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superfreakerz · 5 years

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TDDUP 29

"Til Death Do Us Part"

Rated M for smut and heavy themes.

Reincarnation/Immortality AU

Summary: There are immortals and there are those who reincarnate, but it's best to keep these things hidden. Lucy is attending college and meets Natsu, a boy with pink hair, a mischievous grin, and a body that never ages.

Read earlier chapters on FF.net

Chapter 29

The Immortals

The car ride home was insufferable. Lucy could feel Gajeel's glare piercing the back of her head, Erza chose to sit in between her and Natsu- which she could only assume was to keep him away from her- and nobody had said a single word since the night before. Even the music that Gray so graciously played in hopes of lightening the mood did nothing to ease the tension. The negative aura was thick, and it felt like she was being suffocated with everyone's blatant stares.

All she had to do was show them the locket. Inside was proof that she wasn't just twenty years old. Still, part of her wondered if that was going to be good enough for them. Technically, she was still a mortal, and if Gajeel's dirty looks were enough to go off of, they had some pretty bad run-ins with mortals who knew of their secret.

A sigh slipped past Lucy's lips. All she wanted was to go on a ski trip with her friends. Couldn't she just have one day without some bad luck interfering with her plans?

Turning her head, she glanced past Erza to look at Natsu. As if feeling her stare, he turned towards her and gave her a show-stopping grin that somehow managed to chip away at her anxiety.

Her lips curled into a grin. At least there was one good thing that happened on the trip. The secrets that strained their relationship were now out in the open. She could finally be her true self around people. That is, being a girl who reincarnates. She didn't have to hold back on details, she didn't have to lie, and she didn't have to keep her lives straight anymore.

She was sure the same went for Natsu. Sure, he had a group of friends that shared his immortality, but he must've felt the same way about her. Now, he didn't have to lie to her about anything.

Everything felt so easy now.

Or at least it should have if it weren't for her overly skeptical friends.

Seriously, they were immortals for god's sake! Their bodies healed at abnormal rates and they never aged. Why was it so weird that she reincarnated? When they got to her apartment, she was going to make sure to rub it in their sorry faces and demand an apology. It was the least they could do after putting her through the wringer.

Reaching Lucy's apartment, the group stretched their legs outside. After being trapped in the silent car for the past four hours, they were relieved to finally be free of its confines.

"I'll go grab the locket and prove how ridiculous you guys are being," Lucy said, heading to the steps to her apartment when Gajeel blocked her path.

"Oi, remember our deal?" he asked, peering down at her. "We go together. Gotta make sure you ain't cheating."

"How in the world could I cheat? This isn't some contest, you know?"

"You could photoshop it or something!"

"How would I even have time to do that?"

"Doesn't matter! We're all comin' with you!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. Grabbing her suitcase out of the trunk, she rolled it behind her as she walked to her apartment, making sure to run over Gajeel's toes in the process.

"Fine. Come on then," she said. She couldn't deny that her feelings were hurt. After all they'd been through, they still couldn't trust her? The only thing that made her feel better was knowing that Natsu believed her, even without needing to see the proof that lied within her locket.

Waiting for everyone to finish putting their luggage aside, Lucy headed towards the bathroom. The group followed closely behind as if they were little ducklings trailing after their mother.

"The bathroom's small, so some of you might want to stand out in the hall," Lucy suggested.

"Nonsense," Erza replied. "We can all huddle together."

Lucy sighed as the whole group squeezed themselves into the bathroom with her. The seven huddled together, their elbows poking into each other while Lucy stood a foot away by the tub. Bending over, she swiftly threw open the drawer, slamming it into Gajeel's shin. The boy jumped away with a yelp.

"Oops," she said with a shrug.

Gajeel rubbed the sore spot, glaring at the blonde. "Didja really hafta do that?"

"You deserved it. In fact, if you ask me, all of you deserve it. Other than Natsu, of course."

Natsu grinned. "I've got your back, Luce! Now hurry up and show us what's in the locket! I've been dying to know for weeks!"

Lucy smiled at him. Grabbing the tampon box, she dumped it out into the drawer. Sure enough, the locket fell out with a thud.

"So that's where you hid it!" Natsu exclaimed. He tried to push everyone out of his way so he could get a closer look, but with how cramped the bathroom was, he was stuck in place. "Wait, but I checked there for other evidence and there wasn't anything in there!"

"Wait, you checked for evidence? When? And for what?"

"While you were visitin' your old man. I kinda thought that you were an immortal too, so I looked through all your stuff for any clues. I didn't find anything!"

"Oh. That's because the only hard proof that I keep with me is this locket," Lucy explained, dangling it in the air. "I don't have access to anything else."

Before she could say another word, Gajeel snatched the necklace out of her hand.

"How is this supposed to prove anything?" he asked, his crimson eyes piercing hers.

"Open it, idiot," Lucy answered, crossing her arms over her chest expectantly.

Everyone peered over Gajeel's shoulders, watching as he opened the locket to reveal a black-and-white picture of Lucy between an older couple.

"I don't get it," Gray said.

Lucy sighed, grabbing the necklace from Gajeel's hand and carefully removing the photo. Unfolding its edges, she handed it back to the boy. "Look at the date at the corner."

Natsu's eyes widened as he read the date. It was over sixty years ago.

"Ha! I toldja she wasn't lying!" he exclaimed, slapping Gajeel upside the head.

"This doesn't prove anything!" the other boy barked. "This coulda been photoshopped!"

"When would she have photoshopped it, dumbass?" Gray asked. Somehow during their time in the bathroom, he had ended up shirtless.

"Gray's right," Levy chimed in. "There would've been no reason for Lu-chan to photoshop a fake date onto it when she didn't know about us until yesterday."

Juvia shrugged. "Juvia believed her last night, so this doesn't change anything."

"You did?" Lucy asked, her mouth parting.

"Yes. Considering Juvia is an immortal, it isn't impossible for other kinds of beings to exist."

"Oh my god, yes! Thank you for saying that, Juvia! Seriously, the rest of you are all just a bunch of hypocrites!"

"Yeah!" Natsu agreed, pushing past the others so that he could stand by Lucy. "You guys shoulda trusted her!"

Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms over his burly chest. "I still don't believe it."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked with a groan. "You need more proof? Fine. Follow me." Slipping through the group, she led the way to the dining room where her laptop rested on the table. Opening up a searching browser, she started to type her name.

"I already looked you up," Gajeel said. "I didn't find anything that proves you reincarnate."

"That's because you were looking up the wrong name. My first name stays the same whenever I am reborn, but I am always born into a new family, so my last name changes. You looked up Lucy Heartfilia. The first name I went by was Lucy Ashley."

Pressing enter, the page was reloaded with multiple links. Most of them led to the social medias of other girls that went by the same name. Muttering incentives to herself, Lucy narrowed the search with details of her death and tried again. This time, a link to her obituary popped up. Clicking it, she was led to a page that showed some of her pictures, a brief description of her life, and an explanation of how she died. In the back of her head, she noted how strange it felt reading about her own death, but at the moment, she was too spiteful to care.

"Holy fuck," Gray breathed out, pulling a chair out next to Lucy.

"So it is true," Erza added, her eyes wide as she cupped her chin.

"That's what I've been telling you guys," Lucy said, standing from her seat so that she could face all of them with a glare. "But you didn't believe me."

"I apologize Lucy, but can you really blame us?"

"Yes! I can! I believed you guys about your immortality right away!"

"Yes, but you were shown the facts first. It was impossible to deny it when you saw Natsu's body healing on its own. For us, we didn't see any proof that you reincarnate. We never believed in reincarnation before. It was just awfully convenient timing to confess such a thing, so it was easier to believe that you would say whatever you had to so that you could still be with Natsu."

Lucy crossed her arms, her glare never wavering. "Okay, yes. I can agree with you on that. I did see the proof, and maybe I wouldn't have believed that you guys were immortal if I hadn't seen Natsu's body regenerating. But did you guys have to treat me like crap because of it?"

Erza glued her gaze to the floor with a frown. "No. And we shouldn't have treated you like that. I am truly sorry for what we said last night."

"I am too," Levy added, wringing her hands together. "We've been best friends for a long time, I shouldn't have dismissed you so quickly, especially when you've been nothing but kind to me. I was a bad friend."

"Same goes for me and Jellal," Gray said.

"Juvia should've stuck up for you," the other blue-headed girl chimed in. "Juvia believed you, but she was scared of saying something last night."

Lucy glanced towards Gajeel expectantly. Part of her expected him to be stubborn and refuse to apologize. Instead, he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. What he did next was surprising.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," the boy said. "Look, there's nothin' I can say that's gonna change how I acted. Truth is, I've had some bad experiences with mortals who found out that I'm immortal- a lot of us have. I just wanna keep Levy safe. Guess I got a lil' carried away."

"A little?" Lucy asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm glad you guys are apologizing and all, but that doesn't change anything. You guys made me feel horrible last night, and I warned you before that I wasn't going to be so quick to forgive you."

"Yeah, I know. So let us make it up to you."

"How?" Lucy asked, arching a brow.

Gajeel's face was serious as answered, "We'll take you to Fairy Tail."

The widening gazes of everyone else in the group went unnoticed by Lucy as she threw her arms in the air.

"You think taking me out for some food and drinks is going to make it up to me?" she asked incredulously. "That's the dumbest-"

"Fairy Tail isn't just a pub. It's home of the immortals. Taking you there could get us in a lot of trouble."

"Gajeel!" Erza hissed.

The boy turned to face her with a shrug. "We were gonna take her to see Makarov anyways if she was tellin' the truth. Why not bring her to Fairy Tail? We can make it up to her by telling her everything. There's no better way of showin' her that we trust her now."

Lucy glanced at Natsu, who grinned back at her with a nod. She couldn't deny that her curiosity was more than piqued. She finally knew where they lived! She just couldn't believe that she'd been there a million times without knowing.

"I can get on board with that idea," Lucy said. She knew that it was a big risk to them, so she knew it was a big deal and that they were really trying to make it up to her. "If you take me there, I will agree to put all of this behind us."

Erza glanced at the others to make sure they were on board. Receiving a bunch of nods and shrugs, she turned back towards Lucy.

"Alright," the redhead stated. "We will take you there. Just keep in mind that there are other immortals who might be wary of you. They will all be surprised to see you."

"Wait, there's more of you?" Lucy asked, her mouth hanging open.

"Yes. Fairy Tail is an organization built to support immortals. The pub is a way to bring in money while the basement houses all of us."

"That's so cool!"

"I can't wait to show you to everybody!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders. "You gotta try Mira's cooking!"

Lucy arched a brow. She remembered that name. "Mira? Isn't that the friend who moved away?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot I sorta told you about her! Truth is, we aren't supposed to bring up anyone who lives in the basement, but it just kinda slipped out that one time. So then we had to tell you that she was our friend who moved away, but she's really living in the basement!"

"Wait, why is she living in the basement?"

"It's a long story," Levy said. "We'll tell you all about it when we get to Fairy Tail."

"Prepare to get groped," Gray added, leading the way to the door.

Lucy covered her breasts with her arms. "Groped!?"

"He means Cana," Natsu explained while she locked her door behind them. "She has a thing for big boobs. And yours are huge."

Growing red in the face, Lucy slapped the boy upside the head. "Natsu! You can't just say things like that!"

"Ow! But it's true!"

That got him another slap.

Arriving at Fairy Tail, Lucy's stomach was doing flips. Her fingers wiggled at her sides as she stepped inside the pub, antsy at meeting the rest of the immortals. Following the others behind the counter into an area that was restricted to the public, she watched them head down a flight of narrow steps. Not wanting to get lost, she trailed closely behind.

Each step made her stomach churn. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

The steps led to what looked like a lobby. There were multiple sofas, tables and chairs, and even entertainment centers. There was also a bar, where a stunning woman was drying off glasses. Her hair was snow white and fell in waves, her eyes a brilliant shade of blue. She turned to greet them, but the words died in her throat the moment she laid eyes on Lucy. The glass in her hands dropped to the floor, shattering and catching the attention of everyone else around.

There was another girl slouched in one of the stools by the bar. Her hair was also wavy, but it was a relaxing shade of brown. She was clad in a pair of khakis and a bikini top, clutching a barrel to her chest. Her cheeks were dusted pink, clueing Lucy into what could possibly be in the barrel.

At one of the entertainment centers sat a man even larger and more muscular than Gajeel. His hair was blonde, and he had a scar running down one of his eyes. Over his ears were two large headphones with spikes protruding from the sides. Surrounding him was a man with long green hair, a scantily dressed woman with glasses, and a man wearing the strangest outfit Lucy had ever seen before.

All of them had their eyes on her, and it was clear that her presence was unexpected, if not unwelcomed.

"Erza," the blonde man called out, jumping to his feet. "Who is this?"

The redhead gnawed on her lower lip. Well, there was no use in lying. "This is Lucy."

"Wait, Lucy? As in the Lucy?" the silver-haired girl behind the bar asked. A shaky hand flew up to her mouth. "You guys brought a mortal into the basement?"

"What the hell are you guys thinking?" the brunette asked, setting aside her barrel as she glared at them.

"It's a long story," Erza answered. "We need to speak to Master. Is he in his office?"

The brunette nodded. "Good luck. Seems to me you've got a death wish."

Erza turned back to the group. "I will go let Master know that we need to speak to him. Wait here and do not move. Understood?"

Natsu flinched under the menacing stare she directed at him. "A-Aye!"

"Good. I will return shortly."

Lucy kept her eyes on the ground. Perhaps they should've given the others a heads-up that she was coming. Now, she felt unwelcomed. Not that she could really blame the others. She wouldn't be too happy either if some stranger just let themselves into her home.

"Oi, mortal," a voice called out. Lifting her gaze, Lucy saw the brunette waving her over. "C'mere. Have a drink."

"O-Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother," she replied, waving her hands in front of her face.

"Just have a drink already. I'm sure you've gotta feel awkward with all this."

Natsu nodded at her, gesturing for her to go mingle with the other immortals. Swallowing thickly, she took the empty seat beside the brunette while Natsu sat on the other side of her. At least he was there to keep her company.

"The name's Cana," the other girl said, pointing at herself. "Nice to meetcha, Lucy. We've heard a shit ton about you. Oi, Natsu, you're right! She does have ginormous knockers!"

"Toldja!" the boy replied. The two shared a high-five behind the blonde's back while she because a blushing mess.

"I-It's nice to meet you too," Lucy said. "So you are an immortal too?"

"Yep. Have been longer than most of these guys."

"Really? I didn't know that some of you could be immortals longer than others."

"Oh yeah. Immortality is way more of a complicated bitch than most people would think."

So many questions floated around in Lucy's mind. She had no idea how immortality worked. Were people born with it? Did it run in their genes? Was there any sort of limit to their immortality? Opening her mouth to ask one of her many questions, the girl was cut off as Erza entered the room.

"Master will see us now," she said.

"What did you tell him?" Jellal asked.

"I told him that there was someone here to see him. I did, however, leave out the fact that she is a mortal. I figured it would be best to explain it all together."

Lucy swallowed thickly. "I'm scared of meeting this Master person."

"Don't be," Natsu replied, nudging her gently in hopes of alleviating some of her anxiety. "Gramps is awesome! And you're a girl, so he'll definitely go easier on you. If anything, he'll just try to kill me for bringing you."

"Yes, because that definitely makes me feel better."

"Good! Let's go, Luce!"

Cana watched as Natsu dragged the mortal away by the wrist. The rest of the group followed behind them.

"You okay, Mira?" Cana asked, her gaze tearing away from the hallway where the others went in order to face the other girl. A frown immediately graced her face as she found tears welled in the blue orbs of her close friend.

Mira's shaky hand flew up to her chest, her eyes wide and glazed over with hot tears. Her breathing was heavy and ragged as she hyperventilated.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she breathed out, rubbing her neck. "I-I was just a little surprised, but I'm fine."

Cana frowned, but she didn't bother arguing with the other girl. All she knew was that there had better been a damn good reason why Natsu and the others brought a mortal into their safe haven.

Lucy was a fumbling mess by the time they reached the door to what she assumed was Master's office. Natsu's warm hand slid into hers, lacing their fingers together and giving her hand a gentle squeeze, silently telling her that it was going to be okay. She decided to take his word for it.

Following Erza and the others, Lucy's eyes immediately landed on the tiny, elderly man that sat at a desk that was taller than him. The top of his head was bald, but the sides sported patches of silver hair. He had a white goatee and a fluffy white coat. At the sight of her, he cocked his head to the side.

"Hello, my name is Makarov" the man greeted, jumping onto his desk so that he could stand at the same height as her. "I heard that someone wanted to see me. That must be you."

"Umm, yes," Lucy replied, shaking his hand.

"You must be an immortal. Let me get some paperwork started and we can get you all situated to join our family!"

"Oh- uhh- I'm actually not an immortal."

"Oh, you must be a government official affiliated with immortals."

"Actually, I'm just a friend of these guys. My name is Lucy."

Makarov halted his movements, the uncapped pen in his hand dropping onto the desk and tainting some of the documents.

"I'm sorry, come again? I don't believe I heard you right the first time. Pardon my bad hearing, it comes with the old age," he said, cupping his hand around his ear.

"Umm, Master, this is Lucy. Natsu's girlfriend and our friend from school," Erza explained.

The man whipped his head towards Erza. "What!? Erza! What are you thinking bringing an outsider here!? You know better than that! Oh no. The school will probably have to be shut down, along with Fairy Tail. We'll all have to relocate and who knows what will happen to-"

"Lucy's not just some outsider," Natsu interrupted. "She's different than the other mortals!"

"Natsu, I understand she's your girlfriend, but that doesn't mean you can bring her here!"

"No, not just that! Tell him, Lucy!"

Lucy swallowed thickly. Her gaze was pointed at the desk as she was too afraid to meet the gaze of the older man who- despite his kind smile- had an air of authority to him that frightened her.

"Umm, I uhh, I…" she started, the words dying in her throat due to her nerves.

"Spit it out, dear," Makarov said. "I have to know what made these brats think it was acceptable bringing you here."

"…The truth is, I reincarnate every time I die."

Makarov's eyes went wide, his jaw slack.

"I know it's hard to believe," Gajeel began, "but she's got proof! She has a picture of herself from sixty years ago, and there are obituaries written about her past lives!"

"It's true," Erza chimed in, hoping to calm the monster that resided in the older man. He was a usually kind man, but if angered enough, well… That wasn't something anyone wanted to see. "I've seen the proof myself."

"I see…" Makarov said, stroking his beard. "That is why you brought her here. To ask questions about her situation."

"Oh, no," Lucy replied, shaking her head. "I came to learn more about Natsu and the others."

Natsu cocked his head to the side as he took another step closer to Makarov. "Wait a sec. You aren't as surprised as I thought you'd be. Gramps, do you know something about reincarnation?"

Makarov's face was serious as he mulled over the question. With a sigh, he nodded. "Yes. I am familiar with some of the history of reincarnation."

Lucy's hands went limp at her sides, her mouth trembling as she choked out, "W-Wait, what?"

She had gone there to learn about immortality, but there stood a man with the truth about herself. For lifetimes she had tried researching about reincarnation, only to come up with people's theories and misconceptions as to what it would be like. Hell, in her three lifetimes of searching, she had only found one other person in the world who shared her experience. And now she was finally going to learn about the curse that haunted her?

Natsu glanced over to Lucy. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she swayed. Looping an arm around her waist, he kept her steady.

Makarov's stare was serious as he asked, "Would you like to know more about reincarnation? The history is tied to immortality."

Natsu whipped his head towards Makarov. "It is? Then why haven't we heard about it before?"

The old man frowned, fiddling with his coat. "Lucy, please have a seat. I will do my best to explain." The girl nodded slowly, moving to sit in the chair that was in front of the desk. Only once she did, Makarov continued, "First, I shall start off by saying that I am a mortal, and everything that I tell you has happened long before I was born. In fact, it happened before all of us were born."

"Even longer than me?" Gray asked, having been the oldest immortal in the room.

"Yes. It was four hundred years ago. Reincarnation is much like immortality. Nobody can control it, and it isn't passed down through genes. It is much rarer than immortality, however. Long ago, there was an immortal- or I suppose I should say there is an immortal since he is still roaming the world somewhere. He is one of the oldest known immortals in the world. I have heard of him through Mavis herself."

"Who is Mavis?" Lucy asked.

"She is also one of the first to discover her immortality. She is also founder of Fairy Tail. She was around at the time it happened."

"It?" she repeated, cocking her head to the side. "What happened?"

Makarov's frown deepened. "A massacre. Around four hundred years ago, the first reincarnation was discovered. He is known as the Spirit King because of how many 'souls' he has had since he has died and been reborn numerous times. It was four hundred years ago when he was reborn for the first time. Immortals had already been around back then, and apparently he was familiar with one. His friend brought him to meet some other immortals, as it was such a strange finding. However…"

"What? What is it?"

"Among one of the immortals was a man named Acnologia. As you know, immortality isn't passed down through genes. It is completely arbitrary on who becomes an immortal. Acnologia had a daughter named Sonya. Because of his immortality, he was forced to watch his daughter grow up before his eyes and eventually die while he had to keep living without her. Because of this, he hated his immortality. All he wanted was to die so that he can be reunited with his daughter in the afterlife."

Makarov forced himself to meet Lucy's inquisitive gaze as he continued, "When he found out that there was a man who had his wish of dying and resented it, it set something off inside of him. He followed the Spirit King that night, sneaking up from behind him and killing him."

A gasp slipped past Lucy's lips, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "B-But it wasn't his fault that he can reincarnate!"

"I know. But in Acnologia's eyes, the Spirit King's existence was a great injustice. He gathered up some immortal followers with the same mindset and together they sought out those who could reincarnate. They massacred them all, searching for them everywhere across the globe and murdering them over and over again."

Tears ran down Lucy's cheeks as she imagined what it was like to constantly be reborn and murdered by such monsters. Not only were they cursed with reincarnation, they were also being hunted every life. Then it hit her.

"W-Wait…" Lucy began, her head spinning. "Immortals never die, which means…"

"Yes," Makarov said with a nod, his frown deepening. "They are all still alive, including Acnologia."

"B-But what if he finds out about me!" Lucy cried, glancing towards Natsu. Her breaths were staggered, her heart beating a mile per minute. "I-I don't want to be hunted down!"

Natsu smoothed a hand over her head, bringing the girl in for a hug as he tried to soothe her.

"Don't worry," he said, wiping away her tears. "I'm not gonna let that happen to you."

Lucy covered her mouth with her hand, trying to quiet her sobs.

"Natsu is right, you do not need to worry," Makarov said. "After the massacre, many of the immortals who were in on the killings were locked up. The immortals have a connection to high officials in the government thanks to Mavis. The officials are why organizations like Fairy Tail exist. They locked up most of the murderers. Acnologia and a few others did manage to escape, but the odds of him finding you are slim to none."

Lucy nodded slowly, but it didn't make her fear go away. Sure, maybe he wouldn't kill her in this lifetime, but what about the next one? Or the one after that? Acnologia was immortal and she reincarnated, he had all the time in the world to find her.

Natsu could feel Lucy shaking in his arms. Gently grabbing her face, he forced her to face him.

"I promise I'll protect you, Lucy," he said, his face serious. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Neither will we," Gray chimed in, ruffling the blonde's hair. "You're one of us now."

Lucy smiled at her friends, starting to regain some of her composure. "Thanks, guys."

"Lucy," Makarov started, "would you like to meet others like you?"

The girl whipped her head towards the man. "R-Really? You know more people like me?"

"Yes. Though, perhaps I shouldn't say meet. You've already met them before, actually. You all have."

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked. "Who?"

"A handful of professors at Fairy Tail are reincarnations. Aquarius, Scorpio, and Capricorn, you've had them this quarter, correct? They all reincarnate."

"What!? How come you didn't tell us this!?"

"After the massacre, the existence of reincarnations was swept under the rug and kept a secret from later immortals in case they had the same mindset as Acnologia. When Mavis first stumbled upon Aquarius and found out the truth about her, she wanted to make sure that she had a place to turn to in the world. So, she invited her, along with other reincarnations, to teach at the University whenever they are at an old enough age to return."

Lucy gawked. Finally, everything was starting to make sense. Her talk with Aquarius, why Capricorn was so interested in her story about reincarnation, everything. They were like her.

"Wait, but how did they know about me?" Lucy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I think they know that I reincarnate. How did they find out?"

"I am unsure. Perhaps you can ask Aquarius when the new term starts."

Lucy nodded. She would definitely have to do that. But for now, all she wanted was to sleep. After the rollercoaster of a day she had, she was left winded.

"I-I think I need to be alone for a little bit," she said. "I should go home."

"Feel free to come down to the basement any time," Makarov replied.

Thanking him for everything, Lucy followed the others back to the lobby. She noted that the other immortals were gone.

"I'll walk you home," Natsu said.

"Thanks," Lucy replied. Saying goodbye to her friends, she followed Natsu up the stairs and back to the pub. Stepping outside the grand doors of Fairy Tail, she turned back and admired the building. This whole time, it had been the home of her friends, and she never even knew it. It was also home to other immortals, who she planned on getting closer to.

Though, that could wait until tomorrow.

#fairy tail #nalu #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #ftfanficton #nalu fanfiction #tddup #til death do us part #super writes

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tristesse-and-distress · 5 years

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Just putting this out there! If anyone on here needs help with the following, let me know! I’ve been through the wringer doing these or working on them myself, and I am generally good at putting thoughts together!

- Art portfolios or writing about art

-Writing about the Romanticism Movement

-How to give a good art critique

-Writing about your art work (especially for AP or Scholastic type art if you are in high school)

-Shakespeare soliloquy, monologue, or dialogue analysis for Twelfth Night, Hamlet, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Comedy of Errors, King Lear/Shakespearean dialogue help

-Adobe Photoshop

-Adobe Lightroom

-Art History

-Historical fashion

-Vampire lore

-Bram Stoker’s Dracula

-The Picture of Dorian Gray

Please message me if you are working on a project or needing to write/make something concerning any of these topics and I’d be very happy to assist in fact checking or helping organize images, analyze, or write something!

I’d be happy to help for a very low rate so I can pay my electric bill!

#art #fashion #history #signal boost #tutoring #writing #writing help #ap art #design #shakespeare #literature #literature help

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blue-mint-winter · 5 years

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BSG 1x07 Six Degrees of Separation rewatch

ahhh, the first time around this was THE episode that made me like Gaius!

Gaius is being unfaithful and speaking blasphemy against God, so Head Six leaves him.

In her place appears a Six copy named Shelly Godfrey and she claims to have video proof from dr Amarak that Gaius is a traitor!

Gaeta, aka the biggest fan of Gaius, is tasked with checking it over.

Godfrey has a private talk with Adama, but her blatant attempt at seduction only makes him wary and he puts guard on her and grounds her so she can’t leave the ship.

Gaius claims that Godfrey can’t be believed because she’s a Cylon agent, but he’s not allowed to work on his Cylon detector to prove it.

He’s getting desperate - calls Roslin for help, but she faints, talks to Adama who is unsympathetic, finally he hounds Gaeta in the bathroom...

Bathroom scene is hilarious LOL

“NO MORE MISTER NICE GAIUS!” Frakkin iconic.

He even sneaks into the lab to get rid of Godfrey’s evidence but he’s caught and thrown into a brig.

His last hope for salvation is dashed when Roslin visits to tell him that she has a gut feeling that somehow he WAS involved in the Cylon attack. The woman has good instincts.

The situation is truly hopeless and in his darkest hour, Gaius finally prays to God. Honestly pledges himself to do God’s divine will. And Head Six, who he was desperately looking for in his dreamscape, finally returns to his side.

And the miracle happens, Gaeta checked the footage again and found out that it was photoshopped. Gaius is so happy that he gives the man a hug :)

Roslin makes an official statement. Now Gaius’ reputation is beyond doubt. His popularity will soar. It’s all a part of the higher plan.

Godfrey disappeared without a trace when Head Six returned which makes me believe that it was Head Six all along, putting Gaius to the test. Also, I think she might be the one who wrote “Cylon” on Boomer’s mirror to warn her of her sleeper programming.

What I love about this episode is the tone. It’s funny but serious. Gaius is going through a wringer emotionally, which is amusing to the viewers but we do realize it is a matter of life and death for him. Great acting from James Callis.

Other plots:

Roslin fainted from overdose on her meds. Cottle warns her she won’t be able to hide her illness forever.

Lee’s gentle encouragement doesn’t work on Kara when she’s supposed to rehabilitate her leg, but Tigh makes her get off her butt out of spite lol.

Tyrol is working on the Cylon raider, Boomer visits and gets all weird, touching the raider and telling him he should treat it like a pet, not a machine.

Helo confesses to other Sharon that he’d like to be in Tyrol’s place, she jumps on the opening and things get steamy between them :)

#bsg #bsg rewatch #1x07 six degrees of separation

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whoaimhellatrash · 6 years

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I don't really know where to put this except here but I need to get everything out. I'm putting it under a cut, no one needs to read it, but I just need to yell into the void for a while and on the off chance someone else is in this deserted Denny's parking lot at 4 am then cool beans you do you.

I have spent the last 4-5 years of my life doing nothing but self exploration. Honestly I’m sure a lot of people can relate, mid-late middle school to late high school is when people actually stop for a minute and think “who am i?”

So many of these thoughts are influenced by the world around you, which in our society is so goddamn dangerous honestly. With so many influences like toxic masculinity, the disrespect of women, the racism the phobia the models and photoshop, it’s all so toxic for people just trying to discover who we really are. I think my identity was so fucking out of left field and so new and so wrong for others that it put me so harshly through the wringer that I earned self awareness. Through the immense pain and pressure, I was forced to stop and think, to consider, how much of this is me and how much of this is my parents, my society, how much of myself has been put here by others instead of molded by myself. Like a piece of coal turning to a diamond by sheer pressure, my perspective of myself and the world drastically changed.

It’s honestly still changing, and i doubt it’ll stop, I don’t want it to stop. I want to keep changing my views with the times, I want to keep discovering new things about myself and others, but this desire came with a price, as did my self awareness.

Back in mid to late middle school, my memory is muddled I wont lie, I had discovered sexuality and the fluidity of it, or at least a small piece of it. It was so mind boggling to me that at 7 in the morning, on the bus ride to school, I told a senior from my neighborhood about it with just this sparkling delight of curiosity and excitement in my eyes. I remember reading, on that dark, quiet bus, the definitions of bisexual, homosexual, demi, and pan which i ended up identifying with the latter for a long time.

This moment, these precious few moments on a bus, was the first push of a snowball down a long hill of self discovery. I remember coming out as pan in my school and watching, one by one, several more of my friends come out as Bi and gay. It was something i reveled in, knowing that I helped that cascade. I was lucky, not being faced with bullying for my sexuality in particular, but I hadn’t come out to anyone truly important and I wouldn’t for a while.

When I met my best friend (going on 6-7 years now) they introduced me to the idea of trans. I had never put thought into it before but I decided that maybe I wanted to try it out. Deep down in the pit of my gut, i knew i hated who i was. I wasn’t comfortable, i wasn’t..right. I always pulled my hair up in a pony tail, i couldn’t stand it being down, i never wore dresses or skirts unless i was forced to do so for a dance, i just couldnt stand the femininity of it. I liked the power and confidence of looking good but it just..wasnt the right kind. It never felt like it was right. I constantly wore baggy hoodies to hide my body. I thought maybe it was my weight, I starved myself, as in only eating a few cheerios and an apple maybe for an entire 30 hours. I fainted in class from low glucose levels. Nothing I tried helped and in fact made everything so much worse.

I was finally ready to try something else. I was genderfluid at first, i tried they/them and i found I liked it, but when i tried he/him I thrived on it. It felt comfortable and right and I never wanted to give it up. I never came out to my middle school friends.

My freshman year of high school I had decided that I was going to live out all four years as Dave. As myself, as someone who i was comfortable with, then once those four years were up, I would go back into the closet and live my life as the perfect little girl, the sweet, precious golden child like I had been forced to be for all of my life. It was at this time that my depression was at it’s worst point.

8-9 grade became a dead blur. It was around this time that my sister was diagnosed with depression. My mom knew nothing, she genuinely believed some fast food would make my sister not sad anymore. My sister began going to therapy. After a long battle with myself and my deeply ingrained desire to be the perfect kid who never is a bother or a pest, I asked my mom for therapy too. My therapist was not good for me, i didn’t realize what my problems actually were, she was treating surface issues, not the source. I realize that now and I’ve expressed this fact to my current therapist, but at the time I wasn’t aware and I had no way to ask for a different therapist because apparently it was “So hard finding a therapist to treat me oh and so much harder to find a psychiatrist.” I understand that my mom doesn’t want to feel as though she’s failed, that her child is suffering, though I don’t believe she understood or understands that although I’m suffering, the best remedy is to let me have help. But, on the other hand, being so put down, so ostracized, so passive aggressively hated for wanting help stood to do nothing but encourage me to isolate myself and develop destructively dependent relationships on my friends.

I got medication at some point, according to others it turned me into a flat zombie, I remember nothing around this time. It stabilized my mood but it stabilized it at the lowest possible point. It was somewhere in this time that I attempted suicide, I self harmed, I was destructive and even more so than I had been in middle school with my starving. I fought day in and day out about my gender. I fought with teachers who used it against me, students who didn’t believe me, and for a long time I was all alone except for the few friends I had who were all over the country.

I felt like I was living a double life, i still feel like it. I’m Dave with everyone else, and a perfect daughter to my family. In sophomore and junior year I picked myself up. I found more friends, more of them began to question their gender identity too. Whether I started this self discovery early or if I was the one that sparked theirs, the world was gaining color and clarity. Part of it may be caused by the fact that I had quit my meds cold turkey (in hindsight not a good idea, dont ever do that kids, it’s dangerous), I came out to my mom then my dad as Pan (didn’t go over well but I was out) and I had begun to surround myself with people I really enjoyed and who were a much more positive influence on me.

I have so many positive memories of my friends, going to concerts, being idiots and smoking weed, hanging out every morning and just talking. As hard as everything was, I can say that I had times where I was genuinely happy. But every day, every single day, I had internal battles going on. Fighting tooth and nail not to relapse and start self harming or starving myself, fighting to get out of bed in the morning and go through my routine. Every morning I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at my binder, the thing that was helping me survive yet destroying me too. I sat and stared and wondered “how long am I going to have to put this on? Will I ever be comfortable enough to stop?”

A lot of things changed. My mood increased bit by bit, I found my own coping mechanisms, I learned how to be marginally healthier, my grades picked up, I became an unstoppable force, fueled by determination and pride and spite, I was going to succeed because I wanted to. Because I wanted to speak my mind, to not be a doormat, I wanted to be strong and powerful and to have a grip on my own life.

Yet, even with my newfound confidence, I was still struggling so deeply. Mid sophomore year my sister started to transition. It hurt. It hurt so deeply and profoundly. This woman, who had been nothing less than a destructive hurricane in my life, who had done nothing but destroy because that’s the only side of me she ever showed, was somehow being given the gift of transitioning.

I had fought with myself, tried to convince myself that if my sister was being given support, i would too. Besides, my mom had already found out because I was being called Dave by all my teachers and friends.

I didn’t get the reception I was hoping for.

“You know if you pick this lifestyle your entire life is going to be harder. Everything is going to be worse, you’re going to have to struggle so much more through life. You might never reach the success that you want to reach.” I was devastated. I basically crawled back into the closet, my gender coming up sparingly.

Everything leading up to this time in my life, everything i’ve shared, everything I haven’t, all of it has led up to this and now I’m at a crossroads. It’s the later end of my senior year. College is right around the corner, so are jobs and careers and life, and now I have a choice. Maybe I don’t.

When I started high school, when I decided I would come out to my teachers and my friends, when I decided to live this life, I also decided I would box myself up by the end of it all, to move forwards in life as a good little girl after this, to get it all out of my system now. Now I see, now I’ve decided that that’s not an option, it never was an option. I’ve been growing so much, and I don’t intend to stop, I’ve learned ways to help myself, how not to be so self destructive, how to be kinder and gentler to myself and others. I want to be someone who is compassionate and caring but still strong and not a pushover. I think i’ve begun to achieve that, I still have lots more to do and a long way to go but I’m getting myself help, I’m actively trying in therapy, I’m being more self aware in my relationships, I’m building bonds and trust between the people I care about and I’m trying to make my life better, but I can’t go through building this new life while denying myself such a massive aspect of who I am?

Who am I going to be?

How long can I live this lie of who I am on one hand while trying to define myself on the other?

The world says I have time but my heart says it’s ticking away.

#tw suicide #tw // negative #gender #trans #trans story #tw depression #pupper barks #ignore me in my sorry sap corner

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teacupdragon · 7 years

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youtube

This was a nice thing to see on a quick break from work. But something got my attention which interested me to look deeper. It made me go back a couple of times to see if I missed something, but no, it’s right there, visible and plain as day. The most curious thing is absent in this video.

One learns to become accustomed to the screaming that involves the fans in reception of Benedict Cumberbatch. If not and if you are like me, you learn to get accustomed to expect ear shattering screaming. The deft and swift maneuvering of fingers to lower volumes, plug ears or fling earphones are always at the ready. Miss and you are punished on the spot. You learn. It’s not even like it’s in the movies where the screaming and yelling is pleasurable and giddy. Instead a lot of the times they get it so wrong you think their bladders burst open onto the people next to them. You know, that kind of scream? No? Well, replace bladder with bowels. See? Feel free to use your imagination. There’s a reason he walks so fast.

Of course it is also an expression of joy and respect and giddiness and value and surprise and a number of descriptions. However, in this video, when Ben comes on, it is strangely silent.

.........

Why?

This can’t be a coincidence. Not with the kind of reception he gets at SDCC, D23, the convention circuit in general and at so many appearances he makes. And certainly not with the kind of respect he has drummed up over the years. Yes, yes the screaming is standard. But. There is a standard. Why is it silent here??

No whooping no cheers no vocals at all in appreciation?? Hmmmmmmm...

Let us tabulate! So we have 3 directors who did not receive much cheering - Bryan Singer, Peyton Reed and Taika Waititi (I love that name). Taika cracks a joke as the video proceeds and draws some laughter but then, humour is always a wonderful draw. See Mark Hamill! His little anecdote was perfectly executed! Point in case. That brings me to the actors.

We have 8 actors on this little appreciation vid for Stan Lee.

Mark Hamill is a legend so let’s take him out. Ian McKellan too.

The most cheer was earned by Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool, followed by Tom Hiddleston as, of course, Loki. Hmmmmmmmmm.

RDJ earned some of the more respectable whooping and cheering but we can all see why. Chris Hemsworth’s front was also silent. That’s surprising and interesting again. All of these stars have been around for a while with at least one, if not more than one movie out. The exception is young Tom Holland whose debut as Spiderman in Homecoming is still fresh in people’s minds and still collecting at the box office. Understandable. And he did a good job with the movie and in promoting it too. He’s a fresh face, young but trying to be all grown up; and one can tell he’s been absorbing cues from a few highly respected actors and peers in how he presents himself. Circles around to being very funny and natural... I see the draw.

Let’s break this down to its variables quickly :

Chris Hemsworth : Aussie. Hard working and talented, possesses a physique most men dream of. Married. Plays Thor and complements Tom’s Loki beautifully but hasn’t yet stretched out his acting abilities. To counter that Ragnarok looks very, very promising.

Tom Hiddleston : ............ - He validated and unleashed all our inner Lokis enough said.

Brit. Not married.

Ryan Reynolds : American. Personifies Deadpool completely and perfectly and remembered fondly for carrying it over onto Twitter too. Married.

Benedict Cumberbatch : Cast perfectly as Dr. Strange and even broke Marvel’s internal box office records by grossing higher than RDJ’s Iron Man. Took an arguably minor character from the Marvel Universe and brought it enigmatically to life such that the bar is set significantly high for anyone who may follow in his footsteps to don the Cloak in the distant future. Married.

For an origin story as the breakout debut full feature length film for this character, he was put through the wringer. A testament to his not so insignificant talent and ability is that he makes it look quite easy. Next time stretch him out more.

Brit. Tom Holland too, but not married.

That leaves only Hiddleston and Holland with the kind of visibility where their marital/relationship status has not impacted them negatively.

Ben has everything going for him except one thing that impacts him badly. And you know it. You’ve got 3 years worth of data and figures and numbers to carve it deeply in stone. You lost a large part of his fan base not just because of the sham, but also because in that period you simply failed to attract people back at a similar rate. You simply could not undo the slide or the drop. Some fools might contend it was because he got married and ended his bachelorhood? Hell no. Sophie turns people off! She’s not Amal! She doesn’t command the kind of respect or interest or awe that someone like Amal does. The greater majority of people who lost interest did so because something very important put them off. They may be aware of something being off or they may have made bets about how long the ‘marriage’ will last. If that’s far fetched, well your numbers would reflect their presence and growth, would it not?

Roll out the split. Drop her already. You don’t have the time to keep this going. And you are losing money because you can’t draw people back nor can you devise anything interesting PR wise for him. For a man who’s natural joyfulness and adventurous spirit draws people to him like moths to a flame, what kind of a rubbish PR setup would allow just the opposite to continue unabated?? Set him free. The nannies and antis who stalk my blog will raise their hackles about me calling for two people to be divorced, but my dear hopeless idiots, this is a sham, and I have nothing more to say to them.

You, PR, have nothing to lose by rolling out the split. He looks healthy and glowing and joyful again. He’ll be more interesting as a single man doing his own thing and you can all carry on where you got hijacked left off. The formula before worked. Private life was indeed private. There wasn’t a very great deal on whom he dated and that’s just fine. It was all about work and it was prolific. You can tweak that and make it better. Way better! He’s got to have grown and learned so much from all this. Use it!

You’ve got 3 years of dwindling interest and revenues behind you and 5 months ahead to end it on a very high note. But, it has to start NOW. Not after 3 moths. You do not have the time you think you do.

Let me also bring up the fact that you have nothing going on in the fandom. Nothing of interest whatsoever. You have the nannies, the general populace who are not a very large number at present and you have the skeptics. And everybody’s eyes are on the skeptics. EVERYBODY’S. PR is watching us. PR trends and companies are watching us. Many parts of the industry are watching us as potential employers or just industry insiders. Neighbouring fandoms are watching us. Heck the Taylor Swift and Hiddleston fiasco didn’t survive because of the exposure we brought here. And the nannies simply cannot take their eyes off us! They create multiple side blogs where they can attack the skeptics pseudo secretly while pretending to be noble and aristocratic. And that’s the only drama here. So, as long as you continue to delay taking command of the stage, PR, far from allowing this fandom to become the critically engaging field it is poised to become, it remains shackled and stunted as the backyard of a talented actor that is dominated by group of militant nannies. You have seen twitter right? It takes just 3 days and not more to get a grip of the landscape that is governed by these nannies and how they behave is enough to give people permanent and detrimental eye rolling twitches. They are one of the biggest thwarts to your business. They have not taken your cues and continue to work against you. So please stop pandering to them. You have nothing going for you at present.

From a financial point of view I understand the requirement and inclusivity of nannies. They are a steady source of revenue who may never get turned off as long as there’s plenty of cutesy and every year they get to all come together at the cons and sell out most of the events that Ben is announced for. Many of them even plan multiple trips and photoshop themselves next to him. I could expand on that as well but let’s not digress too far.

And then there are also people who fly into London from all over the world for a chance to meet him and take in the big experience and see him perform and why the hell not. On a larger scale it undoubtedly brings in a lot of revenue in terms of tourism fees. Didn’t Britain name him a national treasure a few years ago?

Don’t you think he’s worth a lot more and deserves better?

Nannies by nature are a mainstay of civilisation as much as they are of fandoms. We can’t do without them and at some time in our lives and at different phases they have always been beneficial. Functionally, they will always be required, needed and even appreciated to their capacities in protecting their charges. However, everybody outgrows them.

#Disney #Marvel #Karon Maskill #Benedict Cumberbatch

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