#it took me two tries to kill the three lectors but i got SO MUCH CLOSER the first time that i gave it another shot

[theabysscomeshome]

Wandered over to Spiral Abyss for my bi-monthly clear, and I always go as far as I can even if I don’t think I’ll win, and floor 12 has those three lectors in chamber 2 again so I figured I’d be throwing myself at my death (again) and then???

Guess who actually survived those three hell lectors on Floor 12-2??? Guess who then survived chamber 3? Which was honestly significantly easier?????

It’s finally happening. Look at it. It’s beautiful.

[ids in alt text]

#drom plays genshin #it took me two tries to kill the three lectors but i got SO MUCH CLOSER the first time that i gave it another shot #the normal attack res shred buff probably helped a lot #but??? #i'm so proud of my babies #they've grown so much #c':

[rynnaaurelius]

hello! got any kane chronicles aus?

*Strolls in late with Starbucks*

Hi! Yes, yes I do. I dumped highlights from three I've developed the most under the cut :)

Julius and Ruby Both Die At Cleopatra's Needle -Basically this one's just an excuse to raise Carter and Sadie together and, uh. I decided that I wanted angst. So RIP Julius. :( -The Fausts are slightly less shitty here in that Carter and Sadie are full-blown orphans and it's much easier to feel nice about your son-in-law when he's dead and they don't have to deal with him. -. . .yeah, this isn't a nice AU. -Anyway, initial shenanigans abound (Carter and Sadie being raised together is fun as fuck, Sadie keeps dying Carter's hair via his shampoo because her friends all have violent crushes on him. He has no idea why that's why she does it and it's staying that way, these two fight about who's Muffin's favorite for Bast to mortify them later). Things are also sweet in that this is very much a You-And-I-Against-The-World thing once the magic shows up. -Amos is very angsty about this! Because the House of Life took this as a Get Out Of Kane Nonsense Free Card and were pretty harsh about him even being in England, near his niece and nephew. -(The House of Life went to the Owen Lars School of Thought, which is that you can hold back generational overpowered bullshit if you just don't tell the kids jackshit) -Anyway, Amos is plot-relevant here because he does the thing at the British Museum instead, only with exponentially more self-loathing. It's the usual godly line-up, only Osiris enters Amos and Set enters Desjardins. -See, where this gets fun is that Desjardins is given the boot as Chief Lector after this all comes out, and he basically winds up as the siblings' reluctant angry French adopted uncle live-in ally (Think, "If you didn't want to join our found family, you should've killed us when you had the chance"). Since Amos is dead, we're saying Sarah Jacobi was next in line for Chief Lector. I have no idea who was actually next after Amos since Jacobi/Menshikov clearly didn't give a fuck about legitimacy, but it's more fun this way. -The other big thing is that Sadie and Carter are much less on-board with the whole "Join the organization that tried to kill you thing", even when they're all "pretty please join us after our major fuck-up in almost causing the apocalypse". -TBH, the best fun of this AU is: A, More angst because dead parents, B, Carter and Sadie hit the ground running with their relationship, and C, Desjardins reluctantly hanging around Brooklyn House because he doesn't have anywhere else to go while Carter and Sadie try to run a whole school together. -And as always, both the Kane siblings are bi and I'm not taking arguments on this front.

Zia and Carter Meet Early -I just think it would be great to have Zia and Carter meeting because Julius is on a dig (read: Researching a way to host Osiris without his brain melting while running from the House of Life) and Zia is being taught how to melt things on purpose instead of on accident. -Then they become pen-pals and don't meet for five years and identity porn ensues. -This one is driven by both the angst--Zia dealing with being immediately torn between her one 'normal' friend turning out to be the Accidental Most and her adopted family that saved her life wanting him dead! Carter being torn between saving the world and creating a new one where he and Zia aren't constantly almost dying!--and, uh, to be frank? I think Sadie chewing him the fuck out because god, Carter, what the fuck, for the better part of TRP would be great. -This one's also an excuse for me to, uh, write more about Zia. Because I think Ra's future chosen one deserves fun prequel shit and also I wanna dig into that whole "fiercely prideful and standoffish but also will go from 0 to 100 once she decides you've got something going for you" with bonus "family trauma times two" thing.

God Reversal -I personally think that sticking Horus and Sadie together would be high comedy. I don't think it would end well, but it would be funny. -Like, yes, Isis was stuck with Sadie and Horus with Carter because they play to the right strengths and shore up the right weaknesses. Reversing things is not necessarily a good idea. -But also Horus and Sadie are just. . .god, Sadie is angry. She's a twelve-year-old girl who's never taken seriously, who dresses as loudly as possible to make the right people angry and because it's cool, and she wants her fucking father in her life. -I think that Horus's continual idea of, "Get a sword and beat up the problem until it stops moving and people listen to you," would appeal. Greatly. -Conversely, Isis and Carter is. . .okay, Carter has control issues where the people he loves are concerned. He was raised knowing that he should be able to fit his life in a suitcase, except for the people involved, okay? It was him and Dad, and now it's him and Sadie (and Zia), and the world is ending, and he can't protect everyone he loves. -Like, I should be clear: This is not a possessiveness issue, this is "Carter's actual worst nightmare is watching the people he loves run into a dangerous unknown and never coming back." This has happened to him! Repeatedly! -Isis's whole "Learn the everything about magic--especially the dark bits--and do whatever you have to for keeping the people you love in power and untouchable," thing would, again, greatly appeal. -Basically, I wanna make the Kane siblings wrestle with their demons a lot and also write King Sadie Kane and her Chief Advisor Carter Kane. For fun.

#i got an ask! #tkc #sadie kane #carter kane #the kane chronicles #i of course also have a bajillion pjo/tkc crossovers because chaos but it's such a dense trilogy and so EASY #to just drive off the rails #people may also remember i have an older!carter and sadie au as well as a couple others #i also have a tkc gang as demigods au because i think that would be REALLY fun

[michiieewrites]

Dabi - So big, so small, so tearfuly

A/N: This fic is inspired by an ask that @league-of-villians-headcanons received a week or so ago. THIS IS THE ASK I REFER TO. Anyways, after looking up that song, I cried like a little baby and thus, this story was born. But holy damn! I did NOT expect for this fic to reach over 3.1k+ words. Enjoy, my loves!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it happened. Waiting in the waiting room with his quirk-cancelling handcuffs. Sitting on Dabi’s left side is Mr. Compress, also with those special ‘bracelets’ made for villains. Even here at the police station the tall showman is still wearing his mask and top hat. They’re both a little torn up, though. Just like all of them, to be honest.

Who knows how that crusty trash rat they call a leader is looking now. Maybe he’s just as banged up as Spinner. The scaly man was currently in the interrogation room with two officers. Most of their members were dragged away by different officers. Toga is still waiting with them. For multiple safety precautions they had restrained her like Hannibal Lector, including the muzzle. Still, that didn’t stop the girl from trying to break free from them.

Didn’t matter, though. Dabi knows that the gig is up. The heroes had all whooped their asses in this last fight. Showing the world that the ‘good guys’ would always win in the end. ‘Cause that’s what always happens, right? The bad guys lose and the good guys win. Because they’re the good guys. And Dabi was one of the bad guys.

He had to lose. That’s what bad guys do, they lose the fight. Good guys like his dad, they win. Good guys like his dad give people hope. Good guys like his dad were there to help control the chaos. Good guys like his dad are praised by the public for protecting them from bad guys like himself. Good guys like his dad always strife for perfection. Good guys like his dad would destroy their own families to save the public people. Good guys like his dad would do anything to keep the public people safe. Good guys, just like his dad.

So that’s what Dabi’s dad did. He protected the public from harm. He strived for protection, he destroyed his own family. Even if it meant nearly killing his eldest son for a second time. All because his dad is a good guy, right?

‘Should’ve burned that shitbag alive when I had the chance,’ Dabi thought to himself. ‘Instead of burning my own damn self. Just burn that fucker to a crisp.’

But no amount of ‘should have’s’ were gonna change the current situation.

Dabi tried to go up against his old man, the great flame hero Endeavor and got burned. Not that it would matter anyway. He himself did a pretty good job of that in the past. By letting his emotions get the better of him. Trying to impress Enji so he would leave his youngest brother alone. So his little brother would have a chance of a somewhat normal childhood. So that maybe, his father would be proud of him for once.

But Dabi couldn’t have been more wrong. Because of his mother’s genes his body wasn’t able to keep up his flames for a long period of time. Not long enough for Enji to matter, anyway.

The moment he pushed young Touya aside, right into the wall was the moment Touya died. His anger and hurt no longer kept under a lid.

Dabi doesn’t remember much from that moment of his past life. He knows the sky of their garden became engulfed by his blue flames. The heat unbearable and scorching away his skin, inch by inch. He looked as his father tried to reach him, only to be pushed back by the sea of blue. There are nights where Dabi can still hear his mother scream for him to stop before he could hurt himself. Echoes of her pleading for her child’s safety.

And yet here he sits, incarcerated and forgotten by his family. Well, not entirely. He had waited for the perfect moment to reveal himself to his past family again, this time as Dabi. He had to wait for years before the timing was right. But the pure look of terror on his old man’s face was worth every single day he had waited.

‘And by then you already had my chest beneath your boot, just like poor little Shouto once was,’ he snickered to himself.

Luckily for him, Shouto was only a couple of feet away from them. For it was to save Shouto that Enji had attacked Dabi. Fighting together, the two Todoroki heroes went up against the flame quirked villain. With his years of experience it was Endeavor who overpowered Dabi. And as he contained him, Dabi had looked up at him and said:

“What a way to welcome back your dead son, father.”

He had seen the way everything clicked in Endeavor’s head. Every little piece of the puzzle fell into it’s place. The weight of his sins intensifying by the second. He knew Shouto was putting the pieces together for himself too. The boy may look dense, but he certainly isn’t stupid.

But before either of them could come to their senses and ask any questions, the fight was over and Dabi was taken away. Only to be kept waiting here in this shithole of a waiting room, guarded by others, heroes and-

“Ma’am, I have to ask you to-“

“No, get out of my way, now!”

Muffled voices sounded from the other side of the door to Dabi’s right. He turned his head, interested in hearing more of the commotion. Multiple hurried footsteps are coming closer.

“Todoroki-san, you are not allowed-“ the officer outside says.

“I don’t care, I need to see him.”

Todoroki-san? He clearly hears, what he assumes is an officer refer to a female voice. But what business would a female Todoroki have at the station?

The door bursts open and a group of five people come flooding in the waiting room. The guards standing around the remaining League of Villains-members put their attention on the newly entered people. All the heads turn in their direction. His fellow villains are also startled by the commotion. Dabi’s world freezes.

He knows these people. Well, four of them, at least. Or used to know, to be precise. They were the ghosts of his past. The people he tried to desperately to forget. The people who once loved him. But why the fuck are they here? Why the fuck would they be here to look at his sorry ass?

A woman, the oldest of the two females, pushes the officer that tries to stop her out of her way. Her pewter grey eyes are overflowing with tears as she rushes over to Dabi’s recoiling form. She throws her arms around him and pulls him tightly against herself. She sinks to her knees and pulls him along down with her. Her chin rests on his shoulder as her cries grow louder by the second.

“It’s you! It’s really you, Touya. Oh my boy, it’s really you!”

Touya. She called him ‘Touya’. His old name rings in his ears. Too shocked to look at the other worried faces of his siblings, his cerulean blue eyes slowly glance over the woman holding him. The woman who has held him so many times before in his past. The woman who carried him for nine whole months with her every second of the day. The woman who blew all his scary nightmares away with a kiss on his head at night when he was a child.. The woman who had mourned for years after her husband told her their first born son had passed away.

His mother Rei is finally holding her son after all these years.

“Wh-what are you do-doing here?” he manages to get out. His breathing becoming rapid and shallow. Hyperventilation setting in as Rei refuses to let go of him.

“Shouto told me, he told me how you fought with him,” she cries, “He told me how you-… how your… he told me you were alive!”

Her tears are slowly wetting his entire shoulder. Her hands tremble as they desperately hold onto his soot covered coat. Her entire body shocking with her sobbing.

Then he finally looks back at the others. The guards are trying to hold back a tall, young man with the same show white hair and pewter grey eyes as their mother. The young man doesn’t budge a single step, a furious look on his face. Behind him a young woman, no younger than a year or two than Dabi himself. Her hair white like melting icebergs with some lava colored tips and her charcoal grey eyes. Scared, but determined she tells the officers that they all have the right to see their brother. He knows they are Fuyumi and Natsuo, the younger sister and brother Enji never bothered to care for.

A familiar mop of half white-half read hair is a little farther behind them. Shouto looks down at the floor and Dabi can’t tell if it’s because he’s angry, or hurt, or ashamed. Hell, it could be all three.

But none of the other people in the room mattered. He tunes out the questions of his comrades, the arguing of his family and the guards, the fast and heavy beating of his own heart. All he can hear now are the strangled cries of his mother.

Softly, so softly only Rei can hear, he asks: “How did he figure it out?”

Sniffing through her words, Rei says: “After they took you away, Shouto confronted your father. He demanded to tell him the truth. Eventually he told him everything; how the fire department didn’t find your body in the ashes of the fire. How he lied to all of us, saying you were too badly burned to see. How he always wondered if your ashes were among those of the garden or if you got away.”

Her grip loosened slightly. She leaned back and took a good look at him. His terrified eyes looking back into her own. He’s terrified that this is all just another nightmare. That the warmth of his mother’s embrace will be ripped away again any second.

Her hand comes up to his face. Gently wiping away one his falling tears. Tears? He doesn’t even realize they are rolling down his cheeks. Despite both their quirks, the feeling of her fingers tracing over his scarred skin are hotter than any of his flames ever felt. He can almost feel the love and sorrow in her touch. A love only a mother can give to her son.

Never in all these years he spent apart from his family would he ever dare dream of seeing her again. Because he knew what happened after his supposed ‘death’. He knew that Rei finally broke over all the neglect and abuse their family had to endure at Enji’s hands. Their family was ripped apart, torn to shreds. Even if they did stitch all those pieces back together, he had accepted the fact that he would never be a part of the Todoroki-family again.

But here they were; the members of his past family he used to love so much. They were standing here in front of him. Demanding they get to see him, Dabi or Touya, that didn’t matter. They were standing up against all these guards and officers just to see him.

His hands try to reach out and hold his mother the way she is holding him. To feel her presence in his hands again. But he’s reminded of the cuffs around his wrists. He tugs at them, trying to break out of them. But these wretched things are keeping his hands locked together. His struggles become more desperate. He just wants to hold Rei.

He whips his head to one of the guards and yells at them. “Get these fucking cuffs off of me!”

“No way, villain,” the guard curtly replies.

“JUST LET ME HOLD MY MOTHER, DAMMNIT!”

Hands cover his own and he looks back at Rei. “Ssh, ssh… It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere,” she gently coos at him.

Slowly, she lifts his hands over her head, so that he can hold her now. His body stiffens once again. This really had to be a dream, right? There was no way in Hell he’s able to hold his mother again. It couldn’t be. As far they all knew, he was dead. Todoroki Touya was dead. Dabi was just another villain. And no one would ever know the secrets he keeps locked in his heart. He knows that giving in now would mean that dream would come to an abrupt end. He didn’t want it to end.

But the look in Rei’s eyes is real and so is the rest of her. Realizing this, he immediately clings onto her. A little clumsy, but he’ll take it for now. Even if it’s just for this moment, all he wants to do is to close his eyes and his mother embracing him back. And so she does.

The air is getting hotter. Heavy footsteps are coming closer. Natsuo’s voice calling out: “What do you think you’re doing here?!”

Both Rei and Dabi are looking to see who Natsuo was talking to. The feeling of a sweet reunion quickly slips away and is replaced by a building rage. But before Dabi can make a move towards Endeavor, who’s stepping into the room, he’s held back. Back by the arms of his mother.

The tension is cold. Rei’s staring daggers at the father of her children. Natsuo moves in front of his younger siblings, also held back by Fuyumi. Shouto stands in front of Enji to block his path. Endeavor, with all his power, dares to give Rei a sympathetic look. He tries to speak before one of the guards cut him off.

“All right, that’s enough! All of you people! Out!” They move closer to the stand off between Enji and Shouto.

“Rei, listen to the guards,” Enji calmly says, “this is out of our hands. They need to handle this from now on. There is nothing we can do-“

“HOW DARE YOU! HE’S OUR SON!” Rei yells back.

Her words hit a nerve. Enji extends his hand towards his wife.

SMACK!

She smacks his hand away. A sharp intake of breath from Fuyumi follows. The scene before her eyes; her mother holding their older brother, shielding him from their father. The fury rising in Rei’s eyes hold a force so strong it scares her. Not even Enji made her feel this scared before.

“Don’t you dare touch our children again!” Rei screams out. “Keep your hands off of Touya! Haven’t you hurt us enough?! Our family is torn to shreds by your hands, Enji! MY CHILDREN TAKEN FROM ME BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID TO ME!”

Shouto carefully tries to calm his mother down. “Mom, please. Try to calm down.”

“No! For too long I’ve let him destroy our family, let him hurt you! He-…. Because of him…. HE MADE US BELIEVE TOUYA WAS DEAD! DEAD! HE TOLD ME WE HAD LOST OUR CHILD!”

She can’t stop. Not anymore. After all these years Rei couldn’t hold back all the pain Enji had caused her. The pain he inflicted on their children. The way his behavior broke her. It had made her hurt her youngest son too. The neglect by his hands had made it impossible for her to see her children properly grow up.

Calmer now, she continues: “Of all the things you have done to us, I don’t know which one is the worst. But I do know one thing. And that’s that you can’t keep me from my children any longer. You will no longer stand in the way of my children’s future.”

The hate she directs to Enji… It was clear to him that she didn’t want him around any of them. Maybe just for now. Maybe forever. In trying to face his past, he accepts this outcome.

His shoulders sag and he turns around to walk out of the door.

“Everyone, you need to get out-“

“I will not leave my son,” Rei interrupts the guard.

They look at her and the young man she’s holding close. They sigh and tell her that only she is allowed to stay here. All the others still need to leave the waiting room. Toga and Mr. Compress will be taken to their interrogation rooms. One guard will stand outside of the door. For now, they respect her wish to be alone with Dabi.

When the door is shut close, they both look at each other. Unsure of what to say next. The loving look Rei gives Dabi makes him feel all different kinds of emotions.

Ashamed, for becoming a villain. Vulnerable, ‘cause he feels like she can see right into his soul. Angry at himself, for not coming to visit her in the mental hospital sooner. Relieved, for only a mother can see past all the shit he’s done in his life and still love him.

“I’m sorry, I guess… For not showing up these past years,” he says as he looks down to the ground.

“Don’t be. I understand,” she says.

Her hands cup his face and pull him up to look at her face. A sad smile decorates her lips. Fresh tears forming in her eyes.

“All that matters right now is that you’re back. I missed you so much, my sweet boy. So much, you can’t even imagine.”

But he could. In his dreams he would see her, with all his siblings. Even Enji would be there, only in Dabi’s dreams he was the loving and kind father every child wants and needs. In his dreams they were a happy family. He has longed for that family for as long as he can remember. He still does. Somewhere deep inside of him there’s a part that wants nothing more than to erase all that has happened and just start all over.

He missed Rei just as much as she missed him.

Throwing his face in the crook of her neck, he lets out a forceful and loud cry. “I-I missed you t-too, mom! I missed all of you! I’m so sorry for everything, mom! Please, believe me!”

Her hands comes up to softly pet his hair. Making reassuring sounds to calm down her crying child. His body now completely on the floor with hers. Gently rocking him back and forth.

“I believe you, I do.”

“Please don’t hate me! Please, I’m so sorry! Mom… please don’t leave…”

“I’m not going anywhere. You may be all grown up now, a handsome and strong man. But you’ll always be my sweet little boy, Touya. I’ll never leave you again.”

Her words are a binding promise. A vow to Dabi, a vow for him to regain the name Todoroki Touya. Filled with love and protection. Never would she hurt her children again, any of them. Rei will fight for her family. Starting with the crying man in her arms.

They stay right there. In this world that felt too big for them, they felt so small. A small space for a mother and son to hold each other close.

She’ll always be there for her family.

Tagged: @reinawritesbnha / @mrsreina @thots4daze / @kzombi3 @aizawascumslut @hipster-merchant-of-death @strawbirb @ravenfeet222

#bnha angst #bnha #bnha fic #bnha dabi #bnha touya #touya todoroki #dabi is touya #rei todoroki #shouto todoroki #natsuo todoroki #fuyumi todoroki #enji todoroki #endeavour #bnha endeavor #bnha todoroki #angst #michiiee writes #dabi angst #touya angst #fanfic #angst fic

[dafukdidiwatch]

I’m actually pissed that this is a decent movie.

<A lot of spoilers>

Overview: Arctic Researchers/Scientists stumble on Nazis who live in the center of the earth who have survived by replacing their dying tissue for living ones in a bid for immortality.

And in order for me to talk about this film, I have to talk about this:

Fucking Sky Sharks.

I hate that movie.

I hate it So Much.

I bought it from a Walmart for $10 so what a waste of movie.

The first like, 10 minutes was the movie dragging on showing everyone in the plane in the worst way possible. An old swedish man watching shitty CGI sci-fi porn. A weird gang turn priest man which I for sure might have been the main character but had the weirdest backstory that goes no where and does nothing. Some drunk guy wanting to flirt with a stewardess and the joke is that she wasn’t a super model 20 something. So after going On and ON THEN the sharks come in to show how epic they are.

And they also suck ass. I couldn’t give a shit about the CGI this is a movie about nazi sky sharks I walked in not expecting quality.

Oh yeah, Nazi’s. Forgot to mention the Nazis. Because, you know, they made the sharks. And are also zombies who rose again to take over the world. And our first look is a female blond haired officer killing people in the longest and dullest way possible. Like, there is only so many ways you can decapicate a bunch of people with wires.

After that, move into the “plot” with random ass girl #1 and random ass girl #2 where girl #1 is also in the Antarctic (shocker) and finds a boat, goes in by herself without help/backup, finds out the zombies are not only in there, but also shark tanks because this is where they were raising the sharks.

So to recap: In the COLD NEGATIVE FROSTBITING SNOW COVERED DREADNAUGHT the nazis are not only alive and NOT freezing, but the great white sharks are also alive and NOT freezing. You can say bs science, I say bs movie.

Oh and you know what the sharks feed on?

Misogyny.

God this movie hates women so much. First, multiple porn shots/sexual harassment jokes on just the plane alone (again, first 10 minutes). Then the “sexy” female zombie commander because that’s what was in the Nazi Military: Women. Not saying shit about history or anything, just saying that I know a fetish when I see one. And the Random Ass Girl #1? The reason why she was at the boat in the first place is because she was on a solo rescue mission to help some researchers who found the boat. A Guy and A Girl. The Guy was like, killed normally or shot or something I couldn’t give a shit about. The Girl was stripped naked, hung upside-down by her foot, bare naked ass shown to us, as she is fed to the shark tank.

Yeah, real women friendly.

It also doesn’t help that when Random Ass Girl #1 gets stabbed with, I guess zombie venom for ReAsOnS, she has a shower scene where it shows her being affected and poisoned under her skin....but also how Hot she is by having it shot on her boobs, check, body stretching and curling to show ALL of her body. While under a show that’s in the middle of the fucking room like it’s Hannibal Lector’s bathroom.

And you that that would be the reason I hate this movie but it isn’t dammit. The movie was dull as hell. I’m only talking about the Misogyny for so long because it was the only thing that was actually worth mentioning. I didn’t give a shit about anything else!

The acting is bad and just monotone across the board. Apparently RAG#1 and #2 are like, rich spies from a super rich family corporation which took me a full as 20 minutes to realize. And they have no idea how the fuck to plot a movie! Finding out the sky sharks were because of Dear Old Granddad, results in THREE! SEPERATE! FLASHBACKS! EACH MORE BORING THAN THE LAST!!! I have no idea how you made working with NAZIS dull as shit but this movie found a way. Instead of having the history set in the beginning of nazis doing shit as a teaser to explain later, he just tells his fucking life story of how making Sky Sharks would save the Third Reich. And I Couldn’t Give A Shit.

It got so dull and bored that I literally fast forward through the entire movie to find interesting parts. Spoiler: there was none. Not even with more sharks like eating the world could it entertain me. I just fast forwarded to the very end, and only watched 30 minutes of a 90 minute movie. God I hate Sky Sharks.

So WHY am I bringing it up? Well, it really did set expectations and a bar for Nazis at the Center of the Earth. They both have rediculous titles that you can’t take seriously or expect “great things” from. They both deal with nazis, zombie-ish nazis, genetic research, scientists in the Arctic, and Nazi’s hiding in the Arctic. That is a lot, and I just watched Sky Sharks like 2 weeks before so this was very recent and absolutely in my head.

Which is WHY this movie was a very pleasant surprise.

We start with seeing Nazis doing action pact Nazi shit escaping for science! It even has that Wilhelm scream, but the movie has plot and vision. It didn’t make the nazis seem any more than being just army soldierd and has decent action and sets expectation for the rest of the movie.

And that’s like the big difference between this and Sky Sharks: The Treatment of the Nazis. The nazis here were treated, in my view, as powerful and dangerous. They are meticulous, uncaring, cold and distant. The head Nazi is actually Dr. Mengele, he is in this movie, and he is just so apathetic to everyone.

All the Nazi’s faces were covered in mask so you couldn’t see their faces, making them inhuman. And the first Nazi face we do see is Dr. Mengele as he just, slowly cuts the face off of a person. Methodically. Meticulously. He doesn’t even talk, doesn’t react as the person begs. Just does it. And was going to do it to the girl as well but because she kept talking science, he allowed her to live.

But it was close.

In the beginning it feels like two different movies because it cuts from two researchers who got kidnapped by Nazis surviving their own horror movie trying to escape, and the rest of the researchers being in a Survival Rescue Movie trying to find them. I honestly wanted to see more of the Nazi part because that was the more engaging section. It was filmed, framed, shot as a tense horror movie, where you don’t know if she will live or die.

I also want to approve of the lack of misogyny. Like, first, the Nazis are equal treatment terrible to everyone. They shot one of the researchers who wandered in because he was Jewish. (”I’m non-practicing” lol love that line). Second, the scenes that they did were filmed in a way to highlight the horror but not the sexiness of it. The guy and girl strapped to the table, they are both naked. We don’t see the whole naked body, just enough to establish it while censoring the rest. You see Dr. Mengele looking over them, but there isn’t sign of lust. He is viewing them both as just experiments (which also adds to the horror aspect but I digress). One of the girls ends up being thrown to the Nazi Officers to be raped and killed, but we don’t see that. She doesn’t have a shirt, but it isn’t films as a “sexy” moment, the camera doesn’t move or linger on her body. It is just a straight shot, where she tries to cover herself up. When they close in on her, crawling towards her, the camera focuses more on their approach than on her while at a distance. This is scary, but it isn’t sexualized. Which I approve and is a WAY PLUS from Sky Sharks.

This movie has an odd budget too. There is a lot of CGI. And it isn’t good. Not at all. It works to show things happening like CGI tanks...CGI snow/ice. CGI Robots and lasers. They don’t hide it at all. But then, they also have amazing makeup budget because the “ripping face scene” was amazing physical effects it looked so real. The Nazis are obviously frankenstein stitched up monsters, but they are well done in makeup and design. Like all the close up shit is amazing to look at.

Overall: It was an Alright Movie. Yes, there is plot. There is tension. There is fear trying to survive with the nazi. Bad CGI, and a bit campy at the end, but nothing to detract from the actual movie. It was a fun movie.

#dafukblog #Dafuking Films #week 41 movie #sky sharks #nazis at the center of the earth

[kathyprior4200]

Alastor and Rosie’s Cannibal Song

Alastor and Rosie strolled arm in arm after Rosie finished going to an Overlord meeting.

 “Hey Alastor,” said Rosie turning to him. “Have you ever considered joining my exclusive club of socialites?”

 “No, I haven’t…but do entertain me.”

 “It’s mainly me and my group of ladies. We meet up for tea and coffee at this nice café not too far from here. We discuss the latest news, perhaps exchange jewelry or deserts.”

 “Sounds lovely, my dear.”

 “Oh and here’s the best part. My group and I have…exquisite tastes when it comes to meals. And I’ve heard about you and your slaughters.”

 Alastor couldn’t help but puff up his chest in pride. “I was also a very skilled hunter in my other life. I’ve made many meals including jambalaya with venison in it. It is my favorite.”

 A grin of sharp teeth stretched across Rosie’s pale face, her black eyes shining. “Have you ever considered eating the flesh of your victims?”

 Alastor’s stomach growled at the thought. “I had a feeling that something was missing after I killed all those men as a human. I’ve hunted and ate deer and game many times. Perhaps I was too unsure about doing the same to other humans.”

 Rosie laughed. “No restrictions now, though. This is Hell. Feel free to eat whatever…and whomever you’d like.”

 Rosie handed him a blue arm of a nearby dead demon. Alastor maneuvered it into his mouth and sliced it to bits with several noisy bites.  The sharp fangs effortlessly tore through the muscle and bone. The tangy taste of blood and juicy meat filled his mouth before he swallowed.

 “That was quite tasty,” he remarked, licking his lips. Alastor then realized something extraordinary: there were countless demons roaming around in Hell. It was as if Hell had decided to provide him with an all-you-can-eat buffet. Not only would he have more meat to eat, but being a cannibal would also help with his fearsome reputation. Cannibalism was considered one of the worst taboos to do on Earth.

 Why not add another sin to his list?

 Alastor bowed and kissed Rosie on her hand in thanks. “Even in death, I learn something new every day. I’d be honored to join you.”

 Rosie introduced Alastor to her group of friends: a bunch of demon women dressed in fancy Victorian dresses of many colors and round ladies’ hats on their heads. Violet, Lavender, and Poppy were some of their names. For a brief moment, Alastor felt like he was back in his time period on Earth. He ate demon meat to his heart’s content. Hell-Born or sinner, raw or cooked, it didn’t matter. He used the flesh and the sinner’s hearts in his jambalaya recipes. As the sinners had previously been human like Alastor used to be, he was now a cannibal.

 The thought of someday tasting actual humans in the living world made his mouth water more.

 On Sunday mornings after Alastor had coffee, he would be greeted by his new admirers while he walked outside, humming a cheery tune.

 “Hello ladies,” Alastor said with a tip of his red top hat.

 “Hello Alastor!” they chimed, as they sat on the ground in front of a mutilated body of a demon. One woman picked up the demon’s separated arm and used it to wave at him. Alastor chuckled and strolled on.

 During one moonlit night, Alastor and Rosie decided to sing a song to strengthen their bond. They were already good friends, if not that then at least compatible associates with similar tastes.

 “Let’s say you’re bored and want to be full,” Rosie began as she walked next to him, umbrella in her hands and little skulls on her hat. She looked like a gaunt Mary Poppins entering a Day of the Dead musical.

 “Sure, you can go about your day, dull. Or…”

 She turned around, her lavender dress spinning slightly. “You can eat a little flesh fantastic with me.”

 Alastor’s red eyes lit up, his hidden deer tail wagging underneath his crimson dress coat. He already loved her singing voice and graceful form. She reminded him of Mimzy, though she was less about the spotlight and more about elegance.

 And speaking of which…

 “Alastor!” Mimzy beamed as she walked over to him. The chubby blonde woman was wearing a magenta flapper dress with sparkles on it. Her headband had a pink feather attached to it and her necklace of black pearls was visible above her round breasts.

 “Good evening, Mimzy!” Alastor smiled. “What are you doing out here, dear?”

 “My shift at the jazz club just ended, so I decided to join you guys.” A pink neon sign down the street read “Mimzy’s Place.”

 “Please do, Miss Hannigan,” Rosie said to her fellow friend. Alastor had introduced Mimzy to Rosie after the two sinners had reunited. “Be sure not to walk home by yourself, Mimzy. You might be dead, but there’s no need to die a second time.”

 “Isn’t that right!” Alastor added with a chuckle.

 “Now where was I…” Rosie pondered. “Oh right!”

 She began to sing again.

 “You can eat a little flesh fantastic with me.”

 “Wait, flesh?” Mimzy asked, curious. “As in human flesh?”

 “Why yes! I just tasted it for the first time,” Alastor said. “Apparently, it’s a delicacy down in Hell for obvious reasons. “I mean…”

 He began to sing, “If you live your days in wonder, but can’t focus due to hunger…”

 He leaned his face in close to hers; Mimzy blushed and didn’t even flinch.

 “Just eat a little flesh fantastic with me.”

 Alastor straightened back up as Rosie joined in. “For if you decide to kill a person, their body will someday rot away. But if you make haste and not let it go to waste…”

 Rosie spun around a black nearby pole before lightly landing on the sidewalk.

 “Then you’ll be satiated for the day!”

 Alastor climbed up and leaned against the pole. “You don’t need to be Lector Hannibal, to consider the life of a cannibal.”

 “Want to be robust?” Rosie asked.

 “You know I must,” Alastor added.

 Then they both sang to Mimzy, “Come eat a little flesh fantastic with us!”

 The two tall demons strolled along as Alastor snapped his fingers. His shadowy demon imps rose from the ground, playing trumpets, drums and saxophones. Nearby demons where either swaying to the jazz beat or darting away in fear. Mimzy ran on her short stubby legs to catch up.

 “Hey, wait up! Can I sing, too?”

 Rosie led out a shrill bird-like call from her mouth as her eyes briefly glowed silvery white.

 “My fellow epicureans, answer my call. May your gluttonous desires led the way!”

 At once, several ladies dresses came out of the alleyways to join her. There were also a few male demons in elegant suits who followed them.

 “Welcome to the club, Radio Demon,” Rosie grinned.

 Rosie and Alastor then sang the duet at the same time:

 “The life of a cannibal

The feeling is so wonderful

Hunt and kill, munch, munch, munch,

A few screams later, you’ve got your lunch!”

 Behind them, the women danced in a line, their dresses spinning as they moved. The men in suits and top hats spun, flipped and did tricks from the poles of nearby street lamps. The red flames in the glass on top of the lamps flickered to the outside music.

 “Have some style and show some class

It is us among the mass

When you’re feeling beat and want to eat

A demon can never have too much meat!”

 “Eat a little flesh fantastic with us

Give in to another kind of lust

A sweet treat you are, come near or far

Our food as you bite the dust!”

 Rosie smiled as she and Alastor did a Charleston dance in the front. Rosie winked at Mimzy who stood in awe of their dancing. She tried to hide her jealousy. Every time Alastor danced with someone else, the sin of envy took hold of her in a tight grip.  Rosie continued:

  “You can refrain and boldly exclaim

‘Eating your brethren’s not right!’”

 Alastor added:

“But we know well, to maim in Hell

The blood will be shed tonight!”

 Rosie blew into a bloodstained shell trumpet. The men and women dancers surrounded the trio in a moving circle, chanting “Eat! Eat! Eat!” as the jazz music sped up. Their dancing shoes tapped against the asphalt, adding to the instrumental sounds. The women took off their hats and waved them several times in the air before putting them back on their heads. The men repeated their actions shortly after.

 Alastor held out his hand for Mimzy to take, which she eagerly did with a smile. The three of them danced around in a circle, laughing as Alastor’s glowing red spirits swirled around above them.

 “The life of a cannibal,” Mimzy began…

“The feeling is so wonderful,” Rosie added…

“Hunt and kill, munch, munch, munch…” Alastor sang.

 Then all three of them called out, “A few screams later, you’ve got your lunch!”

“Eat a little flesh fantastic with us!”

(oh- oh- oh- oh- oh)

“Eat a little flesh fantastic with us!”

(oh- oh- oh- oh- oh)

 The men did more rolls on the floor and posed on the lamppost poles. Nearby, an elaborate black fountain was spraying blood into the larger basin. A lone demon kid tossed a soul coin into it.

 After the men spun around on the poles, they hopped back down to dance with the ladies in the background.

 The song soon ended with Rosie, Alastor and Mimzy doing happy poses on the street, Alastor in the middle between his best lady friends. As the trio bowed, audience clapping emitted from his microphone staff. Everyone cheered as they summoned long flaming spears into their hands. They twirled them around in their hands and tossed them into the air before catching them. Soon, all of them were surrounding Rosie, who posed on a pole with her closed umbrella pointing outward in her hand.

 “Go forth and feast!” Rosie called.

 The eyes of the men and women glowed red in hunger. Like a pack of wolves, the other demons scurried in every direction, prancing on other demons.  Several of the men threw their spears at nearby demons, setting them on fire as they screeched. Nearby denizens screamed as the fancy ladies jumped onto them and sank their sharp teeth into their necks and shoulders. Blood and organic fluid soon littered the street and sidewalks. Mimzy giggled and wrote on a nearby brick wall in fresh blood. She drew a red heart with “A + M” inside it. She even added an arrow through the heart.

 “Very nice,” Alastor mentioned. “A and M. That reminds me, I gotta get ready for my 6 AM announcement tomorrow. I’ll be broadcasting how to make spicy jambalaya. All natural ingredients, of course.”

 Mimzy picked up a pulsing heart from inside the gaping chest of a fallen demon.

 ”You might need this for an ingredient.”

 She gave it to Alastor, who took it in both hands.

 “You’re giving me your heart, what a thoughtful gift!”

 Alastor and Rosie chuckled and Mimzy smiled, too. Though deep down, she hoped he was only kidding about actually eating her heart.

 Alastor took several bites of the muscle, red thick liquid coating his face. The flavor was divine.

 Mimzy tried a bite out of chunk of flesh from another demon. It tasted like older pork, human flesh that had gotten a bit dry and flavorless. Alastor soon recognized the taste of demon flesh as well after eating some more.

 “I’m just gonna pretend it was pork,” Mimzy said, uncertainty in her face.

 “Come on, we all know you enjoyed it,” Alastor teased, playfully pinching her cheeks.

 “There is one thing that is better than flesh,” Mimzy declared.

 “And what’s that, dear?” Rosie asked, wiping her bloody mouth with a lacy handkerchief.

 “Spending time with my lovely friends!”

 Mimzy gave Alastor a hug and Alastor flinched a bit. He took a deep breath and briefly hugged her as well. Rosie knew not to touch Alastor, so she opted to stand supportively by his side.

 Alastor then pulled the two smiling women close to him, happy and in his element. It was something that he agreed with as well, somewhere within his blackened heart. Despite doing things for himself and manipulating people for his amusement, there was something…freeing about being with fun-loving friends he could put some degree of trust in. The sounds of music pulsed like vibrant lights in a sea of darkness. Music had been his oasis, his escape on Earth. Even in Hell, it still tugged at his heartstrings and reminded him of innocent times long ago. It was almost like a beacon of hope…hope of even greater things ahead.

 For the first time in a while, Alastor’s smile was genuine and relaxed.

 “Now that’s what I call entertainment!”

#hazbin hotel #alastor #rosie #mimzy

[splendidlyimperfect]

Sting’s entire life changed when he was eleven years old and his best friend Rogue told a secret that he’d promised to keep. Taken away from the father who abused him and the best friend who’d tried to save him, Sting tried to start a new life with his uncle. But the trauma wasn’t easy to escape, and eventually Sting turned to drinking to forget the things that hurt.

Now he’s an adult, and he hasn’t been sober in years. But when drinking nearly kills him and a near-stranger saves his life, Sting has a chance to turn his life around, and maybe become the man that Rogue deserves to love.

Chapter Summary: Sting tries to get better, but it's easier to feel nothing at all.

Chapters (11/?): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Rogue Cheney/Sting Eucliffe, Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Sting Eucliffe, Sting Eucliffe & Weisslogia Characters: Sting Eucliffe, Natsu Dragneel, Rogue Cheney, Gray Fullbuster, Weisslogia (Fairy Tail) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Past Child Abuse, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Trans Character, Trans Sting, Friendship, Childhood Friends, Sting-focused story, Sting is a disaster, Natsu’s a great friend, Rogue tries to do what’s right, Tumblr: FTLGBTales Series: Part 2 of i’m still standing

**TW for self-harm, suicidal thoughts, drinking, brief noncon/dubcon, and drug use

-----

relapse | \ ri-ˈlaps. noun : the act or an instance of backsliding, worsening, or subsiding

.

viii age seventeen

.

Sting tries, this time, he really does. The first night, Uncle Wes sits up with him on the couch, holding him close and rubbing his back while he cries. Lector doesn’t move from his lap either, and the three of them stay up until the sun is peeking in the kitchen window and Sting’s cried himself to sleep.

The next few days are a blur. Sting throws up a lot, and sweats and shakes, and feels like he’s going to die. Part of him wishes he would, because now that he’s not drunk, he has to feel all the things he’s been trying too hard to avoid.

He hates it.

“It’ll get better,” Uncle Wes says when he brings Sting crackers and tea and sits with him on the bed. “Just give it time.”

Sting makes it three weeks before he can’t handle it anymore. He’s sitting in his bedroom, staring at his phone and the twenty-seven missed texts from Ryan.

I’m sorry, babe, please come back

I miss you so much

I need you

You need me

Sting groans, clutching the phone so tightly he’s worried it will break. Part of him wants to throw it against the wall and watch it shatter into pieces, but the other part clings to it like a lifeline. No matter how hard he tries, how much he meditates or reads or sits in the sunshine with Uncle Wes, nothing changes. His mind is a mess and his chest feels empty, and he thinks maybe the part of him that knows how to be happy died a long time ago.

Continue reading on AO3

Sting drops the phone on the blanket, inhaling shakily and trying to stop the frantic racing in his mind. Everything is so goddamn loud, all the fucking time. You’re worthless, you’re stupid, people hurt you and you deserve it, you’re just like your dad and you’ll never be anything better.

He needs to make it stop.

Sting gets out of bed slowly, listening at the door of his room to make sure Uncle Wes is asleep before moving out into the hallway. The house is quiet, lit only by the cold moonlight pouring in from the front window. Sting sneaks down the stairs, avoiding the steps that squeak, and when he finally makes it out into the garage, he breathes a sigh of relief.

Uncle Wes’ tools are lined up on the bench, laid out carefully, just like everything else in his life. Neat. Orderly. Not a chaotic mess.

It doesn’t take long for Sting to find the box cutter, and he takes it with shaking hands, sinking down to the floor and flicking it open. The blade glints in the dim light of the garage and he stares at it for several seconds before pressing it to the skin of his forearm.

It’s like exhaling. The sharp bite of the blade pulls all the panic down to one place, a manageable, physical pain that Sting can handle. The racing thoughts fade away, cleared by another sharp burst of pain, and another, and another.

When Sting finally comes back to himself, his forearm is covered with blood, but he can’t feel anything. He exhales, closing the blade and shoving it in his back pocket before pushing himself shakily to his feet and grabbing a towel from the workbench to press against his arm. Then he staggers back to the door, opening it as quietly as possible and heading to the bathroom to find the first aid kit.

When he finally makes it back upstairs, Lector is in his bed, curled up on his pillow and purring contentedly. Sting sits down carefully beside him and Lector mrowls, opening one eye and tipping his head up against Sting’s fingers.

“I’m sorry,” Sting says softly. “I needed it.”

Maybe he can do this instead of drinking, and he won’t hurt anybody but himself. 

~

Two weeks later, Sting takes a drink again. He’s walking to the bus stop after therapy and feeling like shit because all the therapist wants to talk about is Ryan.

He took advantage of you. He coerced you. It’s not a healthy relationship. He’s dangerous.

“I know that,” Sting hisses, gritting his teeth and kicking at an empty bottle on the side of the road. It hits the edge of a bicycle rack and part of it shatters, leaving behind sharp edges that Sting’s tempted to use. He sighs, rubbing his face. “I know that, but I said yes.”

Thinking about sex with Ryan makes him feel like throwing up, and he swallows down the sensation, walking quickly away from the broken glass. It’s only when he gets to the end of the street that he realizes he’s standing outside a liquor store.

He stops, staring in the window and reaching into his pocket to feel for his wallet. His fake ID is still in there – can’t even remember who made it, Ryan probably, but it’s a good one. Besides, Sting looks older than he is, and in a year, he won’t even need it.

Uncle Wes’ voice echoes through Sting’s mind. You’re doing so well, I’m proud of you. But he doesn’t know about the marks on Sting’s forearms or the blades he’s got hidden in his drawers. Sting isn’t better. He’s just hurting himself differently.

He gives in.

~

The look of hurt and concern on Uncle Wes’ face when Sting comes home drunk feels worse than the cuts on his arms. Sting stumbles up the front steps and when he pushes open the door, he knows he can’t hide it. Lector trots over to him and rubs against his legs, meowing happily, and Sting’s cheeks burn.

“’m sorry,” he says softly.

“It’s okay,” Uncle Wes says gently, standing from the kitchen table and moving closer. Sting shakes his head and takes a step back.

“’s not,” he slurs, rubbing his face. He’s having trouble standing. “D’no why you fuckin’… care, why… why…”

“Because I love you,” Uncle Wes replies as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He takes Sting’s arm and guides him inside, then helps him up the stairs into his room. “I’m not angry,” he says, and Sting wishes he would be.

“Jus’ be… be mad,” he begs, dropping his head into his hands. He doesn’t understand. “I can’t… jus’ fuckin’ hit me.”

“Sting,” Uncle Wes says, voice both soft and reproachful. “I would never hurt you.”

“You should.”

“No. Never.”

Then I’ll just have to hurt myself, Sting thinks, blinking as the room starts to go out of focus. “Go ‘way,” he mumbles.

Uncle Wes sighs. “Why don’t you sleep this off,” he suggests. “We can talk in the morning.”

Sting flops back on the bed and rolls away from Uncle Wes, digging his fingernails into his palm as he stares at the wall. Eventually Uncle Wes stands and says, “I love you,” one more time before heading out of the room and closing the door behind him.

“Why?” Sting whispers, biting back the urge to throw up. He’s too exhausted to even cry, so he lays there, staring at the ceiling and wishing he were dead.

~

The next morning Sting’s head is pounding, and he stumbles to the stop of the stairs, stopping when he hears Uncle Wes talking to someone.

“He’s getting worse,” Uncle Wes says, and when there’s no answer, Sting realizes he’s on the phone. “I’m not sure what else to do.”

Sting bites down on his tongue as guilt swells in his chest. He’s too much. He’ll always be too much.

“I don’t know if I can convince him to go to rehab,” Uncle Wes says quietly, and Sting can hear the frustration in his voice. “He needs more help, but he won’t accept it. He’s as stubborn as—”

Sting runs back to his room before Uncle Wes can finish the sentence because Sting knows exactly what he was going to say. He’s as stubborn as his father.

He’s exactly like the only person he never wanted to become.

“Fuck,” Sting whispers. He can’t do this. Not to Uncle Wes, who’s too kind for someone like Sting. He doesn’t deserve to spend his days looking after someone who can’t fucking function. Someone who breaks everything he touches.

Lector pads into the room and meows at Sting, then hops up on the bed and headbutts him. Sting covers his mouth to stifle a sob as he runs his fingers through Lector’s fur.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “Uncle Wes will take care of you, I promise.”

Sting’s hands shake as he grabs some clothing and shoves it into his backpack, then scribbles a note and sets it on the desk.

I’m sorry I can’t be better. Please take care of Lector. Thank you for trying to help me – none of this is your fault and I know you tried your best. I love you.

He stares at the words for a long, long time before pulling on his backpack and climbing out the window, then disappearing down the street toward the bus station.

~

Sting ends up back at Ryan’s because he has nowhere else to go. The mix of relief and satisfaction on Ryan’s face when he opens the door makes Sting feel sick, but Ryan is quick to take him back.

“I missed you so much, baby,” he murmurs, squeezing Sting’s arm and pulling him in for a kiss. He tastes like ashes. “C’mon. I’m happy you’re home.”

This isn’t home, Sting thinks, gaze dull as he crosses through the kitchen and into Ryan’s bedroom where he drops his backpack on the floor. Everything is dark and run-down, cardboard taped over the windows, empty beer bottles sitting on the bedside table.

“You look so tense,” Ryan says, sitting on the bed and pulling Sting down with him. “You okay?” Sting shrugs and Ryan sighs, squeezing his hand. “C’mere, baby. Lemme help.”

When Ryan’s hands find their way to the button of Sting’s jeans, he doesn’t say no.

Afterward, when Ryan falls asleep, Sting stumbles out of bed and into the washroom, trying to ignore the churning in his stomach and the aching discomfort between his legs. The boy in the mirror is a pathetic stranger, and when Sting sees the red marks on his neck and shoulders, he falls to his knees and throws up in the toilet.

It feels like hours later when he finally pushes himself to his feet. He can’t feel his hands and it takes him a few tries to turn the tap on and rinse his mouth out. Then he wobbles back toward the bed, sitting down heavily on the edge of the mattress and staring at Ryan’s back.

Something starts buzzing and it takes Sting a few seconds to realize it’s his phone. He fumbles around for it, eventually finding it in the pile of clothes on the floor next to the mattress. He stares at the screen for several seconds until the name Uncle Wes comes into focus and Sting immediately declines the call.

Uncle Wes 17 missed calls 27 messages

Sting groans, tossing the phone back to the floor. Why Uncle Wes gives a shit is beyond him. He’s done everything he can to try to help Sting, but there’s no point. Sting’s broken and the pieces don’t fit together anymore, and it’s just better when he can’t feel.

His gaze moves to the bedside table and the bottle of small, pink pills that sit next to the broken lamp. Sting recognizes them – he’s taken them before, from one of Ryan’s friends that Sting can’t remember. They had made him soft and sleepy and not quite real.

He grabs the bottle and tips a couple of the pills into his hand, staring at them and trying to push away the overwhelming sense of hopelessness. It’s suffocating; he can’t breathe, can’t move, can’t do anything because his arms are heavy and he’s not worth anything at all.

Before he can change his mind, he swallows both pills dry. Then he drops his head into his hands, hoping that they kick in soon, because he doesn’t want to feel anything anymore.  

#fairy tail #ftlgbtales #ftlgbtfics #stingue #gratsu #sting eucliffe #rogue cheney #fanfic #tw: drinking #tw: drug use #tw: suicidal thoughts #tw: self harm #tw: dubcon/noncon #angst #update #new chapter #my fic

[randomwordprompts]

If It’s Magic Chapter 8

Daaaaaam, this took forever! Does anyone still care about this story? If so here’s 3k words of plot development(?) Anyways if you wanna be added to my taglist just let me know!

Warnings: Eh, people get punched and they curse. We grown outchea.

Taglist: @storibambino @soufcakmistress @bakarilennox @babygirlofwakanda @wakandas-vibranium @wakandan-flowerz @great-neckpectations @yaachtynoboat711 @oceanscorazon @reaperdeldrunk 

“Daniel, either let me pass or get your ass beat like that big nigga about to get.”

Amira brought her gaze from Daniel to the towering male some feet behind him, keeping a safe distance. Xavier’s eyes widened before he spoke back to her.

“Beat my ass?! Didn’t you do that enough the other day when you busted my lip?” 

She growled at Xavier and went to push past Daniel only to have him hold her back, though with no small amount of difficulty.

“What did you do to me, you piece of shit?!”

“I didn’t DO anything! I’ve been here or in class and actively avoiding your crazy ass for the past two days!!”

Amira stilled in Daniel’s grip and stared at Xavier for a moment before she replied, “Then why the fuck did I hear you calling out for me not 2 hours ago?”

Xavier’s face paled for a moment as he realized something but didn’t say what it was. Amira immediately noticed the change and ducked out of Daniel’s arms to walk towards him, craning her neck to meet his gaze before speaking again.

“What. Did. You. Do.”

“Well, um...I might’ve tried to manifest your aura while I was masturbating,” Xavier rushed out his explanation in one breath but that didn’t stop Amira from hearing exactly what he said.

“PORQUE?!”

Just when Xavier opened his mouth in an attempt to explain further, Daniel burst into laughter from the door that he’d closed during this time.

“Nigga, you did what now? How the hell did that even happen?”

Xavier sighed and tried to be as brief as possible about what was now an embarrassing topic.

Xavier paced his room stressed and hungry, though not for food. Truth be told, he missed Amira. He’d been missing her since she’d first broke things off and after what he’d said to her a few days ago he knew she’d probably never speak to him again. He thought about her lips and how she loved to kiss him, the plushness of her body and she felt like a living marshmallow every time he held her in his arms. How her smile was like the sunshine that chased away the darkness of his thoughts. Before long he began thinking of all the things that drove him crazy about the petite succubus when he remembered something her mother had told them about their bond.

“If one of you reaches out for the other hard enough, you can pull on or manifest the energy of your mate.”

Of course she was referring to if one couldn’t find the other or was missing them, but at this point Xavier was hungry and knew that her aura would be more than enough to satisfy his urges until he found a human to feed from that wasn’t clingy, crazy, or in search of commitment. So he decided to apply that same technique while pleasuring himself and found himself quite surprised with the results. It was like he could hear her in the throes of pleasure, feel her on top of him, and feel himself inside of her. Before he knew it he was moaning her name, urging her to say his. Just when he was about to reach his peak he heard her voice call back to him, his eyes rolling back as he spilled his release into his hand.

“Let me get this straight,” Daniel started. “Y’all can think of each other hard enough to feel and hear the other when you’re not nearby?! I’d like to sign up to be a sex demon today, please.”

Xavier snorted a bit and Amira shot them both a glare before turning to leave, tired of them both.

“Well that was riveting but don’t do again or so help me I will come back here and kill you both.”

“ Both?!” Daniel’s eyes grew wide.

“No witnesses. Nothing personal,” Amira said with a devilish smile.

…

Jason called Amira for the 4th time that night, sighing when he was sent to voicemail yet again. He kept replaying what he said to her in his head and the more he did, the worse he felt. It also took him back to when they first talked about the very thing he threw back in her face.

“So tell me, does being a succubus really mean you’re incapable of monogamy?”

Amira paused her writing and met Jason’s gaze with a raised brow, searching his face for the intention behind the question. Once she realized he was genuinely curious she sighed and pushed her laptop to the side.

“Succubi are just as capable of having monogamous relationships as anyone else. The thing is, our biology causes us to also need to feed off the sexual energy of others. It’s rare, but a succubus sometimes picks a partner that she feeds from exclusively for life. They normally marry but even if they don’t, they still stay together. What you just mentioned is a stereotype made by some white man hundreds of years ago in an attempt to paint us as nothing but sex crazed demons, unworthy of love. Is that how you see me?”

“No, of course not. I think you deserve all the love you can handle..”

They exchanged smiles before Amira leaned over and kissed him sweetly, each time feeling better than the first for him.

…

One Month Later, Halloween

“So is Jason coming tonight?” Lucy asked Amira as they got dressed in their dorm.

Amira smirked as she put on her suit jacket, adjusting her bra so that she didn’t have too much cleavage out or end up with a wardrobe malfunction. Buttoning her jacket she walked over to her dresser and grabbed her blood-red lipstick before she answered.

“Yes, and I have a bad feeling about it. You know Xavier’s going to be there and I don’t need a dick measuring contest at the fundraiser.”

The fundraiser in question was a haunted house and escape room hosted by the BSU to raise money and increase campus involvement. Mostly everyone was involved in some way, with Amira deciding to take on an administrative role and make sure they stayed within their budget while giving a fun night. So far they’d raised almost two-thousand dollars in advance tickets, expecting at least another 500 at the door.

As Amira got ready to tell her roommate what could go wrong her phone rang, signaling a video call from her siblings. After applying a quick coat of her lipstick she answered, grinning when she was met with the faces of her older siblings.

“Well hello, titties!” Francois said with a snicker.

Amira snorted a laugh before shooting back, “You mad you ain’t got these titties, I understand.”

Lucy cackled in the background before leaving the room to get her shoes, leaving the three to talk. Jonathan spoke next.

“You both look like religious spoopy thots, there’s no competition.”

Both Amira and Francois smiled at that before they were interrupted by the familiar stern voice of their father.

“If you three are done, tell your sister that we’re outside.”

Amira chuckled before propping her phone up and checking her hair, curly tresses currently under a straight jet black wig that stopped in the middle of her back. She grabbed her white choker and secured it to her throat, silver cross laying beautifully in the center of her clavicle as she yelled to let Lucy know her family was downstairs waiting. Grabbing her black open-toe stilettos and putting them on, Amira disconnected the call and grabbed her clutch before stepping out of her room.

The rest of the Lectors waited downstairs in the lobby, ready to see their youngest in person. Francois was clad in a slutty nun costume, which was comprised of a black latex bodysuit with a white cross on the chest and matching fake habit adorning their head along with white thigh-high boots while Jonathan was dressed as a possessed catholic bishop. He sported an all-black suit with a black shirt that was open at the top three buttons, revealing more of his pale skin while his hair was dyed black at the roots and red throughout. His belt was cinched around his jacket just enough to reveal his tapered waist, topping the costume off with a red patch on the cuff of his sleeve and a silver cross pendant that stopped just past the fourth button of his shirt. Their parents opted for a classic Dracula and his wives costume, looking as if they stepped out of Bram Stoker’s movie or even the modern version of Van Helsing. When the elevator opened Amira and Lucy stepped out, the former dressed as a priest and the latter as an undead maid since she was going to be in the haunted house. 

Before she could sneak up on them Diana ran over and hugged her daughter with a happy squeal. What followed was more hugs from the rest of her family, a reintroduction to Lucy, and a quick catch-up before they left for the festivities.

…

Once they were at the fundraiser Lucy went into the house with the others so they could get into their designated places before everything opened. Amira was talking with her family when Xavier walked by, offering an awkward wave that was met with an eye roll and Francois flipping him off. He sighed as he made his way into the house, making a mental note to try and talk to Amira soon.

After their parents went to see what else was going on for the night, Amira turned to Francois to say something only to be met with a sight of a man approaching them followed by a loud string of Quebecois curses leaving her oldest brother’s mouth plus a push past her and Jonathan to meet him halfway. She looked at her other brother for a moment before realization dawned on her.

“That’s Felix, isn’t it…”

“Yup.”

“We should probably go over there before Fran strangles him.”

“Probably.”

With that, they followed Francois who was just about to scream at the towering male only stopped by Amira jumping in front of them.

“Oi, you stalking my brother?”

Felix looked down at her, blue eyes meeting brown ones as Francois was behind her stewing.

“Actually, I was invited. Imagine my surprise when a lovely woman told me you all would be here!”

“A woman?! Who-...did she have a Jamaican accent?”

Felix nodded and Amira burst into a fit of laughter as Francois now turned away to find their parents, specifically their mother given how they shrieked for her loud enough to be heard 2 blocks away. Jonathan was laughing with Amira, the two of them wheezing and coughing at this point at the realization that Pauline had tipped Felix off so he’d come. Once they caught their breath Amira took the 6’6 man by the arm and steered him in the direction of where Francois had stormed off to.

“Let’s go big man, I don’t wanna miss this,” she said as the sounds of Francois and Pauline’s voices grew louder, now arguing in full-blown Patois.

...

After finally calming things down between Francois and Pauline, Amira went back to help some of her fellow BSU members do last-minute touches to the vending stands. While she was talking to one of the workers at the popcorn stand she heard another one gasp before pointing towards a figure behind her with a look of pure shock.

“Is that Jason Momoa?!”

Amira chuckled and said goodbye to them before turning to walk towards the man in question with a smile, his werewolf costume obviously not taking much effort.

"How very original, Wolfman. You look good."

"I do, but not nearly as good as you. Are you supposed to be catholic?"

"I'm a priest! Just call me Padre," Amira remarked with a wiggle of her brows.

"Alright you two, keep your hormones in check, there are old people present," Jonathan said just as they were about to kiss, Jason giving a puzzled look to the young male that was flanked by the rest of the family.

At the sight of the six individuals plus Felix he was slightly confused for a moment until his eyes fell to Diana, immediately spotting the resemblance to Amira. Looking back to her he let out "This is your family?" with no small amount of shock.

“Yeah, everyone here is my family except for the tall Black dude. That’s Frankie’s future husband.” Amira remarked with a grin, prompting Felix’s brows to shoot up before he gave a rather sheepish smile. Francois, however, didn’t find the statement amusing.

Jason looked at Amira then her family and back to her, multiple questions swirling in his expression. Amira frowned a bit, sensing his energy shift though he quickly covered it with a nervous smile and a pleasant “nice to meet you all” towards the Lectors.

…

After some light conversation while they waited in line for the haunted house the group of nine were finally at the front getting ready to go in. The person at the door warned them of jumpscares and flashing lights, making sure to emphasize that all the participant’s costumes were well done and that if they can’t handle people jumping out and grabbing them they shouldn’t go in. Everyone agreed that they were fine and began the trek through the darkened hallways, faint screams being heard almost immediately.

While everyone went a bit ahead Jason gently pulled Amira’s arm to keep her behind with him, leaning down to quietly speak to her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a blended family?”

“Because my family isn’t blended? And is this really the time to be asking me about this? I think it can wait till after we get out of here,” she replied as they slowly walked through, Amira not being phased when someone dressed as a zombie jumped out and reached for her with a snarl.

Jason looked at her with another question that she quickly answered before it left his lips.

“My father is married to all three of them currently, and each one gave birth to myself and my brothers. Unlike in America, that’s legal up north despite being frowned upon socially.”

“Wait, so...all three of those women agreed to marry your father and live together? You don’t find that a little odd at all?”

Amira stopped in her tracks and turned to face Jason completely, her eyes turned to slits as she squinted up at him.

“What are you getting at, Jason? Just say it.”

“Well, ya know...I’ve seen stories about this kind of stuff. Men that trick women into marrying them and make them dependent on him so that they don’t leave.”

She looked at him as if she wanted to grab him and rip his tongue out of his mouth for even insinuating that her father was holding his wives hostage, but for the sake of not making a scene, she simply turned around and began to walk away.

Jason internally kicked himself and sighed as he watched her walk ahead of him, deciding to give her some space as they continued to go through the house and try not to jump at the people that came out of corners and crevices of the place. As they walked on, he got a little closer to Amira and tried to apologize for what he’d said earlier only to have someone dressed as a zombie pop out and grab at them. Before he could stop himself he punched the person on reflex, making both Amira and her family stop in their tracks as they heard a familiar voice yell out in pain before the person lifted his face and Amira felt her heart sink to her stomach.

“Xavier?!”

“Mira what the hell?! I know I fucked up but could you keep your damn bodyguard away from me??”

Jason stepped in front of her with his chest poked out in a traditional display of male ego, ready to give a rebuttal immediately.

“As her boyfriend, I suggest you back up, kid!”

Xavier looked at him for a moment, a small stream of blood trickling from his nose. He regarded Jason for a moment before pulling his fist back and catching Jason in the jaw, the crack audible enough to elicit a quick “oh shit” from Amira’s siblings in the back. Before she could stop them, they started to swing at each other and fight until they were on the floor nearly wrestling. It wasn’t until Amira yelled loud enough to wake up the dead that they stopped in their tracks.

“Alright, that’s enough! You two are grown-ass men rolling around on the floor in a fucking HAUNTED HOUSE for what?! Me? My honor?? I didn’t ask either one of you to fight for me because I don’t need either one of you dumbasses to do it!!”

They both opened their mouths to speak but were cut off by a small hand held up between them.

“I’m not finished. Now Xavier, you wanna sit here and whine and moan like because you apologized that’s supposed to just get me back or change what the fuck you did. I love you but I don’t just forgive anyone at the drop of a hat and the fact that you thought that would happen is stupid as all hell!”

Jason snorted a bit until she turned to him fully to give her a piece of her mind.

“And as for you bigfoot, you think you’re off the hook?! First, you accuse me of fucking Xavier while we’ve been together when the thought never even crossed my mind. Then, you suggest that because I’m a fucking demon I have no got damn self-control. And after all of that, you suggest to me that my father is some kind of horrible man that has to hold his wives hostage in order to keep them around!”

“Excuse me?!” was the sound that followed Amira’s statement and she looked to her family to find all three of the women in question looking at Jason with no small amount of incredulity. Without another word she shook her head and stepped over the two, moving her family towards the exit, Felix holding Francois back as they yelled and went to lunge at Jason rather violently.

Xavier shook his head and stood up before reaching down and giving Jason a hand up, noting the look of surprise on his face. He wiped the blood from his nose on his sleeve and eyed Jason warily before finally speaking, the pain in his voice clear.

“Listen, Amira is a great person and an amazing partner. I can only hope that one day I’ll earn her trust back but until then make sure she’s happy, yeah?”

“I hear you, bro. Also, I’m sorry about your nose...I swear I was just reacting.”

“Honestly I had it coming so don’t even worry about it. Plus it’s already healed with me not being human and all,” Xavier said with a dry chuckle.

Jason extended his hand for a shake and Xavier accepted, the two coming to a bit of an understanding before Jason would leave to try and catch up to Amira and properly apologize to both her and her family.

#randomwordprompts #my work #Amira & Xavier #the lectors #if it's magic #original characters #my writing

[riverofmemoriesft]

. Between the Lines . 189

"Juvia!"

Juvia's head snapped up as Meredy came fleeing towards her. Lyon was at her side, tears streaming down her cheeks. She tackled Juvia in a tight hug, gasping for breath, and Juvia looked to Lyon with confusion. "Juvia is lost."

"Ultear was here, have you seen her?" Meredy looked desperate. Juvia frowned and shook her head before looking to the dragons. Meredy followed her gaze and grimaced as Lyon drew her back with his hands on her shoulders. He leaned down and murmured to her.

"Meredy, I know you're worried, but we have to defend Fiore."

"Right," she said after a long moment.

Juvia smiled at Lyon and then looked up when there was another shout of her name. "Gray!" she returned as Lily dropped him. He landed heavily, swearing under his breath as pain shot up his legs, but he ignored it and rushed to join them.

"Go find Gajeel!" Gray shouted to Lily.

"Right!" Lily soared off and Gray turned his attention on the other three, gaze hard. "Natsu's fighting a future version of Rogue, who killed a future version of Yukino as well as...as well as a future version of Lucy. Natsu's lost it, man. Lucy's with his future self and our Yukino and Happy."

"Oh, my-"

A roar cut Lyon off, and the man looked up, black eyes admittedly filling with terror as something cast its massive shadow over them. The aquatic dragon stood there, screaming at them with teeth bared.

Venom suddenly cloaked its head and Cobra came barreling out of an alley, fangs bared. "Go!" he shouted at them, skidding to a halt. The crimson coat with black fur lining its large collar fluttered around him. "I've got this one. The one in the sky is dropping these weird little things that are heading for the mountains!"

"Right," Gray muttered, giving him a quick look before darting away. Juvia and the two Lamia Scale members shot after him, their feet slapping the streets, their breath heavy.

Cobra turned his attention on the dragon, grinning maliciously. "I'm not a real dragon slayer, but I've got a lacrima that tells me I'm at least half. So your dumb ass just walked into the clutches of a venom dragon slayer."

The dragon blinked squinting eyes at him, and then laughed, the sound loud and deafening. "As if you can even think to rival me, pathetic half-creature," it roared and then let loose a stream of boiling hot water. Cobra swore and jumped up, swinging himself up onto a roof. He could see lightning snapping around the dragon that had appeared second, flames in the sky. A wind kicked up, a tornado striking into the flank of another. A blast of iron smacked a dragon's face. Shadow and light combined to attack the flaming dragon and a black-scaled one.

And Cobra truly wondered if there was a good dragon anywhere in this world.

"What the hell are they?" Mirajane whispered, fear in her eyes. She stood shoulder to shoulder with her sister and brother. They stood before a couple of the monsters that had fallen from the sky.

The monsters were terrifying. Each was as tall as Mirajane herself, made of what looked to be impenetrable armor. They each supported jaws of incredibly strong and sharp teeth. One opened its mouth, dark eyes lighting with a dangerous glow.

"Move!" a voice screamed.

Mirajane shoved Lisanna out of the way as it fired off a laser, somewhat similar to what Sting would have used. It smashed into a building and they all stared in mute horror as the building collapsed, bursting into flames. In a flash, Elfman had used his magic and Mirajane had drawn on her own, her hair rising above her as if she'd stepped onto a massive fan.

As Lisanna took a few steps back, she spared a look over her shoulder to see who had shouted.

To her shock, she recognized someone she'd never thought she'd see again.

"Ultear?" Lisanna cried, recognizing the Grimoire Heart member.

Her hair was a tangled mess, thrown around her shoulders. She was gasping, grime and dirt staining her skin from falling a few times. She glared at Lisanna. "Watch out for those jaws," was all she said before sprinting off again, dozens of orbs crashing through the chests of the monsters that only kept coming.

Gajeel shouted in pain as a tail smacked him out of mid air and sent him smashing through a building. He felt scales ripple over his flesh. Dragon Force came into his hands without being asked, and he found himself a little concerned. Yet, it protected him as the building he'd been thrown into collapsed around him.

He climbed out of the debris, snarling viciously. Static cackled over the iron, making him flinch in pain. Goddamn lightning users.

There was a roar of agony from nearby as a dragon the color of jade was caught in the face by a blast of wind that felt like a billion razors slicing across its eyes. Wendy's triumphant scream filled his ears and he grinned at the thought of her fighting alongside whoever had come to help her.

He would not be defeated, he decided as he let loose an Iron Dragon's Roar, picturing a furious iron dragon towering over him, its magic viciously tearing into the other creature.

I still need to propose to Shrimp!

When they reached the Gate, Lucy could see that it was chaos. Arcadios had a sword drawn though it would do little to no good against the emerald-colored dragon above them. Its scales were as green as Hisui's hair. The princess was cowered behind her Knight, her eyes filled with horror at the realization of what she'd done.

"The Gate!" Wendy screamed, and Lucy realized she hadn't gotten far before being caught up in a fight with a dragon. Charle clung to her back, fur bristling as she whirled away from the dragon's snapping jaws. "There's another coming!"

"Right!" Lucy turned to Yukino. "Get our keys from Hisui! You! Natsu!" She whirled on him, and he met her gaze warily. "Help Wendy!"

He flashed her a smug grin. "Don't hurt yourself closing the Gate," he warned and then leaped into action. He and Wendy fell into step beside each other, a Roar released from each of their mouths and mixing together before blowing the emerald-colored dragon away. It stumbled and roared in pain.

They drove the dragon away and Lucy turned her attention on the massive Gate before her. "Lucy!" Yukino shouted.

"Thanks!" she cried, snatching her keys out of the air. Loke's key warmed along with the others the second they were in her hand and she took a deep breath, her eyes narrowed. "You get the left door!" Lucy shouted over a roar. "I'll get the right!"

"On it!" Yukino cried.

Together, they darted over to the door. Lucy didn't hesitate to ram her shoulders into the door of the Gate she'd assigned herself. Happy shoved alongside her as best as he could. She gasped, feet slipping as a dragon began to nose its way through.

"Need a hand, Princess?" a voice suddenly laughed in her ear.

"Loke!" Lucy shrieked in relief. Distantly, she saw the future Natsu join Yukino, heaving against the other one. Between the four of them, the dragon was miraculously pushed back. It screamed in fury when with one great heave, they forced the Eclipse Gate shut.

Dripping sweat, Lucy dropped to sit with her back resting against it "The Gate, Loke, go back," she wheezed. "Your magic-"

"I'm fine," he promised. His gaze darted curiously to the future Natsu before he turned a deadly look on Arcadios and Hisui, who'd begun to approach.

"Are you happy now?" he snarled, standing protectively in front of Lucy. The future Natsu gently spoke into Yukino's ear and sent her away. She took off running, her dark eyes determined. "Look what you've done. Some leader you are!"

Arcadios scowled. "Everyone makes mistakes-"

"Not everyone can claim they allowed seven murderous dragons to enter our world from the future," the future Natsu retorted in a furious tone. "Every time. I've been through this thousands of times and each time I come through that damn Eclipse Gate, you always make the same mistake. Because you are ridiculously gullible and trusting. How could you miss the look in Rogue's eyes when he looked at you and told you that he was there to help?

"Look at what you've done," he bellowed, pointing a finger at the dragon in the sky. Flashes of black against the darkening sky and flames spoke of the vicious fight occurring. "This is what you did to the country you vowed to protect!

"And now," he finished, eyes ablaze. "You'll watch it burn, because you aren't even able to help us fix what you've done."

From where he stood, watching the destruction, a smiled curved along his lips. He stood on a balcony, his red eyes locked on the fighting below. His elbows rested lightly on the bar of the balcony, his weight leaned against it.

"So puny," he said softly, "So weak, all of them."

"Father?" a voice said softly behind him, full of love and affection for the man before him. "What would you have me do?"

He turned his gaze on him. "Return home. I see no need for you to be here." He flashed him a quick smile. A smile full of warmth and affection - all false, though he didn't seem to recognize that. "Tell the others to relax and enjoy their free time. There's no need for them to come. Do you see how the Gate closes?" He gestured to it. "I merely wish to summon someone through it. Even then, I very much doubt it will work.

"The Eclipse Gate cannot handle the power of a demon."

As the clock chimed to tell the time, a dragon rammed its shoulder into it. It burst into flames when the fiery dragon crashed into it and it collapsed with a roar. The dragon payed the clock no mind and continued its pursuit of Sting, who was fighting just as fiercely as Rogue was, their cats clinging to their shoulders.

They were exhausted. They'd tried Unison Raid, but it had done them no good. It had barely scarred either dragon.

An exhausted Sting looked over his shoulder when someone screamed his name in warning, and his gaze filled with horror.

"Shit!" he cried, struggling to dive out of the way. Lector tumbled from his shoulder. His legs didn't move fast enough, and Rogue's head snapped around, panic and terror evident when he saw the laser that was fired at his partner, aiming straight for him in a way that he couldn't escape.

And he could only watch in horror as Yukino threw herself in front of the blast, taking it head on with a look of terror and determination. She dropped instantly, the blast having torn through her stomach and the lower part of her chest. Sting cried out and Rogue roared in rage, turning on the creature and destroying it.

The dragons seemed to recoil as Rogue bristled, hesitant and confused, but he didn't notice as he dropped to his knees beside Sting and Yukino, Frosch sobbing against his shoulder.

"Yukino," Sting sobbed, cupping her cheek. Blood dripped from her chin, brown eyes staring blankly into the starry sky above, seeing nothing of the stars she had cared so deeply for.

Almost in unison, Rogue and Sting threw their heads back and screamed the agonized screams of a dragon who had lost someone close to its heart.

#fairy tail #fanfiction #au #between the lines #riverofmemoriesft #nalu #natsu x lucy #lucy heartfilia #loke #leo #natsu dragneel #wendy marvell #juvia lockser #yukino auguria #gray fullbuster #lyon vastia #meredy #ultear milkovich #mirajane strauss #lisanna strauss #elfman strauss #hisui fiore

[riverofmemoriesft]

. Between the Lines . 184

When Lucy opened her eyes, it was bright in the prison she and Gray were locked in. Gray was dozing, propped up against the wall beside her. He'd been kind enough to let her lean on him throughout the night, her head on his shoulder, and she removed it from that painful position as she realized that a figure was curled up in the cell beside theirs.

"Yukino!" she gasped. She jerked away from Gray, instantly awake, and Gray woke up fairly quickly, yawning hugely as he scratched his naked chest.

Yukino stirred, lifting her head. "Lucy?" she rasped, her red-rimmed eyes welling with tears.

"What are you doing here?" Lucy demanded, horrified.

"They took my Spirits," she whispered, and then gave a sob. "Oh, god, Lucy...the man that was with Arcadios! And her…"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Who were they? Did you see their faces? Hisui mentioned a third person, but we didn't see him-"

"Only Rogue would have noticed him," she said with a hysterical laugh. "Because he can see shadows differently than we can." She began to weep, shaking her head. "I called Sting, and he tried to...he tried to come and help, but they threatened to disband the guild."

"Hisui's being a real bitch, isn't she?" Gray muttered, joining them. "Who were they, Yukino? Please, it'll help us figure out what to do next."

"Me," Yukino gasped. "The woman was me."

"What?" Gray muttered confused.

"Then the third person was-"

"Rogue," Yukino finished, cutting Lucy off. Her eyes were haunted as she looked up. "But...he wasn't. He couldn't have been our Rogue! He was so...the look in his eyes! He didn't care about me at all, no sympathy when they threw me in here!"

Lucy's mouth was dry. "So...Rogue is against us?"

"That can't be Rogue," Yukino cried angrily. "That can't be! Rogue would never look at any of us like that, whether he be from the future or not!"

"Okay," Gray said slowly. "We've got a future version of you and Rogue. But who were the other people? There's been a few others we've seen-"

"You'll continue to see us from this point on," a voice cut in. Lucy's head snapped around, and her lips parted in shock, because she knew that voice. Gray tensed, black eyes fierce and his muscles coiled. He was ready to protect her.

She couldn't blame him.

Another version of Yukino stood before them, on the other side of the bars. She wore the crimson cloak from before, and she drew the hood down. Her hair was long - much longer than the one in the cell beside them. Her brown eyes were sad - so sad, that Lucy wondered what had happened to her to make her so miserable.

"Holy hell," Gray whispered. "She wasn't kidding. You really are her."

The future Yukino smiled ruefully and mused, "We can speak freely. Rogue's not here right now, he's busy with Hisui preparing the Eclipse Gate for tonight. I've sent word to the others."

"Others?" Lucy croaked. "How many others are there?"

"Four," was the answer she received. She smiled sorrowfully. "The six of us are all that is left of our friends and family, and one of us isn't even one of our own."

"That makes no sense," Gray informed her.

Lucy shook her head to clear it and then demanded, "Who are the four others? Are they siding with Hisui?"

"No," she said firmly. "I'm with them as well. I've been relaying information I gather to - well, you'll meet her soon enough. When the Games start tonight, she will retrieve you and take you to a safe part of the palace, where you'll meet Natsu and whoever is with him. In the meantime, you'll be safe here. Both of you." She spoke fiercely now. "Stay away from the future Rogue. He holds a massive amount of hatred for you, Lucy, and Natsu. I can't say why...I am sure the reasons will someday be revealed to you if this doesn't work."

"Sting?" Yukino said hoarsely. "Where is he? Surely he wouldn't have-"

Yukino's future self turned to her and gave her a long mournful look. "Frosch died, Rogue lost his mind, and Sting was killed protecting Lector and I, of which only I survived Rogue's rage." The anguish that flickered over her face brought Lucy to tears. "His last wish was that I help Rogue, but...I doubt he is able to come back to me. He is past the point of no return."

Yukino gave a sob, and Lucy tried to reach through the bars of the cell to comfort her. Her hand trembled as she grabbed her arm, squeezing gently. "Is that why you're here?" Lucy asked softly. "To stop that?"

"Yes," she admitted. She turned her gaze to the steps. "He is no longer my friend. I see now that there is no bringing Rogue back to the light. I will see to it that he is dead by the end of the night." Her gaze hardened. "I must go now. It appears a friend has revealed himself to the majority of Fairy Tail, and we've been given the go to start turning the gears of our plan. Remember. Trust those in black, not in crimson - excluding me, of course."

She left without another word, and Gray and Lucy exchanged looks of equal amounts of shock. Gray checked his phone, wanting to inform the others of this development, but both of their phones had died throughout the night.

Yukino tried to re-gather her wits, raising her chin proudly as she scolded herself. "I shouldn't be like this, I'm a proud mage of Sabertooth! Sting would scold me for such behavior." Her lips trembled at his name and the thought that he was dead in some future world, but she said nothing more on the matter.

Lucy took a huge breath and then let it out. "I guess we play the waiting game now," she whispered.

"As hell descends upon us," Gray said grimly.

When Natsu staggered into the main part of the otherwise silent hotel, a cloaked man at his side, the Fairy Tail guild fell silent and stared.

It was amazing, he thought miserably, just how little he seemed to know about himself.

"You have been made aware of our situation?" Makarov said as he approached the guildmaster. "You know what your job will be when the Game begins, Natsu?" His gaze gentled as he looked him over, taking in his pale face. "Will you be able to do what needs to be done?"

Natsu gave Makarov a long tired look. "Find Lucy. Get Lucy the hell out of Crocus. Keep Lucy safe. And make sure to somehow get a hold of her keys in the process." His shadowed onyx eyes turned on Wendy. "Wendy'll be with me, and so will Happy and Charle. And him." He jerked his head in the direction of the man that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

From where he was strapping some iron-studded gloves onto his hands, Gajeel grunted, "Fuckin' scary, lookin' over at you two."

"I agree," Erza murmured. "It's odd."

The cloaked man snorted, saying nothing as he rubbed his chest. Bowing apologetically to the guild, he finally spoke. "Sorry about the near-incident last night," he sighed. "I should have at least approached you sooner rather than later." He flashed a smirk at the older man, who didn't seem happy. "Explaining might have helped keep him under control. I'd forgotten how bad it was."

"Can't believe you're the reason I turn into a three year old whenever Lucy disappears on me," Natsu huffed and then sidled over to Mirajane, demanding breakfast. The guild's hotel filled with laughter as everyone returned to what they'd been doing previously, everyone's eyes flicking to the newcomer every now and then.

The future-dweller turned to Makarov - and the girl beside him, whose blonde hair waved in an invisible breeze that no one else felt. He stared past her blankly, not seeming to see her as he said, "What happens will happen. We're doing our best. Yukino sent word that her past self and Gray and Lucy are aware of us now. My friends are doing their best to help."

"Will we lose anyone?" Makarov asked quietly.

"It's different every time from what I've gathered," he replied grudgingly. "There was mass casualty the first time. I told you about my situation. Only one person truly died that I saw." His gaze darted around now. His eyes locked onto Erza and then drifted to various other mages. "It's nice. To see them before I disappear." Makarov opened his mouth, apologies on the tip of his tongue, but he lifted a hand to silence him.

"I'll see my own nakama soon," he said quietly. "And that's all I want now. I don't care if I have to kill myself to fix this present, but I won't fail. Not this time."

"Just how many times have you traveled through that Gate?" Mavis whispered, horrified.

He didn't respond, and she wondered from the back of her mind if he could even hear or see her.

Lips pressed together, the petite woman watched her companion mingle with Fairy Tail from where she stood, hidden in the shadows of a window. She'd run by to check on him, and was unsurprised to see him walking amongst Fairy Tail mages. Somehow, she'd known he'd be the first to lose his composure and join friends before necessary.

She took a deep breath.

She didn't blame him, of course, she wanted the same.

The guilds would soon be heading for the arena. The teams would fight well into the evening, struggling to win the Game for their guilds.

And then it would be time for her to take action, gaining their attention.

She could hear herself, laughing. And it was the strangest thing in the world to hear herself talking.

She turned away and started down the street. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of a dagger that she'd carried on her since they'd come to the past, her cloaked form earning curious looks as she walked down the street in broad daylight. It fluttered around her ankles, and it wasn't for a few blocks that she suddenly faltered in a step and stopped.

Without looking back, she said with amusement, "Ah, you've followed me. I should have known better."

Gajeel slunk out of the shadows, black mane of hair an unruly mess. His crimson eyes held signs of exhaustion from the adventure Natsu had presented the night before, and he cocked his head to the side as he studied her. "I wanna know what happened. Why you're here."

She glanced back, smiling tightly. "Well, we-"

"No," he interrupted. "You. Not 'we'. I wanna know what happened to scar your face like that and why you came."

She blinked. "Well, for one, my husband's here." His jaw dropped. "What, did you think I'd let him dance around and not marry me after everything? No, there was never a ceremony, but in all other ways, we are husband and wife, and I would not have it any other way." She turned to face him in full. There was a stricken look on his expression that made her laugh. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'd be pleased with my choice."

"Doubt it," Gajeel muttered, and then gestured to her. "What happened to your face?"

She blinked, and then touched the massive scars. Sometimes, she forgot they were there despite how much they'd bothered her at first. "A dragon," she finally murmured, eyes mournful. "She tried too hard and lost her mind to the magic in her blood. You know, that happens to dragon slayers. Be careful with Dragon Force in particular, that'll do it."

"Wendy did that to your face?" he gasped.

"A dragon that used to be Wendy," she corrected. "Things changed. But...we're doing our best to keep that kind of stuff from happening. If we have our way, Gajeel, you'll never suffer as we have. You'll never have to worry about what we have to worry about, and we'll finally be allowed to rest."

"You'll die?"

She shrugged. "I'm not suicidal, but I want to. I'll be allowed to have peace, join my nakama. I'm sure your future self will be there, too." She took a deep breath. "I have to go. I have work to do, and my husband and I are meeting one final time before everything starts. Stick with… well. Her." She gestured, and Gajeel looked back in time to see Levy rushing across the street with an anxious look on her face.

When he looked back, the cloaked woman was gone, and he was alone when Levy caught up. "Gajeel-"

"Sorry, Shrimp," he said pleasantly, kissing the top of her head in a rare public show of affection. "I know that one. Not somethin' ya need to worry 'bout. C'mon, let's get to the stadium with the rest of the guild. Salamander on the move?"

She nodded. "Lily said he'd save me a seat."

"Good."

Gajeel started down the street, and Levy took his hand hesitantly. He tightened his grip near painfully around hers. "I'm gonna make sure you're safe, woman," he told her suddenly, voice gruff.

She smiled secretively. "I know." She lifted his hand and pressed a kiss to their clasped hands before letting them dangle between them.

Silence fell, and despite the danger over their heads, she was at peace.

#fairy tail #fanfiction #au #between the lines #riverofmemoriesft #nalu #natsu x lucy #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #gray fullbuster #levy mcgarden #mavis vermillion #makarov dreyar #gajeel redfox #yukino auguria