was just so lovely in the short time I met her.

Full embarrassing ramble under the cut:

So the photo-op was a super quick in-and-out, but when Denise saw me she leaned in and said "great hair" before we took ours. So that was like whew. Okay! This is fine. This is fine.

I personally think this is why I have a slightly crazed expression in the original uncovered photo.

But when I came back later for the signing, the whole thing was nearly ruined by the badly-managed queues in the autograph hall. I'm not a regular con-goer, but it felt like the Excel just didn't have enough space for an event as big as Celebration this time around.

My dumb-ass accidentally queued with the VIPs and when I realised I was in the wrong line, a bunch of us got moved to an overflow queue on the other side of Denise's booth. We were there for ages and for a moment we were like "have they forgotten about us over here??"

But it was so worth it in the end. She recognised me from the photo-op earlier and was like "it's the lovely hair!" at which point I died again. She signed my Andor print with the "get on with it" quote and explained about how she came up with that line. Meanwhile I'm thinking "Yes, I know. I've read and watched every Andor interview you've ever done ilysm 😭😭"

Initially, I wasn't going to give her one of my stickers. I was worried she wouldn't get it (apart from @sarcasmismydefaultmode and a nice lady I met in line for the Villains panel, the few other people I tried to give my SWAG to seemed a bit...confused.) But others ahead of me in line were giving her stuff, so when she'd finished signing my poster I just went for it and said "can I give you a sticker?"

And she was like "of course, I love presents!" I gave her the Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss one and I think she found it funny. I think she said something about seeing a video online of Dedra's girlboss moments.

Then she was like "do you want a pin?"

and I was like "yes please??" 😳😳😳 while mentally freaking out the whole time.

And then she gets out the Andor pin set which I'd already bought, but shh I'm not gonna say no to a pin from Denise Gough, am I??? and gives me the Dedra pin. There was a kid watching us, whose Dad was next in line. She said she would give the kid one too, but joked that he probably didn't want one of Dedra.

I took my pin and my poster and said "thank you so much, bye!" in the highest voice ever.

Then she blew me a kiss as I walked away and I died for the fourth time. 💀

I've had some mixed feelings about Celebration this year, but this was the highest of high points. I wish I could've said a little more to her, but I was super nervous (plus feeling very hungry, tired and hot by that point in the day) but I'm really grateful for the brief interaction we had!

[lilydvoratrelundar]

10 comfort films

Ty for tagging me @mothdogs !!

1. Matilda the musical (2022) I have watched this film so many times and it's not even been out for a year. I love it so much. It's one of the only dvds I got new from hmv as soon as it came out. I could quote the whole thing on command. I cry whenever I watch it. I feel like I've lived with this film for my whole life when in fact I only saw it on a whim with my parents, towards the end of its theatrical run, cos of fond memories of the show.

2. The Suicide Squad (2021) it's the best superhero film. I love it so much.

3. Time Bandits (1981) pure whimsy. I could also probably write a decent essay on the theology of this film but that's another conversation

4. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) I could probably put any of the apes films here (except the 2001 one) but this one is just. So beautiful and so good and I love it so much

5. The Blues Brothers (1980) I hate illinois nazis

6. Doctor who city of death. Shut up it's on letterboxd it counts as a film. I have other favourites of the show but this is the one I put on to lift my mood

7. Blade Runner 2049 (2017) I only discovered this one like a week ago but will 100% be rewatching many times

8. Star Wars (1977) is it a hot take to say, andor aside, the franchise has never been as good as that first film? I treasure my unspecialised edition dvd BTW I haven't watched the cgi monstrosities in about a decade

9. Bit (2019) it's gay vampires what more do u want

10. Baby driver (2017) banging soundtrack fantastic direction great story

Oh god i'll tag uhhh

@merrygejelh @regicidal-defenestration @charliedooku @rainethorn @justanotherbookortwo @wouldbeheroine @starfrog1 @emailsquid & anyone else who sees this consider urself tagged

[rebeljyn]

Request Info Page:

REQUESTS OPEN

Current Requests List:

↳ ↳ ↳

Rules:

➜ Please be polite! You can ask to make sure I’m willing to gif something(a ship that isn’t on my list for example) if you’re in doubt but please respect it if I say no!

➜ Only send one request per ask!

➜ I will ignore/delete requests sent in while requests are closed!

➜ It might take some time for your request to be made so be aware of that, sending in asks or messages rushing/complaining might end up get your request deleted as well.

➜ When you make a request on anon please try to check sometimes if I’ve posted anything on here asking for clarification on your request! If you’ve requested off anon I’ll message you or tag you on a post with what I need clarification on!

➜ I most probably won’t gif any romantic ships that aren’t in my list of allowed ships, but you can ask me if you're in doubt. Non-romantic relationships I’m ok with but be aware that the gifsets will be based on my own opinion of them.

Some examples of gifsets/edits you can ask for:

↳Character/ship + color

↳Character/ship + lyrics

↳Character/ship + quotes

↳Character/ship + specific movie or episode

↳Specific scene from a show/movie

↳Color palette gifset

↳Simple headers and icons(must put credit in description if you use them)

Romantic ships I’m willing to gif:

↳Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso

↳Baze Malbus/Chirrut Îmwe

↳Han Solo/Leia Organa

↳Vel Sartha/Cinta Kaz

↳ Finn/Poe Dameron

Things I will not gif:

Please be aware that even if you request something that’s not on here I might still refuse your request because it was something I just forgot to add.

Star Wars:

    General:

↳Anything from the Star Wars cartoons/animations like Clone Wars, Rebels, Bad Batch, etc.

    Characters:

↳Cara Dune

↳Migs Mayfeld

    Ships:

↳Any romantic Padawan/Master ships

Marvel:

    Characters:

↳Peter Quill | Star Lord

↳Clint Barton | Hawkeye

↳Quentin Beck | Mysterio

[thewriterowl]

Now for the hard question: in your top 10 movie franchises list add in ALL of the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies in order of favorites.

Oh you have to ask the hard questions! Ok, let me see...in order for Star Wars:

Empire Strikes Back -- it is just such a good movie with some iconic Luke looks and Daddy-Son moments. It's so good and him with grandpa-Yoda is so cute. I also love how we see this lead up into Luke's change of perspective with everything.

Return of the Jedi -- Also great Luke and Daddy-Son moments. I think it barely inches over New Hope simply because I got to see it again on the 40th re-release in theaters and I was feral over how Luke looked. Also, loved the fighting scenes and we get Lando. I also happen to love the Ewoks.

New Hope -- May actually be in second place once RoJ-theater release gives me peace (need another few months). But this Luke is just so pure and whiny and I want to put him in my pocket forever and ever and ever. (let me throw this Luke at Din omg)

Revenge of the Sith -- UGH just UGH so god. Anakin is so hot in this and so messed up and this lead up is just fantastic and wonderful and absolutely tragic.

Rogue One -- I mean, how could I not adore this? It is absolutely AMAZING. Just heartbreaking with amazing graphics, awesome characters, and is only getting better thanks to the Andor series.

The Force Awakens -- Honestly, I adored this movie so much. It wasn't perfect, it needed more Luke and the original trio, but it had so much potential. I just thought it was leading up to something amazing and the memes Mark gave us after left me excited and laughing for a long time.

The Phantom Menace -- Part of this is spite-love for young Anakin and Jar Jar Binks; both deserve better. But honestly, I have rewatched this a few times recently and was all "this is actually great? why the hate?"

Attack of the Clones -- Honestly, I need to rewatch this again. It's just here cause I haven't rewatched it in a while and i don't know why. We get Jango! We get the Clones! Baby Boba! The SAND-QUOTE! Obi-Wan's mullet! The lead up to the Clone War series! Badass Yoda! Yeah, gotta do a re-watch.

Solo -- Again, i actually really enjoyed the movie. It wasn't the best but it wasn't bad. Honestly, there were just some weird choices for some story movements and character interactions but other than that? It was good. I need to rewatch it honestly.

The Last Jedi -- I hate, hate, hate what they did to my Luke. If they were going to go this route with him I'd understand 100% because it would make sense for him to to have so much PTSD and just be burnt out and so hurt (still, i think we have enough of this and deserve older heroes that are still full of hope and silly and are kind). But the execution and how he is made to be a loser is just wrong. There were also some other scenes and interactions that were "uh...no?" but the fight scenes were great, Po was great, I loved Rose, I loved Finn's story and realization. It was just really wonky, disjointed from what we were getting before, and I will keep my head-cannon Luke in my claws.

The Rise of Skywalker -- I...didn't like it. I saw it twice and actually checked the time till I could go home often (only have done that with like two other movies). It was so awkward, the dialogue was poor, the actors seemed done, there was so many random new stories thrown in at last second, characters were thrown away, "Palpatine somehow returned?" like...what??? It was just lame. Such a lame, lame ending. The OT-trio and the new trio deserved so much better. It needs a re-do.

Now for the Lord of the Rings!:

The Fellowship of the Ring -- Even though it wasn't the most action packed, what it sparked, how good it was...just AUGH perfection. I adore this movie so much.

The Two Towers -- Incredible, amazing, also perfect. Great action, all the characters are given their due-time (with Legolas making faces). I love it.

Return of the King -- AMAZING ENDING. The wraps up is just...the moments of suffering and the release. The HAPPINESS. How ever gets what they deserve (tho RIP Boromir) just adore it so much.

The Desolation of Smaug -- PERFECT. Except for maybe some off CGI, this movie was amazing. So much Bagginshield, the intense cliffhanger, the Arkenstone....it was so good. I adored this movie so much!

An Unexpected Journey -- I adore Bilbo. I love him so much. And how this opened up Bagginshield just how could I not adore it??

Battle of the Five Armies -- I didn't like it the first time I watched it. But a few more times I was "huh, actually, it's not bad!" It honestly should've been loads better. There were so many wonky decisions and everything that happened did not feel like it met up with the end of a trilogy. But the end....how everyone survived! Can you believe that there was absolutely NO HEARTBREAK WHAT'SO'EVER??

[heavensbeehall]

"Catching Fire", Chapter 27

Part 3: The Enemy

Chapter 27: Chaos reigns. Katniss is pulled into a hovercraft by Plutarch Heavensbee. She wakes up a couple times and tries to die, but is not allowed to. Beetee is there, but she sees no other victors. She grabs a syringe and tries to find Peeta, so she can mercy kill him before they can be tortured. Instead she finds Plutarch, Haymitch and Finnick talking. They explain about the rebellion and the plan in the arena. When Haymitch tells her Peeta was left behind, she attacks him and claws at his face with her fingernails. They sedate her again. Finnick tries to say they will keep Peeta alive as bait, just like Annie. More sedation. Gale arrives and tells her District 12 has been bombed.

Quotes:

I realize the Gamemakers are shooting off fireworks up there

??? Isn't this the explosions of the arena coming apart?

Perhaps they never intended to have a victor in these Games at all.

But who will watch the Games if there is no Victor? /tbosas reference

My worst fears are confirmed when the face that greets me inside the hovercraft belongs to Plutarch Heavensbee, Head Gamemaker.

Can we talk about Plutarch a bit? I suppose the blog title might lead you to believe I am a stan, but I just chose it because it's a reference to the Academy school and I feel like I'm making notes in the margins and flagging passages like I did when I was an English major.

I saw something--can't remember if it was a video essay or text essay--that said the end of Mockingjay is bad because Plutarch can just manipulate everyone again however he wants. And I sort of disagree. I think Plutarch has somehow learned how Snow does it, and is doing it for good reasons. He wants to end it. But that doesn't mean he's "good." He gets a lot of people killed, injured, hijacked, etc. And he says he'd put Katniss through it all again for the outcome. She's a 17-year-old girl. He put her through hell. But he's not sorry.

He reminds me a bit of Luthen Rael (if you haven't watched Andor, and like rebels fighting against an evil totalitarian regime, I highly recommend it, even if you don't like Star Wars. At least watch this monologue that Stellen Skarsgard should have won more awards for).

When I swim back into semi consciousness...

Remind me that I want to keep count of everytime Katniss wakes up in a hospital bed in Mockingjay because it happens a lot. I guess this is the beginning of it. She does it at least five times in this chapter alone.

I failed keep [Peeta] safe in life, I must find him, kill him now before the Capitol gets to choose the agonizing means of his death. I slide my legs off the table and look around for a weapon.

I guess I forgot the syringe she grabs is not for protection but that she wants to kill Peeta before he is tortured. She's willing to be tortured herself, but not him. And it's sad because he's already in the Capitol's clutches at this point. She doesn't even "mercy kill" Beetee because she's worried it would keep her from getting to Peeta.

He croaks out something else. Something heavy with despair.

It's clear from context that Finnick said something about killing himself, because Haymitch says that would get Annie killed for sure since she is "bait." And I'm sure that cheered Finnick up. Eyeroll.

It's an awful lot to take in, this elaborate plan in which I was a piece, just as I was meant to be a piece in the Hunger Games. Used without consent, without knowledge. At least in the Hunger Games, I knew I was being played with. My supposed friends have been a lot more secretive.

This is just so heartbreaking.

"The others kept Peeta alive because if he died, we knew there would be no keeping you in an alliance," says Haymitch.

Mags and the Morphling from 6 died protecting Peeta. Finnick took a knife for him. All because Haymitch knows what the rest of us know. Katniss would go crazy without Peeta. Or at the very least, become reckless in the arena (like she did when she lost Rue).

If I were either of them, I would be kind of pissed that I had to die not for the great symbol of the revolution herself, but for her teenage crush. But both of their deaths have so much love. Mags kisses Finnick, possibly saying that she'd do the same for him and Annie (afterall, she volunteered to protect Annie from this trauma). And the Morphling girl seemed to have a real connection with Peeta, and I wonder if she would've done it even if she hadn't been instructed to.

End Book 2.

[annisthree]

Andor Wednesday #11, "To Climb" by Nock_and_Bolt

I first read this story ~ 3 weeks ago, when it was first posted - but I couldn't resist re-reading it again today. And I have a feeling it's not gonna be the last time.

Title: To Climb

Author: Nock_and_bolt (@nock-and-bolt) (hiiiiii! 😁)

Pairing: Cassian Andor x Jyn Erso (although the romance is not the main focus of this story)

Words: 4104

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/44326411

Rating: Teen and up

Warnings: (major) spoilers to Andor, whump, hurt, angst, canonical character death

Description: If you, like me, went absolutely mad while watching Andor and seeing all those little references and parallels - you're gonna love this story.

It describes Cassian's final moments - between climbing up that data tower on Scarif and the, erm, canonical ending. But it's so much more than just a series and events! The story is interwoven with memories, quotes, parallels (from both Andor and Rogue One). You feel like all those characters, all those people Cassian has met on his path - they are with him during that one final climb, helping him find the strength to keep going.

It's just... the connections are so well made, and the entire internal monologue is so beautifully written. It's an amazing read. Seriously, drop everything and go read it.

I hope you enjoy the reading! Thank you for all of your recommendations - feel free to send more, either via comments or in my ask box. Don’t be shy to self-promote!

And if you end up reading this story, let me know what you think (and remember to leave the author some love!)

You can see the other Andor Wednesday recommendations here.

[thevalleyisjolly]

[Image description: An image set combining excerpts of interviews with Varada Sethu and Tony Gilroy with images from Andor and lyrics from Hozier's "Butchered Tongue." The first image begins with an excerpt from Varada Sethu's interview: "[Question] Most of your co-actors have these great speeches and lines. Your character Cinta is quiet. [Answer] To me, it made sense that she wasn't saying a lot because this is someone who has been through so much and is suffocating on her own rage and anger at the injustice. So, why would she waste words, or her breath, talking about it," with "suffocating on her own rage and anger" highlighted. The interview quote is above an image of Cinta Kaz standing a little apart from her team and half turned to look directly into the camera. The second image is an excerpt from Tony Gilroy's interview: "It's an adventure story all the way through. But knowing that Cassian is that kid who beat the shit out of that console [in a flashback as a child] after they killed his friend, and knowing that rage is in him, is really important," with "knowing that rage is in him is really important" highlighted. The quote is above an image of a young Cassian Andor standing apart from the other children, looking back towards the camera. The third image is a screencap from Andor, showing Arval talking to Cassian as they look off-screen at Cinta, saying "you should have been here when cinta found out. they slaughtered her whole familiy." The fourth image is another interview excerpt: "All you get is a glimpse of who she is and a throwaway line on how her family was slaughtered by stormtroopers. So, I imagined her as a survivor of genocide." The fifth image is a screencap from Andor, showing Maarva saying, "there were no survivors on kenari." The sixth image is a screencap from Andor showing Cassian and Cinta standing in the doorway of a hut, looking at each other. The seventh image shows a rough sketch of two faces making direct eye contact with each other, labelled "Self-recognition through the Other." The eighth image is two Google search results suggestions: "What does it mean when you feel like you know a person? Why do I feel like I know him from before?" The ninth image is a screencap from Andor showing Cassian watching Cinta leave the doorway of the hut they were standing in. The tenth image is a lyric excerpt from Butchered Tongue: "With no translator left to sound/A butchered tongue still singin' here above the ground." End ID]

cassian & cinta: sole survivors

varada sethu interview for the hindu / andor (2022) / tony gilroy interview for rolling stone / “butchered tongue”, hozier