#blake the taken king

[little-honeypie]

Desperately need to know more about that Taken King titan of yours.............

I did have a master post about my Destiny OC's but it looks like Tumblr's eaten it 😭

His name is Blake Pendragon. He's an awoken titan. He has a sister named Ophelia Pendragon. She's my warlock.

Blake is soft spoken and doesn't use his Light very often. He was revived a few years before the D1 campaign takes place. He studied under the Speaker. He became fascinated by his work and everything about it. He was his apprentice. He went to events and preached about the typical BS of "the Light finds a way" "May the Light, guide you" "Stay in the Light" etc. after the Speaker was killed, he took over. He received a vision in his sleep. One of twisting shapes, darkness, plague and pain. He excitedly told the Vanguard who were wary but listened and quickly began trying to decipher it.

The citizens and Tower workers, (even some guardians) didn't like that he took over and stepped up so quickly. They didn't see him as admirable, noble or even useful. They thought him a fraud. He would commonly be harassed.

When the Vanguard couldn't decipher his vision, he left to try and find what it was on his own. If he could discover the reason, he'd be able to prove himself, right? Everyone would accept him.

He went to the EDZ in search for answers. Asked Devrim for his input (They're friends and commonly have tea together) He suggested it was something to do with the Taken. They'd been acting weirdly across the board based on reports. Actively hunting down guardians and seemingly searching for something. So Blake took up the study of them. Studied the Taken relentlessly. He went to Eris and spoke with Petra to get information but none of it was good enough so he went out on his own. He had to find out what everything meant. He had to prove himself. He refused communication with his sister which was out of character. He became obsessed.

He went to the Dreadnaught where he was overrun. The Taken were different. Calculated and erratic. Though he was a light bearer, yes but he had little experience in the field. He was in over his head by far. As he desperately fled deeper and deeper into the ship, he could hear whispers at the edges of his mind, telling him to stop, the Light is a plague, corruption. He could do so much better. He will be fine if he just stops. He will be accepted. He can command armies upon armies and show the Vanguard and the last city that he was right. He tried calling for backup but his Ghost was killed. Surrounded, Blake stood before the armies of Taken. They didn't move any closer. Simply staring at him. The voices swirled in his mind, lulling him, spinning their web of lies.

Humanity didn't deserve him.

He could do so much better if he just listened.

He could have all the power he ever wanted.

It wouldn't be like Uldren, he would be in control.

He was alone. No ghost, no Speaker to guide him. No sister to protect him.

He wouldn't need protection. He wouldn't need guidance. He wouldn't need the Light.

He gave in.

Sorry if this is written poorly, it is 7 minutes before my shift 😩

[annieqattheperipheral]

HER STORY IS INCREDIBLE EVERYONE SIT DOWN AND LEARN FROM THIS QUEEN ⤵️

Kiana Scott, who played minor hockey system for 11 seasons, including four seasons on boys teams, gravitated to scouting from watching her brother’s games and critiquing his strengths and weaknesses.

Unaware of jobs available in hockey, she enrolled in makeup artistry college after high school, but knew her heart was in the sport.

She eventually enrolled in an online hockey general manager scouting course.

Scott joined the International Scouting Service Hockey mentorship program in 2018 and scouted for the service for two years while holding down two jobs.

“I love scouting future prospects, and the evaluation process,” she said. “I think that's kind of where my passion lies. It's just the evaluation process. And it's exciting, building a team.”

Scott spent two seasons as a full-time scout for Erie before she took a bold step and left the organization to move to Calgary and became an independent scout in June 2022.

“I just kept practicing my craft and kind of paid my own way, like, throughout the whole year,” she said. “All of the tickets to every game, all of my travel expenses, everything. I just put all my money into scouting and trying to evolve and then I ended up getting my (Avalanche) internship the next year.”

Scott had some financial help from her family for the move and she supplemented her income by working as a bartender at a Calgary casino, a job with hours that allowed her to scout games.

If all that wasn’t enough, she also enrolled in the University of Florida’s online sports management program.

“I've always had the mindset to just keep betting on myself and working hard and evolving,” she said. “I think I've taken a lot of risks to get to where I am, but I wouldn't try to change the journey for anything.”

Scott said she hopes women, women of color and people who don’t come from a so-called “traditional” hockey background will follow her on the journey.

“I grew up playing hockey, but I didn’t play professional hockey, I didn’t go to college or university for hockey,” she said. “I just had a passion for it. I love scouting. I worked at it, and I continue working at my craft.

“People that don’t necessarily come from the traditional background, I hope they see themselves in me and believe that they can put their minds to it and get it done.”

-----

The 2024 NHL Draft was as eventful for Kiana Scott as it was for the players who were selected in the seven-round event at Sphere in Las Vegas last month.

The 25-year-old Barrie, Ontario, native signed with the Colorado Avalanche at the draft to become a full-time amateur scout, fulfilling a goal she has had since she was a teenager.

“This is something that I've worked really hard for my whole career to be able to sign my first NHL contract,” Scott said. “I was elated. The Avs have been really good for me the past year, and I’m excited to keep building with them.”

Scott joined the Avalanche after working as an intern for the organization.

Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland said he and executive director of hockey operations Suzanne Borchert “were impressed with her work ethic and her passion."

MacFarland said: “Kiana was on our radar when she was scouting in major junior circuits ... and it worked that a few years ago we had an internship opportunity for her.

“She did a good job in that role and was an integral part of our amateur scouting department. We’re excited to see her contributions moving forward in her full-time role as an amateur scout.”

-----

Scott made history when she became the first woman scout in the Ontario Hockey League with Erie in March 2020.

She was among the initial of a wave of women who were hired in recent years as scouts at all levels of hockey, including Cammi Granato (Seattle Kraken), Blake Bolden (Los Angeles Kings), Krissy Wendell-Pohl (Pittsburgh Penguins), Meghan Hunter (Chicago Blackhawks), Gabriella Switaj (Anaheim Ducks) and Brigette Lacquette (Chicago Blackhawks).

Granato moved on from Seattle to become an assistant general manager for the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 10, 2022, and Hunter was promoted to assistant GM by the Blackhawks on June 22, 2022.

“When I first started scouting, I didn’t know of any women in the industry already,” she said. “Cammi Granato got her job with the NHL a year after I started scouting. That’s when I kind of knew it was possible. But I never had anyone to look up to. I just had this dream and the passion for hockey. I knew that I had to the talent and skill to do it, and to try to keep building on them.

"That’s what I’ve always gone off on -- keep evolving, never give up on what you love.”

[howlingday]

nother crack idea for jaune's exes: artoria pendragon has come to beacon to bring back her love to the safety of their little village! she knows jaune's dream is to be a hero but between his father giving him no training and him not getting into a combat school she worries about him, the only solution is to bring him back home for her to train in safety until he's ready! NO THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER WANTING TO EAT HIS COOKING! SHE'S DOING THIS FOR NOBLE REASONS!

"I SEEK THE HAND OF JAUNE ARC!"

The classroom had gone hush with the sudden announcement of the young, blonde woman in armor. The target of this stranger had a mixture of reactions, including the reddening of his cheeks and the swiftness of his hand to his face. The woman made her way down the steps to where Jaune was sitting.

"Jaune, I command you to return home at once!"

"Please, no..." Jaune groaned.

"Excuse me, young lady, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait until class is over to-"

"BE SEATED!" Professor Port responded to this decree by immediately sitting at his desk. "It is rude to interrupt the royal business of a king."

"Aren't you a girl, though?" Cardin asked, brow raised at the intruder.

"BE STILL!" A roar proclamation erupted, forcing Cardin to fall backwards, mouth held shut. "Jaune, I command-"

"I refuse." Jaune said, knocking the woman off-guard. "Also, I'm attending Beacon."

"Jaune, who is this?" Pyrrha asked, confused by the casual way Jaune spoke to the stranger after watching her emasculate both Professor Port and Cardin Winchester. As annoying as it was, both were two of the most masculine people in the room, yet the woman shut them both down, only thrown off her high horse by the response of her team leader. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah." Jaune nodded. "She's my ex." Gasps resounded throughout the classroom. "Why is everyone so surprised?"

"Because it's you?" Weiss answered.

"Because she's so scary!" Ruby replied, putting up her hands in and waving them in defense when the woman glared at her. "Uh, not scary in a bad way!"

"What other way is scary supposed to be taken?" Blake asked.

"Er, when- when you say ex, do you mean ex-friend, or ex-lab partner, or ex-"

"Girlfriend." The woman answered. "And I refuse your claim."

"You said you were fine when we broke up." Jaune clarified. "You even said that you were thinking about travelling around a bit, too."

"Yes, and I did travel around as we discussed." She held an armored hand to her heart. "I've seen many things on my journey, but all of them paled when compared to you." This brought about a coo from the classroom, taken in by the romantic statement. It seemed she genuinely cared about him.

"You got hungry for my cooking again, didn't you?" The classroom nearly fell on their face.

"N-No! Of course not!"

"Then why did you suddenly decide to come find me here at Beacon?" Jaune held up a finger. "A good king doesn't lie to their people."

"Ghk!" The woman flinched. "I... You are correct. I did feel hungry for your cooking again."

"Uh-huh, I thought so."

"But regardless of my reasoning, I still intend to complete my mission!"

"If you're hungry, then just wait until class is over. It's almost lunchtime."

"No, that's not why I'm here." She dropped to one knee. "Jaune Arc, will you do me the honor of becoming Mr. Artoria Pendragon?"

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" The class was in shock. Partially from the proposal by Artoria, but also from the refusal of this act by not Jaune Arc, but his partner, Pyrrha Nikos. All eyes fell on her and felt the urge to shrink back from them, but when her green eyes fell to those of the woman holding Jaune's hand, such urges dispersed. "Jaune Arc is a student of Beacon Academy and the leader of Team JNPR. I refuse to allow you to strip him of him of both titles and responsibilities just so you can eat."

"And who are you to challenge the King of Knights?" Artoria asked, standing tall against her foe.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos, the partner of Jaune Arc." Though the word held different meanings, in this instance Pyrrha's words held them in their most simplest form. Even if Pyrrha wished they meant something deeper. "And I refuse to allow you to take him away from me."

[scarisd3ad]

To the end and back | Daryl Dixon x reader

Chapter twenty six | I love you, I’m sorry

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Warnings - ANGST! Guns, and shooting, Death, mentions of sex, cursing, usual twd warnings

Summary - after the world ended you were sure you’d never find love again but a certain archer catches your eyes and changes the entire trajectory of your life.

(A/N) - it’s finally here! Yay I’ve been working on this chapter since may and I’m so happy I’ve finally finished it. I know progress with my fics have been moving a little slower that they usually do but I’m hoping fingers crossed 🤞that I am able to speed the process up a little in the coming months 🫶🏻 also finally introducing the governor as the readers father in this chapter, I kind of hinted at it last chapter, to play around with the idea of it being canon. And I really like the ideas and situations I’ve came up in my head to put them in.

‘The suicide king’

S3 ep 9

Daryl is unbagged and pushed forward towards the middle of the arena. Merle and Daryl stand frozen, their eyes scanning the crowd in utter disbelief. The deafening sound of boos and heckles echoes throughout the arena, drowning out any other noise. Daryl's chest is heaving, faster and faster with each shout made from the audience of people. A blonde woman is attempting to force her way through a group of people, most likely the Governor's personal bodyguards, to get closer to him.

She manages to get through the first set before a surprise second set grabs her up before she can even get to his side. The governor - or maybe I should just start calling him Philip - because I finally know who the man behind the oh-so-mysterious name 'the governor' is. It's funny, I've been looking for this man for the last, what? 20 years of my life and I'm able to find him not even a year into the apocalypse so easily. How could he avoid his kids for 20 years in the old world, but he couldn't even last a year without me finding him now?

I really want to know how my father, Philip Blake, ended up being some dictator for a survivor's refugee camp. I almost want to laugh at how 'badass' he looks right now. makeshift eyepatch over one eye, as he looked over all his people so proud to be an asshole. My father was never much of a threat, but god he tried to be, though he really tried. I didn't hear much about my dad growing up, my maternal grandpa always muttered about how he was "such an asshole of a man", but the one thing I did hear from my paternal grandmother was that he ended up skipping town got some stupid office job and started a new family. it was all some bullshit about needing to start over, without my 'slut of a mother'.

His arm raises, so it's pointing towards Merle. The people of Woodbury immediately quiet down as their leader begins to speak. "I asked where your loyalties lie. You said here." Daryl was finally let out of whatever shackles that were placed around his arms, letting them fall to his sides freely. "Well, prove it. Prove it to us all." My blood runs cold.

"Brother against brother," he says with a dry chuckle. The crowd copies their leader, letting out a small chuckle that's paired with a quiet "yeah."

"Winner goes free" the crowd cheers at that, probably hoping and praying that Merle is able to win. Even though Merle was now deemed possibly 'unloyal' in the governor's eyes, it was still the better option for them. If Daryl died, Merle would have absolutely no reason to want to help us. Merle would go back to being Philip's loyal righthand man, and we, the 'terrorists' would be dead. Glenn had already told them our location and they would be marching up to our door with pitchforks in no time. Philip walks towards Merle shouting "Fight to the death!" as he does so. The crowd cheers once again. This was a scene taken straight out of one of those shitty medieval times shows.

The blonde woman finally turns, revealing her whole face to me. Andrea, the woman I thought I had accidentally left for dead, was here? Of all places, how did she end up here? Well, she had already shown us she didn't care about being led by an asshole, and if she was as close with Philip as she seems, she should already know how much of an asshole he was. "Philip, please. Don't do this," Andrea pleads, as one of Philips's men holds her back. "Don't do this!" He doesn't even glance at her, choosing instead to keep his eye on his prey. He glares at the two men standing in front of him, a smirk on his face that shows he truly enjoys this. The torture. He doesn't even have to do it himself, he just has to sit back and watch.

Merle raises his hand in the air before shouting "Y'all know me!" the crowd cheers, and I can see the absolute look of betrayal on Daryl's face. "I'm gonna do whatever I got to do to prove..." He hesitates for a moment before swinging his arm back and delivering a forceful punch to Daryl's stomach. With a loud grunt, Daryl collapses to the ground, and the crowd erupts in excitement. I stand frozen, unable to believe what I'm witnessing. how could he do that? Do that to his brother? "Holy shit," Jack gasps as Daryl begins to push himself up off of the ground. "That's my loyalty to this town!" just as Daryl has gotten his head off of the ground, Merle kicks him, sending him right back onto the ground.

Daryl lies motionless on his back, his chest heaving up and down with a faint rhythm. My eyes are fixed on him, hesitant to glance away, as if by doing so I might miss the final moments of his life. Merle continues throwing blow after blow as Philip watches on the sidelines with a sick look on his face. The crowd cheers as they lead out a walker. It's practically on a leash as some man, probably another one of Philips's men, leads him toward Daryl and Merle.

Finally, Daryl throws a punch. It's towards Merle's ankles but it gets him somewhere. It gets Daryl back onto his feet. Daryl launches himself toward Merle, tackling him, or at least trying to, but Merle has a leg up in this competition. merle gets Daryl down to the ground first. Both men have their hands around each other's necks as three of Philips's men lead three walkers towards them.

I don't even know what to do to help Daryl out. I could cause some type of distraction. If something more dangerous happens, it could give Daryl the freedom to escape. My eyes fall to my bag. I open it up and grab my gun right as Daryl and Merle get back to their feet. The two are working together to defeat the walkers.

My ammunition is running dangerously low, but my determination to save Daryl is unwavering. I'm willing to take the risk and use my last bullet to help him escape. My breaths come in quick and shallow as I raise my gun, my hands trembling with apprehension. I take aim at a man standing near Philip. I let out one more shaky breath before pressing the trigger and letting the bullet fly out of the gun and toward the man. Luckily for me, my aim was amazing today. The bullet tears right through his skull. Everyone around him screams as he falls to the ground with a thud.

Suddenly, someone behind Jack and I start shooting rounds into the arena, which makes even more of a ruckus. As I turned around to glance behind me, my eyes fell on Maggie, who was casually leaning against the top of the cold metal dumpster that was situated behind us. She shoots round after round into the arena. I let out a sigh of relief and began running back towards her. rick throws one of his smoke bombs, and Maggie continues to shoot. All I can hear is the sound of the automatic rifle and screams. Everyone's scattering like flies. Rick looks up at me, his mouth is open as if he's about to ask me something before his eyes flick to Jack who's stood behind me. "Who's that?"

"Old friend... he helped me," I reply. Rick continues to stare at Jack, scrutinizing him from head to toe as if he's trying to find a reason not to like him. I already know what he's going to ask. "Is he one of the governor's men?" I quickly respond, "He was just a resident and didn't know anything about what was going on, right Jack?" Jack nods, muttering a quiet "mhm."

Daryl and Merle sprint towards us while Rick urges, "Daryl, let's go!" Without wasting any time, we all take off at full speed, our hearts pounding with fear of being spotted by Philip or his men. The only sound that can be heard is our pounding footsteps on the ground as we race towards safety.

-

We manage to escape the arena and run back into the main town area. We were cautious as we walked around, hoping everyone was in the arena, but there was no actual way to know, so we were as careful as we could.

"they're all at the arena, this way!!" Merle instructs, attempting to lead us toward an exit. Rick was quick to shoot down the idea of Merle going with us. "you're not going anywhere with us!" he growls. "You really want to do this now?!" Merle asks as he runs towards the fence, attempting to pry apart the metal, as Rick and Daryl stand guard. I pray to God Rick won't say anything about Jack going with us. I don't want him to stay here, knowing the possible doomed future of Woodbury.

Finally, Merle manages to pull apart the metal, leaving a nicely sized hole in its wake. We all slipped through without a problem, but we're only met with walkers on the opposite side. "A LITTLE HELP WOULD BE NICE!" Merle shouts as he beats a walker to death with his prosthetic arm. Daryl was quick to pitch in, shooting a walker with his bow. I pull my gun out, shooting off my last bullet into a walker's head, "We ain't got time for this!" before beginning to sprint off.

I stand motionless next to Jack, anticipation building as we await instructions from Rick. "let's go!" Daryl shouts once it's been more than a few seconds, Rick, Maggie, and I not moving. I'm glad Daryl hasn't asked about Jack yet. Maybe it's just because he's too busy to realize. But I hope he never mentions it. I'm scared he'll get mad, or jealous. He's just a friend now, hell we were tiptoeing around a breakup when the outbreak started. But I don't know how Daryl is with exes. I know he can get jealous; he has many times before. Normally, I can predict what he'll do in certain situations, but with Jack, I just don't know how Daryl will react. rick folds, deciding to follow after Merle rather than die.

-

The walk back to the car is long. My hands are in my pockets as I trail behind a bit, with everyone else at least a few feet ahead of me. I don't mean to eavesdrop, but I can't help but overhear Merle and Daryl's conversation. "sooo, wha's up with you'n tha' bitch?" Merle asks, his head tilting back, so it points towards me. My heart stops, wondering what Daryl would say. Would he refer to me as his girlfriend? Even though we already had discussed what our relationship was, and I was confident in my role as Daryl's girlfriend, I was scared that he'd be embarrassed to admit that we were in a relationship with his older brother.

Daryl's quiet for a few seconds, giving his brother enough time to throw in another comment. "You to fuckin' around or something?" Daryl chuckles left hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Um...I guess me'n her are together," he says with a shrug. Merle almost immediately bursts out in a booming fit of laughter, which makes Rick turn around and glare. I don't understand what's so funny. Was it so farfetched that Daryl and I were dating? I can see the back of Daryl's ears turn a bright red as his hands nervously play with the hem of his shirt. "yer datin' her! ain't she fuckin' that Chinese boy?" I almost scoff at Merle's assumption. I can almost hear Daryl's eyes roll as he says, "Nah... they're just friends."

"ya sure? I remem-" Daryl's quick to shut Merle down once again "I'm sure"

-

It's about 20 minutes later when we end up back at the other side of the large acre of woods where we parked the car. As we approach the car, Rick whisper yells out Glenn's name, which makes both Glenn and Michonne get up and run to us. "Oh, thank god," Glenn sighs out as he approaches us. Rick was quick to squash the inkling of relief that Glenn had by revealing our newfound problems. "Now we got a problem here. I need you to back up." the moment Merle's face comes into Glenn's sigh, his face instantly contorted into anger "What the hell is he doing here!" Michonne pulls out her Katana in an effort to protect herself, and Daryl, he's quick to begin yelling in an effort to protect his older brother. There is a gun pointed at almost everyone in the group. "are you guys always like this?" Jack mutters quietly, "Always," I reply with an eye roll.

Everyone is yelling over each other; I can barely understand one word that's coming out of anyone's mouth. "Yeah, right after he beat the shit out of you," Rick scoffs, while I cross my arms over my chest, feeling absolute annoyance simmering inside me. "Hey, we both took our licks, man," Merle chuckles as his back presses against the tree behind him. "Jackass" Daryl scoffs with an eye roll. merle pushes himself off the tree. "Hey shut up!" Merle shouts back at his brother, his voice filled with pure annoyance. The brotherly squabble is quickly shut down by Rick with a loud "Enough!" but that just turns into another fight. "Hey! hey! Relax! Put that down!" Rick shouts at Michonne, who's got her Katana pointed at him. "Get that thing out of my face!" Daryl shouts, swatting at Glenn's gun.

Merle laughs. "Man, look like you've gone native, brother." Daryl turns around, his anger now fully directed at his brother. "NO more than you hangin' out with that psycho back there." Merle just has a smirk on his face, mainly just to piss Daryl off even more. "oh, yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that. been puttin' the wood to your girlfriend Andrea big time, baby." Merle said eye's making direct contact with Michonne. my eyebrows furrow with confusion, not because of Andrea fucking my father, that was predictable, Andrea liked a man with power, but I'm confused because Andrea and Michonne had known each other. Glenn's just as confused brows furrowed as he asks "What? Andreas in Woodbury?"

"Right next to the governor," Daryl replies. Michonne takes a few steps forward, pointing her Katana in front of her once again, with the intention of hurting someone. "I told you to drop that!" Rick shouts, lunging forward, making Michonne lower it once again. Michonne has a blank expression on her face as Rick asks, "You know Andrea?" her eyes don't make contact with Rick, instead settling for somewhere right behind him.

Rick doesn't take her silence for an answer, so he gets closer, and his voice drops to a low, sinister whisper, "Hey, do you know Andrea?" he asks once again. She doesn't answer, letting Merle answer for her. "Yep, she does," he says, a smirk displayed on his lips. "Her and blondie spent all winter cuddlin' up in the forest. Mm-mmm-mmm." Rick has a look of betrayal on his face as Merle continues to reveal more and more of Michonne's secrets. "Yeah. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept them in chains."

What. The. fuck? two pet walkers! "kinda ironic now that I think about it." Daryl is done with Merle's mouth. Daryl quickly spins around shouting "Shut up, bro!" Merle laughs, obviously finding Daryl's anger hilarious "Hey, man, we snagged them out of the woods. Andrea was close to dyin'."

"Is that why she's with him?"

Merle nods. "Yeah. Snug as two little bugs. So, what ya gonna do now, sheriff, huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards." Merle says, just poking and prodding at Rick, trying to get a reaction out of him. And a reaction is what he got; Rick turns his head, commanding Merle to "shut up!" Merle, being Merle, doesn't comply and continues his antics. Merle chuckles. "Oh, man, look at this. Pathetic!" he shakes his head in faux shame. "All these guns and no bullets in them."

Merles once again got on his brother's last nerve. "Merle! shut up!" Daryl growls, leaning forward a bit, trying to intimidate his older brother. Merle doesn't take that and begins to shout, "Shut up yourself! Bunch of pussies you roll-" Merle isn't even able to finish his last sentence before Rick quickly strikes him in the back of the head with his gun, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious with a thud. "Asshole."

-

We're all gathered around in the middle of the road, leaving Jack sat on the side of the road, feeling he had no place in the conversation, and Merle still in the woods. Daryl's trying to propose that Merle comes with us, but Rick's not so sure, feeling it will just cause trouble. "It won't work," Rick sighs. Daryl still tries his best to convince Rick, though "it's gotta" I'm not on either side. I know Merle is nothing but trouble. I've known that since the moment I met him. But I also know that Daryl has beaten himself up over losing his brother for the past year. I know having his brother with our group again would make him happy. I want Daryl to be happy, I really do, but Merle has already caused so much trouble for our group. Hell, he kidnapped and almost killed Glenn and Maggie.

"it'll stir things up," Rick argues. I know he's right. Having Glenn and Merle under the same roof probably won't end up well. Glenn was already so pissed off; it wouldn't be right to make Glenn and Maggie feel more unsafe than they already did. "Look, the governor is probably on the way to the prison right now. merle knows how he thinks, and we could use the muscle," Merle did already know a bunch about Phillip, but who says he's even gonna help up, all he did back at the quarry was fuck around and start unnecessary fights with Shane.

"I'm not havin' him at the prison,"

"Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol, Beth, or hell, Casey?" Glenn asks. thinking about it, I don't want Merle Dixon anywhere near Casey. I know Merle is Daryl's brother and all, but he should really think about this. I was barely comfortable being within 5 feet of Merle myself let alone my 5-year-old. he has to start thinking about the bigger picture, he has to start thinking about how this could affect Casey, Carl, and the baby. Daryl grunts before muttering, "he ain't a rapist." He wasn't a rapist, but he sure did make me more than uncomfortable on multiple occasions. Look at him, the way he talked, the men he hung out with; would he really want that kind of person around the children?

"Well, his buddy is." Daryl was still trying to plead Merle's case. "They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night," I sigh, arms crossing over my chest "C'mon D you know how Merle is, do you really want that around case?" he huffs, trying not to make eye contact as a look of betrayal spreads across his face.

"There's no way Merles gonna live there without putting everyone at each other's throats," Rick says. I know Rick doesn't want to piss Daryl off, but he also wants everyone in our group to feel safe. "So, yer gonna cut Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?" Rick shakes his head, saying "She's not coming back. " 

"she's not in a state to be on her own" Maggie argues. Maggie and Glenn continue to try and plead Michonne's case. "She did bring you guys to us" Glenn whispers, in a way he's right. Michonne had helped us, but she's already practically gone rogue pointing that damn katana at people. we just don't know what she's capable of yet. "And then ditched us" rick argues, head turning towards Glenn. "at least let my dad stitch her up" Maggie begs, we can't just leave her out for dead, we should at least let Hershel check her out, so she's has the best chance of survival out there, it just the right thing to do. "She's too unpredictable." She's a loose cannon, that's for sure. On one hand, she has proven herself to be beneficial to our group, but on the other hand, she has also shown us that she could be harmful to our group. She's helping us, but also going missing for a long period of time and pointing her damn Katana at us like we're the bad guys.

We're staring at Michonne. She is leaning against the side-view mirror, staring back at us, almost as if she knows we're talking about her. Scratch that, she probably does know because Rick is not trying to whisper at all. He wants her to know she's unwanted, hoping she'll take a hint and scurry off before Rick can boot her out. Daryl nods agreeing with Rick, "That's right, we don't know who she is" he mutters, but he's only agreeing with Rick right now to try to slip in a word about Merle staying with us.

"But merle, merles blood." Daryl says almost acting like we're all some big family. Deep down, I have a feeling he'd run if Merle asked him. We're not blood, I'm not his wife, Casey's not his daughter. I'm his girlfriend, barely even that sometimes, and Casey, she's a little girl who has accidentally grown too attached. The 'D' around my neck means nothing if Merle is asking for something, and I know that. I wouldn't expect him to choose me over his brother, and I know he wouldn't expect me to pick him over mine, even if it would be a difficult decision for me.

Glenn shakes his head in disgust. "No, merles your blood, my blood, my family is standing right here, and waiting for us back at the prison." We had no ties to Merle, no need to keep him. The only one who did was Daryl. we all know the line we're tittering on, we all know the thoughts and decisions racing through his mind. We all know he's thinking about leaving and going with Merle. that's why my eyes are burning into his with a stare begging him not to. Begging him not to make me go back without him, begging him not to make me explain why he didn't come back. "And you're part of that family, but he's not. He's not"

I can see the anger boiling in his chest, the words he's trying to fight back. "Man, ya'll don't know" We all stare at him waiting for him to say it because we know he is "Fine. we'll fend for ourselves." he finally says it, which almost sends me over the edge. I just want to scream at him. How could he just leave, leave after promising he'd come back? "that's not what I was saying," Glenn says, trying to make Daryl think about his decision. "no, him, no me." It's as simple as that. He didn't think about Casey, Carol, Beth, or hell fucking me. "Daryl, you don't have to do that"

"It was always merle an' I before this" Then he makes eye contact with me, and he sees it, the tears pooling in my eyes that I desperately try to blink back, the begging the pleading, but he doesn't care. "So, you're just gonna leave?" I ask finally breaking my silence. His eyes meet mine. "you'd do the same thing," he mutters. My brother, he wasn't like Merle. He wouldn't be booted out of the group because my brother was a good man. "What do you want me to tell Casey? you promised her you'd come back." he shrugs, almost like he doesn't care. "y/n ya gotta understand this is my brother, my blood. You'd do the same if you found yer's. I know ya would"

"My brother's dead," I say, my voice comes out bitter and harsh. Because how could he bring up my brother, who's dead? Who died trying to help me? How could he compare his racist, misogynistic, absolute scumbag brother to mine? "Then ya should understand. "my arms cross over my chest, and my face twists into a disgusted expression. I can't believe he'd just leave us like that. After everything we've been through. He said he loved me. I thought he thought more of me. I thought this was it. I thought he was going to be my husband.

Daryl starts walking, pushing past Maggie and me, muttering, "Say goodbye to yer pops for me." I spin around on my heels, facing him now rather than Glenn and Rick. I'm practically chasing after him shouting "You're seriously leaving?! After everything we've been through?!" he ignores me and just continues to walk until he gets to the trunk of the car. He opens it and begins to gather his items.

"So, this is it?" I whisper, my hands shoved in my pockets, "guess so" he mutters, my heart drops and tears begin to pool in my eyes once again. "Seriously? What about Casey?" he shrugs, not answering because he knows whatever he's going to say is just going to piss me off. "What about me D? What about us?" a tear falls down my cheek, and my hand reaches up to wipe it away. "you'll get over it," he mutters, slinging his bag over his shoulder. That hurt me. It felt like a stab to the gut. Did he really think I just get over him like that? He shakes his head, almost as if he was trying to ignore the tears that lined my waterline. he's trying not to care.

I've watched Daryl grow so much as a person in the last year. The man I knew yesterday was a scrap of the man I had met at that quarry. But somehow, with Merle's reappearance, he went back to the Douch bag he was. He no longer cared for Casey, Beth, or Carol. He no longer cared for me. He no longer cared about us. All the late-night conversation meant nothing, the necklace meant nothing, Casey meant nothing. "I-I love you," I whisper, hoping it would change his decision. Hoping the quiet admission of love would snap him back into reality.

"Then stop..." he mutters. His words are so bitter, so calloused they slice right through my heart, breaking it into a million pieces. "ya got whoever that guy is over there, ya got Glenn. know you'll be fuckin' one of them by the end of the week," he mutters. Hot, angry tears begin to fall down my cheeks. How could he say that? Was that really all he thought of me? A slut? Did he think I was only with him for the sex? The sex that was so far in between that I can't recall the last time we had it. Did he not notice how in love I was?

I rip the necklace from my neck and throw it at him. It hits his torso before falling to the ground with a soft thud. The silver metal glimmers in the sun staring up a simple reminder of what we were, and what we could have been. "Fuck you" is the last thing I mutter before wiping my tears and turning to walk back towards the group.

-

The ride back to the prison is a blur. I sit in the back, middle seat, with a shell-shocked look on my face. I don't want to cry, but my body wants me to cry. There's a lump in my throat and I'm desperately trying to hold back tears. The whole ride Glenn muttering quietly to me, "I'm so sorry" "I didn't think he was really going to leave" I don't pay attention to him. I can't listen, I can't pay attention. I just want to be in my head right now. I feel the car stop and feel people leave, but I don't pay it any mind. I don't even pay any mind when I hear the shouting outside. I just want this all to be over.

I'm zoned out until I feel the car park, and everyone gets out. I get out, hands shoved in my pockets. The only thing that knocks me out of my head is the feeling of two little arms wrapping around my leg. "you're back," Casey squeaks as I bend down and pick her up. Her arms wrap around my neck and her head buries itself into my shoulder. I know the inevitable question awaits us, and I still don't know what I'm going to say. When I feel her head leave my shoulder and begin looking around, my heart begins to slam against my chest. "where's Daryl?" she asks eyes still searching, "he...Daryl left"

"Did he die?" she asks, brows furrowing up as I shake my head. I'd rather he had died. It's easier to explain to her that he died rather than he decided to leave us. "No, baby. He found his brother and decided he needed to be with his family." Her brows furrow up even farther, if that's even possible. "I thought we were his family?"

-

When I get back inside, I tell Casey to stay with Carl and go up and find an empty cell. This is when I finally let myself break down. Sitting on the bed with my head in my hand, I just let go. I'm full-on ugly crying, with tears streaming down my face, and snot bubbling out of my nose. I just hate him so much for leaving. Broken sobs escape my lips as I try to keep myself as quiet as possible. I don't want anyone else to know how badly this hurt me.

My chest rises and falls fast with each gasp I take. The only thought that is racing through my mind is why would he do this? How could he do this? Did he really think that I was a slut all this time, or was it Merle's comments about Glenn, and I that suddenly had changed his opinion of Glenn and I's relationship? Did he seriously think I didn't love him?

"You, okay?" a knock on the wall pulls me from my thoughts. I look up to see Carol. My bottom lip wobbles as I shake my head 'no'. she lets out a sigh as she nods and slowly walks towards me. She takes a seat next to me on the bottom bunk. "You want to talk?" she asks, her arm coming to wrap around my body and pull mine close to hers. I shake my head 'no' once again. I could barely think about him without a blubbering mess, let alone talk about him to someone else.

My head buries into her chest as her left hand rubs small circles into my back. "I know, I know," she mutters as broken sobs erupt from my throat. I just hate him so much for leaving with Merle, but at the same time I want him here, and I want him to hold me. I want to hear him tell me he loves me.

-

I sat in that cell for the rest of the night, not bothering about dinner because I had already felt sick to my stomach. The only human interaction I have is with Casey at bedtime when she cuddles up next to me in the bottom bunk. I can't bring myself to touch the stuff Daryl had left behind, because I know I'll either break it or throw it at a wall.

Casey's eyes were heavy with sleep, and yawns erupted from her every few seconds. She didn't want to sleep on the top bunk. For the past few months, she only knew what it felt like to sleep between Daryl and me. There was always a warm body next to her, no matter what. I can't bring myself to think how last night was for her. Through a yawn, she whispers, "I miss Daryl" I let out a heavy sigh. In a way I miss him, I wish he hadn't made the choice he had made, I wish he would have considered how'd those decisioned would affect us. I wish I didn't have the burden of living the rest of my life wondering if he's alright, so I guess in a way I miss him.

Casey eventually drifted off to sleep, and I quietly slipped out of bed, hoping that everyone else had retired for the night. As I tiptoed down the stairs and into the dimly lit rec room, I noticed Glenn sitting at a table in the far-left corner. He was shrouded in almost complete darkness, with only his hoodie standing out in the dim light. His head faced down; one elbow propped up on the table to hold it up. "How you holdin' up?" I ask, breaking him from his thoughts. I can see him just and let out a tiny gasp. "shit" he mutters under his breath as his head snaps up to see me.

I laugh, a small smile breaking across my face. "sorry" I whisper, walking across the room to meet him at his table. "watcha doin' up so late?" I ask, sliding into the seat beside him. "can't sleep you?" he asks. I shrug, not knowing why I was still up. I felt like I could sleep for a good week if I really tried. "So...did Jack get booted out with the rest...or..." I ask referring to the commotion I had heard earlier that day involving rick. Glenn shakes his head "Nah, didn't wanna upset you anymore than you already were," he says, tiptoeing around the subject of Daryl.

I can't help but feel bad about Glenn and Maggie. Every time I see the black and blue bruises that decorated his face, I can't help but be reminded of who caused it. I hadn't thought about him in years. The only times I was reminded of the faded remembrance of his face were in old family portraits that were in boxes up in my mom's attic.

1992 or 3 maybe, I was three years old in the picture, mom was heavily pregnant, and dad looked so young. I never realized how young both my parents were when they had me until I looked at those photos. Mom looks maybe 19, dad had to be at least 21. He's got me on his hip, we're all pushed in close, one arm around a waist, Dad's face and I's squished together. We looked so happy.

When I saw his face out in the crowd, I was 12 years old again up in the attic, sorting through boxes, finding the dusty portraits. Wondering how he could leave us. I wasn't stupid. I remembered those last few months, the last year. I remembered the drinking, the fighting, the bruises. I remembered the broken potted plants I remembered my brother's broken arm. I just couldn't believe the man who wore such a bright smile could be so evil.

How could he hurt me, hurt my brother, hurt my mom? I feel like I'm sitting in my paternal grandmother's kitchen this time, maybe 15, listening to her blab on and on about his family. His wife, his daughter. His daughter he loved so dearly, the daughter who had replaced me. 'He just loves her so much,' she said 'No one can take away a father's love for their daughter'. I hadn't thought of him since that moment. After that, I gave up on having a dad. I gave up on waiting. I finally realized he just didn't love me, and I couldn't change that.

But yesterday, seeing him again was like a punch to the gut, and finding out that he was the one who hurt my friends that made me furious. I wanted to be the one to hunt him down. I wanted to be the one to kill him. I couldn't wait to see his face when he realized who I was and what I was going to do.

"Glenn, can I tell you something? But you can't get mad" his brows furrow, a sliver of a smile displaying on his lips as his mouth opens to say something. I'm quick to cut him off, finally revealing the hardest secret I've ever had to keep. "the governor is my dad" his eyes widen, and fear sets in quickly, terrified he'll hate me. "What?" he asks, it coming out as a half laugh as he stares at me. His eyes fall up and down my body, examining every single one of my facial features, finding everyone that even slightly resembled Philips. "Are you joking?" he asks, head cocking to the side in disbelief. I shake my head slowly, and he lets out a quiet "oh my god."

"I didn't even know this governor guy was him until I saw him. You're not mad, are you?" he shakes his head, letting my anxieties settle. "No..not mad, just...shocked, yo-you...wow."

Taglist

@rivversin @soul4death @silicone-bonez @nezukos-number1fan @jai-lovely @maziejay08 @oi-itse @rhaenryawhore @kimbunnysstuff @blipblopper @ramielll @ilyhannah @daryldixonnn @delicatebearpandaopera @daryldixmedown @duckybird101 @0-imjusthere-0 @tanuki-tsuki

[mlmxreader]

Take My Soul | Crowley x gn!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ 4. "I... love you too much to condemn you."

And

11. "If a soul must be taken I demand you take me"

With Crowley please?

(happy ending please?) ❞

: ̗̀➛ Whilst waiting for Rowena to cast a spell for the Winchesters, you and Crowley can finally sit down and talk through a few of the more important aspects of your relationship.

trigger warnings : ̗̀➛ swearing, mentions of being chained up, alcohol consumption

•───────────────★•♛•★──────────────•

Everything was going rather smoothly, between the Winchesters finding the right spellbook for Rowena and Crowley finding them all the right ingredients, no one saw why the spell shouldn't be a success; you had been tasked with a few of the smaller pieces of it - tracking down a purebred werewolf and harvesting its fur by the light of a full moon and other such tasks - and everything so far had gone more than smoothly.

But as you sat in the dingy little motel room next door, you couldn't help but to feel like it was all going too well; Crowley was opposite you, nursing some fine brand of scotch that you could only ever dream to afford.

"It will all be over soon," he admitted. "A spell like this doesn't take much, you'll be on the road again in no time."

You sighed, frowning a little as you swallowed thickly. "I dunno, everything seems to be going a bit too well - every time I've worked with those boys, something always goes tits up."

He smiled, nodding. "I don't think it will this time, it that helps."

You couldn't help it, looking at his short beard and the bits of grey amongst the black coarse hairs; his dark brown eyes, and how the light seemed to avoid them entirely.

You could never admit it around the Winchesters, of course, but you had always had a thing for the King. He was handsome, witty, intelligent - what was a person like you supposed to do?

Your mouth suddenly went dry, swarmed and swamped with thoughts that you shouldn't have had for him, but when you went to grab a bottle of beer from the fridge, he grabbed a glass and filled it with his expensive scotch.

"Don't drink that swill," he told you, gently pushing the glass across the table. "Have a proper drink."

You looked at the glass, then at him, shaking your head. "I couldn't possibly, I mean-"

"Please, wolf, I insist," Crowley all but purred.

You took the glass, ginger to take a swig and knowing that that scotch was worth more than anything you had ever tasted. "Why'd you always call me that?"

"William Blake," he shrugged. "Every Wolfs & Lions howl raises from Hell a Human Soul... if I remember correctly, Blake is your favourite, isn't he?"

You smiled as you nodded, clearing your throat. "Yeah, but no one... no one ever remembers that... not even Sam."

Crowley hummed, leaning back as he scratched between his eye and nose with the back of his thumb's nail. "I did. If I remember correctly, your favourite is Proverbs of Hell, isn't it?"

"And The Pit of Disease: The Falsifiers," you nodded, laughing softly. "Why'd you bother to remember all that?"

He shrugged, all too calm as he cleared his throat. "I like it when people have taste. Especially if they are rather attractive."

You scoffed as you rolled your eyes, wanting to shake your head. "You don't really mean that - you're the King of Hell, you could have anybody."

"And yet," he mused. "Here I am. You know where my bones are, just as you know the only way to get into my armoury. Doesn't that tell you something, wolf?"

You scratched the edge of your jaw for a moment, sighing heavily. "Just tell me, please."

"I mean, should anything ever happen to you, I will gather every single demon and hellhound I can," he told you. "And I will destroy whatever hurt you."

You smiled a little, clearing your throat. "I see... but listen, if... if it comes to it, and Rowena needs a soul, then... well, could you do me a favour?"

"Anything."

"If a soul must be taken, I demand you take me," you told him. "Please."

Crowley shook his head, immediate refusal without hesitation. "No. No, I... love you too much to condemn you. No."

"Crowley-"

"She won't need a soul," he insisted. "And even if she did, there are plenty in the world - I will not condemn you."

"But-"

"I said no," he growled out. "If we need a soul, one of my demons will fetch us one. You will not have yours... tainted."

You frowned, furrowing your brows. "Even if it's the only way to stop the world from ending?"

"The world can burn," Crowley almost snapped. "The whole bloody universe can burn. If there is one soul in the entirety of existence that I won't take - it's yours. You are off limits."

You could see it so plainly even though he tried to hide it so well; the actual concern, the real worry, the true fear.

It was one thing from him to deny a friend of the Winchesters such a thing - knowing that they would cause problems the moment that they found out - but to tell you that he loved you in that split moment?

To tell you that he would sooner watch the entire fabric of the universe go up in flames?

It was undeniable. Truly, and when you caught his gaze again, you cleared your throat, licking your lips.

"I'm off limits?"

"Yes," he said, a lot kinder and softer. "You always will be. Even if you tell me to bugger off right now and say that you want a nice, little suburban life with Moose - you'll still be off limits."

"I wouldn't want that," you whispered. "I mean, Sam's nice and everything and so is Dean... but I like a man with refined taste and dark eyes."

Crowley's gaze snapped to you, and he was quick to finish his drink off as he put his hand on the table. "I will never let anyone go after you. Not the Winchesters, not the angels, not any of those bloody blithering idiots."

"I like that you're worried about me as if I wasn't the one who had you in chains," you pointed out with a soft laugh.

He smiled, nearly grinning as he nodded in agreement. "And I remember that as one of my best weekends... come on, drink up and then give me a kiss before those two morons decide to walk in."

You almost grinned, nodding as you quickly downed your drink.

if you made it to the end of this fic and you enjoyed it, then please, if you have any cash to spare, maybe donate to help Tahani save her children and husband!

[axel-tiredstudent]

Eternity by your side ❤️

This took way longer than I expected but I'm just soooo happy with the result 🥰🥰

The paintings/photographies I've used as background in chronological order below the cut!

'Pillars of Creation (NIRCam Compass Image' taken by the James Webb Space Telescope

'The Garden of Earthly Delights' by Hieronymus Bosch

'Noah's Ark' by Edward Hicks

'When the Morning Stars Sang Together' by William Blake

'Cristo de San Juan de la Cruz' by Salvador Dalí

'Roman fresco with banquet scene from Casa del Casti Amanti (IX 12, 6-8) in Pompeii'

'King Arthur' by Charles Ernest Butler

'London from Southwark' (painter unknown)

'La liberté guidant le peuple' by Eugène Delacroix

'The Cemetery Entrance' by Caspar David Friedrich

'London: The Old Horse Guards from St James's Park' by Canaletto

'St Paul's from Cannon Street' by Ernest Boye Uden

'Piccadilly Circus' by L. S. Lowry

'London, Sun Breaking Through the Fog' by Claude Monet

[navia3000]

a l l t o o w e l l

Includes : Bellamy Blake

Genre : Angst, very little fluff

Warnings : Minimal use of Y/N, first person pov, mentions of fighting, mentions of praimfaya, not proofread

Based on : All Too Well by Taylor Swift

Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there

Y/N and Bellamy Blake had a complicated relationship from the start. From the moment the drop ship landed on Earth and Blake asserted his dominance over the 100, she despised him. He was arrogant, cocky, and rude.

However, Clarke Griffin, a close friend of hers, insisted on an “alliance” of sorts, claiming it was necessary for survival. And now, the girl has to bite her tongue as Clarke and Blake have become the leaders of the 100, the king and queen.

The 100 were currently working on building a wall around the campsite to help defend from the grounders. She had been helping put the walls up for hours, and was in desperate need of a break.

Even though she knew both Clarke and Bellamy would scorn her if they saw her, she snuck outside the camp and walked to a quiet meadow away from the chaos in the drop ship.

She sat on a log among the grass and flowers, breathing in the floral and earthy scents. She couldn’t help but look back on her time on the Ark and its stale, metallic scent. She was glad that she was among the few people to come back to Earth. She used to dream of feeling the blades of grass tickle the palms of her hands, the flower petals caressing her nose and cheeks, the scent of dirt and trees and leaves and greenery blessing her scent buds.

The snap of a twig brought her out of her nostalgic thoughts, defenses coming up immediately in fear of a Grounder. She didn’t think to bring a weapon with her, being in desperate need of a break.

She turned to find not a Grounder, but Bellamy Blake stalking towards her, a stern look on his face. “What are you doing out here?” He sounded angry.

It was her turn to scowl. “I’m taking a break, what are you doing?”

“I saw you sneak off. Are you insane? There are Grounders out here, and you didn’t even tell anyone you were leaving.”

“Jeez, Blake, I’m only a couple minutes away from camp. Plus, what do you care if a Grounder gets me?”

He seemed taken aback by her question. After a few seconds of silence, he finally spoke. “Of course I care. Keeping you guys safe is my responsibility.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever.” They stared at each other for what felt like eons, until she patted the space next to her, inviting him to sit. Maybe it was the serene atmosphere that made her extend an invitation, or maybe it was the fact that she was tired of the constant battle between her and Bellamy. They were like ice and liquor, like water and vinegar.

He hesitated for a moment before moving to sit with her. The pair sat in silence, taking in the view in front of them. Maybe being in each other’s company wasn’t so bad.

Down the stairs, I was there, I was there

“Where is he?” She was frantic, eyes scanning the drop ship for Bellamy. Murphy had come back from being tortured by the Grounders, bringing an infectious illness along with him. They had spent hours taking care of the sick delinquents, when the girl had been told about Bellamy getting sick. Her and Bellamy had reached a sort of stalemate after their “moment” in the meadow. They didn’t hate each other, but they didn’t like each other.

She lies to herself, because, she does like him. More than she wants to. And now, hearing he’s sick with this deadly disease made her regret all the times she had argued with him.

“He’s here,” Clarke pointed to a secluded corner in the ship, where she saw Octavia leaning over her brother, a wet rag to his forehead. “You shouldn’t be in here,” Clarke warned, but the girl didn’t listen. She rushed to Bellamy’s side, and her heart broke seeing his face contorted in pain.

She took the rag from Octavia’s hands, “go rest.” She watched as Octavia smiled appreciatively, and walked away.

As she put the rag to Bellamy’s forehead, she saw Bellamy’s eyes open and focus on her, his chocolate irises burning with concern. “What- what are you doing?” Bellamy choked out. “You’ll get sick.”

She shushed him, smiling sweetly, hoping to bring some sort of comfort to the sick man. “It’s okay. Just close your eyes.” He stared at her a little longer, before deciding to close his eyes, knowing she would stay by his side the whole night.

Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there

“She did it,” Octavia whispered. Clarke had finally pulled the lever, destroying the City of Light along with A.L.I.E. Bellamy and Octavia watch as their friends and the citizens of Polis snap out of their trance, being relieved from A.L.I.E’s hold.

Bellamy, however, was focused on one person. Y/N. The girl he hated and grew to love. His girl.

After their experience in Mount Weather, Bellamy and her’s relationship evolved, growing closer together.

Unfortunately for Bellamy, she was forced to take the Key, making her forget her happy memories with Bellamy, and turning her into A.L.I.E’s most trusted soldier.

She had been fighting Bellamy and Octavia, using the skills she learnt from Octavia and the Grounders. Bellamy didn’t want to fight her. He hated the thought of hurting her. But her pursuit against him was relentless, her punches hurting more and more.

They were close to killing each other, until Clarke ended it all.

He watched as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. Her eyes were glazed over with confusion, but they cleared once they landed on his. At once, she launched herself into his arms. He held tightly onto her, relief flooding his body.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Bell,” she whispered. She pushed her lips onto his, letting the kiss speak the words she couldn’t say.

Bellamy kissed back with as much passion, feeling his crumpled heart straighten itself out again.

He was never going to let her go again.

It was rare, you remember it all too well

Bellamy watched down from the window of the ship, memories playing in his head like a film on a movie screen. However, this film wasn’t a happy one. This film was one of sadness, tragedy, betrayal. Bellamy regrets that moment every day of his life. He regrets the moment he had to leave his lover along with his best friend on Earth, abandoning them to radiation that would kill them.

If only things didn’t turn out this way. Bellamy lives every day in space plagued with dreams of what his life could’ve been. Of him being with her, hugging her, kissing her. Living a normal life. A life without Grounders, radiation, killer AI. A life where him and her could be happy. If only things were different.

If only the weren’t doomed from the start.

[xo-zozo]

my ranking of tig characters+explanations

jameson hawthorne. he’s just pookie (but guess what… i have more reasons than just that for liking him 😨) so first of all, he’s hilarious… like that has to count for something, he’s also hot so yk but besides that, he cares so much for the people that he loves and he’s just sndhdjhdhd anyway yeah. he’s like anything anyone could want and he’s a consent king (unlike some people) and like ik hes had his moments of treating avery like a game but yk if we can say grayson is the way he is because of emily and stuff i think we can also say that for jameson (also the fact that he was like bullied by his grandpa…) and yet he still manages to be night to people

avery grambs. she’s a really good fem mc and i think that jlb did a really good job of making her someone that people can relate to and making her normal. she’s smart and she’s kinda just trying her best and i love that for her

xander hawthorne. buddy is so funny like he’s also who i feel like i would be the most likely to be friends with/date irl. like the book BOUQUET?? he’s super nice and he likes scones AND he’s smart what nots to like

gigi grayson. me and her are literally the same person tbh like i actually love her so much and i feel like we would be really good friends irl because she’s such a cutie patootie

max liu. she also reminds me of myself… like the strict parents, the personality and the inability to curse is so me tbh. ik people find her annoying but i like her so wtv

libby grambs. i think everyone loves her… the way that she’s managed to stay so positive when she’s been through so much is like incredible to be tbh and she can bake so

nash hawthorne. he’s really great and all but like we don’t get to see much of him but i still love him fr

savannah grayson. she’s a baddie and i love her but again we just haven’t seen enough of her for me to like LOVEEE her if you know what i mean

rebeca laughlin. she’s nice and stuff but like at the same time sometimes she was a little bit annoying and made me mad… like the way she was always clinging to thea annoyed by yk 😭😭

thea calligaris. never liked her that much?? like she was better at the end but she was so mean to avery for like no reason and it annoyed me

grayson hawthorne. VERY strong feelings on him as most of you know but my main points are that he’s dull and people only like him because “he’s pookie” and blonde so it’s like he was so overhyped to be a gentleman and a “golden retriever” that when i actually read the book and he only made like five appearances a book to be mean to avery and then kiss her on live tv (when there were many other ways to make her shut up btw) and then yeah he was also just so caught up on emily and every time he said “evie” it made me wanna throw up. and then um also when he acted like he was better than avery because he grew up rich was 🤔🤔 and um the way he was granddaddy’s favorite child and still managed to like make that about how horrible his life is 😭😭 and yeah i would be upset too if my inheritance was taken by some random girl but GOD DANG. you don’t just going around accusing people like that

eve blake. BRUH. NO ONE LIKES HER I DONY EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN

anyway this took forever don’t cancel me bye 😻

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Hi, What do you think about the cheating rumors? I stopped watching royals 4 years ago, and I am shocked! What has happened? WTF is Rose back? Is Will stupid enough to get rid of her?

What happened recently? So much happened, anon. Let's see if I can give you the TL;DR.

January 16: Kensington Palace announced that Kate was having planned surgery on her abdomen and wouldn't be making any public appearances or sharing further details.

January 29: Kensington Palace announced that Kate had returned home from the hospital. People were upset there was no "proof of life" photo of Kate.

February 9: The Waleses go to Sandringham/Anmer Hall for the kids' half-term break. There are two sets of gossip from royal reporters. Gossip #1 - Kate is well and healthy and with the family. Gossip #2 - Kate's situation is worse than we're told and it's dire.

February 27, in the morning: William pulls out of attending King Constantine's memorial service of thanksgiving. KP says it has nothing to do with Kate but it's later confirmed that it wasn't true, that William pulled out because of Kate's diagnosis.

February 27, in the evening: Sussex Squad makes conspiracy theories about Kate go mainstream and viral on Twitter/social media. I won't rehash them all here but the rumors get dark and blame William and bring back the original Rose affair rumors.

March 4: Kate and Carole papped in a car around Windsor near the kids' school. Kate doesn't look like Kate, jumpstarting conspiracy theories again.

March 10: UK Mother's Day. The Waleses publish a photo of Kate and the kids taken by William. Sussex Squad goes after the photo for having been edited. Getty, and other agencies, kill the photo. It blows up into a huge thing. Celebrities pile on with their own jokes and memes about editing their photos, including Blake Lively and Kim Kardashian.

March 11: Kate issues a statement taking responsibility for editing the photo and apologizing for it. William and Kate are papped in a car leaving Windsor Castle.

March 12: Stephen Colbert jokes about the Rose affair rumor on his show.

March 16: Kate is papped with William at the grocery store. People claim it's her lookalike double because her hair is too hair and she's too skinny. (WTF, yes, I agree.)

March 22: Kensington Palace drops bombshell video statement by Kate that cancer had been found in whatever was removed during her operation in January and she was beginning a course of preventative chemotherapy. No further work or public engagements for Kate at this time. The celebrities that piled onto Kate during "March Madness" (the conspiracy theories and photo-editing weeks) get served humble pie and issue meek apologies that mean nothing.

April 23: Louis's birthday. As a consequence of the way the media flipped out over the Mother's Day photo, the Waleses publish the birthday photo (taken by Kate) exclusively to their social media and don't distribute it to media / photo agencies.

April 29: The Waleses publish an old new-to-us photo from their wedding for their anniversary on their social media.

May 2: Charlotte's birthday. Same deal with Louis - Kate takes the photo, they publish exclusively to their social media and don't distribute it in advance to the photo agencies / media.

May 12: Camilla is papped at the Badminton Horse Show talking to Rose Hanbury. No one cares.

May 14: Sussex Squad finds the photos of Camilla and Rose from the weekend and bring back the affair rumors. They claim that Kate is dead and the BRF is soft-launching William's mistress as his new girlfriend/future wife.

May 15: Charles and Camilla attend the OBE dedication at St. Paul's Cathedral. So do the Cholmondeleys but because they're not photographed with Charles or Camilla, no one notices they're there and no one cares they're there.

So that's what happened. That's where we are today.

How did the affair rumors start?

Discussion about whether the affair rumors are mainstream and how damaging they could be to William and Kate's reputation

Commentary about Rose

[marcmarcmomarc]

Ruby telling this story in front of the whole Remnant Alliance, using Robyn’s Lie Detection to prove what she’s telling them is the truth, inspired by this post:

ROBYN: So what happened on the other side of the portals?

RUBY: Well, after I fell, I met a talking mouse I named Little, then we found Weiss and Blake captured by a whole village of talking mice whom we convinced to let them go, then we found Yang fighting a Jabberwalker while missing her arm, then we realized we were in our favorite childhood fairy tale, The Girl Who Fell Through the World.

OSCAR: That fairy tale actually happened?

RUBY: Then we went to the village in the Crimson Acre to bargain with the Jinxy Peddler for Yang’s arm.

EMERALD: You met the Jinxy Peddler?

VELVET: Was he cute?

WEISS: Yeah.

RUBY: And he was older than he was in the book. Anyway, toy soldiers won the arm, and we only got it back from them because Little tried stealing another “fine treasure”, exposing Jinxy’s treasures as fakes. The soldiers escorted us to the Crimson Castle, at first to arrest us for stealing Yang’s arm, or “royal property”, before I traded Penny’s sword, with a story of her being the greatest warrior to ever live.

REMNANT ALLIANCE:

RUBY: The occasion was the birthday of who we thought was the Red King, but turned out to be the Red Prince, who was more of a spoiled brat than Weiss was at Beacon.

YANG: (nudging Weiss) Heh-heh.

RUBY: Then we challenged him to a game of chess, where he shrunk the girls to the size of chess pawns, and when we beat him, he threw a tantrum and wanted us beheaded, and the Curious Cat rescued us.

NORA: The Curious Kitty?!

REN: Were they as chatty as the book made them out to be?

RUBY: Mm-hm. Not to mention easily distracted. Anyway, they took us to look for ingredients for a Growgurt Parfait in the Garden Acre, and we met a smoking caterpillar called Herb who drugged us into seeing our past selves via leaves from the Great Tree, which we all rejected, well, which the other girls rejected, I almost gave in, before the Cat stopped me, then got Herb swallowed by a hole in the ground.

TAI: You guys did drugs?

QROW: Whoa, whoa, don’t start drinking like me, girls.

RUBY: Anyway, the Cat led us to a market to keep looking for the Parfait ingredients. Along the way, they told us about Ascension, a process that occurs when an Afteran is no longer doing the assigned role that they are supposed to be, triggered by them losing their ways, wearing out, doubting themselves, or even just finishing their assigned tasks, upon which they are taken to the Great Tree and repurposed into someone or something else with a new identity, personality, and role. Their memories are erased in the process, but the heart barely ever forgets.

REMNANT ALLIANCE: Ooh.

RUBY: And then, the market was attacked by Jabberwalkers using Neopolitan’s Semblance. We had all of the ingredients for the Parfait, and the girls grew back to normal size just as we got assistance from the Rusted Knight riding his white rabbit.

WHITLEY: You know, Weiss had a crush on the Rusted Knight when she was a kid.

BLAKE: I think everyone had a crush on the Rusted Knight at some point.

RUBY: Well, things didn’t help when he turned out to be a grown-up Jaune with longer hair and a beard, who grabbed a fruit that sent him back in time twenty years right after he landed.

REMNANT ALLIANCE:

NORA: Oh, my Gods, Jaune.

JAUNE: I was stuck there isolated from other human contact, too.

YANG: Weiss certainly loved how mature he was.

RUBY: And the white rabbit was a jackalope Jaune named Juniper.

NORA: Aw, Jaune.

RUBY: Then Jaune told us his perspective on the Tree, that he believed it was death, that Alyx backstabbed her brother Lewis, the author of the fairy tale, who wrote the story the way he wished it had happened, and that the Cat couldn’t be trusted, then we got sent to a punderstorm, which creates a physical manifestation of a mental or emotional problem. Jaune, Weiss, and I were sent to metaphorical and literal crossroads, while Yang and Blake were sent to two broken, wooden, rickety bridges connected to a giant pillar they could only advance toward if they were honest about their feelings for each other. Yeah, Yang and Blake are girlfriends now.

REMNANT ALLIANCE:

NORA: See, Ren? I told you there was more going on!

KALI: Our baby girl found love?

TAI: With my sunny little dragon?

RAVEN: She really is your daughter, then, Tai.

RUBY: Then the Cat bailed on us after mistaking us for selfishly using them to get home, and once the storm passed, Jaune let us spend the night in his house in the Origami Acre, then he introduced us the next morning to a village of paper stars called the Paper Pleasers whose purpose was finished and kept trying to go to the Tree to gain a new purpose, but Jaune had been stopping them for as long as he knew them. Then Neo’s Jabberwalkers attacked, and while we were distracted, the Paper Pleasers finally managed to commit mass suicide via destroying the koi pond dam, then when the girls asked me to help comfort Jaune, I blew up at them for caring more about everyone else’s feelings or getting home, and taking my mental health for granted and ignoring my suffering…

REMNANT ALLIANCE:

WBY+J:

RUBY: …then I ran away, came across the Abandoned Acre, and entered a random mansion, where Neo had made clone illusions of Roman Torchwick, Penny, Pyrrha, Professor Lionheart, Clover, Professor Ozpin, and General Ironwood, and used them to physically and psychologically destroy me, and when the chaos was over, I didn’t want to be me anymore, not helped by Torchwick’s question: “Do you really think you can stand to watch more of your friends fall, or are you ready to admit the truth? That the world would just be better off without you?”

REMNANT ALLIANCE (passing tissues around):

RUBY: Then Neo offered me tea made from leaves from the Tree intended to wipe me from existence, then the Cat blasted her away, but then turned out to be evil and tried to possess me, then Neo fought them off and stomped Little to death, then I drank the tea, offing myself, and got swallowed by the Tree.

YANG: (tearing up) Oh, Rubes.

RUBY: Then I met a Blacksmith, who I also found at the market, or, rather, she found me, and then she presented me with a choice to either be someone else or myself. I saw my mom’s weapon and was treated to a vision of the night she left with Raven on another one of Ozpin’s secret missions and never came back.

TAI: (turns accusingly at…) Raven?

RAVEN: (sheepishly) Uh, surprise?

HARE: (to Ruby) Wait. What did you say your mother’s name was again?

RUBY: Summer.

HARE: (muttering) So, her uncle is Qrow, her father is Taiyang, and her sister’s mother is Raven. All are members of Team STRQ. Summer, Summer, Summer… (out loud) Summer Rose, the leader of Team STRQ, was your mother?

REMNANT ALLIANCE (walla): Summer?…Summer Rose?…The previous silver-eyed Huntress?…That’s Summer Rose’s daughter?

RUBY: Yeah. And then, I finally chose to be myself and grow into a better Huntress. And I. Came. Back, and helped the girls fight the evil Cat. And we won.

REMNANT ALLIANCE:

RUBY: And then Neo killed the Cat with the Jabberwalkers, who, by the way, are the only creatures to prevent Ascension if they eat Afterans. And, according to the girls, Neo was possessed by the Cat, and she chose to accept Torchwick’s death and undergo her own Ascension. Oh, and Little ascended, too, into who we called Somewhat, and succeeded Jaune as the protector of the Ever After. And then, we had made it to the Tree, and we walked through the door back home, landed inside the plane of the Tree met the Blacksmith again at her workshop, and when we noticed two statues of the Brother Gods, she told us their backstory. That the Ever After was overfilled with plants and dangerous wildlife in its primordial years, but the Brothers were created to clear it out. Then they created the Afterans as well as the different acres for them to live in. They designed new creations that would replace them in maintaining the Ever After. This was how the Cat was created. They later created the Jabberwalker as a form of destruction. However, the two disagreed on whether it disrupted the balance or not and began to wage war.

OSCAR: (scoffs) What else is new?

RUBY: The Blacksmith told us how balance isn’t supposed to be two opposing forces locked in battle; balance is an ecosystem, an organism, and a living thing, thus balance isn’t restored with force or manipulation, it’s restored naturally, requiring love and patience to see it through to the end. The Gods got to Remnant because the Ever After created a door to a “greater beyond” for the Gods, so they can leave and experiment in creating new worlds as much as they like.

NORA: (snickering) So the Tree basically said, “You think you have life sorted out? Then get out of my house”?

RUBY: Pretty much.

TEAM RWBY, JAUNE, AND REMNANT ALLIANCE:

YANG: (wiping a tear) Oh, my Gods, that’s such a hilarious way of looking at it. Thanks, Nora.

RUBY: Anyway, the Blacksmith told us that we have impacted the Ever After significantly; just like Somewhat, Alyx, and Lewis, and that the Cat caused a bad impact, and then she made us a portal in the desert on the outskirts of the city, and now you’re all caught up.

[ross-hollander]

It happens to be that for...

...every thousandth work removed from the Chatterweb FicArc, the Sea Fox Technicians charged with curating it have a kind of unofficial roundup of all the causes for said removals, mostly for their own amusement. The latest one of them reported, among other items:

Most Frequent Removal Cause: inexcusably irreverent depiction of the bondsman system, at 489 works. (An even 500 if you include the specific 'bondcord does not go there' trope.)

Most Novel Removal Cause: Kentares Massacre denial, only featured in one work.

Fastest Removal: an untitled work that contained three paragraphs of filler before abruptly transitioning to a military analysis of FWL standard planetary defenses was taken down in six minutes. The moderation team still does not know who the information was intended to reach, nor why this medium was chosen.

Unofficial Kerensky Star for Artistic Excellence: A Kiss and a Crown ~ Four Kings in a Deck, a moving, passionate, heartbreaking, one-hundred-and-four chapter work on a whirlwind romance between "Aleksandra Kerensky", "Regina Cameron", "Jennifer Blake" and "Stefanie Amaris". Removed for sympathetic portrayal of the Usurper.

Protective Custody: Ruffled Feathers, which did not break any codes per se (in fact, it was quite scrupulously researched), but the moderators were certain that any fic containing the tag 'Alaric x Malvina' was going to get somebody killed and they had a duty to safeguard their users.

'Mechs Cannot Do That: ranging from 'improper technical specifications' to 'that is not where new 'mechs come from', 204 works were removed for hazardous misinformation on 'mech use and safety procedures.

Manifesto Mischief: eight works were removed for containing radicalizing material or messaging, ranging from statements deemed discriminatory and inflammatory in nature to straight-up bomb construction guides.

Personal Objections: two works were removed for allegations that the Chatterweb FicArc moderation Technicians are incompetent or overbearing.

[little-honeypie]

How do your Destiny ocs eat their ramen and/or soup? Like what toppings and such do they add?

Ophelia likes super thick and hearty soups and she loves fish but is deathly allergic. She adds those little fish cakes to her ramen all the time while Beau, (her ghost) desperately and exasperatedly tries to get her to stop.

Blake likes more light soups/broths. He's also extremely picky with taste and texture.

Octavia-7 adds awful things to everything. She will add mayonnaise and ketchup to everything she eats no matter what it is. She is also always hungry. She is a garbage disposal of an exo and loves weird food combos.

Hoppla is similar but she's eliksni so she has different tastes. She will consistently get drunk and try to eat ramen and then sob because it's hard with her mandibles.

[youbutstupid]

*Spoiler Warning* Here is a list of the bad things that happened to Spencer Reid in 15 seasons of Criminal Minds (bare in mind he’s the youngest member of the BAU, being just 23 at the beginning of the series) *some events may be triggering*

1. His dad leaves him when he is 10 years old

2. His mum had schizophrenia so he had to look after her alone

3. He had to put his mum into a sanitarium when he was 18 and couldn’t look after her anymore

4. He got bullied growing up and tied to a goalpost naked overnight

5. In season 1 he got taken hostage and had to get beat up by his boss. He then got taken hostage again and held at gunpoint on a train

6. In season 1 he got romantically involved with Lila making him a target

7. In season 2 he was the centre of the Fisher King who put both him and his mum in danger

8. In season 2 he got kidnapped, tortured and drugged for over 2 days straight

9. This subsequently led to him developing a drug addiction

10. In season 4 he was held hostage by a religious cult and almost blown up

11. In season 4 he was having nightmares about a child who died during his childhood and he has to find his dad again as he believes he was involved in the death. It was also implied that he was the target of someone dodgy as a child

12. In season 4 he suffered from anthrax poisoning

13. In season 5 he was shot in the leg and had to use crutches the rest of the season

14. In season 6 he began suffering from psychosomatic symptoms of schizohphrenia

15. In season 6 his best friend faked her death and he was left in the dark about it

16. In season 8 his girlfriend is killed by her stalker right in front of him

17. In season 9 he gets shot in the neck and almost dies

18. In season 11/12 he begins being pursued by a woman called Cat who basically stalks him

19. In season 12 he gets falsely imprisoned for multiple months as he is framed for murder. During this team his life is put in danger and he is beat up. He also witnesses his friend get killed

20. In season 14 he gets kidnapped again and almost sacrificed by a cult

21. In season 15 Cat reveals that she got someone to SA him before he went to prison and Cat then tries to break him up from his first relationship since his girlfriend died

22. He has severe attachment issues as Elle, Gideon, Blake, Hotch and Morgan left him

[campbell-rose]

RWBY Rework Blake Belladonna

Black the beast who descends from shadow is supposedly both the Beauty and the Beast but I feel like other than being a cat girl it never comes through in her design. In her more recent appearances, she’s strayed from being black and has taken over Weiss’s spot as white, which is very annoying. So I went back to the source and looked at some of her concept art for inspiration. I found myself adoring her mismatched eyes, so I stole that for my design. I also liked the cutesy dress she was in, though I do like the slimmed down final of her v1 look. 

I think a big issue with her design is that Menagerie has no defined aesthetic. Blake’s kind of like a ninja, but has this gothic lolita type thing going on too, so I decided to design Blake and then design Menagerie around that – which turned Menagerie into a fairy tale island full of magical human/animal hybrids that has different areas based on specific animals – which I’ll expand on later. Blake took on a frillier look, but I made sure she didn’t step on Weiss’s toes because in this rewrite I’m bringing the fact that Blake is a princess into this, which is another play in my decision to make her and Weiss partners. Blake is a princess in hiding, the daughter if the dead king of the Eastern region of Menagerie after an attack from the White Fang (which have been overhauled). So when she returns to Menagerie she’s got nowhere to turn to and is instead trying to regain control of her house that was stolen from her. 

I’ve played up the beast aspect of her, making her a sort of chimera faunus. (in this rewrite, Faunus can have a variety of traits and actually look part animal) While this would be harder to hide, I’ve come up with ways she did it – Her ears/the bow, her horns/her hair + filing them down (painful but effective), the tail/tucked very uncomfortably in her tight clothes. Essentially, she was hurting herself to try and hide her faunus traits, something that will play into her character – she is willing to suffer just to avoid conflict. Also i took away her human ears i hate that design choice.

Her outfit is modeled after a tuxedo cat and this adorable fit I saw on Pinterest once. I’ve also taken to Twiins iink’s idea and taken away long sleeves, which gave room for some cute gloves. Her hair is long again because that mop cut is grotesque in both her concept art and in the show. I gave her a braid though, simply because I want a lot of flowing parts on this with her tail and hair and ribbons and it looked super cute on her amity arena summer skin. 

i think it might just be a little too similar to her og design, so I'll tweak it a little more after i finish Weiss and Ruby, in a whole team spread with their final designs

Also Adam is the rose with hints of the fairy and Salem is the fairy (in this Salem takes the place of a lot of Fairies and Evil Witches)

[itsclydebitches]

Y'know, about Ascension: If you really think about it, the Red King turning into the Red Prince isn't coherent with the established rules at all. I've already wrote about this somewhere else, so let me just copy that over here:

Blake suspects, and the Curious Cat confirms, in episode 5 that the Red Prince is the Red King, who ascended after being unable to deal with the fact the he lost to Alyx in his game. But if that's true, it doesn't make sense at all for the rules the volume establishes for Ascension. "Ascension makes you a better version of yourself." Except when it doesn't. The Red Prince is worse than the Red King in every way, team RWBY even points it out during the conversation in episode 5. The Red King was kind, trusting and generous, the Red Prince is a mean, paranoid, spoiled brat. The Red King was skilled at his game, the Red Prince seemingly needs to give his opponents handicaps and intimidate their chesspieces to win. Even the toy soldiers seem to miss the Red King. One of them yells at team RWBY that if it wasn't for humans like them and Alyx, the Red King would still be with them before the others hurriedly shush him. This implies that none of them see the Red Prince as an improvement either.

"Ascension happens to you when you're at an emotional low-point, can't fulfill your purpose anymore or die." Except when it doesn't. According to the Curious Cat, the Red King was emotionally devastated after Alyx cheated and beat him, he was "a crying mess." Well, so is the Red Prince after Team RWBY defeats him. He's literally breaking apart, bawling his eyes out and he's still doing it when RWBY and the Cat flee. The Cat says the Red Prince's new purpose after ascending was to win at any cost. But he didn't win. Even when all the chesspieces turned against RWBY, they still managed to give him a decisive loss. And even though just crying was apparently the thing that made the Tree collect the Red King for Ascension, the Red Prince stays right where he is. The ground doesn't open up underneath him, nothing. You could argue that he was taken off-screen, but if so why is he the only Afteran whose new ascended form we don't get to see in the happy-go-lucky finale?

"Ascension happens when the Cat touches your heart and finds it 'too weak to listen'." Except when it doesn't. The Cat gives a piece of their heart to the Red Prince, just like they do with the Herbalist, but all it does is make the Red Prince stop for a second before he starts crying and throwing a tantrum again. And as previously stated, even said tantrum doesn't get him picked up by the Tree's roots. This inconsistency is even repeated in episode 5, where the Cat presumably gives a piece of their heart to the Hawk selling mudpies to give him the purpose of fighting the Jabberwalker, so team RWBY can get away. Because apparently the Cat can just change an Afteran's purpose. Easy-peasy. Who needs the Tree?

"Ascension rids you of your past memories and traumas so you can start new." Except. When. It doesn't. The Red Prince's whole character is based around retribution for his one loss as the Red King. He cheats and bullies the opponent's chesspieces into not trying, because Alyx won by cheating so he must fight fire with fire. He has an immense hatred for humans, because Alyx was the one who caused his Ascension as the Red King. The Cat glosses over this with one line of "The heart very rarely forgets" but... then what is the point??? And why is the Red Prince the only one this applies to? The Genial Gems don't remember Jaune, Somewhat doesn't remember Ruby or her friends and the Cat confirms that the Herbalist won't remember anything about his past life either. The Red Prince isn't free of the Red King's trauma, if anything it informs every single aspect of his character.

Just... everything about the Red Prince and the Red King flat-out contradicts the already messy set of rules we have for Ascension and it's just never really adressed?

Literally all of this. The Red Prince is one of the biggest red flags early in the Volume that Ascension is not the wonderful answer the Cat paints it as. But as you say, none of this is ever addressed, including all the inconsistencies. My reading at the time focused on the "fulfill your purpose" aspect because although that might sound great on the surface, the Red Prince is presented as a perfect example of how easily that kind of definition can get twisted. Oh, the Red King lost? We need to remake him in a way that ensures he never looses again, so we'll reinforce that loss as motivation (which, as said, goes against everyone else loosing their memories), we'll turn him into a child who is obsessed with games, and give him a moral code that embraces cheating, threats, and outright violence—win no matter the cost.

Thus, the general arc for Team RWBY should have gone:

"No one dies here and everyone knows exactly what they're doing with their life (a callback to our own insecurities about being Huntresses)? Wow, that sounds amazing!! Oh... the Caterpillar was taken pretty violently... against his will too... and we don't really understand what he did wrong when his smoke helped us come to terms with some things... but you obviously know Ascension best, Cat, and we trust you both as a new ally and as a character from our beloved fairy tale. Wait. How is the Red Prince better now? He's not! He's killing his subjects and trying to kill us! We get that we're the outsiders here, but it's looking more and more like Ascension isn't the perfect solution you presented it as. Ha... now here comes Jaune saying the Cat is evil, Ascension is evil, and he's spent years keeping his paper friends from killing themselves. Yeah, I think this is our literal and metaphorical antagonist for the season! Oh my god, Neo convinced Ruby to Ascend?? This is a horrible tragedy and is in no way something we'll smile about."

Ascension was bad. Full stop. The Caterpillar, the Red Prince, the Paper Pleasers, Neo's torture session, and this being the tool of the villainous Cat—everything screams, "This is a manipulative, cult-like magic forced on people against their will" so when the Volume instead swerves and doubles down on it being a beautiful cultural difference, moments like those with the Red Prince completely fall apart. The only way RWBY might have been able to reconcile this is if they'd leaned a lot harder into the untrustworthy nature of fairy tales, specifically Lewis' book. Meaning, if the girls came into the Ever After thinking that the Red King was this wonderful, mature ally—because that's what they read—only to learn that this was never the case, that would be a different situation entirely. He's always been a dangerous, tantruming child and Lewis just made up a new version of the character to better suit the tale, a lot like how Ozpin and Salem's tale has been sanitized over the years into something that ends at the height of their victory and romance. RWBY could have made this about fairy tales themselves, re-emphasizing our Volume 1 message that real life is never so simple and reassuring. We could have gotten a Volume where the girls simply wound up in a place from their childhood, assumed it would be as wonderful as their nostalgia recalls, are blindsided by how horrible things really are, but re-discover hope in the beauty the Ever After nevertheless possesses, the good people there whom the heroes actually help, and they leave the world acknowledging that it was never a true fairy tale, but it's better than when they first arrived... and that's worth far more than having visited a prefect world from the start.

I really just want to chuck the entirety of Ascension into the bin. RT didn't think it through—at all—and the result is not just a continuity nightmare, but at times produces extremely uncomfortable messages for the viewer. Without, you know, that being a deliberate choice on the writers' part in an effort to unpack those messages with respect and nuance.

[ourpickwickclub]

People, we have been following this couple for almost 10 years, why are you all acting like you are new here? That is 100% Blake at Kings show, we all know what he looks like, that is his face, his profile, why so much doubt? We have recognized that man by just 2 curls in back of his head, by a knee, or his very lovely fingers, now we get half his face and you are all acting confused and puzzled?? 🤔😵‍💫 Lazic surgery doesn’t last forever or is 100% accurate, my dad got it and it improved his vision by maybe 80% but he still wears contacts and when he doesn’t he wears his glasses to make up for that 20%, maybe in Blake’s case it has worn off a bit, maybe he is the new model for Tura 🤭 and he is just modeling his glass live like Gwen does 😆 Come in people you are all worrying me

It’s Blake. He could have taken a kid’s glasses to make them laugh. It could be that both he and Gwen wear glasses here and there. But, it’s him imo.

- B